Happy Blogiversary/Breaking up is hard to do

It seems somewhat ironic that this post is my 400th entry to this blog--a milestone I never dreamed I'd hit when I impulsively started writing it 6 years ago (holy sh*t! Have I really been blogging for that long??). Yes, SIX YEARS. My first post (I was, and sounded like, such a newbie!) was on May 5, 2007. Today's post feels somewhat conflicted: partly an anniversary post* with a nod to the future, but largely a tribute to a relationship I'm sadly leaving behind: my park.

STL is a wonderfully kept secret. We've loved living here. This city has great food, festivals, family activities, theater, and, among other things, parks. The first time we ever saw our house, we sat on the front porch for a bit while our Realtor contacted the listing agent for showing instructions (sort of, but that's another story). I remember sitting with my husband, gazing down the tree-lined street, just barely able to see the edge of the park two and a half blocks down. Even before we really knew this place, the park made us fall in love with our neighborhood. Living here only added to that. I've run hundreds, probably thousands of miles in that park, at all times of day and all months of the year. And I've loved it. Running there has been my sanity during stressful times, my quiet time away from kids, my peace.

The other day I decided to go for a walk through the park after eating lunch nearby. I didn't mean for it to turn into a farewell, but that's what it quickly became. As I walked, I found myself reminiscing about different places in the park. My place attachment, and the severance of it, was emotional.

I breathed in the lush landscape of the park.

I stopped and remembered using the bench at the far end of this picture as the turn-around point for my early walks after having my younger son, when even that was a physical strain, but one I couldn't get enough of. 

I took a moment remembering the happy pictures we had taken here of my baby's first birthday. 

I took in all the varied pavilions, remembered the time I came across a loose chicken, the times I saw Clydesdales walking there, thought of getting lost in my thoughts and sometimes prayers as I ran mile after mile, sometimes before dawn, sometimes in snow, sometimes in unbearable heat. As I walked, I walked back through all my memories of this place. 

It was hell. I've lived in a lot of places and run in a lot of settings, including Le Parc Monceau in Paris! But this, this has been my favorite running park. What awaits me in SLC? Will I love something there just as much? Only time will tell. The adventure begins in about five weeks; I hope you'll join me. 

* watch for a 400th post/moving giveaway, coming soon!

Mondays in Love: Saturday!

Before I get to my Monday in Love, I want to give a huge shout out to my friend Kayla for finishing her first 13.1 and doing it in an awesome time!! And, just like I was a running pusher for her, I'm super proud of her for becoming a pusher with her friend she ran with. She convinced her friend of the need for some new gear that ended up making race day much more comfortable. YAY!

This Monday, I'm totally in Love with my Saturday "long" run. It was the absolute triple threat of things I love:

1. More miles!
2. Urban chickens!
3. Fall weather!

1. More Miles

As I said, I now have the all-clear to add on miles to my daily runs, and I couldn't be happier about it! I decided to take it slow and added one mile to my now-standard Saturday 4-miler, making it 5.1. It felt easy, let me expand the terrain I'm covering, and left me feeling confident about building up mileage a bit. 

2. Urban chickens

I kid you not, there was a loose chicken in the park. You may remember my love of the urban chicken. I can't make this stuff up.

3. Fall weather

The park hasn't started changing colors yet, so for my newly added 5th mile I headed into a neighborhood where I knew I've seen some changing leaves. Bring it on! I love all things about October and running. Race season! Gorgeous mornings! Crazy costumes at 5ks! I love it all.

Happy Monday y'all!! 

March of Dimes and bday recaps

The last few days have been a really happy time for me. My birthday was nothing short of fantastic and I got to run a 5k on Saturday for a good cause. {long post warning!}

Reasons my birthday totally rocked:

• My little boy held a bouquet of flowers for me and stood by the front door waiting for me to come home on Thursday. Unfortunately I came in through the back--oops! Completely adorable anyway. 
• My hubby bought me a few, small things that I would have considered luxuries to buy for myself. I think those are the best gifts! Not spending tons of money, not going over the top, but thoughtful things. AND he brought me donuts at my office in the middle of the day. He rocks my face off! (and no, I did not eat them all myself, but I thought about it!)

• I lunched with two girls I've gotten to be friends with at work, then Thursday evening went out for drinks with one of them. We had such a good time! AND, she brought me fresh eggs from her landlord's urban chickens. Because I kind of have this thing with urban chickens. I mean, honestly, people do that?!? Apparently yes. 

• I got thrown out of a colleague's office, lol. He had seized an opportunity earlier in the day and I was beating myself up for not having thought of it. He reminded me that I don't think of these things because I'm new at the job. He asked how old I was (he's my dad's age). I told him it was my birthday, actually, and told him how old I was turning. And he said, "Get the hell out of my office." I <3 my co-workers. 
• Yesterday Mr. Joanna and I went to see A Prairie Home Companion live. I've wanted to see it for years. Probably since I read Lake Wobegon Days in high school. If you're from a small town and you've never read it--do! After the show we had dinner with a group of friends and hung out with some of them until late in the evening. It was such a good time!!
• I got a ton of messages from friends on Facebook, through email, and a few phone calls. It put such a smile on my face! Not to mention the earlier celebrations I'd had with The Beastie, my parents, and my MIL. 

All told, it was a great birthday/weekend with friends near and far. And the weekend was great for another reason, too--I got a new 5k PR in a race put on by a great organization, March of Dimes. I'm pretty sure the swag was worth more than what I paid in entry fees--talk about a win-win! Here's the recap: 

The 5k was much smaller than the 2 mile walk, and started 5 minutes earlier. So the line-up was small, and there wasn't a starting mat. Everyone's start time was gun time, even though it was chip timed. They counted down and sounded a loud horn and we took off, going immediately down a short hill to start. I couldn't help myself, I just took off! I looked at the Garmin about a minute in and saw that I was under a 7-minute pace. Ooops! Had to rein it in, so I did, at least a little. The first mile ticked off pretty easily, at a 7:32 pace. 

Early in the second mile I caught up to a dude about my age. As I came up on him I saw him look over at me. He might as well have said it out loud--he did NOT want to get chicked! He picked up the pace and got about a shoulder ahead of me. He held on for about 30 seconds then "pulled over" and slowed way down and let me pass him. I'm pretty sure it was my only chicking of the day. I'll be honest--it made me smile. :) About half-way through the second mile I was surprised I was still holding my pace and feeling good about it. It started getting hillier and windy farther into the mile. Mile time: 7:45. 

At the beginning of the third mile I faced the steepest hill yet and was running into stiff wind. I was working hard and not moving very quickly. I kind of wanted it to stop for a minute, but I knew if I gave up for even a second I would hate myself for it at the end. I remembered my mantras and dug in and pushed. My pace follows the same curve as the elevation changes pretty closely. Mile time: 8:01.

In the last tenth I took off, per the usual. As I crossed the finish the timing crew started waving a thing like a ping pong paddle at me. Have any of you ever seen timing done like that? No finish mats, but hand-held sensors? It was a first for me. I wondered how they would handle the clumps of people. 

Total time (and new PR): 24:13. woot!!

I made a new local runner friend while waiting for the awards announcement. Then the awards came and something totally unprecedented happened: I took second overall for the women! Even though it was a really small race, I couldn't believe it! I got a little trophy, which my son has since confiscated and calls it the Piston Cup (since, of course, all things revolve around Cars). 

After the race, I headed out for a loop around the park to finish off the rest of my miles for the day (12 total). It's really not my favorite place to run, but the change of scenery was nice, and the weather was great. Overall, it was a great birthday and weekend. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it!