I did it!

It came!!

This is what my husband gave me for my birthday. (next week)

It came while I was at the dentist today. (of course--it's still in a box)

I. am. so. excited!

I've been restlessly resting.

The week after my first marathon I took five days off in a row. No workout at all. I got to thinking about it and it probably has been months...{years?} since I took 5 consecutive days.

Now, I'm at the end of week two, still taking it easy. The case of piriformis syndrome is still an issue for me so I believe this is the right thing to do. I'm stretching and I'm running only every 2-3 days.

So now what? Well, before the marathon, I entered the
Hornet Juice challenge.

I hoped I would get my Hornet Juice before the marathon but it had to come from New Zealand air mail and I only just got it.

Now I have only a couple weeks to use it for the contest. I'm still recovering from the marathon, I have an injury...what now?

I've been told I'm really a bit ridiculous, over-board and stupid when it comes to physical challenges. So keeping with that theme, against all reason, I have decided to do the Race Athlete B-FitB-day!

I'm a real sucker aren't I?

Roman Mica merely suggested it to me in an e-mail and that was it---all good sense thrown out the window. I'm in.

All I need to do Take your age and in any order:

1) Swim the number of miles in the first number, (4) 2) Run the number of miles in the second number, (4) 3) Bike the number of miles in the combined number.(44)

I've decided to go for the Silver level (all in 3 days). That will be challenging enough under the circumstances.

Have I been swimming or biking? "Uhhhh well...you see I've been concentrating on this marathon you know and...." In short, the answer is "No!"

So don't you see the insanity beauty of it all? It will truly be a challenge for me---but wait! I've got those packets of Hornet Juice!!! I can do it!! I will do it!

Tune in.

Some satire for today...

Under the Banner of Heaven

Book review: Under the Banner of Heaven A Story of Violent Faith

By Jon Krakauer (published in 2003)

I picked up "Under the Banner of Heaven A Story of Violent Faith" to read and relax a few minutes after a Saturday morning long run. I really love this kind of read--a mix of history and true-crime reporting. It was obviously well researched, well written, and so illuminating I had it half read before finally getting up from my chair to get on with the day.

It's the true story about the true bizarre tale revolving around the horrifying 1984 murder of a young woman and her baby daughter by Dan and Ron Lafferty, two brothers who joined a fundamentalist, polygamist Mormon splinter group and soon begin following their own twisted revelations.

The whole thing was crazier than I thought possible. I knew there were splinters off the Mormon church, ("Fundamentalists" they call themselves, and polygomy is the main point of contention,) but I really had no idea there were over 200+ such splinters. Remember, Mormonism, America's fastest growing religion, has only been around a couple hundred years, so that is really a large number of splits.

So, at first glance at the book, I'm asking myself, "How does murder fit into this form of religion of the Lafferty's, and how does it have its roots in Mormonism at all?" As it turns out it, goes back to the doctrine of "blood atonement." Blood atonement which claims when a person is living in a state of (bad) sin, another Mormon, (in righteous standing), can kill the person in violation and really be doing them a favor by cleansing the sin with the blood. Of course, the official Mormon church frowns on this, but nonetheless, this was the justification for the murders. Basically, the Lafferty brothers slaughtered their sister-in-law and niece because God commanded it. Krakauer paints them as American Taliban zealots.

In an interview with Dan Lafferty, Krakauer asks him if he has considered the parallels between himself and Osama bin Laden. Lafferty responds by saying that bin Laden is a "child of the Devil" and that the hijackers were "following a false prophet," whereas he is following a true prophet. I found that funny because without a doubt, bin Laden would say the same about Lafferty.

You should read this book--it is really is fascinating and it will make you think. Here in the United States we have freedom of religion, and yet there is much tension between government authority and that freedom--and no easy resolution. (The recent happenings in Texas continue the saga.) Whatever you think about the Mormon church, or any of the fundamentalist splits, you should care how it is all dealt with by government. Ultimately that affects us all!

Quote from yesterday's USA Today on the recent Texas case: "Any charges of sexual abuse that ultimately emerge from the ongoing investigation will, of course, deserve the most vigorous prosecution. Meanwhile, the case raises some thorny questions, both about how we as a society regard religious "others," and about the role anti-cult stereotypes play in public decision-making."

Thanks for stopping by On The Way.

The good, the bad, and the Ugly

Eugene Marathon report.

The good. Sunday I completed my first marathon. The facts: My time was 4:38:30. My split at the half 2:16:08.
My husband, also ran his first marathon in a very respectable 4:03:44. He has been running only a couple years (he finally caught the running bug from me.)

The Eugene Marathon seemed perfect for the first time marathoner. It was well run and planned, and the course is flat (for the most part). Much of the course is run along the Willamette River which gives a wonderful breeze. (The weather was perfect-- sunny but not too warm.) Runners were given a recyclable bag to put their goodies and swag in from the race packet pick-up, and then to use to drop off warm up clothing in at the race start.

My husband goofing around. (Making sure he got all the goodies out of the bag.)

The bad. So I failed to run the negative split I'd planned, and that's okay. I'm only slightly disappointed with the time, which is okay too. I'm actually thrilled with the fact that I stuck with a pace in the first half that I planned---I ran slow.

The Ugly Why was my overall time a bit off what I had hoped for? (4:20ish) Well, it was because I ran the whole race in pain. A lot of pain! The piriformis syndrome I've been experiencing was in its heyday. I had pain before I even started!! I tried to get it under control before the gun went off but it just wasn't happening.

I was determined to run and finish, so I was especially careful to start slow. By the time I hit the half way point the pain was so excruciating I hobbled through the water stations. I tried to drink on the run because if I stopped to walk, getting going again was absolute torture!

Overall, I am pleased with what was 110% effort under the circumstances. The best part--I know I am capable of running it so much faster. I never bonked or "hit the wall" at all. Yeah, I was tired at the end, but if it weren't for the pain I was in I felt I could have ran faster through-out. I'm thankful I was mindful about taking the advice of not going out too fast because it felt good to be the one doing all the passing in the last 10 miles! (Even though I was in pain, and was slowing some myself, I still passed a lot of runners.)

Wow, was I sore Sunday evening! We had very little time between finishing and jumping in the car to come home---this couldn't have been good for those lactic acid filled muscles.

Sunday evening, I lay down in bed. The phone rang and I told my body to get up to answer, but I remained prone and paralyzed. It was as though communication had been cut off between mind and muscle. "Get up," I said. "Huh? You've got to be kidding!! We're done!" replied my worn out muscles.

I wasn't sure I was going to get out of bed this morning, but a Epsom salt bath has helped me somewhat and I'm moving (slowly). Somehow, I even have inflammation in one of my shoulders! My gosh.

I've heard people say that you will always make promises to yourself during marathons about this being the last one. I didn't, I really enjoyed it and had a good time despite the pain I was in. Perhaps knowing (or thinking) I can do better, is part of what excites me about planning another. ...I must be a runner.

Thanks for stopping by On the Way!

The day after the Marathon

I'm sure many of you have seen this, it's a great little clip. I will be posting Eugene Marathon report soon.