"You can turn me over now. I'm done on this side."

I had a singular experience this week. My running group roasted me! Here's the roast, which shows up on their website. . ..

"To all who know Liz, and those who do not.... it is time we divulge some juicy details . . . This is allowed because it is now tradition. Anyone training... and I mean really training... for a marathon and making it to the starting line, is bait for the team to divulge the last six months... okay maybe year.... of (tasteful) training and racing stories about that person... so here it goes (Sorry this is not in Liz quiz format).

So, what can we all learn from Liz through all these months of training?

1. Watch for Ice
2. Don't lose your keys... or your phone... or your headlamp... or your directions.... or your watch.... or your water bottle.... or your purse..... or your coat with your car keys in it....
3. Travel and have fun. One of Liz's dreams is to travel to exotic, foreign lands and experience strange new cultures... like Arkansas.
4. Bring your own water.... because by drinking everyone elses, it will soon run out.
5. Parking lot ettiquette. It is not a coincidence that when Liz comes into the parking lot that everyone scatters to the curb.
6. Table manners. Everyone's water is Liz's unless there's a Ketchup bottle to separate and distiguish off limits.
7. Don't be late. We eventually leave you.
8. Pick a marathon and register a year early. Make sure you have friends there.
9. Runners trots, the true initiation of a "real" runner.
10. Rule WWSS: When choosing your running attire, ask yourself "What Would Scott Say"?
11. DOTS is a four letter word.
12. Sid's Run. He's just a man, not "sudden infant death syndrome".
13. Wear socks when you run.
14. Body Glide is your friend.
15. Meeting for lunch after the long run really is the best part of the run.
16. Don't go to a wedding "funeral" after running 24 miles.
17. Register for the toughest races. Make sure they're your firsts.
18. Who needs Gold's Gym, when you have running?
19. "I want to start working on speed after my marathon". She forgets that the fastest she could run 1 mile is 11:30 when she started, now she can do 8 min splits for 5K!
20. Text message your coach at 10pm to tell them you got some gladiator sandles or 3am to tell them you won't make the 5:30am run. See how much they like it. They may let "running shoes" slide though.
21. Stick to the program: Trust in your training and trust in yourself!

So this is what we've learned from Liz. We all love her and wouldn't know what to do without her there! If you know of any additions for the list, please divulge! info@teamapexrunningandwalking.com

Mike & Monica"

Ha! Ha! This has been me.

I found an e-harmony.com article today about the five personalities men most avoid in women. At one time or another, most of these have been me. And the windbag? Yeah. I still have windbag tendencies, especially when I'm nervous! But I've been better about tempering it lately.

Thank goodness for growing up!!

E

Blog as therapy

Coming this Saturday, is my official LAST wedding of the year! Woo hoo! Congrats, Joe and Becky, but may there be no more of these! At least not in 2008!
. . .update.

I found a quote that epitomizes my experience going to weddings and it perfectly explains the reason why they can be so emotional for me:

"[For single-and-searching females, weddings are]. . . kinda like making someone who is suffering from severe malnutrition go to a Sizzler and not letting them eat . . . Weddings are a flashy, neon sign showing the single everything they don't have: love, companionship, trust, and the guarantee (with the consent of both parties, of course) that you are going to have a baby."

There ya go! That pretty much sums it up! (In case you were wondering!)

As you can guess, the wedding on Saturday was pretty emotional for me, as shown by the fact that I spent the first hour of the reception locked in the unisex bathroom bawling my eyes out into my cell phone with my female trainer, Monica, trying to comfort me from the other end. Part of it, of course, was the 24 miles I had run that morning (in preparation for my marathon); I was tired, emotional, and somewhat delirious from exhaustion. Part of it was the fellow getting married and the five or six babies in attendance I had never met in the arms of other married friends who I hadn't seen since their weddings. The rest of it, though, was the doubt that nags inside of me everywhere I go: that my life's purpose has more to do with a job to be done than a person (or persons) to love. I've thought long and hard about this point: could I be happy and fulfilled as a single person? The answer: I don't know, but I can't see that reality right now. Can I be content not knowing what will happen? The answer: perhaps. Maybe. But it isn't something I'll accomplish on my own. :) There are a lot of questions. I think the best explanation of the process singles go through was printed in Christianity today. This magazine couched the experience of extended singleness as a grieving process rather than as a simply pity party:

"Older singles grieve the loss of their youth, lost years of love, and the children that they have not borne. The pain of extended singleness isn't so much coveting a relationship, but grieving lost dreams. If it is insensitive to tell a recent widow to be content in the midst of her loss, it is equally insensitive to say it to someone who is widowed by circumstance."

Of course, there are tons of other perspectives on this. Some much more positive and cheerful. I'll look through those, too. Perhaps, at some point, I'll see things in a more positive light. I'm not angry like I used to be: I think that's definitely an improvement. It's a process, and I'm just going through it, one step at a time. :)

To All the Beaux Who Never Were . . .

I was browsing on Youtube today. (Youtube browsing, shoe shopping, ticket buying . . .yeah, I have a little free time right now.) I came across this song I hadn't heard for a while. I thought I would post it because it expresses so well some of the feelings I've had over the past few years.

So, as I near the official end of my twenties, I lift a glass (and the chorus of this song) to all the fellows for whom I have held a flame between the age of 20 and now who, for one reason or another, either weren't in a situation where they could reciprocate and/or who didn't feel the same way. I'm not doing this bitterly, honestly! Some of the memories I have of getting to know these guys are truly special for me, and some of these guys are truly the special, wonderful people I came to know and like!

Luckily, none of them read this blog. At least, I don't think any of them do!

In any case, the chorus of this song mostly expresses my feelings but also is meant to express appreciation for those who helped make my twenties the growing experience it was.

May the thirties bring more men like them: but available and reciprocating! :)



Elisabeth

Tickets Bought: Marathon is a True Reality!

It's official! We're going to San Francisco, and I'm running the marathon!

My family just bought our tickets for San Francisco today. It's pretty exciting!



The only bit of sadness to mar this happy plan is that I have not yet heard from my sweet Misty about getting together when I'm there. I will be sad if I don't get to see her, but friendship is a two-way thing, and I've done everything I can. I'll miss her anyway, though.

Brian Regan Tidbit

Hello!

I have a couple of friends who went to see Brian Regan do his comedy thing here in Boise last weekend. I looked him up on youtube and, yeah, he's pretty funny!

Check this out: I think it's the best little clip I saw.



Liz

My New Shoes!

Aren't they so cute? I love them!

My Family and a Great Book

I have come to realize lately that there are members of my family who would like me better if I didn't have a graduate degree. They would approve of me more if I was married, had a couple of babies who took up all my time and energy instead of using that time and energy in selfish pursuits like running. They would like it if I had to use my financial resources to keep up with a mortgage and pay for pediatric doctor bills instead of using my extra money to pull myself out of grad school loan debt and to travel for races. Somehow, life would seem more fair if I had had to pay for my own college education and if I hadn't had half the advantages I have been fortunate enough to receive in this life. In other words: They would like me more if I was more like them; if I had to struggle as much as they have.

I don't think it's a bad thing that some of my family sees things this way. After all, My family lately has had to deal with diseases and the ensuing medical bills, deaths, odd jobs to make ends meet, etc. It's not that all those things are bad but, I can see, from the perspective of someone whose whole life has been caught up in the care of others for years and years, my lifestyle must appear to be very self-serving.
I would probably see it that way, too, if I were them. But, what should I say? Things are going well. Life right now is pretty short on misery. Should I try and make myself more miserable to make others happy? I don't think so. Perhaps there are ways I can serve, though, that I am not seeing. I should keep my eyes open for those opportunities, but I don't know of any other lessons I might take from some of my family members' reactions to me.

The Pigman and Me by Paul Zindel


More later

A New Look, A New Blog

Hello, all!

I know it has been forever and a day since my last post. I'll do a quick up-date and then move right along.

News

We lost my grandpa a couple of months ago. It was very difficult for the whole family, but everyone agrees that it was probably his time. That is part of the reason that I have not written in a while. That was a very difficult and sad time.

Running

It's coming right along! I run my first 10-mile run today . . .and its raining like gangbusters! Knowing my running trainers, that won't matter. We do what we have to do and we run even in the driving snow. (I've done that a few times!)

My female trainer, Monica, has got me taking a prenatal vitamin in the morning and an iron supplement in the evening. We're getting into the serious training phase now and she absolutely wants to make sure I'm getting the vitamins I need. That means drinking lots of water, going on very long runs, and watching what I eat. It will be great for my figure but I get tired and spent at times! The marathon is only 5 months away!

Finishing Up the Masters

We're in the home stretch! I've started on the two of the last five credits I need to take! I'm doing my homework diligently. Now, I'm trying to convince my professors to be on my committee so I can graduate in July. We'll see how that goes!

Love
Elisabeth