2010 in review/Goals for 2011

3/14/10 - St. Patty's Day 5-K (cool, windy)

26:32 (8:34 mile pace)

228/596 total runners

2/9 in age group

3/21/10 -Shamrock Shuffle (Chicago)

45:15 (w/ knee injury)

8393/25559 total runners

2692/14043 females

21/203 in age group

3/28/10 - Ocean Drive Marathon, Cape May County, NJ

4:45 finish (knee very sore)

5/01/10 - Illinois Full Marathon, Champaign

Only completed 13 miles of race, accompanied friend to hospital

6/26/10 - Seattle Marathon, Seattle, WA

4:43 finish (hilly course and lots of concrete)

2306/4080 total runners

928/2019 females

11/59 in age group

7/03/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

28 mile ride from Canton to Pekin

7/04/10 - Park to Park 5 Mile

44:00 finish

264/576 total runners

72/246 females

1/7 in age group

7/06/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

65 miles from Bloomington to Champaign

7/11/10 - Missoula, MT Marathon

4:34

798 overall

303/582 females

9th in age group

7/18/10 - Biking with Beanzie, DeKalb, IL

50 mile ride

7/20/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Ride through Washington D.C. to Arlington Cemetery

7/21/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Washington D.C. to Fredricksburg

Very hilly, hot

60 miles

7/22/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Fredricksburg to Richmond, VA

Still hilly & hot

65 miles

7/23/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Richmond, VA to Yorktown

Approx. 60 miles

7/24/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

70 miles from Yorktown to Virginia Beach

105 actual temp, 113 heat index

8/21/10 - Mahomet 1/2 Marathon

2:04 (very hot & humid)

170/366 total runners

1st in age group

10/17/10 - Newport, RI Marathon

4:28 (breezy & hilly course)

642/1009 total runners

228/444 females

15/44 in age group

10/30/10 - Screaming Pumpkin Marathon

@ night through cemetery (very dark & hilly)

Goals/Races for 2011

1/08/11 - Jackson, Mississippi Marathon

1/23/11 - Elk Grove Village Indoor Sprint Triathlon

2/20/11 - Austin, Texas Marathon

4/02/11 - Lincoln 1/2 Marathon, Springfield

4/10/11 - Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 5 mile

4/30/11 - Illinois Marathon, Champaign, IL

5/15/11 - Wilmington, Delaware Marathon

6/04/11 - Tri-Shark Sprint Triathlon

6/19/11 - Cutting Edge 1/2 Classic, Effingham, IL

7/16/11 - Evergreen Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon

7/17/11 - Biking with Beanzie Ride

9/03/11 - Great Illini Challenge 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon

10/??/11 - Portland, Maine Marathon (?)

10/15/11 - Hartford, CT Marathon (?)

10/??/11 - Marine Corps Marathon

Where have I been lately?

The picture above was taken in Washington D.C. I am pictured next to Ambassador Jerry Bremer (1st ambassador to Iraq) who was one of the S2SS riders.

June 26th - Seattle Marathon (hilly & last 17 miles were concrete).
4:43 finish time
2306/4080 total runners
928/2019 total females
11th/59 in age group

My time was certainly not stellar, but I had quite a few things on my t0-do-list post marathon. We hiked part of Mt. Ranier, drove the Whistler Village in British Columbia, where we went on a 5-zip line experience. The 4th zip line was 20 stories up in the air, 2000 ft long and 55 mph! Whee! Our stay in Whistler Village also included a couple of runs in the beautiful forested area of Whistler Mountain, sightings of bears, and wonderful food!

July 3rd - Rode from Canton to Pekin with the Sea to Shining Sea riders (disabled veterans riding from San Francisco beginning on May 22nd to Virginia Beach on July 24th). Check out the website S2SSbikeride.org for bios of these amazing veterans/athletes.

July 4th - Park to Park 5 mile race (very hot & humid)
44 minutes
264/576 total runners
72/246 total females
1/7 in age group

July 6th - Rode from Bloomington to Champaign (approx 65 mi) with S2SS riders.

July 11th - Missoula, Montana Marathon - very hilly marathon, hot day (90 in pm)
4:34 finish time
798/1301 total runners
303/582 females
9th in age group

July 18th - Biking with Beanzie Ride in DeKalb (very hot - mid 90's), 50 miles

July 20th - flew to Washington D.C. to join last 5 days of S2SS ride. Rode 20 miles through Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of Unknown Soldier

July 21st - 60 miles from D.C. to Fredricksburg, VA (very hot & hilly ride)

July 22nd - 70 miles from Fredricksburg to Richmond, VA (still hilly & getting hotter)

July 23rd - 70 miles from Richmond to Yorktown, VA (extreme heat/humidity - over 100)

July 24th - final 70-mile leg into Virginia Beach. Air temperature 105, heat index 113+

Engage the Core

My husband gave me a "Bosu ball" (balance trainer) as a belated Valentine's gift. I had mentioned that I would like to have one, and he picked up on the hint.

Today I did my first complete Bosu workout. Not only was it a great workout, but I found a rather fascinating correlation between the Bosu ball and my coaching practice. Both focus on balance.

The instruction booklet includes this description, written by the inventor, David Weck:

"Achieving better physiological balance can act as a catalyst toward transforming your sense of balance into a state of mind as well. The only thing that is certain about life is change. Nothing is static - on the athletic field, in school, at home, or in the office, your ability to improvise and adjust to the ever changing set of given circumstances has an enormous impact on your degree of personal fulfillment."

So, I hopped on the Bosu ball to complete the 10 exercises. There was no option other than to be focused on the present moment.

Much of my work as a Life Coach focuses on compelling purpose - continually bringing my clients back to their core - what is most important, what is it that awakens them and allows them to live life full out? If your core is not engaged, life will not be as fulfilling. Engaging the core and maintaining balance are necessary to obtain your full potential.

So, what happens if you start to lose your balance while on the Bosu ball?

1) If you start to lose your balance, sometimes you can take a moment, focus, readjust, and get yourself centered again, staying on the ball.

2) Sometimes you aren't able to stay on the ball, but you are able to safely step off. This gives you an opportunity to step back on the ball again, with renewed focus and balance. (Or, you could choose not to get back on again, waiting for another day.)

3) The last possibility is that you completely lose your balance and fall off the ball.

Just like in life.

2010 Race Schedule

It's probably time to start thinking about my race schedule for 2010. Here is the tentative schedule:

Sunday, March 21st - Shamrock Shuffle (Chicago) 8-K
Sunday, March 28th - Ocean Drive Marathon (Cape May County, NJ)
Saturday, April 3rd - Lincoln Memorial 1/2 Marathon (Springfield, IL)
Saturday, May 1st - Illinois Marathon (Champaign, IL)
Saturday, May 8th - Indy Mini Half Marathon (Indianapolis, IN)
Saturday, June 12th - Viborg, SD Marathon or, Mattoon Olympic Distance Triathlon
Saturday, June 26th - Seattle Marathon (Seattle, WA)
Sunday, July 4th - Park to Park 5 Mile
Sunday, July 11th - Missoula, MT Marathon ??
Saturday, July 17th - Evergreen Olympic Distance Triathlon
Saturday, July 31st - Steelhead 1/2 Ironman Triathlon
Saturday, August 22nd - Pigman 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon
Sunday, October 3nd - Portland, Maine Marathon
Sunday, November 14th - Outer Banks Marathon, Outer Banks, NC

2009 Race Reflections

Photo above taken 10/22/09 - Maddox just released from hospital with H1N1, I'm starting to get it when this photo was taken. How can such a sweet little baby boy, get me so sick?

January highlights:

1/10-1/11 Goofy Challenge - 1/2 marathon on Sat. (2:05), full marathon next day on Sun. (4:49)

Returned to pool workouts

Returned to indoor trainer rides

Returned to Yoga Wednesdays

February highlights:

First grandson Maddox arrived on Feb. 10th

Ran in lots of snow

Foot injury (tenosynovitis)

Continued pool workouts and trainer rides

March highlights:

Granddaughter Ella turned 3 on March 2nd

Training hard for Boston Marathon (ran hills in early morning in Downs)

Continued pool workouts, trainer rides, Yoga Wednesdays

April highlights:

4/04 Ran Springfield 1/2 marathon (2:00:42), 2nd place in age group, 128th out of 479 females

Granddaughter Nora arrived on April 6th

4/11 Ran Illinois 1/2 marathon in Champaign (2:01:03), 3rd in age group, 546 out of 2095 females

Granddaughter Madison's 4th birthday on April 15th

4/20 Ran the Boston Marathon (4:36) on 4/20

May highlights:

5/02 Ran Indy 1/2 marathon (1:58), 28th in age group (723), 2121 out of 15,890 total females

Outdoor bike rides resume

Outdoor swims resume

June highlights:

6/06 Tri-Shark Triathlon (Sprint distance), 3rd place in age group

First long outdoor ride (Interplanetary Ride) 60 miles

Hamstring injury while doing yard work

July highlights:

Hamstring injury took me out of the 4th of July Park to Park 5 mile race

70 mile outdoor ride, 105 mile ride (Biking with Beanzie), 80 mile ride (Tour de DeWitt)

Saw lots of corn on long bike rides

August highlights:

70 mile bike ride (Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride)

68 mile bike ride (Mahomet C-U Across the Prairie)

Madison (WI) Open Water Swim 1.2 miles, 3rd place in age group

September highlights:

9/11 Patriot's Run (Marathon) in Olathe, Kansas - in memory of 9/11, noon start, 90 degrees, 1st female overall

Ran with lots of aphids most of the month - yuk!

Training for St. George, Utah Marathon - lots of hill training

October highlights:

10/03 St. George, Utah Marathon (4:11), Boston qualifying time, 17th in age group (111)

Hiking in Zion National Park & Bryce Canyon

Trainer rides resume

Maddox in hospital with H1N1 on 10/19

I get H1N1 on 10/21 and spend the next 3 weeks sick

November highlights:

11/01 Ran the Manchester, NH Marathon while still sick, dropped out at the 1/2, walked back to hotel, decided to jump back in, finished 28.2 miles in 5:05. Felt terrible, but finished.

Ran Thanksgiving Day 3 mile Turkey Trot (1st in age group)

Began group indoor trainer rides, return to weight training, P90x, Yoga Wednesday

December highlights:

Lots of focus on weight training, group indoor trainer rides

Enjoying Christmas with grandchildren

Sledding with Ella & Madison

Marathons completed in 35 states. 65 total marathons. Goal date for completing marathons in all 50 states, plus DC - end of 2011.

St. George Marathon Race Report

Finish time: 4:11:14 (Boston qualifying time)
Overall place: 2991/5636
Gender place: 1062/2473
Division place: 17/111

This was my second time running the St. George Marathon. The weather was certainly better this year. It was quite chilly at the start. My pre-race preparations did not go exactly as I would have liked. The porta-potty line we chose to stand in took almost 1/2 hour to move through. This allowed just barely enough time to run over to the gear check area, remove my warm-up clothes, and get in the start corral. I prefer to have a calmer pre-race experience.

I decided to run with the 4:15 hour pace group, led by Jodi (male runner who had paced the same group last year). I did make some changes in my race strategy. Last year I pulled ahead of the group on the big hill (Veyo Canyon). This year because of my hamstring injury which had been bothering me since July, I decided to take it easier on the uphills. I knew that running uphill might strain my hamstring, so I wanted to run smart.

When I reached Mile 16, I remembered how miserable I was at that point in last year's race. Due to the cold, wind and rain, I was almost hypothermic at that point and my race goal was definitely in jeopardy. This year, although my training was not as solid, I knew that I was feeling better than last year. I decided to stick with the pace group until Mile 20 and then pull ahead if I was feeling good.

I did exactly that. Although my quads were feeling the effects of the downhills, I knew I could run that last 6 miles hard. I knew I had plenty of cushion to make the Boston qualifying time, so I just focused on how many people I could pass in those remaining miles. No one passed me during the last 6 miles of the race.

Biking & Babies

In between long bike rides and other Ironman related training, I've also been spending time with my four grandchildren. The picture above is of Ella (age 3) and Nora (age 4 months). During my last two organized bike tours I got lost due to poor road markings and maps. When I'm with my grandchildren, I'm never lost. I know exactly where I am and it's always exactly where I want to be. They are truly a delight! Ella can certainly pedal her Big Wheel at a furious pace. I think she might be able to out ride me in a few years. I look forward to bike adventures with all of my grandchildren.

Here are the details of my most recent rides - The Tour DeWitt (Clinton, IL) and Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride (Mendota, IL). I certainly am seeing a lot of the rural countryside of Illinois. Illinois has a lot of corn and beans!

The Tour DeWitt ride (July 25th) had a few logistical problems. The course map was very small and had no road names or numbers on it. Eventually after noticing we were circling back around Clinton Lake rather than heading in the proper direction, we realized we were off the course. The map was so poor there was really no way to figure out how to get back on course. So, we called the sag wagon number provided on the map. Within about 10 minutes, one of the ride organizers arrived to transport us back to where we got off course. He apologized for the delay in getting to us - first he had to pick up another lost rider and then he had to go mark the turn which had not been marked properly. After we began riding again, we quickly noticed all the road markings had been redone. Now instead of the little tiny arrows in dark green (very difficult to see on the dark pavement), the new markings were much larger and in neon green.

The day was still long due to a very stiff headwind on the entire ride back. In addition, the rest stops had no Gatorade, only Country Time Lemonade. This might sound refreshing to a spectator, but for runners or cyclists, Gatorade is a necessity especially in heat and humidity. There were no sources of salt at the rest stops - no pretzels, no trail mix, etc. Luckily I did have some Endurolyte tablets and those helped save the day. One of our fellow cyclists suggested black arrows for next year's ride to give the cyclists a great challenge.

The post-ride lunch was pretty good and the free massage was wonderful! At the end of the day I had ridden 80 miles with a lot of it into strong winds.

The next organized ride was the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride (August 8th). The ride started at the Mendota Community Hospital and offered three different routes, each circling back to the hospital for access to additional fluids and food. The ride organizers suggested doing the 42 mile loop first because it was the hilliest and the return was into a headwind most of the time. As we started riding, the course appeared to be very well marked, with large arrows well in advance of the turns, arrows right at the corners and a template marking with ears of corn marking the turns as well. After about 5-6 miles of riding we were comfortable enough with the course markings that we stopped referring to our maps. That turned out to be a mistake when we eventually bumped into roads without any markings at all. After referring to our maps, we realized that we were again lost and off course. This time, however, because the maps were good we were able to get ourselves back on course and finish the loop within a 1/2 mile of the 42 mile distance. Getting back on course did involve riding about 4 miles on a fairly busy rural highway and a brush with a large semi truck who came far too close for comfort. Due to the windy conditions, our bikes were really buffeted as he came flying by us at a speed well over the speed limit. And no, he certainly did not give us the 3-feet as required by law now in Illinois.

My riding partner decided 42 miles was enough. The weather conditions were extraordinarily challenging. The temperatures were expected to be in the mid-90's with a heat index of over 100, a strong winds. We were already feeling the effects of the heat, humidity, hills and strong wind. I decided to go out for another loop, choosing the 25-mile loop option.

My partner graciously offered to wait for me until I returned. As she waited, she noticed the sky getting darker. Yes, I did encounter rain, but no thunder or lightning, so it was ok. Then she noticed an ambulance pull into the hospital with a husband and wife cyclist. They had been on the 25-mile loop, and encountered an aggressive dog. Apparently the wife ran into her husband as he tried to come up with a strategy for dealing with the dog. Both riders and the dog were involved in the crash. The dog fared better than the two riders, as it trotted off. Two more cyclists came back in from the 25-mile loop with reports of encountering this dog. Needless to say, my riding partner was quite concerned.

I returned safely. I never did see the dog. At the end of this 25 mile loop (with a add on of 3 miles) I finished the day with 70 miles in very challenging conditions. It was enough to call it a day. I also knew that the next morning's schedule called for an 11-mile run, a swim, and my favorite activity of more time with grandchildren.

Biking with Beanzie

On Sunday I completed 105 miles of riding during the "Biking with Beanzie" organized bike ride. The ride started at the DeKalb High School and offered course options of 23, 46, 64 or 105 miles. The 105 mile route took us through Lake Shabbona State Park and the Lee County windmill farm. It also took us over many gently rolling hills. I've learned that gently rolling in cycling terms has about as much credibility as marathon courses that are described as fast and flat.

A couple of highlights from the ride: I purchased two adorable little rubber ducks (one for Madison and one for Ella) with the Beanzie beanie hat w/ propeller on top of their heads. I figured it would be good luck to carry these lucky ducks with me on the ride, so they went into the bag under my seat. Poor little ducks had to pedal those little legs like crazy!

Each participant also received a lovely bright pink shirt with the "Biking with Beanzie" logo in neon green. You can't miss me in that shirt.

At the first rest stop, I put my sunglasses on top of my helmet (which remained on my head), so that I could refill my fluid bottles. As Renee and I started riding again, I commented on how much brighter it seemed to be. I was thinking that the overcast skies were beginning to open up a bit. About 1 mile down the road I realized the sky was brighter, because, well the sky was brighter without my sunglasses. Just then a female came riding alongside of me and reported that my sunglasses had flown off the top of my helmet. I was about to turn around to go fetch them, when she said another rider was bringing them up to me. And sure enough, there he was, sunglasses in hand and passed off to me. I felt like I had a Team Car with me like the riders in the Tour de France.

And then, the peleton went flying by me. Ah yes, just like the Tour de France.

I also learned that a scenic tour through a state park means HILLS. Scenic? Yes. Flat? No!

After we exited the state park, we eventually faced a decision-making point. We could either turn right for the 46 or 64 mile routes, or go straight for the 105 mile course. We elected to go for the century ride. Game on!

One of the sections (between rest stops) was particularly difficult. It seemed to be one series of hills after another. Each turn would bring the hopeful anticipation that this new road would not be so hilly. Each turn greeted us with even more gently rolling hills. We were very glad to have that section over with and start heading back towards DeKalb.

On to the important information - SNACKS! Primarily I ate bagels with PB and jelly, with a few handfuls of trail mix and a few chips (for the salt). I tried to primarily eat the food I had with me on my bike, and just refill my bottles with Gatorade and water.

At our second to last rest stop we were at approximately mile 86. We were closing in on the 90 mile mark, but 100+ miles still seemed very far away. It didn't help to see a male rider declare that he was done for the day. We watched as he put his bike in the back of the pickup truck, and settled in the passenger seat for a ride back to the high school. There was only one thing to do - get back on those bikes and start riding.

My treat to myself after completing the ride? Starbuck's of course! Followed by a 2 hour drive home. It was a good day and a very well organized ride. I'll be back next year.

What's Most Important is Invisible

Yesterday I found myself drawn into part of Michael Jackson's memorial service. I didn't expect to find myself engaged in watching it, but I was captured first by Brooke Shield's eulogy. She talked about the commonality she and Michael had as a result of being performers at a very young age. She talked about how they shared the experience of needing to be mature, focused, and constantly perform well. During the moments they spent together as friends (apparently they also dated for a short time) they most enjoyed laughing, being silly and not be so adult for a brief respite from their life as a performer.

Then Brooke shared a quote from the children's book "The Little Prince". I know I've read that book before although I don't recall being enthralled by it. The quote she shared was quite profound: "Eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart. What's most important is invisible."

It All Depends on Your Perspective

I happened to take my 4-year old granddaughter, Madison, to Barnes & Noble yesterday to look at books. I have had a special fondness for children's books since my college children's literature class. I'm amazed at the lessons children's books can teach us. This book is no exception.

So, what did you see when you first looked at this book cover? A duck? Or, a rabbit? Myself? I saw a rabbit, of course, because that's what it is! Once you open up this book, you are immediately drawn into a friendly debate over which animal it is. There are two perspectives, one on the left-hand side of the book and one on the right-hand side of the book. Each perspective - the "duck perspective" and the "rabbit perspective" have data to support their viewpoint.

After all, the duck is starting to eat a piece of bread (located on the left-hand margin of the left page). The rabbit is starting to eat a carrot (located on the right-hand margin of the right page). The duck is clearly shown moving through the swamp grass, while the rabbit is clearly shown sitting in the grass of the field. The duck is making quacking sounds, while the rabbit is twitching its nose and sniffing the air. The duck is quite obviously flying, while the rabbit is quite obviously hopping.

Each side has enough data to support a fairly convincing argument. When I first started reading the book, I initially saw the carrot and overlooked the piece of bread. Once I saw the piece of bread, it did open up the possibility in my mind that it could be a duck. Naturally I continued looking for more data to support my original contention.

How often do we do this? We can be so attached to our view of things, our view of what is true, that it can actually obscure our vision of what else is true. In doing this, we might be living in a world of rabbits and missing all the ducks that are to be found as well.

Out of curiosity, which one did you see? I still think it is a rabbit! Madison thought it was a duck. You decide.

Where have I been? Stopping to hear the music and smell the flowers.

My last post was on February 26th. Since that time many wonderful events have taken place. Our first grandson, Maddox, was born on February 10th (just a couple of weeks prior to that post). That began a series of very special occasions. I wrote a blog posting in my head many times. However, my heart was elsewhere. These pictures are really all that is needed to tell the story, but here are a few details.

Ella's 3 year birthday was celebrated on March 2nd.

Our daughter Lisa's best friend Lindsay's grandma died ("Grandma Helen" was the kind of grandma everyone should be blessed to have).

One of my best friend's father died unexpectedly from a heart attack (on a beautiful Sunday morning after going to church and out to breakfast).

I ran the hilly Springfield 1/2 Marathon.

• Finish time 2:00:42
• 2/22 in age division
• 442/986 total runners
• 128/488 females

Ella welcomed a new little baby sister, Nora Grace, on April 6th.

I ran the Champaign 1/2 Marathon.

• Finish time 2:01:03
• 3/72 in age division
• 1467/3755 total runners
• 546/2095 females

Madison's 4 year birthday was celebrated on April 15th

I ran the Boston Marathon (the competition is a little stiffer in Boston) on April 20th. Howard was, as usual, a wonderful support person AND he ran the Boston 5-K the day before the marathon. He also has a really cool Boston Marathon medal and shirt.

• Finish time 4;36:17
• 220/294 in age division
• 20,254 overall place
• 8000 out of all females

April 26th - we attended the dedication for Nora Grace Gummerman at her church. Big sister, Ella, joined Nora, Mommy and Daddy on stage for the dedication.

I ran the Indianapolis 1/2 Marathon on May 2nd.

• Finish time 1:58:41
• 28/723 in age division
• 7890/30,273 total runners
• 2121/15,890 females

The week of May 3rd-May 12th was spent enjoying Kristin & Adam's week-long visit from Vermont. Highlights included a road trip to Lisa & Gary's house in Chatham (to see Ella and new baby Nora), going to the Children's Discovery Museum with Madison, a train ride to Springfield to the Lincoln Museum, enjoying "eyeball ice cream" with the girls, attending a performance of Urinetown (Kristin was in this show in Vermont), and surviving the "family photo" experience. Adam captured some beautiful shots, both posed and candid, of our large family.

On May 17th Maddox Paul Schweizer was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church. (Big sister, Madison, held the candle and did not burn down the church or catch anything on fire.)

As I reflect upon the events of the last three months, I am even more aware of the importance of stopping to smell the flowers, to enjoy the most precious things in my life. During these last three months there were two deaths and two births. There were two birthdays to celebrate. The most precious moments of our lives are happening right now - we just need to slow down enough to notice them.

If I happen to not post for another three months, I know certain things will happen. I will laugh and play with Madison and Ella. We'll share stories, sidewalk chalk, playing at water parks and eating eyeball ice cream. I will hold little Maddox (14 lbs at 3 months) and enjoy his smiles and giggles. I will hold beautiful little Nora (now 6 weeks old) and enjoy both her sweet nature and her amazing alertness. I'll swim, ride and run a little. I might even race a little. But most of all, I'll enjoy the beautiful music of life that my family makes.

Stop and Hear the Music

My husband forwarded the following article to me a few days ago. He verified its authenticity on "Snopes", as he often receives e-mails that are not true. This is a true story that was featured in the Washington Post in 2007. The message is powerful.

"A man sat at a Metro subway station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any other recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Three days earlier, Bell had played to a full house at Boston's Symphony Hall, where fairly good seats went for $100. But on this day, he collected just $32.17 for his efforts, contributed by a mere 27 of the 1,070 passing travelers. Only seven people stopped to listen, and just one of them recognized the performer.

This is a true story. Washington Post writer, Gene Weingarten, enlisted the help of violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell, in conducting this social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. Joshua Bell played incognito in the L'Enfant Plaza station of the subway line in Washington, DC. on the morning of January 12, 2007.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate or inconvenient hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in the unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experiment could be: If we do not have the moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world play the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for this April 2007 article. You can read the full aricle by going to this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Or view the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

Are you going to take the time to read the article or listen to the music?

Lessons From a Newborn Baby

All 10 lbs and 3 oz of baby boy arrived on February 10th around 6:30 AM. Since his arrival, I've been thinking about what Maddox is already teaching me and what I would like to teach him. Here are my thoughts so far.

Lessons from Maddox:

• Life is precious
• We all need to feel loved and secure
• Anything is possible if we pick ourselves up after we fall down (a baby keeps trying, after repeated failures, to take those first steps)
• The world is full of wonderful new things if we take the time to notice them
• A smile (even if it's just gas) can brighten someone's day
• Being healthy is not something to take for granted
• The best things in life are worth waiting for
• Laughter and play are important even when you're a grownup

Lessons I hope to teach Maddox:

• Reading opens up your mind and your heart and also opens up a whole world to you
• You can change the world by even the small things that you do - smiling at someone, singing a song, reading a book, saying thank you....
• It's important to stay true to yourself, to live an authentic life
• People may forget what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel
• Being active is important for you and those who love you, take care of your body
• Be willing to challenge yourself physically and mentally
• Imagination is where dreams begin
• Be bold
• Treat others the way you would like to be treated
• Learning continues over your entire lifetime, be willing to be both a teacher and a student

Punxsutawney Phil and "Bouncing Baby Groundhog"

This morning when I headed out for my 5.5 mile run, the temperature was 1 degree with a windchill of -17 degrees. I hold this cute furry creature responsible!

Monday, February 2nd was Groundhog's Day. Punxsutawney Phil reportedly saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. I didn't realize that there is a Punxsutawney Groundhog club. Groundhog.org is the official site of the Punxsutawney groundhog club. I found the following fun facts about groundhogs:

Fun Facts About Groundhogs
The average groundhog is 20 inches long and normally weighs from 12 to 15 pounds.

Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long.

Groundhogs are covered with coarse grayish hairs (fur) tipped with brown or sometimes dull red. They have short ears, a short tail, short legs, and are surprisingly quick. Their jaws are exceptionally strong.

A groundhog's diet consists of lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables and very little water. Most of their liquids come from dewy leaves.

A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting.

Insects do not bother groundhogs and germs pretty much leave them alone. They are resistant to the plagues that periodically wipe out large numbers of wild animals. One reason for this is their cleanliness.

Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep. It is actually a deep coma, where the body temperature drops to a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, the blood scarcely flows, and breathing nearly stops.

Young Groundhogs are usually born in mid-April or May, and by July they are able to go out on their own. The size of the litter is 4 to 9. A baby groundhog is called a kit or a cub.

A groundhog's life span is normally 6 to 8 years. Phil receives a drink of a magical punch every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic, which gives him 7 more years of life. I'd like to find out more about this magical punch! I will also need to find out where the annual Groundhog Picnic is held.

You might wonder why I am especially interested in Groundhog's Day this year. Our daughter, Lauren, is expecting a baby any day. The official due date is February 7th. For Lauren, and the rest of us, the due date is not arriving fast enough.

Therefore, I've concluded that this baby looked out on Feb. 2nd, saw his shadow, and decided not to come out until spring arrives six weeks from now. We might have a "bouncing baby groundhog" rather than a bouncing baby boy.

Man on Wire

"Movie and a Winter Trainer Ride" has begun again. From time to time, I will blog about a movie I've watched while on the trainer. This past Sunday I chose the movie "Man on Wire". It is an Academy Award-nominated 2008 documentary film based on Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center.

One of the first parts of the movie that struck me was when Philippe first developed his dream of the high-wire walk between the Twin Towers. The Twin Towers weren't even built yet. He saw a picture of the project in a magazine while waiting at a dentist office. He tore the picture out of the magazine and left the office. That was the beginning of his dream. His dream was based on something that wasn't even reality yet. That didn't matter to Philippe. His passion was enough to sustain his dream until it was possible to take place in reality.

The documentary was fascinating to watch in terms of how he planned everything. Rather than have wind be a reason not to walk, he planned for that possible obstacle. Philippe had members of his team bounce up and down while pulling on his practice wire to simulate windy conditions.

When Philippe actually began the walk across the wire, one of his team members (who was interviewed in the documentary) stated that he expected Philippe to take time to be sure everything was as it should be. Instead, Philippe knew as soon as he stepped on the wire that he would be successful. He was confident. He didn't let fear or self doubts get in his way.

I guess we're all on a wire in one way or another. In case you are looking for another source of inspiration for overcoming obstacles, here is a video that my good friend AJ posted on her blog. After viewing this, it is hard to have a good excuse for not trying regardless of how insurmountable the obstacle might seem.

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Time for a Little Warmth - in the form of a new babies!

This is a picture of my two granddaughters, Madison (age 3 1/2) and Ella (age 2 1/2), taken shortly before Christmas. Those are our excited faces! We are waiting.... and waiting.... and waiting for two new little babies. Madison is waiting for a little brother who is expected to arrive any day (official due date of Feb. 7th). Ella is waiting for either a little sister or brother who is expected to arrive on April 4th.

Winter in central Illinois has seemed especially cold, windy, snowy and icy so far. I've had my share of cold weather outside runs. I did a 4-mile run on Jan. 15th in 7" of new snow, -7 degree air temperature, with -31 degree wind chill. This past Saturday was an 11-mile run with an air temperature of 2 degrees and wind chill of -17. Enough. I'm ready to stay inside an cuddle a new baby! New babies have a way of warming your heart even if it is still winter in Illinois.

So.... Maddox and Baby Gummerman (wait about 8 weeks), Grandma is waiting and ready for both of you to get here.

Walt Disney World Marathon

Half Marathon Results:
Finish time - 2:05
2555 overall out of 12,434 overall participants
866 out of 7181 females
20th out of 365 in age group

Marathon Results:
Finish time - 4:49
5926 overall out of 14,927 overall participants
2107 out of 7134 females
26th out of 193 in age group

4th overall out of Goofy Challenge participants in my age group. Full race report coming later.

The biggest challenges about the back-to-back races?

• Getting up at 2:15 AM both mornings in order to meet the TNT team to catch the shuttle buses.
• Tired feet and legs from walking around the Disney theme parks the day before and the day of the races.
• The blister on my right foot which began on Saturday and progressively worsened on Sunday. I knew it was not a good thing when I could see the blood seeping through the top of my running shoe during the marathon. The top of my right foot (tendons) had been bothering me on both days.

The biggest motivators during the marathon?

• Running with other Goofy Challenge runners who all helped motivate one another.
• Passing runners during the marathon who were not doing the Goofy Marathon.
• Wearing the TNT purple singlet and remembering how lucky I am to be healthy enough to run.

Definition of Grace

We attended Saturday evening church this past weekend, as we often do. The sermon was about grace. One description of the meaning of grace caught our attention - "God's grace is based on the fact that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less and there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more. God's love is a constant and a given, no matter what."

After pondering this over the past few days, it occurs to me that we don't do such a good job with demonstrating grace to those around us. As much as we might claim that our love is unconditional, constant and unwavering, the amount of love we feel for those in our lives does seem to flucuate from time to time.

I'm curious to know how our behavior, words and actions might be different if we are in one of those moments where we've never loved that person more vs. one of those moments where we are questioning our feelings.

Maybe a great New Year's resolution is to show more grace to those around me. Like many New Year's resolutions that fail, this isn't likely to succeed without a clear vision of specifically what that will look like. How will I know if I am showing more grace? How will those around me know? What will I be doing? Or not doing? What will those around be notice that is different?
I think I'm going to need a lot of God's grace with this one.

CNN Heroes of 2008

My husband and I recently watched CNN's Heroes of 2008 on television. While all of the stories and the top 10 heroes were inspiring, one story in particular resonated with me. It is the story of a runner by the name of Anne Mahlum. The question she asked of herself; "Why am I running past these guys?", made me realize that we all run past things on a daily basis that we could choose to get involved with or make a difference. Here is Anne's story:

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- At 5 a.m. on any given day, Anne Mahlum could be found running the dark streets of Philadelphia -- with homeless men cheering her on as she passed their shelter. But one morning last spring, she stopped in her tracks.

"Running really is a metaphor for life," Anne Mahlum says. "You just have to take it one step at a time."

"Why am I running past these guys?" recalls Mahlum, 27. "I'm moving my life forward every day -- and these guys are standing in the same spot." Instead of continuing to pass them by, the veteran marathoner sprang into action so they could join her.

She contacted the shelter, got donations of running gear, and in July 2007 the "Back On My Feet" running club hit the streets. The first day, Mahlum led nine shelter residents in a mile-long run. Today, Back on My Feet has teams in three Philadelphia shelters, including 54 homeless members and more than 250 volunteers. The group has logged more than 5,000 miles.

Requirements for shelter residents to join are simple -- they must live in an affiliated facility and be clean and sober for 30 days. Members receive new shoes and running clothes, and teams run together three times a week between 5:30 and 6 a.m. The runners are diverse -- doctors, janitors, students and shelter residents -- but such distinctions aren't apparent.

"All you can tell is who's the fastest," says Mahlum. "You can't tell who's homeless and who's not." For Mahlum and others, Back On My Feet is more than a running club.

I could just file this away in my memory as a nice, compelling story. If Anne's story is indeed compelling, what am I compelled to do? How might I go about taking that one step at a time that Anne refers to in her story? That one step would begin with noticing what I do "run past" on a daily basis. How might I make a difference? What will that action step look like?

There are certainly many people in our society who are constantly passed by. What if we all decided to do things differently? What if we actually answered the question; "Who me?" or "When, now?" with a resounding "Yes!".

http://backonmyfeet.org/main/index.html

Reflective or Radiant

A couple of days ago I read the following description of two types of people:

Reflective - people who take things in
Radiant - people who beam light out

Since the Christmas season is filled with shiny things, this thought captured my attention. Wouldn't it be wonderful to do both?

1) Your outward behavior is a direct reflection of the state your inner being
2) The people you tend to surround yourself with are a reflection of you
3) People may forget what you said or did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Christmas time seems to be a perfect time to reflect on what's most important and then let that shine to those around us.

Now on to a more serious topic. Do you like tinsel? I, for one, do not care for tinsel on the tree. Being a person who prefers things to be orderly, tinsel simply does not cooperate. Tinsel is not orderly! It manages to follow you everywhere, stuck to your clothing with static electricity. Naturally you find stray pieces of tinsel long after Christmas is over.

Maybe tinsel is trying to remind us of something important. Something to do with being both reflective and radiant in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

For those wondering about how tinsel came to be added to a Christmas tree....

The addition of tinsel as decoration comes from a legend about a poor old woman who was unable to provide decorations for her children's Christmas tree. During the night, spiders lodged in the tree and covered it with their webs. The Christ Child, seeing this, realized that the woman would be sad to see her surprise spoiled. He turned the spider webs into silver, and the next morning the poor family was dazzled by the brilliant "tinsel" that shone on the tree.

Tinsel was invented in Germany around 1610. At that time real silver was used, and machines were invented which pulled the silver out into the wafer thin strips. Though it was durable, it tarnished easily, so some attempt was made to make tinsel with lead and tin. This proved too heavy and breakable, so silver was actually used until the mid 20th century. Today, the tinsel we use is made generally of plastic.