Today was the first time I did an evening run and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was overcast, barely any wind, about 60 degrees and due to the rain everything was green, flowering and beautiful. I ran 7 miles in 1 hour and 9 minutes and three of my seven miles were under 9 minutes! It was a hugely successful and rewarding run and now Im eating pizza because everything needs balance, right?
Today I ran for my Cristina Yang, my Monica Geller, my Kimmy Gibbler, my Carlton Banks, my Kurt Hummel, my Stacy Barrett, my best friend, Katherine Weed. This time of year with there being only 2 weeks of school left, multiple moves coming up in my future, a new internship starting soon, I'm starting to get stressed out and feel overwhelmed. I know that God never gives us anything we can't handle, and a lot of the time I look to Katherine as a role model. If you don't know Katherine, she is a full time student, a full time mom to the worlds cutest baby, she works full time, and she STILL manages to keep most of her sanity and finds time to see me either in Lincoln or when I visit home. She is basically a rockstar. So many obstacles have been thrown her way, yet she still shines as a fantastic human being and is always there when I need to talk.
Growing up, Katherine and I were literally attached at the hip. First it was dance classes, then I started going to Holdrege for school and from that point on basically where there was Charlene there was Katherine and vice versa. She is the person that I can do everything, anything, and nothing with. Just being around her makes me feel so happy and I feel so blessed to have a friend that I can confide in 100% and know that she will always be there for me. We were going to take on the world together when we went to college together. Life happens though, and plans change. Don't get me wrong, we are still taking on the world together. There's just more distance between us than planned and one more tiny beautiful soul to love (Mason is seriously perfect).
So 7 miles gave me quite a bit of time to think about everything that is awesome about Katherine and I could sit here and type forever about all the memories we have made (from going through drive throughs with masks on, to when we needed the troops, to all the cakes we've baked, to how we were each others rock freshman year of college for various reasons, to how our lives changed when we ordered our life planners, to all of the tennis matches, dance routines, senior dance, laughs, smiles, tears, fears, and dreams) I simply can't convey how great she is through words. I know that she is my best friend and always will be, from now until that day where we both are married living on the beach with our rich husbands with houses that connect with underground tunnels with private tennis courts, to the day we die (hopefully we both die at the same time because I can't live through the thought of her funeral), she is my person. Love you bestie <3
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Day 50
The thing I've learned from running so far is that the days where I would rather do anything else except run are the days that I benefit from it the most. Today I ran my four miles in 37 minutes and every mile leg I ran was under 10 minutes and I also set a new 5k record of 29 minutes. When I am in Lincoln I usually run on the trails behind Goodlife Fitness. There are three trails to choose from, and I have ran on two of them often. Today I chose to run on the trail I have only ran on once and it was the trail I ran my first training run on when I started this. I remember my first run. There was still snow on the ground, it was windy and cold, I could barely go over a mile without being out of breath and my side hurting.
I set out on this trail with no particular dedication in mind. Recently I have had a lot on my mind as far as school and internships that I have been stressed about those subjects to think of much else. Within the first few hundred feet of my run, I passed three robins who were standing on the trail. They didn't fly away when I ran by and seemed content on being on the trail.
I decided to dedicate todays run to the man who I fell in love with first, who always has my back no matter the circumstances, and who is never afraid to tell me when I'm being stupid and I love him for it. Seeing the robins on the trail reminded me of my father (his name is Robin) and I know that I am incredibly lucky to be blessed with such an amazing daddy. As my run went on I was surprised by how many elements I passed that reminded me of my dad. All along the trail were what I would call wild flowers, but my dad would call weeds. After the first mile and a half I passed a man and his daughter fishing on the river bank off of the trail. If you know anything about my dad, you know he loves to fish and I have spent many hours on a boat or on a shore casting lines and catching fish (I believe I had my own pink fishing rod at some point.) As my run went on I started paying more attention to the trail itself and realized that there were many cigarette buds on it. I do not judge my dad for his habit, but he has smoked for as long as I can remember. It's not my favorite thing about him but recently he has been trying really hard to cut back the amount he smokes. I know that that can't be easy and admire him for trying. After I reached the halfway point of my run I turned around and almost started laughing because on the road up ahead that intersected the trail a bright yellow four door ford truck was passing by. The odds of that truck (which was the exact same style of truck my dad drove for years and just recently got a new one) being right there as soon as I turned around were crazy. With about a mile left of my run I realized that there was absolutely no wind on this trail today. Dad hates wind, like most farmers do.
I've been praying for my dad extra for the past couple days. He has a doctor visit tomorrow to hopefully clear his conscience of a few things. I know no matter what the outcome my dad will be strong because after all, he is the best dad in the world.
I set out on this trail with no particular dedication in mind. Recently I have had a lot on my mind as far as school and internships that I have been stressed about those subjects to think of much else. Within the first few hundred feet of my run, I passed three robins who were standing on the trail. They didn't fly away when I ran by and seemed content on being on the trail.
I decided to dedicate todays run to the man who I fell in love with first, who always has my back no matter the circumstances, and who is never afraid to tell me when I'm being stupid and I love him for it. Seeing the robins on the trail reminded me of my father (his name is Robin) and I know that I am incredibly lucky to be blessed with such an amazing daddy. As my run went on I was surprised by how many elements I passed that reminded me of my dad. All along the trail were what I would call wild flowers, but my dad would call weeds. After the first mile and a half I passed a man and his daughter fishing on the river bank off of the trail. If you know anything about my dad, you know he loves to fish and I have spent many hours on a boat or on a shore casting lines and catching fish (I believe I had my own pink fishing rod at some point.) As my run went on I started paying more attention to the trail itself and realized that there were many cigarette buds on it. I do not judge my dad for his habit, but he has smoked for as long as I can remember. It's not my favorite thing about him but recently he has been trying really hard to cut back the amount he smokes. I know that that can't be easy and admire him for trying. After I reached the halfway point of my run I turned around and almost started laughing because on the road up ahead that intersected the trail a bright yellow four door ford truck was passing by. The odds of that truck (which was the exact same style of truck my dad drove for years and just recently got a new one) being right there as soon as I turned around were crazy. With about a mile left of my run I realized that there was absolutely no wind on this trail today. Dad hates wind, like most farmers do.
I've been praying for my dad extra for the past couple days. He has a doctor visit tomorrow to hopefully clear his conscience of a few things. I know no matter what the outcome my dad will be strong because after all, he is the best dad in the world.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Day 48
Today I set two records on my watch! I ran my fastest 5K and finished my longest run of 6 miles in 1 hour. After a week of gloomy misty days today was very much appreciated. 73 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze is much more fun to run in rather than 40 degrees, wind and misty rain.
Today I dedicated my run to something I am horrible at and always have been: patience. I remember growing up my mom always would tell me to be more patient with just about everything. I don't think I will ever be good at being patient, but at least now I understand that it is a necessary part of life. I know that God always has a plan and he knows what is best for me, but it can be frustrating when I can't see how the future will unravel. Right now I am struggling with having patience in finding an internship for the summer. Many places it is a waiting game for them to call you back, I have heard countless "We will let you know hopefully by the end of the week's" that I may lose my mind if I hear it again. I am very hopeful for one opportunity at the moment, I have been 'patiently' waiting since Tuesday for a call back. All I can do is wait and trust that there is a right time for everything.
By mile 4 of my run all physical hardships seemed to leave and I felt like I could keep at that pace for the next six hours if I needed to. It was an interesting experience that I have not had that early into a run yet, so instead of concentrating on form, breathing, and cadence, I started to let my mind wander. It brought back an article that I remember reading a couple months ago that I found online. The article was from a sons perspective as he sat talking with his father who was in the hospital dying (optimistic, right?) The son remembered his father telling him to not spend his life waiting for the future to get here and for the next big thing to come but to rather live in the present and appreciate the god given moments of life that otherwise may pass you by. It was a sad, but interesting article that relates back to being patient. If I am constantly waiting for tomorrow, a call, the semester to be over, this mile to be over, summer to be here, to move, to graduate, to start a big girl job, I may miss out on little moments of life in the here and now that make life so meaningful. My grandma Eileen always tells me to be careful with life because you'll blink and 50 years will go by. In high school I would laugh and shrug it off, but now I am close to graduating college and I feel like I haven't even blinked yet.
Today I dedicated my run to something I am horrible at and always have been: patience. I remember growing up my mom always would tell me to be more patient with just about everything. I don't think I will ever be good at being patient, but at least now I understand that it is a necessary part of life. I know that God always has a plan and he knows what is best for me, but it can be frustrating when I can't see how the future will unravel. Right now I am struggling with having patience in finding an internship for the summer. Many places it is a waiting game for them to call you back, I have heard countless "We will let you know hopefully by the end of the week's" that I may lose my mind if I hear it again. I am very hopeful for one opportunity at the moment, I have been 'patiently' waiting since Tuesday for a call back. All I can do is wait and trust that there is a right time for everything.
By mile 4 of my run all physical hardships seemed to leave and I felt like I could keep at that pace for the next six hours if I needed to. It was an interesting experience that I have not had that early into a run yet, so instead of concentrating on form, breathing, and cadence, I started to let my mind wander. It brought back an article that I remember reading a couple months ago that I found online. The article was from a sons perspective as he sat talking with his father who was in the hospital dying (optimistic, right?) The son remembered his father telling him to not spend his life waiting for the future to get here and for the next big thing to come but to rather live in the present and appreciate the god given moments of life that otherwise may pass you by. It was a sad, but interesting article that relates back to being patient. If I am constantly waiting for tomorrow, a call, the semester to be over, this mile to be over, summer to be here, to move, to graduate, to start a big girl job, I may miss out on little moments of life in the here and now that make life so meaningful. My grandma Eileen always tells me to be careful with life because you'll blink and 50 years will go by. In high school I would laugh and shrug it off, but now I am close to graduating college and I feel like I haven't even blinked yet.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Day 39
What a week this has been. My long run last Saturday was probably one of the best runs of my life. I ran with my cousin Terri in Florida and we ran on this really pretty running trail close to where my aunt and uncle live. I ran 5 miles in 51 minutes and never felt winded, never had a side cramp and the thought of stopping never crossed my mind. I don't know if it was because I was so excited by new surroundings, but it was a great run.
Monday was my short run and leg day and I ran my fastest three mile ever (27 minutes!) I also changed my lifting pattern this week. Instead of my usual 12 or 15 reps for three sets I did 5 reps for 5 sets and upped my weight by a lot. Like a lot a lot. I surprised myself multiple times during legs and also the next day with upper body by how much I can lift when I try to go heavy!
Today was Zumba day (yay!) which also meant short fast run (boo!) but I managed to beat my record last week by running a 7 minute mile! All sorts of good things have been happening this week, I hope my luck continues tomorrow with my interview for an internship.
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