On Pushing Your Kids Into Obscure Sports

Sorry. I realize these pictures were just hanging out there with no explanation for a few days. My laptop (the one that wasn't stolen) went over the rainbow bridge last week and I am using Sporty-Spice's itty bitty Nickelodeon computer to communicate with the outside world. I believe it has an actual picture of a Rugrat character on the front. Very grown up.

So, back to our adventure of 2 weekends ago. Cross-Country Ski Orienteering! Orienteering is a very fun sport the mister and I did several years ago when preparing for adventure racing. Basically, you get a map and a compass and have to find checkpoints and it's timed. They have em where you run, where you ski, and even where you ride a mountain bike or horseback ride. We had done this same ski-O and I'd always thought it would be a fun sport to do as a family. Sporty loved it! He especially loved the little finger tip "dibber" you put in the checkpoints--a digital indicator you were there and found it. It took him 147 minutes to complete the course, which in 6 year old time must be like 12 dog-years, and he stuck with it. That surprised me. I am on a quest to introduce my kid to obscure sports in leiu of organized team sports like (shudder...)soccer teams because a)I have my own stuff to train for on weekends and am selfish, b)that would preclude our going to our "happy place" in the mountains many weekends and c) did I mention I'm selfish? Check out orienteering at www.baoc.org/.

Since I can't post any more pictures until I get my other computer back, I will have to forgo illustrating my craftiness of late (I'll catch up later) and talk about training.

It seems like most years, getting started with the "real training" in the late winter/early spring, for me, is like watching a baby bird try and take flight, only to keep falling out of the nest and bashing it's head upon the ground...over and over.....until it finally gets liftoff. I'm still in a bit of the nest falling phase, and hoping for liftoff soon. And I can't even so much blame the weather, which has been great, or health during cold and flu season. I think I'm just adjusting to the idea of moderation and training for halfs. Just an adjustment in thinking, somewhere. I've pretty much put in the training I planned to for base, and it is fine. It's just a little bit of low-enthusiasm factor just yet, not-great focus, and some horrible eating choices during the holidays I'm paying for now. On the upside, I've enjoyed some great mountain biking the last few weeks and a couple of trail runs! I hadn't realized just how little trail running I'd been able to do since my injury and how much I missed it. This is rest week after the last base phase, so tomorrow is the offcial start of Build 1--11 weeks to Wildflower!!

I am taking a very cool online class through Brave Girls Club, called Soul Restoration (http://soul-restoration.com). We are restoring our "soul-houses" through collage and journaling. I'm pretty sure my soul house is in foreclosure, but we'll see.