Running in Beauty

The Hogan

I know I promised pictures of the trip I made to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest and honestly, I haven't uploaded them to my Flickr account yet. I always forget to do this after I come home from work. Instead, I did post a picture of the family hogan (Navajo: "hooghan", pronounced "hoe-WUN"), which is our traditional dwelling for both home and ceremonial use. My wedding will take place in a hogan.

Right now, my cousin-brothers are renovating it as you can see that it's in dire need of a face-lift. The logs are not supposed to be showing but will soon be covered with compacted red dirt. I don't know how they are going to cover up the plywood though. My mom was telling me that her and some family members also cleaned out the inside and put up some Pendleton blankets up against the walls.

I have about a month to go until my wedding. My main concern is getting my measurements to our seamstress to get started on my traditional dress. Hopefully, we can make a weekend trip back up to the reservation this weekend to see her in person so we can also pick out the color.
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As for running, I'm very happy to report that my fitness has increased. When I first started out, I was so out of shape that I was feeling tired ALL the time. Going to the gym was such a chore and my body rebelled against me while I ran. I felt so sluggish and even after the run my body would feel totally drained. It wasn't even energized.

Now I can totally tell the difference. I especially felt great after running 3.1 miles today. It's the longest I've run all summer without having to take a walking break. I believe I was able to do it in about 32:13 or something. I didn't feel any pain in my knee until near the last minute or so. I'm going to work at strengthening my leg with some weight training so the knee pain will subside.

The other day, we went to Chandler Fashion Square so I could get some retail therapy in. I bought some high end Biolage hair products to pamper my hair in preparation for the "big day". Then we headed to Under Armour to get new workout gear. I bought some new capris, two wicking tanks, and a support bra. This was the first time I've ever spent nearly 40 dollars for a bra! And let me say, you definitely get what you pay for! For a moment, I thought I was running as a flat-chested 12 year old! haha

I hope to get in at least 12 miles by the end of the week.

etched in stone by carmen @ 12:44 AM