Oh Hello Again - Running the Race

Hello again.  It has officially been 98 + 14 days since my last post.  Wedding planning and school did a fine job of taking every last bit of energy I had.  You probably would not have enjoyed my blogs had I attempted to write them.  They would have sounded something like this: Wedding planning - hard; Vendors - pain; Running - not enough; Spirituality - not enough; Becoming a house wife - sparse; School - how much longer again?  

Alright now if you're a fan of brief summaries you can stop there.  However, if you'd like to know a few more details and a retrospective view of these things keep going.  Oh how looking back on everything sure does put it all into perspective.  I'll devote this post to what first inspired me to start blogging: Running. 

I've done it!  I've completed my first half marathon.  Whew.  I guess I should start by thanking my running buddy Jared.  We started out running every Tuesday evening, but as soon as my semester started up realized this was not going to work.  I was tired when I finally got home and not terribly motivated.  We switched it to Saturday/Sunday morning.  This was a great move.  I was available more for these runs and it started to get me acclimated to running in colder weather.  

Okay I guess this is a good time to expand on Jared's patience with me.  I have this terrible tendency of not following through on plans all the time.  There were a couple of late Friday nights or early Saturday mornings where I would send an "ooo I'm tired" or "oops I forgot to tell you I was going to Houston this weekend" or "oh I just had my bachelorette party and am in no condition to run" text.  For a lot of people this would get old immidiately.  I'm not proud of this characteristic of mine.  It's something that having a running buddy has really brought to my attention, and something I'm really trying to work on.  Well, Jared was perfectly nice about it every time.  Instead of just dropping me to run by myself he would just respond with an "okay no problem!  Try and run X amount of miles sometime this week!"  I am so grateful for this.  And then later in the week he would text again asking how my run went.  Still keeping me accountable without making me feel like a complete jerk for cancelling.  

Alright so I'm cruising.  We are right on schedule with my training about to start the longer runs (9-10 miles) and start pushing the pace.  Or not.  Instead I go and injure myself playing basketball.  That's right Jason; I'm gonna put it out there, it was not Jason's fault.  I mean he did steal the basketball away from me in an unnecessarily rough manner, but it was my pride that then led me to chase after him and try to get the ball back.  In the end it resulted in a huge ankle and about a 3 week recovery time.

    So here I was, a month and 14 days out from running my first marathon unable to run.  I was bummed to say the least.  I think Jared sent me a text after he saw the photo saying something along the lines of "soooo you want to cancel our run this weekend?"  Umm yes perhaps.  Oh side note, this was also about two weeks out from my bachelorette party.  My second top concern after "oh no I can't run!" was "oh no what if I can't wear heels!"  It's the important things in life really.  

About two weeks to go before the marathon I start trying to push up my miles again.  I had gotten stuck on a comfortable 4 mile run.  Not good news when that is only 1/3 of the race.  I ran 6 miles while we were in Houston and another 6 miles in Denton.  On Thanksgiving morning, one week and three days before the race I decided that if I was going to do this I had better get in at least one long run.  So I strapped on my shoes and put on my nifty gift Jason had given me for my birthday.  It's a training watch with GPS and heart rate monitor.  It lets me know how far I've gone and my current pace.  I love it!

I had already mapped out my run so I knew exactly where my destination point was before I would allow myself to turn around.  In short, I ran 12 miles at a not so great pace, but I had done it!  I decided to save that extra 1.1 miles for race day.  I knew I was going to at least survive the race and that was all I wanted at this point.

Okay so race day arrives.  The night before I do everything I'm supposed to.  I have a bridal shower (relaxation and lots of gifts is always necessary before a race).  I loaded up on the carbs and water for dinner.  I went to bed at a decent hour and set my alarm with enough time to meet Jared at his apartment the next morning.  I was set.  

I get a text message in the middle of the night.  "Whyyy is someone texting me in the middle of the night!"  I figure I had better check it in case there's an emergency.  Oh wait it's not the middle of the night!  I missed my alarm!  It's Jared asking me where I am.  

Side note:  My first semester in college I slept through my calculus final exam.  It was the worst feeling ever to wake up and realize you've missed something very important.  This approximates how bad I felt texting Jared "Oh I just got up"

Okay so I get ready faster than I thought possible.  Original plan:  Eat half a Cliff bar and a banana; dink some gateorade; bring a water bottle.  Instead, I scarf down a Cliff bar and run outside to meet Jared.  As usual he doesn't even show a hint of being annoyed.  I mean come on!  I'm completely making this a stressful morning, when all a person really wants to do is focus on the race ahead.  Again, I'm so grateful for his patience.  

On top of all of this the weather is a mess.  Cold cold cold, windy and rainy.  Oh also I needed to use the rest room but by the time we got there we didn't have time to stop at one of the long lined port-a-potties.  Which is probably for the best because they are gross...oh except that then I had to run 13.1 miles needing to pee.  That was not so great.  Motivation?

So we're off.  I start out at a good pace, I'm surprisingly happy with how I'm feeling, except for the need to go to the bathroom.  Mile 1 done, 2 done, at about mile 3 I give up on trying to avoid puddles, mile 4 done, mile 5-6 check; mile 7 (ish?) oh look this is where the hills start; mile 8 oh my gosh I do not want to do this anymore, not because i'm tired now but because I know I have 5 more to go.  Mile 9 - thank goodness Jared is here.  I feel like dying and he is high fiving the crown, commenting on the signs, having a great time.  Oh and then one of the people in the crowd gave him a beer.  That was pretty awesome.  

Mile 10 ok I can do this, anytime now I'm going to see Jason.  We agreed that he would be somewhere along mile 10...Mile 11-where the F is Jason? Maybe I missed him, I'm going to feel bad if he was out there an I missed him.  That sucks.  Mile 11.5 - JASON!  Holding a sign for me :)  I give him a high five.  I'm feeling awesome!  2 more miles to go!  This is cake.  

Mile 13.1!  I did it!!  I may have felt like crying a little.  Best feeling ever.  Until you realize it's still cold and rainy and you are no longer running.  Also until you realize you still need to pee and the line is forever long.  I get through the line and find my way to Jason in the car.  It takes me at least the rest of the day before I start to feel warm again.  But it was worth it!

In the end I ran it in 2 hours and 52 seconds.  My orignal goal was 1 hour and 45 mins for my first half.  Following my injury that time was revised to 2 hours.  So I was a little over my revised goal, but considering the weather conditions and the need to go to the bathroom the whole race, I was pretty happy with the final result.  I'm excited to improve with the more races I do.  It's a great feeling to get the first one out of the way! 

Next month I'm doing a 15K with Jared called the Hot Chocolate 15K.  Yay for free Ghirardelli chocolate!  Then in April Jason and the Wagner's and I are all going to do Warrior Dash!  So excited!  

Also glad to get this first post out of the way.  Still to come: update on wedding planning and execution; becoming a house wife; spirituality; and more! 

98 Days!

In 98 Days I will officially be Mrs. Jason Fry! We are into the double digits people, it's getting serious.  I know I have been sorely lacking in the blog updates since the Fall semester started.  And well, it's because the Fall semester started.  All good things to report though.


I've begun working as a TA this semester.  It's a lot of fun and I know I learn a lot just by being around my co-workers everyday.  Not to mention, it's 100% more convenient than driving to Dallas every morning to work at Green Oaks.


This semester is shaping up to be a challenging one, but I'm doing much better with balancing my schedule this year.  I'm taking 9 hours: Assessment, Biofeedback, and Theories.  All my professors are great, as they always are! Biofeedback is my third elective to take in the Graduate program...we're technically only allotted one.  UNT offers too many awesome courses to just choose one so now I'm on the 60 hours graduate plan instead of 48 hours.  This puts me on track to graduate in December of 2012!  Judging by how fast the past 6 months have gone by, it will be here in no time!


Oh and then there's that little wedding thing lingering in my mind  :)  I'm so excited for everything to start coming together.  Getting a head start was definitely a good plan, but reconnecting with all my vendors has been a little more difficult than I had anticipated. No major problems as of yet, but there's still so much to do and think about. My schedule is ridiculous!  This is the first semester in 5 years I'm actually using a planner to keep everything in order.  It seems everyday I'm adding a new event to my calendar.  Of course they are all fun and exciting things.  For example, this past Thursday I went for my first dress fitting!  I received a call last weekend telling me my dress was in but we were moving Jason into his (soon to be our) new apartment.  I was squirmy and giddy all week waiting for Thursday to get here. My dress is even more beautiful than I remember it; probably because we didn't need giant clips on it this time to make it fit me.  There are a couple of places that need to be taken in still, but Mii said it should only take two weeks!  Yay!  Here's a picture from the fitting:

Of course I'm not going to put a picture of me in my dress on here.  But I am wearing it in this picture oooo exciting!   

64 days until the Half Marathon! Half marathon training is also going pretty well.  I did about 7 miles last week and hope to do at least 8 miles tomorrow.  Jared is doing a great job keeping me on track.  I'm so grateful to have somebody there to tell me I need to run and remind me I have already signed up to do this, so I may as well do a good job.  This has also been great for keeping me balanced and not become too overcome with school and work. I'm also keeping up with doing Insanity DVDs.  Granted, I am not going in the suggested pattern, but it's something which is far better than nothing.  I will say I feel sorry for whoever lives underneath Jason at his apartment, because Insanity involves a lot of jumping. 

On that note, Jason has a new apartment!  It is much better than where he was living before.  The grounds are beautiful and the apartment itself is bigger and lovelier.  I can't wait until I can call it my home as well!  Here are a couple of pictures: 

The Booter Bot's new home: A Dog Divided 

The breakfast nook.  One day there will be a table here so we can host dinner parties!

Lots of cabinets and counter space kitchen! 

I don't know why this one is sideways.  But here's the bedroom.  It is in serious need of decoration.  We plan on hanging our degrees on the wall behind the bed on our respective sides. 

Bedroom 

The big bathroom! 

1 side of the closet

Side 2 of the closet.  Yes, even though I'm not living here yet, I have already claimed the big side of the closet :)

You have no idea how excited I am to have a washer and dryer!

View from the entrance.

View of the living room from the bathroom

View of living room from breakfast nook.  This is also in need of some decoration.  Please see our Sears Registry to aid in this endeavor! 

Our first family photo!  Soon to appear in the St. Ann Parish Directory 

Our coffee table books: On Right - the scrapbook I made Jason on our first anniversary. Middle - Our wedding planning book. On left - meh.  A book about that team ;)

More picture books/frames from anniversaries 3 and 4, the two Bibles Jason received when he was Baptized as well as his Baptism candle, and the awesome random gift I received from Jason's old upstairs neighbor because I "look like I'd be into religious stuff."  Bingo neighbor guy, I sure am! 

Now a quick tour of the grounds!  View from the balcony

Pool 1:  This is the closest pool to Jason's apartment and it's a lap pool! I've already used it a couple of times.  I would have gotten a better picture but there were people and I didn't want to be the creeper taking pictures of them. 

Picnic area 1.  How quaint! 

Dog Park 1...excuse me, "Bark Park"

Boots getting to know the new place :) 

Pool 2 near the front entrance 

Another angle of Pool 2 

Pool 3 

Some mini fountains along the walkway 

Bark Park 2 

I imagine this was built to hold outside Bible Studies, because it's just so lovely 

The 1 mile walking/jogging trail that goes around the apartments. 

Random fountain

View from the stairs




Missing in photos:  There are also 2 fitness centers, game rooms, and 1 mini indoor basketball court.

Me thinks I'll like living here :o)  98 days!!  

  

Marriathan Training

"Marriathon" is my attempt to combine marriage and marathon. And today was quite the marriathon training day! 

This morning Jason and I went to St. Ann to meet with Deacon Pete and discuss our FOCCUS Assessment results.  I have to admit we were a bit nervous.  We took the test about two months ago, and honestly, on very little sleep. Jason had been called into work the night before and I decided to go in with him thinking it would be a real quick procedure....well, this real quick procedure turned into a 6 hour stay at the lab. We didn't get home until around 6 or 7 am...when we left the lab people were walking in for work.  Our meeting with the Deacon that day was at 9am.  Pretty much I showered, took a nap while my hair dried, and then left to take our assessment. 

I have to say, I was pleased with our results.  There were areas that we knew we needed to talk about after taking the test, and we did talk about them, and those are mostly the areas the Deacon brought up in our meeting today.  On the "most important" questions we scored in the the 90% range on answering the way the test says you should answer.  And our communication abilities are excellent, in fact according to FOCCUS 100%.  I attribute that to Jason's history of debate and my counseling skillz.  We went over a few of the bigger questions and I think we got a lot out of it.  Our biggest area that needed more discussion was finances.  But this didn't surprise Jason and I because we had already begun talking about money after we took the test.  We did have a couple of "oops" that may have been due to our sleep deprivation, or the test's uncanny way of asking questions in the most confusing way possible. Jason completely skipped a question and I somehow managed to concern Deacon Pete that I thought Jason's parents didn't like my religion...which is not true.  

Here's the best part.  So after going over the test Deacon Pete started to talk to us about things which help keep a couple together (seeing as the divorce rate is 50% now). And the last thing he said was couples need to pray together more. People do a lot of private prayer or large group prayer, but when you enter into marriage you become one, thus praying as one is very important.  He talked about how doing this can feel a little awkward at first, and then, he compared it to training for a marathon (he must read my blog).  He said you start out small, with simple prayers such as before meals, saying the Hail Mary and Our Father together.  You gradually build on this as you work towards that marathon of an enriching joint prayer life.  I really appreciated this analogy, and I'm so excited to start enhancing our prayer life together.

After our meeting with Deacon Pete we headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to register!!!  I look forward to registering pretty much every time I go into Bed Bath and Beyond.  Here's the thing; no one ever tells you how long it takes to register.  There are a million options and you have to be sure whatever you picked out in the kitchen area will match what you're picking out in the bathroom area. Thank goodness we registered in Lewisville where the store is small and not the huge one in Dallas.  It took a grand total of 3 and a half hours!  Jason had definitely lost the pep in his step after we left the kitchen gadget area (pretty much the first area we went to)...I'd even say it was starting to waver before we were finished there.  I had a lot of fun.  It was cool to plan out what our future home might look like!  How we are ever going to fit all the kitchen gadgets we registered for into a tiny apartment kitchen, I don't know; but they're all so cool! Besides, I'm taking Deacon Pete's advice: we are preparing for our lives together fifty years from now.  And in fifty years I fully intend on having a big kitchen.  Maybe that's not the context Deacon meant this, but it still works.  


 Still my feet are super tired now...good thing we registered for a foot massage; and Jason is napping on the couch.   It's even more amazing because I know we're not finished.  Jason told me to make sure this was very clear. So don't get wedding shopping happy just yet because we still have tools and luggage and more to look at.  But, if you're curious, our registry is up and running on the Bed Bath and Beyond website!  

I'm glad we got to do all of this today.  This month has been wedding month on facebook...pretty much every weekend in June someone (usually someones) I know has gotten married.  They've all had such beautiful weddings and it's exciting to see them looking so joyful.  There's nothing that shines joy like a wedding does :)  Congratulations to everyone who has been married recently!   Anyways, it's been giving me a real wedding itch...I'm getting all giddy about ours; c'mon January!      

Update on my workout/training status:  Next week I plan on getting a personal trainer through the gym at UNT.  I'm going to give that a try over the next two months so I'm ready for when my dress comes in!   It's supposed to be here in September I think  :-D  Also for engagement pictures, which I think are happening in September or October!!  I had really wanted to go to CrossFit but o my goodness that place is expensive! It costs $179 a month for group classes...  Compare that to say 24 hour fitness where you get group classes and a full gym for $30 a month.  I know I know, CrossFit is better and etc etc...but can it possibly be that much better?  I dunno, but I probably won't ever find out because I don't have an extra $180 dollars laying around each month  :) 

And finally:  Everyone remember, tonight is the Gold Cup Finals!  Go USA!!