running off the tryptophan...

Thanksgiving in my family is our big holiday, it is full of activities the entire weekend. It's late Sunday afternoon and I feel a little sad because I hardly got to see anyone since I was sick. Plus, I was stupid and made myself more sick by being the stubborn person I am, and went running while sick. Funny enough I didn't run yesterday or today and I am finally feeling better this afternoon.

Ed and I decided to step outside the box for Thanksgiving day this year. Ed and I were kindly invited to some friends house for Thanksgiving dinner, and since we always do the same thing, year in and year out, we decided to take them up on their offer and it was a lot of fun! The food was fantastic and the company fun, it was good to do something different this year, very low-key and stress-free, can't beat that! We decided to have dinner with friends since I wasn't expecting to end up sick and we thought we would still have plenty of opportunity to see the family. Thankfully I did get to see my family at lunch yesterday, that promptly wiped me out so I was done for the day.

As for running, even though it made me more sick, it was fun! I ran three miles on Thursday and Friday morning both. I haven't run that far at one time since my injury, needless to say my foot is still sore today, but again, that is just how it will be for awhile. It's probably for the best I didn't run yesterday or today. I didn't run purely out of a desire to get well since I have to go back to work tomorrow I figure I should try and be as well as possible.

I'm quite proud of myself for going three miles two days in a row, we didn't run the entire three miles, we walked/ran, but hey, it was still three miles. My cousin Rachel ran with us and she just ran a marathon, so she was sweet and patient and went our pace (thanks Rach!) because she could have blown us all away! And both runs were followed with a visit to Starbucks with my sister on Thursday and with Rachel and Jessica on Friday. So even though I missed out on fun family events I was still able to see everyone a little bit, not as much as I would have liked though.

It felt good to go three miles and I knew if it weren't for protecting my foot I could have run further and faster, so that made me feel better about the shape I'm in. I was worried I would be back to mile 1 in regard to my health and ability, but really running those three miles was a breeze and for that I'm thankful. I think my running will come back to where it was fairly quickly. However, had I known I would just get more sick from running, I probably would have held off. Oh the things we learn.

Other things I am thankful for (my friend Meaghan's blog inspired me!):
Ed, Milo, Fred and Frank
Family and friends
My job and the new job I just got teaching at Wichita State University
My Health
My New Haircut
Starbucks and Il Primo
Milano cookies
New running shoes
The Office & The Soup
Seven Jeans
Knolla's Pizza
Running buddies
Music
Snow and Water Skiing
Wine
Photoshop
My Piano
Good memories
Gelato
Nike running gear and fleece sweatpants
Movies
Snuggly sweatshirts and cozy blankets
Candles
Thanksgiving and Christmas
All the beautiful little things that can be found in our world

wichita's 33rd annual turkey trot...

Well I'm pleased to say I was able to do one of the six fall races I had lined up before my stress fracture, and while I didn't break any records and had to walk for the first time ever in a race, I finished it.

I ran the two-mile Turkey Trot with Jessica, Katie, Liz and Ed this past Saturday! This is a really historic race in Wichita, this was the 33rd year! It's older than me! Plus, this was Ed's first running race, he has done a few road bike races, but decided to give running a shot and he really enjoyed it!


Emily and Kristen did the 10-mile and after the races were over we all headed over to a local breakfast spot to inhale breakfast at noon, it was spectacularly delightful.

I think it's safe to say I'm back to running, and it feels great. Ed and I even went for another 2-mile run on Sunday morning. My foot has been tender since then, but I think it's to be expected, it will eventually stop being sore after I run.

The Fair Weather Runners are back on track and with new additions, it's going to be a great spring full of races and friends.

best part of my day...

Realizing that even dreams and hopes that have been forgotten, lost in the drudgery or cynicism of life, and packed away for an undetermined amount of time, can fall out of the sky and knock you flat on your back. In a good way. At any given moment, when you are least expecting it, when you had given up on them.

Maybe dreams are granted at unexpected moments so we are that much more grateful and in awe of God when they come, than we would be if our dreams were handed to us on a silver platter at the moment WE want them to come true. Well played God... well played.

a rendevous, by chance....

Let's get something straight. I am a very outdoorsy girl, I love to run outdoors, water ski, snow ski, work in the yard, go to the park, ride my bike, sit outside in the evenings. But for some reason I've never really had the desire to camp. I don't mind getting dirty, and at the risk of sounding like a total jerk--I'm just going to say it--I think it's my perception of people who camp that turn me off. And it only bothers me because in a campsite, you can't get away from people who might not be that enjoyable.

Like Natty-Lite drinking frat boys peeing on fires, or rednecks, or weirdos who don't bathe, ever. I don't know, it seems in my mind it's either full on white trash, or LL Bean loving yuppies (have to admit I'm more like the latter). I'm not gonna lie, I'd prefer the yuppies. I have no idea where I got the white trash stereo type, maybe I really am a snob!

Anyway, Ed got a fishing boat this summer, and I agreed, on a few stipulations, that I would give camping my best shot since I had never done it as an adult. Since Wichita is home to Coleman, my stipulation was that I camp as long as we become Coleman poster children, i.e. we don't buy ghetto used stinky gross camping gear. Ed bent to my will and off we went. I love ALL my new camping gear. It is fabulous, useful and fun! Why camp ghetto if you don't have too?

So at the end of September we decided to test our campiness, packed up my highly organized camping supplies, our dog and the boat and headed to Fall River.... which I might add doesn't seem like it's in Kansas. I don't say this because Kansas is ugly, it just isn't known for it's bodies of water.

Well... we were in for QUITE the surprise as unbeknownst to us, there was a "Rendevous" at the campground... it sounded quite cheeky to us, but we weren't turning back. So not knowing what we might wake up to the next morning, we set up our tent, made a fire, ate some s'mores and like good yuppie campers went to bed watching a movie on the laptop.

The next morning we wake up to gaze upon a frontier camp, straight out of 1809! It was actually pretty cool. One guy even made a Tee-Pee out of brush. All the people were dressed up in frontier days gear and stayed true to the period with their tents, cooking and activities. Except the potato gun... we never figured out how they justified that one.

The highlight of the day was definitely the skillet throwing competition. All in all it was pretty entertaining. We think it was mostly Vietnam vet-type guys and the kind of people who get into "Renn Fairs." But they were nice and it was pretty cool to watch them in action. Of course we happily went back to our modern comfy campsite and grilled burgers on our gas grill.

I have to admit, camping isn't so bad and I'm looking forward to my next trip this coming spring, and really looking forward to being able to actually go on a run around the lake! And I'm happy to say, all my preconceived negative notions about camping turned out to be mostly untrue. I had a really great time, and met a lot of very nice people!