*Monday Memos*

*Monday Memos*

 

                           (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge -if print is too small, you need glasses! ☺)

dear 9 miler, I ran out of water and so I stopped by the pool to refill my water bottle at the Pioneer Park fountain (you have NO idea how bad I wanted to jump in!).  When I got to it, there was a beetle that looked like the one in the picture below.  He was stuck by the drain and couldn't get out.  

I filled my bottle and didn't think much of it and then turned and started to run away when I had an impression to go back and help him out of the drain or he would be stuck and die there.  But then I thought it's only a stupid bug and there are millions of others in the world dying this very minute and why would I save one bug?  But the story of the man and the starfish (found here) kept popping in to my head and the words from it, "You made a difference to that one!"  Even though the beetle really had no meaning to me, I felt it was a living thing that God created and He cared about it.  It only took me less than a minute to help him out and I only screamed once. ☺ It was no big deal but I felt better for doing it.  When I got home (as often happens lately) I found this Message from God on my Facebook feed:

Today, Jodi, we believe God wants you to know that ... your kindness makes a difference. Even if it is a very tiny act of goodness and you think no one notices, God notices. Always remember that one little act of kindness can tilt the balance of an entire situation. One little act of kindness can ripple out in countless ways that you many never know about.

What are the odds?  I know it was God's way of telling me that I did the right thing and His way of thanking me for listening.  It was really kind of cool!

dear pie dave made, one word... Mmmmmmmmmmm!

dear new recipe, two words... Mmmmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmmmm!  This was an enchilada casserole and the recipe can be found here.  It was definitely a hit and the fam all gave it a thumbs up and a do again request. 

dear elder wilding, happy birthday! Wow, I can't believe you are 21 and have been away for TWO of your birthdays now!  Seems crazy!  I do miss you and hope you have some kind of celebration for it.  I am planning on making a cake and singing to you anyway!

                   It looks like this is the cake your friends made for your birthday! ↑

 First haircut by a companion

dear mona, I have made it to visit you a few times in your rehab center in Ogden, but really wish I could go more. I know you get lonely spending all that time there.  You will be there almost a month by the time you get out.  I am glad you went to the nicer place even though it's much farther away from visitors.  You are healing well and seem to be feeling pretty good.  I'm just glad all is going well.

dear manic manican, whoa!  A bikini this week.  Must be getting hot! hah

dear fun before the misery, Jen and I headed to SLC on Wednesday afternoon to go to the race expo for the Deseret News Marathon.  I was running the half and she was crazily running the full.  I say crazily because Wednesday was the hottest day of the year!  We picked up Robin on the way and had a great time.  We checked in the hotel after a good laugh with Siri and getting lost and then went to the expo.  That is if you can call it that.  It was the lamest expo I've ever seen.  Maybe three booths.  The race shirts were cool though and so I was happy about that.  Then we headed off to shop at Trolley Square and find Jen something to wear for the race.  She didn't have a tank and really needed one for the heat.  I brought three outfits with me because I wasn't sure which to wear.  haha  We went to LuLuLemon and then to Whole Foods, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and then to some old bookstore.  We made reservations at The Old Spaghetti Factory (my FAVORITE place in the world to eat!) and waited for Grant to come.  Once he arrived we were seated and oh my, the food was great!  Perfect for carb loading!  Their son joined us too.  As we headed to the car, Jen and I couldn't resist going in another store and trying on the hats.  So fun!  We headed to Dan's grocery store for some other necessities and then to the hotel.  We stopped at Robin and Grant's room and talked to them about transportation the next day.  We had to get up at the crack of insanity and so 8 pm was our goal bedtime.  Didn't happen.  hah  We eventually got ourselves in bed by about 10:30 or 11:00 and I of course could not sleep because I never can the first night away from my own bed.  Oh well.  It was a short night, so no biggy. 

dear deseret news half marathon, I got up at 3:15 am.  Crazy I know.  No need to tell me.  I went and got Robin at her room and we headed to Rice Eccles Stadium to catch the bus for the half.  Jen and Grant had left a half hour earlier for the full.  It was UNBELIEVABLE how HOT it was while waiting for the buses. The temperature at 4:15 am was 86 degrees!!!  Unreal!  We loaded and headed up Emigration Canyon and got out in the dark and had to wait for about an hour.  It was hot and muggy.  Not like any start of a marathon or half I've even been to.  We are usually freezing and have on jackets and gloves. We talked to a guy from Texas and as we complained about the humidity, he told us we had no idea what humidity was.  True.  We did the porta potty thing a couple times and then lined up. I lined up with the pacers for the 1:50. 

I wanted a new PR and thought I could do it since I heard the course was mostly downhill.  Wrong!  I started out with them and kept up with them for about 6 or so miles.  I was really struggling to keep up at that pace.  I think it was the heat.  Then I saw the 1:55 pacers and started to stay with them.  I did for as long as I could and had to kiss that goal goodbye.  My new goal became to finish a sub 2:00.  I am here to say the course was not all downhill!  Sheesh - there were some steady ups and some wicked ones too.  Not like what I expected.  About mile 9 I could hear a pacer behind me (they are usually the ones that are talking because the other runners are just trying to survive!) and I KNEW it was going to be the 2:00 pacer and my goal of a sub 2:00 was starting to fade in my head.  I sped up and got ahead of him, but he caught back up on a hill and when I turned and saw him right there, I said, "CRAP!"  He just laughed and said he was up by 50 seconds and so I would be okay if I was feeling good.  Feeling good?  Are you kidding me!  Once I could, I sped up again and tried to keep going at that pace, but then another hill came and he came up on me again.  Have I mentioned how much I hate hills?  I stayed with him for another mile or two and then once we turned onto the parade route and the spectators were there, I just could not maintain that pace. He got a little ahead of me, but I thought I could still catch up and finish a sub 2:00 until we turned the corner for the last mile and it was all uphill.  I was feeling like crap and wanted to be done SO DANG BAD!  Even though I was running in front of the parade spectators, they weren't helping all that much. Some were cheering others were just sitting there watching us like we were part of the parade.  I needed lots of cheering at that point.  I was SO glad I wasn't running the full!  Oh my, so glad!  I kissed my goal of a sub 2:00 away when the pacer took off for the finish line.  Nothing worse than seeing that finish line a mile away and feeling like you want to die.  But I made it one foot in front of the other and finally crossed it!  Happiest I'd been in a week!  It was tough.  I finished in 2:02.  Not bad, just not what I was hoping for.

I finished 10th in my age division out of 35. 184th woman out of 500. 400th out of 847 overall.

The winner is on the left.  He told me it was the toughest course on his body he has ever ran.  He was fast!  The others in the ice bath are just some random runners.

 OH YEAH!  There is nothing like a massage after a long race!  And even better, there wasn't a huge line to get one!

 Free personalized Coke cans for finishers!
We got to pick two.  I chose me and Tyson. 

 With Robin and our coke cans.

I ended up getting one for each member of my family!  I was so excited!  Notice how Tyson's is the only one that is turned that way.  Coincidence?  I don't think so... 

Some shots of the parts of the parade that I got to see while waiting for Jen to finish.

 I LOVE PARADES!!!!  They are one of my favorite things in the world but I rarely get to watch a real one.  I used to always be in them (majorette, drill, clogging, or with my dance studio when I taught), and then I had all boys and a husband that isn't a big fan and so I have to watch them on TV or miss out.  Even at Peach Days I am usually the only one in my immediate family there.  I just go join Dave's fam.   Seriously LOVE a parade!

This parade is the biggest one in Utah and it had SO many amazing floats!  I wish I could have seen the entire thing.  

 

 Jen and Janice almost to the finish line.  Jen had a pretty miserable race.  The heat was just brutal and it took it's toll. But she finished and even with a smile on her face!

When we got off the shuttle bus and were walking to our car, we were walking with this young guy who had quite an accent.  Not sure why I even asked him where he was from, but I did.  He was from BRAZIL!  It was so cool!  I told him my son was in Belem and he said, "Oh the rainy part!".  I grabbed the Coke can with Taylor's name and got our picture.  He's the one in the photo on the left.

 The photo on the right is us with a man we ran into at the hotel who also ran the race today and it was his 60th marathon on his 60th birthday!  He had a strong accent but told us he was from Oklahoma.  I asked him where he was originally from and he said Africa.  Pretty cool!  60 marathons!  Wow!

 Some views of us at our hotel before we checked out.

We hit FIVE GUYS BURGERS (a first for me) on the way home and also SWIGS (another first!).  YUM!  We earned those cookies!  hehe  And YES, we wore our medals proudly!  We earned those suckers!

 All in all it was a tough race for me, but I'm still happy with my time considering I ran on tired legs.  I did a 19 miler just a few days before and so that really didn't help.  It's hard to get PR's in races when you are in training for a full because you always are running on tired legs.  I really liked the environment and getting to run the parade route for a bit.  It was fun to run down Emigration canyon knowing the pioneers had come down the exact route on the exact day so many years ago.  The thought of them gave me some inspiration when I needed it most.

And the medals and shirts ROCKED!

dear pioneer day, it was kind of a strange pioneer day for me. I usually watch the parade on TV and this year I got to see it in person - kind of.  Not much, but some!  At least I was there!  The boys and Dave just worked all day long and I was beat when I got home and so it was not a normal holiday. I do have a renewed sense of respect for my pioneer ancestors who walked across the plains and sacrificed so much for me.  Going on trek a couple of years ago helped me to understand just how hard it really was.  It also made me very grateful I was not a pioneer and that I didn't have to walk across the plains or down Emigration canyon.  Instead I chose to run down it and inflict pain and torture on myself.  hah  Mine was only 13.1 miles compared to their journey of thousands of miles.  I have a much deeper respect for them and I'm so appreciative of all they went through so I could be where I am today.  What a blessing!

Here are a few pictures from our Trek a couple years ago.  I never did a post on it and so I wanted to add a few pictures. (click to enlarge)

We went to Deseret Land and Livestock in Wyoming

You don't have to push a handcart to be a pioneer...

Great experience!  Pushed and pulled handcarts and walked about 32 miles total in the heat of July.  

 Pioneers sang as they walked and walked and walked....

 

You don't have to push a handcart,

Leave your fam'ly dear,

Or walk a thousand miles or more
To be a pioneer!

You do need to have great courage,

Faith to conquer fear,

And work with might for a cause that's right
To be a pioneer!

We are marching, ever marching.

We are marching, ever marching,
Marching onward, ever onward.
We are pioneers; we're marching...

dear sky, you are looking quite ripped and healthy.  I am so grateful for that.  The fish you catch are looking really good too... if you like fish. (bleh!) Just not sure how you ingest those things every. single. day.  Probably because you can make fish taste like paradise as well.  You have a knack with cooking.  But I am glad you are enjoying life in paradise.  I still need to find a way to get over there and visit before it's too late.

dear date night, we went to Wingers and I had a Teriyaki Rice bowl.  YUM!  Dave had a burger and was disappointed.  The bun tasted yuck and when they asked how everything was, he told the waiter and he said he would take care of it (the bill) which was a nice little surprise.  Dave didn't eat much of it and so I'm glad he didn't have to pay for it.  After, we headed out to the country and marked a route for me to run the next day.  I thought it was going to be one boring run, but it proved to be rather awesome.

dear 10 miler on saturday, I was only planning on going 9 miles today and I wasn't really sure that I would be able to even do that after my killer half marathon two days before.  I figured I would end up walking most of them or just calling it good at 6.  But once I got going, I was surprised how good I felt.  I wasn't feeling sore or like I was dying at all.  In fact, I ended up going 10 at a good pace (instead of 9) and was sure I could have gone even farther.

This is my favorite picture of the run.  One single sunflower in the midst of all that corn.  But there it is poking it's little head through as bright as the sunshine.  There are so many analogies I could use with it, but I'm just going to keep it simple and enjoy the beauty of it instead.

The roads were long and it was tiring, but I was loving being in the country so much that it passed quickly.

Airplanes flying overhead made me happy (I was near a small airport).  The goats were a riot, and I'm glad the snake in the road was dead.  The sign on the bottom right cracked me up!  It said Grant BULLivard.  Quite appropriate for the country.

I broke in my new Altra Ones for the first time and I LOVED them.  They are a zero drop and very light.  And, of course, the color doesn't bother me much. hah  I have been told they look like bowling shoes.  Yes, I believe they might.  But that's okay because they make me smile! 

 I was a little sore after, but nothing like I expected.

dear ss lesson, sometimes I wonder why I do better when I wing it than when I prepare for days.  I sure do love teaching the kids that I do though, even if they do make me giggle when I should be serious.

dear feeling behind in everything in my life, I just can't seem to catch up with it all.  I have so much that needs doing and it seems my to do list just keeps getting pushed into the next week and then the next week and the next.  I feel like I got more accomplished when I had little ones!  I probably did.  I didn't run then or train for big races and there was no internet. Hah!  I used to be a pro at time management and lately it seems time is managing me!  But...I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and hopefully someday I will catch up! Sigh......   

dear blog, sometimes I wonder why I spend my time on you recording my weekly events of my life.  I wish I had more time to really make it sound good (or write inspiring posts like I used to do), but the truth is I seem to have to fly (and quick) when I write just so it gets done.  I need to keep reminding myself: Done is better than perfect!  I often wonder if it's all a big waste of time.  Living life is so much more important than recording it.  Or is it?  I think recording it has great significance because someday I hope someone will actually care about an average wife and mother of five boys who lived in a small town and was trying to just do her best and to live her life to the fullest.  Will they though?  I really don't know, but even if I am the only one that ever reads my blog, at least I will have many wonderful reminders of the life I did try and live to the fullest.  And as my header says:  May this  shining beam of light and hope help brighten those stormy days of life...

At least it brightens mine... because I think I live a pretty wonderful life!  I am so blessed!