the little people

i was just over at robb's blog and he mentioned one of those numerous "10 reasons not to run a marathon" and other "don't do it" articles of the same ilk. this week, crn had a great quote that sums up my feelings on the subject:

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. —Mark Twain

when i read those articles, the "don't do it" ones, i immediately think about how small those people are. little, tiny, miniscule, with the most limited horizons possible.

after i ran my first marathon, i was amazed at what i had just been able to train for and accomplish. then, this february, i was blessed with the great opportunity to run my first ultra, and since completing it, some amazing things have happened. my horizons have expanded. after seeing what the body is capable when it comes to long, endurance events, my view of the world has changed. long course triathlons seem reasonable, other ultras seem enticing, centuries beckon me, and when i look at the plethora of trails, paths and ways that this great blue marble has to offer, well, i feel like a kid in a candy store.

the realm of what is possible is so limited and tiny to those little people. don't let them steal your candy. grab it by the handfuls and enjoy, no, RELISH those expanded horizons. because our bodies are built for flight, our brains crave challenge, and we can only grow by being active. people, you CAN and ARE great. show those little people just how tall you are.

for juls

juls, you've had a great impact on our lives with your passion for life. my prayer is that you find peace during this season and that when it is over, you take the experience and use it to increase your desire to live fully.

show and tell

i fear that the training related posts that have reigned supreme on this blog are going to suffer a coup de etat by renegade "junior hipster" forces. bear with me, as i'm sure the warring factions will eventually come to some sort of a truce.

i like to daydream. often times when i'm out running (ooh...sneaky how i got that in, eh?) my mind will wander and create fun scenarios about how my son will be raised. the fun things that i'll teach him, the crazy sense of humour that i'll get to pass on, etc. please enjoy the following scenario that my mind concocted the other day while out running:

scene: 3th grade classroom, 20 students sit in individual seats, one teach stands at the front of the class in front of a large chalk board.

teacher turns from class, writes on chalk board in large letters, "SHOW AND TELL"

teacher: okay, now we're going to have show and tell. who would like to go first?

one eager hand shoots up from the front row, followed by a couple more timid hands.

teacher: hipster junior? you seem anxious to share. why don't you start.

young boy, about 8 years old, walks briskly to the front of the class. he picks up a piece of chalk and begins writing on the chalk board. whispers and murmurs begin running through the students. he writes for a few seconds, turns and reveals his effort.

he steps forward, stretches out his hand to reveal a oblong river rock. closing his hand around the rock, he turns his fist over and opens his hand. the rock falls to the ground, makes a loud "WHACK" and chips the tile on the floor. he scans the class, looking each of the children in the eyes.

young boy: any questions?

the name game

so, not knowing the protocol for how these adoption things go, smsmh and i wondered whether or not we'd be the ones to name the boy. so, on the drive up to yosemite to visit my grandparents, we began throwing out names that we'd like.

i'm of the mindset that a person should be named for a reason; either after a family member or someone that has had a profound impact on the parent's life. so, i began digging through the names of men that have been influential in my life.

quickly, meb (meb keflezighi), eric (eric liddell), herman (herman hesse), josh (josh cox), gideon (biblical character), karl (karl wallinger) and a slew of others were shot down. ones that have made it to the list are daniel (biblical character, danny elfman), michael (mike scott), stephen (steve prefontaine) and nicolas (nick cave). liam and jackson also are on the list as a result of smsmh liking the way they sound.

so, any other suggestions? or better yet, how the heck do we finally pick ONE? slips of paper in a hat? dartboard?

bombshell

i get emails and comments from folks every so often asking for an update on the girls. for those of you who are new readers or for my older readers who have suffered memory loss (mark? jon? darrell? hehe), last year, smsmh and i were granted visitation with two little girls who had been taken from a non-related extended family members home and placed into foster care. the case worker was hoping to allow us to develop enough of a relationship with the girls so that they could be placed with us.

long story short, their mom was aggressive and diligent enough with her court appointed checklist that the courts are now in the process of placing the girls back with mom. from everything we'd heard from family, she's really working hard and is getting great counseling and support from healthy people.

anyway...a couple months back we had heard that she was pregnant again. fast forward to this week and smsmh and i were planning on taking a trip up to mariposa (just outside yosemite national park) to visit with my grandparents one last time before they move back down to southern california. knowing that the girl's mom lives in the area, and that she might have the girls back, we explored the possibility of stopping by for a visit so that we could get to know the mom and see the girls again. smsmh was finally able to talk to the mom and our visit was set for sunday afternoon.

yesterday, the mom called smsmh back and had this to say (paraphrasing) "i've been thinking about this for a long time and after talking to you yesterday on the phone, i know that this is the right decision. i'd like to ask the two of you to adopt the baby when it is born in may".

yes. an infant. in may.

i'm still in shock as i write this. i wouldn't be honest if i didn't say that i'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this. an infant, in may. woah. the training side jeff starts thinking about how this will impact his life. what does that mean when it comes to ironman in fall? how will this impact my overall fitness? etc, etc. i am in the best shape of my life right now and have never felt as strong and confident in my physical abilities. don't get me wrong, this is just a simple subset of the emotions/thoughts that are coursing through my head right now. i'm not completely fixated on how this will impact ironman florida and i'm not so wrapped up in my fitness and training that i can't see all the positives. i figured, this is my training blog, so it bears mentioning.

anyway, things are not in stone, obviously. we need to get an attorney, meet with the mom, figure out expenses, etc. but, chances are real good that i'll be taking on a new role come may; the ultimate coaching position.

stung again

so, i've had a couple big weeks of cycling, so to give myself a little bit of a rest from the saddle, i thought i'd go swimming heavy this week when it comes to cross training. today, i hopped into the pool at the ymca at back bay (the location of my very interesting training experiences last week) and decided to bust out a long swim of 3000 yards. it was to be my longest swim ever, with 2000 yards being my previous longest swim distance. well, everything was going along just swimmingly (hah!) until lap 43 (out of 60) when i felt an intensely sharp pain in my right arm, right on the inside of the elbow. i finished the lap and stopped at the deck and looked down to find the butt and stinger of a bee sticking out of my arm.

woah. what are the odds? i flicked it off and continued on with my swim, marveling at my fortune. twice in two weeks. but this time i was IN the pool, SWIMMING! just for the record, i nailed the 3000 yards in just a hair under an hour. weee!

oh, and a quick update on the ipod shuffle, since i KNOW you're all waiting on pins and needles to see what it'll say next. well, we've made good and it has actually, on several occasions now, expressed it's undying love to me. awww.