HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARI!

August 6, 2009

Hi Ari:

I hope you have a beautiful day! Have fun with all your friends and don't eat too much cake, save some for me.

You are Five,
How time flies,
Enjoy this time,
For soon you'll find,
Six will be here,
And year after year,
My star gets bigger,
Smarter and Brighter!

Love,
Aunti Ca

The Enlightened Warrior’s 1st Race

It finally happened on July 26, 2009, San Francisco Marathon event. The journey took almost one entire year of training and endurance, but my daughter finished her first event. She even has the medal to prove it although she (almost forget to get it) after crossing the finish line.

Her Pre-Race preparation was as organized as her training. First she was not able to pick up her packet and goodie bag, due to a few unexpected auditions which came up. No matter, I figured out of way to pick it up for her, she was not dodging this one.

In checking her athletic attire, and equipment, I noticed many things missing. Her answer to all the questions about where they were was “I’m going to use yours”. It’s a good thing I brought an extra water bottle. Imagine that!

Despite all the dodging training and previous events, she did well. She only missed her target finish time by 2 minutes. But, you have to see her face in the picture of her crossing the finish line! Something is missing a “smile” maybe. After all, it was the finish the line.

I’m very proud of you “Enlightened Warrior”! You ran the San Francisco Marathon’s First Half-Marathon, the tougher of the two. And you can now say that you ran the Golden Gate Bridge. An additional token to compliment a very memorable event.

Next?

Listen to Your Body

This morning the alarm went off, and I was not too happy. “You’re tired anyway just take the day off”, the little voice in my head repeated on several occasions. I quickly pressed the snooze button, and contemplated the thought of just sleeping in. The alarm went off again, and the little voice kept torturing me. I pressed the snooze button again

.

When the alarm went off again, I jumped out of bed, before the voice kicked in. I quickly drank my (2) glasses of water, and was wide awake before the temptation of going back to bed even crossed my mind.

I finished my normal pre-run preparation, and went out on my run. But, just in case the little voice was right and I was tired, I started my run out slow. I finished (6) miles and felt great.

This I owe to my commitment and conditioning.. Be true to yourself. After all, if you decide to run and your body simply is not ready, you will know, and you will stop. And is okay also, we all have those days. But the important thing is to listen to your body. And you can listen to that little voice when it tells you, “It’s only (6) miles, come on you’ve finished several marathons".