O... Out & Backs Rock!

First off, a fabulous thank you goes out to my many recent donors to BPE: Grandma Ehman, Dan & Ann Barkel, Rob & Judith, Gayla Posch, Scottie, Mary Power, Tim & Lori Barkel, John & Karen Wieringa, and Janice & Dean Warner! Whoo! My recent birthday gave my fundraising a great boost. :)

Last week's 13 miler:
Lauren and I drove down to Shawnee Mission Park, where we set off for the run, in unusually warm weather (55 degrees!). The second mile was ridiculously hilly and I thought we were never going to make it up... but we did - which resulted in much more brief downhill portions. From there we ran 6.5 miles out and then back. The best thing we discovered were several port-a-pottys planted along the route - allowing for needs to be met if necessary. If you run great distances, you know this is an exciting discovery. However, we also discovered zero working water fountains (I guess it is January), which resulted in 13 miles with NO water! Along the route we met some runner friends who had much water, but apparently not enough to share. And one of them - get ready for this - is running a marathon in every state (only has Alaska to go) and currently has 91 marathons under his belt. And, he gave me a fist pump when I told him I was running Boston. So I fist pumped a near-hundred marathoner. Needless to say we were extremely thirsty by the end.

This week's 14 miles:
Today, I ran more than I have ever run before. This was the first time I have had this experience since September of 2007. We had a system for today to fix the lack of H2O situation. We parked in the middle and ran 3.5 miles out and then back to the car where we were replenished with water (yay, water!) and various energizing products (sport beans and gels) and used the aforementioned port-a-potties. Then we ran 3.5 miles out the other direction and back. There was a little snow on the trails, but the sun was out and the weather was actually must better than anticipated! The run went very well, the aftermath not so much (not sure if it was the sport beans or the pudding for breakfast). Lauren and I had great conversation (including our chant when times get tough, "Lauren, how do you feel?" "I feel good, oh, I feel so good!"), and the 2 hours and 14 minutes flew by! From here on out, I'm running into uncharted territory.

This happened in the fall on a 12 miler, but I ran 5 miles in this condition. I would highly suggest not tripping while running on concrete. I have several scars to remind me in case I forget.

My adorable pup Avery :)

Avery loves going down slides!

Perhaps I will take more recent, relevent photos to document my training soon.

This week, I got my schedule for the Sprint Center for February. I am very excited because my working dates are all on the weekends, meaning I don't have to kill myself trying to work, work more, and run/cross train on the week days. I am working great events like: Monster Jam (where I hope to meet many large truck lovers, and sell lots of beer), Rascall Flatts (where I hope to meet many country crooners who are large truck lovers, and sell lots of Jack & Coke), and Elton John & Billy Joel (where I hope to sing along with every song). Wait... Elton & Billy?? Yes, face to face tour. I am beyond pumped to just be in the building when this happens! All my $$ from this job, is being donated to BPE!