Halloween!!!

This morning Jeff had to go to the lab to do research so I slept in and then made scones and then walked to the hospital where I met Jeff and he showed me the lab and then we got coffee at the cafeteria.
We went home and made a list of a few things we wanted to pick up from the store. We had fun shopping together. We picked up some pumpkins at the store to carve that evening and some spray paint for Jeff’s costume.
Then we went back and Jeff spray painted his box for his Halloween costume while I made lunch. Then I helped him with his costume. He cut the holes for his arms and taped the box while I made the label that said Purell. Then we tried to put it on him. Getting it on wasn’t too hard but then we started to try to get it off. He couldn’t move his arms. I was laughing hysterically as he helplessly tried to move but then I realized this was not a laughing matter. His face showed a little bit of a panic look that I had not seen before. I took out the knife to cut the arm holes and he does not like this idea at all. I managed to make the arm whole a little bigger but he still can’t move. We some how figure out the if he positions himself with his hips and shoulders perpendicular the box makes a parallelogram instead of a square which gives him just enough room to pull his arms out! Phew!
After that we went for a run on the trails by Argo Park. It was a crisp fall day- the kind that are best for running!










When we got back it was carving time. Jeff wanted to do a bike and after some thinking I decided to do the Space Needle. It was really fun. Jeff entertained himself by taking pictures of me carving and a Grizzly Peak beer (because I was a much slower carver than him).
We made a great dinner of Chicken Tikka Marsala and rice.

Then we headed to a Halloween party. We had a good time.

Travel Day

Today was just a travel day. Very stressful at work since my bus left at 4:45 and I was tied up until after 4 in a meeting. I bought myself one of the Love’s truck stop reusable mugs for 2 dollars a few megabus rides ago and now I can get anything in the coffee machines for 50 cents. It is something to look forward to when I ride the megabus. This time I got a cinnamon cappuccino. It was delicious! We were an hour late because of traffic. Jeff looked exhausted when he picked me up. We talked a little and then he went right to sleep. I tried my best to get myself tired but I guess the cappuccino at 8pm wasn’t the best idea after all : ) !

I had 4 reports due this week at work- very busy. So I haven’t been feeling like writing when I get home from work. The last few days have consisted of a few runs with friends, a little Christmas shopping, a few cooking experiments, and some reading. The normal. I need to think of a Halloween costume tonight.

Trick or Treat Trot

This morning we drove to Montrose to do the Trick or Treat Trot. We should have worn a costume. A lot of people ran in costume. The race was fun. I was planning on just jogging it but I ended up running faster than I thought (like a tempo pace). I got second and got a 50 dollar gift certificate to Fleet Feet. Jeff did great and we both thought he got third but it ended up there was some really fast guy that was way ahead of everyone so he got fourth. We watched the Monster Mad dash (kids run). It was pretty cute.

We got pack later than we thought so we missed church. We watched a sermon video and ate our left over Thai for lunch. We went for a nice walk outside and stopped by Ace Hardware to get Jeff’s battery in his watch changed.

Jeff had to leave around 3pm. It was nice having him in Chicago for the weekend!

Saturday with Jeff

This morning we made pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we figured out some logistics and then went on a short run. My second run since the marathon! We ran through the zoo stopping at the different animals. Then we ended the run at Fleet Feet to pick up our race packets for the Trick or Treat Trot. I know- I am crazy to enter a race with not running for 2 weeks but I figure I will just focus on trotting and not running : ). When we got back Jeff gave himself a haircut while I researched plane tickets for Christmas. Later we met my friend Pam for lunch. We went to a Thai place called Garlic and Chili. We had a good time and I was happy that Jeff could meet Pam. This post is getting boring so I will just list the other things we did:
-went to bike store to exchange Jeff’s bday from me
-printed pictures at Ritz Pics
-rented movie at Red Box (dollar movie vending machine)
-made quick dinner of pesto pasta and salad
-watched the movie “The Curious Life of Benjamin Button”

Nice day- lots of little things.

Jeff meets Cinnamon Stick

Today Jeff came to Chicago! It had been way to long. We had dinner together and then later Matt and Shannon came over for dessert. We had a really good time. Matt is on his surgery rotation so when Jeff called Matt to say that he had arrived in Chicago he woke Matt up from his nap. We had a great time chatting. I don’t remember all the funny things that happened but I laughed so much. Oh one not funny thing but interesting thing was that Matt had a patient with an anxiety disorder that stressed himself into a heart attack! I didn’t know that was actually possible. Jeff also talked about his homeless patient he had which was interesting. I also thought it was interesting that Matt likes his program so much that he wants to stay in Chicago for residency. Jeff said that made him more excited to do a residency in Chicago. However, Shannon really wants to move somewhere new so they probably won’t stay in Chicago. I made us Pumpkin Pie in miniature pumpkins for dessert. I think everyone really liked it- Oh that reminds me of the funniest thing of the evening. So I put cinnamon sticks as decoration on the pumpkin pies. Jeff picked the cinnamon stick up and put it in his mouth. He started chewing and we hadn’t seen him put it in our mouth and he goes “Was that long thing on the pie not edible?” We all were like “you mean the cinnamon stick”?? “You just ate the cinnamon stick??!!” He didn’t know what cinnamon sticks were. We really got to make fun of him for that one : ). It was really cute though : )

little things that made my day

A lot of little things that made my day- we got new chairs at work, and new phones (you get to choose your ring..there were some funny ones like a persons voice saying “Are you there? Are you there?”, drums, and techno (to name a few). Also, the CARA standings were updated and I increased my lead by 6 points. There are three races left and I am only doing one of them but I think I will keep my lead. In addition, it is like 60 degrees and sunny today. Life is good.

Only bad news- last week was the last week of the downtown farmers market. I did not know this and was planning on going to the market at lunch. I will miss going to the market during lunch on Tuesday’s for the next 7 months : (

Oh and I did yoga again tonight (I have a week trial pass). I liked this one much better- it was Core Toga instead of Hot Yoga. I describe my favorite move that we learned- first you stick your butt in the air and round your back and are on your hands and feet (like a bear), then you straighten your back and legs so you are in a plank with arms straight (like a slide) - then you lower your arms from straight until you look like a grasshopper (arms close to your side and elbows pointing to ceiling)- then you straighten your arms and tuck your butt and look at up and you look like a seal. I don’t remember the technical names but I would call it the “metamorphosis-bear-grasshopper-seal pose.” You should try it- it’s fun : )

Hot Yoga

My friend convinced me to try out Hot Yoga tonight and I figured since I am not running right now I might as well give it a try. Wow! It was quite something- 110 degrees and 95% humidity- it was like trying to do stretches in a steam room. It was a fun experience but Hot Yoga is not my thing : )

Remlinger Farms

Today I we went to Church and then headed to the country for a bike ride went the parents. We went to Carnation. It was a fun ride (a bit smelly at times from all the horses and cows : ). We stopped at Remlinger Farms (http://www.remlingerfarms.com) for some pie. That evening we went to Best for Vietnamese food.

Smallwood.....O'Brien

Today I went to Café Flora with my mom and dad for breakfast. I got the harvest scramble, muffin bread, and cheesy grits. We also tried some interesting tea. My mom’s yam breakfast quesadilla was interesting also. It was dipped in egg so the outside of it was like an omelet and then the inside was the tortilla and veggies. My dad got the French Toast with sour plumb compote (and a lot of coffee obviously : ). Café Flora is my favorite breakfast place- it is an all vegetarian place in Madison Park (the place I used to say I wanted to live)- it’s a cute neighborhood right next to the arboretum and downtown Seattle (best of both worlds-city, nature, and convenience). The restaurant is cool because it is kind of like a green house- all glass with potted plants.

After that we went to this place called Banya (http://www.banya5.com/). It was really neat. You get yourself ridiculously hot and then ridiculously cold to clean the toxins out of your body. So first we went into this room that is 120 degrees and then when we got really hot we would go into the cold plunge. There was also the steam room, hot tub, cold showers, and salt pool. The salt pool was awesome because you could just float in it and it was a comfortable temperature. After the spa we went home and had a quick bit to eat and went to Seward Park to take a walk in the woods. I said I get into the woods since that was something I missed in Chicago. Then I went back and got ready for the wedding.

Caitlin’s wedding was very nice! I will just show some pictures because I am getting tired of writing. It was very Caitlin- reception in the country style Manor- getting sent off in a truck….very fun.

Lab Tour on Prosthetics

The next morning we had breakfast together and then I took the bus home. It was raining. I had lunch with my mom and helped her with her pillows and then headed to the University of Washington to get a lab tour of the Neuro Prosthetic lab. It was fascinating! http://neurobotics.cs.washington.edu/projects.html My mom made stuffed squash for dinner. Yummy.

Party for Caitlin

I left work early today to catch a 4pm flight to Seattle for my good friend Caitlin’s Bacheloret party. We had a really great time. We spent the night in a fancy hotel in Bellevue and played games, had dinner together, and just celebrated our awesome friend Caitlin’s happiness!

massage

Today I used my hour long massage gift card. It was a real treat!

Lunch with Lynn, foot massage

Today I had breakfast with Lynn and then headed to work. Apparently one of my bosses looked up how I did and announced it in the Leadership Monday Morning Meeting so all day people were stopping by to ask about the race. I had to find a quite room for a little while so I could get work done : ). I met Lynn for lunch and then showed her the Palmer House, the park, and my office. It was fun. I felt bad that I had to work when she was in Chicago but it worked out well. She went for a run in the morning and did homework in the afternoon. Her train back to Purdue left at 5PM. She was getting very good at using the Public Transit. I bought her a day pass and she got her moneys worth : ) !

After work I got a free foot massage and treats from BRASH (Brookes Running Athlete Support Hospitality). It was a nice long foot massage. I ran into my friend Holly who I hadn’t seen in forever. She had gone to the church retreat which was the same weekend as the marathon and said it was very good.

Marathon

The next day I woke up bright and early. I ate an English muffin with a lot or Peanut butter and headed to my friend Beth’s to get a ride to the start line. Since I was in the top 100 we had a nice heated tent to wait in until we were escorted to the start. I was so over whelmed with the amount of people. There is a bridge that goes over Columbus drive and the whole thing was stuffed with people watching the start of the race. When I looked behind me all I could see was a sea of humanity. I was also amazing at how people don’t have any manors when nervously waiting for the start of a marathon. A guy just squatted down next to me and took a dump. I was thinking- all those 40,000 people behind our start corral are going to trample through that! When the gun went off I stayed behind my friend Beth. I was told I was going to go out too fast so I thought I better stay behind her since she is experienced in the marathon. Our first mile was too slow- oh well- we have 25 more miles to make up the lost time : ). The whole race was exciting. We went through all different neighborhoods and I was so distracted by everything around me that the race went by so fast. At mile 20 I felt great. The last 6 were the best because I was passing people like crazy. However, once I crossed the finish line and started walking. It didn’t feel good at all. I dropped my banana that someone handed me and when I tried to bend down to pick it up I fell over. Everything just felt like it was cramping up. I then realized I was extremely cold. I was with my friend Lydia and she was freezing also. Lydia couldn’t handle the terrible cold feeling. The wind made it even worse. I lost her some how and found out latter that she was taken by the medical tent because they thought she was delirious. I didn’t stop shaking even with my clothes. Once I had said hi to everyone I walked to the train with Lynn and Anne with all 3 coats I had brought and was still shaking from the cold. I took a warm shower after that I was fine. We then went to a Japanese restaurant that I picked out and I felt like splurging-I got an appetizer, 3 different sushi’, 2 noodle dishes, and dessert. It hit the spot. I was one happy camper eating with my buddies after a great race in a great city with a great since of accomplishment hanging over me, and a great since of thankfulness that God had kept me safe when a lot of things could have gone wrong in a 26 mile race.

Later that evening I went over to Mel’s house and hung out with Jenny, Tyler, Lisa, Jesse, Lynn, Lydia, and Kyle.

I then went home and crashed. That was my in my top three favorite races of my life. My favorite race of my life was my Junior year cross country nationals running in the mud- yes I am weird but that race was awesome! That was so much fun sliding across it- being all American for the first time- Jeff surprising me (at that time my soon to be boyfriend)- my dad being there- putting on Diemer’s Olympian Leather Jacket (a tradition that he allows you to put on his special jacket given to him when he got the bronze when you become an all America)..ect. But this first marathon was right behind that cross country race. FUN TIMES

Pre Marathon day

Today was so busy- but fun. I woke up and headed out to the CARA board where I met Beth and others to do strides to get ready for the marathon the next day. A little later Beth’s boyfriend picked us up and we went to Starbucks to get lattes and kill some time until 10am when our marathon meeting was. At the marathon meeting we dropped off our gels with people who would be working at different Fleet Feet stations along the race with our projected time of day that we would arrive at the stop. Then he talked about the weather and the race and how we should start off slow. After the meeting I headed home. Lynn’s train from Purdue had gotten in a little bit early so she was waiting for me at home. We made some lunch and then headed to the expo. We sampled and trialed a lot of new running products. After that we went back and started making dinner. We wanted to have an early dinner. I made pesto and chicken pasta and I put Lynn in charge of making garlic bread. Jenny and Tyler brought a salad. We all had so much fun catching up- it was Lydia, Kyle, Jenny, Tyler, Mel, Lynn, and I. Lydia and I are planning on running the marathon together. I am not sure if I can keep up with her because she told me she has been running 100 miles a week to prepare for the marathon. That is 40% more miles than me. oh well. I will give it a shot. Later that night Anne Fennema’s train got in and she spent the night with me as well.

Dr. Joe Vigil and flowers from Jeff

I got flowers at work today from Jeff! It was very thoughtful. He was wishing me luck in the race on Sunday and said he wished that he could be there.

Marathon is tomorrow! My body feels stiff and heavy but I am told that is normal. I went to the expo at lunch and they made me fill out a W-9 (the form to report prize money). I thought that was funny considering the amount of Olympians in the race. After work I picked up some groceries for having people over for dinner tomorrow night and then headed to Fleet Feet for a round table with Dr. Joe Vigil. The talk was very interesting. He said the only way he knows how to coach is through science but there are other ways that work also. Anyway it was interesting. He said they have the equipment to calculate exactly what rate lactic acid will build up in the Olympic teams muscles and what there lactic threshold is. Therefore they do the computation and tell the athlete- this is the pace you need to run. He said- there is no question- that is what they have to run- its proven that that is what they can do. He also said they have a diet of 120 miles a week. That is their job. He also said that they do all there workouts in the morning because when you sleep your joints stretch out and there is more cushioning between the joints. I asked if with there extremely high mileage whether they have any problems with there joints when they are old. He said not at all. He said that the athletes that are at that level have very good form and aren’t hurting their bodies while running. He also talked about how hard it is doing long runs with them because he has a different sports drink for each athlete based on there body weight and then he believes that they need it every 15 minutes but they get spread out so he has to drive back and forth between the men and the women for 3 hours giving each person there special drink every 15 minutes!

Breakfast Club and Thief!

Today I woke up early to do our last workout for the marathon. I was a bit skeptical about doing a workout the week of the marathon because I am really tapering but I decided I would trust Coach Leach. The workout ended up being really fun. We did a mile, 1200, 800 on the track with very little rest in between. He explained that the goal was to get your max Vo2 up and that effect should last us through Sunday. It is a workout from the Olympic Training camp. Coach Leach calls it the Breakfast Club because it is done in the early morning and is nutriment for the marathon. I was pleased that my marathon legs could still run a 5:28 mile and fast 1200 and 800 (don’t remember the times).

After work was quite the event. I was going home when these two guys came up on this girl and whisked her wallet out of her purse and then dodged through the people. The guy behind me yelled “PICK POCKETER--- GET THEM”!!! And then everyone went crazy- it was like this swarm of people flooding the streets chacing these 2 guys in the middle of the street. 2 police were chacing- one under cover. They caught them and body slammed them into the street. The thieves were throwing punches and the cops whipped out there guns and were yelling. Then got the guys hand cuffed and stuck them in the police cars. It was quite exciting! My heart was still pounding for awhile.

Spirit of the Marathon

After work today I went to the theaters to watch The Spirit of the Marathon with some friends. It was an independent film makers documentary of the Chicago Marathon. He followed 5 different people from there training to after the marathon. The film followed a 70 year old man doing the marathon, a young couple trying to qualify for Boston together, an over weight single mom, Deena Kastor (American record holder), and a Kenyan. It was so interesting to follow the completely different stories. It was also neat to recognize every place in the movie because it was all in Chicago.

good church service and day

Another fun day. I woke up and ran to Bucktown where the Bucktown 5k was. I was just planning on jogging it because of the marathon coming up but after 2 miles of holding back it was driving me crazy so I ran a fast last mile and ended up getting second. After the race I hung around and chatted with work friends and then headed home and went to Church. Church was really good. It was on a passage where the disciples wanted Jesus to condeme a sinner and also where the disciples wanted Jesus to tell them who was the best disciple and Jesus would have nothing to do with it. The sermon talked about how sometimes we get confused on whether people are rejecting us or rejecting Jesus. We want to judge people and have some sort of pecking order. People that don't think or act or look like us we sometime jump and say they are rejecting Jesus when in fact we just feel like we are being rejected or we want to feel superior to that person. It was an interesting point. In addition, she talked about how it is not our job to condemn or judge others- the best was to be a disciple is to focus on sharing what God is doing in our life-not on how we think someone is living in sin. I thought this was a good point. She pointed out several passages were Jesus made a point to associate with people that were in the minority and people that were living differently. There was a church potluck after church so I went to that. Later that evening I watched a movie. (like my new version of a fruit bowl? : )

Saturday in A2

Today was fun. Jeff had to work a half day. He left me with his keys and I had quite the morning. I went to Borders to pick up a book that I had ordered online. Then I walked around downtown Ann Arbor and got coffee and some food at Panera since I had a gift card. Then I went to the farmers market and poked around a bit and got Jeff some bread. Then I went to get Jeff a new battery for his watch. Radio Shack was right next to a grocery store and a dollar store so I went and got Jeff some eggs since he said he was out and then went and looked in the dollar store. I got back and changed into my running clothes and started for a run. Jeff joined me when he got home and we chatted about our mornings. After that we went to Northville and went to the Cider Mill with his parents and little siblings. It was really fun. We got cider and donuts. The pumpkin patch was decorated very cute. After that we met 4 of Jeff's friends for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then I took the 7:30 Megabus back to Chicago.

Jeff's Bday

Today I took a half day because it was Jeffrey's birthday. We had a nice dinner at Grizzly Peak Brewing Company. We started off with a beer sampler. It was fun to choose our favorites. The lodge type atmosphere in Grizzly Peaks was nice. They gave Jeff a free beer glass and dessert for his birthday.