I LOVE RUNNING!

It's official. I love running. It took me an hour and a half to drag my butt out into the cold. I was distracted by this awesome show on the Korean channel on being 2nd generation. Very inspiring. I'm considering doing some kind of discussion like that in Boston. Anyway, my run was fantastic and incredibly energizing. I felt stronger on my run than ever! Praise God.

running is awesome

Sorry all I am writing about is running. I forced myself to go yesterday and today. Yesterday it was a snowstorm, fourth one this winter? Totally quiet on the streets. It was nice to have the reservoir and Brookline all to myself. Ran 5.38 yesterday and 3.63 today. 9 miles in two days and a workout tomorrow. Ugh. As much I hate it, I love it, too. I have lately been obsessed with Fat Shows, shows about people hating being fat and losing weight. Don't know why it has such a fascination for me. I think because I want to be a personal trainer and it helps me get into the mind of these people.

I am ready to quit my job and get a new apartment. Let me know if you know of anyone looking for roommates or a live-in personal trainer! Sung Yun

Two days in a row

After such a hard workout yesterday, I can't believe I forced myself to go running again today. But with Ga Yun going to work and a couple of hours to spare, and a day as gorgeous as the night is long, I couldn't say no. I can't say no to the calendar that is staring me in the face. According to the marathon training guide, I have to log at least 25-30 miles a WEEK! And according to my January calendar, I've only run 10 outta 20 days so far. Doesn't look good. When I ran in '05, I started training in February, so I definitely have a jumpstart. Hallelujah.

My mantra is Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My back is KILLING me. I want to rip myself open and break it off. I can't believe I am actually persevering. I probably should consult a doctor, but I figure it's gonna hurt anyway so I might as well be in good shape hurting. My knees don't hurt too badly. Sometimes it gets to a point where my whole body just goes numb and I just keep going, one foot in front of the other. Step by Step, ooh baby.

Marathon Training: 4 weeks in

Much can be said about having a goal and sticking to it. Goal: Run the Boston Marathon in less than 4 hours. Or at least beat P. Diddy's NY Marathon time of 4:20. With the run date of April 18th looming almost exactly 3 months away....yeah, I think I can do it.

I came home at 9:30 pm and I DID NOT want to go out there. Snowy slushy misery. But I thought about the goal, and how I can't sleep at night if I don't exercise now that my dad is helping out more and I am not working out as much. Hallelujah! I thought about how much it sucks to do a marathon with insufficient training. I thought about bashing my 4:53 time in 2005. I logged onto my friend Nabil's training website Fivi.com and got excited as I started mapping out my run. And then I forced myself out into the cold.

It was absolutely poetic. The streets, empty. The snow, ethereal. With crystals truly from heaven falling, there was silence of the streets only occasionally interrupted by a car swishing by. I pulled out a decent 9 minute mile pace. My thoughts were alternated by a "Let's do this bitch" and "hm, peaceful. Glad I chose to run." Both sentiments were very satisfying. I was slip sliding all along the slushy slush around the Brookline reservoir. Neil is absolutely right about the whole getting into a routine thing. I doubted it, but I find it's true. Go into mindless patterns. Don't think, just do. Just go. I decided to change it up a bit and head up Washington St instead, to make it a 5 mile run instead of my usual 4. My body was kind of regretting it, but my mind was feeling satisfied by pushing said body into submission. I ran by The Fireplace, out of which some nice jazz was spilling out. Decided to put in when I saw my friend Fred at the bar. He offered me a beer. Very tempting to stop running and drink, but I was DETERMINED to run the full 5 miles. I logged onto a marathon training calendar and today said I had to do 5 miles so by golly 5 miles I decided to do! I told myself that my reward would be the rest of Chapter 8 of The Help. I can NOT put that book down! Oh, it is delicious. I miss my reading. It's good to be back.

Another victory for today...the location of my parents' surprise party has been finally tamped down and nailed. Feb 11th, Temple Obahai Shalom (Lovers of Peace), here we come!!!!

Making Peace with High School

I watched Lucas last night. I really wanted to go snowboarding on the hill, but once I saw Corey Haim's cute, nerdy little face gawking at cute untouchable girls, I was totally hooked. It's probably something only people who grew up in the 80s can understand, the stupid and predictable story lines, the football player jocks and cheerleaders, versus the nerdy, weird outcasts, and of course, being tormented for being different. I didn't think much about it after it was over. I mean, it had a pretty good ending with Lucas being knocked around on the football field, after he joins the team to try to impress a girl. This was no Facing The Giants! It was actually pretty realistic!

Anyway, I woke up this morning after having a dream with random high school people in it, one of them used to be my best friend. And I felt this odd sense of peace come over me. I've been praying a LOT over the past five years to get healing about relationships and memories from high school, and oddly enough, I feel like God answered my prayers! It only took me 18 years!!! Ha ha ha. I think it's cool to be different, to always march to your own beat, to break the mold, to be yourself, and I can say, I was always myself in high school. Most of the time. C'mon. It's high school.

I'm proud of myself, for standing up to the bullies, for having the courage to fail, but also the ambition and drive to succeed. It's all good: the regrets, embarrassments, friendships, relationships, the highs, the lows, the good, bad and the ugly. The people who were mean, the people I WAS MEAN to, I pray that they can forgive me as I can forgive those who have hurt me. God is so good. He truly is the ultimate healer. And I can say, I never thought this day would come. It's always like that after a dark snowstorm when the power goes out, there is a beautiful sunny day when the sun is shining and all is bright. Life is good. For those of you who are in my life now, I feel so blessed to be in the sunshine and warmth of your love.

2011: It's a New Year!

So far I am off to a good start. Resolutions resolved, I have been running twice and swimming once. I woke up this morning and my back was killing me (dang couch!). If Jesus wanted us to suffer as he suffered, well, then I am truly living the Christian life! Ha ha ha. But I did run a whopping 10!!!! miles today! Without stopping! Mind you, I have not run 10 miles in probably over 2 years. But with about 10 runs in the past month, my muscle memory is kicking in. And on my last run I didn't even have to stop to catch my breath. Praise God! Also, with my new smartphone (thanks, dad!), I have become ONE OF THEM. Yes, folks, I have become a runner who listens to music. I couldn't help it. I am sorry to go the dark side. But it was necessary. I had such a hard time motivating. MOTI, MOTI! So, I dragged my sorry butt out into the snowy cold, (no thank you, gym rats!) and a little Pandora action got me into gear. AND HOW! Nothing a little Pink and Black Eyed Peas can't cure!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man (or woman!) be in Christ, he/she is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

That is most certainly good news on all of our parts, and it especially portends well in the New Year!

Just to lighten things up, here is some liberal/conservative humor

FROM: The Manitoba Herald

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and to agree with Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.


Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.


"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood
producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"


In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows so much that they wouldn't give any milk."


Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves.


"A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley Cabernet, though."


When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races.


In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half- dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age," an official said.


Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Michael Moore movies.
"I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"


In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Biden met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals. A source close to President Obama said, "We're going to have some Paul McCartney and Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might even put some endangered species on postage stamps. The President is determined to reach out," he said. The Herald will be interested to see if Obama can actually raise Mary from the dead in time for the concert!