ok although i haven't been blogging very well i have been running well and.....daily.
the daily running commitment has given me:
1. quality one on one time with my children discussing things that don't normally come up in the family room
2. my half-marathon pr in april
3. the opportunity to do something i didn't really want to do.
4.the chance to run in the mountains, the snow, the rain, the sleet, the wind, the mud, the sun, late at night, early in the morning, after a full day of exercise, alone, with family, with friends, in hiking boots, barefoot, on the treadmill, on the roads, in arkansas, colorado, missouri, and oklahoma, when i was sick, when i was tired, when i really wanted to, and when my legs hurt.
5. the chance to see my daughter running her first 4 mile event this weekend.
i have a few most memorable jaunts:
1. in colorado over spring break... started feeling ill on the slopes. had to stop skiing for the day went back to cabin and went to bed while the others went to dinner. chris came back to the cabin and i told him i still needed to run. after much discussion between the two of us he agreed to go with me for the mile minimum. i made it about 50 yards and emptied the contents of my stomach on the side of the road while about 30 deer looked on and chris held my hair back. i am thankful for the window of good feeling you get when you do that and was able to complete the mile and head back to bed.
2. i ran 13 miles in a blizzard at turkey mt. it was all i could do to keep the mud from sucking my shoes off until the ground got so frozen and my feet so wet and cold that it didn't matter anymore. after i got back to the yukon where chris had been sleeping for two hours (we had driven in from colorado the night before, arriving home about 2am) we had to tow people out of their parking spaces.
it also happened to be maggie's birthday and it was the first time during a run that i knew exactly what i had been doing that day 14 years ago. and for those of you wondering..... 14 years ago i hadn't ever run a mile without stopping. i was very proud of where i was that day and who i had become. i felt empowered.
3. running a mile around 10:30 pm to get it done. eli was concerned that i was going out on my own so he volunteered to join me. he talks so openly. this particular night that stands out he asked about how to know that the bible was really all written by God and not just people doing their best. the awesome thing is there is no pressure for answers to the things we discuss. there is only the freedom that running brings to the mind for discovery.
4. a three mile run around the neighborhood with drew on his bike beside me. no walkman needed... after we talked about his day he rode and sang the songs for me that he was doing for his first grade musical.
just to name a few...
it has been a great 5 months...
latest run was 11:15 pm
earliest run 4:30 am
longest run 15 miles (so far)... chris is trying to get me to do another marathon..
personal best in half-marathon of 1:51:27... goal was 2:00:00
everyone is moving more at our house... what about yours????
