it's that time again.
half marathon time.
only this is probably the least prepared i've ever been for a half. i've ran 8 milers on the weekends and mostly 4 and 6 milers during the week, but i haven't ran anything over 8 since the Olathe Half a month ago.
oh, i have no doubt that i'll finish....but if i finish under 2:00 i'll be happy. my endurance is not up to its par and i've convinced myself i'm out there more to enjoy Oklahoma City than to try and run a PR.
other than some slight apprehension, it should be an excellent weekend. just me and the boys.
have i mentioned that i'll be traveling in a van with 5 guys? and sharing a hotel room with josh? yeah, well i am. and i'm pretty excited about it.
as long as they all shower afterwards.
me and a van full of smelly guys is not my idea of a good time.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
this day
this day...April 19...i'm not a fan of it at all. and i feel that more so than any other day of the year it always brings up a mixture of emotions for me.
most notable to many people is that 12 years ago the Oklahoma City bombings occurred and i can remember where i was, what i was doing, and how incomprehensible it was. i was in 7th grade social studies class when we were told about the bombing and watched in disbelief as the events of the day unfolded.
this is one of the main reasons why i really wanted to take part in the Oklahoma City Memorial (Half) Marathon next weekend. and in some small way, it's a chance for me to honor the victims and their families.
but this day...April 19...cemented itself as one of the worst days of my life when i was a senior in high school. i don't talk about it much, many of my close friends don't even know this part of my life. but every year it's an unavoidable sorrow that hangs over my head. and with the recent events at Virginia Tech and all of the bomb threats around this area lately, i can't help but weep.
my senior class was exactly one month away from graduation, we had just had our senior prom 'Heaven Awaits', and our close knit group of 88 students were loving life and looking forward to that last month before we all said our goodbyes and headed off on our separate ways.
but this day...April 19, 1999... this day would forever change us.
every year, the senior class would help participate in the city-wide cleanup. as part of our community service, we would assist the city workers in picking up unwanted large items that people put out on their curbs. it was a day to be excused from classes, get out and enjoy the weather, and goof off as we drove around town looking for garbage.
this day....it's still as vivid as the day it happened.....a group of about 8 of my friends had split into two trucks as we drove around and we were headed back to the dropoff spot to unload. we had to find spots to sit amongst the trash in the truck beds and i was in the lead truck, facing backwards, waving to the girls in the truck behind us.
we were driving down Main Street, they were sitting in their truck bed also, atop mattresses, chairs, boxes....Tara waved back and giggled.
and then the wind blew.
the gust caught the edge of the mattress she was sitting on. she was just a little girl and the wind flipped that mattress, knocking her off onto the pavement like a ragdoll. her boyfriend was sitting next to me, and we noticed that nobody in her truck had seen her fall, so we pointed and yelled that they wait for her to hop back on the truck.
but she didn't get up.
she never got up.
they life flighted her to Topeka, and we were sent back to school where we waited all afternoon to hear good news. it never came.
It didn't make sense. The truck was only going 20 mph, she only fell 4 feet. she was doing community service...one month from graduation...she was headed to college to be a teacher just like her mom.
Tara never woke up. She died that afternoon and our lives were forever changed.
There is a picture of Tara at prom, beaming from ear to ear, standing under the words 'Heaven Awaits'...and it makes me smile.
this day. April 19. it's a day of remembrance.
most notable to many people is that 12 years ago the Oklahoma City bombings occurred and i can remember where i was, what i was doing, and how incomprehensible it was. i was in 7th grade social studies class when we were told about the bombing and watched in disbelief as the events of the day unfolded.
this is one of the main reasons why i really wanted to take part in the Oklahoma City Memorial (Half) Marathon next weekend. and in some small way, it's a chance for me to honor the victims and their families.
but this day...April 19...cemented itself as one of the worst days of my life when i was a senior in high school. i don't talk about it much, many of my close friends don't even know this part of my life. but every year it's an unavoidable sorrow that hangs over my head. and with the recent events at Virginia Tech and all of the bomb threats around this area lately, i can't help but weep.
my senior class was exactly one month away from graduation, we had just had our senior prom 'Heaven Awaits', and our close knit group of 88 students were loving life and looking forward to that last month before we all said our goodbyes and headed off on our separate ways.
but this day...April 19, 1999... this day would forever change us.
every year, the senior class would help participate in the city-wide cleanup. as part of our community service, we would assist the city workers in picking up unwanted large items that people put out on their curbs. it was a day to be excused from classes, get out and enjoy the weather, and goof off as we drove around town looking for garbage.
this day....it's still as vivid as the day it happened.....a group of about 8 of my friends had split into two trucks as we drove around and we were headed back to the dropoff spot to unload. we had to find spots to sit amongst the trash in the truck beds and i was in the lead truck, facing backwards, waving to the girls in the truck behind us.
we were driving down Main Street, they were sitting in their truck bed also, atop mattresses, chairs, boxes....Tara waved back and giggled.
and then the wind blew.
the gust caught the edge of the mattress she was sitting on. she was just a little girl and the wind flipped that mattress, knocking her off onto the pavement like a ragdoll. her boyfriend was sitting next to me, and we noticed that nobody in her truck had seen her fall, so we pointed and yelled that they wait for her to hop back on the truck.
but she didn't get up.
she never got up.
they life flighted her to Topeka, and we were sent back to school where we waited all afternoon to hear good news. it never came.
It didn't make sense. The truck was only going 20 mph, she only fell 4 feet. she was doing community service...one month from graduation...she was headed to college to be a teacher just like her mom.
Tara never woke up. She died that afternoon and our lives were forever changed.
There is a picture of Tara at prom, beaming from ear to ear, standing under the words 'Heaven Awaits'...and it makes me smile.
this day. April 19. it's a day of remembrance.
Monday, April 16, 2007
new toys
i like to prove myself wrong....
the thought of running in the snow on saturday morning actually exhilarated me, so on friday night i set my alarm for 6 am on saturday morning and made the sleety early morning drive out to Independence.
and i'm glad i did. we ran on a crushed gravel trail and there was some puddle hopping required. but after a while, it was pretty pointless to try and avoid them so i just splashed my way through the 8 miles. the rain/sleet dissipated after the first couple miles, and it turned out to be a nice, peaceful early morning jog.
plus, i got myself some new running stuff with our TNT alumni discount: Nike Tempo track shorts, Asics Hera running gloves, and some mmmm....Espresso Love Gu.
and finally spring has returned to its rightful owner!!
yesterday the temps were back in the 60s, so my roommate and i went on a bike ride. we stopped by Bike America on the way to the trail and i bought myself a Giro Transfer bike helmet so i wouldn't have to keep borrowing hers.
i don't have to work today so i'm heading out to enjoy the sweet, sweet sunshiney day. first to the gym, then out for another bike ride and run this afternoon.
the thought of running in the snow on saturday morning actually exhilarated me, so on friday night i set my alarm for 6 am on saturday morning and made the sleety early morning drive out to Independence.
and i'm glad i did. we ran on a crushed gravel trail and there was some puddle hopping required. but after a while, it was pretty pointless to try and avoid them so i just splashed my way through the 8 miles. the rain/sleet dissipated after the first couple miles, and it turned out to be a nice, peaceful early morning jog.
plus, i got myself some new running stuff with our TNT alumni discount: Nike Tempo track shorts, Asics Hera running gloves, and some mmmm....Espresso Love Gu.
and finally spring has returned to its rightful owner!!
yesterday the temps were back in the 60s, so my roommate and i went on a bike ride. we stopped by Bike America on the way to the trail and i bought myself a Giro Transfer bike helmet so i wouldn't have to keep borrowing hers.
i don't have to work today so i'm heading out to enjoy the sweet, sweet sunshiney day. first to the gym, then out for another bike ride and run this afternoon.
Friday, April 13, 2007
April's a Fool
Oh, that April....she's such a jokester.
The forecast for tomorrow morning:
This weather has just been hampering my running style. Since the Olathe Half almost two weeks ago, i've logged a total of 7 running miles. I took last week off from running and made myself run 3 & 4 miles on the treadmill this week.
April needs to get her act together and warm up. I have another half marathon in 15 days and need to get some longer runs in. The snow tomorrow morning will probably keep me from doing the 7 am run, especially since it's scheduled on a trail 30 minutes away. I'll have to motivate myself to get my running in by myself.
And I finally registered for the Oklahoma City Half this morning, so i can't back out now. Gotta deal with this wintery weather and get my butt running. I can handle another treadmill run for today...off to the gym i go!
The forecast for tomorrow morning:
This weather has just been hampering my running style. Since the Olathe Half almost two weeks ago, i've logged a total of 7 running miles. I took last week off from running and made myself run 3 & 4 miles on the treadmill this week.
April needs to get her act together and warm up. I have another half marathon in 15 days and need to get some longer runs in. The snow tomorrow morning will probably keep me from doing the 7 am run, especially since it's scheduled on a trail 30 minutes away. I'll have to motivate myself to get my running in by myself.
And I finally registered for the Oklahoma City Half this morning, so i can't back out now. Gotta deal with this wintery weather and get my butt running. I can handle another treadmill run for today...off to the gym i go!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Greener pastures
A pleasant surprise after the half marathon
1st place in my age group!! I definitely wasn't expecting that, but my confidence sure is boosted because of it.
So today is my last day here at GlynnDevins Marketing. I'm a wee bit sad to leave some of my co-workers who've become my close friends over the past two years. But the joy of leaving this job that I have disliked for so long FAR outweighs any sadness. And I'm excited to just work at Starbucks and hang out with family and friends during this intermittent time before I move to Seattle.
It's definitely overdue that I leave here, I feel like I lost a lot of my intelligence and ambition while I worked here. Although, I do have to note that this is the place I met Josh, who has played a most integral role in my running life. So for that, I am happy. But lately, everytime I sit down at my desk, my head starts pounding, my eyes get spotty, and I get dizzy. This place is making me sick.
Time to move on to greener pastures.
Is it happy hour time yet?!!
1st place in my age group!! I definitely wasn't expecting that, but my confidence sure is boosted because of it.
So today is my last day here at GlynnDevins Marketing. I'm a wee bit sad to leave some of my co-workers who've become my close friends over the past two years. But the joy of leaving this job that I have disliked for so long FAR outweighs any sadness. And I'm excited to just work at Starbucks and hang out with family and friends during this intermittent time before I move to Seattle.
It's definitely overdue that I leave here, I feel like I lost a lot of my intelligence and ambition while I worked here. Although, I do have to note that this is the place I met Josh, who has played a most integral role in my running life. So for that, I am happy. But lately, everytime I sit down at my desk, my head starts pounding, my eyes get spotty, and I get dizzy. This place is making me sick.
Time to move on to greener pastures.
Is it happy hour time yet?!!
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