Serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.

______________________

My summer came to a rather abrupt and premature end during a casual afternoon of kayaking on the Kern River.  That day turned into a long, but humorous night at the Bakersfield ER as I awaited for the doc to reduce my dislocated shoulder.  I remember laying in the hospital bed thinking, "The docs will pop it back in, pain will be gone, we will be on our way, and I will still be able to guide on the river tomorrow."  Four hours later I woke up from the anesthesia to discover that I had to keep my arm immobilized for the next three weeks, followed by a few months of therapy.  What was I going to do? I certainly was not going to just loaf around the house until I healed.

The next day was my first "rest day" of the summer.  It was a welcome change of pace...I did some cleaning, baked a pie, read a book, and relaxed.  By the second day I had my fill of that rest nonsense; I needed to move!  So I did the only activity that I physically could.  I ran. 

______________________

When I returned to FRC this fall, it was hard to sit on the sidelines and watch my mates paddle, slackline, climb....you name it.  One morning I was in Rick's office, and he relayed to me a message from the cross country coach.  (Apparently Coach Dan had heard that there was a girl in ORL who liked to run.)  Rick handed me a sticky note with Dan's number and I just laughed.  I had never run a race, let alone timed myself.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that I am slow?  Even if I was slightly interested, they wouldn't be interested in me.  Just to humor Rick, I stuck the note in my book without any intention of pursuing the team.

Running has never appealed to me as an activity on it's own, in fact, rarely will you find me running simply for the pure "enjoyment" of it.  To me, it is the means of releasing stress, clearing my mind, or touring a beautiful place.  When I run, I run for the scenic beauty and soft dirt of shaded mountainous trails, not on pavement or around in circles on a hard track. 

I felt that I at leased owed Coach Dan a call out of courtesy to let him know that I wasn't interested.  I don't know what came over me (perhaps I was influenced by the sweet iced tea I was drinking?) but my conversation with Dan didn't go at all like I had anticipated.  The next morning I found myself running with the 1st ever FRC cross country team.  Yes sir, all two of them.   

So here's where everything ties together; good on you if you have stuck with me this far.  Coach Dan makes an effort to run us on trails whenever possible....this makes me oh so happy.  But what thrills me even more is the the rehab my shoulder is getting.  Since I am an "athlete" now, I have access to  the training equipment I need for my therapy, not to mention access to expert advice.  I wasn't looking to join the team, in fact, I wasn't too keen on the idea, but it has turned out to be the best thing I could have done for my shoulder.  Sounds rather serendipitous if you ask me. 

FRC's first xc team: Jasmine, Jaimee, and me

Our first race was last Friday down by Folsom Lake.  Props to Jasmine and Jaimee- you guys did awesome.  Me...well..... I finished AND I wasn't last.  Once I crossed the finish line I ran down to the lake and took a refreshing cool-down swim.  All in all a successful trip in my book.

______________

"There is something so universal  about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure.  We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.  And when things look worst, we run the most."  -Christopher McDougall, Born to Run