A slight departure from plans...

To be honest, I didn't do the Read and Run today like I was planning. As a matter of fact, the last time I hit the treadmill was last Sunday. I'm not a fan of excuses, so instead, I will provide a brief list of events that changed my course (in chronological order):

- Saturday: While at the Springs Preserve, I discovered that the author of one of my favorite books I'm reading right now was going to speak on Wednesday. (This author I speak of is Richard Louv and he wrote Last Child in the Woods)

- Sunday: I discovered that not only was Richard Louv speaking on Wednesday, but it was the keynote address to a 4 day long conference on environmental education in the state of Nevada. Be still my heart!

- Monday: As I was signing up for the all day Saturday Teacher Symposium, a nagging thought in the back of my head said I was supposed to do something on Saturday. Later that evening, I remembered.

There I stood at a fork in the road. I lamented the fact that life sometimes simultaneously gives you two opportunities that you want just as bad as the other and there is only one of you. I made the choice to attend the symposium for a few reasons. Please see the list below (can you tell that I love lists?):

1. Attending this conference (plus completing 15 hours of extra work) will increase my salary next year

2. This is it! This is my path!

On my way to the conference bright and early, I waved to the runners along Water Street wishing them luck in the early morning drizzle. Perhaps next year...

6 days to go

I spent 7 hours on the computer today accomplishing put-off projects for work and school. So, I admit, I didn't want to do anything but veg because my brain waves were kaput. I went to the store to deposit some money and instead walked out with a frozen focaccia (crazy how that happens) and a mango smoothie. Yum. Once I got home, I put the focaccia in the oven and hit the treadmill because I knew I just couldn't get on the blog tonight and say I bitched out on day 2. So, I ran another mile (woo hoo!). I feel sooooo good right now. This feeling comes from the post work out rush of endorphins or the extreme pleasure of not being on the treadmill any more. The mango smoothie left a sharp metallic taste in the back of my throat after the run. Not so yummy anymore. Damn you sneaky high fructose corn syrup.

7 days and counting

Since this is the year of getting shit done, I will be participating in the Read&Run in downtown Henderson to support the libraries. I have wanted to do it for the past two years and now I'm going to. I admit, I began planning for this back in October. I even set up a calendar using the training schedule the library offered. I was supposed to start training back in December. Well...here it is exactly 1 week before the 5K run/1 mile walk and I've been on the treadmill twice since December. I'm always wistfully wishing I did more yoga, rode my bike daily to work, and walked the dog for an hour or more a day. I realized yesterday that I never make that a priority when running down the lists of things to do (see the January 20 post for reference to the many lists). Yes, I'd like to incorporate more yoga, dog walking, and bike riding (as well as swimming, kayaking, hiking, and dancing) into my daily life, but I need to take baby steps, so I'm starting with this. I will run a mile every day in the week I have left before the Read&Run. In order to make myself accountable, because I'm a slacker at heart and have a thousand great excuses, I will write about it every day. While brainstorming about this, I could see the roots of this idea coming from recently watching "Yes Man" (ah, the power of positive thinking) and reading "Sleeping Naked is Green" by Vanessa Farquharson. I like the idea of taking on a personal challenge and simultaneously sharing it with other people. In the middle of the brainstorm, the thought crossed my mind, "I'm going to die doing this". Ha!

Day 1:

I put off the treadmill until after the errands today. I am pleasantly surprised at how healthy I felt! I ran the whole damn mile. A year ago, the idea of running an entire mile without stopping was inconceivable. Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

Ode to My Hendo Home: Part 1

Oh Henderson...

Oh Hendo...
Before I came from Henderson, I wanted so badly to be from Henderson. I was a Las Vegas island dweller, living in track housing surrounded by scary looking cacti and sharp, pointy rocks. There were no sidewalks, no parks, only streets. Escape was in the dirt lot next to the newly built freeway. From there, I could see the whole valley spread out with even more track housing and, of course, the long seam of blinking lights with all of their deceptive promises. Yeah sure, build a mega-urban city in the middle of the desert, we've got plenty of water (psst...rural Nevada, screw you). Come on down, drop your blue collar cash that you've saved all year for your paid vacation on our tables. That's small fry stuff. The real money that keeps the lights blinking is wagered in places like the Mansion guarded by the gilded lion. Big Money doesn't pay for bottle service, hookers, penthouses, tickets to the next attempt at Broadway on LVB, or even the damn private jet that picked their asses up in Timbuktu. Damn those distracting deceptions and false promises.
Though I've always loved the surprisingly obstinate art scene side of Las Vegas, my heart lies in Henderson. In my little yellow house, I'm on the other side of the looking glass from my former desert island. Here, the Basic B greets you with the morning sun. The air's a little clearer and the birds a little more willing to serenade. Greetings from Hendo.