Feet Move Forward

Things have been rather non-stop since I got back from California on Monday evening, which is why I'm just getting around to posting some pictures and some high level info about my time there.
I seriously enjoyed everything about my trip and am still processing the 20+ hours of conference sessions that I went to. More to come! 


The conference ended Friday night and our flight back to Minnesota didn't leave until Monday afternoon so we packed up and headed to the northern California coast.
After several hours of driving through winding mountain roads, we ended up in Eureka. It's a really interesting town...


After spending the night there, we drove just fifteen minutes north to Trinidad, California's smallest incorporated town known for it's beaches and offshore rocks, and spent much of the morning exploring the coastline. 






From there we headed south toward Sacramento, stopping only once more at the Avenue of the Giants. They have a marathon that I really want to…

Today is the third and final day of the conference here at Bethel and a theme has been emerging for me. Before/during each session (there are three each day), we're asked to pray for the people around us. Three times now,  I've been told some variation of this: He's going to do so much more than you can ask or imagine.
Just to clarify, "He" is God and what they're saying is a reference to Ephesians 3:20. Three different people telling me that my world is going to be rocked (in a good way) by God. I'm in.

In addition to some awesome speakers, there are incredible musicians that have been leading worship, like Jenn and Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle and Steffany Frizzell. They recently released their Loft Sessions album and I rarely listen to anything else. It's cool to hear them all live.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite songs on their album.



Wishing you Love as you head into your weekend.

Can you tell I'm on a little sabbatical since I'm blogging about breakfast? (Keep in mind I'm on west coast time so this post isn't as late as it seems.) Let's just say the view inspired me. 

When we arrived yesterday in Redding it was HOT. And the condo we're staying in had been unoccupied for a couple weeks so the temperature inside was 96 degrees, just two shy of a boy band. This morning, though, there's an amazing breeze on the deck and thought that I'd enjoy a little blog reading/breakfast eating/coffee drinking out here.  

But anyway, back to breakfast. I'm a big of dessert so any time you can have something healthy that tastes like dessert for breakfast is a good thing in my book. Therefore, I give you this:

It might look like a hot mess of oatmeal but it tastes like warm banana bread and it fills you up without making you feel heavy and gross. I don't really measure anything but here's a rough look at what went into mine: - rolled …

Greetings from Redding, California! I'm here for the week attending a conference at Bethel Church.
Guess who goes to church here? Ryan and Sara Hall. In fact, last week they did a Q & A session during one of the morning services and it's definitely worth listening to. Seriously, go listen to it. (The video that they watch just a few minutes into the audio is this one.)
I'm really looking forward to resting this week. (I mean that in the mental/emotional/spiritual sense, not physically. JP made sure I had a list of exercises and drills I could do sans weights!) And writing. And reading. And learning. More to come... 
Until then, please enjoy my view from the balcony of the condo we're staying in.

I think a lot of people assumed that I would be less busy after leaving my job. I was one of them. Well, we were all wrong. Without a doubt, the flexibility is greater but my day is still jammed with activity. 
One of the main reasons I did not take a full-time job was so that I could help my grandparents. My Grandpa is fully independent and my Grandma is the exact opposite. Because of her dementia, it's not really safe to leave her alone in the house for any period of time. I'll write a longer post about all of this some other day. 
Anyway, I've been spending a lot of my time over there. And we do a lot of this:
In other news, I have never been so sore in my entire life, due to my workouts with JP. I was marathon sore two days after our leg workout. I literally could not go down stairs. After Shoulder Day, I had to give myself a pep talk before reaching my hand around my back to take off my bra. Or wash my hair. I know that with pain comes growth and I'm excited to …

First, this: Grandma's Marathon is tomorrow! In true Super Fan fashion, I'm getting up around 2:30 a.m. to drive to Duluth, watch the USA Half Marathon Championships, mingle for a bit, then head to Mile 20-ish to cheer for the marathoners. Expect my first-ever phone blog post (an attempt, at least).
Now, this: 
han·gry [han-gree] adjective   a state of anger caused by lack of foodhunger causing a negative change in emotional state
Probably my all-time favorite someecard, followed closely by this one:

Meet JP.

I met JP through my sister, who met him in the gym. Obviously. 
Having recently lost my Lifetime membership (which was a benefit of working for TCM), I took this as an opportunity to join LA Fitness, where JP works out. He once told me that if I workout with him for 6 weeks, I'll be in the best shape of my life. Since I publicly declared that I wanted to get in awesome shape this year, I figured my newly flexible schedule left me without any excuses.
He told me that if I whined, he'd quit working out with me. I told him if he swears, it's a quarter in the Swear Jar.
Yesterday was our first workout together. It was Back Day. I didn't whine (but "exchanged information" as I gave him updates on my pain level). He, however, owes me $0.75.
Our text exchange this morning: Me:  Think I pulled a muscle on my right side. Feels like a constant Charlie Horse. Not whining, just an information exchange. 
JP: Maybe go down to McDonald's and get a whah burger…

It's my last day on blood thinners! Since my pulmonary embolism episode three months ago, I've been taking a daily dose of warfarin. Yes, the same medication your grandfather takes. So what's next? After a month of being drug-free, I get to have about a gallon of blood taken for additional testing and will then meet with a specialist to discuss the plan moving forward.
It's my last day at TCM... and I'm struggling to find the right words to mark such an occasion. After writing and deleting countless sentences, I'll sum it up with this:



I don't know what's around the corner for me but I've never been so fulfilled not knowing.

It's National Running Day, a whole day to celebrate runners and how awesome we are. 
Anyone who devotes a significant time to training can tell you that there are so many upsides to pounding pavement. They can also tell you that it has a few downsides.
So here's my list of the pros and cons of running. I'll let you decide which is which. 
You can eat whatever you want and not gain weight. Runger! (excessive hunger caused by running) Stress relief. Your legs are awesome. A lot of showering. Requires massive amounts of planning.  Increased self-control.  Long runs = lots of creative thinking/problem solving time.  You become really skilled at guessing distances.
Chafing. It makes it easier to say no to unhealthy things. Late night happy hour? No, thanks, I have a long run in the morning.  Reduced risk of disease.  Weird tan lines.  It's a good way to meet like-minded people. It feels so primitive.  Loads of laundry.  "Me" time.
Ice baths.

Once you've …

The short version: I ran a 5K yesterday in 21:59, was somehow the first female (small towns ARE good for something!) and my splits were 6:46, 7:15, 7:20 and 7:03 for the last .1. Additionally, I think I have the stomach flu.

The long version: Yesterday I ran my slowest 5K in three years. Like I mentioned, I wanted to use this race as a basis for my training paces in the upcoming months. 
pre-race
I decided to stay at my apartment on Friday night instead of driving down to stay at my mom's, mostly so I could run to Yogurt Lab for my typical pre-race bribe. Yes, run. I told myself that if I wanted the sweet deliciousness that is frozen yogurt, I'd have to get there on foot, which is roughly .8 miles away from my apartment. I jogged there, paid an ungodly amount of money for what was approximately a pound of sugar, and then walked (while eating it) home. 
The next morning I woke up with my stomach in knots. I thought it was just nerves and went to make coffee to encourage a littl…

Prior proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.

May was all about getting back into the swing of things and I'm running 25-30 mpwwith little protest from my body. And so, my summer plan:
June Get faster. Add in tempo runs, hill workouts and keep mileage around 35-40 per week. Be able to fit into pre-PE clothes. (Six months sans workouts put me up 7lbs and down a whole lot of muscle. It might not sound like a lot but it's approximately 5% of my body weight. Biggest Loser contestants don't even lose that in a week.) 
July Begin to follow a 5K-specific workout plan- aka get even faster- while staying healthy and keeping weekend runs on the long-ish side. Here is a 5K plan that I found in an old issue of Running Times.

August There's a 5K in early August that I'd really like to be the site of my new 5K PR. My old one is a little dusty. We'll call that my Goal Race for these next few months.
After August, I'll shift my focus to half marathon training and lo…