week 6

caution: this post may contain tmi for some, especially men. :)

first off, i did it! ten miles!!!

i am feeling pretty good about my running. but i am also coming up against some new challenges:

1. my period: i visited will this past weekend in louisville. i was all set to run my 10 miles on saturday morning, but i started my period that day. the cramps began early in the morning, and didn't stop until about noon. when the cramps start, i am pretty much bed-ridden. they are very painful and medication doesn't help. sometimes the pain is so strong that i get nautious and once i even threw up. i REALLY hope i don't start my period on race day! that would suck.

so i actually ended up doing a shorter run on saturday night with will in louisville. it was super humid and we only completed 5 miles because it was getting late, and it was still 80 degrees, and we had to eat.

i did my long run yesterday, here in chicago. i felt really good cardiovascularly. but some new things...

2. knees: my knees started hurting at mile 5, and then got really painful at mile 8. i wanted to run faster my last two miles but my knees were screaming at me. i don't know what to do about this. will says i should ice my knees after the run.

3. calves and ankles: my calves and ankles hurt too. i didn't get what that was about. i think i need to stretch more.

4. blisters: some of my toes got really tender during the run. today i'm really feeling the blisters.

5. goo: i tried goo for the first time. i took it at the halfway point. it tasted nasty, but i knew i needed the extra energy. i think i'll try making my own next time. i heard you can mix honey and cinnamon.

6. watermelon: i have discovered the perfect pre-run food - watermelon! i ate a whole bunch of watermelon before my run. it's basically sugar and water so it gave me energy without the digestion issues that other food gives. i think i'll keep eating watermelon before long runs. i got no side cramps from it at all!

my runs this week:
mon: 3 mi [did 10]
tue: 5 mi
wed: 3 mi
sat: 7 mi

the fourth

my cousins came into town for 6 days last week, over the 4th of july holiday. i had such a great time with them. they pretty much hit all the chicago hot spots: the taste of chicago, architectural boat tour, signature room, steak house, chicago style pizza, chicago style hot dogs, shedd aquarium, north michigan ave, fireworks at grant park and my favorite dessert shop. some of them even did a long run with me by the lake.

also, i went to my first cubs game. yay!

it was so good to be around people who know me and who i have a long history with. some of my cousins even remember me from when i got off the plane when my family immigrated from korea when i was 2 years old.

i was really sad when they left. and then i rented marley & me the movie and bawled through the whole thing.

week 5

with visitors in town, i only did two of my runs last week. but one of them was 8 miles! yay!

i'm getting back on track this week. last week i talked about how i don't like running alone. i've also been learning that i run much better in cooler weather.

here are this week's runs:

mon: 3 mi [done]

tue: 5 mi [done]

thu: 3 mi [done]

sat: 10 mi [did 5]

i'm hitting 10 this week. wish me luck!

week 4

it's been a bit challenging to keep up with my marathon training schedule. with going out of town, and having out of town guests stay with me, i have to work extra hard to stay on track.

i was supposed to do another sixer last weekend but i only had time to do four. i hope it doesn't mess me up. this week's schedule is 3, 4, 3 and 8. but i have modified the schedule for the week to the following:

tue: 5 mi [done]
thu: 4 mi [missed]
sat: 8 mi [done]

8 feels big! i hope i can do it. i think my cousin-in-law is going to run it with me. will picked up some goo and power bar type things for me. i've been saving them for longer runs. i might give them a try for the 8 miler this weekend.

the one nice thing is that the weather has been unusually cool here. today, it is drizzling and in the 60s. perfect for running!

reflections

it was a full weekend and this week will also be busy.

on saturday, i went to durham, north carolina for a wedding. meanwhile, will packed up his car and moved to louisville, kentucky for the summer. as you can imagine, it was a bit hectic.

although i am majorly sleep deprived from the weekend, i had a really good time. tony, one of the first all nations students, got married. a bunch of old all nationers went out and we had a reunion. it was a special time. i met these guys 8 years ago and a lot of them had never touched a bible let alone had relationship with god at the time. now they are leading small groups and teaching the bible to others. it really encouraged me.

i also roomed with my old supervisor and good friend YSL over the weekend. we were realizing that although we'd seen each other at weddings and such, we hadn't hung out in two years! there was a lot of catching up to do, thus the late night talks. i respect her so much! she is an awesome woman, in many ways.

we reflected on how you never know who will bear fruit when you are first scattering the seed. i remember after the very first welcome event, i took the list of people who came and just went knocking on doors. at the time, it was so random. now, some of these guys are my good friends and really faithful people. i was only 22 back then. i was so young, and yet god somehow used me. or rather, i think i was just there to be a part of what he was doing.

i've been off staff for 2 years now. i have not led anything in that time. not one thing. it's really been a season of anonymity. who am i when no one's looking? when i don't have an official role? sometimes it's not so pretty. i don't know what god has for me, but i'm grateful for the encouragement i got this weekend.

ha ha

i left a comment on the blog of a friend and got this email in reply:

Thanks Bo! I think blogging is sooo 2007, huh?!? My reader gets filled with my stuff and your stuff (sometimes Larissa)... No one blogs anymore, huh?!

it seems that blogging has become a thing of the past.

but that doesn't stop me from loving it!

;)

film

i really want a film camera. yes! the old school kind. but i do not want to spend the money! do you have a nice film camera or know someone who does that is willing to donate? or let me borrow? pretty please???