I'm not sure how to account for my blogging absence. I've been running; I've been not running. I feel guilty; I feel proud. It all blends together.

This is probably bad, but as my long runs get longer, I still do them, but I slack a little on the weekday runs. In my defense, I have been battling a bum right knee recently.

On an up note, I once again ran farther than I've EVER ran before! NINE miles! Go me!
I then proceeded to binge on pizza and ice cream the whole weekend in celebration of my 25th birthday.


And because this blog doesn't have nearly enough pictures (because spandex running gear is NOT flattering) here's me on my birthday!

I WON!!!

(This update is for Angie because she's the only person who has told me she reads my blog!)

I got my cholesterol checked again, and.... DRUM ROLLLLLL..... I WON!I reached my goal! My triglycerides are normal!

Warning: Biology lesson to commence below

To be specific, a healthy triglyceride level is below 150, a not-great but not-terrible range is between 150 and 200, and over 200 is really bad news.

In October, my triglycerides were at a scary 222, and the doctor started talking about Diabetes and all this crazy stuff, which is what motivated me to start running more seriously. Now, my triglycerides are totally in the clear - 143 to be exact!!! YEAH BABY! Take THAT, diabetes!

And if you really want to know...
My total cholesterol was good in Octber and got better: It's now 158, and needs to be below 200

Interestingly, my LDL (bad) cholesterol went up since October, but I'm still under 100, which is healthy.

My next project is to get my HDL (good) cholesterol up. It went down from 38 in October to 33 in April, and it needs to be above 40. The strange thing is that the only remedy is... exercise. Hmmm? That's exactly what I've been doing!

My doctor said HDL is mostly genetic, so my mom appologized to me when I told her :)


Biology lesson over.

Mini Update

I finally got my Team World Vision jersey in the mail today! Ahhh! I look SO cool... in a very ridiculous way, of course.

Also, the weather has been simply incredible recently. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to quit your job and worry about the consequences later. Needless to say, my runs long the lake shore have been utterly delightful. I'm so glad I have a reason to be out there. I feel like I missed so much lake time last year by taking the train home every day, and it would be tragic to repeat my mistake, so I've started running home once or twice a week, using the bus just to get me to the proper distance away from my apartment before I head out and finish the route on foot. That has been working out wonderfully, and it saves time overall.

Lastly, I'll share a quote from a fellow blogger, wife, and UD alumna, Sarah, who gave it to me for encouragement:

"The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer." - Habakkuk 3:19

In transition

What’s the difference between a regular person who exercises and an athlete? Well, regular people are like me, and athletes are… I don’t know. Better than me? Definitely skinnier than me.

I can’t be sure, but it seems like athletes exercise because they like it or something, but us regular folks do it because we have to, or at least for me, I run because as much as getting up early to run sucks, I’m sure it beats living with diabetes and/or having a heart attack.

I do have things in common with athletes though. For example, I’m rapidly accumulating a collection of running gear. Ya know, everything from hats to socks for all temperatures, in “wicking” fabric, ‘cause duh, Cotton is Rotten. I’ve also got a fancy multi-buttoned watch that I barely know how to use, iPod arm band, muscle-massaging stick …inhaler. I have to say, I look the part. I’ve lost a few pounds, too. I’ve even subscribed to Runners World… who am I?!

I think I am in a period of transition, and today was a milestone. I had my first “tempo” run. Tempo is a fun word for hard. The idea is to push yourself (a figurative term that athletes use) to run about a minute or so faster each mile than you do normally.

I did it, which would make me a regular person who exercises, BUT, the craziest thing happened today! I enjoyed it! Honest to goodness, it felt awesome, albeit in a very masochist way. I felt this dull discomfort kind of in between my lungs, but I thought about it, and I was like, “well, I’m not out of breath; I’m breathing just fine. My legs don’t hurt…” and I told myself that walking wouldn’t make me feel better, so I just kept running, and when I finished, I felt like I won! I felt… like an athlete?!

I’m learning that athleticism is not a matter of have or have-not, rather it’s a spectrum, let’s say, between heart-attack-waiting-to-happen and Olympian. After today, I am 3.5 rockin’ miles further away from where I don’t want to be!

26.2 for Africa

Now that I'm officially registered for the marathon, I can get moving with fundraising for Team World Vision!

I have my own fancy website and everything.

Not to mention this running shirt that makes me look SO hardcore:




Running this marathon is changing my life in a very literal physical sense. By running with Team World Vision, I can help add years and quality to lives other than my own in the same way by providing food and clean water to impoverished families in Africa.

If you are moved by either the heart disease epidemic or the extreme poverty in Africa, please consider making a tax-deductible donation via the link above.

$135 later...

Registration Confirmation for:

Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Dear Virginia,

Congratulations! You are now registered for Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.chicagomarathon.com

View your complete registration details »
Congratulations! You are entered to run in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 10, 2010.

BIG NEWS

... or actually, LONG NEWS! 26.2-miles-long news!

You guessed it. I've put aside my better judgement and decided to just jump in the deep end and run the whole stinkin' thing!

But what about the whole never running more than like, 7 or 8 miles thing? Yeah, I know. Like I said, I've purposefully set aside my better judgement on this one and decided not to really pay attention to that little detail. Kinda like moving to China and not knowing a single word of the language. Details have never been my thing.

I was going to wait until after the half marathon in May to finalize and announce my decision, but... well, who am I kidding? I hate waiting. I'm the girl who married the love of her life after less than year of meeting the guy! AND it was the best decision I've ever made! I'm hoping running a marathon at least makes the top 100 list. Really hoping.

Speaking of Mr. Wonderful, here's an excerpt (I edited the mushy parts) I wrote to him in an e-mail earlier today, which should help summarize my thoughts:
I honestly can't stop thinking about the Chicago marathon and how much I really want to run it. I probably knew this already, but was afraid to come out and say it... but, I definitley intend to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon! I want to do it, I think I can do it, and I get so excited (even a little teary-eyed sometimes) just thinking about it!

So, I've read the entire Chicago Marathon website and the entire Team World Vision webiste, and I've taken the first step, which is just to register for Team World Vision. The next step is to register for the actual marathon!



AHHH!