miiiiiiiiiiiileage

okay, so i biked today, ~11 miles. that's about the same as 3 2/3 miles running. yay.

mileage

well, seeing as how i fell asleep about twenty minutes after getting home from school, i decided to skip the gym. instead, i went for a little jog with toby. he's not in tip top shape for runs, so we just did ~1 mile. yeehaw.



i'm still sleepy.

i am eating chicken as i post these.

<-- defense warm-up















<-- pre-game practice shots, not like they helped


















<-- aforementioned "den of the dark side"






:)

at the navy-marine corps memorial stadium,

UMBC lost to DE in the men's lax quarterfinals. truth be told, the offense wasn't all there, and the defense lost steam by the middle of the third quarter. you can't make your defense do all the work and still expect to win, especially if you're not making shots of your own. granted, there were some terrible calls on the field, but that might have only given DE one gift goal, if any at all. but i still had fun. went down with steve and kristie (thank you, steve for driving!) and had the requisite stadium pretzel. makes my day. and just for my own satisfaction, i'm going to have chicken for dinner tonight.

stupid blue hens.


btw... don't tell my dad, but i got a thrill from being in the den of the dark side. i kind of miss it!

;)

:)

today was a good day.

1) i cleaned the kitchen. like seriously cleaned. comet with bleach and everything. didn't clean anything else, but my kitchen is hella clean.

2) i got a job. yeah, i already teach, but lord knows that a teacher's salary is NOT the most awesome. so, i'll be tutoring part-time two miles away from my home. so super convenient, easy for me (who knew that the prior experience from hell would pay off!), and good for my wallet.

3) i bought toby a tire. yes. a real tire. it's mountain bike-esque, but about eight to ten inches in diameter. it's great because i can stuff it with treats, and he can chew it, roll it around, etc. he loves it.

4) i have more goals. more sado-masochistic goals. granted, these are far-flung aspirations, but there's nothing like hoping. i hope to run two marathons (or halves, depending on my physical state), and the most exciting parts are the locations. the first is the Valley of Fire Marathon in Las Vegas, NV. it's in a national park out west, so just imagine that. that's in november. the second (AND THIS IS SO COOL!!!) is the Great Wall Marathon. i mean, holy shit! it's in may and is about 80 miles west (i think) of beijing, and there are marathon tour packages as cheap as $1,070. can you believe that?! man... if i can somehow squirrel away about $2000, then i could probably DO BOTH MARATHONS (or halves, as the case may be.)!!!!

care to donate to the cause?

:)

shock o' the mornin to ya!

okay, so this is wild. yes, i've been working out four times a week on average, and i've tried to keep an eye on my food. but i haven't gone psycho-obsessive about a healthful lifestyle, and i certainly didn't expect this. i got "reassessed" at the gym today, and this is the deal. on december 30th, i was at 141 lbs and had 29% body fat. NOW, now now now now, i'm at... drumroll, please...

127 lbs and 16% body fat!

WOOHA!!!

i'm not trying to be a size 2 or anything, but i am really excited about all of this. i haven't seen <130 lbs since my freshman year in high school! and, i should be able to kick my metabolism into high gear with that percentage, perfect for being in shape for the triathlon. wow. i can't believe this. this is crazy.

when an ice bath and texas toast can save the world

i pushed it really hard at the gym today. i did a medium-level 30 minutes on the bike, and then i threw in a hill interval workout on the treadmill, also for 30 minutes. following that, i stretched for yet another 30 minutes*, and i finished out with the Adam's ladder. for those who don't know, the Adam's ladder is as follows:

10 push-ups, 25 russian twists.
9 push-ups, 50 crunches (any style).
20 back hyperextensions using the half bouncy ball (what do you call those things?).
8 push-ups, 25 russian twists...
and so on and so forth until i do 1 last push-up with more crunches and the hyperextensions.

*anyway, i stretched for 30 minutes because i need to watch how far i push my hamstrings. i haven't run more than 5k in a while, and even though i know i could pull of at least 8-10 miles, i'd probably end up with so many muscle injuries that i'd be down for at least three weeks. as a preventative measure, as soon after the workout as i could manage, i sat in ice cold water in my bathtub. i gritted my teeth and stayed in for about 10 minutes. this really reduces the swelling in the muscles, and now that i'm out of the tub and in my recliner, i feel so relaxed. i feel so good, and i'm really confident that my workouts are going to pay off. i'll be making the transition from cardio and lifting to doubles (combining components of the tri events).

all in all, today's workout was great, and the buttered texas toast was the perfect cap to a fantastic day. woo!

!!!!

i have a bike! i have a bike! i have a bike! i have a bike!!!!

did i mention that i have a bike? as it turns out, my old road bike that i thought had made it to the big trash heap in the sky was really in my parents' garage. go figure. all it needs is a new set of tires, a handlebar upgrade, and some general clean-up. obviously, that is sooooooo much cheaper than a brand new bike. it'll be going into the shop this week, and it should be ready by the time i go back up to PA for memorial day weekend.

so what does this mean? this means that i can actually afford to do the triathlon! i was really nervous for awhile there because tri equipment is quite expensive, and my funds just weren't at the level necessary for a good bike. now if i make tris a habit, i'll eventually invest in a quality machine, but for now, this is definitely providential.

checklist--i have:
1) brand new helmet
2) suit(s)
3) bike
4) shoes
5) places to swim/ride/run

checklist--i need:
1) cap
2) goggles

this is so awesome. i am so freakin excited, and now i can't wait to get into this.

oh... incidentally, i'm going to try to save some $$$ to do the valley of fire marathon in las vegas this coming november. yeehaw!

:D

happy mother's day! :)

to all the moms out there, i hope that you're having a beautiful day. i hope that those for whom you care are showing appreciation for who you are and the blessing that you are to them. yay!

this is a picture of my mother and me outside St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. there are so many things that i appreciate about mom, and i'm not sure how well i can enumerate them, but i will try to at least share of few things.

my mom is stronger than most people i know. she has lived through my trials as though they were her own and has done everything she possibly could to help me, even if it was just holding my hand. just watching my students go through horrible times is very rough for me, and i can only imagine what she feels when i have dark times. but, she handles it and manages to walk by my side every step of the way, no matter how tough it is to do so.

she also has a wonderfully contagious laugh. it's one of the neatest things to see--when she gets rolling, her laughter has a kind of sheer, unadulterated joy. the best part is that mom is astoundingly capable of passing that joy to others... it reminds me of my grandmother hixson, her mother, so i can only look forward to days when i might have that ability too.

last, my mom has taught me patience and grace. she works so hard for others and puts her needs to the side so often. she doesn't neglect herself though, and when she finally receives things that fill her spirit, she rejoices with gratitude. she knows the one thing that is the most profound longing in my life, and she helps me to maintain a meaningfully slow walk towards that. she knows that if and when it is made manifest, it will be... indescribably beautiful. mom imparts the patience that i need to wait for its own timing, and without that, i would be a mess. in a sense, she has helped me to listen and live around Psalm 40:1-3.

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."

incidentally, that comes from a bible my mom received almost 44 years ago. i think that's apt.

the Great 2007 Bay Bridge 10K...

that nobody ran. d'oh. yeah, casey and i both woke up at 4:30 to drive all the way from canton and owings mills, respectively, and after hanging around for 45 minutes, we found out that the race was cancelled. after i woke up at 4:30. and drove 50 miles. and used up 50 miles worth of gas. and woke up at 4:30. SUCKS!

however, casey and i made the best of it and still ran around the park a little bit, our faces against the 30+ mph winds. plus, the race directors gave everybody a bitchin amount of food since they couldn't really do much else with it. those guys were really cool--they understood that people didn't care as much about paying $30 for no race as they did for not being able to race at all. besides--we all got our really nice (REALLY NICE) gym bags, so it's not like the money was totally wasted.

as for the intangibles, i got some great pictures, which i'll get to in a second. for one, this is the first time i've ever really hung out with casey outside of school. we had so much fun, and she's really a great girl. yay! also, the park and the bay were so beautiful. i think my most worshipful moments are captured in solitude in nature. at this point in my life, it's not so much the four walls and some pews that do it for me. despite the nearly gale-force winds, the pre-dawn stillness was both filling and calming.

pictures!






the chesapeake, pre-dawn









chesapeake buoy











sunlight slips over the water










sunday morning, 6 may 2007













30+ mph winds--they really are holding me upright













bay bridge at oh my god'o'clock in the morning











like true runners, we braved the wee hours of the day to run, to take hold of the challenge, to better ourselves by pushing beyond the limits, to grab as much free food and beverages as possible when the race was cancelled and then go back to bed.






me and casey; albeit a little disappointed because of the lack of the 10K, we still had a great time. we're definitely coming back next year!

how toby cleanses my aura...

or how to brighten a mood after a rough day. i try to remember the following:

1. toby running and jumping because it's spring
2. hearing from old friends, across thousands of miles
3. the smell of freshly cut grass
4. gearing up for the end of the school year
5. tex mex burgers
6. my oh-so-very-comfortable fuzzy blanket