PASSIONATELY PINK

Since I was a little girl my favorite color has always been purple. My favorite outfits were purple. Many of my birthday parties had purple as a main theme color (NO, not a certain dinosaur). Any and all accessories for my room and school were purple. My favorite food growing up was grape juice and eggplant…no, I’m kidding;-) But I DO LOVE purple, still.

As an adult, I reallllyyyy decided that I liked orange. Orange became the center of much of my sport-related wardrobe. The orange stripes on my running shoes made me run faster, I swear. Even my car had this little orange symbol on the back glass. When it comes Tennessee Lady Vol Basketball, I promise you can cut me open and I will bleed orange.

With the news that we were going to have a little girl in late 2003, pink became “my signature color.” Yes, I love Legally Blonde and am secretly dying to be Elle Woods;-) I remember the first load of baby blankets and clothes to be washed in the special baby detergent, and when I opened the dryer door to take them out it looked like the most wonderful little fluffy pink explosion had happened in there. It was perfect. And yes, I have passed it on, and pink is now HER favorite color. I can’t imagine it any other way. Maybe SHE’LL be the next Elle Woods…;-)

The only color to rival purple for the top spot in my all time favorite colors would be pink. But with PINK, it’s different somehow. I am passionate about pink. Our little Katie was the first to bring pink into our lives. The next was breast cancer. I remember texting my sister the day of my diagnosis, telling her “…and you know the color for breast cancer is pink!…” trying to make her smile, even though I know she was crying.

For the last two years, PINK has been more than a color to us. It has been the color worn proudly to chemotherapy, as a warrior going to battle, the color of the quest for a cure, and the color of PASSION, HOPE, and THE FUTURE.

Our pastor talked a couple Sundays ago about PASSION; about the things that God places in each of our hearts that drives us, and motivates us. He talked about the difference between lust and passion, where lust = selfish, and passion = serving others. And that’s why I think that PINK is the most PERFECT color for BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. It represents the passion with which we fight this disease. It is for us all. For a HOPE and THE FUTURE.

So starting tomorrow, the first of October, when you see everything from sharpies to swiffers to eggs…yes, I said eggs…with the famous pink ribbon, please take a moment to remember those who are still fighting, those of us who have fought and won, and those who fought valiantly but lost their battle with breast cancer. Remember those working passionately in laboratories searching for a cure. Remember those doctors and nurses who use their God-given talents everyday to heal their patients.

Remember the passion that goes into beating breast cancer…I know I will;-)

Enjoy being pink, y’all:-)

xoxo

Home - Susan G. Komen for the Cure #fightbreastcancer

Home - Susan G. Komen for the Cure #fightbreastcancer

The Words I Would Say

Hey guys;-)  When I was downloading some new songs for my playlist the other day, I came across this one by Sidewalk Prophets called “The Words I Would Say.”  It struck such a chord with me because the lyrics are what I strive to say to my children each and every day.  And someday when I am no longer here, I hope this is something they will always remember.  Just listen… 

 

      

         

Have a beautiful, blessed day.

xoxo

Super Seventeen!

Wow!  What a morning!!  And yes, that’s a GOOD THING!!!

After dropping off the kids at school, I headed out for my first run in 3 days.  And it was G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S!!!  The temps were in the high 40s-low 50s and the sun was shining…perfect.  Ahhhh fall has arrived indeed:-)

 

My run was amazing and now I have A DISTANCE PR!!!  I ran 17 MILES!!!!!!!  AND my time was even more exciting, 2:39:54!  That’s a 9:23 pace!  Woo Hoo!!  Here’s the stats

MILE 1	9:22
MILE 2	9:17
MILE 3	9:14
MILE 4	9:14
MILE 5	9:17
MILE 6	9:15
MILE 7	9:10
MILE 8	9:38
MILE 9	9:21
MILE 10	9:10
MILE 11	9:17
MILE 12	8:53
MILE 13	8:59
MILE 14	9:27
MILE 15	9:28
MILE 16	9:55
MILE 17	10:39

TOTAL DISTANCE: 17 MILES

TIME: 2:39:54

PACE: 9:23/MILE

I promptly came home and did this, to help prevent any knee inflammation.  Sorry for the poor picture quality:-(  Darn iPhone fail.

I am going to share my playlist that I had going for my run today.  It was all Christian and Praise & Worship, and keeping my thoughts on God and His amazing-ness kept me going for sure.

1. Bring the Rain – Mercy Me
2. Walk By Faith – Jeremy Camp <---Lovin’ me some Jeremy Camp!
3. Speaking Louder Than Before – Jeremy Camp
4. The Words I Would Say – Sidewalk Prophets
5. I Want To Know You – Sonic Flood
6. Lord, I Lift Your Name On High - Sonic Flood
7. Give You Glory – Jeremy Camp
8. We Fall Down – Kutless
9. Fearless Heart – Point of Grace
10. Shine – Newsboys
11. Washed By The Water – Needtobreathe
12. Believe – Amy Grant
13. Keep The Candle Burning – WOW Worship The 90s
14. Jesus & Gravity – Dolly Parton
15. How Great Is Our God – Chris Tomlin
16. Blessed Be The Name of the Lord – Discovery Camp
17. Amazing Love – Newsboys
18. Because You Are – Point of Grace
19. Open The Eyes of My Heart – Michael W. Smith
20. I Surrender All – Newsboys
21. The Motions – Matthew West
22. Dear Mr. God – The Warren Brothers
23. God Is In Control – Twila Paris <---MY ANTHEM!!!!
24. I Can Only Imagine – Mercy Me
25. Cry Out To Jesus – Third Day

I find that I can faster and farther when I am listening to praise music.  My thoughts are focused on so much more than my run, or anything else for that matter.  They are focused on Him, and His grace that is made perfect for me.

Thank you for your company this morning, Father.  I give you all the  praise and glory for each and every step I take. I love you<3

Have a blessed day, guys!

xoxo

Weekend Wrap Up

Wow, I am dragging on this Monday morning afternoon.  Fall has finally come (Thank you, Jesus!) so this morning it was rather chilly in the house.  So chilly, in fact, that I went out and sat in my car with the heated seat on high and ended up falling asleep…for 45 minutes!!  And I am STILL so tired this afternoon.  I don’t know the reason, but you KNOW I’m tired when I skipped my run yesterday AND today!  Yep, you read that right, skipped my runs.  Must.be.tired.  I figure my body must need it badly because I’m not even fighting with myself;-)

The weekend was busy and FUN, so that = no posts!  On Friday we headed to our friends’ house in STL so Heather and I could go to the Longaberger Horizon of Hope Luncheon on Saturday.  My dr and I were asked to speak last year, and again this year.  It is such a nice event with the whole day tying into one theme, “Hope.”  I mean, with so much PINK in one room how can one go wrong?! 

I was so nervous as my time grew closer to my time to speak, but once I stepped on the platform, all the nerves just went away.  I had prayed all morning that the Lord would just let a spirit of peace just wash over me and He obliged in a BIG WAY, as only He can.  Of course, Lord.  Thank you from the bottom of my trembling heart <3

  My doctor, Julie Margenthaler, and I at the luncheon.

Our table of lovely ladies! Heather, Me, Circe, Julie, June, and Eileen.

While Heather and I went to the luncheon, Jack and Tim took all 5 kids to the City Museum in downtown STL.  They had the BEST TIME and now I’m thinking we need to go back because I would like to go, too!  AND, the men came home with all 5 kids that they left with.  Score one for the boys;-)

After some more playtime back at Tim and Heather’s house, we decided that we had better head home so that we didn’t get home too late.  We almost had another little princess tag along with us, but her Mommy chased her down the driveway.  Sweet Ava, she’s welcome to come with us anytime.  We’re used to princesses, hehe;-)

So now on to the week.  Zachary has 4 basketball games this week, 2 home and 2 away.  And Tyler also has a cross country meet on Wednesday.  So there is something going on every single day, with most days having more than one extracurricular activity going on.  Keeps us hopping, for sure!  Hope y’all have a good one!

xoxo

Salute to the best oncologist ev-ahhh…

Like His Mama

Morning, friends!  The reason for no post yesterday:  I thoroughly used my 86,400 seconds that God gave me!  I think I only sat down at the computer for a grand total of 15 minutes all day! 

I went and got my highlights freshened up as soon as I got home from running, came home and inhaled some lunch, went to see a friend going to STL for tests today, headed to the nursing home for the Wednesday service, ran errands in town, picked up kids at school and practices, then headed out of town for Tyler’s Cross Country meet at 430.  Whew!  Get all that?!

SO, the meet.  It was a miserable and hot afternoon.  I felt so sorry for all the kids running.  And if you remember Saturday’s post, I told you about the massive hill that is smack in the middle of the course…poor kids!  But of course, kids being kids, they all made it through like champs. 

Tyler did great, and finished with a time of 23:50!  He finished in 27th place out of 80+ runners!  He was bummed though because he just missed getting a medal; the top 25 medal.  SO CLOSE!  He can’t hang his head AT ALL, though!  He really gutted it out at the end, trying with all he had to beat the two boys in front of him and earn a medal.  You can see in the pics how much ground he made up and how hard he was running.  Bless his heart.  Sometimes it’s worse to miss it by mere seconds than to get blown away.  Check out these great pics,

      

I’m so proud of him!!  He ran his little heart out! 

Today is Tyler’s last baseball game for the fall, and Zachary’s second basketball game so we are venue-hopping this afternoon from the ballpark to the gym.  It’s going to be another fun-filled fabulous day! 

xoxo

Living Passionately

Sorry for the disappearing act yesterday.  It was a crazy day, the start of yet another crazy week!  We have either a game or a meet every day this week…well, except Friday but that’s when payroll and bookkeeping work take over.

Yesterday was an act of carefully balancing kids and their activities.  Thankfully my dad could pick Zachary up from basketball practice at 430 because after Katie got out of Twirlers at 330 we had to head an hour away for Tyler’s baseball game, which started at 430.  Whew!  It worked out fine, even though bedtimes were a little skewed;-)  And Tyler won his game, yay Bulldogs!  Zachary’s first Jr. High basketball game is tonight at 5 so we are pretty pumped for his season to start. 

As I was sitting at the baseball game yesterday, I was thinking about all the stuff that needed to be done when we got home.  Laundry, kids’ homework, uniforms laid out, something that resembles dinner (yikes!), etc etc etc.  So all this is running through my head and I’m thinking about all that I really need to be doing rather than watching baseball.

Then suddenly our “One Month To Live” study popped into my head and I thought –Hmmm, if I only had one month to live, what would I want to be doing right now?--  Without even considering any other options, I KNEW that I would want to be right here, right now, relaxing and enjoying my son’s baseball game!  Soaking in every second, and being PRESENT.  Thank you, Lord, for the reminder;-)

This week’s portion of the OMTL study is focusing on Living Passionately.  I am really loving this week so far!  On Sunday, our pastor played this video that I thought pretty much says it all,

Great, right?  Certainly made ME think. 

On another subject, is Fall missing anywhere else around the country??  We have had a little taste of it, but now it’s back to highs of 90s again this week!  Ack!  Give me some Fall!  I just got back from a sweaty and humid 6.2 mile run this morning.  I finished in 56:02 and now I’m off to get one more piece of basketball apparel for Zachary’s game tonight…he just remembered he needed “ONE MORE THING” this morning!  Oh this precious child…;-) 

Have a blessed day:-)

xoxo

Fabulous Fifteen

Helllllooooo friends!  And HAPPY SUNDAY!!!

It has been the best day!  And trust me, I am feelin’ it!  This morning I had a PR of 15 miles!!  I cannot properly tell you through words just how excited I am!  There is no way I can put enough exclamation points on this screen!!!  I could try, but I’ll spare you;-)

But what amazed me even more than the distance, was the pace I kept.  I averaged a 9:06/mile pace, making my finish time 2:16:36!  Wheeee!  I am still in shock.  Here’s the rundown,

MILE 1	9:20
MILE 2	8:57
MILE 3	8:51
MILE 4	8:53
MILE 5	9:17
MILE 6	8:52
MILE 7	8:58
MILE 8	9:31
MILE 9	8:50
MILE 10	9:08
MILE 11	8:44
MILE 12	8:52
MILE 13	8:59
MILE .1	:39
MILE 14	8:27
MILE 15	10:10

DISTANCE: 15 MILES

TIME:  2:16:36

PACE: 9:06/MILE, 6.6 MPH

Um, yeah…who am I?!?!  What else is pretty cool is that I have had a goal of breaking 2 hrs for my half mary next month in Kansas City.  I have completed 2 half marathons and have finished just a few minutes over 2 hours in both of them.  So I have really wanted to try and break that 2 hr mark!  Today, I stopped at the 13.1 mark, did a little happy dance, took a picture of my watch to mark the occasion,and paused just long enough to enjoy the moment, then proceeded to run a little longer:-)

I took a Hammer Gel (Thank you SISTER!!!!!) at mile 7, and half a Clif Shot at mile 12 1/2.  I also stopped at several water fountains to drink water.  I think a Gatorade/water mix would’ve been good but I haven’t ever done it.  Maybe I’ll try next week.  Just something to get some more fluid and electrolytes in my system.

I made it home with just enough time to take a quick shower and grab some breakfast and jet to church.  I keep forgetting my blow-dryer at the cabin, so I went with semi-wet hair…oh well.  I don’t think God minded;-)

We are continuing our “What if you had a month to live?” series.  It is so great, and I can see it changing my life and the lives of others around me.  Today’s topic was Living Passionately.  It was perfect…of course it was, LORD;-)  I’m just crazy about you, Father!

This afternoon we went to a birthday party for one of Katie’s friends and had a great time.  Katie and Zachary skated for 2 hours and probably have many many bruises that will show up by morning!  They were both skating much better by the time we left, though.  Now we are back home ready to collapse!  

Alright, folks…I am going to sign off and enjoy the rest of the evening with my family.  The Colts are playing in an hour, so we are gearing up for some Manning vs.. Manning football!  Go Peyton!!!  He’s a UT boy, ya know?!

Have a good evening!

xoxo

Training Run

This morning Tyler and I went on a training run for his cross country meet this coming Wednesday.

The course is 3.1 miles, mostly gravel but with a paved hill.  And when I say hill, I mean HILL.  And this is the Ozarks, we KNOW hills.  But this hill is ridiculous.  It’s 1/2 mile long and is smack in the middle of the course.  Oh, and starting up it I almost maced a dog.  Awesome.

Despite the sweat and moaning about the hill, we had a great run.  I love running with Tyler, and am so glad that he’s my running buddy.  He is an amazing kid, and I love him more than words can say.  I love how hard he works when he wants something…he’s such a perfectionist!  Wonder where he gets that??….  I’d say he got a good dose of it from both of us;-) 

He really wants to medal again at this week’s meet…he got 24th out of 80+ this week and he wants to keep medaling at every meet.  I’ll let you know how he does at Wednesday’s race!         

AND then my kid decided he wanted to race me back to the car…um yeah guess who won that?!  Stinker;-)

Check out my newest BondiBand!!!  I LOVE IT!  It pretty much speaks for itself, don’tcha think? ;-)

Have a great weekend guys!

xoxo

Run On

Ahhhhhh, finally Friday…:-)

It has been a good and busy week around here!  There is still much to do today though before we can call it a weekend.  Payroll, bookwork, Ty’s baseball game, all must be fit in before the day’s end. 

And to top it off, I took on another side-project last night as the new secretary/treasurer of the Booster Club at the high school.  I figured what with us HAVING a kid in HS now that it wouldn’t be a bad thing to be more closely involved…so when I was asked, I said yes. I’m kind of feeling like a bit of a Yes-Man, er, Yes-Woman this week!  But I have to say, that spending every day with the intention of making every second count has been a very good thing for us! 

Run On!

I have hit the pavement pretty hard this week, running.  I was so glad to have my sister here to get in a couple runs with me, and the temps for the most part have been cool(er) and crisp in the mornings so I just couldn’t resist!  Plus I just need that time to leave it all behind for an hour or so…you’ve heard the saying “Running is cheaper than therapy”?  Well my husband probably wouldn’t agree, but that’s ok;-)  I still heart him<3  What has impressed me, though, is my times!!  I’m still in awe of the splits from my 8-miler on Wednesday…crazy fast times for me.  I’m not sure what to attribute it to, but I’ll take it!

Today after I dropped off Katie-bug at school I headed out for a 6 mile run.  I have the XM radio app on my iPhone so I listened to Gayle King on the Oprah station while I ran.  Talk radio was a nice change from the music.  Not something I could do everyday, but it was nice.  The splits go like this,

MILE 1	9:15
MILE 2	8:35
MILE 3	8:58
MILE 4	9:08
MILE 5	8:57
MILE 6	8:58

DISTANCE: 6 MILES

TIME: 53:55

PACE: 8:58/MILE

I am really getting used to picking up my speed at the end of a run; it may not be a full on sprint if I’m really tired, but definitely as much as I can do at the time.  I feel really good finishing strong! 

So here’s hoping that your week finishes up strong and fabulous!

xoxo

SURVIVING.

My post from September 17, 2008 was titled “Rocked.” because on September 16, 2008 I got the most shocking news ever…I had breast cancer.  Here is that post:

I am completely rocked. From my head to my toes I could not be any more stunned. I had a great 8 mile run yesterday morning and was making my breakfast when I got the call. When the phone rang, I thought, "here's the call I've been waiting for!" The call to confirm that the lump they removed on Friday is, like we thought, nothing. That call did not come. The nurse on the phone said, "You have breast cancer." I almost dropped my eggs. I have never felt more scared, and devastated in my life. Yesterday afternoon was a blur of tears and doctors telling me so much information I will never be able to remember. We left the dr's office numb and confused.
We left with more questions than we came with. Here's what we know: the lump they removed is ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer. We have no idea what stage or how far it's gotten, if any, because they have yet to test the lymph nodes (because we thought it was nothing). I will definitely need more surgery, whether it's a lumpectomy or a mastectomy and possibly chemo and/or radiation.
It didn't take us very long to decide that we wanted to be in St. Louis at a major breast center up there. So that is what today has been about. Setting up appointments and finding doctors and surgeons that will become our lifeline in the coming days and weeks. We are seeing a breast surgeon for a consultation on Friday morning. She will look at the slides from my biopsy, my ultrasounds, and mammogram, and possibly do more testing of her own. From that she will determine which surgery would be best. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go forward. Believing that God will take care of me, and He will never give me more than I can handle. I am leaning on Him and trusting that everything will eventually be ok.
No food pics for yesterday because I didn't eat anything substantial. My nerves just wouldn't let me. I've had a little bite or two today, but not much. I know I have to be strong for myself and my kids so I will pick myself up and be strong. I did manage to muster a little normalcy today, I got on the treadmill and walked for 30 minutes! Walked! Can you believe it? Me either! Maybe tomorrow I will run!

I can’t believe it’s been two whole years since cancer came into our lives.  We have come so far and learned so much since our journey began.  Looking back, I can clearly see the truth in the phrase, “Everything is for our good, and for God’s glory.” 

I can only give all thanks and praise to God for not only healing me, but for all the times when He has held my hand as we walked into a doctor’s office, or times he has carried me to a test when I was sure that my legs would not go.  There is absolutely NO WAY I could have done this without Him.  I would probably have followed my first instinct and still been hiding in the woods if it weren’t for Him.  The Lord is my Rock.

There are also a few others I couldn’t have done this without, and I love them more than anything <3

Love y’all too;-)

xoxo

“Don’t be afraid, just believe.”  Mark 5:36

Fall Season

I love fall.

Anybody else?

I love it when I head outside in the morning, the feeling of the cool air on my arms makes me run back inside and grab my jacket.

The thought of blue jeans, piles of crunchy leaves, and fall festivals make my heart content.

The men-folk in my house, however, look forward to fall for other reasons.  There are several various “seasons” that begin when the leaves start to fall.  For the guys, gigging season, bow-hunting season, and deer rifle season are all causes to celebrate.  They begin looking through catalogs, checking out the latest and greatest hunting gear.  The TV is often turned to the outdoor network when the guys are home.  AND the sounds of my husband saying, “Don’t cook tonight, honey, we’ll bring back dinner!” ring throughout the house. 

[Don’t worry, I’ve been married long enough to know to that I should have a contingency plan should the big one get away;-)] 

Happy Hunting and Fishing, Boys!

On an unrelated note, my run this morning was phenomenal.  I was in awe every time I looked at my watch and was keeping up the fast pace!  I totally expected a slow down in this week of high mileage, but so far it’s not happening.  In fact, today was the fastest all week!  Check out these splits:

MILE 1	8:57
MILE 2	8:42
MILE 3	8:45
MILE 4	8:38
MILE 5	8:39
MILE 6	8:43
MILE 7	8:39
MILE 8	9:16

DISTANCE: 8 MILES

TIME: 1:10:23

PACE: 8:47/MILE - 6.8 MPH <-------Whaaaaaa???!!!

I don’t know what to attribute this to, but I am totally stoked!  I’m thinking hard about training for a full marathon…  What a great week for this runner! 

As I was thanking God for the great run this morning, for His protection and strength, I was reminded of the Runner’s Prayer.  I wanted to share it with you;-)

Great, right?!  Have a wonderful day y’all!  Use your 86,400 seconds wisely;-)

xoxo  

One Month To Live

Think about this for a moment if you will…

Imagine getting up in the morning, going into the bathroom [come on, you know we ALL have to first thing!], and finding $86,400 laying on our bathroom counter.

Got your attention, right?! 

Ok, also imagine that along with that stack of moolah is a note from God telling you to use it as you see fit.  It is yours.  A gift.  No strings attached, no tricks.  You can do whatever you want with it, but you MUST use it…no saving it!  But the good news:  you will get the same amount tomorrow morning, and the morning after that, and the morning after that, and so on…  Here’s Katie’s illustration;-)

WOW!  What will you do with it?!  There are probably a million different things running through your head right now, right?  Perhaps a new car, pay off student loans, help out a friend, go on vacation??  The possibilities are almost endless!

Exciting?  Oh yeah.

Now before you start thinking, “Yeah, right,” hear me out.  God DOES INDEED give us a gift each and every morning to use however we see fit.

Each morning, He gives us the 86,400 SECONDS that are in that day.  86,400 seconds to do with whatever we want.  We can use them however we choose.  And TOMORROW, we will be given this gift again.  No, it’s not cold hard cash…it’s BETTER!  It’s LIFE!  And trust me, until you have had your life directly threatened, like mine, you have NO IDEA just how precious a gift this is. 

I get up every morning and thank God “for the opportunity to wake up and enjoy another day that He’s created”…yes, these are my words E-X-A-C-T-L-Y.  And for the last [almost] 2 years, this how I have begun every prayer, every morning.  Each day is a GIFT.  And we should be living as if we want it to count for Him. 

God wants us to LIVE LIFE, AND ENJOY IT! Not to just float through life with no purpose or excitement…but to live it with all the excitement that you have on the best roller coasters!  Yes!

SO, to testify to that, we had the best day yesterday.  Jack said that when he was at work, he was thinking ABOUT HOW BEST TO USE his 86,400 seconds!  It captivated his heart, and his mind…and he wasn’t even there on Sunday morning!  This is what he got from me telling him all about it when he got home that evening.  Wow.

And I was the same way in MY day.  I was constantly thinking how to best use my time, and how I could please God with the time I’ve been given.  It is an amazing day-changer.  As a result, I was on facebook less…hmmmmm…..;-) LOL

We also made a point to ask the kids how they spent their 86,400 seconds, and how they used their gift from God.  It was a total bonding moment for our family, wrapped up in a gift from God.  I am in awe at how He works sometimes;-)  And I’m excited to see what He has in store next! 

If anyone is interested, you can view the Sunday sermons from our church here.  And the One Month To Live site is here.  You will be forever changed, I promise. 

Have a great day everybody!  And make the most of it…you still have half of your day’s seconds left to make a difference;-)

Love you!

xoxo

Newness:-)

Happy new week, guys!

I hope you have had as GREAT a weekend as I have!  It seriously has been packed with GOODNESS…and NEWNESS;-)

THE GOODNESS:

• All 4 of us brother and sisters were around this weekend.  The gathering place, the usual: mom and dad’s. 
• It was a beautiful weekend weather-wise.  Cooler temps and blue skies made for lots of outdoor time for all the kids (big and little)! 
• All 3 of us girls made it to church with all the little ones in tow…it was so great to see us taking up 2 whole pews:-)

THE NEWNESS:

• All 7 of my parents’ grandchildren were together for the first time EVER on Sunday!  Hard to believe, but with everyone’s crazy schedules and whatnot it just hadn’t happened yet.  My mom was in complete heaven…you couldn’t wipe the smile off her face all day:-)
• I RAN WITH MY SISTER!!!!  Layne and I are running the Kansas City Marathon together next month and we have both been training, but 5 hours apart!  So Sunday morning we went for our first long run together and did 10.5 MILES!!!  And we were FLOORED at our pace…9:22/mile!  Yes, that’s 1:39:00!!!  Whoa.  We cheered (literally) when we finished!
• We started something new at church yesterday that I’m totally excited about.  Out pastor is doing a 6-week series on “what would you do if you knew you only had 30 days to live?”  It’s FANTASTIC so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes and the way it blesses our church!  We are only in the first week, but I can already highly recommend it to you…you should go buy the book if you’re interested!  More later on this fo’ sho’…
• I did my first 2-day back to back high mileage yesterday (with Layne) and today.  I am kind of testing the full marathon waters and playing with the idea in my mind…I’m still not sure, but after doing 14 easily last week, it’s been something I’m considering.  So 10.5 yesterday and then the same again today.  I even cut time off today!  I was shocked!  And stoked!!  Today’s splits:

MILE 1	9:20
MILE 2	9:00
MILE 3	8:54
MILE 4	9:02
MILE 5	9:05
MILE 6	9:24
MILE 7	8:45
MILE 8	9:10
MILE 9	9:10
MILE 10	10:09
MILE .5	4:91

TOTAL: 10.5 MILES

TIME: 1:36:25

PACE: 9:11/MILE

What a start to the week!  I’m curious to see how my legs feel after these two hard days, both outside.  So far, so good:-)

Well my schedule is bursting at the seams, so I’m off to the next thing to occupy some of the 86,400 seconds in the day:-)  <----Yep, you should get the book:-)

Have a fantastic rest of your day!

xoxo

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  Psalm 90:12