Humble Pie

In the last few weeks I must have been real hungry...cause I ate some major humble pie.

Scene One:

It was my last long run before tapering for the half marathon. Thanks to my trusty Garmin I knew I needed to tack on an extra .5, my preplanned loop was not quite as long as I had originally thought. It was getting close to dusk and it was raining (surprise, surprise). I had been rocking out to my favorite running station on Pandora...which brings me to my second confession on the blog so far (remember last week I admitted I have to bribe motivate myself to run?)... I not only listen to, but I LOVE my Justin Bieber station on Pandora. Okay, I said it, judge me. 

Back to that rainy, cold evening...

   So, I am in the groove, picking up my pace, feeling confident and like I got this runnin' thing....

when WHAM-O!!!! I trip on the uneven sidewalk (yes, I am blaming the sidewalk) and catch major air. Jessica is airborne. And then I land. On all fours. 

My eyes sting with tears and my breath is knocked out of me for a few seconds. A homeless woman leaves her refuge from the rain and shuffles over to see if I am okay. She had been standing with a handful of other homeless people that had all found shelter under the roof of the bike garage at the library. They all witnessed the great fall. I could tell they were not sure what to do, laugh, come over, pretend they didn't see. As if you could miss a grown woman flying through the air screaming. Oh that's right, I forgot to mention...I screamed when I fell. 

So I slowly, shuffled home, texting Justin about my fall so he would be ready to baby me upon my arrival home. Humble pie with a cherry on top.

Scene Two:

You know how in a movie there is always this dorky kid who tries to act the part, but is mostly just a poser (picture the dude with too short of basketball shorts in the movie, Made of Honor). Oh, dorky kid, I can SO relate.
This last weekend I was at a women's retreat for Young Life (the non-profit my husband works for) wives and staff women. I announced I was going running and another wife volunteered to go with me. Normally I would have gone out alone, not wanting to try and run with people way out of my running league, but I have been training for a half marathon, so I guess I was thinking I was hot stuff. The other wife and I headed out. It is important to note that I am decked OUT! I have on my nike spandex running capris, my Eugene marathon finisher technical tee (even though I only finished the half) and a CamelBak (I was testing it out at a option for hydration). To make a loooong running story short, she schooled me. This sweet lady, who hasn't been out for a run "in months" totally schooled me. And the icing on this humble pie, was the tale end of our run she coached me through a sprint. Encouraging me over my wailing and gasping breath to pump my arms,focus and for goodness sake...BREATHE. 

So I just have to know running friends, have you ever ate it? I mean humble pie, of course.

Jess