a porta potty adventure + a late race + a terrible time = a great weekend!

We had a great trip to Charleston! I loved spending time catching up with Cindy, my cousin that lives in too-far-away-Charlotte. Okay, she's only about half an hour away, but that's just too far! It was also fun to meet her new roommate, Britney. The three of us drove down on Friday morning and spent some time bumming around the expo, and then downtown Charleston.

We were stuck in traffic for awhile on the way into Charleston (something about 40,000 people running the race causes traffic. Odd, eh?), and I REALLY had to potty. Bad! So, as we were stopped beside some porta potties lining the road (for the following morning's race, of course), I hopped out to potty really quick hoping to get back out to the car before the cop at the light decided to let our lane drive.

Well, half way through my, uh, potty break, I heard cars moving. Sad times. I came out to new cars in front of the porta potty parade, and my cousin's car nowhere in site. I wonder what the people in the cars thought about the girl that randomly came out of a porta potty with a confused look on her face. Anyhoo, I ran down the sidewalk trying to find her car, and thought that maybe they just went on to the expo, which was only about a block or so away. So I give them a call, and finally found them (yay!). They had pulled up on a sidewalk the next block down and was waiting for me. Apparently Cindy tried waiting for me at the porta potties, but multiple cops came running towards her car in an attempt to get her to move, so she had to drive on. Of course, this all happened in a span of maybe 3 minutes. Fun times!

Oh, and I can officially say that I've used a sparkling-clean porta potty! The seat even had plastic wrapped around it, saying it was newly sanitized. God bless the porta potty sanitizer people. I couldn't do it, I'm afraid. But I'm glad someone did!

I had another interesting porta potty experience the next morning before the race. This one included me wearing a tutu in the teeny tiny porta potty. But we won't go into that experience. *shudder*

Anyways, the run was fun, however not my best at all. Lack of sleep (I randomly woke up at 1:15AM and didn't get back to sleep), starting the race an hour late (yes, they started an hour late - more on that in the next paragraph), standing around for almost 3 hours before the race ever started, not eating for 4 hours before the race, a crazy sharp cramp, and some lady issues didn't make it my best time at all. At. all.

Remember how I said they started the race an hour late? Yeah. Apparently there were some issues with the shuttle buses taking people from the Charleston side of the bridge (finish) to the Mt. Pleasant side (start) and people were still on buses at like 7:30 (30 minutes before the race). Then, the buses had to clear the bridge before we could start. So, instead of starting the race at 8:00, they started at 9:00. Which means since we got there round 7:30, we had to stand around for an hour and a half before we started. We also stood in line for the buses for about an hour before we loaded our bus to be taken to the start. I think I was mentally done before we ever started. lol

So, my time. My goal was under an hour. Last year, I did it in 1 hour and 3 minutes. This year, not so much. I finished 1 hour and 10 minutes (+ some seconds). I am honestly proud that I was able to run and finish the race in the time that I did. However, I am so competitive with myself that my time totally bummed me out. But that's okay! I'll do better next year. :)

Okay - done complaining!! I really did have fun, and although it wasn't my best run, I most definitely will do this race again next year. The experience is always completely worth it.

Cindy did an EXCELLENT job during this race! This was her 2nd 10k, but I don't really count her first one since she had a broken tail bone. She ran it in an hour and 18 minutes! Yay!! So proud of her. :)

-Cindy and I finally made it on the bus, after waiting forEVER! All smiles here though. :)
-Everyone was wondering what was taking so long to start. The people behind us were making jokes like, "I never practiced standing around for an hour before running 6 miles before! I'm not prepared for this!" I decided it was a good sit down and rest your legs time.
-One of my favorite pictures from the weekend! Cindy and I are waiting for the race to start. And the guy standing behind us totally photobombed our picture. Nerd! Funny nerd though.
-LOVE the bridge!! This picture makes the race totally worth it. Such a pretty run!

Lesson learned? God can humble us even through regular life experiences. I was so pumped up about running the race in under an hour, yet I was completely knocked on my rump with everything that lead up to the race. I don't exactly deal well with failure, but I'm learning to slap on a smile and clamp my mouth shut! Not sure I did a great job at that this weekend though. lol

How was your weekend? :D



2146

booming visits, my run, and an undivided heart ... in reverse order

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your love toward me; You have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

Psalm 86:11-13

What do you feel your heart is divided between? Maybe it's between following God and continuing a habit you've developed. Maybe it's trusting God, but also feeling as if you can't fully trust Him. Maybe it's between wanting to be obedient to God, yet still have that "little sin" in your life. Whatever it is, having a divided heart is terribly hard, isn't it?

I want to be undividedly (I made up that word!) devoted to God!

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I went running tonight at 7:00 again. It's SO much nicer running in the evenings than in the afternoons! First off, and obviously so, it's much much cooler in the evenings. An added bonus is that I've been able to see more people while I'm out running. Although I feel disgustingly gross when I run, and I feel like I look like a dying cow at times, it's still nice to see people outside going for an evening walk! And something about knowing people are around and can see me running makes me run just a smidgen faster. lol

I did 3.8 miles tonight in 38 minutes and 22 seconds. Pretty good pace! I'm getting closer to my goal of running 10 minute miles again. Once I accomplish that, my goal will then be to run under 10 minute miles. I know I can do it! Just have to keep working...er, running.

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So, I like to track how many people are visiting my blog between posts. Usually, I'll have about 40 or 50 people visit my blog in a span of about 3 or 4 days. However, since my last post (which was Sunday), I've had almost 200 people visit my blog. That's crazy! I'm seriously wondering if I really have had almost 200 people visit my blog since then, or if there is some crazy internet machine or something that's kicking the count up.

I'd like to think I've had that many people in that short amount of time because that would mean they're reading Scripture, being encouraged to get out and run (do I encourage people to do this?), and that my thoughts are being heard (a bit of a scary thought sometimes lol).

I'll just let myself think there really are that many people reading. A nice confidence boost, right? :)

1656

tis the season...

To run in the evenings!!!  It's hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!

Yesterday's 4.9 mile run was tough. I got up and had some breakfast at 9:00, then headed to my grandparents' house around 11:00 to dig up some daffodil plants that are still around from when Grandpa was doing his gardening years ago.

(The patch of daffodils I got them from)

Honestly, I was hoping to dig up all of these to transplant at my house. However, after digging for awhile, I realized there were TONS and TONS of daffodils here. I basically dug up one small portion of what you see, and this is what I ended up with...

(My daffodil babies)

Bekah came over when I was just about done, and we headed over to my house to plant them there. I did a row on each side of my storage shed in the backyard. Before I planted them, I counted how many I had gotten.

Are you ready for this?

I dug up about 105 daffodil plants! Crazy!! I could totally put them all over my yard and not have to worry about grass again because the pretty daffodils would take over. I think I'll refrain from doing that though.

So, I was finished with the gardening around 2:00, and then I decided to head out for my run.

About halfway through, I remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since my breakfast at 9:00 that morning. And then I also realized that it was much hotter than I expected!

I actually stopped at one point and asked a random guy for a glass of water. He was outside playing with his 2 year old son (he looked to be able 2). He went in and got me a bottle of water. Then, as I was walking so I could drink the water, a lady asked if I needed anymore water. (I must have looked pretty bad lol) She said to feel free to stop by her house for water anytime. Hopefully that won't be a need though!

I think I'm going to start running in the early evenings now. It's getting so much hotter these days, and I can't seem to run my best in the heat. I'm thinking 6 or 7PM would be much nicer!

For now, I'll have to be happy with my 4.9mile run that I did in about 54 minutes.



1483

1.5 miles ... I'm okay with that!

Well, it's been over a week since I've had a good run. I couldn't stand it any longer today. I had to get out there for a run. 1) for my sanity and 2) for my waistline. grr.

But we won't go there.

So, I set my sights high again and was hoping for a 5k run today. ha. My calves aren't THAT much better right now, I reckon.

I went about a mile and a half and decided my calves were going from "uncomfortable" to "painful" at that point, so I decided to walk home. But then I looked at my phone and I had gone 1.46mile, so I made myself go the extra 0.04 to top it off at 1.5mile.

So glad I did! I feel much better about a 1.5mile run than a 1.46mile run. Wouldn't you?

I still have a 5k race on Saturday, so I'm hoping for at least a 2.5mile run before then.

Good thing is that while I was walking Izzy after my run, my calves completely stopped hurting. So, that's pretty exciting!!

On a random note, I'm in the process of planning a very real post soon. "Real" as in totally what my heart has been feeling lately about some things. I just haven't gotten around to fleshing it out into words yet.




1394

taking thoughts captive (52 in 52) and my new kicks!

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God; and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

My high school/college Sunday school teacher used to talk about this verse a good bit. She was very real in telling us her struggles and weaknesses. Mrs. Rita died after battling breast cancer several years ago, but her legacy still lives on! She once challenged our class in high school to memorize the Fruits of the Spirit during one of our units - I can still say them all for you! (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control -- Thank you, Mrs. Rita!)

This verse has been very real to me lately. However, I never really knew (or paid attention to?) the first part of it, but I love it.

As human beings, our minds are great at justifying our actions and making excuses for ourselves. We argue with God and tell Him that of course we're right in what we're doing. We justify unhealthy friendships, thoughts that spur from low self esteem and limited confidence, damaging behaviors, and anything else in-between. But when we stop arguing and listen to God, we see the truth. We see His leading and His guidance. He starts to break our arguments apart and forces us to view the true problem at hand.

So, when I start thinking that I'm not good enough or pretty enough, I take those thoughts captive and remember Who made me. And why He made me. He didn't make me to marry someone or turn heads. He made me to worship Him and bring praise to His name. Period.

And I think of Mrs. Rita every time it comes to mind. Such a special lady, she was!

2 Corinthians 10:5 was my verse for this week's 52 in 52. I didn't have a chance to post about it earlier in the week because our family had a very exciting, very tiny addition this week! Jennifer, my sister, had her fourth child on Tuesday afternoon! Little Tobias William (Toby for short) is a perfect little man. :) This week was full of baby holding and older children watching for me, and sleepless (but very blessed!) nights for my sister. Please pray that little Mr. Toby learns to sleep in his bassinet very soon!

This week was also exciting because I received my new running shoes! They're Vibram Five Fingers, and I love them!! I ran in them for the first time today, and it went really well. I set my sights pretty low and planned on running only 1.5 miles in case the shoes weren't working out very well for me. However, after running those 1.5 miles, I decided to keep going. I ended up running 3.26 miles in about 34 minutes. This is still not the pace I'm wanting, but I will get there!

I tried on a pair of Five Fingers at a store before Christmas and was warned that they would kill my calves when I first started wearing them. Umm, yeah. Let's just say that I most definitely found that to be very accurate! Ouch! I'm doing lots and lots of stretches for my calves today. :)

And one more Mrs. Rita story to close the post. When we would go on youth trips, we would usually end up "staaaaarving" by the time lights out came around. Of course, we'd tell Mrs. Rita that we needed something to eat, and her response was always the same. "If you're hungry late at night, that means you just need to go on to bed!"

I still try to follow this simple rule to late night snacks, although not always successfully. Mrs. Rita surely was full of wisdom (of many kinds)!



1302

rambling (what I do best)

I ran my 5k today! I'll be honest and say that it was rather boring. I'm afraid my neighborhood is going to be a boring place to run if I plan on running more than 1 or 2 miles at a time. I'll most likely start running in the Country Club more often again. A friend of mine lets me park at her house, so I just park and then run (my route is about 3 miles, but I can make it longer if I want). There's a good mixture of hills and flat runs.

Anyhoo, so my run. I did a tad over 5k in 34:48. I'd like to think it's a bit longer because there were some pretty fierce hills to scale, and then I had to stop at one point to let someone back out of their driveway. I was afraid they didn't see me, so I waited patiently for them to move on.

Overall, it was a good run. The more I get out there and run, the more I'm reminded of why I enjoy it so much.

Three more weeks until my next 5k race! I think my goal will be to run it in under 32 minutes. That's probably more realistic than shooting for 30 minutes!

After my run today, I decided to pull out my Wii Fit. I think it's literally been a year since I've done anything with it, but I had fun! I've decided to do at least the Yoga part after my runs, and then do everything (Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics, and Balance) on my off days. We'll see how long that one lasts though. :)

Oh yeah!!!  I ordered a pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes! YAY! I'm so very excited. I've wanted a pair for awhile now, but they're so stinking expensive! Well, I got bored earlier and decided to see if I could find a good deal on a pair, and I ended up getting them for $43 shipped from Moosejaw!  WOO! That's like 1/2 off, I think! I can't remember if the pair I got is normally $80 or $90. Either way, I'm super excited!!! (I said that already though...) Can't wait until the come in the mail. :)

Happy running!



1245

Running: the good, the bad, and ...the stinky

So, there are definitely some things that I love about running, some things I could do without while I run, and also some things that are down right stinky...literally. Let's start with the good first, shall we?

I love the feeling of exhilaration right after a good (or even bad at times) run. I think that's what is addicting for me. Such a rush!

I love the fact that Tim Tebow keeps telling me that I had a nice run on my Nike+ GPS app. It's happened three times now! And honestly, that may be the only name I've recognized. (They have a famous person tell you that you did a great job after each of your runs, and I usually have NO clue who the person is!)

I love running a race for a good cause.

I love this one little dog that is in a fenced in yard on one of the roads I run in my neighborhood. He barks his little head off at me, and he jumps so that he's almost above the fence even though he's a little ankle biter. It cracks me up every time I run by. I almost stopped to take a picture of him today, but I'm not fond of stopping while I run.

And of course, I love that my clothes seem to get bigger after I've been running consistently. (Although I'm still waiting for that one to happen right now!)

The bad...

Although I love that one little jumping bean of a dog, I do not enjoy big scary dogs that bark at me while I'm running. Although all of the dogs in my neighborhood are in fences (except one, and he has an electric collar), I have this crazy fear of them jumping the fence (or bounding through the electric fence) and attacking me. I just try to look straight ahead and not make any eye contact. That helps, right?

I do not enjoy people that do not go to the other side of the road while they're driving past a runner. Safety first, people!

And the stinky...

Monday is stinkday around here...otherwise known trash day in my neighborhood. If you know me in person, then you know that I have something called trashcanophobia. I avoid touching them at all costs, and when I must, I use a napkin. So, when I'm running on Mondays and trying to avoid the numerous trashcans lining the road, I have to hold my breath every few cans. Of course, not all trashcans stink, but the ones that do...really do. Yuck!

Another time that I have a hard time breathing is when a car drives by with someone smoking in it. No offense to anyone reading this that may smoke, but I find it rather stinky to inhale a lung full of secondhand smoke while I'm running. Maybe it makes me run a bit faster though!

Car exhaust is up there with cigarette smoke. It seems to linger longer though. I've almost turned around to run away from the stink before!


So, let's end with a love! I loved running 2.15 miles today in about 22 minutes! This is a much better pace than I've had since I started back. I'll run 5k tomorrow, and hopefully it'll be much closer to 30 minutes than it was a week ago! I'll let you know what happens. :)



1218

workout with wheels

I felt like I needed to relieve some stress/tension tonight, but it was too dark for a run. So, I hopped on the exercise bike we have tucked away in the "storage" portion of our basement - aka the part I don't call my "area." That's always fun as I'm crowded in by "stuff" that we've stashed back there. Kind of relaxing though because it takes me away from everything for awhile. I usually take my laptop and look up a movie or show I want to watch while I ride. Or I take my Nook and read for awhile.

Tonight, I biked for an hour and a half and went 20miles. Ridiculous!! (and not intentional) It started with my show not loading up - grr - and then I got a phone call...so I talked. And then I started my show because it finally loaded - and then I got another phone call (pretty popular tonight! It doesn't happen often - maybe once in a blue moon lol), so I talked again...and then finally got back to watching my show. By then, I was pulled in to the episode and wanted to "ride it out" (haha....pun intended!) until it was over. So, that landed me at 20miles. Too bad running 20miles is much more difficult than biking it!!!

I must say that I do feel less stressed/tense. Exercise is great like that! Since I started running, I've always said that my students could probably tell when I've been running and when I haven't. I seem to be more easy going. Good or bad - it is what it is!

Happy new week, everyone! Enjoy it.