A Long Absence

I haven't blogged in quite a while. I've been wanting to share my marathon experience, but I just haven't had the time to put it into words here. I will let you know that I finished and had a good experience, and I will eventually share my story. In the meantime, a quick update:

What has been keeping me so busy is a long-term subbing job. Since mid-October, I've been working at the same school for a teacher who is unfortunately out for medical reasons. The doctors are still trying to figure it out, so I'm keeping her in my prayers. As great as it is to have consistent work, I want her to recover soon. As a long-term sub, I get to plan the lessons, grade the papers, and basically act like the real classroom teacher. Hence, I have not had the same kind of free time to read and blog that I used to. Nevertheless, I love the work. I love that I get to develop relationships with the staff and students, and I love feeling like each day has purpose to it. This experience has helped to confirm that, at heart, I do want to return to teaching. It has also provided me the opportunity to make a name for myself in the district and increase my chances of getting a job in the fall. In many ways, God has answered my prayers and has been blessing me. I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

Despite the busyness, I'll try to get around to sharing some marathon details soon.

A Name Change

I know the phrase "live laugh love" has been around for a while. Over a hundred years ago Mark Twain said, "Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening, love like you've never been hurt, and live like it's heaven on earth." Versions and modifications have popped up all over the place, but when I started this blog in January 2008 and decided to title it "live laugh love" I swear the phrase was not as commercialized as it is today. It is found on picture frames, doormats, even utensil crocks. I still believe in the philosophy of living well, laughing often, and loving much, but I want to change my blog title to something less exploited, something I wouldn't face with every trip to Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

For now, the blog shall remain untitled until I find what I want. I welcome any suggestions.

A city where anything can happen

According to Jay-Z, "In New York, concrete jungles where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do." There is a certain magic to New York City that gives one a sense that anything can happen. I feel blessed to have spent two years living there and grateful for wonderful friends who let my husband and me crash on their couches now when we come to visit.

On Labor Day, Michael and I were looking for something to do and discovered that much of New York City shuts down for the holiday. We didn't let that stop us though. Our friend Celia suggested a visit to MoMA PS1, and fortunately the museum was actually open, so Michael, Celia, Laura, and I headed out. As soon as we arrived, our olfactory senses were overwhelmed by a strong scent of baking bread. It smelled like a delicious combination of french bread and cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven. Walking through the museum, we would occasionally be in a room with open windows or a stairwell, and the smell would just waft in suddenly. Mmm... We wondered where the source could possibly be and how we could get our fill of this tasty treat. Was it the museum café? At the end of our tour, we checked the café to no avail. On our way out, Laura plucked up the courage to ask a museum security guard if he knew the source of the smell. In response, he vaguely motioned to a direction behind us. We headed the way he pointed and tried to follow our noses, but canines we are not. As we approached a gas station, we lost the trail (go figure). Again Laura, ever the brave and undaunted one, asked for help. The woman working in the gas station booth, sitting in her tiny cube behind bullet-proof glass, was only too happy to help. She knew exactly what we were looking for, and she came out from her place of safety to point out the exact building where the bread was baking, telling us that she stops for bread there every morning. Hooray! We could almost taste victory. 

We crossed the street and began circling what looked like a large brick warehouse with a sign indicating it as the home of International Delights. That sounded good, right? However, there did not seem to be any kind of store front or public entrance. How did that woman buy her bread here? Undismayed, we decided to ring a bell outside the only door that seemed like an entrance. A surprised man opened the door and looked at us questioningly. We tried to ask him about the bakery, if there was a place where we could buy bread. He did not speak very much English but offered the word "manager," which we quickly jumped at for surely a manager could help us. We followed the man up a flight of stairs and through a set of double doors into a large space where people wearing hairnets were pushing baker's racks. We definitely found the source of the smell, but how were we supposed to buy bread? This was clearly a factory not a retail bakery. Our foreign friend returned and told us the manager was busy. We tried asking again where we could buy the bread. The man motioned for us to wait a moment, walked away, and returned with a box. He handed it to us, but when we tried to pay, he replied, "No money, no money." As we walked back down the stairs we thanked him profusely. Once outside, we peeked in the box and found a dozen freshly baked, delicious smelling banana nut muffins. Score!

Laura, Celia, and Michael showing off our International Delights (Queens)

Other highlights from our New York City weekend getaway:

Washington Square Park, which was under construction when I left last May (Manhattan)

Michael, Celia, and Laura enjoying the "art" at MoMA PS1 (Queens)

Playing frisbee in Prospect Park (Brooklyn)

Visiting The High Line, a newly built park in Chelsea (Manhattan)

Some Fun Stats

This is what marathon training has done:
243.11 miles in 2008
182.52 miles in 2009
709.69 miles so far in 2010

2008

2009

2010

Thanks to Nike+ for keeping track for me!

Returning to NYC

Michael and I are leaving for New York tomorrow morning, and I'm so excited. I haven't been back since I moved in May '09, so it's definitely about time. I get to see some of my favorite people in one of my favorite cities with my favorite husband. Okay, he is my only husband, but he's the best, especially on road trips.

Since we cook most of our meals at home, we buy a lot of fresh food, so I spent the day trying to find ways to use those ingredients that I didn't think would last the long weekend. I made broccoli soup and mashed potatoes, and I put them in the freezer. I also made applesauce since we had leftover peeled and cored apples from making apple dumplings earlier this week, and we had "leftover night" for dinner. After packing lunches for tomorrow's road trip, I think we will have done a pretty good job on cleaning out the fridge.

This will be our first time boarding Polo, and I'm a bit nervous about it. There isn't any good reason to be; I just hope all the people and other dogs like him and get along with him. He still gets very rambunctious around others. I can't imagine what it will be like to leave my child with someone for the first time, but hopefully I don't have to worry about him/her jumping on others.

We don't have too much planned for this trip. Pizza is definitely going to be eaten, and we are planning a long run in Central Park on Saturday morning. I know we'll be going back to Redeemer for church on Sunday morning and having brunch afterward with my cousin who lives in the city and some other friends. I'm sure there will be pictures and stories in a future blog post. I can't wait :) Gotta go make our trip playlist now.

Injuries

On Thursday morning, I woke up and my left ankle hurt slightly. It felt like I had slept on it wrong. As the day progressed, I continued to feel pain on and off, but I realized it was more the outside part of my foot that hurt. What was supposed to be a four mile run that evening turned into two miles as I wanted to take it easy. I hoped it would feel better by Saturday morning's long run, but as Friday night wore on and I could tell that certain movements still caused pain, I decided to try alternating heat and ice and prayed that God would make it better for my run.

On Saturday morning, I thought my foot felt good enough to head out with Michael to the trail. We ran the first six miles together, and then Mike turned around to head back as he was only planning a twelve mile run. I continued on another mile and still felt fine. At the halfway point, I paused to stretch a bit and rehydrate. One of the great things the last few weeks is that there have been drink stations at several points along the trail thanks to the Marathoners in Training group. Hopefully they don't mind that I sip their Gatorade too. Around mile eight on the way back, my foot started to hurt again. My knees were also aching, and for the last six miles I was in some degree of pain somewhere. I made it to the end though, thankfully.

When I got home and started my shower, the water hit me and I yelped. I looked down and noticed a big red line across my rib cage where the bottom of my sports bra had been. Apparently it had chafed me really badly, but I hadn't noticed until the hot water hit. That injury hurt the rest of the day, but has since healed enough that it does not bother me too much. I also looked up a diagram of foot muscles when I got home to try and figure out what might be wrong. I think it may be plantar fasciitis, but I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I'm moving forward with training (and treatment), and that minor injuries along the way will be worth it when I cross the finish line.

Going the distance... together

Michael and I are officially registered for the Columbus Marathon on October 17th. Though I haven't mentioned it in my blog for a while, I am still running. Our Asia trip took its toll on my training, but I had anticipated that. It was part of the reason I started training so early. I've been back on track the last few weeks and Michael has really picked up his training too. I really love that this is something we're doing together. Even though we don't run side by side, we are both committed to our own training plans and encourage each other through the process. We often adjust our schedules to make sure we each have time for runs during the week (whether outside or taking turns on the treadmill), and then we head out together for long runs on Saturdays. We really like the Olentangy trail because it is both lengthy and scenic. We start at the same place and each run at our own pace for half our goal distance then turn around and head back. We meet at the car to stretch and head home. It is definitely a bonding experience that I enjoy, and I'm looking forward to sharing race day with him.

In addition to the joy of running with my husband, completing this marathon will mean that I accomplished my goal of running one before I turn 30. Also, I'll be able to get one of these:

A few months ago I started noticing cars here and there with bumpers stickers that said "13.1." I don't know why I hadn't seen any before, but I figured they meant that the driver had completed at least one half-marathon, the distance of which is 13.1 miles. I immediately thought how cool it would be to get one myself someday. Then, I saw a car with a "26.2" sticker. I can't wait to get mine!