Against the Wind…

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I made up my mind yesterday that I was going to run outside. That is a huge deal in case you did not know. I have been on the treadmill for a while, staying safely inside where I won’t have to hobble home, or look like a complete loser next to the uber-athletes who run at Piedmont Park. But yesterday I set the active-oval in my sights. The active-oval is the .62 mile gravel track that circles the playing fields at Piedmont Park. I did the math and figured I needed to go around the thing 5 times to do a 5k.

“Wow!”, I thought. 5 times. I can do that. Maybe. It was cooler outside so maybe I would be ok. “God wouldn’t put anthing before me that I couldn’t do right?”, but maybe this was the same thought that assured so many who tired to climb Mount Everest and had their quest ending with them becoming popsicles that still adorn the mountain. I thought the best and the worst all along knowing that either way I was going to try. So I got home, changed clothes, and headed to the park.

I have walked the oval before but that was only walking. This time I had to run. I had to get my body used to the outside. If I could do 2.3 miles on the treadmill then I needed to reach that and surpass it outside. So I began to jog. And jog. It was way different than being inside. No air conditioning or four tvs in front of me. “

Why does my knee hurt? That’s new”, I thought to myself. I told myself that there was no way I was going to stop. If couldn’t do one lap I was a sad puppy.

I finished one lap and succomed to my aches and took to a fast walk. Why was I out of breath.?

Lap three was a fast walk as well. Half-way through lap four I knew I had to jog so I took to it again. Setting up little goals along the way.

“I will make it to that lamp post. I will make it to that bench. I will make it to that waterfountain.” My little goals helped take me into lap five jogging. I walked again briefly for water and to catch my breath. My knee eventually stopped aching and I finished the fith lap running down the homestretch.

By my calculations I ran a little over a mile. Which technically sucks. But technically it is a start. I walked home triumphant telling myself, “I’m going to make that oval my bitch!”

I am taking a quick vacation this weekend to San Diego. The second thing to get tossed into my suitcase this morning was my sneakers and running gear. I want to make new small goals on the westcoast.

Set goal, reach it, set another one.

How do you finish a 5k? One step at a time.

Happiness Is….

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Checking another thing off of our wedding to-do list. Woo hoo!!

Last week I asked and received a great big “Yes” from a co-worker/bud to be our officiant at our wedding. I have worked with him for one year now and he is just the type of spirit I want to join Joe and I in Holy matrimony! He is a graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory and runs our Interfaith Disability Connection program here at BDI. Joe plans on paying him $20 to keep in the “honor and obey” line.

In other wedding news we met with Affairs to Remember for our catering. The rep there, Dana, was so nice and has been in the business a while. I am awaiting her quote and hoping it stays in our budget. Talking shop with her I learned that our next big choice will be the photographer! I have been hunting sites looking for someone who matches our style and wallets. I have found a really nice one who I will not mention as I fear it will jinx me. There prices appear to be up my alley but we shall see. Once one is decided on I will be sure to post it for all to see their website/work.

I also spoke with my wedding coordinator/friend Joy. I will be buying her many dinners and cocktails as we discuss the look and feel we are hoping to create. She is a queen of style, planning, hosting, and last but not least, getting what she wants. I have worked with Joy on many sporting events and she dosen’t miss a beat and is fun to work with. She puts flowers and votive candles in port-a-johnnies, so you know she likes for everything to be perfect! While at dinner with her and a couple that were married a few years ago the former bride asked if I had a wedding coordinator and when I sad no she reccommended Joy. Apparently she had shown up to their wedding as a guest but quickly became the directress. To put it bluntly the girl sees how things should go and enjoys making them just so…even if it means running a wedding you flew to Mexico for. That’s what friends are for.! And she makes me feel not so bad about my cleaning compulsion that has me in the kitchen at all of Alicia’s party’s putting dishes in the washer before the party is done.

What Did I Tell You…..

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I hate to say I told you so but a few blog entries ago I mentioned how thin the girls were who were on the new version of 90210. Way too skinny for my liking. Unfortunately it would appear that they have become even thinner.

Why do we champion the binge-and-purge set??? In this era of organic and pesticide free foods why are these women pressured not to put clean fuel in their bodies but to not eat at all? Nicole Richie, Kiersten Dunst, Kate Moss are not cute. They have the bodies of 10 year old girls, (actually I think I was beefier than them at that age.)

I would love to see how many calories they consume in a day and if their diets are balanced. And please don’t say they work out. Women who work out and live HEALTY lives with HEALTHY diets do not look like that. They look like Claire Danes walking down the street. See her? That is healthy. That is a great body. See how she has thighs?? Yeah, we as women are supposed to have those.

As I train for my 5K I see images of these kinds of bodies in magazines for running and pilates and it confirms my positive body image. The body that comes from working out on a regular basis, eating many small meals during the day and getting in some chocolate cake now and then. Even before my training began women like America Ferrara, Lela Ali, Mandy Moore, Eva Mendez always looked normal to me. Like the dolls I had as a child that with dark hair, eyes, and skin I like celebrities who look like me. That me is healthy and happy, not starving and angry.

Does anyone have a ham sandwich? I know some girls who need it.