New River Gorg-eous 1/2 Marathon

Grandma Nativa, Acalias and I traveled to Beckley to stay with our friends the North's the night before the race. Derek stayed behind to prepare for his surgery rotation and watch Skofeild. We stopped by a few scenic look-outs so my energizer bunny could get his wiggles out.

Scenic look-out an hour outside of Clarksburg.

New River Gorge

We had a great time catching up with our old friends and Acalias enjoyed interacting with another child close to you age. It's crazy to think about last October, our babies were so small then. Children grow so fast.

These two were so fun to watch together.

The race didn't start until 11am, we met up with the Bishop family at the Ace resort where the race began.

Pre-race pictures.

It was cold that morning but I was happy that the sun was out.

Starting line.

I set a goal to run it under 3 hours, I figured that the elevation wouldn't have steep inclines like the trail run I participated in, in California. I started off in the middle of the pack. I love fall and I love spring. The colors were so beautiful to look at as I ran. There weren't too many big boulders to jump over so I was happy about that, I'm a wuss when it come to leaping from boulder to boulder.

Beautiful right?

This is what I love about trail running!

At about 1hr 35 min into the race the sun had warmed me up so I removed my long sleeve shirt. I was feeling confident that I could possibly run the race in 2:30. I fueled up and found an upbeat song on my i-pod. As soon as I was getting into my rhythm there was a slight decline, my foot snagged a root or rock and I went flying through the air. This time it wasn't graceful (a woman told me I fell gracefully at my last race) my face thumped the ground so hard that I felt like my brain shifted. I remember groaning as I rolled onto my back. I just laid there for a few seconds, shocked at what just happened. The runners ahead of  me and behind me crowded around me. I was embarrassed. Warm fluid ran from my nose, I thought it was blood but it was mucous and it flowed like the sink faucet. I had scraped my arm, chin and lip. The runners helped me up and handed me all my gear that strewn about the area. I just stood there reassuring them that I was ok and to keep running, I didn't want to hold them back. I re pinned my bib and took the Tylenol that I had in my hydration belt pack, my head was pounding. I continued to run at a slow pace, the fall had forced me to be overly cautious. The thing about trail running is falling tends to happen to everyone. The moment you look up to enjoy the scenery you inevitably fall. I love the fall leaves but the leaves hide what lies beneath them, rocks, roots and even slight declines.

I approached a fork on the trail and I had the option to run the 8 mile route but I continued with the half-marathon. I hate to train for a 1/2 only to participate in a smaller race. I headed toward the half-marathon route trail. The leaves were plentiful, and the trail was nice and wide. I ran the next stretch of about 5 miles alone, I thought that I may have taken the wrong turn. I didn't see a single runner for what seemed like forever.

I was excited to see a living, breathing being after miles and miles alone.

Yup, my chin is still oozing with blood but at a least I have a smile on my face.

I decided since there wasn't a single runner near me that I'd relax, enjoy the trail and snap more pictures.

I also switched my i-pod from music to a podcast, Jillian Micheal's show (I just discovered them and I really, really enjoy running to them, it's like running with a friend and I didn't feel so alone)

Running towards the finish line, finished at 2:43 (19 minutes faster than my first trail run, even with the fall!!)

After the race.

This may be an annual race for me, first I need a pair of trail running shoes.

I ran into the guys that helped me out when I fell. One had to call the ambulance he had rolled his ankle. I have a love hate relationship with trail running. I love the challange and the beauty that surround the trails but lets be honest I do not like falling.

I usually don't stay long for the award ceremony but they fed us a delicious free burrito.

 I was surprised to hear my name over the intercom, I placed 3rd in my age group 20-29. Sweet! 

My #1 fan!

 I look forward to the upcoming trail races in the spring!
Please don't forget to vote this week:)

Home Sweet Home

Derek and I flew out to Richmond, Virginia on Sunday night for Derek's interview for medical school. We met up with my old roommate Rochelle Flanigan and spent the night at her house. We were both excited for a break from the everyday rigors of our life, we're so tired of working and waiting to hear back from medical school. We flew in at night, so we didn't get to see much but the airport. Rochelle lives near the city, it pretty much looks like every other big city-lots of lights on sky high towers.



The following day we spent the morning and afternoon with Rochelle and her cute kiddos. Rochelle was my roommate my first year in college, the last time I saw her was before my mission farewell 6 years ago so we had a lot to catch up on. The town she lived in was influenced by the Colonial period. It was neat to see how different the homes were, they were tall and narrow, the road was cobblestone. I think of the movie "Pride & Prejudice", the beautiful dresses, the horse drawn carriages and their British accents.

Rochelle lent us her car, a luxurious a Volkswagen Jetta (compared to our car anyway). The seats were so comfortable, they were also heated! The car made our 3 hour drive were pretty comfortable. Before we left, Jamie (Rochelle's husband) told me there was nothing but bigots and malnutritioned children in West Virginia. His comment freaked me out but Jamie has always been a jokester, good thing I was able to see for myself that his comment was not true. If I could explain West Virginia in one word would be "hospitable". Everyone was so nice, I felt at home (minus the southern accent of course).

We visited the local museum and spoke to several locals. It was neat to learn about the local history, Derek's favorite part was the 58 lb gun used in the Civil War. Our tour guide Edna (what a southern name) even gave us her personal phone number to call her if Derek is accepted. She has connections to local housing.



West Virginia is beautiful.



On the day of the interview we were of course we were frazzled with nervousness. Derek and I had spent the night before in the hot tub reviewing potential questions. He tossed and turned most the night thinking of possible responses. At the admissions office, everyone was so nice, I've never seen so much energy and excitement come from a receptionist. The applicants from the city (most came from the East coast) thought she was unreal, having visited bigger cities I can see why they thought that.

We were taken on a tour of the school. It as freezing. I was impressed with their facilities, they had a room full of cadavers. Each cadaver has a pump so the fumes don't kill the med students because they spend so much time studying the cadavers. We interrupted students dissecting an optic nerve...I wanted to leave the room because it still stunk despite the suction tubes but I was getting a kick out of people assuming that I was the token brown girl applying to medical school. I think that experience inspired me to donate my body to science. I can't wait to tell my mom about that, she will freak out ( it's taboo in Tongan culture...or maybe just her culture).

I asked the tour guide about employment opportunities, he said " In a small town, you just have to take what you can get"...I guess I have to humble myself and work for Arby's...better yet Walmart. Lewisburg is small enough to not have any public transportation, not even taxis but big enough to have a Walmart. If or when Derek gets accepted, I will start sending out resumes right away. I'm determined to utilize the Bachelor's degree that I'm still paying for.

6 of the 8 students interviewing were women and they all looked so young. 3,000 people submitted application and West Virginia College of Osteopathic Medical School will be accepting 300 students this year. We've been praying like crazy, we want to get accepted this year, we're tired of wait lists and waiting to hear back from medical schools. Derek felt the interview went well, we don't want to get our hopes like we did last year. We will hear back from the school in a couple weeks, Tuesday will be the earliest.

We're both so exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. We estimated that 30 hours of the trip was spent traveling to Virgina, from Virginia to West Virginia. Our flight home was 12 hrs counting the lay overs, right after the flight I had to rush home, shower and teach my Spanish Home buyer class at work. I didn't return home until 9:30pm. We're still recuperating, we just barley picked up our dog, we missed him so much but we haven't bothered to unpack.

We appreciate all the support, many of our friends and family prayed for us, several attended the temple with us before we left. We are so thankful for such great people in our lives.

P. S. Pictures will be posted later...I'm too exhausted right now.