So excited to be doing Ragnar again this year. Yes, last year was rough with me getting sick and all, but I'm going to work hard to be sure that doesn't happen this year! Hopefully all goes well! Running with Alyssa family. I've been doing mega exercise this week and I hurt so bad that I hope I can run tomorrow! Wish me luck! :0)
I don't know what's going on with me this week, but I feel like such a grouch! I guess maybe the stress of everything in my life is finally culminating into a full blown grouch attack! I really need a vacation from life, but I just don't see that happening any time soon. :0( I just want to sit around and do nothing for just one day. May be after today things will calm down. I finished my testing and my portfolio and now I just need to get all my homework done for the 90.
If only I could control 8-9 year olds now...My class has been crazy off the wall the past few weeks and I think it's going to get worse. They are as tired of school as I am and there are still three weeks left! I'm going to have to do some crazy planning of fun games and activities to keep them from driving me insane.
I could keep going, but I'll stop complaining now. Life could be a lot worse and I have a lot to be thankful for!
It's been two days and even as I sit here typing this my body hurts, but thankfully not as bad as I thought it would! Running the Ogden Marathon was quite the adventure! Got sick around mile 10, lost just after mile 13, and finally finished after more than 6 hours. Only one teeny tiny blister! I love my shoes! I keep saying I never want to do this again, but that's what I said about Ragnar last year and I'm doing it this year, so we'll see! :0)
So here I am, only 39 hours until the marathon. I keep saying to myself, "It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun." Then I see all the rain coming down outside and think about how I hate running in the rain....Everyone help me out and pray for a nice day on Saturday! I can handle the cold, but not the wet. The past few weeks have been a battle getting myself out running. The angel and devil on my shoulders are always battling it out. Should I go run out in the rain? Should I go to the gym and run my six miles on the treadmill? Lots of should I's. Sadly the last two weeks have been me avoiding the decision all together and not running....NOT GOOD! I am going to do this anyways and just push through and finish. Even if it takes me all day to do it!
If you want to come cheer me on you can go to any of the following locations:
Eden Park (using alternate route over North Ogden Divide) Halfway
Ogden Parkway by Timbermine and the Dinosaur Park Only 5K to go
24th and Grant Home Stretch
25th and Grant Finish Line
The race starts at 7, I figure, barring any mishaps, I'll be finishing sometime between 12:30-1:00 p.m.
This adventure has been a long one full of aches and pains as well as a knowledge that I can work hard and truly accomplish anything I put my mind to doing. I'm ready to close this long-distance running chapter of my life and start on something new, something fun....Let me know if you have any ideas! :0)
So January 1st I made a goal to give up Diet Coke and other sodas. The first two months was horrible, but I stayed strong and now I have been soda free for four fabulous months. This last weekend I decided to do something daring and start on the next big addiction in my life...SUGAR...
Diet Coke was never this hard. I am now realizing just how addicted to sugar I really am. Sunday I'm walking in the kitchen and we have this bowl of candy sitting on the cupboard and I tried to talk myself out of it. Really, I tried! It went something like this:
Only 30 more days and I've had it! Had it with rain! Had it with the stupid cat! Had it with running! I'm in serious need of some motivation....
So we had an earthquake drill today. As we were walking outside after the "earthquake" stopped, the firealarm was going off. It is loud and very annoying. One of my girls shouted, "It sounds like a farting bumble bee!" I chuckled :0), asking myself if she had ever heard a bumble bee fart?
The alarm is going off. It's 4:00 a.m. Yes I'm one of those crazy people who gets up early and the fact that I'm going to run 18 miles makes me even crazier...I ate some breakfast and got all my stuff together. Then drove to my angel-sister-in-law Alyssa's house to run with her. She is amazing! We started off pretty good until the South Weber wind started blowing. How I hate running against the wind!!! I don't know what was up with me, but I was being so slow! We got through South Weber and made our way up a hill. My marvelous mother drove by at that point and shouted, "You go girls!" That gave me even more motivation, but alas I'm not that great of a runner and to me the hill was quite steep....I had to walk most of it. Bless Alyssa's heart she stayed with me the whole way up! I'm so lucky to have her in our family. My brother made a good choice when he decided to start chasing her. :0) Mom met us at the top of the hill for some more encouragement and on we went. Alyssa pulled away and I was better able to find my groove. I'm glad she was with me for the hill though because I'm not sure I would have made it without her!
By mile nine I was running an average 13.5 minute mile. It kind of went downhill from there (lol). By the time I got back to South Weber Drive I was beyond done, but Alyssa and my Mom met me and helped me make it through the last couple miles. Then I finished! in 4 hours and 20 minutes which is an average 14:26 mile. The last mile took me around 20-25 minutes, so it threw off my average :-(. But I still did better than I thought I would!
Only a short few weeks before the marathon...
Only 50 days left until the marathon. I'm loving the weather!!!! I love running outside and I discovered a new fun place to run near my parents' house (soon to be my house). I can't wait to get out and use it some more! Tomorrow morning I'm running with Alyssa at 5:00 in the morning. We're on the same running schedule. It's going to be a doozy...18 miles! I'm stoked/nervous. That's my farthest distance so far and I'm hoping I can make it without getting too sick... I guess we'll see :0)
It's getting closer to that wonderful marathon day!!! I've felt so unmotivated the past month that I haven't been running much...Yeah not good...This last week though, I got out and made myself do it. I had Addi on Saturday, so I had to leave work early Friday to go home and get on my running gear for a fabulous 16 mile jog...Well it was supposed to be 16 miles...I had a meeting to go to at work that I originally didn't know about, so I left later than I thought. The first 5 miles were the hardest. I couldn't get into a rhythm due to the fact that the road had many hills, but after that it was all down hill and straight. I actually did better than I thought I would do. I made it 14.2 miles before stopping. I would have finished, but I had to get home to get ready to go out for Brittnee's birthday. It was the longest run I've done to date. I also have to say that even though I haven't been sticking to my schedule, it still wasn't too bad! :0) Now I just have to get myself running a little less than twice that amount and doing it a little faster and I'll be able to get through the marathon without too many problems. I just keep chanting, "It's mostly downhill. It's mostly downhill." I figure if I keep telling myself that I will convince my mind that it can do anything! :0)
Dinner was fun! We went to Tucano's Brazillian Grill at the Gateway. They have delicious fried bananas! I love them! It was fun to be able to go and spend some time with friends out and about. We don't do it as much as we used to and sometimes I really miss having fun just hanging out! It's been a great week! I hope next week is just as amazing!
So I discovered a really cool website. You put in words from a song or just words and it spits them out into a cool arrangement. The biggest words are the most used words and the smaller words are the words that are used less.
Well, in a mere 100 days I will be running a marathon...Yikes! I'm at 11 miles tomorrow and I'm going to have to figure something new out for keeping my body alive before I get to more miles or I'll never make it through 26 miles, let alone the .2 that comes after it. I'll work on it and get back to you on that.
By the way, you should check out this blog written by my friend Michelle. She is another third grade teacher at school and she has a blog about funny things she hears kids say. They are hilarious!
Last summer when I ran Ragnar I met this amazing woman named Amber who was on my team. She was all energy and making sure we all had what we needed from water to encouragement. I had the opportunity to meet her family as well when we would stop between legs of the run. Her son was full of energy and FUNNY! He was fun to talk to. I found out that when he was 5 or 6 he had been diagnosed with leukemia, but had been in remission for a while.
A couple of weeks ago Tucker was told his leukemia had relapsed in his central nervous system. This week they also found out that his brain is swelling. The doctors are trying to figure out what caused his brain to swell and do not believe it was caused by his cancer or his treatments. Sounds like he is slowly starting to feel better, but will be in the hospital until they can see that his brain swelling has gone down.
Hearing his amazing story and reading about small miracles that are taking place has reminded me of how thankful I am for the life I have. I am blessed with an amazing family, a great job, and a healthy body. I am also thankful for the knowledge I have that I'm a daughter of God, that he loves me as I am, and that through my Savior, Jesus Christ my sins can be forgiven and I can return to live with Him again someday. Who could ask for more in their life?
To read more of Tucker's story or to donate to help their family click on the link in "My Friends" called "Well That Sucks!"-------->
I LOVE SKITTLES!!!!!!
The original kind....Just thought you should know.... :o)
It's finally a new year and I'm excited to make some new goals and do some new things! Some things to look forward to: Ogden Marathon 2011(Yikes!), Ragnar Wasatch Back 2011(I know I swore never to do it again, but hey I want to go and have fun this time!), moving back in with my parents, and a trip to WI and Nauvoo is also in the works!
As I ask myself what kind of goals I want to make this year, I come up all the normal resolutions I make at this time of year: lose 50 lbs, exercise more, Keep my room clean, write in my journal every day etc. I never do these things....hmmmmm...
"What should I do?" I ask myself. "Duh make them more specific!" So here we go:
Made it to bed at 9, but couldn't sleep again. Had a migraine... I feel better today and I'm looking forward to the weekend! I'm starting to feel that Christmas Spirit again. If only I had my own house....it would look amazing all decked out for Christmas! :0)
Sleep is good. I'm not getting any. Get home around 10 p.m. Laundry. Not able to sleep. 1ish I finally fall asleep. I swear that all I did last night was blink and then my alarm went off.
My goal for tonight: Be in Bed by 8:30!
I'll let you know how it goes! :0)
What a great day! I got up and went with my cousins to the temple. I'm ashamed to say it's been a while since I've been. I left with a great feeling and a new goal to get back on track with my temple attendance. As I was sitting in the Celestial room watching the rainbows dance around from the chandlier, it reminded me of a quote about a crystal from a book I read:
"The direct sunlight that hits the crystal is like the light of Christ. The crystal is like our hearts, or our spirits. We can choose to close the curtain between that light and ourselves, or we can let that light penetrate us and became an instrument to spread the light and diffuse it into all that we do. As long as we don't close ourselves off, we will always be touched by the light" (The Miracle by Anita Stansfield).
I know I'm a day early, but tomorrow will be a very busy day. I'm looking forward to it! Starting off with and 8 a.m. 5K in the freezing wind! I am so thankful for clothes that keep me warm and a cousin who is helping me be motivated to run outside in the cold :0) Then it's off to my parents' house for family pictures...I didn't get a chance to get a haircut, so I might look interesting...Then helping my mom get ready for the Raymond crew to come over for dinner. I'm so thankful for the supportive family I have both immediate and extended. They are loud and crazy, but we have fun and they would do anything for me! I <3 you guys!
My new blogs are up and running! Check them out in my sidebar there ----------------->
They are: SEE the Future, Megz Favorite Quotes, and Megz Favorite Scriptures.
Enjoy!! :0)