happenings of recent:

So yesterday morning I completed my first ever half-marathon race.  Can you say OMG?!  If you were to ask any of my fellow cross-country team members in high school which of us would still be running, I would have been the last person on the list for sure!  Much less to be running such insane-o long distances!  Just ask my old pal Erica and she'll tell you I was a hundred percent the most un-dedicated, un-motivated runner out there, and was most definitely only still on the team after Week 1 of our first year because I made friends out there, not in the least because I enjoyed the running.  I have since semi-changed my mind, and only of recent have I begun to relish the peace and exhilaration that can come from a really good run!  I am not fast, nor am I any good, but I did run all the way through the 11th mile yesterday without having to walk AT ALL!!!!!!  [worth mentioning that prior to yesterday's race, the max amount I ran without stopping to walk was approximately 2 miles...yah, I'm pretty stoked about this!]  And if I do another one, I plan to stop zero times, because after the initial walk, it was like my brain lost all motivation to tell my legs they could finish those last couple miles without walking some more!  So I ran 2 hours and 2 minutes with no walking, and then walked-ran off and on for the last 31 minutes of the race.  I am still seriously so pumped about doing it.  However, it is definitely also worth mentioning that I have never been this sore in my entire life.  Minus maybe, the ol' "incident" with the bike my fourth year of college, but the jury's still out on that one.  Mentally though, I am pumped!

We are doing a sprint triathlon on July 24th (just days after good ol' Allison and Ben tie the knot in Wichita), and I am considering running another 1/2 marathon in Omaha on the 25th of September.  We shall see I guess!!  I love the feeling after a race of such accomplishment and pride, the challenge of preparing, and most of all the sweet t-shirt that comes with completing the event.  :)  But seriously, as much as I whine and complain about training, it was (and always is) SO worth it!!!


In other news, I have been applying for teaching jobs left and right.  I am anxiously and prayerfully awaiting what comes next!  Excited for the completion of another semester, excited for new beginnings, and excited for a summer of friends, fun, and abundant sunshine and love.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28