Friday Night Lights!

Ahh, football season!  I am not ignoring the fact that it is also cross country season (you can read about that on my other blog) but there is something special about being a fan and believing that you can actually influence the outcome of a game by the intensity with which you yell at the television!  We have a standing date with some football buddies.  If Boise State is playing, we will show up with snacks in hand. We will all yell for the Broncos, believing that we can help them to a win.  It must be true, because usually they do win.
Tonight is different.  The Broncos are off this week, but BYU and Utah State are going to battle it out.  Tonight could strain our friendship!  We are going to show up in our Aggie gear and yell for USU, while our friends will be cheering on BYU.  Okay, it won't really strain the relationship because we are all primarily Bronco fans and BSU will play both Utah State and BYU later in the season.  We will be united in our efforts to help the Broncos defeat both of those teams.
Tonight should be fun.  I am anxious to see how it plays out.

If you win, I lose. Really?

There is an idea being widespread that, in my opinion, is both false and disturbing.  Many in today’s world, especially in the USA, are under the impression that if one person is wealthy it will automatically make another person poor.  That is like saying, “If she loses weight, it will make me fat,” or, “If your house is clean, then my house must be dirty.”  It simply does not make sense.

In my world, those who have more money not only spend more money, thus contributing to economic health, they also give more to charity, thus helping those in need. 

Surely there are those enslaved in poverty from which they have very little hope of release.  They often had no hand in creating their circumstances. However, to blame their poverty on the wealthy is an incorrect assumption.  This is not intended to be a political post, rather an observation of a thinking trend that is handicapping all of us.  If we adopt this attitude, we deny our own accountability. Think about it.

“I am unhealthy because there are too many fitness fanatics around. It has nothing to do with my choices to hang out on the sofa and eat junk food.”

“I didn’t finish high school because there were too many smart kids in my class.  It had nothing to do with my failure to show up for class.”

 “If he has four cars, then there will not be enough cars for me to have one, because he bought all the cars.”

Have you got the picture yet?  Here is one more just to help you see …

“If he is happy, then I have to be sad.”

It just does not make any sense.  However, it is a very effective tool for those that would have us remain in a state of unhappiness and discontent.  Denying one’s accountability only fosters an attitude of disappointment and inevitable failure, because there will always be those who succeed and according to popular thought, if somebody succeeds others must fail.  Don't get caught in this thinking trap.

That is my opinion.  What is yours?

Another book give away! The Underwater Window

Okay, swimmers, runners, readers, get ready for your chance to win a copy of The Underwater Window by Dan Stephenson.  It’s simple.  You have two chances to win.  The first (and easiest) can be done right here.  Just leave a comment on this blog post.  On October 18, one week from today, I will pick a random number via random.org and the comment that coincides with the number will win a copy.  This is purely a game of chance.  Be sure to check back on October 18 to see if you are the winner and leave me your contact info.

The second opportunity to win will require a little more effort.  Visit my Facebook page and leave a message as to why YOU deserve a copy of the book.  You might argue that you once almost made it to the Olympics (your brother-in-law failed to purchase the tickets) or that you are very competitive (in which case I will expect something truly compelling in your argument) or you may simply try to appeal to my sense of humor.  (That usually works!) I will pick the winner whose argument I like the most!

Read my review of The Underwater Window  HERE.

So post away and good luck!

I am giving away a book!

I am feeling generous today so here is what I am going to do.  I will give away one signed copy of Gold Pans and Iron Skillets one week from today. This is a contest and these are the rules:

1)      You have one week to plead your case.  Why should you receive a copy of my book?  Entries must be G-rated! This contest is totally subjective and I am the judge.  (Hey, it’s my book!)

2)      The contestant with the most compelling argument will win.  Note:  I believe in poetic license.  Go ahead and exaggerate!

3)      Entries that make me laugh or cry will get special consideration.  Some of you know me well and may have an advantage. Here is a hint for others: It is easier to make me laugh than cry.  If you make me cry while laughing, you just might win! You may want to browse through this blog and Running Grany Green to get an idea of what makes me tick.

4)      Post your entries as comments on this blog or on my Facebook page.  By so doing, you give me permission to share the winning argument with my readers.

5)      The winner will be notified on October 9 and I will mail him/her a signed copy of Gold Pans and Iron Skillets by October 10.

You have one week.  Start pleading!

Angel Walk - Part Two

Part Two as promised ...

And we're off!

Wait. Let's back up just a bit. May 14 was a big race day in the Treasure Valley. Hundreds participated in the Famous Idaho Potato Marathon event running 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon races. Others, myself included, ran in Homedale. We had no race clock nor bib numbers. Nobody strapped a chip timer to his or her ankle. There were no prizes or free stuff at the end of the race except for a paper cup full of water. Or was there a prize?

Homedale Band

The event, Angel Walk, was held in honor and support of Angel Rios-Salas, a second grader at Homedale Elementary suffering from Stage II Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Friends of the family organized the event. When I arrived about 45 minutes prior to the race to register and receive my “Angel Walk” t-shirt, I heard music and observed a small band. Children were cavorting and soon engaged in tug-of-war games with bragging rights going mostly to the young ladies! I am sure the boys were letting them win. Angel's second grade teacher emceed the event and his classmates sang The Star Spangled Banner. I cried when Angel and his parents were ushered on stage and smiled when Angel refused, with a grin and a shake of his head, to say anything to the crowd.

Then we ran, because we could. Others walked, because they could. Many of his friends rode their bikes three miles to support Angel, because they could. It was a beautiful day for a race and a wonderful way to celebrate life and to support a young man who is fighting for his.

Snake River in Homedale

When asked, “Why Idaho?” I often think of the mountain peaks, the lakes and rivers, and even the high desserts that form this land, but if I stop to truly reflect on Idaho, my answer ought to be, “Because angels walk here.”

Just Run, Write?

I have raised a family of runners. Now one might think that because I run and my offspring run they must have taken after me. Not so. In this case the egg really did come before the chicken. The truth is these Greens run because we are not good at sports requiring a lot of equipment, especially balls. Baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, and golf just have too many parts to coordinate. So we run … and we do math.

“But in order to run 400 meters in a minute I will have to run every 100 meters in 15 seconds...”

“If my opponent runs his/her best time then I will have to run this time to beat him/her...”

“There are 10 hurdles in the race and I have to clear every hurdle...”

“If you run a 6 minute mile pace you will be way under 19 minutes on a 5k ...”

And so on …

My advice to my mathematician runners was always this, “Just run!”

If they would just stop fretting about the obstacles and run, they might clear all those obstacles in the process. They often did.

I don't heed my own advise.

I write because I enjoy it. I am better at writing than I am at crafting, scrapbooking, record keeping. So I write .. and I make excuses.

“If I take time to write and nobody ever reads it, then I have wasted my time ...”

“I have other things I should be doing, like housework ...”

I have writer's block!”

And so on …

What advice might I heed?

“Just write!”

Ready or Not!

Someday I’m going to write another book entirely about pain. In the meantime, I’ll share a few thoughts about the subject. I do not believe that life should be lived pain free. Rather, the goal is to live life in spite of pain.
I am a runner. This is a relatively new definition of me. I began running two and a half years ago. I don’t especially love running. Running loves me.
Why I run …
It is a cheap form of exercise. The only equipment needed is a good pair of shoes. No membership fees, no fuel expenses, nor any special gear is required. A few cute running shirts and pants are fun, but they are not critical to participation.
It is convenient. Just step out the front door.
It improves other parts of my life. I have greater endurance during other activities such as waterskiing and snow skiing. It makes me sweat and that has to be good. I have a great blood pressure reading.
I am afraid of age onset diabetes.
What I have learned …
Running hurts. As a non-runner I often supposed that running was easy for runners. It is not. If running were easy it would be called walking.
Injuries happen. They are mostly of the strain and tendonitis type, but injuries do happen.
RICE. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
Vitamin I. (Ibuprofen)
Pain does not always mean “Stop!”
Pain sometimes means “STOP!”
Where the fun is …
Racing.
5Ks and 10Ks.
Sprint Triathlons.
It’s not about them (those real runners passing me) it’s about me.
Talking about the races. Wearing the goofy race t-shirts. Thinking about the next race. Cheering on fellow racers. Looking around and seeing how far you’ve come.
Mostly, the fun is, knowing you are doing something painful today that will help you stick around longer tomorrow.

A Change of Course

Sometimes the best path to follow is a change of course.  Road construction is an obvious reason to divert ones path, however, there are a number of other circumstances which might give cause for correction ...

• The path became dangerous.  
• Obstacles.
• The initial goal was good, but a better one presented itself.
• The path was not good to begin with. 

So it was that my running buddy and I changed our plans to run a 10K race on May 14.  We had a training schedule and were doing our best to follow it, but the path became dangerous when the spring weather refused to cooperate.  The day we ran four miles in heavy wind was the beginning of the course change.  How would we ever train for six miles in this weather?

Obstacles?  She fought an ankle injury.  I caught a cold.  We kept training, however, less enthusiastically than we would have liked.

Our original plan to pay the $40 registration fee and run a six mile race with hundreds of other runners was a good one, but we found a better one.  This race might not have a famous name, but the logistics are better.  The registration fee is only $15, the race will be small, it is closer to home, and best of all it will benefit a young man fighting a serious illness.

So we've corrected our course.  We are well prepared as the original path conditioned us for the one we will actually follow.  Sometimes those little detours are the very things we need to prepare us for the journey ahead.

I Heart Track!

That's right. I LOVE track season. Either you get it or you don't. For those who don't, I'll try to explain why.
* I get to hang out with friends that I haven't seen in awhile. They are fellow parents of tracksters who are busy cheering their offspring on in various other sports throughout the year.
* Although ski season is coming to an end, I get to don my ski gear just a bit longer as I weather the weather!
* Gatorade, granola bars, and string cheese.
* There is something for everyone. Fast, strong, or just persistent, track offers an event for everyone's strong suit.
* PR's (Personal Records) Every athlete can have a great day even if he does nothing more than improve upon his best performance.
* Excitement. Winners are determined in seconds, minutes, and by fractions of inches.
* Camaraderie. Track athletes cheer for the success of their fellow teammates, even when that success might cost them a spot on a relay team.
* The Unexpected. On any given day, the favored to win might false start, fall on a hurdle, miss his mark, or drop a baton, leaving the door wide open for an upset and ensuing elation for the surprise victor.
* Inspiration. I seldom cry at other sporting events. However, tears are routine at track meets and I don't even have to know the participants. When the 110 Meter Hurdler catches a toe and leaves skin on the track, I cry. When the last runner crosses the finish line of the 3200 Meter Run having been lapped twice by faster athletes, I cry. When my own child turns in a stellar performance, I cry. When that same child competes in his or her last high school track event, you can bet I cry! And when it snows, sometimes I want to cry!
I heart track!

Ouch!

We knew it would happen someday. We just didn't believe it could happen this year! We have become so accustomed to winning, that we almost forgot how it feels to lose.

Is that what Oklahoma felt in 2007? Oregon in 2008 and 2009? TCU? Virginia Tech? Idaho? Every other team that the Broncos rolled over or squeaked past in the last few years?

One ESPN analyst recently said, "All the great teams have a hiccup." Too bad. Sometimes it hurts to hiccup. Let's quit licking our wounds and get back on the band wagon! How many other teams can claim the records, the exciting play, the blue turf, the class act that is the Broncos?

They will win again. I expect it will be the very next game. They will end the season with one loss teetering on, if not in, the top ten. How many teams does that put behind them? Oh yeah, over a hundred! They will go bowling and people all over the country will watch because whether the Broncos play in blue on blue or orange on blue, in orange pants or all white uniforms, they always entertain! And that, my friends, is why we love them.

Go BRONCOS!

College Football Junkie

I have suddenly become a college football junkie. It is evidenced by my lack of direction this Saturday. Three key teams lay dormant today and I don't know what to do with myself! I mainline on Boise State Broncos, but I get quick fixes from the wins and losses of those teams above and below them in the polls whose fates play into the future of the Broncos.

These are the signs and symptoms of my disorder:

A - Schedule social calendar around Bronco football. As illness progresses, schedule social calendar around Alabama, TCU, Auburn, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, and Virginia Tech football.
B - Root for Broncos to beat Virginia Tech, Oregon State, Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada.
C - Root for Broncos to annihilate all other opponents.
D - Root against Alabama and Oklahoma - always. Except on the occasion that Alabama plays Auburn - then root for Alabama.
E - Root for Virginia Tech, Oregon State, Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada to beat every other team they play.
F - Root against Oregon, Auburn, and TCU through out the season.
G - Panic if the Broncos do not score on their first drive.
H - Panic if the Broncos have a turnover - any turnover.
I - Become a fan of Kirk Herbstreit and Lou Holtz.
J - Call for Mark May's resignation.
K - Wonder what will become of your Saturday's when the college football season is over.
L - Hate the BCS. Love the BCS. Hate the BCS ...

I could go on, but there is a game on and I might need to help somebody win ... or lose. I may just have to yell at the commentators if they elaborate on the Broncos in the wrong fashion ...

A Snail's Pace

Spotted in a rainforest in Puerto Rico, this little guy didn't seem at all disturbed as I invaded his space for a photo op. I thought, "How would I know if he was disturbed? It isn't like he can run away. He's a snail!" And a rather large one at that! His shell had nearly the same diameter as an Oreo cookie. (Pardon the food comparison, but it is effective, is it not? Everyone knows the size of an Oreo.)

I wonder if he knows he is slow, or ... does he consider his pace to be sufficient for his needs? Does a cheetah know he is fast, or does he simply use his speed to fulfill his needs? I know. I know! They probably don't have the capability to think about it at all, but what if they did? Would the snail competetively say, "Hey, I bet I can move slower than you!" Would the cheetah challenge, "Let's race!"

Is that what sets us apart from the rest of the Animal Kingdom? Our competetive natures? Our drive? Our need to always do more? Citius? Altius? Fortius?

Isn't a snail's pace enough at times?