Richmond Half Marathon

On Saturday Nov. 12, 2011, SM and I ran the Richmond Half Marathon with over 6,000 other half marathon runners.  This is a photo of me before the race began.  SM and I waited in lines for the port-a-potties so in the background of these two photos you can see people standing in little lines.  The weather was 34 degrees with a brisk breeze blowing right through everyone.  Yep, it was cold.

The night before the race, I had talked myself out of running the race.  I had two sore feet and a head cold.  And deep down I think I was terrified to run but at the same time I had been training for over two months and I was excited to finally run.  SM had been traveling a whole lot the two weeks before the race so he wasn't sure how well he'd run the half marathon.  In fact, the day before he was in Belgium and I picked him up from the airport and we drove directly to Richmond.

Here we are right before the race.  Faces full of anticipation and a little bit of fear (on my part).  We were excited to get running so that we could warm up a bit.

I took my camera with me on the run and took this photo while running.  There were hundreds of people that just kept passing me, which could have been discouraging but I just kept plodding away.  I loved all the signs and people cheering along the race route.  SM and I had a favorite sign from the race...it said..."Worst Parade Ever!."  It made me smile.  We also had close to ten different bands playing music along the race route and there was plenty of water, Gatorade and running gels.  It was a very cool experience.

And then I took a photo of me!  I don't think I'm half way through the race yet but I've warmed up and I'm just running and running.  The hardest part of the race is when I forgot to breathe because I was thinking of something else and I ended up with a terrible stomach crap.  I had to walk and focus on my breathing to get rid of the cramp and then I continued the race.

And here I am getting close to the end of the race.  Down at the end of this corral is the sign over the road showing that we were at the end of the race.  There were thousands of people cheering!  SM was there cheering for me since he'd already finished his race.  I am afraid I didn't hear him.  I decided to take these two photos since no one would be taking my photo.

It's not the most flattering photo of me, but that's me just a little bit before the end of the race.  A little bit after this photo, I got a surge of adrenaline and I finished strong.  I was surprised at all the food they had for the participants.  Water, bagels, bananas, fruit cups, trail mix, Gatorade, and even slices of pizza.

SM got a photo of me.  Do you see that runners high?  I was so thrilled to finish the half marathon.  I didn't even feel the cold.  SM was really cold since he had to wait close to twenty minutes for me.  But he took really good care of me and made sure I put on my milar blanket on after this photo.  My official race time was 13.1 miles in 2:08:23 (two hours, eight minutes and 23 seconds).  I was very surprised that I went that fast, especially since I walked a good minute or two during the race because of that crazy stomach cramp.

SM met his goal also for his run.  His official time was 1:46:33.  And his goal was 1:46 and so he was very pleased.  He hadn't done a run for at least a week and a half before this race.  He told me that he felt really good for the first eight miles and then he hit a wall at mile eight and had to battle through it until close to the end.  The end of the Richmond Half is downhill for about a half of a mile and so many people just sprint to the end.  SM did this and felt really strong at his finish.

Here we are walking around after the half marathon.  We are trying to make our way back to the car and staying the sunshine since we were cold.  What a cute couple!  We ended up walking a couple miles and think that all that walking after the race helped us not feel too sore after the race.

And here's our medal!  Isn't that cool?!  I love that I got a medal for completing something so hard.  SM commented to me that we should do another half marathon in the spring.  I told him that that was like after giving birth to a baby, the husband talking about the next baby...a little too soon after something so hard.  I think we probably will run another half marathon but I don't know when or where.  I'm just excited that I've run my first half marathon.

I love flowers

I was at Home Depot the other day and I love orchids.  I saw these blue orchids and had to take a couple pictures of them.  And where would I share them, here of course.

Aren't they beautiful?!  I almost purchased one of these flowers but since we are traveling for Christmas, I decided to wait unil after we get back from Christmas vacation.  And I don't know if they'll still be there but at least I have photos.

Job hunt

SM has had several different job interviews all over the country and I was able to go on two of them with him.  Look at those hills of cut wheat.  They are so beautiful!

I had to take a picture of a house or two in the middle of the rolling hills.  It is a beautiful part of the country!

Just one more photo...the interview went well and we had a good trip.  It's nice to be treated so nicely.  We had wonderful meals and got to know the faculty at the law school.  They even had us over at one of their homes.  What a treat!

Here's the hotel we stayed at for another interview.  Look at that southern porch and large magnolia trees.  I had never been to this part of the country and it was beautiful even in November.  I wonder how hot and humid it will be in the middle of the summer but for fall, this was wonderful.  SM met with the law school and I was treated to a tour of the area by a real-estate agent.

Here's the Macon room where we stayed.  So elegant and historic and regal.

The room even had a fire place, though it was warm enough so that we turned on the large overhead fan.

I took this photo from our room.  I love that when you look across the street is another southern house with large pillars and a large front porch.  The interview at this law school also went well.  SM has already had three interviews and has one more next week.  And then we wait for the job offers.  Wow!  What an exciting time in our marriage!

A difficult run

A couple Saturdays ago SM and I went for our training run as part of the upcoming half marathon.  The weather was horrible.  The temperature was in the low 30's and it was raining.  If you look at this photo you will see that I'm completely wet and I was dripping as I stood there.  But both of us did 12 miles and made it home.  My hands were numb and I was tired but in the end it was a good run, one that I don't want to ever have to do again, but it was a great accomplishment.  Later that day we got our first snow fall and even though we had wanted to go out, we decided to just stay inside, watch a movie and have hot chocolate.

Here's my smile to let myself know that I can survive hard things and still have a smile on my face.

Watercolor study

I would like to learn how to watercolor a lot of different kinds of paintings but I'm not exactly sure how to go about that.  And so I went online and found four different paintings that I wanted to try.  The artist who originally painted these four paintings is named Kathy Davis.  I decided to study her art method...or at least tried to paint like she does.  The above picture is the first one I tried and is my least favorite.

My paintings were fun to try, especially because I could draw and paint it in one sitting.  Usually my paintings take at least three days ago but usually a few more days than three.  I found that I put more paint on the paper than I probably should have...but this was a learning process.

And this was the last one I painted...yesterday.  And this one is my favorite.  I didn't put too much paint on the paper and didn't have to push it around too much.  Enjoy!

Virginia's Day of Service

The governor of Virginia declared Saturday Sept. 24th as a Day of Service and acknowledged the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints Welfare program.  This day of service was in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the church's welfare program, which since its founding during the Depression has focused not only on providing for those in need, but also encouraging self-respect and self-reliance.

SM and I worked at organizing the supply closet in the winter homeless shelter.  SM worked for four hours folding blankets, sheets and towels.

In this photo you can see some of the plastic bins we used to organize supplies.  We replaced a lot of boxes with clear bins.  We labeled all the bins and made things look nice.

And this is what it looked like when we finished the left side of the supply closet.  We have most of the blankets on the bottom of the closet.  Some of the upper bins contain travel size soaps, shampoos, conditioners, mouth wash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, etc.  Doesn't that closet look nice?

And here are some of the supplies that our ward donated to the shelter.  (All of those cleaning supplies above the white shelves).  There is a great sense of accomplishment in making that room look so nice.

Watercolor Paintings

My painting stuff has been put in storage for over eight months and since moving to Virginia I've had a lot of time on my hands.  And so I  pulled my paints and paper out and started painting.  I wanted to try something new and I'm not sure I like this painting...but it fun to try it.

My mom gave me some paints for Christmas and I found that the paints contained a beautiful pink color.  I wanted to try it out and thought that these flowers would provide a good opportunity.  And it was perfect and wonderful!

And this is the painting I finished this morning.  Do you like it?  I think it turned out really well.  I have a goal for another painting but won't share that with you all now.