| These are the states I've visited . . .
And these are states in which I've been, i.e. through which I've driven
create your own visited states map
I have therefore decided that I must go north. I must visit Washington and Oregon, especially. And I should really see New York, I suppose. And it's kind of pathetic that I've never even been in Nebraska . . . Maybe I can pick races next season that will take me to new places!
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| Today I ran my longest run ever: 8 miles!
I have some gnarly blisters on my feet. I actually had to stop after mile 3 at a Walgreen's and buy band aids to cover them. I had to stop after mile 5 and mile 7 and tape new blisters as they formed. From now on, I'll always carry band aids on my long runs. I was unusually underprepared for this training run. All I brought was $5 and the key to my gym locker (I ran straight from work, because I was supposed to teach a boot camp class at 8:30, but no one came). I didn't bring gel or a water bottle or anything else that I probably needed. Well, definitely needed; I was out there for almost 2 hours.
The run wasn't as hard as I expected, though; I feel like 6 miles was the threshold distance for me, and after that, it's not really much harder. Miles 3 and 4 were an absolute joy. Mile 5 was where the mental work really got tough. And then miles 6 and 8 I ran mostly through the grass, because the sidewalk ran out. So mile 8 was absolute drudgery, and then I had about a quarter mile left to run back to the gym.
But it was fun! I want to be faster (today's pace was just under 12 min/mile), but I'm just happy that I got through 8 miles feeling so good, very strong and capable. And I'm actually excited to do my 10 mile run next weekend.
Also, I'm working at the Genesis rock wall, so besides having my first ever 40-hour work week, I'm getting in a lot of climbing. And I haven't really done serious climbing since March, so I'm excited for that. Even in the week that I've been working there, I can feel how much my strength has improved; I can already do harder moves than what I was working last Sunday. I love the feeling of my whole arm tensing as I pull myself up to the next hold. I think that my favorite part about being so physically fit is being in touch with my body. I can feel my muscles act on the levers of my bones when I climb stairs; I can feel my muscles cord and tense when I reach for something; I can feel my body working to balance me when I stand on one foot. It's a very powerful thing to be so in touch with how your body does things.
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| My keyboard is most fr4u7st5r4at5i8ngly6 br4o9ke3n, which makes typing pretty slow, so I'll make this update quick (promise I'll do a more thorough one soon, li8ke3 aft5e3r4 I* ge3t5 my6 ke3y6bo9ar4d fi8xe3dP).
I have, in the past three weeks, been to Camp Mennoscah for my 2nd year of counseling, visited Kaua'i to see Candiss, and been in L.A. twice. I had a blast.
And I have a lot to tell you!
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| Ratatouille is the best movie I've seen in a long time.
Anton Ego had me laughing my face off (much to the consternation of the small children in the audience).
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| Snake!!!Okay, Stephen opened the door to go talk to Amanda on the front porch. Then, out of nowhere, he jumped back and screamed (or yelled or hollered, or whatever is most masculine). There was a SNAKE hanging from our doorjamb. A snake. A freaking snake. It was hanging down into our front doorway. I have no idea how it got up there, or how it was just hanging. But it was really, really freaky.
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