We are funny creatures. We wake up at the crack of dawn when the moon and the backs of our eyelids tell us we should still be slumbering. We strap on our shoes and our iPods and our Garmins and hit the asphalt. We run up and down stadium bleachers countless times until our legs feel like jello. We circle the tracks, traverse the canal banks, scale the mountains. We go and go until our lungs feel like they might run out of air or until our feet beg us to stop. We make our hearts beat twice as fast as normal and we thrive in the sweat. We push our physical abilities to the limits, drive ourselves to push on and stretch to reach further than we thought we could or at least further than we've been before. We crave new experiences. We yearn for hard things - experiences that will help refine us and push us to become more than we presently are.
We do hard things. On purpose.
In one of the conference addresses Saturday (I can't remember which speaker it was), I heard a similar message about how we inherently derive satisfaction from the accomplishment of that which is hard. It's in our nature. Nothing worth having comes easy. I smiled as those words were spoken. He was talking to me. I had run my 7 miles earlier that morning, with legs still mildly tired from the 4 on Friday, and still somewhat un-recovered from the grand canyon the week before. I was rubbing my shin bruise and considering why my blisters hadn't healed yet. I was thinking about Bishop Uncle Jim and my cousin, Jimmy, who had probably just finished their marathon in St. George an hour or two earlier - just a little over a month after running the Park City marathon in August and only months after battling cancer. I was thinking about my next big race with Ryan in just six weeks and the Turkey Trot the week after that and racing again with my SIL at London's Run and the next big Rim 2 Rim hike in 2011 and getting excited about all of it. All these things, hard things...and yet I crave them.
I know that we are all at different places in our lives, and truly - just a few years ago- I couldn't have been further away from where I am now. Then, if I would have attempted a short jog around my block, I'm quite sure my lungs would have given out. I was ten years into motherhood and too many years into sleepless nights and 2:00am work sessions followed by 6:00 am risings. I hadn't made fitness a priority in a decade and the fruits of that neglect manifested themselves in every aspect of my well-being. The best thing that ever happened to me was my dad coming to work for us at RMB and lifting so much of that crazy late-night work burden from my plate. Suddenly, I realized that I really did need sleep. And exercise. And that I could feel good again - really good.
There is a season for everything, a time and a place. I know that. And somehow I justified for so many years that being fit wasn't part of my season. That doesn't even make any sense in retrospect. Being fit should be part of who we are are - always. I think I put fitness on the back burner partly because I thought I couldn't fit one more thing in my crazy life - and maybe I couldn't, I don't know, but mostly because I thought it was too hard. And it is so dang hard when you're not consistent. Every time you try to recommit, you pay the price of sore muscles and aching limbs and burning lungs and then you fizzle and fail. Now I'm afraid to not run. Afraid that if I give myself too many days off that my lungs will shrink and my heart will forget that it's OK to beat at 160 and that my legs will rebel against me. Afraid that I'll have to start over.
I'm excited about the milestones I'm striving for, excited that Ryan is on the same track and that we are doing hard things - together. I'm excited that my brother and SIL are hiking with us next year and that living strong is a priority in our family. I'm excited that I have a brood of inspiring running cousins and crazy hikers and that we all thrive on the quest for the hard things. I'm an advocate for consistency and a believer that we can be more that we presently are.
Showing posts with label things I can do. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things I can do. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
38 Cool Things
In the spirit of working on my personal history, I'm making some lists. Here's my list for today.
38 pretty cool things I've done...so far...through Age 38 (in no particular order):
- Visited Mt. Rushmore
- Enjoyed a Yankees game on their home turf in the Bronx
- Played on State Championship Volleyball team: 1988 Mountain View Toros
- Climbed ancient pyramids in Chitzen Itza, Mexico
- Snorkeled with giant sea turtles off coast of Lainai, Hawaii
- Drove all the way down the Florida Keys
- Stood on the Four Corners
- Ran half marathon (Time: 1:57:30, November 2009)
- Had dinner at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas
- Ate lunch with Ryan in Central Park
- Married the love of my life
- Parasailed off beach in Cancun
- Passed all parts of the CPA exam on 1st try (1994)
- Walked through Arlington National Cemetery
- Gave birth to 4 amazing children, two 100% natural, two via C-Section
- Sewed lots of homemade baby quilts for friends and family
- Flown on private jet (lots of times...so awesome!)
- Stood under 100 foot waterfall in Kauai, Hawaii
- Jet skiied to land's end in Cabo
- Taken picture in front of the White House
- Finished P90X (90 day insane workout program)
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude from ASU (1994)
- Played in an all-through-the-night softball tournament (Heat Stroker) in Mesquite, Nevada (summer 1997)
- Watched Def Leppard concert from the 9th row (Aug 2009)
- Produced several movies on my iMac
- Attended BYU Women's Conference and been in presence of the prophet, Thomas S. Monson
- Cruised in airboat over marshes filled with alligators (Florida 5/03)
- Did the Tarzan rope swing in Kauai
- Skiied Park City, Deer Valley, Vail, Winter Park, Snow Bird, Alta, Sundance, Sunrise, Sno Bowl (I might be missing a few others...)
- Toured the Statue of Liberty
- Cried at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.
- Toured the Great Redwood Forest
- Visited the Grand Canyon (and I'm finally hiking it this September!)
- Officiated high school volleyball all through college (and did the state final match my 3rd year)
- Got baptized on Valentine's Day 1980 by Grandpa Harry and confirmed by Grandpa Reid
- Started working at Dairy Queen at age 13 (worked until 1st semester of college)
- Kayaked the Wailua River in Kauai, and in ocean in San Carlos & Rocky Point, MX
- Honeymooned in Maui
- Ran 10ks through the years in Turkey Trots (Mesa), Bolder Boulder (Colorado) and did Pat's Run this year
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Great Race
We came. We saw. We ran.
Ryan and I both did Pat's Run this morning at ASU and had a terrific time. I was so excited when Ryan said he'd join me (even though he hasn't run since Thanksgiving). Since it was a walk or run thing, he figured he could just walk when he wanted and run when he wanted. But he's a stud and he ran the whole time. I wore my bright green shirt so that he could find me amidst the 20,000 + runners, and I am so glad I did. It was crazy! Runners and walkers for miles. Seriously - miles! Everything about the race was top notch. It was totally organized, well staffed, and such a great experience all the way around.
In typical Kelli style, I got a little emotional just before the start when the soloist sang the National Anthem. It gets me every time. The place was silent as he belted out our nation's tribute with perfect pitch, followed by the customary eruption of applause at the end. I loved it. And I only teared up one other time. After the race, Ryan and I toured around the booths and stopped to read the Pat Tillman tributes in the Pat Tillman Foundation booth. The pictures spoke a thousand words themselves, but after I read about his life again, I was once again slightly emotional thinking about the sacrifice that he and so many, many thousands of other Americans make for us every day to help protect our freedoms and keep us safe. Freedoms I think we sometimes take for granted. I was thrilled to be a part of such a great event in honor of a great hero.
(By the way, the actual race itself was great too.) A few more hills than I'm used to running, but that just added to the fun. I finished strong. Time: 34:46 (which put me in the top 5% of all women and also in my age class Women 30-39). My goal was to run sub-35 minutes. I barely made it.
My awesome husband before the race.
Post-race inside ASU Stadium. We finished on the 42 yard line with the whole ASU football team on the sides cheering us on. So cool.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Zebra Print
A couple of weeks ago, I was out shopping for some new shower curtains and towels for the cabin. It was one of those rare times when I was all alone.
No little appendages asking all their wonderful kid questions.
No one pleading for treats.
No one climbing in and out of the cart.
No one using the cart as leverage to propel themselves at superhuman speeds down the aisle on their Heely's.
No one complaining that it's time to go home.
Nope. Not this time.
Just me and the goods and the store.
So I relished the moment (I mean hour) and perused every aisle. Just looking, thinking, wishing, planning, scheming. The perfect shop as it was meant to be.
And then I came to the fabric area. I love the fabric area. Truly, I am my mother's daughter! Even when I don't have a specific project in mind, I love to look at the fabrics and think, "Hmmmmm....what adorable thing could I make with this?" I had just barely started to look and then I saw it. The zebra print parked right next to the hot pink and black polka dots! I knew I had to have them. For what, I hadn't decided, but I knew it was the beginnings of something irresistibly cute in my mind. I'd been wanting to make a couple of new aprons, and I thought it would be the perfect print for the little diva in me. But then I thought again and remembered that my dear friend Andrea's baby shower was coming up and I instantly knew that her babe just had to have it. So I picked out some coordinating prints, a little batting, and headed home with my treasures.
While we were at the cabin over Labor Day weekend, I cut the quilt squares and got it prepped. Then last week before the shower, I went to town on my newly serviced 1960's Singer (the same sewing machine my mom received for her 8th grade graduation as a gift from her parents). My mom granted me custody of this gem years ago and I have really enjoyed sewing with it. I must admit, her Bernina machines are way awesome to sew with, but this little beauty has served me well.
So while I fully realize it's not very polite to toot your own horn, I'm tooting away on this project because THIS QUILT IS SO STINKIN' CUTE! I love Andrea and I can hardly wait to see little Lauren Annabelle with her diva zebra print quilt!
(Double click on any picture to make it larger)
One of my dear friends, Ann, who I met years ago at work and who has been such an inspiration to me, gave me the pattern for this quilt a few years back. She's made hundreds of them I think, including two she made for Rowan and Easton when they were born. Both my little angels still sleep with them every night! And the great thing about these quilts is that they get softer and softer with every wash and dry. Below is the pattern (just in case one of my fellow cronies wants to make one...)
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