Houston Marathon

on January 30th, i completed my first marathon. it really was a lot of fun for the majority of the race. i think i had the benefit of longer races under my belt. since the half ironmans take closer to 6 hours, 4 hours seemed short even though it was all running! (i know, it is crazy that i even say that!)

i started out too quickly with 8 minute miles for the first 3 miles or so. that is a reasonable pace for a 10K or something...but not 26.2 miles! i ran the half marathon in 1:52. that was the fastest half marathon i have done. i definitely slowed down after that point...total time of 4:05. i wanted to get under 4 hours, but i knew that was a lofty goal for a first marathon for a non-runner. next time!!

my cheering group!

just across the finish line!

life

this is why my job is so hard....and why it is also so rewarding. it's why i try to hold back tears every day at work.

oddly, this was one of my more frustrating patients...but i saw growth in him during this past year and a half. his belief in healing gave me renewed hope that it can happen on earth. i do wish i could witness it though!

some of the frustrating patients are also the most memorable...they have guaranteed that their story will be forever engrained in my mind.

his wife would be glad for me to pass on this link:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wacotrib/obituary.aspx?n=bryan-lee-russell&pid=148114140&fhid=8614

"Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do---He reveals to you who He is....Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unneccessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to go out in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus."

--Oswald Chambers

2010...now 2011

it is hard to believe that another year has come a gone. here are some highlights of my past year:

--i did an extraordinary amount of travelling this year...whether for work or fun. when i think through things.....i have been to NYC twice, Indianapolis twice, grand rapids, omaha, vancouver, ecuador, colombia, chili, france, niger, and israel. i'm sure there were a couple more domestic flights! all in all, i've been on 5 continents this year and racked up the frequent flyer miles...thank you free bags on continental and delta!

--Angie and Meridth both got married. so fun to be a part of it all!

--great personal/career development opportunities this year and further development of a friendship with my attending physician.

--a PR in a half ironman....and placing in the remaining 5 triathlons that i competed in.

--spending 3 weeks in Niger learning the role of a medical missionary (and also seeing one of the bleakest places on earth)

--a great time with my amazing sister travelling together and then running during Christmas

--talking my dad into completing a sprint triathlon......maybe not, but i can keep trying!

i have been absent

i have been a horrible blogger recently. really, who wants to hear about athletic events all the time? my friend shannon called me out on my lack of blogging....so this is for her. hopefully i'll do better now that the holidays are ending!

so, shannon and i met freshman year of college. unfortunately, that was before the digital camera age...and i don't have a scanner. many memories were made on the intramural football field and on the floor!

this is a famous picture from shannon's wedding....angie and i weren't really eating her wedding cake...but it looks like it! shannon married her high school sweetheart nathan. they moved to california and both got graduate degrees with the intention of becoming full time missionaries. they were both MKs (missionary kids) and met at Morrison Academy.

since going to CA, they have added a 3rd person to their family. Josiah is 2 now and i was able to meet him this April when i was in Michigan for merideth's wedding. they were in michigan while raising support to head to Hong Kong. when i want a little kid fix, i take a look at shannon's super cute blog about josiah! www.nsclifton.blogspot.com

the exciting thing is that they are at 100% of their financial support! yippee! i will soon have friends in asia (hint, hint shannon...you might have a visitor). more importantly, they will be equipping Christian pastors to reach their nation for Jesus. i'm so excited to see how God is going to use you all!

pictures!

here are a couple pictures from the weekend.

lots and lots of bikes were present!
my good friend april...i definitely needed her there for that tough race!
running, running, running....it felt like it would never end!

recovery...i don't know why i sat down. a little ice cream helped me feel better. look at those good looking legs though!

Ironman Austin 70.3

hi all....i have completed my triathlon season this year. i'll admit that i'm pretty glad to be done.

this past weekend was the austin 70.3 race. just a quick recap. this is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile swim. all in all, 70.3 miles. crazy! this was my 3rd race at this distance.

the weather was pretty great. there still was a high of 87 on sunday (welcome to Texas' fall!), but it was low humidity.

the swim

i knew that i wasn't super prepared for the swim. with the trip to israel, i hadn't been in the pool as much. my focus just had shifted from the swim to the run. the water felt great without a wetsuit and i kept a pretty steady place. no where close to my best swim, but it wasn't horrible. Time: 39:03

the bike

the first hour felt pretty good. i was keeping a great pace and getting up the hills well. very few women were passing me. about an hour in, i really started to get nauseated. i'm not sure why. at that point, my mind started going like crazy. in short, i was wondering if i was going to be able to finish the race. i've never battled with my head like that before. the last 25 miles were tough. i figure that i ate about 100 calories during the ride....not nearly enough. my goal was to bike in less than 3 hours. shockingly, i did. Time: 2:58.12 18.8 mph

the run

i was most excited about the run. my running has improved substantially this season. i'm consistently training at 8 minute mile pace or lower. now, it is always different after you've completed 57.2 miles.....the lack of calories and the heat started to catch me now. i was struggling. i was keeping a good pace and then would have to walk for a portion just because there wasn't energy...i guess that was my most disappointing leg, because i was expecting the most. Time: 2:10.38 9:58 min/mile

my total time was 5 hours 53 minutes and 1 second. it was an improvement on my first two, but i was pretty disappointed because of what i knew i could do as well as my difficulty getting any calories in during the race.

all in all, i got 20th in my age group out of 84. i got 135th of 533 women and 924 of 2134 overall participants. pretty good on the whole.

now i will rest for a week....and think nothing of competitions!

so, one of my patients is in the hospital. she is relatively newly diagnosed and has already grown through the first round of chemotherapy.

i went to check in with her and a phlebotomist came into the room. she raised the bed and turned on the light and said "sorry, i'm getting old". my patient responded offhandedly, "i would love to grow old".

so sad....

crazy start to a 28th year

so, i turned 28 a week and a half ago. it is so hard to believe that i am that many years old!

i was given a couple great gifts, but one really stood out.

on the way to work on Friday, i got a call from the physician i work with asking if i would be interested in going to Israel. of course, i said yes....and when? she said, "as early as tomorrow."

so all day friday was busy scurrying trying to get the details figured out. in short, one of the physicians was supposed to give a lecture in Israel but fell sick. i felt bad for him, but grateful for the opportunity.

i flew out sunday and came back on wednesday so it was a whirlwind trip. the lecture went extremely well. (it was on microRNA and cancer of unknown primary). i was also able to spend a day in Jerusalem touring a little bit.

it was just a crazy, incredible, unexpected gift from God for my birthday!

the city (although i didn't have time to take the variety of pictures i would have liked!)

you must eat a felafel

the quintessential Jerusalem picture.

goofy picture...but you needed to know i was at Dome of the Rock

triathlon #5 report

so, i had a triathlon this morning. it was an olympic distance which isn't my favorite. i actually haven't competed in one in 2 seasons, so i wasn't sure what to expect from myself.

on the whole, i'm extremely happy with how i did. i don't remember what my time was from the last olympic race, but it must have been in the range of 3 hours. it was much faster this time around!

let me break it down.

SWIM---

it was a 1500 meter swim. i was not happy with how this went. the sun was reflecting off the water at that perfect angle which didn't allow me to see the buoys. i literally had to stop and pull my goggles off to site...not the best. Time: 31:20

T1---

The first transition was super long. we had to run over 1/4 mile to get to our bikes. we all thought that should have been taken off the 6.2 mile run at the end. Time: 3:35

BIKE---

this was the first race with my new tri bike. i love the bike....not only is it gorgeous and red, it also rides really smoothly! ultimately, it is me that runs the machine, but it is nice to have something sleek, smooth, and efficient. 2 sections of the bike were really windy, but i felt great the entire ride and kept a consistent pace. Time: 1:15.21 20.5 mph

T2--

my goal for the transitions were to do them in less then a minute. i knew that wasn't going to happen with the first one having such a long run. i did have success in the 2nd transition! Time: 50 sec.

RUN--

this felt really good. my goal was to keep a steady pace. i consistently passed people (which also feels good). in the end, i could have kept running. granted, i was happy to stop! Time: 52:03 which equals 8:24/mile

Total time: 2 hours 43 min 10 seconds

in my best estimate, i dropped 17 minutes....with a horrible swim. next time! i got 2nd in my age group (out of 40) and got a belt buckle as a reward. i'll post a picture later!

baking

i have been doing a ton of baking since i moved in july. previously, i didn't have an oven in my apartment so it has been so much fun to have one accessible again!


most of the time, i'm just baking to bake and i end up bringing to spoils to clinic. this weekend, my baking had more of a purpose. i made oatmeal peanut butter cookie sandwhiches because i had a few girls over to introduce them to Settlers of Catan. the rest will be going to clinic.



the other fun thing has been making cupcakes and frosting from scratch for a birthday. the physician that i work closely with has a girl that is turning 9 on monday. i offered to make her birthday treat for school. i told her she could pick anything she wanted and i would make it. she chose marble cupcakes with chocolate frosting. hopefully they like them and they aren't too fancy tasting!

crazy dreams

so, in the last week or so i've had 2 dreams about marriage. you might actually call them nightmares....

april thinks that they mean something. i personally think it might be due to too much sugar before bed....

new challenges

i really enjoy new challenges. many of my recent challenges have been physical. the newest physical challenge that i'm signed up for is the Houston Marathon on January 30th, 2010.

i always said that i wouldn't do a marathon. i'm not a natural runner...i certainly don't have a runner's physique. it seems like the next most logical physical challenge at this time. i'm running better than i ever have (with still a lot of room to improve) and the Houston Marathon is close! the only cost will be the registration fee....well, perhaps my dignity too! the Houston course is flat and i should have some people cheering for me. it seems like the perfect time to challenge myself in this way.

i have an olympic tri in 2 weeks and the Austin Half Ironman in October and then I have to buckle down and hit the marathon training!

Colts Football

Football season is right around the corner. Crazy how fast time flies! Here is the Colts' schedule:

9/12
@ Houston Texans
1:00 PM
CBS

9/19
NEW YORK GIANTS
8:20 PM
NBC

9/26
@ Denver Broncos
4:15 PM
CBS

10/3
@ Jacksonville Jaguars
4:05 PM
CBS

10/10
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
1:00 PM
CBS

10/17
@ Washington Redskins
8:20 PM
NBC

10/24
BYE

11/1
HOUSTON TEXANS
8:30 PM
ESPN/MyINDY

11/7
@ Philadelphia Eagles
4:15 PM
CBS

11/14
CINCINNATI BENGALS
1:00 PM
CBS

11/21
@ New England Patriots
4:15 PM
CBS

11/28
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
8:20 PM
NBC

12/5
DALLAS COWBOYS
4:15 PM
FOX

12/9
@ Tennessee Titans
8:20 PM
NFL Network

12/19
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
1:00 PM
CBS

12/26
@ Oakland Raiders
4:05 PM
CBS

1/2
TENNESSEE TITANS
1:00 PM
CBS

Top 10 Observations in Chile

10. i love subways


9. the Andes are not a good 1st time ski experience if you aren't willing to lose skin.


8. don't hike up a snowy mountain in sneakers---you will stink up every hotel room from that point on.


7. in chile, i am beautiful to a lot of men....at least they yell that to me!

6. moving vehicles = sleeping Christy and Heather

5. it is important to know which is "the urine tree"....hopefully no explaination is needed.

4. christy and i found the Gary, Indiana of Chile!

3. i am the dog whisperer of Chile.

2. if you didn't like hot dogs in the States, you won't like Doggies. (really, when is a hot dog with ketchup, cheese, tomato, and guacamole good?)

1. Christy speaks Spanish; I speak cardinal directions!

Isaiah 58

"'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves
and you have not noticed?'

Yet on the day of your fasting, you do
as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and
strife,
and in striking each other with
wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on
high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble
himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a
reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the kind of fasting I have
chosen;
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the
hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer
with shelter---
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own
flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go
before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your
rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will
answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say:
Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of
oppression,
with the pointing figer and
malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of
the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the
oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the
noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a
sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."

Isaiah 58:3-11

the growing pacifist in me.

i saw Inception with a couple friends last night. it was an extremely interesting plot line and it was definitely an action movie. there was a lot of shooting and blowing up etc. that gets really old to me (even when it is well done like it was in Inception).

with my older age, i think i'm becoming more and more of a pacifist. i remember seeing Gladiator senior year of high school and enjoying it. now, it is difficult for me to get through any movie with a lot of killing (seeming real or otherwise). maybe it is my age and the realization that every person is unique and has value. the thought of me having to shoot someone nearly makes me sick. i am so glad that girls cannot be drafted.

Another Book Recommendation

i can tell that i'm in a reading mood. now, most people would pick up a quick fiction book for a summer sunday afternoon. i decided to read a biography on a man who was a refugee from the Burundi genocide. i definitely recommend this book. the author is Tracy Kidder, who also wrote Mountains beyond Mountains. he weaves a story incredibly well and you definitely feel part of the emotions that Deo felt (obviously much more muted). it again is another book that should cause you to think about social justice issues. i also mentions that the world paid more attention to the rwandan crisis, but less about the concurrent burundian crisis.

by the way, if you haven't read Mountains Beyond Mountains, you should read that too.

pictures

the taylor girls at the wedding! (minus shannon...boo!)

i couldn't get in the way of the photographer...but here are angie and kerwyn on their wedding day.

summer book

The Hole in the Gospel is a must read as far as I am concerned. It is by Richard Stearns and he is the President of World Vision. it is a great book about missions and basic social justice issues. it is written extremely well....combining his personal story about ending up at World Vision and interworking that with how each Christian is called to respond to a hurting world. i highly recommend it. i bought the book, so let me know if you want to borrow it!!!