2010

2010 was an unbelievable year.  I'd say amazing, but Nick hates that word, so I'll go with stupendous, awesome, wonderful, fantastic and surreal.  Here are just a few highlights:

1. Countries visited:  12
2. States visited:  4 (counting Pennsylvania) and not counting airport connections
3. 1/2 Marathons completed:  2
4. Friends made:  Too many to count!  Thanks to Contiki, we have new friends all over the world who we can keep in touch with over Facebook.  Thanks to Twitter, we've met new Columbus friends that we wouldn't have been lucky enough to encounter otherwise.  As we get older, its harder and harder to make friends, so to know so many new and wonderful people is truly a blessing
5. Wonders of the world visited:  1
6. Vacations:  4 (a new record for us)
7. Canine health scares:  0!!!!!!
8. Human health scares: 0!!!!!!
9. Home improvement projects completed:  Approximately 3
10. Pictures taken:  see for yourself
11. Miles Run:  Approximately 185 
12. Old Friends who are now new friends:  1
13. Baby Blankets made:  6 
14. Anniversary Celebrated:  4
15. Years on the earth:  30

Deck the dog....

With yards of garland...fa la la la la, la la, la la!

Squeezing Chino, a pictorial

Typical Saturday morning...me, in my PJ's, no make-up and slightly greasy hair and Chino laying on the floor,  minding his own business.  So I get up from the chair and go over to him, with my arms held out and ask him, "Chino...do you need squeezed by me?"  This is a rhetorical question, since of course, the answer is yes (at least in the happy world that I live in). 

Chino:  "Oh crap, she didn't pick up the vibe that I was just fine on the floor without her in my face, maybe if I choose not to look at her, she'll just go away.  I kind of like the cuddles, but I can't let HER know this."
Me:  "Nick, take our picture."

Chino:  "Seriously, she's still smiling like an idiot.  I'm going to look away and try to strangle myself on her arm so that she'll let go and leave me alone."
Me:  "Nick, is he looking?  He must like it since he's not trying to squirm away."

Me:  "Cheenie Beenie...give Momma some kisses"
Chino:  "Fine.  If I pretend to be interested in this cuddle business, will you go away?"

Chino:  "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"

Me:  "I'm pretty sure that his whole aloof attitude was all a charade.  Nick - did you get the pictures?"

I'm only partially responsible

On Friday evening, we headed off to Oakland Nursery to pick out the Griswold Christmas tree for this year.  We took the 4-wheel drive, beater truck and the mutt to make it a family affair.  After a relatively short time, I found THE ONE.  It was basically symmetrical, full but not too bushy and Nick agreed that it was the one.  He might have just been in shock because it only took one lap around the trees and about 10 mins for me to make a decision.  This is out of character, to say the least.  Anyway, when we got it home, it was just a tad larger than originally anticipated  I thought it was pretty much awesome though. When we got it situated, we just stood back and laughed.

Thank goodness that they cut a bit off of the bottom, because it left us about 2" of clearance between the top of the tree and the ceiling.  The Dollar Tree Angel, circa 2006, just barely fit, but kind of looks like a fairy, sitting on top.  Total garland footage - 60'.  Total ornaments?  Not so sure - but they're all in the front.  Verdict?   This is the best tree ever.  We kind of want to have a party so that we're not the only ones who get to see it this year. 

We did it!

During the past 8 weeks, I've been training for my 2nd 1/2 marathon.  I completed my first 1/2 marathon in May, 5 minutes over my goal of under 3 hours.  If I knew that I had given it my all, I would have been satisfied, but I knew that I didn't.  I had all of the tools that I needed, except for proper planning.  In the middle of our training program, Nick and I took off for Europe for two weeks, returning exhausted and sick, resulting in three weeks of missed training.  Add to that the fact that we were half assing the training in the first place, led to a half assed 1/2 marathon.  I hit "the wall" very early on, opting to run/walk before finally giving in to the mental and physical pain.  Nick hit the wall around mile 10 or 11, having to walk as well.  We both finished, which I acknowlege is a huge accomplishment, but I knew that we didn't give it the respect and attention that it deserved.  Another unwelcome result of not being prepared?  Knee pain that lasted for weeks after the race.  After going to the doctor, we figured out that I did too much, too fast and too soon.  I wasn't surprised since our laziness and poor planning often resulted in missed mid-week runs.  We did the long runs, but going from zero to 9 in one week just isn't good for the body.  Translation:  Training programs ar there for a reason, so follow them!   

Since I was disappointed in my first 1/2 marathon finish, I decided that I wanted to do another one.  I knew that I could do better, but starting a new program after taking such a long time off, was like starting from square one, literally.  For me, running is a mental game that I can never seem to win.  I have trouble calming myself down.  The harder I try, the worse it gets.  Maybe like a mini-anxiety attack?  Once I start to breathe heavy, I panic a little bit.  Instead of focusing on the fact that its normal to be breathing heavy, I start to take shallow breaths, which makes the situation worse.  When I get the dreaded side stitch, it results in a similar panic.  My rational self knows that I need to take deep breaths and run through the pain.  My rational self also knows the difference between real pain and exertion.  My irrational self thinks that the pain will never go away and doesn't see a light at the end of the tunnel and tries to tell me that the only thing I can do is to walk.  My rational self  knows that I can do anything that I want and that I have the strength to get through a run and that running is mostly mind over matter.  The problem is that during my runs (and sometimes before them) my irrational and rational selves are battling it out in my brain, taking turns at claiming victory.

This time, I was determined to follow the plan.  The one I chose was from Fitness Magazine and was for "Newbie Racers" or those who currently run less than 15 miles per week.  Considering that when I started this, I was running zero miles per week, this was perfect.  Also perfect was my hubby, who decided to do this WITH me instead of just with me.  He walk/jogged and cheered me on, every step of the way.  I yelled, complained, whined, cried and told him to go away, but he stayed.  He kept telling me that he was waiting for me to have my breakthrough - what I like to call my Jillian Michaels moment.  The moment when I realize that I've had it in me all along and that all of the crying and whining was totally unnecessary.

I actually had that moment last Wednesday.  It wasn't how I pictured it would be.  Nick was out of town and I had been up since about 5:30am, traveled to Solon and back and then back to work, so it was the perfect storm of excuses.  I had my running bag packed and in the trunk, along with my other gear that I'd need to do 5 miles that evening.  Instead of heading home and then feeling guilty, I headed to the trail.  I put my headphones in and began the run, but my heart wasn't in it.  I was by myself and my legs were still sore from the long run the previous week.  The breakthrough came when I decided that I was going to get it done and I wasn't going to stop and I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself.  I told my legs to loosen up and concentrated on the music that I was listening to.  What happened to me there was the greatest moment of clarity that I have ever experienced.  The pain went away and my pace quickened.  The minute I decided to just run, that's what my body did.  It shut out my mind and did what I had been training it to do.  Before I knew it, I heard the magic words, "3 miles complete" and I knew that I was more than 1/2way through and I was actually enjoying myself.

All along, I've related my running adventure and journey to the lyrics to my power song, "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie

"I hope you know, I hope you know

that this has nothing to do with you

It's personal, myself and I

we've got some straightening out to do

...its time to be a big girl now

And big girls don't cry...

That night, "myself and I" finally got ourselves straightened out.  I finally felt like a real runner and I knew that I would be able to run the whole 1/2 marathon.

The race on Sunday started out early.  We got downtown around 6:30am and took some time to relax before we headed to the starting line.  Because of my slower running time, we started in Corral 4, which is also where the walkers started.  Our start was  a little sporadic because we were dodging walkers and "woggers", but we found our rhythm at about mile 2 or 3.  Despite our best efforts, we remained surrounded by walkers, but as the run progressed, we found open pockets and settled into our pace.  Nick stayed true to his promise and stayed with me for the entire time.  I know that he could have run it faster and better, but he stayed with me, which pushed me to push myself through the pain and frustration.

I didn't meet my goal of running the 1/2 marathon in under 3 hours.  I came close, my official time was 3 hours and 44 seconds.  What I did accomplish was so much more.  I became a runner.  I trained for a race and followed through on the effort and time that I had put forth.  I pushed myself through pain and frustration and ran the whole race.  I even jogged through the Gatorade stations, grabbing a drink from the volunteers, but NEVER STOPPED.  I tried not to think.  I looked up and enjoyed the moment, the spectators and the bands.  I followed through and didn't self sabotage.  I let myself like running and I let myself have fun.  I'm no longer afraid of running.  I'm actually looking forward to the next race and maybe another 1/2 marathon.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed about those 44 seconds, but the transformation that I've undergone in the past 8 weeks is more than I could have ever imagined.  I know that it wouldn't have happened without the love, support and patience of my husband and for that, I'm eternally grateful.  From the beginning, he knew that I could do this.  I just had to figure it out for myself.

We didn't have crowds of friends or family cheering us on throughout the course.  We didn't have anyone waiting for us at the finish line.  We had each other and we crossed the start and finish together.

Have seatbelt, will travel

I have no idea how he allows us to put a harness on him and strap him in the backseat of the car, but he does.  We didn't implement the seat belt rule until we bought a convertible and I read up on the physics  behind a dog who isn't belted into the car.  Regardless, he tolerates it well.  What he doesn't tolerate are 18 wheelers that pass our car and interrupt his car naps.

Venus Fly Trap Inspector

Even though we had to get up early on a Saturday, even though there was an Ohio State game on TV,  even though he didn't really want to, he came with me to Franklin Park.  Even though he wasn't planning on it, he ended up having a good time.