First Long Run Done...

...Or How Amanda Really is Doing This Whole Half-Marathon Thing.

It really happened...I woke up at 5:15am to meet a group of runners at 6:00am to go run 4 miles. Am I crazy? Yes. Am I determined to run this half-marathon? Yes.

I was a little nervous when I got there. Everyone was DEFINITELY a runner, and I, clearly, am not. They were all talking about 11:00 min/mile pace, 10:00 min/mile pace, NINE MINUTE MILE PACE?!...not me. I was just hoping someone would be run/walking because that is where I am at right now. Luckily, there was some girl there and she said she was doing it, but she was going four miles. Not the original 3, I had planned on. But whatever, I figured, at least I would have someone beside me who wouldn't let me quit. We started out pretty well, in fact, I even got ahead of her sometimes. My stride was quite larger than hers. We started on Texas Avenue, ran down to University,  turned onto Tarrow/Lincoln and back on to University. What I DIDN'T realize was how freaky hilly University Drive is...you know what sucks more than being at the bottom of a hill? Having run two and half miles already and knowing you've got to go up it! I realized my hill endurance is not where it needs to be. But I've got 15 weeks to work on it! I was slightly bummed on Saturday because my GPS was telling me that we ran FIVE miles and my pace was 11-12 minutes and I was super pumped. However, I realized that my GPS was totally wrong. The route was right, but it calculated the mileage wrong somehow. BUT I've got four miles under my belt and here we go...I'm really doing this half-marathon thing. I've got two friends who are doing it with me so I've got the support system in place, now I've just got to get up and run. :)

Amanda L. Reynolds: The Socialite

...Or How She Feels Like She Knows Everyone in B/CS.

Tonight I was leaving work, around 8:00ish, I saw a well known restaurant owner who happened to be parked outside of my building. He was talking to another local business establishment and invited me to see his new food truck (can you say I was giddy with excitement getting a sneak peak!!). As I got in the car, it's time like those that I'm surprised by my life. I don't often relish in the fact of the people and connections that I have, but it's times like that, when I kind of have to pinch myself. Right now, I'm currently working on a magazine that has insite to some of the coolest things happening in Bryan/College Station, working with some "big names" in town. In the past year of returning back to Bryan, I've gotten to do a lot of cool stuff, which has lead to meeting a lot of cool people. The last time I was out, someone walked in about every 20-30 minutes that I knew and they came by to say hi.

But at the same time, it almost feels as though it's not me. I've never been one for names or being in the "in" crowd. So it's awesome, yet weird at the same time, to be hobnobbing with these people. You're probably wondering where I'm going with this and the answer is I really don't know. I think this probably has to do with a big-ish decision I'll be making in my life soon. One that would lead me down the road of being with the "in" crowd. I would become someone that everyone knows (hopefully, if I do my job right). I guess I'm just too nervous and overthinking it per the usual. So say a little prayer, I'd be happy to elaborate with you guys, just not on the internet where it's permanent record. ;)

Back in the Saddle Again.

...Or How Amanda is Attempting to Run for the 457th Time in Her Life.

Today, something just clicked in me. Maybe it was my best friend who made his 47th Facebook status update about going to work out. Or maybe it was all the pictures circulating around from drum corps (both marching and teaching) where I look incredibly skinny and tan. Or maybe it was the fact that I cleaned out my closet (which possibly hadn't been done since 2001) and had to give away about 20 pairs of pants. Mostly because they no longer fit, some, however did fall into the no longer fashionable (who would have thought bleached jeans and/or fringed khakis would go out of style?).  Or maybe it was last week when I couldn't do my favorite crunch exercise with the band kids. Whatever the reason was, I decided TODAY is the day I start working out again. You see, I have a free entry to a half marathon in December and I REALLY want to do it. However, I've been procrastinating on the running, so I decided I needed to buck up and start couch to 5k...again.

I was all prepped and ready to go and my good friend, Marie, and I had been texting and I told her I was going to go "run." She said that I should go over to her house and we would go together. I was hesitant at first, one, because I'm a sucky runner and I didn't want her to see that, two, I wanted to be able to go my own pace. But after the sermon this morning at church (I'll relay that another time), I decided that I should go with her. I went over and we walked for about a mile and then I decided I was gonna stay beside her, but jog to get my heart rate going a little more. I did the first time beside her, after my minute was over, she said, "That's all?" So the next time, she ran with me. We did the entire W1D1 set of C25k today. We ended up running over three miles. It felt SOOO good to get cardio happening, my lungs fresh and clear and know that I'm exercising again. AND we're planning to do it again on Tuesday. I think it will be SUPER good for me to have a running partner and hopefully I'll be able to make it through the half marathon in December. Wish me luck. Root for me. And above all, make sure to ask me how I'm doing so I don't quit. :)

Let It Go and Give it to God

...Or How When You Do, You Learn That God Has a Sense of Humor

Remember two posts ago? About the guy? I've been praying about it all week. I tried to distance myself this week so I could clearly think about what I was gonna tell him. I didn't go out to his normal hang on Wednesday...I was maybe stalking him in an unhealthy kinda sorta electronic way. I decided to end that because it wasn't serving any purpose except to see him everyday, which then fostered constant thoughts of him, so I decided to be done with anything that wasn't positive to my well being.

Anyways, around Wednesday I decided that I was going to tell him how I felt to make sure he knew and then I was gonna let it be. Over the next two days, I spent my extra time formulating my speech. I was gonna tell him how I felt, that I wasn't ready for it be to be serious, but I enjoyed our time together and I wanted to let him know so that nothing was unclear. And that I didn't need any kind of answer, solution, or comment. I just wanted to let him know and he could do with that information as he wanted, but at least that way, it would be out of my mind and heart and I would know that we both knew where I stood.

Fast forward to tonight. We ended up going out, very informally with friends. However, all our friends left around 12:30 and we stayed and talked. We had this conversation about owning up to our actions. In my head, I thought, this is the perfect reference to bring up later to help ease the potential awkwardness. The establishment closed at 2:00 and we continued our shuffleboard game. Management finally kicked us out at 2:30 and we proceeded outside to talk, which is not unusual for us. As we were walking to our cars, my stomach was in knots. I had told myself I was gonna do it tonight, the stage was set, the perfect segue way was created...but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Every time there was a small pause, the words just wouldn't come out. Finally, it was almost 3:00am. I was incessantly yawning because I am NEVER up this late, so he says that I should go home...and then he moves in closer to me. He has this...look. Perhaps you know the look. It's when a guy gets this crazy look in his eyes...like he's gonna kiss you. I've seen this look twice in my life, perhaps the other times it happens to fast to notice, but I've definitely seen it before, so I feel confident I can spot it now. SURE ENOUGH, BAM! A goodnight kiss. :) It was awesome. My heart was so relieved. In the middle of kissing, I told him, "I'm really glad you did this, because tonight I was gonna tell you that I like you because I wasn't really sure if you knew." He said that he did know, but we just happen to be two extremely busy people. Which is COMPLETELY true unfortunately. I can't even find time to sleep, much less to date.

It's just crazy how when you let things go and stop stressing that God not only tells you, but SHOWS you that he will take care of it. It's so hard to do for me, but it's times like this when he smacks me on my head that I know things will be taken care of, no matter how off track they seem. So now that I know that a mutual interest has been confirmed, maybe I can sleep better at night and stop stressing. And hopefully, the two of us can make a little more time for each other in the midst of our busy schedules in the future. As for right now, I just can't stop smiling. Actually I can't stop smiling long enough to go to sleep hence the late night blog.

[post-note: What's funny is that I had a romantic dream about him last night and woke up angry this morning because, in my conscious mind, I had sworn him off. Perhaps that was the greater good telling me this wasn't the plan.]

A Person's Character

...Or How I'm Postponing That Deep Conversation Until Tomorrow.

:) Sleep is actually calling my name tonight. I'm excited!  But a small funny anecdote from today. I'm teaching high school marching band for the first time in a loooooong time. It's taken a while to get used to it...the kids who don't want to be there, teaching 140 kids (the most I've taught at once),  teaching under my high school director whom I respect a million times over, and then having him give me full control and trusting me with his band program. Anyways...I've been leading the strength training/cardio in the morning. I'm trying to keep it fresh and non-boring. Having five days of different stuff is wearing me out already. Anyways this morning, I had an genius thought to use water bottles as weights and do an arm workout. The head drum major who is also on the Varsity fooball team, comes up to me and says, "Ms. Reynolds, [They have to call Ms. Reynolds, it's quite entertaining] I really enjoy your workouts." I said, "Are you joshing me or being serious?" He replied, "No, I really do. They're challenging and I like them! You know...they're hiring a new athletic director..." TOTALLY made my day! I'm glad that I can still impress kids after all these years. :)