Turkey Day Thanks(giving)

I went home to the best state in the US this last week (Ohio) for Turkey Time. I ran 40 miles while I was home and during these miles - I had a lot of time to think. Since I am crazy and run so much, I also do a lot of thinking. I think about 40 miles a week. I wonder how many thoughts per mile I average. Anyways, on a longer run I started to think of things I was thankful for...you know to try and get me in the thanksgiving spirit...

My Thankfulness List:

1) I'm thankful for where I am today. I am one of 8 HES graduate students attending Wake Forest University, one of the top in the country.

2) I'm thankful for any faculty member who has ever pushed me to be where I am today. This more than anything includes Dr. Vanderburgh, Dr. Seay, and Dr. Laubach - who pushed me more than I had wanted at the time, but have made me who I am and have given me the abilities to be where I am today. (Even though I will attribute my adherence to their pushing to Dr.Vanderburgh's stunning looks and my desire to always want to impress him)

3) The runners who have inspired me to keep running when it hurts. My iPod especially. She ran her 2nd marathon last week and would have BQed had she not vomit 6 times between miles 20 and 21 - her passion for running always seems to give me the extra boost I need to keep going. Other runners include Paul Vanderburgh (aka Dr...but in a running world, he is Paul), Dr. Messier (who is 60 and still cooking marathons 3:20), and my mother.

which brings me to...

4) My mother. One of the most amazing and inspiring people I have ever met - started running a couple months ago and is now running a half marathon with me this weekend. She is one of the most cool tempered people I know. She inspires me every day to be more like her. You can tell she loves what she does, even if she does have bad days...and sometimes it is all I need to keep my going.

5) Paul Vanderburgh's good looks. A couple examples: "You should run a marathon" Okay, Ill run 2. "You should go to grad school". Okay, Ill go to the best in the country. "You should present this research in Seattle". Okay, anything for you, Ill even pay for it.

5) Jerry Patterson*. I cant even being to talk about how thankful I am for this stud. He is the reason I wake up every morning with a smile, and why I go to sleep smiling. He makes my hardest weeks easy, just knowing he is waiting to see me on the weekend. He can always make me laugh even if the worst has happen (like I get a B on an exam...God forbid). His way of dealing with things is so admirable that I can only hope that some day I can be understanding and loving towards everyone as him. I am thankful for every minute we spend together, whether it be in Chicago or Boston exploring new cities or it be on my couch watching NFL football while he plays fantasy (gross....ITS A FANTASY).

6) The Green House Girls. My best friends. The 8 girls I lived and spent all my time with at Dayton. I cant be more thankful for them. They will always be there for me, no matter what happens, and I always love getting the email updates to see who the new flavor of the weeks are for most of them. The affairs, the gossip, the drama...we all thrive for it, but no one ever wants to be a part of it. While they are all far far away from me now, and I am in lonely old W-S with no friends and a pile of homework up to my chin, I still call them my best friends and they always will be.

8) Chocolate. God's gift.

So these things were just a couple things that I could think of that I am eternally thankful for, and I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for any of them (especially chocolate, because I would be 20 pounds lighter). So now for left overs (which I can also say I'm thankful for)



*Jerry...just an inside joke to protect his identity....so no other girlys reading my blog can look him up and take him away from me ;)

RunnersWorld

I'm afraid my title to this blog is quite misleading in that Winston Salem, NC is in fact NOT RunnersWorld. In the 4 months I have been living here, I have ran with another person once. I also (and I will blame this on the lack of running partners, the lack of running routes, and the extreme NC humidity that sat in the air in August and September) have reduced my miles since I have moved here significantly.....to about 15 a week. Kind of a difference from 40. I'd even go so far to say that this is a statistically significant difference since I'm a nerd and choose to apply everything to stats when I get a chance.

I have run 2 marathons. I am crazy. I am about to sign up for another one in March. I am insane. I currently run 15 miles a week. I suck. I am not prepared. This post will serve as motivation - a mantra if you will, that I will get back into it...even if it means I have to run alone. I even ran 7 miles today through Tropical Storm Ike, it was pouring, it was cold, it was windy, it was lunch time - I felt like a real runner again. It was amazing. Tomorrow we will continue the running. Jerry told me that if you do something for 17 days it becomes a routine. Somehow I doubt that I will get into a routine if I run for 17 straight daya, I may just want to stop running all together. Forever. I'll shoot for 2.

When I was living in Dayton (God's Country), I had friends among friends to run with - all my same pace. I even had one particular friend, we will call her my iPod since she served as mine for the 2 years I ran with her at Dayton, she was wonderful. 6 miles, 8 miles, 20 miles, she was there, chatting my ear off. We knew everything about each other and we were matched step for step. My iPod moved to Philly. I moved to Winston Salem. I miss my iPod. So much, I have actually considered buying my own iPod, the ones that play music. However, those don't listen when I want to complain my legs are moving, or that I am so hung over, or that I had a bad day, etc. My old iPod that left me did that. Where can I get a new one of those?