Outer Banks March 2010

I don't have anything fun, interesting or exciting to post currently and I never posted about how awesome spring break was.

It was awesome.

Even though it was cold, the sun finally came out and it was GREAT!

10 rooms in a beach house 9 couples and 13 children. THE HOUSE WAS ROCKIN'!!

We lucked out with the parade going right in front of our beach house.

We got crabs at Dirty Dicks (a local crab house).

Playing games and hanging out were the highlight of the trip.

Found this while wasting my life on the internet

http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/internetaddiction.png

I've been thinking

...that when we finally have a baby...if we have a baby girl, I want to name her Stacy. Then I can have Stacy's Mom be my theme song.

That is all.

Skydiving

We were supposed to go skydiving for our 5th anniversary (because I really wanted to go skydiving and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate!), but for some reason we never got it scheduled and then it was too cold. I made sure I scheduled this as SOON as it was warm enough to go again. It was AWESOME. Here are some pictures and a little about our experience.







We drove about an hour and a half south of Richmond into this out-in-the-country type place. Rich even expressed his concern that he thought "our GPS was leading us out into the middle of nowhere to kill us." We finally turned onto Airport Road and see the runway for the airplanes and right next to it within the gates of the airport was a cemetery. This does NOT seem like a good omen when you are about to jump out of the airplane. (the picture below was actually taken from the airplane.)





Then we pulled up and saw the place and Rich said, "Where did you bring us!"








Then he was really wondering where I was taking him when he saw the size of the plane we were about to jump out of. Plus, as we rolled up there was an old guy sitting in a lawn chair, one guy riding a bike in circles, one guy bouncing a big blue ball and a girl playing with a dog. It was so random!

Then came the paperwork. It is the scariest part of the whole thing, because you have sign your life away multiple times! They just keep rewording the ways that you could get hurt and/or killed and how you and/or your surviving family cannot sue them.

They told us we had to wait an hour for the winds to slow down. We had a great time hanging out with the people there. This guy was telling us how much he love livin' in the country, because he can just walk out on his front porch in his underwear to let his dog out. Doesn't Rich look uncomfortable with this set up!

We finally got up in the air. Rich was going to jump first. He got all strapped up to the instructor (he said it was awkward). Then when we made it to 10,000 feet they assumed the position and Rich swung his legs out and they were sucked right out the side of the plane. I actually screamed because it happened so fast. By the time the plane landed he was already back on the ground. This was not his first skydiving experience, so he just said, "yeah, that was really fun." As if it was no big deal to jump out of a plane.

Then it was my turn! I was a little nervous, but we we got into position and he opened the door, I looked down and hyperventilated a little. I didn't actually contemplate not jumping, but it definitely added to the anticipation. Before I knew it, it was time to swing my legs over the edge and jump. I didn't have any time to think about it. All of a sudden I am plummeting through the air. It was so exhilarating and exciting. I was screaming, but I think it was all in my head because I couldn't hear any noise coming out of my mouth. Then he pulled the cord and we floated down. It was a beautiful blue sky day and the view was incredible. It was amazing. I am so glad we went. Worth every penny!

Running Man (heather named this post)

March 27, 2010, was the Ukrops' Monument 10k. This is an annual 10k race here in Richmond that plays host to over 35,000 people. Crazy! Not only are there a ton of racers, but loads of people come out to cheer on the racers, local bands play music, and volunteers hand out drinks and food. It's a great atmosphere to race in. This was my first time doing a 10k race, and, because I failed to train properly, this was also my first time to run more than 4 miles. I planning on running with some of the deacons/scouts, but when I looked for them in the sea of humanity, I could not find them at all. I was so antsy to run, I decided to go ahead and just run. It was awesome, and as I got going I knew I was 1) going to be able to finish and 2) I knew that I wouldn't have to slow down or walk or anything. That's a good feeling to feel at the beginning of a race. Anyway, I really enjoyed the race, I finished the 6.2 miles in 58:39, which I was happy about for the not training.


*NOTE from Heather: There are no pictures of Rich at his race because I didn't get any of him. I did take a picture of Rich with our friends The Petersons after the race.

26.2

Since high school I have had this little fascination with marathons and in college I once said (in my head) that I wanted to run one. After the Monument 10k last year I started toying with the idea of training for a marathon, but since my husband and exercises buddy, Kim, had just bought bikes I decided on triathlons instead. Well triathlons are a seasonal thing and in November I ran a half-marathon and as I came across the finish line I thought, "I could keep going. If I ran at this pace, I really could run a marathon!" That feeling kept festering in me and on New Year's Eve before midnight I signed up for the National Marathon in DC. Well little did I know that this year Richmond would transform in to a snowland rending long Saturday runs either impossible or very difficult. I managed to squeeze in a long run. I continued to do my morning runs with crazy girls (Kim, Brityn, Darci and Katie) who like to get up at 5:45 AM in 10 degree weather to run. There were rough runs:

Top 3 worst runs

1. 20 miles at 5 AM after 4 hours of sleep courtesy of the MCV ball (not to mention sore feet from ridiculous heels the night before)

2. 15 miles in the rain with a cold and ear infection

3. 16 miles for my first run of the year. Outside temp 18 degrees. My water bottle froze and I had tried to go with a local running group and wound up running with a girl who refused to talk. It made me miss my normal running buddies (at least if you are by yourself you can put your ipod on)

I made it through the runs and as race day approached I was imagining all kinds of crazy scenarios where I would sprain my ankle at work or get severe gastroenteritis right before the race or it would snow 2 feet in DC again. Luckily, none of those things happened. I had tons of support in the way of good luck wishes and texts. My cute friend Marci even decorated my house with candy and decorations to congratulate me. I got up nice an early on race day and headed down town. The Petersons let us crash at their house and got up a 5:45 to drop us off at the race. I brought my trusty pack mule, photographer and personal cheerleader (Richard). I met up with my old roommate Mary who was running the half with her dad and uncle. We ran the first 3 miles together. I made 3 portapotty stops "just in case" because I was petrified of browning my legs (if you know what I mean). Luckily, I didn't! I ran the last 23.2 miles without talking much, despite my plans to wear my BYU shirt to lure other cougars into having a conversation with me, nobody engaged in much running conversation.

I loved the amazing views of the capital and the monuments. I loved running in the warm sun along the river front. I loved seeing people cheering me on along the way.

Top 5 favorite posters along the run

1. Toenails are for sissies

2. Warning: serious chaffing ahead

3. After today you won't just be a runner you will be a marathoner (I think I got misty eyed at that one)

4. Hey stranger! You don't know me, but you're my hero.

5. If you can do natural child birth you can do this (don't ask me why, I just liked it)

I pretty much had a smile on my face all the way to mile 21! Mile 22 I focused on my music. THEN came mile 23 and 24...UGHHH. It was AWFUL! My legs hurt, I was so tired and there were all these rolling hills for the the last 3 miles. I walked a lot and I kept trying to remind myself that three miles is NOTHING compared to what I had done so far, but my legs didn't believe me. Then I resorted to reminding myself how much I wanted it, that didn't help much either. Fellow runners would encourage me and that helped, as did the powerade at mile 25. So I ponied up and ran the last 1.2 miles and would have cried tears of joy as I came across the finish line, but I didn't have any water left in my body. My face didn't have sweat marks on it, just salt streaks. I still felt a little bit like a wanted to die or just amputate my legs to stop the pain, but as I ate my cookies and drank my juice I realized I had accomplished my goal!! That's one more off the bucket list and I am so glad I did it. Now I will proudly display my 26.2 bumper sticker.

I think you should get a Long post bumper sticker for making it through this long post!!

For those of you who enjoy my adolescent-boy-type humor

I made this mug online and gave it to the nursing supervisor at my office. Laughs were had all around.