team ATTTID collage

erica made this, and i love it!

wrapping up the month

and there you have it, friends.  november is ending and december is upon us tomorrow.  as if on cue, the weather changed from warmish and sunny to gray, cold, and dreary in a period of 24 hours.  which is fine by me; i like the weather to reflect the time of year.

this month was hectic and full of blessings.  you read and saw all of our adventures as i NaBloPoMo’ed them.  and i am grateful for every bit of it.

it wasn’t my strongest month for written posts, but i’m okay with that.  one can only do so much.  i have kept up with my reading, which is more important to me at the moment.

i have many drafts for posts in my head, which i will publish in december.  they are related to books & movies & stuff that inspires me.  i think they’ll be perfect for end-of-year blogging.  as usual, you can look forward to my end-of-year lists, favorites, memories, etc.

thanks for chiming in where you did this month.  i leave you with this year’s Christmas collage:

p.s. i have narrowed it down: i’m saving for an iPod Touch (32 gb).

pondering the start of Advent

“Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?  (Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.  Death can’t, and life can’t.  The angels can’t, and the demons can’t.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.  Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8: 35-39 (NLT)

We spent some time in the above passage in my Sunday school class yesterday, kicking of a 3-week series on the purpose of Christmas.  I asked each person to spend some time reflecting on the amazing words above, and to share a phrase that stuck with them personally.  The responses were varied and beautiful, and I also shared my own: the repeated use of the word “separate”.

I thought about how that word describes our relationship with God before Jesus enters into it.  Our sin separates us from a perfect, holy God, and only Jesus can bridge that gap.  In taking our sin upon Himself and nailing it to the Cross, Jesus made a way for us to be in relationship with God forever.  Hallelujah for Christmas, the birth of our Savior!

So seeing the word “separate” in the passage from Romans has all new meaning, because of the words that precede it:  “nothing can”!  We are stuck to God like glue.  In the words of a guy in my Sunday school class, God is like this loving, ever-present bodyguard.  That is certainly a nice picture to have in mind when facing the trials of another day – and a great reason to begin celebrating Advent.

I like to think of God not just as a bodyguard, but a gentle giant, one who is completely interested in everything I think and do.  Donald Miller describes it like this (in his excellent, must-read book, Blue Like Jazz):

“Jesus didn’t just love me out of principle; He didn’t just love me because it was the right thing to do.  Rather, there was something inside me that caused Him to love me.  I think I realized that if I walked up to His campfire, He would ask me to sit down, and He would ask me my story.  He would take the time to listen to my ramblings or my anger until I could calm down, and then He would look me directly in the eye, and He would speak to me; He would tell me the truth, and I would sense in His voice and in the lines on His face that He liked me.”

It is this same Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas.  May your Advent season be shaped and colored by the thought that He is your friend, and His love never fails.

all i want for Christmas

leaves and pine needles

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nothing like a brisk morning run to celebrate all that I’m thankful for!  (Seriously.)   Along with a couple thousand other folks, I ran the Turkey Trot 5K.  I spent most of the run thinking about things I was thankful for, including my good health and strong legs that can do such exercise.  God is good!

Dave and the kids cheered me on.  Here are some pics:

I could not believe my eyes when I saw that my finish time was 32:32!  That is my best 5K finish yet, and I don’t know how I did it.  It was only my second run since the half marathon almost 2 weeks ago.  But cool!  I’ll take it!  I’m very proud of myself.

Dave and I ordered a new treadmill from amazon last night.  We are making it work financially because we both need it greatly and it will get much much use.  I don’t want to lose the momentum I’ve worked so hard to regain these past 6 months!

Running a Second Half-Marathon

On Sunday, November 15, I completed my second half-marathon.   Here is the story (complete with TMI):

I got up at 5 a.m. to make sure I’d be ready in time for my ride (coming at 6).  The rest of the house I was staying at was still fast asleep.  It was still dark when I gathered my things and sat outside on Jenny’s front porch to wait for Daniel & Amanda to pick me up.  Dark, and warm.  I had no need for long sleeves or a jacket, so I didn’t bring them.  I ate my chocolate power bar and gazed at the Tower of the Americas, still lit up in the darkness of early morning.  On top of the usual pre-race jitters, I was a little melancholy, ’cause it was my last full day in San Antonio.  Looking at one of the symbols of downtown San Antonio was a memorable reflective moment for me.

I climbed into Team Espinoza’s car at 6, and it was still dark out.  We made our way to the AT & T Center to leave their car and get shuttled over to the start line.  This is one of those hazy memories because there was bus after bus filling with runners in the dark.  Like some weird high school band trip or something.  I was happy to get a seat and Manders & I helped each other put our numbers on.  I decided to fold down the top part of my number (with the words “Rock & Roll Marathon” or something) because the paper was huge and I wanted it to look clean & simple on me.  (Okay, actually, I had just seen another person in line who’d done that so I decided to be cool like her.)

From the moment we were dropped off on Broadway, people were lining up anywhere and everywhere to use the bathroom.  Sonic, for example, had a line of 20 people waiting outside their bathroom.  I specifically did not drink anything prior to the race for this exact reason.

At the start “corrals”, there were hundreds of porta-potties lined up with hundreds of people waiting to use them.  I was happy to avoid this activity, and waited in Corral 28 for Kelly & Erica.  I was so glad to be starting with them.  All I had on me was a water bottle (with a pocket so I could carry my phone), and two packs of energy chews (little gummies).  At 7:30, our corral was pretty full, and Erica & Kelly found me.  We had someone take our picture with Erica’s iPhone.  I’m so glad we did that; it’s the only team picture I have where we’re wearing our matching Team ATTTID shirts.  Too bad Amanda was starting in a different corral.

Each corral was released to the course at about 30 second or 1 minute intervals.  So, just like cattle, we were prodded to the start line bit by bit.  In all, it took about an hour to get there.  In that time, Erica, Kelly, and I talked, laughed, and shook our heads in disbelief that we were actually doing what we had set out to do four months earlier.  At about 8 a.m., I realized that I should probably do what everyone else appeared to be doing: run to the side, use a porta-potty, and return to their corral before they were released.  I didn’t have to pee, but here’s where it gets, shall we say, personal: I suddenly knew I had to go No. 2.  Argh!!  So annoying.  (“Go now,” I thought.  “No!  Ignore it!” I thought right after.  “You can wait till you see more porta-potties around mile 1 or 2,” I reasoned.)

Mind over matter – I ignored nature’s call.  Time to start!  It was 8:28 when we heard our gun go off, almost 1 hour exactly after the race “started”.  Kelly said goodbye right away (she walked it), and Erica and I began our jog.  We passed some mariachis right at the start and she said, “Go!” to me.  (We had all previously discussed that we’d be doing it at different paces and no one’s feelings would be hurt.) 

Around mile 2, I passed Erica’s parents and husband.  They didn’t see me; they were fully focused on finding Erica.  Right after that, I got to run in front of the Alamo, which was a great memory.  Everywhere in the downtown streets, crowds of spectators were cheering.  I felt vaguely famous (and totally awesome), even though no one I knew was cheering for me in those places.

Miles 3 and 4 were not so pretty but I can’t remember where we were.  Around mile 3, I saw a few porta-potties and thought, “Just do it now, get it over with.”  I jogged over to them and waited in line for about 10 seconds when I realized I was going to regret losing time over waiting for a porta-potty that was previously used by tons of sweaty runners and someone would have to go in after I did my business… yeah, no thanks.  Pretty gross, right?  “Nevermind,” I concluded.  You just hold it, woman.

It was so dang hot & humid that morning.  I was sweating profusely pretty early in and had sweat dripping into my eyes for a couple of miles.  That sucked.  But I pressed on.  It wasn’t bright enough for sunglasses but I didn’t like how they bounced on my shirt, so I carried them in one hand.  My other hand was sweating like crazy in my running bottle.  I knew I would give both items to Dave when I saw him.  I also knew I wouldn’t be seeing him for awhile – he was stationed at Jenny’s church, which was at Mile 11, which was over an hour away.  So I focused on my run despite the uncomfortable aspects that were distracting me.

Mile 4 included a pretty hefty hill.  I did not walk it.  I kept my pace and my focus and I was proud of myself for doing it.  And I rode the momentum of the downward slope for all it was worth.  During Mile 5 or 6, there was another hill (going down) with a group of people obsessed with bananas.  I have no idea what organization they were, but there were people dressed as bananas, wearing yellow banana t-shirts, and giving out bananas.  They were dancing and singing and it was my “runner’s high” moment No. 1.  I remember shouting Thank you! to them and smiling to myself about how many banana peels were on the course, and wondering how many people would actually slip on a real banana peel while running a marathon.

When I saw the sign for completing Mile 6, I said out loud, “All right!  Mile 6 already!”  And no one seemed as excited about it as me.  I overheard someone else grumble, “Only Mile 6?”  It was at that point I saw official race photogs on a crane, ready to take pictures.  I wiped that Wicked Witch of the West expression off my face and gave them a smile and a peace sign.  I thought, “Why did you flash a peace sign?  You’re not a hippie!”

Right around then, I realized the skin beneath my collarbone was starting to sting, which could mean only one thing:  chafing.  There??  I had used Body Glide every other conceivable place and did not even think I’d chafe right there on my chest.  But the seam on the inside of my new team running shirt was causing damage.  Thankfully, around Mile 7, there was a medical table.  I jogged up to the people who were, I observed, not at all interested in my injury.  They watched me come up to them and I said, “I’m chafing right here!!”  Like it was a national security issue.  They pointed to the girls giving out tongue depressors with cream on them.  I thought at first that they’d apply it to my skin for me – but they gave me the stick to do it myself.  All this while I was still jogging.  I couldn’t see a thing so I slapped that white stuff on my chest and got it all over my black shirt, and after all that, I still missed a spot, because the sting continued for awhile longer.

It was between Miles 7 & 8 that I realized, “Hey!  Maybe I can poop at Jenny’s church!  It’s only 4 miles away!”  So I called Dave on my cell phone (which I was carrying, remember?)  I continued to run while I talked to him.  I saw spectators laughing at me for running while on the phone, but I didn’t care.   Here’s the conversation:

Dave:  Hello?

Me:  Hey!  (huff puff)  I am (huff puff) between (huff puff) milessevenandeight!

Dave:  Cool!  I have no idea where that is.

Me:  Are you at Jenny’s church?

Dave:  Yes.

Me:  Can you ask Jen if I can use the bathroom there?

Dave: (Jenny, can Dawn use your bathroom?)

Jenny:  (Oh, sure!)

Dave:  Yes, you can.

Me: Excellent!  (huff puff)  I will be there in (huff puff)  less than an hour.

Dave:  Great!

Me:  Bye!

The next 3 miles were nothing noteworthy, other than to comment on the drunk spectators that were dancing in front of the live band stages.  Any distraction works, friends.

In the distance, I could see that Jenny’s church was located right at the end of Mile 11, and right when the course split off – the half marathoners would turn left, and the full marathoners would continue straight.  I had to cross over to the marathoner side to get to her church, so they didn’t see me coming until I was right on the church’s front porch.

SWEET RELIEF!!!

One look in the mirror told me I looked just as nasty as I felt.  Runny mascara, sweat, nappy hair, etc.  Awesome!  I gave Dave my sunglasses and water bottle at the stop, too.  I kept my phone in the little tiny pocket in my running pants.

Ran back outside and got to hear Lucy, Eli, Dave, Jenny, and Jen’s friends cheer for me as I threw myself back into the course.  That was Runner’s High No. 2.  I turned the corner and was mentally propelled to keep going for 2.1 more miles.

Mile 13 was undoubtedly the hardest.  I could see the Alamodome (finish line) for most of the mile, and I was like, almost there!  Wait, not quite.  You have to run around the entire thing in the most drawn out route possible before you see that finish line.  There were thousands of spectators for most of this mile, which also messed with my head.  (In small town Huntsville, spectators = finish line.)  At one point, a spectator walked out to cross the “runner’s path” right in front of me and nearly tripped me.  They had a dozen roses or something ready to give to someone and I wanted to grab them and hit him in the face with them.  It was really rude.  Don’t mind me, I just ran 13 miles, you tool!

So then it’s the VERY end.  Because 13 miles still doesn’t equal the finish line.  You’ve still got the last tenth.  And of course, the course gives us a BIG HONKIN’ HILL for the last tenth, I kid you not.  Thousands of people watching us try to drag our heavy legs up that last hill – the moment of victory mocking you a few yards away.  But I was propelled forward by the words of one man in the crowd – a stranger, saying, “Now go get that hill!”  I loved that person for saying that.  Because I heard him say it in my head every step of the way.  I didn’t walk that hill – I ran it.  After that, there was a photographer kneeling, taking end-of-race pictures.  I waited until I was right in front of him, and then I gave him my best smile.  (For those of you who know me, it was a good one.  Shoot, I practially winked at the man.)  And then it was the finish line.  I think I even pumped my fist and said, “Yes!” like Kevin McAllister.  I’m cool like that.  My best guestimate about my finish time was 2:42.

Got my medal.  Got a freezing wet towel that they were pulling from a barrel of ice water.  Got 2 bottles of Aquafina.   Got another picture taken.  Was herded through the food section, where I wanted two of everything and NOTHING to put it all in.  So I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, and my arms were totally overloaded with free food, water, chocolate milk, etc.  (The frugal mama in me was collecting stuff for my kids for later, too!)  And there was no place to sit except on the litter-strewn asphalt with all the other exhausted people.  Once we left the food place, we couldn’t return.  So I left to find my bag so I could rest my arms.

Originally the plan was for me to find my friends and celebrate with them at the Alamodome.  It was also not a plan for Dave & the kids to be at the finish line – too much madness for Dave to manage both kids on his own.  I knew 5 minutes into it that I just needed to get out of there.  I was so tired and hungry and mentally drained that I did not want to stay sitting on that horrible asphalt for a second longer than I had to.  So I called Dave and asked him to pick me up outside the Alamodome as quickly as he could.  I walked about another mile to a side street and waited for him to maneuver his way over to me.  Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to find me, and we immediately went to Taco Cabana so I could get my recovery lunch.

That night, I got to celebrate the accomplishment with my partners in crime, Erica, Kelly, and Amanda, and our families and friends.  It was a really fun night, and a day I will never forget!

I look back on my second half marathon and I am filled with gratitude for the chance to get to do that with people I loved, in a city that means so much to me.  I really bonded with the beautiful city streets on which I got to know so personally.  And later, driving by the downtown skyline, I saw it in a new way – I ran there!  I said.  I ran there, too!  I said again.  My beautiful hometown, site of my second half-marathon accomplishment.  I am beside myself.

p.s. The part of me that was the most sore the next day?  My pelvic muscles.  I held it while running 11 miles!!!

just fyi

i have missed several nablopomo days due to my travels, but i am going back in and filling in the blank days with posts & pictures about said travels.  so scroll down, check ‘em out, and comment away.  woot!

full hearts, happy bellies

The moment we crossed the border from Louisiana into Texas, I shed a tear of joy. 

I got to see friends old and new.

I ate at Taco Cabana four times.

I consumed about two dozen tortillas.

I bought a dozen more for the ride home.

We spent seven nights staying up late and talking with Jenny, Jake, and others until our eyes couldn’t stay open.

I ran six miles with Jenny in her neighborhood.

I ran thirteen miles alone in the heart of downtown San Antonio.

We drove fifty miles in one day doing the “Reminiscing Tour”, wherein we saw UTSA, the house I lived in with “the girls”, the apartment I lived in just before leaving Texas permanently, the house I lived in during high school & some college, the church I attended before moving away, the school where I had my first teaching job, and countless other significant places.

I cried many tears when we crossed that same border back into Louisiana on our way home.

happy to be home.

that is all.