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On January 5th, I left the house at 3:45pm to run downtown and meet Jodi at the club to watch the sun set from the jacuzzi. I figured I'd just run down Foothill, and then along the bike trail until I got there. Well, that all changed as soon as I felt the sun on my face. Running down the long driveway to the street, I changed courses in my mind.

Up Foothill (yes, the steep part!) to the Pratt Trail. Down Pratt to Signal Street...up to Shelf Road, then out to Gridley. In my mind, I saw it as a nice easy run along the orange and avocado groves.

Then...well, then my mind started wandering. At about the 35 minute mark, I really let go. I'd been working on solving a problem (ok, not a problem, but you get the point) and didn't know what I was going to do. Well, one turn, a short hill, some rocks in the middle of the road, and then, all of a sudden, I was standing over the valley, next to the green benches on Shelf.

"Ah Ha," I said out loud. I'd been wanting to send the clients I'd worked with some kind of a care/thank you package. I had experimented with this already, sending anything from books, to gift certificates, to stationary, and more. Well, standing over the edge of the valley, I came up with (what I believe to be) the perfect gift. (Now, just to keep me honest, I'm not going to say what it is just yet...let me try it for a couple of months, and see what kind of feedback I get. I always teach: think of something, try it out, debrief it, and THEN share it with others. I try to avoid sharing my own ideas with people until I've actually tested them!)

Fast forward...15 and a half hours. This morning, I joined the master's swim group over at the athletic club. That was AWESOME! Then, I changed clothes, and ran along Creek Road, down to Hermosa. There, I got my second great idea (ok, I thought it was great!).

I've been working on putting together a presentation for my stepmom's volunteer organization. While I was at the bottom of Hermosa, a title came to my mind, and for the next 1/4 mile, I actually talked a portion of the seminar out loud. By the time I got back on the bike trail, heading back "into town," I'd developed three themes for the day, and even brainstormed some of the ideas I was going to use as examples during the day.

I started this post off by asking a question. Looking back on the past day and a half, I realize now more than ever that inspiration doesn't just show up by itself, I have to show up too!