WE are Penn State

Here is my opinion on the matter:

WE are Penn State.  WE-the students, the alumni, the fans.  WE make up what Penn State is, what it will be and  what it has been.  WE do not support or represent what has happened in this scandal.

Ever since I was born, I was raised blue and white.  What was I going to be when I was grown up? people would ask me.  My answer: a penn state cheer leader.  A friend of my sisters said "If you ever cut a Morton, he'll bleed Nittany blue."  Yes, I am the only family member to have not attended, but you never found a bigger Penn State fan in Ohio.

Tradition: a word that comes to mind.  Tailgating traditions, Blue Band traditions, family traditions, graduation traditions, pictures with the nittany lion statue, bar crawls, parties, 4-peat volleyball champions, family weekends at Berhend (and other branches)and yes-football traditions.  But those traditions come from family and friends.  Not from coaches.  Not from the president of the college.  Not from high ranking college officials.  My Penn State traditions? Watching football games with my family.  Buying everything and ANYTHING blue and white.  Wearing Penn State nike shirts in the Columbus marathon.  Listening to the Blue Band CDs.  Wearing my blue and white to school on Friday.  Will I hide my clothes?  Will I stop wearing them?  No.  I have many friends who go there/went there.  One of the greatest teachers i have ever known teaches there.

So, who is Penn State?  Look at the thousands of alumni, the thousands of current students and the thousands of Penn State families.  THEY are Penn State. WE are Penn State.

So, you have your opinion.  I have mine.  I do not support what happened and I am just as shocked as any one from the Penn State community.  But I will ALWAYS love Penn State.  It is my way of life.

Oh, by the way: I took a spin class today.  It was beyond easy...but I have double rehearsal this week so I couldn't make it to my weekly sesh with Wendy.  :(

Triple Tangent Tuesday

I'm jumping on the band wagon here:  3 tangents about Tuesday.

1. My students didn't bring me any candy! :( Maybe they are just saving up for my birthday on Thursday!  I had more than enough candy to give them, though!

2. I am addicted to Pinterest!  I spent hours looking up new recipes and decorating tips this past weekend.  I know ,that makes me a loser, since it was Halloween weekend and I was on the internet.  No fear, though, D and I had guests over to watch scary movies on Saturday and they ate my new buffalo chicken dip.

3. Ok, I'm cheating, but this is from yesterday.  A SALAMADER crawled across the floor of Body Pump at 5:15AM.  So gross!



Confession

I know it is hard to believe someone who works out as much as I do has image problems.  But, I do.  Ask my boyfriend.  How many times have I stood in front of a mirror sucking in my stomach and trying to make myself beleive him when he says "you are not fat, Molly" for the 1043698590457 time.

See, being 5'1", I have no torso.  Well, I have a torso, but I can't wear shirts tucked into skirts because I feel like I have 0 shape, thus causing the skirt to make me look wider than a Mac truck. (Total music reference...anyone else remember a certain conductor demanding silence so big, a Mac truck could be driven through it?)

Today, I took a new class with Emily called Sport Conditioning.  It was a lot of fun and really different from other cardio classes.  It was a mix of Zumba moves, drills, running, push ups, crunches, you name it, we did it! We were in the large group studio, so I was positioned in front of a mirror.  Maybe it was my all black ensemble, but for the first time, probably EVER, I looked in the mirror and saw a strong but still short girl.  I was really happy with how I looked and I noticed my arms FINALLY getting toned.

I know some of you out there are rolling your eyes at this, thinking I am crazy.  But, think about it, pressures to be skinny are EVERY where, and even though I work out ALL THE TIME, I still don't look like a Victorias Secret model!

I started a new "diet".  It includes drinking 6 oz or chocolate milk after every workout over 1 hour long.  Chocolate milk helps you lose weight.  Shocking, right?  I read about it in Runners World.

Columbus Recap

It was finally here! The race I have been training forever for.  Here is a recap:

Friday night-leave Wisky and drive to Dayton, Oh for a quick stay.
Saturday morning-leave Dayton, pick up LINDSEY for the Expo
Saturday afternoon-meet up with D's parents, then go see Dr. Underwood, but end up seeing Sherri instead.
Saturday evening-pasta dinner at Giammarcos-delish. with some old college pals. :)
Sunday morning-wake up at 5:40 and load the car.  Leave Hilliard, Oh at 6:10. Anticipated arrive at start line: 6:30.

Here's what REALLY happened. We get on 270 and drive and see a crazy long line of cars waiting to get off an Neil Ave.  We join the queue at 6:25.  6:45, we have moved 4 car lengths.  7:00, runner start abandoning cars on the high way and running on the high way to get to downtown Cbus. 7:10-I jump out and join them on a quick 2 mile run to the start.

7:25-arrive at start only to JUMP A FENCE, thank you to the random man who helped me over, and join the wrong corral. Oh well.

7:30-we are off! woooo!  My first half mile is 5.5 minutes because there are literally 1000's of people blocking me.

Somwhere around mile 4 in Bexley, I almost step on a freshly killed squirrel.  What Kenyan ran that over?! JK, but really?

Mile 6 I takem y first drink and continue that for every 2 miles.

Mile 8 I see D! Yay!!

Mile 11 A woman starts having a breakdown next to me, like literally freaking out.  It was weird.

Mile 12-I SEE THE END, I pick up my pace.

Crossing the finish, I missed my name on the big board.  Oh well.

Aside from the wind and the crazy start, it was awesome.  I went to Thurman's for lunch but wasn't feeling hungry but got a deliciious rueben. Then, we hoped in the car and drove back to Wisky.  I haven ever run more than 13 miles in my life and today, I ran 15.  And now I feel TERRIBLE because I sat in a car all day. Oh well.

I LOVE Columbus Marathon and can't WAIT for next year!

Twas the night before...

Ok, ok...twas 6 days before the race.  I am getting race jitters!

So, today was the 6th grade walk-a-thon . I walked 4 miles instead of teaching-JK-I gave up my prep to walk with my favorite band kiddos and my Wisconsin family (Stacy and Emily).  It was fun, beautiful and refreshing.  Then I sat through in-service and jumped in my car to do HardCore and run for 30 minutes.

Taper week=love/hate.  i love having more time to chill but hate running so little.  I feel like a slacker!

Goal=Under 2 hours.  Can I do it?  I hope so!

Random thoughts today=yes.

7 days to go!

Today was the Chicago marathon and one day, I hope I can run it.  I just have to get over my fear of running more than 13 miles at one time!

Next weekend, I hit the road and travel to Columbus, Ohio for the half marathon.  11,000 people are running the half and 6, 000 are running the full for a wooping 17,000 total.  I am SO excited! the weather is supposed to be PERFECT (high of 65). I have already started packing because if I don't start early, I'll never remember everything and my running clothes are the most important part!

This weekend is also the Capital vs. Otterbein game, which was always a lot of fun to be at.  I know, I went to a D3 school, but rivalries are always fun!  Since I'll be in Columbus, I may drop by Westerville to see some college friends.

Thursday, I tried bodypump and could barely sit the next day.  I love it but I won't be trying it again until my race is over on Sunday!

Is anyone else running Columbus next weekend?!

Train-twice-during my run

There are lots of trains in Wisconsin and I live right next to some tracks.  I live in a NO HORN zone, so they are supposed to be quieter.  So, today, I stepped outside at 6:55 to begin my 12 mile run and I hear a train horn in the distance.  No big deal, I run over the train tracks but since it was blowing a horn, that means it was on the other tracks, not the one I run over.


Wrong. It was 32 degrees this morning and I had on shorts and a nike dri fit jacket.  My legs were FREEZING and I had to cross the tracks just 1.5 miles after I started. But, there was a train.  Did you know trains typically have 88 cars?  It took forever and was so loud!

So, I did my 6 mile loop, replenish my liquids then headed out and hit ANOTHER train.  Really? Uggh.  But, all in all 12 miles were done and I am happy as a clam!

I have been struggling with my body lately...I am so tired and sore all the time! i am looking forward to a relaxing weekend.  Going to Bdubs today for some football and buffalitos. And beer. Woo!