Summertime

What a wonderful summer it has been!   Above are two photos of us on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula.  My parents came to the NW, rented a gorgeous house on the water in Sequim and Josh and I came and joined then for the weekend.  On the right is my parents down around the Dungeness Spit in Sequim and then on the left is Josh and I at a lookout point at Hurricane Ridge.  I really hope to do a backpacking trip with Josh in this area someday. 

I think we are really enjoying this summer more as it is our first one married and without an apartment managing job.  We are able to leave town the weekends and we have a bit more vacation time (though still not enough).  Working full time hasn't been so bad with all the beauty I have been able to enjoy in the NW this summer!

I grew up doing a lot of physically activity with my family and it truly is a part of me.  To the left is a picture of my dad and I this summer running in Sequim, near the house we were staying in.  I love this photo, we have gone on a lot of runs together.  Over the years my body has forced me to slow down a bit, my knees mostly limit me and sometimes it really frustrates me. Then I go for a run such as this one (below) on the Outer Banks (another trip with my family) and the movement of my body AMAZES me. 

I feel myself rejoicing for all that I am able to do.  God truly has carried me through some tough years as a teenager when I couldn't even walk.  I ran 5 + miles on this beach a couple times while we were out in Corolla and I swam a couple miles in the ocean.  Sometimes my knee hurts a bit more than I am comfortable with and I find myself constantly re-evaluating...why am I doing all this exercise again?  I mostly do it because I enjoy it, the endorphins feel great, and I love being active with my husband (I have been reminded of that more and more this summer!)

Above is a picture of  me and my best friend near the top of Hidden Lake Lookout.  He and I have had the opportunity to go on a couple great hikes this summer with a group from our church.  My knees were bothering me quite a bit on this hike, there were quite a few snow fields to cross, and a lot of elevation gain.  I was worried about the hike back down, so Josh and I made the decision not to go all the way up this time.  The entire hike was full of amazing views and we felt like it would be a good decision to just stop about 40 minutes from the top.  We still really enjoyed the hike and really enjoyed the time together.  I really wish we would have made it to the top and I am also glad I chose to just take care of my body (and Josh chose to take care of his) for now.  As you can probably see, we had a great time.

I'm training for a Sprint Triathon in Lake Steven's September 9.  It has been really good for me because it requires a lot of cross training.  Not just running, but swimming and biking are EQUALLY important.  I have enjoyed interspersing these three types of exercise in my everyday life and finding some new trails around the area.  It has really helped motivate me to do some extra workouts with 2 of my co-workers training for this race too.  It's coming up in 2 weeks. 

Amidst my training and the summer sunshine, I have gone on quite a few runs with some women from my church, Eastlake Community Church.  On the first Tuesday, I ran 6 miles, the longest mileage in a long time!  The women there are so supportive and encouraging, plus talking to someone the entire way really helps me.  Several of the women in the group has taught me a lot.  Even though it is obvious that most of them have no problem running the 5-6 miles that we do a week, they don't go faster than the rest of the group, they stick with me, talking to me and encouraging me.  It means so much to me to have someone do this, reminding me to take care of my body first and foremost and that the community part of our run is so much more important than our pace or setting any PRs.  I only hope that I can do the same for my husband as we begin to run together again, my dad, and other running, hiking, and snowshoeing buddies along the way.