Photo of the Week

Photo Courtesy of Anastasia Smith

 

More on this picture later! Have a wonderful weekend, and a spooky Halloween!

05:01:56

26.2 is the loneliest number. Or it could be, if I stuck to my usual thinking.

You see, to me, running is a solitary effort. It's time for me to have a nice long chat... with me. I've never been one to socialize and jog, to joke and run. I like running because it is my time to zone out. To daydream. To think things through. It's my time for me.

I have a wonderful husband who understands this. He runs with me for part of a run, and then lets me finish with myself. It's not that I don't want him there. It's not that I don't need him there. It's just that running is solitary. Not lonely, solitary.

I have spent hours upon hours training for the Detroit Free Press Marathon. To be quite honest with myself, I've spent hours upon hours upon hours training for the Colorado Marathon, the Denver Marathon, and the Freep Marathon. Unfortunately, injuries held me back from the other two. The determination was there. It was crazy. I was crazy. Crazy enough to run 26.2 miles in downtown Detroit and Windsor, Canada.

I spent a lot of time with myself, learning about me, during the long training regime. I said goodbye to beautiful Fort Collins, and hello to Enid, and more specifically, Vance AFB during my runs. I discovered myself during this time. I realized what was important, and what was not. I realized what dreams I have, and which ones I don't. I realized running is more fun when you don't "have" to do it.

But I stuck with it. Sheer crazyness determination. And it got me to that finish line.

With a little help.

While running may be a solitary effort, marathoning is a team event. I learned how much a screaming crowd helps. (And I also learned how hard 3 miles can be after losing that screaming crowd...I hate you am not a fan of you Lafayette Street.) I came to love the shout of "Looking good First Timer!" I discovered the thrill of high five-ing a stranger's hand, midrun. I learned to read signs which are jumping up and down.

But most importantly, I learned what it means to have a great running partner. The last 13 miles were slow. I didn't talk much. I didn't think much. But just knowing I had the man who gave me the passion to run running along side me made it that much easier.

My dad ran the second half of the marathon with me. He was there for me, for encouragement when it got rough, for entertainment when it got boring, for photography when it got exciting. It blew me out of the water how important it was for me to have that in the end. To have a running partner. To have built in encouragement. I don't think he knows how much it meant to me to have those 3 hours with him. It's the best thing he has ever given me.

I do want to make sure that I thank my other "Marathon Partners." I want to especially thank my J for being so encouraging and understanding throughout the training. I crossed the finish line with his dog tags on, so he was there with me the whole time. I need to thank my sister for bookend-ing the race with me. I need to thank my cousin and dear friend who ran the half and stayed until the very end to cheer me on. Thank you to my mom, who cheered louder than them all when I crossed that finish line. Thank you to my MIL and SIL who made sure to be there at the end. Thank you to my aunt, for getting me water when I needed it, and cheering her head off when I was close. Thank you to all the friends and family who were thinking about me that day, your support means so much to me. And finally, thank you to my dog, for logging so many miles with your mom.

Oh and thank you to Jill Asiala and Anastasia Smith for all these pictures. And TSC Graphics. Did I just win an Emmy?

America's High Five

Yes, I was in Michigan. For a week. A week without my hubby. A week where I drove all over the state, ran a marathon, attended a funeral, spent time with the few lucky people whose schedules worked with mine, stood up in a wedding, and slept very little.

I promise a week of Total Michigan Action, including a mile by mile account of my 26.2 mile jog (okay maybe not mile by mile... but nice and detailed nonetheless). But for today, I just want to share with you the beauty of Pure Michigan.

I haven't been in Michigan for it's amazing autumn for a very long time (4 years to be exact) so I wanted to soak in as much color as I could. And I did.

The drive up to Traverse City and back down to Michigan State did not disappoint. But in the middle of that mini road trip, there was Manistee.

Manistee, my first Fourth of July love. The best beach in the world. A warm, bright condo filled with grandparents. And lighthouses. Oh, how I love lighthouses.

Now do you see why I love Manistee so?? Ready for your own fall trip to the lighthouses? Stay tuned this week for more pictures and lore from my "trip" to Michigan. (It's a trip, not a vacation).

Celebration.

Today is a day of celebrations.

We're celebrating the 26th birthday of the best husband.

We're celebrating the birthday of the matter of fact grandfather.

We're celebrating the birthday of the strong, amazing GREAT aunt.

And we're celebrating the life of this wonderful man.

I love you all. Very, very much. Uncle Dick, you will be missed tremendously, I love you forever.

This is why HE'S hot.

a won-der-ful hus-band [a wun-der-fuhl huz-buhnd]
a faboulous, great, perfect spouse of the male gender.My wonderful husband brought me flowers for being a good little wife, and a plant for being a good little worker. 

 Now here's to hoping the plant doesn't set off the motion detectors in my office on my day off tomorrow... 

Pumpkins and gourds and pinecones... Oh my!

We've discussed this before. Fall is here, and we're all about embracing the change in seasons. I have brought out my boots again. I don't care that its a high of 90 today, I'm wearing my boots (thanks so much, Oklahoma, for the amazing fall weather).

We've had a few decor changes around the house as well, getting in the spirit of fall. We have pumpkins and less specific gourds scattered, pinecones hanging, and a new table runner to celebrate the season. As you may be able to tell, my decorating style is a bit minimal, so I stuck with that when adding the fall feel to our home.

We're still waiting for some great big white pumpkins and some Halloween decorations, but as we like fall in general, we wanted to make sure these new touches could carry on past October 31. What do you think? How do you change things up for this cool, crisp season? Do you decorate like us? Or go all out? Or maybe just a pumpkin spice candle does the trick (it does. It smells like fall every time I walk in my door). Any suggestions for me for some more simple fall decor?

PS I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge the fact that I have been neglecting you. You and this blog. It's been a whirlwind month, with my new job and all the amazing friends we've made, with finishing up marathon training and quizzing Jon on his flying procedures. I have been thinking of a better way to blog, and am playing with the idea of doing more weekend posts, rather than strictly weekday posts. So be on the lookout for more Saturday & Sunday posts from now on!