Victories!

I returned home Sunday evening after a whirlwind week of conference, college reunion, and a fun little bout of food poisoning. I will write all about these events if/when I get caught up on all of my backlogged work and emails. I want to take a moment, though, to share two victories which happened this weekend:

1) I passed the NCE (National Counselor Exam)! This puts me one step closer to being licensed as a counselor, though I still have quite a bit of bureaucracy to swim through befor I get there.

2) Speaking of swimming, I did my first open water swim Sunday afternoon. I was terrifed, but it was actually- dare I say- fun. I am still anxious about what will happen when I swim in open water too deep to touch down, surrounded by other swimmers. Still, this swim did a lot to reduce my anxiety and I'm actually looking forward to the next one. 

Okay, back to work. I'll write more soon!

What did happen this weekend.

I promise I was happy, but the sun was in my eyes!

I think we all know by now what didn't happen this weekend, so I'll talk about what did happen:

1) I graduated! My mom and I attended a banquet for just the pastoral counseling department Friday night, and then the main Loyola graduation on Saturday. It was all very nice. The Loyola PC faculty really made a point of showing up to everything, meeting our families, and expressing their pride. It was much appreciated. My mom commented that "Everyone is so nice- but I guess you picked the right field for that." I couldn't have said it better!

2) My tri-training class revisited our first workout: a bike ride followed by a mile run. I still struggled, but I was much improved over the first time around. Kate, my boot camp instructor, was subbing for one of our other coaches this week, and she did me the enormous favor of making some adjustments to my bike. I had the bike fitted, but I apparently needed a second opinion, because Kate's changes made a HUGE difference. For weeks, I've been watching other people zip along on their bikes thinking "How are they doing that?" As soon as Kate adjusted the bike, I thought "Oh, that's how!"

I also knocked about a minute off my mile-run time. I was expecting an improvement, as I did our last mile-run just a few hours after a 10-mile race, but I was still (pleasantly) surprised by my time. The odd thing is that the last mile-run felt effortless and this one was a struggle from start to finish. I finally got a diagnosis for my mystery illness (see previous post)- a sinus infection. I've been taking antibiotics for a week, which has made things much better, but also moved everything that was trapped in my head and chest down into my throat and stomach. Thus, this week's run was all about nausea from start to finish. Kate was running next to me, giving me what I am sure was good advice, but I was too busy willing myself not to throw up to listen. I finally had to slow down a bit toward the end, which I hate doing, but not as much as I hate puking in public!

Now, I am off to a young adult ministry conference in NJ followed by my 10-year college reunion (woo-hoo!).* I am looking forward to both things, but I am actually sad about being away from the gym! Fortunately, I have worked time to run into my schedule and I am spening one night in a hotel with a gym and pool. So, hopefully I won't be too behind when I get back next week.

*Attention internet opportunists: my roommate will be home all week, so go rob someone else!*  

Running through fog.

Ever since I returned from Houston, I've been battling... something. I'm not sure if I have a cold or if I'm experiencing severe seasonal allergies. Today is day 8, and I have a doctor's appointment later to hopefully find out what's going on. The symptoms have varied from day to day and included just about everything: sore throat, headache, fatigue, congestion, coughing and sneezing.

This weekend, it was sneezing. I took several half-days from work last week and went to bed on Friday night feeling pretty lousy. This made me worried about my planned 10-miler with Katie on Saturday morning. Fortunately, the run went well. I felt okay Saturday morning, and I felt great once we got outside and got moving. We took a bit of a scenic route. First, we went from my house to a nearby park, where we stopped a few times to admire a turtle, the water and a sculpture garden. Then, we left the park and ran downtown, where we stopped to greet some friends who had just completed TriRock Annapolis. Finally, we took a meandering route home through my neighborhood of Eastport, stopping a few times so I could show Katie the local sights. With those few short breaks, 10 miles felt totally doable and both Katie and I ended the run feeling more confident about our upcoming half.

Saturday afternoon, I helped my mom shop for clothes to wear to my graduation this weekend. That may have been overkill. By early evening, the fatigue and the sneezing had started. I went to bed around 8pm, taking PM cold medicine so that I could stop sneezing and fall asleep.

Sunday morning, I awoke to a sneezing fit that lasted pretty much the whole day. It was miserable. I have suffered from seasonal allergies pretty much my whole life, but I recently found a combo of a prescription and a non-prescription medication that makes things a million times better. On Sunday, though, it felt like I hadn't taken anything. After going through an entire pack of tissues in church, I came home and took a Benedryl just to make it stop. Of course, this also knocked me out. Inconvenient, because I had my tri-training class at 4pm and we were scheduled to do speed work on an indoor track.

I woke up from my Benedryl nap at 3:30pm feeling groggy and slightly nauseous. The sensible plan would have been to stay home from the tri-training class. I resisted because (a) I paid for the class, and (b) we were running. After struggling through weeks of swim and bike workouts in which I am undoubtedly the worst student in the class, I was not about to miss the week focused on the one activity I can do. So, I headed to class in my Benedryl fog determined to just try my best.

When we had all assembled by the track, our coaches announced the workout. We were doing a warmup followed by a "pyramid" series of speed drills: 200 meters fast, 200 meters easy, 400 meters fast, 200 meters easy, 800 meters fast, 400 meters easy, 800 meters fast, 400 meters easy, 400 meters fast, 200 meters easy, 200 meters fast, 200 meters easy. That works out to 1.75 miles fast with 1 mile of recovery. When I first heard this plan, my stomach did a little backflip. Once I got going, though, I experienced the same sensation I experience when I run after biking: the thrill of doing something I know how to do. I actually enjoyed the whole drill and got faster by the end. It took a good 25 minutes for my stomach to settle afterward, but it was worth it.

Of course, I woke up yesterday feeling lousy again and today is no better. Becoming active has added many wonderful things to my life, but it seems to have taken away my ability to take it easy when needed. I should work on that. Perhaps while I am resting, I will write to Benedryl and suggest that they launch a Groggy 5K. Or, even better, a Benedryl vs. NyQuil Battle of the Sleepy!

Catching up.

I have been finished with school for 8 days now. People seem to think I should be relaxing, but this past week has actually been a little nuts. I put off a lot of people and things in order to get through my crazy month of April, and those people/things were all waiting for me in May. So, now I am slowly catching up.

As part of my catching up, here are some updates on the things this blog is usually about:

Running: Shockingly, I am now only 3 week away from the Virginia Wine Country Half-Marathon, which my friend Katie and I are running as part of my 32nd birthday celebration. Katie also just finished the Loyola PC program, and this race has snuck up on both of us. We have both been running semi-regularly the past few months, but we have definitely not been training. So, tomorrow morning, we're going to skip ahead to the 10-mile long run portion of half-marathon training and just see how it goes. Wish us luck.

In other running news, I am slowly adjusting to the idea of doing another marathon this fall. When I first got the news about NYC, I was fairly apprehensive. I just did not feel ready for MCM and I do not want to have that experience again. Over the past couple weeks, though, I have thought a lot about where I am now compared to where I was when I started my MCM training last year. I have worked hard on my running ever since MCM, and losing some weight has really made things easier. When I consider the progress I've made, I realize that I will be starting my NYC training in better shape than when I finished my MCM training. That is very encouraging.

Tri Training: Over the past few weeks, I have realized that training for three sports at once is as much a logistical challenge as a physical one. For awhile, I really focused on my swimming. Now, my swimming is way better, but I realized today that I have not been on my bike in 3 weeks. D'oh! I was always amazed by the physical strength of people who manage to complete Ironman events. Now, I am equally amazed at their organizational abilities. I really do not understand how someone completes an Ironman without becoming unemployed and/or divorced in the process.

Weight Watchers: Once again, I am a plateau. In the past four weeks, I have gained and lost the same 2.5 pounds twice. I blame the craziness of last month and my recent travel. This week, I am trying very hard to re-focus and get things moving again. One thing helping my motivation is that I find myself between sizes right now. Fortunately, I held on to some smaller pants and shorts from the first time I lost weight on WW. At the moment, the pants and shorts I wore for the past few years are all too big, but the smaller ones are still a little tight. So, every day I choose between looking frumpy and struggling to breathe. Lately, I've been wearing the smaller pants and hoping they will remind me to stay focused on my goal.

So, those are my updates. This weekend is my long run with Katie and another tri training class, so I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon!

Is there a card for this?

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived home from DJ'ing my friend Mindy's fabulous wedding to realize that I had reached a milestone of my own: the 1st anniversary of this blog! I posted my very first blog entry on May 10, 2010. This illustrious occasion clearly calls for some sentimental musings.

People have been telling me that I should write a blog pretty much since blogs began. I agreed, but two things held me back: (1) I didn't know what to write about, and (2) I didn't think I could keep it up. I have loved writing ever since I was a little kid, but I have always struggled with focus and direction. In my opinion, my two biggest successes as a writer prior to this blog were a column I wrote in my college newspaper and my sermons. The column and the sermons have two very important things in common: a clear topic/structure and a deadline. In neither case do I have to re-invent the wheel every time I sit down to write, and I can't just tweak them endlessly and never finish. In the past, whenever people told me I should write a blog, I worried that a blog was just too open-ended for me. The freedom of it was paralyzing.

If you had told me as recently as 18 months ago that the thing that would finally motivate me to start a blog would be running, I never would have believed you. Yet, I think the theme of my adult life has been "expect the unexpected," so this seems appropriate. Running the marathon as a fundraiser for Kelly gave me exactly what I always needed to write a blog: a clear focus and a good reason to keep my posts regular and timely. In the beginning, I wrote because it was part of my fundraising process and I found it way easier to share the details of my training than to just ask people for money point-blank.

Pretty soon, though, my motivation shifted. I truly enjoy writing this blog, and I find the response to it consistently amazing. Some of my friends might be surprised to hear it, but I am at heart a very shy person, and I'm always a little surprised when people notice me. Thus, even after a year, I am still caught short every time some random person from my life (an old college acquaintance, someone from the gym, a person from church, etc.) approaches me and says something about this blog. I am also deeply touched by how many people have emerged from every nook and cranny of my life to offer support and advice regarding my athletic endeavors. I can't tell you how many times I have drawn on that support in more difficult moments.

So, on this 1st blog-iversary, I say a heartfelt thank you to all of my readers. I look forward to sharing this next year's adventures with you!

Mothers, etc.

Mom and I.

First, the "etc.": As of yesterday at 9:30pm, I am FINISHED graduate school! I have been a grad student for seven years (three at YDS, followed by four at Loyola) and I barely remember what it was like not to be in school. So, I'm still wrapping my mind around this.

Pretty soon, I'll need to figure out my next move. Before I do that, though, I'm going to Houston for the weekend to DJ my friend Mindy's wedding. So, in honor of Mindy and Mother's Day, here is a reflection I gave at my church on Mother's Day 2008. Mindy makes an appearance, along with several other seminary friends. A few things have changed since I wrote this- mainly, some of my friends have become mothers- but our friendship remains the same and we still get together ever summer.  I can't wait to see Mindy and several of our other friends tomorrow. Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Reflection
St. Andrew's UMC, Edgwater, MD
2008

During my first semester at seminary, my friend Mindy asked me to participate in a Bible study she was organizing for some of the women in our class. I was reluctant at first, because of all my other commitments. But Mindy told me not to worry; she would keep it as simple and low-stress as possible. So, a group of about 10 of us started meeting. We got together every Sunday night and each of us took turns leading the group in discussions, guided meditations, art projects, and other activities. We finished every week by sharing joys and concerns and praying together. During that first semester, our little women’s group quickly went from something I was reluctant to join to one of the best parts of my week. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, because, despite 10 increasingly busy schedules, we wound up meeting for the entire three years we were at school together. All of us came from very different backgrounds, with different beliefs, different calls to ministry, and even different friends outside of the group. Yet, over time, we became the best kind of friends to each other. We truly love, support, and encourage each other even now.


Last spring, our group decided to go on a retreat to Vermont before we all graduated and went our separate ways. Somewhere in the middle of hiking, hymn-singing, and marshmallow-toasting, we made each other these little albums. They hold photos from the weekend and notes we wrote to encourage each other during any difficult times ahead. I’ve pulled mine off the shelf so many times over the past year that I finally just left it out on my coffee table. Whenever I look at these pictures and think about my wonderfully gifted friends, I feel hopeful for the future of the church and the world. I also draw strength from their notes, which remind me of my own gifts. My friend Tamara wrote about my “gift for welcoming others;” Julia said that she enjoys hearing my “good ideas about possibility in the world.” Jenny loves my “sense of humor and enthusiasm,” and Angela is “very eager to see where God leads” me.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Mindy. She wrote to tell us that she’s organizing another Vermont trip this summer, to give us all a chance to reconnect and swap stories from our year apart. I was particularly touched by this, because I know that Mindy’s had an extremely difficult year. It amazed me that she would choose to spend her very limited time putting together something for her friends. After that first email, other women from the group stepped up and volunteered some of their own time to the organizing effort. Now, we’re all looking forward to a trip in late July. As this trip came together, I thought once again about how lucky I am to have such devoted and caring friends. This reminded me of one of our Sunday night conversations.

One fall night, in celebration of All Saint’s Day, I led a discussion about the “saints” in each of our lives. I asked each woman in the group to come prepared to talk about someone who had influenced her in her journey toward ministry. Remarkably, every single one of us talked about our mother or grandmother. Mindy told us how her mom always surprises her by sending special packages whenever she’s going through a rough time. Ericka talked about how her grandmother and great-aunts remain energetic and upbeat despite being well into their 90’s. Erinn told us about how generous her mother is with her time and how involved she is at her church. Emily described her grandmother as her best friend and strongest influence. I talked about how my own mother and grandmother taught me to put God and other people before everything else.

Just as Paul writes in today’s text from Corinthians, my friends and I each bring different gifts to our ministries, but all of us give credit for those gifts to the influence of mothers. Psychologists often describe women as inherently relational creatures, and many of us learn about making and maintaining relationships from our mothers. My friends and I all have mothers and grandmothers who taught us that other people are important, and they deserve our love and attention. Even when they are busy- and when are they not busy?- our mothers take the time to connect with other people, listen to them, and offer their encouragement. I’m always amazed at how my mom seems to know everybody’s birthday or anniversary, and never forgets to send a card or a present. Whenever we go out together, I’m struck by the fact that my mom knows everyone- from the teller at the bank, to the receptionists at the doctor’s office, to the cashiers at the grocery store. She always greets people by name and asks them how they’re doing. And I can see on these people’s faces how much they appreciate even this little bit of personal attention. In a world where its getting easier and easier to remain anonymous, my mom reminds me of the simple power of human connection.

Our mothers and grandmothers also taught us to prioritize our relationship with God. They brought us to church every Sunday, whether or not we wanted to go, whether or not we had other commitments, and whether or not anyone else came along. And they were never content to sit silently in the pews. They took the time to teach Sunday School, cook church luncheons, and serve on all kinds of committees. In the process, they built relationships with other people in the church. I’ll never forget my grandmother’s funeral, which happened at the church she attended for over 60 years. The sanctuary was packed with people, and everyone seemed to have a story about my grandmother teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, or speaking her mind in some meeting or other. My grandmother never let anyone or anything stand in the way of her commitment to God and her church, and she built relationships that sustained both her and many other people over the years.

We can all benefit from these lessons and examples of mothers, even if we are not mothers ourselves. None of my seminary friends has a child of her own, but through our little group, we get a chance to mother each other. We remind each other that, no matter how busy we get, we need to take the time to relate to God and other people. Somehow, once we do that, everything else falls into place.

Finish strong.

Happy May Day! At my alma mater, Bryn Mawr, the first Sunday in May is just about the most fun day of the year. Everyone puts on white clothing and participates in an all-day celebration involving May poles, a May hole (the feminist answer to the patriarchal pole), mimosas, strawberries and cream, a concert, chants and cheers, and a ton of other antiquated good times.

For me, this May Day has a special significance: it marks the end of one of the busiest, craziest months of my life. To recap: Leading up to this weekend, I completed a presentation, a final paper, my licensure exam, a thesis, a portfolio, two races, three tri-training classes, a DJ gig, and a wedding/triathlon weekend. The final weekend of April lived up to the rest of the month, including a race, the annual Croquet celebration at St. John's, and tri-training class #4.

Yesterday morning, I completed the second annual Arbutus 5K Spring Fling, organized by my running buddy Val. This is a fun race because Val's family knows pretty much everyone in Arbutus and they all turn out for the race. It has a "big day in the neighborhood" feel similar to what I found last weekend in the Ridgway tri. It is also a hard  race, as there seem to be no flat roads anywhere in Arbutus. As you may recall, I beat my previous 5K PR back in March by a ridiculous 3 minutes. I did that by sticking with my faster friends Katie, Erin, and Amir. So, for this race, I wanted to see if I could match that time running on my own... and I did it! I finished in 27:25, just 6 seconds behind my time in the March race. It was tough, but I got a big boost toward the end when I caught up to another running buddy, Marie, whom I've never been able to catch in a race before. Marie and I were together through one of the toughest segments of the race and I think our brief conversation helped us both get to the finish line. The icing on the cake is that Marie won her age group and Val came in third in hers. Good job, ladies!

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the annual St. John's vs. Navy croquet match. This event is to St. John's what May Day is to Bryn Mawr. It usually happens on the same weekend and also features quirky clothes and antiquated fun. Its always a good chance to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. This year, I was joined by my friend Jen from Boot Camp and her lovely girlfriend Tracy.

Gym buddies!

 It was fun to actually relax with Jen, as I usually see her when I'm dripping with sweat and trying not to throw up!

Today, I welcomed May with tri training class #4. This was supposed to be a bike-to-swim workout, but lousy weather required a switch to all swimming. While the swimming is still tough for me, I'm happy to say that its SO MUCH easier than it was a few weeks ago. I am confident that, once school ends and I have a little more time to practice, I'll get to a point where I am no longer afraid of panicking or drowning in the actual event. That's a big relief.

So, now there's just one more week of craziness before I get a little break. This Thursday, I turn in the last of my grad school work and attend my last grad school classes (still wrapping my mind around that). Then, on Friday, I fly to Houston to DJ my friend Mindy's wedding. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends from my first round of grad school, who will be seeing me for the first time ever as a non-grad student. I love May!