getting out of Fargo

What a huge chore. Those storms in the mid-west are killer for travel. After my flight was cancelled Sunday night from Fargo to Chicago (ORD) my next flight was booked to leave at 2:04PM Monday... it was delayed also. Then once I finally got to Chicago the flight to Charlotte was delayed over an hour.. I believe 1 hour and 12 minutes but my connection was only 1 hour and 15 minutes till take off so I stood in line in hopes of finding someone who could help me get back to Knoxville.

The man at the counter was very nice and informed me that all the Knoxville direct flights from Chicago were booked through Wednesday. Charlotte was my best option/greatest hope. So I prayed that I would make my connection and get home, no matter what time it was.

I finally got on the plane to Charlotte and arrived there when my flight to Knoxville originally was scheduled to leave. It was delayed but I ran across the airport anyway and asked at the counter for another woman going to Columbia, SC if they could wait... their response "when the door closes it's closed" with attitude. :( I felt really bad for her because it was the last flight out... I tried, sigh.

I went back to the gate where the Knoxville flight was delayed until 11:30PM... hung out with the people who were sitting by me. Turns out they were doing some Dream Imagination (DI) thing in Knoxville and that was probably why all the Knoxville flights were booked from Chicago. It sounded really neat! I think I would love to get involved in something like that... perhaps I'll look into it for next year.

We didn't take off until about 12:50AM... so much for leaving a little after 11... or 12... there were maintenance issues and all kinds of delays for me this weekend. Wow. What a long night. I landed in Knoxville around 1:35AM or so and got home after 2AM and that's with Nathan waiting for me in the front of the airport so we could leave as soon as possible.

I got home safely and got another state done. Thanks Jesus! You are good.

-run for life

belated post now posted. written 11/20/11

11/20-Tulsa, Oklahoma - Route 66 Marathon

I think I was out of it today while I was running. My mind was else where and I kept having to use the potty... Port-a-potties and for some reason I just cleaned the toilet seat a little and was more concerned with that than locking the door. I had the door opened twice on me today... Haha. No one saw anything so it was all good, but still. The first time I was like, oh my bad. Second time I was like, really?? What's wrong with me? Guess its like life, just get distracted by the pee on the seat and you are trying to wipe it off that you forget to lock the door. Another thing about port-a-potties while I'm already on the topic. I think it's hilarious that they have those small busted mirrors on the inside of the doors on some of them. For one the mirror is so cracked and blurry you couldn't fix your hair or see of something was in your teeth if you tried... But also the port-a-potty population is probably not as likely to give a care about how fabulous they look when coming out of a port-a-potty right? Mostly it'd be construction workers, marathoners, people going to fairs and what not. I am not a port-a-potty expert but I do know when I run marathons I'm more concerned with getting I the finish than how I look while I'm on my way there.

This blog is going to be about the journey to the greatest destination. Life as a Christian runner. Here is my story. Thanks for coming and reading. I'll be trying to include stories of the past marathons I've run and my journey and trials of trying to get back into racing/running shape. I hope you find some comradery and hope as we re-start this journey once again...

-run for life

Fargo, North Dakota

North Dakota is a tough place to get to if you’re trying to save money. However, Jesus totally helped me out with the goodness of people’s hearts. I don’t understand how people can say how horrible people are when the majority is very nice and hospitable and a few that plague our news and television shows with rampant sin and destruction, setting bad examples for future generations to come. I flew up to Rhode Island for work again and was diverted to Boston … so instead of arriving at my hotel around 10:30PM, I didn’t arrive until 2:15AM. :( Let’s just say it made for a long night and a huge lack of sleep on my side. I spoke with 18 patients/clients and quickly went through their paperwork during the day and skipped lunch so I wouldn’t have to do paperwork later (it was easier since I had spoken with 17/18 people previously so they were mostly follow ups, it would have been very difficult if I had initials and follow ups mixed in together.) Immediately after I finished working I was whisked off to the airport and flew down to Charlotte and then up to Minneapolis where I would CS for the night near the airport and get dropped off at 7:30AM to await the arrival of the couple who was also heading from Minneapolis to Fargo for the marathon. Thanks to the 50 States Marathon Club’s connections, this was made a possibility.

I was trying to study … but it turned into a brief study session and a nap time in the comfy chairs by baggage claim in the smaller terminal 2 of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport… whoops! They arrived and we headed out toward Fargo, but not without stopping by Noodles & Co. to have some lunch. We got to the expo where they had run out of pins for our bibs…  But luckily we spotted quite a few on the ground and were able to find enough for each of us to have 4. Ghetto? Yeah, apparently the 5k people and earlier people had grabbed handfuls of pins instead of just taking 4 or possibly 5 in case one was busted.
They went to the pasta dinner there at the expo and my CS host from Fargo picked me up from the expo and her roommate was cooking curry and it was delicious! And yet she said it was super simple to make… I will have to start making curry at home… :) They had another CS hostee to was also running the marathon. I was pleased that he was also laid back and not super intense about getting there early to the start or worried about a certain time and he just came to run.

Our host dropped us off a few blocks from the start and we went to the very back of the pack to start the run. We ran together for about the first 10k and then he needed to use the restroom… so I went on ahead… then I had to use the restroom so he went on ahead and I never caught up due to lack of training and my bum ankle. I was just there to finish… and as my motto goes ‘live to run another day’. I think I ended up cheering for at least half of the marathon participants since it was an out and back course so I saw people from the 3 hour mark to the 5+ hour mark. (Well, I finished at 5:14 or so, so of course I could cheer for those around me.) I didn’t end up talking to as many people/running with as many people as I usually do since my pace wasn’t the same with my ankle. I am not too sore, but I did get a few blisters from trying to compensate and avoid hurting my ankle too much. :( No chafers though! Hoorah! Perfect weather! I am glad me and Jesus are BFF and He can control the weather and even the wind listens to Him! (It was about 94 degrees Friday evening around 7PM and then it rained all night to cool off the temperature before the marathon… and it spit a little at us Saturday morning but it never rained during the marathon so that was awesome! Thanks JESUS! You’re the best!!)

I hope that I helped motivate some people as they were running/walking/jogging along and I cheered for them. One woman found me after the race and said that I helped her a lot when I encouraged her and told her to keep her head up and keep going. :) It always makes me happy when people find my encouragement helpful! They had awesome soup post race (chicken and wild rice) and some icky pizza, but it tasted much better after running a marathon than it would have without. The cookie dough was a nice surprise and quite delightful after running. I got a bunch of little random snacks and the other CS marathoner and I started walking back to our host’s house. We got about halfway there and got picked up near Dairy Queen on University Drive…. Went back, took showers and took naps! Naps were awesome. :) Nathan woke me up during my nap, but we got up and got some food anyway… before coming back and sleeping more.

Overall, it’s been a good trip. Fargo, North Dakota has good people-there were tons of people outside their houses cheering us on. Maybe it’s because there isn’t anything better to do on a Saturday morning, but it was nice to have so many spectators in a small town. It was definitely a pleasant surprise! I love marathoners too, what a great community. Well, it was good times. I’m currently with another CS person from Fargo and just attended her church – First Lutheran Church in Fargo. It was a good service. Hopefully I can get some of this studying done and pass this pre-test! Thanks God for watching out for me and for the good, safe trip. Please help me study and get all of this done that I need to get done… and please help my ankle to feel better since I have 3 more marathons in June! You’re the best. -run for life.

P.S. After I wrote this... I walked around Fargo, got my jumping picture... and then my flight was canceled. :( I'm in Fargo for another day and by the time I found out my flight was canceled, it was too late to call my patients in-person that I have tomorrow to let them know that I would have to reschedule with them. :( Sigh. At least God always keeps me safe. I'd rather be delayed than dead.