Five Trails Half Marathon Race Recap

The Five Trails Half Marathon was the most challenging 13.1 course I have ever done, besides the one I ran in Tibet, which was only challenging because it was 11,700' above sea level. 2:17:50 is definitely not my fastest 13.1 time, but I somehow managed to come in 15 minutes faster than what I had been training. I am truly baffled by this fact because the entire course was nothing but hills. You know when you see a movie that is just violent for the sake of being violent? Yeah. That was this course! The weather was perfect, and it was a small, mostly local crowd of fun peeps though, and I really felt well-trained for the hills, despite the fact that they never ended. Two memorable moments of this race are 1) running with a TAPS member and looking like someone had maced me after I cried when she told me she was running for her husband, who gave his life in combat in 2006; and 2) opening my chocolate power gel and spilling half of it all down my legs as it exploded and not caring that it looked nothing like chocolate power gel...

For those of you out there who do mile-by-mile recaps (you know who you are Stephanie@Running with Lumpy and Al@ You Run, No Really, You Run?), I think you are either completely full of it, or you are a genius, or you literally carry a tiny pencil and paper with you the entire run because how on earth can you possibly remember what you felt like at each mile for 13.1 miles? Here is my attempt at a race recap:

Miles 1-6

Miles 6-9

Miles 9-12

Miles 12-13.1

Probably one of the strongest finishes I have ever experienced :) 

Oh! And see that Nathan hand-held water bottle? Best invention. Ever. I have never done a 13.1 with my own hydration supply, and I LOVED not having to stop or slow down every mile to drink! Really worth it, I say. However, I think my days of energy gels are over. I am moving on to chews after this.

A Happy Anniversary Mother's Day Story About a Story

Once upon a time, there were 2 happy, whole people in search of one another. They had lived full, adventurous lives and had been characters in many stories, some with good endings, and some with bad endings. They were grateful for both kinds because free will is given to those who are brave enough to accept it's liberty, for better and for worse. For they believed that ultimately, God would somehow use their stories for His own good. 

One day, they found each other, and they decided to create their own story. It began with a beautiful, spring garden wedding in the great Pacific Northwest.

 

And a deployment, and a wintery, Pacific Northwest honeymoon that was postponed for 7 months, but was well worth the wait.

They ran and kissed in Central Park.

They ate hotdogs and watched baseball in San Diego.

They spent every weekend in February and March in the desert. They kissed there, too.

One day, a magical, baby tadpole boy grew in her belly. He jumped and twirled and fluttered inside of her. He was this big, from the very beginning, or so it felt that way to her because from the beginning, her love for him was unrivaled by any other.

This magical baby tadpole boy made her laugh and long to know him. When she finally met him, her heart kicked and twirled and fluttered.

He could jump like no other. He was very squishy and kissy.

And powerful. He changed their story entirely, for he made them drink in every moment of every day like it was the last drop of honey on earth. The woman and the man were happy, so together with their magical tadpole baby boy, they continued to write their choose your own adventure story...

A Mother's Day Letter

Brother #1, Nephew #3, The Curly Blonde, and Willie. 2012.

Dear Nephew #3,

  You are such a good and smart boy, and I hope this letter finds you getting into a remote drawer where the contents are shiny, noisy, crunchy, and maybe even fluffy. I pray, from the bottom of my heart, that this letter finds you a healthy and happy almost 2-year old!

  I was 12 years old when I first saw your mom walking down the hallways of 7th grade. She had the brightest, most mischievous, most innocent grin on her face, framed by all of those boingy, blonde curls. I see so much of her in you, already. She and I were instant friends. I was drawn to her by the chemistry of fireflies and contagious laughter and endless notes and letters and words. 

  We grew together and pushed each other away like the Arctic ocean and its icepack. We crashed and cracked and bonded. We crystallized and formed and melted. Somehow, we ended up in San Diego together as entry-level biologists and HR managers and marathoners and wine lovers. Your daddy, who just happens to be my little brother, married your mommy and moved down to San Diego too, and we had a fun decade of spider hunting and pool parties and grilling. 

  And then you were born! We all fell in love with you immediately. The thing I will always remember about seeing you in the delivery room for the first time, is how alert and quick you were to turn your head toward your mommy's voice when she spoke. You weren't sleepy; you wanted to see the world before your eyes even had time to adjust to it. And since then, you have been 100% this type of person. 

  I predict that you will always harbor the type of alertness that puts you in the path of the world before most others have time to catch up with you. But that is okay because you will have developed some kind of secret time machine which allows them to catch up with you and see what you see.    

  Mother's Day is fast approaching, and I know your mom is celebrating you and your journey into her life. She celebrates her life's changing viewpoints as she looks down from the mountain of you and your big, giant love for her. You have glorified her heart there in your bright, sunny meadow of little boy laughter.

  As I think on the mountain of my own Mother's Day, your sweet cousin, little h jumps up and down on the couch, squealing wildly and throwing pillows like a crazed monkey-boy. I have taken a break from surprise-attacking him, as only hot lava monster mommas do, to write you this letter because I just wanted you to know how much I love your mom and you (and of course your dad and willie, too).

Love Always, 

Auntie Becca

A Quick Chuckle

What I look like when my husband leaves for work in the morning. Note the glasses that were taped back together with packing tape since that was the only tape within reach after little h so sweetly and proudly ripped them apart then handed them to me as I was coming out of the bathroom. That's what I get for leaving them in my purse then giving him my purse to play with. Also note little h in the alphabet corner, pointing at the tractor (T is for Tractor, folks) and yelling at me to come play. Finally, note the time of day (7:00 a.m.)

What I look like when my husband comes home from work. Note the extremely blurry picture as I took this while running (literally) out the door to go for my run. Usually in running, hiking, or otherwise sweaty play clothes, I do at least make an attempt at baby powder and toothpaste. Note that I consider these items "cosmetics". Note that this is a sad but true fact. Finally, please note the awesome contents on the top of my fridge: bubbles, sunscreen, a large box containing pH strips, and Accelerade.

What I wish I looked like when he left/came home each day. Note the fact that this actually happens 3x per month.

They could care less, although both (yes, even little h) are quick to notice when it happens and extremely sweet about it. little h will softly caress my earrings and my hair (when it is done) and touch my eyes when I put on makeup while going, "Ooooh Baba (Momma). Good, good, good." BAH does something similar but doesn't try to touch my eyeballs :) Note that this photo was taken after BAH's marathon PR a couple of weeks ago, and little h wants to get down and run into the street with the rest of the marathoners instead of posing for this PR photo.

Values I Want My Son to Have:12-Mile Run Thoughts

Hiking in Missouri. 17 Months

Wikipedia’s definition of a personal value is: “broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right or wrong or what “ought” to be.”

Some may argue the definition of a value versus something that you value…I think my list is comprised more of qualities that I hope he values mixed with actual values (this is what happens when one is attempting to write while cutting out coffee from one’s diet…you can hear crickets chirping in my brain synapses).

Before this journal challenge, I had only thought consciously about the personal values I want little h to have, briefly, but I never thought to make an actual list. When I imagine my son as an older version of himself, my picture of him naturally includes his values. It is hard to have a picture or a vision of someone without including personal values in that image. I don’t think our brains are capable of forming 2-dimensional characters. Not really. 

This was my brainstorm list:

• Empathy toward humanity
• Loyalty
• Independent thought
• Love as a conqueror
• Faith
• Perseverance
• Forgiveness
• Self learning
• Self respect and dignity

Morris Massey, described the 3 major periods in life during which values are developed (Imprint, Modeling, Socialization). I pray that my son will seek out and be blessed with good mentors in his life (especially between the ages of 13 and 21), but mostly, I pray that he will be a good person who grows up to be the man that he is meant to be. I pray that he knows how to love and be loved. I pray that if he is smart, that he well knows the power of words and of humility. I pray that if he is of the less cerebral type, that he is happy and busy. In either case, I pray that he knows how to work hard for what he wants and give all glory to God.