Let’s Catch Things Up!

As you may have noticed … it’s been too many months since I’ve shared the adventures in my life with you. Cardinal sin among bloggers everywhere is to not blog (according to my manager). My problem is a combination of too much activity (including blogs for clients, so it’s not like I haven’t been blogging at all), too little time, but also, for those of you who may have read my past blogs, you know that I’ve struggled a time or two putting “pen to paper” so to speak. But I’m back at it with a vengeance and a lot has happened that I’m really excited to share with you!

Where to start … well I guess I should start where I left off, but first a brief announcement … I GOT ENGAGED!!! Before I tell you about that, though, I need to back up a little further to catch you up on what happened before that. So where I left off …

The next race in my 50 in 50 by 30 Challenge was the Vikings 10k in Mankato, Minnesota, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, (yes, 2011; remember, we’re catching up!) as part of the Mankato Marathon. Daniel and I drove Ruby (my MINI) up the night before and we were welcomed by our host Amanda Dyslin. She is a reporter for the Mankato Free Press (read her blogs … they’re very good) who volunteered to put us up! I was relieved because she was super nice and we were able to feel right at home. The night before the race at the Expo, I was invited to be a part of the Speaker’s Series where I presented Finding Your Run. Even though I sometimes get nervous before speaking, Daniel was in the audience for moral support, along with with our friends/clients Craig and Shirley. Nothing like bringing my own cheering section!

The race started early and let me tell you that even though Mankato is a mere three hours north of Des Moines, I definitely was feeling that end-of-October weather.   The first few miles I was a little chilly but then soon was warmed by the fun hilly course. What can I say? I love a challenging race! Daniel and I both PR’d (got personal records) and overall we had a great time! After the race, we met some really cool people who had watched us both on the show. I love meeting people who have been inspired to make a change in their lives, especially when they’re out racing! For me, Mankato … TWO THUMBS WAY UP! The people were welcoming and it felt very “home town.” But, for those of you big city people, Mankato had that feeling too. I don’t know if I’ve talked about this very much before, but my post-race “recovery” ritual is very important to me. Post race: whether it’s getting a cake doughnut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles or reading a magazine with my feet up watching Daniel and our friends kayak, it’s a tough life.          

AND THEN …

What should naturally follow a 10k? A half marathon, of course! Fast forward about three weeks to Tempe, Arizona, first week in November (and yes, it’s still 2011). This was my first race all by myself (i.e., no Daniel and no other running partners or traveling buddies)! Initially, I was kind of hesitant about it. It’s not that I’m afraid of flying alone, or even running alone (I do both all the time). I think it was the combination of the two. But, rather than getting all bogged down by thinking “I’m all alone” I started thinking “I GET to do this for ME, and me alone.” Because at the end of the day, this is why I started my 50 in 50 by 30 Challenge!

This race was Sunday, November 6, for Women’s Running Magazine, which featured me and one of my favorite recipes in their November/December issue! So, needless to say I was excited to go to the Expo and meet the gracious women who made this dream possible. The Expo was awesome!! I’ve never seen so many women in one room … and so much pink! So naturally, I fit right in. Getting the opportunity to bum around Scottsdale where I was staying was really fun! It’s even a place I could see myself living some day … maybe. The morning of the race we had to park in a parking lot and were given colored wrist bands. We were told to be there at a certain time to get on the buses that would take us to the starting line. I am sometimes challenged more by the clock than anything else, so needless to say, as I arrived at the shuttle point I found myself sticking my head out the window and yelling to make sure the bus did not take off without me! In my head the whole time I’m thinking “I didn’t come all the way here not to do this race, and if I miss it I’m going to FREAK OUT!” But I made it, and the race turned out to be pretty fun. The second half of the race was really hilly, which kicked my butt but I loved it. Flat races are boring. (Secretly, there’s nothing like passing someone on a hill, going up and coming down.) That’s where my training comes in. What was actually pretty good for my legs was that after I finished, I got lost on the way to my car and ended up following a nice group of women who looked like they were headed in the right direction. It ended up being about a mile, which was a great cool down! Did I mention how awesome the medal was?!?! It was a big sun with a little charm in the middle! I love race medals, they make feel SO accomplished.

Later in the day, I went to lululemon athletica, to exchange a pair of pants. I had to take advantage, because we don’t have lulu in Des Moines and I LOVE lululemon. I was sharing my story about my 50 in 50 by 30 Challenge with the salespeople and without hesitating they told me to go pick out whatever I wanted … that I had inspired them. What kindness … it brought me to tears! My initial thought process in doing this Challenge was just to keep me racing and keep me going and physically able. But what I’ve realized is just how life-changing this whole thing is. I sat on the bench looking at a big beautiful new bag and called Daniel crying. He thought something was wrong, but I had just been so humbled by the day’s events. Speaking of Daniel, this whole trip away I thought he had been acting a little weird. He and I had gotten into a small spat before I left so I just wrote it off as being that. But boy was I WRONG! Want to know what I was wrong about? Well, I will tell you in my next blog, which, by the way, will be in a couple weeks, not months …