Don't Go, Oprah!

Oprah Winfrey announced today on her talk show that she would be wrapping it up in 2011 because the time is right. 25 years at one gig, which is how many seasons Oprah's show will have been on when she wraps up the next season. Wow. Few people stay at one job for 25 years anymore.

I have watched the "Oprah Winfrey Show" on occasion, especially during the summer breaks when I used to be a teacher. Back then, I occasionally taped it when I knew an interesting guest would be on while I was at work. It's been a long time since I've watched the show, but Oprah has become such an influential person in her own right that rarely a month goes by that I haven't been aware of her, whether it's a new book pick for her show's book club, or in the past couple of years, her support for the Obamas.

One of the things I remember about her show is that, while she has had many famous guests on her show, she has also had a number of "regular people" who did out-of-the-ordinary things on as guests on her show. For years now, I've harbored a secret desire to do something inspirational that would land me on the "Oprah Winfrey Show!" Okay, there, I said it. My secret's out. And now, unless I get cracking, it looks like I'll have to keep working on the inspirational bit without the reward of a gig in Oprah's show! Ah, it was a pipe dream anyway. :)

You've Got Mail

In the past couple of weeks, I've rediscovered a website called Postcrossing, which facilitates sending postcards across the globe. People who register on the site initially receive up to five addresses of other people registered on Postcrossing. You mail out your postcard(s), and when the recipients receive and register their newly received postcards, you are able to get additional addresses to mail more postcards. Whenever you request a new address to send a postcard to, you get a unique ID number to write on the card. The person on the other end types in that ID number to indicate receipt.

Although I registered on Postcrossing about three years ago and sent/received a few postcards then, I got busy with other things and forgot about it. I just recently signed back in and decided to send out five more postcard and see that happened. Since then, four of my postcards have been received overseas, and I received two postcards yesterday, one from England and the other from Germany. It was fun to get some non-bill/junk mail in the mailbox, since I keep up with so many people by email, Facebook, and Twitter now.

This newly refound hobby will probably fade away again in time, but for now, in these drearier days of fall (did I mention it's been raining all week thanks to Tropical Storm Ida?!), it's fun looking forward to colorful mail via postcards in my real live mailbox (not the virtual one).

Happy November!

It's been a busy fall so far, and it's not over yet! I love this time of year--for the weather, the fall colors, and all the neat activities going on.

George and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this past week with a fun trip to the North Carolina mountains. We stayed in Boone for the second year in a row, and explored the area for several days. It rained on us the first day, but otherwise the weather was quite nice. The leaves were just past their prime, but still very pretty.

I'm running my second marathon, the Outer Banks Marathon, next Sunday, and am rather nervous about it. I'm going to get to the starting line and see what happens! George has decided to run it with me, which should be a great help! I hope we both make it to the end.

Just today, I've started National Novel Writing Month for the first time! I'm excited about this project, partly because it'll be a great diversion from running, especially as I taper for and recover from the marathon.

First Marathon Complete!

I finished my first marathon, the Triple Lakes Race in Greensboro, NC, last Saturday. The race report is here.

I'm still a bit stiff, so I've signed up for a chair massage at work tomorrow, and am looking forward to that! My knee (which I FELL on) and my blisters are slower to heal than I'd like, but I do feel some improvement.

I'm beginning to feel like doing some of the things I've been neglecting during marathon training and initial recovery, like cleaning at home, sorting through mail, and other domestic things. I still can't stay awake very long to read in bed at night, as I'm still pretty bushed. My body's healing, though, I can feel it. My mind is also on the mend. It took me nearly 11 hours to finish the race, a long time on my legs, AND a long time by myself, where I get downright lonely--and bored out of my skull! The next marathon I'll be running, Outer Banks, is a bigger race, AND it allows headsets. Also, George has decided to run the Outer Banks Marathon with me! (Woohoo!)

I'm eager to recover quickly so I can finish training for the Outer Banks race, where I hope to clock a big improvement!

First Marathon!

I've got my first marathon coming up on Saturday, the Triple Lakes Trail Race in Greensboro! It will be a training run for me, and I'm feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness over the experience! Most of the time I feel like I'm going to nail the distance, but sometimes I think, "What if....?"

I'm trying not to get bogged down in the doubts, so I'm busy getting grocery shopping and errands done (after work) before Saturday, so I can take it easy for the rest of the weekend. I'll be getting to sleep early the next few nights, to boot. (I haven't done a good job of that so far this week! Yikes!)

I haven't written much about my marathon training here, since I have a running blog at Going the Extra Mile. My race report will show up there, probably some time next week.

Busy End to Summer

It's hard to believe it's the end of the last weekend of summer! Wow! Life has been busy, mostly with marathon training, smattered with a couple of recent road races. We also celebrated George's grandfather's 95th birthday in August, which included dinner at the Angus Barn (very nice!).

Running this summer, especially training for the marathon, has taught me a lot about myself. I recently completed a 20 miler, and while my body was wiped out, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment. I'm still pretty slow, so I've been working on speeding up, with some results. It's also been good mental training for "long haul" stuff, as it's been tempting sometimes to quit and make it s shorter run.

I've been trying to read more this summer, though I've discovered recently that I have to take a break from books about running! Thinking about running, training, sleep and nutrition, it's on my mind almost constantly, so I need my reading to be a diversion, something to give my brain a break! Once I have fall racing behind me, one of the books I hope to read is Born to Run.

Speaking of reading, just last week I rediscovered the website Bookcrossing.com, a way to recycle used books and follow a book's travels around the country or the globe. I have so many paperback books at home that I haven't read, so this should be motivation to read them and start "releasing" them! I've already ordered my first batch of bookplates and sticky notes from the BookCrossing store (though it's not necessary to do so), and am looking forward to getting going again with this little project. My BookCrossing profile is here.

Between marathon training, reading, and life in general, I haven't been watching much television this summer, and most of the time, I don't miss it! I'd be surprised if I've watched a total of two hours of TV all summer! Hard to believe. :) Of course, I've spent more time on the computer, some of it doing research on running, genealogy, and other things.

I'm looking forward to fall, for sure. Happy First Day of Fall on Tuesday!

Wiped Out

I have so much to catch up on here, including a weekend with the widest range of activities and emotions I've had in a while! Tonight, though, I feel too exhausted to do it all justice here. For now, I'm going to close down the computer, turn off the apartment lights, and join George (who's already crashed for the night!) in bed. Tomorrow's a new day.

Sweet dreams!