Born to Run

I read Born to Run a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. It almost brought me to tears by the end because I was so invested in the characters. It sent me on a journey to rediscover why I love running. The last 6 months or so I have lost motivation in most aspects of my life and running was no exception. I still ran, but it was very mechanical and just because I knew I needed to do it to keep me going. Why did I need to run? I had forgotten. I remember someone asking me about why I run and I didn’t have much of a response. I said something about loving it that contained virtually no substance and I came away wondering why I love to run. I couldn’t answer that question and in August I could hardly force myself out the door anymore. In September I discovered Born to Run. In the book they talk about all these people who LOVE to run. They were people who discovered a passion for running that fueled their lives and I knew I could relate. Yet, I couldn’t at the moment. It was more I knew that at some time in my life I could have related.

The book gives a lot of information and some research about long distance (ultra) running, trail running, and barefoot running. I had been extremely skeptical about barefoot running before and I am not sold to the point that I will be out there barefoot all the time but I have tried it.  I would like to try more trail running, though nothing too steep. I have no ambition to become an ultra-marathon runner, or even a marathon runner, but I do believe I was born to run. I don’t think the book was purporting to have all the answers, and I liked that. I felt it really was just trying to show a side of running that hasn’t been mainstream, and ask some important questions.

In the middle of reading I ran a half marathon, and it was my slowest to date. I had become pretty focused on getting a faster time but ended up being happy to finish as well as I had. I asked myself again, why do I run? Still no answer. I didn’t run for a week after I got back from my race and in that time I finished the book. Finally, I went out and ran 3 miles without a gps and without my ipod. The weather was beautiful and I was just happy. I couldn’t stop smiling and there was nowhere else I wanted to be. I had been stressed earlier in the day but that didn’t matter. I could think more clearly and even forget what was worrying me. I remembered why I run. I knew why through all those hard times I kept telling myself that I need to run. Running is freeing. It’s a time when I take control. It clears me of strong emotion and lets me just be. It’s a time when I conquer my body and my mind and listen to my spirit. Running keeps me sane, keeps me focused, and returns me to center, but only if I let it. I’d made running about the time and made it into something I had to do instead of letting it be something I want, need and love.

 I'm glad I didn't give up on running and that it's still here for me.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

 The best part of the whole experience was just exploring Hogsmead and Hogwarts. It took us more then half a day and it really isn't that big. The merchandise is all fun to look at as well and often hard to resist. I'd have to say none of the rides were really worth the journey. The one in the castle made my mom and I both nauseous and was quite scary with all the dementors.

 

We arrived on the Hogwarts Express. Okay, you cant actually get on it but it was still pretty cool.

You can go in Hogwarts and wander around a little, mostly while you are in line. We spent a while in Dumbledore's office. He gave us a lot of advice. One such piece was to choose what is right even when it is not the easy choice.

These paintings were discussing Harry and his accomplishments.

On the grounds we discovered the runaway Ford Anglia.

 

Hogsmead, despite the snow it was very warm and sunny.

We had lunch at the Hogshead and enjoyed some butterbeer. Yum!

We got some postcards and things at the Owl Post.

We also checked out the wands at Olivander's. Though I am not sure why his shop is now in Hogsmead. I guess he had closed his shop in Diagon Alley so may as well reopen here.

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon

This race was magical! But seriously, it was a lot of fun. We flew to Florida on Friday afternoon and got in pretty dang late. It was one of the hardest flights I have had due to the coming ons of an awful cold. In the morning we got up and went over to the race expo. This was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. After some good General Conference watching, carb loading (Macaroni Grill), and grocery shopping we returned to WWS. The race started at 10pm but they asked us to be there a few hours early. My mom and I tried to make the time pass by looking for the fastest runners and trying to locate someone who looked like they might win.

The race included some fun spectators. Along with the workers in the parks there was also a green army man from Toy Story, Lightning McQueen, Russel, Doug and a few other characters waving to us. The mile markers were billboards that were lit up. There were also DJ's along the way and music playing in the parks. One of my favorite things was a light up snail about the size of a small car driving in a parking lot. We only got a couple pictures on the bus that night.

Notice the creepy guy behind us..

We ran through Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, ending up at Epcot. Running in the evening was great but it made planning eating and drinking a little harder. I didnt really like having to be there so early and lining up 30 minutes before. It seems like there should be a way to alter that process to make it better. It was a huge run too so I was always surrounded by people. It never spread out or felt less crowded. My mom and I finished within an hour of each other which was a first. My time was 2:00:15 and her's was 2:59:45. Good job Mom!!

We returned to each of the parks on Monday to explore them. It was fun trying to remember where we ran. We wore our race shirts and got a lot of comments from people. We saw others wearing their shirts or medals and bonded with them. Here are our favs from Animal Kingdom, baby monkey and baby elephant (a month old).

We stayed at the All Star Resort, Movies section and loved it. It was so cute! Each of the buildings had a theme and great decorations. We were assigned to  the Mighty Ducks building. We spent Sunday evening just exploring the hotel and especially enjoyed the Toy Story buildings. We also enjoyed the Sports buildings. The football one had a miniature field out front with turf. There were a couple guys out running plays.

Tuesday we took it easy. We went to the temple, went to lunch (Maccoroni Grill again), explored down town Disney and then went miniature golfing. The legos were amazing! There was nessie in the lake and a scene from Sleeping Beauty. The family behind us golfing was from Ireland and they had the most adorable little girls with red curly hair. They were making me laugh the whole time. "Granpa, where did the ball go?!"

 

Last day was HP, that will be another post. :)

Spinach and Carrots

This commercial makes me laugh. It also makes me think about the things I love about my job. I love teaching kids about how to be healthy and I love hearing how much they already know. My favorite is when I get to spend time answering their questions. They can be very concerned about making good choices and I love that.

This last year they changed MyPyramid to ChooseMyPlate. It's been an interesting transition for me to figure out how to teach, and there are things I like and things I don't like. It's nice to have it be a plate, because it's something that you associate with food and the visual is nice, but other than that I miss the pyramid. I miss how the new pyramid got smaller at the top, you know, since it was a pyramid? I would teach about how the healthy foods in each group went towards the bottom and the less healthy foods went towards the top. So cookies and cakes were at the top of the grains group where it is small and you shouldn't eat very much of them. Then we put whole grain food like whole wheat bread and brown rice at the bottom and you should eat lots of those foods. I liked the visual of how the pyramid was a rainbow of all the foods that helped you keep in mind eating variety.

I also am not a fan of the change of the name of the Meat and Beans group to the Protein group. Dairy foods are really high in protein too, so that is confusing, especially to kids. Also protein is a nutrient, not a food group. It provides energy to the body along with carbohydrates and fats. Those foods tend to also be high in fat. We could just as easily call it the Fat group. That might help people eat less of those foods. :) On that note, I think the Protein group looks too big on the plate. I liked on the pyramid how the meat and beans group was obviously the smallest, since this is a food group American's tend to overeat. Having it look so small was a reminder to eat less.

Last thing, what about exercise? I loved the addition to the pyramid of the stairs. I liked visually tying exercise and food together and making people realize that food AND exercise were both needed for good nutrition. I miss that little person walking and giving the pyramid a third dimension. Maybe I can tell the kids that's what the fork represents. I get that question a lot. :)

 

Golden Day

This birthday was one of my favorites. I was so spoiled on all accounts. That day will definitely be one I remember. I was so glad to have so many people come to the temple and come celebrate and eat cake with me after. It lasted a good week and a half with people sending love and presents. Thank you!