Be sure to check it out as we are leaving Alabama to go on a four month long road trip before moving to western North Carolina to work with Outward Bound.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Now Writing in Rock. River. Run.
Hey all, Narcissistic Narrative is now retired! I've started up a new blog with my husband, Derek. You can read about our adventures at Rock. River. Run.
Be sure to check it out as we are leaving Alabama to go on a four month long road trip before moving to western North Carolina to work with Outward Bound.
Be sure to check it out as we are leaving Alabama to go on a four month long road trip before moving to western North Carolina to work with Outward Bound.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Why Run
Sunday afternoon was my last long run before my next race. It had been my intention to run 12 miles, and I inadvertently did 14 due to my failure to map my route at Munny Sokol Park before hand. I'm okay with my mistake since it has proven to me that I can run the entire length of my race next weekend without stopping. While I have 'run' two half marathons before, this Sunday was actually my first time running 11+ miles without stopping to walk at any point. It is amazing how much of a confidence boost this has given me.
But running that distance was not without some consequences. I've been needing new shoes for a good, long while now and have been putting it off. I've been taping up my feet for long runs to avoid hot spots and blisters with a fair degree of success. Taping aside, it's still hell on my feet, knees, hips, and low back. Long story short, I need new shoes.
Beyond joint issues, running is hard on your body overall. In a discussion with my mom this weekend, she expressed her concerns that it was unhealthy to run marathon distances due to the many damages that it can cause to your body. This led to a discussion of why one would run such distances at all, and more specifically, why I am motivated to run long distances.
For me, distance running is not merely a physical achievement and it's not something I do because it is 'healthy' per say. Rather, distance running is an achievement of willpower, endurance, and self discipline. It took me two hours and ten minutes to run 14 miles, and I spent every minute of that time willing myself to continue. I ran with no iPod, no partner, and really no plan other than to finish it - to not give up until it was done. That's a long time to be with your own thoughts, and a long time put the will of your mind over the will of your body.
Your body wants to quit when it gets tired. It wants that hot shower, soft bed, and blissful rest. You are the one who must choose to run every step. It is a true mastery of one's self.
That is why I run.
But running that distance was not without some consequences. I've been needing new shoes for a good, long while now and have been putting it off. I've been taping up my feet for long runs to avoid hot spots and blisters with a fair degree of success. Taping aside, it's still hell on my feet, knees, hips, and low back. Long story short, I need new shoes.Beyond joint issues, running is hard on your body overall. In a discussion with my mom this weekend, she expressed her concerns that it was unhealthy to run marathon distances due to the many damages that it can cause to your body. This led to a discussion of why one would run such distances at all, and more specifically, why I am motivated to run long distances.
For me, distance running is not merely a physical achievement and it's not something I do because it is 'healthy' per say. Rather, distance running is an achievement of willpower, endurance, and self discipline. It took me two hours and ten minutes to run 14 miles, and I spent every minute of that time willing myself to continue. I ran with no iPod, no partner, and really no plan other than to finish it - to not give up until it was done. That's a long time to be with your own thoughts, and a long time put the will of your mind over the will of your body.
Your body wants to quit when it gets tired. It wants that hot shower, soft bed, and blissful rest. You are the one who must choose to run every step. It is a true mastery of one's self.
That is why I run.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Don't Play With Scissors
I had a very eventful weekend. Not only did I go to my first football game, but I also got a haircut... heh... oy... okay, I cut my own hair. I know, I know! I do it every time and regret it and promise I'll never do it again... and then I do it again.
It always seems like such a great idea at the time... Anyway. It still fits into a pony tail so I'm leaving it alone until it grows out enough that I can go get it fixed by a professional, and still get it into a pony tail.
For your comedic pleasure, photos:
It always seems like such a great idea at the time... Anyway. It still fits into a pony tail so I'm leaving it alone until it grows out enough that I can go get it fixed by a professional, and still get it into a pony tail.
For your comedic pleasure, photos:
The Before Shot, with my pretty long locks... and farmers tan...
The during shot... alllll the hair that is no longer attached... yea, I did not realize I was cutting off that much.... probably should have used a second mirror or something...
And the after shot... decidedly spiky and short....
My First Football Game
I took a time off from school, work, and training on Saturday to go to a hard core Alabama Tailgate! I've never been a big football person, but football is the life of Tuscaloosa so I figured I should go to at least one real tailgate. And this one was definitely a 'real' tailgate.
My friendly hosts had four tents set up on the quad, with two flat screen TV's, an open bar, and whole roasted hog (we were playing Arkansas). To top the day off, one of my climbing friends found me on the quad and gave me 3 free tickets to go watch the game! It was crazy awesome. I got some video of carving the pig (which just affirmed my desire to be vegetarian, haha) and some videos of the band playing. I'll try to post them later.
Here are some snapshots from the day:
My friendly hosts had four tents set up on the quad, with two flat screen TV's, an open bar, and whole roasted hog (we were playing Arkansas). To top the day off, one of my climbing friends found me on the quad and gave me 3 free tickets to go watch the game! It was crazy awesome. I got some video of carving the pig (which just affirmed my desire to be vegetarian, haha) and some videos of the band playing. I'll try to post them later.
Here are some snapshots from the day:
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Last Week...
...did not go as planned. Thursday night, after I posted my anxiously excited blurb about my WFR, I got a call from the Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire. I heard what no wife really wants to hear - Derek had been admitted to the ER.
Derek was in New Hampshire for his Rock Instructor Exam with the American Mountain Guide Association. He has been practicing for his exam on Thursday when he started feeling ill, then felt bad enough that he got a hotel room for the night. Not long after he got his room, he realized he needed to get medical care. Thankfully, this kid is always prepared - he already knew where the ER was and drove himself. Once there, he had the nurse call me because his phone had died.
She asked me, "Do you want to go ahead and drive over?" ... It took Derek two full days of driving to get to New Hampshire. Clearly, this lady had no clue that I was in Alabama. She put Derek on the phone. He sounded okay, and said that I didn't need to come just yet. We'd wait and see what the doctor said.
Even though he said I didn't need to be there, I started looking up flights. As soon as I could, I called his sister and made a plan. If I got the call from the hospital to get moving, I would let her know and would immediately start driving. She would then book me a flight from Birmingham and get me to Boston. There, I'd get myself a rental car and drive the remaining three hours to North Conway.
At 1:30AM, that plan got put into action. Derek was going into emergency surgery.
Driving through the night, I made it to Birmingham in record time only to wait for the airport to open for business. Derek's sister, Courtney, got me the first flight out. I boarded the plane with no word from the hospital. During my layover in Atlanta, I called the hospital, got transferred a dozen times before I finally got put through to Derek's nurse. He was okay. I got to speak to him briefly, but his voice was hoarse from being intubated and he was exhausted. Letting him rest, I went ahead and updated the rest of the family then got on my next flight.
I landed in Boston around noon, grabbed a car rental and started driving. I was quite proud of myself for making it through Boston traffic with no issues. I'd never driven in a city like that before. My pride was quickly deflated when I got to my first toll.... I had no cash. I pulled up to the booth and said the only thing I could,
"I'm from Alabama..."
This tactic successfully got me through all tolls.
By four o'clock I was pulling into a parking spot at the hospital. I wandered around inside for while, following signs for patient rooms. When I finally found Derek's room, I was a bit startled by how he looked. He was pale, eyes sunken. He pretty much looked like crap. I think I lied and told him he looked good.
The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. I hung out until 8:00PM when the effects of no sleep in two days started wearing on me. I got a room in a motel and came back the next morning. Derek was discharged early, but thankfully they let him hang out for a while so I could run errands - get his prescriptions, check out of the motel (their front desk wasn't open yet when I left for the hospital), and return the rental car. Some friends of ours from Alabama were actually in the area as well, and they came to see Derek and gave me a ride from the car rental place back to the hospital.
We tried to get out of town a quickly as possible due to the impending hurricane. Yeah, we're good at being in the way of storms. We started driving around 11:00AM on Saturday, and made it to south of Scranton, PA that evening as the rain was starting to come down. We stopped at several exits looking for a hotel. The first hotel had no staff present that I could find - just a praying mantis sitting on the desk phone. I waited awhile, until I saw a lady with a parrot on her shoulder walk by. Between her, the insect, and the lack of service I figure this was not the hotel for us. We continued our search for a hotel, but each place we stopped was fully booked. Finally, we got the last vacancy at an extended stay hotel.
We bunked down for the night, ready to continue our drive in the morning. The next morning however, the hurricane was still sending crappy weather our way. The area was covered with flood and wind warnings. We waited a couple hours until things started to die down before driving again. Even though we waited, it was still a tense drive until we got out from underneath the system. We made it to Derek's parents' house in Tennessee in time for a late dinner.
We stayed with his parents for an extra day to recover from the driving and to visit. Derek was looking much better by the time we hit the road again. We finally made it home on Tuesday evening.
Derek is on medical restrictions - no lifting 20 lbs or more; no ab work outs - for a month due to the surgical incisions. I should be getting a refund from my missed WFR exam, but the AMGA is refusing to let Derek reschedule or refund his $1700 Rock Instructor Exam. He's appealing their decision now, and hopefully they'll demonstrate some compassion for his situation. However, the fact that he's having to appeal to the AMGA at all damages my opinion of the company.
We spent the rest of the week at home, carefully increasing Derek's activities each day, resting a lot, and taking care of household type things. I returned to work and school yesterday.
So. That was last week.
Derek was in New Hampshire for his Rock Instructor Exam with the American Mountain Guide Association. He has been practicing for his exam on Thursday when he started feeling ill, then felt bad enough that he got a hotel room for the night. Not long after he got his room, he realized he needed to get medical care. Thankfully, this kid is always prepared - he already knew where the ER was and drove himself. Once there, he had the nurse call me because his phone had died.
She asked me, "Do you want to go ahead and drive over?" ... It took Derek two full days of driving to get to New Hampshire. Clearly, this lady had no clue that I was in Alabama. She put Derek on the phone. He sounded okay, and said that I didn't need to come just yet. We'd wait and see what the doctor said.
Even though he said I didn't need to be there, I started looking up flights. As soon as I could, I called his sister and made a plan. If I got the call from the hospital to get moving, I would let her know and would immediately start driving. She would then book me a flight from Birmingham and get me to Boston. There, I'd get myself a rental car and drive the remaining three hours to North Conway.
At 1:30AM, that plan got put into action. Derek was going into emergency surgery.
Driving through the night, I made it to Birmingham in record time only to wait for the airport to open for business. Derek's sister, Courtney, got me the first flight out. I boarded the plane with no word from the hospital. During my layover in Atlanta, I called the hospital, got transferred a dozen times before I finally got put through to Derek's nurse. He was okay. I got to speak to him briefly, but his voice was hoarse from being intubated and he was exhausted. Letting him rest, I went ahead and updated the rest of the family then got on my next flight.
I landed in Boston around noon, grabbed a car rental and started driving. I was quite proud of myself for making it through Boston traffic with no issues. I'd never driven in a city like that before. My pride was quickly deflated when I got to my first toll.... I had no cash. I pulled up to the booth and said the only thing I could,
"I'm from Alabama..."
This tactic successfully got me through all tolls.
By four o'clock I was pulling into a parking spot at the hospital. I wandered around inside for while, following signs for patient rooms. When I finally found Derek's room, I was a bit startled by how he looked. He was pale, eyes sunken. He pretty much looked like crap. I think I lied and told him he looked good.
The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. I hung out until 8:00PM when the effects of no sleep in two days started wearing on me. I got a room in a motel and came back the next morning. Derek was discharged early, but thankfully they let him hang out for a while so I could run errands - get his prescriptions, check out of the motel (their front desk wasn't open yet when I left for the hospital), and return the rental car. Some friends of ours from Alabama were actually in the area as well, and they came to see Derek and gave me a ride from the car rental place back to the hospital.
We tried to get out of town a quickly as possible due to the impending hurricane. Yeah, we're good at being in the way of storms. We started driving around 11:00AM on Saturday, and made it to south of Scranton, PA that evening as the rain was starting to come down. We stopped at several exits looking for a hotel. The first hotel had no staff present that I could find - just a praying mantis sitting on the desk phone. I waited awhile, until I saw a lady with a parrot on her shoulder walk by. Between her, the insect, and the lack of service I figure this was not the hotel for us. We continued our search for a hotel, but each place we stopped was fully booked. Finally, we got the last vacancy at an extended stay hotel.
We bunked down for the night, ready to continue our drive in the morning. The next morning however, the hurricane was still sending crappy weather our way. The area was covered with flood and wind warnings. We waited a couple hours until things started to die down before driving again. Even though we waited, it was still a tense drive until we got out from underneath the system. We made it to Derek's parents' house in Tennessee in time for a late dinner.
We stayed with his parents for an extra day to recover from the driving and to visit. Derek was looking much better by the time we hit the road again. We finally made it home on Tuesday evening.
Derek is on medical restrictions - no lifting 20 lbs or more; no ab work outs - for a month due to the surgical incisions. I should be getting a refund from my missed WFR exam, but the AMGA is refusing to let Derek reschedule or refund his $1700 Rock Instructor Exam. He's appealing their decision now, and hopefully they'll demonstrate some compassion for his situation. However, the fact that he's having to appeal to the AMGA at all damages my opinion of the company.
We spent the rest of the week at home, carefully increasing Derek's activities each day, resting a lot, and taking care of household type things. I returned to work and school yesterday.
So. That was last week.
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