Happy Easter

Today was Easter. I spent the morning driving, the afternoon unpacking, and the evening at a friend's for dinner. It was a great day. I'm sorry it wasn't as great for my husband, who suffered with the traditional Easter Enchiladas the dining facility offered. I know he did his best to make the most of a crummy situation. Just a few more months and he'll be home!

I left New Orleans pretty early this morning. I had debated on going to Camellia Grill early for breakfast but ultimately decided against it. I grabbed some Starbucks and hit the road around 8. I happened to pass by the French Quarter RV Resort, a place I didn't know existed, and I've filed that away for potential future reference. The drive back was just as uneventful as the drive over, which is good. I made it back early but the place where I boarded the dogs doesn't have Sunday morning pickup, so I just went home.

After unpacking and relaxing a while, I went over to the Wheelock's. Angela made quite the spread, and Dave did wonders (or so I'm told) with grilling the lamb. I had "sausage" stuffed mushrooms (Angela has been enamored with the Gimme Lean fake sausage I introduced her to at Thanksgiving), rosemary potatoes (made with fresh rosemary from the garden), garlic green beans, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Yummy! For dessert she made Italian egg bread, which is bread with full eggs (still in the shell) baked in. She put an anise icing on it. Now anise (aka black licorice) is near the top of my list of least favorite flavors. However, I tried a slice of the bread and surprisingly it was good. I still would have preferred it without the icing, or with a different flavor icing, but it was still good, and I took a piece home. I also got to take the leftover mushrooms home. I really like Dave and Angela and truly value their friendship.

I brought over two bottles of the recently bottled Barolo. One to drink tonight as a test, the other for them to age and enjoy later. We tried a taste of the wine when we opened it and it still has an effervescent, slightly carbonated taste. Then we ran a taste through the aerator, and what a difference it made! So we decided to run it through the aerator. I had a little splash at the end of dinner that wasn't aerated, and it made a big difference in the enjoyment. I think one of them is in our future, but the Barolo still needs several months or years to age, aerator or not.

I did get to Skype with Bill this afternoon, and that was really cool. I look forward to it! He did a 10k yesterday and was able to run outside for a change. His time was great, but he said he wasn't able to do it all at once, so he doesn't think it should count. He's going to do another next weekend (while I'm doing the Fiesta 10k) so we'll see how that goes. He said again how proud he was of my time and effort Saturday. He also reminded me where I was last year at this time. So, let's step into the "way back machine", shall we?

April 19, 2010: Week 3, Day 3 of the Couch to 5k program. Two reps of run 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes.
April 20, 2010: Week 4, Day 1 of C25k. run 3 mins, walk 90 secs, run 5 mins, walk 2-1/2 mins, run 3 mins, walk 90 seconds, run 5 mins.
April 21, 2010: Week 4, Day 2 C25k. Same as W4D1.
April 24, 2010: Week 4, Day 3 C25k. Same as W4D1.

I was in DC with Bill (the first time I visited him since he left, and the first time we ran together) for the first three runs and in Atlanta for Stitches South for the last one. I am not positive we did all these runs, but that is what was on my calendar and all I have to go by. So to make this short story even longer, I was struggling to run five minutes at a time. I remember running around Bill's apartment complex huffing and puffing. I was on the verge of tears because it was so hard. Five minutes seemed like forever, and the two and a half in between went by in the blink of an eye. That pain is still fresh in my mind. And to think I ran a half marathon since -- two of them -- still blows my mind!

I am incredibly proud of how far I've come this year. I want to go farther, but I can look back and really smile.

I know I would not have done this without Bill's support. I am sure that when we ran around the complex he was thinking "C'mon, it is only three minutes!" but he never ever let that show. He was encouraging and positive every step of the way. My pace was probably around 12 minutes per mile or slower during the runs, and I know he can do much faster than that (especially for such a short time!) but he ran with me and walked with me and kept my spirits up. He didn't let me get down. I couldn't have done it without him!

On a similar note, I appreciate the support I get from my Daily Mile friends. I haven't met half of them in person, but they leave positive comments on my workouts and that makes me feel great! Their encouragement fuels me. My coaches' encouragement also fuels me. A LOT! They treat me just like any of their athletes. I feel like they are just as thrilled with my 10k PR of 1:01:08 as they would be of one of their other athlete's PR which may be half that. I may be their slowest athlete, but I feel like they are just as proud of me. I felt bad about Saturday's run, but Coach Mark came back with a positive comment. He said, "Hey Molly, It happens!  And it's OK.  Let's make sure your rested and mentally FIRED UP next weekend with positive thoughts!  This is all part of being a terrific athlete - which you are!  And it makes us appreciate the truly great days.  You WILL break it!" That makes me happy!

I know this sounds more like a Thanksgiving post (listing what I have to be thankful for) rather than an Easter post, but in this time of rebirth, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what I have: my health, the world's greatest husband, a great family and set of friends, two super dogs and super cats, and overall a good life. I do truly feel blessed.