Registration

I promise…he really does love riding his dinosaur.  He was laughing and giggling and swinging his legs…right up until the time I got the camera.  Little stinker!

Today was a pretty important day.  I ventured over to the (semi) local community college to sit through an orientation and to register for my classes for next semester.  Nursing school is finally going to happen!  I realized today that I have basically been taking pre-requisites (or on a waiting list) since September of 2008.  That’s a long time!

My schedule is pretty nice.  I’ll drive to Wausau on Mondays and Thursdays for class or clinicals.  I should be home in time to get the kids after school.  On Tuesdays, I will go to the school’s satellite campus in Spencer (a 10 minute drive vs. a 45 minute drive) to take two classes via interactive TV.  I am so glad that this option exists.  It will save me money on gas, time on commuting, and give me a better chance of finding a part time job.

The job is what is stressing me out the most, right now.  I’ve been unemployed since the end of March.  I am looking for something part-time, with some flexibility so that I can still spend time with my family.  And the kicker….I can’t work weekends.  I just don’t have reliable child care, and Tim works every Saturday.  I was hoping to find a part time CNA  job so that I could get some more health care experience, but they all seem to require weekend hours.  I’m getting discouraged and frustrated.  I am really hoping that something will work out…and soon.  I am not good at staying home all day.  I get bored too easily.

Here, he’s giving the dinosaur a hug.  I told you he liked the dinosaur.

Happiest year?

According to this study, I only have four more days of my happiest year left.  Apparently, people are happiest at age 33.  I better take full advantage for the rest of the week, because I guess it is all down hill from here.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve gotten to my happiest year yet.  There is still so much that I want to do, and see, and be, and experience.  I can’t wait to watch my boys grow up.  Seeing them be happy is something that definitely makes me happy.  Watching them with their Easter eggs yesterday was just a taste of the years of happiness I have ahead of me. 

And I really enjoy running.  I hope to have decades of running ahead of me.  I want to run many more races and experience different areas.  I want to continue to interact with other runners and learn more about this wonderful sport. 

I could go on an on about how many amazing things I hope are in my future.  I certainly don’t plan on letting my 33rd year be my happiest.

What about you?  Do you have a happiest year?

March recap

So…here are my totals for the month of March.  I still have plans of hitting 1000 miles for the year.

Running: 87 miles  (January-63, February- 76)

Year to date: 226 miles

That leaves a balance of 774 miles to get to 1000.  To reach my goal, I will need to average 86 miles per month for the rest of the year.  That seems almost doable.  I’m relatively happy with my March totals.  There were a few days when I didn’t work out because other things were happening, but that is life.  That is going to happen every month.

I also dusted off my bike in March and went for my first bike ride of the year…only 12 miles, but it felt great.

I have started this crazy P90X thing that everyone and their brother has been doing for the past couple of years.  I am not going through the program in the order that I should, but I have tested out a couple of the workouts.  I’m going to try to get into a rhythm of doing these workouts a couple times a week.

I am also working on being able to do pushups.  I am up to about 8-11 in each set; doing 5 sets.  If I just did one set, I could probably do 15 in a row.  I’ve never been able to do that many ‘real’ pushups.  I am hoping that between the pushups and the P90X, to be able to do a pull up before the Tough Mudder race in September.

Only a few weeks until my half marathon.  Hoping for a successful 12 mile run tomorrow.

Alumni tournament

This weekend is the bi-annual alumni basketball tournament in the bustling metropolis of Colby.  It is the time when all the hometown boys trek back to town and pretend they are still teenagers.  They drink a bit of beer and try to play ball the same way they did 15+ years ago.  it is great fun to watch.

I started the day by watching my beloved class of ‘96 lose in overtime to a group of kids who were in Kindergarten when we graduated.  We also lost the second game…to kids who were barely out of diapers when we graduated!  We were able to pull off a victory in the third game of the day on a last second shot by my neighbor!  (The team we beat was the oldest team we had played all day…and they were still in elementary school when we graduated.)

I was really excited because this year, the organizers were offering a women’s exhibition game.  The women aren’t allowed to play with the guys…under the logic that on the years opposite the men’s basketball tourney, the women play an alumni volleyball tournament.  That is all well and good, if volleyball is your thing.  It isn’t my thing.  So, I decided to lace up my shoes and play in my first organized basketball game since intramurals in college…12 years ago. 

To be completely honest, I don’t think I can count on one hand the number of times I have touched a basketball in the last decade.  While I wasn’t afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up (I’m a runner, and in decent shape), I had no idea if I was coordinated enough to play ball. 

We had 12 girls show up and, as I expected, I was the oldest one there.  The next oldest was a girl 2 years younger than me.  We each have two kids.  as it turned out, the teams were divided as such:  2009 vs. everyone else.  I don’t know why we agreed to this. Looking back on it, letting five girls who played together for years, not that long ago, play against a bunch of girls who learned each others’ name three minutes before tip-off may have been an unfair advantage. 

As expected, we got slaughtered.  But, on the bright side, I don’t believe that I humiliated myself too much.  I had five points…1/3 of our total.    I even made a free throw.  When was the last time that happened?!?  But, even more important, I had a great time.  I will definitely do this again in two years.  I’m sure we can find more people to play if we give more notice than we did this year.

The boys finish up their tournament tomorrow.  My class of ‘96 is in the consolation bracket, but I have faith they will do well…assuming they don’t party too much tonight. 

Job interviews

Today I have two job interviews.  Friday is my last day working at the clinic.  I knew that I would end up leaving the clinic when it was time to start nursing school, but because of some issues within the department, my departure came sooner than I anticipated.  So…today, I have a couple job interviews.  It has been a while since I’ve interviewed for a job.  I’m looking forward to the change of pace, although I’ve never worked as a CNA before, so I’m sure it will take some getting used to.

The good news is that the places I’m interviewing are much closer to home than the clinic.  It will be nice to have a much shorter commute…maybe even being able to walk or ride my bike to work.  I have never been a fan of the thirty minute commute I’ve had to work. 

Wish me luck today.  I hope that I can find a job that is a good fit for me.  And if it is someplace I could work while going to nursing school…even better!

Mary Poppins

Do you ever have a run when everything goes well and you are reminded of why you love to run?  That is how today’s 11 miler went.  It made me feel like Mary Poppins…practically perfect, in every way.

The weather was gorgeous.  Really, it couldn’t have been better.  When I started out at about 8:30 this morning, it was still slightly overcast.  The temperature was exactly where it should be for a long run.  There was a slight breeze and not too much humidity (or allergens).  I wish every day could be just like today.  (That’s not true…I wish 6 months of the year were exactly like today…and the rest of the time it was warmer.)

I was lucky enough to have a friend offer to watch the boys while I ran.  For this, I am immensely grateful.  Eleven miles on the treadmill, when it is this beautiful outside, would have been awful.

My goal for today’s run was to keep the pace easy.  I really wanted this to be a long, slow, distance run.  I also wanted to keep my pace consistent.  I am trying to learn what different paces ‘feel’ like.  I was checking my watch a lot during this run, more than I should have, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going out too fast.

Imagine my surprise when 5 of the 11 miles ended up with the same split!  That’s consistency!!  And all 11 miles were within 21 seconds of each other.  If I take out the last split, where I must have felt the end was near, they were all within 15 seconds of each other.  I’m pretty impressed.  For my long runs, that is right about where my pace should be.

Since I do almost all of my running on the treadmill, it was great to get outside and feel the road beneath my feet and the wind in my face.  And, since races tend to be run on roads and not on treadmills, I should probably get used the roads.

Next week, I have a 10 miler schedule, but we’ll see how I feel.  I might tack on a couple more miles.  I am starting to feel a little more confident for the upcoming half marathon.

I wish every run could be like today’s run.  But, I’m realistic.  I know that sometimes, my runs will suck.  Fortunately, I have the memory of today’s run to look back on. 

Thank you

My small, little hometown, and the wonderful people who live here, have been through an awful lot in the past couple weeks.  We lost an amazing man, husband, father, son, friend.  I could go on and on about the type of person Jamison was, and the legacy he leaves behind, but others can do that more eloquently than I can.  I do want to take one more opportunity to thank some of the people who came to support us during this very difficult time.

Some of the best Marathon County has to offer!

The governor came to offer his condolences.  He gave some nice comments during the funeral.

           (Jenna Creger)

There were squad cars from all over the state.  Seeing them all lined up, especially along the processional route, was incredibly moving.  But it wasn’t just the officers who were at the funeral who were supporting our community.  Because there were so many officers present, especially from Marathon County, other departments and State Patrol officers had to cover extended areas.  The amount of support from law enforcement was incredible.

The response from fire and EMS vehicles was even more incredible.  I don’t have a final tally, but I heard that every county in the state of WI had sent at least one vehicle.  This is just a sample:

          (Kent Johnson)

         (photo credit unknown)

Aerial view of the fire and EMS vehicles in the high school parking lot.

Spirit helicopter was present to do a fly over at the burial.

I want to say a special thank you to a group of guys from Rib Mountain.  These guys came over to protect our community while we laid our hero to rest.  They brought their own trucks and looked at maps of our town and they were at the ready to take care of anything that would have come up. 

Seeing all the support at the high school during the funeral service was incredible.

This is one of the overflow areas.  The cafeteria was filled with uniformed personnel showing their support.

Of course, the support we received along the processional was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

 

I know that our community will never be the same after losing such a special person.  But, I feel like part of a larger community because of all the people who pulled together to help out a small town and the people who call it home.

Special thanks to Courtney Smith (on the right) for providing many of these pictures.

Hero

Hero: “A man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength”

Respect: “expression of high or special regard or deference,” “to consider worthy of high regard”

Small town life

There are certain things about living in a small town that aren’t a whole lot of fun.  We don’t have an abundance of fancy restaurants.  We don’t have many opportunities for shopping.  There aren’t a lot of plays, sporting events, or cultural activities like those you would find in larger cities.

But, there is one thing that a small town has, that no big city could ever compete with.  The people. 

I’ve lived in this small town for most of my life.  I’ve complained about it for almost as long.  But the past few days have reminded me why I will always call this little corner of the world ‘home.’ 

On Sunday afternoon, my small community was rocked by tragedy.  We lost an amazing man.  He was also a native son, someone who has lived here for most of his life.  He served this community in many ways: as a deputy sheriff, firefighter and EMT, ultimately giving his life to protect it. 

I knew Jamison for almost 20 years.  I would say the same things about him that everyone else is saying.  He was a great man. He was quick with a smile or a joke.  He served selflessly.  He loved his family.  These are the things we are hearing from everyone.  Jamison was loved by this town.  He is going to be missed beyond what any words can describe.  Everyone who knew him is better because they crossed paths with him. 

In dealing with this horrible tragedy, my small, little town has banded together fiercely.  People are comforting each other.  They are sharing stories of why they loved Jamison.  Even though we are all hurting, everyone is coming together to get through this.  The pain we are feeling right now is intense.  It is going to take a while, but this small town is resilient.  And we support each other.  And somehow, we will get through this.

February update

February was a bit of a crazy month.  Logan dealt with some illnesses, got tubes put in his ears, spent a night in the hospital, and turned one.  And that was just the first half of the month.  The second half of February, included Jaden, Tim and I each getting the flu.  Loads of fun.

But, I did manage to get some good workouts in.  Even though February was a short month, I was able to better my mileage compared with January.

January- 63 miles

February-76 miles

For a 2012 total of 139 miles.  In order to reach my goal of 1000 miles, I need to run 861 more miles…averaging just over 86 miles per month for the rest of the year.  I need to get my butt in gear!  February’s total of 76 miles is the most I’ve run in over a year.  My longest run of the month was 8 miles.  I had 19 mile weeks twice.  I would have hit 20 miles in one week if I hadn’t been sick with the flu.

Looking at March, I am hoping to have a great month.  Half marathon training is in full swing.  I will have a couple of double digit runs this month.  I may even end the month with 100 miles (maybe…I haven’t figured the training plan that carefully).

Today, I ran 9 miles.  My legs felt great and I had both the leg strength and the cardiovascular strength to keep going.  That makes me feel pretty good.  However, I have chronic stomach issues that force me to stop several times.  That is really disheartening.  I know that I am in good enough shape to finish the half marathon, and probably get a PR, but my body hates me right now and there isn’t really anything I can do about it.  I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever be able to run another marathon.