tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14418554222060435132024-03-12T23:22:31.810-04:00Fit Beyond 50Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-13845907342067569072013-06-25T15:43:00.001-04:002013-06-25T15:43:56.989-04:00Never Quit Fighting<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me tell you a story.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once upon a time.....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, I can't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three times now, I have tried to start this blog post. The idea..the concept...the rough outline...was to make it fairy-tale-ish about a boy with a smidgen of talent and a ton of hard work who trained for 15 years and is now one of those "where did he come from?" overnight successes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I can't tell that story. I don't know enough of the details. I know enough of the background to be able to appreciate the <i>now</i>, but I don't know enough to weave a story that will delight and pull you in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I <b>do</b> know is that 15 months ago I met a young man who was, quite possibly, at one of the lowest points he'd visited in quite awhile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He had, literally, left all family and friends and moved to a new town to live and train with a group of professional runners - all with the idea of working with some of the best, and in doing so, making himself better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through no fault of the program or the people in it, things didn't pan out quite like he had hoped. It simply wasn't a good fit for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of that, he'd suffered an injury less than a month after arriving. It was the first time he'd really had to deal with an injury that affected his performance, and it plagued him the rest of his time here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He regressed in his rise to the top of his sport. His times were off. His finishes were less than expected. He pulled up and was DNF in a race for the first time in his life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, he never wavered. He still trained. He ate what he was supposed to eat, he ran when he was supposed to run, he worked out when he was supposed to work out, he did physical therapy for the injury religiously.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he went back home - back to the coaches and the trainers and the support network that had worked for him in the past. That was last July.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still, it has not been an easy year. The running coach has emailed workout routines to him from two time zones away. The strength coach accepted a new job and moved to a different state just a handful of months after this guy returned home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is not sponsored fully by an athletic company the way most elite runners are. (He is sponsored partially by Brooks - we must give props where props are due.) He has a full-time job as an elementary teacher for disadvantaged kids. His training must be done before and after school - often starting at 6 a.m. and not finishing until nearly bedtime. And yet, he has persevered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because of his dedication...even determination...even stubborn doggedness...his return to form has been measurable this year. Winning races. Setting new personal best times. Turning in the fastest mile ever run on Tennessee soil. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ePiQ3Iv_Kg/UcnqrJbpCuI/AAAAAAAAAfw/BrFaI1cMAv4/s1600/20130622-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ePiQ3Iv_Kg/UcnqrJbpCuI/AAAAAAAAAfw/BrFaI1cMAv4/s400/20130622-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4th Place Finish at USA Outdoor Nationals<br />(Always look for the bright yellow)<br />Des Moines, June 22</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And ultimately placing 4th at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Nationals this past weekend in his chosen event, the 1500m. Watch the <a href="http://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=94322" target="_blank">video of the finals</a> - at no time EVER during the entire race was his name mentioned. At the bell for the last lap, he was tied for last place in a field of 12. In the last 400 meters, he passed 8 of the fastest men in the country. He ran with former US champions and world competitors and Olympians, and he placed 4th.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a chance that he'll actually get to travel to Moscow in August to compete at the World Championships. It's similar to figuring out which football teams get into the playoffs - there are a lot of "if this happens, then that will happen" scenarios that need to play out among the top four finishers and be settled by July 20th. In the meantime, he's still fighting - fighting to get that qualifying time that will make him ready to grab that chance, depending on what the Top 3 do in the next 4 weeks. And to fight for that time, he's going to have to travel to Europe, where he has never been before, and run races over there with the best of the best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...how does this fit in with MY journey? I mean, that's what this blog is about, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, this 15-years-in-the-making overnight sensation is <i>my</i> coach, Matt Elliott. He's the one who gives me tips on how to get better as a runner, or how to get in better shape. (Although I'm not nearly as good as he is at following directions, I'll confess.) He's the one who answers my technical questions. He's usually the 1st or 2nd to hear about any milestones that I hit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he is one hell of an example to try to follow. With him as my guide, I have no room for excuses. As long as he never quits fighting to be his personal best, I can never quit fighting to be my personal best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be forever grateful that our paths not only crossed, but crossed when they did. Our relationship grew out of the timing and what we each needed at that moment, in a way that I don't think would've happened if either of us had been at a different point in life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep fighting, Matt! (As if you could do anything else.) ;)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuzguOI8fDk/Ucnqlw-JYqI/AAAAAAAAAfk/JzsHJHCIoms/s1600/20130615-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuzguOI8fDk/Ucnqlw-JYqI/AAAAAAAAAfk/JzsHJHCIoms/s400/20130615-22.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">American Milers Club Series, Indianapolis, June 15<br />New PR in the 800m - 1:49.47</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">******************************</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want more info on this pretty amazing guy (yes, I'm biased):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google Search "Matthew Elliott Runner" for previous videos and articles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out FloTrack's <a href="http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250797-USA-Outdoor-Track-Field-Championships-2013/video/715050-Matthew-Elliott-Full-Time-Teacher-Gets-4th-at-USAs-Watch-this-Interview" target="_blank">interview video</a> from this weekend - 25,000 hits and counting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow Matt on Twitter - @MattElliott1500</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friend or follow him on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MattElliott1500?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </span><br />
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Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-87937053409129268142013-06-18T01:00:00.000-04:002013-06-18T01:00:36.865-04:00I'm Still Here<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that didn't last long, did it? LOL!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I finished the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and wrapped up the blog, there have been several times I've thought, "Gee, I should write about that." And that would be followed almost immediately by, "Oh yeah. I ended the blog."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, pooh on that. It's my blog. I can continue it if I want to. And following my sister's suggestion, I'm changing the name of it because, well, I made it to 50 - in very fine shape, thank you very much. NOW the story is about how to keep it going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, how?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's where we <i>are</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I lost 40 pounds just in time for my birthday. I've put back on about 5, but it is staying steady at that level, just below 170.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I walked the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in 3 hours 10 minutes and a handful of seconds (thanks to Sandi dragging me along). I lost a toenail from it, and am waiting for it to grow back in. I had an issue with my shoes just before and during the event, tweaked my knee, and still wear my knee brace when I go out - probably as much as a security blanket as anything, but I still do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've found a fabulous Facebook group of people who each do their own thing to keep themselves in shape, and encourage each other in whatever we're doing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where do we <i>go</i>? How do I keep myself challenged?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First of all, I'm trying to transform from a walker into a runner.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll pause a moment for the hysterical laughter to subside.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This alone is huge for me. For one thing, I've had arthritic knees since I was in my 20s. According to the predictions I was given back then, I should've had knee replacements by now. There's no cartilage worth mentioning in either of them, so it's a constant balancing act between being kind and conserving what I have or pushing myself for more overall good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I started all of this last summer, I kept saying, "I. Can't. Run."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I couldn't. But now I can. A little bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lately, I've been doing intervals - running 1/10 mile, then walking 1/10 mile. Sometimes the sprints are a bit longer, sometimes I have to walk longer in between to catch my breath. The idea is to build up the running time and cut down on the walking time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least, that's the <i>idea</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to give myself a reason to do this, I've signed up for a 5K at the end of August, with a goal time of 40 minutes. Ideally, I'd love to run 2 miles of it and walk the other 1.1 miles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My most recent time was 42:38, and I ran about half of it. So it's doable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm facing some challenges, though. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I just can't seem to get back to eating with as much discipline as I did at first. I know that if I did it, even just for a month, I'd probably knock off those last few pounds and get to goal weight - and maybe below. But ever since I allowed myself to celebrate my birthday - a celebration that lasted for a few weeks, for various reasons - I just haven't been able to climb back on that wagon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And second, my schedule is not the same that it was last summer. I can't dictate as much of it as I did then. Last summer, I started this during a stretch when work was slow, Kim was working a job that she didn't start until later in the morning, and she could take Ethan to daycare, which was available all day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, work is (blessedly) busy, Kim has a full-time job 8:30-5:00 every day, and Ethan's childcare is only available from 12:00-6:00 each day, so he spends mornings with me (unless I'm working - then we figure out something other option). I can't just get up and hit the trails at 8:00 every morning - that's Ethan time. Ideally, I could be hitting the trails just after I drop him off at noon, but by then I've usually had an early lunch with him, and lately the weather has been hot and humid, and hot'n'humid doesn't mix well with a full tummy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beyond that, I now have to use my afternoons to do my work typing. So if I run in the afternoons, that cuts into work time, or pushed it to evening hours, which means I then don't get to spend the evening with Jim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a good note, Ethan has decided that it's fun to take his bike and ride it while I run. But he typically is finished after 1/2 or 3/4 mile, and he kind of goes his own pace, and I just have to stay with him. So that's a mixed bag of "good" and "frustrating."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'm just putting it out there - this schedule juggling is a challenge for me right now. This summer isn't as easy to make "all about me" as last summer was. So I'm doing what I can, as I can, while knowing that it'll change again in just 8 short weeks, when school starts again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's where we are. If you're willing, we'll jump back on this train together. I don't know how often the blog will be updated. It'll happen when I think I have something interesting to say. But you're welcome to check in and see how it's going, maybe to be inspired, and certainly to know that none of this is easy.</span><br />
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<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-26676107216901076642013-05-06T00:57:00.004-04:002013-05-06T00:57:48.488-04:00The Finish Line - Metaphorically<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was never meant to be a neverending blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I began this blog last summer, it was meant as a way to chronicle my journey into fitness as I headed toward my 50th birthday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I began, I weighed 203 pounds. Or 200. It depended on which scale I used.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>March 2012 - with Anna, backstage at "The Choice"</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I began, I couldn't even climb from one floor of my house to another without huffing and puffing. Walking was painful because of the arthritis in my knees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I began, I was hitting McDonald's 4-5 times a week, usually for a crispy chicken classic sandwich, large fries, and large Diet Coke. <i>(Because diet drinks help wash away the other calories, dontcha know.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, I started walking. Four miles a day, five times a week. Sometimes with temperatures in the 80s and the humidity almost that high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I nearly passed out on one of those first walks. I was dizzy and short of breath, and I think I clocked a mile at close to 20 minutes because of it. I know Matt was seriously trying to figure out on that day how they would get the ambulance back in on the trail to get me when I collapsed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I never collapsed. There were other times I slowed down, but I never collapsed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cried the first time I clocked a mile at less than 15 minutes. And 15 minutes is still a goal, with my average "comfortable for me" pace being closer to 15:30. But it's also not unusual for me to crack 15 occasionally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, four miles stretched to five, then six. Then one time I did 10. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, Sandi became my rock - the one who would drag, encourage, cajole, annoy, cheerlead...whatever it took to get me out of the house, out on the trail, and moving. I know that from Day 1 she has held back to stay with me, and I'll always be grateful that she has been by my side. <i>(Well, slightly ahead of me, usually. Just about 3 steps.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, I learned to eat better - more lean protein and fresh fruits and veggies, less carbs and sugars. More chicken and fish and pork and veggie trays for snacking, less pasta and breads and desserts. Durnit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, I dropped 40 pounds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, I decided I could do a 5K Walk. It would be easy, because I did more than that every time I went out. So I did Hoosiers Outrun Cancer last September. And I cried a little when I finished - cried because it was something I thought I'd never do...cried because Sandi was supposed to walk it with me and instead she spent the morning in the ER.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PXPsX-BmS8/UYc3Na7WC3I/AAAAAAAAAeI/IMzsN5PrlIE/s1600/s42820ca118474_6_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PXPsX-BmS8/UYc3Na7WC3I/AAAAAAAAAeI/IMzsN5PrlIE/s400/s42820ca118474_6_0.jpg" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fab @ 50 - taken Jan. 31, 2013</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, I hit 50. And I was in so much better shape on my 50th birthday than I had been on my 49th, that it didn't scare or depress me like I thought it would. Instead, I was able to embrace and enjoy it...and look forward to the next 50.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then, I needed something else. I had reached 50. I had lost the weight. I had gotten in better shape. Now what?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, along the way, I had a moment of insanity and signed up for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon. <i>(Or, as one of my favorite sayings goes, "13.1 - because I'm only HALF crazy!")</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, my distances stretched from 5 and 6 to 8 and 10 on a regular basis. Then I did 11.5 one day...and didn't move for two days after that. But I had done it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way - back in December - Sandi was sidelined for a month with medical issues, and I had to learn to stand on my own. I had to get out and do my own walking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then, she got better and decided she wanted to do the Mini, too. For her, it's a return to something that she used to do all the time. For me, it was assurance that I would be able to finish, as long as I had her by my side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now, I'm done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've put back on a few pounds, but I've stabilized at a 35-pound weight loss. I suspect I'll drop a few more as we move into summer and it's easier to eat the cold fresh veggies and fruits rather than craving the hot pastas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've gone from not being able to climb my stairs to walking a half marathon. Regular walking hasn't become an issue of distance as much as time - it's not how far can I go, but how much time can I spend doing it on any given day because of the other commitments I have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The knees don't hurt like they did, and the stomach issues improved greatly with the change in diet. I don't cry coming down the stairs in the morning and I don't remember the last time I had to take a "stomach acid reducer" pill to keep my stomach from eating itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've changed wardrobes and eating styles. I've realized that I can do anything if I just set my mind to it. I'm more positive about myself and about life in general.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for now, the blog is finished, unless or until I decide to do something else big and crazy and life-changing. Or until I find another topic that I think people might want to read about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you - whoever is still with me - for sticking around for this crazy journey. Your encouragement has meant the world to me. And hopefully I've been able to give something to you in return.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And remember...no goal is too big, if you just take it one step at a time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God bless.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HlSRmoWWuCk/UYc3g95v0JI/AAAAAAAAAeM/eZHUJP9NhPQ/s1600/20130504-48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HlSRmoWWuCk/UYc3g95v0JI/AAAAAAAAAeM/eZHUJP9NhPQ/s400/20130504-48.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>After the Mini - May 4, 2013</b></td></tr>
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</span></div>
Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-80555505552770228212013-05-06T00:27:00.000-04:002013-05-06T00:27:21.119-04:00The Finish Line - Literally <div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I DID A HALF MARATHON THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, those are words I never thought I'd say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a perfect day for distance walking - slightly overcast, slightly cool, slightly breezy. But not hot, not humid. The predicted rain held off until it was over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was super nervous heading into the weekend. My bum left knee had destabilized so that walking downhill was becoming bothersome. I torqued it kind of badly last Monday, and that REALLY made me doubt whether I'd be able to do this weekend's event.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the weekend arrived. And passed. And I did it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So many thoughts jumble together in my head, so let me just ramble for a moment:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi was with me. Without her, I would've finished, but it would've been a much tougher job doing so. If nothing else, my frustration at how EASY it all seemed for her helped keep me energized so I could put the next foot forward. <i>(Dancing at Mile 11? REALLY?!?!?!)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim was with me, calming my nerves beforehand and taking care of me afterward...just as he has all along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The encouragement groups along the route were fantastic! My favorites, though, were the Wizard of Oz group and the Star Wars group. They had a poster with Yoda's face and it said, "Keep running you must." I loved it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My other favorite sign along the route was the one that said, "Go, Complete Stranger!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It really is an experience to be able to say you've walked the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What a wonderful, unique feature to have as part of the course. I would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't just tweaked my knee again running in the tunnel to get into the infield and if I wasn't having to scurry to keep up with Sandi, but I suspect it's one of those things that I will appreciate more as time goes on and I forget the pain of the moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was fun listening to the bands and music groups along the route - although we'd hear each for such a short time that it reminded me of station-surfing with the radio. I hate station-surfers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved some of the shirts I saw people wearing...although right now I can't remember any in particular. There were several in support of Boston, and several that supported various charities. I saw a few that said, "If you can read this, I'm not last."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a lady who linked up with us for quite awhile because she realized Sandi was pacing extremely well. But since I was at the back of our trio, I never did see her bib to figure out her name or number, so I have no way of finding her again or knowing how she finally did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other hand, I made a new friend standing in our corral waiting to start the race - only to find out that she lives less than 5 minutes from me in Bloomington, and when she goes bike riding, she has ridden right past my & Sandi's houses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi could have finished in less than 3 hours, but wouldn't leave me to go ahead at her own pace. In fact, she doubled back for me toward the end. <i>(That's when we separated from the lady who was letting Sandi pace her.)</i> I wanted to both kiss & kick Sandi for doing that. I still haven't decided which would win out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Volunteers passing out water and Gatorade are angels. End of story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, wax-coated water cups get slick when you throw a bunch of them on the road and then they get wet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started crying about 2/10 mile out from the finish line. I cried like crazy when I crossed the finish line. I was still crying when we got through the food'n'water area and I found Jim again. The whole thing was more than a bit overwhelming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a lot to be said for the weight of a finisher's medal hanging around your neck when you walk <b>away</b> from something like this. There's also a lot of be said for having a friendly face to walk <b>toward</b> when you finally get to meet up with your friends and family again. Seeing Jim standing at the front of the crowd waiting for us to enter the meet'n'greet area was such a welcome sight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I'm very grateful that hotels have a limitless supply of hot water for showers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will I do it again?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give me a week to let the knee settle down and the blister on the bottom of my foot to heal. Then ask me.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FC7btgbhHHw/UYcwurHpYqI/AAAAAAAAAds/uMGS49thi-c/s1600/20130504-47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FC7btgbhHHw/UYcwurHpYqI/AAAAAAAAAds/uMGS49thi-c/s640/20130504-47.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the answer will probably be "yes."</span></div>
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Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-24592874619329643452013-05-03T11:29:00.000-04:002013-05-03T11:29:00.291-04:00Countdown....Nerves....What Have I Done???<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I start writing this, it is 10:53 a.m., Friday, May 3rd. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">24 hours from now, I should be somewhere around the Mile 11 marker on the route of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the past three days, I've been fighting a growing case of nerves and "what have I done-itis."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't completed a full 13.1-mile walk since nearly three weeks ago. And I did the last two miles of that with tears in my eyes because I hurt so badly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new shoes I got a month ago - which felt GREAT in the store - have become a bit problematic as I've broken them in because they let my feet and ankles roll to the inside. I didn't really figure that out until this week, though. So even though I got inserts for them for arch support and to help counteract the roll, it's too late now to be experimenting with new things. So I'm going back to the old shoes for tomorrow....which seems appropriate, considering that they are the shoes that got me to this point in the first place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I managed 11.5 miles this past Monday before it got cut short by a family semi-emergency. But even at that distance, my knees were hurting in a way they haven't hurt since last summer and fall when I first started walking. Again, I think the new shoes have thrown off my balance and destabilized my already-shaky knees. Now the question is, will they hold up?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will the ankles hold up?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather is supposed to be icky tomorrow. Cooler and overcast, if not rainy. Ugh. Rainy. I don't mind cooler and overcast, though. Even if it's in the 50s, I'll work up a sweat quickly enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was watching the news from Indianapolis yesterday, trying to get the latest weather forecast. They had a report from the Convention Center where they're holding the Runners' Expo and where you pick up your race packets. I saw it, and there was a prolonged moment of "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" It's really happening, that's where I'll be later today, picking up packets for myself & Sandi. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't see how people are supposed to "carb up" the day before a race. I'm so nervous today I can barely eat at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My head is swimming. My stomach is fluttering. I really just want to get there and get down to business. Better yet, I want to be back in my hotel room, getting a hot shower AFTER it's over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's 11:25 now. 24 hours from now I should be in the final mile, if not across the Finish Line yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See ya on the flip side!</span><br />
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<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-77145194093372719892013-04-16T21:03:00.000-04:002013-04-16T21:05:09.364-04:00Test Run: Successful<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've always been the person who needed to do things on my own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay. That's not fair. Because "on my own" negates the fact that there's no way this past 9 months could have happened without the love and support...and encouragement...and butt-kicking of a handful of people whose praises I have sung repeatedly through this blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I mean is, I don't do things because other people want or tell me to do them. As a matter of fact, the fastest way for me to NOT want to do something is for someone to tell me it should be done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other reason I am a person who wants to do things "on my own" is because I don't want anyone to know if I fail. If I fall off the wagon...if I don't succeed...I'm the only one who knows I was even trying. Shoot, the fact that I've blogged my journey is VERY out of character for me, because it has made me somewhat accountable to those who have read my blogs and cheered me on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of that, simply to explain why - even though I have a terrific walking partner who never complains and never fusses at me - I had to do my Maiden Mini Voyage on my own. And since Sandi had one of her countless doctor appointments yesterday, that was my target day. I had to go ahead and try a distance of 13.1 miles, just to make sure I can do it when the critical time comes in a few weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those interested in stats: Yes, I made it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I use a wrist Garmin to track where I am and how fast I go. According to that, I completed the distance in 3:41:51 (if you count all the stops and slowdowns for traffic intersections) / 3:28:52 (if you just count my time walking).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather was PERFECT. Low 60s. Overcast. Light breeze. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, not too sunny. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did pretty well for the first 8 miles or so. But then the knees (which have no cartilage) started letting me know they'd had enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somewhere around the 10-mile point, my thighs and calves started telling me the same thing. And my glutes. (You can't get around this town without doing some hills.) And my hips. And my back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And by Mile #11, I'd pretty much had enough. Thankfully, I still had to get back home, so I couldn't just quit. But that was the point when I quit noticing the little animals, or the people, or whatever else was going on around me and just started counting out the rhythm of the steps, knowing that each 20 steps was 1/100 more of a mile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just over 1/2 mile from the end, I had to cross one last, busy road. I tried to do as I'd done at all the other intersections and jog across so traffic wouldn't have to worry about me. So even with traffic coming (because it's always coming on that road), I started to jog across.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I managed three steps and the legs said NO. I apologize to the ethos that heard me quite colorfully telling those (censored) drivers they were just going to have to (censored) slow down and let me cross, even though they had no idea WHY I was being so (censored) pokey, but there was no (censored) way I could run across and get out of their way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept reminding myself that if I could get through THIS, then the 500 Festival Mini shouldn't be as bad, because it's primarily flat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never been so glad to come around a corner and see my house in all my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for those who are local....it's amazing how much of our town you can see up-close-and-personal in 13.1 miles. LOL!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o4nQKDn9Ezw/UW3xk-DdRAI/AAAAAAAAAdY/rxdK_I2X7PY/s1600/FirstMiniWalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o4nQKDn9Ezw/UW3xk-DdRAI/AAAAAAAAAdY/rxdK_I2X7PY/s640/FirstMiniWalk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">REFERENCE POINTS for my local friends (as I made the loop): my house, Jackson Creek Middle School, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, College Mall, Tenth & the Bypass, in on 10th St to the IU Main Library, north on Jordan Ave (Greek Row), east on 17th St past Assembly Hall and the Football Stadium, back down Walnut St, detoured over to Lincoln because of construction, east on Hillside to Templeton Elementary, then south on Henderson past Bloomington HS South, then cut in and went down through Winslow Ridge, through Sherwood Oaks, then winding back home.</span></h4>
Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-37088900154538354212013-04-01T23:42:00.002-04:002013-04-01T23:42:36.475-04:005-Week Countdown<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, y'all. The lull is over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm now 2 days under the 5-week mark until the *fanfare* <span style="color: red;">500 Festival Half-Marathon</span>!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(insert horror-movie scream here)</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I had one of those days. You know - several days stuck inside, weather was finally nice again, I had just finished a huge typing job and sent it in, didn't have anyplace else I needed to go for the rest of the day. Sandi was down with her back again. :(</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I went walking. With no plan, other than to rack up some miles and see how far I could go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first I thought, "Hey! I'll walk to the north end of town and back! Maybe time it so I have a lunch stop at the north McDonald's before turning around."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I headed out. Went north. Past the street to Kim's. Past the high school. Got to Ethan's school and saw kids outside for recess, so took a detour around the school so I could check the playground and see if I could find my curly-haired Little Dude. <i>(I didn't.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then....I got to the south edge of campus. And I decided McDonald's didn't sound nearly as good for lunch as Fazoli's did. So I turned and headed east, out toward the mall. The temps were getting warmer than I'd expected, but remember that snow I mentioned? Yeah, there was still plenty of that laying around, so I found some that hadn't been touched, grabbed a handful and ate it to both cool off a bit and to get a drink.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got to Fazoli's and had lunch. By that point, I'd covered 5.78 miles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually was able to stand again! And walk some more! And head home!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strangely, what I <b>thought</b> was a straighter route <i>(not counting a trail that I just had to explore, but it actually doubled back and put me pretty close to where I'd already been)</i> ended up being another 5.53 miles. So it wasn't so different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that was 11.31 miles! Less than 2 miles off the mark for the *fanfare* <span style="color: red;">500 Festival Half-Marathon</span>!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would've done a happy dance if I could've still stood. So it turned out to be more like a Happy Sit-down Wiggle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then...I did nothing the rest of the week. Meh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first couple days it was because my legs hurt. But even after that, my feet hurt. So I didn't get out again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*deep breath*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now that we are past the springtime indulgence of Easter Dinner, and I'm now inside of 5 weeks and have to Get Serious <i>(with the capital letters)</i>, let's see what we can do. This week, rather than use all my oomph in one or two shots, I'm planning to do more, shorter treks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I woke up this morning and saw that the temps outside were 38 and 39 degrees, I thought, "Hey! It's in the high 30s...it'll only warm up from here...I'll just put on a hat and mittens and we'll walk outside!" Then I walked out my front door and found SNOW FLURRIES. By the time Sandi & I had dropped off her daughter at school, it looked like a snow globe out there and the big, fluffy flakes were starting to stick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So today was 4.4 miles at 15:34 per mile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Doing laps.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QzrHRQ2DPgE/UVpSvARBMKI/AAAAAAAAAdE/9sJrlYWddGE/s1600/20130401-01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QzrHRQ2DPgE/UVpSvARBMKI/AAAAAAAAAdE/9sJrlYWddGE/s320/20130401-01.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: center;">Somehow, I don't think my bright pink <br />Breast Cancer Awareness shoelaces <br />are going to go with the neon orange.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the Y.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where it was warm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi was sweet and after we were finished walking, she took me to get my belated birthday gift - a new pair of running shoes. (I don't think I have EVER gotten two pairs of brand new shoes just 9 months apart!) So now I have NO EXCUSES. Plus I have a good month to get these broken in before the *fanfare* <span style="color: red;">500 Festival Half Marathon</span>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here we go. I have my usual entourage of face-to-face encouragers. I have found a new group of complete strangers <i>(who are quickly becoming compatriots)</i> online whom I'm getting to know and who are going through the same journey I am, so they offer both inspiration and encouragement. I have Sandi back in action. I have new shoes. So I have No Excuses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">33 days and counting.......</span><br />
<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-15279108698518763442013-03-02T00:26:00.000-05:002013-03-02T00:26:05.625-05:00Round and Round We Go<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't blog as much as I used to - mostly because I don't want to be saying the same things repeatedly, so I really write only if there's something new going on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, this week there was a new something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Y.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Cue the Village People's "YMCA.") (Spell it out with your arms.) (You know you know how.) (Or get really fancy and spell it with your arms while rollerskating around the rink.) (With the mirror ball throwing crazy light patterns around the floor.)</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our local Y is less than 5 minutes from my house. Sandi has a membership. So with the wind blowing and the snow falling and ice still hiding in shadowed patches of our trails, we headed to the Y this week to walk laps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like laps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like them a lot better than I thought I would.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm pretty sure I like them better than Sandi does. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I like them, because, unlike the trails where you walk and walk and walk, but then you have to get BACK, when you're doing laps you can pretty much quit whenever you need or want to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At our Y, there's a walking lane, a jogging lane, and a running lane, inside-to-outside, in that order. 7 laps in the walking lane per mile, 6.8 laps in the jogging lane, 6.6 in the running lane. I stayed in the walking lane - both because I was mostly walking and because the math was easier to calculate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Find my spot. Mark my time on my watch every time I cross "the spot" and complete another lap. Don't even count laps until I get home and review how many marks I had. (It ended up being about 4.5 miles.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the really cool thing about doing the laps was that I could do one or two at my normal target speed, but then really push myself for a lap. And since I was doing each lap in just over two minutes, I knew that I could manage two minutes of pushing - or less, really, since pushing meant I would finish the lap more quickly. I actually had one lap at 1:50 and another at 1:47 - for a pace of roughly 12:50 per mile and 12:30 per mile - and those were near the end of our walking time! I know I couldn't have sustained that for a whole mile, but...WOW! And that was walking, not running. One foot on the ground at all times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I just need to get to where I can do that for more than two minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***************************************************************</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even before the Y, I had another "circular" first this past week. For the first time, rather than walking the trails in town, I went street walking. <i>(I'll give you a minute to make your jokes.)</i> I hit the sidewalks and walked the roads, cutting through neighborhoods, finding a new trail I'd never used before, and finally making one large circle - about 5 miles - back to the house last Sunday afternoon when the weather was so amazing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I honestly didn't go as far as I'd planned. My wrist GPS was acting up and I was getting frustrated, thinking it wasn't even going to track my distance for me. So I cut off a corner than I'd planned on taking, only to have it beep at me as it marked a one-mile section. So I thought, dang, if it's going to work, then maybe I <b>will</b> go farther. But then I hit a section of sidewalk that was just outside a privacy fence where it was in shade most of the time, so the snow and ice hadn't melted so well yet, and it was on a downhill slope, so I was having to be v e r y careful of where I was stepping. I lost speed and, again, got frustrated. :/ At the bottom of that hill was when I found the new trail, which promised to cut off another significant chunk for me, so I took it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I'd done the full route I intended to do, it probably would've been somewhere between six and seven miles instead of five. But five was enough for a Sunday afternoon on a full stomach. And I got to see new territory that I'd never covered before, and I found new places that I want to show to Ethan when the weather gets warmer (a playground, and a stream that you can play in at the back of a park). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to start extending my distance. As I do so, I can't wait to see what other gem locations my town has for me to discover.</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-29768596340246951622013-02-18T01:24:00.000-05:002013-02-18T01:24:25.627-05:00What a Weekend!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Apologies in advance: I'm brain-fried. Even as I read back through this installment, it seems disjointed. Just chalk that up to it being a good representation of my state of mind right now. Just go with it.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I am sooooo blessed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, I am sooooo tired. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Third, I am soooooo happy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My throat is rough from talking so much to so many people. I've barely been coherent today. And I've had this warm, quiet afterglow in my soul and a smile on my face. All day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With so much taking place on Facebook these days, I have a tendency to make a list of all the FB greetings I get on my birthday (not <i>what</i>, but <i>from whom</i>) because after a week or so, it will be next to impossible to find them again, and I like to remember things like that. So today I've worked on my Birthday List for this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently it stands at 285 people who, in some way, had a part in making my 50th birthday one to remember - and I'm told there will be more yet, because there are some cards (and at least one present) still en route.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I received text messages from both coasts (two from South Carolina, one from Washington state) and a phone call from England. And a package from Finland. I'm chuffed. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe the distances some people traveled - one couple from Lafayette (2 hrs away), one girl from Louisville (2 hrs away), my brother and his family from Evansville-ish (2 hrs away), one couple from Columbus, Ohio (4 hrs away), another family of 5 from Columbus, Ohio, one friend from Michigan (5 hrs) and one who - while admitting he was in town for other reasons, too - was here from Atlanta. (I have no idea how many hours it takes to drive there, but it's a long trip.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than the out-of-towners, probably the biggest surprises were one couple that Jim & I have known since before any of us had kids (their oldest is 9 months older than Kim - the kids grew up together), and my high school boyfriend with his wife and their grandson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a hand-drawn card from my 7-year-old neighbor with very good representations of my happy pets - my cat chasing a laser light and my hamster running on her wheel. My high school best friend / maid of honor pulled together some memories (and the pictures to go with them) to create a personal email/story/card. One of my college kids came up with a Top 10 Reason I Love You list that made me cry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going back to last Tuesday, when Jim & I went out for an early Valentine's dinner (to avoid the chaos of Thursday evening), this has been a glorious week - definitely one I'll remember for the rest of my life. (Of <i>course</i> I will! I'm going to scrapbook all about it!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Typically, I need to be the one in charge. So having someone else so completely plan something FOR me is both unusual and uncomfortable. However, that makes me even more thankful for those who did so much of it:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sweet Jim, who cooked up the idea to start with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Kim, his accomplice and - from what I can gather - the main person in charge of raiding my FB friends list to let people know about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Janene, who also helped spread the word, as well as helping with the details of the day, even though she'd been down with the flu pretty much this whole past week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her hubby Tom, who also helped with set-up/tear-down for the day, as well as serving as Chief Photographer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then those who traveled and sent cards and sent gifts and called and texted and came to the open house and posted on Facebook. Every one of you had some part if making it a fantabulous day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To those who try to reassure me that my 50s will be a terrific decade of life, I say, "Of COURSE it will!" I'm in so much better shape at 50 than I was at 49, and that, in turn, has given me a much better mental attitude about it all. I'm not afraid of my 50s. I'm ready to embrace them and make the most of them. (Besides, I have some terrific friends who are just a bit further down that road than I am, and I see how marvelously they're handling it.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it's back to reality and back to work. REAL work, like the kind I do for my paycheck. But also the work of getting back to the shape I was in 8 weeks ago (or maybe 10). It's time to get my walking legs back. The "Fit <b>BEFORE</b> 50" journey has ended, but the "Fit <b>AT</b> 50" experience has just begun! I have a mini-marathon to walk in 10 weeks! I hope you'll stick with me for that.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jQEg4bUtRrA/USHIZ5xKSnI/AAAAAAAAAck/7QE9VHKFtQk/s1600/s42820ca118474_35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jQEg4bUtRrA/USHIZ5xKSnI/AAAAAAAAAck/7QE9VHKFtQk/s400/s42820ca118474_35.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PS: Since I had one person specifically ask, I'll share that my goal was to have my weight down to 160 by my birthday. Saturday morning, I weighed in at 163.8. That's after starting at 203. So while I didn't reach the goal <i>weight</i>, the general goal of 40 pounds was met.</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-1643870820692048102013-02-16T00:01:00.000-05:002013-02-16T00:01:55.299-05:00B-day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it's silly for "someone my age" to get excited about a birthday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If so, then I'm silly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the day that has been my target for the last seven months. Marked on the calendar. Circled in red.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes, today I will be silly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be silly. And giddy. And excited. And nervous. And elated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will let people spoil me. And if they don't, I'll spoil myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow starts my second half-century, and I'm ready to take it on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still have a little bit of work to do. There's still that dogged five pounds that I still need to lose. I've lost some of my conditioning over the winter, and I need to get it back. I need to get my distance up to half-marathon standards at a pace that won't get me picked up by the train for stragglers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I can start on that tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, I turn 50...and I love it!</span></div>
Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-35776726187618788642013-02-10T00:16:00.000-05:002013-02-10T00:16:48.383-05:00Final Week of 40-Some<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An odd sensation hit me today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've spent the last several months getting my thinking turned around so that I'm excited about my upcoming birthday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But then this morning, the early "happy birthday" messages started popping up on Facebook. And I thought, "No! Not yet!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ahhhh....what a fickle woman I am. LOL!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I started asking myself, "Why is this such a big deal?" I normally keep birthdays low key...maybe take the day off from work so I can have a "me" day and do things I enjoy doing...spend it with some of my favorite people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when I asked the question, I came up with three answers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, when a person reaches 50, they can be pretty certain they're at the halfway point of their lives...or beyond. There may be many awesome years ahead, but the larger quantity of years has already been lived. For me, this creates a sense of urgency. If there are things that I haven't done yet, I need to get busy working on them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, I've worked hard to make sure that #50 sees me in a better place than #49 did. You all have been with me for that part. :) I've been working toward this one point in time, and while there's plenty more to do afterward, I've accomplished enough that I'm ready to celebrate a bit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I think the third reason is really the most important, just because it's the most deep-seated. Probably even the most irrational, but still there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mother was perfectly healthy when she turned 50. I remember taking Kim (still a preschooler), buying 50 yellow roses, and driving to meet my mother and go with her for lunch during her lunch period. (She was a school teacher.) Even though it was another 18 months before her cancer diagnosis, this is still one of the last "normal" memories I have of her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was perfectly fine at 50. She never saw 60. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And until I hit 52 and am still healthy, there's always going to be this little fear deep inside that I'll follow that same path.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, just in case, I'm going to make the most of 50.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if I make it to 60, I'm going to have a big blow-out then, too. :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for now....let's have a fantastic week! </span><br />
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<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-90788616035071782072013-01-29T22:34:00.000-05:002013-01-29T22:34:01.906-05:00She's Baaa-aaaack!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whoo-WHEE!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi got the OK yesterday to be able to get out and run again. And last night she was texting me and setting up a time to get out this morning - even though it was supposed to rain all night last night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Let's do 12 miles!" said she.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You've not done anything for TWO months!" said I.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It'll be FUN!" said she. (That's one of her favorite things to say when I start whining.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We'll see" said I. (That's what I usually say when she says it'll be fun.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We ended up doing 6.25 miles, and she KICKED MY BUTT!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know what she was doing those two months that she was sick and sidelined. I think she must've been doing some kind of super-secret at-home training or something. ;) But the Drill Instructor must've kicked in this morning or something, because I was having to hustle to keep up with her. I was breathing hard, and now - 12 hours after getting home - my legs hurt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ahhhh, it's good to have my Sandi back. :D Now I <b>know</b> I'll be ready for the mini in 3 months.</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-21078367355379668332013-01-16T23:10:00.000-05:002013-01-16T23:10:03.089-05:00Entering the Home Stretch<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh. My. Gosh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Really?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When did that happen??</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had to date something today, so I looked at the calendar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 16th.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One month until my birthday. Or 4 weeks and 3 days, if you want to think of it that way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Oh. My. Gosh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I started this journey...this weight loss...this fitness...this blog, it was the middle of July. I had 7 long months stretching ahead of me. It seemed like it was soooo far away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now it's just One. More. Month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eh, I still have 6 pounds to lose before reaching goal. Or 5. Some days it's 4. Then it'll pop back up to 6 again. :) And beyond my birthday, I still have to get in shape to do a mini-marathon at the beginning of May. So the journey is far from over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But really, I've already accomplished the Big Thing. I wanted to be a different, better version of me by the time I turned 50, and I've already managed that. I didn't want to reach 50 still being the same out-of-shape, out-of-breath me that hated the way she looked in the mirror, hated trying to find clothes that looked decent, hated feeling tired all the time. I wanted 50 to not feel like the end of being young. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(There are those who will argue that age is an attitude more than a number. But the way I was feeling, I was feeling old.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know what post-50 will hold. Jim is 56 - his hair is grayer, his vision is slowly deteriorating again, he's already had surgery for a torn rotator cuff just because of general wear and tear. My mom was 51 when her cancer was diagnosed and 56 when she died. So the next 10 years may change me quite a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when I <b>hit</b> 50, I'll be in the best shape I've been in in Y E A R S. I'm still not on any long-term medications. I can still see <i>(with reading glasses)</i> and hear <i>(unless you mumble)</i>. My arthritis is better in my knees <i>(that's been one of THE best effects of the weight loss)</i> and my fingers are still agile enough to type and play the piano. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to dread 50. It had a big black shroud hanging over it. It was the beginning of the end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I can't <b>wait</b> to get there. 50 is going to be <span style="color: #3d85c6;">AWESOME</span>!</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-40578103919039484252013-01-10T16:07:00.000-05:002013-01-10T22:54:41.878-05:00Ruminations on an Empty Closet<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple months ago, I went through my closet on a spree one night and pulled out a bunch of stuff that didn't fit anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time in my life, they didn't fit because they were too BIG.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They hung on me. Made me look like a waif. <i>(Well, relatively speaking.) (Also, I just wanted to use the word "waif.")</i> Or someone who had been sick for a really long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was a couple months ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, I went through my closet properly and pulled out everything Size 16 or XL and larger. Everything.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EVERYTHING.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pile covered my bed. Literally. There wasn't an open square foot on my queen size bed that wasn't covered with clothes at least 6" deep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the exception of a few sentimental items <i>(the gown & robe I got for Christmas just after my mom passed away which she had chosen; a few shirts that had been hers; t-shirts from special events)</i>, nothing remains except Size 12 or 14 and size Medium or Large. I am determined to not allow myself the safety net of having clothes to grow back into. So everything has to go. In addition, I need new clothes that <b>do</b> fit, so I'm trying to sell what I can no longer wear and make a bit of cash to start the new wardrobe.<i> (Well, it was already started with Christmas money, but it could still be expanded.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I have spent the day photographing clothes so I can post them for sale. And many thoughts have been meandering through my mind.......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I am blessed. I had enough clothes to be able to outfit a small family <i>(of XL-sized women)</i>. So many people in the world are happy to have one regular outfit and one dressy outfit - or even just something clean to change into. I am <i>obscenely</i> blessed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I was XL for a looooooong time. There's a shirt that I wore to help chaperone a field trip to the skating rink when Kim was in grade school. There's the Hawaiian shirt and white slacks I bought specifically for a trip to NYC to see "The Boy from Oz" <i>(which ran from 2003-04)</i>. There are the Cheer Mom t-shirts I wore when Kim was cheering with Midwest All-Stars, and the t-shirt from when I was the Chief Duncan Flagwaver.<i> (It's a fannish thing, but it dates back to 1998 and "Highlander: The Series.") </i>There are my scrubs from when I worked at the hospital.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I'm having to say good-bye to a lot of "favorites." The black drawstring linen pants that were sooooo comfortable. The pink/gray long knit dress that made me feel like an earth mother. The royal blue & black pantsuit that always got compliments. MY DENIM DRESS! *wail* I bet at least a half-dozen times today, as I went through clothes, I would think, "But that's my <b>favorite</b>!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I like being comfortable. Most of my clothes have been comfort-oriented rather than looks-oriented. If I looked good in something, that was just a bonus, but it had to <i>feel</i> good on me. And considering that I have football player shoulders for a woman, "comfortable" was always a challenge. Maybe that explains the smattering of men's shirts that I would wear - at least they were proportioned better for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I have a cheeky side that oozes out once in awhile. How else do you explain the Tinkerbell blouse, the Tweety "Cool Chick" shirt or the Maxine "Don't Worry, Be Crabby" shirt? Then there's what Kim calls my hippie side - just look at all the broomstick skirts!<i> (Thankfully, most of those are one-size-fits-all, so a lot of them are staying.)</i> And somewhere in this person is a little girl who still wants to play dress-up and go to fancy dinners, as evidenced by the velvet bits in dark jewel tones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I am somewhat stuck in the time of my upbringing. I like pants that actually come up to my waist instead of low-riders <i>(or hip-huggers, we would call them)</i>, and I do like the granny dresses and skirts - long and flowing free. Eh, maybe I am a flower child at heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a way, this has been cathartic. It's both a realization that I'm saying good-bye to an old me and a determination to do everything I can to not let myself get back to being that version of me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has also been kind of sad. Sad because of the memories connected with certain outfits. Sad because...well, that's a LOT of clothes I won't have in reach anymore to pull out and wear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:deep breath:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah well. I've never been one to dwell in the past, and this will be no different. Time to post these things and try to sell them so I can have money to go shopping again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shopping. Trying on NEW clothes. Clothes that LOOK good on me <i>(AND are comfortable!)</i>. Clothes that are a little sassy, a little bright, maybe a little flashy, because I don't mind now if people notice me or what I'm wearing. Yeah...this is a good thing.</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-43060545224219073902013-01-01T23:27:00.001-05:002013-01-01T23:28:02.268-05:00Happy New Year! Happy New Me!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy New Year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And with that, I've officially survived The Holidays!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a good thing they're over. I didn't go into the holidays planning to lose any more weight. I had mostly hoped to maintain where I was. And "where I was" was at 170 pounds on November 14th.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning, I was at 168. Of course, the week before Christmas I hit a flu-induced low of 164. ;) But I'm happy having dropped a couple of pounds through the most food-filled month of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was also considering that my exercise has become basically nothing the last couple of weeks. It got cold. Sandi is still sidelined. There was a month-long stretch where the work load was nuts. <i>(YAY!)</i> And Ethan has been out of school, so he's been staying with Mee-Mow and Num-Num while Mommy works. Between all of those <i>(blizzard, anyone?)</i>, the walking has come to a standstill. <i>(No pun intended.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The eating patterns did a slow descent into old habits, too. Big dinners, lots of food, cold weather making me want comfort foods <i>(pasta!)</i>...it all worked against me. Or, more accurately, I *let* it work against me. <i>(It's like Ethan getting mad when someone *makes* him laugh.)</i></span><br />
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So here we are. January 1st. And it's time to get serious again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throw out the leftover cookies. Restock the fridge with a veggie tray and apple slices. Plan my meals for a few days so there won't be the last-minute throw-togethers. Start logging my food intake again. If the weather won't let me get out and walk, I need to get to Kim's and hit the elliptical. <i>(But that may wait until Ethan's back in school next week.)</i></span><br />
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I have 8 pounds to go and 6 weeks to get there. I don't know that I'll make the deadline, but it'll be close. The important thing is to keep heading in that direction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***********************************************</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case anyone missed it on Facebook, two major things have happened in the last 48 hours that involves this journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I have registered for the Festival 500 Mini-Marathon on the first Saturday of May. It's supposed to be a fairly easy<i> (flat)</i> course, with a typical registration of 35,000 participants. Actually, I'm more worried about the 7:30 a.m. start time than I am about the 13.1-mile distance or the required pace of 18 minutes per mile. But it gives me something to work toward through the spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, I went shopping today with some of my Christmas money. I <b>love</b> Kohl's - between the After Christmas Blitz and Clearance, and a 20% coupon, I scored 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of slacks, 6 sweaters and 2 summer tops for just under $200. And the really cool part?? The pants were all <b>SIZE 12</b>!! And while most of the tops and sweaters were a size large, one judiciously chosen sweater was a size <b>MEDIUM</b>. When I first tried on the size 12 jeans and they fit, I just stood in the dressing room and cried. And trembled. Literally trembled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then I came home and made Jim take a picture of me in the size 12 jeans and the medium sweater...just because. :)</span><br />
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<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-38570538477495504972012-11-25T00:10:00.000-05:002012-11-25T00:10:12.544-05:00Never Doing THAT Again!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a holiday week. It's cold. Sandi's sidelined. Work is crazy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Net result? I walked Monday...did a 20-minute stint on Tuesday...and didn't walk again until Friday. (And by walk, I mean being out at least an hour.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Legs...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HURT!!!!!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oy! Never dreamed that taking three days off would make THAT much of a difference! That's CRAZY!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't as bad as starting completely from scratch, but it definitely wasn't as good as it is when I keep steady with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five measly miles. That should be nuthin' for me at this point. But by the time I did that much yesterday, I felt like I couldn't take another step. In fact, after walking, I stopped by the grocery store and it was all I could do to get out of the car again. Sheesh!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Monday I need to get out. No excuses. Regardless of the temperatures. Just bundle up. The extra layers will kill my pace, but I've got to get moving again. Three laps around the neighborhood, or a trip walking to Kim's and back. Something. Anything. Must...move....</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-11449942491953516672012-11-21T06:51:00.000-05:002012-11-21T06:51:33.451-05:00Quintuple Whammy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, there it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've officially lost ground.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Backslid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gained a couple pounds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GAH!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw it on the horizon. Saw it sneaking up to grab me from the rear. <i>(IN the rear?) (No, FROM the rear.) (IN the stomach.) </i>Like Hurricane Sandy, I saw the clouds out over the ocean and couldn't get far enough inland to escape.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know two pounds...or three...may not seem like a lot when I'd managed to make it to the 30-pound mark. But it's not the number, it's the direction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But at the same time, like Sandy, I'm in the middle of a perfect storm:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NATURE - PART 1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The days are shorter and generally cooler. Both of these cut down drastically on the window of time for me to get out and walk on any given day. It's often still too cold at 7:00 or 8:00...or even 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. But I can't wait and go in the mid-to-late-afternoon because it'll be dark <i>(or nearly so)</i> before I'm finished. So there's a sweet spot of getting out somewhere between 11:00 and 3:00. And at that point, my day is in full swing and breaking away from it to go walking for an hour or two is tough to do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NATURE - PART 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said, it's getting cooler. And, at least for me, the cooler temps bring a caveman-like desire for carbs that will add body fat to get through the winter. Or at the very least, I want hot, filling foods that stick with me but are easy to fix. I want ravioli and mac'n'cheese and big cheeseburgers and fresh, hot fries and chicken noodle soup. It's winter. It's comfort food season. Or, at the very least, I'm less inclined to want salads and fresh fruits and veggies like I do in the summer. Those are light foods...cold foods...GREAT for the hot summer days, but definitely not tops on my list of Favorite Winter Foods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WORK</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mine is a feast-or-famine job, and the last couple of weeks we've been feasting. Everyone in the group has as much as they can handle. And while I'm grateful for that fact, the deadlines for turnaround definitely make me have a stronger focus on sitting and typing than on getting out and walking. It's hard to get out for any length of time when you keep thinking, "I should be home doing..." <i>(It's one of the few pitfalls of a job that has a large work-at-home component to it.)</i> As a matter of fact, while many people are having a 4-or-5-day weekend, I'll be having a holiday but then probably working as much as I can on Friday and Saturday. And probably some on Sunday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HEALTH</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not mine - Sandi's. She's been sidelined for a few weeks now with a back that's just not cooperating. And I've realized that she's very much my Jiminy Cricket - the one who nudges me to do what I should when I don't want to do it. Without her saying, "When are we going? Where are we going? What are we doing tomorrow?" there just isn't the push to get out and go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HOLIDAYS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've had one Thanksgiving dinner already with our college kids. We'll be having another Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Then we get to December and the month-long celebration of gifts and special events and time spent with others - most of which involves food. It's the time of year when even non-cooks like me pull out the aprons and heat up the ovens to make special goodies to share. <i>(Okay, maybe not the apron bit.) </i>You want to give "a little something" to people who are special to you. But if you don't have the money to really shop for a bunch of people, or if you don't know them well enough to know what they would like, treats are the go-to option. So food is everywhere at this time of year, and it's not veggie trays.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point, I feel like the storm is bearing down and all I can do is hold on and ride it out. Work will ease up eventually - that's just what it does. The holidays will pass - that's what they do, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi is due to have surgery next week to have a pain pump put in. Hopefully that will get my Jiminy Cricket back up on and on her feet. And once that happens, we can start going to the Y to walk, which will broaden the window of time each day that we can be doing our thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just have to do what I can, refocus my efforts on what I'm eating, and try not to lose too much ground while waiting for things to get back on track.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-73897715159754769022012-11-10T15:27:00.002-05:002012-11-10T15:27:47.503-05:00Pride Goeth Before A Fall - Literally<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soooooo........</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went out this morning. Did the five miles out-and-back on the Clear Creek Trail. That makes 21 miles for the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was by myself, and really wanted to do it under 1:15:00 - less than 15 minutes per mile average. That meant I would have to run. So I did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Started off with a 3:20 stretch. That's the longest time I've ever run without dropping down to a walk. That was cool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I walked about twice that long (6:20) then tried running again. Managed 1:20 for that stretch. Walked a bit more, then did another 2:14 running. Usually, after I have my initial burst, any running stretches after that are between 1:00 and 1:30. Getting a 2:00-and-some running stretch after my initial burst is rare, so I was really feeling pretty good about it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got to the trail head at Tapp Road, which marks 2.5 miles. Rested a bit, watched the construction, and got ready to head back. Since I'd caught my breath, I thought I'd just run as long as I could and see how I did. No goals. Just running.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the point when I was getting winded and thinking I'd need to stop running and start walking again, I saw it...shining like a beacon in the night <i>(except it was about 10 in the morning)</i>. The sign that marked the half-mile point from the trail head. If I could just...reach...the...marker.......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yep. I did it. Ran a solid half-mile stretch this morning. A new milestone for me - something I never seriously thought I'd be able to do. And I ran it in 5:47. Not a stellar time by any means, but y'know what? This was ME running...and ME ran a SOLID HALF-MILE!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the morning's work was finished, I ran another solid quarter-mile and yet another stretch that was nearly a quarter-mile. <i>(I could've done a quarter-mile at that point, too, but it was the end of the trail.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, as I was walking back to my car, thinking about how awesome I was and how I was going to write my blog about running a half-mile stretch, I wasn't paying attention. AND the sun was in my eyes. So I closed my eyes against the sun as I walked, but got too close to the edge of the asphalt path...turned my ankle off the edge of the pavement...and went down...scraping my leg on the blacktop as I went down and banging up the heels of my hands from trying to catch myself as I fell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn't do anything <i>but </i>laugh<i> </i>at my own inauspicious end to a really great walk. I guess that'll teach me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nah....probably not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.S. Keep my walking partner Sandi in your prayers, please. She had a rough round of chemo this past week, on top of the fact that her pain pills aren't taking care of the pain she has from the herniated disks (an after-effect of having tumors removed from her spine). She hasn't been able to be out with me at all this past week, which says a LOT, and I've missed her. Hopefully the doctors will be able to help her get back on top of the pain again soon.</span></div>
<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-44825661941549033462012-11-06T00:11:00.000-05:002012-11-06T00:11:27.442-05:00Monday Challenge<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday has been a day off since I started this insane journey, unless I had missed a day during the week and needed to make up some miles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since my daily standard has gone from four miles to five, Saturday has become either a "light duty" day or another day off, depending on how much walking I got done during the week and what our schedule is for the weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when Monday rolls around, I usually feel like I could run a marathon. I <i>can't</i>, obviously, but the healthy 20-year-old with good knees that's buried somewhere inside of me thinks she can. All of this means that if I'm going to do something crazy and extreme, it typically happens on Mondays.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well...except last week when I needed to walk to Kim's and it was only 28 degrees when I left the house in the dark at 7:00 a.m. That was extreme and not on a Monday.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I had to take Jim to the airport, which meant it was later when I got out to walk. The temps had climbed to 49 degrees, so I wore shorts for the first time in a few weeks. Walking in the cold means wearing layers which makes it harder to get the job done. I wanted to see how well I could do being back in fewer layers, with less extra weight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of that, I had time today. I didn't have to squeeze the walking in between or before or after anything else. So I thought, hey...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*it's warm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*I have less extra weight in clothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*I have time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*the legs are fresh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*why not get crazy and try for 10 miles???</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did 10.25 miles by the time it was all over. It took me 2 hours and 42 minutes, with 18 minutes of that being jogging and the rest of it walking. <i>(My previous best had been seven miles.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was really pushing myself again. By the time it was over, my back muscles hurt like they hadn't hurt in weeks...the legs were about as powerful as cooked spaghetti...each landmark was a welcome sight...I was having to talk myself through each step. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I finished, I got in the car. When I tried to get out again, I could barely stand. I've stretched, I've taken a hot shower, I've used my foam roller to roll out the muscles, and my legs STILL hurt with every step. So do my hips and my glutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But dangit, I walked 10.25 miles!</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-22768527630724241772012-10-26T23:08:00.000-04:002012-10-26T23:19:50.650-04:00Plateau Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm stuck.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm flat-out stuck.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been hanging around the 25-pound loss area for a few weeks. <i>(Which is partly why there haven't been as many blogs - nothing new to write about.)</i> Anywhere from 24-26, depending on the day, the time of day, whether I just came in from walking, whether I've eaten anything yet for the day......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I'm not finished. I'd still love to drop another 15. That was the original goal. That still IS the goal. Even that will put me 10 pounds over where I was when I went to the hospital to give birth. <i>(Although, admittedly, everyone told me I didn't gain <b>enough </b>weight during my pregnancy.)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be the first to admit that I've gotten a bit lax with my eating. It's still <b>way</b> better than it used to be <i>(I can't eat the sugar, grease or richness that I used to...it makes me nauseous now)</i>, and I still watch my calorie count. But I've been less stringent about what those calories <b>are</b>. So I need to get back to that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other thing is that I have to do something to burn <b>more</b>, because I can't take in much less without going into starvation mode. <i>(As myfitnesspal.com reminds me every time I don't eat at least 1200 calories in a day.)</i> :) So this week I thought, "Hey, I'll start trying to jog part of my distance." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah. That lasted a day. The problematic, arthritic knees just aren't going to hold up to that kind of pounding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if intensity is out, duration must be in. Which led to my 7-mile, 1-hour-50-minute trek on Wednesday of this week. I love Wednesdays. The kids go to school later, so Sandi has her older son take her grade school-age daughter to school, which means we can get out and get started earlier, possibly go longer, and still be done by mid-morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In four days, I walked 22 miles. Today and tomorrow will be really busy, but I hope to still get out at least SOMEtime in the next 48 hours. If I do, that'll be a new weekly distance record for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, in order to not get too down on myself, I need to remember how far I've come. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the astonished confessions of two of my girls who, quietly but skeptically, didn't know how long I would stick with this when I started back in July. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember how good it feels to put on clothes that have hung in my closet for a couple years because they just didn't look good on me anymore. It's like an in-home shopping spree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the joy of finding tops in a size Large that fit nicely. And the joy of being comfortable wearing fitted "women's" t-shirts. And a size Large lycra/spandex workout shirt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the sight of three of my pairs of size 18 jeans leaving my house because I won't give myself the safety net of saying, "It's okay if I put the weight back on...I have clothes for that."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember climbing stairs at the parking garage without being winded, much less the stairs in my home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the days when Jim would say that walking the Clear Creek Trail was about five miles, and I would think there was no way on earth I could do one mile, let alone five. And I need to remember that now five miles is standard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the first time I did a mile in less than 15 minutes, and now 14:30 is more my regular goal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to remember the dropped jaw on my daughter's face the first time I popped in to get her truck key and told her I'd just walked five miles from the far south side of town to her office <i>(lapping the office building once to make it an even five miles)</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I need to remember these pictures.....</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g1D3AXLjDcY/UItIDGIxKqI/AAAAAAAAAWc/Y2oxOa0A1yw/s1600/HPIM3670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g1D3AXLjDcY/UItIDGIxKqI/AAAAAAAAAWc/Y2oxOa0A1yw/s400/HPIM3670.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 2012 - me & my kids<br />Amber, Cassie, Matt & Kim</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 2012 - Family Photo Shoot<br />It's a loose top, but I needed every bit of it</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 28, 2012 - with Matt<br />First time I made a mile under 15 minutes<br />Thought. I. Was. Gonna. Die.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">August 31, 2012 - with Sandi<br />15 pounds gone</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September 19, 2012<br />Just over 2 months into it<br />Sandi snapped this as we walked</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September 27, 2012<br />Hoosiers Outrun Cancer<br />My first 5K Walk</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September 27, 2012 - with Jim<br />A night out with my man<br />The first time I'd worn a size Large top in Y E A R S</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 25, 2012<br />25 pounds gone</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 25, 2012<br />Size 18 jeans - These fit comfortably 3 months ago</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 25, 2012<br />We're getting there!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim will be gone on travel in a couple weeks. I'm going to lock down and Get Serious that week, just to see if I can break the stalemate. Absolutely the strictest of diets, nicely balanced between fruits, veggies and protein. Walking or conditioning every spare minute I have. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Now watch me be swamped with work and it'll rain every day.)</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You hear of the Freshman 15 when you start college. I'm fighting the Final 15. And no matter how long it takes, I will win!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Apologies for a really rambling blog post.)</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-81603081885202615052012-10-18T22:52:00.000-04:002012-10-18T22:52:03.993-04:00The Importance of Numbers<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hate being obsessive about anything. And, generally speaking, I'm not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't care if my house is a little cluttered or if the vacuum hasn't been run for a few days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't tell you the last time I dusted. (But I know the last time it happened, Jim did it.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't bother me to wait and wash the supper dishes the next morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's almost always a pile of dirty clothes beside my bed. (Mostly because I get ready for bed in the dark because Jim's already asleep.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the clothes on the closet shelves are a little haphazard, that's okay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only reason I keep the car cleaned out is because Jim has to drive for his carpool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I go out with wet hair and without make-up on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But numbers have become very important to me...even to the point of being obsessed with them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep track of calories like nobody's business. I don't make a food choice in a restaurant without at least worrying about how many calories it will "cost." And if I can check the nutrition guide ahead of time, I do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep track, to the second, of how long I walk each day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep track of how far I go (to the extent that I can). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I keep track of my pace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the number of days each week that I walk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I step on the scales daily for the weight numbers and weekly (or so) I check the body fat numbers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's the number of repetitions I do with the conditioning exercises. And I try to go above the goal number on most of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I watch the numbers as my clothing size goes down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You want to know what number totally made my day today?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">174.8.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was my weight this morning. It means I broke through the 25-pound mark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You want to know another number that overwhelmed me today?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">75 and counting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's how many people have "liked" my FB status from this morning where I announced the 25 pounds gone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't begin to explain how incredible it is to have that tangible show of support. This is, for the most part, such a solo undertaking. Yes, I have my support crew - Jim, Sandi, Matt, Kim - who cheer me on. But for the most part, this is a quiet endeavor. The progress is slow and hard to see on a daily basis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I just wanted to say thank you. It means so much to know there are people pulling for me. It truly gives me the inspiration to keep going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><3</span><br />
<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-86279556824491563112012-10-15T23:38:00.000-04:002012-10-15T23:38:51.302-04:00The Fight of a Lifetime (RIP Victoria)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a handful of reasons that I'm taking this journey - this eating better, exercising more, taking care of me journey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm turning 50 in another four months and I didn't like the direction my life, health and shape were going. So I decided to change it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My knees are already shot and have been for years. By losing weight, I'm hoping to reduce the wear and tear on them, keep my own knees longer, and stave off the knee replacement surgery that the doctors have been telling me since my mid-20s that I would need someday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there's cancer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a history of it in my family. My aunt is a survivor of breast cancer. My mom was a victim of it. My brother's mother-in-law and <i>her</i> sister both have dealt with it. One of the nurses I knew at the hospital (when I worked there) passed away from it shortly before I left my job there. Another nurse is currently fighting it, and one of my sister nurse techs at the time was already a survivor. Other friends have fought and beat this disease. My Sandi is still fighting her fight. And those are all just breast cancer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim's mom's cancer started in her bones. Another current neighbor has been fighting off and on for several years. (I'm not sure what kind he has, but I seem to remember bone marrow transplants, so I'm thinking maybe leukemia?) Another dear friend is fighting brain cancer.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OkBG2YClu_8/UHzKtAEJruI/AAAAAAAAAWA/0UwxRJoSFA8/s1600/375934_10150364232238645_1749761504_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OkBG2YClu_8/UHzKtAEJruI/AAAAAAAAAWA/0UwxRJoSFA8/s320/375934_10150364232238645_1749761504_n.jpg" width="256" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And today I found out that another friend, Victoria Speechley, diagnosed less than a month ago with advanced liver cancer, passed away early this morning. She was part of the vast fan-family I had when I was involved in <b>Highlander</b> fandom and helped run the fan club for the show's lead actor, Adrian Paul. She, too, helped run the worldwide fan club for the show as well as helping with Adrian's charity work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She had just turned 42 at the end of August.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here's another reason I'm getting in better shape. Maybe I can't prevent cancer. These days, it truly seems like it isn't so much a question of IF you'll get it as much as WHEN and WHAT KIND.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BUT...if it finds me, I'm going to be in much better fighting shape to deal with it. I'll be stronger and healthier. By keeping my weight down and eating better, I'm working to avoid many of the mid-life health issues that put you on medications for the rest of your life. So if cancer finds me, there'll be fewer chemicals already in my body and messing with my system. I'll have a cleaner slate to start with, so to speak.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I consider myself to be "in training" now so that if, God forbid, that day ever comes, I'll be more ready for the fight of a lifetime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RIP Vikka</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aug. 26, 1970 - Oct. 16, 2012</span></div>
Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-44608441468417563412012-10-13T11:41:00.001-04:002012-10-13T11:49:39.786-04:00Come Along With Me - Clear Creek Trail<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are three main stretches of trail that I cover, each with its own personality and charm. A little over a week ago I took you with me on the Rail Trail, a two-mile stretch of gravel trail. Eventually, I'll introduce you to the B-Line Trail, which actually goes up through the middle of Bloomington.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But for now, come with me along the Clear Creek Trail - a roughly 2.5-mile stretch of paved trail that winds through fields, along neighborhoods, and past farms.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oh lordy, do I really want to do this?"</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As before, the walk starts at the bridge just above the parking lot off of Church Lane.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TpHHNm0ZdaM/UHjixF4pTQI/AAAAAAAAAPs/GS2zXAc8Q8Q/s1600/HPIM3992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TpHHNm0ZdaM/UHjixF4pTQI/AAAAAAAAAPs/GS2zXAc8Q8Q/s400/HPIM3992.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seriously kind of cracks me up that there's so much</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "traffic" here that we need a roundabout.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-raSg1hLCOSM/UHjiyr_DNkI/AAAAAAAAAP0/BsqVWdVsJX8/s1600/HPIM3993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-raSg1hLCOSM/UHjiyr_DNkI/AAAAAAAAAP0/BsqVWdVsJX8/s400/HPIM3993.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather than staying straight ahead, as we do for the Rail Trail, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this time we veer off to the left from the roundabout.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-kOFIcNsRE/UHji0YCI_iI/AAAAAAAAAP8/HS4Any2XDN8/s1600/HPIM3994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-kOFIcNsRE/UHji0YCI_iI/AAAAAAAAAP8/HS4Any2XDN8/s400/HPIM3994.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This stretch, just after the roundabout, seems </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">especially mystical on foggy mornings.</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LSgIn3t6BVU/UHji3353m7I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/19E0Gz2WO8U/s1600/HPIM3996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LSgIn3t6BVU/UHji3353m7I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/19E0Gz2WO8U/s400/HPIM3996.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A reminder that we are but tolerated visitors </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and we shouldn't stray from the path.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o50T2o7rC78/UHji4_vIUGI/AAAAAAAAAQY/yCdNyS3IGdM/s1600/HPIM3998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o50T2o7rC78/UHji4_vIUGI/AAAAAAAAAQY/yCdNyS3IGdM/s400/HPIM3998.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seen at the trail heads, these signs remind me of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock" diagrams.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdRNifVuU_I/UHji6fiC2nI/AAAAAAAAAQg/mqatH6BJWp8/s1600/HPIM3999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdRNifVuU_I/UHji6fiC2nI/AAAAAAAAAQg/mqatH6BJWp8/s400/HPIM3999.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strangely enough, of the three trails, this is the only one that marks </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which road you're about to cross or that you should stop at the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">road. (If you can't read it, this sign designates "West That Road" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">across the top.)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUox6KEO1iE/UHji7g3aQNI/AAAAAAAAAQo/LlZjKIgoxSg/s1600/HPIM4000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUox6KEO1iE/UHji7g3aQNI/AAAAAAAAAQo/LlZjKIgoxSg/s400/HPIM4000.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This trail has more foot bridges to cross than either of the others.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8MtOccHp_A/UHji885wYII/AAAAAAAAAQw/j-EwGP1-jDc/s1600/HPIM4002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8MtOccHp_A/UHji885wYII/AAAAAAAAAQw/j-EwGP1-jDc/s400/HPIM4002.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One lone house in the middle of a big field. This is the house that </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sits on the farm mentioned below.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdHlhkOsyvw/UHji-XBefbI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/FPliD9YtWDU/s1600/HPIM4004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdHlhkOsyvw/UHji-XBefbI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/FPliD9YtWDU/s400/HPIM4004.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the story goes, the city purchased land from a farmer for this trail. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His only </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">stipulation was that his cattle be allowed to cross at one point. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus we have the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cattle Crossing sign. On one side of the trail is the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">large farm (above), but now the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">other side has become a neighborhood. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sign, however, still stands as a silent </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">reminder of the trail's history.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VLgDqyUedEc/UHji_JDcmhI/AAAAAAAAARA/LSW5cc2p5to/s1600/HPIM4005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VLgDqyUedEc/UHji_JDcmhI/AAAAAAAAARA/LSW5cc2p5to/s400/HPIM4005.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Water fountains are a welcome sight every mile or so.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nNJ7FqZ_Y2U/UHjjAfqIYBI/AAAAAAAAARI/UAtTtYZ3DZQ/s1600/HPIM4006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nNJ7FqZ_Y2U/UHjjAfqIYBI/AAAAAAAAARI/UAtTtYZ3DZQ/s400/HPIM4006.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This sign cracks me up - as if the snakes are going to pay attention. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It became even funnier when I learned that I know whose yard this is, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">because these people have just that kind of sense of humor. (If you can't </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">read the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">whole thing, it says: NO SNAKES This Side of Trail.)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UW_K80OIJ2k/UHjjB-n9P1I/AAAAAAAAARQ/jb77hD8DZXk/s1600/HPIM4008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UW_K80OIJ2k/UHjjB-n9P1I/AAAAAAAAARQ/jb77hD8DZXk/s400/HPIM4008.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular morning, our adopted college "daughter" Amber was </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">keeping me c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ompany. On the one hand, she was kicking my butt without </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">even trying. On the other </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hand, it was nice to know that I could </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">more-or-less keep up with someone </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30 years younger than I am.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8j3eTlhJs8/UHjjDofwdiI/AAAAAAAAARc/o52uyH7jyTQ/s1600/HPIM4009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8j3eTlhJs8/UHjjDofwdiI/AAAAAAAAARc/o52uyH7jyTQ/s400/HPIM4009.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple stretches of this trail go through open fields, which allows for </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">amazing palettes of color like this.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WLuXUAKyWAQ/UHjjF4CBhFI/AAAAAAAAARk/i7qGIYWtm6c/s1600/HPIM4011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WLuXUAKyWAQ/UHjjF4CBhFI/AAAAAAAAARk/i7qGIYWtm6c/s400/HPIM4011.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sure these belong to some farmer, but considering the number </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of deer that </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've seen along this trail, I'm betting they enjoy a few </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">meals off of these hay bales, too.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIjUKLKN0i8/UHjjHwSAvVI/AAAAAAAAARs/LKpjBMt8t3A/s1600/HPIM4012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIjUKLKN0i8/UHjjHwSAvVI/AAAAAAAAARs/LKpjBMt8t3A/s400/HPIM4012.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like the water fountains, benches show up every so often for </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">those who need them.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8trTTaibj6k/UHjjJLhRdgI/AAAAAAAAAR0/mam2xbLcAiA/s1600/HPIM4013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8trTTaibj6k/UHjjJLhRdgI/AAAAAAAAAR0/mam2xbLcAiA/s400/HPIM4013.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Cue Beatles music) <i>The long and winding road...that leads...to your door...</i></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H1aKNFemlOE/UHjjKnptLVI/AAAAAAAAAR8/rpfj_VDfnaY/s1600/HPIM4015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H1aKNFemlOE/UHjjKnptLVI/AAAAAAAAAR8/rpfj_VDfnaY/s400/HPIM4015.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just another shot of the trees - the colors were wonderful this morning.</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLnNbdsJ3dA/UHjjR9Dn39I/AAAAAAAAASk/6K1zJX1UVRc/s1600/HPIM4019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLnNbdsJ3dA/UHjjR9Dn39I/AAAAAAAAASk/6K1zJX1UVRc/s400/HPIM4019.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I *love* this sign...until I remember I'm really only halfway finished.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zvKREQhpCcg/UHjjUA-5khI/AAAAAAAAASs/ZzIASsG2eAQ/s1600/HPIM4020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zvKREQhpCcg/UHjjUA-5khI/AAAAAAAAASs/ZzIASsG2eAQ/s400/HPIM4020.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One end of the trail is currently blocked off by road construction.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGVMYeFc5Z8/UHjjV8rvGiI/AAAAAAAAAS0/A2a21u2-twI/s1600/HPIM4021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGVMYeFc5Z8/UHjjV8rvGiI/AAAAAAAAAS0/A2a21u2-twI/s400/HPIM4021.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where the posts are...that would be the back half of what used to be the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">parking lot at this end of the trail.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Dga5QhT5CE/UHjjX8jg5jI/AAAAAAAAAS8/rURRcp0uJgQ/s1600/HPIM4022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Dga5QhT5CE/UHjjX8jg5jI/AAAAAAAAAS8/rURRcp0uJgQ/s400/HPIM4022.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A PortaJohn. A roundabout. And doggie clean-up bags. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They're ready for everyone and everything.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKRY8ESkEz8/UHjjZce-FeI/AAAAAAAAATE/hXFtFQm_RlQ/s1600/HPIM4023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BKRY8ESkEz8/UHjjZce-FeI/AAAAAAAAATE/hXFtFQm_RlQ/s400/HPIM4023.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beginning the return trip. At least it's a downhill slope.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kYJFlaW9o8c/UHjjbBCt9HI/AAAAAAAAATQ/YPeCVZeYA34/s1600/HPIM4024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kYJFlaW9o8c/UHjjbBCt9HI/AAAAAAAAATQ/YPeCVZeYA34/s400/HPIM4024.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe there are more reminders to clean up after your </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dog than there are benches or water fountains.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pHpehXdV30M/UHjjclwiXpI/AAAAAAAAATY/Y9kEgjdkKN8/s1600/HPIM4025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pHpehXdV30M/UHjjclwiXpI/AAAAAAAAATY/Y9kEgjdkKN8/s400/HPIM4025.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We regularly have to move to the right to allow bicyclists to pass.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EcCoTqnPoGo/UHjjec83GvI/AAAAAAAAATg/YfQX18LK3LE/s1600/HPIM4026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EcCoTqnPoGo/UHjjec83GvI/AAAAAAAAATg/YfQX18LK3LE/s400/HPIM4026.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It helps to see the distance markers go past (the little red signs). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It gives you a feeling of accomplishment.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dz1axujRhHY/UHjjfhyPApI/AAAAAAAAATo/plisSIkQlLo/s1600/HPIM4027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dz1axujRhHY/UHjjfhyPApI/AAAAAAAAATo/plisSIkQlLo/s400/HPIM4027.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More limestone decorating the side of the trail.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dtimdRAgzq8/UHjjhSUqBoI/AAAAAAAAATw/48AxG18IV0c/s1600/HPIM4028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dtimdRAgzq8/UHjjhSUqBoI/AAAAAAAAATw/48AxG18IV0c/s400/HPIM4028.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Cue "The Wiz") <i>C'mon and..ease on down, ease on down the ro-oad....</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3LKG2UX3R0/UHjjjx_RdfI/AAAAAAAAAT4/4y7Hebg4qog/s1600/HPIM4029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3LKG2UX3R0/UHjjjx_RdfI/AAAAAAAAAT4/4y7Hebg4qog/s400/HPIM4029.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry for the blurry shot, but this trail leaving the main path </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">always makes me wonder....who...why...</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYrmqHlz2GI/UHjjoFLdt4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/SONA-3iemC4/s1600/HPIM4031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYrmqHlz2GI/UHjjoFLdt4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/SONA-3iemC4/s400/HPIM4031.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can't tell it, but there's quite an incline to this little hill. Considering </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that it </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">comes about 4 miles into the trip, Sandi has aptly named </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it "Oh Shit Hill." </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's one of those spots where you just have </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to dig in and GO.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGIc_8ZB2fE/UHjjqZ8MiQI/AAAAAAAAAUU/E_Tmwv1oWmM/s1600/HPIM4033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGIc_8ZB2fE/UHjjqZ8MiQI/AAAAAAAAAUU/E_Tmwv1oWmM/s400/HPIM4033.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One short stretch of trail near a parking lot is designed for creative </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">learning </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with kids. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The signs suggest activities such as exploring </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">flowers and trees, or walking like various </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">animals, or seeing what </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you can see that starts with different letters. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to take </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ethan out here someday.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAPp89NMB2U/UHjjr2V7ugI/AAAAAAAAAUc/sCPgSAxkY_I/s1600/HPIM4034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAPp89NMB2U/UHjjr2V7ugI/AAAAAAAAAUc/sCPgSAxkY_I/s400/HPIM4034.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More signs of suggested activities along the kids' section.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMMcvzSeJlI/UHjjttK5HZI/AAAAAAAAAUk/3HLO0TavMM0/s1600/HPIM4035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMMcvzSeJlI/UHjjttK5HZI/AAAAAAAAAUk/3HLO0TavMM0/s400/HPIM4035.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Describe the colors and shapes you see...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1VN9Q7y3wDs/UHjjvV2VAgI/AAAAAAAAAUs/xjdDpDlRUsI/s1600/HPIM4036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1VN9Q7y3wDs/UHjjvV2VAgI/AAAAAAAAAUs/xjdDpDlRUsI/s400/HPIM4036.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...as well as the letters you find.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xN4aVB6JdyA/UHjjxFwq4PI/AAAAAAAAAU4/k_p8O8cbs9Y/s1600/HPIM4037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xN4aVB6JdyA/UHjjxFwq4PI/AAAAAAAAAU4/k_p8O8cbs9Y/s400/HPIM4037.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last road crossing before we finish.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-accu-9gFUzI/UHjjyxQDmFI/AAAAAAAAAVA/M1oxvtk_c9o/s1600/HPIM4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-accu-9gFUzI/UHjjyxQDmFI/AAAAAAAAAVA/M1oxvtk_c9o/s400/HPIM4038.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another blurry shot, but I kept it because it is the second-sweetest </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sight I see - </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the roundabout at the beginning/end of the journey.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXe_m2fLNpY/UHjj0Fl2btI/AAAAAAAAAVI/5gKCMdOhvKw/s1600/HPIM4039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXe_m2fLNpY/UHjj0Fl2btI/AAAAAAAAAVI/5gKCMdOhvKw/s400/HPIM4039.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See? Roundabout. It's official. We're almost finished.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFbqhbkYbSw/UHjj1-3RHVI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/p1LSvZmPXwM/s1600/HPIM4040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFbqhbkYbSw/UHjj1-3RHVI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/p1LSvZmPXwM/s400/HPIM4040.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, I get tickled that they need a Yield sign as if there's a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lot of car traffic here.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cZWSHm2RQkc/UHjj4BeAXjI/AAAAAAAAAVY/R1lurtoIruE/s1600/HPIM4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cZWSHm2RQkc/UHjj4BeAXjI/AAAAAAAAAVY/R1lurtoIruE/s400/HPIM4041.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bridge! By this point, I'm usually having to talk myself to the end. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"C'mon, you can do this. Just a few more minutes. Almost there. MOVE IT!"</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There. You just did a 5-mile walk in fewer than 10 minutes. Don't you feel better now? ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and the sweetest sight I see? My car, waiting to take me home for a hot shower. :D</span><br />
<br />Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-24167887734912662112012-10-07T20:26:00.001-04:002012-10-07T20:26:27.734-04:00Being Selfish<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"My life is not my own."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was once part of an online group of scrapbookers, most of whom were moms, with a few of us having reached grandma status. This was our mantra as we juggled jobs, home life, kids' schedules, babysitting, and still tried to squeeze in a bit of time for our hobby.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most moms will understand the sentiment. Many people in general will understand the sentiment. We have jobs. We have meetings. We have other activities. We have church - some of us on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights AND Wednesday nights. We have parents to take care of...or kids...or grandkids...or neighbors. We have volunteer work. We have stuff to do around the house - laundry, cooking, cleaning, yardwork.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me personally, I love to help other people. It's part of my nature. It's why I studied to be a therapist, and it's why I loved working with families in the Children's Welfare System. It's why I don't mind when Kim calls at 8:00 p.m. and needs me to run pick up medicine for Ethan because the bottle she had spilled. Or why I automatically assume we'll be keeping him for a night or two if she's sick. It's why I'll spend the day running around helping someone find the parts to fix their vehicle when the battery has died.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, in many areas of my life, if someone has a need, I'll drop whatever I have planned and go help them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I've decided that this one thing is mine. This whole running / eating / losing weight thing...this is <b>for me</b>. Thankfully, those who are helping me on this journey are okay with that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Because this is <b>for me</b>, the walking is done at my pace. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know Jim could walk faster, simply because he has a longer stride. And I know Sandi could whip my butt, because she's just like the Little Engine That Could - she starts going and doesn't slow down, doesn't get winded, doesn't stop. But this is <b>for me</b>, so I ask them to go at my pace or go without me, but I'm not going to race to keep up with them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was especially evident yesterday when Jim & I went out to walk. He thought he was doing what would be most helpful by walking slightly ahead, giving me a "target" to shoot for and keep up with. And there have been days when that has been wonderful and I've responded well to the challenge. But I was out on a still-gimpy ankle, and it was my fifth day out in a row, and I was toying with the idea of trying for 6 miles (well, 6.2 - it was a 10K walk) and I just didn't have the oomph to try to set any speed records. So maybe two minutes into the walk, I stopped dead in the middle of the trail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all honesty, what was running through my head was, "I want you <i>with</i> me, not me looking at your back for the next 90 minutes." Then when I thought about it even more, I realized that my self-talk was saying, "See? You can't keep up with him." And then I decided to get selfish. It wasn't about <i>me</i> keeping up with <i>him</i>. It was about <i>him</i> being out <i>with me</i>. So I asked him, for that day, to just stay <i>with</i> me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Because this is <b>for me</b>, I choose the distance. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some days I want to push myself and see how far I can go (when I have the time to do it). Some days I'm short on time, or I'm just not feeling it for some reason, and I decide to go a shorter distance. Whoever is with me...that has to be okay with them, because it's what I need on that given day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Because this is <b>for me</b>, I will sometimes choose to go walking alone.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are days that I want the peace and solitude. Maybe I want the flexibility to challenge myself - in whatever form that takes - whenever the mood strikes. Or maybe I'm in a pensive mood and want to let my thoughts wander. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sometimes worry that Jim or Sandi will have their feelings hurt that I don't want to be with them. But it isn't that at all. It's just that I want to be alone. (There's a difference.) :) And since this is <b>for me</b>, I do it the way I need to do it...at the time of day I need to do it...with (or without) who I need to do it with (or without). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Because this is <b>for me</b>, meals are planned according to what I need to eat. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't made pasta at home in nearly three months. (Except for the time I tried whole wheat spaghetti - I wasn't a fan.) Boxed cereal is kept to a minimum - and only Jim eats it. We have fewer sweets in the house (although I do keep ice cream handy because that's Jim's favorite snack to have in the evenings). We don't eat nearly as much ground beef as we used to. The pantry is still pretty bare from the purge a couple months ago. Jim has to put up with me experimenting with different herbs and seasonings on fish and chicken. We have more yogurt and fewer Pop-Tarts. I <i>have</i> made a concession and when I fix myself a baked sweet potato, he gets a baked white potato, but in general, we eat far fewer potato dishes than what we used to. Our standard "grab to go" meal is the chicken pecan salad at Wendy's or something from Subway, rather than a big juicy burger and hot salty fries. But this is <b>for me</b>, so I ask him to accommodate that. (And, bless him, he does.) I ask Kim to make the same accommodations if she and Ethan come over for supper, and she does. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Ethan...he doesn't make accommodations. He has his three main things that he eats - pizza, hot dogs and shrimp - and <i>we</i> accommodate <i>that</i>.) :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even friends are sweet enough to make efforts to have Jenni-friendly food on hand. Last weekend we visited overnight with our friends Jan & Steve. I was thrilled and touched that they had made an effort to have plenty of fresh fruit around for me to snack on; the cornbread muffins we had for dinner were made with wheat flour (and something else healthy...I can't remember at the moment); and the apple muffins we had for Sunday breakfast were made with the Splenda brown sugar blend and applesauce instead of butter. (Thank you, Steve!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes, this one thing, this is <b>for me</b>. And I'm giving myself permission to be selfish about it. I am asking others to accommodate what works best for me at any given point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the people who have talked to me about how they wish they could do this, one thing I would say is, it has to be <b>for you</b>. You need to surround yourself with supportive people who will accommodate that and help supply what you need. If you want to have a more healthy diet, then the people around you need to be supportive of that. If it means different menus at home, so be it. If it means avoiding certain favorite restaurants, okay. If it means no sweets in the house because they are too much of a temptation, then the family has to find their sugary snacks someplace else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're going to exercise, the people who say they want to exercise with you need to be flexible to your schedule. Or maybe you need them to take over some household chore - like starting dinner - so you have time to get out and walk for an hour after work. Or they need to be okay with the noise of you doing exercises in the living room in the evening while watching your favorite TV shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>It has to be <b>for you</b>.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And ultimately, making it <b>for you</b> now means it's <b>for them</b> later when you are healthier and happier and more energetic and live longer.</span>Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441855422206043513.post-69079407137805531142012-10-04T23:19:00.000-04:002012-10-12T23:25:49.094-04:00Come Along with Me - The Rail Trail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bloomington has an amazing trail system, the south end of which is about a two-minute drive from my house. Today was gorgeous - the temps were in the mid-50s when we were out this morning, and the sun made the fall colors extra bright.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good thing I had my camera.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Unfortunately, I tried to take pictures and keep walking at the same time, so many of them are less-than-sharp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any case, this is the Rail Trail - a two-mile stretch of soft surface (gravel) trail on the south side of Bloomington. And this is the trail that I walked and walked and walked until Sandi and I started doing longer sections so we could do five-mile walks.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qap6MwoFtGY/UG4pILsH8xI/AAAAAAAAAK4/WymmTVGT_So/s1600/HPIM3947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qap6MwoFtGY/UG4pILsH8xI/AAAAAAAAAK4/WymmTVGT_So/s400/HPIM3947.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may be fall, but the bright red berries against the dark green leaves on a <br />plant near the parking lot remind me that Christmas is coming.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t3gWD9xfUsE/UG48GVgAojI/AAAAAAAAAOg/IESbHth5HTY/s1600/HPIM3948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t3gWD9xfUsE/UG48GVgAojI/AAAAAAAAAOg/IESbHth5HTY/s400/HPIM3948.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This bridge serves as the landmark for the start and stop of our path. <br />As many times as Matt saw this bridge, he never saw it looking like this.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71dX4uTysmQ/UG4pN6bUHBI/AAAAAAAAALQ/OoESMKADPGI/s1600/HPIM3950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71dX4uTysmQ/UG4pN6bUHBI/AAAAAAAAALQ/OoESMKADPGI/s400/HPIM3950.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just beyond the bridge, this roundabout connects the Rail Trail, going <br />up through the trees, with the Clear Creek Trail, <br />a paved path that goes off to the left of the bench.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uf3ToEj-WmM/UG4pPboQjTI/AAAAAAAAALY/tX9RUuSDAEk/s1600/HPIM3951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uf3ToEj-WmM/UG4pPboQjTI/AAAAAAAAALY/tX9RUuSDAEk/s400/HPIM3951.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it's blurry because I was walking, I think the picture looks <br />like a watercolor, painted by God's own hand.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y6778-KObRQ/UG4pSUaESxI/AAAAAAAAALo/XOeQ-1aRN_U/s1600/HPIM3953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y6778-KObRQ/UG4pSUaESxI/AAAAAAAAALo/XOeQ-1aRN_U/s400/HPIM3953.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part of the reason I like this trail is because it's easy to know where <br />my distance markers are. The center line on this road <br />is the half-mile point.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vIImZCes710/UG4pVs6DuEI/AAAAAAAAAL8/mYrHqCYYFdE/s1600/HPIM3957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vIImZCes710/UG4pVs6DuEI/AAAAAAAAAL8/mYrHqCYYFdE/s400/HPIM3957.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a beautiful horse farm along the trail, <br />right on the edge of a subdivision.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just after the horse farm, we have to cross another road. We almost always <br />have to stop here for traffic, in spite of the crosswalk.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DVaQFJ3Q0i0/UG4pZK2k4QI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Mqe_Dj06LSA/s1600/HPIM3961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DVaQFJ3Q0i0/UG4pZK2k4QI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Mqe_Dj06LSA/s400/HPIM3961.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just after crossing the road, you can see the next road <br />- the one-mile mark.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we come out of the woods, there's the Bloomington <br />version of Stonehenge. (Okay, I don't know what it really is, <br />but every time I see it I think of Stonehenge.)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This church stands at the corner that marks the one-mile point.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a carpet of leaves on the trail this morning. <br />Colorful, soft...and a little slippery.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all the markers along the first mile, there are none on the second <br />and it seems to stretch forever until you finally round a curve and see the <br />trail ahead opening up in front of you.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--F65oxkDzLY/UG4pfa777hI/AAAAAAAAAMw/Uwzy-zlyGEw/s1600/HPIM3974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--F65oxkDzLY/UG4pfa777hI/AAAAAAAAAMw/Uwzy-zlyGEw/s400/HPIM3974.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trail head and parking lot at the other end of the two-mile trail. <br />You get to this parking lot from Country Club Drive.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Catch your breath, turn around, and plunge back into the forest again. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULEOCuP-JGA/UG4pk7jUvNI/AAAAAAAAANI/bIQBiLG11p0/s1600/HPIM3977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ULEOCuP-JGA/UG4pk7jUvNI/AAAAAAAAANI/bIQBiLG11p0/s400/HPIM3977.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the way the sun streaks broke through the <br />leaves and striped the trail this morning.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGVQyBYqQi4/UG4pmxrZkzI/AAAAAAAAANU/6szXByft-48/s1600/HPIM3978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGVQyBYqQi4/UG4pmxrZkzI/AAAAAAAAANU/6szXByft-48/s400/HPIM3978.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always kid that this feels like a camera shot in a horror movie where the<br />trail just keeps stretching on forever and ever and you never reach the end.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpUrlx4eg_g/UG4pujfMigI/AAAAAAAAAN8/aEUZlNyIRZw/s1600/HPIM3985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpUrlx4eg_g/UG4pujfMigI/AAAAAAAAAN8/aEUZlNyIRZw/s400/HPIM3985.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a surge of both excitement and relief when I see this sign - <br />the roundabout at the beginning...and end...of the journey.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vQvIpvMyOsc/UG4pwdkV4eI/AAAAAAAAAOE/aOrf6Dlgd7Y/s1600/HPIM3987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vQvIpvMyOsc/UG4pwdkV4eI/AAAAAAAAAOE/aOrf6Dlgd7Y/s400/HPIM3987.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The view from the bridge - the creek is still really <br />full from all the rain we had earlier in the week.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, let's be honest - this is what I see most of the time...<br />Sandi about two paces ahead of me all the way. :)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in the summer, when I started walking, it was hot and humid and horrible, even early in the morning. At that point, there were many days that I got through it mostly by imagining how wonderful it would be once we got to the fall and the temps cooled off and the humidity was lower. Now it's fall, and you know what? I was right. This is WONDERFUL walking weather!</span></div>
Jennihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240630989522172215noreply@blogger.com2