Tenía mi primera clase española ayer.

Last night was my first class of Spanish. My friend Jana motivated me to take the class. It didn't take much prodding since I've been wanting to learn the language for some time. At first I wasn't sure what to think of the class. We began by learning how many countries there were that spoke Spanish and repeated each name after the teacher. However, the speed quickly picked up. We mostly focused on learning subject pronouns.

I can't remember...I may have mentioned it in a previous post...I pulled my right hamstring last week. So both yesterday and today I walked two loops around the Chambers Bay Golf Course. The hills were just enough to stretch my leg. I hope to have a quick recovery. I plan to help out with the Curtis Track team in March. In fact, I ran into a few of the team on my walk.

The weather has been good for walking. Here are a few pictures I took while on my second loop.

The Cushman Trial

Saturday I invited my running buddy, Rich, on a bike ride to check out the new Cushman Trail in Gig Harbor. The county just finished adding a couple additional miles to the trail. They did a fine job. There were some 10% grades on the way back that gave us a good workout.



Biking will have to be my form of exercise for the next couple of weeks. I pulled my right hamstring last Thursday during a standard run with my old Russell gang during lunch. I'm pretty bummed. Especially since the weather is supposed to be decent this week. This, in addition to my recent ankle discomfort, reminds me that my 50th birthday is this year. I've heard your body goes downhill after 50! I don't believe that, but I sure am reminded about it more lately.

Today I ran on the UPS track for a positive sign. However, it just confirmed that I have a minor pulled hamstring. Rats!

Today at Chambers Bay

I took a break today to take in the sunset. I guess I have a need to appreciate the sun while it's around!

Good morning sunrise.

I witnessed an awesome sunrise this morning. I owe it to three broken ribs.

A week ago Tuesday my mom fell and hit her side on the corner of a wooden chest that my dad's grandfather had made. For an 85-year old lady, she's pretty tough. She laid low for the week, thinking it was just bruised. However, after progressing to driving on Monday, yesterday she noticed that the pain was back with a vengeance. So, this morning we went back for a second visit to the doctor. While I waited, I took the opportunity to take these shots.







After my noon Toastmasters meeting, I went to the University of Puget Sound track to run six miles around a track. I couldn't have endured it as well without my iPod. However, I wasn't alone, so that helped. I chose to run on the track to help aid my ankle which has been aching. During the run, I would glance at Mount Rainier to monitor the accumulation of afternoon clouds as they shroud the mountain. I brought my camera along in case there was an equally fine sunset. It didn't happen.