something awesome

Team "something awesome" completed the marathon in 4 hours 5o minutes!!!

On Friday afternoon Mike and I were IMing and he was saying how jealous he was that I would be running on Saturday without him. Well, here. Read it yourself:

2:00 PM Mike: i wish i could run it with you

starting to feel really jealous

:)

2:01 PM Lydia: yeah, that would be so awesome

Mike: do you think i could?

i'd be tempted to try

i really felt like i could have gone a lot further when we ran that 5

but i know i'd really be pushing my limits

Lydia:.I think you could try

and we did 6 on Saturday, not 5

Mike: oh yeah

2:13 PM Lydia: well, I'll go pick up our registration and stuff and you can think about it

Mike: ok

Lydia: I think you could finish, yes.

it just might take you a while

2:14 PM and you would probably be in pain for a week!

:)

So, that lead to this:


That's right! We did it! Mike's dad, Rick (pictured above) ran the marathon as well. Mike ran the first half and did GREAT! He was pooped out when he got to me though, but I was SO SO proud of him.

Then it was my turn, and I was pumped. Not nervous at all. I ran with Rick for my first 7 or 8 miles and I was grateful to have someone so experienced to run with. That was Rick's 20th Marathon. Anyway, he made sure we didn't overdo it on the hills, and he gave me salt tablets to help me avoid cramps. But when it came to those last few miles I just had a bit more energy and decided to take it in solo.

I actually really liked running alone, not better than with someone, just differently. I really paid attention to my body and the beautiful scenery around me. I liked talking to strangers along the way and taking in the camaraderie associated with sharing in that challenging experience. I liked pushing myself when I thought I had nothing left; it was exhilarating!

After Mike finished his half, he went to pick up Kate from my sister's (Thanks SO MUCH again, Jenny!) and then he came down to the finish to see me in. He and Kate were waiting in some shade about two blocks from the finish line. I was so excited to see them! They jumped up and ran to the finish with me. I can tell Mike had had some rest, his pace wore me out to the point that I walked for the first time in miles! But then the crowd kept telling me, "Oh! You're so close! Keep going!" And Mike asked me if I was going to sprint it to the end. I did! Well, the last 25 feet or so. Finished strong.

I sense an addict in the making. I already registered Mike and me for the Top of Utah Marathon held in Logan on Sept. 20th. The FULL marathon this time. Oh, and I want to send out a warm welcome to anyone who wants to join in the training. It's in 4 months and you would have the perfect amount of time to train and I guarantee it will be one of the better experiences in you life. Here's a map so as you can see, it's almost ALL downhill....a great race to begin with. If you just want to do the half marathon, I still recommend it. Come join in the fun!

Wrong Place at the Right Time

Yesterday Katers and I had an interesting experience. Seeing as it was laundry day and I had about 5 loads to fold while she was napping, I decided to go get a movie from Redbox. The Redbox we frequent at our local Maverick has several parking spaces within 10 feet, so I felt okay about leaving her in the car, especially considering I wasn't going to have to wait in line and I knew what movie I was getting.

When I got back to the car I was quite surprised to find it locked....with the keys in the ignition. I panicked, of course, and then paced back and forth in front of the car thinking about my options. I could call someone in my neighborhood and have them bring a key, but my cell phone is also in the car and I don't have anyone's number memorized. I could ask a complete stranger to stay with her while I drive their car home, but I think the spare key to the house is inside, and could I really do that?? So the only thing I can do, I decided, is to call a locksmith. Oh, and Kate is crying hysterically by this point.

I walked inside Maverick to ask to use a phone and a phone book, and while I'm looking up the locksmith a man I had seen outside asks me, "Did you lock your keys in your car with a child inside?"

"Yes." I say rather frantically.

"You know if you call the police they'll come and unlock it for you."

"Really? I had no idea! Do I just dial 911?"

And then a lady in line at the register just spits out this number, 688-whatever-it-was, and said that was the number for the Weber County Dispatch. An officer was there within 5 minutes, and about 5 minutes after that I was unlocked! I couldn't believe it! And they didn't say a word in reprimand about leaving her in the car, which I was really relieved for. Blessings!

Twilight update

I saw this on another friend's blog and decided to share it, given my last post.

So Summit has a trailer out for Twilight apparently. I'll let you watch it first, as to not bias you with my opinion, but I am curious as to what everyone thinks after seeing the teaser. I'll add my thoughts as a comment later.

http://www.myspace.com/trailerpark

Twi-hards, breathe easy

I think I've had the "I'm really worried about the Twilight movie" conversation with about everyone I know, so I thought I would share with all of you that I now feel a little more at ease about it. Why this change in feelings, you ask? Well, I guess I have to go back to why I was so worried in the first place.

#1-Summit Entertainment? Excuse me, who? That's right. No one had ever heard of them.
#2-Robert Pattinson. He's a cute guy and all, but what got me worried were his teeth. He just lacks that dashing, can-get-his-way-in-any-situation smile that is a prominent Edward characteristic.
#3-Up to this point I was still hopeful, but then they released these pictures and all my fears were realized.Fear #1 was proven worthy by the obvious cheapness of this photo shoot, and fear #2 was realized by the fact that Rob is not smiling in any of the pictures. Well there's no way he can keep his mouth closed for the entire movie, so they must be hiding it, hoping we won't think of that. On top of that, all of the Cullens-the most beautiful people on the earth-just look a little, well, off. Bad wigs, wrinkly clothes... I could go on.

Well, I was lucky enough to be shown a little bit of light today. MTV has released some behind the scene footage that revived a shred of hope that this movie won't be the laughing stock of 2008. No, it might actually be good.

With no further ado, please click on the link and watch all of the clips.

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=226476

So there you go! Even though I don't think they did anything with Robert's teeth, they're not that distracting. The rest of the Cullens look much more beautiful (especially Jasper, woo woo) than in that horrific photo shoot, and from what they showed, they seem to be staying pretty close to the books, which is always a plus.

This may be jumping the gun a bit, but ladies keep your calendars open on 12-12 for a girls night out. (Also Jenny's birthday, quite appropriately.)

Brain Bumblings

You know it's time to update your blog when you start "thinking in blog." That's where everything that happens in your day gets a title and you start thinking clever thoughts about it.

I have had several of these moments lately, but since I haven't done anything about it I thought I would just sort of randomly list all of them so that I can get them OUT OF MY HEAD!

Here goes....

We took Kate swimming for the first time this week. She was nervous in the water for the first couple of minutes but then had a GREAT time. I even took her down the waterslide! (little scary for me.)

I finally got us registered for the marathon. Mike and I will be doing the 2 man relay and running with Mike's dad. I will be volunteering at the start line like I have the past couple of years and then bidding the boys good luck and heading down to the halfway point. I am getting really excited!

Kate waves bye-bye now. Oh! and she has figured out the oh and oo sounds. So she says "whoa" all the time. It's so cute. She also shakes her head "no" when we ask her certain questions. She doesn't know that she is saying "no" though, we don't think anyway. It's fun to ask her really silly questions like, "Kate. Do you have eyes?" And she'll just shake her head. She's not very good at doing this in front of an audience, but we got it on tape so I'll have to show you sometime.

I went to one of the best concerts ever a couple of weeks ago. It was called the HotelCafe Tour, so if it comes to a town near you I DEFINITELY recommend it. I went because Ingrid Michaelson (one of my fav artists at the moment) was playing but I ended up buying all of the other artist's albums as well. All 5 singer/songwritter type artists used the same band and the same equipment so there was none of the annoying setup time in between artists. PLUS, they had each artist only play 3 or 4 songs at a time and went through two rounds. So it was like 4 hours of continuous GREAT music, great audience involvement/participation, great comedy....just great all around. SOOO worth $15. Remember it... you won't regret going.

Speaking of music, I need some suggestions for my running playlist. So far I just listen to whatever I'm in the mood for, but I get burned by slow songs so I need to make a good "pump me up" playlist. PLEASE tell me what you like so I can get some ideas!!!

Hmm, I'm sure there were more blogs bumbling around, but I can't think of them right now. Stay tuned for part 2, I guess. ;D

And may your dreams be realized.

This morning Mike asked me, "What are the words to that song you sing to Kate?" I proceeded to sing,

"Sleep, sleep tonight.
And may your dreams
Be realized.
If the thundercloud passes rain,
so let it rain, let it rain,
rain down on me.

So let it be."

I then said, "the words are by Martin Luther King, did you know that?" He asked me how I knew the song and I told him it was on U2's Unforgettable Fire album. I haven't actually listened to the album in years, but when I was a teenager I used to put that track on repeat and go to sleep to it. I loved it. It is such a peaceful song with very meaningful lyrics.

Sometime when Kate was very new I began to sing it to her, and it stuck. I hope it is meaningful to her as she grows, and that it gives her an even deeper appreciation for Martin Luther King, Jr. and all he did for our country in his short time behind the microphone.

While discussing this song with Mike, we came across two things I would like to share with you.

First is a video tribute to Dr. King, to the tune of U2's Pride (In the Name of Love) which was written about him. (I am ashamed to say that I didn't know that this song was a tribute to MLK, even though I could sing along to every word.)


Second is a link to another blog that I found particularly insightful on the subject of prejudice and it's remedy.
http://www.xjsb125.com/wordpress/index.php?p=7

I try to be as just and unprejudiced as possible, but I know I have room for improvement as I show true love and charity with those around me. The way Martin Luther King taught. The way the Savior taught him.

And so it begins

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in a post that registering for the Ogden Half Marathon was on my list of things to do that day. (Shhh, it still is on the list!) Well this week, just 7 short weeks from the race, I have finally started to train.

Mike's boss--a seasoned marathoner--lent us the book, "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer" and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone thinking of running a marathon. It is written by a psychologist, a gym teacher, and a non-runner and includes all three of their respective aspects on marathoning in each chapter.

One of the things they recommend is logging the miles you run, your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and any comments about the run. They have a nice table to fill out, but I decided to blog it all instead, so with that I introduce my new blog, See Lydia Run.