...at least, that's the current plan.

                                             

This is Silas, up in a huge South American variant of a mulberry tree at the Ho'olwhatchallit Botanical Garden. We were considering heading back in that direction today, and going to the Sea Life Park, but Silas decided that he'd rather go to Hanauma Bay instead. It is, after all, his vacation.

(The astute reader will note that Silas is wearing a man-necklace which appears to be some sort of tooth; his father has no comment on this bit of jewelry)

We're up and out early this morning; currently, I'm not running a step. I don't have any gumption for running; I don't even know why. I suspect that it has something to do with my heel hurting whenever I go past eight miles; thus, I can't seem to get any training done. As my buddy Larry back in Alabama used to say, "I can train all day long, but I can't exercise at all".

Running three or four miles feels like exercise; running either or more feels like I'm training for something. Exercise is doing an activity in order to receive a secondary benefit - i.e. running to get cardiovascular health or to lose weight or to follow a doctor's orders. Training is doing an activity in order to do that activity better - i.e. running in order to race or complete a distance (running to run better).

Today it seems that most of what I'm doing will be laying around on the beach, and then snorkling some,and then laying around some more. That is not exercise - however, it IS training. I am teaching my body how to lay around. It's entirely possible that that may be the aim and end of all of my effort - that may, indeed, be the Talent that I've been searching for all of these years.

(Edtor's Note: We always pronounced Hanauma Bay "Ha-NAW-mah" - however, a native has informed me that those two vowels are pronounced separately - "Ha Na Uh Ma". I'm working on it.)