Summer.

It has been in the 90s for the last few days. People are moving slowly, and I sleep with the covers off and fan on. Folks go to the movies and feel chilly for a bit.

I've been dripping after biking, running, dancing, and breathing. (In the South, where women "glisten" instead of sweat, "drip" would be so undignified.)

Neighbors bought a grill. We ate on their back porch tonight.

Others down the block eat dinner on the front porch. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums have their appetites once again. Strawberries are happening! The man who sells them is coming to local restaurants, asking patrons if they would like to buy a pint to clear their palates.

Backpacking season begins for me next week.

Biggest birthday celebration in Canada (Bat Mitzvah-esque celebration). More backpacking. More paddling. More climbing and visiting... Summer.

Summer. Sip a lemonade and breathe in the thick air. Watch the sunscreen in the eyes.

Jump off the diving board or dock into chilly water. Take a short inhale from the chilly surprise, then tread while you call out speciality dives for your friends to attempt. "Can opener! Pencil! That guy that walks down the street and doesn't know that he's about to fall into water! Pretend you are a donkey when you jump!" Ah, summer.

On absence

For all of you who thought I was writing "on abstinence," you'll have to wait for another post. So much more than the PCE happened at that All Staff celebration, but I'm going to hold off on other details for now. (Those two sentences are unrelated by the way.)

While I was at base, I didn't have my computer (and didn't really want to check email anyway) and my cell phone didn't work. It was refreshing to be away from it all for a couple of days; it reminded me of times when I would be in the field for longer courses. I realized when I was driving back to town and received 14 new messages that I need to get back into the practice of letting family and friends know where I'll be... I got a few messages from different people saying, "It's Friday call me if you want to go out tonight" and then "It's Tuesday. Where are you? Is everything okay?"

I'll have to post about my adventures during the snippets of time when I'm in front of the electronic hum.

On CPR Aerobics and a Zen PCE

I just returned from a few days at a basecamp. First, I attended a CPR training in which a DVD prompted us to pump on the heart whilst a soundtrack pumped its own vivid beat. It was like an aerobics class. I passed with flying colors (FYI Speed, it was a better score than my GMAT); however, I hope I don't have to use that skill.

Afterwards, we had two days of training and celebration for the beginning of the North Carolina Outward Bound's summer season. As part of that All Staff celebration, we run a route that we often run at the end of courses with students. This Personal Challenge Event (PCE) is a 7 mile trail/dirt road run up, up and down and over and through. I love it.

Immediately after I crossed the finish line, I said to Surfer friend, "Three highlights of that run..."

He laughed, "You're going to debrief it like you would on course? Highs and lows?"

I said, "Well, only highs for now. One, feeling that rush of cold air after coming over Chestnut Mountain. Two, running by John Huie* on the last section of road because he yelled, 'Remember to keep those arms loose!' Three, passing a pair of women's black underwear on the driveway near the end.**"


*John Huie was one of the earliest NC Outward Bound School directors. He's now in his 70s and still ran with the rest of the staff. He yelled that advice to me without even nodding hello that many runners did when passing each other on this run.

**It seemed a bit fitting that such an intimate item were dropped in front of everyone in a place in which we work and live together. It was almost a symbol of mixing that personal realm with the professional.



As I reflected, I had one--albeit humorous-- low during this run. We highlight to Outward Bound students that this run is not a race. Rather, it is a celebration of physical fitness and a chance to reflect at the end of course. I'm sure that there is a bit of competition among the front runners during their PCEs just as when the staff run it without students, there's an underlying race mentality for some folks.

In years past, because I had never been at the front, I didn't think about racing; it would have bummed me out too much. This year, I was running strong and was able to stick with some speedy folks for a while. When they peeled off at Margarine Gap, I was content to keep my stride and let my friend Boss Lady pass me. (And I knew that it pushed my "place" among the women from second to third... could you tell that I wasn't focusing on competition?)

Soon after she passed me, I thought about trying to quell my ego both in this run as well as in other aspects of my life. I felt good and glad to have been able to sweat despite starting in the 6am mist. I didn't have a watch, so I couldn't use time as a gauge for success. Instead, I had to feel where I could push myself harder and where I had to use my breathing to relax. I continued this all the way up to the road, and up our driveway to the lodge. In that last section, I was running near my analytical Climber friend.

He was just behind me as we rounded the last corner and saw the last 100 yards to the pond. He started to sprint. I started to sprint. And for the split second that he was next me, I instinctively turned my head and said, "Hey, let's race."

Hmm, 7 miles of meditation on losing the ego...