Random

So other than the Lincoln Half Marathon (in about a month) I really don't have anything to train for.

Suck.

I think that Border 2 Border is out due mostly to the expense of a two man team. Blink is the perfect teammate if he stays out of race mode. ;) But we lost the other two potential racers and that doubled the cost.

Suck.

I had a pretty darn good 10 mile run on Sunday morning. I ran with Koni and we did a 10 mile out and back in 1:30. That would be 8:34 per mile. Not a bad run.

I have re-discovered that I *heart* running. I love it, really. Especially when I can run with that cute little orange and white behind in front of me. (That would be Kona in case you were confused.)

Um, yeah, yesterday... well I had kind of a busy day. I ran in the morning, like I said and then I did a fundraising walk for our church with Mr KT and the doggies. Then after I got home, a friend called and wanted to go ride the hills north of town. Ok, I'm in. As I told Blink, I kind of always forget how rough those first few rides of the season are outside. Nothing like the trainer, not that I have spent much time on that either. Hee hee. Then I went to youth group dinner with Mr KT and a bazillion high school kids and then home to finish the laundry.

This is how Mr KT found me at 8:45 last night when he came up to see what was going on...




Hey, at least they were folded!

I was tired.

You know what I just realized? It is March and I can already see my cycling short tan lines. Awesome.

Looking back

Sometimes when I have a particularly good workout on a particularly nice day I start to think about how "easy" it is. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm not pushing it, or working hard. It means that I can do it. It means that Sunday night thinking back over my workouts, I had no trouble running 20+ miles this weekend. In fact, I enjoyed it. It didn't seem "hard" and I looked forward to those longer runs. When I first started running I could do a couple of miles at a time. 5 miles was fairly long. Don't get me wrong, I was very proud of that with good reason, but things have changed slightly. Shifted in a different direction. Two years ago I did the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon (Oct) at home, in my neighborhood. That was my first flirtation with endurance. Then the following year I did the Lincoln Half Marathon in May, the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman (July), the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon (Oct) at home again, and the Marine Corps Full Marathon at the end of October. I took a couple of weeks off from running to recover from the marathon and then jumped right back into it. I did a 10 mile trail run in February and I am now looking towards the Lincoln Half again as well as B2B (a 2, 3, or 4 man relay in July) in MN. It just continues to amaze me how as I was finishing up my 10 miler yesterday I wasn't even beat. Yay.

The other time I think of it is when I am swimming Master's. I started out loving the water but really not knowing anything about competitive swimming. I couldn't flip turn, I didn't know a single drill, and I couldn't hardly understand swimming language. I seriously couldn't flip turn. So Thursday when I was in the pool swimming, doing lap after lap I was pretty amazed at my flip turns with streamline, a dolphin kick and then a big, strong pull. Made me grin ear to ear. All that time in the pool paid off, plus I have a pretty good swim buddy to help with the little technique pieces I'm missing as well as to keep me in check when I actually think I am starting to swim "fast".

It's just nice to think about without looking at times. I just feel stronger, faster, more athletic, and more fit. I am loving my workouts, both the tough and the easy ones. Just like it should be.

Cranky

So, it's 3:15 on Tuesday afternoon and I am off early from work. I am as crabby as I can be.
- Could it be because it is snowing sideways and negative one million degrees?
Nope, I usually like the snow.
- Could it be because I got done 2 hours early at work to come home and do more paperwork?
Maybe.
- Could it be because last week it was seriously 75 or 80 degrees on Tuesday or Wednesday (or so I heard) and I was inside a mostly windowless building until it was dark?
Maybe.
- Is it because I sometimes feel like I am spinning my wheels and going nowhere?
Possibly.
- Maybe it is that I CAN'T find my inspiration book and that all the boxes of books I have are a mess.
Yeah, but that is my own fault.
- What about the fact that I should have been in Florida at a SUPER COOL conference this week for work about seating and positioning but instead am sitting smack dab in the middle of Omaha?
Might be part of it.
- What about the fact that my road bike needs attention (um, the wheels are jacked) and I don't know how to fix it?
Yeah, sad.
- How about a billion other things that I can't really blog about on the Internet?
Yeah, those are also a pain.
- Could it be that I don't feel like I make a difference with all of these great kids that I see? That for all the hours I put in, the system works against us.
Hmmmm, dunno.
- Could it be that I just feel generally irritable?
Ohhhh! YES, that's it!

Now, let's turn some of this around. A while back at church, our senior minister was giving a sermon in which I have to admit I was tuning in and out. At the end though he was talking about being "red-hot". He said something along the lines of this...
does what you are doing make you tired? If it exhausts you, it might not be your calling. What you do should energize you and make you feel alive.

This week at the cool Techno Youth Service the sermon was on "Gluttony". The benediction was perfect. He used Psalm 46:10.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Then he said,
If what you are doing isn't bringing you fully alive, it is too small for you.

Too small. Hmmmm. I might be turning something over in my head. Watch out.

And you thought Nebraska was flat.

This last weekend was PERFECT for skiing. Sadly, I was on call at the hospital and had to work both Saturday and Sunday but I definitely found time to get in enough skiing to tide me over. Saturday I went out in the afternoon for about an hour and a half. It could not have been more perfect. The air was cold but the sun was out. There was little wind. The snow was powdery and wonderful. It was heaven on two skis. :)





Sunday I headed back out for a couple more loops. It was even nicer but for some reason that first day was just slightly more perfect. I adore being outside in the cold air. I love the snow. I felt comfortable on my skis. If only I had a doggy that wouldn't pull so hard. I could have taken them with me. Oh well, they got a run in and a walk across the back nine.

Also, I came home from work on Saturday to find this...





That would be Mr KT's backside and Kona watching him in the backyard.








This would be the babies (first two Kona, third one both) in the "igloo". They did eventually go in and play.