~Rejoice~

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Coco

Happy Easter!

I really enjoyed our Easter Vigil service last night, but I’m not sure my description of it as being a more “serious” service is really accurate. Yes, it started off solemnly, but it ended rather joyously!

The service started at 8:00 pm, just as it was getting dark. We gathered outside and lit a fire in a small fire pit. The priest said prayers over that fire, lit the Paschal candle, and from that, we lit the individual candles that we each were holding.  Then we processed into the dark church by candlelight, with our Seminarian singing the “Exsultat,” a rather long prayer of praise. After that, the church lights were turned on low for a sequence of Bible readings and hymns, tracing “the record of God’s saving deeds in history,” from the story of Noah’s Ark, to the parting of the Red Sea, to Jesus’ resurrection.

While the Easter Vigil service usually has a section where we all renew our baptismal vows, last night we were lucky enough to have three young brothers being baptized. They all were precious, but the youngest (3) was down right adorable.  He was so excited about the fire and the candles and the prospect of having water poured on his and his brothers’ heads!

As the service wore on, I could tell he was getting tired–he rested on his Mom’s lap during the sermon–and when it came time for the baptisms, some of that three year-old personality shone through:

Priest: Do you desire to be baptized?
Boy: No!

Priest: Well, maybe you can help me pour water on your brothers heads.
Boy: I get to pour water on my brothers?!

Luckily when the priest asked more serious questions, the boy was more agreeable:

Priest: Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Saviour?
Boy: I do!

(Of course, the parents could have answered all of the baptismal questions on his behalf, but since his older brothers were answering on their own, it was easier for him to answer in turn also.)

The final part of the service was the Eucharist (Holy Communion). I had forgotten our priest’s tradition of popping a bottle of pink champagne and offering that instead of wine in the chalice. We truly were celebrating Jesus’ resurrection! 

After the service there was more champagne (and other beverages) and desserts to mark the end of Lent and the beginning of the Easter celebration.  I stuck with sparkling lemonade, but had enough chocolatey desserts to leave with a sugar buzz.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This morning I woke up to find that the Easter Bunny brought me dark chocolate and black jelly beans!

I got up at 5:30, and was eager to head out for my run. I knew it was going to be warm (relatively speaking) and I was planning on an 8 mile route over the Wilson Bridge. I drove to a different starting point so that I would have a short walk to a mile marker that would be about 4 miles from my intended turn-around point.

It was about 6:30 and in the upper 50’s when I started out.  The birds were singing, and there was a pink sunrise obscured by some light, low clouds.  It was a lovely Easter morning!

Since I discovered a hole in my usual fanny pack/water bottle holder last week, I was using an old one that I haven’t used in a while–and now I remember why! It holds the water bottle at an angle, and the water bottle tends to work itself out and crash to the ground as I am running. After it happened the first time, I adjusted the belt and the water bottle stayed put for a while.  Just after mile 2, though, it fell out and the lid came off when it landed, spilling most of my water. 🙁

I didn’t worry too much, figuring that I could fill it up at a water fountain at National Harbor. When I got there, though, I couldn’t find any water fountains in any of the park areas or along the path that borders the river. I remembered a coffee shop I’d been to there before, and thought I could beg some water off of them, but they were closed! I still had a bit of water left in my water bottle, so I just gave up and headed back. I figured running low on water could be good preparation for the Zoom Annapolis Half Marathon in June.

The hunt-for-water detour added about a mile to my run, so I ended up running 9 miles. Apart from being thirsty, it was a great run. When I got home I stretched, foam rolled, and got out my old Camelbak to try out on my next long run.

Garmin Data
Total Distance = 9.0 miles; Avg. Pace = 9:20 min/mile
Split Times: 9:44, 9:21, 9:06, 9:04, 10:14 (hunting for water), 9:25  9:04: 9:00, 8: 59

Posted in Fitness, My Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Celebrating Easter

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Coco

Happy Easter!

This has been quite a Lenten season–one that makes me think of the warning

Be careful what you wish for.

I started off Lent the same way I usually do, attending Ash Wednesday service with the best of intentions of observing “a holy Lent.” This year I came as close to fulfilling that intention as I ever have.

I already had gotten into the habit of listening to the daily podcasts of the Morning Prayer service from the New Zealand Prayer Book (Anglican). I kept that up pretty religiously (sorry, I couldn’t resist!) although I did miss a few days.

I also attended church every Sunday, except for the day I ran in the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler. That’s not so unusual, but sometimes my son’s lacrosse schedule interferes with my weekend plans. This year most of his games have been on weekdays.

I even spent several hours (over two days) on a great community service project–something I haven’t done in ages.

What made the most difference in this Lent was losing my father. As I’ve written here, from the moment it happened, I felt God’s presence, like I was living the 23rd Psalm:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Thou art with me.

I’ve probably never prayed more, contemplated the meaning of life more, considered my views on the resurrection more, or taken the “ashes to ashes” words of the Lenten service to heart more than I did this past Lent.

But now, Lent is over, and it’s time to celebrate Easter!

 

Easter is the first holiday that I am facing without my Dad, and I am steeling myself, because my Dad was such a big part of so many of our Easter celebrations. When my kids were younger, he and his wife used to host the best Easter egg hunts in their backyard. Everyone had so much fun that we would distract the kids so they could hide eggs to be found all over again!

Even after the kids got older, going over to “Grandaddy and Kathy’s house” on Easter remained a strong tradition. When the weather was nice, we would enjoy a scrumptious brunch on their patio, admiring their beautiful garden. Even if it was gloomy, we could count on a delicious meal and some silliness.

So, I am celebrating Easter this year, but I know it won’t be the same, and I understand that it might even be hard.

For a number of reasons, I decided to attend our Easter Vigil service on Saturday night instead of the traditional Easter service on Sunday morning. The Easter Vigil service is more “serious,” and attended mostly by adults. I love the children at our Sunday services, but figured that this year I might want to experience an Easter service without the fidgeting of little ones eager to hunt for chocolate eggs and jelly beans. Attending church on Saturday night also will free up my Sunday morning for a long run, so I didn’t have to squeeze it in on Saturday morning before my son’s lacrosse game. (Yes, one of his few weekend games was on Easter weekend!)

I also ended up offering to host an Easter dinner for family and friends. My mom wanted to bring over a Honeybaked® ham, and it spiraled from there (yuk, yuk). First I invited a friend, and then my sister-in-law said she wouldn’t mind driving over for dinner (she lives about 2 hours away). Now we are planning a feast, and I am looking forward to a nice evening.

And, of course, I made an Easter basket for my son. You’re never too old for a chocolate bunny!

Do you prefer Cadbury® Cream Eggs, Peeps® or jelly beans?

Does anyone have any black jelly beans they don’t want?

Posted in Life, My Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Looking Back On 10 Years of Running

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Coco

When I crossed the finish line smiling at the GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler this year, I forgot that my very first race was the GW Parkway Classic 5K on April 22, 2001, almost 10 years earlier. Yes, this is officially my 10th year as a runner. 

I finished that first 5K in 31:28 (10:09 pace). I think that’s a respectable time for a first 5K, especially considering that the course that year ended at Mt. Vernon, meaning that the last 1/3 of that 5K was a steady uphill climb.

When I was going through my old running mementos, I found this June 2001 journal entry:

I can’t believe it took three 5K’s and a 10K to convince myself that “I am a runner!” 

(I did sign up and train for the October 2001 Army Ten Miler, but it was canceled after 9/11.)

I also found a postcard with the results from the first time I ran the GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler (April 21, 2002). As proud as I am of this year’s  1:26 finish time, I remember being ecstatic at the 1:22 finish time (8:15 pace!) that first year, for my first 10 miler.

It is fun to look back and remember the many races and training runs I’ve logged in my first 10 years as a runner. I have notes on my old neighborhood routes and journal entries from days I reached distance milestones or set personal records. I don’t have records of the many issues I puzzled through while I ran, but I know they included work strategies, family worries, and other personal dilemmas.

Ten years later, I have no doubts: I am a runner!

When did you start running?

When did you first consider yourself to be “a runner”?

Do you have journal entries that you like to look back on?

Related articles

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | 33 Comments

Never Say Never

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Coco

There’s a blog post I intend to write about health/fitness trends that I’m not following. If I’d written that post a few months ago, it would have included two things that have become a core part of my health/fitness routine:

(1) Yoga. If you’ve read any of my training log posts or injury recovery posts, you already know that I am hooked on Rodney Yee. His A.M. Yoga for Your Week DVD is a part of my weekly routine, and some weeks I’ve even done it more than once.

It took me a while to get on the yoga bandwagon, though. I’ve been running since 2011 and always heard that yoga was good for runners, but yoga was never appealing to my Type A, pound-it-out, work-up-a-sweat exercise preferences. I do have an old Beth Shaw yoga VHS tape that I picked up somewhere along the way.

Beth Shaw's Yogafit [VHS]

It’s a good program too, and more challenging than my Rodney Yee DVD, with a downward dog/plank/cobra sequence that my arms always remember the next day. (You can check it out via my Amazon affiliate link here.) I did try another yoga program that missed the mark, so I’m not a complete yoga pushover yet.

(2) Greek yogurt. My “IRL” friends, Facebook friends, and Twitter friends all rave about Greek yogurt. While there was a time a few years ago that I liked it, I haven’t liked it recently. I even bought some a few months ago to try it again, and still didn’t like the heavy, goopy consistency. Then, a few weeks ago my Twitterverse exploded with raves about Chobani® Greek yogurt. I resisted, and even admitted that I don’t like Greek yogurt–the blasphemy! My tipping point came when Chobani® had a giveaway promotion. I responded to the offer, admitted my need for “conversion,” and figured out that if I really didn’t like it, my husband would eat it.  

As much as I wasn’t counting out enjoying the product, I was excited when my sample case arrived (so excited I forgot to take a picture–oops!). I had requested a variety of flavors, so we got to sample many of the different non-fat and low-fat varieties. I think my favorite is the Non-Fat Black Cherry. I liked the Lemon too, and am planning a stealth dessert where I use it as the filling for a lemon cream pie. (Shh!) My husband liked the 2% Mango and 2% Pineapple the best. My son liked the 2% Strawberry Banana after I convinced him that it was yummy–he is always wary of new “healthy” products.

At first I was less than thrilled with the nutrition information. The (about) 150 calories in each cup is higher than the 100 calories I am used to in my plain, non-fat yogurt or in the non-fat Yoplait® yogurt cups I sometimes buy. But then I saw that the Chobani® greek yogurt has twice as much protein as my plain yogurt (13-14 g), and even more protein than 2 eggs (which have about 6g protein each)! This makes the Chobani® greek yogurt very satisfying and filling. The consistency is still a bit of an issue for me, but the flavored Chobani® greek yogurt is not quite as thick as the plain flavor–especially the varieties with the mix-in fruit–and probably something I will get used to.

When I did my grocery shopping today, I stocked up on these flavors:

We probably won’t eat all of these this week, but it would be a shame to run out of such a healthy, delicious snack food.

Have you tried Chobani® greek yogurt? (You can print out coupons on their website!)

Is there a healthy trend that you are resisting or that you know you don’t like?

Posted in Fitness, Food, Product Reviews | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: June 2001

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Coco

I started running in 2001, and it looks like my race schedule for June 2001 was almost as crazy as it will be for June 2011.

I did my first Race for the Cure 5K on Saturday, June 2, and then did a 5K at my neighborhood highschool the next day. A week later, I did my first Lawyer’s Have Heart 10K, back when the course ran up Reservoir Road.

Is it any wonder that I was hobbling to a chiropractor by August?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | Comments Off on (Almost) Wordless Wednesday: June 2001