dear marathon recovery, holy cow was I ever sore! I am always sore after a marathon, but this time I felt sore everywhere! Even my upper arms hurt. Luckily, I was able to walk down the stairs backwards (yes that takes talent! lol) and I didn't have anything really pressing that required anything physical from me for a few days. I was pretty sore the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday, but by Monday morning, I was able to walk up and down the stairs without cringing in pain.
Some people take ice baths after a marathon and swear by it for muscle stiffness and pain. I personally would rather have the stiffness and pain than jump into an ice cold bath and have ice poured all over me! No way! I tried an extremely cold bath once after my first marathon and decided then and there, that wasn't happenin' again!
The hardest part of recovery is the NO RUNNING for a week! I love those signs that say 0.0 I don't run. This week I could stick one of those on my car. No running for me. I have been studying a lot about how to recover post marathon and I decided to go against what I really want to do, which is to run. But I am going to be patient and let my muscles recover before I push them too hard again. 26.2 miles takes a lot out of your body. Especially when you push it the entire way. I am going to wait until next week and see how I feel then.
Okay, so that was the plan.
I went on a walk on Thursday of this week and I just couldn't stand not to run and so I tried it out. It was pretty painful in the knees and so I decided to listen to my body and just walk. I got in two 2 mile walks and one 4.5 mile one. I have to admit I kind of enjoyed not having to run this week. Probably more than I should admit!
I told Dave during my training that this was my last marathon because it was just way too time consuming and I felt like I based my entire life around my training. Friday nights were cut short because I had to be in bed at a decent hour so I could get in my long run on Saturday. Saturday's were always based around my long run schedule, which seems to take all day because even though the run may be only three hours, the recovery after takes it's toll and I felt like I was either worthless the rest of the day, or forcing myself to do what I needed to do. So, I said this was it. Famous last words...
Since I came so close to a BQ (Boston Qualifying time), I really want to capitalize on the training I have now and run another one just to see if by chance I can do it. I really don't want to pressure myself, but with my improvement this time, I think I can continue to improve and maybe, just maybe, do it. Since the Big Cottonwood is in the fall, and it is said to be a fast course, I thought I'd give it a shot. I am not committed 100% yet because they changed the course from last year and now it's a straight 15 mile steep downhill and then 7 miles of flat and then 4 of rolling hills. That is going to shred my legs unless I am able to train for it on a steep downhill, which would mean a trip or two or three to run Big Cottonwood canyon. So, I have to decide if I really want to commit to another four months of no life again! haha I'm still not sure what the verdict is yet.
If I do decide to do it, you get another four months of running gab! Lucky you!
dear amish friendship bread, I FINALLY got a start made of you after McKay had been asking me for, oh...over a year now! It isn't hard to make the start, but you have to be very vigilant to get the start through the 10 days before you can actually make the bread. It is worth it though. It always turns out yummy. The trick now is to keep the start going for a while. Last time I think mine lasted a good year or so. But if you go on vacation or somewhere for a while, kiss it goodbye!
dear women's forum committee, well...it looks like I am back serving on you. I served on your committee for several years until I became the American Mother's State President and then I turned it over to who I turned my chapter over to. I actually missed serving on the committee. It was always a lot of fun and I loved the association with the women leaders of our community. A friend asked me if I would serve on it again and I reluctantly (just a tiny bit) accepted. I really am excited. Our first meeting was this week and we got a lot done. Now I need to follow through and get my assignments taken care of. One of the best parts of the committee is the really yummy food they always have at the meetings, which is always a bonus! ☺
dear reading, I have not done too much of you lately. Luckily a friend let me borrow her copy of My Story by Elizabeth Smart. (Thanks Dawn!) I have been wanting to read it for a while now, but just was too cheap to go buy my own. I have SO many books and I have really tried to stop buying them. I used to have more fun in a bookstore than a kid in a candy store. Now with the internet, I do a lot of my reading online. But not really books, mostly just information that I used to get from books. But when it comes to biographies or novels, there is nothing like a good solid book. I really REALLY love to read. I wish I still read more actual books. I used to read everything and anything that I could get my hands on as far as self improvement type books...like parenting, motherhood, organization, time management, spiritual topics, etc. Now I read a lot of that online and so I don't feel the need to buy the books. I had so many books when I had my American Mother's chapter in our town, that I opened my own library so the other moms could check them out. It was a transportable library (all the books in a couple of totes) that I took to our meetings. But I was happy to be able to share them with others. Now, I really need to go through all my books again and get rid of most of them.
I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I had read a couple of other books about her kidnapping closer to when it happened, but I think this one was my favorite of them all. Mainly because like it says, it is her story. There were a few conflicting things in it that didn't gel with some of the stuff that came out before, but since it is her story, she has a right to change it how she wants I guess. I would definitely recommend this book however.
dear mega m&m's, I wasn't too impressed. The peanut ones aren't really all that much bigger...I mean how can you grow a mega sized peanut and mass produce them? But the regular ones are huge! Almost a little too big for me. I am a fan of mini things more than mega things and so I enjoy the mini's better. But I do think they would be scrumptious in cookies in place of chocolate chips!
dear colleen, yea I finally got the book I made you to you! Even though I have seen you a couple of times since I got it back, I wanted to give it to you in a group setting since so many contributed to it. I am so happy you like it! Now I better not ever see it at the DI! haha (Inside joke: she gives everything she owns to the DI eventually [including quilts and handiwork] with the exception of her kids and husband!)
dear may birthdays, I'm glad we had so many birthdays this month so we could get such a big and fun group together for breakfast to celebrate! One of my most favorite things in life is getting together with friends to go out and eat and laugh. It's always so much fun! I truly have been blessed with the most amazing friends and women in my life. I admire each one of them very much in so many ways!
Happy Birthday Dottie, Heather, Jamie, Julie, and Shauna!
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| This one is a little bit clearer since we shut the blinds, but the other one was a better view of most of the faces...so I added both! |
dear decorations for Tyson's grave... in preparation for Memorial Day this year I made some of the cutest things ever! I found these Hawaiian shirt and shorts pots at Hobby Lobby and was ecstatic! I knew they would be perfect! I just added some flowers and viola! I was so excited to put them on his grave! They scream Tyson!
I usually try to go with a Hawaiian theme since he loved all things Hawaiian. I think it looks so cute.
dear seminary graduation, you are one of the perks of having a husband in the Bishopric that I enjoy the most. I don't particularly like sitting up on the stand in the sense that everyone can gawk at you, but I do enjoy it in the sense that I can gawk at the audience. I really love to people watch and watching a congregation is one of the funnest ways to do that. Plus I enjoy the speakers every year because it's the youth that give most of the talks. And it's always fun to watch the kids in our ward when they come up and shake Dave's hand as they get their diplomas. They always look way up at him and most seem to look a bit intimidated. His height is definitely intimidating to some. Never to me though. haha This may be the last graduation we go to with Dave as Bishop. He's been in five years this August. Next year, we will be there watching McKay graduate, but not sure if we will still be sitting on the stand.
dear date night, one of my favorite things to do on date night is to go to dinner and a movie. We used to rent movies quite frequently and watch them, but we rarely do that anymore and so if I want to see a movie, I make a request on date night. I had heard a lot about the movie Divergent and have a few friends who are reading the books, and so I really wanted to see it. I was not disappointed. It was a very well done film. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. The actors were really well cast also. After the movie we went to Maddox Drive In. I got the soup and salad even though I would've much preferred the mini burger and fries, but I ate way too much popcorn at the show! And with no running this week either, I decided to stick with the soup and salad!
dear hawaii, you better be taking good care of my boy Skyler. He loves you beyond words and so I know he is taking care of you! I finally got a couple of photos of him this week! Yippee! He has been gone for a year working over there and I miss that kid! He spends a lot of his free time spear fishing and he makes quite a haul. He and his roomies actually eat those things! He said he sees a lot of sharks while fishing. I was not too excited to hear that! He said they are docile and won't hurt you, but I've heard that before too! He was on the island of Oahu, but is currently on the Big Island and he says he loves it there more. He is living the dream that is for sure! He even found a GoPro at the bottom of the ocean! What are the odds of that? Well, actually they are probably pretty good since his GoPro is also at the bottom of the ocean somewhere. And no, this one was not the one he lost. But I was pretty excited for him.
Yum! Yum! (bleh)
SHAAAAAAAAAARK!!!!
I believe he said this guy was about 6 feet long.
dear michele, it was so fun being a part of your 50th surprise party! The best part was when Rod opened the door and you saw everyone and took off running the other way! But you were a great sport about it all. You are one of the sweetest and most genuine friends I have. I have treasured our friendship for over 20 years now. American Mother's brought us together, but I always thought it was cool that Dave took you to a high school dance once upon a time. ☺ You are an amazing person and I have always looked up to you and what a incredible mother you are and what great kids you have. I have always felt a special bond with you because we both have so many boys. Your six to my five. And even though you did get a girl in there, I still feel a kinship with you that only mothers of lots of boys understand.
You were such a good sport when Rod made you go around the room and take a photo with each couple wearing your birthday hat!
With Stacy. All good friends for so many years.
dear sunday dinner, I was so excited to make Swedish meatballs Ikea style! I've been craving them! I really love those things! I went all out and made homemade mashed potatoes to go with them. I don't make the real ones that often and so it was a treat. I also made rolls and broccoli too. It was going to be so yummy. Well, I should have made the meatballs from scratch too, but due to time constraints, I just used the frozen ones. Unfortunately, I obeyed the instructions on the package and cooked them for the suggested time. The suggested time was wrong. I burnt the first batch. So I made another batch and happily those turned out much better. I got to have my Swedish feast and I was one happy camper!
Google photos. I forgot to take my own pix! But mine looked even better! haha Guess you will just have to take my word on that! ☺
