Par 4....Hole in 8?

Yesterday morning Dad and I went golfing. We headed to the location of the World's Largest Holstein Cow (Mom's hometown) and golfed 9 holes.

It was greener than usual. We were the only ones golfing, so it was mostly quiet, except for the guy who decided to trim the rough on holes 6 and 7 while we were on them. My drive was rediculous, but I had a couple nice puts to make up for it.

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This morning I went out for what was to be an easy 3 miles. I decided to cut it short when the clouds disappeared and the sun was in full force. The humidity was just too much for me, although it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It's just been too long, since my last run.

Time: 9:30am

Temp: 71 degrees, overcasting

Humidity: 78%

Distance: 2.55 miles

Duration: 28:13

Avg Pace: 11:03

Avg HR: 173

Max HR: 191

Looking at my Max HR and Duration, I guess I was bookin' it. For me that is.

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I will be posting more wedding pics... I am kind of waiting to get a disc from someone who has some great photos...but I might just post a few of what I have.

Happy Running, y'all!

Day Before the Wedding

The day before the wedding was spent doing some last minute errands and decorating the tent, watching the weather and praying for no rain on saturday. It rained most of this day ... on and off...

The Best Man, Groomsman, Groom, and Father-of-the-bride hangin'

.... waiting for something to do...

The Best Man.... going above and beyond the "call of duty".

The Bride...and a little cousin helping with decorations.

A few of the musicians....practicing before rehearsal.

The two beautiful flower girls... wearing their "flower girl" t-shirts.

The Groom's Dinner.... after rehearsal. (ribs, chicken, baked beans, corn muffins...mmm)

The ring bear (diving into his third helping!)

The call

So, I got a call today.

I have been offered a position. A position to a place I never applied to..

But...

....it would require me to move back to GF....

...and we know how much I wanted to get out of there...but why?

I told her I was partially interested but still waiting to hear back from a couple places I applied to.

I told her I would probably know by early July as to what I wanted to do....

What do I want to do?

Update

Update regarding past two interviews: One was in CO, one was in MN. No luck with either one.


The wedding was a success... I will post pictures and share stories as soon as I apply to a few more jobs....

.....until then, happy running.

Not telling...

First and foremost.... I am not telling which two states I had interviews in. I don't want anyone to influence my decision. There is one that I would rather work for, for 2 reasons: 1) it's a state I have never been to but is full of things that I would enjoy, and 2) the position there is exactly what I would like. The other school is a little bit closer to home and pays a little better. We'll see.

Okay, so I didn't get outside last night for a run, although it was a beautiful night. But, I did go out for what was planned to be a short easy run this morning. Well, I didn't have the desire to go slow and run through the whole duration of 2 miles, so I picked it up a notch, attempted to do a Fartlek-sort-of-run and added an extra loop onto my run. It went pretty well, but the air was heavy and full of cotton. I did a lot of walking between My breathing was off...so to speak.

Time: 9:10am

Temp: 65 degrees & sunny

Humidity: 88% (dead air)

Distance: 3.00 miles Fartlek

Duration: 34:17

Avg HR: 171

Max HR: 188

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Two days until the wedding. Yesterday us girls (mom, my sisters, and I) went to get our nails done. It was their first times and my baby sister offered to pay for us all... she is the only one working right now!

.....Mom

.....Steph... da bride..

....Susan....da baby sis.

....and Me.

Later on, we did some more outdoor work. Dad finished mowing the lawn, again, and then the boys packed up a lot of the stuff in our garage to take elsewhere for the weekend. We need the space.

We also set up the beautiful arbor....

...groom, bride....and father-of-the-bride.

Today, the rental place is currently setting up our huge tent, the one that will serve purpose for the dinner and dance to follow!

We hope to get the pontoon out on the river and the wedding party will relax a bit before the big day.


I will post more pictures later!

Road Trip...

Well, I got back from my quick road trip late last night. 2 days. straight through...with no traffic, it took about 8 hours to get there and 8 hours back. Only put on about 1000 miles on my car! But, the interview went well. I expect to hear from them...and the school I had a phone interview with by friday. Both positions are in different states, so I don't know exactly which school I would rather work for... both would be wonderful locations, we'll just have to see.

3 days until the big wedding... I hope to get out and go for a run later this evening when it cools off. I haven't ran since friday.

I don't have much to say, so I will leave it at that and spare you the rambling nonsense!

You call that weird?

I was tagged by Neese.....

My 6 Weird Things:

1. No matter how hot it is, I have to sleep with some sort of blanket covering my legs.
2. I talk to the TV way to much when watching basketball or baseball. But, I don't use that much profanity...
3. I have to blow my nose every morning when I wake up... and before I go to bed. Especially before I go to bed. I think I will sleep better!
4. My running clothes (tops & bottoms) have to match.
5. When I am deep in thought I rub my face with both hands and/or scratch my head... a trait I have gained from my mother... some may mistake these gestures with frustration, but actually it just similates my brain to think harder!
6. I am 26, currently living with my parents... and sleeping on the top bed of a bunk bed. Beat that!

Now I will tag the following: Miss Petite America, Lisa, Brooke, Deb, Akshaye, Irongambit, and anyone who else wants to join!

Down the beaten path

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I ventured out on the bike. I knew I wanted to do the same loop my sister ran the other day; the one that runs by our elementary school. Mostly because I wanted to know the distance, but I always wanted to see some old territory. But, I knew 4 or 5 miles wasn't going to cut it on the bike. So instead, I took the bike path north of our house, along the river.It was somewhat cloudy with a cool breeze when I went out, but I felt it warm up a bit on the way back in. What a great morning for a ride. My legs were somewhat jello-y when I got back. A sure sign that it has been way to long since I have been on a bike.


This picture is part of the path that we take during the Annual Turkey Trot Race Thanksgiving morning. It's usually not this beautiful during that time of the year (or green), but it was nice last year. We have gotten so much rain in the month of May, and now June, that statistics show that we have gotten more moisture in the past 6 weeks then we do during the whole year. I can tell. Everything is sooo green, and the river is higher.
This is a picture of the Riverboat. I starts at Meriwethers and heads down the river to the area of Custer's House. There's a lot of history there.

This is the path that we (as elementary kids) would run for "the mile" in the spring every year. I hated that. But, there is a cool dip in the path that was really fun on rollerblades!

And, lastly... this is the elementary school I attended from 1st grade thru 6th grade. What a beautiful school! How I would love to teach there!

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I have been thinking about biking lately .... And, when I get a job, I plan to trade in my Trek for a nicer bike, if you know what I mean.....



Temp: 67 degrees and partly cloudy
Distance: 12.05 miles on Bike
Duration: 55:29
Avg HR: 157
Max HR: 170

Friday Morning Run

I went out for a run at 930 this morning with Steph. We did the same loop... The weather was beautiful! We took a short walk break a little over halfway through as my breathing was off and my throat felt extremely dry. All and all it was a nice run. I hope to do a longer run sunday!

Temp: 61 degrees and sunny
Distance: 2.3 miles
Avg Pace: 11:06 mpm
Avg HR: 170 (a bit higher than usual for a short run)

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I got a phone call this morning in regards to an interview. So, it looks like I will be traveling next week... before the wedding. I don't like the idea of being gone. but, I plan on leaving monday afternoon and coming back late tuesday night. I hope it goes well. This was one of the schools I first applied to in March and recently received an email from a couple weeks ago stating that I was not selected for an interview but that they would keep my application on file for the next year. Interesting. We'll see how it goes!

I am off to get coffee and then start some painting. I think. Mom and Dad are both home from work until the wedding now. NO slacking from here on out!

Happy running, y'all!

Hump Day

After spending most of monday painting, I did no paiting yesterday. I couldn't. But, the arbor is finished... we're waiting out the weather before planting it in its location... we're supposed to get some nasty rainstorms this week!

Last friday night, I began working on the programs for the wedding. I spent the evening printing the outside cover, which included the front of the program, and then the "thank you" on the inside of the back cover. I almost had a nervous breakdown yesterday when the inside sheets weren't fitting quite right. I couldn't figure out what happened as we had done a trial one. With a few adjustments to the pages and a little extra snipping at the ends, they were perfect. I will not post a picture of the programs just yet... I don't want to spoil it before the wedding! But, here I am ... working diligently on cutting the inside pages!

Last night, after we celebrated Steph's 23rd birthday at Johnny Carino's, we spent some more time on the programs while Mom and Dad finished putting together the picnic table, and then doing some yard work....

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On monday, I had an interview... phone interview that lasted only 20 minutes. But it went well. Yesterday morning I got a call back saying that they gave the position to someone with more experience. I can totally understand. To be honest, I was kind of relieved. I wasn't exactly ready to spend my first year teaching middle school students with behavior issues. I was told not to do that right away... as it will totally burn a person out. Now, I just need to keep applying. This is a district I really want to work in, so I am hoping for another interview with another school and a different position.

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Today

I slept in this morning as I was totally exhausted. I then went out for a solo run. I added a an extra length onto the loop that runs around our "neighborhood" and totalled a distance of 3.16 miles. It felt good, but boy was that sun hot. I can't afford to get tan lines a week before the wedding!

For a bit of clarification... I think some may have thought I did an 8 mile run monday because I said I did 4 miles. Out and back. I meant it was four miles total...and the run was an "out and back" run. oops. Just a little clarification.

Happy Hump Day, y'all!! Keep on keeping on!

Monday, Monday...

Yesterday was quite busy...for a Sunday. My sister, Mom and I took a trip out of town to pick up some lattice for the wedding. After that, I was able to sneak a peak of the Twins game...and took a short nap. Once my sister and Mom came home from their trip to the local hardware store, my Dad and I started to put together part of the picnic table they bought.

Then, while Steph and I painted the parts of the picnic table,

Mom and Dad spent a while putting together the arbor...

Then, this morning, I went out for a nice 4 mile run. Out and back. It was great. I followed the path along the golf course just north of our house and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Maybe a little less humidity, but other than that it was a cool 56 degrees.

Once I got back, I went back to the grind with painting. Steph had pretty much put a second coat on the picnic table, and I spent the rest of the afternoon painting the arbor. Not so much fun. That lattice is a bugger... it is now white!

Tomorrow's challenge?? Doing some touch up painting on the wishing well mom cleaned up last night... ....and possibly starting on doing some touch up on some other lattice boards... fun!

Happy running, y'all!

Solo Run

In the midst of wedding preparation all around, I went out for a short solo run. I did the same loop my sister and I did a couple days ago. 2.25 miles. This time the weather was nicer. It was warm, but the clouds were hiding the sun and there was a cool breeze. In addition, the cottonwood trees are in the process of shedding their cotton, and it is blowing every where. Nothing like coughing on cotton while running!

Since I have a little more time to post these days, I will be posting our adventures in this journey to help my sister have the most beautiful wedding. Plus, I plan to use a lot of these in the gift I will be making for her and her future husband! Scrapbook fun!

Mom wanted a pic of Steph and I running. So when I got back from my run, we had to pretend to run. This is us running down our road....

And then when we were done pretending, she wanted us to go to a specific location near our home. To pretend to run. Her thinking is that after the wedding, she won't have the "opportunity" to take pics of us running... okay mom! This location is near our home... a huge 100+ year old tree in the middle of the road. We always thought it was pretty cool that they built a road around a tree!

And then, I caught mom in the action... of pulling weeds. Her and Steph spent most of the afternoon pulling weeds. There were only two pairs of gloves...otherwise I would have helped...no doubt!

I snapped a beautiful photo of the bride-to-be .... happy to be finished with her duty of pulling weeds...

And then there was Dad. Mowing. For...ev....er!!! I think it took 2 plus hours! Atleast he had his handy dandy headphones that block out noise... and he must have been jamming to some good tunes... for sure! (He is my partner in crime when it comes to the Tar Heels...can you tell?)

Stay tuned for more photos.... if you're interested!

Easy Run

Location of Sis' wedding... I hope it will be this nice on the big day!

Yesterday I arrived back at home... in Bismarck... living with the family. Fun times! Wedding planning all around. It's just nice to be home, even if there is a lot to do.

Yesterday it rained all day. I think we accumulated over 2 inches of moisture. So, today, when Sis and I went out for our morning jog, I was a little worried as the clouds were still hovering. It was a cool 50 degrees, but nice. Kind of humid. The sun peeked through the clouds, ocassionally. On our last quarter of a mile it started to rain but it was refreshing. All in all, 2.25 miles, no walking. Very nice.

The ticker above is my goal for June. May was quite unsuccessful, as I had only ran once in the last two weeks. June will be better. I hope! I was only able to accumulate a little over 20 miles this month...eeks.

One crazy busy weekend

Let's just say it was one crazy busy weekend. I never realized how much work goes into planning a wedding and this one was no exception. I truely enjoyed being the personal attendant at this wedding. The bride was wonderful to work with and it was so much fun all around. In the process of making a last minute stop at the hotel room, before the wedding, for a pair of slip on shoes for the bride to wear during the dance, I came across a bag with a box in it. Out of curiousity I opened it and here it was the groom's wedding band. Go me. In the last lap around the big hotel room, I swiped a shout to go wipe from a gift basket, just in case. Good thing. That came in handly early during the dinner, when the groom got chocolate on his suit jacket and it rubbed against the bride's gown. Yikes. But, everyone loved the chocolate fountain! All in all, the wedding was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous, the wedding party looked wonderful, the reception food was great and people danced it up that evening.

Left to Right: Junior Bridesmaid, Bride, Maid of Honor

-relaxing before the ceremony-

My legs hurt from running to and form the bar for a quick shot with some cousins and other family members...plus, I opted to dance barefoot, as I aquired three blisters that day. I plan to rest the next day or so and then get back into my running. Wednesday I will be heading home. Less than 3 weeks until my sisters wedding, and I can hardly wait!

Happy running, y'all!

The end has come....

Today is the day. The day that I will not only be saying goodbye to my students, but goodbye to my fellow co-workers...teachers, principals, and other support staff.... As much as I have been looking forward to this day, I will be sad. Hopefully I can hold back the tears. I am really going to miss my students (even though some of them have really tested my patience this year).

Where has the time gone? It has been 1 year. 1 year consisting of 1 crazy summer of 17 credits combined with spending almost every waking hour with classmates (some who are best friends of mine now), 15 credits of evening classes in the fall and spring each, and 9 months of full time teaching. It seems as if I just started the RT program a couple months ago. So much accomplished and learned in 1 year.

I am still in the process of finding a job. It's so frustrating. I spend an hour at least to fill out 1 application, and then nothing. I hear nothing. I just want to get that job so I can relax for the next 2 months.

Today, I am done with school at 1pm. From there I will head back to GF, get my hair colored and cut, possibly get my nails done, do some shopping, pack for the weekend, and go for a nice jog through the neighborhood again.

I have been hear for almost 8 years and in less than a week, I will be leaving. For good. I don't think it has really hit me yet.

Happy running, y'all!

Happiness is....

In response to Wes' post today, I thought I would throw a little blurp out there on my view of happiness in regards to training/racing....

Happiness is: Enjoying the little things after overcoming minor injuries and setbacks. Going out for a casual run with no concerns for distance or time. No garmin, mp3 player, or heart rate monitor..... just me and the pavement having a heart to heart, all while strengthening my body.... physically, mentally, and emotionally.

A Run in the Sun

I was complaining in my last post about the weather being icky this week. As of yesterday, it was still gorgeous. When I got home from school, I went out for my first run in a week and a half. The sun was very warm with the temperature being in the high 70's. The humidity was fairly high, as I could feel it weighing my hair down. There was a noticeable wind, but not like the cold wind we usually get. This wind was one that I felt pushing me on my way out and slightly cooling me off on my way back in. Overall, it was a very successful and enjoyable 2.5 miles.

I started with a nice walk for a few minutes to warm up the old muscles. Once I started running I was immediately paying attention to how I landed on my feet and what direction they were facing. I know that prior to this run, I would land on my heel a lot. For some reason, I thought that was the "right" way. Wrong. My feet were facing straight ahead, which is good. I noticed that landing on the middle of my foot felt better as I ran and was better on my knees! Great success! I did the run5/walk1 method with a longer walk break towards the end. It was hot. I had to.

After my run, I tested a new drink. New to me. I tried the EAS AdvantagEDGE Complete Nutrition Shake. I know I don't get nearly enough protein in a day, and I wanted to try this after my run. It was actually quite tasty. I enjoyed it.

After cooling off, I cleaned up and my cousins, aunt and I went out for dinner on the patio of a favorite GF restaurant of ours, located along the river. It was just perfect. Cold drinks, appetizer and a chicken salad. Yummy. Afterwards we went back to the house and relaxed. My cousin's boyfriend, made a pitcher of Mohito's and they were fabulous! I had two, and then asked what was in a Mohito. All I got out of what he said was, "A lot of alcohol". Needless to say, I slept like a baby.

On a side note, for those of you who asked about any bites on a job... still working on it. I am hoping to land a position in a certain district, but until I do so, I am not at liberty to say!

Happy running, y'all!

Starting Fresh...today

Yesterday was my last day of "no running" and to be completely honest, I am a little nervous to get back out there today. I spent the last week reading a book by Susan Favor-Hamilton, covering the basics of running. I learned a lot in regards to mechanics, nutrition, and other fun stuff.

Yesterday, I spent some time looking over different training schedules, such as Hal Higdon's, Jeff Galloway's, Furman's First, and Runner's World Smart Coach, trying to figure out the right plan for me. I decided that for this week, I am going to test the waters with short distances, 3-4 times this week. I need to really start listening to my body and paying more attention to what I am putting in it before and after a run.

It's going to be difficult to get some runs in outdoors this week. Rainy and icky all week. I am tempted to take advantage of a free-trial membership at a local gym here...for that reason. I am no longer able to use the wonderful wellness center on campus.

It's going to be a crazy, busy week. My cousin is getting married this weekend and I am her personal attendant. We have a lot to accomplish in preparation for this wonderful day! Her sister and her boyfriend are home from England as well, so we will be busy with them, shoving our faces with food they don't get in England and enjoying a few cocktails. Probably not the best time to start back up with running, but is there ever a perfect time?

Until tomorrow! Happy monday...and happy running, y'all!

Food for thought

There... is... a... running... God!

I woke up this morning and the pain in my ankle was gone. I don't know what it was. A part of me thought it was some sort of bone bruise. Then I thought it was some sort of nerve pinching. When I would lift off my toes, a pinching pain would occur that went up to my knee... if that makes any sense. All I have been doing is resting, icing, and stretching. Another example of how important it is to stretch, even on the days you don't run.

It was interesting to read what some of you fellow bloggers said about your running mechanics. I think that sometimes when I run I end up planting my heal down first. According to Suzy Favor Hamilton, you are to "plant your feet at the mid-foot area or at a full-foot plant, avoiding a pure heel touchdown." And the angle of your foot should be either strait ahead at touchdown or pointing slightly inward. Very interesting.

Food for thought: Sometimes runners get all caught up in the idea of eating carbs, carbs, and more carbs, and forget how important protein is. Here's a nasty comparison for you to think over...

Bagel with 2 Tbsp butter...500 cal...11g protein...60g carbs...26g fat
Quarter Pounder................430 cal...23g protein...36g carbs...21g fat

I am still planning on not running until next week. I am working on finding what will work for me. I was reading how important it is to build a good foundation (base)... and I want to do that for at least a month before I even think about doing some fancy runs again, like speed work/intervals.

This is Teacherwoman, signing off... happy running y'all. I will be back on Monday with an idea as to what kind of schedule I will be attempting!

running mechanics

I picked up a couple books last night to educate myself further with my running and other stuff. I will not mention the books I picked up because I do not want to jump the gun and put any crazy ideas in your heads. I will share that later. But, I did start reading one of the books and it is okay for the most part. One of the things that really struck me is the fact that my running "mechanics" are probably not the greatest. Another thing that I read, that was no shocker to this girl was the fact that I probably don't eat the healthiest...and this NEEDS to change (as I am eating a chocolate chip cookie).

Questions for you all: When you run, what part of your foot hits the ground first? And, does your foot point straight ahead, slightly in, or slightly outwards?

I will tell you what I learned... I would like to see what others "mechanics" look like.

I think I numbed the heck out of my ankle last night. I went upstairs to bed and didn't feel any pain when walking up the stairs. But, it was and still is there this morning. It's more annoying than anything.