Marathon!

I DID IT!!! It wasn't pretty to watch, but I finished my first marathon. I was not pleased with my time at all, but I'll chalk this one up as a learning experience for next time. The results: this varies by who you ask. According to my watch that I started once I actually crossed the starting line I ran it in 3:55:55. Nowhere near what I wanted to run, but like I said, it was a good learning experience. I only needed to run 44 minutes and 56 seconds faster to qualify for Boston2007!

Here's the breakdown of the whole race (what I was feeling and thinking):

Saturday Evening: Packet Pick-up and health expo. I'm pretty excited at this point. I don't if I have what it takes or not, but will soon find out. "There's nothing more that I can do at this point to prepare, so relax and enjoy this experience."

Sunday Morning:

5:00 A.M. My alarm was set for 5:30, but I'm a bit too anxious to go back to sleep. "Boy am I glad I got the extra hour of sleep" :)

6:45 A.M. The starting area is very crowded. There's a lot of people running this thing. 15,800 some last I checked. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm pretty sure I won't end up last at least!

7:15 A.M. Off we go! The wind isn't too bad. It's cold, about 35 degrees, but whatever. "I feel like I'm running in slow motion."

Mile 1: I feel good, I thought I was going slow, but I check in at 7:27 for my split. I see my next door neighbor and that's when I know I'm going to fast. He's supposed to finish 30 minutes ahead of me.

Mile 2: 15 minutes flat. Still too fast. I'm trying to slow down, but it's actually hard to do. Some guy parked on the sidewalk has pulled speakers out of mini-van and is blaring the Rocky theme song. "How am I supposed to slow down when hearing that?"

Mile 3.4: Oh my gosh, I'm getting ready to run onto Ambassador bridge and on into Canada. "Marathons are fun!"

Mile 3.8: My legs are not used to hills especially one so long and steep. "Does this bridge ever end?

Mile 4: Legs still burning. "Nope, this bridge never ends. Maybe the rest of the race is all uphill somehow."

Mile 4.2: Canada! There's a guy greeting us on a PA system as we come in. He points at that since Canada uses the metric system we are running 60% faster now.

Miles 5-7.5: The problem with Canada is now that I'm trying to re-establish my pace again after the uphil bridge, they forgot to give us splits. I have no idea how fast I'm running.

Mile 8: The underwater tunnel. This is pretty cool. It's a bit over a mile in length so they actually time this split and report it to you seperately. It's also nice and warm in here. "This race is a piece of cake!"

Mile 11: Okay, I'm starting to hurt a little bit now. The arch in my foot is on fire. Besides that, I'm okay.

Mile 12.5: There goes the half-marathoners for their finish. "Is it too late to switch races?"

Mile 13.2: Half-way there! My split is at 1:42. Faster than my goal pace. "If I can just keep this up I can have a great run!"

Mile 14: Not only are there stations for water and gatorade, but now I see some people set up with a beer station! Hilarious! I'm thinking somehow that the combination of beer and marathons don't mix.

Mile 15: Oh, boy! I feel like I'm going to vomit. Now I must slow down or risk being "that guy" that everyone talks about. I wonder how the people who drank the beer fell?

Mile 17: I no longer feel like I'm going to throw up anymore, but with the wind out on Belle Island, it feels like I'm running in wet sand. Yuck!

Mile 18: Hey, I just got passed by the 3:30 pace setter! Now I know I'm in trouble. Where was that guy at mile 2?

Mile 20: Everything hurts at this point. My glutes, quads, groin, ankles, calves, knees and hamstrings. Especially my hamstrings! I stop and stretch at this point.

Somewhere between 20 and 21: "This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever attempted in my life. No wait, there was this one time I tried to jump a barbed wire fence and didn't make it. Hmm...I'm thinking this might be worse."

Mile 21: I've just beem passed by a guy wearing a tutu. Okay. That makes a guy in a tutu, a woman dressed like supergirl, and a man dressed like a bumble bee whom have all passed me. I can easily see how at this point in the race you might think that you're someone you're not, but to actually dress like it before the race even started? Weird.

Mile 22: At this point my legs have given up. Every once in a while my legs just sort of stop working, I stumble a step or two, and start moving again.

Mile 23: I think I've found a "pace" that I'm finally comfortable with...slow!

I'm drawing my energy off of the spirit stations that are sprinked around. One even had a marching band performing there.

Mile 23.1: I just saw the guy next to me recieve a surprise arial assault from a seagull. I don't think he noticed it though. Shhh......

Mile 24: In a strange turn of events, a police car and an ambulance meet nose to nose trying to go in opposite directions, thus blocking off our path. I easily lose 20-30 seconds and am not happy about it.

Mile 25: We're downtown Detroit again, but where's the finish? "Doesn't this race ever end?"

Ford Field: Ah, the finish. We enter through the tunnel into the stadium which is all downhill. I'm pretty some people fall at this place given the exhaustion and the steepness. At this point my arm swing is nearly in my armpits and I'm trying to slow myself down because I really am out of control. After finishing, I get processed and move through some chutes like a cow off to the market. It's a surreal ending to such a crazy and wild morning. I actually finished a marathon. Woo-hoo!

The end Results: Time 3:56-ish, again, depends who you talk to. 1/2 split: 1:42:20. If you do the math you see that I had a REALLY tough time with the second half of the race :( Underwater mile split: 7:22 It was mostly flat or slightly downhill though :) 136th place for my age group and 1, 261st place overall. One very sore and tired body. Again, it was a great learning experience. Talking to runners after the race I learned that a good strategy is to run negative splits. My strategy was simply to go out and run. Next time I'll be much better prepared and the goal of 3:30 I think will be much easier to achieve.

Me before the race

Looky at what I won!

Me after the race at home :)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!

Yes, there is something special going on this Sunday. Sunday is a day fast approaching in which I will always look back upon in rememberance. Whether the memories made are for the better or the poorer is yet to be seen, but they will be memories netherless. Sunday is the day of my first marathon!
The past week I have been suffering a cold, so things could get interesting. Also motivation to train has been down right zero. It's hard to go out and run a meager 8 miles when you've already ran 20. I like challenging myself, so if the task has no challenge in it, then it is hard for me to see the value of doing it. On top of that, there is also a chance of snow that morning! Not great running weather, especially for this sun-lover :)

There are a ton of obstacles to overcome in order to call my first attempt a success, but either way, this weekend in Detroit should be a memorable one!

On another note, I found out that I may not be graduating from CMU in the spring. The really cool college that I'm attending for my Master's decided it would not offer the last three courses that I needed to take. This is in spite of these courses being on the course rotation schedule for the spring 2007 semester. Thanks CMU! You're cool!!! (sarcasm noted)

I have found two replacement courses from another university that I can transfer in. That leaves one more class that I don't know what to do about. I just sent an e-mail out to the professors pleading for someone to do an indepentdent study with me. This is not normally the way college is done becuase the professors don't get paid for it. I'm praying and hoping that someone will see the value of teaching me, seeing how they are "education" professors. Maybe after I graduate they will hire me to teach there so their work load will be lighter! (zzz...huh?...what? oh, sorry...I must have been dreaming!)

My goal for Sunday is 3:30, which is not fast enough to qualify for Boston. I figured I would just go out and have fun with this one since it is my first time. Maybe if I run well then I will have some motivation to try again. Hopefully next time at a warmer location!

Fun Maps!

I thought this would be a fun little thing to post on the old blog. It's a map of all the states that I've traveled to.

map from http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates

The author also made a map of the world that you can click on and highlight. It's a little depressing though when you look at it. One can travel abroad several times and not really have it show up. It makes one aware of just how big of a place the world really is. My map I admit is a bit decieving though. I really haven't visited Canada yet. I will be doing so (on foot) next weekend when I run the Detoit Marathon though. However, by no means am I exploring the entire land mass of Canada!

map from: http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedcountries

A fun idea would be a world map that you can highlight the cities you've been to. If anyone has this let me know.

If there was one of just towns in Kansas that would be hilarious. I counted one time and I had been to like 2/3 of all towns in Kansas. Scary!

Friday the 13th is to be celebrated!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

This is a day that strikes fear in maky people. While some who suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia will not be able to enjoy today, I know that today is another wonderful day that has been created by the creator and that we should enjoy it!

A study estimates that nearly $900 million dollars will be lost in the U.S. alone because some refuse to fly or to do business on this day. It is a proven fact that for these people who fear this day, yes bad things happen. Mostly it is becuase of the psychological effect that their fear creates. People can actually make themselves sick over this day on the calender. However silly this may seem to us, we are not alone in our society's misguided fears. In Spain they fear Tuesday the 13th, and Tuesdays in general. In China the numbers 4 and 7 are both bad while the numbers 8 and 9 are good.

It's amazing the superstitions that different cultures hold on to. If we don't ship out on the 13th or on Fridays, and Spain doesn't start on Tuesdays, and the Chinese don't start their journeys on the 4th or the 7th, well....it's amazing that anything ever gets done in the realm of international business.

I will say that I find it sad how strong of a hold this kind of fear and blindness can have on people's lives. I find that superstitions often are intertwined with religion and that these futile practices will somehow help one gain prosperity either in this life or the next. If you know anyone of with another religious background other than your own, or know of anyone who is highly superstitious, I challenge you to get to really know what they practice and to try and understand why they practice it. These kinds of conversations open the door for us to talk about spiritual things and can lead to an opening for our Father to work. (Keep in mind though He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on Him)

How great it is to have assurance of our salvation, because of what Jesus did on the cross!

Below is a quick video of what Michigan is like in October. It could me much worse like it is in Buffalo. They got nearly 2 feet of snow last night!

Balloon Fest II !

So I promised that I would find the pictures from last years balloon festival. I finally did so and finally threw them up on my computer for your enjoyment.

There hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things going on as of late. Last weekend Sandy and I ate breakfast at Omelette's and more, a fun little mom and pop restaurant downtown. It was the first time that I had been there, but I'm thinking I'll be becoming a regular there soon. It's a nice little place to go. Oh, and they serve great coffee! If anyone comes and visits we're definitely taking you there!

School has been bery challenging this year. The assessments and evaluations class has blown me away. I'm not a big statistics person so it's been a tough go. I have a test there tomorrow that is all essay and short answer. That should be fun! My grant writing class has been enjoyable. It's challenged me to think more as an administrator rather than just a student. It's interseting stuff.

In other news, it's supposed to get stinkin' cold soon. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, but it shouldn't stick. At least I hope not! High tomorrow....a balmy 38! The trick or treaters might be wearing their long johns this year!

I promise next time I'll be a little more thought provoking. My posts often reflect the way I'm living my life at the moment, so yes, I'm a bit scattered and a bit random. After this weekend things should calm down a tiny bit.

p.s. the last picture is of Sandra's favorite balloon :)