26.2

Ok, so it's been a ridiculous amount of time since my last post. Shameful, really. But I did want to blog about my recent marathon, since it was my first. The entire experience went better than I could have ever hoped for. I felt great the entire time, even in the last 6 miles. I've heard so many people say that running a marathon is more of a mental challenge that a physical one. Personally, I never felt mentally fatigued. I think this is solely for one reason: Long's Peak. Climbing that mountain is still, to this day, the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've ever done. We spent 14 hours climbing that day, and didn't even summit. And if the altitude didn't get you, the knee jarring descent will. I cried the last 4 hours of that climb. Unlike running a marathon, you can't just walk off the course. You MUST get down off that mountain. There's no choice in the matter. I haven't reflected a lot on that experience, but now after running the marathon, I think much of my success can be attributed to that torturous, failed climb.

So, back to the race itself, the conditions were absolutely perfect, the course was beautiful, and the race was extremely well supported. It was, in a lot of ways, the perfect first marathon to do. I didn't start experiencing pain until around mile 21. My back started to cramp up terribly and of course my legs and feet were screaming. I started to take walking breaks, but then I quickly realized that it hurt just as much to walk as it did to run...so I figured, why not run and get this thing over with sooner?! Right around mile 23, someone was giving out gummy bears. I grabbed a handful, started eating them and all of a sudden I started feeling good. Like CRAZY good. After that, I felt really strong. I was passing people left and right. I had lost my 4:30 pace marker a few miles back, so I figured my goal of coming in around that time was shot. It was right after the mile 25 marker that I asked someone what time it was (I had fogotten my watch, of course!). They informed me it was 12:20something and I was completely shocked. I thought for sure it was almost 12:45, which meant I needed to hustle to make it to the finish line under 5 hrs. After discovering my goal was still in tact, I just went for it. I'm sure I wasn't actually running that fast, but to me, I was sprinting. I crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 36 minutes. I was thrilled with my time and the fact that I literally left it all out there. As soon as I crossed that finish line, I was completely spent. I happily collapsed into Arie's arms. It was such a great experience!

I spent 3 and a half months training, which is crazy to think about now. I actually miss training. I really became quite fond of my long training runs on saturday mornings. Especially once school got going and I had no time to myself, those few hours a week became priceless. I was just me, the road and my thoughts. That I really miss.

Just some final thoughts: I am fully convinced that any and everyone one can run a marathon if they are committed to train for it. It was amazing to experice the changes and adapations my body went through during training. Trust me, if I can do, it anyone can! Also, I have a new found respect for all my friends who are marathoners. It's an amazing accomplishment.

No Reservations

Well, actually, there are some reservations. But, very few. And what better excuse to use the title of one of my favorite shows. (I don't know, something about a travel show hosted by a very cynical old chef who hates vegetarians is very entertaining to me.) So it's that time of year: our, what has become, yearly trip to Colorado.

We arrived two days ago. The first night, we hung out in Ft. Collins a bit and then headed over to Rocky Mtn. National Park and spent the night at the trailhead of Long's Peak. We got there at about 10 PM. Arie got up and left to climb Long's at about 2AM. I remember sitting up, half asleep (we made a bed out of the back of the xterra) and looking around at that dark parking lot filled with bunches of people getting all their gear on guided solely by the light of their head lamps. I remember thinking, "these people, including my husband, are INSANE."

Arie made it up to the summit in an insanely short amount of time (4.5 hrs). I woke up at 7:15 and hit the (same) trail by 7:45. I was thinking all along that I would hike up part of the mountain and then run down. It became clear quite early on that there was no way I would be running down the mountain. The trail was very rocky and twisting an ankle was pretty much a sure thing. To my surprise, I felt great hiking up. A VERY different experience from the last time I was on that trail. I felt so good I ended up hiking up 4 miles to the Chasm Lake overlook. It was a very natural spot to wait for Arie, who would have been coming down around that same time. I hung out there for a bit and actually met 5 people from Iowa! It was so exciting seeing Arie come down that trail. I was SO happy to see him. He had strained a muscle in his thigh and was in need of some TLC and some cheerleading. Which I was happy to provide.

From there we headed to Boulder where we spent the night. We had a nice dinner out at a local microbrewery and then crashed at a (very luxurious compared to the xterra) hotel. This morning we we had breakfast at our favorite cafe in Boulder and indulged in my once a year breakfast: lox cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake. I mean, think about it...they took all the best parts of a lox bagel (smoked salmon, capers, tomatoes, onion) and put it in a cheesecake made of...cream cheese! Absolutely brilliant. But definitely a once a year treat.

Today we hung out in the very rough around the edges, but very cool, town of Leadville. At 10, 152 ft., it's the highest town in America. A big mining town at the turn of the century, it now is a very interesting mix of abandoned mines, shacks, a cute downtown and stunning views of 14,000 ft. mountains. Think of Vail, now think of the polar opposite, and you have Leadville. I like it. Tonight we watched the sun set at Turqoise lake, absolutely gorgeous. And then had the best Mexican food I've ever had. Leadville has an extremely high population of Mexicans, which was evident in the food. My intuition told me to order a margarita, which was definitely an inspired idea. It was the best margarita, no, the best drink I've ever had. Words cannot describe the perfection of this margarita. It's definitely now on my death row menu. (If you watch No Reservations, you'll know what I'm talking about.)

We're spending the night at the Leadville hostel. Ranked as one of the best in the nation, I can totally see why. It's very clean and cozy. Run by Wild Bill and Cathy, it feels more like you're staying with your sweet aunt and uncle (and a bunch of hyperactive, thrill-seeking cousins) than what I imagined a hostel to be. It's even dog friendly! There are 2 other pups staying here tonight besides Kharie. AND they have WiFi, which you, reader, are reaping the benefits of.

Tomorrow, we're headed to Aspen. We'll be camping there tomorrow night. And then we'll make our way back to Leadville to camp and wake up the next morning to climb Mt. Elbert, the highest 14er in CO. Arie, Khairie and I will all be climbing. Should be fun!

I will update our travel again when I can. And pictures to come...I promise!

Ahh, summer!

I love, love, love summer! Here are some recent pictures:

Khairie swimming in Lake Mendota at the union terrace. She was actually chasing those ducks, but clearly, ducks are faster than K, so she gave up.

my parents are so cute!

Hangin' out with our wet dog. The party ended when she shook wet fur into my beer.

The next few pictures are at the Navy pier in Chicago. Look at how beautiful that water is!

I want to be on one of those boats out there. Preferably that fancy looking one back there!

Me and my sis

A Public Declaration

This post is less for your benefit than it is for my own. I am declaring to the world that I am training for a marathon. It's now official. The greater the number of people who know about my plans, the more my pride will keep me from giving up (at least theoretically). I'm training for the Des Moines Marathon which is Oct. 19. Not fancy, not glamorous, but it'll do. Actually what happened was...by the time I finally made the decision, all the other (better) races were already booked up for fall. Also, it's summer and I have the time to train, which I'm finding very important. So, here are some realizations I've made since making this decision:

1. Saturday mornings will have a whole new meaning for the next few months. Instead of sleeping in or hopping out of bed and going to the farmers market, I'll be lacing up for long runs.
2. Iowa is humid. Like psychotically humid. If I don't get out there by 8am, I'm in trouble.
3. Iowa City is very, very small. Yesterday I spend the afternoon on Google pedometer planning new running routes. I've come to the (sad) conclusion that for my longer runs I'll be running laps around the city. I'm unfortunately not kidding.
4. Listening to Matt's sermons while running is great. A solid 45 min. Edifying and calorie burning.

More of these little gems to come, I'm sure. So, I'm putting out a request (for all the hundreds of you who are reading this). I am in some serious need of good running music. I really don't have much on my ipod that qualifies. Most of the music I enjoy listening to is better paired with a glass of wine than miles of pavement. I've got to start downloading some more appropriate songs, so any and all suggestions would be great.

Thanks for letting me make you accountable for keeping me on track with this.

Impromptu Vacation

Since the flood shut down the university for a week, we had a nice little impromptu vacation. It was so great! And so needed! We had no schedule to keep and no obligations. It was such relaxing, fun week. So, here's a brief rundown of how we kept ourselves busy:

photo op with Dad on Father's Day

I convinced Sara to play hooky from work and spend the day with me! We went to lunch, went wedding dress shopping (Sara's getting married in May), and went to the salon and got our hair did :) It's going to be really hard for her to pick out a dress because absolutely everything looked fabulous on her!

For our 7th anniversary (yes, I know) Arie and I treated ourselves by spending a night with Jack. We had amazing seats. The concert was awesome. Definitely the best way to celebrate 7 blissful years of marriage. hehe

Last, but not least, Deja competed in a pagent. She was so beautiful. She did a great job carrying herself with confidence and grace. Here she is after the formalwear competition with our uncle Deepak. She didn't trip or fall-better than I would have done!

Unfortunately, we had to return to reality-back to our lives in Iowa City. Things are getting back to normal, at least for those of us unaffected by the flood.

On a side note, Coldplay just released their fourth album Viva la Vida. It is amazing! I highly recommend it. It's probably my favorite album of theirs-which is saying a lot. Check out the single "Lost" which has quickly become a fave. Who can get enough of Chris Martin's fantastic falsetto? Not me!

Flood Update

Here's the latest (via the internet) from IC. The river has crested, earlier than predicted. However, reports are saying that the flood waters are going to remain high for a few weeks. The university expects to open classes next Monday, but we'll see. I'm sure there will be a lot of work to be done.

Here's an arial picture from today of the UI campus that was the worst hit. Some of these buildings include the student union, the art museum, and the music, journalism and english/philosophy buildings.

Parkview church is still just as flooded as yesterday. I just saw feed of the church on CNN. I think that the church is going to have reaching influence beyond what they could have imagined before the flood.

Right now, I think that these words from Jack Johnson (who we are going to see in concert on Saturday) are very fitting.

All at once

The world can overwhelm me

There’s almost nothing that you could tell me

That could ease my mind

Which way will you run?

When it’s always all around you

And the feeling lost and found you again

A feeling that we have no control

There’s a world we’ve never seen

There’s still hope between the dreams

The weight of it all could blow away with a breeze

But if you’re waiting on the wind

Don’t forget to breathe

Because as the darkness gets deeper

We’re sinking so we reach for love
At least something we can hold

But I’ll reach to You

From where time just can’t go

Flood of '08

I feel very fortunate. We were able to get out of Iowa City and head up to Madison to stay with my family. Arie, Khairie, Meatloaf, Clemson and me. Just a few hours after we got out of town, they closed the last highway out of IC. It's gotten a lot worse since we've left. Coralville and IC are experiencing devastating flooding. The university has shut down for over a week. Some of our favorite places in town are now gone due to the flooding. The church we've been visiting, the dog park, the student union, our favorite Indian restaurant, our favorite pizza place, and countless other places we pass by all the time. Our house is far enough from the river, and we're on a hill and on the 3rd floor. So we're very lucky. Here are some pictures to give you all who are far away an idea of what's going on.

Iowa City/Coralville and part of the UI campus

Wig & Pen-our favorite pizza place in town

this is Parkview Church-the church we've been visiting

the church-taken from inside the worship center looking up at the sound booth

It's difficult to fathom right now what it's going to take to undo all this damage. It's so sad. But, ultimately, these are structures which are replaceable. We've been able to contact all our friends. Most of them, like us, left just in time. They're scattered around the country from Michigan to South Carolina to Georgia to Colorado to Minnesota. The few that stayed in IC are safe and are not battling flood waters. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. The river is not predicted to crest until Tuesday night-the waters will most likely rise another 5 feet. Please pray for the people of Iowa who have lost their homes and businesses.