Sunday at Torch

We watched two of Jeff's sermon videos that he had for Church. They were really good. I liked the second one which was a video of a guy backpacking with his little boy on his back and it started to rain and thunder and the kid was crying and the dad started whispering to the baby "you're going to make it, everything is going to be okay." Then he talked about how that was one of the best memories he had with his son and related it to God and us and how sometimes those hard times really bring you closer and God really gets to hold you tight...anyway..sounds like of silly when I explain it but the video was powerful. I liked it. After that Dave, Mr. C, Jeff, and I went for a great bike ride. We stopped at a little farm mid way and got fresh peaches. It was great. We had some burgers when we got back and then it was time for me to head back to Chicago : (

Glen Lake and Torch Lake (rainy day)

A bunch of people slept over at Dan’s on Glen Lake. We woke up to a dark day and rain like I have never seen. We decided that our camping trip was out of the question. We had a big breakfast at the Dekorne's and then said goodbyes. We went into Glen Arbor and went to Cherry Republic and stopped by Grandma and Grandpa’s house to see what the new decorating looked like. Then we went shopping. Jeff found a lot of things- including purple swim shorts for 5 dollars : ) We then drove to Torch Lake to Jeff’s parents place. We were both feeling kind of out of it from shopping and sitting in the car so we went for a short run. A deer ran right in front of us. I literally almost ran into it! It was so crazy! When we got back we took a dip in the water. It was cold out so the water didn’t feel so bad. Later that night we watched a sad movie called Wounded Knee about the Indians and Christians. It was really sad and graphic. Mr. C set up a big projector though which was cool. It was like a home theater.

Dan and Karyn

Today I took the train to Kalamazoo and then Jeff and I drove up to Glen Lake. We missed the big event- Dan proposed to Karen! But we made it in time for the post proposal celebration at a bar in Glen Arbor. There was karaoke at the bar and it was fun to watch people act out music videos. Dan proposed by putting the attached drift wood sign at the bottom of Glen Lake and then he had her snorkel to see the sign. He also had flowers under water. It was even more impressive because it was raining and cold the night of the proposal but Karen still jumped in (with a stocking cap on : ). It was fun to hear her tell the story and see both of them so happy. There friends from all over had flown in to celebrate afterwards. YA DAN AND KARYN!!!

Cancelled Outdoor Movie

Today I was a little bummed out. I was planning on going to an outdoor movie in Grant Park and the 3 people that I invited all bailed a little before the show. They had good reason but I was disappointed. I thought- If Jeff were here he would go with me and then he called not in the best mood because he was supposed to get off at 7pm and he didn’t get off until 9pm….so he would have cancelled on me as well ! I realized after the fact that I can count my blessings- I didn’t have to work late, I wasn’t sick, and I didn’t have to much homework, like friends. WOW! I am soo lucky!

Other exciting news is I purchased a ticket to go to one of good friends wedding in Seattle in October! I am really excited to attend her wedding and go to Seattle for a couple days.

Lunch with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Paul

I met Aunt Nancy, Uncle Paul, and John at Cosi for lunch during my lunch hour. They are so nice. They went on the Boat Architecture tour that morning and had loved it so they were going to take John down to do it that evening. That’s pretty much all the news for today. I did laundry and started gathering my camping stuff together for this weekend. Not a very eventful evening.

Today I got a ride back to Chicago with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Paul. It was a nice ride. We chatted the whole way. We got to Chicago around 1pm. I then went with them to get some CTA day passes and then we went out to lunch at Corner Bakery. We walked around a bit and I showed them my apartment. We parted for the evening after that and they went to their hotel which is only 4 blocks from me. I then went for an evening run ending at the beach were I was going to go swimming but the water was so cold it hurt your feet so I decided that I would just stand in it for awhile. I called Jeff and we talked for awhile and I lost track of the time so I missed the community dinner at Paul Rollet’s house. Oh well.

Today was a crazy day. A friend picked me up at 5:30 to drive to Dekalb for the Cornfest 10k. It was about 1.5 hours west of the city. I am amazed at how many farms are in Illinois. When we got to Dekalb it was no wonder that the race was called the Cornfest. There were corn fields all around. The race had a lot of rolling hills. I felt bad from the start. I don’t think I have ran that badly for awhile. Oh well. It was fun and it was probably good for me to get my legs moving a little fester than normal. We really needed to leave by 9 to make sure that I got on the 10:30 bus to Ann Arbor but at 9:15 I still couldn’t find my ride. I was a little worried but we pulled out at 9:20. I was all packed for the wedding so he took me straight to Union Station which cut off some time. I got there at 10:35 and they were still loading up the bus. I arrived in Ann Arbor at 4:10 and I quick showered and we left for the wedding which started at 5:00. The wedding was outside. It was a chilly day but it didn’t rain so that was good. Here are some pictures from the wedding. The flower girl was so cute!

exciting news

Today I got some really exciting news! I will get to go to South Africa for the Chase Corporate Challenge Championship! Chase will pay for a round trip air fare and 3 nights lodging. It’s going to be sooo cool! The race will be in March 2010.

After work I had to do some shopping for wedding gifts for friends.

Running in the rain

I had an awesome run in the rain. It was a down poor. I met my friend Emisil but as we ran we kept on running into more friends so by the end it was this big pack of crazy runners running in the rain! At the end the sun came out and there was this beautiful rainbow. Today was the first time I took a little water bottle of a carb-protein sports drink that was recommended to me by Coach Leach. It was quite a jolt. I could have breathed through my noise and done cartwheels every mile! I didn’t know how much of a difference it makes to keep your energy at max on a run. That’s a great thing to know for the marathon.

Pam is in Chicago!

I went to soccer after work. We lost so we are now out of the tournament. Holly came to watch so that was nice. We got to catch up a little bit as we walked to train. Later I went to see Pam. She is living only a few blocks from me in the grad student housing. It was really great to see her and also learn about what she has been up to. I am really impressed with her. She spent last year working as a paralegal, saving money for school, and studying for the LSAT. She worked her way all through undergrad which I find really impressive. Such great work ethic, drive, and focus! She is really pursuing her dream and I find that so admirable. I am excited to spend more time with her.

Sunday at Torch

The Tuuks left early because they were going to drive all the way back to Georgia. After they left Jeff and I made breakfast. Jeff made eggs with potatoes and veggies while I made pumpkin pancakes. After breakfast Jeff and I took the kayaks out. We spent most of the day out in the boat after that. We swam off the boat, drove around, and watched a sailboat ride. Jeff and I went in the double tube. It was an intense ride. I was told that my feet were about 5 feet above my head for most of the tubing ride. I am going to be sore from a long white knuckle ride. We played some badminton when we got back. We had some food and then it was time to head to the train. We listened to a sermon on the way home and stopped at taco bell for dinner and to kill some time because my train was really late. Fun day. (here are some funny pictures--I don't know what I was looking at...must have been scared.....OUCh for Jeff's pic : ) and tramp football game)

Torch Lake Saturday

Today we got up and Mrs. Crawford made pancakes and fried eggs, bacon, and fruit for breakfast. After breakfast Dave (Tracy’s husband), Mr. Crawford, Denny (Jeff’s cousin), Pete and Alex Tuuk, Jeff, and I went for a bike ride. I used Mrs. Crawford’s bike which is extremely nice. It felt really good. We were one nice bike short so we gave Jeff the mountain bike (hehe). It was a really really pretty bike ride. We went through cherry tree farms, beautiful open fields, and lots of views of Torch lake from above. The bike ride was up and down so there were a lot of good vantage points. It wasn’t to hot because of the wind and we were shaded by trees for a lot of it. The ride was about 20 miles but we weren’t pushing the pace so it was pleasant. When we got back we went for a swim in the lake. Then we went in and made some sandwiches for lunch. After lunch Alex and I took the kayaks out while the boys were still fascinated with sticking there limbs into this aquifer they found. After that I relaxed on the hammock for awhile. Then I went for a short run by myself. I went to the top of Sunset hill. It was a seasonal road that just kept winding up hill! It was hard work getting up it but I felt a good sense of accomplishment when I got to the top and running down it was a blast. When I got back everyone was talking on the porch so I changed clothes and joined the party. We then took the boat out for an evening ski trip because the water was finally calm. I water skied and wake boarded. When I came in they said that I was water skiing with a big smile on my face the whole time….I guess it is just that fun! When we got back it was 8 and we were all really hungry. There was quite the feast cooked though- steak and salmon, corn on the cob, bread, fruit salad, Caesar salad, and red skin potatoes. I really like red skin potatoes I decided. After dinner we watched the sun go down on the porch and Jeff tried to light some fireworks. He tried and tried. Dave went inside read the instructions and came back and told Jeff to give him the matches. he then light it right away. Apparently you light the top instead of the bottom : ) We were all giving Jeff a really hard time. The Teacher (Dave) definitely showed up the soon-to-be Docter (Jeff).

Travel Day/ email for Jon

Today was just a travel day for me. Traveling to Grand Rapids and then driving up to Torch Lake with Jeff arriving at 2:30 and going straight to bed. I did receive an email from Jon today who is in Jordan and found some of the things in his email really funny. In fact, funny enough that I really want to share some- Here are some of my high lights from his email:

“Gas is delivered by trucks that drive around the city, and you stop them at your leisure when you need gas. The best part is, they play "ice cream" truck music as they drive around. It is wild! The truck in my neighborhood plays an Arabic version of Fur Elise.”

“The toilet seat in my apartment does not stay up. Silly - yes. But a pain nonetheless.”

“No one here wears deodorant. And it's hot.”

“For non-Muslims here, the work week is M-Th & Sat. That means my "weekend" is Friday and Sunday”

Different cultures are so interesting. It is fun to have adventurous friends that you share with you what they are learning and doing. Sound like quite an experience he is going to have in Jordan.

Busy day of work, but I did escape to go to the farmer’s market for lunch. There is always live music and it’s fun to sit by the fountain and people watch and relax in the sun for awhile. I am really going to miss summer! It is so much nicer to be able to go outside in the sun for even 20 minutes than in the winter when I try to cut through shops in order to not freeze to death.
After work I went for a run with some people for S&L. It was a little toasty but the breeze was nice. When I got back to Oak Street I took a dip. It felt so nice to swim around in the cold water.

Track Workout

On my way to the track I picked up my free pair of Lunar Glides. I was pretty excited that they are white and orange. They will match my apartment when they are next to the door : ) Which reminds me that I have figured out why Nike is so nice to us (giving us 5 free shoes). It is because they are trying to convinced me that instead of the 2 pairs of shoes which I originally thought that I needed (one for racing- and one for training) that I need 5 pairs (one for racing long distance, one for racing short distances, one supportive trainer of longer runs, one light trainer for tempo runs, and then one every day trainer). Then when they stop giving me shoes than I will be buying way more shoes than I need: )

I had a great track workout. I felt so smooth and fluid. We did the Pre again which is 1k, 15 minute tempo, 1k, 15 minute tempo, 1k. The tempos are on a path on a river up by the North Park. It’s fun to run somewhere new and run with so many people.

North Park is a ways away though. I didn’t get back until 8:00PM at which time I called Jeff to chat because he has to get up very early (and time change). Then I made a quick dinner of quesadillas on my cute circular pan (thanks mom!). Anyway- I was still kind of wired at 11PM. Not good. However, I realized what it was. I got a free recovery drink after the workout and it ended up it had the equivalent of 3 shots of espresso! Crap! I am not going to fall asleep for awhile.

Too much excitement at soccer

We had a very physical game. I think I was the only one who didn’t have a dirty back from falling on the field. However, in the last 10 minutes of the game one of my teammates got flipped over another guy and landed smack dab on his head. It looked so painful and he crumpled into a ball and started to swear. He finally had caught his breath and rolled over. He finally got up and started to walk of the field except then he lost his balance and fell down again. This time we said someone should take him to the hospital. Then he started to through up and looked really bad so the ref called 911. Within minutes a fire truck turned right of lake shore drive and drove it over the path and down onto the middle of the soccer field. It was quite a sight! Then the put his in a chair and wheeled him of the field. They didn’t want him lying down. That was scary! It was our last soccer game. We might go down in history as the team that didn’t win any games : ) !

Feeling under the weather : (

Korean Fest

Korean Fest today. Got 200 dollars but I have to say that it was a well earned 200 dollars. It was 95 degrees and really humid. After the first mile I realized that this was not very fun : ) I didn't even cool down because cooling down would have been warming up when I was already way warmer than I would like. Like last year- the race was a total cultural experience. Instead of bagels here is a picture of one of the asian pastries I had- note the green stuff, I also had one with red bean in the middle and one with mocha cream in the middle. I ended up winning a raffle but when I got my prize it was a 20 dollar gift card to Korean Books. I looked online and it looks like unless I want to learn Korean, I can't use this gift : )

After the race, these two Kenyan’s came up and talked to me. They were really nice. They mainly wanted me to tell them if I knew of any races that had money. This guy ran 14:10 today as an easy run. His PR is 13:02 for the 5k. I asked him if he had any pointers. He said to stay of the pavement. Kenya doesn’t have the pavement he said. Pavement invites injury. He also said that in Kenya people aren’t so busy. There is more time to sit around and relax. He also said American’s aren’t as mentally tough. He also said that from people that he has run with here, teammates seem to compete against each other. You should use your teammates to relax he said. You waste energy competing. He also said that they usually eat 2 big meals and then drink a lot of really sweet tea during the day. They eat a lot of some sort or corn porridge thing it sounded like. They eat lots of carbs, alittle meat, and greens and whole milk. Interesting. He said that before workouts they will sometime have the sweet tea with milk in it and a piece of fruit to settle the stomach—I don’t think I will take that advice! Sound like the two worst things you can eat before a run- milk and acidic fruit!

When I got back I went to Church to find out that the 11 service was canceled because of the block party. So I went to 4th Pres. After that I went to the Apple store to have them look at my ipod.

Painting

Spent along time painting today. In fact I listened to 3 hours of "Three Cups of Tea" while I painted. I guess I could say that I read 8 chapters but I guess I have to say I listened to an audiobook. It's a great story so far. I am learning all about mountaineering, and pulmonary edima, and swelling of the brain, and starting a school in Central Asia. Okay-mainly about starting a school in central Asia but the whole mountaineering is interesting.

I also went and got my hair cut today, mopped, did laundry, went to the farmers market, and went swimming in the lake. Oh, I was really pumped about how cheap the produce was. For 5 dollars I got 6 bell peppers, 3 cucumbers, 3 squashes, and a melon. I am planning on freezing the peppers so I have some in the winter and making Deena Kastors Squash Lasagna with the squashes. I had a lot of fun swimming in the lake. It was really refreshing. I am going to save up my Fleet Feet gift certificates so I can buy a wetsuit for swimming in the fall.

Dessert with Calah

Calah came over after dinner and we went to Berry Chill- the asian frozen yogurt equivalent to cold stone. She got granola, mango, and strawberries as her mix-ins. I got mochi, mango, and blueberries. We had a good time. The weather was perfect. Not to hot or to cold. Perfect summer night to enjoy some ice cream with a great friend. We realized that we have spent more time with each other than any other friend because of all the time we spend training together. Most of our runs would end up being just Calah and I.

Run with Calah

Met Calah for a run after work. We had trouble finding each other but after that we had a great time chatting on our run. I stopped by Mel's on the way back to see her new appartment.

Signature Lounge with Calah and Mel

Today I got home and quick changed into my soccer clothes and left for my game. The games start a half an hour earlier now that it is August (6PM). After the game I took the Bus home and got dressed up. Calah is in town so we were going to go the Signature Lounge at the top of the Hancock for drinks. I met Calah and Mel there and we had a really good time. It really is an impressive view! I tried to take pictures of the view but none of them turned out : (

I got a drink called The Skyscraper (which seemed fitting for the Hancock). Mel got a drink called The Malibu and Calah got Merlot.

It was fun to talk to Calah about Vietnam since she will be living there next year. We made plans to meet up tomorrow for a run together for old times sake. It was so great to see Calah! She said when she gets back from Vietnam that she wants to get a job in Chicago because there are some really good publishing houses here. That would be great!

Fun run

Today I went for a run by myself. Tonight is the night I normally run with Fleet Feet but I felt like I needed a solo run. My run was awesome! I went South instead of North. I didn’t cover any new ground along the lakeshore but for some reason I saw a lot of things that I hadn’t ever noticed before. On my way back I took the river walk. I ran by this incredible fountain that I had never seen before.
On my run I used my GPS for a portion of the run. Funny because I got it 6 years ago but I never used it practically. Now I am finding all sorts of cool features. It has this cool feature called “virtual partner.” You can put a pace and distance that you want to run and then you can race your “virtual partner.” It was fun. People along the lakeshore probably thought I was crazy because I was really focused and passing bikers (slow bikers). I ended up averaging 5 seconds per mile faster than my little buddy on the GPS. It was great! It also gave me some confidence for the marathon because I found that at first the pace felt uncomfortable but it got better over time until it would have felt funny to slow down the pace.

On Sunday Jeff made breakfast for us. Then we went and get coffee and walked around the U of M campus. It was a beautiful morning. Here are some pictures we took:

We then went to church. The sermon was on spiritual gifts. I have heard several sermons before on spiritual gifts and I usually don’t like them because I feel like they make it sound like if you are using your spiritual gifts then you are going to be 100% happy all the time doing your work when in reality I think everyone has grunt work that you have to just buckle down and get it done (just not the majority of your work should feel like pulling teeth). I liked this sermon because it gave me some background into the passage that I didn’t know before. Such as at that time the gift of tongues was elevated above the others so the passage is really trying to show the “unity and diversity” of spiritual gifts--- We are all given different gifts and all the gifts are valued the same. He also focused on how the church needs the diversity of gifts and talents and compares it to the Trinity.

After church we took a Frisbee to the park and played catch. Then we were a little hot and the river looked so clean and enticing that we waded up the stream. It was never much higher than our knees. It felt nice. We went back and had some salmon from lunch and then went over to play some Ultimate Frisbee with some church friends. It was a relaxing Sunday.

Jeff's Half Ironman and a full day of other things

The next morning was early. 5AM I left for my first official marathon training long run. I actually loved running in the morning. It was really calm and it was warm but not too hot. I always run with my cell phone in my hand (and surprisingly it doesn’t bother me at all- I forget it is there). But that meant that I could take pictures with my phone. I rounded the corner to the lake and was like WOW! The sun rise was AMAZING- red globe that was making the sky all hues of red.

When I got back I took a shower, ate alot, and got ready to get picked up. I went to the farmers market and picket up some melon and veggies for the next week- but my real intention was breaking my 20 so I had some small bills. I didn’t know how much gas would be but if my driver wanted 25 I didn’t want to have to give him a 40 dollars. I got picked up at 8AM. Unfortunately we got stuck in bad traffic. He was a great guy and we had good conversations. He was a science teacher and also had done a lot of traveling. It was fun to compare stories from Asia and Mexico. I tried to pay him when I left but he said “No- I am guessing that since you are an engineer you don’t like to read but I really want you to read one of these books so instead of giving me money go buy and read one of these 4 books.”

At the race I didn’t know what time Jeff had started the race so I thought I better stay at the finish. It ended up that he was in the very last wave so I could have gone and seen him at other parts of the race. I got to see him finish so that was good. Jeff did great! A PR! I can’t imagine racing for that long. Pete and Alex (Calvin friends) were there so it was really good to see them.

After the race we went to Grandma and Grandpa O’s to chat and for some appetizers. It was fun to see them as always.

Then in Ann Arbor we went over to Nate’s (a med student) for a barbeque. After that we stopped by the store to get some ice cream and we went back and watched the movie Big Fish and had ice cream. I didn’t like the movie until about half way through. I would recommend it- it is weird but everything makes since at the end and there are a lot of great life lessons.

Another long good day!