My Friend Mary

I thought I would introduce you all to my "new" friend Mary.  I have talked about her in several of my posts now and I am sure her name will continue to keep popping up in my blogging world. 

Mary and I met at work.  We joke around that I am her boss only because i was the one that interviewed her and hired her last December.  We became pretty close in a short amount of time and it has lead us to have a good friendship.  I have really enjoyed getting to know Mary and her family.   

Mary is married to Will Speigle and they have a daughter Elizabeth(Ellie for short) who just turned 6 months old last weekend.  They live in Ogden where they have a home. They also have a HUGE dog (a great Dane) and his name is Moab.

We enjoy spending time together and always have a good time no matter what it is we are doing.(Hiking, talking on the phone, crafting, making ice cream or dinner, or running in 5k's, and attempting a kick boxing class)  I am lucky to have met Mary and to have such a caring friend in my life.  She inspires me to be better at whatever I do. 

"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." - Lois Wyse

I hope that you have all enjoyed getting to know my friend Mary.

With much love,

AJ

Give Breath to Life 5k

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." --John Bingham

Last weekend I ran in the Give Breath to Life 5k sponsored by Weber State University Advanced Respiratory Therapy Students. All the proceeds for this event will benefit those in need of Respiratory Care through the American Respiratory Care Foundation.  As a Respiratory therapist this was an event that I could actually say I was running for something I deeply care about. 

This wasn't my first 5k but it was a first timed race.  I ran with my friend Mary who is an alumni of RT program at Weber State.  (I think i am going to need to write a seperate post just about Mary so you all know who she is.) It was held on the morning of October 8th, a very cool day, the air was chilled enough that it made me feel like I had to keep moving even when there were times I wanted to stop and catch my breath; There were many times through out the morning when it was so much easier to walk and that is what I did. Though my time was not super fast( 42 minutes and 32 seconds) I can proudly say that I finished and I even ran to the finish line.  "In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." -Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder.    It wasn't my goal to be super quick or to be the first accross the finish line but my one and only goal was to finish and that is exactly what I did.  Now as I challenge myself more thoughout the next year I hope that my time will improve drastically. I would like to improve my time by two minutes with each event that I partisapate in. (Very do-able)  As I think back to the beginning of the year and why I decided to start running and make particpating in a 5k a goal to reach before the years end, I am reminded by the simple fact that I never really thought that I would be runner much less running in 5k's (It just sounded good).  My goal for this year was to run one 5k and by the end of the year I will have participated in 4 events. I honestly can say I am proud of where I am at today and I am proud of where I am headed. This is my journey! 

   

"You also need to look back, not just at the people who are running behind you but especially at those who don't run and never will... those who run but don't race...those who started training for a race but didn't carry through...those who got to the starting line but didn't end at the finish line...those who once raced better than you but no longer run at all. You're still here. Take pride in wherever you finish. Look at all the people you've outlasted."
- Joe Henderson  This was the perfect qoute to remind me that it really doesn't matter how I got to where I was going or how long it took what matters is that I am "doing" and that means something when there are some many people who have given up or haven't even tried.