Each Day Is a Gift

A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL Stake Conference Sunday!

GREAT speakers.  Elder Steven J. Lund was presiding.  Very faith inspiring talks.  Hubby gave an unplifting talk on living the Gospel...everything we do: covenants, ordinances, daily activities should lead us to Christ. 

I was moved to tears by KellyA (our very own JohA's sweetheart)!!!!  She shared such a powerful, faith inspiring testimony and the miraculous story of how the sacred and precious things were untouched yet almost all other things in their house being burnt down in January.  WOW!!!  I just LOVE her and Jon so much!

Had a great evening, dinner with Eric and the newly weds.  Spoke and Skyped with Larissa, Marianne and Emi.  Got a quick short email from Bryan in Beijing.  Watched the welcoming news of the death of the All Time Evil Terrorist on TV!

Oh, how I need the Sabbath!!!  My spirits are renewed!!! :) :) :)

7.75 recovery miles.  phlems, phoughts and phlowers!  Gorgeous morning!  I wanted to do some strides at the end of the run; but got winded from the SSE wind; so managed to do only 4 strides.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83074307

Here are some of the pics from Boston exactly 2 weeks ago! :)

Sat. dinner at Chinatown. (l-r): Ronnie, TomSlick, Sharla, Kam's dad, Kam, Kam's wife, Amber, Smooth and Amanda.

Pre-race dinner/party at Little Italy. (l-r): Kathie, Rhett, Doone, Terry, Lito, Lowell, Larry, Smooth, Lark and Marcie and all the glorious pasta!!! James was taking the pic.

RHETT!!!  The FUN way to run Boston!!!  Notice his camera in hand!!!

 The CUTEST couple EVER!!!! ♥♥♥

Leaving for the post-race dinner/party:

Ran with Carolyn to pick up Karen for 8.  Saw Marsha started out her run on my way home.  So ran with her and had a nice chat.  Marsha was my secretary when I was RS president.  We are in different wards now; we had so much to catch up on.  Nice cloudy day, windy going east, air filled with smokey scent from burning fields. 

Ran with Karen down 3rd west up railroad trail.  Sunny blue sky breezy.  Easy chatty run.

Going to USU tonight to move my youngest home.  :)

Maynard showed me how to post the run.  Voila!  THANKS! Bradley! :)

No running today.  Had a wonderful temple trip with Steven, his friend, Tanner and Tanner's parents to the Manti Temple.  After the endowment session, we got to meet privately with the Temple Pres, Prez. Pinegar, who taught us meanings of the temple ordinances.  He asked us questions and helped us with answers from the scriptures.  I'm going to write those scriptures down and study some more to fully understand the meanings of the sacred ordinances in relations to the Atonement of Christ.

It was so wonderful for us to be taught my Prez. Pinegar inside the temple and taken to some rooms and walked down the 150 steps of the amazing spiral stair case.  The Manti Temple is magnificent, truly a house of God and Glory, full of stories and testaments of Pioneer heritage! 

So glad Steven and I had that opportunity before he leaves for his mission! :) :) :) :) :)

Ran with Kelly and JonA to south part of town.  GREAT company and FUN conversations.  They're such a wonderful couple.  I'm in awe of their tremendous faith and Christlike example.  THANKS Jon & Kelly for running with me!!!  :) :) :)

Garmin showed less than 5 miles b/c I forgot to restart the thing when we crossed some major state roads. 

After we got home, I went inside to slap on my fuelt belt.  After last week's scary *attack*, I wised up and carried my rescue inhaler and mace, one flask of gatorade, gel and headed up to Alpine.  Stopped at the *FoY* to drink and gu and doctor the blister on my right pinky toe. 

Saw lots of cyclists, a few runners.  Many aroma and scent of freshly cut grass, fertilizer (both animal and chemical kind), pesticide, burnt weeds... By the time I got back to the traffic light at SR92, my lungs felt like it's filled with cotton.  Instead of taking the inhaler, I pushed thru the last 1.5mile home. 

Off to the Salt Lake Temple for the sealing of my niece/nephew to their adopted baby girl.  Hope y'all having a WONDERFUL weekend!

We had a WONDERFUL day yesterday witnessing the temple sealing of Clara to her parents.  Sweet little Clara is eternally joined to her parents, an older sister who was still-born and her younger sister born  7 months after her.  This is what the Gospel is all about...eternal families!

The visiting and celebration continued on today.  I spent the morning preparing and cooking food for the luncheon after the blessing of Clara (11mon) and Ainsley(4mon) Mitarai at church in the afternoon.  Such sweet baby girls blessed by a grateful father, caressed by a joyful mother, witnessed by proud grandparents, loved by so many!!!

Amidst all the family gatherings, my other niece, Seidi, had her baby girl.  Her oldest brother's wife had her baby boy on Monday.  Can't think of a better way to celebrate Mother's Day than seeing these young mothers experience the joy of bring new little ones into the world. 

On our way to the airport at 10:30pm to pick up Eric, my sweet hubby gave me a fat envelope.  He had secretly emailed all my children and asked them to write me letters.  What a JOYFUL SURPRISE!!!!  The BEST Mother's Day gift I have ever received!!!   I shall treasure them forever!!! :) :) :)

Ran with Karen.  Strong gusty wind, rain, sleet, mud!!! Cough...wheeze...cough...laugh...cry...home...freezing!!!

Trying to spend every minute with my baby.  Got his socks, shirts, pants labeled.  A steady stream of friends coming to say goodbye.  He went to the H.S. to say goodbye to his former teachers and Seminary building where his teacher asked him to bear his testimony.  

Cooked a nice Chinese dinner, his last home-made supper, for the family.  His bishop, brothers, Eric & Jeff assisted his dad in setting him apart as the missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Taiwan Taipei Mission.  Hugs and joyful tears...my baby is now Elder Lew!!! :) :) :) :)

AM:  Spent the morning doing laundry so Steven will have freshly laundered or new clothes in his suitcase while he wrote a letter to the graduating seniors for the Seminary Graduation that his dad will be speaking at.  

All week long he kept asking: "Are you sure you don't want me to take the bus to the MTC?"  "You sure you don't want me to take the bus?"  "I can ride the bus."  "Nope, you would need a companion to ride the bus; so we might as well take you!" :)

Went down to grandma's to have a nice hello-n-goodbye lunch.  Sarah and baby Charlotte, Seidi, Danny, baby Charlie and baby Mina (3 days old) also came.  Emi had so much fun playing with baby Charlie (they're the same age).  Stopped by Bryan's condo to look for the camera cord (no luck) and say goodbye to Ben. 

The SHORTEST, QUICKEST drive EVER to the MTC to drop off my baby (err Elder Lew) at curbside!!!  I held up ok...no tears until his back was turned as two elders whisked him & his suitcases away!!!  Then the tears flooded uncontrollably!!!  I won't see him for TWO years!!!!  He was so happy and ready to go!  I cried like a baby all the way home feeling happy and sad at the same time!!!

PM:  I needed a quick run to *let-go*!!!  It was very windy!!!  Running on Bull River was horrible, gusty dusty dirt-filled air, from the construction to build up the road and cover the canal.  Got a major headache!!!

Ran down 2600 N to railroad trail up to canal trail east on Bull River with Wendy & Carolyn.  EZ conversation run!  Beautiful day!

Played outside on the trampoline, swing & slide with Emi.   Walked/jogged to see the neighborhood's horses and animals.  Played some more outside.  Picnic on the deck.  FUN morning!!!

6.3 w/ 1.8 cough-wheeze-warm-up mile, threw in 6x100m strides the last mile w/ 0.3 cool down.  [I think I could have done 8 strides if I wasn't trying SO SO SO hard to chase my SSF down...she totally killed me!] :) :) :) :) :)  But she & Kathie also saved me by convincing me to turn back to the car to take my inhaler!  (hmmm, may be they were annoyed by my constant coughing and wheezing, hahaha!!!)  Nothing like having the harem run together...FUN FUN FUN!  

SUPER FUN and more giggles when we met up with Brooke for breakfast!!! :) :) :)

Another beautiful sunny day to spend outside playing with Emi!!!  My bum bum is sore from going down the bumpy slides a gazillion times!!  :)

Met Luz at 6:30 am to run the PRT.  She ran down the big hill from Timp drive looking AWESOME!!!  We waited 10 min for the others who actually started at the mouth of the canyon (2-3 miles north of where we started).  Nice morning, temp in the mid 50s, overcast sky, strong headwind going up the canyon.  

Lots of runners & cyclists on the trail.  It was like a burst of sunshine when we saw MacK, MichelleL and Josse floating down the canyon.  We ran for another mile or so and hooked up with Ericka coming down at my mile 6.25 (perfect spot to turn around).  Then the three of us ran down together.  What a fun easy chatty pleasant run with GREAT companies!  THANKS Luz & Ericka for running with me!  :) :) :) :) :)

Side note:  Last night Eric KT taped my right quads and knee (I'm his first guinea pig) and put moleskin and bandaid on my left foot blister.   He also showed me some quads isometric exercise.  Nice to be taken care of! :)  Wore the Elixir two days in a row...ball of left foot a little sore.  Wore them on last Saturday's 15 miler with the same soreness and some tightness on the plantar fascia.  Still debating whether to wear these shoes for Ogden!

Spent the rest of the morning playing with Emi outside.  Got silly dizzy doing lotsa crazy fast ring-around-the roseys on the trampoline! :)

7 easy bench loop with Karen.  Windy.  Cold.  

The tongue of the Inspire 6 feels stiff.  It irritated the tibial tendon on the foot/ankle.  Still debating which shoes to wear on Sat.

6 with 2 at mp.

Fun day with my sister!!! :)  

Eating out for lunch and dinner everyday this week!  I must have gained 5 lbs today already!!!

5 easy miles!

Another day of playing, shopping, eating, movie watching w/ my sister!  Probably gained another 5 lbs!!! :) :) :) :) :)  

What's with the rainy cold weather...so much for trying to show off the beautiful Utah mountains to my sister and brother-in-law whom I'm trying so hard to convince to move here!!!  Dang!!!

5 miles with 6x100m strides!

More eating and partying with sis, bil and hubby! :) :) :)

5 easy :) :)

Eric checked out my shoes and feet.  I am going to take his advise and run in the Inspire 6 on Sat.  I will continue to train/run shorter and faster distances in the Elixir. :) :) :)

Carb-loading in earnest! : |

This is my 5th year running Ogden.  I met Teena and her brother in the middle miles of Ogden 2007.  Many fond memories and friendships were made at this marathon.   On the flip side,  the Ogden course has not been kind to me.  I ALWAYS cramp up badly and swore never to run it again and yet kept coming back for more.  Thus, I dub Ogden my *angels and demon* marathon. 

Weather was perfect, 45-65 temp, partly cloudy sky with a strong canyon breeze!  It was AWESOME to see SO MANY friends (even my friend/neighbor, Wendy.   Btw, she WON her division today and her husband ran a huge PR!).  It was SO FUN to meet many bloggers (Carina, Stacie, and others) for the first time!  :)  

Last year my running-guardian-angel was Maynard who stayed with me every step of the way and literally dragged me across the finish line.  This year RAD was my angel! :)  We had SO MUCH FUN running 21 miles together!!!  Hope she wasn't too annoyed by my silliness, especially the asthma attack at mile 14! ;o) 

Between mile 11-12, my phone rang!  My son Eric, left a message that he's somewhere between mile 20-22 waiting to run with me!!! :)  I called to let him know what I was wearing so he could spot me! :)  So EXCITED to have TWO angels (allie and Eric) to look forward to in the canyon!

For details of how the day unfold please read RAD's detail report here: http://radrunning.fastrunningblog.com/blog-05-21-2011.html

THANKS RAD for running the happiest EVER 21 miles with me!!!  LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! :) :) :)

We spotted the 4:00 pacer around mile 17.  He was running a steady pace, no stopping at aid station, nice and easy on the downhill.  I was able to stay with him 'till mile 23 when  suddenly an overwhelming fatigue hit me (I had taken 3 gu's).  I wanted to stop running so badly!!!  My sweet Eric kept encouraging me to run with short quick steps, pump the arms, chin up, run like Emi.  I tried with all my might, but my legs would not work, my breathing became labored, hearts pounding.  The cramping demon showed up at almost the same spot on the parkway as last year.  I fought with pain and fear from mile 25 on. :(

I wish the statute horses along Grant St. were the real ones we saw earlier in the pastures.  These colorful horses were standing still, lifeless, mocking my death march.  I had told RAD earlier the meaning of *run like a horse*!  How ironic!!!!  Only Eric's comforting voice kept me going now! 

With the finish arch within sight, I heard my hubby's cheer.  Eric gave me one last encouragement then peeled off course to join his dad.  I think my body must have known that I'm done at 26.2 (the course measured long according to my Garmin which shows 26.37 miles in 4:02:26) I stumbled and fell at 0.1 short of the finish!!! What in the world!!!  Eric rushed back to scoop me off the pavement.  Another ugly demonic finish! 

Experience taught me that I must keep walking after crossing the finish.  I walked for at least 5 min.  I was about to stop by the fence where my hubby was when BAM!!!  charlie horse seized my left calf then right shin! :(  I managed to break the fall by grabbing onto the trash boxes where a kind older gentleman, Sherman, got a hold of my arm.  He coached me to step down hard on my feet/heel.  It was painful yet the only way to stretch out the cramps myself.  He and Eric held onto each arm and walked with me for another 15 min.  He made sure I eat a banana, drink water/powerade and walk unassisted before leaving me.  Another Ogden angel!!!

*****************************************************************

Eric gave me three things to incorporate into my training:

1)  Frequent proper stretching to increase flexibility.

2)  Core exercises to improve postural control to facilitate efficient running form.

3)  Upper body strengthening exercises to share the work load especially late in the race.

Eric showed me some stretching exercises in the evening.  Tomorrow he will show me some core stability exercises. :)  I'm the luckiest mother!!!!  Wish he could stay longer before heading to his three year residency! 

Walked with Wendy.  Stretched a ton.

Ran 4.5 with Karen.  Walked 0.5 with Jessica.

Missing Emi, Eric and Marianne terribly! :(  But we'll see them later this week when we flew to Des Moines for his graduation and help them drive/move to Cleveland!

Lots of stretching while cleaning the house!

5 easy with Karen.  Beautiful blue sky!  Shin were bothersome, R worse than L.  Wearing compression sleeves.  Gentle stretching throughout the day.  Need to register for PCM soon.

After a long day of flying, finally arrived at Des Moines around 4:30.  The hotel is within quarter mile to the airport.  Eric and I went for a quick run before dinner.  It had rained the day before so a bit humid.  Looks like today's the only sunny day this week. 

We had dinner at Waterfront Restaurant in Ankeny, a nice seafood restaurant.  Note to shubby, do not take a toddler to fancy restaurant! :)

30 min. elliptical in the hotel's fitness center.  

The University hosted a picnic for all the graduates and their families on campus.

Emi loves picnic! :)

After taking the family back to the hotel, while Emi napped, Eric drove us to Gray's Lake for a run.  It was a very pleasant run in the rain around the lake twice.  The parkway has imprints of birds and butterflies.  I don't know if it was short on time or running at sea level, I ran it progressively faster.  The legs felt pretty good. :)  

In the evening, hubby and I and Emi had our own dates while Eric and Marianne went to a dinner and reception for the graduates and their spouses.

Eric and I got up at 5:45am and drove to Gray's Lake for an early run before Graduation Commencement which began at 9am and we had to leave the hotel by 8am.  We ran along the Des Moines River out and back for a little over 6 miles then around the lake once.  It was overcast with a misty rain, the sun peeked thru the clouds for a brief moment while we ran at the lake.  This was a very memorable and beautiful run.  Eric used to run here when he was a med student with couple of his classmates.  This will be the last time he'd run here.  Many emotions went through my mind as we talked about the past, my childhood, his dad, his experience at DMU and his future.  I would treasure our talks and this beautiful run forever! :)

The commencement was great; but a little too long (3+hours) for a wiggly two year old Emi.  My legs got stiffened up and my feet very sore from walking in heels.

Dr. Eric J. Lew

After the graduation ceremony, we grabbed a quick bite; then went to get the rental truck.  We loaded Eric's and Marianne's household items and furnitures from a storage unit onto the 16' truck.  Thankfully the rain has stopped when we were loading the truck.  My arms got pretty tired.

Marianne hadn't seen her stored contents for 18 months.  I think they did a fantastic job dejunking and boxing up their things.  They had to move their furnitures across town twice while they were in Iowa.  They're grateful for our help to move across States this time.

A LOUD thunder storm woke me up.  Hadn't slept much the last few nights anyway.  We went to Church in Ankeny where Eric and Marianne lived for 2.5 years while he was attending school at DMU.  It was great for them to see their friends again, although only to have to say goodbye. 

After church we all went to the condo where they used to live and have a farewell BBQ.  It is the last time they'll see each other for a long long long time as everyone is going off to their Residency programs all over the country.

We began our long drive to Cleveland at 2pm.  Eric would lead the way driving the yellow Penske truck.  Marianne and I would take turn driving the Sonata followed by Larry driving the Infiniti.  It was more challenging to keep Emi happy strapped in a carseat than to drive.  We arrived at Joliet, Illinois a little after 8pm, exhausted and hungry.  Ate dinner at a restaurant very close to the hotel, the Jn Michaels, good food and friendly service.

It being Sunday, I tried to call my other children, Jeff, David and Bryan, but only got their voice mail. :(

Slept in till 6:45.  Grabbed a quick breakfast while Eric impatiently ushered us out of the hotel to continue our drive to Cleveland.  The drive wasn't too bad except for the annoying toll booths we had to go thru each time we exit and enter the freeway or between statelines.  I drove through Indiana.  It was awesome to see many flags, big and small flown along the route, many farm lands and beautiful country.  The temperature got warmer and warmer as we head further east.

At long last, we arrived at their new home in Parma, OH around 2pm.  

Emi is so happy to have a backyard and deck...

and open basement to run around in! :)

Then began the hard work of unloading the truck's content into the house!!!

Finally, the last and heaviest piece of furniture is moved in!  We were so tired and exhausted!

Eric drove us to the Cleveland Clinic's HUMONGOUS campus/compoud!  WOW!!!  We were impressed!  Then we went back to Parma and shopped for grocery.  We filled up 3 carts and finally got back to the house at 9pm to have dinner.  We were starving and did I mention exhausted?!!! :)

One of the many buildings at Cleveland Clinic

I think this is going to be a great Residency program for Eric.

Got in a short run early before leaving for the airport.  Ran around the neighborhood on sidewalks.  The roads were very narrow.  Had to watch for folks driving out of driveways for work.  Very hot (70F) and humid, sweating buckets!

Barely made it to the gate for the flights home.  Hubby was on different flights which got delayed in Dallas for over 3 hours!  Legs were stiff and sore.  Already missing Emi! :-(