Wednesday, June 10, 2009

In Like Flynn!!!

We just found out this past week that Nick and I BOTH made it into the NYC marathon!!!! Can't even believe it :) The chances of getting into the marathon through the lottery is 1 in 4. So the fact that we both made it in is incredible!!! We had a couple of other options- either running for charity or making one of the time requirements. But to run for a charity, you have to guarantee that you'll raise $5,000 (obviously $10,000 if we both were running for World Vision) by putting it on your credit card up front- which is quite a large sum hanging over our heads if we couldn't raise all that. And to get in through time qualifications, I think I'd have to run a 1:37 half marathon- which is hard core. I could do around 1:40-1:42 if I trained, but I'm not sure about 1:37. So, this works out perfect!!! :) And now we can still raise money for World Vision too! Oh, plus, we found out the other day that World Vision's running team is already full- so we couldn't have done that anyway!

The running itself has been going well. I've been getting motivated and back into it for about 7 or 8 weeks now. I want to have a good base built up before the actual marathon training begins to help keep from getting injured. I've tried 2 other times to train for marathons, and had injuries get in the way :/ So, I'm trying to avoid that this time. We've done a couple of 5k races lately, which I haven't actually raced that distance in years! Not super pumped about my time since it's far from my PR, but I had a 22:31 which isn't too bad. It's just sad that I'm not as fast as I used to be :/ An added bonus from the running is that I've lost some of my "winter weight" that I seemed to pile on during the cold months. So I'm getting really close to my goal number- but I know the last few pounds always take the longest to shed.

Mom and Dad's 35th anniversary was Monday, and we had a nice surprise dinner with just a few of their closest friends. That wasn't really part of the original surprise plan, but it was a great evening :) I contacted lots of my parents' friends that have been involved in different phases of their lives, and asked them to send cards or letters and to share a fun story if they could think of one. There were a lot of people who sent cards for them- a few examples are some old neighbors, a girl my mom taught in Sunday school, my mom's friend who invited my mom to Campus crusade where she met my dad :) A fun mix of people from different stages in their relationship. So I'm happy with how it turned out!

One other part of "my list" I just finished was writing one of my letters to someone I admire. My freshman year at Covenant, I had an RA named Jana Werson who was one of the most precious, genuine, loving people I've ever met. She was killed a few years ago when she went out running and got hit by a car. I googled her name and read the story, and the quotes from her parents just made me cry. They were able to show that in the midst of their pain and this tragedy, that they still had a hope that was greater than their awful situation. I know this sounds horribly depressing, but I have no doubt that Jana's heavenly Father was so ready to welcome her with open arms and tell her how honored He was by how she lived her life for Him. I've been meaning to write her parents for a couple of years now, and just tell them how much I loved Jana and how sorry I am for their loss. So I finally did that tonight. I really look forward to the day I get to see Jana again and celebrate with her :)

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