Going Home

My first week of work and classes went super well!  I liked all of my teachers, I met some nice people at Lin's, I met all my roommates, etc.  The weird thing about all of this, though, is that it never actually felt weird.  I didn't feel like I was beginning a totally new life, it just felt normal.  I guess that's a good thing, though!
That Friday, my Dad was passing through Cedar City and the whole family would be coming back up Saturday night for Keoni's baptism, so I figured I'd hitch a ride with them and come down for a night.  I saw Jandee at work, surprised Courtney at Dixie State, went to Yogurtland with my family, took Rockee for a walk, babysat Tanner, went to the Sheeran's for a few minutes, ran with Courtney, hung out with Nefi, and visited Kyle. 
It was a great weekend!  But, it made it really hard to go back to Cedar.  In St. George, there are so many people who love me and are there for me.  There's people that have known me my whole life, that have a history with me.  In Cedar, I'm just another college student.  I love it at SUU and am having so much fun, but it's hard not to miss feeling at home. 

Flight School Weekend

Opening Assembly: SUU is so cool that we have fireworks INSIDE.

Bell Tower Tradition: First and Last time walking under the bell tower until graduation



Mud Volleyball with friends. SO fun! My sick dive.



Uh...no blood, no foul?

When life brings us a storm, we play mud volleyball...and dance(?) in it.

 

Jake and Me. And my awesome "I'm Married" shirt that I bought on our DI trip that day.

Jake's roommate, Chris, and my roommate, Sarah.

When I was driving Jake and Chris back after our game, my rear view mirror decided to fall off. I screwed it back in, but we reinforced it with Chris's green duct tape, just to be sure! :)

Today...I'm Taking my Life Back!



Picture of me from The Spectrum
Snow Canyon XC Invite 2011



On my run today, I jogged over to Cedar High School and ran a little part of the Cross Country course I used to race on there.  I tried doing a littlte kick on the last 300, just like in the race, and it just about killed me.  I knew that I wasn't even going that fast, but I got so tired and dizzy that I had to lay down on the grass for a few minutes.  My back was killing me so I popped it and then walked around for a minute trying to gather my energy.  I slowly ran back to my apartment, but every step was filled with pure anger.
How did this happen?? Yes, I haven't been running as much as I probably could have, but I still shouldn't be getting dizzy running such a short distance at a much-slower-than-what-was-once-my-race-pace pace.  I am so incredibly tired of always feeling sick, dizzy, and tired!  I feel like I've gone soft in all the wrong ways--like I've lost my fire and determination.  I have felt like I should already be racing in the "Master's" bracket, like all my glory days are over and that it's time to just slow down and take it easy.  But, today made me realize that I don't want that.  I want running back in my life as more than just a way to stay in shape.  I want to love it again.  I want to push myself again.  I want to race again.  I want to feel strong again.
I decided that it is time to set some new goals, start a training plan, and get my running life back.  It's time to stop ignoring these health problems, and start facing them head on.  I decided to arrange a meeting with a dietician to figure out what more I can do to keep my blood sugar in check, begin doing the core work that will help my back, and to create a training plan that I will stick to at all costs.  I picked a race that takes place in February and signed up for it.  Until then, I am laying low, avoiding racing, and taking a few months to gain my strength back.  I know that I have to be patient, that I will have to start over from square one and slowly build myself back into shape.  I know that I will have to invest a little extra time and money into my diet to keep myself from getting dizzy or passing out.  I know that the problems I'm having are real and that I need to stop treating my health like a game.

The bottom line is, I love running way to much to let this sickness keep me from continuing to work and improve.  I can't just tell myself that I have health issues, so it's time to put my PR's behind me and just accept the success that I have had.  I am just about to reach my physical prime, and am way too young to let myself decline.  I can't get rid of any of these problems, but I can take care of myself and make the most of what I have. 
I have not seen my last PR. Here's to several more years of improving, and an entire lifetime of running!!!

We'll Bring The World His Truth

My goal is to write this post without crying, but I honestly don't think that will be possible!
I'm sure that there were many times throughout my childhood that I felt the Spirit.  However, I can very clearly remember the first time that I actually felt it pierce my soul.  I was ten years old, sitting in Primary in the Bloomington Hills Third Ward.  During singing time, Sister Killian told us about the MTC and talked about how they brought everyone in, had them remove their coats so they were all in white, and they sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth."  Then, she asked us to stand like Future Missionaries and sing the song.  I remember the Spirit felt so strong.  That day, I decided to start being a better example.  I can't even describe the feeling I had as I looked around the room at my classmates that would be serving missionaries in the very distant future.



This is us three years after that experience!
Jandee Madsen, Vince Garcia,
Me, Darian Nielson, Russ Jones
(Not Pictured--Parker Sheeran)
 

Well, it turned out that future wasn't quite so distant after all.  Our little Sunday School class eventually all turned twelve and entered Young Men's and Young Women's.  I remember watching as each of the boys passed the Sacrament for the first time and I could not believe how quickly we were growing up!  One blink of an eye later, and those boys were graduating high school.



The Boys' Graduation 2011
Vince Garcia, Me, Parker Sheeran, Russ Jones, Jandee Madsen
(Not Pictured--Darian Nielson)

 

 

Growing up with these guys was so great!  I love them all so much.  Now, whenever I hear the song "We'll Bring The World His Truth" I think of that experience and am brought to tears because I think about....







Elder Darian Nielson
Ukraine, Kiev Mission
Ukrainian Speaking
 

 

Elder Vincent Garcia
Fiji, Suva Mission
French Speaking

 

Elder Parker Sheeran
Texas Fort Worth Mission

 

Elder Russ Jones
Pennsylvania Pittsburg Misison

 



I am SO incredibly proud of these young men who are all out serving the Lord!  The fact that all of these boys decided to serve a mission definitely says something about the amazing leaders and teachers (we still talk about how much we love the McEwens, who taught us for 3 or 4 years!) that we had in those earlier years where seeds were planted in our hearts.  I know that the road to this point was not easy for these guys, I watched each of them endure hard trials in their lives, some of them right before they decided to go.  I know that they are all where they are supposed to be and that they are preaching a message that is true and will change lives. 

 I'll never forget the feeling I had in Primary that day and I will always be thankful for the decision these young men, and thousands of other like them, made to serve a mission.



10 Things I Learned After 10 Days On My Own

1. Be very careful when walking across the kitchen while holding a raw egg.

2. If you want to get to know a place better, go for a run.

3. Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Dish Soap, Hand Soap, Food, Detergent, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Mouth Wash, are all things that cost money every time you use them, so use wisely.  Also, they don't just magically appear when you're living on your own.

4. You're never too old to call your parents just to say goodnight.

5. Those absolutely annoying little brothers that never shut up? Ya, you might miss them when you're sitting alone in an empty apartment with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

6. You're not always going to have a never-ending list of people to call to hang out.

7. Pray, Pray, Pray, Pray, Pray.

8. You truly are never lost when you can see the Temple, even if the only view of it you have is a picture on your wall.

9. Be patient and non-judgemental with other people.

10. Enjoy what you have at the moment.  Lonely and bored?  At some point, you'll no longer have privacy or down time.  Busy, crowded, and exhausted? Well, at least you're not lonely and bored any more.  Sick of high school?  You'll miss it some day.  Missing high school?  Forget about it and enjoy college, you'll miss that one day, too.

A Random Little Trip to Provo

After a few long days of being alone in my apartment, Nefi and Austin stopped by on their way to BYU.  Nefi was going drop Austin off then come back the next day.  Right before they left, they asked if I wanted to come.  I knew that I could stay at Emily's for the night and I figured that I had nothing better to do, so I packed my bag and within five minutes, I was on the way to Provo!  It was super random, but it was way fun to be at that time in my life that I could do things like that just for the heck of it!



Austin, Me, Nefi

As we drove up there, I got the boys to play the "Question Game" with me.  It's the simplest, dumbest game, but I love it!  All you do is take turns asking random, deep questions that everyone, including the asker, has to answer.  We had some fun getting into deep analogies about Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter being a hero and things like that.  I love talking to these guys!  The drive went by super fast.

Me and Emily in her hallway.
 I love randomly telling people that we've been best friends for seven years.

Emily was super excited for us to come!  She, too, had been alone in her dorm for a few days.  She's been doing a week-long honors program, so when I was in her room with her she was mostly doing homework, but it was fun just to be together.  She told me all about her first days at BYU.  It was so exciting to see her there after listening to her plan on it for the last seven years!

Emily, Nefi, and Me with our huge, delicious Sno Cones!





Emily had class in the morning, so I helped Nefi and Austin get Austin all moved in and then sent him off to a leadership camp for the next couple days.  Nefi and I didn't have a whole lot to do after that, so we got some food, roamed campus a bit, made a hilarious poster to have Emily give to Austin, and then met up with my dad for lunch.  He was doing a little work at the Provo Macey's, but took awhile off to take Nefi and me to the Pizza Pie Cafe.  I LOVE that place!  It tastes great and brings back great memories of Cross Country and Track trips.  I stuffed myself full.  By the time we finished, Emily was done with class, so we met up with her and got some amazing sno cones. 

We chilled at Emilys house for a little while, and she told us all about the funny BYU people she has met so far.  We dropped Emily off at dinner, then headed home.  We had rented Hunger Games from the Redbox, but hadn't had time to watch it, so Nefi came over and watched it at my apartment before he headed home.  I had such a fun time on our random little trip! :)







80 Things Cross Country and Track Taught Me

Obviously, the people and experiences from XC and Track taught me a lot about running,
but they taught me even more about life.

1. Never, ever give up.

2. Success is not found inside of your comfort zone.

3. The pain of training hard is less than the pain of looking back and saying "I wish" or "If only."

4. Hard work pays off.

5. The most important voice in the world is the one inside of your head.

6. "There's always going to be someone prettier than you, there's always going to be someone smarter than you, there's always going to be someone faster that you."

7.  Family includes a lot more than just the people who share your DNA.

8. If you get your priorities in order, everything will fall into the right place.

9. The most important big thing is the sum of all the little things.

10. Some pains need special care, others just need to be pushed through--learn the difference between these.

11. "There are worse things in life."

12. The best kind of high is the one that results from your own success.

13. You don't have to be the best to have the most success.

14. You can't control whether or not you'll be the fastest, but you can be sure that you work the hardest.

15. You may wish you could be as great as someone else, but realize that there are people wishing to be as great as you.

16. Talent may get people to notice you, but your example will get people to remember you.

17. ^If you have both of these things and learn how to use them together, miracles will happen.

18. You may lose today's race, but that doesn't mean you can't win tomorrow's.

19. Don't underestimate the value of even one hundredth of a second.

20. Don't get caught up in the dramatic mind games of your rivals--just beat them.

21. Don't stop because you reach your goals--set new, greater ones.
22. Accept the fact that even though some people don't push half as hard as you do, they may still be faster than you.  We weren't created the same, that's just a part of life.

23. "A goal not written down is just a wish."

24. Complaining doesn't make adversity go away, it just makes it more miserable to endure.

25. Having good sportsmanship doesn't mean you're soft, it just means you're smart.

26. "All things are difficult before they are ever easy."

27. Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

28. Don't wallow in self-pity, just use bad races to fuel the fire and do better next time.

29.  "Everyone has excuses, but a champion never uses them."

30. The most important record you'll ever beat is your own.

31. There are bad practices, bad races, bad weeks, and even bad seasons.  It's not the end of the world.

32. It's not about training the most, it's about training the smartest.

33. Be patient with yourself.  Success doesn't come quickly or easily.  If it did, it wouldn't be success.

34. It's harder to choose to be positive than to choose to be negative, but once the decision is made, it's a lot easier on you to live positively than to live negatively.

35. Sometimes, bad luck can be a real factor.  Usually, it's just an excuse.

36. It's okay to be mad.  Just don't be mad for irrational reasons.  Sometimes, the only person to blame is yourself.

37. Burned out? Not a good excuse.  Just grab another match or find another fuse.

38. A decision, if made with real intent, only really needs to be made once.

39. There are people who know more than you--learn from them.

40. To be a real team, you need to do a lot more together than just train.

41. You can find good friends by finding people who you can get along with and bringing them around you, but you will find your true friends in the people around you that you learn to get along with.

42. What you get out of something depends on what you put into it.

43. Your Coach might tell you to do something that sounds ridiculously stupid, but if you go along with it you'll learn that there was a dang good reason for it.

45. The voice in your head telling you to endure a run can also be used to tell you to endure an assignment, a study session, or a long shift at the Sno Shack.

46. Sometimes, the best cure for a bad day is a few stupid, cheesy jokes.

47. People can give you work outs, cheer your name, or yell and scream at you to go faster, but, at the end of the day, the only person that can actually push you to your fullest potential is you.

48. Life might happen and you may have to walk away from your dreams.  But, if you walk away from them into the arms of people who love you, you can find the strength to be okay.

49. You can take your anger out on a pole, but in the end, you'll probably just end up with a broken hand and being even more angry.

50. Placement is only relative.  You can be at the very front of a race and having even boys try to draft off of you, but your PR's often come in a race where you're in the back.

51. Visualize. If you can clearly see things in your head, you can accomplish them with your body.

52. You can lose simply because of your attitude.  If you show up expecting to do poorly, you will.

53. As long as you're still standing, you can do one more mile. Period.

54. When you fall, pick yourself back up.  However, there are rare occassions where you can't pick yourself up.  These occassions are where you find out who truly loves you.

55. The best motivation is the voice of someone you love.

56. You can set all the goals that you want, but they're only realistic if you make and follow a plan for achieving them.

57. Nothing worth having will come without sacrifice.

58. Boys fart. But, if you get ahead of them, you'll never have to smell it.

59. Train when you're supposed to train and race when you're supposed to race.  Never get this mixed up.

 60. Laughing, crying, smiling, and yawning all cause chain reactions.

61. There's a difference between being confident and being prideful.  Be confident.

62. Pranks are fun if you keep them innocent.

63. A person that went from a ten minute mile to a nine minute mile has had every bit as much success as a person who went from a five minute mile to a four minute mile.

64. There's a champion inside of everyone.

65. Your body won't work if you don't fuel it.

66. Soda is bad...unless you're drinking coke in the middle of an ultramarathon.

67. "The greatest pleasure in life is doing the things people say you cannot do."

68. Actions speak louder than words.  Times, Placements, and Scores speak louder than trash-talk.

69. You can look down at the ground if you want, but you'll be a whole lot more successful if you just lift your eyes up just one little inch and see the world.

70. When it comes to love, "it's all a joke...until it isn't a joke anymore."

71. Listen to the people watching you, they can see things that you cannot.

72. Try Again. And Again.

73. YOU CAN be the change that you want to see.

74. Just because someone doesn't show it, doesn't mean they don't love you.

75. That person right there? Yes, you can pass them.  Just Kick. Hard.

76. "Just Do It." Every single day.

78. When you body has nothing left, let adrenhaline take over.

79. Heart and Mind are just as important as Arms and Legs.

80. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."