Hocking Hills revisited

So this weekend J and I returned to the Hocking Hills area of Ohio. This trip, the weather was much colder and we went for the weekend and not just the day. We also left the dog at home. Good idea! We stayed in the MacBeth croft at Glenlaurel. It was a beautiful place to stay with great food and welcoming staff. We would recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic weekend away. It was nice that we were able to get it all there - dinner, breakfast, massages, etc. It was nice not to have to worry about finding dinner or anything like that. Very nice.

Another great part of our weekend, and the primary reason we wanted to go back to Hocking Hills was the Hocking Hills Canopy ToursThey were more fun than we expected. Our guides Ben and Troy were fun. I even temped to go without hands, eyes closed and spinning around. This is all big for me who can sometimes be a bit of a "fraidy" as J likes to call me. Needless to say, we will be making another trip back in the spring when they reopen for next season. Its only an hour from our house, so yet another excuse for anyone who wants to visit us in sunny, funny Ohio! Enjoy for pictures from our fun:

The Benefits of TNT

So when I joined Team in Training, I joined because of a person and a cause. I felt it was my way of doing something. I also thought, hey this is the only way I will ever get through a marathon and I'd really like to be able to do it sometime. What I never thought I'd get out of those four months is people. I guess I never went to the info. sessions and heard the stories. I saw pictures on the website, but I figured those were people who went into it together and were celebrating where they were on the other end. I never thought that they might not have been together from the beginning.

I remember my first run, that first Sunday morning at the McConnell Heart Health Center (MHHC), standing near a few people who appeared to be near my age as they talked about how in a few months these practices will take us all day and how they (like me) have no idea how they will be able to run 8 miles, let alone 26.2. They also said they weren't sure if they would run the full or the half (they ran the full). I thought, OK, I've got a lot in common with these people.

Then they ran. I was no where near their league. I found myself closer in speed to the fat old men or the little old ladies or the walkers for that matter. By the time I got back to the MHHC those people who in the beginning of the morning I thought I might have something in common with had already gotten in their cars and headed home. When was I supposed to bond with them?

Honestly, I have no idea when I did. Kevin and I started to talk at a golf outing. We had breakfast together another time with Brittini and J. We met up at a bar during an OSU game. We talked before practice. But I can't really tell you that there was anything significant or any one time that made it so these people are ones that I care about and treasure.

All I know was that sitting there, drinking a beer or two on Tuesday night with Brittini, Lynn and Kevin (those same people that I stood near that first day at MHHC)...I realized that TNT gives you more than the confidence to finish a marathon. It gives you what you put into it. It gave me people who I care about, people who I think about, people who I pray for, people who I can call and have a beer with, cry with, or hang out with.

I wouldn't have finished a marathon without Team in Training, heck I probably wouldn't have even started one, but I also wouldn't have some special people in my life that mean more to me than the 26.2 miles that I ran.

Halloween - or lack thereof

I love Halloween. We've had some great parties (now is normally when I would insert some pictures, but my computer is still in limbo) and I love to see all the creative costumes of kids and adults. This year though was such a letdown. Halloween was on a Friday. You'd expect we would have done something. Instead I ran a 5k (finished in 30:17 - very proud of myself) and we had burgers at a very crowded bar. No trick-or-treaters. No candy. No costumes. No pictures. No parties. Nothing. We saw some costumes while walking around in the hood and I've looked through plenty of Facebook albums, but its just not the same.

Maybe next year we will have a reason to dress up...maybe!