Whew! Where is my life going?? I know I always say that I like when things are busy, but holy moly. I’ve been falling asleep before my head hits the pillow at night lately. And when my alarm clock goes off in the morning, it’s like a punch in the face. Good morning! But complaining is not going to occur in this post. Oh no. While I’m generally a very thankful person year-round, due to this wonderful holiday that is upon us, I’d like to mention a few things I’m especially thankful for currently. Here goes:
1) No traffic on my 7am commute to the city this morning, cutting it down from a 50 minute commute to a 25 minute commute. It’s amazing how much better your day can be when you don’t begin it by pulling your hair out, stomping on the brakes, and saying (yelling) words that you don’t really like to say at other drivers.
2) Thanksgiving dinner #1 of the week with great friends last night. Even better, I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it due to research obligations, so it was a very pleasant surprise when recruiting ended early and I was able to get my green bean casserole-lovin’ butt over to dinner. I think it was a much needed blow-off-steam kind of night for all of us.
3) An 8am research participant appointment on my first day of Thanksgiving break . . . . . . . . .okay, that’s a lie, I’m not especially thankful for that. But my excitement about what the rest of the day has in store is powering me through!
4) My extra snuggly devil dog and Mr. Miles this morning. It made lying in bed for a few extra minutes after my alarm went off that much sweeter.
5) Painfully inching my way back onto the running bus. I went for my first run in 6 weeks on Saturday. I had to warm up for 60 minutes on the bike, stretch for 10 minutes, and then walk for 10 minutes before I actually felt prepared to run the 10 minutes I had planned, but I will do whatever it takes. And those 10 minutes of running were both incredibly amazing and humbling. I think I might have made it a mile in that 10 minutes. It feels so awkward running after not doing it for so long. Yesterday I ran/walked for 60 minutes, with only 20 minutes total of actual running, and today my calf muscles feel like they ran a marathon yesterday! It’s rough going from being in the best shape of my life less than 2 months ago to struggling through 20 minutes of running, but I’m just thankful for the ability to get out there at all, and for what running brings to my life. And I have an intense desire to get into better shape than the best shape of my life, so I will continue to hit the pavement, no matter how hard I’m breathing running 8:00/mi for 20 minutes or how much my leg muscles scream the next day. Now if only I can get my feet to cooperate . . .
6) Vanilla frosting. Seriously, it’s wonderful what a scoop of vanilla frosting can do for you. Having a stressful moment? Relax with a scoop of vanilla frosting. Having a happy moment? Celebrate with a scoop of vanilla frosting. Hungry? Feed that hunger with a scoop of vanilla frosting. Tired of your usual chocolate animal crackers? (Pssh….like that actually happens. But if it ever would for some strange reason…) Dip them in some vanilla frosting. Vanilla frosting really is the answer to many of life’s common problems.
7) Not being arrested. I’m such a rebel, so this really is a miracle. Ha! Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in the great city of Tulsa, OK. I worked the RunHers booth at the Route 66 marathon/half-marathon expo, and then played water girl (well, electrolyte girl) for some great friends who were running on Sunday. I was very lucky to have Scott’s mom’s bike to ride around, as I don’t get around too quickly these days. I saw all of the Team OK Runner boys between mile 8 and 9, and provided them with some Nuun. Then I raced back to the finish to watch Jerry and Scott dominate the half-marathon field. Then I raced back to mile 8 to search for the water bottles that were dropped so that I could give Stephen another bottle between 18 and 20 miles. Then I realized I couldn’t actually get to 18-20 miles unless I raced through the city. Anyway, I finally met up with Team Ok Runner (Jerry and Scott were blocking wind for Stephen at this point) and rode along side down the lonely stretch of marathon course on Riverside. On the way out to the turn-around point, a very friendly (ha!) police man on a motorcycle informed me that unless I had a “race tag”, I would need to get off the course. Now, let me just say that there were about 10 people on the course at this point, and I was not in anyone’s way, as I was riding on the shoulder of the road practically. So I just said “Okay” and kept riding along. Well, wouldn’t you know we moseyed on by the same police officer on our way back up Riverside. He again informed me that I would need to get off the course. I informed him that I had a VIP bracelet from the race director and was told that would get me anywhere I wanted to be, and he told me he didn’t care. I realize policemen are supposed to be there for our safety, but I get really irritated with the many who are really just on a power trip. So, again, I gave him my half-hearted “Okay” and kept on biking. He then proceeded to fire up his motorcycle (seriously dude, it’s a marathon. Get on a bicycle and work off some of that spare tire while you’re on-the-job), flipped on his lights and rode along side of me until I had an opportunity to turn off onto a side street. Those opportunities are few and far between on Riverside, so I was escorted for a nice little stretch.
8) I’m thankful for a lot of things and this list could go on and on and on. And on. But, I will stop. Of course, only after mentioning the one thing I’m most thankful for in my incredibly blessed life: my family. I hit the jackpot in the family lottery, let me tell you. As I write this, my mom, dad, little bro and sis are on a 1,089 mile journey to spend Thanksgiving with me. That’s a lot of miles. Especially for my long-legged sister (she’s 5’11 or something crazy like that; I’m by far the runt of the family), who’s probably complaining about how she needs to stretch her legs out, and my very astute brother who can sense when any of us family members are on the brink of annoyance and then press the exact buttons that push us over that brink. Haha! It makes me laugh just thinking about it. And my mom has probably had to have 12 bathroom stops already (my dad too, if he’s drinking his Volt Zero). And my dad has probably driven over the rumble strips many times already checking out something they are passing by—much to my mom’s distress. And I absolutely love all of these things about my family. Especially since I’m not in that car right now. J I’m really bummed that my older brother had to stay behind to run the family business, and that I won’t get to spend the holiday with him, his wonderful wife, and two of the most beautiful little boys I have ever seen. I don’t even think that I’m being biased when I talk about my nephews that way. They really are gorgeous kids!
Tomorrow, my family and I will participate in the OKC Turkey Trot, with my mom, sis, and bro running and my dad and I walking, followed by a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and some football watching. I love this holiday! I hope everyone has much to be thankful for and enjoys a wonderful holiday weekend!
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