Team Voice Support

Yay, it's Friday and I received my new iPhone today. But boo, it's not activated yet -- and I'm not looking forward to the process. And boo, I have been stress-eating like crazy lately.

So, what to do.

Depend on Team Voice, that's what!! I have to get back to the boards, and get back to daily blogs, so that my super-duper Team Voice teammates can encourage me and help me get back on the road to success!

I'm going over to the boards right now .... yes, right now .... c'mon over with me ... yes, now ... why aren't you leaving ... okay, I'll leave first .....

5 Miles and Inspiration

I went to my niece's high school graduation in Concord, North Carolina two weeks ago, and the student speaker (no more validictorian/salutatorian) said something that I really liked.

Well, he said a few things -- he was a very good speaker -- but one in particular stood out so much that I grabbed my pen and jotted it down in the program.

Hope, Possibilities and Endurance.

I really liked that. And it seemed to tie back really well to my training for the half marathon last year. And as I learned last year after crossing the finish line, and therefore having reached a year-long goal, it applies to just about anything we might want to set our sights on.

And the 5 miles? I ran that distance today, even though my target was only 4.5 miles. I just wanted to get to 5 this weekend, on my way to hitting 13 by the end of the summer.

Hope, Possibilities and Endurance.

Mentally Challenged

I've had a tough week of trying to control my diet -- I actually had TWO -- not one -- but TWO doughnuts for breakfast this morning!

But hey, it's Friday.

Last weekend I did manage to run 4 miles, so this weekend I will have to do 4.50. I have really noticed how difficult it is MENTALLY to build back up to the longer miles, since I've only been running short miles up until recently.

It was just as challenging last year when I was adding miles every weekend to get up to 13, so I did expect it -- but I thought it would be a tad easier than it's been. I seldom experience a runner's high during a run, and when I do, it's just for a few minutes.

But I'll keep working at it, so that I can take full advantage of the summer weather to get back up to double digits.

Hope you have a good workout this weekend too!

2 Or 13

I ran a little two mile workout today, while Matt ran 13 miles in a half marathon! That means he's maintained his training since the Disney race in January! Way to go, Matt!!!

I, on the other hand, have had a lot of stops and starts and road blocks. But I'm doing okay and am looking forward to building up my miles again. I never stopped working out at the gym, and my strength and cardio is good -- I just haven't put in the miles yet.

I'm in NC this weekend for my niece's high school graduation. It seems like just yesterday I was at MY high school graduation! If only I knew then, what I know now! I sure would have taken more advantage of opportunities that came my way.

And ever since I finished the Disney half marathon in January, I know that the sky's the limit, if I set my mind on some goal.

Enough rambling for now ... join the Team Voice Juneathon!!!!!

Tuesday Treats

It's Tuesday, and that means it's a gym night with my trainer.  Last week we did some serious leg work -- so much that I felt it for days!  And that's a good thing.  Although it definitely is weird to pay someone to put you through misery.

I'm heading to NC on Thursday for my niece's high school graduation.  Do you remember yours? Doesn't it seem like yesterday -- and like hundreds of years ago -- all at the same time?!!

I'm listening to Big Brian's Your Ear to the World podcast.  Today he's in Canada with Martin Short.  I really do like that re-do, but it would be even more enjoyable if we could sit down on swivel seats while watching it!  Wouldn't that be fun?!

I'm Back

Hi everyone.  I'm back.  A little dented and bruised, a little blue.  But I am back.

The last two months have been tough.  

I was very busy at work, getting our office ready to move to a new suite. We're there now, and almost everything is back in working order.  Still got a ton of unpacking and organizing to do, but the worst of the time crunch is over now.

And unexpectedly, two weeks before our office move, I received "that phone call."  You know, the one where you are in one state, and your family is in another.  And something horrible happens.

I received that phone call two years ago when my dad almost died from a blot clot that killed his large intestine and put him in intensive care for three weeks.  But miraculously, he lived through it and gradually got his life back over time.

But then, "that phone call" came again.  This time, my dad had died instantly from a heart attack.  He had gone outside early on a Thursday to mow the grass, but came back in because it was too wet.  He sat on the sofa in the sunroom and asked my mom for a bottle of water.  She got it for him, turned to walk back into the kitchen, and heard him gasp.  She turned back, saw him slumped back against the sofa, and her life was turned upside down.

The EMTs came, did a great job, but never got a reliable heart beat back.  I'm okay with that, because if they had, it would have meant another stint in intensive care, and the life of an invalid because of more damage to his heart.  He would have hated that.

So that day I hurried home, packed quickly and headed home to NC.  I know some of you have lost parents and probably remember what an unreal experience it is to go through.  It felt very odd to have to ask someone to be a pallbearer.  On the one hand, you know they might feel honored to be asked, but on the other hand, you are asking them to choose to do an awful, emotional task.  

My brother and sister had a tough time that week.  I somehow remained strong and was able to support my mom, my nieces, them and close family members and friends.  

But now, after the office move is over and life is back to "normal," I am feeling very blue and emotional and sad.  I feel the breakdown is coming on.

I really am happy to have had my dad with me for 70+ years, and so grateful to have a wonderful, strong family.  And I absolutely know that he didn't really like being physically weaker after his colon experience, and that he would have hated going through another intensive care experience.

And I know he's spending his mornings in heaven fishing, and his afternoons golfing.  And now he has a perfect golf swing!  So I feel happy that he's not in pain, and that he didn't have to go through a long, debillitating health experience.

But I am sad and blue.  And I suspect I will be for awhile.  But I hear that's what life is all about.