Friday Fill-Ins

1. Some relationships are meant to last forever.
2. Lonestar is the last concert I saw; it was one of the only concerts I've ever been to--I'm just not into concerts.
3. Spring should be wonderful this year.
4. Oh no! I forgot I have to teach a Sunday School lesson on Sunday!
5. I've recently started to read David Copperfield.
6. The Office never fails to make me smile.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going on a date with my hubby to see a musical on stage, tomorrow my plans include getting some much needed housework done and Sunday, I want to go to church and then come home and relax!

Interesting test

87

There are so many countries out there! Be warned, if you take this test, it doesn't accept wrong spellings so be careful.

Eric, it looks like we have a challenge!

I'm still alive

Well, I was able to finish my 23 miler on Saturday. It was probably more like 22.5 but who's really counting at that point? It was hard. REALLY hard. It didn't seem like I could even walk another mile much less run another three, but hopefully the day of the marathon my adrenaline will kick in and I'll finish without any major problems. I'm sore but not as sore as I thought I might be, so that's also a good sign. For any of you out there who have wanted to run a marathon but feel like there is no way in H#@* that you could do it, I would definitely recommend Jeff Galloway's website. His run-walk-run method makes running so much more enjoyable to me. I run for 4 minutes and then walk for 30 seconds but you can use whatever combination of time you want. When I started using his method I could run straight for about 3 miles so I chose to do a 3:1 ratio of running to walking. After my run on Saturday, I think I might increase my walking time to 40-45 seconds to try to save my legs a little for the end. Jeff gives very good guidelines on what run-walk ratio to use and there are training schedules for 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and marathon on the website. I highly recommend it for any aspiring runners out there. If you are already a runner than my guess is that you won't want to try this method and I don't really blame you. If what you're doing works, then why change it? As for me, I don't think there is anyway that I would be running a marathon in April if it weren't for this system of running.

Easter humour

My son, N~(5)'s, preschool teacher just told me about something he said today. They were discussing Easter and that we celebrate it because Jesus was resurrected on Sunday morning. N~ said, "I know why he was resurrected on Sunday. So He could tell people to 'be quiet and walk' at church."

He must hear that a lot a church. I hope he's remembering a little more than that. :)

Friday Fill-In

1. Running in races is so exciting!
2. Strawberry fields can get messy if you don't watch your step.
3. Creamy Spinach Ravioli sounds like it would taste delicious!
4. Why does a nice compliment make me feel so good?!
5. The Eiffel Tower is something I've always wanted to see.
6. It's sad when I don't get to read at all in a day.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching a movie with my family, tomorrow my plans include running 23 miles to prepare for my marathon and Sunday, I want to stay in bed all day because I'll probably be dead from running the day before!

St. Patrick's Day

Am I a big stick in the mud? I just don't care about St. Patrick's Day. My kids have been talking about leprechauns for a week and it kind of bugs me. Not that I hate the idea of leprechauns or the fun of telling stories about rainbows and pots of gold. It bothers me that my daughter, B(8), who knows about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy adamantly believes in lephrechauns. Now maybe she's just playing along and is really good at it, but I'm not sure. You know, the more I think about it, I think she is just putting on a big show for her sister S(6). That makes me feel a little better. Well, I'm glad I cleared that up for myself. :)

I'm kind of a Scrooge about most holidays to be honest. I dread having to put out the Christmas decorations and I don't put out decorations for any other holiday. I put out a couple of things at Halloween, I guess, but not much and I only do it when I happen to see a decoration in the storage room and pull it out just because I'm there. I think this attitude frustrates my kids a little but I don't think it will scar them emotionally so I'm okay with it. They'll probably grow up and be really outlandish with holiday decorations because they feel that they were so deprived as a child.

10K Run

I won a silver medal! I ran in a 10K this morning and came in 2nd in my age division. I love races. I guess it's that competitive spirit that comes out in me. There's just something so fun and exciting about being at the starting line with hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. The gun goes off and sometimes there are so many people you are almost tripping over each other so that you can barely walk much less run. Slowly people start to spread out as those in the front sprint out ahead, the walkers fall behind and everyone just finds a rhythm and pace of their own. Then you start to recognize people around you. First the guy with the green and yellow shorts might pass you but later you pass him. The girl with the bright pink shorts and the pony tail stays just a few yards ahead of you. Then towards the end of the race you pass the green shorts guy and he doesn't pass you again. The ponytail girl is starting to pull away but somewhere deep inside you find a little reserve of energy and put it into gear. You pass her with 100 yards to go and it doesn't matter that by the time you cross the finish line, 230 people have crossed it before you. You beat the pony-tail girl and your last race time by 25 seconds. It's so awesome! And for me after several races I started getting closer and closer to placing in my age group and then one time I got third and the next time 4th, but the next time 2nd. It feels amazing! I know lots of people that just run for exercise and really enjoy it but I have to say that nothing gets me more excited about running than a race.

Here is Max Hall (BYU's awesome quarterback) announcing the winners.


Here's my reaction when my name is called.


Here's me with my silver medal!


Fun day!

Funny!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Contact may cause a rash.
2. The parties hereto do mutually agree to disagree.
3. Disney parks are where my kids are dying to be taken to.
4. A great massage sounds really good right about now!
5. I positively love Book Club.
6. My friend Julie always makes me smile :-)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to Becky's baby shower, tomorrow my plans include running in the Rex Lee 10K race and going to Book Club (yay!) and Sunday, I want to go to church and then come home and take a nap!