Sister Surprise & GAR

Surprise!
I got home late Friday night to find my sister, “JB”, waiting for me in my driveway. It was a 3-day weekend and she works for an airline so using her flight benefits she can do this sort of crazy thing for next to nothing. JB got an early start on Thurs, spent 2-days trying to hop on a flight from SLC, flew to 2 airports then over the Pacific Ocean, and spent 3-hours on the bus out to my house then 4-hours alone waiting in my house which she sneaked inside of to come surprise me for the weekend. Best surprise I’ve had in years. I think the last time my excitement about a surprise peaked like this was during Zeth’s adoption process when we found out we had been chosen by a birth mother and again when we got to take him home. OK so Zeth's arrival was way bigger & life altering of an event but it was so wonderful to have a weekend of unexpected sister time and for the kids to get some new memories of their favorite auntie whom they hadn’t seen in a year.

It was very convenient to have JB there on Monday morning 2/20 to drop me and my crazy runner friends off at the start of the Great Aloha Run. With 10,000 more runners this year than normal, parking was an absolute nightmare but she took it on like a pro. I usually drive a carful of friends and we normally park at the finish then bus downtown to the start 8 miles away but having her drop us off at the start let us all sleep in an extra hour or two which was SO wonderful and it saved us from what would have been a disaster trying to find parking in time for the start of the race with so many extra cars this year.

The run went well but because there were so many more runners than normal AND because the race organizers tried something new with the thousands of military runners, I was unable to wiggle up to my normal staging area and was stuck mid-pack so I had to do a ton of zigzagging the whole race to dodge slower obstacles in my path. The change with the military was cool in concept; normally the military does a silent start 5 minutes before the real start. It’s inspirational & motivational to see them with their uniforms and banners all running and singing their cadences in formation. Usually they are long gone before the main pack catch up to them but this year, they had the entire military corridor (half the roadway) stop at mile three for abt 10 minutes then they started running again. I can only guess it was an effort to let more of the civilians have a chance to feel the excitement the military brings. I didn’t cross the start line until 10-minutes after the start but caught up to and ran alongside the soldiers for most of the race from mile 3 on. That just made the road 50% smaller since they were running in a solid corridor 4-5 bodies wide. If I had gotten there an hour earlier and was staged properly it probably wouldn’t have been so crazy. I’ll be wiser next year, even if it does mean getting on the road by 3:30a.

Despite the crowds, I’m happy to say I beat my best time again. This was my 11th year running the GAR and every year (except 2008) I’ve beat my own best time. Here’s a rundown:
2000 - 2:22
2001 - 1:40
2002 - 1:36
2003 - did not run because Zana was 2-months old and I was too tired
2004 - 1:35
2005 - 1:32:18
2006 - 1:32:01
2007 - 1:28:25
2008 - 1:28:36
2009 - 1:25:58
2010 - 1:23:25
2011 - 1:17:53

I don’t know how I’ll do it but I’m hoping to shave another 5-minutes off my time next year. Something about 1:12 just entices me. That means I’ll have to drop my pace from a 9:34 per mile average to just under 8:58. Hmmm. Anything’s possible – right!?

The rest of the Sister Surprise weekend, we spent as much time as possible at Sharks Cove, Matsumoto’s, Kua Aina, hosting our monthly FHE 4-family event and chillin at home with the family.

It all went so quickly and Tuesday morning she was gone back to her normal crazy life. I love that I have a sister who will take that much time out of her life and go to such great lengths to spend it with me. Mahalo JB!! You're da bestest swister & auntie! No tears at her departure cause I'll be seeing her later this month in Denver when she'll be keeping me company during a conference. YAY!

Love, Gratitude & Accountability

Another one of my peers passed away this morning. Niu was in his early 40s with five kids ranging from K-12th grade. He seemed perfectly healthy, was playing basketball before dawn at the church then wasn’t feeling well, laid down on the court and died. Makes me ache for his wife, Tamara, and I’ve been wondering all day how she can possibly go home and tell any of their kids and especially her 5 year old son daddy will never be coming home again. Heartbreaking.

Attended a devotional this earlier week where the topic was centered on love and relationships. The message was directed towards singles but a couple points hit home; mainly, in dating, do your homework, don’t assume anything, don’t take anything for granted and be clear about your needs & expectations. The best way to avoid an abusive marriage is to avoid marring into one. Choose your love & love your choice. That last part has been hard for me lately. The man I love today is so different from the man I dated and chose 18 years ago. The same goes for me as a wife. I’m not in an abusive relationship by any means. I luckily chose a gentle man, a very easy-going, gentle man. Still, it feels like I’m being held accountable for my choice a lot lately. I hate to think I’m growing into a nag – but honestly, sometimes I am.

I read an article in the Ensign last month about relationships and the grapefruit principle. Basically a young bride started noticing certain irritating traits not long after the honeymoon wore off. She kept a list of things her husband did that bothered her then one day scheduled a talk with him to go over some concerns with their relationship. She went first bemoaning how she disliked the way he ate grapefruits like they were oranges rather than cut in half with a spoon like ‘normal people’ eat them. After getting that off her chest she let him take a turn. He looked her in the eye and said “There’s not one thing I don’t like about you honey.” Meeting ended.

I am aware of how critical I am of my husband and how often I wish he would change this thing or that. Sometimes it is so hard to accept him for who & what he is and not think about what I’d like to change in him. Today I was reminded just how grateful I am to have a loving husband who apparently adores me still despite my frequent rants and grudges. I know I can’t change anyone but myself. I know that, so why do I spin my wheels trying to find ways to make him into the man I want him to be when I’m so obviously never gonna achieve that goal? I got some serious accepting and humbling to do. Just don’t tell Ram that. *wink*

Pep Talk

I haven't been sick really but I’ve been sucking on a lot of cough drops this month. Tis the season for my annual congestion and nagging cough. I love that Halls has added something fun to their wrapper printing this year. Each drop has a little ‘Pep Talk’ printed on it. It’s the perfect thing for any self-pitying sick person who needs a little reminder that this cold is temporary and you are bigger than your illness. In case you’re feeling a little down, here’s a little reminder from your Canadian friends at Halls:

You’ve survived tougher.
Nothing you can’t handle.
Get back in there champ!
You got it in you.
Dust off and get up.
Elicit a few “wows” today.
Be resilient.
Don’t give up on yourself.
Be unstoppable.
Take charge and mean it.
Don’t try harder, Do harder!
Inspire envy.
Seize the day.
Keep your chin up.
Conquer today.
March forward.
Go get it.
Don’t wait to get started.
Get back in the game.
Get through it.
Don’t waste a precious minute.
The show must go on. Or work.
Get back in the game.
Hi-five yourself.
It’s yours for the taking.
Push on!
Put a little strut in it.
Go get it!
Tough is your middle name.
Nothing you can’t handle.
Impress yourself today.
Flex your “can do” muscle.
You can do it and you know it.

Seriously, if this list doesn’t make you feel better, you need something much stronger than a cough drop to cure you. Try jumping off a volcano for example – or at least ‘the rock’ at Waimea. No kidding, taking that flying leap is the most effective nasal irrigation you can invest in. One jump off the rock cured me of a 3-month long cold last winter. Of course there are other ways to flex your ‘can do’ muscle but we won’t get into that here. :)