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Aloha Running

I wish I had a picture to go along with this because my feabile words just will not suffice. Little unexpected discoveries often make my runs the treasure they are. Simple observances of things we don't notice driving or peddling by. Not small things like the way a certain bush looks like a train but items out in the open for all to see or unexpected treats bringing a smile to all those to happen to come across it.

Heading back home this morning running up from the Marina through The Presidio I stumbled upon a large group of people practicing what looked to be traditional Hawaiian dance. The group was diverse, from the expected Hawaiians to Caucasians. The majority were women with a few men scattered in. There was one woman with purple hair. They were lined up in six neat rows with each row consisting of 15-20 people. One large beautiful dance. In front was a lone ukelelee player amplifying his soothing sounds through a megaphone. They were not in full costume, although most were wearing colorful wraps, most paired with a t-shirt. Each face glowed. Their joy could be seeing flowing from their hands and hips. I could only smile and think what a wonderful way to start a day. I think we are all blessed to live in a place where we can find a connection to ones culture and share the beauty of it with others.

It made the short trip home so much easier.

Telephone Classified

"If you want to sell your car, call Jeff," said the sign on a Russian Hill poll. Strange. What kind of connections does this Jeff have? Is he better than craigslist? Better than going to some car lot?

No Seat for You!

This annoys me and thrills me at the same time. Hey, lady, what are you thinking? The bus is crowded and you have the nerve to keep that seat next to you empty. Scoot over and make room. You make it a pain in the butt to have to climb over your legs and shimmy by you. But that is just what I do. Take that.

Paid to Run

It sure is great to get paid for something you enjoy doing. For me, running. For the second time I have been hired to be a training 'pace leader' for the Nike Training program leading up to the Nike Women's Marathon in October.

This is a huge training program for Nike and its running marketing efforts. Last week there were roughly 600 people who showed up to run. Thankfully for me, my group was tiny. There were only 9 people at the 8-minutes per mile pace. There were something like 75 runners in the 9-minute group. I take a group of runners and make sure they stay on pace while making sure they enjoy the experience of running. For example, tomorrow we'll go on a nice, quick 6-mile run.

While there runners can try on and run with Nike shoes, experience the Nike+ system, enter a raffle for great prizes plus get free goodies.

I am not a big fan of running in groups as I have always enjoyed the solitude of running alone, but this is a nice change. The enthusiasm from the runners is quite infectious.

Yosemite

Yosemite has always held a special place in my heart so it was with great joy I got to show it off to Michelle for the first time. I miss being able to make the drive from Fresno after class to read in El Capitan Meadow. I even fainly recall a childhood memory about being stuck in the park after dark because of truck trouble.

We stayed in the canvas tents of Curry Village. While we brought food to cook on our little grill we also ate at one of the many Curry Village restaurants and were surprised at how reasonably priced they were. In a place with few choices you would expect businesses to jack up prices. We had a buffet for about $13; a burger, fries and coke for $8; a big 'ol scoop of ice cream for $1.50. You likely pay more where you live. Coffee was $1.50. What was high was the temperture, 100-degrees on the valley floor. Thankfully the Merced River was up to the task of cooling us down.

While there we were able to climb the Mist Trail up to Vernal and Nevada Falls and take the trail to Mirror Lake (now more like Mirror Meadow). Much to the chagrin of Michelle I would not let her feed the squirrels.