The Year of 52 Adventures

Tagged: running Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Kimberly Hula 7:27 am on February 22, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 2/52 ( 22 ), 2016 Walt Disney World marathon, 26.2 miles, marathon ( 2 ), redemption, running   

  “You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination.” 

  “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
  ― John Bingham, No Need for Speed: A Beginner’s Guide to the Joy of Running

  2016 may seem to some like a bit of a paradox.  Here we have an encore of 2010 – a resolve to commit to a year of adventures so as to broaden our exposure to the world and challenge our inhibitions.  It’s a vast scope of work and one could argue that there are limitless adventures to undertake.  So why, in a world of such potential, would I elect to do something I’ve already done?

  I haven’t defined an adventure because each experience is unique to the individual.  One man’s ‘been there, done that‘ is another’s worst fear confirmed.  Even more, I’m an adventuring one-hit wonder.  Despite my best efforts I can never replicate an experience.  The set up, the sensation, the reflection, all changes.  While this helps keep life spicy (see: experience, spice of life), it also comes at a cost.  You see, I think fondly on my past year of adventure.  Sometimes I’d do just about anything to feel as unencumbered as free as I did when I first jumped out of a plane, or spoke into a microphone, or fell in love.  These are the memories we’d sooner remake, so it was with some trepidation that I embarked on Adventure #2, and ran my first marathon in 11 years.

  (More …)
   

  Reply

  Name

  Email

  Website

  Notify me of new comments via email.

  Notify me of new posts via email.

  Δ

• 

  eatveggiesdrinkwine 8:32 am on June 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 12/52 ( 6 ), 13/52 ( 5 ), running   

  12/52: Calling my state senators & 13/52: Finishing the Flying Pig Half-Marathon 

  After finishing the 2009 Girls on the Run 5K with many other tiara-wearing runners (who were 25-30 years younger than me, I admit)

  I’m clearly so very behind on my year of 52 adventures, but considering all the other things I could be behind on–taxes, mortgage payments, reading for a class, etc.–I’m pretty fortunate that my penalty is devoting some serious time in the coming months to making up adventures! Here are two adventures from the past I’ve not yet shared…

  Calling my state senators
  As I was walking toward yet another food booth at University of Cincinnati’s much-anticipated annual International Festival, I was stopped by someone who asked if I had a few minutes to talk about clean energy. Of course I did, even in our pre-BP disaster days. What I did not anticipate is that this someone really wanted for me to talk to my senators, not to her, about clean energy. She asked if I would be willing to call both of them, and I agreed without hesitation. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have a phone phobia, and though I would have walked back to my office really WANTING to call my senators, I really would not have done so. She was a seasoned organizer and knew that most of the people she talked to would make that same empty promise, so she then asked if I wanted to use my phone or hers. BUSTED! I didn’t have my phone with me, so, yes, I would need to use her phone. I’d like to tell you that I had long, thoughtful conversations on clean energy with both of the people I called, but I read a short script and they thanked me for my call before hanging up. Did I make a difference? Who knows. Am I slightly less petrified to call my state senators about important issues? Yes.

  Finishing the 2010 Flying Pig Half-Marathon
  After two years of participating in the Pig on a four-person relay team, I thought it was time to step things up. However, I did not step up my training until two months before the half-marathon. (I’m sorry, Hal Higdon … I really wanted to follow your sensible half-marathon training schedule that hung faithfully on my refrigerator door, but terrible weather and lingering sickness got in the way.) Thanks to a slightly more disciplined running friend, I spent most Friday nights in March and April wine-free so I could wake up early on Saturday mornings to train. We decided to use interval training: we ran 9 minutes and walked 3 minutes. This worked so well that we ran the half-marathon in intervals too. (Walking was a huge concession for me at first — I ran cross-country growing up, and though I was never fast, I comforted myself with the thought that at least I never walked during a race. However, I’m a convert now and plan to continue running intervals even for shorter races. That 3-minute recovery time is too fabulous to give up.) I didn’t break any records with my 2 hour 36 minute finish, but I can work to improve my time in next year’s half.

  yearof52adventures and blueskiesinva are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    blueskiesinva 1:48 pm on June 13, 2010 Permalink

    I printed out the “sensible half-marathon training schedule”…which is now on *my* refrigerator 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!

  • 

    yearof52adventures 4:10 pm on June 14, 2010 Permalink

    WELL DONE!