End of August

Today is the first day of September, but it sure doesn't feel very fall like outside right now.

August was a great month! My very first nephew and my Goddaughter's birthdays are both in August, so the month both started and ended with birthday celebrations.

Looking back on August, things I am proud of:

1. I didn't miss any scheduled runs! Logging 122 miles towards my marathon goal this month and bringing my total for the year to just over 600 miles! I didn't really GO anywhere, but my Dad pointed out to me tonight that I could have ran to his childhood home in Alabama, pretty amazing when I look at it like that.

2. I ate well most of the time this month, with treats thrown in and I actually managed to lose some weight!

3.  I enjoyed and really tried to savor every momement with my friends and family.

Oh and my friend Amy at http://www.amyaroundthecorner.blogspot.com/ nominated me for a
Award, so sweet of her, I'm honored!

So here are 7 things about myself:

1. I hate to clean, loathe it! I would rather do most anything else but that.
2. I love being called Aunt Heather, being an Aunt is a great gig if you can find it.
3.I have a huge sweet tooth, in fact my usual response when someone asks my favorite dessert is "Yes please!"
4. My Daddy and I are the closest personality wise in our family, at times equal parts endearing and frustrating.
5. I  love reading and don't find the time to do it as much as I would like.
6. I am tone deaf and can't carry a tune. But I still love to sing along to the radio or in church anyway.
7. I have to have a cover on at night-even just a sheet, can't sleep without it!

Thanks again for the nomination Amy!

Okay off to my first Bible Study of the fall!

Run on Friends,
Heather

7 Miles before dawn

Yes this morning I joined my running girls and we completed 7 miles before the sun was even completely up.  A good way to get the day going I would say!

Yet in thinking about this mornings run, I thought (not for the first time) about how far I've come in my running journey.  Back when I started running, 7 miles seemed crazy in my best moments and an impossible dream for me in my worst.  I had no desire really to ever run any further than a 5K or 10K distance, and even those were a stretch.

Even after 3 half marathons (that I trained for on my own), I still wasn't so sure about this full marathoning business.  Sure it was a great accomplishment, sure people did it, (I only knew one person at the time who had completed a full marathon), but that was for "real runners", of which I did not count myself as one.

But then came the decesion that changed my running journey and in no small part my life forever- I joined MIT! And suddenly that dream I had held quietly in my heart for a long time of being a marathoner didn't seem so impossible anymore.  Thanks to my first MIT coach's (Julie) encouragement I signed up for that very first marathon- I always joke that Julie forced me to run a marathon against my will, but really she just believed in me, as did so many other people at MIT- they believed I would cross that finish line. Even when I wasn't so sure, they were postive I would finish, they believed for me when I didn't.

So today when I ran that 7 miles in the morning, pretty much without a second thought, I thought of all those coaches and friends who helped me take each step in this incredible journey! 

Run On Friends,
Heather

"Running keeps me in touch with what is outside, both outside of myself and outside in the world, and I need that." Kristen Armstrong

First Marathon Dream Come True!

Happiness

Things that are making me happy today:

1. "My" running girls- seriously these ladies are such a blessing to me and my running! They are there every morning with smiles and good conversation that make the miles fly by. Even if it IS at o'dark thirty.

2. A quiet day at work- My boss was a training and meetings all day and my co-worker was off sick, so I was able to get lots of things done. 

3. Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks- I love fall, it's my very favorite season, and pumpkin returning signals the offical beginning of the fall season to me! Never mind the little fact that it's supposed to be 87 on Saturday!

4. Football!! Ohio State Football to be exact, as a proud alumni I love all things Buckeye, and I love all things college football! The season starts Saturday- GO BUCKS!!

5. Hawaii 5-0- Discovered this show this summer and can we say addicted! I love it!, which brings us to the last one..

6. My DVR- it is critical for those early morning runs, I can DVR and watch later. And without commericals, seriously how did I live without this.

Okay off to bed now for the aferormentioned o'dark thirty run!

Happy Monday

I want to start off by say a HUGE Congratulations to all my friends who finished the Ironman Kentucky race yesterday!  Each and every one of them is an inspiration!

My Sunday was good- I saw "The Help" with my best friend, it was great!! I really enjoyed it, now I just have to finish the book.

Today has been good- it started out with a run with the girls- awesome to have all of us together again-it's been over a week since our runs got cancelled twice last week due to storms. And then Stacy was out of town over the weekend.

And work was work, but I got lots of things checked off my to-do list.

Ahh Monday it comes every week, so I've decided that Monday will be my thankful day!

Today I'm thankful most of all for my wonderful friends! I'm so blessed to have them!

16 Miles and Ironman Day!

Sorry I missed my post yesterday- I was so tired from a fun, but long day!

It started off with a 16 mile run with my MIT friends. We had a great run! I was tired by the end, but that's a normal feeling after running 16  miles.  And I came home and took my first ever ice bath. Not as horrible as I had feared and it did help my legs feel less sore today.

After the ice bath it was off to the Movies with my best friend, and her children.  We had a great time. :) And I refueled with far too much movie popcorn. Yummy!

Today is Ironman Day!! Lots of my friends are competing in the Ironman Kentucky. It is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and  a marathon! Each one of them inspires me! Go Ann, David, Kristen, Susan, Rocco and Kathy! I am tracking on-line and hope to see a few of them cross the finish line later tonight!

Reflections on a Friday

Day 2 of my blogging challenge:

This week has been filled with ups and downs and has caused me to do some reflecting and praying. 

The ups were definitly the runs with "the girls". Especially the hot and difficult run Amy and I shared on Wed night. It was so hard that I doubted at times we would make it,but you know what we did! Those hard runs make the easy ones so much sweeter when they come.  Last night I had a "reset run" on my own.  I used my phone for the first time for music since my long neglected i-pod wasn't charged.  It was just me with my thoughts, music and prayers.  No pace agenda, just a run.  And it was perfection! Just what my heart and my mind needed.

The one big down this week was/is a work issue I've been dealing with for quite a while.  No, I'm not losing my job or anything nearly that dramatic.  Just some office stuff that is no fun.  I had a long talk with my supervisors and my Senior Manager yesterday on some ways to make things better, so that was a good thing. 

But I have been thinking/feeling for a bit that my current job might not be the best fit for me anymore. So I've been keeping ears and eyes open for an opportunity that might fit me better. And this week I found a job that looks good! I am currently working on my application and resume to get it all ready to submit early next week.  For a girl who hates change (always have), this is a big step.  I'm praying about it, and if it is in God's timing (not my own, must remember this) this will work out. And if not my situation will encourage me to grow in new ways. 

The other down this week (although not for me personally), is that Legendar y Women's Basketball Coach Pat Summit, told the world that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia.  I know all too well what this diagnosis will mean. My Maternal Grandmother died of dementia when I was in 8th grade.  It is vicious disease who seems the hardest (especially at the end) on the family and not the person themselves.

I have followed her carreer for well over 20 years now, and to me she is the a true class act. Always just as gracious in defeat as she was in victory.   It is sad that she may have to give up her passion, far sooner than she planned. 


Also of course I am keeping everyone in the path of Hurricane Irene in my thoughts and prayers.

Run on Friends,
Heather

"We don't run because it's easy, we run because it's real." Kristen Armstrong

Shared Joy

Okay so my friend Amy, has challenged herself to blog every day for 21 days, and since my blog is a little neglected I decided to do that too. So starting today I will blog every day for 21 days, not sure about what just yet but getting there.


Shared Joy, anyone who knows me well, knows how much I enjoy/love/thrive on my friends. I love time by myself too, but my soul feels best when I’m with my friends either one on one or in a group. Either one makes my heart happy. I especially love being able to share in my friends’ joy!
This past weekend I got to have so much shared joy I thought my heart was going to burst. First on Saturday morning I met with my MIT group for a 10 mile run! Our friend Amy had 16 to do however, so she had decided to run 6 prior to the group run and then run 10 with us. Well when we arrived at MIT Amy had run 5 instead of 6 and I quickly said I would add a mile to my run to finish out her 16 with her. We had a great run, it actually felt quite easy ( I definitely wasn’t signing that tune last night however!), and the last mile was simply awesome! I got to be there as a friend I’ve come to love and treasure got a new Personal Distance Record! The smile on her face was priceless and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world. I took great joy in taking her picture, in sharing in her happiness of her achieving something awesome! I can hardly wait to share the same milestone with Dana and Stacy this week and next.

I’m getting to experience the joy, excitement and the challenges of a first marathon all over again through my friends. It’s an awesome experience! I encourage any of you out there who have run a distance (5K 10K half or full marathon) to find a friend who has not and share their training with them.

The second part of my day brought me to sharing the joy of my friend Christi’s marriage. Christi is another friend who MIT brought into my life. We trained for and ran our first marathons together (holy cow 3 years ago now) and then we shared a hotel room in Chicago last year. She was speed demon but waited for me at the finish line! Along with our other roomies.


She looked simply radiant and her joy was evident! I’m so glad I was able to attend and get to share in another joyous occasion with a dear and precious friend.
In addition to the wedding joy, I got to spend time with running friends. These are my friends who have been with me through many, many miles and many laughs and tears. I’m so blessed to have them to love and be loved by.
So sharing joy- it’s privilege I treasure.


Run on Friends,
Heather
"Who says you can't run away from your problems?" Joan Beniot Samuleson