Thank you everyone for your condolences, kind words, and prayers on Monday. It means a lot.

 

It’s never good when the phone unexpectedly rings late at night. Every time that happens, I immediately get that bad feeling in my stomach. That’s what happened Thursday night, just as I was laying down to bed. Barry received a frantic phone call from his Dad saying that his sister, Sara, had passed out, wasn’t breathing, and was being taken to the hospital. We immediately got dressed and made the 90 minute drive to the hospital.

We got there a little after midnight, where we were met by a large group of immediate family in the ER waiting room. For nearly two hours, we sat with each other, prayed, and received updates from the doctors. They were able to get Sara’s heart started again, but she went without oxygen for nearly 20 minutes and was on a ventilator and in critical condition (the cause was blood clots in her lungs). Once they got her stable enough to move, they took her to ICU around 2 AM and we went to a different waiting room.

Not long after that, a doctor came out and told us that they did not think she was going to survive. They allowed all of us to come back to her ICU room. The doctors and nurses in the ICU worked so hard as a team for hours to save Sara, but she was too sick. She passed away around 6:30 AM Friday morning, surrounded by family as we sang Amazing Grace.

A few hours after she passed, Barry and I returned to Pulaski. I was able to meet up with Kim for a long run Saturday morning. I told her everything, which helped me process it a bit. It was easier to talk about while running, at least. Later that day, Barry and I returned Bristol. A beautiful memorial was held for Sara last night, and the burial will be later this morning. We got to see what a remarkable young woman she was (although we already knew that part) and how many lives she touched by the sheer number of people who came to the visitation and funeral service last night. It was estimated that between 650 and 700 people were in attendance.

Sara was my sister-in-law, but I always thought of her just as a sister, without the extra qualifier. From the first month I started dating her brother, Barry, she was a friend to me and made me feel like part of the family right away. We would talk/text, joke, and hang out together just like sisters. We shared a love of books and movies, coffee, and of course the Virginia Tech Hokies and football.

This was all very sudden, and we are all feeling very shell shocked. I am still in complete disbelief that I can talk to someone on the phone one night, and they can be gone the next. Even there in the hospital, I was looking right at her but I still couldn’t believe it. How can someone so vibrant, caring, friendly, charismatic, and young be ripped away from us like this? I don’t know and I don’t understand it. A child should never precede his or her parents in death. It’s unnatural and it’s not the right order. I can only find solace in the fact that she is with the Lord now.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
-Matthew 19:14

This week I have finally started to get back on track with running regularly. And by that I mean I ran Wednesday and yesterday. But hey, it’s a start. I wasn’t feeling well on Monday or Tuesday, but Wednesday morning I felt better and got in 3 miles in the morning on the treadmill. Thursday evening I was once again relegated to the treadmill due to the inch of ice we got during the day. So I hung out with ‘Sven’ for 5 miles. I’m so glad I’m finally healthy and able to run, because I feel so much more like myself (I’ve basically been sick with a cold and/or sinus infection on and off since September). It’s going to take some hard work to get back into shape, though.

I have an announcement to make about a new addition to our family (no, I’m not pregnant and we’re not expanding the zoo). After much deliberation, I decided I had grown tired of the wilds of Android and punched my ticket to the land of Apple. And by that I mean I crossed over to the dark (possibly better) side and the world of iPhones earlier this week. I’ve got a bit of a learning curve, but I already like it better. Plus it’s pretty 🙂

I’m excited the weekend is finally here for a few reasons. First, I have a long run date with Kim tomorrow morning (who is expecting her second baby, and is right a the end of her first trimester!!). Secondly, a bunch of my college friends are coming to town to celebrate another friend’s birthday. It’s so much fun when we all get together again! And third spring forward is this weekend. A lot of people grumble about losing an hour of sleep, but I loooove the extra daylight in the evening. Spring is officially only two weeks away!

Okay Apple heads – tell me your tips and secrets for the iPhone!
Spring forward: yay or nay?

This past Saturday I ran the second race of the Roanoke Non-Ultra Trail Series (RNUTS). My training has been really spotty lately, and the race reflected that. It would have been a tough race for me without snow on the trail, but there was that, too.

I ended up convincing Barry to run the race, too, so we headed up to Roanoke together on Saturday morning. The road into the park was really icy, and they were directing two wheel drive vehicles to park in a nearby church parking lot. Our truck was able to handle the road just fine, though.

We arrived about 20 minutes before the start of the race. Once there, I went and picked up my race stuff and Barry got registered. We caught the tail end of the pre-race meeting and then made the mass exodus down to the start area.

We made our way through the slushy snow and milled around bit waiting for the start. The snow in this area was ankle deep and pretty slippery to walk in. I tried not to think about what was to come.

After a short wait, we were off! The 10K started 10 minutes before the 5K, to keep the single track from getting too crowded. So at the sound of the first starting gun, the 10K’ers were off scrambling up the little hill we had just walked/stumbled down and back out onto the icy road we had drive in on.

We weren’t on the road for more than a quarter of a mile before heading into the woods. That’s where things immediately got tough. The snow was probably around ankle deep, or a bit more, and it was slick. My feet kept sliding around, causing me to stumble, despite the Snow Trax (like Yak Trax) I had strapped on my shoes.

The snow definitely made for some really tough running conditions. It felt like running through deep sand, except that the sand was also really slick and my feet were wet and freezing. However, I was surprised when my watch hit 1 mile. I thought we couldn’t be more than half a mile in. I thought to myself “maybe I can do it, after all.”

Unfortunately, things started to go downhill very quickly after that. There were a lot more areas of deep snow (I couldn’t take any pictures, because I was too busy trying to stay upright). My Snow Trax on my shoes also started to slide off continually. The heel part would slide up to the back of my shoes and the front part would slide up over the top of my toes. I started having to stop several times to adjust them, which added to my frustration.

About halfway through the second mile I started to become very fatigued. I was frustrated because I couldn’t run the way I wanted to and my Snow Trax kept sliding to the tops of my shoes. I had to resort to a lot of hiking, because the snow felt too difficult to run through. Then the 5K’ers started to catch up to me and I was constantly moving to the side of the trail or stepping off of the trail and stopping to allow them to pass.

During mile 2 a lot of thoughts started to creep in about dropping down to the 5K. I knew we would be running by the 5K finish at the halfway point, which would allow me to drop midrace easily. This isn’t something I have ever done before, and I didn’t consider it lightly. But I had a good 30 minutes to consider it, and I ended up deciding dropping down to the 5K was the right decision. Again, not a decision I made lightly. I knew I could finish the full 10K, but to what benefit? Based on my current level of fitness, lack of training, and the tough course conditions, it was the right decision.

So when I arrived at the 5K/10K split, I headed for the finish. I won’t lie, it was a bummer. It’s not what I set out to do that day. But what would have been the point of hiking/running the last 3 miles of the race? After crossing the finish line, I found the race director and time keeper and explained what I had done. They said no problem, pulled of the tag on my bib, and added me to the 5K’ers (they added 10 minutes to my time, to account for the staggered start). I hung out at the finish line, knowing Barry wouldn’t be too far from finishing. Sure enough, I waited less than 20 minutes for Barry to arrive.

I caught up with Barry and told him what had happened. I was relieved when he said he also thought I made the right decision. That made me feel a bit better. We hung out for a bit at the finish line before heading over to the Visitor’s Center (race headquarters) to warm up and get some post race food. The post race food was up to Mountain Junkies usual standards.

All in all, it was definitely a tough day for racing. Ironically, I somehow ended up placing second in my age group. I didn’t realize this, though, so I didn’t go out when they were doing the 5K awards. I’ll have to pick up my medal from the race directors at some point. The next race of the series is in two weeks. There’s a 5 mile and 10 mile option, and I’m currently signed up for the 10 miler. Hopefully the trail conditions will improve by then. I’m finally feeling healthy so I’m looking forward to getting back to regular training. Hopefully I’ll be ready on March 14!

Who else raced this past weekend?
Have you ever ran or hiked in deep snow? It’s tough!

March, already!? This year is already flying by! This past weekend was a pretty good mix of activity and inactivity. It started with a race on Saturday morning: the Explore Your Limits 10K trail race in Roanoke. It was a balmy 15 degrees at the start, which actually didn’t feel so bad compared to the weather lately. The trail conditions were really tough, with deep snow covering most of the trail. I wish I had been better prepared. Unfortunately, I ended up dropping from the 10K to the 5K midrace. It was the right decision, but I still wasn’t thrilled about it. Full details on Wednesday.

Once we got home from the race, I made a delicious breakfast: a spinach, tomato, and feta omelet. Yum! I spent most of the rest of the day catching up on some of our DVR’ed shows with Barry. We record a lot of shows, but we’re not very good about watching them. Case in point: we spent much of the day watching episodes that were recorded last October. Oops.

Yesterday started out with another spinach omelet. I couldn’t get enough this weekend! Then I spent some time doing a handful of chores around the house, and helping Barry watch more TV shows from the DVR. 🙂 In the evening, we both got in short runs on the roads around our house. I had debated whether or not to go for a run yesterday, and I’m glad I did.

It was 44 degrees outside, which felt downright hot compared to the weather lately. I got in 3 miles and it felt good to get my legs warmed up and stretch. My ankles, calves, and right hamstring were really sore from Saturday’s race.

I like this part after a handful of big snow storms: where the roads are clear but everything else is still covered. It’s really pretty, but at the same time it’s not a hindrance. But I’m also really ready for spring!

Who else has had enough of winter?
What is your favorite food lately?