WordPress randomness in real life situations
Posted: July 22, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Adventures in Life, Air, celebrations, Earth, exercise, family, Fire, friends, Fun!, goals, grandparenthood, home, Photography, Spirit, Summer, travel, Walking, weather | Tags: bloggers, blogging, Columbus, MaidinSun Photography, Ohio, Outdoors, Photography, randomness, The Color Run, travel, walking, WordPress 33 Comments
Early morning at the start line for The Color Run. Columbus, Ohio. July 21, 2012.
The Color Run was a blast. It was so much fun I’d love to do it again someday, hopefully with one of my grandchildren. Oh heck, I’d like the whole family to come along! And all of my friends! If you ever get the opportunity to participate in one, do it. Don’t think twice about it. Just do it. You don’t have to be a runner. Many of the people participating were not running at all. Some were walking. A few were skipping or dancing occasionally (especially at or near the finish line). More than a few were rolling on the ground, but that was just at the color stations. I’m pretty sure they didn’t roll the entire 5k.
Someone else is wearing Vibrams!!
While my friend and I were waiting at the start chute (we were in the second wave — the second group of 1,000 out of 11,500 people participating), my friend happened to notice another pair of those funny toe shoes right near us. Of course we had to meet and greet. What made it doubly interesting (as we were both snapping pictures of our feet) is we are both bloggers (and snapping pictures of our feet for our blogs).
I have met a few of my blogmates over the years, and there are some I’ve read regularly for a while that I would really like to meet. Up until now, the one thing that hasn’t happened in all my years of blogging (5 or 6 years here at WordPress, and about 5 or 6 years elsewhere in the early years of blogging) is the random, on the street, meeting of another WordPress blogger. Currently (well, as of this posting) there are 54,228,286 WordPress sites around the world. I’m not sure how many of those bloggers are in the U.S., much less how many are located in Ohio. WordPress probably knows. I couldn’t find it in my rush through the stats.
Some of the many random people at the start line of The Color Run. Don’t they look all fresh and clean in their white? They almost glow with freshness.
Add that fact (the number of WordPress bloggers) to the number of participants in The Color Run in Columbus (in case you forgot, it was 11,500), then figure in the very, very, very small percentage of us wearing Vibrams (only three of us that I know of, but there were probably a few more I didn’t see). I am too tired to figure out all the math involved, but I am wondering what the odds are that I would meet one of the very few women wearing Vibrams at a big event who is not only a fellow blogger, but a fellow WordPress blogger to boot. (Or to shoe.) I am pleased to introduce you to a fellow WordPress blogger who chatters about living all day, every day at The Chatter Blog.
Me with a fellow WordPress blogger. What are the odds?
Seriously. What ARE the odds of such a chance meeting? Whatever they are, I’m glad we met. I love the randomness of it. Life is amazing and almost always entertaining.
Things get pretty messy when you’re involved in the happiest 5k on the planet. (Photo taken by M.)
And just think, the random, spontaneous meeting of another WordPress blogger was just the beginning of The Color Run! There was tons of fun to follow.
Parked cars were inadvertently colored, but not harmed during The Color Run.
I would like to tell you all about it, but I am exhausted. There has been way too much fun in my life over the past two months and it seems to have all caught up with me tonight.
I’ll be back soon with more about The Color Run and the weekend with friends and family. M took some mighty fine pictures of the run that is not a run nor is it a race. It’s not timed and no one is declared winner. I was surprised to find that the photos I took with my old camera weren’t too bad, either. The Blob (the dust on the sensor) seems to have disappeared on its own. Perhaps all that fun and color blew it right on out. I’ll be sure to let you know which photos were taken by M in the captions.
Thank you for visiting me here in the Bogs where it is once again quite balmy (in the 90s when we arrived home earlier in the evening), and the sunset was an orange glow above the treetops. I hope all is well in your world, and that you had a color- and wonder-filled weekend!
Life in the Bogs 
What a great story, Robin! What are the chances? How does it feel to do a race like that in Vibrams? Do you have adequate support?
Hugs,
Kathy
Thank you, Kathy. 🙂
I love my Vibrams. I bought my first pair about two years ago, and prefer them over all other shoes. I have a pair for hiking as well as for street wear. I was having trouble with my knees when I first looked into buying Vibrams. I wanted to run, but even with the best shoes, my knees would hurt (and my right knee would swell). I have no trouble at all with my knees when wearing the Vibrams.
As for support, there is none. It’s like walking barefoot without the ouch factor of stepping on things. You can feel the ground, but it’s not the same as your bare skin stepping on a rock or a hard surface. There are some studies out about how walking barefoot is better for your feet and joints (a 2006 study showed that walking barefoot — which is essentially what you’re doing with Vibrams — lowers the risk of osteoarthritis).
I’m a big fan of Vibrams. They do take some getting used to, though. When I bought my first pair I was lucky enough to be helped in the shoe store by someone who was knowledgeable about them, not just from the company handouts but because he wore them for hiking. He advised me to wear them for about 10-15 minutes at a time, just walking around the house and stuff, for about a week or two before wearing them for a long hike. I didn’t quite listen, and overdid it one day. My legs were sore from my ankles all the way up into my hips. It’s a different kind of walking and it seems to use almost all of those muscles. Now that I’m used to them, it’s no problem although I do notice a difference when I switch back and forth between Vibrams and regular shoes.
sounds like great fun robin, and i wear vibrams too! another blogger with vibrams .. and how many more will come out in response to your post?
Good question, Christine! I’m sure there are many more than I saw at the race. Vibrams have become pretty popular if the ads and articles in the fitness magazines are anything to go by. 🙂
I had some friends who did that this weekend… looked like they had a lot of fun!
It was tons of fun, Derrick. 🙂
Hi Robin! Great to “see” you again. 🙂 I enjoyed this as much as the run. It really was a fun run wasn’t it???? Hopefully I see you again next year!!
I’ll be there, CM!! 😀
Looks like a good event … and yes, what are the odds! Well done.
Thank you, Frank. 🙂
Marvelous story, wonderful weekend! 😀
Thanks, Marie. 🙂
It does look like a ton of fun! Maybe I will think about it for next year – I went to their site and there is a New England event, but it is in Boston. I certainly hope that M took a picture of you all colored up that you plan to share!
He took several, Karma, but I’m not sure about the sharing just yet. I probably will since that’s the best part — getting colored up. 😀
I hope you get a chance to do it. It really is a lot of fun.
Congratulations on making a fun and colorful weekend.
Thank you, Bearyweather. 🙂
This looks like tons of fun and how cool to meet a blogger! Did this raise funds for a charity??
It did, Smidge, for the parks & recreation department in Columbus. Not as much money went to the charity as I would have thought (given the amount of the registration fee multiplied by the number of participants), so I’m wondering where the rest of it goes.
Oh, my, what fun. Adults doing what we tell their children not to do! 🙂 Will have to see if they have one near me. Better get a rain covering for the camera equipment, first!
lol, Scott! That’s what made it so much fun. I might have to try one of those mud runs next.
I took my old camera, but even so, I ended up covering it when I went through the color stations. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera’s rain coat (which doubles as a shower cap) so I ended up using a bandana I brought to cover my mouth and nose. The colored powder didn’t bother me in terms of breathing it in (I just held my breath for the few seconds it took to get through the worst of it) so I was able to use it for the camera instead of having to put the camera back in the bag every time we approached a color station.
You met a WordPress blogger! You met a WordPress blogger! I am very excited about that. (And, yes, of course, about the race, too.) And about the shoes. Congrats, Robin, for doing this. Inspirational for all of us!
lol, Kathy! I did! I did! I did!! I was very excited about it, too. It made the race even more fun. 🙂
It seems you had a great time!!! and meeting people to whom you`ve been in touch for many years is really a plus!!
It was great fun, Ellen. 🙂
So doing this next year!
You’ll love it, Christine. It’s tons of fun. 🙂
Cheers from another blogger with Vibrams! 🙂
This whole event looks magical! I would love to do this! 🙂
It was incredibly fun, Carla. And yes, magical. Yay for Vibrams!! I’m still surprised there aren’t more people wearing them. I love mine. 🙂
[…] | 23 Comments » Early morning at the start line for The Color Run. Columbus, Ohio. July… wordpress – Yahoo! Blog Search Results Premium WordPress Theme Comments […]
Congratulations, Robin! That’s wonderful! I’ve never heard of Vibrams. They sound interesting.
Thank you, Marianne. 🙂
I can’t wait to see more photos of the Color Run! It looks like SO MUCH FUN! Love that you met a fellow WP blogger at the run, too. What are the chances?
It was great fun, Dana. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. 🙂