Stopping To Smell the Roses - Quiet Time & Family Time

Well, only 2 posts, and I'm starting to slack off on keeping up with my blog.  I assumed this would happen.  Many times have I decided to start a journal only to give up or forget about it or get too busy to keep it up.  I wanted to use this blog as a type of journal, since I can't seem to keep a journal, but chances are the result will be the same as this - hopefully not.

This past week was really the first bump in the road I've had in my half marathon training.  Kasey and I are using Hal Higdon's Beginner Half Marathon Training Plan from halhigdon.com because it says you're a beginner until you've been running consistently for a year.  I've been running consistently for almost 3 months now, but I am so competitive and obsessive that I can't stand how little running the training plan calls for.  It basically tells me to take every other day off, but I can't do that, so I run every day, and I run farther than it tells me to.  Therefore, I can't say I was terribly surprised when last week after running 12 miles on Sunday, my legs felt like they weighed 500 pounds each when I went for a run on Monday.  I finished, but it was the worst run I've had since I started running.  I took the next couple days off, and finally felt close to normal again the next time I ran.  I guess maybe these "experts" know what they're talking about.  My biggest fear is that I'll get injured before our Little Rock Marathon in March that we're already sign up for and I'll lose my $65 race fee I've already paid.  I don't fear it enough to skip running every other day.  I figure if, or when, I get hurt, I'll take that opportunity to start training for a triathlon.  I still just can't believe how much I enjoy running - even when I don't want to go do it that day - if that makes any sense.  I enjoy being forced to go out into nature with only my thoughts.

Thursday my basketball team played at Bergman, and we played awful and lost.  Also, Thursday Kasey's friend from Little Rock, Jillian, came, with her 3 kids, to visit until Saturday.  I took that opportunity to go to West Fork on Friday night to scout, deer hunt, and go to the Razorback football game.  Hunting was good.  I get a wild hair to hunt about once every 2 years.  Usually it takes more than once to get it out of my system, but the one time I went on Saturday morning did it for me.  I got up at 5 am, and went to my Grandpa Doyle's field.  I didn't see any deer, but I did enjoy relaxing and getting still without people or TV to occupy my attention.  It was beautiful to watch the sun come up over the beautiful scenery even if there were no deer there.  I'll go again in a couple years.  I have so many hobbies, it's hard for me to justify going hunting very often, especially when I have to make time to run on weekend mornings usually.  It was great though just to spend some quiet time enjoying nature.

After hunting, I went to the Razorback game with my dad and got to stand on the field for the game.  I had a great time.  My dad and I talked more than we had in a long time, so that was good.  He's a lot like me in that he usually needs TV or some activity to fill up his time, so we don't just talk very often.  I wish I wasn't like that, but I have a hard time relaxing and just enjoying where I am and who I'm with.  Instead, I'm usually too busy trying to DO something or I'm worried about some stupid game on TV.  I'm slowly getting better in that area (very slowly.)  Kasey's family has been a great example in that area.  We love going there for Sunday lunch after church because during and for sometimes hours after everyone has finished eating, the entire family just sits at the dinner table telling stories and jokes and talking and enjoying each other's company.  I often am the first one up from the table and instead of just relaxing and enjoying spending time with the people I love and getting to know them better, I am too worried about some stupid football game or something I feel like I need to be doing.  Because of this, they probably think I don't enjoy that time, but I enjoy it immensely, I'm just not used to it or good at it, but I'm trying to follow their example (especially Kasey's dad - he's great at "stopping to smell the roses.") 

I was able to visit my family, Kasey's parents, and my grandparents.  I was able to have some alone time with my dad.  And I was able to have some quiet time running and hunting, so it was a good weekend for stopping to smell the roses (until Sunday, when all I did was sit in front of the TV - oh well, I'm a work in progress.)