The Week of Free Things

Well, that might be an overstatement, but there were two occasions where free things were bestowed this week, and they were pretty freakin' fantastic.

WEDNESDAY - "In the Heights" with Sarah!

As has been clearly stated in this blog, "In the Heights" is my current favorite thing. I had already seen the show twice, and the tour was having its final SoCal stop with a two week stay in Costa Mesa. Which is just a hop and a skip (no jump needed - it's pretty close) to my friend Sarah, who lives in the OC. So we texted about it, and she was interested in seeing it, so it was all a matter of what day would I drive up that would work out for both of us.

At first, there was no good evening. Our schedules and plans just weren't gelling, and we were about to call it a day and say it wasn't in the cards. Then on Wednesday, I found out that I could do Thursday night after all. She replied that so was hers, but also her Wednesday was free now too, if I wanted to drive up that same day/evening... and you know me, always down for things. 

I drove up after work and traffic wasn't that bad once you got past Carlsbad. And I've been in cautious-save-gas-by-driving-at-60mph mode for awhile now, but made it to Sarah's to pick her up and then get us to the theatre with 15 minutes to spare. The plan was to buy last-minute rush tickets, which are basically any open seats left (usually in the balcony) sold at half off, but you have to pay in cash.

I had no cash. And the ATM at the venue? Broken.

We walked to the box office, thinking things weren't looking good, but we were gonna try our luck and hope that maybe they'd accept a debit card? That's basically like cash, right? So we stand in line, hoping for the best, and then we get directed to the next available ticket window. As we make our way, a very kind lady (who I will describe as 50+ something who likely goes to theatre/art exhibits on a regular basis and probably drives a Mercedes-Benz) approached us.

LADY: Excuse me, were you two going to buy tickets?

ME: (unsure of where this was going) Yup.

LADY: Well here (hands us two tickets). They're yours.

(Sarah and I look puzzled.)

Apparently the very kind lady was there with a big group, and they ended up with a few extras, and rather than sell them, she told us to take them and enjoy the show. And mind you, she still had time to sell them. We looked at the tickets, and they were Orchestra Row M. Which is pretty damn awesome. (Sidenote: I think that should be the new reverse-abbreviation for PDA. 'Cause the other PDA? Just get a room, folks.) Sarah and I were floored, and so thankful for this kind lady's generosity. 

The seats were truly incredible. You could see the expressions on the actor's faces! The show already has good energy and fun as it is, but I think the great seats made for an even better first-experience for Sarah, who seemed to really enjoy it and later asked me for the soundtrack. 

When this show closes on Broadway, I'd love to be there! 

SATURDAY/SUNDAY - America's Finest City Half Marathon!

I woke up on Saturday morning to find a Facebook message from someone I didn't know. I opened it and she introduced herself as a friend of another friend of mine, and that she heard from the friend that I was a runner. Turns out she had a race bib for Sunday's AFC 1/2 Marathon, but was no longer able to run it, and she was trying to sell it, and thought I might be interested. I thought about it, but texted her back to say that I needed to save money, and so I wished her luck in selling it. 

Again, she still had time to go on craigslist and sell it. But a few hours later I got a text message from her, saying if I would run it, it was mine to have. Now this needed some thought. I haven't been running as much since the end of May - barely once a week, and 4 mile runs at that. I've been focusing more on strength training and weights. Also, I'd need to carbo load the rest of the day and sleep early, but had Chris' man-bath to attend still. I was really unsure... and then I figured, "go for it - it might take you three hours, but you've run up to 20 miles before - you can do this."

I replied that I'd be happy to run in her place, and thanked her for offering. Picked up the race bib in 4S Ranch where she works, and then started the prep: lots of water and carbs for the rest of the day, and going to bed before 9pm. Which I managed to do! Woke up at 4:30, got myself ready to go, drove to Balboa Park where we were then shuttled down to the Cabrillo Monument, and at 7:00, off we ran! 

The course wasn't flat - there were some uphills (both at the beginning and especially at the end) and downhills (at the beginning), but the course was even once we got to the 4 mile marker. We ran by the airport, Spanish Landing, along Harbor and through downtown, before heading uphill on 6th Avenue to get to Balboa Park. I kept a pretty good pace in the middle - it takes awhile for my body/legs to warm up, so I'm slower at the beginning, and then of course tired at the end. Could definitely feel the blister starting to erupt on my right foot. But I passed the 12 mile marker and got my game face on. A little before that point, my iPod Shuffle was playing "When You're Home", from "In the Heights", which has a part where they keep repeating the Spanish phrase, "No pare! Sigue, sigue!" Which translates into "don't stop, keep going, keep going!" I thought that was very appropriate and motivating to keep on charging towards the finish line. And once I could see the finish line in the distance, I changed up the song to play the last minute of "Finale" from the show, as it's very climactic and I wanted to finish my run with that happy ending music blasting through my headphones. 

Official final time -- 2:37:50! I really thought I'd finish in three hours, so I'm super stoked about my time. I have the 4 mile run with Pete, Ben, and perhaps a few other friends at the end of this month, and Ben and I are both registered for the Long Beach Marathon in mid-October. Now to seriously get my butt in gear for that one - 26.2 or bust! 

Me with my latest piece of racing "bling" - AFC Half Marathon 2010! 

Six on Saturday

Yes, I am again cribbing from the TGO's blog.

1. I ran 16 miles today. My legs were pretty much dead for the last two miles, and so I walked them (like... really slowly), but I got it done. Coach Ronnie asked how I was feeling, and I mentioned that I hadn't had a long run in three Saturdays, and my last run period was last Sunday (for the Carlsbad 5K). He told me that the lack of training this week just threw me off rhythm, and it's not a big deal and that I can shrug it off as a bad day. Although, 16 miles on a bad day is still cool -- because who does that on a regular day, right?

2. While on those 16 miles, I had to amuse myself. That's a long time that we're not allowed to wear headphones or have mp3 players. (This is because we're not in an official race, but training on the streets, so we need to be aware of our surroundings). I ended up making a Taylor Swift parody (?) to her hit "You Belong With Me", but from the perspective of a guy singing to a girl... (And no, I'm not a Taylor fan, but darnit, this song was all over the place and is catchy.)

You're at the bar with your boyfriend, you're upset

'Cause he ignores you for all his friends that you've met

He doesn't appreciate you like I do

You're dropping hints that you're ready to go home

But he's drunk and he is talking in loud tones

He doesn't think about you like I do

But he wears jerseys, I wear polos

He's into beer pong, and I play piano

Writing out a song that expresses exactly how I feel inside

So I'm singing out now

If you could see that I'm the one who'll be there for you

Do the things you like

So why don't you know

That your man's a schmo

That your man's a schmo

And when I got to that point, I thought that was enough ridiculousness for the day. And so I moved on to focusing on the cute girl running in front of me... (Just kidding.)

3. This is my medal and bib from the Carlsbad 5k. Pretty cool, yeah? I feel.

4. My delicious dinner at Hash House, where I was with The OSFs and some of Chris' family. This was a mashed potato and bacon burger. They know how to serve you up at this place, that's for sure. I ate half and saved the other for tomorrow. It was filling, and I didn't wanna stuff myself completely. Plus, Jordan's trying to get me to lose, and I gotta stay strong.

5. Apparently I have guns. Or am starting to have guns. As in my arms. I say this because I caught up with some friends tonight that I hadn't seen in a few months, and the three girls were all "whoa, you are looking buff!" Then they asked me to flex my biceps. And I did. And they felt them. And they said "oooooooh"... And then we moved on and chatted about real things... And then when our time was over and we had to split up, we all hugged and they asked me to flex one more time. I obliged, and they felt me up. It was just a funny moment to me, as this has never happened.

6. This video is one of the reasons I love Lea Michele. If only we had gone to see her at this cabaret before "Glee" had taken off! Now an intimate event like this with her there will never happen... But still, she amazes me, and this song from Spring Awakening reminds me and re-affirms my love of the show.

On a Sunday, I'll think it through...

The title for this blog entry is the name of one of my fave Jimmy Eat World songs... but has nothing to do with the song. I just wanted to jot down some reflections on today, tis all.

IT WAS AWESOME! =)

Act 1: Carlsbad 5K

Got up there just in time to meet up with Pete, who had his family there to cheer him on, and my old roomie Ben. The three of us gathered together at the start line, and off we ran! We all pretty much made our goal times. Ben finished in at just about 26 mins, Pete in an even 28:00 (when he hoped for 29), and I clocked in at 29:39 - just under 30, which is what I was hoping for! I tried to give it all I had, which needed to include a few walks to catch my breath, but this race marked another improvement (pace-time wise) from my previous run (new pace 9:33 min/miles vs 11:06 min/mile). After I caught up with the guys at the finish line, we got our t-shirts and went to the beer garden. Because apparently that's what you do at these things: you run a good distance, you treat your liver to some alcohol... Cassandra snapped a pic of us guys with our beers in hand, and I hope that pic soon to commemorate a fun run. There were professional photographers taking pics of all the runners during the race too, and I hope those get posted online during the week.

Act 2: Oggi's Pizza

After the race, I wanted to treat Ben out for some pizza. Post-run is a good time for that usually unhealthy meal, heh. Plus it was his birthday a few days ago. So the two of us former roomies went down to Oggi's Pizza and shared our usual pepperoni. Definitely miss hanging with the dude, as he's always been a stand-up guy and one of the very few that I could always be real and raw with.

Act 3: Coffee with Matt

After I got home/showered, I went over to Linda Vista and had coffee with my growth group leader (Matt) at a little shop by the Flood campus. He was my prayer partner for the week, so we caught up on the latest hap's and discussed life... I'm liking being in growth group this time around. It's still a little hard to break down my walls and talk sometimes (although I did manage to give my personal story last week), but I know it's something I need to keep trusting God to work in and through the group.

Act 4: Flood with Jess

Straight after coffee, I met up with Jess and her cousin Camille in the Flood parking lot. Chatted it up a bit and went inside for the service. Once I saw the piano on stage, I knew that The Gate Called Beautiful was likely leading worship - and they were. It was a good service - worship was awesome, and the service marked the beginning of a new series called "Touch: Real Sex in an Artificial World". Earlier in the week, another friend of mine saw the name of the series, and she kinda gave me a look, like "mmmmhmmmm..." But the fact is, sex is a big part of the culture we live in and regardless of one's age or marital status, the Bible does have lessons to learn on how we should view our sexuality. Thankfully, Adam (our speaker) didn't just throw down the stereotypical conservative church party line of "pre-marital sex is bad". (Actually, he started out with a rather hilarious look at the lyrics of Usher's song "Yeah"). But to sum, I'll just use a quote that they gave us from author Philip Yancy:

People worry that they will miss out on something if they heed the Bible's warnings against premarital sex. Actually, the warnings are there to keep them from missing out on something.

I'll definitely re-listen to the podcast, as I enjoyed the message (even if I can't properly express how it went - I'm tired now, lol) and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Also, this was the second week in a row that one of my original Mitchell besties, Jess, joined me for a service. Aside from the fact that it's been nice having a friend join me at church again, it's rad to feel like she's enjoying it (both the music and message), and to feel that the Holy Spirit is just doing it's thing.

And that's what I prayed with Matt during our coffee session. A lot of times I feel that uncertainty of the future, and I have my periods of doubt and lack of faith. But then I get that still voice pulling me back in and reminding me, "Hey... I'm still with you... for all those times you feel like I'm not there, or you may not even want Me there, I'm still working in your life. You may not see it right away, and you may not understand something, but trust in Me." When I hear Him reminding me of what He's already done and what He's promised us in Jeremiah 29:11, I realize that it's all good and I can put my fears aside and start finding peace/rest/hope in His love.

With that being said (quoting my Medicare mentor right there) -- Happy Sunday!

All of my life, in every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing...

Safe.

Today was supposed to be the first trip of the year to Disneyland. Well, I certainly got a ride a little while ago. It just was not one I was expecting.

Flashback to about 4 hours ago, where I was downtown, having just completed the Race for Literacy 8K run from Balboa Park and down the 163 Freeway. On a happy note, I did the 5 mile run in 56 minutes, which works for me considering that's an improvement on the 4 mile run last August that took me 51 minutes. Plus today's race was rainy and cold. Was so happy to get outta there and back home, since the plan was to drive up to Disneyland to meet Sarah and the OSFs.

Well, Brit came to pick me up at 11:30, and she offered to drive this time. Fantastic, I thought, since I don't like driving in the rain and I was hoping to take a nap. We were driving up the 805, not even past the UTC area yet, when we got into a car accident. We're both okay. It was frightening, and those few seconds were harrowing. It's cliche to say that it all happens so fast. But an accident happened right in front of us, and then another car swerved in from the side. Brit maneuvered in between to avoid those two, but then hit another car that was also trying to get out of the mess... after the hit, there was some swerving going on, but no spinning around thankfully, and Brit got us on the shoulder. Someone from a car that was involved that was now behind us came storming up to one of the cars that was now in front of us and started swearing up a storm, and it wasn't pretty. Two people were carried out on stretchers after being removed from their car with the jaws of life. Thankfully, Brit and I weren't really injured, but our necks feel a little stiff and I think her back too...

The tow truck gave us a ride to a gas station, where Trent picked us up, and he dropped me off at home, and I feel somewhat numb... definitely a little frazzled (though not nearly as frazzled as Jim from the latest episode of The Office). Was looking forward to spending the day with the crew at Disney, especially as it's Sarah's birthday, but there's always next time. And I'm glad there can be a next time. Thank God no one was seriously injured, that more cars weren't involved and we weren't hit again from the side, since I felt like the right/passenger side seemed the most vulnerable once the car was swerving.

The day started off well with a successful run, and I'm determined to end it well. I think I'll take a nap, then head off to Flood and give thanks to God for keeping us safe through it all.

Let me see if you can run it, run it...

Girl indeed -- I can run it, run it.

I'm pretty sure certain those lyrics have nothing to do with running a marathon, but every time I get up to run, I tell myself that I can do it.

I haven't blogged about it yet, but I'm currently training for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon on June 6th. I joined up with Team in Training, which is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), and we'll be training as a group every weekend until the actual race day, in addition to mid-week scheduled runs that we can do on our own or with others.

This morning marked our 4th weekend run - we hit the one month mark! Exciting. We're building up our mileage and endurance week by week, and there are three levels you can choose from, depending on your experience. I went with the middle group, and on that first week, we ran 4 miles. (Note: whenever I refer to a "run" at this point, I'm more of a run/walk-er. I try to run for most of it though.) Today we did 8 miles... which is longest distance I've ever gone, and it's only going to keep getting higher until we're ready to run 26.2 miles.

It's definitely going to be a mental game moving forward. I'm pretty good at psyching myself out. But then the cheerleader in my head starts beating down the pessimist, chanting "you can do it, keep going"... and it's a good battle, until I'm back at the starting point and I've completed the entire run. It's tiring, but it's a good feeling knowing I made it. It was raining for a little chunk of the run too, which was an inconvenience... but it's like they reminded us in one of the earlier weeks: though we may get tired/sore, it's nothing compared to chemotherapy. And although our hair may get wet/dirty, at least we still have our hair... it's a good reminder of why all of us are doing this. Every week we hear a story from another team member who has a personal connection to leukemia, whether that's they lost a parent, have a close friend with the disease, or their child was recently diagnosed. And to hear a story about kids who currently have it, and yet still have their spirits up and are fighting the disease, it definitely motivates the rest of us. We know we're running for them, and if they can get through all their treatments and not give up, we can get through a couple miles of running.

Team in Training has helped each of us set up a site for donations, and we all have a goal we're trying to raise. If you're interested in making a donation to the LLS, please visit my fundraising page. I'll try to keep both my blog and that page updated with how everything is going.

With that being said (a phrase I've started to pick up from my mentor - heh heh), my legs are killing me, and I worked out my back yesterday as well, so I am taking the day to rest. And then running on the beach tomorrow... good times!