Sometimes things don’t always go as planned. Well, today was one of those days!

I had very intention of running 14 miles, but my body & legs had other ideas. Not wanting to get injured 15 days out from race, I gave in and settled for 5 miles. Not the fastest time I have had, but at this point, training has already been done. I just need to maintain it.

Other things happened today, that produced this thought: instead of looking how far up the mountain is in front you, look back at the hills you just climbed.

Sometimes it is SO freaking easy to look at what we have to overcome that we (ok, me) forget what we just accomplished! So, let this encourage you-whatever you are facing, just think of what you have already faced! You can do it!

Today also reminded me that surrounding yourself with GREAT friends is very important. I found out that someone is spreading lies about me. It is rather upsetting & frustrating to say the least. However, I am thankful that I have the wonderful support of friends. No matter what the lies are I know & my friends know that they aren’t true. And that my friends is going to keep a smile on my face:)

15 days and counting!

Photo by Aunt Owwee

Last day in Chicago. Sigh. I always have so much fun here with my best-est friends! Kate, Meaghan, Pete you all rock!

Got to run with Deon this morning. Another nice morning. I felt pretty sore the whole time, but it was great to run with a friend. Nice Lake Shore route. Lots of runners. Lots of cyclists. I again had bike envy!

Ran 6 miles in an hour. But I was able to run, so I am thankful!

Said goodbye to Kate. Then I had breakfast with Pete. More goodbyes. Quickly packed up and headed to airport via the bus & train.

I was a little fearful of flying back today given my flight in. But I am happy to report that my flight to Atlanta was good. Flight to Richmond was also uneventful! Thank god!

Nathan picked me up, went back to his & Meg’s place. Chatted for a bit, then I hit 95 North. It was already 9pm. Thankfully I had some friends to keep me awake on the drive home. Thanks Alex & Lewis! I also have to thank WaWa. For a gas station, they are a great place to stop at!

I got home just before midnight. Unpacked. Did a load of wash. Fell into bed. I get to cycle in the morning!!!!

Photo by mysza83

Well, the last 24 hours were pretty much a nightmare. Only I was wide awake. Not very fun! I am sure you are dying to hear about it:)

As I mentioned yesterday I drove down to Richmond to attend the kickoff event for http://www.overtheedgeva.com/ & http://twitter.com/overtheedgerv. To do something fun (and a challenge) my friend Whitney and I decided to CLIMB the 30 flights of stairs up the Sun Trust building. It took us around 5 (fun & sweaty) minutes.

After that it was on to the Richmond airport. Well, the story gets really good from here on out! My flight was to leave at 4:30pm, layover in Atlanta, then onto Chicago. Piece of cake, right? Well, not really (maybe it was agreeing with my “no sweet” kick).

First, my flight was delayed. Fine, I can deal with that. Then it was delayed for the 2nd time. Still sitting in a cold airport. I always forget to bring a sweater with me! Finally we are called to board.

Nightmare #1) AirTran system went down so they took our boarding passes.

So I didn’t know the seat I was in. I boarded to the end, so I took the closest seat to me which happened to be business class. The only dream I had!

We taxi out to the tarmac.

Nightmare #2) Engines turn off. Pilot comes on & says we will be sitting for at least an hour. Make yourself comfortable.

Some guy apparently had already been drinking so riddles became our source of entertainment. It was rather funny. Thank god for Twitter. It helped to pass the time!

Then, we went back to the gate-cause, guess why, a passenger wanted to get off. He gets off.

Nightmare #3) We go back to the tarmac lot. Sit some more. Along with more riddles.

At 8pm, pilot said everything was shut down in ATL so we would go back to the gate. No word on when we would get to fly.

Nightmare #4) Stood in line to get our boarding passes. Remember they took them?

Nightmare #5) If we wanted to leave, that thought quickly vanished. The security check point closed at 8:15pm!  Whoa!

Finally around 9:30pm we got the clear to board. Woohoo!!

Got into ATL around 10:45 or so. It was a mad house. Beyond crazy to say the least! I got a little work done then went over to my gate. Helped a women find a hotel room (having a BlackBerry does pay off!). It was now 12:30am. Scanned my boarding pass. Heading down to the plane when…..

Nightmare #6) hm, ma’am, this isn’t your flight. YOUR flight has been cancelled. I walk back. I must have looked really tired or something. The people behind the conter somehow got me on the flights. Only I had to fly on to Chicago without my luggage. Since they didn’t know when the next flight was going to be going out, I just wanted to get to Chicago at this point!

So, on the flight. Feel asleep from sheer exhaustion. Landed at Midway at 2:30am. I did go to baggage claim just in case. You never know!

Stephanie & Kate picked me up! Awesome. Thank you ladies!! Arrived at Kate’s. Practically fell into bed. It was now 4am. Its been a long day! Just happy to be here!

Woke up at 8am to call the airport about re: suitcase. After over an hour on hold (I put it on speakerphone and fell sleep, lol!) I woke back up & contacted some friends & with in 2 hours I had located my bags. YAY!!

After getting my act together (hello Chicago!) Deon took Kate & I to the race expo. I love race expo’s! Then back to Midway to retrive my suitcase. Glad to have clothes again:) Thanks to Kate for letting me borrow hers for today!

Dinner with friends. Now time to crash. 10pm and I am tired. 4am is coming way to soon!

Oh, HAPPY AUGUST!!

Photo by Alex-s

Today’s workout was oh such fun. I had to swim 1k meters to see what my time was. Ok, don’t laugh. It was 24 minutes. Yeah, slow. BUT. I am going to work very hard on it and bring that time down. I could make a few excuses why my time is what it is, but I am not. 

So, after pulling myself out of the water. I was not only thanking god that 911 didn’t need to be called, but also thankful that I could run. My iPod died. No big deal. I usually run without it anyway. At the trail head, I spy perfect potential. Another runner looked liked he wanted company. Really, he did. So, I asked him how far he was going. Then he asked if he could join me. Sweet. Being iPod free is a great thing after all.

However, Ron didn’t know what he was in for. The next 8.5 miles in 1.5 hours (tough trails) he had no choice but to listen to me. I tend to talk a lot if you didn’t pick up on that yet. We had a great run. He was a MUCH faster runner than me. But he had compassion on me and ran at my pace. Thank you Ron! 

All in all, it was a fantastic run. I finished up with hot, power yoga afterwards.

Photo by Mike Baird

As I was riding Sunday, I was reminded that how we as people have become so detached. What do I mean? Well, I am so glad you asked!

Whenever I am running or riding I always try to say “hello”, “good morning” or “hi” to the people that pass me. At least smile. Okay, I will admit that when I am gasping for air doing sprints, it is much harder to speak, but you get the idea.

So, as I was saying hello to people on my ride I was once again **surprised** at how many people said nothing or fell over in shock that a “girl on bike” actually said something. How sad!

Needless to say, I had a few hours to reflect on this sad trend. And also, how to change it. I don’t have any answers. But I do have some thoughts (well, even you knew that). What if we started viewing other people has REAL life? We live such a fake world.

A world that is run by iPods, Blackberry’s, virtual assistants, virtual this & virtual that. While technology is great (trust me, I love social media), it is also easy to turn a great thing into a bad thing. Don’t let this happen to you! Have a love for other people. Don’t limit your contact to people only via computer. Leave your iPod at home and let your “music” be saying hello to the people around you.

Make AND take a few minutes to actually talk! Novel idea I know. When you start to view people as LIFE, your life will be real. And maybe, just maybe the detached nation will be a friendly & REAL nation.

Photo by Oskay

Today I would like to feature a thought. And that thought is “friends”.

We all have friends in our lives. Some may have more then others, but the number doesn’t matter. Its the relationship that does.

Thought #1) are the friends in your life positive or negative?

Thought #2) what kind of friend are you?

Thought #3) are you a friend only to receive something in return or because you care about them?

I don’t know your answers, but these thoughts are some good reminders to think about. Sometimes we get so caught up in having “friends” but not really having a relationship that says “hey, I care about you” or “how are you, I mean HOW ARE you REALLY?” Or “what’s going on in your life?”

Its the quality of a friendship that counts, not the quantity.

I am very blessed & extremely grateful & thankful to have many true friends in my life. However, I want to thank two dear friends in particular that came to my rescue this week.

It is because they cared about me that they reached out to me & genuinely wanted to make sure everything was ok. That my friends (no pun intended) is what a friend is all about! Thank you to C & M!!!! I am honored to have you a part of my life.

Photo by notsogoodphotography

Did I catch your attention? Well, I am going to write a few thoughts about a 4 letter word & it’s not the word you might think it is! The 4 letter word is called LIFE.

The word “life” brings up so many different thoughts, feelings, definitions, hopes, dreams and yes even fears.

Despite all these descriptions that the word brings, the fact of the mater is this: what are you doing with YOUR life? Are you living for the weekend? For summer or winter vacation? For retirement? Are you living for someone else? Are you limiting yourself to short term goals?

There are times in my life that I need to stop & think, why am I doing this? Is it for me or will it bless someone else? The choices we make affect everyone around us.

Recently as I was preparing to go to yoga class, an unscheduled phone call was received. I REALLY wanted (and needed) to do yoga. But as I was pondering the implications of NOT taking the call, I knew it was not an option.

As I spoke with the caller I knew why I took the call. They needed me at THAT time. It wasn’t about me. It was about this person’s life. As we talked, I was happy that I choose the phone call. THAT my friends is what LIFE is all about. Challenge for you: what will YOU do for a LIFE?

Photo by Wsilver