running makes me...

stronger. confident. peaceful. resilient. independent. sore. driven.
beautiful. sane. fast. out of breath. move. alive. grateful. fit. thoughtful.
interesting. inspired. athletic. tired. happy. fierce. aware. healthy.
sweaty. challenged. thinner. prepared. successful. blessed. tough.
proud. inspired. adventurous. patient (well, kind of). fun. consistent.
connected. joyful. balanced. competitive. compassionate. persistent.

(and i didn't even use a thesaurus.)

running has given me a lot, from goals set and achieved, to bruises that have scarred over. it's given me muscles and a sense of self.

but most of all it makes me a better person and i'm so lucky an old friend gave me this gift and i'm honored to keep putting one foot in front of the other in his memory.

after my first 5K.

every once in a while i find a source of inspiration in the pages of runner's world. i have had this one article on my fridge for months. it's about an undertrained runner faced with fierce competition prevailed to win the chicago marathon. the end reads...

"[he] has run faser races, he has won more celebrated races, but he has never run a more insporing race. he proved that even when you are not at 100% you can still give 100% of what you have. and he showed that believing in yourself is the most important principle of success."

if that's not a lesson in life and running i don't know what is. it's one that i strive to remember and apply to each day and each run (in a perfect world i do this, sometimes i need to be reminded).

because running makes me. i better give myself 100%.

maybe one day...

saturday was a big day. as 300 runners toed the starting line, it was the FIFTH time i got to shout "on your mark, get set, go!" as the race director. and then almost get run over by everyone's enthusiasm.

i started this event as my community service project requirement for my americorps service term. i was only 23 and wanted to cross "plan a 5K" off my bucket list. (seriously, it was on the list). who would have known it would have been the event that changed my life. who would have known that i would still be doing it five years later.

that first 5K taught me to be resourseful. it taught me that i am capable of accomplshing big things. 200 people ran that race and we raised over $5,000. by the end of the day, i knew i wanted to plan events.

this fifth time was no different. last year we added a kids run that we continued this year. seeing 20 kids run their hearts out and get excited over the dollar-store medal i hang around their necks warms my heart. when the 300 runners stampede past me after sounding the starting gun, i get goosebumps.

they are here because of my efforts. i am repsonsible for them having a good time. while this comes with enormous pressure it is something that i thrive on knowing. i want them to walk away feeling like they had a great time, even if their race time wasn't great. i want them to want to come back next year.

and as i ran back and forth organizing volunteers, cheering on the finishers, making sure everyone had water, greeting friends and giving out awards, i couldn't have been happier. to have so many people come out and support Habitat while doing something active and enjoying themselves is immensly gratifying.



this is pretty much how it feels.

 there is a lot of work that goes into three hours that just fly by. it couldn't be done without an awesome committee, generous sponsors and some fabulous volunteer. for them i am so grateful.

when i came home i was reading an article in runner's world magazine about the man who organizes the boston marathon. he and i have a lot in common (of course everything he does is on a way bigger scale, like times 1,000). but we have the same dream of not making it to the starting line and the same feelings on race day.

all i could think while reading is, i want to be him.

who new one bucket list item would inspire a new dream. to work for runDisney planning their races. (i mean running AND disney, could it get more perfect?) maybe one day.

welcome to the neighborhood.

let me preface this post by saying that i'm fortunate enough to have been able to purchase my own home(all on my own!) at the ripe old age of 25.

however with my budget this does not buy the best neighborhood. i learn this more and more each day.

when i bought, the house next to me had just been sold and they were doing a lot to fix it up. great for my property value! only they seem to be renting it out to vacationers as there are new cars there each week. but most recently an SUV with a trailer pulled up this weekend and I couldn't figure if they were unloading or loading it, there was just a lot of crap. including a taxidermied cat.

the next house down belongs to some kind of drug addict that does house projects in the middle of the night to the sounds of techno music. in the morning when i walk bailey i often notice that the house has been re-painted, the mailbox changed, the trim painted ORANGE AND PURPLE.

one guy a block over has two dogs that bailey loves and since he was always letting them out of his yard, we often had to stop to say hello. apparently they tried to attacked this old lady nearby and so they are now fenced in. and i'm glad because he seems to have weird parties out in his pool every night and i have determined him sketchy.

back to that old lady, john once brought over a piece of mail of hers that had come to my house. she made him take out her trash because she was afraid of those dogs.

another neighbor across the way owns at least four houses on the block. he often parades between them shirtless. he should wear a shirt. one of his homes is empty, run down, over grown and seems to serve as a parking lot for either his mobile dog-grooming vehicle or one of his older collector cars.

there is a crazy dog lady. and no, it's not me.

but i saved the best for last. LARRY.

larry started off friendly enough. however, he quickly crossed over into creepy. ocassionally he would move some things on my property like an outdated election sign, a fallen over solar light. i'm sure he thought he was helpful but i was starting to get weirded out.

then one time after a weekend away, he knocked on my door as soon as i got in and handed me ADT stickers and said next time i go away, i should put them up. really larry? i'm most afraid of YOU.

another time when john and i came back from a weekend away, i had just gotten out of the car when he yelled over to ask if i keep my dog in the house all weekend. yes larry, call animal control, i left bailey in her crate for 72 hours. NOT. (granted he was just offering to take her in when i was away but its all in the approach, buddy).

but the kicker is the letter i received in my mailbox this week. at first glance it is a neighborly note hinting that i should probably mow my lawn. upon second glance i realized it was actually a poem.

"as i do not care either way, should you want to use my new mower, you may! have a great day!"

most peoples reaction to a letter reminding them that their lawn could be the stage set for the little shop of horrors would be embarassment and shame. but i find this hysterical. and weird. one friend suggested i write back "your neighborly gesture would have made me quite weepy, unfortunately you're poem just made you seem creepy." i couldn't have said it better myself.

and i still cannot find it in me to drag out my broken mower and shed sweat and tears to mow my weeds and sand because larry wrote me a poem. but maybe i will find someone to help me. just not him.

afterall, my house is not the worst on the block. at least i'm normal. i think.
like mr. rogers said, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

adventures in shoe shopping

i make a horrible girl. i HATE shoe shopping with a passion.

there are a few reasons for this. first, i have long toes. not every style flatters them. i'm fairly tall and broad shouldered so if you put me in anything higher than 3-4 inches i feel like a drag queen. most importantly, i hate spending money on shoes.

i don't really know why this is. i have no problem buying running shoes at the drop of a hat. lacking inspiration to run, new sneakers! forgot my sneakers for the weekly bridge loop, no problem i'm leaving from the running store i'll just buy new ones! slight ache in my knee, shin, or toe...you got it! new sneakers! and sneakers ain't cheap.

most of the other shoes in my closet were gifts, from college, or purchased for $30 or less. i favor gold sandals and the pair i wear most often is so worn down that the sole is flapping. this causes me to trip, often. it is starting to get embarassing so i decided to bite the bullet and go shoe shopping.

now if little old vero had a DSW this might not be so bad but i started with payless. fail. shoe carnival, double fail. macy's...well i'm under the age of 60, so fail. this was all in one afternoon and after three failed attempts i started to have an anxiety attack. why do they make the shoes so tall! why do they all cost more than $30! i started to question the meaning of life, it was a mess.

to make a long story short, after many stores, a lot of back and forth, some returns to make...i finally found a pair that fit the bill! hooray, i am a girl afterall.

(but i still prefer my sneakers and broken down sandals).