First Day of Boot Camp

Yep...you read that right. MK is going to boot camp. Not like military boot camp, though. Exercise boot camp. It's called Best Body Bootcamp and tonight was my first workout. So far...I think this is going to be awesome! I mean, every ounce of my body hurts, except maybe my toes. But no pain, no gain right? I have to be honest though, I didn't complete the full interval training. I did half of it and thought I was going to fly off the back of the treadmill and since tomorrow is a running day, I decided to take it easy. But aside from that, I did the whole workout. My hip did start hurt a bit but I think it's because I haven't been doing as many squats or lunges as I did tonight. I think over time it will get better. Check it out...you may want to do it the next round...

Less than 6 weeks until my first half-marathon. I can't believe it's almost here. I'm not quite ready for it but am really going to buckle down with my training. Looking forward to seeing all my friends in Memphis again...especially at the finish line!! What a great way to finish my first race. Plus my dad will be there so that will be nice as well. Last week, I was in DC for work. It was a great opportunity and I got to hang out in the city again. Of course, you know I can't go to DC and not have an "incident". This time, it wasn't the bicycle that got the better of me. It was the layout of the city and the stupid rain. So Monday night I decided that I would go to Legal Seafood for dinner. My favorite seafood place. Anyway...I was staying in a part of town I'd not been in before but I figured I could find it anyway and would walk there. Yeah...I should learn by now. So I started walking and 10 minutes later, I was back at my hotel. Yep...walked around the block. Unintentionally of course. So I pulled out the GPS on my phone (what did we do before GPS on phones?) and followed the little blue arrow. Luckily...I was a good Girl Scout and had my umbrella with me because shortly thereafter...a downpour. 45 minutes after I started I made it to the restaurant. I decided to take the Metro back to my hotel. It was better that way. I also got to see my cousin, Sarah Lynn, I haven't seen in 15 years! It was fantastic. I got to meet her fiance who is a very nice guy. Then I got to see Jess (my Princess half marathon buddy) and her baby Gwyn who just turned 1 and I hadn't met her yet. What fun!!

The surprise of the weekend was that our hotel was hosting the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant which, contrary to my initial thought, was NOT a traditional pageant. It was a drag pageant which led us to have some great conversations and great people watching! It's been a long time since I've been around the drag circuit so it was so much fun to be around those people.

So this week, I'm off to Milwaukee for a few days and then my mommy arrives!! WOO HOO!!! So excited to see her! Plus my Halloween/House Warming party is Saturday so lots of stuff going on! Have a great week!!

The Joy of Being Sick

Yucky, yucky, yucky. The good news is it's not strep throat and it's getting better. The bad news is I hate being sick. I wasn't going to go to the doctor (because no one that works in healthcare is a good patient and goes to the doctor when they should) but while on travel this week, I was sort of "forced" into it. We were having a meeting about partnerships with Indian Health Service and Tribal clinics and we had our vendor for tele-health equipment doing a demo. For those of you who don't know what tele-health is, it's basically medical appointments done via video-conference. It's great for rural health because patients don't have to drive 3 hours one way for a 15 minute appointment. So...he was doing a demo and taking pictures of moles and such and I made a joke about having a sore throat so he could use the camera to look at my throat. So he hooks up the camera/tongue depressor and sticks it in my mouth and every clinician in the room at the same time said "Please go to the doctor" and other such phrases. So I went to the walk-in clinic and was told it's not strep. Just tonsilitis. And then I came home and slept for 17 hours. Guess I was tired too. But last weekend was lots of fun! One of my good friends from Memphis came to spend the long weekend and we headed north to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Had a FANTASTIC time! Just a few pics...it was GORGEOUS! The colors were amazing. And we learned all about copper mining. Of course, we were going to try to look at some camps I had found but of course, they didn't exist where they were supposed to exist. We had a great time though!

Also this past week...I experienced my first Native American sweat. It was AMAZING. It is hard to desribe why it is so powerful but it really is. It helped clear my psyche after all the drama that's been going on. I'm not fully over it but definitely not as upset as I was. I would really like to do another sweat sometime. It really was a cool experience. This week's lesson: This town really is small and you never know who you are going to meet.

Fall has fallen

You can tell by the corn mazes and all the pumpkins everywhere. Did I mention I LOVE FALL?! Especially here in the U.P with all the colors!

I don't often say this about pictures of me, but this is actually a great picture!

I'm focusing on the positive these days. Turns out, there are crappy people everywhere including small town U.P. But...I'm going to stay positive and enjoy what life has to offer. Here are my positive outlooks today... One of my good friends from Memphis is coming to visit this weekend. I can hardly wait!! It will be so fantastic to have her here! We are heading north (can you believe it's possible to go further north?) because apparently the colors up there are more breathtaking than the ones here. It should be spectacular. Positive outlook number two...I had a fabulous idea today and it's going to work out. I am in DC week after next for work and my friend Jess who I am running the Princess Half Marathon with lives 3 hours away. I have yet to see her baby (who will be one this month) so they and her sister-in-law (who is also so much fun!) are going to come to the city and we are spending the weekend in DC! WOO HOO!!! It will be such fun! I haven't seen Jess in at least 2 years. So no pouty face for me. I refuse to let the yucky people win!

You Know You're Getting Old...

...when you get up to run in the morning and you have to cut it short because the metal in your hip (yes you read that correctly) does not mesh well with the 30 degree temperature. Apparently I am going to have to start running at the gym on the treadmill. Funny how our preferences change over time. I used to prefer the treadmill but nowadays, I would much rather be outside. Here's one of the reasons why.

Hoping you all have a terrific Friday and weekend!

First 10-K In the Books!

As I mentioned earlier this week, my first 10-K was yesterday in Chicago. And I am very pleased to say that it was probably my best race ever! I felt like the MK before the hip injury and surgery. I don't want to gloat too much (aww heck, why not) but I ran all but .25 miles of the 6.2 mile race. And I didn't walk until after the first 4 miles. It felt so amazing! And before the race, we all got a little bit funky!

Here's the proof kids...

It was such a great feeling to finish that race! And then, of course, was the 5 hour drive home. But it's okay because I capped off the day with a soak in the hot tub. YAY!! I'm back home for a couple of weeks and that means, heading to the gym for the first time (even though I joined like a month ago!) Looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule at the gym. Oh...and I did a bit of decorating as well.

I love Halloween! And I'm having a party so of course I have to go all out! It should be a fantastic event and let's all remember..."what happens at the Halloween party, stays at the Halloween party!" Have a great week!!

Where Does the Time Go?

I feel like I've used that title before...but alas. It's been a long month already. I've been on the road for 9 of the last 12 days and I'm in Chicago this week so no rest for the weary. Actually, this week is exciting though because I am at the network office covering for my boss while he is on leave. So I get to learn about being a network strategic planner at a time when the Network Director is getting ready for his FY 13 briefing with the Secretary of VA. For those of you who are not in VA (or don't know much about it), that basically means that I get to help prep my boss' boss for his meeting with his boss' boss' boss (aka the big dog). It will definitely be a learning experience for me and will help me show the folks at the network office (besides my boss) what I am capable of which bodes well for me. Last week was week 3 of leadership in San Diego. I can honestly say it was not my favorite week of leadership but I did learn a few things. But my favorite part of the week was getting to my 19th ballpark!!!

Remember those 23 questions I told you all about in July after my leadership week in July? Yeah...it turns out there are actually 50 questions!

So, of course, we had to go through them. Plus a few of us had come up with our own questions since July. Needless to say, we had a FANTASTIC evening last week. Mind you, we did not do the questions on the same night as baseball. We would not have been able to handle that much excitement in one evening. But a good time was had by all on both nights! HALF MARATHON UPDATE: So in the process of all this traveling, I have actually managed to continue my training. I have kind of surprised myself with that. A week ago Saturday, I did my longest run to date...8 miles. I still can't believe I did that many. It was brutal and I thought my legs were going to fall off. The saying in the running world that you "hit the wall" during a race?? Yeah, I hit the wall at mile 7 of my 8 mile run. But I keep running and this weekend I am doing my first ever 10-K here in Chicago. I'm excited about it because I think after doing my 8 miles, 6.2 shouldn't be too bad. Of course, I'm scheduled to run 10 miles this weekend so I will have to fit 4 more miles in when I get back to Kingsford. My fundraising for St. Jude has kind of stalled at $1500 but I am having a fundraiser party on the 29th so hopefully the few people I know in the U.P. will bring a few people they know and we can raise a little bit more money. If you are one of those folks and reading this, please mark it on your calendar. If you are not in the U.P. and haven't donated yet, please please please please do so!! The kids of St. Jude need your help! Let's see...what else is going on?? Oh, I recently decided I need to play golf a heck of alot more than once every two years. Yeah...it wasn't pretty. But I had a good time and that's the most important part of golf, right?? Anyhoo...hope ya'll have a great week!!

I Usually Don't Go by Societal Standards

God love my friend Karissa. She always gives me the best titles for my blogs. And there are usually good stories behind them. Unfortunately for all of you, they are usually stories I cannot share. Just know that it was a fantastic story and had us laughing for a few miles as we drove home from camp. Yep. That's how I spent my Saturday, up at camp. It was so much fun. It was Karissa's best friend Carrie's camp over on the eastern end of the UP outside a little town called Rock, MI. Beautiful part of the world. Of course, Saturday was also the season opener for both Alabama and Michigan. I had to represent (read: wear my Bama gear in the middle of a Michigan bar) but I promise all of you I was relatively well behaved. In fact, there was another Bama fan in the bar and we were nice and did not rub it in when the game was over. Here's some pics of that night and camp.

So I decided that I need to buy recreational property up here. It was one of those decisions you make when you are caught up in the moment and have had a few beverages. No...I did not purchase anything just yet. I wasn't that drunk!! But I did propose to my mom that we buy a piece of property. Yeah, that was a pretty hard sell. She loves the woods more than I do. So now I am going to spend my spare time looking on line and in person at different properties. Haven't decided if it will be river or lake, UP or Wisconsin so stay tuned. For now, have a great week!!