Posted by Linda on Sep 26, 2012 in
community,
friendship,
Linda's posts You were a quiet guy. Your friends called you loyal. I heard you had a wonderful playful sense of humor, but I didn’t see that side of you. I was your mother’s friend, one who would call the family phone back in the day when there was just one phone per household. You would answer, and we talked I could hear you think, as you called your mom to the phone, “I wonder if this will be a long phone call or a short one.” You were in junior high, and you wanted the phone back as soon as possible.
As I view you now on this billboard, you are the second from the left, a handsome 19-year-old. I want to scream, “Franklin, what are you doing there?” I want to say out loud, “I wish that was not you.” And mostly, “I wish in some way we could have changed the events of the day or that past year and somehow the bullet would have missed you.”
They are looking for enough evidence to convict the person who did this. We are hoping this billboard helps keep the conversations going and people break their silence.
Franklin, where should they look?
Posted by Linda on Sep 18, 2012 in
community,
friendship,
Linda's posts One foggy day, 15 of us went for a hike. Normally the foggy part wouldn’t be worth mentioning; we live in the Northwest, and foggy, rainy weather comes with the territory. But we are in a dry spell and we have had gorgeous weather– six weeks of gorgeous blue skies, over-the-top weather except for one day. Yep, the only not-stellar day was a week ago last Sunday, Sept. 9th, which our ring leader, Dana, had chosen about five weeks before as an excellent day for a hike to see if Mt. Rainier would be out. Many of us put the date on our calendar. And since I have been on this hike before and had seen the Mountain out in full glory, I was ready to go again.
The hike is on top of Chinook Pass. The Tipsoo Lake Naches Peak Loop is the name of the 3.7 mile trail that has several breath-taking views along the way with wildflowers galore. But on this day the Mountain was fogged in.
To Thirds of us on a Rock
Two thirds of us at Wapiti Woolies
We got several photos of us…but the giant photo of all 15 of us got away. We were never all in one place at one time. We even needed to catch up to folks at the coffee shop down the road, Wapiti Woolies. (And that was an excellent coffee shop, by the way, as good as it’s name.)
What I loved most about the hike was the chance to get to know people better. That happened on the trail and in our car. We played a game of the best places in Washington, or must see in Washington, and Chinook Pass would be on that list for me. Which led to my purchase of this bumper sticker for my car. I figure I can’t get into too much trouble with this on my car. Plus, it will remind me of the one day in the middle of 50+ beautiful days when 15 hearty souls went for a hike, and it was the only day it was FOGGY! Oh Washington, I still love you!
Where would be a must-see place in Washington for you?
On Sunday, I ran my first 5k with my friend and training buddy, Beverly. This was the first time I’ve participated in an event that my husband hasn’t been running, so it was also the first time I had a designated cheering section: Jordan and Linda!
Linda did a great post about being on the cheering side of things, so I thought I’d share some observations from being a runner.
-It feels GREAT to have people cheering you on. Jordan and Linda were champs at cheering, and together they covered the course so we had friendly faces several places through the run. I also particularly loved the kids with the cowbells, the guy with the rabbit puppet, and the bikers with billboards from Portage Bay Cafe. I’ve enjoyed people cheering me during walks before, but I felt like I earned it more this time.
-I wish I’d had someone take our picture before and after the race. It was an exciting day, and it would have been fun to see that in our faces before and after. Plus, wouldn’t that have made for a better blog post? Thank goodness Linda caught us on the course.
- When you run, the race is over faster. That seems obvious, but I didn’t realize that isn’t always a good thing. In rain and wind, what a blessing to be done faster. But on a beautiful day like Sunday was, with a friend by my side, I enjoyed the race so much, I wouldn’t have minded taking a bit more time. I guess one solution would be to do a longer distance, but that would mean longer training sessions, too…
-Rewards feel even better after you’ve worked hard for them! I feel particularly proud of my new training shirt and medal. I even wore my medal out to breakfast after the race. People in the restaurant asked about it and congratulated me. That’s a first!
Have you tried something new lately?
p.s. Now I have a medal that coordinates with Linda’s– see her Iron Girl medal in our blog header collage?
Posted by Linda on Sep 12, 2012 in
friendship,
Linda's posts,
motivation I was in the support crew on Sunday, and I made a few mistakes. Like tell your people where you will meet them before the race. I told Tegan I would be wearing red but not where to meet. My parka was a beautiful stop sign red. I even stood up on the raised platform by the statue and looked out into the crowd for about 30 minutes but did not spot them. And they did not locate me. So I paced up and down where the athletes lined up, but still no Tegan and Beverly.
I gave up on seeing them before the race and took to the course. About 2/3rds into mile one I found a tree to lean against and waited. It’s been fun to try and follow Tegan’s Cheering guidelines from an earlier post. It was a strange position for me; I can’t remember the last time I was at an event simply to cheer. I remembered her direction to cheer for everyone. “You are taking up prime real estate; cheer for everyone or step back.” So I did, as I waited for Tegan and Beverly to come by. I’d yell, “You’re looking good!” or, “Everyone is looking strong this morning.” Then Tegan spotted me and yelled my name. (It was the red coat.) We squealed and jumped up and down, then I ran ahead and got this photo.
You might be wondering why was it important for me to get to this race and cheer Tegan on? Well, this was the race she crossed over from a walker to a runner. And she has been looking forward to this race for months.
I’m also a big believer in celebrating all of life’s achievements. I hope this run was as fun for them as wearing red and cheering was for me.
Congratulations Iron Girls, Tegan and Beverly! And everyone else who crossed the finish line that morning. You Rock!!!
Linda, you’re amazing! You inspire me every day. You and your soul glitter.
Now, go enjoy San Francisco!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!
Last weekend my husband and I did a neighborhood 5k race on Saturday, then he did the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon on Sunday. As a participant and a supporter, I had time to ponder my philosophy of cheering. Here are some of my thoughts:
- Cheer for everyone, or step away from the sidelines. When you’re cheering, give it your all! If I’ve staked prime race viewing real estate, I really feel like it’s my duty to the runners to acknowledge their effort, even if I don’t know them. Maybe I’m weird, but it makes me feel sad to see runners running past hordes of people silently craning their necks for a glimpse of the person they think they’re there to cheer. I think of a race as a parade and whoop it up for everyone who comes down the path.
- When you can, yell specifics. When I see a particularly good stride at the end, I might yell, “Whooo hooo, strong finish!” If someone looks like they are struggling, I try to be encouraging. At races with names on the bibs, I yell, “Good job, Carol! Nice stride, Ronald! You’ve got this, Esmeralda!” At Sunday’s marathon, one fellow supporter yelled coaching tips like, “Sprint now! You can make 3 hours! Use your arms, go to your arms!” My husband said those tips were a good way to focus on performance rather than pain.
- More cowbell.* The first time I watched the Boston Marathon, I realized the power of the cowbell. Clapping and yelling for thousands of runners hurts! But even a gentle shake of the cowbell gives LOTS of noise! *Because the cowbell is so effective (i.e. so darn loud), be considerate of others and don’t ring your cowbell right in others’ ears.
- Know the course to cheer multiple times. This isn’t always possible (especially on routes like the Tunnel Marathon or congested Boston), but if you can cut around the race route to cheer at multiple spots, you qualify as a Super Fan. I saw a dad and his young son at least three times on the Queen Anne Fun Run 5k course on Saturday.
- Wear something distinctive. I knew I’d seen that dad and son three times because not only were they cheering consistently and loudly, but the son had a sock monkey hat on. In July. If you’re cheering a runner, it’s good for the runner to wear something so you can spot them in the race, but if as a spectator you wear a bright color (I like my yellow rain slicker) or an eye-catching hat, your runner won’t miss you, either.
Competitors, what do you like from your cheering section?
You know what they say about your peers rubbing off on you? I guess it’s true, because after hearing about/watching all the training Linda and my husband do, I’ve actually started training for my own running event. I’ve signed up to run my first 5k, the Seattle Athleta Iron Girl in Seattle! So I’m going to earn one of these sparklers:
I credit my friend Beverly with actually making me sign up for the run. (Thank you, Beverly!) She decided she wanted to train to do it, and I decided a few hours around the neighborhood with her a week would be a delightful thing to add to my schedule. Last session, we alternated walking and running around the track for just about 5k (with the walk to and from the track, we covered more than 5k total). It was so exciting to know we can run already halfway! Now we have the rest of the summer to make sure we can run the whole thing.
What are you training for? Any tips for the newbie?
Posted by Linda on Jun 5, 2012 in
community,
friendship,
Linda's posts I had to admit I was a little pre-occupied with an idea that I thought was going to be easy but was turning out to be more difficult than planned.
One of my sisters reads stories to pre-school children, and she is gaining a small library of costumes and books. Since she has almost everything else she needs or wants, this is a perfect gift idea to jump on for her birthday. She already has the bright yellow rain hat (think fisherman/ Skipper’s), and I wanted to get her boots and a story book that would go with it. Who better to ask about book titles, than my bookselling friend Tegan. I told her I was having trouble finding bright boots with yellow in them. She said, “Wait here…”
She came back in a flash from her back porch with these boots and a yellow sharpie! “I think this should do the trick… but tell your sister the boots leak.”
The boots had their gentle make over (one boot is done in the photo) and made it to my sister’s house only a few days late, as I remember.
This is why I love to think out loud. You never know who has what that will just fit some else’s life. It is so satisfying when that happens. I’ve been on both ends of the equation. “Oh you need this? I have it… here you go.” Love it!
A public thank you for a sweet generous moment, Tegan!
When has thinking out loud helped you or helped others?
Posted by Linda on Apr 18, 2012 in
friendship,
Linda's posts,
Training I struggled within myself most of the week. My internal mind kept saying; “ I really don’t have time for this. I don’t think it will go as well as last year. And not as many people from our Team will be there. Last year was my first time and it was a blast. And this year I haven’t trained as well.” Now it’s a year later… and the loop starts again…”I don’t have time for this…”
I somehow made it to the pool that Saturday morning because I was entered in 4 events and a relay. The same 4 events as last year, wondering if I could improve my time. That’s what it’s all about: seeing if you improve. Or it might be about just showing up.
I met some seriously friendly young women in the locker room. This was their first Masters Swim Meet and we said we would keep an eye out for each other during the day. Quckly they got lost in the sea of 382 swimmers, and I never saw them again.
Our team settled in on the bleachers where we were last year and Coach Robin gave some last minute directions. I went in for a long warm-up. The meet got underway. The next thing I knew the pool was quiet except for lane 1, the lane of Evelyn, the star of the day. She is 93 and still swimming. As she finished her race, the 50 freestyle, many people applauded. It was genuine and warm. I was standing next to Robin and we were commenting on how wonderful that was, and she just won her team a ton of points. She rocked the 90+ category–she was there by herself.
I happened to be closer to Evelyn’s next race the 100 IM (Individual Medley) because I was in the next heat. Evelyn did one length Butterfly, one length back stroke, one length breaststroke, and one length freestyle. As she fininshed the crowd went W-I-L-D!! And I heard some young kids (hovering around their 20’s) say, “I want to still be swimming when I’m 93.” The cheers were so respectful and happy; I knew then… This is why I came today.
I have a fear of aging. I think most of us do. I also believe all the bad news delivered everyday about how the world is getting worse and so disrespectful. But on Saturday I witnessed something very different. The elder tribe member was given honor, and it felt electric great to be in the Aquatic Center when Evelyn finished her race. We were applauding a person who had kept moving for all of her life.
I don’t know if I will make it to 93 but these next photos were taken last Saturday by a new friend who shares a lane with me at practice. Thanks Mary.
On the Starting Block for my 50 yard Butterfly. Foot behind to be sure I don’t false start.
Linda doing butterfly
Final stroke into the wall, btw, it was a better time than last year.
I figure all we can do is keep moving and do the best we can with everyday. If finish lines help you like you like they do me, then find some races to sign up for this summer. A 5K is where I started 15 years ago. Then a sprint distance triathlon, changed my life forever.
My goal used to be to do a half marathon every year until I was 80. Now since I have met Evelyn I might need to adjust that goal.
One week ago we discovered Heather had more than just a cold: she had pneumonia. And after a quick trip to the ER to get the right antibiotics she was able to stay at home on oxygen as her lungs healed. The only thing that was fun about being sick was the special company that comes to visit to break up the day. Heather’s special friend Dasia came for a visit on her third day of recuperation.
And while the adults were in other rooms, Dasia was telling Heather a made up story, about flying purple horses that get to eat their dinner in bed. This story she was telling was going on and on… Toni thought this was so over the top cute that she wondered if she could sneak in and get a photo of the two in make-believe story moment.
It’s awesome to have love come and visit at any age and bring imagination. It’s delightful that Toni caught it on camera. And we are glad Heather is feeling better now due to medicine, stories, and just plain love and time.
Yes, we are all wondering why the flying purple horses get to eat their dinner in their beds but don’t have the heart to ask.
