Six years later

In many ways, I find it hard to believe that it has been 6 years since I ran my first and only marathon, the amazing Chicago Marathon.

Each year the desire to even run that far again fades a little more. I developed tendonitis during training and my doctor told me this was a “one and done” situation, and I was grateful for it. I ran a great race and had a wonderful time meeting the original people I first followed on here, including my dear @two-o-nine  . I had trained well, felt great, and was at a perfect racing weight. I finished in 5:33:03 and was pleased. That’s a long time to run, but it didn’t matter, I did it! I finished a marathon! I took myself on a running tour of the city and I loved it.

When I crossed the finish line, I got my picture taken with my hard earned medal, found some snacks and a spot on the ground to rest, and called my mom and immediately burst into tears. The girl who was made fun of for being fat, who couldn’t run a mile in middle school or high school, was now the girl who found the strength to lose 150 pounds and run countless races including 12 half marathons and now a full. It was an incredible feeling.

So, to everyone racing this weekend, have so much fun! It is an incredible experience.

hoody-exchange:

It’s time for another year of exchanging hoodies!!!!

I am a little behind on starting this, but we still have plenty of time to swap out some hoodies!!!!

It’s pretty simple. Here’s how it goes:

  1. Comment (on the original post) or message me that you want in on the exchange.
  2. On October 18th  (two weeks from now!), I will throw
    the names in a random generator and match people up.     (so you will buy
    for the same person you are getting one from)
  3. Once you are matched with someone you then have till November 5th to purchase and mail your partner their hoody.
  4. November should be all about that hoody —- want to see ALL the posts of hoodies
    in November. Once you receive them, take a pic, post them and tag me! I shall reblog reblog reblog! 😉

IF YOUR PERSON CAN NOT GET A HOLD OF YOU BY THE END OF THE
DAY ON October 20th, YOU WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE EXCHANGE AND I WILL
REMATCH ANYONE AS NEEDED THE FOLLOWING MORNING. So make sure you
are accessible 🙂

Additional notes:

  • Zip up or pullover. Talk with your person and see what they like.
  • Price. Use your best judgment. Don’t be cheap, but don’t go crazy.
    Or you can figure it out between the two of you if you like. (I’m
    thinking $30-$40 range)
  • If you DO NOT want to ship internationally, let me know. If you use
    USPS, it really isn’t bad $, but I understand if you want to avoid that.
    Just let me know what country you want to stay in.
  • Get creative!! Get to know your person a bit and see what floats their boat.
  • Make sure to tell your person what you do NOT like.
  • Most important let them know what size to buy you!

AFTER YOU GET YOUR HOODY:

  1. POST A PICTURE. Please do this. It is part of the fun.
  2. TAG me in the post @hoody-exchange so I can confirm you got your hoody.
  3. And in the tags put #HOODY2018

REMEMBER TO REBLOG SO OTHER CAN SEE AND HAVE A CHANCE TO SIGN UP WITH YOU!!!

I am in a MOOD

  1. I’m dealing with an errant reporter who wants to dig up dirt on sexual assaults on campus. There are three other colleges in the area and we are all emailing back and forth on what to do with him.
  2. I am struggling SO HARD to lose weight. I go up and down a few pounds and subsequently am in a terrible headspace and body image right now.
  3. This gain/loss is despite eating very well, counting calories, macros, etc and exercising more than I have in months.
  4. I’ve come to find out from the doctor that all my weight struggles may be caused by hormonal issues, which explains A LOT. But it just sucks. 
  5. Wedding planning is coming along, however, people telling me that they don’t want to go to Mexico because of the violence there or because they’ve already been there once, or telling me that they wish I would have had it in a different location should not even speak to me right now. When did MY WEDDING location become something they get to decide and/or comment on? I’m tempted to tell everyone they are uninvited and we’ll just go by ourselves. Come or don’t come. I don’t care anymore. They’ve ruined wedding planning for me. Thanks.

The one good thing of today–it’s chilly out and I broke out my new riding boots. I love them!!

WHAT A WEEK

TGIF you guys. This week has kicked my butt. 

Monday–it was fine, the biggest excitement is that I got this shirt that I ordered from my friend. I LOVE it!! It’s so me!! 

image

Then came the rest of the week…

Tuesday–I went home early with a migraine, my second one of the week. I got it during work and since I get auras I am basically shot once they hit. I went home and laid on the couch from 3pm to 7pm.

Wednesday–I felt great and got back into my regularly scheduled workouts and did my run and strength training. The Transform app had me doing 10 rounds for time of 10 walking lunges and 10 pushups. Two days later I still have a terrible case of the DOMS. I then went to see “A Simple Favor” with my friend Madison. It was good! Then, IT happened. Our dogs got sprayed in the face by a skunk. Rio, the instigator, got the brunt of it. Two days later, after many baths and a good scrubbing with a special skunk shampoo, her snout still retains a bit of the smell to it. SO GROSS.

Thursday–I spent my day running around campus with a documentary crew from South Korea. They are doing a story on Income Share Agreements as a way to pay for college. My university just started them this year and they had a lot of questions for our president, a few students, and the program director. It was an all-day affair, but fun for this former TV Newsie! 🙂

I have a massage after work today, my fiance has more firefighter training classes tonight and tomorrow morning, so I plan on catching up on this week’s TV premiers and snuggling with the pups. Tomorrow we are going on a haunted hayrack ride after the Husker Football game (I just hope we win!) and then Sunday we are going apple picking! Hello Fall!

Have a great weekend, friends!