New running "loop"

Yesterday afternoon after finishing all the crap around the house that needed doing I took my man cub to get some much-needed new shoes (though I'm not sure it was necessary that they cost $50! Argh). I swear that child can go through a pair of shoes in a month flat! He's become much like a dandelion - a beautiful weed that can grow a foot while you're sleeping. I've requested that he simply stop eating for a bit to give me a breather, but alas, the child feels that he must continue eating. "And besides," the smarty britches 3rd grader added, "I'll keep growing even if I stop eating." What could I say to that? The kid is right....



When we got back to the house he agreed to ride with me to calculate new running routes. I took him on my usual route and let him calculate the mileage, then decided upon a new one and calculated the distance on that one. I decided to try out the new route and wow! A change of scenery really is nice. There are only 2 down sides of the new route: First is the 5 or so minutes in which I have to run on a busy street before I'm able to turn onto the street I want; there is no sidewalk there so it's just me against rush hour traffic. Not cool. Second is that the same 5 or so minutes are 5 or so minutes in which I'm running in an "iffy" area. I guess as long as I'm taking that route in daylight and with plenty of people around I'm ok, right?



And besides, I remind myself, I am a blackbelt inTaekwondo. Yep, tis true, though I rarely speak of it and never volunteer that information. It took me 4.5 years at 4-5 nights per week, a few broken bones, lots of sore muscles and untold amounts of money, but I did it. The thing is, though, it's been years since I trained (about 6, to be exact) and I'm guessing that any freaks I would encounter in that "iffy" area would be packing - and I don't mean socks in their pants either. Martial arts requires that one be close enough to use it, and if a gun is involved I can be kept at bay and too far away to use it. Of course, the sheer beauty - and power - of my being a blackbelt is that no one would EVER imagine that I yam what I yam. It's much more likely that any pistol-totin' fool would come right up to me, in which case he/she would be made to feel very sorry indeed.



I highly recommend that each and every woman take a form of martial arts. I could talk/write for hours and hours about all the wonderful benefits, but to chop it all up into one neat blurb, you should know that it creates balance in one's life - mental and physical; strength - mental and physical; promotes honor, respect and integrity. I can't say enough.....



Ok back to work. I am supposed to be working, after all.....