All it takes is all you've got

My decision to race in the Baltimore Marathon was made because of three factors.

1. Its a Saturday race.

2. The prize money structure looked favorable. 

3. Our good friends, Ammon and Juliana Posey live there.  Juliana is a former pole-vaulter track teammate of mine from BYU who actually introduced me to Aaron back in the day (my Junior year at BYU).  Ammon is Aaron's good friend from high school and former roommate who started dating Juliana just as Aaron and I were whipping through our whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage (we met and married in 4 months).  Ammon and Juliana were married a few months after us as well and the past 8+ years has brought three children and many unique life experiences and blessings into each of our homes.

I scheduled our flight back home later (7:00 p.m.) on Sunday since that was the only day we could set aside to visit with the Posey's and I was really looking forward to seeing them.  Juliana picked us up from our Hotel at 9:40 a.m. to attend Church with them which just happened to be a few miles from our Hotel in downtown Baltimore.  We really enjoyed the wonderful spirit in their small, diverse Ward.  Many of the members there are converts to the Church and have valiant testimonies and experiences to share.

After Church we went home for lunch and to enjoy their adorable, friendly children who are very close in age to our three kids.  We really enjoyed talking with Ammon and Julie, sharing faith-building life experiences as well as funny, growth-promoting experiences while catching up on the past few years.  After a few short hours Ammon gave us a ride to the airport and we were back to our opposite sides of the country living our separate lives with similar values and themes.  Long time friends like that are hard to come by.  I hope we can hold on to our connection and friendship for many years to come.  Thanks, Ammon and Julie for the wonderful Sunday!

After 5 or so hours of sleep, I woke up to take Mom to the Airport.  Its always nice to chat with Mom.  Thanks SO much, Mom for your service and charity towards our family!  I always appreciate knowing that my kids are being well taken care of and enriched back home while Aaron and I are away.  They are lucky to have such a wonderful, loving Grandma.

I was pretty exhausted today.  As soon as I got Breanne off to preschool I put Ali down for her nap and took a solid 2 hour nap myself.  I was also ready for bed again by 8:30 p.m.

My legs feel pretty good other than my calf being super tight and achilles inhibiting normal walking form.  I'll go in for some treatment later this week. 

Ahhh 10 hours of sleep last night did me a LOT of good.  Went to see two Orthopedic Surgeons today to get opinions about shoulder surgery.  After picking their brains and getting all the information I needed to make an educated decision I've decided to put it off for a while.  Not only can I not afford to drop $12K+ on surgery right now but I'm also not willing to take 1-3 months of no, or limited running to let it heal.  Another time, another year.

I will go see a Physical Therapist one of the Docs recommended and get a refresher on some shoulder specific exercises I should be doing at home to strengthen the area an minimize simple dislocations.  I may be kicking off my own new version of PU-PU-SU here again in the near future!

Rehab day

As I was stretching this morning, something in my mid back spasmed.  Pain when I breathe and tightness from my mid-back all the way up into my neck.  Good thing I had already scheduled an appointment with Dr. Tim this morning.  He adjusted my back, ribs, neck, hips, and ankles.  He also did e-stim, laser, and some serious deep tissue massage on my right calf.  And then after the kids were in bed tonight I went in for a fully body massage at Massage Envy.  My favorite therapist, Agata got in a fight with the muscles in my mid back and beat 'em good.  

The good news is that my right calf and achilles are recovering well and I no longer hobble when I walk.  I still have a few days of bodily recovery before I'll start running again though. Coach mandates that we take the entire week after a marathon completely off.  Even the second week after the race he only wants us running 2-4 times.  He and Colleen follow the same ritual.  I think its wise to allow my body some time to recover and take a break from things, so I'm happy to oblige.

Its amazing how busy life can be even when I am not running a bunch of miles/hours per week.   Aaron has been super busy this week also.  That tends to happen when your full-time office manager and her part-time assistant (her Mom) are suddenly no longer working for you, leaving you in a lurch.  Its a loooooooong story but I'll just say we're in transition.  Options that never even crossed our minds a few days ago are now not only being considered but feeling very logical.  One week ago we were (theoretically) hiking along this beautiful path that brought some pretty awesome vistas and rewarding summits along the way.  We were very much enjoying the hike (having just reached an amazingly cool summit), feeling perfectly happy and content to keep hiking forth on that path and see what the next summit held.  Now suddenly it feels like the Lord snapped his finger and directed our attention to the right where He has set forth a new, similar but unknown path for us and we are looking at it thinking, "Wow, that looks like a SWEET path....is that really where you want us to go?  But what about where we've been?  Do you really think we should leave that path?  'Cause it was pretty awesome too."  So we're standing at this crossroads, praying for guidance and confirmation as we baby step towards the new path, realizing there will probably be rocks and steep sections ahead but hopeful that it may actually be a better, more rewarding path than the one we have been on.  Only the Lord knows what is best for our family and business.  I'm confident things will become more clear as we proceed in Faith.

Sorry for the poetic confusion.  I should be able to tell a less "theoretic" and more concrete account soon. 

Slept horribly.  My mind is too busy thinking about "the decision."

Took the kids to Abe's soccer game and then to the Primary Program Practice (PPP).  Then I came home and slept for two hours while the girls napped and Aaron took Abe to a birthday party for the lil' neighbor girl.  I've been SO tired on account of having sleepless nights.  Well, little sleep at night at least.  I just cant seem to shut my brain off.  And my body is not used to not exercising at all either.  Monday morning I MUST get some type of exercise in. 

Rest week, it was nice knowing you...and now its time to bid you farewell.