This has been a really nice month+ of being in Maryland and Pennsylvania -- spending time with my family and friends in a few locations and investigating possibilities for next steps! I didn't realize this would happen ahead of time, but I feel a lot of continuity between my time overseas -- spending time with people I admire who are doing things I'd be interested in doing -- and my time here living with Trent and Wendy and their awesome family. It is such a blessing to have this "gap" time to stop and learn and relax and evaluate opportunities. I am not sure where this journey will lead but I am confident that I will look back on it as a very formative time.
I decided to post today because tomorrow promises the beginning of another kind of adventure for me.
Five months ago (or so) some of my friends started talking about running in an "Adventure Relay" where 12 crazy people will run around the clock from Gettysburg to the Washington Monument. I wasn't sure where I'd be at this time and had all but decided that my distance running career was over (my max was a 10-miler last summer, and although it was a good learning experience it was not exactly the favorite thing I've ever done), so I decided not to sign up. I may have said something about being an alternate or something... not sure.
SO, when I got back to MD many of my friends were in the midst of training for this run. As I've been trying to get back in shape after my travels I've done a training run or two with the girls running in this relay. I have not pushed myself too hard, knowing that I did not really need to be ready for the run -- I just wanted to be in decent condition.
HOWEVER, one of the other runners needed to back out last week. I was approached to take his place, and let my friend who is coordinating this thing know that, although I thought I could probably physically survive the race, it would not be pretty. I advised her to try as hard as possible to find someone else to do it, but said that I could probably do it as a LAST resort.
Well, as you suspect by now, last resort had to be pulled in. So without training I am somehow going to run 15 miles of the relay starting Friday morning. Thankfully my friends were gracious enough to move people around to give me the easiest spot!
Yesterday, after hearing that I actually might be called upon to do this, I decided to run about 4 miles. During my run I realized my running shoes desperately need to be replaced and that my pace is embarrassingly slow. I love doing things that fall into the, "well, this will at least be humbling if nothing else" category.
So, if you praying folk would remember me Friday and Saturday, I would sure appreciate it. I'll post some race pics afterward and I'm sure I'll have some kind of story :-).
Also, I'm looking forward to a trip to Florida on Sunday! I'll be there for six days visiting my sister Allison, and am really looking forward to it!
Oh, and here are a few pictures from the last month:
Jenni visited me for a week -- we went mountain biking. I fell over 3 times...
For my 25th birthday, my friends took me to a restaurant in downtown Baltimore. So fun!
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