Bones

On my flight to Chicago I sat next to this nice old man and his wife. He was determined to become friends with me despite my un-talkative nature. I sat there studying my bone flashcards for anatomy and the man said “you are kind of creeping me out studying bones.” I smiled and said I was taking anatomy. I soon fell asleep with my head on the tray table and the man shook me and gave me a pillow. I thanked him and went to sleep. When I woke up there was an apple on my table. He said “thought you might be hungry.” I thanked him and made some small talk with him as I ate my apple. As we landed the man quickly reached for my luggage to give me a hand and said “come on Bones, it’s time to go to baggage claim- that’s your new name.” I didn’t know we were on the level of nick names but okay : ) It was an interesting experience that made me smile so I wanted to share.

hard workout and now off to Chicago!

Today I did a crazy workout- it was 4 by 4 miles (3 miles at 6:35 followed by one mile at 7 min pace) then one mile at 6 min pace. The paces were slower than a workout but after doing 16 miles it doesn’t feel so slow : ) I hadn’t ever done a long run + workout. Usually I just run long for my long run. I could tell that this was a great workout…however now I am in the airport on the way back to Chicago- I might be a little stiff when I arrive : )

visitor!

Jessica comes to visit! Jess and I have had a great time exploring my city. We ate some crazy sandwiches at http://www.pbjsgrilled.com/index.html - blue cheese and peanut butter anyone? : ) We went for a run on the wildwood trail. We went to movies in the Park and saw Inception. We walked down 23rd. We went to Powell’s books. We had coffee at stumptown and lunch at the street carts. We ran on the waterfront had a picnic in the park while listening to a free concert. We went to the Nike campus and we did a free yoga class. So much fun!

Chicago Marathon- starting training

Well Today starts my 12 week ramp up to the Chicago Marathon! I have to say, of all my training cycles I am the most anxious this time. I am nervous about training and completing my intense 10 week class clinical portion of my schooling. I am worried that I am not going to be able to juggle everything and that one aspect of my life is going to slide- whether that is my relationships with my friends, my grades, my training, or my communication with my husband from a distance. I want to do my very best in all these things. Most people that are training for an OTQ are willing to set aside this chunk of time and focus only on this task. I have to split my focus. This is tough. On a positive note- I have good feelings about my next marathon attempt. I have been feeling so strong on my runs and am ready to add in some workouts and focus my training. I think this is going to be the time!

Portland is so green!

So I was running today with a couple girls and it was warm out and we passed some people giving out water. I was excited about a nice cup of water. I stopped and looked around- where were the cups? I asked the lady and she gave me a look like "what's wrong with this girl?." She then asked me where my water bottle was, given my confused look she explained to me that it would be terrible for the environment to use paper cups and they only give water to those that run with water bottles. haha. Guess I better start running with a cup! : )

Blues Festival

My parents came to town for the Blues Festival. It was fun to show them our new place and do some exploring with them!