I Am A Runner

(As an aside: I'm never certain about small words in titles - do they get capitalized or not? 'A' seems like it shouldn't be but then "I Am a Runner" looks kinda stupid.)

And, completely on topic now, I feel like a complete poser for even typing the title.

I started a C25K program back in May...or June thinking that as a good rule of fitness I should be able to run 3 miles.

It was torture.

The torture was made a bit easier by these podcasts and the image of Jesus running alongside me with robes billowing in the wind. Blasphemous? Maybe. But it seems less blasphemous than Jesus running in spandex.

The first time I had to run for 20 continuous minutes I thought the guy on the podcast had made an error and was secretly on crack; it turns out no, I really was supposed to run for 20 continuous minutes. And I did. Apparently I was the one on crack.

Which led to the discovery of the "runner's high."

I don't think my "high" is quite the same as the mythical runner's high which involves a feeling of euphoria like you could run forever. My high is more along the lines of, "I CAN STOP RUNNING!!!! I'M DONE!!!!"

But I DID manage to run my first 5k race (I use the term "race" loosely as there was no way I was coming first....or third....or even 30th so race meaning "getting to run with a bunch of strangers in a public setting" as opposed to "annihilating anyone who dares to compare their running speed to mine.") at the end of August and finished in 33:16 - not bad; slightly less than 11 minute miles which was fabulous for me.

But today.

Today was amazing.

Today was about everything I love about running. It was sunny and there were moments of God touches when I ran through sunbeams filtering through clouds and fog. So beautiful. I run on a hiking trail about 1/2 mile from my house (really so no one sees me because you know THEY ARE ALL STARING AT ME as I run by - it's true. Don't deny it) and I could smell the greenery and all the leaves on the ground and see the water and the mountains and the old pilings and mining ruins and it's just so damn beautiful it's like walking in a post card. And I had my Jesus music on and I ran and aside from the little things like lack of breath, muscle fatigue and tripping twice and almost dying, I finished.

How well did I finish?

Today I managed to run 3.11 miles in less than 30 minutes. 30 HELLO minutes!!! Less than a 10 minute mile! How awesome am I?!?!?!

Why just the approximation? Well - I had some mp3 player problems and had to restart the podcast (after one of those near-death trips) and I'm completely guesstimating that the distance I run is actually 5k (based of off walking the track laid out for a race earlier this year) but I feel that even with all those variables, I CAN say that I ran 3 miles in less than 30 minutes.

And that, my friend, makes me feel *expletive* good.

Mysteries Solved

After living here for almost a year, the mystery regarding the piles of dirt, cement blocks with holes and large logs has been revealed; apparently we host a mining/logging celebration.

May I say, it was fab.u.lous?

Our town usually hosts a large 4th of July celebration.  This celebration is one of the only opportunities the residents here are able to enjoy the sweet delights of cotton candy, the vast entertainment of pony rides and fishing ponds.  Needless to say, the lines are loong.  We may not have very many residents, but ALL of them show up and ALL of them want the good stuff.

Fortunately, not so many of them want to participate in a mining/logging celebration.  Which means: SHORT LINES.

Seriously.  Lulu's pony ride?  There was no waiting involved.  We paid our money, didn't even need a ticket because there was hardly anyone there, put on a helmet and by the time she looked up, the horse she wanted was ready to ride.

Cotton candy?  You just walk up, plunk down the cash and walk away with sweet, sticky fluff. Mmmmm....


The only long wait involved the opportunity to operate a front-end loader (you know - Scoop).  Quinn was the only one who signed up.  $5 bought an awesome hat and the opportunity to use Scoop to knock down colored balls, with the matching colored tine on the scoop, and pick up a ring and move it to the other side of the area. 1 hour wait, but so. much. fun.

Also, for the mercenary side of parenting, part of the deal in the celebration is that the companies themselves trying to establish goodwill in the communities (read that as plenty of free options).  Gold panning: FREE!  Children's Carnival (fishing pond, ring toss, helium balloons, bean bag toss, all with prizes): FREE!  Mining hat key rings with a built-in light: FREE!  Candy at every booth: FREE!

My kids had a blast.  They even deigned to watch a competitor or too but watching grown men shovel dirt, no matter how quickly it's done, really isn't that entertaining.

The logging events are tomorrow and I'm debating about dropping by, just on a casual Sabbath day stroll, so I can see some poor schmuck end up in the drink during the log rolling competition. 

But Wait . . . That's Not All . . .

Ever have a day where the good stuff just keeps coming?  Where you're NOT looking forward to bedtime because the day will be over and who knows what tomorrow will bring?

That's my day today.

It started with a quiet breakfast, all by myself, basking in the warm sunshine coming in the window.  I walked to the St. James Cathedral for mass and then walked back to the hotel WITHOUT A COAT!  (I KNOW!!  IT'S ACTUALLY SPRING HERE IN WASHINGTON!!  AND YES, I REALLY AM THIS EXCITED! I mean exclamation marks, caps AND underlining!  Whew.)

Back at the hotel, I worked in quiet (DH was still sleeping) and solved some puzzles (without cheating.  Be impressed!  Be amazed!) and then, when DH woke, we got on a Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge Island.

It was fun.  It was a glorious day.  Mt. Rainier was visible the whole day.  (Shocking!)  And . . .

I now know why dogs stick their heads out the window when riding in a moving car; the wind your face is just hella fabulous!

We walked around the Island and dined al fresco at the local harbor: crab cakes, AMAZING Ahi Tuna Tacos (seriously - fried wantons for the shells, raw tuna, sweet pickled ginger, cabbage and this spicy aioli. . . mmmMMMmmm . . .  mouth. so. happy.), fried oysters and a Greek antipasto plate.  All the dogs that walked by were jealous.  J. E. A. L. O. U. S. (To say nothing of their owners. . . .)

We wandered a bit more and then rode the ferry back to Seattle.  I counted 13 seagulls flying above the observation deck, gliding in the updraft from the boat.

Now we're in the hotel and I get to lounge about in my underwear and eat dark chocolate covered almonds and blog.  Sublime.

It was an amazing day.  I wish I had brought a camera but perhaps mental pictures are the best kind.  (Because in those, on the ferry, I have a waist and my hair was flying oh so delicately about in a very alluring way.  And at the hotel, I look simply stunning in my uberly expensive lingerie.)

Today was a God blessing day in the biggest way.