highest of highs to smashing of lows...

highs...

running a marathon with 4 of your best friends. and finishing with one of them...





lows...

hearing 30 hours later your amazing loving dog has oseteosarcoma in her shoulder.



is there a record for tears shed in a matter of 4 days??

enjoy the good life while you can.

for this week, outside of worrying on the inside often, i have much to tackle at work and have to put the professional face on. so here we go...

if you want to run a marathon...

okay, well no one i know but 5 others want to do that.

if you want to *pretend* you want to run a marathon, but don't want to get sweaty, then come along with me.

click here before Friday at 6pm and follow the directions..

(only if you happen to be near a computer on saturday and wonder where i might be; if you have the day off, by all means go outside and play!)

i should finish around 12:40 CST.

that's just about 5 hours from when i actually intend to cross the start timing pad.

72 hours and i'm so done.

my world is so off kilter right now, it's not funny. i'm ready for it all to be the 25th.

see you on the other side...

testing 123...

new template.

but i'm still doinking around with learning how to navigate around it...

stay tuned...

3 years...

3 years ago i went here.

ceske budejovice, which is in the land of many z's, c's and j's in their language.

the czech republic.

that year we stayed in the czech republic as part of the rose ensemble tour of germany trip.

(rose is in europe again as i type...their 2nd year in legnano, just outside of milan for a 2 week early music festival of groups from all over the world...)

we stopped in this scenic town for a day jaunt, and it was beautiful, medieval and i picked up at silver bracelet for about 15 euro. simple, easy, goes with everything. it's like wonder woman but smaller and just one. okay so it's nothing like wonder woman ;) but it goes with me..




3 years later, it hasn't come off. even airport security lets me through with it (okay maybe from now on i've jinxed myself). i took it off once or twice. the last time was in february when i got this...



i started running 3 years ago.

coincidence?

believe...it's an easy mantra for anyone to follow...

but in 6 days, all the work, sweat, miles will result in marathon #1 for this girl.

grandma's marathon, june 20th, 2009. summer solstice june 21, 2009 (also a nice thing to be part of that same weekend~)

random thought the other day that weddings, dinner parties, even the oscars have much in common. lots of work, lots of planning, some money, and the grand event is over in a matter of HOURS. but as far as i know, all of those events are completely worth it!

so 3 years after a small trinket that meant nothing more than 'oooh, pretty!' at the time has become part of me and my adventures...here's to many more...and to this week flying by to get the deed done with some of the most amazing friends i could have with me along the way...

how can i not go??

it just seems wrong to not go.

people who never really talk to me about running have said 'you go girl!'

so somehow I need to raise $$ and find ways to save up to go.

I found a hotel room over the weekend through the website for the marathon in NYC for $159 a night.

at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott through a sports travel agency affiliated with the marathon. If they have rooms left tomorrow, I'm booking one for at least 2 nights.

and I think. I *think* I have Mark on board.

so we'll see...

I started raising funds this weekend by being part of a rockin' garage sale. I made $118. I took the friend who organized it and hosted to breakfast. So I have $100 left for the savings pot.

2 weeks from yesterday, marathon #1 is done.

3 days from now Mark leaves for Italy for 2 weeks. It's going to be very lonely on Grotto til he gets back...time to dive into working longer, reading more and catching up on seeing people I don't see often enough...

today i won the lottery...

June 4, 2009



Countdown to the start November 1, 2009:
149 Days

Dear Jennifer Dietrich,
Entry Number:
Congratulations! You have been accepted to run the ING New York City Marathon 2009 on Sunday, November 1. On behalf of New York Road Runners, I welcome you to the 40th running of the world’s greatest marathon. We’re hard at work preparing to give you the experience of a lifetime.


i'm still stunned. like a bird hitting the window and not dying, but lying there on the ground for a while going 'what the hell do i do now? my head hurts'

just like that.

and after thinking that i'd be crashing with dad, i called him to share the good news and found out his bad news. he's not going after all to work it for TV sports. :( this means that my going is now a big old question mark.

in theory it's amazing i became one of 50,000 that were accepted out of about 100,000 who try (it's the 'everyman's Boston' marathon where you don't have to qualify by time; just get chosen by lottery) for the world's largest marathon.

november 1st is about 5 months away.

we'll see...i'd be doing it alone, i'm not sure even my husband wants to or can go, and there's that whole upending my entire life to train yet again for 16 weeks just one month after completing Grandma's.

which, yes, is 16 days away. so even *thinking about* marathon #2 when i haven't even finished ONE? yeah, a lot to think about.

and there's that whole lodging thing. who to crash with? or what hotel could i even possibly remotely afford for 2 nights?

stay tuned...and believe...

the last pictures...

wild river state park, may 23-25, 2009

from the officially drowned camera. mark took it in to national camera and once water damage happens, it's lights out.

at this point i'm still sad and now just pissed that all i had to do was put the camera in a ziploc bag and it would have likely been fine. grrrr. lesson learned the $400 hard way. here's to saving up for another kind of camera down the line...maybe a digital SLR this time. and we can try to sell off the film SLR that we bought about 7 years ago. We just never use it at this point. this little camera traveled a lot of the world with me, and i ran with it during two half marathons. so thanks for the memories lil guy...

here's some parting shots of our camping trip. apparently the card didn't drown, just the hardware.


spring on the forest floor


out walkin'


reflective and calm


trillium's close up




camp grotto


look at this peace.


24 hours later.


early into the voyage.

and after this shot? the winds really picked up, as did the waves and the fight to get back to home base.

next trip isn't for about 6 weeks. in between then it's this girl running her first marathon and mark making the 2nd annual trek to Italia for 2 weeks. so ciao for a few weeks likely. not much to report between now and those events...