Oh, THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

I climbed the Great Wall of China. Well, sorta. I mean, not the whole thing. Obviously. I think it's about 50,000 kilometers long. And if I had retained my knowledge of the metric system from back in high school, I would have been able to convert that into miles for you...but I seem to have lost my scientific intelligence, so I'm sorry about that. Just trust me, 50,000 kilometers is long.

Anyway, my family went to China in the summer of 2007 and my brother Kevin and I climbed the giant hill to the Great Wall as fast as we possibly could. We then attempted to make our way to the top of the first tower. I made it. But, I also made myself sick. As soon as I reached the top step I threw up over the side of the 2,000 year old Great Wall. Anyone who knows me well could have predicted this. I have a tendency to embarrass myself in these sort of physical situations.






Take the time when I was in spin class at the Y and I had to RUN out after only five minutes to hurl in the women's locker room trash can. Or the time when I went to a step aerobics class with my friend Julianna and I blacked out in the middle of class. The teacher made me walk around the room but I couldn't...so I ended up just lying on the floor at the back of the classroom. Embarrassing. Or the time when I went on a bike ride with my boyfriend and I had to pull off the side of the road to throw up. I always feel much better afterward, though. So don't feel too bad for me.

I'm only telling you this because I am about to put myself through something I would have considered torture only two short months ago. I am going to run a half marathon in September. 13 miles. Yes. I am. I have the right shoes (the guy at the store told me that I wasn't allowed to choose my shoe based on its look...shoot!), the right socks, and several pairs of new running shorts that I found on sale for $2.50 to get me into the running spirit (so what if they have Jayhawks all over them). Oh, and I also have a running friend, Rebekah Mitchell!!!




Last summer I started going to Hot Yoga - I had to quit going in March for several reasons, but I think the Yoga must have made me a lot stronger than I thought. Before when I would run...well...I wouldn't run. I'd just stop as soon as I started hating it. Which was pretty much before I started. But a few weeks ago I thought I'd try to run a little. For one, it's free...and you don't have to drive anywhere to do it. Plus, Nashville was getting ready for the Country Music Marathon and Rebekah and Ryan were training for it. It just got me thinking. So I just started running. AND I LOVE IT. When did this happen? I ran five miles last week with Rebekah and it felt so good. I didn't even want to die...which is how I used to feel when I ran. I figure I'm off to a good start.

So. Rock'N'Roll Marathon (or 1/2 marathon in my case). Virginia Beach. 2009. Here I come!!!