Today, I would like to reminisce.
When Little Man was about six years old he watched the timeless Christmas movie, Elf. It was fun seeing him as he took everything in. He laughed; he hooted; he didn't understand the inherent dangers of picking up gum off the street... Princess, on the other hand, understood nothing, but she laughed simply because her brother laughed.
As soon as the movie ended, Little Man said in his no-nonsense Little Man voice, "I wanna ride the escevator like Elf." Knowing he wasn't about to back down, my mind raced through the options for escevators in St. Cloud. The choices were very limited. In fact the only three escevators I could think of were Herbergers, JC Penney, and Scheels.
The next day, we bundled up, made sure Princess had her blankie and her stroller, and went in search the magical escevator. Starting at JC Penney, Little Man was keenly in search of the magical climbing machine that Elf had mastered so well. As we approached our destination, we saw the ominous "Please use the stairs" sign posted across the entrance of the escevator. When Little Man saw what he was looking for and realized that it wasn't moving, his expression changed from excitement, to confusion, to desperation.
This was a bad sign, especially as his little chin started to quiver and his eyes began to take on moisture. Quickly, we moved to Plan B. Scheels was our last hope because eventhough Herbergers did have an escevator, Little Man didn't have it in him to endure even one more sign directing escevator riders to use the stairs. Little Man knew about stairs. They held no majical attraction for him. He had already used them. In fact he once rode his tricycle down the stairs.
Through the store and across the mall, to Scheels we went. As soon as we crossed the threshold, the glorious escevator was the only thing Little Man saw. And it was moving upward to mysterious, uncharted regions. In truth, it was the fudge shop, which is just as alluring to a 6 year old.
Little Man rushed to the base of the escevator, gaged his timing, and stepped-with one foot on the tread-the other dragging behind-Just like Elf! Of course, I realized. Little Man didn't just want to ride the escevator, he needed to experience it Elf style!
We rode that escalator for a good half hour. Princess, who was still hanging out in the stroller with her blankie, and I rode a few times, but soon we became spectators.
To this day that movie affects our daily lives. Little Man and Princess learned valuable lessons about what color snow to avoid, what candies and gums to steer clear of, and how to ride an escevator "Elf Style".
Just this morning, Little Man encountered one of those rotating doors. Still influenced by Elf, he was bound and determined to take a few spins around.
Training update:
Since I last reported, I have been keeping to the training schedule. Today was another speed day.
O M G was that F U N! I'm officially hooked on speed work!
Today's training session was a tempo run consisting of:
10 min warmup @ 6.0 mph
5 min tempo @ 6.5 mph
4 min tempo @ 7.0 mph
3 min tempo @ 7.5 mph
2 min tempo @ 8.0 mph
1 min tempo @ 8.5 mph
5 min cool down @ 6.0 mph
I honestly have not had that much fun in a long, long time!
2 comments:
OK, good and valuable friend, here is my second attempt to post a comment. I don't believe the 1st one took, so I hope this one does...else I shall tend to quit.
I'm intrigued by your blog...it answers questions and opens up new insights to Jena, yet it also raises many questions and windows into who you are. I am facinated by your profile and want to learn more. I'm hoping that coffee time will give us the opportunity to share more.
P.S..How fast is a speed run??
Post a Comment