#36

 I had to read two or three entries the end of October & November to catch up when I stopped reading in September...but I did it.  Today I finished book #36 for the year...the Bible.  Lots of things to learn from it.  I'm sure I only skimmed the surface.
This is the perfect book to have on the Kindle...as it's always there :)

Run Log: December 2013

The Streak:

I've run every single day since Thanksgiving Day.  I will finish the blasted thing tomorrow, when I run on New Year's Day.  I'm not sure if it's helped or hurt my overall fitness...never before has a mile or a mile and a half been an acceptable running distance.  But I did it.  Had to run a few Friday mornings at 5:15 am {at the Y ~ and not on my favorite treadmill since someone set it up like their locker...}  I even ran when we first arrived in Colorado ~ and then again when we arrived home.  A short little run after so very little sleep.   I'm rather looking forward to running 3 to 4 days a week ~ and adding some other activities. {yet to be determined}   I'm unclear as to what my next run will be.  The Cleveland 10 miler?  The Cleveland Half?  The Northern Ohio Marathon?  I'd like to do the fun little runs...the Captain's 5K, the Red Bird Run, the Grand Prix series with NERC.   Currently I'm fighting a sore hip/lower back.   Yesterday it was really sore, but with stretching and rolling, it is feeling better.  As Mike and I moan and groan when we move, I'm worried about what we'll be like when we're 60.

December’s Totals:

87.65 miles for the month 
1217 miles for the year {an even # since I ran 3.51 this morning!}
0 biking miles for the month
132 biking miles for the year
431.42 miles for my orange mizunos 

79.29 miles for my bright blue Brooks 

2011: 564.5 miles

2012: 656 miles 

2013: 1217 miles 

My WEIGHT:  136.8 is what the scale said this morning.  I took my Lose It! app out of the folder...and onto the second page of my phone.  Time to watch myself...and fit back into all those size 6 pants I bought.

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month: 7 ~ the run steak curse.  more running...less miles.
Favorite place to run this month: the bike path in Colorado.  Ran out to the peninsula one gloriously cold and clear morning.  There may be less oxygen, but there's so much more beauty!
# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet: NONE.  I did not buy extras. {and there were none at Giant Eagle on Sunday, when I looked}
# of books I read this month: four
Monthly mileage record: 155.46 ~ August 2013!  WOW
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.2 ~ October 13, 2013 ~ Northern Ohio Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:45 (Rabbit Run 10/30/11~ but I think it was a short course)
10K: 52:02 (Cleveland 5/15/11)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013)
marathon: 4:01:04 (Northern Ohio Marathon 10/13/2013)

#33, #34, & #35

Gotta love a 20 hour car ride...
#33 ~ Club Dead by Charlaine Harris {book 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse series} Another fun little novel about the dead & not-so-dead & wearwolves & other types of supernatuals.  I really enjoyed this one...and I like that Sookie stood her ground with Bill ~ I'm sure they will get back together, but I enjoyed her having a spine.  The characters continue to be fun and entertaining with just enough mystery to keep it exciting.

Cool Word:
p 190 ~   skulked

     ~ keep out of sight, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive.

Quote:
p245 ~ Sometimes, instead of going down the road less taken, you just charge right down the beaten path.

fl: Bill was hunched over the computer when I let myself in his house. ll: I hadn't laughed so hard in weeks.

#34 ~ Vision in White by Nora Roberts {#1 of the Bride Quartet, which I got from the e-library in one download...just keep reading and reading and reading}
This is Mac's story of falling in love with Carter ~ the first of the four friends who run a wedding planning business {Vows}  Mac is the photographer & has a really rotten mother.  Carter is the high school English teacher, cute in tweed.  It's a Nora ~ what can I say?  btw ~ Mac is the readhead
Quotes:
loc2768 ~ it'll likely be in progress for the considerable part of ever.
loc5492 ~ Some things in life are out of your control.  You can make it a party or a tragedy.  {Words to live by}

fl: By the time she was eight, Mackensie Elliot had been married fourteen times. ll: She had love.


#35 ~ Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts {#2 of the Bride Quartet}
This is Emma's story ~ Emma is the florist in the wedding business & falls for the architect, Jack.  Complicated because they have been friends forever ~ and Jack's unwillingness to committ.   Of course it ends happily ever after...and we are still waiting for the wedding of Mac & Carter to happen.  I wonder if all the weddings will take place at the same time?

fl: Romance, in Emmaline's opinion, made being a woman special.  ll: So they watched as Emma danced in the soft June night, in the moonlight, in the garden, with the man she loved.

#32

A Nora Roberts is #32 for the year, Chasing Fire.  Of course it was delightful with perfectly wonderful heroes & heroines.  I did have the murderer figured out pretty early, but it was still a hard to put down story.  I'm always impressed at the details Ms. Roberts puts into her novels.  She must do a great deal of research to be able to write about such different careers with such detail.  I enjoy that aspect very much.

Quotes ~ {no page #'s so I have to use 'location'}
226 ~ "I wish...Well, if wishes were horses I'd have a rodeo."

695 ~ "Asshole.  you can't go anywhere," Janis said, "without running into assholes."

863 ~ She let her mind empty so it could fill again with scattered thoughts.

2777 ~ Best times come and go.  If you're lucky enough, they keep coming.

5093 ~ "Because people suck and generally want anything crappy to be somebody else's fault."

fl:  Caught in the crosshairs of wind above the Bitterroots, the jump ship fought to find its stream. ll: But for now, she'd caught her own fire and wanted to walk awhile sharing the warmth of it, just with him, under the rising moon.

New shoes

Finally wore my new Brooks Glycerin 11 baby blues today.  Love new shoes day...but I will miss my race winner orange Mizinos.  

Run Log: November 2013

Debating.  Do I do the Toledo Marathon in April ~ or don't I?  The training schedule is already on the fridge, supposed to start 12/9.  I'm keeping up with a semi-regular routine now...and I've done 8's and 9's on Saturdays all month.  I'm fit enough to start the training & run the thing...but do I want to?  I want to be able to eat anything I want.  I want to qualify for Boston.  I want to run #2 & have it not be quite as bad as #1.  I want to train with my husband.  I don't want running to be a job.  I don't want the post-marathon let down.  I don't want to hate running.  I don't want to be at mile 18.
But November was a better running month.  Run Club met twice {just me and Cheryl despite all the promises from the other members}  I did a few long runs outside.  I enjoyed running on the treadmill {I'm not lying either} My body feels good & my pants are just a little tight...And Mike & I starting a holiday running streak.  I saw it on Runner's World fb page.  We will run at least a mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Years.  I'm three days in & so far so good.  It took me longer to get dressed & locate a satellite than it did to run the mile yesterday...but I did it.
I really would like a running partner ~ I know it's me, because, deep down, I really do like to run alone.  But I got used to running with Dodd over the summer & just yacking the miles by & it's really good motivation to get out there...you can't let your partner down.
And I have to add...I've won awards in the last three races I've run.  I'm more proud of that than I really should be.

November’s Totals:

95.65 miles for the month 
1129.35 miles for the year
0 biking miles for the month
132 biking miles for the year
423.06 miles for my orange mizunos ~ I bought a new pair of shoes two weeks ago because I was at Second Sole & had $70 in gift certificates...but they are still in the box.  These Orange Mizunos are award winning shoes... I can feel that they are getting close to retirement, but I'm pretty attached to them.  Every race I've run in them has netted me a prize ~ two firsts and a second {in my new old lady age group}  I love those shoes.

My WEIGHT:  Because it just can't be a number:  Yesterday morning the scale said 133.  This morning it said 135 {I KNEW I should have just taken yesterday's number} And, because I wasn't happy with the 135, I weighed myself after my 9 mile run, 132.  That's the story of my weight.

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month: 9.4 ~ Kept those Saturday runs right around 9 all month.
Favorite place to run this month: ? I'm struggling to answer this one.  I guess I'll have to say Painesville & the Turkey Day 5K route ~ even though there were icy spots, it's always fun to race {especially when you win a pie}
# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet: there's a brand new bag sitting on the table in my bedroom.
# of books I read this month: two
Monthly mileage record: 155.46 ~ August 2013!  WOW
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.2 ~ October 13, 2013 ~ Northern Ohio Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:45 (Rabbit Run 10/30/11~ but I think it was a short course)
10K: 52:02 (Cleveland 5/15/11)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013)
marathon: 4:01:04 (Northern Ohio Marathon 10/13/2013)

Turkey Day

The Third Annual Turkey Day 5K sponsored by the Lake County Central YMCA ~ we've been in each year & I am the only one in my family who thinks it's a great idea...but, since I'm the mom, they all got up and dressed {Lots of layers on the chilly (22° & slightly snowy Thanksgiving morning}and off to the Y we went.  The run was good ~ a little icy in spots, so my time wasn't earth shattering {some day I'll get that 21} but at 23:44 it was good enough to win first in my age group {love being that 45 year old in the 45 to 49 age group}

We had to wait around for the awards to get my pie...and it's not such a good looking pie...but it's my award winner pie & I love it.

Had a great finish...heading to home {didn't realize it} but I'm running next to one of my XC dads.  He yells out, "Don't let me beat you, Becky." and the race was on.  Didn't know I had a sprint in me, but those competitive juices flow fast & I was off.  I think I just beat him, but it was a fun end either way.

The fam all finished well...Megan with a head cold {yuck} and John's first run with us.  It was a good morning.  Then we ate all day and now I need to go to bed!

So much to be thankful for in my world :)

#31

I Really REALLY like the King and Maxwell series.  #31 on the year is Simple Genius by David Baldacci.  Another riveting story that keeps the pages turning.  The mystery is intrieguing and the continuing storyline between Sean and Michelle keeps growing.  I know this is a TV series; I'm not sure I want to watch it.  The characters I've got in my head are very much mine & I like them. I don't want a TV image to ruin it.  However, if the show is done as well as the books...I'll bet it's a good show.  If only that were the most serious decision in my life...

Good Words:
p53 ~ triumvirate

     a group of three men holding power

p374 ~  reconnoitering

     make a military observation of a region

fl: There are four acknowledged ways of meeting your maker: you can die by natural causes including illness; you can die by accident; you can die by another's hand; and you can die by your own hand.  ll: He paused, took her by the hand and said, "Don't ever leave me, Michelle."

Catching Fire

I don't see many movies, but I made sure to see this one.  I waited too long to watch the first one and had to do it in my living room.  So, a year ago, we made a vow to go see this one in the theater, and I'm very happy I did.  I was a little hesitant when I saw it was almost 2 and a half hours long...really?  Who can sit that long?  And when it ended, quite abruptly, Anita and I looked at each other and said, "It can't be over; that wasn't 2 & 1/2 hours."  But it was.
I do have to say the movie is better than the book. {which I think was pretty poorly written in parts}

Glorious

I got to run outside today, just ahead of the approaching cold front.  It was about 30 degrees ~ but the sun was peeking through the clouds.  There was a wind from the west, but I dressed appropriately (I'm getting better at that!)  For the record: underarmor tights {LOVE them}, skirt, underarmor thick shirt & my A-Basin vest.  Headband and gloves rounded out the outfit & I was sweating when I wasn't running west.  My left knee stiffened up?!, but I know that's IT band so it's ok to keep running and deal with it later.  As I was running north, down {literally} County Line Road, the sun came out brightly & snow started falling from the sky.  It was so delightful and beautiful.  I felt like a little kid ~ smiling up at the approaching flakes.  Absolutely glorious!

#30

I really like these Sookie Stackhouse novels ~ #30 is Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (#2 in the series).  I find it difficult to 'place' the type of book.  The covers make them seem so light-hearted, almost comicical ~ but the stories are a little dark & sexual and violent.  It's hard to take a character named Sookie seriously, but the stories are deadly serious.
What if vampires were suddenly considered 'mainstream'?  What if the supernatural beings we all assume are myths, were real?  Interesting concept...with lots of killing!  I can't wait to read the next one.
~ need to note that I did not sleep well this week & actually finished this book this morning around 4:00am...because I couldn't sleep.


Quote:
p26 ~ I don't lose my temper a lot, but when I do, I make a good job of it.

Good Words:
p101 ~  ennui

       feeling of listlessness and dissatisfactin arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.
p121 ~  vehemently

       showing stron feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense

fl: Andy Bellefleur was as drunk as a skunk. ll: And mine had, too.

Snow & the road

I think snow is beautiful.  I know it's not the most popular thing...but, as my commute to work is 3 miles long, it's not changing my world much {oh no, my 5 minute commute is 7}.  I'm sure I would feel differently if I were driving further to work.  But I'm not.  And I love snow.  This was Tuesday, November 12 {JB's 15 & 1/2 b-day ~ also staff meeting & parent-teacher conference day...who schedules these things that way? ~ well, I know who...}  I consider this our first snow ~ as it's still in a few places {like the back stairs, since I didn't shovel}  Our yard is still full of leaves, so this weekend {when it's supposed to be close to 70} will be full of moving wet leaves...yuck.

It sure is pretty.

And here's our 15 & 1/2 year old {+2 days}  Finally got away from work...really.  Conferences & a training back to back days!  I've NEVER had an evening training before...but this week, when Mike's out of town & JB can get those temps...he has to wait.  But today was the day.  He passed & I spent the $22 and he even drove to pick up our celebratory dinner from Jade Garden.  Took the 'back roads' as I didn't want him on route 20 yet.  He's really cautious & has just the right amount of fear.  I didn't yell...REALLY I didn't yell.  I'd tell him what to do & if he did it not quite right he was all like, "I'm sorry..."  I think he's going to be just fine behind that wheel.

and that's his new varsity jacket.  This has been a week of real lows & real highs for this kid.  But the lows are his to share, not his mother's.  I'm just really proud of him.

Speaking of being proud.  Patrick girlfriend went to UC for a college visit today.  They took down a care package from me & stuff from them too.  The gf's mom said he looked real good & she thinks he's taller.  It just warmed my heart to have someone love on my kid for me.  I miss having him around.

Butter

Butter ~ my theme being, butter makes everything better, makes this story even odder.

This morning's conversation with my husband:

Mike: So I'm happy with everything you did yesterday except you used the last of the butter and didn't put a new stick in the butter dish.

Shall we disect this statement?

First I shall start with where I took the conversation, because the rest of it was still rattling around in my brain trying to find a place where it made sense.

Me: I didn't use up all the butter.

Mike: Yes you did, and you didn't replace it.  Who does that?

Me: I didn't use up all the butter or I would have replaced it.

Mike: So you're blaming your son?

Me:  Well, he probably is the one who used up all the butter making the corn cake on Thursday {where he didn't really measure anything...like only used half of the Jiffy corn bread box, but that's another story}

Mike: So you're throwing Jacob under the bus.

Me: but I didn't leave an empty butter dish.

And then the sermon at church today was about keeping a healthy marriage by being honest with each other.  He kept calling me butter.

But let's go back the the part that is still rattling around my head 13 hours later.  "I'm happy with everything you did yesterday." ?!?!!!!!

What?
You keep track and GRADE what I do everyday?

Later he said, "We'll you always say thank you when I take out the garbage.  I was trying to be complimentary."

Some days, he infromed me, I earn an incomplete; he just doesn't tell me about it on those days.
And that's funny, because it's kinda true.

But really?

Run Log: October 2013

Two days into November and I can finally recap October ~ The month of my marathon.  A low mileage month ~ 1/3 of my miles for the month happened on one day.  But ~ two weeks after, I'm starting to love running again.  It feels right and my body can move & it's all good.  I really was worried there for a while. I trained for my half starting in January & the week after that race I started training for my marathon.  I spent 10 months in training...and after the race there was such a let down.  Running had no purpose.  Running has ALWAYS had a purpose for me.  It started as weight loss ~ and became my quiet time ~ and became my stress relief ~ and became a way of life ~ and then it became a job.  The week following the race can be compaired to the first week of summer vacation.  You are so excited to not have to work ~ but there's really no routine or structure to your life yet.  It's relaxing.  But then the next week ~ you crave some type of structure or routine.  In summer, it's easy to find that routine... late coffee with Matt Lauer, a run, pool or beach, a good book.  But after the marathon, I couldn't find a running routine.  It still hurt & it felt awkward & I had a hard time convincing my mind that I needed to run.  And then my pants got tighter! {I knew I wouldn't be able to stop my food consumption}  And I found motivation.  Today I ran a great 8 on a dreadmill/treadmill at the Y.  {stupid rain}  and it really was a great 8.  I'm back.

October’s Totals:

89.78 miles for the month 
1033.7 miles for the year
0 biking miles for the month
132 biking miles for the year
327.41 miles for my orange mizunos ~ that are still so comfortable.

My WEIGHT:  On October 31 at 6:05 am, it was 135.  I started my 'Lose It!' app on the 30th {and only tracked that day ~ because two pairs of pants were tight earlier in the week}  But since I ran 8 today...I may just eat that Halloween candy {& keep running}

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month: 26.2 {I have to believe that will be the longest run I ever do}
Favorite place to run this month: The Rabbit Run.  A race that ended 23 minutes after it began!?!  A GREAT idea!!! {and the lake looked beautiful & I remembered all the run club runs along those roads...I miss run club}
# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet: only a few pieces left in the candy dish
# of books I read this month: two
Monthly mileage record: 155.46 ~ August 2013!  WOW
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.2 ~ October 13, 2013 ~ Northern Ohio Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:45 (Rabbit Run 10/30/11~ but I think it was a short course)
10K: 52:02 (Cleveland 5/15/11)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013)
marathon: 4:01:04 (Northern Ohio Marathon 10/13/2013)

Rabbit Run

Lots of fun at the Rabbit Run ~ It was a beautiful fall day ~ and the race started later than in previous years.  A 9:00 race is not an early morning activity :)  I love the Rabbit Run, because in the first running, I was the second overall female.  In the second running, I placed first in my age group.  In the third running, I, again, took first in my age group.  Now, the age group is 40-49...so I'm getting into the upper ends of the range & I realize my Rabbit Run Old Lady Dominance may come to an end...but I do feel a pride about this race.
Mike, who hates 5K's with a passion I will never understand also won some bling today...second in his age group. :)  I finished the race, left the chute just in time to see Mike & Jacob finish right behind me.  That was pretty cool.
I also love this race because many of my XC kids come and run.  Today was no exception.  My team dominated the 14 and under age group.  The girls took it, 1, 2, 3 & the boys took 1 & 2.  I felt a little pride in that too.
Times...we are all in the 23's.  I think I've 23:30; Mike 23:40, JB 23:50.  But we have to wait to see it posted, because: 1.  I hit my watch to start & didn't think I'd hit it so when I hit it again, I actually stopped it...duh!  2. I didn't listen when I crossed the finish line {I was worried about getting Jenna's bib so she could actually have a finish time ~ she showed up REALLY late & didn't get her packet ~ and I did get it & she placed second in her division!} AND 3.  I didn't listen when they announced my time at the awards ceremony, because the little loser in me was so excited by all the cheering. {I really did get the loudest cheer when they announced my name.  It pays to know lots of middle schoolers.}

Times: {as reported on the Y's facebook page}
22 place overall   23:36 Becky Barton Female 40-49
24 place overall 23:51 Michael Barton Male 40-49
25 place overall 24:31 Jacob Barton Male 15-19

Here we are with our bling.  The picture is blurry, but it's worth sticking in the remember-it-forever blog of mine.

The reailly weird thing...Mike and I both had two bags made for us ~ two bibs ~ two t-shirts...and they gave them to us, even when I told them I only paid the $40 for a family.  So we have five shirts for 3 people...
And it was sad that Patrick wasn't here to run with us.  But he said he wanted to run the Turkey Day 5K {well, he said he would if everyone else is...and they are because this is our family tradition ~ says ME}  I'm in a new age group this year {45-49} and the first person in each division get a PUMPKIN PIE.  I'm running for the pie.

#29

I finished it a few days ago...but I can't seem to keep up with stuff these days.  It should be easy, now that XC and soccer and marathon training are done, but I'm getting lazy.  It's dark before 7 & I'm ready for bed when it gets dark!  Hard to get things done that way.
#29 for 2013 is another Maisie Dobbs novel ~ the fifth one, An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear.  I think this is my favorite so far.  It brings closure to the Simon plot line & we see Maisie in a much better place than she has been in the last three books.  The case is also pretty mysterious...and I was able to piece together most of the clues as we went along.

fl: The old woman rested on the steps of her home, a caravan set apart from those of the rest of her family, her tribe.  ll: So, alone in her flat, Maisie Dobbs danced.

Quotes & Words

{no page #'s in this double book ~ so the number is a location #}

120:
frivolities

{a pretty sounding word}

330: "Coincidence is a messenger sent by truth." {oft quoted in this series & it's struck me everytime I've read it}

414:

pugilist

{a cool word for a boxer}

805: After they had eaten a tea of corned beef, carrots and potatoes.  {funny to think of tea as a meal and not a beverage}

884:

rashers

{a thin slice of bacon}

1028:

acquiescence

{accept something reluctantly but without protest}

1704: {talking about the traveling village vicar who} comes in every Sunday morning and for the usual hatch, match, and dispach work.  {struck me as funny, that description of a pastor's services}

1840:

fiefdom

{talking about the house butler's 'kingdom' of the downstairs}

2661:

supposedly

{only because I've said this work incorrectly for.ev.er and my husband finally corrected me this summer ~ now I don't sound ignorant}

First snow!

Today is the day if first snow.  While we had just a little bit, West Geauga & South Euclid/Lundhurst had so much they got a snow day today.  I'm kinda hopeful that this an indication of a 'bad winter' to come.  Because I love a good winter storm. There is nothing better than being snowed in...it's cozy and snuggly and always beautiful.   

Today was also XC banquet &  a good run for me (which I haven't had for a week). I also finished a book...so I have lots to catch up on.  But later. 

running truth

My good friend, Amy, handed me this essay the day after my marathon ~ and when I finally got around to reading it, I laughed 'til I cried.

She wasn't so sure that I'd think it funny ~ but she had an inkling...I don't think you can truly get it if you aren't runner ~ but he speaks the truth.  I am better than most of you. 

~ check out the link for the original post:

Michael Ian Black ~ I Do Run Run Run, I Do Run Run:

The fact that I run is a source of mild embarrassment to me. It’s not the kind of thing I go around telling people because there’s something a little showoffy about distance running, even if you are as unaccomplished and slow as me. Runners don’t normally go around telling people how far they ran that day because that would be gauche, but a runner knows to the tenth, or even hundredth, of a mile exactly the distance he traveled, and how long it took him to do so. He knows the fastest time he has ever run that same distance. He carries those records like totems. Because its accomplishments are most often achieved in solitude, a runner’s pride can sometimes get the best of him. Pass a runner in your car on a cold early morning and I pretty much guarantee that runner is thinking I am better than you. It’s a terrible thought to have, even though it is correct.

Runners routinely endure suffering for no reason other than to have done so. What other reason is there to run five or fifteen or twenty-six point two miles at a time? Fitness can be achieved at shorter distances. Weight loss can be accomplished with less pain. So why else do it? Why else commit oneself to long slogs through rain and sun? Running is an act of vanity, one that measures itself not by flatterers but by footsteps. After tens of thousands of those footsteps, and miles and miles endured, is it not natural to believe oneself to be at least a little bit better than those who chose to convey themselves through space in more comfortable environs? No runner would ever express that thought out loud, of course. Except for me, because I am kind of an asshole.

Running is a private activity done publicly, usually on roads and trails. A runner puts herself into the world, half-dressed, hair a mess, face red, sweat-soaked and unattractive. She does this in full view of all passersby, showing herself in a more vulnerable state than she would ever do in her workplace or among her friends. In that running space, within the confines of her run, she is free from having to look a certain way or dress a certain way except as it pertains to running, from having to talk at all, from having to engage with anyone she does not wish to engage with, from having to be anything other than a small machine transporting the body from point A to point B. It is simple and beautiful for being simple.

People sometimes equate running with spirituality or meditation. To be out there, alone, in private reverie, can invite the same sorts of wonder and self-discovery as religious contemplation. Suffering, too, is intimately tied to both endeavors. Religion loves its penitents to suffer. Oh boy, does religion love suffering; it is through suffering that we find forgiveness and grace. Never through ice cream. But runners aren’t seeking forgiveness, and the only grace they are searching for is economy of motion. Some runners, like myself, look for clarity in their running, moments of escape from self, as the repetition unbinds mind from thought and allows the body to take control for a little while. But those moments are fleeting and never produce anything like enlightenment. Usually, they just produce a bum knee or an upset stomach. Spirituality is spirituality and running is running. Yes, running can evoke spiritual feelings. But so can watching leaves fall from trees. So can anything.

I run because I run. Which isn’t the reason I started running. I started running because I thought maybe I would find enlightenment. I thought great suffering would produce great knowledge. No. It doesn’t. Or maybe I just haven’t suffered enough. After all, I am still a novice runner. As I write this, I have yet to run my first half marathon, which is coming up in a couple weeks. Yesterday I ran the furthest I have ever run, eleven and a half miles (11.55 to be exact in a time of 1:52:38) fighting a keen desire to poo the entire way. When I got done, I went straight to the toilet. As I sat there, I started to pass out and had to remove myself to the floor, my shorts around my ankles, where I muttered a feeble “help” to an empty house. I broke out in a fresh, cold sweat and after several minutes of lying on the floor, I righted myself, and finished my business on the toilet. It was a bad end to an otherwise good run.

In the shower later, I noticed my bloody nipples and chafed arm. Nipples chafe and bleed from rubbing against shirt fabric. The arm, I think, grew irritated from rubbing against my sleeve hole. Today the redness is crosshatched like a waffle fry and it hurts when I touch it. My nipples are already scabbed over and pain free. But my calves are sore and my stomach still feels a little dicey. Tomorrow I will run again because I run. And also because I am better than you. 

Homecoming

Homecoming 2013 ~ the rain from yesterday is gone and the sun is out so that pictures can be beautiful ~ Mckayla & Jacob look stunning together in their teal and black.  They are off at dinner together now & I will take them to the dance after that.  This will be the last time I'll play taxi driver as JB should have his drivers license next year.  

More Marathon

Me & Mike, bright & early because we believe in short port-a-potty lines & good parking spaces.  Mike is the very best pit crew ever.  He holds stuff, he lets you wear his rain gear, he gets people to show up to cheer.  He is the best friend/husband/cheerleader ever.

My amazing family sending me encouragement from 1300 miles away ~ can't forget the 12 mile training run I did to Keystone & back when Brother Bill was my water boy!  And My Bean & Ag ~ ran by the We <3 Butthead sign with a group of guys..."Butthead?" they asked.  So I had to explain that those were my college girls, and my madien name is Butler...I ran into a couple of those guys later in the race & both times they yelled out, "Go Butthead."  Love it.

And Finally the finish.  I have to admit, in my head my arms were fully extended up over my head.  As you can see, in reality they didn't come close.  At least I'm standing pretty vertical ~ and not listing haplessly to the side.  The comment on fb to pic #2 was "Fantastic! Well done. Now tell Dodd to get out of your glory picture."

Found out that my prize is $40 ~ but the prize was not at Second Sole...I'm hoping that it was picked up by a co-worker & will be delivered to me at school.  I'm hoping my prize was not stolen...but really, the knowledge I WON a cash prize for RUNNING a MARATHON is reward enough.  More than enough, really.  I FINISHED.

And tonight, after my massage {oh, the BEST thing you can do for yourself after a long run} a thought popped up in my head.  "Tonight would be a great night to run."  

At least the desire is still there.  The legs aren't ready yet...

I DID IT

That pretty much says it all.  I DID IT.  I finished the Northeast Ohio Marathon.  It was the HARDEST thing I have ever done, with the exception of child birth.  It was physically tough, but more it was mentally tough.  At mile 18 I stopped to use the port-o-pot & from then on I walked through water stops.  It was all I could to do make myself run between the water stops.
I was BLESSED beyond belief by friends and family today.  Once again, words fail me.  Dad & Terry were around mile 12...and I almost started to cry when I saw them.  It was just heartwarming that they spent time to find me and cheer for the 20 seconds it took me to run by.
Anita & Kirsten were at multiple stops...and saved my rear {literally} with emergency chapstick...ohhh, that's a whole other story, which I'm not sharing any more details than that.
Phil & Janice were there.  Cheryl & Chuck took great pictures & a video of the last tenth of a mile...I was running with everything I had.  Patrick took the one above & it is the 1,000 words I don't have to tell it all to you.
Oh, and I finished in 4:01:04 ~ placing SECOND in my age group. {had I realized, I'd a stuck around for my prize...so I don't know what I won.  I'm hoping for a Second Sole gift card}

I know that's super big; But I needed to prove my quick-old-ladyness.

Here's the pre race crew.  Love my boys :)

That's all for now.  It's dark, so I can go to bed.

One Day Out

Tomorrow I will finish a marathon.
Yesterday Alexa handed me a booklet of well-wishes from my cross team.  Lots of my own words coming back to roost.  "Don't Walk" "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" {yep, that's on the playlist} "Don't die"  "You can do it".  I love XC kids and I love what running does for people.  I am so thankful that I'm a part of that community...and in 24 hours I can say, "I've run a marathon."

In a few hours I will go pick up my bib {#14}, pick up Patrick at the bus stop & eat my pre-race pasta dinner at the Hogans.
My watch and iPod are charged.  The playlist is loaded.  The clothes are laid out.  There is rain in the forecast.  And I'm thankful that it poured during my 20 mile run, because that doesn't scare me.  What happens happens & I'm going to run my first marathon.
Excitement is winning over anxiety.
I am as ready as I can be.

#28

So I feel like a library thief ~ I got the email that my library loan was about to expire on book #28, so I turned off the wi-fi on my Kindle.  I don't know if that's what held it there...or the fact that it was a USB transfer {another one of those is still on my Kindle ~ Why would they publisher restrict to USB transfer, when they can't remove it?}  BUT, I finished it two days after my loan expired.  The first Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris was a better written Twilight.  There's a vampire or five {some good, some bad}, a shape-shifter {who becomes a dog}, a mind reader {Sookie}, lots of sex and murder.  It's an enjoyable story ~ with lots of interesting characters and the love triangle that made Twilight so popular.  A dead vampire or a live dog?  What a choice for romance.  It was good & I'll read the next one, but I would bet that I get tired of them before the end of the series {hello, Shopaholic}

Good Words:
p 28 ~     swarthy

dark-skinned

p129 ~  lickety-split

p226 ~     verve

vigor and spirit or enthusiasm

p258 ~     ribald

referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude or irreverent way

Quotes:

p212 {TWO-TWELVE}~ Blue jeans seemed to be the answer, as they so often are.

p286 ~ I felt lonely and sorry for myself all the way around.  Sometimes you just have to roll in it.

fl: I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar. ll: "Right," I whispered.  "Yeah.  Back to normal."

a little bit of this & a little bit of that

Patrick is home ;)  He ventured north on the megabus ~ and we picked him up this afternoon near CSU.  It's good to see him & see that he looks good & happy & enjoying college.
That makes me happy!

Funny school story:
I had a student come up to me 7th period and say, "Mrs. Barton, my zipper is broken."  I check out the situation and observe that his t-shirt is more than long enough to hide any zipper problems, so I say, "Just pull down your t-shirt.  It'll be ok."  {I also know that we only have to make it the rest of the period & he'll be headed out to change into his XC clothes anyway.}  He looks at me kinda funny and repeats, "But my zipper is broken."  I repeat, "Just pull your shirt down; it'll be ok."  He continues to look at me funny and I continue to look at him funny and we repeat this conversation 3 or 4 times.  I can't figure out what this kid wants!  Then he says, "The zipper on my binder."  I just bust up laughing...as does the student.  I was so embarassesd & so was he.

Running ~ had a hard 8 miler today...my mind is not quite right & I'm getting that 'tightness' in my chest.  I bought some medication {yeah for Muscinex} so I'm praying that I'm not getting sick & this is allergies & that it goes away.  It's not fun to be aware of your breathing while you are running.  It makes it harder...
I'm excited & pretty nervous.
I have my playlist already on my iPod.
I've been checking the weather since it came on the 10 day forcast yesterday...so far cloudy, high 68, low 48.  perfect.

Run Log: September 2013

And...here we go.  My birthday month is over; marathon month is starting.  My training is in the taper weeks {KILLING ME, by the way}, Cross Country is winding down...school is getting in the groove.
I've changed my thinking about this marathon from, "I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever decided to do and I'm scared."  to, "I'm going to be a marathoner."
I AM going to be a marathoner.  I AM going to run the best race possible.  I may hate every step of the last six miles...but I'm going to be proud to run them.  "I am a Champion ~ You're gonna hear me ROAR" {Thank you Katy Perry}
Jackie and Amy gave me a 26.2 magnet for my birthday.  It's staying in the bottom of the bag until October 14...when I put it on my white board @ school.
My boys gave me two massages.  The first will be this Thursday & the second will be Monday, October 14.  I'm really going to need that one!

September’s Totals:

138.46 miles for the month 
943.92 miles for the year
0 biking miles for the month
132 biking miles for the year
237.63 miles for my orange mizunos {actually a few less, because I didn't separate out the 10 miles or so I ran at XC practice}

My WEIGHT:  Last I checked it was 132ish.  I thought about getting on this morning...but after all the crap I ate over my birthday weekend, I really didn't want to know {and I forgot that I would be reporting it today}  I'm not too worried about what it is...I'm worried about what it will be after October 13!

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month: 20.56 {in 3:00:01}
Favorite place to run this month: I have to say the Fairport Marathon course.  I cursed it at the time, but it's been the vision of most of my running since.  I've been picturing the last six miles & how I'm going to tackle them.  I hope the mental practice from that one run pays off.
# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet: One {and it's gotta be stale}
# of books I read this month: three
Monthly mileage record: 155.46 ~ August 2013!  WOW
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  20.56 ~ September 21, 2013

PR's:
5K: 22:45 (Rabbit Run 10/30/11~ but I think it was a short course)
10K: 52:02 (Cleveland 5/15/11)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013)
marathon: 3:50:05 (Akron relay {team run} 9/24/11)

45

Technology & Birthdays!

First is was Facebook & the joy of all the birthday wishes there...

Today I pulled up to the ATM to get $ for food at the Grape Jamboree {sausage sammage, bucket 'o fries & a purple cow} I put in my card & my ATM machine wished me a Happy Birthday.  What about that?

Then I opened Google...

You may not be able to see clearly, but the Google letters are saying, "Happy Birthday, Becky!"

I love technology. ~ but mainly because Patrick facetimed me from UC ~ he looks good and he sounds good & he's coming home next Saturday.

So, Happy Birthday to me. If I live to be 90, I'm halfway there.

#27

There's been lots going on in my world between books 26 & 27...but I haven't been able to write about my growing marathon fear, the missing of my college son, the stress of a new school year, the fun of XC, the stess and joy of life...so here I am, at book #27.  Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan.  I read it because her second book, engagement, was recommended as a good summer read ~ and I am unable to read a second book without reading the first {even when they are totally two separate pieces of fiction...}  It was a long one {400+pages} and rambling, at times, about four college friends ~ how their separate lives were never so very separate.  How dreams and passions can get mixed up.  How love and family can be the same thing...and how they can be very different.  The ending left me wanting more...which makes it a good ending.

Quotes:
p320 ~ April's just a Dixie cup of crazy.  Lydia's more like a twenty-gallon tank.

p372 ~ Smith had left its mark on her, so that the place would always feel like home, but she was a stranger here now.  In each of er friends, her Smith College self would always live on.  Maybe that was why they were all still so important to one anotehr, even though so much had changed.

fl: Celia woke with a gasp.  ll: "Is it you?" Sally said at last.  "It's me."

#26

I did get in the interrupted book ~ and I'm still waiting for the two I have on hold through ClevNet...and I didn't think I'd have time to read it.  Just in time for fall, I've discovered a great summer author {note to self...next summer!}  #26 is nancy thayer's summer breeze {lower case, because that's how she put it on the cover}.  A sweet and kinda romantic story of three women, who become friends, & the men they love.  It's charming & light & full of summer. ~ and Slade, a great name for a bad boy.

quotes:
p11 ~ It was June, perhaps her favorite month, warm and fresh and full of the promise of summer. {I told you it was a summer read}

p12 ~ she was almost aggressively fashion-unconscious.  {I LOVE the description...it could be me}

Good Words:
p70 ~   repose

         temporary rest from activity, excitement, or exertion, esp. sleep or the rest given by sleep.

p107~  desultorily

         lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm

gulp....gulp....gulp

I started a post yesterday about my incredibly amazing training run on Thursday, but with all the craziness that is life in the fall, I never quite finished it (I think I got a sentence typed.)  Today that post seems irrelevant.  Today was an 18 miler.  Dodd and I decided to run 18 miles of the marathon course, which was probably a great idea.
So I'm flying high from Thursday's run...where I ran 5 miles in 39:17 {that's a 7:51 pace, in case you don't want to do the math}.  I have NEVER EVER EVER run more than 2 miles at an under 8:00 pace.  I was so pumped ~ felt so strong ~ felt so unconquerable...
And then there were the last mile and a half of today's 18.  It was sheer mental effort that kept me on my feet until my watch said 18.  I feel like crying...because I don't know if I CAN do those last 8.  I know I couldn't have done them today.
I knew this marathon thing was not to be taken lightly...but, honestly, I have had such great long runs...I had confidence that I could do it.  After Thursday I started telling a few people that my goal was to be a BQ {3:55 for a 45 year old woman}.
I am pretty sure that I'm not going to do that, and I'm not so sure that I'll have a successful 26.2.
I hope it's a good thing that I'm becoming a little more realistic about this task...because I really just feel like crying at the futility of what I've set out to do.

marathon...gulp

Drove the course for my October 13 marathon...I was feeling confident; now my knees are knocking a little.  My training runs are downhill for the last two miles.  The home stretch for the finish line is uphill...and not a slight uphill.
Fairport Harbor is HILLY.
We are also running up a gravel path from the Mentor Marsh to Headlands Road.  It looked up.

Time to mentally prepare.  I think my legs can do it.  Now I need my head to do it.

I am going to be a marathoner.

#25

#25 interrupted a book ~ which I think I need to mention ~ because I think the next book I have on hold will interrupt it & I might actually want to go back & read it ~ summer breeze by nancy thayer.  Anyway, book #25 is The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida.  Naoki was 13 when he wrote this book.  He used a special computer and alphabet grid to write it because he is a non-verbal boy with autism.  He is so well 'spoken', with such a clear understanding of how he is different ~ it just blew me away.  He speaks for all people with autism, but I wonder if that really is the case.  There are many specifics to his own life, that he broadly put onto all with autism...but from a 13-year-old's perspective, it probably seems true.  He wrote of things that totally changed my perception of those struggling with autism ~ lots of things I highlighted...so here we go:
 p1 ~ a great word:  unstoppably

p12 ~ The three characters used for the word "autism" in Japanese signify "self", "shut" and "illness."

p34 ~ Some of you may think we read aloud with a strange intonation, too.  This is because we can't read the story and imagine the story at the same time.

p67 ~ Even performing one straightforward task, I can't get started as smoothly as you can.  Here's how I have to go about things: 1. I think about what I'm going to do.  2. I visualize how I'm going to do it.  3. I encourage myself to get going.  How smoothly I can do the job depends on how smoothly this process goes.

p92 ~ Every single thing has its own unique beauty.  People with autism get to cherish this beauty, as if it's a kind of blessing given to us.  Wherever we go, whatever we do, we can never be completely lonely.

p101 ~ Unchanging things are comforting, and there's something beautiful about that.

p119 ~ But to us people with special needs, nature is an important as our own lives.  The reason is that when we look at nature, we receive a sort of permission to be alive in this world, and our entire bodies get recharged.  However often we're ignored and pushed away by other people, nature will always give us a good big hug, here inside our hearts.

p129 ~ people with autism never, ever feel at ease, wherever we are.  Because of this, we wander off--or run away--in search of some location were we do feel at ease.

p134 ~ Roads speak to us people with autism, and invite us onward.

p135 ~ I feel a deep envy of people who can know what their own minds are saying, and who have the power to act accordingly. My breain is always sending me off on little missions, whether or not I want to do them.  And if I don't obey, then I have to fight a feeling of horror.

p140~ To you who are helping us, I'd say this: please handle and approach our behavioral issues with a strong faith that they are definitely going to pass, at some point in the future.  When we are stopped from doing what we want, we may well make a terrible song and dance about it, but in time we'll get used to the idea.  And until we reach that point, we'd like you to stick with it, and stick with us.

p149~ One of the biggest misunderstandings you have about us is your belief that our feelings aren't as subtle and complex as yours.  because how we behave can appear so childish in your eyes, you tend to assume that we're childish on the inside, too.

August stuff

Cleaning out my August memories ~ to make room in my brain for new memories... First of all, I had to memorialize the highest score I've ever managed in a Words with Friends game {sorry Aunt Chris... FYI, we are pretty evenly matched, she may win a few more times than I do ~ so this was a legit high score}  I wish I'd taken a pic of my highest scoring word ever, because I believe it was 109 {but that may or may not be true, as I can't trust my memory}

This picture is of the snake living in our flower bed.  He's a cute little guy & I've warned him never to let Mike see him, because then he will be dead.

And REALLY ~ REALLY?  Why would a high end joint advertise like this? {Taken from Duffy's window looking out at the Vault Steakhouse}