Catching Up, i.e., Random Thoughts

Well, the sub-term from hell is done.  Hallelujah!  And I got a 98.8% in my math education class and a 98.6% in my Bible class.  (Here's the part where I feel guilty about whining so much.)  In any case, I'm so glad to be done I'm practically giddy.

I'm technically off till January 17th, though I know I'll have access to my next two classes before then.  I am planning to thoroughly enjoy whatever time off I have.  I'm working, resting, and planning.  It feels great!

I also found out that I might have one less class to take than I thought.  Yay!

And I may be changing the name of the blog; I haven't decided fully yet, but we are considering naming the new property "The Western Woods."  The reference is a bit obscure, but it's the part of Narnia where the lamp post is.  And we've definitely discovered that the property is even more like Narnia during the winter snow.  As we also live in western Greene County, I think it just might be the perfect fit. :D

(Originally, I thought maybe Ettinsmoor might work.  I got kind of excited about the "moor" part, but then I read that this was a part of Narnia inhabited by giants who were known for their violent tempers and stupidity. LOL!  Well, okay, we'll skip that name.)

As for why we're naming the property, that would just be a silly thing I've always wanted to be able to do.

Sub-Term from Hell

Yep, that's right.  These two classes are really getting under my skin, and I'm having to do a lot of venting to deal with the anger and frustration.  Keeping it inside is not a good option in this case, as I've already been given warning pings by my shingles' nerve (read: feels like someone stabbing me in the back with a knife).  So I'm trying to balance necessary venting with godly conduct and caution about saying too much online, and it's not been easy.  (I'm afraid I've failed quite a bit in this regard!)

So I'll try to keep it a little vaguer here.  In any case, I'm reminded again that God led me into something tangible to equate with this academic journey--those crazy half-marathons I've done!  I have 13 required classes and 2 electives to complete my degree.  There are 13.1 miles in a half-marathon.  Coincidence?  I doubt it.  Especially when you realize that I always say after the marathon, "We've walked over 15 miles today when you add in the mile to and from the start/finish line."  So 15 miles for my marathons and 15 classes for my degree.  Pretty weird, huh?

Well, that puts me at miles 5 and 6 right now, and I am considering quitting out of mere frustration.  And that's about right for either college or the marathon.  It's at mile 5 or 6 where you start realizing how difficult this journey is going to be, and it's pretty darn depressing to think about how much farther you have to go still. 

I'd say this is encouraging me somehow, but it's not.  Why?  I know that it gets worse before it gets better.  Miles 7-10 are very hard.  It's not till you get past mile 10 that you start to see the end in sight, and you get a second wind.

So can I make it through the next few miles/classes?  That means making it through spring semester (January through May) and those next 4 classes.  Right now, I'd say I have the equivalent of some serious blisters on my feet and chafing from my shirt or something.  I'd appreciate some Vaseline, Gatorade, a Clif bar, and maybe even Elvis.

USAF Marathon

I figured I'd better write this up before I start forgetting things!  It's been nearly a month.

The fun started the night before.  We had a Pasta Party at our house, and it was a lot of fun!  Craig grilled chicken; I cooked way too much pasta.  People brought other stuff, and we ate, laughed, and sat around the fire, making s'mores.  It was a great time!  (I am loving our new place so  much! <3)

I think the highlight of the night was definitely the GoGirl.  Apparently, Katie and I were the only ones lucky enough to get one in our goodie bags, but we all had a big laugh over them.  

Anyway, everyone left pretty early, since we all had to get up so early in the morning.  And, yes, 5am comes before the butt-crack of dawn.  Totally painful! :(   But we all made it--including Katie!

We met everyone at the church because we had decided to drive together in the church van.  It was a bit of a rocky start, though.  A certain person forgot--well, it's hard to believe, actually--but she forgot her shoes!  So we had to run by her house to get them.  Alas, it wasn't the only roadblock.  Someone else forgot his runner's bib, and we had to run by his house.  

Finally, we were on our way; but traffic was pretty backed up, and then I delayed us even further by saying that I had to go the bathroom.  Several of us ended up taking a potty break.  (Poor Craig!  We made him so "late!")

But we finally made it to the parking area and began the trek toward the start line.  The sun was just coming up over the horizon, shining through the misty fields.  We saw a large plane circling over the crowds.  Parachutists floated through the early morning light, like colorful balloons drifting slowly to the earth.  

We waited in a long line to use the restrooms again and finished barely in time before the race started.  Fighter jets roared overhead, and I could tell Craig was having a hard time staying with the group.  Others had already ran off to get started.  I gave him a quick kiss and told him to "Go!"  The rest of our group soon melted into the crowd, too, and Katie and I were on our own.

The first hydration station was the B-52s.  Fun music!  The crowd support was not as wild and crazy as at the Pig, but it was still much appreciated.  There were hydration stations and bathrooms at nearly every mile, and that was nice.

As we entered the Huffman Dam area, we were greeted by people with blue gloves on holding out globs of Vaseline.  At first, I was like, "Ehhh?"  ("No, thanks, since I'm a woman I don't need a prostate exam." <--my actual thoughts)  Then I realized they were offering it to anyone having problems with chafing--which was a good thing because Katie was having issues with the inside seam of her sleeve.  So that was a nice thing for them to do.

Shortly thereafter a 90-year old man blew past us; I turned to Katie and said, "Um, we may need to walk faster."  She agreed.  Anyway, this area of the marathon was the prettiest and my favorite.  To our left was the dam area which was basically a swamp at this point.  To our right were woods.  It was getting warmer by then, and it was turning into a beautiful, sunny day.  

And so Katie and I were walking through this idyllic scenery when we heard the first rustle off to our left.  "What was that?"  "I don't know, probably a squirrel or something."  "Oh, okay."  We kept walking.  More rustling and noise.  We just looked at each other quizzically and kept going.  Then we heard a huge commotion--and we see a large, panic-stricken doe come charging straight toward us, trying to get from the swamp to the woods!  I had to put my arm out in front of Katie to push her back, or the deer would've run into her!

We screamed.  Everyone around us screamed.  The deer made it into the woods and was gone.  Then we all laughed.  Who gets run over by a deer during a marathon?!  

We saw Elvis shortly thereafter, adding to the feeling of surreality of the morning.  He wasn't as good (bad?) as the Elvis at the Pig, but now I'm expecting Elvis at every marathon.  Is this some sort of tradition I don't know about?

We walked around Huffman Prairie, where the Wright Brothers did much of their testing and subsequent flying.  (Kittyhawk may get all the credit, but most of the work was done here in Dayton.)  It was a pretty area, though the sun was starting to get a lot hotter by now.

We got lots of nice compliments on our shirts.  We had all gotten black technical shirts with Steps of Faith on the front, with a cross and running shoes.  The back had 2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith not by sight" and then, "With God all things are possible" under the verse.  It was neat to get encouragement from others.

Anyway, it was interesting to be walking through many of these areas--areas typically closed off to civilians.  I was glad for this diversion; it was something I had been worried about.  The Pig went through such interesting parts of Cincinnati and Newport that I never lacked for scenery to distract me from myself.  This marathon wasn't quite as interesting, scenically-speaking, but it was still pretty good.  We passed a firing range, large planes in fields, the golf course, the tennis club, etc.

We passed some interesting old houses, and then some very nice houses on tree-lined streets.  I'm guessing high-ranking officers live there.  The bigger houses gave way to smaller houses, but the neighborhoods still seemed quite pleasant.  Finally, we came back out into what seemed to be a business or education area.  After that was an industrial area, and we were back onto highways.

I may be an introvert, but I am a people-watcher.  That is one fun thing about participating in a race like this.  There are many people to watch!  And then the camaraderie of the event makes you talk to the people around you (much to Katie's embarrassment!).  Yes, I gave the rocker sign to the heavy metal band.  Yes, I cheered for the marathoners running past us.  Yes, I yelled encouragement to the marathoners who were passing us in racing wheelchairs.  And they cheered for us!

And, yes, I gave the Live, Long, and Prosper sign to the Nerds hydration station crew around mile 9 or 10.  Hey! They had the Revenge of the Nerds theme song playing, and I recognize my own when I see them.  They loved my Spock sign anyway.  Katie wanted to crawl in a hole, I'm sure.

It was getting pretty hot by halfway through the race.  I was thinking longingly of the steady rain we had for the Pig.  We passed Melissa and Jessica somewhere between miles 9 and 10, I think.  Melissa was having problems with her knee, but she was soldiering on.  Katie was having hamstring issues, so we had slowed down a bit, too.  They were the only people we saw from our group during the entire race.

In my vast experience with marathons (ha!), I have to say that miles 7-10 are the worst.  It's when you really start to feel every ache and pain, and you start to feel worn out.  Something about getting to mile 11, though, gives you a final boost.  The USAF has a pretty tough finish, however.  It's at about mile 11 when you get a glimpse of the finish line, but it's still 2.1 miles away!  Arrrgghhh!  And then you keep seeing the finish line, like across the field, and it still is so far away.  Perhaps no one would notice if you just cut right across that darn field?  Even when you're on the homestretch for the finish line it's still FAR AWAY!  It's very difficult to keep going.

Katie was really starting to struggle, being in pain because of her hamstrings.  I told her, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Not one minute later, a runner went past us wearing a shirt that had that exact verse on it.  Cool!  And I have to say that it was really awesome to share this experience with her.  It was a very special thing, definitely a lifetime memory.

Anyway we finished.  Finally!  I got the exact same time I did in the Pig!  Craziness.

The rest of our group was cheering for us as we finished, and we went over to where they were and collapsed on the grass.  Several of our group were having problems because of the heat.  When we were all in, we hung out for a long time, taking pics and resting.  Melissa began having serious problems due to dehydration and eventually had to go to the medical tent for an IV.

We ended up spending about two hours, I think, hanging around the finish area.  Slowly, then, we made our way back to the van (another mile, at least!) and headed back to the church.  A few left the group, but the rest of us headed to Steak 'n' Shake, where we all ordered whatever the heck we wanted! LOL!  I had the best burger and fries and milkshake.  Mmmm!

A great way to end a great day!

Marathon Training Day

An early morning (for us!) start saw Katie and I heading out the door toward the back acre.  From there, it's a short walk to Sugarcreek MetroPark.  After shooing Meg back to Craig--she was determined to follow us since we usually do take her along--we stopped to introduce ourselves to one of our new neighbors.  We've been cutting through his yard, and I've felt bad about that because we had never actually asked permission.  (We had been told by our other neighbors that no one cares around here, though.)

So after chatting with him for a few minutes, we continued on our way.  We started out on the small prairie loop.  I thought it would be a nice warm up--literally!  It was cold this morning.  The prairie was beautiful in the early morning sunshine.  We shared the walk with about 10 goldfinches, a monarch, and other butterflies.  The goldenrod is just starting to come into full color; the bull thistles are a pretty lavender.  There are only a few purple asters blooming, but the ironweed is a lovely dark purple.  Add that to the various yellow prairie flowers, and it's turning into my favorite fall color combination--gold and purple.  Put that against the deep bright blue sky of fall and wow!

After the short prairie trail, we walked the green trail.  I think trail etiquette is interesting. You have to at least smile and nod at everyone; usually, though, you have to say "hi" and all of that too.  Even when you've been lapped by the same person.  Five times.  There is still the requisite acknowledgment of, "Hey."  This really translates into, "Hey. You're cool and I'm cool because we're out here exercising unlike the lazy people still at home in bed."  (If it's nighttime, then it's basically the same thing except for the last part.  Then you substitute, "lazy people at home in front of the TV.")  Never mind that I am quite frequently that "lazy person" at home.

We took the side trail off of the green trail to the Oak Camp (Ferry Rd.).  Both Katie and I like walking in new places.  We had that trail to ourselves except for one runner who passed us going the opposite direction and a person with a horse who scared us, as they were "hiding" in the woods.

After a short break at the shelter to drink and eat our Clif Bars, we walked the green trail backwards.  (And, no, I don't mean we walked backwards.  We walked the trail the opposite way we had just walked it.)  Anyway, somehow this makes walking the same trail different!   

This time we took the side trail that goes to Spring Lakes, something we haven't done before.  We really enjoyed that and walked all around the three lakes there.  It's a pretty little park that I've never visited.

I had texted Craig at some point in here and asked if he and Sarah wanted to join us for a bit.  When we reached the end of this lap, we met up with them, and then walked the green trail again.  They walked with us for a while, and then veered off on the blue trail to head home.  (Craig had to get ready for work.)

Katie and I pushed through the last tough hills on the green trail.  Whew.  It was rough there at the end, but we obviously finished it.  (I mean, what are you going to do?  Sit down in the middle of the woods, and say, "Nope, I'm done.")  Anyway, we enjoyed the singing of two cute little girls behind us.  They were singing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus.  LOL!  Appropriately enough, we were climbing a hill at the time.

The only disappointment we had at the end was that someone had thrown away our drinks at the shelter. :(  We figured out later that there had been people picnicking there, and they probably just threw everything away when they were done.  But, anyway, the disappointment of our lost drinks was offset by the generosity of another of our new neighbors.  I haven't met them yet, but they had a sign out front offering free iris rhizomes.  There must have been 10 varieties, and she had brown paper bags out for anyone to take them!  So Katie and I picked out several different colors and finished our journey by walking through her yard into ours.

And then we were done!

I compiled a list of Katie's comments along the way. :D  They amused me greatly, so here they are:

I need an energy pack (less than one mile into walk).

The orange Gatorade makes my throat hurt.

The woolly bear's toes are cold.  (She picked it up to move it off the trail.)

My eyebrows hurt.

My tickle spot hurts (on her back).

Running makes my butt hurt.

My eyelashes are cold.

(That one was the best, I think.) 

I should add, though, that we did also talk about many other things, some of them even of substance.  I really enjoyed spending the morning with her.  :) 

A Simple Weekly Wrap-up

(I guess that's the title I'll go with!)

For Today…June 14, 2010 at 7:00pm 

From the Heart:

It was bittersweet visiting with family I haven't seen in a long time this past weekend.  You realize how quickly time is going by, how soon things can change and end.  But you also see how things grow and develop.  What was is still and, yet, is no longer (in good and bad ways).  It's also amazing how something, someone, or some place can bring to the surface those memories you've tucked away.

On the Homefront: 

Well, I think we've made the decision to push forward with trading houses with a gentleman from church.  Craig and I sat down today and made a big list of positives and negatives.  Then we sat down and looked at our budget.  The house isn't any bigger than the one we currently own, and it will take some creative thinking to fit what we have in it.  (It may take getting rid of a few things, as well as getting a few new things.)  The cost will also stretch us a bit more than I wanted to be stretched.  But the property is amazing, the house is sound (with lots of possibilities for improvement and expansion), and the location is fantastic.  So, we take a deep breath, and off we go!  I will be so excited to start moving on with the next phase here of packing up and moving.


In the School Room: 

Summer break! :)

In the Literary Scene: 

I'm reading another historical fiction, Mistress Shakespeare.  It's okay so far.

Outside my Window…the sun is sort of shining right now, but we've had some showers.  The tiger lilies are blooming, and the birds are flitting about.  I'm betting the chickadees have fledged by now, as the last time we peeked in on them they were fully feathered and absolutely adorable mini-adults.


I am thinking…that I have so much to do!

I am thankful for…good health and my family.  Great music and my computer, too.  And I'm glad that we've at least made a decision either way about the house.

From the kitchen…I didn't cook anything today, but Sarah and I did make up a new batch of laundry detergent and soft scrubbing cleanser with our essential oils.

I am wearing…a t-shirt and shorts.  Ha!  No one will see me in shorts! 

I am hoping… that our decision is the right one.

I am creating…a dishcloth.   I should post a pic of it.  It turned out hilariously awful!

I am hearing...Phil Wickham, Jesus Lord of Heaven, and something clicking around in the dryer.

One of my favorite things… good health, beautiful nature, days at home.

I am praying for... good health (always) and for wisdom.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…praying with my friends, meeting with realtor, a creek romp with church friends at Bill Yeck, Cincinnati Zoo, and a busy weekend with soccer, a graduation open house, and events with the pastoral candidate. 

I accomplished since last week…helped my mom and aunt get everything ready for my cousin's graduation parties. 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:

Normal size dishcloth next to my giant one.

Here you can really see how the edges are catty-wampus. :D  Ahh well.  It's the first time I've ever tried to add a border.  It's not finished yet either, and I was using up leftover yarn as this was a prototype.  Beware!  You might be getting one of these lovely dishcloths for Christmas!

 

Born to You- Luke 2:11. Christian Modern Art

Born to You- Luke 2:11. Christian Modern Art, originally uploaded by MarkLawrenceGallery.com.

This is one of my favorite modern artists. This is a new one, and I thought I'd share it with you all. I am particularly in love with the luminous colors!

New Great Big Sea Album!

SQUEEEEE!!!  Great Big Sea has a new album coming out in July! 

Hit the Ground and Run is fun, if you only have time to listen to one song.

 

Simple Weekly Wrap-up ?? Simple Woman's Weekly Wrap-up? Daybook of Simple Wrap-ups? ;)

I decided to combine two of my favorite memes into one.  One is called The Simple Woman's Daybook, and the other is called the Weekly Wrap-Up (hence, the silliness with the title). 

For Today…June 1, 2010 at 10:20am 

From the Heart:

I'm doing all right.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and I want to always remember that.  Spiritually speaking, I still have big issues wrestling around in my head, but that will probably be the norm for the rest of my life. 

On the Homefront: 

Saturday, we had some good family time until Craig and Katie had to leave in the afternoon.  Sunday was church and the picnic, which was fun.  (Then I had a meeting.)  Yesterday, we finished school!  Woohoo!  And we went to a party with some of our friends and had a really nice time.  When we came home, we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which Sarah and I had watched Friday night; it was really funny and cute.  So there's a lot of contentment there on the domestic front.

We've had lots of showings on the house but no nibbles.  Oh well.  I don't really care anymore, though I don't like living in limbo.  What's really getting on my nerves (besides the cleaning), is the fact that I can't get into a really messy project, like sewing or something.  So I'm feeling really stifled in a creative sense. :( 

In the School Room: 

We are done!!!!!  I decided that Katie could be done with math, since she'll be working through some of the same lessons when she starts again in August.  She finished her term paper, and Sarah finished her math yesterday.  So they are done!  Of course, I'm not really done, as I have to put together portfolios and begin planning for next year.  But that's okay. 

In the Literary Scene: 

I stayed up too late last night finishing the brainless historical fiction I was reading.  It was pretty good, though.  I read a lot from the Tudor-era, and this was from the reign of Charles II. 

Outside my Window…it's a little overcast, but the breeze is lovely and the temperature is just about perfect.  The birds are flying here and there; I've not seen my hummingbird yet, but I do hear the constant twitter of baby sparrows calling to be fed by their parents (really kind of annoying!).  We have 5-6 baby chickadees in the birdhouse, and they are very cute! 

I am thinking…that I'm glad school is done.  I wish this general melancholy would go away. 

I am thankful for…good health and my family.  Great music and my computer, too.

From the kitchen…Asian Noodle Salad, two days in a row.  But Saturday brought us a colossal cake wreck.

Hahahahaha!!! 

I am wearing…my PJs still. 

I am hoping… that I do well in my classes, which start June 28th. 

I am creating…a dishcloth.  Yep, I've resorted to crocheting when I'm not in the mood to cross-stitch.  I want to sew. 

I am hearing...Sting, I Was Brought to My Senses.  Sarah and Katie are talking; the birds are chirping and calling, and Craig is washing his truck. 

One of my favorite things… good health, baby chickadees, good family time, fireflies, summer flowers, etc. 

I am praying for... good health (always) and for...things I can't say in a blog. 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…Katie has a trail ride tonight (if it doesn't rain), band tomorrow, my brother's birthday, soccer, church, etc. 

I accomplished since last week…finished the school year!  Cleaned for 2 showings. 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:

 Melancholy


Photo by Yaroslav B
from: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1243428

The Flying Pig

So here is the abbreviated version for those of you in a hurry...

We left Saturday afternoon, went to the Expo in Cincinnati, and then ate dinner in Kentucky.  Dinner was very good, and we had a lovely view across the river to Cincinnati.  (The weather cleared, and it was warm; this is good, since we had to wait about an hour and a half to be seated.)  After dinner, we went back to the hotel room and laid all of our stuff out. Then we all tried to sleep, which was definitely unsuccessful for me.

We were up at 4:30am to torrential rain and storms.  But we got ready, grabbed breakfast, and joined all of the others leaving for the marathon.  We found a good place to park, and then walked about a mile in the very heavy rain and lightning to the start line.  The crowds were pretty amazing!

And then I walked.  For 13.1 miles.  In the rain, but, thankfully, no more storms.

That’s the short version. 
 
__________________________________

Here’s the long version…  (I'll try to put in lots of pics to make it less painful for those of you brave enough to read this whole thing!)

 

The four of us met at the church: Gail, Judy, Melissa, and I.  We were soon off and on our way, stopping to eat at Gail’s favorite restaurant in Mason.  After a good lunch, we were back on our way, timing it out quite well to check in to the hotel.

Everybody seemed to like the hotel, and I was glad, as I had picked it out.  We called it the IKEA hotel.  So after a bit of settling in, we headed into downtown Cincinnati (less than 5 minutes from our hotel) for the Expo (at the same place as the homeschool convention).

We had fun at the Expo, checking in, picking up freebies, and shopping a bit.  Three of us got Spibelts.  I also got a 13.1 pin for my dorky hat (which is the most awesome hat in the world, I might add), and a cool glass souvenir.  (I like my souvenir—a glass suncatcher-type of thing—because it is made here in Ohio from recycled glass, and the proceeds benefit recycling efforts in Appalachian Ohio, which also means supporting jobs there.)

 (I had to pose with Pigippides! LOL!)

After the Expo, we headed to Kentucky to eat at Buckhead Mountain Grill which came highly recommended.  We had a very long wait, but we didn’t mind.  We sat outside on the deck overlooking the Ohio River, with a lovely view of Cincinnati.  The sky began to clear, and we all took some very nice pictures of the sunset.

 

For entertainment while we waited, we had groups of prom-goers.  They looked so pretty (and some looked so skanky—LOL!).  Judy offered to take pictures for them, and we moved our table so they could have a backdrop of the Cincy skyline.  Eventually, Melissa and I got into the photography business, too, as more and more cameras appeared.  It was fun and kept us busy!

Then we had English sparrows visiting us.  (Sadly, we had no food to offer them.)  I spotted a flycatcher hanging out in the trees below us by the riverbank.  (I thought it was a crested flycatcher, but now I’m not so sure.)

Anyway, we finally got seated and ended up with the best seat in the restaurant, I think.  (Basically, we had as good of a view as we had outside on the deck.)  Yummy dinner, lots of laughter and fun, and a free dessert (for our long wait), and then we were back to the hotel.

 

We met Gail’s friend, Christy, there, and she hung out with us from then on.  We were all nervous and excited, putting together our stuff for the marathon.  I am a worried, neurotic packrat, as evidenced first by how much I packed for one night away (3 times as much as everyone else), but also evidenced by how much I packed for the race!    I just don’t like to be caught somewhere without something I need or really want.  In my backpack, I had: my camera, a plastic bag (for the camera and anything else I didn’t want to get wet in case it rained), glasses and contact case (not as ridiculous as it sounds—if I have a contact lens failure, there is no turning back from that.  Gas permeable lenses must come out, and then I must have my glasses.  If I don’t, there will be no walking the race, as I am, for all intents and purposes, blind.), gum, hand sanitizer, half a bottle of diet Coke, powder and brush (for my shiny nose), safety pins (in case the toggle straps on my spi-belt fail, and I need to pin my racing bib to my coat), and Clif bars.   In my spi-belt, I had a pack of Kleenex, Gail’s keys, and lip balm, with my Gu packs in the handy-dandy loops.  In my coat (waterproof), I had my iPod and my cell phone.  

Obviously, I’m not worried about speed.

So then we try to sleep.  I didn’t get stressed out, because I had prepared myself for the fact that I wouldn’t get any sleep.  And I didn’t.  Surprisingly, we all seemed to do fine anyway.

We were back up at 4:30am and busy getting ready by then.  It was storming outside and raining heavily.  The hotel was nice enough to have breakfast for us, so that was cool.  We left a little later than I thought we would, but it didn’t make a difference in the end.

Christy snapped a picture of the four of us from church before we stepped out of the parking garage.  It was the last time we were dry for many hours!

 (Photo swiped from Gail's Facebook page!  Thanks for taking it, Christy!)

We stepped out from the parking garage into a flood of people and a flood of rain.  Walking to Paul Brown Stadium took us some time, and we were drenched within a minute.  Lightning was flashing every so often, lighting up the scene to reveal a huge crowd of people all walking the same direction toward the starting line.  (Think the attack at Helm's Deep, only we weren't a crowd of angry Uruk-Hai.)  Some of us were wearing raincoats or ponchos or even garbage bags.  (Melissa had even decoratively cut the bottom of her garbage bag to have scalloped edges.)  Others were simply wearing their running/walking clothes (and, in some cases, that wasn’t much!).

We soon lost Gail and Christy in the crowd, but Melissa, Judy, and I managed to stay together at first—which was just a wait at the port-a-potties.  In fact, the starting horn sounded while we were in the restrooms!  It didn’t really matter with so many people, though; it’s not like we could’ve started right at 6:30am anyway.  (Our time didn’t start till our foot with the chip on it passed the starting mat.)  There was a tremendous energy in the air.  It was really cool!

As we waited with the crowd for our chance to go over the starting line, I decided that the tape I had on my toes was not going to work.  I had been told that it was likely to be 20 minutes or so before we made it to the start.  So I took off my shoe and sock and peeled off the tape.  Just as I was starting to put my sock back on, the crowd started to move.  I shoved my bare foot half into my shoe and started to hobble forward, waiting till the next pause to get the situation squared away—only, the next pause never happened!  And the starting line was looming!

I asked Judy to wait for me, but Melissa had gotten too far ahead to stop.  We stopped, I quickly put my sock and shoe on, and off we went!

The first mile went quickly and soon we were crossing the bridge over the Ohio River.  The storm seemed to be fading a bit (the lightning anyway), which was nice, as I didn’t like the idea of being on a bridge in a lightning storm.

 

Every time I cross the Ohio River, I can’t help but think of the escaping slaves as they encountered this body of water.  It would have been so daunting!  It’s really quite wide.  Could they swim across?  Many didn’t know how to swim at all.  Could they float across on a log or something?  Possibly.  If they were lucky, they’d find someone to ferry them across, and, if they weren’t lucky, they’d have no choice but to plunge in as the slave hunters and their dogs closed in on them.

I must admit that I’m proud of Ohio’s Underground Railroad heritage.  What a blessing those brave souls were who lived in Cincinnati and risked their lives to help the slaves!  Later on in the marathon I walked by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house.

Anyway, we were greeted in Kentucky by an oompah band.  (I had to cheer.  I'm a band geek.)  We climbed up another bridge over a tributary, and then, near mile 3, we began our journey back across the Ohio.  There was an R&B band there and lots of cheering bystanders.

That really was a fun aspect of this race.  People lined the streets (even in the crappy weather!) to cheer us on.  Some just shouted encouragement or clapped.  Some had noise sticks or clapping hand sticks.  Others made pig grunts and oinked at us!  Some were silly, dressed up funny, doing a hula hoop, or dancing around.  It really did make you smile and want to keep going.

And it was neat at times to think about all of the people on this journey together with you.  Tens of thousands of others walking or running with you.  (The crowds didn't bother me; maybe because I was walking instead of running the crowd had thinned out, and I had plenty of space around me.)

Anyway, miles 3-5 took us through an industrial part of Cincinnati, next to elevated train tracks, docks, and the Wonder Bread factory (which smelled wonderful!).  There was also some sort of jail downwind from the bread factory.  That would be the real torture of being in that jail!  And we passed a Hudepohl Beer smokestack.  (Craig says this is where “Whodey?” comes from.  ??)

Mile 5 took us through the heart of downtown, and then mile 6 began the long climb.  If I’m reading the elevation chart correctly, we climbed a total of about 350 feet between miles 5 and 9 or 10.  By the time we got to mile 6, we could see runners passing underneath our road.  (We were on an overpass.)  It was the runners for the half marathon, on the homestretch!  Wow.

Just before mile 7, I decided I should go to the bathroom (yet again—I’m paranoid about having to pee and getting trapped without a port-a-potty in sight.  I’d forgotten to bring a map, so I would’ve known where all of the restrooms were.).  Judy kept walking, and I waited in line.  If I had waited another mile or so, I wouldn’t have had to wait in line, but, anyway, it all worked out in the end.

I was on my own, then, for the prettiest part of the race—and the most difficult.  The Mt. Adams/Eden Park area is very picturesque, with the Art Museum, Mirror Lake, Krohn Conservatory, and the overlook of the Ohio River.  Even when you left the park, it was still pretty, with old houses and interesting architecture.

My music was my friend, especially as it started raining hard again.  (It rained for nearly the entire time, as it was.  This is why I said I love my dorky hat.)  The guy dressed up as Elvis, singing outside of Krohn Conservatory, was pretty terrible, but it made me smile anyway.  I thought the guy dressed up as Batman, blasting Lady Gaga, had made a better choice.  The guy between miles 7 and 8 who encouraged us all by letting us know we were almost out of the uphill climb was pretty awesome too!

We passed St. Ursula’s Convent, which is, evidently, the highest point of the race.  There were some fun spectators in this area.  There were the boys who formed a tunnel that we had to walk through.  There were the families with cute little toddlers and preschoolers—all of whom wanted a high five as we went past.

 

This is also the area where the full marathoners split off from those of us doing the half marathon.  Up ahead was a beautiful, old church.  Was it the church I had taken pictures of from Kentucky?  I don’t know, but that would be cool if it was.

The other fun group of spectators and volunteers were near mile 9.  The football team had formed a gauntlet that we got to run through and get high fives.  (By the way, I waited to use my hand sanitizer till I was out of sight from anyone I’d given a high five to.)

 

I had my head down and was settling in for the long torture these last few miles would be when I spotted Melissa!  She was hobbling along, obviously injured.  She had had a catastrophic sock failure and was in severe pain.  As I said, the potty break worked everything out in the end, because I caught up with her just when I was beginning to wonder if I could make it the last few miles without someone to talk to (to keep my mind off my aches and pains) and just when she was ready to quit because of her injuries.  So, together, we made our way till mile 12, when she spotted her family waiting for her.

I left her at mile 12 because her family was walking along beside her now, and I put on some extra speed for the last mile.  I finished at 3 hours 55 minutes—a little slower than I wanted but that’s okay.  It was less than 4 hours!

Some of the full marathoners were coming in at this point.  It was hard to imagine that they had just run 26.2 miles.  Crazy!  One lady told me that she had run 25 marathons, and that this was by far the most difficult one.  “It makes the Boston look like a piece of cake!”  The reason I mention that is because the full and the half do the most difficult parts together.

Anyway, I got a medal and a shiny blanket.  So that means I was official and important, too, right?  And I got to eat the food that was back in the recovery area.  (It was the best Granny Smith apple I've ever had in my life!  Oh, and I ate some Cheetos, too.)

Poor Melissa was having a hard time of it, and when she peeled off her socks I could tell why.  Ewwww!  She had an enormous blister on the heel of one foot, and other blisters scattered around.  We ended up spending close to an hour in the back of the race area.  (It's a long story, and this is already long enough!  We lost Melissa for a while, but we did find her!)

And then we had a long and painful journey back to the parking garage.  Finally, Melissa headed off with her proud family, and Judy and I drove back to the hotel.  (Judy drove—bless her heart!)  We just pretended like we were supposed to be at the hotel, and it was so wonderful to change into dry clothes.  We then went back out to the lobby and flopped on the couch, propping our feet up on chairs.  (The people at this hotel are so nice!  The janitor came over and got pillows for our feet! LOL!)  We waited there till we got a call from Gail that she and Christy were done, and then we went and picked them up (as close to where they were as possible!).

So that's my first marathon!

2 Days? 1 Day? 3 Days?

I don't even know for sure anymore! LOL!  It's Friday night, late, really almost Saturday.  You can figure it out.

Aaaaand our biggest worry at the moment is the weather; it's supposed to be rather nasty.  *sigh*  Torrential rain, flooding, lightning, etc.  Ugh!  Oh well, there is no changing the weather, so we go forward as if everything will happen as planned.  If it changes, then we'll have to live by our praise band's motto--Semper Gumby! 

I can do that. :)  I've walked 13.1 miles already, so I don't feel like I have to prove that to myself.  I know I can do an entire half-marathon (or should I say a full half-marathon? LOL!).  I would really like to finish this one, though, so I'll keep up hope.

This will probably be the last post till after the race.  I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight and to sleep in late tomorrow.  I'll finish up the stuff I need to do to get ready to leave (including cleaning, in case we have a showing), and then we're off!  I don't know what all we'll end up doing in Cincinnati, but I'm sure we'll have fun.

I don't expect much sleep Saturday night, though I'm hoping for as much as possible.  I plan to get up at 4:30am.  UGH!  But it's okay.  I can do it.  I've done it for birds and babies before, so this will not kill me.

(I have to say, though, that walking over a bridge hundreds of feet over the Ohio River might just do me in.  I'm a little freaked about that.)

But I expect that there will be a big party atmosphere, and I'm looking forward to that.  It's really amazing to me how much of this experience is mental.  You'd think the physical part would be the most challenging part, but, truly, it's the mental aspect that is the most challenging.  And it is amazing to me how true the old saying is that it's "mind over matter."  It really is.

Well, with that final thought, I'm off to bed.  Missy is currently digging around on the computer desk in front of me, so I can't see the screen.  I guess she wants her kitty treat and is also looking for something fun to bat around.  (This includes a wad of fuzz from the far recesses of the keyboard drawer.  Ewww.  Oh, and did you know that stuff has an old name?  Slut's wool.  :D  Nice, huh?  A little more interesting than dust bunnies anyway!)

4 Days till the Pig--Or Is It Really Just 3?

I guess it depends on how you count it.  The race is Sunday morning.  Today is Thursday.  4 days or 3?  Eh, whatever.  The real news is that I found my socks. :)  (They were in my van, which is not surprising, considering it's become a total pit.  It's worse than usual since we've had the house on the market.  Any spare flotsam seems to find its way to the van.)

Today, I made lists.  I hope to finish those lists tomorrow.  I also walked 2 miles.  The girls and I walked to my nephew, Justin's, school to look at his art show.  Then Katie and I walked home.  (Sarah hitched a ride home with my parents.)

Anyway, I think I may have Katie convinced to try a half marathon!  And now Craig is talking about running a half, too!

In non-pig news, we're doing well with school.  I have our final weeks planned out, and things look good.  5 weeks left now!

But no news on the house. :(  Ugh.

And that's about it here.

5 Days till the Pig

All kidding aside, I am nervous and excited.  So today I'm going to try not to think about it too much.  I might make a list of last minute things I need to go get and try to do that tomorrow or Friday.  And I still need to find my special socks.  They have disappeared somewhere, and they are awesome.  So I must find them.  (They don't have a seam at the toe, so they don't rub my toes while walking.)

I did print some necessary info about the marathon and put it all neatly in a manila folder that I labeled "Flying Pig Info."  This makes me feel more in control of things, though I really know I'm not.  So I'm just kind of holding my breath between now and this weekend...and praying!

Oh, and I'll work.  If I keep busy, I'll keep my mind off of it.  So I'll probably get some tasks done that would otherwise continue to languish in the "When I Have Time" column. 

First is to create an insert for the first aid kit my mom put together for the adults in the church.  (After one of my friends had a heart attack and people were scrambling to find aspirin, everybody decided that we needed to keep a better first aid kit, one geared more toward adults.)  Next is to make copies of the church video tour that I did as part of our pastor search process.  The associate pastor search committee wants to send copies to their candidates.   Add school work with the girls, housework, and everything else, and I should keep pretty busy!

But I really do need to find my socks!

6 Days till the Pig--In Honor of Aergia

As I was walking yesterday, I was giving the story of the original marathon some thought.

From Wikipedia (and we all know it's always accurate!): 

The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530 BC–490 BC), an Athenian herald, was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece.

He ran 240 km (150 miles) in two days. He then ran the 40 km (25 miles) from the battlefield near the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, 'We have won') and collapsed and died on the spot because of exhaustion.

...Robert Browning gave a version of the traditional story in his 1879 poem Pheidippides.

    So, when Persia was dust, all cried, "To Acropolis!

    Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!

    Athens is saved, thank Pan, go shout!" He flung down his shield

    Ran like fire once more: and the space 'twixt the fennel-field

    And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,

    Till in he broke: "Rejoice, we conquer!" Like wine through clay,

    Joy in his blood bursting his heart, - the bliss!

("Fennel-field" is a reference to the Greek word for fennel, marathon, the origin of the name of the battlefield.)

Hmmm...very interesting if it's true.  I think there are a few things we can learn from this.

First, running is bad for you.  In fact, running a lot results in death.  This is good to note!

Secondly, being the messenger usually results in death somehow, even if it's good news.  Also good to note.

Thirdly, marathon is Greek for fennel, which has no relevance to anything, but I just think that's a cool thing to know.

Fourthly, Wikipedia doesn't mention it, but I have it on good authority that there was another, lesser-known Greek person involved in this story, named Aergia.  She was a friend of Pheidippides, and they were both pretty darn excited about the victory over the Persians.  

So they decided to travel together to tell the good news.  Only Aergia wasn't quite as motivated as Pheidippides.  In fact, after about 3 miles, she began to get annoyed with him.  He wouldn't stop when she needed to use the restroom.  He kept yelling at her to pick up the pace. 

After about 6.55 miles, Aergia had decided she'd had enough.  They were close to a village, and she told Pheidippides, "Keep going if you want to.  I want some ouzo."  (Only she said that all in Greek, obviously.)  

Of course Pheidippides kept running, self-important prig that he was.  Aergia, however, stopped to enjoy a quick drink and a meal (and a well-deserved potty break).  Then she turned around and headed back to the encampment.


Today, the legend of Aergia motivates and inspires half-marathoners everywhere!  And, so, when I walk on Sunday, it will be with the legend of Aergia in my mind, motivating me when I want to keep going on to 14 miles, slowing me down when I feel the urge to speed up, convincing me that one more potty break is definitely justified, and warming the cockles of my heart when I think about the steak I plan on eating afterwards.  Remember, Aergia went on to live a long and full life.  Pheidippides died.  As in, heart-exploded-drop-dead died.