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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Running in Historic Downtown Frederick

I am training for the Shamrock Yuengling Half Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 20th and I needed to run 7 miles this past weekend. I decided to run through downtown Frederick which has some interesting terrain, buildings and people. It was a good choice. Despite some missed turns and deviations from my intended route I managed to eek out a bit more than 7 miles and was never at a loss for interesting things to see, hear and smell. From fresh laundry to brunch to music coming from small speakers in a garden it was a sensory extravaganza!

A colleague just told me that he bought a house on Market Street that he showed to a client. The client didn't like it but he did, so he bought it! Frederick is one of my favorite places to run. It would be really fun to live there!

To give you a taste of how amazing the city of Frederick is check out Bill Adkins' blog where he takes a photo a day on the same street. Every single photo is worth a frame and a place on your wall.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year's Intention

We all resolve each year to make changes, improve ourselves and our lives. Even if we don't admit it, most of us see the New Year as a time of renewal. A new calendar, a fresh slate. Often our resolve is dwindling by mid-January and gone with the melting snow.

This year I resolve to try something new. I read a blog and then another about a Word of Intention that can replace the traditional New Year's Resolution. It's a non-specific word that you internalize and keep with you through out the year.

This year my Word is balance. I chose it for several reasons, not the least of which is that I have terrible balance and tend to need to tread slowly and carefully when I encounter obstacles like uneven terrain on a hike, or difficulty managing my work, family, personal life and marriage. I often take on too much of one thing to the detriment of all of the others. I am so careful where I place my feet that I manage to bang my head into the low hanging branches (and not just on the trail).

I hope this word takes me to other places and discoveries. My focus is often so deliberate and intense that I miss seeing them most basic and wonderful things in the periphery.

For more on the Word of Intention read the blog From Deeper Water and then Christine Kane's blog where the idea seems to have originated.

Happy New Year!