Hello Neighbors!!

We drove an hour to a wedding today just so we could see our neighbors! Seriously, we are are the worst neighbors ever! Ted & I were out of town almost every weekend in April between the two of us! So, unfortunately it had been a long while since we had gotten to chat and catch up with our neighbors and long time friends! Vic & Kristy were surprised that in the past few weeks we had sold a boat, purchased a new car, I had run a marathon, and Ted had fished with the Pros in in South Texas. But, they were just as busy as they had been to Disney World, two retreats, and a long list of other activities... Hey guys, next time maybe we could meet out on the front porch instead of driving all the way to Pilot Point, TX! Congrats to Jason & Kellie on Tying the Knot and for helping us finally reunite with our good buddies from next door!

Baby Quinn Has Arrived

My friends Kimberly and Mike are the proud parents of their second little boy, Quinn Michael Melson, born yesterday May 1st. I had the pleasure of getting a peek at little Quinn today at Baylor on my lunch hour! I also enjoyed chatting with big brother Preston, who at 2 1/2, is a rockstar son of speech therapist, Kimberly. I was so amazed at his articulate speech for such a little guy! He has been hanging out with his Grammy having a great time! He proudly announced to me, "I'm the Big Brother!" It was great to see baby Quinn and the whole family! Congrats Kimberly and Mike!!

Morning Marathon Confession

As most of you know, I have an addiction to marathons......
This is the email I sent to my triathlon coach this morning:

"Confession: I have an issue with needing to sign up for another marathon as soon as I complete one, or sometimes several at once (my fall tri marathon mania :) So, Marine Corps Marathon registration opened this week (and I have yet to do this one)…. And I have a childhood friend who lives in DC…. So, I signed up…. But, of course I am a nut, because it is like 5 or 6 weeks after the Ironman (October 26)… I really am not focused at all on whether I actually complete it at this point, it is way back in my mind, but for some reason I just couldn’t control my impulses (I remember getting my credit card out to enter it in and thinking, “I won’t tell anyone about this for awhile” Crazy, huh?? Maybe that should have been a sign, to stop and think on it, but no I continued and pressed that register button. My husband said after having to confess post-sign up to him, “If you wanted to go see your friend, you could have purchased a plane ticket without having to sign up for another marathon!!” After my ironman, I may want to have nothing to do with running or working out period, so in that case, I figure I will just go see my friend and “watch” the marathon, but just in case I am healthy and feeling ok, I have a bib number :)… We have good friends in Chicago and NY as well, and 2-3 times I have done each of those marathons almost as if I think that is the only way for me to get to see them….."

Good News for Gavin!

After a really tough past few days, my friends Stacie & Jeff, received good news today about Gavin.
quote from their blog:
"God's Listening"
"We believe with all of our hearts that God is listening and responding to all of our prayer requests for Gavin. We received some good news from Gavin's oncologist and knew everyone would want to hear it. "....... "The fluid pulled from last week's round of chemo (after only one dose of chemo from the week before) revealed that there were NO CANCER CELLS in the fluid. We're not out of the woods, by any stretch of the imagination, but could tell that the doctor was highly surprised by the test result."
She is referring to the CSF, which originally had cancer cells detected. He still has the spots on his spine, but this is very good news that at least the fluid is clear after just one round of chemo.

Also, Stacie just posted a link for a fund where we can donate to his medical fund. I know a few of you asked me what we can do for them. Well, I think one of the biggest things we can do is raise money for them for all of these medical expenses.

I was planning on doing an Ironman in September, but now I would like to somehow honor little Gavin and maybe have a few fundraisers leading up to my event to raise a larger amount of money for them and then present it to them. So, I will keep you posted. For now, keep the prayers flowing for disappearance and healing from all of the cancer! And here is the link again for their blog if you want the info now, feel free to donate just directly to the fund: http://www.smithscooptexas.blogspot.com/

OKC Marathon 2008

OKC Marathon 2008!!

Wendy Hazelwood took these pics for me with her smokin' new camera! Thanks to Wendy for being My Head Sherpa, Curb Service Chauffeur in the rain, and for being the Best Cheerleader ever! As most of you have already heard, I had the race of my life this past Sunday in OKC! The weather was crazy chilly for April in OKC, but after our near death heatstroke in Chicago, I gladly accepted the gift from mother nature! The marathon started at 6:30 AM, so Wendy and I were up at 4:15Am, and my sweet mother in law and father in law, awoke with us, just to "see us off" and to make sure Wendy had a whole large thermos of coffee in tow for the journey. We headed South on I35 from Guthrie down into Oklahoma City. It was raining pretty steady so Wendy dropped me at the curb near the start line and she went off to park the car (What a great friend!) We met up with our Dallas buddy Biegel who would be running the Half! Even though temps were in the 40's and it was still raining, I stripped off my jacket, extra shirt and gave it all up at bag check. I tried to stay warm as it was still drizzling and pretty windy. Then, a nice opening ceremony began including 168 seconds of silence to remember those lost in the OKC bombing. Here is a blurb from the website that describes the the meaning behind this memorial marathon, and with the events of the past month in my life and friends of mine, I found it very fitting:
"On April 19, 1995, a great wrong was done in Oklahoma City. However, on this day in April the forces of fear and hate were beaten by love and compassion.The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is a race that is not about running—it is about life.168 banners line the marathon course, one for each victim. Those banners serve to remind us as we run that we have been given the gift of life and that it is too precious to waste. This is what the Memorial Marathon is about: realizing the preciousness of time, valuing one another, taking life as it comes and making something magic from it. Celebrating Life. You don’t have to be a runner to participate in the Memorial Marathon. All you have to do is change the world you live in one moment, one opportunity, one person at a time. It is not about running—it is about living."
I read this the night before I left town and it was very inspirational. As many of you know, my friends have a son, Gavin, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. In the past month their lives have been turned upside down and it has made all of us that know them really think about life, faith, family, friends, and making the very best of each and every moment. So, with Gavin in my mind and on my heart, I headed to the start line wanting to honor the battle he is fighting!

I tried to really stick to my plan this time of starting out slow... (only took me 11 marathons to learn that this really works!) I won't bore you with all the details of each mile, but I can't say I have ever felt better in a marathon. I trained really hard this time, thanks to lots of help from my coach, Stacy. Also, I have a developed a different sense of focus and determination since I turned 30, which has changed me in alot of ways. Anyway, the race really just flew by for me because for the most part I was feeling so great. Yes, there were some pretty hilly sections, some stiff winds occasionally, some periods of intense fatigue. But, the greatest thing about this marathon was that all of these negative aspects were just fleeting moments throughout the miles, none of them ever lingering or consuming me. Before I knew it, I was approaching mile 20, and there was Wendy cheering me on, coming up and running beside me! She and I both knew I had never run a race this well before, and she was so excited for me! She yelled out, "I talked to your mom, and she said to tell you Good Luck!" That just made me even happier. It just happened to be my mom's birthday for this fine race day. And, even though she could not be physically there, I was motivated to make her birthday a great day regardless! I looked at my watch at mile 20 and I knew that I would likely meet my goal to qualify for Boston unless something crazy happened. Then, I also realized that I had been holding back a little waiting to reach this point, and before I knew it I was speeding up focused on just a 10K to get me to the finish! I will always treasure the way I was able to finish this marathon, because you never know if you will ever feel that great at the end again. It is the first time in 11 tries for me, but I will savor every moment! I got close to the finish and I was even able to sprint a little and it felt so great, I got tears in my eyes and I just raised my hands up in the air and smiled up to the clouds and at the time clock :) Well, somehow I clocked a 3:33 on this fine day... 15 minutes less than my last PR (3:48). I still can't believe it! I have always secretly wanted to qualify for Boston, but in my 20's I wasn't always the kind of person to really focus and really go for it. I ran several marathons not trained well and several where things went pretty well, but not quite well enough. I have run some of the big marathons multiple times, some of the flattest marathons, and even hometown Whiterock 3 times. OKC is not a big marathon, not a glamorous marathon, and definitely not a flat marathon, but with the weather and the timing of many events in my life, it turned out to be The Best Marathon for me this April 2008!










Here is a link if you want to see some other pics from the marathon:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kristina.mrtn1/OKCMARATHON

A Fun & Crazy Weekend in March!!

Sat. 5:15 AM - Meet Heather & Tonya, Drive to Aledo TX

Ride Bicycles 100 miles through the rolling hills in the Ride for the Heroes Rally

1:30 PM Eat A Nice Burger, Head back to Dallas

3:30 PM Shower and get ready for a Double Party night

6:30 PM Buy Wine at World Market for Tonya's Stock the Bar
(Kristina forgot to eat, no time, she's gonna be starving!!)

7:30 PM Let the Party begin at Tonya's new Casa! It was great catching up with the work crew from Baylor!
(sorry for the orange top with nasty tan lines, ouch!)

10:00 PM Head to Party 2 - Andrea's 30th B-day Soiree is in Full Swing at
the Schweitzer House...

12:30 AM Leave the Schweitzer's, Kristina is still giddy from all that riding, Ted wants to go home!

Sun. 6:30 AM - Kristina Runs 11 miles with her dog Marty at Whiterock Lake

Sun. 12:00 PM - Eat family lunch with mom & Bro. after church

Sun. 3:00 PM - Kristina runs 9 more miles to make her needed total of 20!

**** disclaimer**** Intense Triathlon training mixed with a double party night can be hazardous to your health, but thank goodness Kristina is training so much, her energy level is just now coming down to a level that others can manage with all of her fatigue from the workouts

A Fun Night!

We had a great night at Tommy & Anna's wedding! We took pictures as if it was our "Second Chance Prom." Kerri finally got us all arranged on the stairs properly. Check out my nasty running and biking tan lines...lookin' so sexy with my strapless dress... Yikes...Maybe I could at least invest in a cheap spray on tan for my next night out... Well, it was a beautiful wedding at the Old Red Courthouse. All of us girlies had some fun dancing the night away. Good thing Ted drug me home before I got too crazy... As graceful as I am, it was a little dangerous dancing in my high heels a week before my marathon! Home Safe and Sound Thank Goodness!!