The Half Marathon Shuffle

Note to self: running 13.1 miles with a stress fracture in your femur does not make for a pleasant race. Who knew?

Nate and I completed the Bentonville Half Marathon on Saturday! I've always been a runner and enjoyed running in races like this. Nate always found it pointless to run without a ball. However, since meeting me, I've slowly been converting him to the world of running. We started with a couple 5ks to ease into the idea, and then I begged and begged for us to do the half marathon together. For my birthday Nate signed us up! What a sweet husband I have!

We spent the last few months waking up early on Saturday mornings to complete our long runs. Yet another reason my husband is so sweet; he's not a big fan of the early morning Saturday business. Training was going great until I developed a stress fracture in my femur. I know, the femur is supposed to be the strongest bone in the body, but apparently my body doesn't know that. I didn't want to let all my training go to waste or make Nate do the race on his own when he only signed up because of me, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and do the race anyway. However, I was wise enough to stop my training runs and switch to cross training activities for the last several weeks before the race to take some pressure off my leg.

The morning of the race was beautiful! It had been rainy and cold all week, but the sun came out for a perfect day of racing weather on Saturday. We lined up at the start line and before we knew it, the gun had sounded. We got off to a great start! We were hitting our goal pace with ease and feeling strong. That is until about mile 4 when I started to have excruciating pain in my leg. Ok, maybe excruciating is too strong of a word, at least at this point of the race, but it was quite painful. Since we still had over 9 miles to go, I knew we'd be in for a LONG race. But I figured after so many miles my legs usually go numb and I can't feel any pain, so I would just have to push through for a couple more miles until the numbness kicked in. Unfortunately, that numbness never came, and the pain only got worse and worse with each mile.

Now is where I have to stopped and praise Nate! He stayed with me the entire time, always encouraging me and not allowing me to quit. He pushed me to keep going but allowed me to set the pace at one where it was possible for me to continue. It was a slow pace compared to our training runs and our goal pace (hence the name of the post, the half marathon shuffle!) but he never made me feel like I was holding him back. Like I said, I have the sweetest husband!!!

Thanks Derek and Katie for being awesome fans!

I also have to give a shout out to our fans! Our friends Derek and Katie made it to several spots throughout the course to cheer for us and take pictures. They even made t-shirts with our names on them! It's always motivational knowing you have friends somewhere on the course and you don't want to be caught walking when they see you! Bryson also road his bike down to the course and got some good pictures too. We're glad to have photo proof that we actually completed this event together, and we were happy that we had people support us! Thank you Derek, Katie, and Bryson.

Nate doing some fist pumping for Bryson and me trying to smile

Besides our personal fans, Bentonville townspeople were great fans too. We ran through a bunch of neighborhoods and I was surprised at how many people were outside on their driveways cheering for us. Some even had music blaring out of their cars or live bands playing. The atmosphere was a lot of fun. That was Nate's favorite part about the race. He actually felt pretty good most of the way and really enjoyed the race. He didn't even put his earphones in because he was just excited to listen to the crowds cheering!

With the help of our fans, the crowd, and lots of praying we managed to reach the finish line, join hands, and raise our arms triumphantly. It was a dramatic moment. This was my fifth and slowest half marathon, yet I am still proud of this one. I seriously wanted to drop out at several points of the race and let Nate go on with out me, but he didn't let me and I didn't let myself. So while it was a disappointing time, it was still a rewarding finish. We're planning on doing another one someday so I can redeem myself with a more satisfying time and Nate can set a true PR not a pity PR, but for now we'll be focusing on recovery! We're pretty sore today! Also I plan on taking the next 6-8 weeks off of running to allow my stress fracture to heal. It was a wonderful experience to run a half marathon with my husband and hopefully we can continue to make running a part of our lives together.

We really did cross the line with out arms held in the air. Unfortunately we put them down before this photo was snapped.

Nate Can Rent a Car

A quarter of a century. Wow! My husband has been around for a long time. Not really, but I still like to tease him about it. In order to draw out the celebration and make life more exciting, we decided a proper birthday should consist of several days of festivities. His birthday was a week ago, but we still have plans for continued celebration! Events have and will consist of: eating Thai food, going to the movies, watching basketball, making pottery (Nate is really good at this) eating tacos and pie with friends, eating teriyaki chicken with Bryson and Alyssa, opening gifts, and going to the dirt race car track. Perhaps you noticed that several of the events consisted of eating delicious meals. If you know Nate at all, this probably won’t surprise you. If we get bored in the next month or so, we may add in some more celebrations in the name of Nate’s birthday. How long can we make a birthday last???

Here's a picture of Nate opening a present from his parents. I was informed that this is how a man opens a present.

The Blizzard of 2011

When we moved to Arkansas, I was misled concerning the weather. I was told it would be quite mild with very little snow. Nothing like the Utah winters I've endured over the last four year. Apparently, the Utah winter decided to follow me. Two weeks ago Northwest Arkansas topped the 24 hour snowfall record, the single storm snowfall record, and the seasonal snowfall record for at least the last 70 years! We got 2 feet of snow dumped on us in one day. Just my luck!
For those of you still back in Utah, a blizzard of this nature wouldn't be out of the ordinary. But Arkansas is just not equipped to deal with that much snow. I swear there must be only one plow in the whole county, because most roads seemed to go untouched for days. Even if a road did get plowed, you never knew how much of the road was actually cleared. Sometimes I would drive down a road and suddenly the lane would end with a big pile of snow. Not only was the city not prepared for this kind of storm, the people weren't either. When the snow first started, there was a run on Wal-Mart. I was there to pick up a prescription and I couldn't believe how crazy it was. It looked like Black Friday shopping except everyone's carts were full of food, batteries, flashlights, bottled water, and other emergency preparedness supplies. The shelves were literally cleared off!
The high point of the storm was Nate and I were both able to work from home for a few days. I could get used to sitting in bed in my pajamas while working. It was nice to be able to do the laundry, clean up the kitchen, and make dinner during my breaks. I'm not normally a fan of blizzards, but I quite enjoyed my time working from home.
The strange thing was it went from -16 degrees to 69 degrees in a matter of days. This last week we were outside in shorts and flip flops. Hard to believe we just had a blizzard. Crazy!

Happy Birthday in the Bahamas to Me!

My husband spoils me rotten! I have to say, I'm probably the luckiest girl in the world to have such a man. Sometimes I get mad at him for going a little overboard in his spoilage of me, but secretly I love it too! My birthday was one such occasion. Ok, not true, I didn't even pretend to be mad because I was just so excited. He took me on a cruise in the Bahamas!
This a picture of what we left behind in Arkansas....


This is a picture of what we went to...


I don't know, it was a toss up where I'd rather spend my birthday....

Our trip started out on a positive note at the Tulsa airport. You know those signs they have posted now that tell you about the new full body scanner/naked screening machine? The sign says if you refuse to do the body scan you will be subjected to the thorough pat down. Well, lucky me, I walked through the machine like everyone else AND received the "enhanced" pat down. I was my usual oblivious self though and didn't even notice that no one else was getting felt up and down until Nate asked me what I did. Apparently, I looked suspicious. We managed to make it through security and to Port Canaveral without further event.

When we got to our stateroom on the ship, I realized that the room had been misnamed. It should actually be called a "bed"room because the bed actually took up the entirety of the room! And I don't mean that the bed was unusually large. The room looked impossibly small in the pictures, but let me tell you, those pictures must have been from first class because our room was even smaller. Good news was we were on a giant cruise ship with plenty to do besides watch the mini t.v. in our room.

The Bahamas were beautiful. Nate was initiated into the world of snorkeling in Nassau. The water was chilly and the sun was in the clouds, but under the water was an amazing sight well worth the temperature. Too bad we didn't have an underwater camera to share the view with our readers. Nate's favorite part was feeding a Cheeto to a fish.

The highlight of Nassau was most definitely seeing Chuck Norris' house. No joke! This is his vacation home:



We were scheduled to go to a private island owned by the cruise line one day, but the sea conditions ruined that, so we spent the day on the ship instead. The nice thing was there were a bunch of shows and such to keep us entertained for the day. Comedians, musicians, magicians, dancers, etc. We also discovered that both of us had a hidden talent for shuffle board. In fact, we're now considering converting our wood flooring in our living room, into a shuffle board! So while it was disappointing not to make it to the island, we still enjoyed out day of relaxation and entertainment.



And of course, there is always everyone's favorite part of a cruise....eating! A cruise is like a Thanksgiving feast, but for every meal of every day. I'm ashamed to admit we joined our fellow cruisers is a weekend of gluttony and paid the price of a 16 pound weight gain between the two of us. Good thing it was just a short cruise! However, as part of my birthday present Nate signed us up for the Bentonville Half Marathon, so hopefully our training will put us back at an acceptable weight. Overall it was a wonderful birthday all thanks to my amazing husband!

A Letter to our Followers

Dear Faithful Followers of this Blog,
I apologize for my temporary leave of absence. I'm trying to think of a good reason for my lack of writing, but I can't even come up with a truthful excuse. I could say nothing exciting has happened in the last six weeks, but that would be a lie: my best friend Erin came for a weekend visit, Nate and I spent our first Christmas together, we celebrated our six month wedding anniversary, and we started house hunting for our first home to name a few of the recent events in our lives. I could say I didn't have time with the holidays and such, but once again, that would be a lie: I was given vacation time from the 23rd of December-4th of January. (I may or may not have watched several seasons of Gilmore Girls during that time while Nate had to work...) I could even say my computer was destroyed in the New Year's tornado, yet another lie: while we did experience heavy rains and winds, the actual tornado hit a few towns away. (Good thing too, since we slept right through the sirens!) Needless to say, I can not provide any explanation to my bloglessness as of late (yes, I made up the work bloglessness), but seeing as it's a new year, I plan to get back on track.

I find it tedious to recount things that have long past, so I'll just touch on a few highlights since my last post.

• Erin came to town! Erin and I lived to together for three years, so we've both been suffering from separation anxiety issues since I got married and moved to Arkansas. The only remedy was for her to come for a visit. We reenacted all our great moments: watching cheesy holiday movies, eating Little Caesar's pizza, going out to Olive Garden, watching 16 and Pregnant, etc. Another show we used to watch together was 19 Kids and Counting, and it just so happens that the Duggar family lives a mere 20 miles or so down the road from me! We decided to do a little detective work and see if we could stalk, I mean find them. We drove through the backwoods of Tontitown and we found their house! We had a grand weekend!
• The holidays brought a mixture of emotions. We were excited to celebrate our first Christmas together as a married couple, but we were also sad that we weren't able to go home and visit family. We did spend Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve with Bryson and Alyssa playing games, eating delicious food, playing the Wii, watching movies, and just enjoying each others company. We are certainly grateful that they live in Bentonville as well, so our holidays weren't completely devoid of family.
• Our six month anniversary was in December! Now I know to most people that may not seem like a big deal, but it was still fun to celebrate and look back on our first six months of marriage. It's amazing how much has already happened and how much I've learned in that short period of time. But in looking forward, I know I have infinitely more to learn about being married! Last Christmas, if you would have asked me where I'd be in a year, I never would have said married to Nate Shepherd and living happily in Arkansas. This year was one of surprises and tender mercies. I'm just amazed at how much better Heavenly Father knows me than I know myself. I'm definitely grateful that His plan was better than mine! So many changes have occurred in my life this year- graduated college, got married, moved to Arkansas, started my first real job- but I'm happier than I ever could have imagined. May you be blessed to recognize that same happiness in your own lives.

Wishing you all late happy holidays,
Laurel & Nate

The South Fails to Rise Again

I love living in the South. Things are just a little different here, and Nate and I have found that we thoroughly enjoy learning and immersing ourselves in the culture. Culture lessons this weekend consisted of going to our very first Civil War Reenactment! For those of you who have never been to one, just picture that scene from Sweet Home Alabama. It was just like that.

They started the show off with a bang... literally. The Rebels shot a giant cannon right next to the crowd. Everyone gave a startled cry and then laughed at being caught off guard. After that the Union returned fire, and the battle was on. The cavalry charged, the infantry followed, the drummer boys drummed, the cannons fired, the wounded fell, but it seemed neither side would relent. (The cows in the back field certainly retreated though. I've never seen a group of fat cows book it like that. Poor things thought their day of doom had come. )

As the battle raged on and the outcome was still uncertain, I heard whisperings throughout the crowd of "Did we win....Does anyone know the actually story....Did we get 'um?" I wanted to answer, "If by 'we' you mean the United States (since that is your country), than yes, we won! If you mean the Confederate States, than no! I hate to break it to you, but they were defeated and no longer exist for you to affiliate yourself with." However, I chose not to share my thoughts on that, and by the end, I found myself rooting for the South. Hey, everyone else was doing it, and I found myself caught up in the excitement of the crowd. Plus we're just trying to adopt the local culture. In the end, the Yankees won the battle much to the disappointment of the spectators.

This is near the beginning of the battle. If you look closely, you can see the cows in the background. Unfortunately, you can't see them running in a picture.

Here is the Rebel retreat

Casualties of war

A Thanksgiving To Be Thankful For

The Feuz's braved the blizzards of Northern Utah and Wyoming to make the long drive out to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. At first, we were worried they wouldn't make it at all. When it became clear that they would, our next worry was they would get here too quickly. Our house was a mess, we didn't have any food, our grass needed mowed; we had a long to do list, and time was running out quickly. I called my mom around 2:00 on Wednesday to ask what time they would be here. According to my calculations, their ETA was 7:00. However, my mom said according to the GPS, they would pull into our driveway at 5:30. 5:30!?!?!?! How would we ever be ready by that time? Fortunately, Nate and I were both able to leave work early and get through our checklist. As I was sweeping the floor and pondering how they were making such good time, it hit me. They forgot to change the time on the GPS when they crossed into Central time! They assumed it would changed automatically like their cell phones. With a sigh of relief, I called my mom to tell her the good news for me and bad news for them. They really wouldn't arrive until 6:30. In the background, I heard Shane let out a cry of "Christmas is ruined!" (his favorite thing to say when something is amiss.) Nonetheless, they continued their journey and made it just in time for dinner.

Other than the two day drive, I think my family enjoyed their time in Arkansas. I know Nate and I were happy to have them. It felt like Christmas to us to be surrounded with our family. Events of the week included: eating a delicious Thanksgiving feast, watching football, shopping on Black Friday, touring the town, Wal-Mart hopping (we checked out 3 of the local ones), playing basketball at the Walton Life Fitness Center, attempting to play tennis, watching cheesy holiday movies, building a puzzle, walking on some nearby trails, and just spending time relaxing together. Our little house was at it's maximum capacity with Mom, Dad, Brianne, Shane, and Emily here, but it now feels a little empty with them gone. We're looking forward to their next visit. Easter?

My Dad started this puzzle while he was here. Nate was so proud of himself for finishing it.