Success!

Thank you so much to everyone for all the kind words and encouragement! I successfully ran the entire 1/2 marathon without stopping (minus at the drink stations, it was HOT!). I have now completed 3 out of 5 items on my 30 Bucket List and more importantly proved to myself that I could do it! Below are some pictures and some highlights of the day.

Harper helping me stretch pre-race. My favorite picture from the day!

Me happy to be still for a moment after running for 13.1 miles!

Me with my support crew/coaches/training partners

Highlights of the day: 1.finishing! 2.food: no one told me they FED you during races, if I had known I would have run a 1/2 much sooner! 3.the crowd: the people of Nashville were out in force and I got more high fives from kids and cheers from people that kept me motivated than I ever imagined! Plus all the cute kids and dogs along the route were super entertaining! 4.the signage: there was no lack of motivational signs along the way...some that were HIlarious but I can't repeat on the blog because I'd like to keep this G rated (if you really want to know ask me in person!). 5.seeing Harper's face blowing me kisses after I crossed the finish line :-) 6.the two military guys walking to raise money for St. Jude...in full cammo, boots, and a packed ruck sack. It was SO hot in my high tech running gear, I can't even imagine wearing boots. THANK YOU for your service and THANK YOU for your support of St. Jude.

Oops, I forgot to add one more highlight: Getting to run past my freshman dorm (and wave to my old window) that is slated to be torn down next month. In that room is where I first got the illness that started this whole running craze. Good times in that dorm but good riddance! It needed to go a long time ago!

Why I run...

So, if you know me, you know I am preparing to run my first (and probably only) 1/2 Marathon soon! I am hoping just to survive the experience but am looking forward to seeing all this hard work 'pay off' (i.e. I finish the 13.1 miles!). 'Meredith' you ask 'why do you want to do this? you are not a runner?'. Right you are! Even the fact that the registration form/waiver says "athletes signature" kind of freaks me out because I am by no means an athlete. I do have my reasons for running and I thought I'd share them! Besides the 'check it off the bucket list', here is why I really run. Because I can. I am not trying to be glib or sassy in saying that. I run because there was a time when I couldn't. To spare you a very long story, when I was a freshman in college I got really really sick with a lung infection. It wasn't exactly life or death but required surgery and 9 months of medication and it left my lungs weakened and me unable to work out much at all, let alone run. I was never really a 'runner', in grade school I could run the mile without too much effort but I was never the fastest or the slowest. But when I COULDN'T do something it made me mad. I couldn't hold my breath underwater for as long when swimming, I couldn't do 20 minutes on an elliptical without being sick, couldn't run 1/4 mile without stopping, etc. With my personality, if you tell me I can't do something you might as well have told me I have to. So between grad school, having a baby, etc I've never made found the time to train. Having a toddler really doesn't help in the extra time department but I decided that before I am no longer 30 I want to finish this goal! This whole goal makes me think of the verse from Hebrews 12 "...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Not just because of the word race, but because of the persistence and time it has taken to get to the point of being ready for the race. I wish I would set my eyes on Jesus and put the same effort into my pursuit of him. I would desire to spend time thinking on him, studying him, learning about him. However, just like in my pursuit of the 13.1, I often let other things get in my way and don't prioritize my time. I don't want someone or something telling me "you can't" to help shift my priorities. I want my love and desire to worship our Savior to capture my time! I want my time, words, and actions to reflect what is important to me. That is why I run. That is why I will continue the race with perseverance.

Chatty Cathy

So first of all, after I wrote the title, I realized I feel sorry for anyone named Cathy because I am sure at some point in their life they were referenced as a "Chatty" or a "Not so Chatty" Cathy. Anyway....that was way out of left field!

So I had an old copy of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory from grad school (I've since used it a couple times at work) so I brought it home and Jason, Harper, and I filled it out tonight. Among other things it includes a vocabulary checklist (divided into categories such as Descriptive Words, Pronouns, Prepositions, Question Words, etc.). We used this to calculate Harper's total number of words said spontaneously as of today, 4/3/2012. She gets a new one almost every day so if we did this in another week it would probably be different. She currently has 186 words!!! That is so wild to me. But this mommyspeech-languagepathologist is very happy with that. I included Harper in the "help to fill it out" because we talked about it at dinner and she would pipe in every now in then with a word that we would be talking about "Does she understand what ___ means?" or "Does she say this spontaneously?". I am saving this in her baby book and will fill it out again maybe around her second birthday. I am just including it in the blog mostly for our families who I will probably forget to tell!


PS- If you are ever concerned about your child's language or speech please don't hesitate to ask your pediatrician for a referral for an evaluation. If they try to 'yeah yeah' you but you are still concerned press the issue. It never hurts to check it out and in most cases your insurance will pay for all or most of the cost of the evaluation.