Bullet Time

Remember when the movie, "The Matrix" came out and they had the super slow shots with Keanu Reeves bending backwards to avoid the bullets?  The technology was new and exciting and was dubbed, "bullet time."

The other day I was out jogging.  I'd gone farther than I'd ever run before and I was on the very last hill with my stopping point in sight.  The last little bit is covered in some slippery gravel and I suddenly lost my footing and started to fall.

The "started to fall" part is where I found myself unexpectedly in "bullet time."  In slow motion I saw myself going down.  I told my arms this was the point where they should extend so they could catch me as I went down, but my arms were having none of it.

Remember when you'd get in a spinning chair as a child and spin around and around and then get out and try to walk straight?  You know what you wanted your legs to do, but you were just going to have to wait a minute, thank you very much, we legs are busy being disoriented right now. 

That's what was going on with my arms.  For almost an hour, they'd been moving back and forth in time with my running.  They knew how to do that just fine.  What they weren't prepared for was to have immediate, alternate orders handed to them.  They were currently very tired and trying to keep up with the legs.  So down I fell.

I was able to pull myself together enough to do a little roll and for the sake of the car that was passing me.  I bounded up and, "looked like I meant to do that" before I started walking.   Two little bruises and lots of grime on my back and arms is all that came of the fall physically.  But the strange mental image of my arms completely ignoring me is going to stick with me for some time.


The Big Boy Update:  Wave dashing.  We're in New Jersey at our family's home on the shore.  My son has been to the beach severa times, but each time is a new experience as he gets older and more aware of what's happening.  Today, he was very excited about the waves.  He would run into them gleefully and then run back and re-evaluate the situation.  Waves for him are only six inches high, but they pack a lot of wave fun into six inches when you're his age.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Sand, sand, everywhere.  While her brother was adventuring in the waves, she was sitting in the sand, kicking her legs around, getting sand into and on every single part of her body.  She ate some, but was more interested in scooping, and moving it around.  After an extensive shower with mama to get the sand out, I still missed what she got in her nose.  Sun and sand have made her tired and extra-nappy since we've gotten back to the house.

Running Update:  With this running thing taking up a lot of my time both mentally and during the day, I may add a bit down here as a quick update.  Like two days ago I ran five miles, I rested yesterday and today I was able to run six miles still maintaining the relative pace.  Although, running on flat streets at the beach isn't quite the same comparison.  Tomorrow I go do Zumba for an hour with my sister-in-law.  I ran for over an hour today, but doimg different exercises can be quite challenging to muscles not accustomed to working in that way.  We'll see if I make it through the hour.