Raccoon Mountain 10K Monday, August 27, 2007

What a beautiful day for a race! This past Saturday, we headed to Chattanooga with my sister and her husband to run the Raccoon Mtn "Round the Rim" 10K. Actually, Kevin and I ran the 10K while Erik and Amber ran the 5K. We left Knoxville at 4:45am to get there in time to register and everything. Yeah, so, by the time the race started I had already been awake for about 4 hours! My coffee buzz was wearing off and I had become lethargic from the drive down. Even so, it was the most fun! Only 180 runners, really laid back and informal. Just the way I like it :) We ran around the "rim" of this huge reservoir, it was really pretty. There was a nice cool breeze at the start, believe it or not. This was surprising to me b/c it's been about 100 degrees here every day.

Here's a view of the reservoir.

Ah, and now we have the post-race shots. We're awake! That little banner in the background was the finish line

I don't think Erik and Kevin planned to be twins. And, Amber and I didn't plan on looking like weirdos (below). It just happened.

These were the worst race shirts EVER! Tank tops? Come ON!

We spent a lovely afternoon in DT Chattanooga, in the historic art district. These pics were taken in a very interesting sculpture garden.

Divers. It made me want to go swimming.

Local Runs Thursday, August 23, 2007

I love finding new places to run. Lately, I've been feeling like I've pretty much exhausted my options in Knoxville for new trails. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon this beautiful road called Melton Lake Drive. It has a running trail (Greenway) that runs along the bank of the Lake for about 3.5 miles. So, you can get a good 7 miler in by running out and back. It's absolutely beautiful! I ran it this morning, pretty early, so some of the thick fog was still hanging around, just on top of the water. Everything was completely still. Even though it's been ridiculously hot here, this morning there was a nice cool breeze coming off of the water.


The cool thing about this Lake is that it's actually a part of the Clinch River, which is one of the best rowing venues in the United States. A "rowing mecca", if you will. The Greenway runs right along the starting point for many of the rowing competitions, and you even get run right under the judges tower. Erik still hasn't run with me here, I need to get him out there! We've been training for a race in Chattanooga which is this weekend.

Shared Governance Sunday, August 19, 2007

A weekend at a cabin in the Smokies is not what I would typically think of when I think of a business meeting. But, in fact, that is what I did this weekend when my manager took all of the Team Leaders on a retreat. We stayed at the cabin of one of the Vascular Surgeons that we work with. He is a great support to nurses and has a vested interest in helping nursing grow as a profession. I think someone should have done a documentary on what transpired during our time at the cabin this weekend. It was collaborative time of sharing ideas and thoughts on how to improve our processes and introducing new standards for our unit. For those of you who don't know, I work on the Vascular Surgery and Transplant Unit (VSTU) at UT Hospital. We are adopting a Shared Governance model of nursing, so more of the decision-making responsibility goes to the nurses instead of the board or administration. I get to implement some research studies on our unit and use it to bring about change. What a beautiful thing...

I absolutely love working with these crazy peeps! We had a great time.

Joe cooked for us ALL weekend. For his next career, he should definitely be a chef! We had some amazing eats, like, corn pudding, chicken caserole, dressing, lima bean casserole, blueberry bread cake, mississippi mud pie, sausage cheese grits, and Mimosas for breakfast!
I think we all gained 20 lbs over the last few days :)

Yes, that is a Christmas tree in the picture. It was a strange thing...the whole cabin was still decorated for Christmas! They obviously hadn't had time to use it since then!

Gramma Myrtle Thursday, August 09, 2007

Yesterday morning, my precious Grandmother died, peacefully, after a long 2 weeks in the hospital fighting a bad infection in her lungs. There's so much that I could say about what this special woman meant to me. She was an artist in the truest sense. Her talent for painting and drawing was passed on to my Mom and my sister...regretfully, however, it skipped me! I always appreciated the way she saw the world. Beauty to behold around every corner, especially in nature. Capturing God's creation on a canvas was her passion.

Her love and dedication to our creator is what spoke to me most. After she had to go into a nursing home about 3 years ago, I was really worried about her spirit...we didn't want her to be lonely! Being the amazing woman she was, she never complained, but met each day with a new joy and positive energy. I hope I am every bit as joyful and loving as she was when I reach that age. I'm so thankful for my gramma Myrtle and what a beautiful soul she was.

These pictures were taken back in November at her nursing home in Clinton, TN.

It's been a really hard couple of weeks. Sadness, exhaustion, and joy that she will be escaping her frail little body, and continuing on to a beautiful life in heaven. Her funeral is tomorrow night. I am excited to honor the life of such a wonderful woman.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!
-Sonya