20 years is a long time!

This past weekend, I traveled to the East Coast for my 20th college reunion - crazy!  I kept asking myself the rhetorical question "How did this happen?".  Jeez, 20 years seems like a very long time to have graduated from college.  The list of personal, national and international events that have occurred since then is fairly lengthy. 

When my alma mater first contacted me about the reunion, I had my doubts about going.  I'd conveniently skipped the 5th, 10th and 15th, partly because, for the first decade of post-college life, weddings and other events seemed to bring classmates back together, so I could catch up with people and hear about their careers, families and interests.  That era seems to have passed now that people are having and raising kids, an event that does not call for friends to meet up.  I've seen some friends a few times in this past decade, but, to be honest, I haven't stayed in touch with people very well, even with the ever-growing abundance of social media that connects everyone.  Maybe I was curious to see how 20 years had changed my classmates and Davidson, but mainly I thought that it would be a fun weekend and that I shouldn't miss it. 

So, I made plans back in April - buying a ticket and getting a hotel room - and forgot about planning until about a week before leaving, when I rented a car.  Taking the red-eye, I packed on Thursday afternoon, we spent Thursday afternoon/evening hanging around Venice Beach before I caught my plane from LAX.

The Venice Canals are always fun and worthy of a quick picture!

As for the reunion, I'm not sure what I expected.  As I said, I was curious about seeing people and places.  I did reconnect with old friends which was awesome, and it's funny because there people that I remember thinking "I know I didn't like you in college, but it doesn't matter anymore.".  That was the most significant thought I had regarding people.  That and the regret that I feel about not staying in better touch.  The other thought was that we looked pretty good but we were no longer young and hip! I saw the younger reunion groups and they were definitely that - younger!  My final thought from the night - what a lot of lawyers!  That was definitely one of the most popular career tracks that people seemed to follow post-college. 

I definitely did not feel overly nostalgic for life in college.  I did pass by dorms I once called home and walked through the main classroom building, Chambers, but much of my wanderings around campus made me wonder about how much had changed (so many new buildings! A coffee shop on campus!) and how much had stayed the same (traditional red brick buildings, nice green expanses of lawns).  Coming from CA, the biggest shock was how green everything was!  I mean literally GREEN, not eco or environmental, but lush, verdant plants and trees.  That was my first thought when the plane flew into Charlotte.  

Other than seeing friends, the highlight of the weekend was a nice run from the college campus to what is known as the "Lake Campus", a trek that would have been unthinkable on foot when I was in college but made for a perfect Saturday morning long run.  I was a bit skeptical about the road situation (would a car hit me?  would a dog attack me?), but people were quite courteous, and I really enjoyed the run.  There was an organized bike ride happening, which would have also been totally unthinkable when I was in college in that area, so it was fun to look at the bikes and wish that I'd brought shoes and pedals and rented a bike for the morning! 

Saturday night was the final shin-dig, for me at least, and we even took a class picture.  I think about 25% of our class was there - definitely a small group, but it's a small school! I'm on the front row talking to someone - nice shot of me with my head completely turned around.  The most interesting thing about the evening was "experiencing" the reunion speaker - our former dean of students who ended up insulting pretty much everyone there thanks to his sexist, classist and racist remarks.  It was impressive to see someone just crash and burn that spectacularly in person.  (It's not funny at all, but wow! It gave us something to talk about!)

This trip was so brief that I was back in LA by noon on Sunday, and it almost seemed surreal that I had woken up in North Carolina hours ago.  Upon my return, someone asked if I'd had any major revelations on this trip, and I bluntly said that I did not.  Which is true, but I certainly did feel the passage of time and the paradox that people and places change but also stay the same.  I also think that this is a better school than when I attended, and not just academically but in terms of the programs the school offers and the students that it attracts.  In a way, I wish that I could return to college, only because I think that I could "do it" better - meaning, hindsight is 20/20.  I would take different classes, be more active in other aspects of college life, perhaps I would drink and study a bit less (both of which I did quite a bit).

Then again, I'm pretty happy with where I am, so maybe I wouldn't change a thing?  I do know this - I'm happy that I went to college but I'm even happier that I'm not IN college anymore!

A slow start to 2013

I know, the ubiquitous 'new year' post finally comes, just 12 days into the so-called new year.  Returning to work this week was a bit rough on Monday, but then eased up around the edges and ended up being a FAST week - I thought that Thursday was Wednesday, which never happens!

Despite the speedy week back at the grind, I've felt that the year is off to a plodding start.  No doubt my current physical limitations have contributed to this sense, especially as I read/hear about everyone else's resolutions and how they began implementing them immediately.  I find that I am in a holding pattern - not just in terms of physical activity but other aspects of my life - which does not easily facilitate a "go get 'em" attitude.

2012 was a pretty fantastic and kind of a 'bold' year for me with trips to old and familiar places (San Francisco, Colorado, Seattle) combined with new adventures (Oregon, Vancouver, Nicaragua) and pushing myself a bit more 'athletically'.  I also turned 40 which, whether I like it or not, did mark a bit of a milestone and ushered in a new decade of my life and all that comes with that.  Currently, I feel that the "all that comes with that" includes more visits to doctors' offices, but there are positives to the forties - I'm probably (knock on wood) more financially stable than I've ever been.  That, of course, could change in an instance, but for now, I'll try to enjoy it.  Despite minor physical stuff, I do have my health, so does Michael, and we enjoy spending time with each other, our dogs and our friends and family.  So, cheers to that!

2013 seems to herald more of the same.  While there might be some major life changes (no, I'm not preggers, but I will be vague and obtuse about the possibility), I've planned out some of the year, and much of it looks a lot like 2012.  Will try to complete another half-ironman this summer, will do some traveling, will go to Nicaragua for work...  Not to diminish these plans - I recognize that I'm fortunate to find satisfaction from much in my life - but there isn't anything new and big and bold happening.

With that in mind, I'd like to focus on improving on past accomplishments.  For instance, Wildflower 2013 (for which I have yet to register) - I'd love to improve my time but also enjoy the experience this year.  For Vineman, a PR would be fantastic, and I'm going to aim for that!  And Nicaragua - I need to figure out a personal focus for this trip rather than just pulling the "I'm-just-chaperoning-card" which doesn't make the trip as fulfilling for me as it could be.

This blather seems narrowly focused on myself and my personal priorities and goals.  What is funny is that most of my life does not have anything to do with any of these events that seem to comprise my world when I write about them here.  Realizing how small all of this is in the grand scheme of life does, perhaps, give me a healthy perspective.  And, as I write about the transition between one year to the next, I wonder how meaningful the transition really is or is everything just on a continuum upon which I/we/society imposes some false sense of beginnings and ends?

Okay, deep thoughts for a Saturday.  I'm now off to grade some papers (I have a never-ending supply these days) and watch the Broncos vs. Ravens.  Go Donkeys!

Conversations with my body

I'm not sure if other people "talk" to their body.  I hear/read about the importance of listening to your body, but most of my conversations tend to be pretty one-sided.  In fact, my gut reaction to the whole listen-to-your-body ethos is to roll my eyes.  Personally, I tend to talk, and I expect my body to listen.  This has probably been the case for a while, although the conversation has changed over the years (my adolescent conversations bemoaned typical adolescent themes, which I won't go into here).

As I've entered the almost-middle age period and try to maintain an active lifestyle, most of the conversations are bargains that I make.  They follow these lines: "Okay, just get through this training cycle and then you'll get a nice break!" or "I promise that I'll go to the chiropractor AND get a deep-tissue massage, so don't be angry with me!" or "Don't get a cold now, wait until it's more convenient, please!" or the biggie "Just get through one more month and then I'll go to the knee doc and get a cortisone shot".  So, yes, I wheedle, plead, cajole, and make deals so that my body stays functional.  Usually I follow up on the deals in one way or another, and it does seem that I have a nice team of people that keep me going.

I think, however, that 2012 has been a pretty high-intensity year for my 40-year-old body, and it's performed for me - with the exception of bonking on the 30K trail race, but that was a mental problem as much as it was physical.  At some point, I had promised myself to take a nice long break from running after the trail race, and I did take a week off before testing out my legs this past week.  The two runs went well - they felt slow but weren't terrible.  However, the aftermath of each run was not exactly pretty.  On Monday night, after a 5.5 mile run, my hip and back started hurting.  Hmmm....  So, I took a few days between and then went on a short run on Friday.  Again, I hammered out the miles without a big deal, but then the same weird hip/back pain flared up afterwards.

So, Friday night, I promised myself that I would get to the chiropractor within the next week and try to see what was going on, but I wasn't overly concerned.

That was until yesterday morning, when I woke up and could barely walk because of a stabbing pain in my right heel on the bottom of my foot.  What was this?!  Pain that continued throughout the day and allowed me to walk, but with a hobbled gait.  After checking out my symptoms on the interweb (always trustworthy), I self-diagnosed plantar fasciitis, a common yet, from what I gathered, fairly debilitating condition.  I know several people who deal/have dealt with it, and I'm aware that it is no light matter.  Maybe it's something else, but I'm about as sure as I've been about any self-diagnosis thanks to internet information.

So, fine, I'm officially "listening" to my body.  Yes, I'll take a break from running, and I'll pay much closer attention to stretching and icing, and I have an appointment for Monday afternoon to deal with my body in general (hips, knee, ITband, foot issues).  I had already planned to spend more time in the pool this month, so this gives me a good push to do so.

Taking a longer-than-planned break from running does not make me a happy camper, but I'll take it if I can run pain-free in the long term!

And, yes, it seems that I'm finally listening to my body.