She knows she can run a half marathon

You know the feeling of satisfaction you get when you cross an item off of a list? That was me on Sunday, x 100. A few years ago I set the goal to run a half marathon by the time I turned 30, and this past weekend, I accomplished that goal 4.5 years ahead of schedule.

Three months of training finally paid off. I’ll admit, I wasn’t strict to my training plan and missed a lot of runs. But I also completed a lot of them. I have been running since I was in track & field in junior high, but never to this extent. The training program encouraged me to run 3-5 times per week, varying in distance and pace. While I ignored the suggestions for pace, I ran as fast as I could each day which sometimes meant a 9-minute mile and other times meant closer to 12. I learned that I could run different distances, that I wasn’t a failure if I couldn’t go faster than 10 minutes per mile and that some days were good and some weren’t and that was okay.

As the weekend approached, I realized this was all becoming real. With a Saturday night carbed-out meal and an early bed time, I felt the jitters for the next day. Then Sunday came, and I felt oddly more calm. I started out toward the back of the pack and felt at ease as I crossed the start line, listening to The Naked and Famous. The first mile was the easiest mile ever, I couldn’t believe it passed so fast.

Then after mile 3, the faster-paced runners were looping around so I got to pass my boyfran Zebulon, and friends Leigh, David and Micah as I ran to the turnaround. Miles 3-6 really felt like nothing. I couldn’t believe this because a 10k used to seem unattainable to me and yet here I was, completing a 10k without feeling any boredom or pain. And then, there was a slight incline and the knowledge that I would soon be seeing my family and friends and the whole thing got a little harder. And then I heard the tambourine and the shouts of my name and I couldn’t have been happier. 

A mile later I saw my sister, her husband and my two nephews and that gave me the push I needed to get to the second turnaround. I had my name taped to my shirt both on the front and the back for the purpose of getting more encouragement from strangers. You would not believe how encouraging strangers and other runners are! I found a lot more bounce in my step once people were talking to me, cheering for me, urging me to continue.

Feeling great as I approached mile 12, I stumbled on my foot and rolled my ankle. OUCH. And then I hit “the wall.” I wanted so, SO bad to walk and just get this the H over with. And I slowed my pace and just as I was about to switch from a jog to a walk and let my body give in, my mind took over and said, “There is no way you are walking at this point. Not after you worked this hard. You get yourself in gear.” And so I did. And the last mile was probably the toughest. But then I saw my cheerleaders once again as I approached the end and that jolted me into a full-on sprint. I even heard spectators comment about how fast I was finishing, and that felt good. And then I drank some water. And then I wanted to puke and die. So that was how my half-marathon went.

To recap:

Training is good. Hal Higdon knows what’s up.

If you set a goal and you work towards it, by golly, you can do it!

Pace yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. Do it for you.

Encouragement is highly encouraged.

If you hit a wall, let your brain take over and propel you forward. One foot in front of the other.

Drink water. Eat food. Don’t throw up.

Musings on the future:

Will I run a full marathon ever? No. I do not wish to.

Will I run a half-marathon again? Maybe. But not for a while.

Should you run a half-marathon? If you would like to.

Will I run a 10-mile, 8-mile, 10k, 8k or 5k? Yes.

Do I feel like a million bucks even though I’m sore as a mother effer? Yes.

Is it weird that I’m now picturing a million male deer? Yes.

Am I an oddity? You bet.

The annotated version:

 

Thanks for reading! I know this was a long one! TWSS.

Portlandia in real life

A little behind, but...

Observations of Portland:

1. It’s divided into four major quadrants and several little neighborhoods, each with their own character.

2. Some of it is sort of sketchy, other parts not so much.

3. There weren’t nearly as many bikes as I had anticipated. I see way more in Minneapolis. Although, they just took back the title of top bicycling city and are being kind of snotty about it.

4. A lot of young people don’t have jobs and hang out on the street, asking for things like “Can you spare your coffee drink? I really like coffee.” (For the record, I had just bought it and wasn’t going to give it to her.)

5. Food carts are everywhere and while they are convenient and inexpensive and very diverse, the quality wasn’t all that great. Think State Fair, every day.

6. It’s the “Brewery Capital of the World” so you’re sure to stumble across 1 or 500 breweries or brewpubs. We stayed to the brewpubs because let’s face it, brewery tours get boring and begin to look alike.

7. Walking from place to place is pretty easy, except when you’re trying to cross the Willamette River. Those bridges aren’t super pedestrian friendly, but you can still get by.

{Willamette}

{A thing}

{A homeless community}

{Very weird}

{The doughnut on the right was the size of my head}

{The flowers have made it to Portland!}

{In SE Portland}

{Lucky Labrador Brewing (very pet friendly!)}

{Caught you!}

{Stumptown <3}

{Picnic in the woods}

{I was singing in the amphitheater at the bottom of the steps}

{On a walk}

{Rogue. Bicycle. Green. Portland. I stole it. Don't tell.}

{Cascade Brewing / Lots of sour beer}

{Le beers}

{Mother's Bistro. YUM!}

Also:

Forgive me, Carrie, for I have not posted yet about your birthday. But heeeuhhh youuuu gooooo! Anything to extend the celebration out a few days, eh?

Happy birthday to Ms. Carrie!

I met Carrie when I was negative years old. We grew up next door to each other and while I might not have enjoyed her company when I was little (I had issues, okay?), I certainly do now. Carrie is extremely creative, crafty, and talented – definitely a lady of the arts. From her days sewing children’s toys and clothes to her impending days as a pastry chef, she has many crafting abilities under her belt. She invites me to crazy theater productions I probably would never have heard of and is always supporting artists in all forms. Things I like doing with Carrie: going to concerts, playing games, eating baked goods, discussing books, pretending to be in 30 Rock, reminiscing about LOST, and irking her with my puns. It’s birthday, birthday, gotta get crunk on birthday. Hope you enjoyed it! Happy birthday Missus!

Letter to my 30-year-old self

I've always loved the idea of writing letters to my future self to see how things were and if they've changed. Chances are, they have.

With three 30th birthday celebrations this month, I thought "What will I be like when I'm 30?" Who will be in my life and where will I be professionally, socially, life-ally, etc.?

So here, 30-year old self, a letter:

Dearest Jennifer,

I hope you're reading this on your blog "She Knows This Much is True" that you started in 2011. If you're not, you're a super-genius because this is the only place you're putting this. So you should keep blogging because otherwise the Google Gods will probably take your site away and then you'll never read this.

Anyways, I hope you're married by now, to that boy Zebulon and that you've started a band called Jenulon or Zebbifer. Just kidding on the second part. I hope you're thinking about having kids if you don't have any already. And I hope you dress them up real cute like those J.Crew ads you always admire a little too much. Seriously, stop ripping out pictures of that little Asian girl in Crewcuts and giving them to your sisters as inspiration.

I hope everyone you love is still around. This means your family, your friends, your puppies. Maybe some of the wuppies will be gone, but if they aren't, you are one lucky bizzo! I hope you're still saying bizzo. And I hope you're still stealthily taking photos of bizzos in public who shouldn't wear see-through clothes to a baseball game.

I hope you've changed positions in work and are working hard with your sisters to make your dad's company even better than it already is. I hope you feel happy in what you do daily and that you don't have carpal tunnel from all of those crazy data entry stints. Maybe you've got JB Data Collection down to an art form. I hope so! Right now it's still just a dream. I hope ISO audits are the breeziest and you don't tear your hair out over them. 

Are you still blogging over at T & L? I hope so. I hope you've met friends there and are happy with it and inspired by it. Remember, you wanted to start it to express yourself, but also to meet people who shared your interests. Have you met any of them? Or do you just tweet with them? Are you still being run by a computer? 

Did you ever run that 1/2 Marathon? Did you run more of them? Anything crazier? Do you feel healthy and look healthy and feel good about how you look? I sure hope you do. You always struggled with that. I think you're becoming a better you already though.

I have a feeling you are still the same way when it comes to packing your schedule with every possible thing you can. Do you still do nerdy things like craft and send letters? I hope so. If not, get on that, girrrl.

Have you had a reunion with your HK buddies yet? Have you gone back to Asia? You should go back to Asia, yo roots. Did you make it to Ireland or England? Also do that. Have you worked on your fake English accent anymore? Hope so, it needs a little work.

And last, Jennifer, I hope this leaves you feeling happy and accomplished and super schmawesome. I also think it's time you write to your 35 or 40-year old self. KTHXBYE. (Do you still say that? KTHXBYE?) Yahahhaa. (Or how about that?)

xx
Yo self

The weekend, in le nutshell

Hi friends, can you even believe it’s already another week? It’s already in the later part of May?! It’s already almost summer?! Gahhhhhhhh. If I resonate with anything in The Happiness Project, it’s that “The days are long and the years are short.” So, so short.

ANYWAY...

How were your weekends? Mine shaped up nicely! On Friday I teetered between going out and staying in and finally chose the former and was glad for it. It took me an hour to drive through detours from St. Paul to Uptown, then I had dinner at Stella’s (crowded, terrible service, mediocre food, good drinks) and felt extremely underdressed in pants and a tank top. I should have worn a body-con dress with cutouts, stilettos, and shimmery everything. Just kidding, but seriously. Then we headed to William’s Peanut Bar (always a good time in my book) and played some Skee-Ball and ate peanuts and met some rather interesting characters. And I took a photo of this girl, who was downing a pitcher of beer and dancing wildly at a table by herself.

I went back to my car to find a parking ticket (gotta read ALL of the signs, Jen) but since I didn’t really drink and I had such a good time, it was all worth it.

Saturday, I had a car appointment and caught up on reading the news and my book club book while I waited. Then it was time for Art-a-Whirl, which I wrote about here. Then, croquet at the boyfriend’s brother’s house for his wife’s birthday. But then it started thunderstorming and hailing like a banshee, so instead, we played cribbage to our hearts’ content. We love cribbage. Like, a lot.

Sunday was the graduation ceremony of my BFF, Jessica. She had to attend a “hooding ceremony” which was Catholic Mass in disguise, then we had a breakfast reception, split up, and reunited for the regular ceremony. The student speaker was a young student from Uganda, graduating Summa Cum Laude, a scholar of all sorts, head of everything, the only student member of some fancy board, etc, etc. She has a job lined up with the government working in Uganda for public health, but first, she must train for a bit at Yale. Then she’ll return for grad school. And she was funny and metaphorical and delivered a perfect speech. Sigh. What am I doing in this world? This girl has accomplished in University what most people hope to accomplish in tens of years.

Attending a graduation ceremony makes me wish I was in school again, which is kind of funny because all of the people in the ceremony are just glad to be done. On another note, I didn’t realize how beautiful St. Kate’s grounds are!

Hope your week is fabulous. I am sure it will fly by like a mothereffer.

Return to Blog Land & Seattle

Annnnd a month later, I have returned to this little blog. This is the longest it has been between posts on SKTMIT since I started it, and I’m sorry for neglecting you. I have found this to be true of my personality: I discover something, fall in love with it, work at it, feed it, breathe it, then somehow it drops off my radar. (This is not true for people or animals, luckily. Just fads, music, foods, habits, and the like.) Anyway, most of my Internetting energy has been over at Treble and Lace, so if you’re interested in those parts of my life, then head on over. Otherwise, here’s an update on this side. What have I been doing for the past month???

Friends from Michigan came into town and I spent a weekend going out with them, the next weekend I saw Florence + The Machine and celebrated my boyfriend’s graduation. After that, it was my boyfriend’s Grandma’s 80^th birthday – it was a surprise party and part of me thinks you shouldn’t surprise older people, but she reacted pretty mildly. “Oh, everyone from my life is here. How nice!” My grandma’s 70^th birthday was the following day but I sadly had to miss her celebration. (Side note – my other grandma’s 90^th birthday is coming up in July. A 70^th, 80^th and 90^th birthday in the same year, KEWL!)

Then it was off to beautiful West Coast, where the boyfran and I spent a week going to bed early, waking up early, running, walking, eating, drinking, and hanging out. I’d much rather post photos here or on T & L than on Facebook, so here you go. Although, I might start actively using Google+, but as you know, it will only be for a burst of time.

{Morning run}

{Ampersand on a stick!!}

{Obviously}

{Wish I had a kitchen in Seattle}

{My favorite}

{Fresh lunch}

{Trying to eat the field}

{Ichiro}

{My camera has awesome zoom}

{Another installment of our MLB stadium tour}

{Saving some Safeco dirt}

{I like when things are not the size they should be and I'm trying to avoid a TWSS moment}

{Brunch}

{Freeway Park}

{Gum, anyone?}

{Last night in Seattle, out of sequence}

{His alligator shoes had red tips on them}

{My first train ride in the US!}