I can check something off my college to-do list! Today I ran the Knoxville Marathon! I ran the Half, which is 13.1 miles and about 4 miles longer than I ever ran until today!
There were so many people and even though it was cold and dark you just just feel the energy standing there at the starting line! Seeing the sun come up was also a major plus!
VERY glad I took the advice to get new insoles for my shoes or else I would be hurting more than I am now. I was gellin' until about mile 10, which was on the Third Creek Greenway. This was also after I stepped in a massive mud puddle and soaked my right foot. At mile 11, we had to start at the bottom of the Strip and run by Children's Hospital into the Fort. This is when I was hurting baaaddddd.
I finished without walking one time! I didn't have a goal finish time in mind since I had never done one before, so the goal was to do it without stopping. I finished in 2 hours and 28 minutes!
As soon as I got into Neyland through the back student gate, I felt a huge rush and I poured absolutley every ounce of energy I had into the last 1oo yards, it was so legit.
Feeling great about it, although my back, hips, knees, ankles and the insteps of both feet are disagreeing with me:)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
squalls out on the gulf stream
Today was rainy again but then it slowly turned into a nice day. Now I am sitting here on my beanbag, windows open, with the night air blowing in. Somewhere way far off I can hear thunder every once in awhile and it reminds me of how much I hated storms as a kid.
The first time I ever went to Girl Scout camp. I was probably 7 or 8, and a girl in my troop fell and broke her ankle literally right as we were heading to tents for bed. Our leader had to rush the girl to the ER while my troop was left waiting in a shelter with another leader until they got back. As we are sitting there playing games, it begins to heat lightning and thunder. Exactly who knew this escaped me now, but I remember sitting and counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" between peals of thunder to see how far off the storm was. Later on that evening, we were asleep in our tents when it really starts to storm. I remember seeing lightning light up our tent and waking my leader up in tears. She unzipped her sleeping bag, I climbed in and that is where I spent the rest of the storm.
Just seeing the words Thunderstorm Warning on the news scared the crap out of me. I used to go to bed super early just so I could already be asleep whenever (if ever) it actually stormed on the night of a warning. I remember tearing through the hall to mom and dad's room and asking my mom "is that thunder or a plane?" I spent many stormy nights either on my parents' floor or my (younger) sister's room.
The worst were storms while we were at church camp. For two reasons: one being tin roofs made just rain incredibly loud, let alone thunder. The second was that I was a bossy kid and was usually the self-appointed leader of the group of girls in our cabin, and I hated to be so scared of storms in front of them.
I don't know when I stopped being so scared of storms? I like them during the day if I can just sit and read or nap, although they still aren't my favorite thing at night and neither is scary wind or lightning.
But tonight, there are no storms. Just crickets and occasional far off thunder, it's okay though because I'm feeling pretty brave:)
The first time I ever went to Girl Scout camp. I was probably 7 or 8, and a girl in my troop fell and broke her ankle literally right as we were heading to tents for bed. Our leader had to rush the girl to the ER while my troop was left waiting in a shelter with another leader until they got back. As we are sitting there playing games, it begins to heat lightning and thunder. Exactly who knew this escaped me now, but I remember sitting and counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" between peals of thunder to see how far off the storm was. Later on that evening, we were asleep in our tents when it really starts to storm. I remember seeing lightning light up our tent and waking my leader up in tears. She unzipped her sleeping bag, I climbed in and that is where I spent the rest of the storm.
Just seeing the words Thunderstorm Warning on the news scared the crap out of me. I used to go to bed super early just so I could already be asleep whenever (if ever) it actually stormed on the night of a warning. I remember tearing through the hall to mom and dad's room and asking my mom "is that thunder or a plane?" I spent many stormy nights either on my parents' floor or my (younger) sister's room.
The worst were storms while we were at church camp. For two reasons: one being tin roofs made just rain incredibly loud, let alone thunder. The second was that I was a bossy kid and was usually the self-appointed leader of the group of girls in our cabin, and I hated to be so scared of storms in front of them.
I don't know when I stopped being so scared of storms? I like them during the day if I can just sit and read or nap, although they still aren't my favorite thing at night and neither is scary wind or lightning.
But tonight, there are no storms. Just crickets and occasional far off thunder, it's okay though because I'm feeling pretty brave:)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
it's only wednesday?
pretty tired of school and looking forward to sunshine, outdoor concerts, waterparks (thannnks, sis!), hammock-ing, open air restaurants, bare feet, new places?, open windows, camping, mountains and no class.
God don't make lonely girls. Yesterday was not much fun and lots of special people made me feel better. Feeling loved today...just wish it wasn't raining:)
God don't make lonely girls. Yesterday was not much fun and lots of special people made me feel better. Feeling loved today...just wish it wasn't raining:)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
rock me mama like a wagon wheel
I got home yesterday from an alternative spring break trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. It's a great alternative to sitting on a dirty beach in Florida and pretending I'm not freeeeezing.
I went on one of these trips over fall break to Roanoke, Virginia too, but this one was a smaller group, which made it easier to get to know people.
I knew 3 out of 24 people when we left on Friday, which I love because I didn't feel tied to one particular person. You really bond with people when you have been raking leaves for hours and hours or ripping dead trees out of the ground. At the end of the day it's a great feeling to be able to see the fruit of our labor and know that we have helped somebody out.
We had a great time outside of working too, playing hearts and mafia and sardines...which scares me to death apparently. I also went running with another girl who is also running the Knoxville Half Marathon (March 29th!) There were great conversations about life and goals and college, and I know that I made some great new friends:)
"reason is wealth"
-kenyan proverb
I went on one of these trips over fall break to Roanoke, Virginia too, but this one was a smaller group, which made it easier to get to know people.
I knew 3 out of 24 people when we left on Friday, which I love because I didn't feel tied to one particular person. You really bond with people when you have been raking leaves for hours and hours or ripping dead trees out of the ground. At the end of the day it's a great feeling to be able to see the fruit of our labor and know that we have helped somebody out.
We had a great time outside of working too, playing hearts and mafia and sardines...which scares me to death apparently. I also went running with another girl who is also running the Knoxville Half Marathon (March 29th!) There were great conversations about life and goals and college, and I know that I made some great new friends:)
"reason is wealth"
-kenyan proverb
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
heya where did the time go?
It's March. I'm not complaining about this at ALL because it's that much closer to summer. I'm just stating a fact that this semester is almost over. I mean, it's been over for me mentally...I just have to keep going to class. I'm living weekend to weekend and waiting until I never have to take another exam again.
I'm going on alternative spring break Friday in Cincinnati, Ohio and will return Tuesday. I'm planning on spending the remainder of spring break doing...well, not really sure about that yet. Probably some readying for the upcoming half-marathon. And I am planning on getting a "backup plan" or worst case scenario, as it were, nailed down.
Here's the plan as of 3/10:
Plan A: I get a response from one of the 30-something resumes and cover letters I have sent off in the next 10 days and I get to go for an interview. I will rock the interview and have a job! No worries right?! I will walk in May, take mini term and 1st session summer school and be done! Obviously this is a little far-fetched.
Plan B: I find out next Friday that I am going to Australia on exchange for my final 7 hours! So that means I will be abroad from the middle of July until the end of November. My transcripts may or may not get here in time for me to officially graduate in December, but I will probably walk anyway. Hopefully. Then who knows what, I'll cross that bridge later.
Plan C: I do not go to Australia because it's even more expensive to go without an exchange. I still might walk in May, and I have to take mini and summer school. My apartment is leased until August, and the just yesterday my sister informed me I could temporarily move in with her while I try to get myself employed. So that's an option. There will be no moving back home again.
Plan D: I take summer school blah blah and then when my lease is up I just move. Not sure where, just somewhere in a surrounding state probably, and work somewhere random until I find myself an actual career. I'm thinking I could kill it in a bookstore if it came to it.
Plan E: I shed my pride and everything I have come to know this year and make a demo reel. Yes, me doing news-y things, which also happens to be my concentration. And then I apply at every small market news station in the region. Working in Jackson, TN or Hazard, KY reporting on small town fires and parades is definitely not my cup of tea. Oooohh tea....
Plan F: I live in a van by the river.
Ok, obviously Plan F is completely false. And I would rather die than have to resort to Plan E. I have absolutely no objections to moving out of Tennessee, which has been the easiest thing to decide. I am in dire need of a change of scenery.
It was so fun living on campus as a freshman because even as a resident of Knoxville, I never spent a significant amount of time downtown and in the campus area. It was a whole new environment and I got to find new things about it all the time. Now I know where things are and it's not as fun and new. It's weird to want to be somewhere unfamiliar, I just feel like there are a lot of places I haven't seen that I'd like to.
On the flip side, I had an awesome run today. It felt sooooo great to sweat like crazy!
"If you do not heed the roar of thunder, you will be soaked by rain"
-sierra leonean proverb
I'm going on alternative spring break Friday in Cincinnati, Ohio and will return Tuesday. I'm planning on spending the remainder of spring break doing...well, not really sure about that yet. Probably some readying for the upcoming half-marathon. And I am planning on getting a "backup plan" or worst case scenario, as it were, nailed down.
Here's the plan as of 3/10:
Plan A: I get a response from one of the 30-something resumes and cover letters I have sent off in the next 10 days and I get to go for an interview. I will rock the interview and have a job! No worries right?! I will walk in May, take mini term and 1st session summer school and be done! Obviously this is a little far-fetched.
Plan B: I find out next Friday that I am going to Australia on exchange for my final 7 hours! So that means I will be abroad from the middle of July until the end of November. My transcripts may or may not get here in time for me to officially graduate in December, but I will probably walk anyway. Hopefully. Then who knows what, I'll cross that bridge later.
Plan C: I do not go to Australia because it's even more expensive to go without an exchange. I still might walk in May, and I have to take mini and summer school. My apartment is leased until August, and the just yesterday my sister informed me I could temporarily move in with her while I try to get myself employed. So that's an option. There will be no moving back home again.
Plan D: I take summer school blah blah and then when my lease is up I just move. Not sure where, just somewhere in a surrounding state probably, and work somewhere random until I find myself an actual career. I'm thinking I could kill it in a bookstore if it came to it.
Plan E: I shed my pride and everything I have come to know this year and make a demo reel. Yes, me doing news-y things, which also happens to be my concentration. And then I apply at every small market news station in the region. Working in Jackson, TN or Hazard, KY reporting on small town fires and parades is definitely not my cup of tea. Oooohh tea....
Plan F: I live in a van by the river.
Ok, obviously Plan F is completely false. And I would rather die than have to resort to Plan E. I have absolutely no objections to moving out of Tennessee, which has been the easiest thing to decide. I am in dire need of a change of scenery.
It was so fun living on campus as a freshman because even as a resident of Knoxville, I never spent a significant amount of time downtown and in the campus area. It was a whole new environment and I got to find new things about it all the time. Now I know where things are and it's not as fun and new. It's weird to want to be somewhere unfamiliar, I just feel like there are a lot of places I haven't seen that I'd like to.
On the flip side, I had an awesome run today. It felt sooooo great to sweat like crazy!
"If you do not heed the roar of thunder, you will be soaked by rain"
-sierra leonean proverb
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
how many more days until it's warm?
I'm going to expand on my plea for warm weather from my last post. I am just tired of being cold. It would be nice if there was snow involved but there's not, just cold. Mean cold. So mean.
It would be oh so nice to jet off to the beach right about now (assuming you go further south than Panama City) but that just isn't looking possible.
I love everything about warm weather.
Summers at Hilton Head with my entire family...biking to Harbour Town in the morning, running on the beach, cousin picture on the tree, reading under an umbrella, sneaking into people's yards to watch fireworks over the marina, sitting on the porch while it rained, biking in the rain (unintentionally), the grocery shopping adventures, watching I Love Lucy and E!, spending time with my family and loving on my cousins, making fun of Kevin without him knowing, building insane sand castles, the time I let everyone bury me in the sand, being covered in seaweed at the end of the day, making sandcastles on our laps, making a mess eating crab legs and corn on the cob, baking key lime pies, the way the pine needles smell, frisbee, Big M/Little M, Salty Dog ice cream, going off on my own and taking pictures, the general store, painting toe nails, tables for 16 people, talking with Lauren and Bethany for hours after going to bed, making up words and laughing at everything Chloe and Molly do...
Being a camper/counselor at Hillbrook...field games and being covered in flour, loving the 8 girls in my cabin, waking them up early to sweep, lifeguarding and judging the craziest dive, making up stories about the Camp Hermit, singing Ice Cream and Cake over and over and over, hanging out with the nurse Casey, Mail Call, Keep Your Elbows Off the Table, playing spit, the "bathhouse talk", Safari night and getting eaten alive by bugs, bonfire night and singing, glow sticks, actually appreciating naptime as a counselor, making the most random crafts ever, night cabin devos, leaving chapel making animal noises, whales!, having so much fun being away from home!, the insane number of times my cousin Kelsey and I would get into fights as campers, judging the cleanest cabins...
Swimming/coaching/lifeguarding at HHCC...frog jumps at drylands, getting thrown in the pool when we won a meet, getting the little kids to do bellyflops, coaching the Pre-Team and getting to see kids how to learn to swim, kickboard fights, POOL BALL...and the scars that came from it, working whole days and basically doing nothing, hanging out with the coolest group of 11-12 girls and having sleepovers, rolling half of Holston Hills, re-arranging the schedule so I always worked with Lindsey, Betsy or Will, Monday Mexican Labor/Taco Bell Days, sneaking onto the driving range, going to Cardin's, ordering chicken finger sandwiches from Bean Station, neverending Diet Coke, sweet tan lines, City Meet weekends, snow cones at Smoky meet, eating Fun Dip before races, finally making the Top 8 at finals!, the guard room :). movie nights with the Posse, making fun of the Posse, chicken fights, midnight swims, running in HH with Will and sweating our faces off, waiting out the rain...
And others...like the trip to Charleston and being introduced to Hyman's, parasailing in Gulf Shores, being evacuated for a hurricane from Destin, suprising Bethany for her 18th birthday, going to McKays all the time, lemonade, the way sunscreen smells, doing the summer reading program as a kid, living in flip flops and my brown skirt...
hurry up!
It would be oh so nice to jet off to the beach right about now (assuming you go further south than Panama City) but that just isn't looking possible.
I love everything about warm weather.
Summers at Hilton Head with my entire family...biking to Harbour Town in the morning, running on the beach, cousin picture on the tree, reading under an umbrella, sneaking into people's yards to watch fireworks over the marina, sitting on the porch while it rained, biking in the rain (unintentionally), the grocery shopping adventures, watching I Love Lucy and E!, spending time with my family and loving on my cousins, making fun of Kevin without him knowing, building insane sand castles, the time I let everyone bury me in the sand, being covered in seaweed at the end of the day, making sandcastles on our laps, making a mess eating crab legs and corn on the cob, baking key lime pies, the way the pine needles smell, frisbee, Big M/Little M, Salty Dog ice cream, going off on my own and taking pictures, the general store, painting toe nails, tables for 16 people, talking with Lauren and Bethany for hours after going to bed, making up words and laughing at everything Chloe and Molly do...
Being a camper/counselor at Hillbrook...field games and being covered in flour, loving the 8 girls in my cabin, waking them up early to sweep, lifeguarding and judging the craziest dive, making up stories about the Camp Hermit, singing Ice Cream and Cake over and over and over, hanging out with the nurse Casey, Mail Call, Keep Your Elbows Off the Table, playing spit, the "bathhouse talk", Safari night and getting eaten alive by bugs, bonfire night and singing, glow sticks, actually appreciating naptime as a counselor, making the most random crafts ever, night cabin devos, leaving chapel making animal noises, whales!, having so much fun being away from home!, the insane number of times my cousin Kelsey and I would get into fights as campers, judging the cleanest cabins...
Swimming/coaching/lifeguarding at HHCC...frog jumps at drylands, getting thrown in the pool when we won a meet, getting the little kids to do bellyflops, coaching the Pre-Team and getting to see kids how to learn to swim, kickboard fights, POOL BALL...and the scars that came from it, working whole days and basically doing nothing, hanging out with the coolest group of 11-12 girls and having sleepovers, rolling half of Holston Hills, re-arranging the schedule so I always worked with Lindsey, Betsy or Will, Monday Mexican Labor/Taco Bell Days, sneaking onto the driving range, going to Cardin's, ordering chicken finger sandwiches from Bean Station, neverending Diet Coke, sweet tan lines, City Meet weekends, snow cones at Smoky meet, eating Fun Dip before races, finally making the Top 8 at finals!, the guard room :). movie nights with the Posse, making fun of the Posse, chicken fights, midnight swims, running in HH with Will and sweating our faces off, waiting out the rain...
And others...like the trip to Charleston and being introduced to Hyman's, parasailing in Gulf Shores, being evacuated for a hurricane from Destin, suprising Bethany for her 18th birthday, going to McKays all the time, lemonade, the way sunscreen smells, doing the summer reading program as a kid, living in flip flops and my brown skirt...
hurry up!
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