Tender Mercies

When my husband mentioned that he wanted to run the Army 10-Miler in Washington, DC a few months ago, my immediate thought was, "Well then I want to go with you." Truth be told, I didn't expect him to actually make the team or be healthy enough to run because just four months ago his knees were in pretty bad shape and he couldn't even run a mile without terrible pain. So I just let him do his thing and waited. Flash forward to the beginning of the semester. He tried out for KU's ROTC team and made it. So I bought a plane ticket for Adelai and me to join him on the East Coast in October.  With the CG of ROTC We've been focusing on the important things in our family, and spending $330 for a ticket for me to fly over and spend 48 hours in DC was worth the expense. I wanted Adelai to be there for her daddy when he participated in a big event, and I wanted my husband to know that I supported him. What I really wanted was for this to be a family end...

This morning I went running. First time in over a year.  Last night I called my mom because I needed someone to listen to me dump all of my emotions on. I've really been at a pretty low place recently and I was at the end of my rope. After feeling like I had no one to really talk to for a few days, I was so grateful that my mom was there to listen to me in a non-judgmental and loving manner.  During our discussion I told her how I didn't feel like myself nor was I comfortable in my own skin. I was craving to go running again, especially with Marshall. Right after I explained these feelings to her, she replied by telling me that she had been feeling for a month that I should start running again. I was shocked to here these words come from my own mother, but peace swept over my body.  I stopped running a year ago so that I could get my cycle back. That endeavor was successful, and I attribute a lot of the success to my not running. However, ever since the m...

On my last post, I mentioned that my husband was leaving me again... because the Army was calling him away on a two week field exercise where they are going to help control the wild fires in Alaska. Even though that is a pretty cool job to do, we had plans  together this weekend. Ugh. But seriously, that's enough. I decided I wasn't going to mope around, and I WASN'T going to stay inside all weekend. Not with it being so gorgeous outside. Last night I spent downtown at the First Friday Art Walk with another lovely Army wife, and we had a super time. Today I went to the lake! Earlier in the week, my friend Nicole invited us to go to Chena Lakes for a BBQ, an invitation I had to decline because of our Arctic Circle weekend getaway. Well, the moment I heard our plans were going to be canceled, I texted her back and "re-invited" myself. I hope she didn't mind.  After a relaxing morning of sleeping in and my yoga practice, I headed out to Chena Lakes at...

This picture makes me so happy. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I am make-up free, except for the Alaskan Mascara. Normal people sleep in on Saturdays. I'm not normal, and was up before 6 am this past Saturday.   There is something very peaceful about waking up before the rest of the world. The air is still and my mind is more clear. Marshall and I decided to wake up and go on a little 3 mile run in before Conference began at 8am. We got a little Vitamin D therapy, some endorphins going, and quality time together.  All before 7am.  I had not run outside since September because I am taking a break from running, but this felt good. We ran out along the ski trails in Creamer's Field, through the trees, and watched the sun rise. The quiet solitude was priceless.  Plus, I got my Alaska mascara fix. Be jealous.   It's all smiles after our run at 7am on Saturday Morning. Temp: 18 degrees F After our run, I did what I have wanted to do all winter...

Some people get their adrenaline rush by skydiving or driving really fast. I get mine from running in a marathon relay. Oh boy, was it fun! The morning was gorgeous, but cold: when I started running it was 24 degrees.  The Equinox Marathon has the traditional 26.2 mile marathon, a 40 mile ultramarathon for crazy awesome people, and a 3-person marathon relay for really awesome people.  Our third teammate made it in! Official time: 3:56.09 The Adventure Squad team consisted of: Jenessa: Mile 1 to mile 8.4..... 1:03:30 Marshall: Mile 8.4 to mile 17.1 (and a 1800' climb!)..... 1:26:26 Reta: Mile 17.1 to mile 26.2.... 1:26:12 Overall placement: 13th out of 117 teams Open Mixed Relay Placement: 4th! This race is NO JOKE!  I had been mentally preparing for this race for many weeks now, and I had been planning on enjoying the race experience, rather than worrying about time or placement. It is something I have been working on lately.  Well, toda...

I love running. My summer running schedule has really changed a lot from what I was planning on earlier this spring, due to a whole host of things including a knee injury in early May and lots of traveling to skating events. I felt a LOT better after the race!  Either way, I am pleased with my efforts to stay active and healthy, even if that means supplementing my running with swimming, strength training, walking, hiking, and biking (and actually, I highly recommend varying the training you do, so that you can work all your muscles and prevent injury and boredom). Marshall did awesome, and came in at 20:11 and second place overall! Saturday was Ft. Wainwright's annual Ice Cream Skedaddle 5K , where they feed you ice cream after you run. Not a bad deal, right? The other awesome thing is that it is free.  I wrote the date on our calendar right when I found out about it and I was really excited because I would actually ...

Its funny how many life lessons you can find while participating in athletics.  I had a realization today during my morning workout with Marshall as we were running through the birch forest behind our apartment: Pick your plan of action before beginning, then proceed as outlined. Let me explain. Before a run, it can be tempting to say, "I am just going to see where my run takes me." The danger with this sort of workout plan, or lack thereof, is that when you start to feel your muscles burn and your heart rate increase, it is tempting to turn around and run back home. We all know that improvement in any area, including fitness, doesn't come without hard work and sometimes pain, sweat, and tears.  Our backyard! This is one of the many trails in the birch & boreal forest behind our house that we love to run on.   Before we headed out this morning, I asked him what we were going to run.  After ...

Since Fairbanks winters are so long and cold, there is always so much going on in the summer. Hence the plethora of races here. Yesterday, there was a 5k on post that we decided to run in. The best part was that we were able to run it together--well, we didn't run together, but we got to participate together.  My goal was to break 20 minutes because my personal best had been 20:25. Unfortunately, my muscles were still very fatigued from last week's 10k and this week's training, so I finished in 21:47. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I did my best for the day! But lucky for me, my off day was on a race that only had 150 participants. So I ended up being the first girl to finish, and 7th overall. And I even received my first trophy, which I was secretly kinda excited about, because it fulfilled a childhood wish :)

I am enjoying the Fairbanks summer while I can!  It is definately about 70 degrees in this picture AND about 12am. Love it. After being in Fairbanks for a week or two, Marshall and I realized that it would be a good idea for me to work towards something. Like a race or something that would challenge me and help me feel good about myself. (But don't get the idea that I was depressed or anything, I just needed a concrete goal to focus on). I had heard about this 10k that was coming up, but I hadn't signed up for it because I was nervous about running a 10k. I love 5ks and I have done a half marathon, but I had yet to do the "in-between." Then my lovely sister told me she was doing a 10k on July 4th, so I was motivated to sign up. I enjoyed training for this race, though I didn't have much time. I run regularly, so it wasn't too hard to push a little harder. Marshall was a great support to me. He would either run or bike next to me, and would push me to d...