Feliz Diada de Sant Jordi

Happy St. Jordi's Day! For those of you not familiar with this fabulous Catalan holiday, it's a sort of Spanish Valentine's Day. As part of the day's celebrations, the men receive books and the women a single flower. If you find yourself in Catalonia during this time you will see the streets filled with book and flower shops. It's a beautiful sight. And who doesn't love receiving flowers and books?

Don't Be Trashy

In honor of Earth Day this year, Eric and I joined in a local clean-up effort. We were handed big plastic yellow bags and cloth gloves and sent to a local lake front to see what we could find. At first we thought the area hardly seemed in need of a clean up, but little by little we began to fill up our bags. An old newspaper, discarded chip and candy wrappers, soda cans, and water bottles tossed to the side of the trail.

As we ventured further off the path we began to find more carelessly thrown garbage and the bags got heavier and heavier. An old hat, some styrofoam containers, metal scraps, plastic bags, even some 'unmentionables'. As I lugged around that garbage bag I began to spot smaller pieces of trash that I hadn't noticed before. Bottle caps, plastic hair clips, straws and napkins. Our bags were filling up fast.

Although our bags were full, we had a hard time heading back to the community center. Seeing how much better the area looked after only a couple of hours made us want to stay out there all day. But we knew there were other volunteers and we had to get back.

So on this Earth Day, I want to challenge you all to take a look around. If you see a piece of garbage, pick it up. If we all pitch in, think of what a difference we can make.

**REDUCE**REUSE**RECYCLE**REDUCE**REUSE**RECYCLE**

On the Other Side of the Finish Line

I did it! Despite the frigid 41 degree temperature and the patchy light freezing drizzle, I ran my first 5K. As we lined up at the starting line I realized I hadn't felt that pre-race nervous feeling since high school. The race ended up being shorter than I thought it would be and yet longer at the same time. I don't think I've ever ran such a distance in my life at that speed so you can imagine the sense of accomplishment that I felt as I crossed the finish line. "I actually ran that far?" I thought. I almost couldn't believe it.

Though the time isn't so important, I will admit it anyway. I ran my first 5K in 33:40. (I have to brag that Eric pulled in at 23:30.) When I first attempted this feat a few weeks ago, I clocked in at about 45 minutes. So I was pleasantly surprised when I rounded the final corner and saw the time clock with only a 33 minute number. It was at that point that my inner sprinter kicked in and I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that I smoked a few runners in the last 1oo meters. (Sorry pink velour track suit lady - I couldn't help it!)

So thank you for all the cheers and support. And I must ask - now that I've managed to make it across the finish line, how about you?

Happy Friday!

I came across this clip today (thanks to Rachel Maddow's Tweet on Twitter) and since it brightened my day I thought I'd post it here. I dare you not to have a smile on your face by the end. Enjoy and happy Friday!

Jogging for Justice

I’ve gone and done something totally out of character for me. After some encouragement from my husband and friends, I registered for my first 5K race (The Race for Justice).

Anyone who knows me knows that anything more than 100 meters of continuous running is something I would classify as ‘long distance’. (I believe my best race is actually the 40 meter dash.) So admittedly, a race that is 5 kilometers (or 3.1 miles) is a bit of a stretch for someone like me. But I liked the idea of it…

Last summer I was determined to find the closeted long-distance runner that I knew was hiding somewhere deep, deep, deep down in my soul. I spent several months gradually increasing my stamina until running one mile no longer seemed impossible. In the end, I was able to go almost 2.5 miles (stopping halfway through to catch my breath!). So although I’ve been hard at work at the gym since January, it’s been awhile since I really consistently ran a ‘long distance’ without stopping and I’m a little anxious to see how it’ll go. But of this I am sure: I will make it across that finish line.