Melting!

It's 11 o'clock at night and still 100 degrees. That is disgusting. Today we reached 105 degree here in DC, one of the hottest days ever on record in the area and putting the heat index over 112. All I can say is YUCK! Can't wait for some heat-relief. We are going on day 10 of the temperature above 95 degrees (heat index >100).

Kick Ass Life!

I have such a kick ass life! Seriously! I feel like I have been complaining A LOT lately and that I am constantly feeling down and throwing myself a bit of a pity party. I have had a rough month, with a lot on my plate. I feel like I have every bit of room to complain…but I don’t! I really have such a cool life and I need to be more grateful for the awesome things I get to do and amazing people that are in my life.

I am sitting in first class on a flight home from Ukraine right now. I am watching the Lion King, gearing up for my fourth trip to Africa (third in the last 6 months), following a long-anticipated vacation to New Orleans for the wedding of one of my closest friends and her lovely fiancé. Seriously I have NO room for complaining about anything in my life!

So, while I actually have time to really sit down and write, I am going to give the life update from 2012, as a reminder to myself about how amazing my life is! 

I will post it all at once, soon...with photos. I almost finished writing what I wanted to, but will complete and post after I am back from the May travel madness!

First long run

Well here we are, with just under 10 weeks for me to train for this half marathon. I'm nervous and am definitely wishing I would have given myself a full 12 weeks, at minimum. It is what it is though. So Saturday afternoon, with 70 degree weather on a January afternoon, I set off for my first long run - probably the most I have ever run at one time, to be honest. I'm not going to lie...I'm hurting pretty bad!

I wanted to document all of my training here and hold myself to the truth (no exaggerating to make myself sound better) and be able to document my success and look at how I can improve. I think it helps motivate me, too.

Distance:  6.77 miles
During the run:  I felt really great during the run, overall. It was a bit rough during mile 2 and 3, but once I got in the groove of things, I was good to go. I did have to walk here and there.
After the run:  I felt tired immediately following the run (didn't sleep much though the night before) and ended up feeling a bit gross later that afternoon, but overall felt good.
Next day:  I went for a short run (1.8 miles in total, which I ran about 1.45 of) with my friend Shon...I was very tight and sore and it was a bit chilly outside.
Areas of soreness:  Mostly my calves and the ligaments/tendons around my ankles and feet
2 days after the run (today):  I haven't been able to do too much. I am really sore! Realizing that it may not have been the best idea to jump into an almost 7 miler after taking 3 weeks off from running during the holidays...but it was a beautiful day and I really wanted to get a long run in and it just happened that way. Tomorrow I've got to get on the treadmill though for a 3-4 miler.
Next long run: 7.5 miles Saturday (I am feeling ambitious?)

Yup, this just happened...I think I may have lost my mind! I just registered for my first half marathon. I have wanted to do one and thought that now is the time. We'll see if I can pull myself together and be in shape and ready to run the 13.1 miles. It is a bit sooner than I'd like, but waiting until May meant I may not be ready due to my next work trip to Africa in April...so better sooner than later, I guess! 

Dear Sherrie,

Congratulations! You are now registered for the 2012 SunTrust Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon & CareFirst Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon - Half Marathon. Please check theevent's website for updates.

Please note: Each participant must pick up their own race number at the Health & Fitness Expo. Go to the Expo page of the race websitefor times and location of the Expo. Good luck with your training!

Registration ID: R-012QQGZY Participant: Sherrie Staley Date: 3/17/2012 Location: RFK Stadium 2400 East Capitol Street Washington, District of Columbia 20003 Category: 2012 SunTrust Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon & CareFirst Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon - Half Marathon

Unclench your fists, unlock your knees and also the door to your heart, take a deep breath, and begin to swim. Begin to let the waves do their work in you.

-shauna niequist

Hurriquake Week

When disaster strikes….

I survived my long week of natural disasters – but I am not entirely sure they are over just yet. The earthquake and hurricane clearly weren't enough...now flooding, as more tropical rains continue to hit the DC area. What a crazy week or two, to say the least. That being said, I must say, come on Mother Nature…bring it! While I am very grateful both the earthquake and the hurricane that hit this past week were minimal, it would have been “fun” (I know, I must have a sick mind, but I did work in disasters, so can you blame me?!?) had they been a little less half-assed and hit just a bit stronger! In my opinion, both were quite weak, but at least added a little excitement to the week.

I loved the communication between coasts though, after the earthquake - "Hey east coasters: welcome to our world and what we live with everyday in California. Stay Safe." And the response from East Coasters, "Hey, Californians: Shut up and let us wallow in our abject terror." (Please see part of an article I came across about this at the end of this post...was too funny not to include.)

I have been through a few earthquakes in Utah, but I think that this 5.8 quake that hit Virginia is probably my biggest, to date. It made us all pause and second guess if we were just going crazy or if the ground was actually shaking – sure enough, after it began to sustain itself for more than a few seconds, I wondered if it was going to get worse and if I should crawl under my desk. It was just enough to do some damage around the area, knock a number of things out of place at home (surprisingly, my old rowhome was still standing!), crack our office wall a bit, and offset the rest the work day! Many were sent home and those of us that stayed at work definitely didn’t accomplish much after that. It didn’t make the commute home very pretty either – the roads gridlocked and the metro trains going no faster than 15 mph. I had one friend that it took 3 hours for her to get home – downtown DC to Arlington, walking would have been quicker! My commute wasn’t too bad, took double what it normally does, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was longer than that.

Four days after the earthquake, the East Coast embraced itself for Hurricane Irene that was looking to hit DC at a category 3 and NYC at a category 2. Fortunately for many, Irene lost strength after ramming into North Carolina, but still swept through the area as a hurricane and being downgraded to a tropical storm about the time it hit NYC. I have definitely been through East Winds much stronger than this hurricane, but it was still enough to topple over many older trees around Capitol Hill – we lost about 4 or 5 really big trees on my street, totaling quite a few cars, but otherwise the area was pretty unaffected…we didn’t even lose power! I have to admit that I was disappointed. That Irene had ruined my weekend in NYC with the girls and prevented me from flying out to Utah to still celebrate Cass’ 30^th with her, the least she could have done was provided a little more excitement for me! Ha! Kidding! Kind of.

I watched this one fall, across the street from my house

Went to check out the damage by the tree outside my house and saw this...wait, something doesn't quite look right here! Where did the street go?! Looks like a jungle down there!

A block down the road

And a clip of the article I mentioned above, about the earthquake...

Californians can't get enough of snickering at how quaintly hysterical we East Coasters became after our earthquake today. A report from a waiting room in Santa Barbara, via Twitter: "CNN is on going on and on about the east coast earthquake. People here are laughing." In a misguided attempt to be sympathetic, LA Weekly wrote, "Even by L.A. terms 5.9 is a rocker." Even by L.A. terms—because, you know, Southern California invented earthquakes.

Listen, we know the average Californian was born amid a thundering 7.5 magnitude quake and popped out directly into a mudslide. We've all read tales of how the bright pioneers of San Francisco bathe their young in tsunamis and kill mountain lions for sport (and yet would shrivel and die if the temperature fell below 65.)

But can we wimpy East Coasters just have our moment of absolutely shitting ourselves in fear as our non-earthquake-proofed buildings wobble and creak around us? Can we crawl around on our carpets to survey the paltry damage—look, a book fell off a shelf! That could have given someone a serious goose-egg!—without some Californian standing smugly in the doorframe like they learned in grade school, chewing on a PowerBar from the earthquake preparedness kit they carry around in a Lakers fanny pack at all times?

We deserve our fear, California. Because of 9/11! This earthquake could have been another 9/11, for all we knew. Yeah, didn't think you had anything to say to that.

I am so sick of the heavy rain here lately...does this count as finding beauty in the ugliest of days? It sure gave me a good hard laugh! I wish I had an umbrella like this! haha

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, life is on a stroll.” 

 -donald miller

It's a new day and this is how I'm feeling! Love this song, love Franti and loving the positive vibes that a new day is bringing! 

I wake up in the mornin' at 6 'o clock
You say there may be rain but the sun is hot
I wish I had some time just to kill today
And I wish I had a dime for every bill I got to pay
Some days you lose, you win, and the water's as high as the times roll in
So I jump back into where I learned to swim
Try to keep my head above it the best I can
That's why

Here I am
Just waitin' for the storm to pass me by
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down (down, down, down)
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

One, two, three, uh huh
I saw my friend Bobby he said "What's up man?"
You got little work or 20 to lend
I opened up my hand he said "I'm glad to see"
They could take away my job but not my friends you see

And here I am
Just waitin' for the storm to pass me by (pass me by)
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down

Yo, yo, here we go

I wanna go where the summer never ends
With my guitar on the beach there with all my friends
The sun so hot and the waves in motion
And everything smells like suntan lotion
The ocean, and the girls so sweet
So kick off your shoes and relax your feet
You say that miracles are never ceasin'
And every single song needs a little releasin'
The stereo bumpin' til the sun goes down
And I only wanna hear that sound

That's the sound of sunshine (of sunshine)
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down (comin' down, down, down)

And I say
You're the one I wanna be with (yo, yo)
When the sun goes down (uh huh)
You're the one I wanna be with (I really wanna be with)
When the sun goes down, sing
You're the one I wanna be with
When the sun goes down
You're the one I wanna be with
When the sun goes...

That's the sound (that's the sound) of sunshine (of sunshine)
Comin' down (uh huh, uh huh)
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
Eh, eh, eh
When the sun goes down, when the sun goes down
Eh, eh, eh, eh (when the sun goes down)

Grace is Gone

This is my all time favorite Dave Matthews Band song. Thought I'd share. I honestly can't get enough of it!



Neon shines through smoky eyes tonight
It’s 2 am - I’m drunk again it’s heavy on my mind

I could never love again so much as I love you
Where you end where I begin is like a river going through
Take my eyes, take my heart cuz I need them no more
If never again they fall upon the one I so adore

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll move on

One drink to remember, then another to forget
How could I ever dream to find sweet love like you again
One drink to remember, and another to forget

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll move on
One more drink and I’ll be gone

You think of things impossible then the sun refused to shine
I woke with you beside me your cold hand lay in mine

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll go

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I'll move on
One more drink and I’ll be gone
One more drink my Grace is gone
One more drink my Grace is gonetake