Rock 'n' Roll Pro-shots

These are just a smattering of my favorite shots by the professional photographers from the half marathon two weeks ago. What an exhilarating feeling! After looking at every single photo, and watching the finish line video multiple times, I also have learned that I strike my left heel too much while my right foot lands pretty beautifully mid- to forefoot every single time. Guess who's going to work on fixing that by going to a more minimal stance (i.e. Newton running shoes and Vibram FiveFingers....basically: barefoot). Heck, I'm not a big shoe person, anyway :)

About mile 3, right before the old Union Station. I thought this was a fun shot since we were in the same step, same stride, and both looking at the camera. She pulled away shortly after and finished 19-minutes ahead of me.

Deep in concentration, probably singing, around mile 9 or 10. Two steps later and I realized I was inches from running the photographer over! Whoops...quick sidestep and all was saved.

Photographer JUST missed my hands up, but it's still a good shot

Stopping my watch at the finish line

Rockin 'n' Rollin Denver....

As much as I absolutely love watching the sun come up and the world come to life, I desperately hate dragging my lazy butt out of bed in the morning. This is especially true when the seasons turn and it's cold. I made the exception this morning, however, to have an adventure through the the streets of Denver, Colorado.

My day started when my alarm went off at 4:45 am and I stumbled out of my very comfortable bed at my cousin's house in Highlands Ranch. If ever there was a time I was grateful to not have to wear make-up or make a big ta-da about getting ready to go somewhere, this was it! My body was protesting and the bed was calling. Frankly, I was amazed because I slept great and felt no anxiety when I thought I would. I pushed forward, layered my clothing, made sure I had everything packed up, stuffed my hair in a ball cap and braided my pony tail before heading out to my car. Thank goodness the train station was minutes away and I didn't have to worry about driving this early!

Imagine my surprise when I arrived to a full parking lot, had to wait in line to buy my ticket, and piled into the train with close to 100 people heading to the same destination as mine. It was at that moment I knew the decision to ride the light rail was an excellent plan for the morning. It was easy to settle in for the 30'ish-minute ride into downtown Denver, giving me a chance to munch a granola bar and hydrate just a little bit. I watched as more people filled the train and figure the final count was probably close to 300 people leaving the train and walking the nearly 1/2 mile to the Civic Center Park. Really, this was a wonderful way to keep a bit of the 38-degree chill of an autumn morning in Colorado!

I arrived to the park and still looked around in amazement at the amount of people who had already shown up for our early morning excursion. I figured I'd make a pit stop (which required standing in line for about 15-minutes), find the gear check area to drop my gear bag and shed my warm clothing, make one more pit stop, and head for my corral area. Turns out that was wise because I only had about 5-minutes before I went from shivering to stretching my legs on the pavement from the moment I dropped my gear bag!

I don't know if you've ever seen 16,000 people cheerfully facing the daunting task of running 13.1 or 26.2 miles on a chilly morning before the sun has risen, but it is definitely a sight to behold! I was a little wary of ever being able to settle into a decent stride, but the fabulous race and planning crews in events this large, the wave start worked like a dream. From the moment I crossed the start line I was able to catch my stride and set to work attempting to achieve a bit of an insane goal.

The run down 14th Street was really inspiring since there was a throng of spectators braving the cold to cheer us on. Even shop owners stepped out to lend their support! This went on for about 2-miles. By mile 3, the streets were nearly deserted. I managed to wind my way through a lot of people who were already struggling while actually enjoying the historical architecture. I was actually given chills as we ran past Union Station since I had just learned its history a few days prior. I had no idea we were so close to it! Once we rounded the corner onto 17th Street, the masses of spectators were back. So was the first real test of the course.

We were about 4-miles into the course by this point and the road turned into a short, but steep hill. I am so thankful I live in Pueblo West and have been training on the hills in my community for so many months! This hill was a piece of cake for me, to the point I increased my pace! There were a few of us who were able to do this, but the majority were dropping like flies. Some had to step off the course and catch their breath, others walked slowly. It truly showed who had prepared, and who was doing too much too soon.

The top of the hill came quickly and we wound our way into the park that houses the Denver Zoo. As I neared the 6.2-mile mark (10k), I realized I was just shy of the half-way point. It went by so fast! I cruised through the next couple of miles, increasing my pace and stride length all the way. Then I hit mile 9.

This was the most difficult part of the race for me. It was also around this time I realized I could no longer feel my butt....literally....and the ball of my right foot felt like I was stepping on a large rock with every step. I immediately thought "oh boy, this is going to make thing tougher and I'm going to pay for it," but I pushed on. While I still could not feel my butt by mile 10, I did get relief in my foot and gained an extra bit of strength that still surprises me. I knew I only had 3.1 miles left and increased my stride and pace again. By the time I reached 11.5 miles, I was completely comfortable again because my butt regained feeling. I've never experienced that before! It was quite strange.

Mile 12 was the point where the marathoners split from the half marathoners. It was such an organized thing that I was impressed for the umpteenth time. I also knew I was just over 1 mile from my finish line, that I was done with any and all slight (and I mean VERY slight) uphill sections. In fact, this part of the course gave us a very slight downhill, so I took full advantage. I opened up and decided to start my "fast finish" from here rather than the last 1/2 mile. The course also gave us about 1/4 mile of a steep downhill, so that gave me even more opportunity.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I ran my first half marathon today! I have trained hard over the past few months in an effort to just complete all of those miles. I was eventually challenged to enter the Pikes Peak Ascent next summer, so I changed my goal to running this race in 2 hours 30 minutes (the qualifying time to enter the Ascent). I crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 55-minutes, and 30-seconds, absolutely smashing my goal! It was a total feeling of euphoria!

I am now sitting here with sore muscles, a very tired body, and a really cool finisher's medal. I'm riding a high that is rivaled only by the birth of my beautiful son, but I also know getting out of bed tomorrow morning....AFTER the sun comes up.....is going to be a wee bit painful. But I figure if I can climb the steps to the Capitol building and climb on top of a pillar to take a fun picture after my race while my legs are screaming at me to just sit and rest, followed by walking those few miles back to Union Station (where I decided to catch the train back to my car so I wouldn't have to walk any further), then I can climb out of bed and head to school.....

Hockey Mom!

Yes, yes, it is true: I am now officially a Hockey Mom! In all honesty, when the glimmer of kids came up in our lives, I never once imagined that the term "hockey parents" would ever enter the picture. It's just now something that we've ever been big into. Baseball, swimming, football, even soccer was more along the expectation line!

Fast forward a number of years and get to know my amazing, stubborn, and dead-set 4-year-old son and you can now find us picking out equipment to protect said child from cracking all of his bones on the ice.

Last spring, after Luke started to learn how to skate, we were invited to watch a youth hockey tournament. It was the BEST hockey game ever! The most adorable kids, the most enthusiastic parents, and just a ton of fun all around. It's hard to believe that we'll be cheering our youngster with those others, but we are extremely excited about it.

Now, if anyone can give suggestions on how to keep Luke from having his stick attached to him at all times, especially in bed, that would be great......

Not so long ago...

There are times in your life when you put aside the writing you so enjoy producing because you're actually tired of writing! Such has been the case for me since my degree program has me writing many, many academic papers. Just this past summer I wrote over 150-pages, for one class...in just 8-weeks! I have been burned out. It was not so long ago that I undertook this blog as a way to express the crazy things that run through my mind, as well as the insane things we do as a family. I vowed I would never let this activity go the wayside. I guess I shouldn't vow things like that to myself any longer.

Through it all, however, I have had some fantastic fun with my small family. Luke and I spent way too much time with the ponies, but we got a wonderful horse show out of it. We have watched Luke grow from a timid little one on the ice to a capable ice skater who is now ready to start playing hockey. He also finally got to participate in tee-ball, got in on some hiking, decided he needed to ditch the training wheels on his bike, started pre-k, and gave us the scare of our lives when he contracted bacterial pneumonia in February. He's such a little pistol, and he refuses to do anything but go 8-bazillion MPH all day, everyday!

There have also been a lot of logged miles. Yes, I have taken my joy of running up a notch. I managed to place 5th in my division, 80th overall (out of 300) in the 4th of July 5k here in Pueblo West (after climbing my one 14er of the year the day before), but I wasn't quite satisfied. August 29th I crossed the line in the 4th position, 1st female, and the winner of the prediction for a 10k trail race at Pueblo Reservoir's South shore (Arkansas Point). I was 43 seconds off of my predicted time, which may as well have been the exact time it was so close. They'd never seen that before! Two weeks ago I added to that with a 3rd place division finish, and 15th overall finish (out of 95) on a 4-mile race over the paved bike trails in Pueblo West. That one earned me a medal! But here's the big thing: I will be competing in my first half-marathon in two weeks! No, I won't be in the top runners, but that's not really the point.

Jeff has really stepped up the mountain biking. He has tackled so many trails along the front range, and a couple of easier ones in Utah (since I'm not the technical rider he is) this summer that he is now ready to race. He has crashed, drawn blood, scratched the daylights out of and broken a brake on his bike, replaced a helmet, and endured my endless giggling over stories and videos of crashes and cactus (not him, but it's a really great story and video of a friend!). He's really becoming a beautiful and fast MTB rider, I'm very proud of him.

There were camping trips, and we are back to strictly tent camping. I can't say I'm brokenhearted; I am a traditionalist on a lot of things, after all! But I don't recommend the way we got back to the primitive style. As we were preparing to head out for a weekend trip with Jeff's parents, our trailer decided it no longer wanted any part of it. The fridge started a nice fire, we spent 3 extinguishers and some water from the hose to put it out, and the insurance company totaled the whole thing. The good news is that it didn't engulf the trailer, and it happened here at home before we had it hooked up to the truck instead of while we were on the road or asleep.

In the meantime, I am hard to work at my degree again. I am ready to be done with school, but I have a long, long way to go. More papers, more silly classes to fill requirements I couldn't give a hoot about, and more opportunities to learn about the past that thrills my senses. It's time consuming, but it will be worth it in the long run....

Pony Daze...

I realized it's been quite a while since I have shared pictures of my beautiful boy on here. Defunct mom, that's for sure! He's going to be a man before I know it, and I'm constantly amazed at the changes he experiences every day.

One of the gifts he received for Christmas was a set of brushes, complete with hoof pick. He has been very anxious to use them, we just haven't had a whole lot of chance. Last Tuesday finally afforded decent enough weather, time on our part, and opportunity for our friends to have company. We've all been busy!

I love that I could barely get Luke out of his seat quick enough for him to greet his fuzzy buddies! As soon as his feet hit the dirt he took off running to pet noses and say hi to Jack, Penny, and Polly. They were all lined up at their gate waiting to greet their favorite small person, too. I had the camera, but I was unable to grab a shot of this since I also had my arms full with Luke's saddle, bridle, helmet, brushes, and jacket that he so conveniently forgot to grab. I will readily admit that I'll be happy to see the day Luke carries his own tack...I have plenty of my own to worry about!

I grabbed a halter and pulled Jack out. Luke immediately grabbed his brushes and set to work getting his buddy ready for a ride. Well, as ready as Luke could get him since he can't reach his back or do his feet without help, but it's still a big accomplishment. He did a great job, too! I then threw his tack on, helped Luke get his helmet on, and walked the pony to the mounting block. Luke was already waiting for us and I could only stand in amazement as he stretched his foot up, put it in the stirrup, grabbed the pommel & cantle and hoisted himself right up! He then proceeded to top that perfect mounting off with an immediate sliding of his right foot into the other iron, getting himself square, picked up his reins and said "walk, Jack" while he appropriately squeezed his legs closed. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Wasn't it just yesterday that he needed me to lift him into the seat and put his feet in the irons? Didn't I have to hand him the reins and make sure he was ready?

We did wander around a bit and had a good walk. Luke showed me how well he does his "up-downs", what a good leg he has, spontaneously reached to pet & praise his pony on his own, and demonstrated that he is actually prepared to begin walk-trot lessons. It's a bittersweet thing for me because my baby boy, my little leadline rider is ready to progress. I've wanted this for him, but I'll miss our own little lessons and fun at shows while in the ring together. Not only that, I need to learn to keep my emotions and stomach in check while he learns to tackle riding by himself. Oh my...

I did manage to snap two pictures before Luke dismounted...again, he did this all by himself. A friend told me he looks like he was falling asleep, but he was griping that I had the camera out again. He gets tired of me taking his picture all the time. But I'll always remember that even HE laughed when he saw them!

Every single day my child correctly uses a new big word in a sentence, and he does something that is probably beyond his years. Every single day I thank God for allowing me another 24-hours with him and marvel at how he is growing up. But I have to think that every single time I see him in the saddle I will only see my little child on a large grey pony....

Natural Disasters Equal Natural Tears...

There is just no other way to say it: I am a complete emotional mess. I hide it well, but then I sit here after everyone else has gone to bed and I cry. I admit that it is not one of those things I just sit and do on regular occasion, but when something hits me in the heart I let go and cry. The only thing that keeps me from being completely buried in embarrassment is the fact that I know I am not alone.

I know everyone is aware of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked the tiny third-world country of Haiti barely 10-days ago. That's no longer news. But it is haunting me. I am struggling with the fact there are so many children who have lost everything, including their entire families. I am wishing I were among the people who have volunteered and deployed to help the Haitian people, whether on their own, through an organization, or with the military. And I am praying. Fervently. It's all been emotionally draining.

Yet the good thing is that I know who I am and that I'm not the cold-hearted person I sometimes am accused of being. When it becomes your nature to hide emotion and a lot of personality from those who aren't family or the closest of friends you begin to hear all sorts of interesting impressions and accusations. Sometimes it makes me laugh, this time it made me bawl my eyes out...

New Year, New Semester, New Life....

January ushered in more than just a new year, it brought the start of another semester of school for me. I am still a part-time student, it's what's working for me, but I have upped things to 3/4 time: 9 semester credits. Yes, I am well aware that that fact is less than exciting, but it is what seems to work for our family. Right now those classes are still history classes, but they do involve a lot of work. Especially this semester! Four research papers, one speech, and plenty of time making sure I don't completely blow tests that are all essay questions. I see many late nights in my future! But it IS all worth it!

January also brought about some new things for the family. I have been on a mission to clean out the accumulated stuff in our house. Things such as coats, clothes, toys, and just...stuff! I am pleased, yet also very humiliated to share that we donated 9 trash bags of adult clothing and coats (seriously, 3 of those bags were JUST the coats Jeff & I had accumulated!) to the shelter at the Salvation Army. But other than that, I have finally nearly completed the cleaning out of the basement. Goodwill has gotten to know me a wee bit too well! Luke has been fantastic with this. It's tough for a 3-year old to understand having so much and sharing with those who don't, but he's thrown a few things in the donation boxes.

But I think the biggest new thing actually revolves around yours truly. It's probably not any kind of a secret that I have been looking and applying to return to full-time work, but it is a bit of a surprise when people find out where. I have been turned down by some, had the FBI position cancelled (but they're retaining my resume, so that's VERY good!), and am still waiting to hear on a few others, but they are all Federal positions of the intelligence kind. Right up my ally, and definitely where I am trained. The door that has been opened, however, is the one that finds me back in uniform.

I cannot even begin to express my excitement over that fact! It is truly amazing how one can feel they've left their job unfinished but then be given another chance at fulfilling the mission. Even better is the fact I'll actually be with the planes this time instead of only sitting inside a SCIF freezing my butt off! Yes, being an Air Force Reservist is a part-time job, but it's also still 24/7. The door opened with the opportunity of becoming what is known as an Air Reserve Technician, the same full-time position my dad held for so many years (just in a different shop, of course!). Until my SCI clearance is upgraded again (which tends to take months....always) I will be doing structural inspections on the C-130, including X-rays. VERY cool, and I'm trained in the art of taking, developing, and reading X-rays! But I do hope I'll get the chance to crawl inside an intake for an inspection. I always feared it when my dad had to do something similar in the F-16, so it's sort of facing that fear, but it's also just kind of fun to say "I was the smallest person, so they sent me in." How many people can say they've hung out inside an aircraft engine's intake?

(Not part of the 302nd, but a great demo of intake inspection)

Needless to say, Luke is a little excited about this, as well. He keeps telling me I can't be an "Air Force Man" because HE is the one who is, but he's thrilled to get to know the airplanes. This child takes after his mom, uncle, and sometimes Grampa in that he hears a plane (or helicopter) fly anywhere near the house and shoots out the door to take a look, and he's expressed that he wants to fly later in life. I can't wait to get him familiar with these Herculean birds!

(one of my unit's birds dropping water on a wildfire)

If you have read this far, I thank you! I know it's a bunch of rambling drivel, but it's also the quick catch-up. I hope January has been half as exciting for the rest of you!