She's going the distance, she's going for speed....

Mile 8

Random facts I learned about marathons-

1. People pee. Everywhere. You cannot start a marathon with an "I gotta pee" feeling. There were just not enough portapotties on Saturday morning in Middle TN to satisfy runners who had that feeling. I would fall into the unsatisfied category. I confess. I was one of those who waited in a line to pee behind a fast food joint dumpster. I peed, therefore I ran.

2. Spectators make the sport. Every single adorable kid, screaming cheerleader, cute dog, and cheering person holding a sign on the sideline, sitting in the grass, or passing out orange slices and Accelerade make you smile through any pain. And yes, there is pain.

3. Toenails are for sissies. Please, if you ever start running, listen to me. I didn't understand at first. If you do not keep your little tootsies trimmed very short, there will be pain. I will not go into further bloody detail.

4. There are 70 year old women in better shape than me. Inspiring? Yes. Humbling? Yes. Motivating? Dang skippie. She passed me once. I did not let it happen again.

5. You get very, very, insanely hungry. For days. Today is still one of those days.

6. You also get very emotional. Well, at least I did so I like to think that I'm not the only one. Ok, so I'm just a crier. I could have cried when I finished. I cried because it was over. I cried because I did it. Yeah..........I'm a crier.

Official finish time was 2:30:47. I was pretty excited about that, since I told myself the goal for my first time half was 2:45! I have never been a runner. Despised running would probably best describe me 6 months ago. So I wasn't really going for speed when I started training, and I never wore a watch or timed myself, I just enjoyed it. I just wanted endurance. Next time, I think I'll go for speed and see what I can do. Next time, I think I'll also run for a cure.

Ben was the best supporter in the whole world on Saturday too. He stood with me and kept me company in the wet and cold the whole time I waited for my corral to get to the start line, he met me at mile 2 and mile 8 cheering me on, he carried all my gear so I wouldn't have to fight the crowds at the bag pick up to get my flip flops, and I think he probably did a 5K all on his own that day running around town and to the finish line to meet me. And he bought me the best bowl of Pad Thai after the race so I could feed my face. Here I am at mile 2: I know. I look like I have a glowworm on my hat:
Our friends the Teagues were at the finish line and celebrated with us at lunch. Molly was so excited she passed out in her sling. (And I guess the thumb's up was the hand sign of the day.)

I'm not really sure what I did right, but I wasn't tired, I wasn't sore, and I wasn't achy at all on Sunday. That was a huge blessing, and I was exhilarated. I am so thankful for that I can't even put it into words. Maybe that's what caused me to go a little insane on Sunday and utter the sentence "I think I may wanna train for a full!!".

HUH?!?!?!

Mr. White

~~ EXCITING NEWS!~~
We found out yesterday that Ben has an interview at a great school in Murfreesboro on Thur., May 1st! It's looking like that will be a great week - Ben will also be graduating with his Masters degree in curriculum and instruction on May 3rd!

Way to go, babe. You did it. And with flying colors. I am so proud of you.

Here are some examples of Mr. White's work while student teaching:

I love how he can make any lesson a creative lesson ( especially since I am not crafty, at all), and I just shake my head in bewilderment how he can always come up with something for the kids to have a hands-on part in whether it be math, science, or reading. Here are a few things his kids have done:

Reading Bus:

Bottle Rockets (science)Please note all the tiny hand cut outs on the flower. Precious.

I do not have pictures of the bird feeders they made out of milk cartons, or the pots they decorated and planted sunflowers in, or the shelf full of books that Ben has read to them and invested in to add to his classroom, but I know a child was touched with each one of these things. That, most of all, is the best part. I can't say it enough- way to go, Benj!!!

Ben told me last night that he did learn one very important lesson yesterday. He was standing at the door of his classroom while the kids walked in from the buses, and was saying hi to some of them. "Hi Mr. White!", "Mornin', Mr. White!".

Then a kid from another class walks up to him, looks him straight in the eye, and says "Hi. I'm Jack. What's your name?". He gets "Well, hi Jack. I'm Ben." barely out of his mouth.

His kids start screaming " No it's not!!!! No its NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "That is not your NAME!"

"Sorry. I mean, I'm Mr. White".

The boy nod's his head and walks off.

Love it =)

You asked for it...

Some far off friends and family have asked about race info - I just got this fun tidbit. Now you can send speed and endurance prayers up for me from the comfort of your own computer if you so choose:

LiveResults
LiveResults offers exclusive coverage of every runner's progress with times recorded at the 5K, 10K, and 10-mile marks for all runners and marathoners will also be recorded at the 13.1 and 20 mile marks. Updates are sent to the LiveResults site every 60 seconds.
At the finish line, visit the NationLink booth located near Family Reunion where laptop computers will be available for your use. For your friends and family at home, have them visit www.cmmarathon.com on race day and click on the LiveResults button - they'll never be out of touch!

Ben and I will be heading downtown around 6am on Saturday to get the party started!

This being my first half, I am a little more nervous than I thought I would be. The whole wave start, corralling runners according to estimated run times, and being beside 30,000 other runners is a whole new element to me. And just so you know another personality quirk of mine, I have a minor fear of new elements and atmospheres. I usually enjoy it once I'm there, but getting there is the hard part. And I can't ever seem to convince myself beforehand that I won't get lost, make a fool of myself, or look like the one person out of place. I tell myself I would like to walk into the mass like a confident ready to go athlete, but let's be honest: I will walk up with a deer-in-the-headlights look with my hands clenched by my side, and try to soak it all in before I realize I just need to move.

I think I do better when I put a little humor in any situation. So maybe I should throw on one of these shirts...

Gatorate and H2O,

Dae

KEEP MOVING!!

I'm not turning into an obsessive weather-tracker, I promise. This will end after Saturday. But chance of rain on race day has dropped to 40%!! I know - you are as excited as I am.

;) Here's to keeping up this trend.

Not (all) about the weather

Last night was one of those nights that reminded how much I love life. Just a laid back, warm spring day, nothing urgent or dirty waiting to be done or cleaned. Rare. So I got home from work, Ben had mowed the lawn, and we just hung out in the yard for a bit. Checked out our budding flower garden. I even let myself skip running. (I'm sure I will pay for it on Saturday, but it was worth it). We are soaking up this having a yard thing.

Things have been so busy lately cooking has not exactly been a priority for me. We have had several pb&j's, cheese and crackers, or heart attacks in a paper sack. Not that those are bad things, but they have just been way more frequent than is typical for me.
Last night I felt that old familiar cooking itch coming back. The one that tells me I have neglected my cast iron skillet and favorite Japanese knife. The one that tells me I need the comfort and peace of standing at my counter and creating something. So, I flip through a cookbook and find a fun new recipe. Baked fish sounds tasty, and I have the herbs it calls for growing, so its a winner. Gosh I love to cook.
Minus having to skin the fish ( I don't know how I didn't notice when I bought it. Lesson learned.) it was awesome. And even better, it was fast.

So with some garlic, shallots, herbs and tomatoes simmering, you throw in some fish:

Bake for 15 minutes, steam some brocolli, and have a tasty looking 30 minute meal -

We ate dinner outside on our patio for the first time this year. Good times.

RR's Baked Fish

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 t. fennel seeds
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, sliced
1 1/2 ~ 2 pounds Mahi Mahi fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
10 leaves fresh basil, torn or shredded
1/2 cup clam juice
Crusty bread, for mopping



Heat a large, ovenproof nonstick skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and swirl once around the pan to coat. Add the fennel seeds, garlic and shallots to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Rinse the fish fillets and pat them dry. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the capers, tomatoes, remaining tablespoon olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, basil and clam juice. Add the mixture to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Slide the fish fillets into the pan. Spoon the sauce over the fish and transfer the skillet to the oven.
Bake the fish for 15 minutes or until cooked through, adding the bread to the oven to warm through for the last minute or two.




Stormy has also been enjoying the beautiful weather outside this week, instead of being in her bed in the house. Some of you know what a priceless and rare still shot this is:

FYI- Stormy being still is the 8th wonder of the word. Not kidding. Chasing all those birds and digging up dirt must have worn her out. Sweet!

The Rain Dance

This Saturday is the Country Music Marathon. And I just checked the weather forecast.

Yep, that's for Saturday. 50% chance of rain.

I will either be running or doing the rain dance. I have only been training for one of those.

Yardage

When I was about 6 years old, my Dad decided to re-sod our yard. I remember this being introduced as a fun family project. My older brothers were so excited, and anything they thought was cool and fun I thought was gospel.

I remember the huge slabs (I know, I know, but I don't know what else to call them) of dirt and grass in my dad's truck, and my brothers and I carting these things all around the yard. My brothers? They had a blast. For the first 15 minutes anyway. I, on the other hand, did not. It was hot, those things were heavier than bricks, they itched my arms, and it was this ridiculously complicated process of sand, dirt, grass, and layering. I'm sorry, but to a 6 year old girl, this was not her definition of fun. By the way, we lived in Texas. Did I mention it was hot? I was sooooo frustrated. This was not as much fun as it was suppose to be.

I share this story because I believe it was at this point in my life I made my opinion about yard work. If you think it's fun, have all of it you can stand. I, on the other hand, chose to from that day forward be perfectly content in the kitchen glued to my Mom's side trying to mimick everything she did.

Here is another interesting fact : My Dad worked (and played) on golf courses my entire life up until he heard the calling of the mission field. Superintendent, designer, turf grass management, player, you name it... he could do it. He loved it. He was pretty smart with that stuff, too. The number of books he had about grass just killed me. Seriously, grass?? I did not get that fascination. At all.

The wonderful man I married? Somewhat of a mirror image. Worked on golf courses (pro golf management, if I am remembering correctly), and can spout off weeds and diseases and types of grass like his ABC's. He has those crazy books, too. And he does all that field stuff at the Titans stadium... Grass galore.

Why didn't I see the signs?????

Fast forward about 20 years.

We have a house. We have a yard. What does my wonderful husband want to do in all of his spare time?

You guessed it. (Bad taste in my mouth here) Yard work.

Now, while I am praising the heavens that he didn't come home one day and announce that he wanted to re-sod our yard, he has come home with seed, fertilizer, spreaders, sprays, dirt, plants......

Ok, so we want to spend free time together. Do stuff around the house, hang out, that kind of thing. Well, he's out in the yard.

Well, if you can't beat them... uuuuggghhh....

One day I last week I decided to get adventurous. Join in the fun, y'know?

I was going to do some yard work with Benj.

I was going to put the past behind me. Try something new. Get my hands dirty. Suck it up.

Ok.

I'll scale it back. I was going to plant something. In a pot.

In a small pot.

I am very proud of those new flowers in my pots by our front door. To me, it is a step forward. A big accomplishment. I was probably a little overly-excited, but that's ok.

I love flowers. Don't get me wrong. I love a beautiful yard. I think it makes a home. I just don't want to do the outdoor decorating.

While I potted a few flowers, Ben continued to work on our new flower garden:

Complete with hydrangeas, roses, and other things which names escape me. (this pic was from a few months ago. They are all in the ground and starting to bloom now). And in another corner of the yard he planted a Chinese Snowball tree. I cannot wait to see that one take off!

So, now I have taken the next step and bought seeds to go in our front flowerbeds. That is my next feat. I'll keep you posted.

But moving on, about that husband-

So he re-seeded, fertilized, and nurtured his gardening heart out the past 2 weeks.

I should not have been surprised when I pulled up to the house yesterday and saw this:

Oh, don't worry- we have stripes in the front, too:

Pretty cool huh?

Titans field? Puhleeez. They ain't got nuthin' on the White yard.

Action Shots

We took a trip to B'ham this weekend to see Ben's family- his brother is over for a short break from his job in the Middle East, and his parents were up at Grandma's for the weekend too, so we all got to hang out, which was awesome.
Well, mostly awesome. For the first 24 hours there we were in an Alabama monsoon. The rain would just not stop. Is it just me, or does it seems that the weather will just not cooperate lately? Nice and sunny during the week while I am sitting at my desk, but when the weekend rolls around so does the chilly weather and storm filled clouds. Not funny.

On Sunday we finally got the sunshine we had all been waiting for, and the boys went out to play a little baseball. Lo and behold, they boys found out that the real player was a 7 year old girl.

Our beautiful niece, Makenzie, can hit the ball like I have never seen. The girl is a natural. Here are some game shots:

Play on,

D

A Request

Hi friends. As some of you may know some friends of ours, the Smiths, are facing a very difficult and emotional time. Their daughter, Audrey, will be delivered on April 7th. You can read more about Audrey and their love for her here. I just wanted to ask that you pray for them.
It has been on my heart a lot the past few days to share their story and have as many people praying for them as possible. I would love it if you would join me.
xo
Daeon