The night is all around us. The day has been spent with family...laughing, traveling, contentment. Twelve years ago on this day I married my wonderful wife, Kim. My life today would be nothing near what it is without her. I am thankful every day for her and our children. I try to be a good husband and father, and most days I am successful....but each day starts anew and the challenges of life are reloaded and fired in my direction, again and again and again. I am fortunate to have such love to support me and fill the voids in my life where otherwise there would be nothing. I am not broken, but rather I function because of you. I love you so much.
-a
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Running Dreams
It is a cold Sunday morning, but the light has arrived and Sam and I (and Oskar) are having a quiet breakfast. Sam has really started to enjoy eating scrambled eggs with a fork in the morning. I have my coffee, Sam his eggs, and Oskar his kibble. A little later today we will travel to a friend's house where we always enjoy hanging and laughing and playing with their kids. It is nice to have a place to go to just relax that is not always our living room. I am looking forward to some warmer weather so we can go on longer dog walks and just get outside. I personally am ready to start running outside and playing in the backyard, and of course more fire pit fires!
The month of March has arrived and I am very glad. February was filled with cold and dark and missed days of school. March brings more light, no snow days (hopefully) and is just a few weeks before our Spring Break! While I have no plans for Spring Break, I am looking forward to more exercise and reading a few books. I am working to get my running base back, and the additional hours of leisure will dedicated to a some more miles either on the treadmill or outside. I am looking forward to my first half marathon of the year in Milwaukee. The price was great, and it seems like there will be a nice course through downtown to explore! While it is nice to have a quiet run with few spectators and just ones thoughts, I have come to enjoy more a trip through a city and taking in the crowds, reading signs, and using the cheers as motivation. It will be nice to get back to running more and more moving forward. While my last marathon in Duluth wasn't a great run, the experience overall was fantastic. Our family is looking forward to getting back up to Duluth in June for the half marathon this time!
Speaking of running, I was listening to a podcast about the Abbot World Marathon Majors and learned that I could go to their website and "claim" my stars. The Abbot World Marathon Majors are the six world marathons: Boston, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and London. It was cool going onto the website and claiming my races in Chicago and New York. It was motivating, and made me want to continue entering the lotteries for the remaining marathons (except Boston, of course). Maybe one day I can accomplish this. Running the majors seems like a reasonable life goal, while also giving a tremendous push to train for the full marathons. There are very few full marathons I would even consider outside of the world majors. Half marathons are "doable" and do not take nearly as much training. Anyway, it is fun to imagine traveling to Berlin and Tokyo and London. I would love to bring the family or maybe even just Kim and I. One day...sigh...one day.
So as long as I am dreaming, here is my list of full and half marathons I still want to run:
Full Marathons:
-Boston
-London
-Tokyo
-Berlin
-Marine Corps Marathon (VA)
-Big Sur (CA)
-Twin Cities (MN)
Half Marathons:
-Las Vegas (NV)
-Richmond (VA)
-Brooklyn Half (NY)
-Disney (FL)
-San Francisco (CA)
Wow, that was a lot of fun. While most have a lottery, Boston will have to be a charity bib. So when I feel that I can raise $10,000 I'll enter and get my unicorn that way. Nothing like making a dream wish list. It is a motivator to think about the things I want to accomplish with this body of mine. I have never been very secure in my own skin and running helps me feel better about who I am.
Well, it is time to get moving on my day. Two of my three children are awake now. My coffee needs attention, and the day is calling. Soon I will bundle up and take the dog for a stroll and then maybe attend to the endless loads of laundry and housework. Fortunately, tomorrow is a day off for me, thanks to Casmir Pulaski! Maybe more grading and lesson planning for the remainder of the month and then I can focus on making it to Spring Break! Until then, I am thankful for the calm day and quiet morning that I have had so far.
-a
The month of March has arrived and I am very glad. February was filled with cold and dark and missed days of school. March brings more light, no snow days (hopefully) and is just a few weeks before our Spring Break! While I have no plans for Spring Break, I am looking forward to more exercise and reading a few books. I am working to get my running base back, and the additional hours of leisure will dedicated to a some more miles either on the treadmill or outside. I am looking forward to my first half marathon of the year in Milwaukee. The price was great, and it seems like there will be a nice course through downtown to explore! While it is nice to have a quiet run with few spectators and just ones thoughts, I have come to enjoy more a trip through a city and taking in the crowds, reading signs, and using the cheers as motivation. It will be nice to get back to running more and more moving forward. While my last marathon in Duluth wasn't a great run, the experience overall was fantastic. Our family is looking forward to getting back up to Duluth in June for the half marathon this time!
Speaking of running, I was listening to a podcast about the Abbot World Marathon Majors and learned that I could go to their website and "claim" my stars. The Abbot World Marathon Majors are the six world marathons: Boston, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and London. It was cool going onto the website and claiming my races in Chicago and New York. It was motivating, and made me want to continue entering the lotteries for the remaining marathons (except Boston, of course). Maybe one day I can accomplish this. Running the majors seems like a reasonable life goal, while also giving a tremendous push to train for the full marathons. There are very few full marathons I would even consider outside of the world majors. Half marathons are "doable" and do not take nearly as much training. Anyway, it is fun to imagine traveling to Berlin and Tokyo and London. I would love to bring the family or maybe even just Kim and I. One day...sigh...one day.
So as long as I am dreaming, here is my list of full and half marathons I still want to run:
Full Marathons:
-Boston
-London
-Tokyo
-Berlin
-Marine Corps Marathon (VA)
-Big Sur (CA)
-Twin Cities (MN)
Half Marathons:
-Las Vegas (NV)
-Richmond (VA)
-Brooklyn Half (NY)
-Disney (FL)
-San Francisco (CA)
Wow, that was a lot of fun. While most have a lottery, Boston will have to be a charity bib. So when I feel that I can raise $10,000 I'll enter and get my unicorn that way. Nothing like making a dream wish list. It is a motivator to think about the things I want to accomplish with this body of mine. I have never been very secure in my own skin and running helps me feel better about who I am.
Well, it is time to get moving on my day. Two of my three children are awake now. My coffee needs attention, and the day is calling. Soon I will bundle up and take the dog for a stroll and then maybe attend to the endless loads of laundry and housework. Fortunately, tomorrow is a day off for me, thanks to Casmir Pulaski! Maybe more grading and lesson planning for the remainder of the month and then I can focus on making it to Spring Break! Until then, I am thankful for the calm day and quiet morning that I have had so far.
-a
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