January Wrap-Up

We are turning the calendar page over on the first month of 2017: Year of Adventure.  I didn't do much racing this month, but I've still been making progress on my goals.  I ran 71.9 miles - a little lower than my goal to average 20 miles per week but not bad.  I read 4 books (plus a couple others still in progress), so I'm on track for 53 books this year, and I'm on track to read the Bible through this year too.  I just today started The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher's behind-the-scenes stories from the making of Star Wars.  I'm listening to the audio version, narrated by Carrie Fisher, and it's just fascinating.

Bop to the Top

I already told you about my New Year's Day races in my last blog post.  The only other event I did this month was the Bop to the Top on the 21st.  For my readers outside central Indiana, this is an annual timed stair climb in the OneAmerica tower.  36 floors.  780 steps.  I had never done it before, but it's pretty easy to talk me into trying something new.

View from the top

I was super-nervous and had no idea what to expect.  One kind of cool thing about this event: you don't get your t-shirt at packet pick-up; you get it at the top after you climb.  If you don't finish, you don't get a shirt.

It was actually not as hard as I expected.  I thought my legs/glutes would hurt, but it turned out my breathing was the hardest.  My legs were ok, but I was breathing as hard as if I was sprinting.  Maybe that was just due to nerves; I'm not sure.  In hindsight, I probably could have gone a little faster at the beginning, but I really didn't know how to pace myself.  I finished in 9:52 for 11th in my age group, not bad for a first timer.  I would definitely do this again, and perhaps next year I will try the Triple Step option.

Take My House, Please

The biggest thing this month has been starting the process of getting my house on the market.  I'm still sorting through things and donating/gifting/trashing as appropriate, and boxing up what I'm keeping so I can put it in storage.  It's so incredibly hard.  I'm ready, but it's still emotionally wrenching.  I've gone through and donated a lot of Kevin's things already over the past 21 months, and each time I can let a few more things go, but it honestly never gets easier.  It still feels right, though.  At this point I know which 5 or 6 of his sweatshirts I wear all the time.  I don't need to keep 30.

I'm also getting estimates on the repairs and updates I need to make to get the house ready for a new family.  That's hard in another way.  One of the last conversations Kevin and I had just a few days before he died was about the updates and renovations we wanted to make after the kids all moved out and we had the house to ourselves.  We were not planning to downsize - we discussed it but decided we wanted to stay here.  It's hard now to be doing these things without him.  I'm quite sure he would not like my decision to go with a laminate plank flooring downstairs instead of carpet.  I wish he was here to argue with me about it.

 It's all so mentally and emotionally exhausting.  I have been sleeping a lot more than normal this month.  I really just want to go to sleep and let someone else take care of it all.  Wake me up when it's time to unpack and set up my new apartment or rental house.  If it wasn't for the support of all my amazing friends and family, I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much done as I have so far.  I know I'm going to continue to need you over the next few months, too.  Even knowing this is right for me now and I'm ready, it's still going to be incredibly hard to move out of the home we built together and got married in.

Coming Up

February is going to a busy month! I've got to finish with the house.  I've given the kids and myself a March 1st deadline to have: 1) everything out of the house that no one wants to keep; and 2) everything boxed up and stored if we are keeping it but don't need it for the next month or so.  That doesn't really leave very many weekends, so most nights I spend a couple of hours on it too.

Last year's 3 Miler

February is going to be busy on the racing front, too, starting this Sunday with the Groundhog 7.  I'm volunteering as a course marshall.  If you're running it let me know so I can cheer you on!  Next weekend I have 2 races: the 500 Festival Miler Series 3 Miler
on Saturday (I really enjoyed this series last year & I'm looking forward to running it again); and the Hook Up 5K on Sunday (#justlooking).  Then on the 18th I'm running the Indy Polar Bear 5K + 5M.  I've never done this event but it looks like a lot of fun.

After that, I leave for Seattle to take the next class I need for my Certified Housing Asset Manager certification.  I've never been to Seattle, so if you have any tips on what to see/where to eat/where to run, please leave me a comment?

Long Time No Blog

Happy 2017! I hope everyone had peaceful and love-filled holidays.  I didn't have much to say after Vegas, so I took a few weeks off blogging while I concentrated on taking care of myself and getting through the holidays.  You wouldn't have wanted to read anything I wrote those weeks anyway.  It was rough; harder than the first year without Kevin.  It seemed more real this time, and he seems so far away now.  Although as Tiffane pointed out to me, I know that because of our faith in Jesus, I'm actually closer now to seeing Kevin again than I was a year ago.

But, 2017 is here and as always my calendar is filling up with things I'm looking forward to.  The Fast Bottom Girls have dubbed 2017 the Year of Adventure, and you'll see me using that hashtag often on Instagram & Twitter.  Soon it will be time to start spring training, but of course I never stopped running, so I'm ready to start working hard again.

Holiday Recap

I did run a few shorter races after Vegas: the Bolt for the Heart 5K on Thanksgiving, followed by the Burn It Off Double 5K & 10K on Black Friday and the Turkey Legs Trifecta 4K, 5K & 6K that Saturday.  A couple weeks later I went home to see my niece Starr earn her Masters in Nursing, and I ran the Hanukkah 8K with Laura & Mark while I was there.  Since Laura is taking an even longer break in blogging than I did, I will go ahead & share here that both she and Mark won their age groups in that race.

Then I had a weekend full of parties, getting together with the ladies supper club, the BGR Winter Takeover where we made awesome medal hangers, and the FBG Christmas party where we pulled out planners and journals to work on our 2017 goals.

Finally one last race to finish the year: the Rudolph Run 5K on Christmas Eve.  I hesitated to sign up for this race until the very last minute, because Christmas Eve is also Kevin's and my anniversary.  I wasn't sure if running a race was the best way to observe it, but I couldn't come up with anything especially meaningful, so I decided to go ahead.  If nothing else, I knew it would make me get up and get out of bed for a little while, and running always helps me feel better.

Christmas day was nice - I went to church in the morning, then out for Chinese food for lunch with Josh.  Next we met Kimmy & Colin at the theater to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  Wow - definitely go see this if you haven't already!  Then all of us went back to the house where we were joined by Nick & Micah, and it was delightful to have everyone all together for a little while.

The week between Christmas and New Year's I spent trying to sort through things and start getting the house ready to sell, with breaks for runs and/or losing myself in a good book whenever I needed.  At this point, I know what I want to keep, but I have piles everywhere: things for Goodwill, electronics that I need to figure out how to dispose of, and all the things I need the kids to go through so they can take what they want.  That last pile is the biggest, and I know it's going to be hard for them.

I celebrated New Year's Day with 2 races, of course!  The Cheers to New Year's 5K with the FBG, and the First Day Trail Run at Monroe Lake with Josh.  Other than the races I did over the holidays, I ran all my runs without my watch.  I decided I wasn't going to track miles, look at my pace, or do anything other than just run for fun.  I didn't listen to music, either.  I chatted with friends or just ran and paid attention to how it felt.  It was kind of nice.

2017: Year of Adventure

Our FBG destination race this year is the Southernmost Half Marathon and Running Festival in Key West in October.  I've never been to Key West, so I'm super-excited about this trip.  I'm running the half on Saturday and the 5K on Sunday for the SoMo Challenge.  And we are working on mermaid outfits for the race, and you know those will be super-cute!

I will again be a Run(317) Ambassador, promoting, running and partying at my favorite local race series.  Other repeats: I'm pacing the Indy Runners Spring Training program which starts in a couple of weeks, and pacing the Indy Women's Half in September, and doing the 100 Miles of Racing contest.

I haven't actually decided on a Spring half.  I kind of need to be an adult and see how things go with the house before I start spending money and committing to races and travel plans.  I am running the Great Chocolate Race 10 Miler in March with the FBG, and the Run Forrest Run 10K in April up in South Bend (another place I've never been).

Overall for the year I've committed to run at least 1000 miles.  The challenge for me will not be in running all that - I think I probably actually did that last year.  The challenge will be in logging all my miles to keep track.  I deal with numbers all day long, so I don't really like to keep a training log or running totals or anything longer than a couple of months.

A fun event that has nothing to do with running: I will be Returning to Roswell (NM) in June for the New Beetle Car Show.  Josh, Starr and I went in 2003 and had a great time.  I'm really excited to be going again.  A couple of other non-running goals: reading 53 books this year (1 more than last year), and reading the Bible through again.

While that's all the definite plans I have, there are some other ideas floating around in my head that I hope to make happen this year too.

Laura's Updates

Laura last blogged on February 8, 2016, so I'm going to go brag on her accomplishments a little bit.  Hopefully she'll post soon and tell us more about all this.  She has been training for a 100 miler for a long time, and she made her first attempt at the Devil Dog Ultra in Virginia on December 17.  While she was not able to finish that day, she ran an impressive 73 miles in very tough conditions: rain and sleet, frozen creeks, several falls.  Most people would've taken a few weeks off to recover before starting over to train again, but Laura made another attempt at the Pistol Ultra in Tennessee over the New Year's weekend.  And not only did she finish, but she finished on the podium!  100 miles in 24 hours 59 minutes, 10th female overall and 2nd in her age group.  That is some serious strength!

Laura has been selected to be an ambassador for Feed Your Crazy running gear, and she is going to be on the newly formed FootRx trail ultra team, along with Mark and Alice.  Let's hope one of her team duties is to blog and tell us all about their adventures.

#CountdownToVegas Weeks 12 & 13: There and Back Again

Pic by Brandi Nicole

Since I was travelling last weekend, I never got around to my weekly blog post, so this one covers two weeks.  If I could somehow just dictate these while I'm running, they'd get done on time and probably be a lot better.  I always forget half of what I wanted to say by the time I sit down at the PC.

Training is still going well.  Last week it was #TeamMoHills on Monday, Bourbon Street Running Club followed by #LFBootcamp on Tuesday, and a basic 3 mile run around my neighborhood Wednesday morning.  Thursday was a rest day, as I slept in that morning and hit the road as soon as I got off work.  I didn't make it quite halfway to my parents' house before driving in the dark and rain got to be too much so I stopped for the night.

Paxton Holler

Friday morning I ran 3.17 miles on the hotel treadmill.  It was so excruciating.  How can a 3 mile treadmill run seem to take forever, while 3 miles outside barely feels like a warm up?  But I got it done, and then drove on to my parents' for a late lunch and a nice but too short visit.  Then it was back on the road for the last little leg of my trip to Greer, SC, and what should've been an 80 minute drive instead took 2 1/2 hours because everyone in NC and SC was on I-26 at the same time.  Good grief people.  Indianapolis doesn't have traffic jams that bad unless there's a wreck.

The main reason for this trip was a reunion with some friends from The Cullowhee Experience, a summer camp we attended as teens.  As with most reunions, not everyone could make it, but it was so great to see those who did.  We all connected just like when we were younger, and it didn't seem at all like we'd spent years apart.

#CountdownToVegas Week 8: What a Difference 30 Degrees Makes

This week I finally started feeling better.  I miss Kevin all the time, but sometimes the pain is sharper than others, and all I can do is just go with it. I started out the week still feeling down, but I kept getting up and working and training every day, and finally by Thursday I was feeling more like myself. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me recently. Your love and support is beyond priceless.

This morning in Sunday School we were discussing where we see evidence of God's care and concern.  Really for me it's every single day since Kevin died, God has given me something to get out of bed for, something to do, something to work on, some reason to keep moving.  And moments of joy and peace every day as well.  It's pretty amazing as I look back on it.

And so I keep moving every day, whether I feel like it or not.  Not in a "fake it till you make it" way, but rather moving in faith that God has something for me to do.  And always I feel Him with me.  So here's how this week's training went:

Trail Therapy

Monday - Missed Hills

Runner girl fail.  After work I went to change for hill training and discovered I'd forgotten shorts.  So I went home and waited around for the temps to cool off just a bit, then headed out for a short sunset trail run.  Being in the woods is always good for my soul.

Total miles: 3.5

Tuesday - Cross Training

My usual 5K Canal run with BSRC, followed by LFBootcamp.  I made this week's workout with some punching moves; possibly working out some aggression.  It felt a little awkward at first, but I enjoyed it and I think the others did too.

Total miles: 4

Wednesday - Yoga

Boat Pose

Last week for Sunrise Yoga on the Canal.  I've really enjoyed these sessions all summer.  Yoga outside just gives me something extra that yoga in a studio doesn't have.  Even in the middle of the city with traffic noises, there's something about being outside that's more meaningful.  This week we did a lot of balance and core work.  Some of the poses are still really challenging for me, and I didn't even attempt any handstands.

Total miles: 2.2

Thursday - Run(317)

Finally the heat wave finally broke.  Thursday's Run(317) Carmel was so nice - the run felt effortless after struggling with the heat the past few weeks.  I didn't PR, but pretty close at 35:23..  And as always, the after-party was a blast.  Only one more left this year: Fountain Square on 10/20.  It's bound to sell out like the others have, so sign up now.  This is the original and it's still the favorite of a lot of people.

Total miles: 7.4 (because I parked so far away from the race I walked more than I ran)

TGIF

I didn't work out on Friday.  But I did buy some new running shoes! All the local running stores are having sales for Labor Day weekend.  When I was out picking up our packets for Saturday's race, I browsed the shoes on sale, and was thrilled to spot one pair of the exact shoe I needed in my size.

Total miles: 0.7

Saturday - Long Run + TheGloRun

Saturday morning I went to Broad Ripple for my long run.  I did part of it on the Monon Trail, and part on the Canal Towpath.  With temps in the mid 60s and low humidity, I felt like I could run all day.  It was so nice to feel that way again.  I had to stop, just because Sampson had a vet appointment, otherwise who knows how far I would've run.

I was still dealing with dizziness, though, so it isn't just the heat causing that.  It didn't stop me or slow me down, but it's kind of a scary feeling.  I am really congested with fall allergies, so maybe that is what's causing it?  If it doesn't go away when my allergies clear up (typically mid-September), I will go see my doctor.

Saturday night I had the opportunity to do TheGloRun, and Josh ran it with me.  I got two free entries in exchange for blogging about it, so I'm going to do a full write-up tomorrow.  Spoiler: we had a great time.  This was a really fun run, and even after my morning long run I had no soreness (and no dizziness), and finished 5th in my age group with 34:55.

Best of all though was spending the evening with Josh.  I'm pretty lucky he's not embarrassed to hang out with his goofy mom all dressed up in an 80s costume.  I'm going to miss him when he moves to Colorado.  I'm already making plans to run Rock 'N Roll Denver next year.

Total miles: 18.2

Total miles for the week: 36.1

Total training miles to date:  197.65

Up Next

Sept. 10:  I really want to run the Hendricks County Half Marathon this coming Saturday.  I'm not signed up, though, and I'm not sure if I can/want to spend the money.  It was my very first half back in 2013, so it's kind of special to me, and I want to run it again.  Stay tuned to see what I decide.

Sept. 17:  I'm the 3-Hour Pacer for the Indy Women's Half Marathon.  I'm starting to get nervous about it.  I've never paced a race before.  I don't want to let anyone down.  

Sept. 25:  AUSA Indy Ten Miler: I found out about this race last year too late to actually run it, so as soon as registration opened for this year I signed up.  

Epic Vacation Wrap-Up

Ten glorious days at home in the mountains of western North Carolina: spending time with family, catching up with friends, eating lots of good food, and of course running.  This place is so beautiful; just being outside and looking around is refreshing and restorative.

Since Kevin died, people often ask me if I'm going to move back.  The answer is: I don't know yet.  This will always be home, but so will Indianapolis.  Both places tug at my heart, but sometimes so does the idea of starting over somewhere new.  When the time is right, God will let me know where He wants me to be next.  So for now, I'm just going to keep doing epic every day right where I am.

And where I've been for the past ten days is Paxton Holler in Canton, NC, so here are some of my epic vacation highlights:

A Day in the Life of Teresa

I recorded Thursday, March 17, for the Day in the Life blogger event hosted by Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity.  If you don't already follow Trish, you should definitely check out her blog as well as reading some of the other posts in the link-up.  We're all so different, yet we all have so much more in common with each other.

March 17 was of course St. Patrick's Day, but other than dressing up for run club, I didn't do very much different from an ordinary Thursday.

4:45 am I woke up when I heard Josh get home from a week of snowboarding and visiting friends in Colorado.  This was his third trip there in recent months; he's planning to move there in August.  I texted my mom to let her know Josh was home safe (I wasn't the only one worried about him), and then I went back to sleep.

6:00 am I woke up from a really strange dream.  I had been on the phone with Kathy making plans to meet up, then I'd gone into the garage to sort Kevin's shoes for donation.  I actually had sorted his shoes in real life on his birthday, so I guess that's why it was still on my mind.  In the dream, though, I was sorting them in the garage with the garage door open, when I saw a car come down the road that gave me a bad feeling.  I shut the garage door, but I could hear the car pull into my driveway and then it busted through the garage door.  I tried to run for the door to the house, but I was moving in slow motion and I knew they were going to get me.  Then, I woke up, heart pounding, but managed to fall back asleep.

With a Little Help From My Friends

This is where I'd normally write a wrap-up of the year, adding up all the miles I ran and posting pictures of all the t-shirts, medals, and other swag I collected.  But 2015 stopped being about all that for me on April 23.  It instead became about the sustaining love of God, and the amazing support of my family and friends.


I have always known how blessed I am to have such a great family.  I'm so close to my parents and sisters, I have a wonderful relationship with our kids, and I have many extended family members that I enjoy staying in touch with too.  But I have really been awed to discover just how many wonderful supportive friends I have.

There's no "I" in Indy, just US

Friends back in Canton, friends here in Indy, and friends all around the world.  Coworkers, former coworkers, church friends, runner friends, SMOMS, bootcampers, friends from grad school, neighbors.  Friends I've known almost as long as I've lived in Indy, and friends I just met this summer.  It's no exaggeration to say that for all the tears I've cried in sadness over losing Kevin, I have cried just as many in humble gratitude at the support I've received from so many friends.  It's also no coincidence that yesterday when I started working on this blog post, some friend or friends anonymously sent flowers to me at work.

We have other talents besides running

I find myself starting to say "I don't know what I've done to deserve all of you."  But then I think that's kind of the point.  When God pours out his love on us, whether through the people He puts in our lives or some other way, it isn't because we deserve it.  It's just because He loves us.  So we just accept it as a beautiful gift.  And then we go out and love each other in response.

Babes of Bootcamp

And so that's my goal for 2016: to be grateful and to give back.  I'm know I'm still going to have lots of bad days; days when all I can do is go home and put Kevin's clothes on and cry till my head hurts.  But on the okay days and the good days, I'm going to try to give back some fraction of the support you've given me, and love you and encourage you on your journey.

Closed eyes, warm heart?

Of course I can't resist posting one pic of race swag.  I call this the Cuss Word Trifecta.  I was joking with Laura the other night that we could make this our motto for 2016: Do Epic Shit Every Damn Day, Badass!  And with that in mind, here's some of the epic shit I have penciled in on my calendar:

Do Epic Shit Every Damn Day. Badass!

• The Indy East Race Series - I hope all my Indy friends will join me at as many of these as you can.  Four 5Ks for only $60!  That price is good through January 15th, so sign up soon.
• Pacing the 13-14 min/mile group with the Indy Runners Spring Training Program - I'm pretty excited about this!  I'll be helping other runners reach their goal of a spring half marathon.
• My second full marathon and first destination race: Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas!  Kevin & I always wanted to go to Vegas, but we never got to make that trip together.  So this one is for Kevin.  I'm going to run the strip, see all the sights, and take everything in that I can.  Several of the FBG are going too, so I know it will be a blast!
• Lots more fun new things I hope to try: ReFit, Barre Fitness classes, possibly a triathlon in late summer, possibly a 50K in December (or January 2017), hopefully going to summer camp with the FBG in August....

I'm Not Ready For This; Holiday Edition

It's November.  I know I covered that fact Sunday, but I didn't really talk about what it means.  November means the start of the holidays.  Thinking about the next few months feels like thinking about trying to walk through a minefield blindfolded.  How do people get through this?  How will I?  Well I know how.  God is with me, and He will provide.  But I don't know what that's going to look like, and it feels really scary.

I've always loved the holidays.  I listen to Christmas music year-round.  If a Hallmark Christmas movie is on at the same time as Doctor Who, I'm probably going to DVR Doctor Who.  Shopping and decorating, parties and visiting families.  Gingerbread and peppermint and eggnog.  But Kevin's not here to fill my purple Princess stocking with lipgloss and Pez holders and novelty pens.  I don't want to feel this big knot of dread in my stomach when I think about the holidays this year, but it's there.  How do I make it go away?

I'm Not Fragile, or How To Talk To Me While I'm Grieving

There are a lot of articles and blog posts out there about what to say/not say to someone who's grieving.  Here's a good one from One Fit Widow, and here's another good one that Kimmy shared from Diply.  I'm going to give you my version now, keep in mind it may not apply to every grieving person you know.  We are all unique.

Disclaimer: This is not directed at everyone in my life, so please don't over-analyze anything you've said to me.  I have received wonderful support from many friends who let me be real and make me feel normal, at least for a little while.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I don't know what I would do without you.  #FBG

 

I'm Not Fragile

Sometimes I almost want to laugh at people who apologize after they either say or do something that brings up a memory, or even just say something about dying in general.  You don't have to handle me with care.  I'm already broken - shattered really - so you can't break me any more.  I get it, sort of.  If I'm functioning okay for the moment and something changes and my emotions show, maybe you think you did/said something wrong and should apologize.  But it's always there even when I'm hiding it, and if I get overwhelmed and let it out sometimes that's not actually a bad thing.  So don't apologize.  You didn't hurt me and you aren't making it worse.  Just let me be real for a moment.

 

I'm Not Okay And That's Okay

Seriously.  I've posted this before.  I'm not going to be okay for a long time.  I'm not supposed to be okay.  Life feels broken and strange to me now.  Eventually this will become my new normal, but that's a couple of years away.  I'm not the kind of person who can sit around doing nothing and waiting until I feel better, so yes you see me out and doing things I enjoy, but that doesn't mean I'm not still struggling. You can ask me if I'm doing okay if you want to, but don't look so disappointed when I say no.  If you don't want my real answer, then just say hi and keep moving.

 

I Like To Talk About Kevin

Don't be afraid to say his name.  If you knew him, tell me a story about him, especially if it's something I might not already know.  If you didn't know him, ask me about him.  A few weeks ago I was at an event with some new friends, and one asked me how Kevin & I met.  Just like you would ask any wife about her husband.  That made me feel so good, and I loved telling her.

 

No, Everything Doesn't Happen For A Reason

Oh, this might be my biggest irritation.  If you say this to me you might get a long rant back, or I might just say okay and walk away.  Just depends on how much energy I have at the moment.  I know you probably mean this to be comforting, but it's not.  My life is not some Hollywood movie where Kevin as the Hero sacrificed himself to save everyone else.  We live in a fallen world full of sin, disease, and sadness; a world where bad things just happen.  I am working on accepting this.  If you tell me Kevin died for a reason when I see plenty of other people surviving heart attacks, plenty of other overweight smokers still walking around holding hands with their wives, I am either going to get really angry or I'm going to ignore you.

 

But God Will Use This To Bring About Good

This is what I think you actually mean when you say things happen for a reason.  Kevin didn't die for some grand cause.  But God knew Kevin was going to die and so God will use that to bring about good things for those who love Him.  Do you see the difference?  I have a friend who is also a runner, and we used to talk about how we worried about our husbands' health and we wanted to find ways to encourage them to be active with us.  After Kevin died, my friend's husband started eating better and running with her.  He's lost almost 60 pounds and now runs faster than she does.  Kevin didn't die so that my friend's husband would live a healthier life.  To say that would imply that God values one man over the other, or that God is just capricious and mean.  I reject both of those ideas.  Kevin died because bad things happen.  But God knew it would happen and so he placed my friend in my life so that He could use what happened to bring about something good.

 

Let Me Know If....

Yeah, you're not going to hear from me.  When I think of the friends who's support has meant the most to me over the past months, it's the ones who call/text/message and say "Let's do this thing on this date" and I say yes and we plan it.  Or the ones who just show up at my door at just the right time.  It's truly an effort just to get out of bed many days.  I lie there still half-asleep trying to not wake up because I know once I do it's going to hurt.  If I can't even get out of bed on time, do you really think I'm going to take the initiative to plan a get-together?

 

You Don't Have To Do, Just Be

You can't fix it.  It's not fixable.  Kevin's going to stay dead and there is no way to avoid the pain of that.  I just have to move through it.  God will bind up my wounds in time, and He still has a plan and purpose for me, but all that takes time.  You can't make me feel better, but I don't expect you to.  That isn't your job.  Just be present, be there with me sometimes.

He [God] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3

Don't worry if you think you have done or said something I mentioned in this post.  I know it's all from a place of caring, so it's all good.  I just wanted to get this out there so you'll know.

And whether you know Kevin or not, I hope you will enjoy this video his friend Darrell made.

1,000+ Miles

After my 7 mile run on Saturday, my GPS watch informed me that I'd hit a new milestone: 1,000 miles!  Officially 1,001.7 miles run with my watch.  That doesn't count the miles when I first started running, before Kevin bought me my watch.  (It's the Nike+ Sport Watch, of course, because Kevin's favorite brand of sporting goods is Nike.)  It also doesn't count the occasional run I do without the watch.  But it's still a fun milestone for a number nerd like me, and it got me wondering where I could be if I'd run all those miles consecutively...

I'm Not Ready For This

2011, in Michigan

I think most of our readers know why I haven't blogged since mid-April, but for those who don't: my husband Kevin went home to be with the Lord after a sudden heart attack on April 23.  I am devastated to have lost him at only 47.  We had 11 years together, the last 5 of those married, but it doesn't feel like nearly long enough.  I feel angry & cheated out of the 40 or 50 years I thought we'd have together.  And I don't feel ready for this life I have to now live without him.

I know, however, that God is with me and will be with me in all the days to come.  He knows what I need to get through this and He will make sure I have it, so I am living on faith and taking each little step as I see it in front of me, even though I can't see any farther than that right now.

Marathon Motivation

I had a little fun with a baby picture of Starr, making a motivational post for Laura as she got ready for today's Savannah Rock 'n Roll Marathon.

Laura finished in 4:54:32, and Mark finished in 4:37:50.  Great finish times!  I can't wait to hear all about it!

Ketchup Post

Catching up on a few things I haven't had a chance to blog in the past couple weeks....

5K PR Watch

I made another attempt to achieve a new 5K PR at the 2nd Merrell Summer Series 5K on 8/28.  It was in the 80's and very humid that evening. I think they tried to help us ignore the heat by using race bibs leftover from the Polar Bear Run, but they didn't really help.I carried water with me since there were no water stops in the 1st race, but I still struggled through the heat and slowed down rather than sped up.  I'm okay with that, though. A lot of the reading I've been doing lately has said to run by feel, not by pace or speed.  So when it's hot and the run takes more effort, it's okay to slow down.  I'm still working hard and getting the benefits of that conditioning. As always, I had a lot of fun running with my friends from the Indy Women's Fall Training group.  And got a bonus t-shirt! Carmel Road Racing Group was giving away old race shirts to people who had preregistered.  Everyone knows how much I love Christmas, so I'm sure it's no surprise I picked this 5Ks of Christmas shirt.

 

I Am A Spartan

One of my friends told me about the Spartan Workout Tour, a free group workout designed to teach you how to train for a Spartan Race.  I've never done a Spartan Race - they look pretty hard core - but the workout was free and included a free t-shirt. So how could I say no?

Ice Bucket Challenge, part 2

I know it's been more than a week since Cindy challenged me, but punctuality has never been a strong suit for me.  I finally did my ice bucket challenge this morning when I got home from the Spartan Workout, definitely in need of a shower.

I am making my donation to Water Wells for Africa, an organization that builds water wells in rural Africa to provide access to clean water for those who do not have it.  Many people either use unsanitary water or walk hours a day to obtain clean water.

Laura's next to complete the Ice Bucket Trifecta.  As a bonus, if you check out our Facebook page you can see our Daddy do the Ice Bucket Challenge with the North Canton Fire Department!

Ice Bucket Challenge

Baby sister has given her older siblings the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  What will they do?

Go Ape Adventure

Last week, Josh & I took a day off and went to the Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course at Eagle Creek Park.  We'd both been wanting to do it since it opened in 2012.  It's much more than just a zip line - it's an entire high ropes course with rope ladders, swings, bridges & other crossings.  We had so much fun!  It takes 2 to 3 hours to complete the course, so we definitely got our money's worth. 

I'm not really afraid of heights, but I was still a bit nervous.  Even after 13 weeks of boot camp, I still don't have much upper arm strength, and for some reason I thought that I had to hold on & partly support my weight on a zip line.  I knew there was a harness to keep me from falling, but I didn't realize the harness actually holds me completely and don't have to hold on at all.

Friends of the Lake 5K Photos

Click pic to embiggen

Photos from the Friends of the Lake 5K, Lake Junaluska, NC, April 19, 2014.  There was a great turnout for the race, despite the liquid sunshine at the beginning.  And great support from UATC staff, members & families!  Hope to see everyone again next year.

Photos credits to Kendra Taylor, Justina Goodman, and Urban Athletic Training Center.  Thanks for sharing!

Komen Race for the Cure Weekend Recap

Momma, Teresa, Cindy, Daddy, Janet, Josh

 The tagline for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is "More than a Race", which is very true for our family.  We lost our aunt Dotty to breast cancer in 2002, and it has also affected other relatives, in-laws and friends.  As many of us as possible do this race each year, either in Indy or in Raleigh (or both if we are lucky).

Race Swag!

This was my second year running it, but I've walked it many times.  I was so happy this year that Momma, Daddy & Cindy were able to come to Indy for the race, and that Josh & Janet could take time off work & do it with us.  It was lots of fun walking around the pink village as a family, and enjoying time together all weekend.  Hopefully next time, everyone else can make it too (Looking at you Kevin, Nick, Vikki, Kimmy, Laura, Mark, Tim, Starr, & David.)