WashMO Fair Run Results

So, pretty much swam five miles in the race yesterday. The humidity was crazy! The race began at 7:00ish, and it was already getting hot. I ran the five miles in 47:55 which is 3 minutes off my personal best. I think training on the treadmill in the nice air conditioned fitness center at work probably didn't help me much. :( I just wasn't used to the elements.

The course was fairly challenging, including a number of hills as it wound it's way around neighborhoods along the Missouri riverfront. About 200 runners participated. I definately wasn't anticipating the level of runners I would be up against in this race! The first female crossed the finish line in 31 minutes! I came trotting in near the back of the pack. I am almost wishing they weren't going to publish the results in the local newspaper.

I'm not completely bummed about the race and plan to race again next year if I am still living in MO. However, there is something I will do differently next time around: Bring a watch. They had people stationed at each mile to yell out pace times. I only heard 3 times yelled to me and when I saw the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line, I realized those times were incorrect. I hit mile 2 at 17:10. I was excited. I was faster than my goal time of nine minute miles. Twenty-one minutes, thirty seconds at the halfway mark. Excellent! Four miles in 37:25. I lost some time, but I could make it if I kicked it into gear. I sped into what felt like an 8 minute mile pace and kept it to the end. So, how did that pace somehow gain 3 minutes?

Race officials mentioned before the awards ceremony that they didn't start the clock until 2 minutes later. I am also thinking that the people stationed at the mile markers weren't exactly syncronized. Would that have changed things tremendously? I probably would have pushed a little harder to gain a minute or two, but my performance really goes back to my training. I should have been training more outdoors. Also, I've been training for a half marathon and not a five miler. In fact, I finished within seconds of another half marathon trainee (she has also run marathons).

I'm happy I raced. It was a good experiance. Now, back to training for my half marathon!

More of the Apartment Hunt

We still haven't heard any word yet about the apartments we applied for. They just got the last of our paperwork yesterday (thanks to Aaron's Marine checking account taking forever to respond...). In all of this (living with Aaron's parents for 2 years, Aaron being gone for six months, Aaron not finding a job) I am beginning to believe this journey, this particular instance in our lives is about finding patience and contentment.

I wildly resisted moving to MO and especially living with the in-laws. Neither of us ever expected the arrangement to last this long. In fact, most of our belongings and wedding gifts are in boxes, some never unpacked. We are not living our lives in a holding pattern, though sometimes it may seem that way. We are definately moving forward and I think much of this time is preparation for the future.

A few weeks ago I heard a sermon from JK Warrick (a man near "pope" status in the Nazarene world). JK spoke about the wilderness, specifically referring to Psalm 53 when David was hiding from Saul. Though David was in fear for his life and in circumstances he did not necessarily bring upon his self, he had two choices about how he would come out of this 'wilderness' or difficult time in his life. He could choose to become better or he could become bitter.

I don't know what the future holds for me or for Aaron. I feel like the past two years have been a wilderness period in our lives for several reasons. As we near the edge of this rugged path I've begun to wonder if it will really be benificial for us if it ends. We have grown so much struggles and strife. Yet, do I really want to ask for more difficulty. No, not really.

Paul states in James chapter one to "Consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds..." Trials build faith and perserverance. I don't find myself looking for trials. Nor do I truly desire to have any. Yet, when I find myself in the wilderness, I know Who to turn to, and I know I must strive to come out of the wilderness better.

A Little Nervous

Tomorrow is the WashMO Fair 5 Mile Run. I am starting to get a little nervous. My goal is 45 minutes or better. Wish me luck!

Higher Education in Rural Missouri

Though the college closed at noon today because of special summer hours, I stuck around to catch up on some work. Around 2pm I heard the door to my area (which is behind the Registration Office) open and close. Thinking it was our custodian, I kept working. About 30 seconds later, a woman of about 30 came around the corner and up to my desk and asked if she could register for classes. First of all, I have to say this woman has to have some guts considering that there were no lights on in the lobby area and she went through a maze to find me (the only person in that half of the building).

I told her I would register her and she handed me an application for admission. Great, we need brand new students. I asked her if she had filled out a registration form and she said she had, that's what she had handed me. Sure enough, on her admission form she had written that she wanted to take a computer and accounting class. No times, no section numbers, and best of all this was written on the line asking for a student's academic program.

I asked her if this was her first time attending college. It was (thankfully, I would have been really concerned if she had gone before...). She wanted to just take those two classes and was not looking for a degree. I enrolled her in the computer course and then gave her some contact information for the accounting course. She hadn't attended school in 10 year, since graduating high school.

The women was satisfied with the registration of her class and the contact information, but just before leaving she asked if I had ever taken an English course before and if something like that would help her in an office environment. She told me her boss gets upset because she uses slang in her letters, but she assured me she knew of no other way to write them. No doubt there... She asked if I had taken any other college classes and I assured her I had. She seemed so amazed. She asked if I was going to college now and I told her I just take classes that interest me.

I wonder if she asked me this because I am younger than her or just to get an idea of what college is like from someone who has gone. I didn't tell her I have a Masters and didn't tell her my title. It didn't matter and I think it may have scared her away. I often wonder if most students think just the faculty is educated. I hope not, because so many staff members work hard to obtain advanced degrees. Colleges wouldn't function without faculty members, but they would fall about without a staff to support the faculty.

Whatever this woman thought, it's just another insight into what many rural Missourians seem to think about higher education. It's just the elite few who can obtain it and it's not needed for a comfortable life. Aaron can attest to this fact in his job hunting. He is OVER qualified for nearly any position available in the area.

The Apartment Hunt

Aaron and I have been apartment hunting for nearly three weeks now and have pretty much settled on a place. It's only 1 mile from work for me and I am totally planning to ride my bike to work if we end up living there. Right now it costs over $100 a month for my to drive back and forth to work (nearly $6 a day). Plus, we pay up to $300 for Aaron's parent's groceries as our "rent" now. That savings added up will pay for most of our rent.

Our only concern is that this is a low-income housing apartment complex and we seriously go over by $60 for the year including Aaron's drill pay. If we had submitted paperwork just one day earlier (if only we had known) we would have been making $1400 less a year and would have been clearly within the boundary. My annual raise came into effect July 1st. Anyway, the complex is still processing paperwork and we will know if things work out by next week. It's a brand new complex, so management is pretty busy with applications right now. Anyway, we have prayed about our selection and if this is meant to be, it will work out. I'll keep you posted.

5 Miler

Aaron and I have signed up to run the WashMO Fair Fun Run 5 Miler in two weeks. I'm really excited, but am not expecting to make a PR. Training for long distances (Half Marathon) tends to kill my time on short distances.

Aaron is pretty stoked about the race. I think he will do well. He's also added quite a bit of cycling and weight training to his routine, so I think he will do well. I'm planning to do some swimming and cycling later today. It's way too hot right now.

Reserve Duty

Aaron left at 4am this morning for his first drill as a Marine Reservist. Isn't he sexy?

My Marine is Home!

So I am a little late posting the news (2 weeks), but Aaron is HOME! He arrived Friday, June 23rd which was awesomely timed just before our 2 year anniversary. When I picked him up from the airport he had been awake more than 30 hours and traveling for 20 of those. The STL USO is amazing and provided us with breakfast and facilities for Aaron to clean himself up and iron his uniform. He was to report immediately to his reserve unit.

When Aaron finished checking into his duty station, we celebrated his homecoming by going out to lunch. Aaron was still in uniform and quickly discovered how many former Marines are around. He shook several hands and greeted veterans while we milled about the Cracker Barrel store waiting for our seats. When we finished our lunch, our server told us someone had picked up our check because Aaron was a member of the military.

I think sometimes people spend so much time looking at the negative things happening in our country and world that they are blind to the positive. We weren't expecting such a welcome response to Aaron's military duty, yet supporters of our troops are definately out there. I hope every military service member has such an experience. It's humbling to know that someone cares.