there's no running in trinidad

Okay, I admit it: I didn't run at all this week. Not once. I haven't run since the race last Saturday. Ugh...that kills me to say!!! I have had approximately 2.5hrs of free time since Saturday. Well, obviously, that is an exaggeration...but not by much, I assure you.

What is taking up my time you ask? Trinidad, Mexico, Trinidad, new baby (Kevin and Becky's!), Trinidad, Middle School... You get the idea. :)

Tomorrow morning a group of 27, kids and leaders will be traveling to Trinidad to spend a week running a vacation bible school, doing some construction, visiting churches and spending time with Grace Chapel's ministry partners, TTUM. It is a very exciting experience and I can't wait to share it with this group of girls that I have been investing in these past three years. A definite highlight of working with middle schoolers! ;)

So I will not get any running in while I'm there, that is one certainty! But things at work and hopefully in life will slow down enough so I can kick my butt into high gear!! That is until I go to one of my very favorite places for a week...Camp Berea. Although, I don't have much of an excuse, I can do some pretty sweet hills on a nice short easy 3miles while I'm there...we'll just have to see how that goes.

Well, I'm signing off for a week! Prayers for safety, fun, health and an effective voice for the cause of Christ would be greatly appreciated!

a few visuals

Here are some photos from the race last Saturday:

The Bibs

At the start...Brian and Paul were behind me for about 30 sec...

Brian, Heather and Abby Dietz

under 30

The results from the Rove the Cove were posted on coolrunning.com this afternoon. I achieved my goal, under 30 mins. My time was actually 29.32, so my miles were each 9.30. Nothing to be disappointed about!

I'll admit that my training as of late has left a lot to be desired. I've been so busy gearing up for the Trinidad trip that I've let most of my training slide. It's just been a very full season... I'm hoping that after I get back from the trip, I will have some good solid chunks of time to devote to getting in longer runs (that hopefully I can actually do with out walking!).

We had our final Trinidad meeting today, lots of details to get nailed down...Friday is when we leave. This week will be full again of things to do, so I probably won't get too much training in. Which gets hard when I find that I don't have time left over for me...

I found this to be especially frustrating when today, after telling someone to please email me with a work question and I'll get back to them on Monday, this person said, "you're working right now! In my opinion you are always working, 24/7!!" Actually I'm not... And I don't think it's fair for someone to expect me to remember something when I'm told in passing on a day when I have 4-5 other things going on.

Anyway, that just fed into my frustration of not having a whole lot of free time lately. Partly, I do it to myself b/c I volunteer for too much stuff...and part of it is b/c I work in ministry and even though I don't get paid for doing it, it still takes up a lot of my time.

Ok, so! If I don't post again this week with some good news about getting a run in each day, I won't get a chance to next week b/c I'll be out of the country!! (and not training at all!)

race no. two

This Saturday I'll be doing another fun 5K. It's in Newton and it's called Rove the Cove. I'm excited because it's not only on the street but through some trails as well. I think there will be a big group of friends that are doing it as well.

I've been doing okay with my training.... I had a kind of disappointing week last week where I felt like I wasn't really doing that well. I couldn't run 3mi straight, I'd have to stop and walk after 1.5 or so... But it was a rough week, I was very tired and busy at work. More excuses, right?!

This week, I haven't gotten a chance to get to the gym or had time to run on the trail...work is super busy getting things organized for Trinidad and Mexico and I've had some things planned each evening after work. I do have plans to get to the gym on Thursday with my friend, Jennifer. It's been fun getting to the gym with her once a week.

That's all I've got for tonight... Oh one more thing: Go Green, Beat LA.

maybe t.m.i.

A recap of the past few days and what I've been up to, running-wise. Thursday I hit the gym with my friend, Jennifer, and got a solid three miles in. Friday, I did not go running as I was out running errands and had a commitment back at GC later that night...I figured it wasn't the nicest thing to go back all sweaty. Saturday was a slightly discouraging day. I did go around the lake but stopped to walk more times than I'd care to admit. Oh well...just one of those days, I suppose.

Today after the craziness at church (singing at 4 services with the rest of the staff) and Summerfest (the all church picnic), I decided that even though it's 90 deg, I really should get a run in. I planned on walking quite a bit since it was so hot and I hadn't really eaten that much. It was a nice to get out after a really long day and just release some tiredness.

The thing that has struck me recently is (this is where the TMI comes in..) I sweat SO much! I was leaving the gym the other day and my arms were completely soaked, as in dripping. Today was the same thing. I just wonder what makes some people sweat more than others? Is there something I can do to not sweat so much? I mean, really, it's kind of disgusting...

I'm told there is nothing I can do. God created me to sweat like a man, I just have to deal.

mile marker misadventures

Yesterday was a gorgeous day...sunny and 85deg. It was a little warm for a run but I really couldn't pass up being outside in that weather! I went for a run along the Lexington trail towards Arlington. I like that side because it goes thru the towns and not just in the woods...and you see a lot of people, which is fun for me.

I planned to run 3mi and what I usually do is run halfway then turn around and run back. Well, yesterday I decided since I have time and it's a great day, I'll just keep going for 2mi out then turn around.

So, I started out at the 3.5 mile marker and got to the 5 thinking that I would turn around once I got to the 5.5....only, there was no 5.5 so I just continued running! Once I got to the 6mi marker, I figured I'd just keep going to the 6.5 then turn around. So all in all I ended up running 4.5 and walking another 1.5. Not too bad...

i'm baaaack!

So it's been two weeks. What have I been doing? Well, I took a week off over Memorial Day to visit some amazing friends in TX. It was a week full of fun, laughter, great conversation, sun, and daily trips to Sonic for half priced Blackberry Tea. I didn't get any miles in while I was gone, mainly because I was able to sleep in, hang out by the pool and just enjoy spending time with some very dear people. Some excuse, right?!

The second week that I didn't get out was pure laziness. I was totally wiped out from the trip and trying to catch up at work that I would simply crash when I got home. Also not a good excuse, right?!

But I'm back. I'm ready to get out and enjoy the nice weather that we've been having and start racking up some miles. I got three in yesterday. It was a nice easy run on the sweet trail in Lexington. Even though it was 80deg outside, the path is nicely shaded and it was perfect for my run. I'm hoping to get another 3 or 4 in tonight.

My goal for this week is 15mi.