The Random Race-- Be There

The focus of this blog is living intentionally.  I have a few posts coming up on living in a community, fair trade purchases, recycling, scheduling, all the things that I like to talk about that are applicable to the theme of "intentional".  There was, however, no intention behind what happened on Saturday and it was exactly the kind of random I enjoy in life.Jim loves the 100 Merridian Century Ride that starts in Cozad, NE and has done it every year for the past few years.  This was my first year driving along to support him.  I had planned on dropping him off, doing a long, slow run through Cozad, showering at their gym and then lazing through farmer's markets and coffee shops, meeting Jim in a few spots along his ride.
Confusion on the starting location had us asking the race directors of a local 5K/10K event where to go.  The foot race started a half hour after Jim got started.  I figured it was a couple of miles shorter than my intended distance, but at least I wouldn't get lost and could get some water at the end.  So, after seeing Jim off, I signed up for the foot race.  Having done a speed workout the day before, I thought I would just fun for fun.
A beautiful speech was given about a man named Claud Sr., a man who passed away last fall and his sons were dedicating the race to him.  For some reason, I ran hard for him, praying for his family who obviously still mourned the loss, and thanking God for this man who had made a deep impact on his community.  At almost the turn around point, someone yelled "first girl!".  Some unknown sense of competition against the nameless women behind me had me pumping my legs harder.  Until the last mile, when I was regretting having ever signed up for the race, but luckily the nameless women didn't have a stronger kick and I wasn't passed.
I was awarded the title of overall female for the 10K.  I won a Subway and Running Warehouse gift card and a pair of socks that had "Be There" written on them.  Apparently, these were the last words written by the man we were honoring.  It was a reminder for him to be at an appointment.  The shirts we were given for signing up also had "Be There" written on them.
I felt uncharacteristically emotional at the end of this race.  It isn't very often that a mortal runner like me (an average pacer, a not-so-fast-girl) gets a title of any kind during a foot race.  I have won overall female once before, in a race of 10 or so people, and various age group wins in other small events, but this was completely unexpected and I felt such a connection to the people of this town I had never been to.
The words "Be There" resignated with me throughout the day.  When I was done running, I didn't even get water right away, instead I cheered for the runners behind me.  I was living completely in that moment, taking it all in.  I then meandered to the water station and talked to the people of the race, just being present.  Unlike my normal self, I walked up to complete strangers with a "I'm Kristin, from Ogallala".  I met Mike, a man who recently retired and was disappointed that for the first time ever he had to walk during part of the race.  I met another man who never said his name but had lost 50 pounds since February, when he married a vegan and started running.  I talked to one gentleman who had been considering a marathon, and bragged about my best friend who has already done that and told him I hoped to someday join her.
The rest of the day, the words "be there" popped into my head.  At the coffee shop where I got my cold chai latte, I spoke with the man in line ahead of me and bought his expresso when he didn't have quite enough change.  He was a trucker from LA who loved tennis.
I thought of it as I stopped at a park in downtown Gothenburg and took in the beautiful fountain in the center and listened to the shrieking of a girl birthday part a few yards away.

I always want to "be there".  Living life intentionally, even when you make random decisions like deciding to join a 10K race fifteen minutes before it's start time, is all about being there.  The race was a beautiful representation of how I want to live my life-- being there to remember the past, being there to run the race of the moment, and being there to look forward to the future.  Just being present, making memories and experiencing things.

So I guess, the main point of this post is, I hope you will consider "Being There" for your life, too.

Why Vacations are Important

This past weekend, Jim and I had a quick weekend getaway.  It was a lot of fun, and it served a lot of purposes as we head into the fall season.  I find that a vacation every six months or so is something that helps me thrive and feel recharged for the months ahead.  It isn't essential for me to live, I'm sure I could survive without a vacation, but it certainly helps my outlook in many ways.

First, vacations relieve stress.  I work very hard to live a relatively low stress life.  I pay bills early, I try to live minimally, I have quiet time every day, I run away worries that come up.  Vacations are unique in that they remove me from my daily situation and relieve the small stresses that don't seem like stresses until you are away from them.  The list of to-do's I wake up to every morning doesn't exist on vacation.  The fact that I don't have to clean the shower I'm about to use, or wash the sheets I just got out of, is liberating.  Not that I mind cleaning my house at all (I actually enjoy it a little bit) but the fact that I don't have to and there is nothing I can do about the condition of my house while I'm on vacation, is freeing.  I don't have to think about the dogs or what's going on in my town, or plan my day around things that are important at home.  I love the important things, but it's nice to step away from them.

Second, vacations make me step out of my comfort zone or at least try new things.  My comfort zone has stretched in the past few years, mostly from running, but I love to stretch it further on vacation if I can.  Vacationing is a time when I try new foods at local restaurants (like sushi and SOMETHING).  Vacationing is a time when I try new things, like staying at anywhere from a campsite to a really fancy hotel.  Vacationing is an excuse to try new things in fitness-- like hiking a new mountain in Colorado, running with an ultra-marathon group in Reno, or getting lost on a run in the downtown of two major cities.  Vacationing is a time to talk to strangers on the tour bus, talk to a local at the coffee shop (where I try the chai, so I know if they get better chai than I do or not) and learn about the many amazing life paths there are.  

Third, vacations are a time to learn.  I learn about myself on vacation, because I'm trying so many new things (like, who knew that I would end up loving miso soup had I not eaten at a great sushi place?).  I am a researcher, so I familiarize myself with the area before I visit, often learning things I would never have learned otherwise (someday, traveling will help me on jeopardy or something other game show, I just know it).  I learn about how other people live, from the people living in mansions to the inner city families.

Fourth, vacations are a great time to spend with my husband.  I admit that we tend to spend more than we should while on vacation, but it's mostly because we both take this time to spoil each other.  We try to always stop at a Whole Foods if there is one nearby, and we often encourage each other to put things in the cart that normally wouldn't go in at home because we want to treat the other person.  We talk in the car and often feel more connected on vacation because, being the only person the other knows, we rely on each other for everything.  It's time devoted to not only doing what we want to do individually, but making sure the other person gets to do what they want to, too... and we do it together.

Fifth, vacationing is just fun.  I love planning, I love having something to look forward to and I love how great home feels after being away, even for a couple of days.  In general, getting away is just an awesome way to experience life and get away from the daily routine every once in a while.

With that, I thought I would share my recent vacation story with you all (that is, if you are still reading at this point).  Pictures are included!

I'm going to say that Jim and I started our vacation Friday, even if we were still in Ogallala.  We had planned on camping in the Rockies, but rain had us deciding to stay home.  So instead, we went to the movies and had a nice date night watching "Guardians of the Galaxy".

On Saturday morning, we left the house early with a backpack full of clothes, a bag of peaches and four pairs of extra shoes lining the floor of the backseat (dress shoes made up two pair.  And I had two pair of running shoes with me... don't judge).  I slept almost the entire way there.  When we arrived, we went to Da Kind Soups and had some awesome flavors like sweet potato spinach.  The atmosphere was great and the ladies at the counter were awesome.

We went from there to hike to Maxwell Falls.  It's a 5.2 mile round trip hike to, you guessed it, a waterfall.  I love hiking and we have a soft spot for being in the woods as it reminds us of our childhood in the Black Hills.  It was a crowded hike with a lot of dogs on leashes and kids in carriers, but it was a lot of fun.

We then drove up to Guenella Pass, where Jim had camped with his friend a few weeks ago.  We drove to the top and witnessed the Alpine Rescue team sending a chopper out to help a stranded tourist somewhere in the woods.  

It was a beautiful drive, but it was longer than we anticipated and we had to hurry back to town do catch our dinner reservation, so we changed in the car.  Unfortunately, changing into a fancy Chinese dress is hard in the car, so I had some trouble.

We went to The Bistro at Marshdale in Evergreen, CO for dinner.  We were a bit over dressed, but it was fun to be treated like VIPs because we were so fancy.  I couldn't pronounce my dinner, but I caved and tried the gluten free salmon pasta dish since I would be racing the next day.  The lady was very careful to give me gluten free options the rest of the night, as well, including the chocolate hazelnut mousse I finished with (yum).

We then drove to our "hotel".  We stayed at the guest cabin of a wonderful older couple who own a ranch just outside of town.  Their home was beautiful and looked out over a beautiful pasture.  Our little cabin was adorable.  They had two dogs that loved us to death and we met with our hosts before heading to bed on Saturday night.  She was a puppeteer for many years and they have traveled the world.  

Early Sunday morning, I got ready and got on a bus to go to the starting position of the Evergreen Town 5K race.  I was surrounded by around 1000 other athletes.  I was kind of intimidated by the high school track kids, but when the race got going, I ignored them and did my own race.  I let gravity do the work on the downhill and ticked off every half mile in my head.  I ended up with a PR of 22:28 and a 7th in my age group finish.

Because I didn't do anything worthy of a medal, we left the after party pretty quickly, Jim eating the complimentary breakfast burrito I was given. 

We left Evergreen and headed to Lakewood, as I had seen some shoes after the race I was interested in trying out.  We were too early for the Runners Roost (my all time favorite running store), so we walked around the shopping complex it was in before ultimately buying the shoes I wanted to try, a book written by my running hero (Scott Jurek) and some energy gu's for Jim.  

Like any good foodie family, we went to Whole Foods as well.  We had a gift certificate we wanted to use up and, because it's Whole Foods, spent about twice as much as the gift certificate.  But, it is always fun for us to go there and buy foods you can't get locally.  My favorite purchase (aside from their fresh ground peanut butter) was something I won't even be eating but look forward to Jim trying-- bacon flavored chocolate.

After that we went to Kazuko Sushi, because sushi is almost a requirement in big city vacations now.  It was good and they had vegetarian options for me (I'm not a full vegetarian, but in sushi restaurants, I find it's safer to say I am).  They had a great miso soup and shiitake mushroom rolls.

My request every time we visit a city is frozen yogurt.  I don't know why I crave cold and fruity while on vacation, but I do.  so, we found a Menchies

Less than 48 hours jam packed with nothing but awesome!