Wedding Bells

July 17th 2010: a date that I (and many other people) have been looking forward to for the last 6 months. But the occasion that actually took place on that day? Something we've all been looking forward to for much longer.

For as long as Kelly and Matt have been dating, we've all known that they would be great together; and at least speaking from the Phelps side of the family, we've known that Matt would fit into our family just right. He's always been a part of our family, but Saturday's wedding finally made it official. Not gonna lie, I got a bit teary-eyed during the actual ceremony. While I admit that I seem to be crying at a lot more these days, it really was quite the happy sight to see those two get hitched. It's been a long time coming, and I couldn't help but think about what a truly wonderful event it was.

The ceremony itself wasn't the only great part about the day. Who could ever forget the reception? It was a blast. Great music, dancing, food and drinks, and a best man speech that should win an academy award...it was a night to remember. As to be expected at a wedding, everyone was lighthearted and happy, and having a great time; but from the way I saw it, there was something more. Now, I haven't exactly been to a lot of weddings, but there was something about this one that was extra fun, extra special. Maybe it was seeing everyone in my family together again; maybe it was seeing Kelly light up as she finally referred to Matt as her husband; maybe it was all that combined with so many other little things. Who knows? All I can say is, it really was a great night.

Congratulations Kelly and Matt, I'm so happy for you and love you both!

The Little Things

I think we can all agree that some of the most important or entertaining things in life are the little things. While I will probably go much more in depth on this topic, I have to start with a couple things that really aren't deeply significant or anything, but did in fact make my day.

First of all, on our 12 mile run on Sunday, it was once again quite hot. However, this week, we had two lovely surprises waiting for us...the first was at the halfway point in the form of another runner's husband with 2 jugs of ice cold water. The second was around mile 8 or 9, in the form of a fellow runner (or at least a runner's wife), with ice pops, ice to put on our necks/in our water, and Christmas music playing from her car. I wanted to give all of these people flowers, a medal of honor, something. It meant so much on such a hot day!

Second of all, yesterday was Crazy Hat Day at the camp where I work. My dad had gone to a Green Bay Packers game a few years back and brought me a cheesehead, so I decided to wear that for Crazy Hat Day. I thought the kids would like it, but I totally underestimated how much. They LOVED it, and I had kids all over campus pointing out my cheese hat. The kids in my own group just wanted to touch it all day, and I had been told several times that someone was going to eat my hat. And of course, there were all kinds of awesome crazy hats all over camp. It was a very fun day :)

So these aren't those super deep/meaningful little things that we tend to point out a lot, but these still put a smile on my face. Just thought I'd share :P

Reality Check

When I first signed up for Marine Corps Marathon, I thought it would be just like training for my first Army Ten Miler...tough, but just gradually adding more distance and being fine. Well, guess what...it's a bit more complicated than that.

As it turns out, it is quite a bit more difficult to train for 26.2 miles vs. 10 miles. Hydration is a much bigger focus, but so is food. I found this out the hard way last Sunday after an attempted 11 mile run. I drank plenty of water, but the heat and humidity took more than that out of me. The main things? Well, they all happen to begin with the letter "E"...energy, electrolytes, and ego.

Funny thing, all those weird gel packs and gummy chews that they tell you to train with actually have quite a bit of significance. They aren't just calories for extra energy, but also have electrolytes. I never realized before Sunday that electrolytes actually are pretty important to maintain. That heat and humidity sucks you dry of these friendly little hydration-supporters, and before you know it you're facing heat exhaustion and puking on the side of the running path.

Hopefully you've gathered by now that I did not finish the 11 miler on Sunday. However, I did learn a lot from it, and hopefully can avoid another outcome like that one. The first step, and probably the toughest, was to slow down. One of the directors/coaches of the program told me that I'm in too fast a pace group, that I need to drop back 2 groups. At first, this crushed me. While I've always focused more on completion than time, I was proud of how well I was doing in a faster-than-usual group. Dropping back meant that I had to suck up a bit of pride, ego, and stubbornness, something that's not always easy.

Fighting with myself up until the last second, at this Wednesday's track workout, I joined up with the 11:40 pace group (instead of the usual 11 min group), and shyly introduced myself, head hanging slightly. Surprisingly, one of the coaches knew who I was, and everyone else in the group kindly introduced themselves and started up some friendly conversation. I didn't really expect anything different, since everyone in the program is very nice, but it was still a nice pick-me-up. As it turns out, the only one giving me a hard time about dropping back was myself.

My dad's girlfriend, Kathy, had been reminding me since Sunday that I was training for completion, not time. It took a little while for that reminder to sink in, but luckily it finally did. I had a bit of an ego trip that could have gotten me in quite a bit of trouble. Hopefully I can maintain this reality check that I've obtained, and remember what being tough in training actually means...pushing through the pain and overcoming challenges...without overdoing it.

A Love-Hate Relationship

I am a person who loves movies. While I wouldn't call myself the ultimate movie expert or anything, I do enjoy them, and many different kinds. From action to comedy to drama, I will willingly watch most types of movies. But then there's another genre...the romance/romantic comedy/love story...the chick flick.

I will be the first to admit that I absolutely love chick flicks. While some of them do in fact go over the top and annoy me, I'm usually a total sucker for that gushy love story that puts a smile on my face and sometimes even tears in my eyes. When I was a sad little teenager in high school, chick flicks were like a sign of hope. Having always been single, they were what kept my dreams dreaming and thinking that someday something amazing like that could happen to me. Then I hit college, and the hate part started to sink in a bit.

As I got older, I finally got the reality check that life was not like the movies. We single girls had always sat around watching these movies thinking "See...it happened there, it can happen to me." But let's face it--not only is this highly unlikely, but every chick flick has a different scenario, therefore making us think that ALL of these situations will eventually come our way. Which, of course, is not true. After I finally got the slightly-belated reality check that life is in fact not like the movies, I went through a short phase of hating chick flicks and the lies they tell us. Needless to say this hate phase didn't last long...

So here I am, sitting here watching the end of "Sleepless in Seattle," one of my all-time favorites. While I still know that life is not like the movies, I can't seem to break my love of these guy-repellent films. Yet at the same time, I still have a combination love-hate relationship with them. While I still get highly entertained, I get very frustrated when I watch a movie in which I feel like I'm in just that situation with no resolution, in turn pissing me off quite a bit since I know it's just a movie. I still love them though, and just did what a classic chick flick lover would do: I added "An Affair to Remember," the movie referenced in "Sleepless in Seattle," to my Netflix list. Go me.



I hope that last paragraph made some sort of sense to all of you out there. If not, let's just say that maybe chick flicks and I need to hit up therapy and heal our wounded relationship :P

And now, for something totally unrelated with my MCM training update: ran 10 miles on Sunday in the freakin tough humidity. Finished, but barely. Had a decent track workout tonight and trying to up my miles on my own. Slowly but surely getting there!

Good Morning!

I think we can all say we've been there...just walking along the street, blank look on our face, just completely spacing out. Sometimes we're upset, sometimes just plain bored, or even grouchy because we have way too much work to get done. Then all of a sudden, you hear a cheerful "Hello!" or "Good morning!" and look up only to find some kind stranger walking past with a smile on their face. No matter how you felt beforehand, that random stranger managed to make you feel at the very least a tiny bit better.

Being in a running program, I have been lucky enough to experience this random act of kindness on quite a regular basis. As we run along the trail in our little packs, we always pass other people...whether it be another pace group or someone else out for a morning jog, everyone says good morning. Maybe it's just the fact that we are all sharing in the misery that we're putting ourselves through and the only thing left is to be nice...misery does love company. But let's face facts...none of us are really that miserable, we've got endorphins running out the wazoo!! Everyone really is just nice to each other.

But it's not just running that brings about a random hello. As we drove back from our run today, we saw Rolling Thunder passing by on the other side of the highway. Regular traffic had been stopped to allow the parade of motorcyles to continue on their way. Generally speaking, dead-stopped traffic on the DC-area highways would cause for screaming and frustration. Instead, people started to get out of their cars, waving at the bikers as they passed by, receiving kind waves in return.

This may be making some of you think of those ultra super peppy people that go a bit overboard, driving us all nuts; those aren't the people I'm talking about. I'm not talking specifics, I'm talking about people generally just being nice to other people. We seem to live in a world where the general custom is to just ignore each other. If we're not doing that we'll find any reason to argue. But luckily, sometimes, there's still that kind, human interaction that keeps us all together.

MCM Training Update: 9 mile run this morning was tough, but went well. Getting into a good routine and am feeling better about this great undertaking every day.