Thank you Nike!

“You pretended the snooze button didn’t exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes you had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you.

You ran 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made you feel like a warrior.

You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer’s tan.

You hit the wall. You went through it. You decided to be man about it. You decided to be woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of. Just kept putting mile after mile on your interval odometer. For 25 years, you ran. And we ran with you. How much farther will we go? As far as you will.”

helllo couch.

16 miles in two days must mean just one thing. Hope Express is less than THREE WEEKS away!

with heavy heart

‎"They ask me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach." -Joe Paterno

I went out for my weekly long run this morning a little after 9:30am, my originally intended time of departure. About 2 miles from home, I decided to shuffle through to a new song, and as I was changing, I saw I had a text message from my cousin. I just had a sinking feeling in my stomach and heart, and knew I could cry right there without great effort. We watched all last night as reports of Joe Paterno's health seemed to take a turn for the worst, and I just knew that's what Marni's text was about. I decided against checking it, knowing I'd have trouble keeping it together and getting home in one piece. So I kept running.

Instead of thinking about his death, I thought about the incredible life Joe Paterno has led, about the lives he's touched both knowingly and unknowingly. I thought about all he packed in to his 85 years of life. At any age, it would have felt too early, but I thought about how he truly did live his life to the fullest. I'm deeply saddened about our incredible loss and it is only my hope that he truly knew how loved he was, how appreciative thousands of Penn Staters are to him for what he did for us and our beloved university. To me, Penn State can be summed up by two major icons and events: Joe Paterno and THON. Both are about love, dedication, and touching the lives of others.

THON is a celebration of life, and in 25 days, we'll run/dance/celebrate life, in honor of our Four Diamonds guests and in loving memory of our dear coach. We'll continue our fight, so that ALL KIDS can have the chance to live as big and full of a life as he did, filled with years of accomplishment, family, and love.

running decreases the likelihood of freezing

I regret having not posted in the past few weeks. I have been meaning to, but things have been busy in a really great way!

At the beginning of the month, I set three running-related resolutions, if you will, to help prepare me both physically and mentally for next month's HOPE EXPRESS, and they've all been going great! Longer runs, hiller runs, muchhh colder runs (oh hi 5 degrees). On top of those, I've recently added, "Believe in yourself and erase negative comments...even the sarcastic ones." If I'm going to run 18 miles, I need to stop doubting myself and believe I can do it.

On the note of cold weather, I have been commenting on it like CRAZY, but actually, it has not been too bad (aside from the fact that we've been very lucky and it really HASN'T been that bad...I mean, when it's been bad, I haven't minded it!). The hardest part is the range of temperatures I experience over a run, but I'm starting to know myself and figure out what works (i.e. wear my really good, warm gloves, but also bring my thinner gloves so there's a middle ground between thick gloves and cold arm). Cold runs are definitely refreshing!

Beautiful new Argo Park!

I have been looking for this ever since I read about it a few months ago, but to no avail. THANKS Lani for sending it over from Denver!

Wait a second...how'd Santa Paws get in here?

Hill Training

On Friday, I ran through campus on part of a longer run. I haven't had the chance to do this during "school" hours since we first moved here, back in August. It was almost funny how different what I saw now compared with what campus looked like back in September. The time between the beginning of the school year and the start of second semester gave way to a lot more groups/couples walking together, people meeting up, and laughing. Granted the day I'm recalling was grey and rainy...but that's not the point. Just a few months ago, people seemed more to themselves, quieter, and new. It was the start of the year, and people didn't have groups of friends like they do after months of college. It made me think about how important it is to be patient, because sometimes you just need time to see a difference, to see the change.

As part of one of my month goals, I set out today to do some intense hill training. I ran in the Arboretum, which homes a hill that has haunted me for months. I've let it get to me, and with good reason. Back in August when I first explored the Arb, runs up said hill left me breathless and defeated. Today, however, I was so ecstatic with the run, with my ability to not overthink it. I ran the hill twice, and I couldn't help but think about how, just like the froshies all over campus, time had been good to me as well. There are days when my run goes well and days when I struggle - just like in life. We can't always see the progress we're making, but today was a good reminder that it's important to be patient and keep at it!

Double Time

Last week, I ran into a Hope Express/Extreme Team alum who suggested I start running twice a day, at least once a week, to prepare for my three 6-mile legs coming up next month (!!). I wish I could say I had thought of this on my own, but I didn't...so lucky for me our paths happened to cross (thanks Pat!).

Today I ventured out for two 4-mile runs and overall, they went great! I've found that clocking mileage at home is tricky for some reason. My parents live right off of a main road, and I've also noticed I typically incorporate a lot of littles into my runs - small parks, downtown area, parts of campus, etc. I didn't realize I did it, until I found it challenging to plan routes without them. Nevertheless, I planned two different routes for today - one new and one I've done a few times this trip home. I'm certainly sore now and will be tomorrow, but that's all the more reason to be glad I've added them into my training now.

Also worth noting, it was high teens/low 20's for the runs. Ek! It really wasn't bad though, which just confirms what I remember about last winter. The hardest part about cold weather running for me is maintaining consistency throughout the majority of the run, despite temperature outside/inside all my layers. On my second run, I went without my (new!) jacket, which was a good move, minus the fact that my stomach was so cold towards the end that I couldn't tell if I was having stomach issues or it was just frozen...odd. Even the new jacket seemed a bit warm for today's frigid temperatures, but instead of getting sad that it wasn't a good purchase, I reminded myself that I now live in Michigan. I an't seen nothing yet.

Extreme Blog Makeover

If revamping my blog was my resolution for the new year, then I can pretty much sit back and relax for the next 362 days. Apparently much has changed since I started, but it was a lot less overwhelming to tweak and edit things than I remember, which is GREAT! I feel like this make-over is exactly what I need to start off the new year, and taking time to add labels/tags after the fact gave me the chance to quickly look back on my journey over the past two years (I decided to go back and add them, thinking it'd be neat to have the whole blog included, opposed to just starting from now). It's a good feeling to lay out goals for the upcoming month/year, while not losing sight of the fact that I've come a long way from where I started.

Speaking of resolutions and goals, I have decided to set running goals for the month, instead of the year, so I can celebrate the small victories (/avoid overloading my list with a moment of excitement!). Scary that they're now in print. Here we goooo:

1. In preparation for Hope Express, choose one day a week to run before AND after work. Woof.

2. Mountains and Hills and Slopes, oh my! Also in preparation for next month, adding straight up repeats into my regime. I'm proud to admit that I have stopped sobbing at the sight of incline/gladly welcome hills into my runs, but certainly adding more intentional repeats into my runs in the upcoming weeks will be crucial.

3. More cow bell. I mean, cross training. Signed up for a class at the gym to help with this one and I'm eager to get more out of my gym membership.