On cloud nine.

So many good things happened from Wednesday to now, I don't even know where to start! Since this is probably going to be a long post, I'm going to fast-forward to Friday night.

Friday night: Turnback Creek had a concert at Cy's bar in Sedgwick. Madison and I thought this would be a great opportunity to have a fundraising event. We called Cy and told him a little about what we were doing and he gave us the okay to have an event! We brought 3 big Team In Training signs and 3 buckets... our plan was to basically just ask people for donations. We got to the bar at like 9:30 (the concert started at 10:00) and felt totally awkward. Cy wasn't there, so we weren't sure what to really do. Luckily, my mom's friend Lisa came with us, who knows some of the ladies that work at the bar. They said we were welcome to do whatever we wanted, they just didn't want to be held responsible for watching any buckets. So we grabbed a table, posted some signs on the wall, and worked our magic.

People were SO much more generous than I expected. I was expecting change, dollar bills, maybe a five or two.... but there were several 20 dollar bills! Madison handed one of the buckets to her grandma, who ended up passing it on to someone else, who passed it on to someone else, and it just kept going around the bar! It was so awesome to see it going around the bar and people reading it, then reaching for their wallet. I wish there was a way I could express to them how thankful I really am for their support.

On top of the successful fundraising, Turnback Creek sounded awesome! Anyone who knows me knows that I am definitely not a fan of country music, but I really liked Turnback Creek. If you have not heard them, look them up... you will like!

Thank you everyone who came out and supported. And a HUGE thank you to Cy and Turnback Creek for allowing us to do this at your concert and giving us all kinds of shout outs! The night wouldn't of been as much of a success without you!

Saturday: I was kind of nervous for Saturday, I really wanted to get a good long run in, but didn't really have a good time to do it. After getting less than 4 hours of sleep on Friday night, I was in dire need of a nap after work. After my nap...I woke up feeling groggy and fought with myself for a long time about whether or not to suck it up and go out for my long run or make it up on Sunday. Madison was in Sedgwick, Alfredo was out of town, TNT group ran at 7:00am, so it was either go out and run by myself or don't go at all. At about 5:00, I looked outside and it was sunny! That basically made my decision for me.

I got this new fanny pack kind of thing to wear on my long runs, so I can have my snacks with me. Okay, it's not really a fanny pack, way smaller and way less dorky. I took a picture of myself before going out for my run, but unfortunately my phone is dunzo so I will probably never see that picture. Ugh. My TNT coaches have advised us that we need to start experimenting with different kinds of nutrition during our long runs, in order to stay refueled. At first, I thought this was crazy...why would you want to eat while running? I figured all it would do was make me nauseous, but it really does make a difference! So far the only thing I have tried is GU Chomps, which I really liked. And my fanny pack, perfect! I was concerned it was going to ride up and be uncomfortable, but it actually stayed put. I love all my new running gear! Sure wish I had the picture I took before I ran... I looked like a pretty legit runner. My watch, my iPod, my fanny pack, my new shoes, my running socks, my under armour, my tights... man I was rockin.

Anyway... I ran 12 miles!!!!! This is the furthest I have ever ran! My original plan was to run 10 miles, but after about mile 6 I decided I wanted to push myself and go a couple more. And I did!! I was so ecstatic while running. I seriously felt awesome. I probably looked like a freak running down the side of the road by myself with a smile on my face. I wanted to tell everyone who was driving by that I was on mile 9, mile 10, mile 11...mile 12!! Needless to say, my legs are dead today, but I'm still on cloud nine.