tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91787014577302319552024-02-18T20:43:31.073-07:00Pheidippidesvictory awaits.
check out my first post on May 18 to see what this blog is all about.
or don't. whatev.Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-59535326151494040962012-09-18T22:22:00.000-07:002012-09-18T22:22:26.336-07:00skinny.<div style="text-align: center;">
I have never been fat. </div>
<br />
I have never tipped the scale at more than one-forty and I have never lived with the notion that I am chubby. And yet, as I have mentioned before, I am terrified by the prospect of gaining weight. <br />
<br />
I do not know where that comes from. I know, through shameless family gossip, that some cousins have either starved themselves or forced themselves to throw up in order to control their weight. I know that other members of my family have struggled with the consequences fad-diets and sedentary lifestyle choices throughout my whole life. But as I already said, this has never been an issue for me. I have never had much to complain about with my body. By most people's standards, I look alright.<br />
<br />
I am writing today's post because of something that has been bothering me. About a month ago, a man at work commented that it looked like I was losing weight. He said he noticed that I was drinking Slim Fast in the morning, and it showed, and "congratulations." I was totally taken off guard. I drink Slim Fast in the morning as a breakfast supplement because I am too busy/lazy to make breakfast. About a week passed and he said it to me again, this time just smiling and saying "so skinny!!!" Now I understand this was meant as a compliment, and I will not even get into the many reasons why I felt this was inappropriate, but it bothered me so much. Workplace inappropriateness notwithstanding, I felt self-conscious. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Should I have been <i>trying</i> to lose weight? Did I look fat before? Do I look too skinny now? Are people talking?"</span></blockquote>
<br />
It makes me wonder why we feel this is the kind of thing that is ever okay to point out. I could just blow the entire incident off as a guy who does not yet know
where the line is in the workplace, but then a female co-worker said
the same thing to me today. I just smiled to myself and told her "Yeah,
I don't know, I've heard that recently..." and trailed off. I started to think how acceptable it would be to say to a woman "Your boobs are looking bigger. New bra?" I could not imagine it going over well. <br />
<br />
It also makes me wonder where this insecurity comes from. I looked at myself and tried to convince myself that I am not losing weight, that I do not need to lose weight, and I still think there is a nagging presence in the back of my mind that I can never be too skinny, and I cannot, under any circumstances, gain weight. Did I get this from childhood? I have been in sports for as long as I can remember, I took dance classes and was a high school cheerleader, and I have kept up my active lifestyle with running ever since college, and I remember my whole childhood not having any real issues with weight gain. <br />
<br />
Somewhere along the line for me it became a paranoia, though. And I wonder if it was the fact that my weight was a non-issue that made it an issue. Like my mother and friends and ballet instructors all told me I had a good body, and my friends started to complain about their bodies, and suddenly I had this enormous pressure-- and the knowledge of what that pressure did to my family-- that turned into a fear of gaining weight.<br />
<br />
That sounds so dramatic, but that is the best I can come up with. And I need to attribute this insecurity to some trauma, right?<br />
<br />
In any case, back to my point, I think we need to stop commenting on each others' body types all together, especially with unsolicited remarks, however harmless they are meant to be.... <br />
<br />
...because there are so many amazing qualities a person can offer the world that have nothing to do with the impermanence of their body type or number on their scale... <br />
<br />
...because too much time is wasted in life with the stress over having the perfect body, and perpetuating that obsession is both inconsiderate and ignorant... <br />
<br />
...because the circumstance under which someone is either gaining or losing weight may not be positively perceived or in their control...<br />
<br />
...and because you never know how your comments affect a person's view of themselves, and what kind of blogging turmoil they will end up in as a result. <br />
<br />
Thanks for walking through this raw neurosis with me. Next time I plan on writing about a cool race I am entering next month!Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-39036061390825635022012-03-26T21:31:00.000-07:002012-03-27T03:31:34.252-07:00back in the training shoesMonday, March 26, 2012<br />
4 miles<br />
43:15<br />
66 degrees<br />
<br />
I just want to start this post out by saying that I have finally begun to run again after over 3 months of no training and I am so excited to have run again. I did a couple of 2 mile runs a few weeks ago, but this was the first workout that I timed, and I felt really good running it, too.<br />
<br />
I switched some things up so that I can hopefully be a little more proactive in preventing injury in the future. I am wearing a pair of shoes that I have owned for nearly a year, but only wore on occasion before the injury. I wear them when I run but I am also wearing supportive shoes when I am at work. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Translation: no more high heals for me. </span></div>
<br />
But all-in-all I've been very blessed to have a fairly easy recovery and hopefully an easy transition back into running.<br />
<br />
I do not have much more to say about running, at least not tonight. I have had plenty on my mind, but I just wanted to write a quick update on my recovery and re-commit to writing more regularly now. I'm very excited for what the next few weeks will bring. <br />
<br />Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-34811386672367035272012-02-18T23:35:00.003-07:002012-02-18T23:40:26.723-07:00approval.Saturday, February 18, 2012<br />
bike ride-- 12.71 miles<br />
1:08:59<br />
<br />
Today I rode my bike for the first time since I bought it. It had a flat tire that I had to change, so for the first two weeks I owned it, it sat on my front porch. I changed the tire a couple of days ago, and today I decided to get off my lazy butt and ride around. I hopped on the bike path near my house and peddled in one direction for a half hour, then turned around and peddled back. It felt as though I could have possibly gone further, but I really did not want to push it because I have not been working out regularly in over two months. What I did not realize until after I mapped the ride out when I got home was that it had a subtle decline the entire way to the turnaround point, therefore it was a slow incline all the way back home. That was a little painful. My heart was racing the last mile. It felt really good, though; I felt like I was doing something athletic again.<br />
<br />
I still have to fight the urge to run, even though I have begun developing some temporary substitutions. That's what they are though: substitutions. I know I have not really committed and given yoga and bicycling a chance, but there is a strong desire in me to run, and I have not yet been able to shake that. <br />
<br />
I was watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moneyball_(film)" target="_blank">Moneyball</a> today (which was a fantastic film by the way) and just seeing a sports movie made me want to run out my front door. Even though my foot does not usually feel uncomfortable, I can still feel the injury and it takes every bit of the small part of my brain that is reasonable not to say "whatever" and just go run. Never mind the fact that I am still injured, but since it has been so long since I've run, I guarantee I would be disappointed when I'm completely exhausted after a mile... and in excruciating pain.<br />
<br />
Aside from bicycling and running and injured feet, I have had something kind of major on the brain. I feel like this roadblock in my running truly aligns with a very real roadblock in my life: approval.<br />
<br />
Before I move forward, let me back up. Things have been truly amazing in my life lately. I am moving forward in my career and personal life and getting over all the hurt that last year brought. My half-marathon kind of represented that for me: a triumph that was a long time coming. But there is a big hurdle that I have yet to even address, and that is my need for approval. It is a modern idol of sorts that I know I am far too invested in. I need the approval of others. In my job. In my friendships. In my life. I need others to think I'm great, beautiful, cool, smart, nice, etc. It colors everything I do. Last summer I had a long conversation with my pastor's wife about what a hard time I was having with my divorce. Exasperated, I said "...and to top it off, I know some day I'm going to have to explain to some guy's family that I was married for a short time and hope they don't assume that I can't commit to a healthy relationship and..." and I realized then what I was really saying was "I may not need to please my ex anymore, but I need to please someone, and it isn't myself and it isn't God." My pastor's wife didn't even have to say anything. I knew and she knew that this was a problem for me.<br />
<br />
The issue, aside from what I've just laid out, is that I have no idea how to work on this flaw of mine. I know if I don't, I won't be able to have a healthy relationship, because the only type of person that wants to be with a person who is desperate for approval is someone who is hungry for power and control... and I know where that ended up.<br />
<br />
So here's the parallel: my life came back together again over the past year, and although everything is seemingly great, I know there is this trait of mine that will put me in the exact same paralyzing position if I don't fix what's broken, deep inside. I ran this 13.1 mile race and I felt great, accomplished, and then it became clear that I couldn't keep doing that if I didn't fix this fundamental part of my body: my foot.<br />
<br />
I want to keep talking about this, but this post is getting a little long, so I'll close for now by saying that the first step I'm taking towards repairing my running life is staying off my foot. I hope to wake up early tomorrow and do another long bike ride. I wish I knew an easy first step to getting over this need for approval. Maybe it'll come to me on my next ride...Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-24054399155167162202012-02-16T00:08:00.001-07:002012-02-18T23:40:15.420-07:00changes.I want to write a quick post about some changes I'm making. <br />
<br />
It seems that life's forward momentum provokes some changes in our routines that we would not have planned for ourselves, but have happened nevertheless. Because of my foot injury, I have been posting silly entries on Pheidippides in an attempt to entertain myself and fill in the void that used to be running. <br />
<br />
I want to redirect Pheidippides back towards running, spirituality, and personal growth, but I have become especially interested in and entertained by some short video-diary type-things I've been doing and I think I want to continue those posts.<br />
<br />
So the time has come to create a second blog. If you are at all entertained by me musing in front of my computer, then definitely check out <a href="http://deputynoel.blogspot.com/2012/02/deputy.html" target="_blank"><i>the deputy</i></a> to watch me in action. Otherwise, I hope you are relieved to know that I'll be keeping the sophomoric entertainment to a minimum on <i>Pheidippides</i>. <br />
<br />
Also, I know there are more people that follow this blog than there are listed publicly, so I figured out how to change the settings so that anyone can comment on my posts, even anonymously.<br />
<br />
I am excited for what these changes will bring for both <i>Pheidippides</i> and <i>the deputy</i>.Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-77129878279375429242012-02-15T19:49:00.003-07:002012-02-18T23:39:51.403-07:00am i a hypochondriac?First things first. I want to know why I have written "until next time..." on like three of the past five posts and no one has called me on it. Talk about cliche. I'm thoroughly disappointed in my writing.<br />
<br />
Okay. Now. On to my post.<br />
<br />
It is February. So that means spring is on its way. That also means that my least favorite time of year is also on its way. It's the "Noel is sick for months on end because of pollen and mold" season.<br />
<br />
For most of my life, I have had to suffer through springs and summers with seasonal allergy symptoms. It started when I was a toddler and my mom said I always had a runny nose. Then when I was a preteen I had chronic headaches. As in all the time. By the time I was a teenager, it typically just manifested into cold-like symptoms once or twice a year, usually at the beginning of spring and end of summer.<br />
<br />
But as I have gotten older, it has gotten far worse. First, I have noticed that I can physically feel when I'm having an allergic reaction almost as soon as I encounter an allergen. It takes no time as all to feel my eyes burning and watering, my ears itching, my nose running, and my throat swelling up. Second, I am now allergic to dogs and cats. I love animals and I actually have a dog, but read <a href="http://noel24-pheidippides.blogspot.com/2011/08/hives.html" target="_blank">hives</a> to see what that love has cost me. Third, and most crucial, I have actually experienced the cold-like symptoms for months at a time, costing me dearly in sick days at work and fun days outside of work. <br />
<br />
Spring of 2010 was the worst season; I was sick all the time, eventually just trying to power through because I did not want to use all my sick/vacation days, I lost my voice several times (which sucked in particular because I was scheduled to sing the national anthem at the U.S. Airways Center for a Phoenix Mercury game that June), and I generally felt miserable.<br />
<br />
So now it is February 15th and I am nervous as ever that I will be getting sick this spring. I already had a cold in January that lasted about a week and left me with no voice for over a week. <br />
<br />
Add to that: I work in some pretty questionable environments. Since I do home-visitation social work, I sometimes start to experience an allergic reaction as soon as I walk into someone's house. One client called me last week to tell me that they found mold in their apartment. I was nervous to go, but I did not want to go to my boss and say "we can't bill for this family because I haven't seen them because I'm afraid of their mold spores." That seemed like a reflective conversation that I did not want to have. So I went as planned to the appointment.<br />
<br />
But later that day and the next, I had a wheezing, gasping cough.<br />
<br />
I wanted to write this post because I feel like that cough may have been in my head. Like I was so nervous about breathing in mold spores and being sick that I made myself sick. Plus I <i>am</i> still getting over that cold.<br />
<br />
This is such a beautiful season in Tucson, yet it is so miserable if you have a swollen throat or runny eyes or are sleepy all the time. I hope I'm not a hypochondriac. It is just one more thing to stack on a heaping pile of emotional issues that I just can't handle.Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-70237903871662101782012-02-08T22:26:00.000-07:002012-02-08T23:28:38.497-07:00my dentist.Okay kids, I have another video. This one has some language in it that is not for younger audiences.<br />
<br />
Enjoy. I'll try to write more meaningful stuff soon.<br />
<br />
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<br />Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-22518330696766847502012-02-05T18:59:00.000-07:002012-02-05T19:05:15.534-07:0026I turned 26 yesterday. <br />
<br />
I have to say, it was a pretty fun filled day. I woke up early and got my hair cut. Nothing can set the tone for the day like a haircut, so I was really rolling the dice on that one. But I have to say, it was a success. I've been growing it out from a super short little pixie cut for a year and it <i>finally</i> looks the way I want it to look. Success.<br />
<br />
I went to my very first yoga class next. I have been practicing yoga for about 9 years now, but I had never been to a class before yesterday. I think there are a few reasons behind that... one is that I was a dancer for many years, and being a dancer, I am very competitive and very perfectionistic. So being in a room full of people trying to learn something was so intimidating to me that I actually spent years doing it on my own by reading in books and following videos in order to learn how to do all the poses. Then, even after I starting feeling comfortable with and even good at yoga, I still preferred to stay in my house and do it because yoga brought me a peace that I just did not think I was going to get in a class full of people.<br />
<br />
I made the decision to go to the yoga class because I really wanted to get a good workout despite my foot <a href="http://noel24-pheidippides.blogspot.com/2012/02/tendinitus.html" target="_blank">injury</a>. I have to say, I really liked it. I picked a class that was an intermediate level and I felt competent as well as challenged, which was perfect. I actually felt so exhausted at one point that I had tears in my eyes, but it felt really great to be in such a supportive environment where I felt encouraged to keep going even when I was mentally exhausted. <br />
<br />
The yoga teacher talked about "staying in the eye of the hurricane" which kind of meant focusing on balance and peace and calm. She said that sometimes life starts to feel like the arm of the hurricane: the most chaotic, furious, and destructive part of the storm. And in yoga, and in life, you have to focus on centering yourself back in the eye.<br />
<br />
There was only one part that I would have left out at home, and that was that I had to grab the person's ankle next to me and he had to grab mine. And he was <b>SUPER</b> sweaty and I had not painted my toenails either. It was uncomfortable. I was having a hard time staying in the eye of the hurricane at that point.<br />
<br />
After yoga, I took Levi on a walk and then we strolled over to Jenny's house to grab some tea at the <a href="http://www.ragingsage.com/" target="_blank">Raging Sage</a>. Jenny got Levi and me presents (we decided that even though Levi's adoption paperwork estimated his birthday at February 20th, we would celebrate on February 4th). Levi got a squeaky toy and treats. I got a necklace and a little knick-knack for my wall. Here's a picture of us posing with our toys:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhk4Zx-CrpKxSXDzT0bM5T2ahgS4r1pB6jSqdpjKLIKTPhZo6xF3n4Emknb4VMdD0suczFephlnSeRFjEbLr7vMEz8reA78_ZUMlVLKT8KfVqCXrhNE-d5m7ntcpeTWD59DzSnIeARaQ/s1600/P1040317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhk4Zx-CrpKxSXDzT0bM5T2ahgS4r1pB6jSqdpjKLIKTPhZo6xF3n4Emknb4VMdD0suczFephlnSeRFjEbLr7vMEz8reA78_ZUMlVLKT8KfVqCXrhNE-d5m7ntcpeTWD59DzSnIeARaQ/s320/P1040317.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
After coffee I did a little shopping then went to church. Then my friend Laura picked me up and I went to dinner with a bunch of friends from all different parts of my life. It was so awesome to see friends from all parts of my life come together and really click with one another. After dinner we kept the party going at <a href="http://www.cheslounge.com/" target="_blank">Che's Lounge</a>. I had so much fun. The night came to a close and I went to bed a happy 26-year-old woman! <br />
<br />
Levi was also very happy to be turning 2.<br />
<br />
This was a really great way to begin a new year in my life. I know I've hit some rough times and some obstacles that I hadn't anticipated, but this birthday was a reminder of the people who love me, the things I can accomplish, and the joy I am capable of feeling when things feel like they are desperately spinning out of control, right into the arm of the hurricane. <br />
<br />
So excited to start this new year...Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-15467944348798157842012-02-03T22:37:00.000-07:002012-02-03T23:23:53.232-07:00tendinitusI wrote a few posts ago about how my foot is <a href="http://noel24-pheidippides.blogspot.com/2012/01/injured.html" target="_blank">injured</a>. I finally got in with the orthopedic specialist today and the news could have been better, but it could have been worse, too, I suppose.<br />
<br />
The doctor took an x-ray and there is no indication of a fracture. After reviewing my symptoms and torquing my foot in every uncomfortable direction possible, the conclusion was that I have tendinitus in my left foot, which is why I was in so much pain after any kind of workout the last couple of months. The doctor called it an "overuse injury" and told me to refrain from running for at least "few more weeks." I am supposed to consume Ibuprofen at the rate I usually suck down coffee throughout the day, as well as get inserts for my shoes, and use a topical anti-inflammatory on my foot.<br />
<br />
It did not really hit me until a few minutes after I left the doctor's office was crummy this felt. It has been almost 8 weeks since I ran my half-marathon, and I had hoped to take that momentum and euphoria from completing that goal to run may more races this year, including a full marathon. I am seriously bummed that I will not be able to start working on that for at least another month. <br />
<br />
I don't mean to sound dramatic; it's not like tendinitus is going to have me bedridden for the next year. It does feel like a loss that I have to spend more time <i>not</i> doing something I love, even temporarily, though. I have definitely found that it is hard to stay active. I walk my dog everyday, which is probably keeping me healthy, but I have not been doing yoga or anything else to keep up on the aerobic, endurance, or mental training that I need to pick running back up successfully. I think something in my brain was holding out to have the doctor say that everything is cool, just do x, y, and z stretches every day and go about your workouts like nothing happened. <br />
<br />
Now that I know it is slightly more serious than that, though, I decided to commit to being active in lower impact settings. I went out after work today and did something that I have actually been meaning to do for months: I bought a bicycle. I even went on a very short ride today. And tomorrow I am meeting a co-worker at a yoga studio near my house to catch a midmorning class.<br />
<br />
So that is the plan. Maybe I'll temporarily refer to <i>Pheidippides</i> as <i>Bikram</i> or <i>The Cycler</i> or something like that until I get the go ahead to slowly start building my mileage again. I'll definitely have some new and interesting stuff to write about, like the hazards of riding your bike on Campbell Avenue around 4:30 in the afternoon or the new experience of sharing my workout time with 15 other people in the yoga studio, rather than my own solitary pensive time. Anyway, I guess I will just have to wait and see.<br />
<br />
As a final note, it is really interesting to me how many times I have learned in the last couple of months about my own limitations. First with my driving to Colorado fiasco (see <a href="http://noel24-pheidippides.blogspot.com/2012/01/trapped.html" target="_blank">trapped</a>... if you have like an hour to read... sorry by the way for the longest post in blog history) and now with my foot and probably other things in between of which I am not thinking currently. It is an especially interesting series of epiphanies to have leading up to my 26th birthday (tomorrow!). Maybe it is a sign that the year to come will bring more mature and reasonable decision making. <br />
<br />
Time will tell on that one I guess.<br />
<br />
Until next time...Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-37702274797691630192012-02-01T18:30:00.001-07:002012-02-01T18:30:27.356-07:00vlog?I just wanted to make one more post today to ask about what people thought of my <a href="http://noel24-pheidippides.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-inspiration-pop-up-book-i-made.html">vlog</a>. Check one of feedback boxes on that post if I should try to do more stuff like that...<br />
<br />
Thanks!Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-31591258521476731872012-02-01T18:27:00.003-07:002012-02-01T18:27:41.094-07:00my running blog...I still have not seen the orthopedic specialist for my foot injury. I have called a few times and left messages with different receptionists to schedule an appointment, but still nothing. It's annoying because now it's been nearly two months since my half-marathon, and I really wanted to race more this year. And I can't do that until I can train, and I don't want to train until this foot injury is figured out. I've thought about testing the waters again without seeing the doctor just to see if whatever was wrong has healed, but I am a little apprehensive about the possibility of hurting myself again. <br />
<br />
Anyway, that's my update on my foot. Here's an update on life:<br />
<br />
I got some very exciting news yesterday at work. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I got a promotion!</b></span> It's a promotion I applied for over two months ago and I am so incredibly excited that it finally went through!<br />
<br />
Social work is very challenging. Part of my job is to help other people with their challenges and problems, some of which seem so overwhelming, and I have had to overcome numerous personal obstacles and grow as a person in order to do this well. So it feels really great to see that effort has not gone unnoticed. <br />
<br />
The after school program that I teach part-time is starting up again in February as well, and I'm looking forward to getting started on that again, as well. <br />
<br />
And of course, the best day of the year is coming up as well... MY BIRTHDAY! I will be turning 26 on February 4th and my birthday, albeit special every year, marks something awesome for me this year. I got past a lot of hardship and baggage and pain in 2011 and it brings me so much joy to start a new year of my life fresh. It is also awesome to think about every blessing I gained from this past year that I'll be bringing with me as I turn 26 while I leave all the other nonsense behind. In fact, it is so awesome to think about this stuff that I think I will list it out right now!<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Levi-- my super cute, insane, ridiculous doggie. He's snoozing at my feet right now because I wore him out with like an hour of fetch.</li>
<li>Scooter Jenny-- Jenny became such a close friend and confidant during the early months of my breakup all the way through the breaking point. If not for her, I wouldn't have had a place to go when things got really bad, and I wouldn't have had anyone to celebrate with whenever things got really good</li>
<li>All of my friends at my work-- it would probably be just, but a little repetitive to list them all out. My work friends have been awesome. Truly and simply awesome. Happy hours, prenatal training and Ke$ha, karaoke, Old MacDonald and Santa Claus at parent events, tequila tasting, Ra, Milton, and more inside memories and jokes that I can't possibly name right here.</li>
<li>The family. Enough said.</li>
<li>FLYNN! My brother and sister-in-law are bringing my very first nephew into the world this year!</li>
<li>My church family. What an amazing group of people I have found... </li>
<li>All the new friends I've met just in the last couple of months who met me and know me as the person that I've evolved into. If they read this, they know who they are.</li>
</ol>
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A couple of months ago, I decided to buy myself a ring. It is kind of like a promise ring to myself and it says <i>Strength</i> on it. I wear it on my right ring finger and look down it often each day; it sort of reminds me of how strong I can be and to stay strong. I'm looking at it right now and realize that my strength has come from all the things I've listed above, not just from within. </div>
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So I guess even though I'm not running and feeling kind of under-inspired to write in my <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">running blog</span></i>, I do have a lot to say and it feels good to get it all down. </div>
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Hopefully I'll be back out on the road soon and writing about the temperature and my time and all the things I know you <i>really</i> want to read. Until next time...</div>Noella24http://www.blogger.com/profile/17195654087011356505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-83477894038681283582012-01-26T23:57:00.000-07:002012-01-26T23:58:27.218-07:00trapped.So continuing my posts about absolutely nothing related to running, I decided to tell a little story. This story is one that I have probably already told to all five people who read <i>Pheidippides</i>, but I felt it should be publicly recorded for history's sake.<br />
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As I have written before, my family lives in Colorado and I live in Tucson, Arizona. In December 2011, for the first time in three years, I decided to go home for Christmas. <br />
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I was so excited in anticipation of my trip! I rented a car since my SUV had some trouble on the long trek last summer and does terrible on gas. I packed a suitcase for myself and one for my dog, Levi, and plenty of snacks for us both and we hit the road at 2 a.m. on December 23rd to get from Tucson to Conifer by dinner time that day. I had driven the same route several times over the past three years, always leaving fairly early in the morning, so there was never a doubt in my mind that it would be an uneventful trip. The possibility of what ended up happening never crossed my mind....<br />
<br />
<i>4 a.m.</i><br />
<br />
About two hours into the drive East on I-10, I drove across the state line between Arizona and New Mexico. I knew I had two more hours to drive to get to Las Cruces, then it would be a straight shot North on I-25 into Denver. Twenty-four miles after crossing the state line, however, the interstate was closed, and brightly lit signs advised travelers to "seek local accommodations." <br />
<br />
I was so frustrated. I had no idea why the road was closed because aside from it being typical 4 a.m.-in-the-desert-temperature outside, there did not seem to be a problem with the freeway. No poor weather conditions, and no indication of when the road would be open to travel. I looked on my iPhone for an alternate route to get to I-25 and I saw a few state highways wound up North then East to reach I-25 between Las Cruces and Albuquerque in Williamsburg, so I decided to take these roads with hopes that it wouldn't add too many hours to my drive.<br />
<br />
About fifteen miles North on NM-90 I realized why the road was closed: there was a snow storm. Looking back, I see that my initial evaluation of "snow storm" could probably better be described as a "white-out-blizzard." But it is important to understand that I learned how to drive in a place where getting 5 feet of snow did not warrant a snow day, and I even had some harrowing track practices where several inches of snow accumulated on my head after two hours of running around. I learned how to drive in white-out-blizzard conditions, so it shouldn't be hard to understand why I kept driving. It was only snow.<br />
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<i>5:30 a.m.</i><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Silver+City,+NM&aq=0&oq=silver+city+&sll=32.711044,-107.983246&sspn=0.44082,0.441513&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Silver+City,+Grant,+New+Mexico&t=m&z=12&ll=32.770075,-108.280326&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Silver+City,+NM&aq=0&oq=silver+city+&sll=32.711044,-107.983246&sspn=0.44082,0.441513&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Silver+City,+Grant,+New+Mexico&t=m&z=12&ll=32.770075,-108.280326" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small></div>
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I stopped for gas in Silver City and posted on my Facebook something along the lines of "we're driving through a blizzard, keep Levi and me in your prayers." I decided not to contact my parents until I had either made it through the blizzard or to I-25 or 8 a.m. or some combination of those options. My mom tends to worry and stress me out, so until that day, the best policy was to keep her out of the loop. Sorry, Mom.<br />
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<i>7:30 a.m.</i><br />
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<i><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Gila+National+Forest,+Silver+City,+nm&aq=&sll=32.435613,-107.605591&sspn=3.536996,3.532104&ie=UTF8&hq=Gila+National+Forest,+Silver+City,+nm&ll=32.435613,-107.605591&spn=1.189517,2.04895&t=m&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Gila+National+Forest,+Silver+City,+nm&aq=&sll=32.435613,-107.605591&sspn=3.536996,3.532104&ie=UTF8&hq=Gila+National+Forest,+Silver+City,+nm&ll=32.435613,-107.605591&spn=1.189517,2.04895&t=m" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small></i></div>
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On NM-152, about 30 miles from I-25 and right in the middle of Gila National Forrest, my little rental car finally told me that it couldn't go any further. I was driving on a road that probably had not been plowed since the day before, if at all, and was basically making it in someone else's treads. Finally, the snow was piled high enough that my sedan bottomed out and I couldn't get any further. Defeated, I decided to turn around and hope the interstate had opened back up. I was running way behind schedule and this would push my arrival in Conifer further back, but when choice did I have at this point?<br />
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I slowly backed the car up and turned the wheel to reposition my car to face down the hill. And slowly, my car pulled into a snow drift on the side of the road. I cursed under my breath and eased my foot on the gas to nudge the car forward. It just slid a little further. I rocked the car to try to get it back into my own treads. Nothing. I sighed and got out of the car. There was snow piled around on three sides and in the undercarriage. I put on my gloves (which were just cotton driving gloves) and started to moved snow out from around the tires. I got down on the ground and pulled snow and ice out from around the frame and engine. I got back in the car and slowly eased the car forward. And it started to move forward! <br />
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Then it promptly bottomed out again. And I was stuck. Again.<br />
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I pulled out my phone and saw what I already knew: I didn't have cell service. I tried dialing 911. The call failed; I couldn't even place an emergency call. There was no reception.<br />
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I started to notice what I should have thought about on my way to this point in my day. <i>No one</i> was driving up this road. There were no emergency telephones on the way up. There was no ranger station. And the snow just kept piling higher while I contemplated all of this.<br />
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I got out my car and dug it out again. More thoroughly and fervently than before. And again it moved forward slightly before pulling further into the snow drift. I got out and did it again. At this point my driver's side door would not even open; it was wedged against a snow drift that I would guess was about 3 feet high. <br />
<br />
I crawled across the passenger side of my car and furiously dug out and kicked at and marched through the snow. I was soaked, head to toe. I was alternating between praying out loud and singing <i>I'll Be Home For Christmas</i>. I begged God to help me get out. I thought about the movie, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/127_hours" target="_blank">127 Hours</a></i>, and thought that if I died on this mountain in this blizzard, that maybe my story would one day become a cautionary tale of telling your parents where you are, what kind of rental car you are driving, when you left in the morning, that you are deviating from the route you had planned on taking...<br />
<br />
My head hurt. I was so exhausted I thought I could sleep, although my heart was racing from exertion. I had to pee. Twice. I decided to stop digging. It wasn't working.<br />
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I got back in my car and blasted the heat. I put on all dry clothing and put my gloves on the heater to dry. I closed my eyes and shuddered. It was 9:30 a.m. I still had not seen a soul since I got stuck.<br />
<br />
I was so scared. I was worried. I was anxious. I had no idea what was going to happen. But something notable was that I did not break down into the hysterics that I would have expected for myself. I stayed calm. I just focused on getting out. And although nothing in the world has ever felt more dire and uncertain in my life than whether or not I would get out of there, I was sure that I would somehow be okay. <i> Does that sound strange?</i> I considered the possibility that I would be stuck there in a snow storm that was not ending on a road rarely travelled and possibly die, but at the same time I knew I would be okay, even if that did come to pass. Peace is not a word that I would readily use for what I was feeling, but I can't describe the feeling as anything more than I knew that I was being taken care of and that if I died, then it was my time to go. <i>How strange is that?</i><br />
<br />
I don't want you to think that I thought death was inevitable and that I was giving up. I also considered the thought that I might be stuck there for days before being rescued. That was an interesting scenario in my head. I thought about my full gas tank and how long that would last. I watched the snow fall and wondered when it would stop. I watched the temperature linger around 11 degrees. I thought about my family, waiting for me to arrive in Colorado that day. I thought about what Christmas would be like for them, not knowing where I was. I thought about that last post on my Facebook in Silver City: would that worry my parents, or would that give them what they needed to find me? <br />
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I decided that it was still early enough in the day that Levi and I could start walking down the hill towards the entrance of the park and hope that there was cell reception, a ranger station that I hadn't noticed before, or any other kind of help. I put on every warm layer that I could find in my suitcase, wrapped my scarf around my face, and put my cell phone and my keys and my wallet in the pockets of my jacket. I put a few bottles of water into a plastic bag and started walking down the road with Levi at my side. <br />
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I think it's a cute little side note that this was my dog's first taste of snow. Poor little guy.<br />
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I walked down the road and about 20 feet from my car, another car came driving up the hill. I started waving my arms frantically for them to stop. I thought the only thing worse than a car not coming was a car that came by and didn't stop. <br />
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In the car were two guys and two girls about my age. I told them I needed to get somewhere where I could call a plow or a tow or something, and they said "get in." So I got in and Levi sat on my lap and they continued driving up the road. The driver told me "we put chains on a while back. Otherwise I don't think we would have made it this far." I closed my eyes and squeezed my dog as we drove up the road, past my car. The car started to slow and eventually it bottomed out in the middle of the road about a mile further than I got in my car. We were stuck. I was stuck. Again.<br />
<br />
It was close to 10 a.m.<br />
<br />
The two guys got out and trotted down the hill, thinking that their chain had broken off their tire and was lost in the snow somewhere over the last mile since they picked me up. A couple of minutes after they left, one of the girls realized that the missing chain had literally broken off right under the car where they had bottomed out. The girls honked the horn. They yelled for the guys. But the guys were gone; none of us could see them. We sat there, completely clueless as to what would happen next. While my gas tank was full, their gas tank was only a quarter-full, and the girls started to feel that sinking nervousness that I had been feeling all morning about when we would get out of here and debated over whether or not to turn off the engine to conserve gas. I started to feel feverish. I had a headache and I had to pee. Again.<br />
<br />
Over an hour passed when finally we could see not two, but three, figures walking up the hill. The two guys (who I learned were twin brothers, and the girls were their wives) had found another guy our age who got his Jeep stuck at some point further down from my car. The third guy had been able to make a 911 call from his car. Help was on the way. Help had no idea how many of us there were.<br />
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And we were about to learn that we would not be able to leave Silver City until Christmas Eve at the earliest. Every other road out had been closed for hours. This was the last one open.<br />
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The guys said that they were going to go back down to the Jeep to wait for the sheriff to meet them, and that they were going to try to call their parents. A lump rose in my throat and I choked out, "can you please call my parents, too?" I wrote down my name and my parents' telephone number for them and continued sitting and waiting in this car and started breathing for the first time.<br />
<br />
<i>12:30 p.m.</i><br />
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The patrol car arrived with a plow and proceeded to dig everyone out and have us follow them out of the mountains and into Silver City. It took everybody helping to get my car unstuck. And I spent two hours trying to do it myself.<br />
<br />
<i>2 p.m.</i><br />
<br />
I got into town and the sheriff recommended The Drifter Motel as overnight accommodations. So I curled up on an uncomfortable bed and rested in the same miserable city where I had filled up with gas 9 hours earlier.<br />
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On my way down into town, I watched my phone to see when I got reception. It was about 10 miles from where I was stuck when I finally got a bar and saw I had a voicemail from my mom at about 8 a.m. She cheerfully said "We just want to see how far along you two are! Call us!" I had already been stuck for a half-hour at that point.<br />
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I broke down crying again when I talked to my mom that afternoon. I started feeling what my body wouldn't let me feel earlier that day: fear. I told my mom I was scared. She said she was scared for me. My whole body hurt. I felt sick. I was exhausted and wired at the same time. And I could not help feel like I had survived a truly desperate situation. I guess there is a word for that feeling: blessed.<br />
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<i>December 24th, 6 a.m.</i><br />
<br />
The next morning I woke up and mapped out a route for the remainder of my trip that took me over an hour in the wrong direction for the sake of staying on the interstate and other safe roads. I told my mom I would call her every hour. I told my parents if I noticed I didn't have cell service then I would backtrack and call them where service ended. I told them the make, model, year, color, and license plate of my rental car. <br />
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I arrived at I-10 in Deming, NM about a minute before they opened the highway to traffic. The remainder of my trip into Conifer was uneventful. I arrived approximately 44 hours after leaving Tucson on December 23rd, but I gained an understanding of myself and my own imperfection and completely-human-limitations that I never thought I would need.<br />
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I have told this story so many times in the last month. I wanted to write it down because aside from being a ridiculous story of how things can go wrong in the best laid, most organized plans, it also fits <i>Pheidippides</i> quite well. I've been writing and reflecting over the past two years about my life and what I want to learn and where I want to grow, and I unintentionally stumbled upon lesson in life by chance. <br />
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I could not have asked for a better outcome that day.<br />
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Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't wish the whole thing never happened...<br />
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But it did happen, and I will never forget the impact it had on my life and my family's life, if only for a few hours that day. <br />
<br />Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-14578311762582999792012-01-25T20:44:00.001-07:002012-01-26T12:02:43.175-07:00new inspiration (the pop-up book i made)Things have been pretty run-of-the-mill lately. It is pretty amazing how my runs truly inspired my writing up until now. Upon realizing this, I went out looking for new inspiration.<br />
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I have a video that I created that I want to post. I have never done the <i>vlog </i>thing before, but this video kind of happened in an impromptu stream-of-consciousness, and I think it might be entertaining until I have more to write about my injured foot and running goals.<br />
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Just as a disclaimer, in the true nature of being a spontaneous video, I am wearing my pajamas and am not wearing makeup and my voice is hoarse because I had a cold last week. You've been warned.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Just so you know, the book and I parted ways earlier this evening. Tom thought it was super cool. Not cool enough to make him stay in Tucson, though.<br />
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Oh well.<br />
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Oh, and here's the cover art:<br />
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<br />Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-41197442162830670992012-01-17T20:00:00.000-07:002012-01-17T20:00:07.926-07:00injured.No running lately.<br />
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No running? What happened to that commitment to run more and get prepared to run a full marathon by the end of this year?<br />
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An injury is what happened.<br />
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I started trying to run again about three weeks after my race and noticed a sharp pain in my left foot. I tried again after resting for a few days and the pain only worsened. I have been to the doctor and while the injury is still not diagnosed, it is likely either an injury in the tendon or a fracture in the bone. I still have to see a specialist to figure out is to become of my poor little foot.<br />
<br />
It is frustrating especially because I had so much enthusiasm to run again and to compete in more races this year. My dad even offered to fly me out to Colorado for a weekend in May to do a double-header: a 5K with obstacles followed the next day by a 10K. I was so excited for it and will hopefully still be able to do it, but I guess that all really depends on the state of my foot in the next month or so.<br />
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Having an injury is frustrating, yes, but also kind of cool in a way. For <i>so</i> long I have been writing about how athletic I used to be and how I want to get back into running and be fast again. And while not being able to run without totally incapacitating myself for an entire day is really upsetting, it also kind of shows me that I am working hard enough to <i>get</i> injured in the first place. Does that make sense? It is exciting in that it reminds me of being a Varsity athlete in high school. I never had serious injuries then, but I sustained smaller injuries that required special attention every now and again from the sports trainer. I guess in some way this injury reminds me of a time in my life that I trained so hard that special attention to small injuries was necessary, so it makes me feel a little bit like I somehow earned this inconvenience through my hard work.<br />
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Is it a little unreasonable, counter intuitive, and immature to be a little stoked about this inconvenience in my life? I would say "yes." But if I have learned anything, I know that it is important to celebrate the little victories while you are focusing on improving any problem.<br />
<br />
I hope this situation continues to improve. While I'm not running, maybe I can write more posts about what I did throughout the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, since I sort of dropped off the map for a while then. I'll keep posting about my foot. Until next time...Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-63902208819425704092012-01-17T19:33:00.002-07:002012-01-18T17:40:41.732-07:00my conversation with God.I want to write this post about my newest running accomplishment: I completed my first half marathon.<br />
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Sunday, December 11, 2011<br />
13.1 miles<br />
2:04:27<br />
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First I just want to say this race was a very spiritual experience for me. Running 13 miles across the desert at sunrise was insane. I felt so free and light and strong. A ton of physical and mental preparation went into it and when the day became I must say it was a fulfilling, wonderful experience.<br />
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The race was long (obviously... 13.1 miles). I <i>could</i> write through every step of the race, but I think it would be great to write about the last three miles.<br />
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At about the tenth mile, I still felt amazing. Tired? Sure. But I really felt like I could push through and finish the final 3.1 miles at the strong pace in which I had started. I truly felt on top of the world.<br />
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Then I hit the eleventh mile, and I honestly thought "that felt like longer than just one mile." I still felt like I could do this, but the miles seemed longer and harder to do, and I was starting to feel tired.<br />
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By the time I got to the twelfth mile marker, I was in real pain. I felt a jabbing cramp in my rib and my legs felt like they were held together by much shorter tendons than they had been two or three miles back. I felt panicky at the thought of walking since I had not walked at all throughout the race, so I kept my legs moving... barely. I must have let about a hundred people pass me on that last mile. <br />
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I should probably back <i>way</i> up right now and talk about something I started doing when I was training. I started to chant a sort of mantra when I was feeling really tired. I would say "give me strength, keep me strong" over and over again and somehow it kept me going. So during this part of the race when I just wanted to stop and walk, I started to chant my mantra in my head. Along with that I sort of started to half-pray and half-self-talk. I said things like "just a little further" and "I know you can do this." <br />
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One thing that I said to myself was "you've survived so much more than this last mile..."<br />
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That was without a doubt the most powerful thought of the race. At this point I was not just thinking about the race. This moment changed everything about that last mile. I could not tell you if my stride lengthened or if I felt any less pain. But my best guess is that nothing physically changed during that last mile. Something inside was driving me past what was possible. It reminds me of something that I hear often in church: God will ask you to do things that you cannot possibly do on your own, but He will walk you though it if you open your heart to Him. I think that is what this race was all about for me.<br />
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This race made me so excited for the year to come. I would like to use this momentum to run more races and finish 2012 with a full marathon. So stay tuned for what's to come....<br />
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<br />Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-35116489408993001562011-11-14T20:07:00.001-07:002011-11-14T23:28:32.314-07:00single.Monday, November 14, 2011<br />
4 miles<br />
40:33<br />
60 degrees<br />
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Today I ran 4 miles. It was part of my half-marathon training schedule; the part called an "easy run." Tomorrow morning I am running a "hard run": 5 miles at a slightly faster pace. I have another easy run later this week then a "long run" on Sunday, which will be 11 miles. The schedule has given me goals in my workouts. And it has been prayer that has made me stick to that schedule and endure the long runs, when just a few months ago I was running 4 miles at a time at the most and maxing out at 10 miles per week. Sometimes I just chant to myself "give me strength, keep me strong" with the rhythm of my breathing, and I really feel like that prayer-mantra keeps me moving when I physically should not be able to do so.<br />
<br />
There are 27 days left of training until I run this race. <br />
<br />
Then, I don't know.<br />
<br />
I wrote a few months back a post called "October 2012." I posted that right after I found out that my divorce hearing would be in October 2011-- that I would be waiting in anguish a full six months after filing for divorce, eight months after separating, and so many more months before that of abuse and manipulation-- until I would legally be free of that toxic life. In it, I declared that I would not even think about dating until one year after that hearing: October 2012. I even included a directive to kick me in the shins if I even considered the idea of starting to date.<br />
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Before I continue, I want you to know that that directive still stands...<br />
It is November 2011. I cannot say that I necessarily want to date, because even the thought still terrifies me. But I think that somewhere inside my head I had this cartoonish fantasy that once my wedding band was gone I would be beating off eligible bachelors with a stick. That hasn't happened. It has been a blow to my ego, to say the least.<br />
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My weekly "long runs" remind me of just how <em>hard</em> it is to be strong. As I sit here and type about strength and endurance, there are not many words that come to me that really embody what I feel when I am sweaty, tired, achy, thirsty, hungry, and wondering why on earth I am still running after 2 hours. On the same token, it is really <em>hard</em> to focus on who I am and what I need as an indvidual-- much harder in real time than it is just writing about it six months ago. Being strong is hard. Sometimes, when I'm exhausted, I think about how cool the end of the race will be. I think about people I love cheering at the finish line, and I think about how accomplished I will feel.<br />
<br />
What would my life look like if I kept that same visualization during this first painful year after my divorce? What could the reward be if I stayed strong and pursued a life that did not depend on the approval of others?<br />
<br />
I will keep to my training plan over the next 27 days, and maybe after the race on December 11th, I'll have a glimpse of the payoff that I'm seeking.<br />
<br />Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-19646079885225568542011-11-13T22:14:00.001-07:002011-11-13T23:22:31.202-07:00Well, it's been a while... again.It has been a while since I posted. I have had a lot to say, but I have not been able to get it all out into a post. When I logged into my account tonight, there were three posts that I had started and never finished. I decided to try to post them all in tonight's post...<br />
<br />
I just changed my mind. After reading two of the almost-posts I decided that all they contained was random chatter about my mileage. What I plan to write tonight and in the next few days and weeks will cover whatever I didn't finish in the past. So here comes the one post that I thought might mean something.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em><em><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em><em>so busy i can't find time to feel...<br />
<br />
Sunday, October 9, 2011<br />
<div>
2 miles</div>
<div>
20:30</div>
<div>
75 degrees</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I although it has been a <i>really</i> long time since my last post, I promise I have been running. The reason for my lack of writing is not related to a lack of running, but a lack of time. Out of nowhere it seems, I somehow have an active social life again. Last week alone I had dinner plans or going out plans or <i>Glee </i>watching plans with different sets of friends almost every night of the week. I was so... occupied. <br />
<br />
I am hesitant to say that I am happy. I cannot say that packing my free time so much that I do not have free time really means that I have a satisfying life, but if faking it for a while means that eventually it will feel like my life makes sense again, then this is a good thing. Probably.<br />
<br />
Even though I am still feeling very cynical about life right now, I am starting to actually enjoy living it again...</div>
</em></em></blockquote>
</em></em>I feel like what I started to write here still applies. My life seems full. Even more has happened since I began to write this post. <br />
<br />
I wanted to use <em>Pheidippides</em> to write about my faith as well as running and my life. Now I am so involved in my church in such a deep and meaningful way. I joined a group of people at my church on a mission to bring the Gospel to the University of Arizona campus. Now I am starting to spend time every week with this community of families and individuals who, like me, want to impact the students in our city and hope to live this out through our faith in God. I feel truly blessed to be a part of it and I hope that my life starts to feel full once again.<br />
<br />
I am also maintaining connections with friends through regular meetups at happy hours after work, dinner dates, and <em>Glee</em> watching parties. I just love <em>Glee</em>, and I love my friends.<br />
<br />
As for running, I am still doing that, too, don't you worry! I actually decided a few weeks back that I would run the Tucson Half-Marathon in December of this year. I have been running four days a week on a training schedule to prepare for the race. I am so happy about this because it has been prayer that has gotten me through my longest runs, and it has been prayer that has enabled me to run after ten hour days of work when I want nothing more than to do absolutely <strong><span style="font-size: large;">nothing</span></strong>.<br />
<br />
I titled my unfinished post "so busy i can't find time to feel" because I felt exactly that. I was busy for the sake of being busy. Beneith my social calendar I was still hurting, angry, sad... I had not gotten to that part of my thoughts before something inevitably distracted me enough to abandon <em>Pheidippides </em>for the night. But I wanted to include those thoughts in this post because I still feel a portion of that pain. I am still hurting, angry, sad, lost, confused, and lonely. Things are changing, hopefully for the better, but I felt that was an important note to include.<br />
<br />
There is so much I want to share tonight, but I will save my inspiration for the coming days to catch the followers of <em>Pheidippides</em> up on my life, my running, and my circumstance.<br />
<br />
Thank you for your patience over the last few months of my writer's block. I am excited to jump back in to to this written journey.<br />
</blockquote>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-57447005475754691542011-08-23T20:55:00.004-07:002011-08-23T23:41:34.775-07:00hivesTuesday, August 23, 2011<div>2 miles</div><div>21:40</div><div>90 degrees </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Today I added a line to the standard salutation that I write at the start of every entry: temperature. It was 90 degrees when I got back to my house tonight at almost 9 p.m. I feel like writing down the daily temperature might be a helpful ingredient in the narrative of my workout.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Anyway, today's entry is not another one that complains about the temperature. You're welcome.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>My thoughts have been centered recently on my future plans. I'm almost a single woman now. I have my own apartment and a good job and now I have a dog, too. Now I wonder: what the heck am I going to do with my life. At one point, this thought was one that I thought with excitement, like, "I can do anything I want. I'm free!" Now it is more like "Oh my gosh I really have no direction. I have no plans. I am having a hard time committing to anything. <i>What is the meaning of this life</i>?" </div><div>
<br /></div><div>First there is the question of my relationship status. (Before you aim for my shins per my previous request to kick me if I mention dating, hear me out). I am not talking about getting involved with anyone or dating or anything, but I would be lying if I said that I have not thought at all about what my life is going to look like whenever it comes to be that I actually, gulp, pursue another relationship.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Then there is my work and education. I have kicked around the idea of going back to school. I know that I really want to in order to advance my career, the question is really what degree I get. Masters in Architecture? Communication? Education? Higher Education? I even briefly considered massage therapy as an educational option. The only thing that all of these vocational threads have in common: their ability to illustrate how incredibly lost I am.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>So we have my non-existent romantic life, then my completely directionless pursuit of post-graduate education. And finally, we have Levi. Levi is a year and a half old mutt I just adopted from a rescue shelter. He is super cute and fun to play with and a great little running buddy on short workouts. He also nips like a puppy (ouch), he gets really mad at me when I try to crate him during the day, and he jumps on my white couch even though I know he knows what "Levi! Off the couch!" means. All of that is tolerable and I am sure we are capable of growing through this adjustment period. What is not tolerable and pretty much out of my control is the fact that my eyes are watering, my nose is running, my ears are itching, and (this is a first even for my allergy prone self) I am breaking out in HIVES. So unsightly... and itchy.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The point of this entry, the thing I thought most about during those grueling 20 minutes in 90 degree heat after dark, is the fact that this life is kind of not in my control right now. I am considering a lot of different options, many of which I am clearly not ready for, and I may </div><div>need to listen to God, my good senses, and my histamines if/when I jump into something and I am not ready for it.</div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-91147786925835386902011-08-22T20:35:00.003-07:002011-08-22T21:51:42.271-07:00holy moly it is HOT!Monday, August 22, 2011<div>4 miles</div><div>37:19</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Okay. I love Tucson. I love the weather. I love the blazing hot summers and the balmy winters. But I am claiming my reserved right to complain tonight. This heat just might kill me.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I have made a few subtle references to how I feel as though I am aging in <i>Pheidippides</i>, and right now I am going to make one more: I <i>never </i>remember <i>sweating </i>this much in my life. I realize that, yes, I have only lived in this inferno of a desert for three years. And yes, I have never run so intensely throughout the summer any other year. Even so, even after dark, I get utterly soaked in perspiration. Gross. I do not know if this is a sign of aging or of weight gain or both, but it is wholly inconvenient and completely unbecoming.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Anyway... that was just a pointless rant to fill the void of my totally uneventful workout and my subsequently uninspired entry. I ran my usual 4 mile route and did so in decent time. I was totally gassed for about the last .75 miles, but it was still the kind of workout that makes me want to do it again, which is ideal.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Maybe my next entry will be about an awesome run I do at 6 a.m. and the minimal sweat that run produces. Stay tuned to find out. :) </div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-85828060728730545202011-08-09T21:02:00.005-07:002011-08-09T22:35:19.278-07:00what to say? (a lot, i guess)<span class="Apple-style-span"><i>i won't bore you with the details of every run since my last post. just know that there were several.</i></span><div>
<br /></div><div>Tuesday, August 9, 2011</div><div>2 miles</div><div>21:21</div><div>
<br /></div><div>So I have not posted anything for a while, mainly because I do not think I have anything incredibly profound to write about. Life has been pretty ordinary. Thankfully.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I ran this evening for about 2 miles. There was really nothing special about it. I do not even remember what I thought about. I guess whatever it was, it was not that exciting.</div><div>
<br /><div>What has been exciting is seeing what happens when you allow God to take care of your life.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I have decided in the past to not go into the intimate details of my divorce on <i>Pheidippides </i>out of respect for my ex's privacy. I also have not said much because the ordeal is really too complicated to squeeze into a small digest and too painful to hash out every detail. What I will say is that the process got much more complicated than I thought it would when some financial matters were disputed. What could have been a clean break that ended about two months after the original paperwork was filed back in April has turned into a long, confusing, and potentially expensive process that will not be over until October of this year.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>For the first two months of this revelation, I was beyond devastated. This has collectively been the most heartbreaking, humiliating, and exhausting experience of my life. It was difficult enough to finally make the decision to legally end our relationship, but the thought of hashing it out in court would have been laughably cliché if it didn't infuriate and devastate me all at once. Through many verbal confrontations, heated arguments, and downright nasty emails, both of us got across to one another how unfair they thought the other was being. And through all of that, I was torn. There has never been a single part of me that genuinely wished any harm for him. I do not want to be married to him, but I did not want to hurt him either. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>I just wrote two lengthy paragraphs about the pain of the last couple of months, but I erased them because the details are not what is important. What is important is that each day, I lived the day. I got out of bed, and some days this was much, much harder than others. I talked to friends, a therapist, and my pastor. I cried. I prayed. I ran. I wrote. And one day I woke up and realized that it had been four months since I filed and it would be just two months until it is finally over. I filed a <i style="font-weight: bold; ">ton</i> of trial preparation paperwork yesterday-- something that I had been putting off because it made me so angry that we are even <i>going to trial</i>-- and that is the last thing I need to do until October. Now I just need to keep living my life. Get out of bed. Pray. Run. Write. Occasionally cry. And one day I will wake up and realize that I am moving on.</div></div><div>
<br /></div><div>So today's post is appropriately titled, "what to say? (a lot, i guess)" because so much just came pouring out when I (finally) decided to write a new post. Now, moving forward, I feel excited to live, excited to write, excited to move on.... and very excited to run. :)</div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-47609943949584262202011-07-25T18:47:00.003-07:002011-07-25T20:46:09.669-07:00how did i ever do this?Monday, July 25, 2011<div>3 miles</div><div>35:57</div><div><br /></div><div>Really Noel? 35:57? As in 12 minute miles? Ugh.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is hard to believe that just a few years ago I could fly through 3 miles as a fun run and today I was dripping with sweat and gulping down my Gatorade/water cocktail from my camelback and praying that I could make it home in time for <i>The Bachelorette</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>It <i>is</i> Tucson and around 6:30 when I got back home it was about 90 degrees, but still. Aren't I used to the desert heat by now? Isn't that why I carry a camelback? Should that really impact my ability to run 3 miles? </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, these are the types of questions that come along with making myself run every day (or almost every day). I have to do the kind of thing that I coach my families to do at work: anticipate obstacles and make sure I know how to deal with them should they arise.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Read: Figure out my game plan if I get ridiculously overheated.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>One option is something I had been doing before: running at night. I suppose I could go back to that. I had been running around my neighborhood since I returned from Colorado, and my neighborhood does not have as much lighting as the park where I used to run. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another option is to accept that my body might have some limitations and that if it gets overheated, it is okay to stop and re-hydrate and stand in the shade. I did that today a couple of times, and maybe that might have to be a reality for a while. Tucson is not going to be scorching for much longer. When the weather changes so that the temperature is 80 degrees at 6:30, my hard work now might just pay off and I might <i>actually </i>be able to keep a decent pace.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that I have brainstormed possible solutions, maybe I can use both of these alternatives to overcome this dehydration/heat-exhaustion dilemma and continue <i>enjoying </i>this hobby of mine.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-51144317985333663832011-07-24T18:06:00.003-07:002011-07-24T18:43:35.576-07:00slowing down?Sunday, July 24, 2011<div>2 miles</div><div>22:21</div><div><br /></div><div>as well as...</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday, July 23, 2011</div><div>2 miles</div><div>21:12</div><div><br /></div><div>I ran about ten miles this week. Last week it was about 17 and the week before it was around 14, and I had hoped to build up to about 20 miles per week by the end of July. This week, however, the motivation and drive that I had been building just was not there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why? Could be energy, motivation, diet, stress... I honestly have no idea. I do know that I am going to try harder to throw in some high mileage runs this coming week. It has been a lot of work to build up to exercising every day and I do not want to get out of that rhythm. </div><div><br /></div><div>All I really have to write today is that commitment: I am going to be better next week. More running, more writing, more growing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned.</div><div><br /></div><div>:)</div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-53359944552939458262011-07-19T22:01:00.007-07:002011-07-19T23:23:12.592-07:00running in the rain.Tuesday, July 19, 2011<div>2 miles</div><div>19:43</div><div><br /></div><div>I started to write today's post about my failed relationship and the legal ramifications of that failure, but I erased it all because I had a fun run in the rain tonight and I want to talk about something that makes me feel as happy as running does: work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, I know exactly how lame that sounded. I guess if I read that last passage I might think <i>"she has really sunk low if </i>work <i>is the thing that makes her happy." </i>But the truth is that it really does. I picked a profession where I know I am never going to make a ton of money or climb some corporate ladder, but that gives me joy whenever I am working. I feel like I am making the world a better place, and I am good at what I do, and that can be the difference between just tolerating and truly enjoying what you do.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I am talking about work. I feel like my vacation to Colorado and New Mexico was <i>exactly </i>what I needed. I came back and here I am, week three back in Tucson, feeling so energized and so focused on what I am doing. On top of that, I just got some pretty exciting news today. I interviewed for a position this morning that would be a second job at the same agency with a few extra hours per week. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let me start by explaining my current position and how I got it. I work with a program called Healthy Families Arizona. I work with 15 families with children ages 0-3, visiting them once a week or every other week to teach parents about their children's development and positive parenting techniques, as well as teaching families problem solving and goal setting skills. I got the job because my previous job with an early literacy non-profit had a long standing relationship with the program. When the funding for my previous job was coming to an end, I sent my resume out to all of the people and agencies that I had worked with in the past two years and inquired about any open positions. That is how I got such an awesome position with Healthy Families. </div><div><br /></div><div>Around the same time I was transitioning into my new job, the Operations Director for another agency I worked with at the early literacy organization had also gotten a job with a brand-new program at the agency that manages Healthy Families: Child and Family Resources. Now fast forward about 8 months and that same former colleague is hiring for part-time, seasonal instructors for the after school program she is directing: Tech Girls. I told her I might be interested in the position, sent her my application, and got the interview! </div><div><br /></div><div>After the interview, the program director went to my supervisors to talk to them about if they would be okay with me having the second job, and if I would be able to balance the workload. Then, later in the day, she came to talk to me to let me know that everyone is supportive of me taking on the second position, that the agency would allow me to have a few more hours to complete all my work, and that she would love to have me on the team!</div><div><br /></div><div>So now you may see why I prefer to talk about this than the other less-than-perfect parts of my life. It is also why I named this post <i>running in the rain</i> because I also enjoy running in the rain more than I enjoy thinking about the tough stuff. It does not rain all the time, and I do not always have the opportunity to run through it without getting struck by lightning, but I definitely loved it tonight. </div><div><br /></div><div>I loved running in the rain tonight just like I loved the prospect of this new opportunity today, and I love writing about it now. I just want to be happy and celebrate the small things. Even though there are some big, ugly things hanging over my head right now, I want to celebrate small victories. So to today's interview and to tonight's run, I say "Nike!"</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-45800007494309708332011-07-18T20:18:00.003-07:002011-07-18T21:05:53.583-07:00going the distance.Monday, July 18, 2011<div>4 miles</div><div>41:38</div><div><br /></div><div>and</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday, July 16, 2011</div><div>4 miles</div><div>43:45</div><div><br /></div><div>I have decided that after this last 8 weeks or so of running regularly I am going to increase my mileage. I'd like to have 20 mile weeks by the end of the month, and hopefully increase to 30-35 miles per week in the coming months.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am still having trouble with my legs, though. My knees are no longer in pain while I'm running, but I feel like the supportive shoes that I am wearing now are cutting off the circulation in my little toes... ouch! Maybe I'll try switching back to my old shoes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last week I really started <i>seeing </i>a change in my body. I am becoming more toned and really <i>feeling </i>more fit. I am not craving fast food or big meals anymore, and I feel like I have been shopping smarter. </div><div><br /></div><div>For anyone who's ever hung out with me in person, all this talk about body image may seem confusing. I have always been slender without any real weight gain issues. Unfortunately, that has changed recently. I have gained 20 pounds in the last year-- about 10 of which in the last three months or so. I started eating out all the time around May of this year, which was not only brutal on my bank account, but on my body, too. The turmoil in my life over the past few months have been hard on my soul, so it made it all the worse to look in the mirror and not like what I saw and not feel like the person that I had once been.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the change that I see in my body are not the observations of a really shallow person (well, maybe a little), but I am becoming satisfied with what I look like and what I feel like again, and I think that is important in the healing of my soul.</div><div><br /></div><div>I will conclude today just by saying that I am continually excited and motivated by the change that is taking place, and I am hoping that God will continue to guide that change and help heal my heart. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to 4 more miles tomorrow!</div><div><br /></div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-1013400765832367702011-07-17T10:00:00.003-07:002011-07-17T10:00:04.692-07:00new mexicoContinuing my posts about my recent vacation out of the desert, this one is going to be about my time spent in New Mexico. I left my parents' house on Thursday morning and arrived in Santa Fe in late afternoon.<div><br /></div><div><b>New Mexico</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>While my drive to Colorado was a 14 hour, one shot trip, my return to Tucson was much more leisurely because of my stop in Santa Fe. My good friend Jenny was staying in Santa Fe for the month of June, and I was meeting her there so that we could drive back to Tucson together. </div><div><br /></div><div>On Friday, Jenny showed me all around Santa Fe. We walked all over the little downtown area, stopping in her favorite shops and checking out handmade jewelry and assorted knickknacks from the local vendors. I bought a guitar pick with symbols meaning "courage and change" etched in.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nyzDiFSgY0zYfVUgR1QZHuS7RfR7Hcdjxlsan1NqwlsPfd9cWOBRmHcm5uzgQ7UfPmRl82fXEKIT-QlbIXHZTFMtfyDwFF9SIDy7r7_9HK9E7Pkfhc-yd5uHwSsKgfJM31ZMqNXcAK0/s200/IMG_0113.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630206458547750770" /><div><br /></div><div>We stopped in a dress boutique where the ladies working there had us try on TONS of dresses and model for them. They were cute, but unfortunately for the dress shop ladies, I was having a fat day and did not feel especially pretty in any of them, especially since they all cost between $60 and $80. Notice the face I'm making; not the face of a woman who feels confident in the garments she's wearing...next!</div><div><br /></div><div>On Saturday we drove up to Taos. <i>That </i>was a fun day. We took "the high road" which was recommended to us by a local for beautiful scenery. And it was beautiful. We first drove to a little town called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimayo">Chimayo</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santuario_de_Chimay%C3%B3">Santuario de Chimayo</a> is the town's main attraction, and the reason we chose to go. The site is the destination of a contemporary pilgrimage. People come to the sanctuary to rub the dirt on their injuries and wounds and are miraculously healed. When we entered the sanctuary, there was a wheelchair and several crutches left as a testimony to the healing power of the Chimayo soil. Jenny and I rubbed some on our heads. As I walked out of the sanctuary, I took time to see some of the other memorabilia left behind. Not all proclaimed miracles. They was a whole wall dedicated to pictures of fallen men and women in the service. That was sad. On the opposite wall was a shelf lined with tiny shoes. People brought the shoes of their babies and toddlers that were taken from them far too early and placed them on this wall. I was so overwhelmed. I sat outside of the sanctuary on a bench and cried. I was not mourning, and I was not even contemplating anything that would normally make me cry. I was just overwhelmed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Chimayo is also famous for its chile, but seeing as how we had this moving spiritual experience in the sanctuary, we decided we did not want to break the spell by checking out the chile stands, wherever they were.</div><div><br /></div><div>We drove the rest of the way to Taos after our short stop in Chimayo. Our drive there (and back) had some notably funny stories. Jenny and I are both sound minded women who do not frequently lose their way, but I cannot remember the last time I made so many wrong turns, missed turns, and everything in between in my life. At one point, the directions we had said "turn left at such-and-such a road." We turned up that road and we confronted with several signs that read "DO NOT ENTER, FORREST FIRE." So after about three of those ominous signs we drove back down the road, assuming we had missed a turn. We stopped at the local general store of whatever town we were in and went in to ask for directions. Inside, their were five guys drinking beer and looking like nobody had come into the store all day. We asked how to get to Taos, and the conversation went something like this:</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Townie #1: Oh so-and-so here can take you. He's a good chauffeur.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Noel: Oh that sounds like fun but we have a good truck for the two of us. Do you know which road we turn on?</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Townie #2: It's that road back that way. What are you girls up to today?</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Jenny: We just came from Chimayo. It's that road that goes into the forrest?</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Townie #3: You get some of that good dirt? </span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Noel: We did! We rubbed it in our hair.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Townie #3: You gotta mix it with some tequila and it will have you seeing crazy things!</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Jenny: Haha that sounds like not a good idea.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Noel: So it's the road l</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span">ike 20 yards that way (gesturing over shoulder)? Thanks. You guys have a good day!</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">(Exit Noel and Jenny)</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Townie #4: Hey nice legs!!!! </span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Noel: Right back atcha.....</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">As if my c</span><span class="Apple-style-span">urt manner and our refusal of tequila and a chauffeur had not already tipped them off.... oh townies</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">.... ;)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">And so we got back on the road. We drove into the forrest where there were signs clearly posted to leave, </span><span class="Apple-style-span">and somehow we came out on the other side in Taos. In Taos, we stopped by several little stores and art galleries before visiting what we later learned was the oldest living Native American village in the country. It was so beautiful, and also so strange that in the same place that people come </span><span class="Apple-style-span">to marvel at Ame</span><span class="Apple-style-span">rican history, there are about 150 people still living in that little piece of history</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5EkPqSmgPHvT6jztyuDkFac5PZzB2jCUyI5PAmARZDN6DsDOgwll1E1fEKCH3Pm30twN2mdDQSWy5q1hrW9Hi0nZQOBb2Xt5pjyACwIvm0spKYoY-Kt5c1tODVdO6RPgFVH2Vj6feXw/s200/IMG_0116.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630214508846559682" />That's me showing off my nice legs in front of a house in the pueblo. <div><br /></div><div>When we left Taos, we had plans to go to a hot springs spa and resort called Ojo Caliente. Jenny had heard that they had seven different pools, all different temperatures with different healing properties, and there was even a mud bath! So we began our trek to Ojo Caliente. The directions took us down a winding road that paralleled a river, and we dreamily looked on while we talked about our excitement over reaching the spa. And so begins our next bizarre transportation tale.</div><div><br /></div><div>The road got even windier. We crossed a bridge and suddenly the road got incredibly bumpy, too. And steep. And did I mention that not only did my Explorer have Jenny and me in it, but we were also carrying random pieces of furniture and other belongings of mine that I was transporting from my parents' house to my own? </div><div><br /></div><div>And the Explorer has a manual transmission.</div><div><br /></div><div>So we were slowly climbing this bumpy road, my cargo in the back rattling noisily all the way up. We crept up in first gear the majority of the time (if anyone comments on this lecturing me on when and how to change gears, we will no longer be friends). All I kept thinking was "I do <i>not </i>want to drive down this thing." </div><div><br /></div><div>We finally emerged at the top and although the signage was poor and confusing and possibly manufactured for the sole purpose of making me go insane with doubt over which direction we were going, we arrived at Ojo Caliente Spa and Resort in the late afternoon. Hooray Team!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5BghA-XgdSy-KC8wqpOHMSIjVhtr5lve51k6LfRjYsDjwiOJFwyxGTVggHQI4YoaDPHNWTXmRjpNd4VpxxGw0nOxXn__b34dtF8aFUc-iTnXO-bBQ7_2-cs8ahJVkE0Ds6NVnkIONrw/s200/IMG_0120.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630219347090743746" /><div>The spa was great. We sampled each pool. We baked ourselves in mud and sat in the mud pool. The iron pool was my favorite. I dug my feet into the pebbles on the bottom and could feel bubbles coming up. It was a perfectly relaxing end to a great day!</div><div><br /></div><div>We headed back in the direction of Santa Fe just before the sun started to go down. And our story would not be complete without another travelling mishap. Thankfully we did not have to take that treacherous road back, because there was a more straight shot to US Hwy 285. I guess there's no way to make this sound clever or funny or glamorous: we went in the clear opposite direction of Santa Fe on 285 for the better part of an hour.<br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><div>So when we finally arrived back in Santa Fe, we made dinner, packed our bags to return home, and watched a mini-<i>Glee </i>marathon (a nightly routine since my arrival on Thursday) and went to sleep for our final night in Santa Fe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jenny had been living in Santa Fe for a month, so it was the final page to a longer chapter in her life than in mine. It may have been bittersweet, but we were both too tired to really take it in. Jenny had said her goodbyes to her friends on Thursday, so there was no grandiose farewell to New Mexico. We woke up early, grabbed some coffee to go, and headed down I-25 for an eight-hour road trip on Sunday. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Other than one outrageously priced gas station, there is not much to say about our trip home. The ten days or so that I was away from Tucson were good. It was a great vacation, a great time to vacation, and in the company of great friends along the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know this was a particularly long entry in <i>Pheidippides</i>, but I hope you enjoyed it. Next entry will be about running again... I promise.</div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9178701457730231955.post-85862359847575779392011-07-16T10:00:00.000-07:002011-07-16T10:00:00.717-07:00coloradoThis post and the next one will be dedicated to the vacation that I took at the end of June and beginning of July. <div><br /></div><div><b>Colorado</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>First, I must say, that this vacation was EXACTLY what I needed to de-stress and just relax. And I would just like to add that that's saying A LOT seeing as how I probably spent more than <b>50</b> hours driving in the car throughout the duration of this trip. Yeah... I really needed the vacation.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >Disclaimer: You may need to look at a map of Colorado if you are not familiar with general geography in Colorado.</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>I drove up to Colorado on Friday and spent the night at my parents' house in Conifer. I took a walk with my dad and the dog, and got to work rummaging through my parents' garage for stuff I might find useful in my new house in Tucson. </div><div><br /></div><div>The next morning I drove to Fort Collins for the <a href="http://www.downtownfortcollins.com/dba.php/brewfest/">Colorado Brewer's Fest</a>. In my opinion this event is among the most fun in Fort Collins. Microbreweries from all over Colorado set up tents in Old Town Fort Collins and serve samples of beer for $1 a piece. It's a really fun time to visit with people that you normally do not get to see, since pretty much every student or graduate of Colorado State University who is of drinking age and still lives in the area (or in my case, visiting) is there. My little brother, Joey, who just turned 21 this year was supposed to go with me, but he had to work so I was left to fend for myself. Luckily, <i>because</i> everyone and their mom goes to Brew Fest <i>and </i>because I happen to be an Alum of CSU <i>and </i>because everyone <i>loves </i>me (just kidding on that last note) I was able to hook up with some friends and spend the day hanging out and catching up and drinking delicious brews.</div><div><br /></div><div> I left Brew Fest to go straight to a barbecue with some more super fantastic friends from Fort Collins. I got to see some friends that I have not seen in years, many of whom are married or engaged and some of whom have kids of their own. That was really fun. It really felt like no time had gone by at all since I moved away from Fort Collins three years ago, and at the same time, it felt like everything had changed. I wondered that night what my life would look like if I moved back home.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day my mom decided we should have a family barbecue. My mom thought it would be a good idea to have the barbecue in Boulder, since my little brothers both live their, instead of in Conifer. So I met my parents, and later my brothers, and later their girlfriends at Joey's apartment and we all sat down together to eat for the first time in a long time. The only people missing were my older brother, Sean, and his wife, Brittany, who do not live in Colorado anymore. The meal was a little chaotic since it was at an apartment located less than a mile from the University of Colorado campus, and the pool area was filled with college students enjoying their summer break, but it was still good to see the family.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hung out with Joey and his girlfriend, Alli, the next day and I hung out with my other little brother, Patrick, and his girlfriend, Erica, later in the week. Looking at my relationships with my brothers now makes it hard to understand why we fought so much as kids. I really enjoyed hanging out with Patrick and Joey.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, just in case you are keeping track, moving back to Colorado at some point has earned about <b>2 points</b> so far during this trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last couple of days I was in Colorado, I met up with my childhood friend Sarah and my crazy Colombian friend Diana. Diana was visiting Colorado for a few days. She flew in from Pittsburgh, where she got her Master's degree and is now teaching, to spend some time in the first U.S. state she called home: Colorado. She texted me the day before she arrived and said "vamos a emborracharnos!" (We're going to get drunk). Some things never change...</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah and Diana got along like old friends and, yes, nos emborrachamos.... at Sarah's parents' house in Conifer...like we were 18 and not 25 years old... some things never change...</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah is a beautiful person to be around. She and I have known each other since we were 10 years old. In high school, we ran all of the same relays in Track and we even took away a state championship our senior year together. Maybe I will dedicate a later post of <i>Pheidippides</i> to Sarah, because, this being a running blog, I feel our friendship may be worthy of its own post.</div><div><br /></div><div>So concludes my trip to Colorado. I left on the Thursday morning after I arrived and drove down to Santa Fe, New Mexico, which I will write about in my next post as the second half of my trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am so happy that I got to see the wonderful people who live in Colorado. I really enjoyed my time and felt energized and excited for my weekend in Santa Fe. Stay tuned for more on that.....</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Noel24http://www.blogger.com/profile/15191909336189417784noreply@blogger.com2