Race Day!
Jul/100
It is hard to believe but it was only 1 week ago when Team Compassion completed the Bluegrass 10K race that we had been training and fundraising for since January! The day before the race we met our goal of $3,000 for Compassion International’s Child Survival Program! We were blown away that nearly $1,000 came in within two weeks of race day! (If you would still like to give and did not get a chance to do so, it is not too late! Just let us know.)
We had 8 Team Compassion runners and 2 friends last minute join us for the race day. Several of us even sported our “Team Compassion” running shirts. It was bright and early on race day, before 7am, but just look at our shining, eager faces!
The race was a lot of fun. This was my second time completing the race but this second time around it was great to have friends who were running with me, too. The course is over 6.2 miles, and is fairly shaded and flat (thankfully). Many neighbors and people in the community come out to watch and cheer everyone on in the race. The race was a huge accomplishment for many of us – for most it was the first time completing a 10K. My sister, Karen, and Trevor were uncertain if they would be able to run the whole time (both have had knee/ankle issues)… but in the end they each maintained a run for the entirety of the race! For myself, it was a personal accomplishment to beat my race time from 2006. Kristi completed the 10K in 1:08:10 (10:59 pace) and Trevor completed the 10K in 1:15:09 (12:07 pace).
Ah, the glorious sight of the Finish line…!
The obligatory post-race group photo of all the triumphant Team Compassion runners! We did it!
Thanks for your support (financial and emotional) and prayers for good runs and meeting our goal. We appreciate you very much!
Summer Checklist.
Jun/101
There are many great events happening around Lexington in the summer. While my favorite season is spring, my favorite time of year is summer. There is just so much to do! Here are some things on our summer checklist that we hope to enjoy between now and fall…
Music:
+Thursday Night Live – Free live music downtown at Cheapside Park every Thursday from 4:30-8:30pm. Come August 12th when Faith in Action will be the featured non-profit organization of the night!
+Big Band & Jazz at Ecton Park – Free live jazz/big band music, bring a lawn chair and be prepared for crazy crowds and parking far, far away. Lots of dogs.
+Southland Jamboree – Free live music, more folk and bluegrass in style. Bring a lawn chair. BBQ concessions on site. Located next to the bowling lanes.
+Tunes in the Vines and Jazz on the Porch – Vineyards featuring live music!
Arts:
+KCTC Summerfest – My #1 favorite summer event… outdoor theater at the UK Arboretum! I even had the experience of being an Assistant Stage Manager for The Taming of the Shrew for this summer theater series in 2001. We bring a blanket, a picnic dinner, and enjoy pre-show music followed by the feature as the sun sets. Beautiful, enjoyable atmosphere, and offering a great variety of performances for all tastes. There is always a Shakespearean production and two others. This year will feature The Merchant of Venice, Pride & Prejudice, and the musical Rent. Tickets are $10 and worth every penny. We already purchased season passes for 2010. Join us on one of the Friday night performances!
+Ballet Under the Stars – Only Trevor has been to this event, but we hope to go together this year. After 2 years in a country that reveres the ballet, I’ve learned that it is really not *that* boring!
+Woodland Arts Fair – Tons of artisans, a great event, albeit also very crowded. I tend to prefer Mayfest that occurred over Mother’s Day weekend this year.
+Gallery Hop – We’ve missed the June event, but are looking forward to attending in the fall. Last time we attempted going, we neglected to remember it ended at 8pm instead of 9pm and didn’t arrive downtown until 7:45pm just as things were closing down… whoops.
Recreation:
+Paddle boats at Jacobson – We enjoyed this on my birthday this year! For $3, you get a paddle boat for 2 people on the lake at Jacobson park for half an hour. It was plenty of time to roam around on the water, and catch sight of several birds.
+Lexington Legends – While I’m not a baseball fan, it’s still fun to go and eat a hot dog at least once every summer. We’ll be there Saturday July 17th to support Faith in Action as the organization in the Community Spotlight for the evening.
+Second Sunday – Community bike rides the 2nd Sunday of the month. The last Second Sunday ride was at the airport, as we previously chronicled here. Upcoming bike rides this summer will go to Masterson Station Park, Jacobson Park, and Beaumont Center.
+Hiking Spots – There are many parks to hike. From the Red River Gorge to Raven Run, McConnell Springs to Shakertown, there are plenty of woodlands and breath-taking nature spots to explore! We’re hoping to both hike and camp several times this summer. Here’s a great list of hiking destinations around Kentucky.
Other:
+Bluegrass 10K and July 4th festivities – Yep, lest we haven’t already told you enough, we’re running with a team of friends at the Bluegrass 10K on Saturday July 3rd to raise money for Compassion’s Child Survival Program. Fourth of July festivities will be around downtown the whole day as well.
+Summer Classics at the Kentucky – Several classic movies showing on Wednesday afternoons and evenings throughout the summer. I’m hoping to check another one off my list of the AFI Top 100 – “From Here to Eternity” showing on August 25th.
We hope this list inspires you to get out in the community and have some fun!
Want to know how we know so much going on? We read the Southsider/Chevy Chaser! Free publications available at coffee shops, Paneras, and other restaurants around town that lists events around town at the back.
Hello, 2010!
Jan/104
Switching gears to the new year. A time for fresh starts. For renewed commitments and new aspirations. A time, albeit however arbitrary, to get excited about life, and the newness of things, and the things to come.
Goals are already forming for us in our thoughts, and we’ll divulge some of them here. We’d also love to hear your goals, so please share!
Kristi:
- Open an Etsy store
- Complete a Master Gardener program in the fall
- Do more photography, both for fun and freelance jobs — I think we need to put a limit on how much shooting we’ll do for free.
- Develop a proper perspective in all areas of my life. This starts with having a proper understanding of my identity in Christ. I definitely need to work on that!
- Run a 10K to raise money for a worthy cause. And I’ll extend an official invitation to anyone reading that wants to train and join my sister Karen, friend Rebekah, and me in this endeavor here in Lexington this summer!
- Read books. Some of them include titles I wanted to read last year and never got around to it, and some are entirely new. They include:
and
If I can throw in there another Dostoevsky, like Demons which I meant to read last year, then I’ll try to make it happen. But I have a feeling this list is ambitious enough for the present moment.
- Finish watching the AFI Top 100 movies. I started this with my friend Lauren in 2005, continued it the summer of 2008 when Anya was living with me, and with a Netflix subscription given to us at Christmas, I am picking up where we left off with Trevor.
- Visit Belarus, maybe even with some friends and family members.
- Get a bike and become accustomed to using it frequently in the summer.
- Enlarge our vegetable garden for the spring, summer, and fall months.
Trevor:
- Participate in NaNoWriMo
- “Step out” of my comfort zone to take more “risks” (learn to not live life based on fear or even comfort, but joy, faith, and adventure)
- Complete some of the many art projects (beyond just photography) I have imagined doing
- Print off more of my photography (which means taking more, and better, pictures) — and might mean playing around with film and the darkroom (a desire both Kristi and I share)
- Spend the whole year reading. My current 2010 reading list is:
- Use our tax return to pay off our car loan (which will make us DEBT FREE!) and build up our emergency fund
- Practice simplicity by organizing and minimizing material possessions and organizing/planning meaningful use of time and resources
- Continue to complete goals made at our marriage retreat
- Pour into friendships
- Spend more time with my parents and grandparents
- Take life slower, enjoying each day, and not worrying about what I actually complete on the list above
We hope that you have time to reflect on the successes (and even “failures”) of the past year so that you can look forward to the new year as a “fresh start” in 2010. Scripture says that God’s compassion is new every morning, so tomorrow is, in essence, new. We hope you’ll take advantage of the new day by making goals and aspirations that you will strive to fulfill in 2010. And always be open to the wonderful experiences that might not be on your list, but are just as fun, exciting, and meaningful as the rest.
Feel free to share your lists in the comments.
10K Training
Kristi's Training Mileage:
Trevor's Training Mileage:
Good Reads
Kristi's read shelf:
Trevor's read shelf: