Hi from Virginia

I just wanted to check in and say hello from Virginia. The drive on Friday went fairly well--no rain which is always a good thing. I wound up not getting there until 8:30 PM, but at least I got there safely. On Saturday, we all headed up to Corning, NY. There was a bit of "ego" about driving and directions, so the drive was longer than expected. I missed the registration for that day but was able to register on Sunday morning before the race which many people also did.

The race itself went really well. I found someone to talk to for the first 8 miles. It was pretty cool, because she was also Korean, adopted, and 28 years old! What a small world! I met all my goals for the race, so I was super proud of that. I missed qualifying for Boston by 4 minutes, but I'm okay with that. The only bad thing was that I wound up with a huge blood blister on my foot!

We headed back to VA after the race, since my mom and her husband needed to be back today. I'm still a bit sleep deprived from not sleeping well at either the hotel nor at my mom's, as well as a little sore. Hopefully, both will be better in the next day or two.

Today, I met with my old high school friend, A. for lunch. We did a lot of catching up about our own lives, high school friends, thoughts about life, etc. It was a good moment, and I'm glad to have gotten the chance to talk with her again. It was interesting, at the end of our visit, we got to talking about body image and such, and I was surprised she asked me whether I had an eating disorder then (in high school). She commented I ate like a "bird" in high school and did at lunch. Instead of denying, hiding, evading the question like I normally do, I found myself to be honest. It was a little "freeing," like I'd been able to carve away a small piece of shame. Now, I don't know how I will feel about it tomorrow, but for today, I felt a little more peace with myself.

Tomorrow, I'm getting my hair cut--probably 8-10 inches. It's nerve-racking since I love my long locks, but it'll be a good change to have my hair different. I'm also meeting with another friend which will be fun. I'll head back Wed. morning and pick up my dogs from the kennel.

The rest of the visit with my parents have been okay, except that my dad has mentioned grad school or some other future school 12 times (yes, I counted) since Friday night. Oh well, for now, I'm trying to instill the 'Least Reinforcing Scenario."

I'll write more in depth when I get back.