Then & Now

This past Saturday, I completed the inaugural Rock the Parkway 10k. My original intent had been to compete in the half marathon, but the last month ended up being a bit rough on the training, so I backed out of it. Best decision ever. The conditions ended up being horrendous: raining, windy, in the 40's...it even hailed right after the finish! I swore, if Matt and Brock were waiting at the 1.5 mile mark as originally planned (before the inclement weather) I was going to just hop in the car and leave with them. But I finished. The best part of it all? Because I still had the blue half marathon number as opposed to the green 10k tag, and I tend to speed up for the finish, I got a lot of cheers from other runners and spectators who all thought I was the first female to finish the half!! Ha! That's right, I ran a half marathon in under 1:20.00 (that would be 6.04 minutes per mile pace...) Here is a photo from an 8k I did in 2004 compared to a photo from the 10k in 2010.

Then, I ran the 4.9 miles in 34.02 - holding a 6.52 minute per mile pace.
Now, I ran the 6.2 miles in 1:04.56 - holding a 10.26 minute per mile pace.

Then, I weighed 146 lbs.
Now, I weigh 183 lbs.

Then, I had one year until graduation from college.
Now, I have one year until graduation from med school.

Then, I won my age group.
Now, I finished in the back of the middle of the pack.

Then, I was in it to win it, and loved pushing my my body as hard as it could go; I think I did the last mile in under 6 minutes.
Now, I was trotting along, listening to music, and watching the sidelines so I could wave to my husband and baby as I passed.

March Showers...

...bring May weddings.I have had a recent attitude change toward showers. In the past, I kind of dreaded them. To me, an invitation to shower meant the nuisance of: shopping for a gift, wrapping a gift, finding a babysitter, dressing up, making small talk, and on top of all that, losing a precious weekend day or evening. And though, attending a shower does in fact encompass the aforementioned items, there is no need to look at it in such a negative light. Instead, I can look at it this way: I GET to go shopping. I love shopping, especially when I get to purchase something. And then, after purchasing this $25-$40 gift, I get to go out for an evening of unlimited food, drink, and friends. Rarely, does an evening like that cost less than $40 for a couple. As for the dressing up part? Well, I guess it's probably nice for Matt to have something to finally make me change out of my pajamas; cause it wasn't going to happen, otherwise.

What caused this change in attitude? I am not really sure. Maybe it's the fact that I had the opportunity to attend 2 showers this month. And as per usual, I ended up having a splendid time, and enjoying the company. Not to mention there was great BBQ at one and some really tasty Mexican at the other. So, thank you Andrea & Matt and Pat & Kathleen for being great people and having great people as friends and family. Looking so forward to May.

What's in a name?

It's kind of nice to have the right name to back you up when you ask the preceptor you're rotating with if you can have off St. Patrick's day. I mean, how can you deny someone with the name ERIN O'LAUGHLIN the celebration of the Irish culture? Erin means Ireland for goodness sake! So what if I married into the second half...
We celebrated the holiday in the usual way. Starting at the Lillig's for breakfast and Jameson shots on the half hour. Moved on to Californos for Irish Car Bombs and the 'Westport' experience. Then back to the O's for some killer reubens. Seriously, NEVER had a better reuben than Mimi's. Quite the trifecta.

And let's not forget why else this holiday is so wonderful; GREEN.

It's about time.

We can all go outside again! Can I get an Amen?

Wow, imagine finally learning to walk, and then bam! Worst winter in a long time. Poor Brock was confined to mastering his walking, running, climbing, riding, jumping, and sliding skills in the indoors for the past 4 months.

Now, it seems we will be out practicing our Tricycling skills (despite not being able to reach the pedal) every chance we get. Brock is pretty obsessed with the idea. A helmet might no be a bad idea...

The Single [Small town] Life

DAY ONE

Here I am, alone. Though the tiny, two bedroom apartment has obviously just been cleaned, it remains dark, dingy, used. Similar the the entire town it inhabits. Clinton, Missouri embodies small town USA. Are there no sidewalks because there is no one out walking or is no one out walking because there are no sidewalks? And I know the apparent desertion isn't for lack of population because the McDonald's and Wendy's drive thru lines have been ridiculously long each time I have patroned those restaurants. This statement should bring to mind two questions: why has the author eaten from at least 2 fastfood establishments in one 24 hour period? and why is the author labeling these establishments as restaurants? Let me stop you right there and bring you back to the 4th sentence in this paragraph: Clinton, Missouri embodies small town USA. Thus the eating options are limited to fastfood, Applebee's, Country Kitchen, or tiny, questionable diners. There are no middle of the road options with fresh vegetables or soups, like Chipotle, Panera, Spin, The Mixx, d'Bronx; the staples to most big city dweller's diet, not counting home-prepared foods. Ok, scratch the "no" part, there is Subway.

Why am I here? I am stationed in this town for one of my Family Medicine rotations. The demographic in the clinic exactly matches the options set up by the previous paragraph. What kind of health problems do you imagine plague a town riddled with fastfood and devoid of sidewalks? Even the old-timey diners are a dead give away to the forward thought that has taken place around here: none. I am quite sure I saw a bumber sticker that said something to the effect of, "At least I can still smoke in my car".