Time

Time.  We all know what time is; it's an emergent concept.  It's the ticking of a clock, the sound of an alarm, the calendar on the wall or our phones.   

It's something most of us wish we had more of probably.  I know I do, especially as I age and hear the clock in my head ticking louder each day.  I had a few incidents this week which really made me think about time .....

Two days in a row, at 3:32a.m. on the dot, I have been woken up thanks to these guys perched in the tree outside my bedroom window:

Chirp chirp chirp chirrrrrrp CHIRP chirp Chirp chirp chirp chirp Chirp CHIRP CHIRP Chirp Chirp chirp chirp CHIRP  Chirp  CHIRP ...............................
Wouldn't be a big issue if I could easily fall back to sleep.  But I can't.  Plus, they don't shut up!!  Thank you Tylenol PM and ear plugs last night for a whopping 6.25 hours of sleep; that 3.5 hours the previous two nights sucked!  I love birds, I really do - I've even been bird watching (once) in my life....but I'm ready to buy a shotgun and shoot these damn things!

1 second faster per mile I ran in last weeks 5-mile race over the 5k race I did the weekend before. 1.98 miles longer and 1 sec/mile faster.  I know this is grasping at air here, but it made me happy.

Twin #1 ran his first sub-5 minute mile at last night's track meet.  4:58:59.  Ryan was pretty happy, too :).

Not a picture of last night's meet, I didn't get one....but I love this picture of him, how is that for showing GRIT?!?!!!

4 hours it took for twin #2 to climb to the top of Grays Peak (elevation: 14, 259') last weekend - up the BACK SIDE of the mountain (the hard side).

Brendan and his friend getting ready to climb

Climbing up

View from the top.  Sucks to live in Colorado, huh?

Skiing down

Did it!!

36 years of life cut tragically short. I had the honor to run on a very competitive relay team back in 2009.  This team was filled with fantastic runners, most of whom I did not know at the start but had formed some great bonds with after.  A relay will do that to you.  We ran hard for 200 miles and finished in 3rd place overall in 23 hours and some change.  One of the women on our team was a beautiful woman named Abbey (coincidentally, the same spelling as my daughter).  An amazing runner with a beautiful sole.  Sadly,  Abbey lost her life yesterday after battling cancer for the past year and a half.  So young.  So tragic.  One of my most vivid memories of this relay team was when our van got lost around the 21st hour while trying to get to Abbey's pick up point after she finished her leg at 6am.  By the time we finally found her, she'd been standing there for about a half hour, freezing, and not very happy with us.  We all got a well-deserve lashing and I remember smiling because I know I would have done the same thing.  She bounced back quickly and was laughing with us at our failure to follow simple map directions.

She didn't smoke.  She didn't drink.  She was in phenomenal shape.  She was a runner just like me and you. Run free, sweet Abbey....you will be greatly missed!

Abbey in the pink jacket on the far left (dorky me in the blue jacket)

Abbey running one of her legs, keeping up with the all the males!

Last night was my other son's final band concert for the year, a farewell to the seniors celebration.  I was never involved in band when I was in high school so I can't speak from my own personal experiences, but speaking from what I see with Brendan, I am in awe at what a close-knit bond these kids have with one another.  It's not highly competitive, like track is for my other son (and was for me) and these kids are all really close.  Brendan has several band kids come home after school with him and they play together in my basement, just for fun.  Lots of laughs, lots of music...and lots of frozen pizzas consumed.  It makes me happy, just like my 1-second faster race pace.

Super sucky from my phone of the jazz band's final song

When the final concert song was over last night, the seniors all emerged on stage and gave their band instructor a gift:  A watch.  That little timepiece we wear on our wrists to measure all moments in our lives.  Especially us runners, we rarely live without our watches....I even already have a suntan white line on my wrist from wearing my watch while out running.  But I wasn't sure why the students gave Mr. Ruffert a watch?  I mean, I'm one of practical gifts, I'm sure the guy already has a watch, who needs another??


"We give you this watch, Mr. Ruffert, because we had the time of our lives in band...." and they seriously meant it.


I think I may have shed a small tear and I started to think of the time I have left to accomplish the things I really want to do.  Is my running going in the direction I want it to?  Am I being the best parent I know I can be?   Am I living the life I always dreamed?  My time is clinking, it's time for this chick to make a few changes.....

I have a half marathon this weekend.  Definitely not feeling that great about a stellar time, my racing is nowhere near where I had hoped it'd be by now.  But that's okay....I'm going to enjoy every second of the amazing scenery ... and be grateful!

Live the time that is given you, my friends.  It's all we really have.