Skip to main content

Virtual Running



If you haven’t yet gathered from my blog,  I am thrilled that spring has finally arrived in Chicagoland.  The days are longer, the sun is shining and being outside is again a part of my daily routine.

Yesterday I was thinking about what I would miss about this past winter.  Anything?  Clearly not the Polar Vortex, the icy streets or the record-breaking cold.  I realized that one of the things I will miss however is my frugal Peloton.  No, I didn’t invest in the expensive riding system but instead, I created my own.  During the winter, when I run inside on a treadmill I delight in running while watching YouTube: Virtual Running Videos. I take my iPad to the gym and off I go.  This winter I ran in Hawaii, Rome, Dublin, and Aruba to name a few.  My last run was by far my favorite.  I ran a 1-hour tour around the streets of London.  I leave the gym tired but invigorated with the sense of an escape from the long Chicago winters.  I wouldn’t swap a beautiful spring day in Chicago for a freezing cold one but YouTube has helped me to learn how to do what I love in a season that is not my favorite.
















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cross the Finish!

I made it.   I crossed the finish line.   I had hoped I would but always left myself the “out” if I needed. Early in the Slice of Life daily blog challenge one of my sons asked what I planned to do after the challenge was over.   Would I continue to blog? Ever since he asked that question, I have been asking myself the same.   While I was writing my blog I frequently asked myself about my “why” and my “what”.   What was the one thing from my day that was noteworthy?   Why did I feel so strongly about one emotion over another?   Why did I accept the challenge?   What was I hoping to accomplish?   Like all other races or events that I have trained for, the circling in my mind at times became overwhelming.   In my unclear moments, my why became the understanding that life is a journey worth noting and sharing. I accepted the challenge to blog daily for the same reasons I have accepted other challenges in my life.   I wanted to see if I could.   I wanted to see what I would lea
Post a Comment
Read more

Read to Them

One of the quotes that I often think about is Emily Buchwald’s “ Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” Teaching reading is very difficult and reading to a child that has never been read to makes the job seem impossible.   Today it made me think about what made me a reader. As a child, my mother, who taught reading for years, read to my brothers and I  every Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.   I do not remember the stories exactly but I remember loving the stories and cherishing our special time together.   Later in life, my father and I did a book study for religious education on the book Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Harnard.   Again, I do not remember much about the book but I remember the time we spent together and the close bond that I felt.    Today I decided to look at a review of Harnard’s book.   The review states that over 2 million copies were sold.   “It is a timeless story of God’s children yearning to new heights of love
1 comment
Read more

Alma

Today I read a charming children’s book written and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal called Alma and How She Got Her Name. It is a 2019 Caldecott Honor Book.   It is a sweet story about how Alma doesn’t like her name because it is too long.   Her name, to be exact is Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela.   Six names!   Six very long names she tells her father.   As her father tells her the story behind each of her names she realizes that her name is perfect for her.   She learns that her special name will one day provide her with the opportunity to share her story with the world. This story made me think about how as a child I too did not like my name.   My name was different, there was never anyone else with my name and at times I wished for a more traditional name.   So tonight I decided to call my parents, both of whom are now in their 80’s and ask about my name.  I had heard stories about why the named me but honestly, I never asked. Today I was lucky enough for them
2 comments
Read more