Could it get any better?

Seriously...while I felt like February was the worst month I could ever endure, I feel like October has been one of the best months ever. My sister came for a weekend, one of my best friends came for a weekend, and I just spent the weekend in my favorite place doing little more than taking pictures with Flat Stanley, eating, and sitting on my friend's couch watching Grey's Anatomy. The Flat Stanley adventure was awesome...only another education major could get so excited about it. The food was the BEST ever! We went to my favorite pizza place and ate an entire medium pizza, had Wendy's french fries for dinner, ate a huge hamburger, and the delicious food just goes on and on...The best part of this past weekend was that it required little to no work, and we were both perfectly content with that. Everything is just going so well that I'm worried about graduating and moving on with my life because it will just throw everything out of wack.

I really am posting because I finally had the time to run AND post. Winter is coming quickly, and that makes me really sad, but today was what I expect to be the last fall day left, so I ran into my apartment to change and then go run. Because I don't believe in running in this neighborhood at night because of the darkness that might make me fall in a hole, I had a short run, but it was still fairly fantastic!

Stats for today:
Exercise: Running/Walking
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 5:15 pm, 31 minutes, 22 seconds
Temperature: 66 degrees
Humidity: 37% (WOW!)
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the S at 10 mph
Pressure: 29.83 and falling

Everything's just going so right...

I haven't posted for a few days because I'm just too happy to spend the time to sit at my computer to type. Everything seems to be going so perfectly that I can't handle sitting inside for too long. I love the place that I'm student teaching at; the teacher I work with is hillarious, and the kids are amazing. October is going to be a great month because my sister came, my best friend is coming, I get to volunteer at homecoming, and I get to go to my summer area to visit my friend for 4 days. I couldn't be a happier camper.

Last week, I ran twice, and they were fairly average runs. My sister was here for the weekend, so I was unable to fit in a rollerblade excursion or run, but we went hiking through a forest in the middle of the city, and you wouldn't have even known that we were so close to downtown. Fall makes me happy, and it was an AMAZING day for being outdoors, so that was great. On Sunday I got to see my favorite quarterback play...from the nosebleed section. We were quite honestly in the last row...had we been one row back, we would have been outside of the dome. I decided that walking up the stairs to get there, walking down to get food, halfway up the wrong row, down to the right one, up, down, up, and down the last time was enough exercise to count, mostly because we were 29 rows up in our section. That's a lot.

Today was really, really long. I got up at 4:15 to take my sister to the airport, came back to grab an extra hour of sleep, and then went to school. I forgot that this week begins conferences because my teacher is going to San Fran for the marathon during official conference time. I had tons of conferences and got home after 6:00, which just makes for an incredibly long day. It's all great though, because things are wonderful. I absolutely dragged myself out for a run at 6:45. I'm really rather surprised that I made it out the door. I ran for a longer distance than usual, and could have kept going had my brain not been so tired. My body was ready for more, but I was so worn out from today that I quit. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or bad thing quite yet.

By the way...today the high was 80, but apparently there's a "Polar Invasion" coming, and it might SNOW on Wednesday or Thursday. I can't belive it. I always thought that Florida was strange with it's rain every day, but honestly, a 50 degree difference over the course of 3 or 4 days. That's nuts.

Exercise: Running/Walking
Distance: 2.58/ .3 miles
Time: 6:40 pm, 35 minutes, 23 seconds
Temperature: 66 degrees
Humidity: 83%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the NNW at 1 mph
Pressure: 30.16 and rising

"Plentiful Sunshine"

Yes, that's the forecast for today. How much better could the day get?

I really wanted to go rollerblading today, but it rained last night so I couldn't. I settled for a run, and it was well worth it to be in that sunshine. There is not a single cloud in the sky. The temperature is perfect. How much better of a day could I have? Plus, the Colts play today, and I could ask for nothing more.

Yesterday would have been nice for rollerblading too...but I needed to spend the day getting my car fixed. I got new tires and an oil change, and my car couldn't be happier. By the time I finished all of that, though, the day turned grey and threatening, and rained. No rollerblading this weekend.

I've been so busy this week that I got no running or rollerblading in. I have now put clothes, running shoes, and my rollerblades in my car so that when I have a busy day I can find a place to change and fit a run or a roll in right where I am. Hopefully that will make my life easier.

Off to watch my Colts...

Exercise: Running/Walking
Distance: 3.80 miles
Time: 10:00 am, 50.48 minutes
Temperature: 64 degrees
Humidity: 65%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: calm
Pressure: 30.13 and falling

and I'm back...

My Colts won! YAY! I got back from watching the game, and my roomie hadn't moved since I left because she was doing homework. I convinced her that it was too beautiful of a day to not get out, so made her go on a walk. We walked 3 miles by the river, and it was gorgeous! YaY for roomies that will go on walks :)

BEAUTIFUL day

This morning when I got up, I was almost upset that I had told a friend that I would meet her for breakfast because it was so beautiful out that I just wanted to go rollerblade. I went right after breakfast, and it was a much slower roll than usual. It has been raining a lot lately, and because it's fall and the leaves are coming off the trees, the trail was rather slippery. There were a few really nice areas, where it was quite nice, and they made the trip worth it.

I thought it was neat that on my way back, I saw my cooperating teacher running. I've never seen someone I know on the trail, so it was fun to go by her.

After my rollerblading, I decided to go on a run too. I ran a mile, a very slow mile because legs don't work after rollerblading for very long, and then I walked a mile back. It was just so wonderful of a day to go out. YAY!

Exercise: Rollerblading/Running/Walking
Distance: 12.19 miles/1.2 miles/1.2 miles
Time: 11:00 am, 1 hour 32 minutes/12 minutes/15 minutes
Temperature: 64 degrees (I heart fall!)
Humidity: 65%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the W at 10mph
Pressure: 29.88 and falling

I'm...running...for...Randy...

A lot of things came together for me today, in that I've been finding it harder and harder to make time to run because I'm so busy, but on my run today I realized just how much I love it. I had to drag myself out the door; I kept making excuses for why I didn't need to run, namely that I work too hard during the day to have to run. Once I got out the door, I started thinking that it was tolerable, and then remembered a strategy that the teacher I work with told me. She read an article that said to help make long runs more tolerable you can think of a phrase repeatedly and tap it out with your fingers while you're running. A few minutes into my run I started thinking about why I started running, and it was to run with a friend of my brother's after my brother died. I made my phrase "I'm running for Randy" and got it into my head, and just ran. And it was amazing.

I took a new route, and after a bit I looked at my watch...23 minutes, and I wasn't even a bit tired! I ran for a bit more, and then decided I needed to quit because it was getting dark and I don't live in the best of neighborhoods. I ran for 26 minutes total, and then walked for 4 to let my legs loosen up. I've never been so happy about what I accomplished.

I love that my motivation all comes from my brother, whether directly or indirectly. My initial running started so that I would be able to do a one mile memorial run with his friend. I called her after my first few runs, and she was so incredibly supportive, and told me to start this whole blog. Now she's doing a marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, and blogs about it. The blog is so motivational for me that it's the reason I went running at 9:00pm on Tuesday and that I went for my run today. Sometimes you just need that example.

I started running as a stress reliever because things were going so wrong...and now I'm running because everything is just going so right.

Just keep running...

Exercise: Running/Walking
Distance: about 2.5 miles
Time: 7:00 pm, 30 mins and 41 seconds
Temperature: 63 degrees (fall is here! :) )
Humidity: 50%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the SE at 8mph
Pressure: 29.97 and falling

If it wasn't for the wind...

I was going to do it today...I was going to go past the farthest spot I've gone blading...but shortly before I got to where I park, I saw the flags, and realized that they were completely outstreched, and weren't even wavering because it was so windy. I turned around. When I got back, I looked, and the wind was 9 mph, with 20 mph gusts. I think it's good I didn't go because one way would have been horrible.

I did go yesterday, and went farther than before, and it was great. I like going on little adventures, so getting to go on the detour was great. The trail was rough where the detour started, but it was still fun. I got to see bunnies and geese. WOO! Maybe I'll keep going! :)

Back to 'Blading

I went on my first Rollerblading excursion since before I went to Hawaii, and it was wonderful. The weather was great, there weren't too many people on the trail, and it was all around amazing. The thing that was saddest about it though, was that none of my rollerblading friends are living here this semester, so I had to go all by myself. Someone new needs to step up to the challenge of rollerblading many miles with me...

Overall, it was great to get back to rollerblading.

Exercise: Rollerblading :)
Distance: about 8.5 miles
Time: 11:00, 1 hour and 2 minutes including the wait time at intersections
Temperature: 82 degrees
Humidity: 41%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: calm
Pressure: 30.06 and falling

Running in a zoo?!!?

First of all, I'm feeling much much better. My eyelid is still a bit swollen, but it's redness is gone, and the swelling has gone down significantly. MUCH better.

Now for the good stuff:
I went to DC for the weekend to visit one of my old roommates who is interning there. We walked around SO much that had I not run, I would probably have exercised enough to last a lifetime. We decided to go on a run, though, and we decided to go through the National Zoo. We did a really good job of running out because it was all downhill, but on the way back, she and I decided to get distracted by the animals so that Frat Boy wouldn't keep running. Basically, it was the most amazing "run" i had ever been on because I ran for a good 15 or 20 minutes, and then saw aminals on the way back! Oh so great! I heart zoos!

Student teaching makes me sick...

...literally.

Yesterday, when I got home from school, I had enough energy to take a shower and fall into bed. I had taught all day because the teacher I'm working with had a meeting, my throat had been hurting for a few days, my ears always hurt, and I felt like I was allergic to something because my eyes were itchy. So at about 7:00 I go to bed, and just have the tv on to relax and fall asleep if I need to. I wake up at about 8:00 to give my roommate some things she needed, and just hang out in my bed. I get up at about 9 to do a last email check and actually get ready for bed, when I realize that my left eye doesn't just itch, it hurts...and is swollen...and pink. I show my roommate and she agrees, but we don't think it's too bad, or bad enough to be pink eye. I call Dr. Mom, who really is a doctor, and she says "well, how bad does it feel, and how swollen is it?" to which I give my generic response of "medium." Her response was that if I felt bad enough I should go to the ER, but I should probably just wait it out another day. I try to let my eye rest , put a cold sock on it (because I can't find my washcloths yet), and just hung out in my bed. I realized that it was getting worse and making me be in pain, so maybe I should get it checked out. I only have one set of eyes, you know. We (my roommate and I) decide that the emergency care center is open until 11, and it is currently 10:05 so I should go. I was just going to drive myself because it was late and I didn't want to inconvenience anyone, and then my roommate said "it's your eye dummy, you can't go by yourself, I'm driving you" and pushes me out the door.

We get to the ICC at 10:45 and I say "will you please see me even though you're almost closed?" and they said yes, so I said "that's so very nice of you." This started a whole conversation that was quite entertaining for me, because one of the other nurses says that it's rude to say things like "that was nice of you." I told them that I felt bad for coming in so late, and that I would try to be an easy patient for them. They said that they didn't mind, they get paid by the hour, and that they just get annoyed when people walk in at two minutes before 11 with a disgusting foot fungus that they've had for 6 months. I told them that since I see Dr. Mom every few months, the most I'd have a foot fungus for was 3 months, but that it was my eye that was causing the trouble. They said that they were happy to hear that it was my eye because they would have felt bad if I had come in because of a foot fungus...

We kept talking as they put me into the computer, and it was quite entertaining. Who knew you could have so much fun at an ICC late at night? They voted me their favorite patient of the night because I was in such a good mood and was nice. I'm famous!

I get checked in and have all of the dumb stuff like blood pressure and temperature taken. So the doctor with bad breath come in, numbs my eye (at which point I decide it is a really good thing that roomie brought me), shines bright lights in it, bathes me in eyedrops to flush out the dye and says "yes, your eyelid is infected, I'll prescribe some eye drops for you." So we go and pick them up and I go to bed.

And my eye still hurts.

I know, it seemed like there should be some final excitement, but not really. If only I had some exciting name for whatever was wrong with me, but no, I just have an eyelid infection. WOO HOO! I hate putting in eye drops, but I will put up with it, and see if they'll let me take them with me to put in in the airport when I go to DC on Friday. (Yes, as in Washington DC!) If only kids weren't so germey. YUCK! ON the bright side though, I love this placement, and it's worth being sick and having eye infections for.

The point of this whole story is both for entertainment value, and to make it okay that I haven't moved much away from my bed lately. I did make it to the fitness center today because it's yucky out and not cool to be out in, and moved a bit. I did the elliptical for 10 minutes, and then ran 5.2 mph for 10 and then walked for 10ish. I know, it's wonderful :) Maybe I'll move some tomorrow too!

If it's rain you want...

This morning I woke up and it was sprinkling and super humid out, but I knew I had to make myself go on a run. I ate breakfast and watched a little tv and realized that it had quit raining, so I put on my clothes as fast as I could and propelled myself out the door. I went on one of my run for 20 minutes and walk for an hour jaunts, and as I finished the black clouds started rolling in. It has not started raining yet, but it is soon to come. YAY for the weather cooperating!

I also decided to just run for 20 minutes, straight, and see where I ended up. I mapped it when I was done, and my 20 minutes was 1.9-ish miles! Next time I'm going to aim for 20 minutes and 30 seconds!

Exercise: Run/Walk
Distance: approximately 5.31 miles (seriously, the distance always surprises me)
Time: 10:20 am, 1 hour, 18 minutes and 24 seconds
Temperature: 82 degrees
Humidity: 73%
Visibility: 6 miles
Wind: From the W at 3 mph
Pressure: 29.99 and rising

I'm back!

Yeah, I know, I stink at keeping this thing up, but I had such an eventful summer that I didn't have time. Why play on the internet when you have friends to do stuff with?

I went on my first run since I've been back in this state. WOO! I wanted to go as far as when I left, but I haven't run in a while. I was running and set my goal for distance, and when it was in sight I decided I couldn't do it and turned around. As I walked toward where I came from, I got mad at myself and made myself turn around and run back to where I set my original goal. And I did it. WOO! I also walked a lot farther than usual because I was convinced that there had to be a connection between to roads...it doesn't exist. I walked and walked and walked. But now I'm done.

Exercise: Run/Walk
Distance: 4.49 miles (wow...I didn't realize it was that many until I just mapped it..CRAZY!)
Time: 6:30-ish pm, 1 hour, 18 minutes and 40 seconds
Temperature: 80 degrees
Humidity: 57%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: From the S at 5 mph
Pressure: 29.96 and rising

I.HATE.SQUIRRELS.

I should not be writing this this early. I should not be writing this this early. I hate squirrels. I used to think that squirrels were cute and cuddley and loved them. Until there was a squirrel outside my door this morning at 5:55, BARKING! Seriously, it was barking. I thought that it was my uncle doing something with his bike, so walked out on to the balcony to yell at him, when I saw the squirrel barking. The funny thing is that my neighbor had obviously rolled out of bed also to fling his curtains open and see what was going on. I pointed and said "It's a barking squirrel" and he said "Dumb Squirrel" just like the guy says "silly fairy" at the end of the Dodge Caliber commercial. I tried to go back to bed, but the squirrel continued to bark, so I had to get up. I was bored so went for a run, and I'm back from it before my watch alarm for waking me up today even went off. At least it was productive for me to get out. But still, squirrels should not bark. Period.

Yesterday, I went to a "stretch and tone" class. It was really good for me because I told the lady that I only signed up for a week of it because I was worried that it wouldn't be hard enough. Because I said that, she specifically pointed out things to me that I could do to make it harder. Tomorrow I might stand in the back because I feel bad being able to do more than the old ladies in my class. But it was fun, and I signed up for the rest of the time I'm here. WOO!

P.S. Today I started my watch earlier than usual to time my run, and I started running closer to my house than usual, and got to the mile mark in about 11 and a half minutes. I ran the rest of the minute to make it 12, which got me to the point where I had ended sprinting the last time, and sprinted out a block. YAY for progress!

Today:
Exercise: Run/Walk
Distance: 2.6 Miles
Time: 7 am, 37 minutes and 34 seconds
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: 80%
Visibility: 4 miles
Wind: From the SW at 5 mph
Pressure: 30.02 and rising

Run a little, walk a lot

I ran yesterday! I did it at 10, and thought it was excellent. I ran the same amount I did the last time, and then I added a block of a sprint to add on to my endurance. Then I walked the rest of the 2.6 miles. I did my first mile in under 12 minutes though, and that was kind of exciting.

Later in the day my neighbor and I walked around the perimeter again. We just went on more of a stroll, but hey, that's another 2.6 miles. WOO!

Add that on to the fact that I treaded water for another 30 minutes or so at work, and I think I'm doing well.

I'm just going to post my stats for the run/walk because I'm too lazy to do both...

Exercise: Run/Walk
Distance: 2.6 Miles
Time: 10:10 am, 40 minutes and 3 seconds
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: 78%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: From the S at 6 mph
Pressure: 30.09 and falling

So what I'm a slacker?

So, I'm already on the downhill slide of keeping up my goals...yesterday, I was almost on my way to put on my running clothes and shoes, when my Uncle walked in and said "I'm going fishing, do you want to come?" And seeing as how he had just begun teaching me how to fly fish, I really wanted to go. So did. It was fun, and I caught a bunch of fish, and let them all go. I feel kind of bad fishing, but it is really fun.

Today, I had to work, and I feel like it's okay that I didn't run because I treaded water for 45 minutes putting up docks. I also hit my head on a dock, and now have a big lump on it.

Every year, when I get up here, I can not ride my bike up the hill from work (It's a steep hill, something you'd never see at home, and I have a bike that's from the 1940s or so, so it's not that bad that I can't do it). This year, though, I've been able to ride up the hill from the first try, and it's not even too much of a struggle. I guess my running has really helped my legs some, or something.

Tonight I will probably walk around the perimeter with one of my bestest friends, so maybe I won't be too much of a failure...

You just never know...

I'm just so productive this morning...I got up, at breakfast, and then decided to go on a run. I decided to just make an effort to run a mile because it's marked, and then finish the loop by walking. When I started walkinng, after a few steps I looked over and saw that there was someone walking at the same pace I was, so looked over and said "I think we're walking almost together" and she said "why yes, I think we are" and then we talked and talked, and I finished the 2.6 mile loop, but she started after the mile so I just did an extra mile with her to finish up her loop, so I did 3.6 miles in under an hour. WOO! Two days in a row I've worked toward my goal. WOO!

Exercise: Run/Walk
Distance: 3.6 Miles
Time: 7:30 am, 57 minutes and two seconds
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: 82%
Visibility: 9 miles
Wind: From the SW at 10 mph
Pressure: 30.02 and rising

Double Post

Yeah, so I've been really bad about posting twice in a day...I guess it's better than not posting, or is it?

I just had to say that I went on another walk because I've been feeling like I've been cramped up lately (hmmm...hours of flying, 20 hours of driving...I wonder why...). As I was walking I saw my boss and decided to go bug him about the fact that he is the waterfront director and he had his motor boat in the swim area, and he said he needed another set of hands so I went and helped him get his boat situated. We never really finished because the cable for the wench got messed up, so he just decided to park it in a slip somewhere, but to do that he would have to drive his boat, so he took me on a ride. YAY! It was just a short ride, and I never finished my walk because playing with the boat took so long, but still...BOAT RIDE!! WOO!

The air is just so much thinner here...

Today, I went on a walk, and didn't even attempt to run. I have now transplanted myself from home, about 120 feet above sea level, to western NY, 1308 feet above sea level. While it isn't too dramatic, like when I went up a volcano last week, it does make a difference. To ease into my new home, I decided on a 2.6 mile walk, which was a bit of work on it's own. This mostly came from the fact that I came from flat home, to the foothills of mountains, so the hills are a lot of work. I did it though, and that's all that counts. Maybe tomorrow I'll run a block...Maybe two if you're lucky :)

Oh, and while I was walking, there was a lady carrying a sled. C'mon lady...It's JUNE!

Exercise: Walking
Distance: 2.6 miles
Time: 1:00 p.m. 50 minutes, 25 seconds
Temperature: 72
Humidity: 60%
Visibility: 9.0 miles
Wind: from the WSW at 10 mph
Pressure: 30.11 and rising

I guess here is the time to list my goals also...I have two, hopefully I'll achieve at least one, but preferably both of them.

1. To run in the Old First Night Run. I've walked every other year, and it's just 2.6 miles. I can do it. Maybe.

2. To walk the perimeter distance 4 or so times a week. My neighbor is coming soon, so this should become a much easier task because it's what we do to escape all of the listening ears of our families when we need to rant.

Simple goals...right?

Swimmey Swimmey

So, I felt like I needed to show that I don't just sit around like a lump of potatoes all of the time, even though it is hard to muster a "workout" when you're doing so much traveling, but I "exercised" today. The actual information is kind of useless, but, I did make an effort to go downstairs to the pool, and I should get credit for that.

Exercise: Swimming
Distance: 10 laps around an itty bitty pool, plus 10 minutes of hard core kicking at the wall
Time: 7:30 pm, about 30 minutes
Temperature: indoor pool temperature
Humidity: sauna like humidity
Visibility: to the wall
Wind: cold air conditioning
Pressure: that of which a 5 foot pool creates on your ears

A year ago...

WARNING: This is not a happy go lucky post about exercise adventures, it is about my experiences over the past year with my brother. Part of it is done to fulfill my duty to have the orange ribbon on the side of my blog, but a majority of it is to fulfill my duty as a sister, to let others know about my brother. That being said, remember, I do not take pride in myself as a writer, so this writing does not stand up to what it should be to be writing about such a wonderful person. But it had to be done...

As I start getting ready for my summer adventures, I can't help but think back to how hard it was for me last year to pack up. I go to the same place every summer, and have always planned on going back every year, but last year that was different, last year I was going to drop it all and stay home.

Last year, in April I returned from church to a sleepy hungover roommate, and a friend from across the dorm that I knew liked to sleep in, and I knew that something was up. My roommate said "you need to call your aunt" and when I asked why, she said "I don't know." That phone call proved to be one of the hardest I've ever had to make in my life, it went something like this:
Me: Hi AP! What do you need?
AP: I have some bad news, is someone around for you?
Me: Yes, what's wrong?
AP: Your mom called this morning, and Randy's in the hospital. They diagnosed him with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, and he's really sick. They're not quite sure what this means, and they haven't determined how bad it truly is yet. Your mom wants you to call her, and I'm on my way over to come talk to you.
Me: Silence
AP: Are you okay? Are they helping you?
Me: Yes, I'll see you in a few minutes.

My roommate did know why I needed to call her, that's why she had recruited my other friend also to help me cope with this news. They grabbed my faithful blankey and just stood there, hugging me. I didn't know what to do, this couldn't be true, in my eyes, my brother was perfect, and there was no way he could be sick...but he was.

After talking to my mom, she assured me that I needed to finish up my last week and a half at school rather than talk my way out of finishing up and coming home because there was nothing I could do at home, he was too sick to know or care that I was there, and they didn't even know what would come of it yet. So I stayed, and packed up to come home as soon as I could get out of there.

Mom came up to drive me home after my last final, and after hours of driving, we went straight to the hospital. There's nothing like seeing your brother sick in the hospital for the first time, it was so bad that I nearly passed out.

He went through his first batch of chemo, and after a bit was out of the hospital, and it became my job to cook and clean for him. The two months of doing that were two of the best months ever. I drove the hour to Tampa every day to cook him something, generally hamburger helper or spaghetti, because doctor's orders said everything had to be cooked thoroughly. I also made him sandwiches of 3 slices of turkey, two slices of hard salami, a piece of provalone, and some mayonnaise, which he always acted like were the most delicious things he had ever tasted.

It wasn't the cooking and cleaning that I loved, but the time that we got to spend together. MB bought him a canasta set, which the two of us learned to play together, and played every day that I went, until he got too tired and went to take a nap. We had a multitude of other games to play, but this was our favorite, because it was OUR game even though MB had bought it. When I did have to leave, we would sometimes even get online and play it together so that we could somehow be together.

There were lots of other things we did, too, like drive around to try to find various government buildings to file for different things, make grocery lists, watch movies, and McGyver.

Two of the best months of my life...

It came time for me to make my annual trip to Western New York, and I just didn't want to leave him behind. He was sick, and no one knew if he was going to make it through everything or not, and I wanted to stay to do as much for him as I could. He somehow found out that I was debating whether or not I should go, and he called to tell me that I absolutely had to go, that if he needed me he would tell me to come home and that I couldn't give it up. So I listened.

I went, and he continued his chemo. Mid-summer he was accepted into a cancer hospital, and I received the request to have my blood tested to see if we matched for a stem-cell transplant. My sister and I matched each other, but not him.

devastation.

The weekend I was home between New York and going back to school, we found out that they found someone with as near perfect a match as you can find without being related. This gave me hope that I would have my brother forever.

He finished his chemo, and was due for his transplant December 6. I asked for special permission to leave school a week and a half early, and it was granted. I rushed home, and went straight to see him. He was looking great! The process hadn't started wearing on him yet, as I knew it soon would. He got progressively worse before he got better, but he always made me feel welcome in his room. I was his physical therapist, he would wait for me to come to do his therapy because he knew I liked to do it with him, so it was again, one of our special things. I was his cheerleader, when it came time to take pills when he had "forgotten how to swallow" he let me stay in the room for motivation while he kicked mom out. We had a special bond, and again, I loved spending that time with him.

I was hoping he'd make it home for my birthday, but he didn't. (He gave me two bottles of his water and my favorite type of candy that I had put out for the nurses as my presents). Instead of my birthday present, he was our Christmas Present and he came home December 23. We spent Christmas together, and things seemed to be going well, but then he started developing stomach pains. They were getting progressively worse, and on December 31 he called my mom and they decided that it was best to take him back to the hospital.

Through various methods, like CT scans and MRIs, they couldn't find what was wrong, so decided to do orthroscopic surgery. In the process of that, they still couldn't find anything, so did a full operation and could still find nothing. When I went to visit him, he couldn't really speak to us, and could hardly pay attention to what was going on. It seemed like a slippery downhill slope...

We went and visited him each day, seeing him with various devices attached to him, and it was really rough. I would sit with him while he would be telling about how to get to Saturn, and how to fix the boosters, and playing the piano, and just completely dopey from the medications. There were funny times, like when we went to move him up in the bed and my aunt messed up and said "oops, I messed up" and Randy said "Why am I not surprised", sad times, like when he would get upset and inconsolable, and times I'll never forget, like when he would get a big grin when he realized I walked into the room, and when he told me that I was a great sister to have.

Again, it came time for me to move on and go back to school, which I seriously debated, but then I thought back to him telling me that I had to go to New York, so I knew I had to go to school, if nothing else for him. So I did.

I was in constant communication with home, through my mom, my aunt, his friends, the email group that everyone emailed to when they visited, and it was really helpful to get everyone's feedback on his progress. It started seeming like he was going to make it, except his liver numbers just weren't' quite right.

Then, on January 29, mom called and said that his liver was just not working like it should, and that they were taking him off of everything except for his pain medicine because we didn't want him to suffer through the disease any more. I was ready to come home, but she said that since he had such a good heart it might take a while, so I was to just stay at school and wait. I talked to everyone, went to my amazing cousin's house to start calming down, and started thinking about how I knew that at least it meant he wouldn't be suffering any more.

At about midnight, my mom called and told me that he had died, and that at least he had gone quickly so that he wasn't suffering any more. I made arrangements to meet my sister in Pittsburgh and fly home with her so that it would be just one trip to the airport for my mom.

It's been hard since then...sometimes I find myself just missing him and not knowing what to do, and other times, I find myself knowing that what I'm doing has something directly correlating to him and that he's still with me because without him I wouldn't have the knowledge necessary to do what I'm doing.

This is where I will end for now, it's not easy writing about this, but I knew I had to at some point. This is Randy. This is my brother. This is one of the most influential people in my life. He always has been, and he always will be.

I'm BAAAACK!

I'm back from Hawaii! WOO HOO! I had such an awesome time with my sister...we biked down Haleakela (the volcano on Maui), snorkeled, sailed, went to a luau, surfed, and kayaked. It was absolutely amazing, the beauty of the sunrises and sunsets, spending time with my sister, taking time to just think and relax, all of it was great, but I'm definately ready to go on my next adventure and start orientation for work on Friday. Granted, I hate orientation because it's the same EVERY SINGLE YEAR, but orientation means that I get to start working again, and seeing my friends every day at work. YAY!

Maybe I'll get back to exercising too...

No posting for a while...

As a warning, I will not be posting for a week and a half or so, as I will be in Maui. Rough life, I know. Know though, that while I'm keeping a written log in Hawaii, I will be missing my 3 faithful readers and be looking forward to coming back to share with you the joys of Hawaii.

It's hot and windy...

I decided to begin moving again today, and when I looked outside I realized that there was a fierce wind, and for rollerblading, that's not so good. I realized that the direction it was blowing was going to make for a difficult roll in rather than out, and I don't like that so much. After postulating for a while, I finally decided that since the ABC house was at almost the opposite end that I usually begin at, I would start there, roll the 1.5 miles to the end with the wind to my back, then go the 4.5 miles with the headwind, and then finish up with the 3 mile tail wind. It was really really hard. At least I made the decision to not have the headwind the whole way back in. Oh, and it doesn't help that I decied to go at 11.

As I was going, I said to another blader "the wind going this way is ridiculuous" and she said "oh, great." When I passed her again, going the opposite way, she said "I'm glad I listened to you, this is crazy wind."

Also, while stopped at a cross road, some idiot decided it would be fun to honk at me, and honked right as the horn was passing my ear. I still haven't recovered from the hearing loss.

Stats for the day:
Exercise: Rollerblading
Distance: 9 miles
Time: 10:37 pm, about 70 minutes
Temperature: 86 degrees
Humidity: 45%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the SW at 11 mph
Pressure: 29.93 and falling

No exercise to report...

So, I haven't really been out much because my grandma got sick and I've had to do stuff with that. Tuesday I took her to the doctor and they wanted to admit her to the hospital, but she refused. Wednesday morning she called and said that since she wasnt' feeling any better she wanted to go to the ER, so we went with her and spent the WHOLE day there. Thursday she finally made it into a room, and I spent most of the day there. She is doing much better and should be discharged today. My excuse for yesterday is that I'm sick with a sore throat and didn't have the energy to go get my antibiotic, let alone go out and physically exert myself. Maybe today or tomorrow...

Eh...

Eh...nothing exciting to report, but I know if I don't report my nonexcitement then I'll feel obligated to report both it and the next thing I do, and then I might not purely because while one post is hard enough, two is even harder.

My mom and I met one of her friends to go around the lake. I ran counterclockwise and they walked clockwise so that we would meet and I would walk back with them. I ran 1.3 miles, then walked an extra .7 to meet them, and then walked the 2 miles back with them. The people were relatively interesting to watch, like the rollerblade guy who kept passing me so each time I was able to get a better look at the scrape on his arm to determine how painful I thought his fall must have been (I decided it wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't want one myself), the couple who had no control over their dogs, the dog who's owner wanted it to drink water when it wasn't thirsty, the old bike guy that looks like he must be in pain when he gets done because of the position he has his back and such, and the girls who are just out so that they can look like they're working. It's quite fun actually to watch the people go by; sometimes I wonder what sticker they put on me...

I'm not quite sure about the weather for today, but again, I know that I won't post tomorrow if I wait to see, so this is my best guess:
Exercise: Running/Walking
Distance: 1.3 miles/2.7 miles
Time: 6:00 pm, about 50 minutes
Temperature: 91 degrees
Humidity: 70-ish%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: ENE at approximately 12 mph
Pressure: 30.02-ish and rising

Close enough.

YaY for my brother's friends!

Today I had the unique experience of meeting people in Tampa to go on a trail run and then to lunch! Mom and I drove over, and met two of my brother's friends so that I could run with one and mom walked with the other. It was a really neat trail, with not too much sunshine, which was nice. Then we went to the Clubhouse for lunch, and I got a delicious grilled cheese and curly fries (I know, I know, incredibly healthy to have after a run). It was really really fun, and well worth the drive!

I'm not quite sure what anything was at the point when I was running, other than that it was just after noon, we ran about 1.3 miles then walked back to meet the walkers, one of the thermometers on the way said 91, and I dripped sweat, which I'm actually starting to grow quite fond of.

Yay for Tampa people!!

Side note to my two faithful readers: I just want to point out that I beat Miss "I better see this on your blog" to the punch... :)

I was doing so well...

Gosh! Look at the dates on those suckers! I had written so consistently, and then I lost it. BUT I'M BACK! A brief update on all of the past days:
Saturday: My "day off" for Sunday-Saturday week
Sunday: Bike 12 miles in PC
Monday: Run 2 miles in my NEW SHOES!!
Tuesday: Walk 2 miles
Wednesday: My "Day off" for Sunday-Saturday week...I guess that means I have to do something each day this weekend...
Thursday: Rollerblade 10 miles...SO hot I stopped at B-ran's to steal some water...Decision to look up an inline skate marathon to do in the future made
Friday: Around the lake=5 miles. Feet get too hot=3 blisters on right foot, 1 on left :(

Hopefully I'll get back into the habit of being better at this...

I saw B-Ran!

So I'm happily rollerblading along the trail with no one around, when one person appears in the distance. As I look closer, I see that it's B-ran, who lives right off of the trail that I was on. Yay for seeing someone I haven't seen for a while!

Now that I've been having to do all of this exercise on my own, I've been listening to the radio as I go. While most people can handle this, I'm one of those that likes to sing and dance when I hear fun upbeat songs, so this is my fair warning to all those who might ever run/walk/rollerblade/anything relating to moving and outside: If you let me listen to the radio, you will have to allow me to sing and dance, that's just the way it is. Either that or keep me away from all music.

Lastly, I've decided that the biggest difference between rollerblading on the Monon in Indy and the trail here is the surrounding area. While on the Monon you have to worry about crossing busy roads, 38th being constructed on, and lots of people, here in central Florida you worry about snakes crossing the road, turtles getting in your way, and best of all, trying to find a way around the cow maneur that is going across the width of the trail. I think it would be fun to find a combination fo the two...

Stats for the day:
Exercise: Rollerblading
Distance: 11 miles
Time: 9:51-11:00 am
Temperature: 82 degrees
Humidity: 40%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: WNW at 14 mph
Pressure: 30.03 and steady

"At this rate of love bugs...

"I'm going to end up looking like my windshield."--my mom

Yesterday we went bicycling on the trail, and my mom apparently was being hit by the terrible bugs, and I wasn't...until she said that. For those of you unfamiliar with these bugs, here is one, well, two:

They are annoying little bugs, that are basically good for covering your windshield and whole front of your car with bug guts that you can't get off. Apparently my mom thought that's what would happen to her too. Kind of funny if you ask me.

We biked for about 10 miles in about 1 hour, but I honestly can't tell you much more than that about yesterday because, I was lazy and didn't check after we got home. Instead I made a delicious pork "barbeque" dinner.

Today I decided to go around our lake again, only this time I apparenly hit it at the "let's see how close I can go without hitting the person on the side of the road" time. Seriously, I almost got hit by mirrors, back tires, and anything else more times than I can count on my fingers. It was crazy. The good news is: I put in my 10,000 steps before noon! I'm so productive! YAY!

Stats for the day:

Exercise: Running/walking
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 10:00 am, about 75 minutes
Temperature: 82 degrees
Humidity: 38%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: calm
Pressure: 29.95 in and falling

Not bad.

"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run..

"So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going." --Forrest Gump

This kind of sums up how my run was today, except on a much larger scale. Today, I didn't feel like running, but then I just decided to go. I thought "I'll just run to that corner by the church, and if I'm feeling okay there, I'll run to the subdivision opening." I got to the corner and decided that I HAD to go to the subdivision entrance, and then to the next subdivision, and then to the next road, and the next road, and the next road...until I got home. Now, I generally run for about 15 or 20 minutes and then walk the rest of the hour, but today since I ran for 30 minutes straight after not planning on going at all, I didn't make myself walk. That and because I have developed blisters on my heels. I know running 2.12 miles is not necessarily amazing, but it's the first time I've surpassed the two mile mark, and I'm darn proud of it! :)

Stats for the day:
Exercise: Running only :)
Distance: 2.12 miles
Time: 6:30 pm, about 25 minutes
Raining and yucky
Temperature: 70 degrees
Humidity: weather.com says 82%, but isn't it 100% if it's raining?
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: calm
Pressure: 29.86 in and rising

YAY for over 2 miles!

Different climate

So, today I decided "Hey, it's my first day back in Florida, and I haven't moved really since I left Indy a week ago, why don't I go around the lake?" Right. Dumb move. It's a lot hotter, humider, and sunnier, and I forgot what pre-summer in Florida is like. I made it around the lake though. Not too quickly, but indeed, I made it. The end.

Exercise: Running/walking
Distance: about 5 miles
Time: 11:30 am, about 80 minutes
Sunny, cloudless, blue, and hot!
Temperature: 86 degrees
Humidity: 43%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: 8 mph from the West
Pressure: 29.93 in and falling

It's so nice out!

So, I almost went to the Y today with my roommate, but convinced her it was too nice out to go work out inside, so we went rollerblading. We only went two miles out and two miles back, but I was just happy to be outside. She fell after about 3 miles, so I felt really bad, and we had to come back slowly, but again, at least we were outside. YAY! Oh, and we got a snow cone again!

Stats for the day:
Exercise: Rollerblading
Distance: about 4 miles
Time: 1 pm, about 30 minutes
Sunny, cloudless, and blue yet again!
Temperature: 64 degrees
Humidity: 34%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: 8 mph from the East
Pressure: 29.99 in and falling

Let's try to walk to Butler!

So, last night my roommate and I went to Ruth's Chris for dinner, and ate way too much because we had a gift card for it. When we got home and were talking about how we thought we might develop stretch marks from the one meal, we decided to take a walk to feel a little better. After deciding to go through the next neighborhood rather than our neighborhood because it would be more walking, my roommate said "Let's try to walk to school." Now, it's 8:44 p.m. and I respond with "That would be great! Let's do it!" It's only 3 and a half miles, but still, it gets dark early and it isn't the nicest area to walk through. But we did it, and arrived at her boyfriend's to ask him to drive us home because at that point it was 9:30 and walking back was not an option. Random walk=great fun!

Today was fun too. I went rollerblading with my new friend, and we decided to go until the trail ended, even though we had no idea if that meant we would end up in Kentucky. It ended up being about 13 miles, in gorgeous weather, and wonderful company. The best part is...I GOT TO GET A SNOW CONE AFTER IT! Near the place that we started is a snow cone place, and I begged and pleaded for about a half a second to convince him to get one with me when we were done. It was the highlight of my day. (I know, I'm pathetic, snow cones are simple things and shouldn't make me that happy) I love having this new person to do stuff with, I just wish he would be sticking around gosh darnit.

Today's stats:
Exercise: Rollerblading
Distance: about 13 miles
Time: no idea, but beginning at about 3 p.m.
Sunny, cloudless, and blue :)
Temperature: 63 degrees
Humidity: 34%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: difficult
Pressure: 30.03 in and steady

This + good company + a snow cone= one of the best workouts ever!

Let's think of it as "at least we get to know each other for a week..."

"rather than wondering why we didn't get to know each other longer ago." That's what we're going to do. Basically, I met a really cool person who is eager to run, and incredibly willing to rollerblade, and we have all of, oh, 6 days to do it. While I have not been keeping this updated, I have been rollerblading or running each day, and that should be impressive on it's own.

Monday, the roomie and I went rollerblading around our neighborhood. It's hard to get any speed on the local roads, and hard to get into a rhythm, but we get out and go, and that's all that matters.

Tuesday new friend and I ran. We ran for 20 minutes and then filled the rest of the hour with walking. We walked fast and talked, and it was super enjoyable.

Most notably, though, was last night's rollerblade excursion. I had a rough day at school, and almost backed out of our meeting to go, but we went, and it was the most amazing experience I have ever had rollerblading. I got to choose the speed, so we went fast on a trail that you have to stop on about once a mile, and we went a total of 9 miles in 45 minutes. The best part, though, was that as we were finishing, it was nearing dark and the environment was beautiful. Pink sky, trees beginning to be engulfed in darkness, and the breeze of both the air and the breeze we were creating. If I could, I would freeze that moment in time and go back and relive it frequently. Oh, and the person I was with agreed that Mallards are the best type of duck. YAY!

That's the end for my update. Seriously, I'm going to get better at this...

Hi! What's your name?

I went for a run today, and it was just plain great. Beautiful weather, fun people out, all around wonderful. Maybe it's just because I've been having a few really good days and it carries over to my running. Maybe it's just because running is something that I've found makes me really happy. I decided to be adventurous today and run my normal beginning, and then try to find a way to make it back to my apartment without running on the road I don't like. I still haven't found it. My half alternative that I've found puts me on an even worse road, and that's just not good.

As I was running, there were two little girls sitting with their dad who was trying to fix one of the girls' bike. As soon as I got within shouting distance they both said "HI! What's your name?" and they were just as cute as could be. The dad got flustered, thinking that it was bothering me, but I went along with it and told them my name and talked to them about their bike. It was fun. I also liked that I didn't have to run through rivers to get anywhere.

I ran just a bit farther today before I started walking, and did the extra bit in less time than my usual run, which made me happy. Maybe running is something I should have taken up a long time ago.

The stats for the day:
Distance: about 4.8 miles
Time: 70 minutes, 6:30 pm
Sunny, cloudless, and blue :)
Temperature: 60 degrees
Humidity: 52%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: from the ENE at 10 mph
Pressure: 29.97 in and rising

That all equals--BEAUTIFUL!

The river runs...over the road

What a yucky day to run. After rain, tornados, and hail last night, it was disgusting out. So humid, so flooded, and so hard to run in because of all of the debris. It was fun, though, to talk to the little old lady who was cleaning off her driveway and talking to me about how she had never seen such bad weather here. It was also fun to see neighbors walking out of their houses yelling to their neighbors to see if they needed any help cleaning up. I saw frogs hopping around and worms trying to find ground that was dry enough for them to live in. While it was yucky to run in, it was still enjoyable. The stats:

Distance: About 4.8 miles
Time: 75 Minutes
Overcast and really humid
Temperature: 65 degrees
Humidity: 88%
Visibility: 3 miles
Wind: From the NNE at 6 mph
Pressure: 29.76 and rising

A little break..

One day, I couldn't post, and since then I've been too lazy to try to update because I felt like I would have to catch up and then that was a daunting task, so now after a month, I'm back. YAY!

I have been running, not quite as much as earlier because I just don't have the time. Maybe since Indiana finally began to have daylight savings time I'll realize that I can run at later hours in the day.

Today I did get out and move around. I convinced my roomie to rollerblade with me at school, and it was amazing to do it. It was 80 degrees at 4:30, and absolutely beautiful. YaY! Hopefully I'll make it out again tomorrow :)

Woo-hoo!

I have lots of free time on my hands for the next week and a half before I go home for my second spring break of the semester. I had to go to a place in town that could potentially be considered educational today to create lesson plans for the rest of the student teachers who do not have the luxury of having this time off. I went to an arts garden and wandered around outside, freezing the whole time. I then went on a few other errands, trying to convince myself that I should run because there is supposed to be a winter storm tonight so I probably really won't want to go tomorrow. I decided to motivate myself by buying a hat to run in the cold with, and it worked.

I ran the same route I did yesterday, but added an extra .2 miles on in the middle. As I walked back, I thought I was walking too slowly, so walked more quickly, and did my 4.8 miles in the same amount of time that I did the 4.6 yesterday. I'm so proud of myself. Plus, it was cold out. Even more of a reason to be excited. The stats for the day:

Distance: About 4.8 miles
Time: 75 minutes
Cloudy and cold 2:15
Temperature: 39 degrees Fahrenheit
Humidity: 49%
Visibility: 10 Miles
Wind: from the ENE at 17 mph

Back to School

After being in sunny Florida for a week, I'm back at school. I had an amazing week and became closer to some awesome people. One of the highlights of my week had to be my first night home and spending hours with one of my friends and two friends of my brother's. I've never spent much happy time with them, so it was a nice change, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

One of my main reasons for starting this is to keep a personal log of my exercise, but also to comment on how I'm doing. I've committed to doing a one mile run/walk with a HUGE group of people, and want to be able to say that I can run it even though I may walk. I went on a nice walk/run today, and ran for 20 minutes and then kept walking for 55 because I was talking to a really awesome person on the phone. While I felt kind of dumb to be talking on the phone and exercising at the same time, it was really relaxing, and something I really needed. I'm also going to steal her idea for posting what exercise I've done, so here it is:

Distance: about 4.6 miles
Time: 75 minutes
Sunny and cold 5:30
Temperature: about 43
Humidity: 41%
Visibility: 10 Miles