Before I update you on my running this week, I must share with you about my experience flying home on Saturday. This past week, Heidi and I had the pleasure of flying to Austin, TX to visit my dear friend Sam from college. We had a great time, yet our flight back was a little rough (we missed our connecting flight, were stuck in Minneapolis for over 5 hours, and then our second flight was delayed two hours). I had the pleasure of sitting next to a very sweet and friendly unaccompanied eight-year old boy named Trevor once I finally got on my second flight.  I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who talks so much in my life, but I welcomed the distraction from feeling so tired and frustrated from our day. He thought Heidi was the cutest thing he had ever seen. He also said some pretty hilarious things (some were downright awkward), and I just have to share them with you here:

“Know what sucks to have? Lice. It itches so bad.”

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“Every week my grandma gets shots in her eyes. HER EYEBALLS.”

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I never go to the bathroom on planes. Know why? This one time I was watching “1,000 Ways To Die,”….

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“Wanna know where the best pressure point is? I know all the best ones.”

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Trevor: “I can see the veins in her head.”

Me: “That means she’s smart.”
Trevor: “Is that why her head is so big?”

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“I bet you love that baby so much, don’t you? I like her too.”

 

If I had not had Heidi in my lap, I would have written down many more quips, but alas, my hands were full, as they often are these days.

Running this week was a challenge since I was in Austin. The high temperature each day was about 107 degrees. And the heat was very dry. Lucky for me, Sam lives about a half mile from the River Walk. And she has a sweet dog, Foster, who loves to run. So Wednesday evening, after I put Heidi to bed, Foster and I headed toward to River Walk. It turned out to be a beautiful and peaceful run along the river. There were lots of families and runners out also. It was a quiet evening, and my three miles went faster than I had anticipated they would.

Thursday morning, I decided to try and get one more run in for the week. I knew Friday we’d be too busy. I headed to the River Walk again and managed four miles with Foster. My training program said I needed to go six that day, but with the heat, I deemed it wise I stop early.

I took Friday off. But yesterday was the true test. Yesterday was the grand finale of my week. Yesterday, Mindy and I ran …*drumroll*…13 miles!

We scheduled our run for 4pm, since it would take us a couple hours. It was a hot day (though not as hot as Texas! It was only about 85ish), but we both felt great, to our surprise. We met at the high school in our hometown and ran a few of our old cross country loops, which worked out SO well for a long run. There were endless options, and we never had to run the same thing twice. We did the Lewis Lake Loop (5), the Green Hills/Fruit Loop loops (5), and then a loop through the park (3).

While a play by play would not be nearly as exciting for this run, since we hit our groove early and kept a good pace, we did hit our runner’s  high about four miles early this time. About mile 6, we started saying things like, “I just feel so good. I feel like when I run, I’m like one with myself.” Or, “I feel like this is the ultimate reality of life.” As we talked, Mindy, realizing we were making NO sense, squeeled, “Dude, runner’s high!!”  That explains why a lot of our conversation revolved around ourselves and the word, “awesomeness.” Then we started laughing hysterically. That always happens at least once on our long runs.

About mile 10, we hit a wall. We were in the home stretch, heading back. But we were both shutting down very fast. Plus we were both starving at this point. We slowed to a scuffle, our water bottles empty, our stomachs growling, and our legs ACHING. We reached the parking lot only to find we still had about 3/4 of a mile left. I wanted to stop so bad, but it felt wrong to quit when we were so close. (Actually I planned on stopping but Mindy wouldn’t let me. I really hated her right then, but now I’m glad she kept us going).

So we started doing slow laps around the  parking lot, and we started naming off reasons we were running:

• For the moms who walk 4-6 miles to a well every day for their babies, and they don’t have the choice to stop.
• For the kids who miss school to fetch water for their families.
• For the families who don’t have access to clean water for washing up, meals, drinking, etc.
• For the excess that we have (for so many things….coffee, spritzing off a hot face, washing the floors, washing our bodies/dishes/clothes, watering our dog, making meals, and then plenty leftover to take a hot bath) and the ability to share.
• For those forced to give their families disease-laden water because they have no choice.
• For those that go without every single day, while we have more than enough.
• For every person who consumes water that looks like the picture below, while Mindy and I filled our water bottles three times with cool, clean water during our run.

Please consider donating! We’ve raised $670 so far! Help us provide an ENTIRE village with  clean water. Click here. 🙂 http://www.active.com/donate/activewaterupick/jamierunsforwater