oh i guess i could catch you up.

i've [slowly.  oh.so.slowly] been doing things on my list.  it is highly unlikely i will accomplish them all before my birthday, but you never know.  if i assume that attitude, i just won't do anything.

on saturday, i participated in my 'fun/unique race.'  five of us ran an urban obstacle 5k.  participants were encouraged to dress as superheroes.  so...we did.  some of us got more injured than others.  this may surprise you, but i was NOT the most injured.  that title belongs to iron man.  yes, heather looks like someone literally attacked her on the mean streets of indianapolis.

 

pictured left to right:
kim: the sworn enemy of turtles.

liz: the spiderlanterine.

ashleyne: captain, my captain.

heather: leave no pebbles behind.

holly: almost had to punch a guy because he was dressed like the joker.

and if you didn't know it, i'm a fiddle player, too...

nope.
i'm not.
but i'm friends with at least two people who are.  so there you go.

dearest darlingest momsy and popsicle,

i am pooped.  which is why i am quoting without any consistency or reason.  yes, there will be some quotes substituting for my actual words in this post.  sorry in advance.

so back to the poopedness.  that's not even a word!

i am in the midst of training for the sprint triathlon.  and it is tuckering me out.  but i think it's good for me in a way that marathon training definitely was not.  a sprint tri means that i swim 500 meters, bike 10 miles, and run 3.1 miles.  i grew up watching ironman competitions, so i have to work hard at telling myself that there is absolutely no reason for me to do that.  because this is super challenging enough for my poor little body.  i have been running regularly since april.  (no particular reason.  i just kept on going.)  so my cardio is there, but adding in two things i am not used to at all is tough stuff.

you can check over on the right side of my blog for any poem updates.  there are some.  but i don't plan on announcing when i put new ones up.  you can also keep track of some of the other things i am doing.  (you may notice i finished a book.  it was a good one.  life together by dietrich bonhoeffer.  i'll have to have some sort of chat with you about it later, cause it was quality.)

this is pathetic, but i am really too tired to write anymore.  i will give you a better post next week.  start working on your suggestions.











...and for those of you who patiently read this but didn't know what i was quoting:

'and if you didn't know it, i'm a fiddle player, too' is from 'the devil went down to georgia'
'dearest darlingest momsy and popsicle' is from 'wicked'
'that's not even a word!' is from 'friends'
'no particular reason.  i just kept on going' is from 'forrest gump'

 

flannels and flapjacks

check old #28 off the list...i ran a race with liz. and i was less in shape for this business than for the warrior dash.

this was a 5k at college wesleyan church...we ran 3.1 miles in our flannel shirts...and then they fed us pancakes. not bad. ok, i thought it was rough. old injuries were flaring up all over the place. but liz was a rockstar and encouraged me to not be a little baby about it.

so we made it through, didn't get hit by any cars, and will be sore for days. boy, getting old is fun.

my favorite...coffee place

i'm currently at starbucks. no, not my favorite starbucks. that one is in south carolina. and my second favorite one is in indiana. shoot, i'm not even at my favorite starbucks in madison. this one is probably number 3 on my list. but it'll do.

i like coffee. i'm not a starbucks snob in the sense that i think they have the best coffee or the greatest music or the comfiest chairs (actually, i might make that argument) or whatever. but i am a starbucks snob in the sense that i would always choose to go to starbucks over any other coffee place.

let's be honest: i almost always have starbucks gift cards people have given me. that's free coffee, in my eyes.

and i know what i like at starbucks...actually, seven or eight things that i like (although, yes, i still really only typically order one of three drinks). don't underestimate how important a sense of familiarity with a place is in my mind.

starbucks is my favorite coffee place, though, for one major reason above all others: it reminds me of wednesday nights in myrtle beach with miranda.

starbucks reminds me of post it note passing, of intimate moments with Jesus, of a corner with purple chairs, of falling madly in love with 90 people, of learning how to be real and authentic and vulnerable about my heart, of desiring to know and be known, of laughter, of talks about boys, of dancing in the rain, of jumping in the pool with all my clothes on, of sand everywhere, of runs with nina, of experiencing so much in ten weeks that seven years later, i am still talking about it with wonder and deep affection.

every moment i have ever had in a starbucks since myrtle beach has brought me closer to Jesus.

my favorite...running shoes to make other people buy

once upon a time, in a faraway land called wisconsin, i worked for a little company called finish line. in what seems like a different lifetime entirely, my favorite part of my job was taking care of customers. customer service is important in most jobs, and especially so in retail. but i mean something beyond just good customer service: i loved connecting one-on-one with customers, learning why they were in the market for running shoes (training for a marathon? starting to work out for the first time since...ever? cross-training? trying to impress a dude at the gym?), and then helping them find the *perfect* pair of shoes. there was nothing more gratifying than knowing they were excited to get healthy (or get a man). i loved seeing people try on different shoes...and when they put on the right ones, their eyes would light up.

man, i must have really liked it if i can look back so fondly on those dark days...

anyway, more than any other type of shoe (and this can be verified by a quick look in my closet), i LOVE running shoes. but i am totally biased. i have been a runner* forever.

my first race in wisconsin was the crazy legs. and i needed shoes. so, although i had already been spending significant portions of my paychecks on lots of [sporty but non-running] shoes at finish line, the first pair that i bought for actual athletic purposes were these:

these are my asics gel-1120s. i got them, and i loved them, and then made every customer try them on after that. they have some gel (but not enough to make them outrageously expensive), great arch support, they breathe well, and they're very light. these are good shoes. and at least two faithful readers of this blog own them because of me.

you are welcome.

i should mention, though, that not everybody has cool shoelaces like this. you only get extra special shoelaces if someone's cat has a bad habit of eating every pair of shoelaces you own. hypothetically speaking, of course.

do you have a favorite pair of running shoes? what is your favorite style of shoe to wear?

*mmm, yeah, ok, i'm very conditional about my running these days. it's mostly when a frisbee is in the air. but still.