Interesting Article -

saw this on a friend's facebook status.

click here.

Race #3 & Memorial Day!

First of all -

- so grateful to live in this country
- so grateful that I lived outside this country for a year and a half so I appreciate this country even more
- so grateful that my mom's parents came from Mexico and France so they could give their future children (and grandchildren!) a better life
- so proud to be an American
~ I love this country! ~

race #3 - a Memorial Day race - benefit war veterans - quite fitting. I finished in sometime under 35:30, but I'm not sure what my exact time was.

Not bad.

Yay America!

just saw this on a friend's blog, thought I'd share:

Sunday Hiking

A cloudy - but pretty - afternoon.

A waterfall.

A good day.




~ and I did it all in flip flops ~

Once Again...

... I'd say more (or actually something), but my head is pounding and my bed is calling...

peace out.

So Many Things to Say...

But all I have time for is this -

click here

Memorial Day race honoring (and thanking) the troops.

1 mile, 5k, 10k options.

You should sign up and run!

(in American Fork)

Thirty By 30

*update* i did the math wrong for the week (how embarrassing) but it's correct now (:

Remember when I posted this list of overly-ambitious-perhaps-with-slight-or-more-than-slight-delusions-of-grandeur-wow-the-list-has-gotten-way-out-of-control things I wanted to do before I was 30? Yeah... so do I.

I re-worked it in my head today.

The 30 things I want to do before I turn 30 = the lbs. I want to lose before I turn 30. And it's totally possible. I have 168 days (24 weeks) in which to accomplish this. AND I'M GOING TO DO IT.

That's an average of losing less than .2 lbs a day. Or 1.25 lbs. per week. Definitely doable. And healthy too. (:

Remember when I lost weight recently?

Remember when I gained some back even more recently?

Oh, you don't remember that?

That's because I didn't want to tell you.

But it happened.

Not cool.

So... I'm coming back.

30 before 30.

On your mark...

Get set...

just out of curiosity, I looked at the list to see if there were things I could check off.
here they are:

2 - run another half marathon
6 - finish my master's degree
(not quite done, but close!)
15 - try skiing
25 - have my first kiss

13.33333% of what I had planned to do.
and, I still have 24 weeks left.
who knows what will happen by then...

here's a quote i like from that original post:

The common conception is that motivation leads to action, but the reverse is true - action precedes motivation. You have to "prime the pump" and get the juice flowing, which motivates you to work on your goals. Getting momentum going is the most difficult part of the job, and often taking the first step is enough to prompt you to make the best of your day.

- Robert McKain

~ good thing to remember ~

Have I Ever Shared This Gem on Here?

so awesome.
maybe you've already seen it...

think they were going for a danny and sandy thing at the end?

Name That Show

'His buttocks are sublime.'

***scroll down for the answer***

*did you guess it?*

Max on the Lure Course

Before I left with the dogs for the course on Saturday I was talking to my mom about it, turned to Max and said, 'don't embarrass yourself.'

Little did I know...

Attempt #1 -

Attempt #2 -

Poor dog.

I don't know if he has enough dignity to feel embarrassed.

But I do.

Thanks to Jodie for filming while trying
to hold onto Dingo at the same time.
Sorry for my poor editing attempts.
There were times when Jodie couldn't
find us because Max was all over the place.

Thunderstorm!

Today we had an awesome thunderstorm.

I love thunder.

And lightning.

I think I'm fascinated by the power that's in them.

I sat on my patio with a friend for a little while during the storm. A couple of the cracks of thunder made us both really jump. They sounded like shotguns. Really close shotguns.

Other than being jumpy for a couple of seconds, I loved it.

I love thunderstorms so much that I bought an hour long mp3 of a thunderstorm.

True story.

Speaking of which, maybe that will help me fall asleep tonight.

I had the lights off by 10:00 last night, but didn't fall asleep for another hour.

I hate when that happens.

Operation: Get Some Sleep!

Goal: lights off by 10:00 pm.

Pathetic for a Saturday night?

Possibly.

Something my body desperately needs?

Absolutely.

Upcoming post - Max running in the lure course. I'd post it tonight, but the video requires some editing. And I just don't feel like doing that tonight.

They're Not Bad Dogs, But They Do Bad Things...

On Monday I listened to a message on my phone from this guy who said he found my dogs and had them in his car and would like to bring them to me.

I was in Provo.

I called him back, left a message, and then called my mom at home.

She had the dogs back because he had called the home number too.

I'm so glad they both have ID tags on them. (I got Max one in December.)

They had dug a hole under the fence, gone a mile down to the park, wandered around the roundabout close by the park, then Max jumped out in front of this guy's car. The guy almost hit him (but didn't), followed them to the park, looked around for a frantic owner who lost two dogs, didn't see a frantic owner, called the numbers on the dog's tags and got them into his car.

Some people I've told the story to have been surprised that they got into his car.

I'm not.

They're nice dogs, and they like people.

While I'm not sure Dingo would have gone easily into his car had he been alone, I'm guessing that Max didn't hesitate (he's a genius. and loves everyone so I don't think he understands that everyone might not love him) and then Dingo followed.

It could have been a lot worse than that.

I'm so glad it wasn't.

Here's the inspiration for my title -
(I really wish they showed the lecture she gave them right before this)

Interesting...

I got this from my sister-in-law quite a while ago. Kinda fun.

This year we experienced and are going to experience four unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11; that's not all... take the last two digits of the year in which you were born; now add the age you will be this year, and the result will be 111 for everyone!

This is the year of Money!!!

The year October will have 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Saturdays.
This happens only every 823 years.

These particular years are known as 'Moneybags' - ...





And then it goes on to explain that you need to send it to 8 people and you'll get money.
okay, okay...

I hate the 'you must forward this or die' part of emails, but sometimes they have some interesting information in them.

EBATES

Have you heard of this? It links to a bunch of stores for online shopping, and when you access that store's website through ebates, you get a percentage back of what you spend there. Through ebates. It's actual, real-life money that they send you. Well, in check form, but it turns in to actual, real-life money.

I think you should sign up.

And if you do, it might be nice if you insert my email address as the person who referred you. Then we both get money. (: (andersonneddie {at} gmail {dot} com)

More Good Food!

Today I had coach's oats for breakfast, flavored with cinnamon and whey low (sugar substitute), a bunch of fruit and left over pancakes for lunch, and vegetable & bean fajitas for dinner. I was even going to make whole wheat tortillas from scratch, but remembered the TON of tortillas I found in the two refrigerators when I cleaned them out on Saturday, and couldn't justify adding more to the LARGE pile. (did I tell you that we have a WHOLE LOT of tortillas in this house?)

So, dinner wasn't quite as healthy as it could have been, but it wasn't bad.

I've been trying to eat more natural / whole / healthy foods. Since Saturday. And aside from Sunday when I had lunch at my sister's house, I've been doing pretty well. Lunch there wasn't even that bad (health-wise, that is - and it tasted really good), but I had too much dessert. But it was SO GOOD. So good. I had already decided that I'd give myself Sunday 'off' (to 're-tox,' if you will), but that doesn't mean I have to take Sundays off.

Tonight when I was craving something sweet... I actually thought about making more pancakes (because they're that good), but settled on a couple of oranges instead. And they were delicious. And satisfied the sweet-craving.

I think that's what they call a 'win-win(-win).'

Which goes something like this -

I Feel Like I'm a Real Cook...

Twice in the last few days I've used whole grain wheat in recipes.

Not just whole grain wheat.

Whole grain wheat that I've had to grind. (or not)

With my teeth.

Okay, that last part is a lie.

I do grind it, just not with my teeth.

On Saturday I made fresh spinach pasta.

It was great.

Tonight (for dinner), I made whole wheat blender pancakes (yes, it was for dinner).

So good.

I like using whole grain wheat kernels.

It makes me feel like a real cook.

And healthy.

Fresh Spinach Pasta

Made some last night.

From scratch.

It was gooooood.

I took a picture.

But then somehow it got deleted.

Guess I'll have to make it again.

got the recipe here

also - I created a recipe document with a bunch of recipes I've collected (but not necessarily tried) over the years. Then I invited a bunch of people to view it, edit it (add their own), and share it with others. If you were not one of those people, but would like to be, let me know.

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've all had a great day.

Every Summer

I found this when I googled 'radiation-attacked-lobster'
you'll see why I googled that in a minute

I found out years and years ago (I'm 29, so I have 'years and years' behind me) that when I get sunburned, it turns tan, and then I proceed to get darker from there. And if it does happen to peel, it peels to the same color underneath as I was on top, so I don't have to start the sunburning process again.

Is this the healthy for your skin?

Fact: No.

I am so aware of this fact, that yesterday while basking in the glorious sunlight I almost texted my classmate who's always been cancer-focused and is now working in the cancer dept. at UDOH saying, 'I'm in the process of giving myself skin cancer. Just thought I'd let you know.'

So, while I obviously know what sunburns can do to my skin, it's not enough to keep me from being in the sun. And I've never been a great sunscreen-user either. I do, however, use face lotion that's spf 15...

So that's somethin'.

Anyway, yesterday, I sat in the sun for a little over an hour. It felt wonderful. It wasn't too hot, and there was a light breeze that kept me cool. It was perfect. And also deceptive. I've long ago realized that my worst burns come when there's a breeze outside. It's almost as if I believe, 'well, if I don't feel the uv rays beating down on me, then they're not beating down on me.'

This is a lie.

I came inside looking for tan lines and seeing a few faint marks.

Until later.

When I was getting dressed to go to my temple shift I noticed I was kind of red. When I got to the temple I noticed I was redder than I had initially thought. When I crouched down to reload some clothing bins I realized that the backs of my knees hurt. A lot. When I changed out of my temple clothes and was standing in my full-length slip... I looked like a lobster. I looked like I should have super-radiation-powers. I looked like a radiation-attacked-lobster.

Wow.

I was red.

I went home, put aloe vera on, and went to sleep.

This morning when I woke up - not as red. It's already fading.

Looks like my plan is working.

Beautiful Day!

It's a gorgeous day today.

Clear skies.

Low-70s temperature.

Gorgeous.

I sat outside for a while while working on some things.

And loved it.

Current highlights in the backyard -

hanging azaleas
(the picture doesn't do justice)

and always one of my favorites -

the blossoming crabapple tree
(again, not a great picture)

If there was a way for me to share the lovely scent wafting along the breeze then I totally would.
Until technology makes that possible, I'll just have to enjoy it for you.

It's Swedish.

And it's really good.

flatbread
mashed potatoes
hot dog (turkey dog in this case)
spicy brown mustard

mmm...

Gum Disease and Other News

Every once in a while I'm reminded that my gums above my front two teeth are uneven. One is higher than the other, and makes the tooth look a little longer. Have you noticed this? Probably Hopefully not.

Occasionally when I run my tongue along my teeth, I'll feel the difference in the position of my gums (this is what reminds me).

I immediately freak out thinking that my tooth is horribly exposed and starting to look like a corpse's teeth, and I'm never ever ever going to smile again.

Then I jump up and run to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I do this regardless of what time of day it is, when my last meal was, and even though I may have brushed my teeth some few hours earlier.

While readying the toothbrush and toothpaste, I look in the mirror with my lips pulled back in a snarling grimace so I can take a look at the offending gumline.

After scaring myself I immediately brush my teeth, focusing on that one spot trying to encourage my gums to lower themselves on that one tooth.

It never does.

After the frantic brushing, I run to my computer and google 'gum disease,' 'gingivitis,' 'uneven gum line,' and 'am i going to die because my gumline is uneven'. Not necessarily in that order.

Good news, I'm not going to die.

Other good news, I probably don't have gum disease or gingivitis either. My gums have never been inflamed or tender, my teeth never feel loose, I've never had a lip piercing*, and the dentist has never said anything to me about my gum line.

*

So I'm in the clear.

For now.

Until I get a lip piercing.

In other news -

After reading this article that a friend of mine shared on facebook, I've been working at a makeshift standing desk.


For the last two hours or so (some, but not all of that spent searching frantically for proof that my life was not in jeopardy due to my hideously disfigured gums) I've been standing at this box-on-the-island desk.

This isn't a sales plug, but if it were, I would point out the isagenix box that my computer is resting on. And how it seems to made for creating your own standing desk. My elbows are almost at a 90-degree angle, and there's no strain on my wrists. These are both good things.

Granted, because it's a laptop I can't have the screen at the right height and the keyboard in the right position at the same time. Baby steps people. At least I'm standing.

My legs are tired, but I think that's kind of the point.


Separate topic now - I just got this in the mail -


- it's a horrible picture, but it's a little angel.

I'm normally not much for things like this, but I love this one.

Not sure why exactly.

I got it here.


Now I'll go back to practicing ways to hide my gums from you when I smile.

If it looks something like this -



- well then, I'm sorry.

Still Sore...

Due to my rock climbing escapades, I'm a bit sore today. It's kind of strange because I don't feel it all the time, but only when I twist or reach in a different way.

I guess it kind of makes sense though because I used muscles that I don't normally use. So I'm not sore all the time.

I don't know if that makes sense.

But it's a good kind of sore.

And I like it.

Rock Climbing!

Tess, my friend/rock climbing instructor, showing Annikki and me how it's done.

Last week while prepping to watch a movie with my friends Annikki and Tess, rock climbing came up.

A few days earlier, Annikki had told me how much she wanted to learn how to rock climb, but didn't really know anyone who could teach her.

A couple of weeks prior to that conversation, I had talked with Tess who told me about a type of rock climbing she had done that tears up your hands because you insert your hands into slots in the wall (mountain) and twist in order to pull yourself up, doing a similar thing with your feet - so I knew she was hardcore.

Knowing that this could be a match made in heaven (in case you don't understand the math -> teacher+student=heaven), I brought up this topic of conversation on Friday. Little did I know that I would be dragged into coming invited to come along.

I was a little scared of the idea, but excited too.

I got there a bit after they had started the lesson/demonstration, and then they didn't have their phones with them when I tried letting them know I was there, so I waited around for a bit and watched crazy-rock-climbing-people do crazy-rock-climbing-things.

It was pretty cool.

And then it got even cooler.

They came out when they were ready to try the 'real' wall - they had been bouldering in the back to practice. Tess gave us a run-down on the harnesses, ropes, protocol, etc. (because she's certified and can do that kind of thing), and up we went.

Well, up Annikki went.

And when she got down,

Up I went.

So much fun. I love it. I didn't quite make it to the top, but the distance I did go up had my arms and legs shaking.

After that, we went back to bouldering because Tess had to leave, and bouldering is something that Annikki and I could do without supervision.

And that was a bunch of fun too.

Babysitting My Nephews

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Our Tax Dollars are Funding These People???

Click here for the link.

Watch the video.

Sign the petition (if you want to).

And be as horrified as I am. (that part's not up for debate)

Cabbage for Breakfast

A few weeks ago I picked up a basket at bountiful baskets that had two heads of cabbage in it. While I like cabbage, I'm not super-familiar with good ways to use it. So I googled it.

I found a discussion board with people talking about ways they use their cabbage. The only one I've tried - for breakfast.

Saute some cabbage (as much as you want) in some olive oil, when it's slightly browned, add a beaten egg and milk mixture and stir it until cooked. I normally use two eggs and a little milk.

Sometimes I cut up enough cabbage to the point where the eggs are barely noticeable. But it's still good.

Cabbage has a lot of great health benefits too. It's great for cancer prevention - and sometime even cancer treatment. It's a great source of antioxidants, and full of anti-inflammatory properties. Read more here.

I eat cabbage for breakfast, and I LOVE it.

This past Saturday I picked up a basket that had one head of cabbage.

Guess what I had for breakfast this morning?

Today Was (Is) Mother's Day

Mother's day has not been my favorite holiday for the last some-odd years. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to celebrate my Mom and her life and how much she's done for me (so much), and also my three sisters and two sisters-in-law, but I always find myself wishing I were a mother and had my own children to be grateful for.

Today was better than it's been in the past because I think I'm now really dealing with my reality, and accepting the odds for what they are. (at what age do I become more likely to be killed by a terrorist than get married?)

I've heard multiple times the idea that 'all women are mothers,' and while a part of me understands what they mean by that, another part of me thinks, 'Nope. I'm not. As much as I want to be one, I'm not one. You're saying that thinking to make me feel better, but I'm not a mother. I'm an aunt.'

I'm thinking it would be nice to have an 'aunt's day.'


Maybe there should be an 'eden is an aunt' day, where people bring me presents and we eat cake. Or eclairs.

But then it would be too much like a birthday.

And I would feel awkward from all the attention (just like I do on my birthday).

So maybe it's best that I just be an aunt, and love the opportunity I have to be an aunt to 21 (and more to come, I'm sure!) wonderful boys and girls.

And appreciate the fact that I can just send them home to mom and dad when they're tired and fussy.

I really hope this doesn't sound like a pity party, because it's not (but I did have one of those with my sister when she was in town last month. and I threatened to have one a night for the remainder of her time here, but lucky her, I didn't. I was too depressed... :). I've reworded some phrases in this post multiple times, and don't want this to come off all sad and pathetic.

But I do want to say - Happy Mother's Day!!! - to all you mother's out there who have been wonderful examples to me and others around them. Thank you for showing me the joys of motherhood (even when there's spit up - or worse - on your clothing). Thank you for doing things right, and thank you for making mistakes for me to learn from.

Looks like I'm not the first one to think aunt's day is a good idea:

Race #2

This morning I woke up early to run in the Susan G. Komen 5k in downtown SLC. After waking up, checking to make sure Dingo didn't mess in my room during the night (he scratched on the door multiple times and I was too exhausted to get up so I ignored him, knowing as I did so that he could quite possibly be leaving me something to clean up - thank goodness he didn't!), getting dressed for running, trying to convince the dogs they couldn't go with me, and sneaking away from them to my car, I headed for the train station. On the way there I noticed tht I had a 'brake lamp' warning on my dashboard (more on that later).

Now I'm literally falling asleep as I type this, and having to check and recheck typed in sentances because I'm not always making sense to myself.

I wouldn't even publish this, but I told a friend that I'd publish a post a least once a day in May.

More to come (in an updated version of this same post):

• cute dogs running
• thousands of runners
• my cousin and his family
• catching the train on the way home
• fixing the brake lamp
• picking up my weekly basket
• and maybe more... (:
  

Beauty / Health Tip

Sometimes I have itchy-skin problems. After my mission, my skin itched almost constantly for over a year (no joke). It was horrible. It's definitely not that bad anymore, but occasionally it comes back and it's not so fun, and seriously distracting.

I was reading a random blog a few weeks ago (I do that sometimes...) and saw a post on a soft skin secret.

Are you ready for this?



She said that after she showers, before toweling off, she rubs Johnson's baby oil gel (in cocoa butter) all over her body, then blots dry with a towel, and her skin stays soft. When I read this, I had been battling an itchy back for the previous few days and was desperate to try anything. So I tried it. And, oh my goodness, it's working miracles. I'm a believer. My back isn't itchy (and my skin feels softer - bonus!). I do this after every shower, and even use a little on my face. I haven't used lotion since doing this (except occasionally on my hands), and my skin has felt great.

Let me know if you try it and what you think about it!

The Season Comes to a Close

Since the first Wednesday in January, I've been playing volleyball in a local gym league. We haven't played straight through until now (we had a couple weeks off in between the seasons, and then another couple weeks off before out tournament game last night because of spring break and a major church meeting), but on and off, I've gotten a lot of volleyball-playing in.

I've loved it.

Ever since 8th grade I've really enjoyed playing volleyball, and I'll accept almost any opportunity I have to play.

After playing in an institute tournament - in which my ward won the championship (the same day I got dumped because I like dogs - it was a day of extreme emotions...) - some girls in my ward decided they wanted to play in this gym league and invited me to play with them. I'm so glad I said yes

In this league, these last two seasons, I can probably count on one hand the number of games my team has won (and we played 2, sometimes 3 games a week), but we had fun. We had a lot of fun.

In the first season, our team name was 'Victorious Secret.' This season - 'Some Spike it Hot.' We had shirts with our team name made for both. We may not have been the most talented, but our 'uniforms' looked the coolest. (:

During this season I had cheering support from three of my oldest sister's children for one game while they were visiting from Denver, and my younger sister (while visiting from Oklahoma) along with my visiting teaching companion for another game (my younger sister and visiting teaching companion are now sisters-in-law). It was a lot of fun to have them there watching. And we actually won the game that my sister and friend made it to. Which of course was more fun for them to watch. I'm guessing. (:

So, with some sadness, I'll say goodbye to volleyball and look forward to any other chances to play.

I'm No Good At Fundraising...

I never have been good at it. The same day that I created this post, I emailed some people letting them know what I was doing (running a 5k through the Komen Foundation), and that I'm trying to earn money for breast cancer, and that I would appreciate a donation. Any donation, any amount. Even $1. By the end of the email, I was practically offering to give them money instead of take theirs. As of right this moment (11:55 am and 13 seconds) I have raised zero dollars. I'm just no good at asking for money. I feel guilty. Even though it's for a good cause.

I'm still taking donations if you're interested in donating. Click here to donate.

Or I'll just give you money instead.




Here are some facts about breast cancer.

(aside from some kinds of skin cancer-)
Breast cancer is:

• the most common cancer in women, regardless of race or ethnicity
• the most common cause of death from cancer among Hispanic women
• the second most common cause of death from cancer among white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women
• in 2007 - 202,964 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,598 women died from breast cancer

facts found here

Tulips From the Half

When you sign up to run a race on April 30th, you don't plan to run in snow. At least I didn't.

But then I did.

Run in snow, that is.

Luckily it didn't stick to the roads and trails we were running on, but the few bridges we had to cross were pretty slippery.

Two days before the race I went to the tulip festival with some family. While still pretty even when snow-covered, I'm glad I got to see the pretty tulips when they weren't dusted with snow.

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Donate For Breast Cancer Research

I'm running a 5k this Saturday that benefits breast cancer research. In addition to that, they asked me to try to fundraise $100. If you're able to contribute anything, that's awesome. If you want to run with me. That's awesome too.

Click here to donate.

Thanks!

Dog Park

Saturday I took Dingo and Max to the dog park. I had looked it up last year sometime (before we even got Max) and had been meaning to go for a while. I decided I had to take them soon, because Max has been destroying things in the backyard (digging holes to get under the fence - two of them, digging random holes in the grass, etc). I'm guessing that because I haven't taken them on any good walks (or any walks period) for quite a while, he was looking to release energy / get stimulation / something else that dogs are thinking / etc.

I really started thinking the dog park would be a good idea a few weeks ago when, just having come home from a walk, I saw two of my neighbors outside with their two dogs each. They called me over to join them, and for the next 20 minutes or so, the six dogs all played together. Max was the biggest by far (with Dingo being the second biggest) but Max loved it. He ran around the yard in circles while another dog chased him. Dingo kind of wandered around sniffing here and there, and two of the other dogs followed behind him.

So, Saturday, I went because I had wanted to get them out on a walk for a while, but after running 13.1 miles I didn't necessarily feel like taking them on a long walk - which is what they needed. I figured it was a perfect day to go to the dog park. The weather was a little cool, but not terrible. I got there, and there were about 7 other dogs running around. As soon as I pulled up to park, Max started whimpering and whining to get out of the car and go play. Then, when we were walking to the gate, he kept pulling on the leash, racing to get in there.

And he loved it.

There were a couple of other big dogs that he ran around with, and some smaller ones too. Dingo just kind of wandered around, interacting with a few other dogs here and there.

Yesterday, I took them again. Sunday is the time to go, because there were 20+ (maybe even 30+?) dogs there. Max loved it. Yesterday there was this little dachshund (Bentley) that he kept playing with. Max would do the start and stop thing with him where he'd be running around, pull up suddenly, and then dart in the other direction, sometimes jumping over Bentley. It was adorable. Bentley's owners loved Max because he didn't try to eat Bentley the way one of the three huskies did.

There was one great dane when we got there, and two more showed up while we were there. The first one was so tall. I couldn't believe how long his legs were. And he was fascinated with Dingo. It was so funny. He kept following Dingo around while Dingo just wandered randomly. Then the second dane to show up followed him around too. I wish I had gotten pictures, because the first one was more than twice the size of the Dink. One bad things about the danes were their drooling. They drooled on Dingo so much that you could feel it on his head and back when petting him. (don't worry, I've given him a rub down with soap and water since then)

Good times.

I'll be taking them more often now that it's (finally!) warming up. But we've had false-alarm-warm-days before... I hope they last this time!

My Second Half

Yesterday I ran in the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon.

Was I ready?

No.

Did I fully train?

No.

Was it snowing?

Yes.

Did some of the uphills just about kill me?

Devil take it, Yes.

Did I average just under a 13-minute mile?

Yep.

Did the winner average just over a 5-minute mile?

I can hardly believe it, but yes. (I can't imagine running that fast for ONE mile let alone 13.1)

Did I track over 22,000 steps on a pedometer?

Yes. And I earned every one of them.

At the end, did I deliberately pick up my pace in order to beat a Ute fan?

Umm, with school pride involved, I absolutely did.

And did I beat him?

By at least a couple of minutes, thank you very much. Go Cougars!

Did I have fun?

Yes.

And that's all that matters.

Earlier this year I had been training really well, and even got to the point where I ran 14 miles - with NO walking breaks - on the treadmill.

That was a long time ago.

I got sick for a few weeks. (no fun)

And stopped training regularly during that time.

It's so sad how quickly you lose the ground you've gained if you stop running.

I'm looking at yesterday's half as a new start to training.

And I'm thinking all those runs posted on the left sidebar will help me keep running.

At least I hope so.