Continue reading “That whole tears of joy thing”
Oh, my legs
This past Saturday I ran my first half marathon. And my last.
I’d been toying with the idea of trying one for a couple years, but I’ve never had the time to dedicate to training for one until now. So a few months ago I signed up and started running.
And running and running and running.
I did almost all of my runs with the girls in the stroller, which I think really helped. It toned my arms, anyway. I didn’t follow any set training program, I just kind of made up my own – 1 long, 1 medium, and 1 short run per week.
People kept asking what my goal time was, and I was like, dudes, I never run this far. I just want to finish the thing. Double digit running isn’t quite my specialty. Or that enjoyable.
I finally got a secret goal time in my head of 1:57, because that was right about 9-minute-mile pace, something I never thought would be possible for me for 13.1 miles. I did my long runs with the full stroller at around a 10-minute-mile pace, so 9 minute miles sounded way faster than what I could do. But that was the number that kept popping into my head anyway.
So Saturday morning I got up with the birds, filled up my Camelbak, put my headphones on, lined up in Corral J, and took off with the herd. The first 8ish miles felt pretty good, and I could honestly tell that I was pushing myself harder than normal.
Then we went down a huge hill and started heading toward the finish area, which I thought would be a good thing, but miles 9 and 10 were miserable. I truly felt that I wasn’t going to make it to the end, then that made me mad because I thought oh great, I wasted all that time training for this and now I’m not even going to finish without walking.
But I never walked, and miles 11 to the end actually felt much better. I just started making myself go as fast as I could, because I knew I’d never be doing this again. I literally had the phrase “I never have to do this again!” running through my head, forcing me to sprint to the end.
So, how did my final time compare to that goal time that I thought was completely unattainable?
1:57:12
Boom.
Nailed it.
And now I never have to run that far ever again. Whew.
my training partners extraordinaire. we’ll keep running together for sure, just not for hours at a time, thankfully.
Where did she come from?
Little Miss Lana Marie has pretty much been a mystery since birth. As a newborn, we constantly tried to figure out the magic trick to make her stop screaming. Now as a toddler, well, I guess we still constantly try to figure out the magic trick to make her stop screaming.
Aw, I jest.
Kind of.
She does scream a lot.
Good thing she’s so dang cute.
But one major mystery that has always surrounded this little beauty is who she looks like. She and Della look nothing alike and never really have (except when Lana was a baby, they looked identical when they were asleep). From the moment she was born, everyone has said Della looks exactly like Ryan, but I don’t think Lana looks anything like me. So from which tree did this apple fall?
Here are some pictures from our childhoods. Maybe you can help us decide.
First off, here is Della with comparison pictures of Ryan. I guess I can see the resemblance, although I’ve never thought oh, she looks exactly like him, as everyone claims.
lil’ miss D at 3 years, 9 months
I’m not sure how old Ryan was in any of those, but I’m guessing the first couple were maybe a little younger than Della is now, with the Santa one being a little older than she is now.
Now let’s work on Lana. I’ll start with a picture of Ryan as a baby (age unknown, but obviously younger than Lana is now), then move on to those from my family. See what you think.
my dad as a boy, probably somewhere between 12-18 months. so roughly lana’s age now.
me at 16 months
me at 18 months. i either had my hair pulled back in the previous picture, or else it had one helluva growth spurt in 2 months’ time.
me at probably 19ish months. i was obviously having loads of fun here. sweet “Busch” shirt, uncle nate.
my middle sister at approximately 18 months, so i would’ve been just shy of 3.5 years. a little younger than della is now.
my youngest sister at approximately 18 months
So the million dollar question is, where did this kid come from?
Late-night mind wanderings
It never fails. I lie down in bed, often completely exhausted and just waiting for the first of Lana’s mid-night wake-ups, and my mind decides it’s time to think. And think and think and think. And why is it that so often, it always turns to the worst possible scenario of whatever it is about which I’m thinking? Stupid mind.
But there’s always something about the girls in there. To whichever higher power might be listening, I pray for so many things for them.
That they’re watched over every single second of every single day, being protected and kept safe from harm.
That nothing bad ever happens to them.
That they always know how much they are loved, cherished, adored, and wanted.
That they never feel unwanted or know neglect from anyone or for any reason in their entire lives.
That they always find the happiness in life, no matter the situation.
That they always have each other.
Then there are also the more earthly, everyday things.
That they have fun in school and make good friends.
That they’re never bullied.
That they’re never the bully.
That they learn to treat everyone fairly and how they would want to be treated.
That they are never quick to judge and always remember that everyone has their own story, even when they don’t want to hear it. Especially when they don’t want to hear it.
That they learn to recognize right from wrong and choose right, even when wrong seems like the better option at the time.
I pray that I have the strength to help make these things true. These 2 little girls mean the absolute world to me, and I honestly don’t think I could make it if anything ever happened to them. They are my life, and they make life itself so much more enjoyable just by being in it.
getting ready for a princess tea party. della and her little friend josie about died when the princesses started singing songs from Frozen!
Here’s a perfect example of them making my life fun just by being them. Friday morning we were on a run – thankfully it was a mid-length run at a little over 6 miles instead of the killer 10+ milers we do. And when I say “we were on a run,” I mean I was running while pushing the 2 of them in the jogging stroller. Naturally.
The path on which we run passes under a number of city streets, so there are plenty of places for them to shout out and hear their echos. This particular run only contained 1 echo bridge, so I told Della to get a good one ready since we’d only have 2 shots to make nice big, loud ones.
As we approached the bridge, she said, “I’ve got a really good one in my head.” And when we ran under it she shouted, “Apple!” Of course Lana instantly followed suit, shouting “Apple!” as well. Usually they do little wolf howls, which I love. They did start shouting “No!” a couple times last week, which I didn’t really appreciate, so at least it wasn’t that this time. Although Lana did start saying “no” when I told Della to get her echo ready. She’s stinky, that little one.
On the way back I told them they had 1 more time to make an echo since we were going under the bridge again, and this time Della said, “Ok, I have the best one in my head you’ve ever heard.” I could only imagine what was coming, since the best one before that was “apple.” But when we ran under the bridge on our return leg, she shouted, “I love Mama!”
They are the best.
my training partners cheering me on in a 5k a few weeks ago that goes right by our house. they worked – i got my best time by almost 2 minutes (23:17) and 3rd in my age group!