a life beyond running shoes.

long run: 9.6 week total: 9.6 vacation re-entry can be tough on more than just the kiddos. real life....overrated. not really, it has been really nice to be back in my own bed, have the kids in their own beds, and try and find some semblance of a routine before school starts in 12 days. but i digress....today's run.... weather: 64 degrees, no humidity, sun, and a breeze as one facebook friend said, "what the fall?!" it really did feel like fall and my shorts and tank were less than adequate clothing for this morning. it was a great run to get back into the swing of it. got some quiet reflection time for the first 5 miles....then good catch-up time for the rest. of course, it was not quiet enough time with stef....but the next run will be here before i know it and we still have much to catch-up on.... next week.... it is on!!!

spring city, tn a week of family, fun, and adventure. highlights: cousins, cousins, and more cousins. little bit crying on the giant tube, actually screaming life jackets that afford lots of freedom to swim like fish. craft time with g'ma & cousins silly bands....lots of silly bands wii games popsicles AND texas sheet cake and the grand finale: peanut jumping out of the 15 foot dock....seriously. (whose kid is this?)

the help . kathryn stockett totally intrigued and engaged in the story. i was tense as the story unfolded not wanting people to be found out.... my eyes misted at the end. i was sad to finish the journey with these characters. i was totally satisfied with my time invested. it was such an interesting voice to the story. of course, if i were jackson, mississippi.....yikes. but it is history and a wide variety of stories. i loved it. commuters: a nove l. emily gray tedrowe finished and i felt unsatisfied. it was a character driven story whose title makes little sense or connection to the story. i enjoyed reading about the way the families were connected and the struggle to figure out what life looks like in light of dementia and aging and finding love again, growing up and family battles.....i was glad not to be reading a "coming of age" novel, but it didn't do much for me. and just for fun we got some audio books for the 3300 miles we drove: the dragonling ; the dragon...

i think the magic was that i took the pressure off of myself to get any runs in while at the lake house.... in that case, when i woke up if i wanted to go i would. i got 4 runs in. i had great company and it was beautiful scenery.... did i mention the hills. yup... all hills. long run: 6 miles. ran with my mother-in-law (she logged a good many miles with me the last two weeks) and we did the 3 miles route twice. down a hill (third of a mile) then a mile up-hill then a third of a mile down.....then reverse. it is hard! but we did it. week total: 15 miles. ALL HILLS!!!! VICTORY: i did not gain any weight on vacation!!! this is huge, major, massive, awesome. i can see god working on my self-control and discipline. a thousand choices all day long in an attempt to glorify him.... yes, it is food and weight, but god is giving me victory in something that is always a struggle. the running helped..... a lot! he is stretching me and helping me see the sin of justifying my want to be in...

this was not my perfect summer read. in fact, i can't tell you if i hated it or came to love it by the end. a reliable wife . robert goolrick. catherine answers a newspaper ad for a 'reliable wife.' she herself claims to be a simple and honest woman....none of which is true. at page 100, i wavered to finish. decided i didn't care to then inquired of the person who i got the book from. it was enough of an endorsement to compel me to finish. i think i am glad i did...... hum. this was not an easy book. full of passion, but not the kind that makes it a romance. the addiction-type, the murder-type, the lose your youth-type. think cold wisconsin winter around 1900. think courtesan, gluttony, infidelity, and then somewhere..... redemption. would i recommend this.....it was complicated, interesting, a wrestle... but that sometimes is what makes a good book. not cookie cutter, not simple, not sweet... but honest. the idea that real love can change a person... that with for...

is that possible.... week #7. that means it is getting closer. long run: 6 miles. i had another great run with my mother-in-law. it was still dark when we left the house.... no breeze and already hot. we opted for sidewalk for first three miles; beach side for 3 miles back. week total: 12.5 miles. got in two short runs on the beach. my legs were sore from that sand.... running in sand is hard! i don't care how cool they make it look in the movies. yoga - twice! since i did 12 miles last week and 6 miles this week, i am taking the pressure off myself to get a long run in next week while at the lake house. of course, that means i am fully prepared to get serious when we get home..... argh!!! i can't believe it is closing in on me!

south of broad pat conroy. eight friend in a saga spanning multiple decades. it captured me...even though the banter and sarcasm got on my nerves. i never attached to characters but i was along for the ride that the characters were on. i was captured into the character that the city played.... charleston, southern etiquette, racism post integration, then san francisco height of 80s aids epidemic.....there were some plot points that i could have done without but i was fully invested into the story of these friends. i was sad when their journey ended at the end of the book. it was a great beach read!

...seriously. this guy was a champ on the ride down. he was sweet and attentive and tried to be super helpful with his baby sister. he is getting big.... i love seeing his heart but don't like him getting big. and our dinner was scrumptious. we went out for spanish food.... grilled shrimp and chorizo.... .plus cheviche and sangria! YUM!!!

watching my kids run around on a practically empty beach seeing them smile at their dad who they have missed terribly watching the boys jump into the waves sweet pea's giggle when the waves tickle her toes hearing the shells crunch under my feet during my early morning run enjoying a glass of wine on the porch listening to the waves realizing we have never really had a vacation that was not traveling to see family and for all these things i am thankful ! psalm 24 the earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

running in florida is different than running in new york. they are both hot and both humid, but somehow it is different. long run: 12 miles. it was 74 degrees at 5:30 this morning when we started. thankfully, i had a bunch of company. my mother-in-law & her running group for miles 1-5. continued on with m-i-l and picked up my mom's fiance (who is visiting in florida with my mom). there was not a dry spot on me AND i have renewed my love for propel... so tasty in the middle of 12 miles! week total: 19.7 miles ARGH!!! i almost had 20 - it would have been my first week to reach 20 miles. so close!! i managed two other short runs, one being a speed work out (by myself... that was hard). and i did my 30 min yoga dvd twice! i have low expectations for the next two weeks considering i will be in vacation mode! let's see if i can get in some short run plus a few yoga sessions since i brought my dvd with me.... and let's see if can manage to not undue the hard work i have trie...

i totally missed training week #5. long run: skipped - i was beginning the 20 hour drive. i walked outside and thought, "this is amazing weather.... too bad i am missing it by getting in a car!) week total: 8 miles including speed work. it rocked! summer reading: finished #6 of little house on prairie the long win ter. again.....let's talk about perspective a little. wow....praying for your daily bread took on a whole new meaning when i understood that bread was all that they survived on for a few months. i was gripped by the story. i knew that they survived but just the details of laura walking home in the blizzard and walking smack into a house saved her life....had she missed that house by a few inches, they would have walked out into the plains and been lost. amazing. and almonso... what a hero he is. awesome! samson and the pirate monks . christian alternative to AA.....sort of. but it is mostly nate larkin's story. addiction to repentance..... and then finding recov...