Seattle Marathon 11/30

Heather and me

I did the full and she did the half marathon. She shaved off time for a great PR, too!

Robbie is my best friend and latest victim. I talked him into the Seattle Marathon after talking him into the Super Jock n Jill half marathon in September. He tells me that I could sell used cars. :)

Last time I did the Seattle Marathon was on 11/26/06 and my time was 7:32:32...... on Sunday 11/30 I did it again and my time was 6:16:28. Wheewwwweeeeeee! So glad that I'm finally improving! This is a long time coming! My next marathon is on 3/30/09 in Whidbey Island, WA with the Team in Training program. I am really hoping to break 6 hours!

This is a picture of me somwhere around mile 14. Robbie was entering the Seward Park portion as I was leaving, and he snapped this super-glam photo. Can you see the pain through my smile? :)

Thanks to everyone for your support, well wishes, and love! It was an amazing day! My only wish was that my family could have been there at the finish line. I'll have to do a Boise run again soon!

-Stacey

Late Summer/Autumn Collage - FUN TIMES!!!!!!

Taking care of business.....

Wheewwwwww! I'm back to school! I'm finally taking the steps I need to make my M.A./A.B.S. possible!!!! Statistics, Creative Writing, and Spanish are the classes I am currently taking so that I can move into the L.I.O.S. program now affiliated with Saybrook University in San Francisco. Classes are taught in Seattle in weekend modules and the degree program takes about 2 years. I'm finally getting somewhere... though some days feel I'm just keeping my head abover water by treading... and others I feel like maybe I'm making some forward motion.

Thanks to all of you who have offered your support, well-wishes, and love. You know who you are. It makes all the difference in the world.

-Stace

Ps. The Leavenworth Half Marathon this weekend was a BLAST!

Lifestyles.... of the simple and healthy....

I'll take being simple over being famous and being healthy over being rich. I'm working on both... though I wouldn't mind winning the lottery... :)

I've been riding my new bike to work every day.... I guess it is somewhere between 2-3 miles per day. I LOVE my bike. Who ever knew that riding could be SO MUCH FUN? I've also been running 30 minutes per day on my lunch break. On top of drinking water, eating right, and having my thyroid medications on the right levels.... I've been taking some time to just "be" and I think it is having a great impact on my life. I am having FUN. I've always been the kind of person that has to have a goal at every moment... and I've let that fall to the wayside. I have some long term goals, but nothing to "cling" to or have crazy attachment about. I figure it will all happen as it should... Is it weird that letting go of control has made me feel much more relaxed than hanging onto it ever did? I always thought that to struggle to have control over a situation or event would let me feel safer, more satisfied, or calmer..... all it did was make me a nervous wreck. Someone made a comment the other day about how laid back I seem.... for someone like me, that was the biggest, most beautiful compliment in the world..... :) I feel like I've conquered something great.... I've returned to school.

Cheers to having fun, pushing our bodies, strengthening our minds, and being silly.... always.

Conditional Statements....

Otherwise known as "conditionals"..... we all make them. "If" I lose weight, "then" I will be happy. "If" I make more money, "then" things will be better. The "if" and "then" are qualifiers of what you feel "needs" to happen in order for something to "be" or "take place"... a statement of result.

Now, Oprah calls moments of clarity "ah-ha" moments.... times in life when you "figure something out". I had a moment like this in the shower today... and maybe I'll just call it a "duh moment". It is kind of commonsensical... but apparently I hadn't caught on until this morning. For so long in my life I've been tied up in the "if ....then" continuum. It occurred to me this morning that if you remove the "if ....then"..... you are just grateful for what you have when you have it. Why do people always try to qualify and quantify things, when reveling in the present is so much more rewarding and amazing? Instead of thinking things like .... "If" I lose weight, "then" I will be ..... more attractive, happier, healthier, yadda yadda..... why don't I focus on the present moment and BEING these things.... not planning the "if" and "when" of them? "If" I run a 10 minute miles, "then" I can consider myself a runner. How ridiculous. When I run, I am a runner. When you play sports, you are an athlete. When I DO, I AM.

I'm not saying that I don't want to have general goals for life or a plan, but maybe I've been holding on too tight to what things "should" look like . A friend once told me that the word "should" implies expectations... and expectations are just pre-meditated resentment. So, why am I setting myself up to fail, feel guilty, etc. Why anyone would ever choose to live that way.. and why I did for so long, I'm not sure.

So, I'm done, I'm off my soapbox. I just wanted to add my two cents and express what my process and progress is in this life... what makes sense to me. I'm real and honest and just trying to do the best I can. Working with so many people that have lost this chance and have lost their dreams.... it has really made an impact on me. No one ever can know what tomorrow will bring, not with all the planning in the world.... we are all just on a journey and the "goal" might just be to enjoy the moments..... not the destination....

"Life is what happens when we are busy making other plans....." -John Lennon

Super Jock n Jill Half Marathon

I still can't believe it. After the HORRID time at SeaFair marathon on June 29th, I was pretty bitter about running/walking in general. I thought there wasn't a chance I'd get through the Super Jock n Jill half with any hope of finishing under 3 hours. SeaFair was incredibly hot, sticky, sickly, and horrible. That was by far, my worst race in 3:40. I felt like I crawled the whole thing and could barely walk... forget about running. So, I trained through the last two months, tried to stay positive, and worked on my "fitness". It paid off. I finished the Super Jock n Jill half marathon on September 1st in 2:41. I thought my watch was broken. I thought I missed part of the trail. I thought something had gone wrong...

Why do I have so much trouble giving myself credit for anything? I'm working on it... one step at a time.

Pigs CAN fly!!!!

It was kind of a funny thing that happened to me one day at the park. I noticed it because people were... well... kind of staring at me. I picked up a bit of inspiration from friends doing the Danskin Triathlon this last Sunday.... so I was fully of energy when I arrived at Green Lake... and the rest was history. I started out the 3 miler feeling a little tired after a day at work... and feeling a little sick from my snack of crackers and cheese (note to self: no more crackers and cheese before running). I got myself to the "track" around Green Lake, set up my watch, and took off. I was sluggish and felt like molasses in January. I started thinking about what an amazing event had taken place the day before and I really dug down deep. I put my most upbeat songs on my ipod. I started to pick it up a notch. Then I picked it up again. I began thinking "I can't remember the last time I ran this fast!". Then, I started to notice people looking. Might have been my cherry red face or my hard breathing that caught their attention.... I wanted to say, "Yes, this fat girl can run".... but wanted to conserve my oxygen. The biggest suprises of the day were my ability to kick up AGAIN when I saw my "finish line".... and that when I finally checked my watch, I had run the 3.1 miles in 31:53!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A miracle happened on Monday... pigs flew and fat girls ran. Maybe I am getting to be a runner.....

Next race: September 1 - Super Jock n Jill Half Marathon
October 4 - Leavenworth Half Marathon