Posts Tagged ‘family’

Hard to believe I was in New Orleans two weeks ago.

I was there for the Education Writers Association conference and stayed a few days to hang out with my family and enjoy the city.

On Thursday morning, my first in the city, I woke up and ran a sweaty three miles along the neutral ground (median) to Audubon Park. I’ve run a handful of times since February, but this was the first run that felt good, natural. It had nothing to do with the heat and humidity — I could have done without that.

I snacked on fruit and read the newspaper in the kitchen while chatting with my aunt. The scene could have happened two years ago. Again, natural.

Other now-foreign experiences that felt “natural:” walking to get coffee at Rue de La Course, riding shotgun through narrow streets, iced pecan praline coffee from PJ’s, heading straight to the right aisle in my old grocery store, listening to Kermit Ruffins and eating gumbo in the sun, dining al fresco on Magazine with an old friend.

When recapping my short trip to NOLA, a friend pointed out the obvious: Going to New Orleans is like going home.

I don’t have to do touristy things or see the sights — I’m happiest just stretching on my aunt and uncle’s porch, breathing in the jasmine and morning humidity. Or drinking Abita and eating cheese fries (2 nights in a row) at my favorite hangout. Or laughing with my cousins in my aunt’s kitchen.

I came home with strong coffee, sunburn and a full heart. I can always go home. And when I can’t, I can brew some strong coffee and think of it.

All the Rosie O’Donnell fans out there will get the reference. The rest of you — don’t worry about it. Worst. Movie. Ever.

I did ride the lift with my sister several times last weekend on a last-minute trip to Keystone. I met Sam in Fort Collins, we picked up our parents from the airport and drove west to the mountains. I can’t remember the last time more than three of us have skiied together — 10 years?

The plan: Ski as much as possible before Sunday night. We did alright. Night skiing on Friday, skiing from open to 2 on Saturday and from open to noon on Sunday.

I brought my board for Friday night. And I did good! Driving up to Hogadon on weekend mornings has paid off. But runs in Colorado are at least three times as long as the runs in Casper. I started to fall more toward the end as I got more and more tired.

The switch to skis felt natural, like swapping stilettos for broken-in running shoes. The snow became icy in a few spots, which was much more manageable on skis.

I’m glad I made the 5-hour trip. I didn’t get to see family during Christmas and don’t know when I’ll see them again.

Gratitude — I try to recognize it each day as it happens.

Things I’ve been thankful for recently:

• The woman above me chooses to leave on her heat  — which heats 2/3 of my apartment — while we are both gone.
• Last week’s winter storm disintegrating before reaching Casper, so I could drive to Colorado and fly home for Thanksgiving.
• Parents who drive to the airport late at night (midnight) and early in the morning (3 a.m.).
• A strong, healthy  body to run 3 miles through the woods and mud.
• Laughter, especially about things that don’t matter.
• Enough weekend to share with family, friends and  several hometown restaurants.
• Friends who offer to babysit me while I test Four Loko.
• My sister drove from Illinois to Colorado so she could be my Trader Joes mule and haul back almond butter and wine I couldn’t take on the plane.
• A cozy bed in Fort Collins to nap for a few hours before heading back to Wyoming.
• A Saturday shift so I didn’t have to go to work on Monday with only a couple hours of sleep.
• Two business days this week to get my bills/life in order.

Cleaning the carcass with my uncle in my mom’s kitchen, home of many thankful moments.

Tomorrow it’s back to work — another thing for which I’m constantly grateful.

After the Seattle half marathon, I experienced a bout of the post-race blues.

Finishing my first half marathon (and raising a ton of money for cancer) were two tangible goals and reaching them took hard work. I looked forward to the race for months and after I flew back to Wyoming, I didn’t have as much to look forward to.

I got over it, fast. I put running on the back burner, averaging 12 miles/week. I traveled. I entertained. I hiked. I enjoyed Wyoming while it was warm.

Then I started to make fall plans — plans for after Oct. 1 when my vacation days reset. I had planned to go to Rochester for my college homecoming weekend. But as the date approached, logistics of flying to western New York in the middle of October set in. I had to fly out of Casper because if it snowed, I wouldn’t be able to make it to Denver — doubling the cost of the plane ticket and limited the times I could fly in and out.

Then my mom called — she and my dad were flying to Colorado that weekend for my sister’s family/alumni weekend. I haven’t seen them in months and the odds don’t look good for going home for the holidays (again). So I decided to save vacation days and money by weekending in Denver instead.

The first Rock n Roll Denver marathon happened to be the same weekend. I proposed the idea of a family half marathon and my mom and sister said yes. Eventually, my dad signed up too.

I trained much like the first half, running small distances (3-5 miles) twice a week with a longer run on the weekends.
My mom followed a walking plan but got a serious cold that lasted the whole week leading up to the race. My sister vowed to run, but that fell through when she got busy and later got sick. And my dad signed up too late to commit to anything serious.

Our expectations were pretty low. My mom thought she’d probably be hauled off the course before she finished.

pre-race smiles in the port-o-potty line.

But we all made it — on our own time, without injury and feeling accomplished. I shaved 20 minutes off my time in Seattle. Dad was able to run a little bit, despite bad knees. Much to her surprise, my sister finished in under 3 hours.

After I finished, I ran back to the hotel to shower and change and made it back in time to see my mom cross the finish line. I was so proud of her and my dad and sister for doing something they never thought they would do.

My brother got out of running this one because of work, but I have a feeling another family race is in the future.

After I signed up for the Denver half marathon, I tried to convince my sister, who doesn’t run and has never raced, to join me. She must have had a good day because she said yes (really?!). She also said she wanted to run a race prior to the half (seriously?!).

Lucky for us, a 10K was planned for Sept. 25 in Casper and Sept. 26 in Colorado. We had options. She said she wanted to come to Casper (really?!). I doubted she’d visit because she hasn’t since I moved here. I’ve been to Fort Collins more times than I can count.

Weeks passed and I didn’t think it would happen.

And then it did.

Sam drove to Casper and ran her first race and the farthest distance in her life. I smashed my PR while running a pace that didn’t wreck my knees or any other part of my body. I finished my first 10K in 1:05 in 2009 and I finished Saturday’s race in 0:55 (unofficial watch time) — that’s an 8:52 minute mile! Pretty fast for not pushing myself too hard.

We both had fun — and didn’t kill each other!

Sisters at the finish line.

The Support the Girls 10K was a perfect first race for her and pace race for me. The course included pieces I run all the time, with lots of curves and a few small hills. The race was small and the organizers did a fantastic job of making the day more about having fun than winning a race. The race raised more than $6,000 for breast cancer programs in Natrona County.

Finish line.