May
5
1) Thank you, thank you, thank you for the kind words you’ve sent my way. And a special teary thank you to Eliza, whose email on October 21 last fall sent me on a path to finishing a marathon. Thank you.
2) It is the damnedest thing, but everything that was so horrible about the race has already downgraded in my brain from Vividly Awful Experience I Never Want to Repeat to Amusing Self-Deprecating War Story. I mean, at mile 24 I told everyone within earshot that I was never doing a marathon again, ever. And I absolutely meant it. Yet less than 24 hours later I started thinking how it was almost funny how destroyed I was at the end—ha ha, remember when I was half-dead and was *thisclose* to shitting my pants?—and all the bad moments now seem small in comparison to the good. Which is NOT how it felt at the time, so what the hell?
Anyway, totally thinking about the Portland marathon in October.
3) We got home yesterday and I’ve got about twenty-seven loads of laundry to do, the house is a mess, I’m far enough behind in class I can’t make heads or tails of the study guide the teacher sent out (“Krebs cycle”? “Mitochondria”? “Oxaloacetate”?), I need to catch up on work email, and the fridge is somehow both empty and smelly. I’m glad to be back, but our meandering trip in Oregon—outside of cell service, where the traffic consisted of wild turkeys scuttling across the road—made me wish we could slow our lives down a little. Maybe a lot.
4) JB and I were married nine years ago today. Nine years! My god, I love that sumbitch.
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Congrats on nine years.
Man, JB was like twelve when you got married, huh?
You, on the other hand, look AT LEAST 15.
Congratulations on the marathon and nine years of marriage! And that last picture, GAH! You look so happy and so young!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Happy Anniversary!
And once again congrats on the marathon, you’re awesome.
Congratulations on the marathon… amazing! And I adore that final picture!!
JB’s always been a hunk, apparently. You married as teens, right?
And now you’ve gone and made me homesick for the PNW. I lived in Portland from 2004-2006 and think Oregon is the prettiest place on earth.
Congratulations on 9 years! And hurray for NW love!
Happy anniversary!
Wild turkeys are mean mofos.
Happy anniversary! You rock, you crazy lady. Can’t imagine doing one let alone more. Keep reaching for the brass ring.
gorgeous photos! congrats on the nine years, too.
Congats on 9 years! It’s our 3 year anniversary today and if I get to 9 years without killing my husband it will be a huge accomplishment on my part. Have a good one!
Happy Anniversary! My 9-year is in 2 weeks. :)
Funny how marathons are alot like giving birth. In the midst of it, you swear you’re never doing it again and will kill anyone who suggests it, but after a little time the pain is dulled by the awesome sense of accomplishment and reward. And you want to do it again.
LOVE the picture of JB by the river. It’s beautiful.
First congrats on the run, it’s quite the accomplishment. 2nd you should look into the book Metabolism at a glance it has all of the metabolic cycles in huge diagrams, both together to see the whole picture and separate so you can focus on one cycle. I found it helpful
COngrats on the marathon and the 9 years. You are truly an inspiration!! I will running my first marathon in Nov at the NYC marathon and I am a nervous wreck as I had never run over 2 miles before. I have been on a training schedule for the last month and when I read your post about finishing the marathon – I cried. Thank you for being an inspiration – now can I borrow your playlist :)
Hooray for nine years!
(And the marathon, again.)
xo
Dude, Portland marathon is FUN. Great course, and usually perfect running weather.
Good job husband choosin’…happy anniversary.
NEITHER of you has aged in nine years! What the hell? Next time I’m up in Seattle, I’m going to ask you to get those portraits down from the attic.
Congratulations! Love the wedding picture.
It’s funny, every time you mention your anniversary I remember that it’s also the anniversary of the first time I met you, at Westlake. It makes me feel very stalkery.
Your marathon sounds like childbirth. Like, the hell and horror you’d never repeat in a million years suddenly isn’t so bad later on when the amnesia kicks in. And! The marathon doesn’t scream in your face at 2:37 in the morning!
Congrats on nine years. What a ride it’s been!
Congrats on the marathon and your anniversary. Wishing you many more.
You got married on Cinco de Mayo! Very fun. Happy Anniversary. :o) You are adorable together.
Congrats on the nine years – and seriously, you guys look the SAME!
You should totally run the Portland marathon! Apparently it’s one of the better ones…and by better I mean entertaining and not too hilly (just one bridge). Bands are all along the route and there’s great fan support. Do It!
“Anyway, totally thinking about the Portland marathon in October.” I called it.
Also, congrats on your near-decade of marriage! You look just the same, but JB looks like a baby in that picture.
Congratulations on the marathon and the 9 year anniversary! Did JB leap over that bunch after the photo? I get such a kick out of his amazing vertical jump skills.
Ahh, the Krebs Cycle-I don’t think I ever fully understood it. Good luck!
go to portland. i’ve already signed up and it will be my very first marathon. i’ve heard it’s a good one!
You’re an inspiration to continue to improve ourselves every day. Thank you for your sense of humor, your insight, and your way of making even shitting your pants entertaining and not at all YICK.
Happy anniversary, here’s to many more!
And, congratulations again! Come and run the Burlington City Marathon, you guys can stay with us!!
As a non-runner i would think that a marathon would be like pregnancy & birth: something that when it’s immediately over you say to yourself “NEVER F-ING AGAIN” then a little while later you’re going… hmmm… I think I COULD manage another one of those….
Perhaps not, but as I said I’m no runner. I look too stupid because I don’t know what to do with my arms and also I can’t pace myself for anything. But I’m one hell of a mother!
Umm…I meant bench not bunch.
Really, you are going to marathon up again? Wow! Happy anniversary, babe. Hope you guys do something grand to celebrate.
Re the “damndest thing”. I wonder if endorphins soften the memory of pain, in addition to inhibiting pain.
I hope you keep running and writing about running because your chronicles and accomplishments are very inspiring. (Now if only I could get off my ass…)
The photos are wonderful.
Btw, it’s pretty astounding to think that you’re in better shape now than you were nine years ago, when you were a gorgeous, beaming, no doubt healthy bride.
All through your own efforts.
In another ten years you’ll be younger and stronger still, and probably running ultra marathons in the Mojave.
Woot! Nine years is, like, almost a decade! Congrats!
(Didn’t not mean to sound like a braindead idiot, but as you well know, the end of a semester can do that to a girl…)
Ha! I KNEW you would start thinking about another marathon!
Happy Anniversary! Nine years…That’s great!!
Seriously, how old was JB when you guys married? Talk about a babyface!
One thing I still wonder, when I think about your marathon training + miserable commute + 2 toddlers: Do hyper-scheduled days not stress you out?
Listening to classes on your iPod while commuting and jogging, having all your careful scheduling blow up in your face every time there’s an accident on the 520 bridge or a kid catches a virus . . . this doesn’t stress you out? Having your alarm go off and swinging your feet out of bed in a stupor of exhaustion, knowing you really needed about 3 more hours of sleep — this doesn’t start the day on a sour note for you? Losing a workout to an unexpected emergency vet trip didn’t have steam coming out of your ears, didn’t ratchet up your fear that you wouldn’t be prepared for the race?
Your marathon training ate up whatever margin for error or downtime your already hectic schedule permitted. There must have been many, many days when things just didn’t go your way and you felt overwhelmed and overcommitted.
I’ve been reading about Buddhist meditation practice, which focuses on living in the present moment. If you can really, really do this, you’re freed from anxiety about the future and from regret about the past. You can also get a whole lot more done, because you are completely focused on whatever it is you’re doing at any moment.
Did you adopt some sort of medititation practice or attitude of mindfulness? Did you just take lots and lots of clonazapam? Or do you like being super-busy?
RIght now I’m trying to ratchet up my self-improvement efforts with more goal-oriented exercise (which so far has led to a 15 lbs weight gain — how do you cope with post workout hunger???), and my schedule is just brutal.
Anxiety about whether I’ll be able to awake for my 5 am alarm makes it hard for me to sleep, which leaves me totally exhausted & underperforming + irritable at work the next day . . .
Sorry. I keep asking you to be my life coach. Maybe I should just hire one. Or check out that mondo beyondo web site.
Victoria: there are definitely days when things feel stressful, but I don’t think I’m as tightly scheduled as you think. I usually get plenty of sleep, for one thing (11-6ish), and in general it was never too horrible to miss a training run as long as I got in the critical long runs sometime over the weekend. I mean, I’m sure if my goal was to WIN a marathon, training would need to be a lot more rigid.
I do like being busy, but I’m sure everyone has a tipping point for what works and doesn’t. If your schedule is killing you, I wonder if there’s something you can dial back so you can at minimum be more rested.
Congrats! I had a feeling that you were already planning your next marathon. :)
Happy Anniversary! Do you wear a cape when you run because you sound like a super-hero to me.
Congratulations on everything and also congratulations to you and JB :)
You have learned to run.
Now you can learn to stand still.
Keep learning!
Congrats on 9 years! You look like you haven’t changed a bit from that picture.
I’ve heard great things about the Portland Marathon. Some friends of mine did it last year and loved it – at least, as much as you can love a marathon.
Good luck!
I see I’m not the first to say this, but you two haven’t aged a day! Congrats!
conratulaions again on the marathon, and on the nine years as well!! your an inspiration Linda, you are well. Cheers!
Happy anniversary, Linda!
I’m all for slowing your life down. If it can be done, do it! I don’t do half the shit you do and I think I am on the run all the time.
Keep up the awesome work!
Yay, do the Portland Marathon! I mean you have to, it’s on 10-10-10. That’s my reason for doing it, anyway. Congrats on your anniversary!
Another one? (Shakes head)
You need to build a cabin right there where JB was standing.
You two were gorgeous on your wedding day, and babies, just babies….congrats, and may you have many many more!
Happy Anniversary!
So you married as children and stopped aging? Neat trick!
Congratulations on all counts!! I concur with the others: both of you were babies!