To Every Thing There is a Season

You know the girl, the girl that absolutely hates ALL sports. That is perfectly happy sitting, reading quietly in the library. Yes, with the four eyes. That never, not once, participated in an organized sport unless it was completely mandatory. That sat on the bench. Or cheered from the sidelines.

The girl that dreaded gym class with every fiber of her being. Never understood the rules of any game, except maybe dodge ball. Lacked all coordination needed to athletically perform any type of physical activity at all.

While other girls made playing volleyball look so cute and some could run like the wind around the bases of the baseball diamond playing softball. Or the cheerleaders . . . oh, let's not go there. The girls that made sweat look pretty on the basketball court. Yeah, not those girls. 

The one who got a soccer ball in the face when some wise guy decided it would be funny to throw it up in the air and hit it as hard as he could with a baseball bat, landing smack-dab on the bridge of the above-mentioned spectacles . . . making quite a spectacle in front of the entire middle school.

The one who even escaped state-mandated physical education class in high school via a note from her parents deeming co-ed sports were banned in accordance with strict religious beliefs.

The one that was always one of the last to get picked . . . and for good reason.

Yep . . . that's me.

Sports weren't my thing. I didn't like to move my muscles. At that time, I liked to be "lazy", which is okay when you're ten, but doesn't work out so well when you're 33 and spend over eight hours a day on your dairy aire. As I grew older and my metabolism began its evil ploy against me and I started to put on pounds, I joined Weight Watchers, which at the time taught much about what to eat, but put little emphasis on exercise. This worked out great for me and I was able to drop 30 lbs. by eating less and not breaking a sweat.

So, I know it came as a big surprise to many of those around me when I began running. And the only way to explain it is Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." And a praying mother-in-law, who wanted more than anything for her son to be healthy. So when he took up running, I followed suit.

In just a few weeks, I will run my 7th half marathon, yes 7th, for all those kids that laughed in gym class when I attempted to make a basketball shot from whatever that line is where you stand directly in front of the hoop, yep, missed. 7th, for all those kids that said girls in skirts can't run.

So, it's not the Olympics, but I'm moving. And this season I've taken on a new challenge. As I plug my way through my 84th year (well, it sure feels like it!) of college on my way to my Master's in Accounting, I read and run. I hate to admit it . . . but I'm starting to lose respect for those that just run. Rip through their neighborhood knocking out a 10 minute-mile. Big deal. Kinda' sorta. I understand. That's still pretty awesome.

Over the last few running years, I've struggled to keep a 10 minute-mile on the treadmill on a good day. And for those of you that don't run, the treadmill is more difficult than outdoor running when trying to increase your speed. But today I stood in sweat and amazement as I did my 4 mile run in just 40 minutes and 53 seconds, with a 2.0 incline and knocking out a chapter in my biology book on cellular respiration. Hello. Cellular respiration?!?!? It takes some skills, people!

Yeah, I guess you can say I'm an athlete now.    

Life at my Pace

Life is back at this pace again. What?!?! It's out of focus? It is not clear? Fuzzy? Hurts your eyes?

Welcome to my world.

Yep, life is a blur when you work full-time, attend college full-time, have a family, are preparing for a half marathon, yada, yada, yada . . .

Nevertheless, I love my crazy, blurry life!

The Glo Run!

Had a great time doing this 5K with CC last night. If it comes to your town, I highly recommend it! Glo much fun! 

 

Here we glo!

 

 In glo motion! ;-) 

 The glo graveyard - post Glo Run fun!

 

Happy Hump Day!

That's my Wednesday. 

Dropped CC off for camp at the fun bus before 7am. Dolly goes along for the ride. 

 

Pretended to be a plumber at work, yeah, I'm not! 🔧 

 

Tried the new Orange Spiced Iced Coffee at the 'bucks. Not too shabby! 🍊 

 

Even squeezed in a four mile trot while reading half a long grueling chapter in Business Strategy. 📖 

 

Wow! You can squeeze a lot in a Wednesday if you really try! 😉 BED.time! Good night all! 💤

My 2013 Summer Goal

My goal this Summer is NOT to:

     * lose 10 pounds,
     * run a few 5K or possibly another half marathon,
     * get all A's on my summer semester,
     * workout more,
     * be vegan daily before 6pm [Check out Mark Bittman's book: here]     
     * or to go on lots of fun and exciting outings with my little family.

Nope, I have made it my 2013 Summer goal to try all 25 of Sonic's Hand-Mixed shakes!

And though those above ideas are all great, I historically tend to set my expectations in life too high or have too many expectations to begin with. So, here's to summer fun and relaxing and enjoying the small, sweet moments in life. Because, really, it's all that matters.

So . . . 2 down, 23 to go!

Vanilla

Chocolate

Strawberry

Pineapple

Fresh Banana
Caramel
Hot Fudge
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Cookie
Peanut Butter Banana
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Peanut Butter & Bacon
Strawberry Banana
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry
Chocolate-Covered Banana
Chocolate Cream Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Banana Cream Pie
Strawberry Cream Pie

Cheesecake

Chocolate Cheesecake

Strawberry Cheesecake

Cherry Cheesecake

OREO® Cheesecake

It's Still My Dream

In light of Monday's attacks and the craziness in this world, running the Boston Marathon is still on the top of my bucket list.

Monday morning as I prepared for work and The Today Show talked of the race, I said to hubby, "Jelly." FYI to those not familiar with 2013 lingo, that means I'm jealous. Ever since I started running, I have wanted to participate in the Boston Marathon. And after discovering my cousin had done it and then the tough qualification stipulations, the desire has only increased.

It is so sad there are people in the world that do such horrible things. Why? I know from experience how much work goes into training for a half marathon. But, I can't even imagine training and working so hard for such an acclaimed race only for it to end with such tragedy. It will never be the same for those involved. My heart is so heavy for the runners, the wounded and especially the families of the lives lost by such a vicious attack.

As I prepare to run my sixth half marathon, I will run in honor of Boston. I will proudly wear that classic "B" for those who have endured such a tragedy. My heart will remember that great city and its people. And I will pray for Boston.

Charity's 1st Race

After all the excitement around our home following Dave and I completing the Country Music 1/2 Marathon, Charity, as the only child she is, was feeling slightly left out.

Solution: have her complete her own race. So, I found this cool little 5K (Ellie's Run for Africa) for us to do together. It worked out perfectly as Dave had to work, so we didn't really have a lot going on this Saturday. The money goes for a great cause and the entire event was very well done, geared toward family fun. We'll probably do it again next year.

Charity seemed to enjoy herself, getting a little tired and somewhat distracted, but enjoyed "passing" people. Though that didn't last long when she'd stray off the course to catch cicadas! They'd soon pass her and be way ahead as I tried to keep her on track.

But she completed it and even beat her mom by 3 seconds! :)

Here's our stats:

Age Grp Place - O'All - Bib # - Sex Place - Name - Age - Gun Time - Chip Time - Pace
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 . . 523 . . . . 189 . . . . . Charity . 7 . 44:01 . . . . 43:10 . . . . 13:56
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 . . 522 . . . . 190 . . . . . Diana . 32 . 44:04 . . . . 43:14 . . . . 13:57

They even had a photo booth! Here we are:
So proud of my little monkey, her willingness to do this and persistence to keep going!