The Shaping Hands of Mothers

The older I get, the more I realize I have been shaped by my mom. Although I am not a mom, I have faith in Jesus because of my mom. I value homecooking because of my mom. My mom taught me to budget shop and save money. My mom continually models selfless service and sacrifice. My mom is a faithful prayer warrior and a steady encourager. My mom is a great nana to my brother's kids and so thoughtful in the way that she interacts with them. My mom is wise in all areas, and especially in health. My mom knows the Bible inside and out and models regular time in it. My mom walks daily, even though she has pain. My mom is a beautiful pianist and taught me how to play the piano. My mom can sing harmony with or without music, and knows hundreds of hymns. My mom works tirelessly, sometimes to her own detriment, but because she values excellence. I love my mom and I am so thankful for her!

Now that I am married, I am shaped by my mother-in-laws. I have spent less time with them than with my own mom, but I am shaped by the vast quantities of time I spend with their son, my husband. They value communication and joy. They like to celebrate holidays. They have shaped my husband into a flexible, empathetic, caring human who cares for me. They have taught him about food and travel and appreciating the little things. My life is enriched because of the ways that they enriched the life of my husband. 

I give thanks for the other mothers in my life, too: for my sister-in-law for the great wife she is to my brother, and the great mother she is to my adorable niece and nephew. She is so creative and caring! It gives me great joy to see the ways that she is raising them in the Lord. 

On the other side of my family, I have sisters-in-laws who share family recipes and teach me about the culture of my husband's family. They bring to me experiences that are meaningful to my husband, and enrich my life. Thank you, sisters-in-law!

I value my friends who are mothers, too. They give and sacrifice and give some more. What a delight to see them also raising their children to know Jesus!

So on this Mother's Day, I give thanks to God for all the mother's in my circle: my own mother, my husband's mothers, my sister-in-law, and my friends who are mothers. You are all doing a great job, and I send all of you my love.

Happy Mother's Day!

Real Life Marriage: Asking Instead of Assuming.

"I was doing this for you," He said. 

"And I thought we were doing this for you," I replied.

And there we stood at an impasse on the corner of the street, on a windy day in San Francisco.

I had asked to come to California to run a race, this is true. I thought that morning when I asked what he wanted to do for the day, though, that we could do something for him. He was insistent that this trip was for me, though so he had planned the day around what he thought I wanted to do.

The problem was that neither of us had asked what the other wanted. We thought we knew. He thought that I wanted to go to San Francisco. I thought he knew that I wanted him to take the day for himself. Our hearts were good, but our communication was not.

I am thankful that God blessed with me a husband who wants to do nice things for me. I hope that sometimes I can do nice things for him. In order for these nice things to happen, though, we have to communicate. We have the realize that we are not the other person, and instead of assuming, we have to ask what the other person wants. Yes, it is arduous. Yes, it is sometimes not fun, but it leads to more success in the end.

Thankfully, by talking out our missteps, we were able to salvage our San Francisco trip. We ordered a Waymo. We saw some sights. We ate sourdough at the famous Boudin Bakery. We took some pictures at Fisherman's Wharf. We went back to our hotel. 

Was it a perfect day? No. Was it a learning day? Yes. By God's grace, for our good, and to His glory, may we continue to do so. In Jesus' name, amen!

Eats and Empties (Week 19)

The Eats:

Blueberry waffles (Oatrageous Oatmeals)

Easy chocolate cake with four-ingredient healthy frosting (Big Man's World)

Protein tortillas (Fit Foodie Finds)

Spicy pork carnitas (Meal Prep in an Instant)

The Empties:

Apples
Jar of applesauce
Bag of beef jerky

Five pound bag of carrots
Box of chicken broth
Container of Costco cinnamon

Frozen cinnamon raisin sourdough bagels (The Pantry Mama)
Frozen corn

Dried cranberries (Craisins)
Bag of Crio Bru
Two cans of green chiles

Frozen Hawaiian pork (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)

Frozen homemade pizza sauce (Budget Bytes)
Two pound bag of Monterey Jack cheese
Two pound bag of mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni
Box of strawberry pop-tarts
Frozen peppers and onions
Head of romaine lettuce
One can of tomatoes with green chiles
Bag of trail mix

What went to waste:  

The potatoes had some bad spots, but I cut them out and used what I could.

I did throw away some pork broth I froze, but then did not use.

(Not) All the California Things

I wrote all about the half marathon in my recap post, but I realized that I forgot to share about all of the other things we did in California! We saw a lot of the state, but definitely did not even dip our toes into all it had to offer.

(Well, before we got to California we stopped in a town called Quartzite. I was befuddled by all of the camel statues. My husband explained that the camel driver Hadji Ali had settled in Quartzite.)

We saw a lot of the California countryside on our drive to Oakland. I did not realize California had so many orchards: almond, avocado, cherry, citrus, olive, and more!

Oakland was an interesting city. Our hotel was downtown, and we saw a lot of poverty around the hotel, combined with some nicer spots just a few blocks further out. We walked through the First Fridays event to get dinner, and then I ran to Lake Merritt on the shakeout Saturday morning. Other than the bridge, that was about all we saw of Oakland.

We stayed at The Moxy, not the nicest hotel, but not the worst either. The rooms struck me as dorm-room like, with a small footprint, no plush furniture, and only a small fold-down desk. The room had a refrigerator, though, so win! Our window also looked out over the city, which I enjoyed.

Saturday afternoon, we traveled into San Francisco. This was a pricey trip! It cost us $20 each just to get BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) cards. I got confused trying to figure out which line to ride into the city. Fortunately my directionally savvy husband got us there. We planned to ride the cable cars when we got into San Francisco, but the line was very long, so we decided to book a Waymo down to the wharf. That was an added expense, but a good decision. (Side note: We use Waymo quite a bit in Phoenix, but apparently it is a wonder to others, as we got lots of looks at stop signs, and especially when I rolled down my window to take photos.)

As noted in my recap, I did not want to walk too far, so we settled for a short walk along the wharf and then lunch at Boudin Bakery. This bakery has a sit down restaurant, as well as a to-go counter (where we ordered). There is a glass window where people can watch bakers make the sourdough from outside. Inside the building, there is a store and also a bakery selling whole loaves of bread and other goodies (like the turtle I ordered). I one-hundred percent recommend a visit if in the Bay area!

We rode an old bus back to the BART station. (Thank goodness, as it would have been a long walk.) It was interesting to see more of the city as we went.

After the race, we drove down to Big Bear. We planned to stop for burgers along the way, but found the place we intended closed. We settled on In-N-Out, but the first one was packed. We found another location and it was packed, too, at 3 pm on a Sunday afternoon! I guess Californians really like their In-N-Out!

Driving to Big Bear was a bit of a shock to the system. After a beautiful sunny day at the ocean, we came to a forest with fresh snow! Thankfully our cozy little cabin had heat!

My husband booked our Sleepy Forest cabin through AirBnB. The cabin was essentially one room, but that one room housed a nice bed, couch, eating nook, jacuzzi tub, closet, bathroom, sink, and refrigerator. It was just right for the time we had.

We planned to go hiking Monday, but woke up to rain. Each hour, the forecast would predict the rain clearing the next hour, but then about 15-30 minutes in, the rain forecastwould extend. My husband suggested going to the grocery store for food to kill some time. While there, we saw lots of what appeared to be backpackers. We later learned that Big Bear is near the Pacific Crest Trail.

After walking around Von's for what felt like a long time, we returned home with our food. It was still raining. I prayed for it to lift as we drove around the lake and to the Discovery Center. The nice guide there told us about the local eagles and about places to go for a walk. The rain finally started to clear, and we headed for the Stanfield Marsh Boardwalk. This is technically over the marsh, but for an Arizona girl, it looked like a lake. It was so cool to walk out over the water. After reaching the end of that path we turned around the other way and walked out to a point on the lake. It was super cool. Thank you, Lord, that the rain let us get out!

We ate our lunch back at the cabin and I napped. We wanted to go out for Mexican food in the evening since it was Cinco de Mayo. I felt nervous about finding an open restaurant, but we had no trouble. We dined at Azteca Grill and were in and out in 30-45 minutes. Our waiter was so kind and attentive, which made the experience even more enjoyable. And the food, was overly ample and delicious! My husband got the Don Juan burrito with two meats. (He said he could barely fit it all in his stomach.) I got the mole verde and took half home. I have never had mole verde, but it was a delicious creamy sauce that went great with the chicken, and repurposed, made for great chicken tacos!

We went to bed early that night, as we needed to leave early in the morning. I got out just at daybreak to see the lake one more time and catch the sunrise. Driving out of Big Bear on the Rim of the World highway made me hold on for dear life (NOT because of my husband's driving, but because of the height and curves and fog), but we made it.

Other than the steep roads, I would definitely go back to Big Bear. It was so clean and fresh and friendly. We saw tons of things (like the mineshaft coaster) we would like to do, but did not have time to do this time. With Big Bear only about six hours from us, maybe we will make a repeat trip?

I would say we got our time's worth out of the few days we spent in California. There is certainly more to do, but maybe that is what means to have had a good vacation? That we budgeted our time and enjoyed it rather than packing things in because of the fear of missing out? Thank you, Lord, for an amazing trip!

Bay Bridge Half Marathon

Praise the Lord, it's been a pretty epic year of running. To cap it all off, I really wanted to run one last race on my birthday. It is already quite hot in Arizona, which led me to look outside the state for races. I intended to look closer to home, but then this one caught my eye: The Bay Bridge Half Marathon, a marathon that ran across a bay to an island and back, with a decent host hotel price, an included a technical jacket, and free race photos. I was sold! I told my husband that this would be a dream race. He wasn't keen on going to California for a race, but he agreed to try to make it happen.

The Training:

I told myself that I could "party-pace" the race and did not need to train hard, but then my competitive side kicked in. I started trying to add miles onto my Sub-45 minute 10K plan from Run to make them add up to half-marathon training lengths. (I roughly used the Orange County intermediate half marathon plan for a race that happened at the same time as mine.) I did add a few more miles to the final runs of race week. Two miles and twenty minutes felt too short, so I made them 5K. I started carb loading three days before the race, maybe a bit of overkill, but with running a few extra miles that might have depleted my glycogen stores, it probably did not hurt. (Plus according to my expected race times and Featherstone Nutrition's calculator, I still needed a three-day carb load.)

The Travel:

We drove 12 hours on Friday to get to the race hotel. Well, my husband drove and I rode. I carb loaded okay this day, but definitely did not hydrate as well as I could have. I also got a little stiff and sore during the day, despite running laps around a gas station when we stopped midway through the drive. Thankfully I still had a day to recover before the race.

The Tangents:

Thank the Lord, I got surprisingly good sleep Friday night. I woke up bright and early at 5:20 am and started the day. I ate breakfast around 7 am, and that was probably too late, because I was hungry! I had wanted to try out my race day breakfast, but as it was, I needed more food, so I ate more: a banana, cinnamon raisin bagel, strawberry pop-tart, and my own version of Nesquik with added salt (1 tablespoon of sugar, plus 1 tablespoon of cocoa, and about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt).

I went down for the shakeout run around 9 am and chatted with the other runners. The 9:30 am run took us down to Lake Merritt and back. The group was small, I would say 20 or less. We stopped at 0.95 miles in for a rest, and then got back to our starting point about 2.1 miles. I wanted more time on feet, so I took off for another mile.

Packet pick-up was easy. I grabbed my bib and jacket and a few freebies and then got photos with my bib. My husband and I traversed to San Francisco after that. I worried about food and time on feet, but I think we did okay. My husband found busses and a Waymo to keep from walking endless miles. I ate a sourdough turtle from Boudin Bakery instead of my lunch bagel which worked out just great. Once again, my hydration was probably not as on point as it could have been. I had set out a water bottle to take with us, but I forgot it.

We came back from our adventure and I took about an hour nap. Then I laid out my flat runner and got ready for the morning. (I also had my husband take these flat runner pictures when I was in bed, as I had seen others do so and found their photos funny.) I ate an earlier dinner. We played Scrabble. I read my Bible. Then it was shower and snack time, and to bed.

Overall, I was quite a bit more lax with my race prep this time around. I was more flexible with the foods in my carb load (like sourdough discard banana bread and the turtle). I ate more carbs overall. I ate more pop-tarts. I took more liberties with my training plan (adding, subtracting, and breaking up miles). I did what people say not to do and took a little vacation before the race. All of this led to more and less anxiety about race day. Overall, I wanted to approach the race with curiosity and have fun. (I wrote, "Choose Joy" on my bib for this reason).

My goals for this race were:

A 1:50, 8:20/mile

B 1:55, 8:25/mile

C Get some good race photos. 

Based on my Pat's Run pace, My Pro Coach said I could run a 1:44:38 half. Based on my 10K, it went up to 1:45:18. Based on my last 5K, it went up to 1:51:11. Anything less than my 1:52:52 personal record was good in my book, and I told myself that if I just had to fun run it, I would, because that was what I ultimately wanted, to have fun!

Doing the Thing

Race morning

I am a planner and had race morning mapped out by the minute. Wake-up at 5 am. Breakfast of a strawberry poptart (with frosting and sprinkles, because this was a celebration run!) and RNWY collagen in coffee at 6:15 am. (I recently started drinking caffeinated coffee before running because Sports Scientist Jonah Rosner says it can enhance performance.) Getting coffee was as bit interesting, as our hotel elevators broke and I had to climb six flights of stairs down and back up again. It was a good warm-up, I guess.

Walk downstairs at 6:45 am. (I felt race nerves, so I tried to read while we waited for our Uber to the start area. I also used the bathroom again during this time.) Catch our short 15 minute ride to the start line at 7:05 am. After that, plans were a but more fluid. I immediately used the restroom, and then sat on the curb for a few minutes to rest my legs. I did a 0.6 mile shakeout run with a few strides, and then used the bathroom at again. I lined up at 7:45 am. I took a pumpkin spice GU gel at 8:00 am, and then participated in the pre-race yoga stretch. At 8:15 am, we were off!

Miles 1-3

I tried to keep up with the 1:50 pacers, but they were going out fast! I figured that I had to run 8:20 minutes/mile to break 1:50. They were running around 8:00 minutes/mile, so I decided to drop back and run my own race. I roughly planned to follow Jess Do It's 1:45 half plan, and 8:00/mile was not in the cards.

Miles 1-3 were flat and I kept about an 8:05 pace. I thought I was doing pretty good until mile 5 when I noticed my pace slowing to around 8:15/mile. We were running up the bridge, though, so it was all good. I had been sipping on an 8 ounce water bottle throughout this time and took my first gel, a caffeinated birthday cake GU, at 30 minutes. I waved at every photographer I saw and just tried to enjoy the bridge views. They were beautiful.

Miles 6-10 

The turnaround was at 6.5. I had finished my water by now and took a cup from the table. I drank some of it and poured the rest down my back. I took a few shots of the views and kept on trucking. As I ran back, I got to cheer on runners coming my way. This was one of my favorite parts. Things felt good, so I just kept hollering. I took a caffeinated chocolate GU gel at 60 minutes, sans water since I had none, but this was a thicker gel, so I could kind of chew it and keep going. I was clocking under eight minutes a mile going down the bridge here.

Miles 11-finish 

Things started to flatten out, but I just kept going. I knew I could run 7:41 minutes/mile for a 10K, and faster for other races, so surely I could keep an 8:00 minutes a mile or less pace. It was a little hot, but I just kept going. I briefly thought about a 90 minute gel, but then I was close to the finish and forgot about it. A man with a "God loves you" shirt was running around me at this time. Some people on the sidelines saw my bib and cheered, "Choose Joy." I thought. I prayed. I celebrated.

I had read in reviews of this race that the course was a little short. It seemed this way coming in, so I ran hard to the finish. I pointed my finger up because I wanted to thank God for this race (thought it probably looked more like number one). I thought I might run past the finish, but instead paused my watch to get my medal and glass. I pawned them off on my husband so I could run the little bit more to get 13.1. I wanted to get 13.7 for my 37th birthday. My official race time was 1:42:34. According to my 13.1 run, my time was 1:43:47. In either case, it was a new personal record!

Takeaways:

The finish festival was Epic. They gave us recovery drinks at the finish line, but then almost every vendor had more drinks, from La Colombe coffee, to Yerba Mate energy drinks, to other beverages. They also gave out noodles. (My husband ate these, as they did not appeal to me.) All in all, I would say I got a haul. Along with the tech zip up and free photos, I think this race was way worth it!

We had booked at 10:45 am Uber back to our hotel. Since I finished the race at 10 am, that left us waiting a while, or so we thought. In another blessing from God, the Uber driver came around 10:30, so after all the race goodie collecting, we did not have to wait long!

I felt the burn in my legs as we had to climb six flights of stairs back to our room. When I saw the cleaning ladies hauling linens up and down, though, God convicted me that I needed to stop complaining. I did NOT have things that bad. I chose to run and hurt. They were jsut trying to work!

We headed out of Oakland pretty quickly after I showered and cleaned up, as we had other adventure plans. My neck and shoulders hurt, but other than that, I found the soreness minimal. I felt a little tired, but not exhausted, and I definitely rode the race high for most of the day. As my mom said about my race photos, "You look so happy," and I was/am. This race was truly a gift from God and a great way to celebrate my birthday!

What's next? Well, I am registered to run a half marathon for charity in October. (If you would like to donate, you can do so here.) I would like to go sub 1:45 again, but we will see. Maybe if the Lord allows me to keep running I can eventually run a full marathon at this pace and qualify for Boston? That seemed impossible years ago, but now, maybe! Whatever the case, I give God the glory and thanks for running and whatever experiences I get to have, because as Tara-Leigh Cobble says, "He's where the joy is."

37.

Maybe, just maybe I lived up to my birthday goal from last year, "Just Live." (It probably helped that I really simplified the language of my goal. That gives me less satisfaction in achieving it, but increases the likelihood that I would.) I say that "maybe" I lived up to my goal because we did some big things this past year. We took an anniversary trip. I went on a girls' weekend. I cut my work hours back for a little bit to try to breathe in some more air (and because my husband asked me to do so). I ran a marathon. The year was hard. The year was good. I am thankful.

As I ponder this next year, I realize that my goal is in the same vein as was my goal last year. I want to prioritize. I want to celebrate. I want to, with the Lord's help, try to do things now rather than waiting until later. I want to reclaim my life.

My mom gave me the advice that we should not delay things until the perfect time, or until we are flush with cash, because then we will never get to do them. In that vein, we took a trip for my birthday. We also scheduled another trip later this month. I registered ahead for some big races in the future. Were these things risky? Yes. Were they wise? Maybe. Maybe not. I just know that if I don't make choices about my life, the circumstances of my life will control me, rather than I, them.

I have continued counseling this year. Although I would rather not incur that expense and spend that time, I think it is useful. It helps me metabolize the things I experience. It gives me time to reflect on my priorities and what I am doing in my life. For now, I continue.

Running has taken a bigger place in my life these past twelve months, and perhaps, for a season, it will continue to do so. I find joy and freedom in running. I find accomplishment and fun and pleasure. Will it always be this way? No, probably not. But for now, I want to celebrate the good gift from God that running is.

I continue to grow and flex with my job. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to some extent, to set my own schedule. I need to take advantage of that gift. I also want to be faithful with new opportunities as they present themselves.

In the midst of reclaiming, though, I want to learn and practice contentment. May the Lord help me with that. This life has plenty of struggles, but as I tell others, God has given us two hands. I can feel joy and grief at the same time. As I seek to reclaim this beautiful life that God has given me, may I remember to make room for both.

Eats and Empties (Week 18)

The Eats:

S'mores crispy treats (Featherstone Nutrition)

Strawberries and cream rice krispie treats (Fit Foodie Finds)

Sweet potato hash (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Vegan sourdough snickerdoodle banana bread (Nuts About Greens)

The Empties:

Cinnamon sugar
Clementines
Cottage cheese
Frozen easy stovetop mac and cheese with jumbo shells (Great Value box recipe)
Two pounds of marshmallows
Half gallon of milk

Pumpkin spice hot chocolate mix

Ground turkey
Freeze dried strawberries
Sourdough discard
Sweet potatoes

What went to waste:  

Nothing that I know of yet!