Miles and miles to come and go...

It's late fall 2008. I've been out of school and working full time for a few months now. I'm still living in Provo and life isn't exactly going great. Monotony combined with some frustrating/difficult relationships is making me feel more than a bit depressed and lost. I just want to feel like I can control something in my life and make something work. In the end I discover that while I can't control some situations and external influences and least of all other people, I can control myself-my actual physical self, and so I decide to run. I'd run a little bit before, mostly just as part of a split triathalon, doing at most 6 miles (probably a little more because surprise, surprise I got lost on the course). However, I'd never been really serious about it, it wasn't my thing, until that fall. I didn't just decide to run, I decided to run a lot, setting my sites on a Marathon that coming summer. And so, I laced up my shoes and set out time and time again with a big 26.2 in the back of my mind becoming my defense against anything more complicated than shoe laces and anything that I couldn't cope with or fix.

As summer 2009 approached, as part of my training, the runs got longer and coincidentally life got a little harder. In a frantic attempt to have something, anything to do to stop from wallowing in "Woe is Me'" that summer, one marathon turned into 3 full marathons and 3 half marathons. Running was a big part of me at that point, a runner had been pounded into me with all of those countless steps and miles. Even though I'll be the first to admit that I'm no record breaker, shoot, I'm not even a contender (I'm what Runner's World refers to as a Penguin-do I really need to explain?), I liked running and had to laugh at the truth of the slogan for the Utah Valley Marathon: "26.2 Miles of the Pain You Enjoy".

I decided to take a little break from big races at that point, because lets face it, for a rookie like me 3 marathons in one summer is a lot and I was burned out. Well, life got better, as it always does. I kept running on the side and planned to do another marathon the coming summer in Newport, OR for a change of scene and fun and to keep up conditioning, but it didn't happen. Life got crazy-great, but crazy. Kelly and I got engaged in March and married in April 2010 and soon thereafter we were expecting Asher. I was definitely not one of those pregnant women who could go out and run several miles up until the day they gave birth, in fact I was the opposite, I went on a complete hiatus for 9 months (well, I did go running twice one week when I was about 5 months along and all I can say is, Ouch!-bad idea, I was so incredibly sore I could hardly move).

Now we're in the present. It's summer 2011 and life is awesome. Asher came on March 19th and is now 4 months old. Despite the fatigue that seems to be ever present and sometimes a bit overwhelming, the desire to run is resurfacing. This time its not because I want to escape or because I feel out of control, I think it's because as I said, after that summer in 2009 running became a part of me (and it might be a good way to get back to pre-pregnancy shape:).

I have been running once or twice in the last month or two, and I'll admit it was really disappointing. It's not that I expected to magically be in great running condition, its more the disappointment of knowing what I've lost and having to start at the beginning in terms of physical ability and endurance. Barely being able to run 1 mile is really distressing when your last recollection of that type exhaustion and huffing and puffing was at mile marker 25 in a marathon. But, I am determined to get it back and to bring out the runner that I know is in there somewhere, the one that can do 26 miles and maybe more. For now I'm officially announcing my goal is to run the Utah Valley Marathon on June 9th, 2012.  I wanted to blog about it because it makes me feel accountable, knowing that other people know I said I would do it. I don't expect anyone to follow up with me or even read all of this, its just good to have it in writing somewhere to someone, even if that someone is me. I may write again from time to time about the miles and miles to come and go and what happens on the way, just so I stay accountable:) Thanks for reading!

 The Little Grand Canyon Marathon,  The lady in front of me told me to stop so she could take a picture.

At the finish of LGC, with Lien, the 50 year old lady who was in front of me a few yard the whole time and kept stopping to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful scenery, she was great:)

At the finish of the Utah Valley Marathon 2009, my first one. My dad and sister ran the last little bit with me.

Races of 2009
Provo River Half Marathon
Utah Valley Marathon
Bryce Canyon Half Marathon
Mapelton Moonlight Half Marathon (a night run)
Little Grand Canyon Marathon, (aka The marathon from Hell, for me-pardon my language, but honestly there is no other way to describe it)
St. George Marathon

Giggles

So Asher was jabbering up a storm the other day and I decided to tickle his feet a little to make him smile, when much to our delight he started giggling-a lot. He's done it once or twice before, but never for very long. I didn't think anything could compare with his little grins, but his giggles certainly do:) Kelly is the best at bringing out the best in the little guy. Enjoy!

It was a beautiful spring morning...

and not knowing quite what the day would hold for him, Asher decided to spend some time with his good friends Nigel, Jeffe, Panda and Squeak. They had, after all, been so diligent in watching over him as he slept the night before that he thought it a good idea to pay them a friendly visit on the floor of the living room on the blue blanket where they often got together.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" Asher said cheerfully. "Have you all had your breakfast? I had mine at 5:30 this morning, but I was a bit peckish durning the night and so I had a snack at 12:30am and 3:30am as well and I felt much better after that....Did you all sleep well?" Asher's friends were oddly silent this morning, but thinking that perhaps they had not gotten a snack last night and that they might be out of sorts, he thought it best to change the subject.


"Panda, your fur is looking very nice today, very fluffy. My hair gets fluffy too after I get a bath, but not so nice and fluffy as yours. And I do quite like the color of your spots Jeffe, they suit you. Your stripes make me smile Nigel. And Squeak your tail is looking quite curly." Still, none of his friends replied and Asher started to feel a bit uneasy, as though something were not quite right. Nothing bad of course, Nigel's grin told him that much, but still, he wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"Say, is everything all right, friends?" Asher asked. Still there was no answer. Then he hear a faint shuffle as Squeak made the first move.

Then, before he knew what was happening, in a flurry of black and white and blue, yellow and brown, fur and fuzz, Asher was attacked!

 "WE LOVE YOU!" His friends cried as they piled on him in a giant, fluffy, fury, stripey hug.








"Isn't it wonderful to have such good friends!", Asher thought to himself as they tumbled off of him.

It was going to be a good day.