Some Thoughts on KTC

If you are a KTC member then this post is in your September Footnotes magazine. If you aren't a member then we'd love to have you join the fun. With that said, I wrote this article a few weeks ago but feel it is important to share with everyone....

Fall is coming. I love Knoxville during this time of year. My absolute favorite run is on the morning of a home football game. Whether the game is at noon or 7 pm, I find fellow Volunteers clad in orange setting up tailgates and prepping for a day of fun with friends. I can already smell the bacon, eggs, barbecue, and more as I run past those folks.

I hope to be able to lace up for those runs this year. I have battled injury after injury this summer and just can’t seem to heal. But, I keep trying. I may never marathon again but I keep going to therapy, testing better eating habits, researching shoes, and continuing to educate myself on how to be my best as a runner. My body needs a little extra love these days and I am committed to loving it so I run well into the future.

KTC is full of pieces and parts and so many programs. Like a runner, sometimes one or more of the pieces needs a little extra love. There are so many components to my job but I’ve been making a conscience effort this summer to think about KTC outside of events and I am committed to loving it so it runs well into the future.

I love so many things about KTC. I love our history. I love the stories of athletes who ran for KTC as youngsters and come back because of their love of the sport and the organization. I love hearing about our founders and our original road races. Can you imagine being timed using a stopwatch and a popsicle stick? Let that sink in for a minute.

I love what we do. We provide an avenue for our community to be its’ healthiest. Simple. Our vision is “health living, healthy community – one step at a time” and that is still the best vision that I have heard in years.

We work hard to offer the best to our participants, volunteers, and participants. We research other organizations, we attend events that aren’t our own, we read articles about running and programming, and we follow your conversations on social media.

I could never, ever do this alone. You should all know that the staff and key volunteers are doing their best to make sure everyone has the same experience. We may not always get it right and when we don’t, we have serious conversations about how to improve. When we do get it right, we go home with a glow from a good day.

I love our people.

The heart and soul of this organization are the volunteers. Even the staff give so much time that it can’t all be chalked up to being “part of their job” but as a part of their being

In over 50 years, the organization has had its’ share of injuries. But, I can tell you that I am so excited for the future. KTC is primed to be injury free and running well next year and beyond.

See you on the roads!

Kristy

Melting Down

It may be the heat. It may be that I bought a house and sold the condo while on vacation. It may be that we had roughly 21 days to pack up 10 years of belongings while caring for 2 kids. It may be that we did a double close and moved all in one day. It may be that we almost doubled the size of our home and now we have to take care of all this space....

It may be that I strained my gluteus medius in June and that my hip problems were already flaring up prior to the sprain meaning that I haven't run consistently since mid-May....

It may be that my baby, my sweet Jackson is now 6 and going to kindergarten in a few weeks...

My guess is that when you take all of the above, it was only a matter of time until I had a meltdown.

It happened yesterday. I knew it was there when I woke up and it continued all day long.

Karson has a double ear infection. He had been sleeping so well but hasn't slept well in days. He's been grumpy and for good reason. I took him to the doctor and that was miserable. We waited 25 minutes for a nurse. Then we waited another 20 or so for a doctor. Toddlers don't like to be confined to small spaces for 45 minutes. And, they definitely don't like someone probing their ears when they have an ear infection.

Not only is Jackson adjusting to a new, bigger home but he is also getting ready to take the leap into kindergarten. He hasn't come out and said it but I am believe his anxiety levels are through the roof. His actions and behavior tell me that something is up and I hope it all settles for him soon.

We are edgy. I am down a staff person and there is no end to the to-do list. No end. Every time I mark something off the list, I add 5 more items.

At 38, I know how to take care of myself. But, I am human and forget.

I eat badly. I sleep little. When I do sleep, it isn't restful. With the injuries, I am not getting that good "clear your head" kind of exercise. There is laundry to be done and dinner to be cooked (and groceries to be bought for that dinner). I allow my anxiety levels to get out of my control.

This is all a great recipe for a meltdown.

I hate them. Having them makes me so mad at myself. No one wants to talk about them but I can't imagine I am the only one that has them.

I am forever thankful to Jason for not running away because he has to live with me when they happen. He is always so calm. That's why we have such a great relationship. He is a great balance for my personality.

Today, I feel somewhat better. I had physical therapy this morning, tossed out some wild ideas, made headway on said to-do list, and am excited to see kids out and running tomorrow morning. I am excited to spend the weekend with all of my boys.

Tomorrow will be even better.

From here, I regroup.

I will look at the schedule and purposely schedule more "admin" days. I will make one dish that will last for days. Maybe I will teach Jackson to do laundry. At least kid laundry.

I am blessed beyond imagination. I have an amazing husband. I have two beautiful children. I have plenty of work. I have a beautiful home and in a wonderful development. I have been given the opportunity to serve some of the areas' greatest organizations. I have great PT help and am on the road to running regularly again.

Time to learn my lesson from ignoring myself and time to put myself on top of the to-do list. Otherwise, I am hindering and not helping and if you know me, you know how I feel about that.

For now, I have some things to wrap up before the boys get home.

See ya on the roads! :)

New Adventures

Tomorrow, unless something goes terribly wrong, we will close the door on a big part of our life and start a new chapter.

In 2005, after a little over a year of marriage, Jason and I bought our condo. At the time, we didn't think we wanted kids and this place was a great setup for us. Master on main with attached bath, main living on first floor, and three rooms upstairs with a full bath. We used one room for an office, another for a guest room, and the other was empty for years.

We moved from a 3 bedroom apartment and going from rent to mortgage was so very satisfying and we were very proud of ourselves and our place.

Fast forward to 2009 when we brought home the eldest. We moved our bedroom upstairs so we could be close to Jackson. Our office moved downstairs and the garage became the workout room.

Fast forward again to 2013 when we brought home the littlest Altman. Our room remained upstairs and suddenly our guest room was a baby room.

We've tried several times to sell the condo. It was never the right time. We tried in 2009 and the economy tanked. We tried again a few years later and still it didn't sell. We tried again after Karson was born that was a mistake and we weren't ready to be showing the home.

We decided in late April to fully commit to selling. We needed to move and to get settled before J starts kindergarten. We had no idea the market was so good and we'd be buying and selling and closing within a month.

On the advice of the lovely and awesome Marian, we moved a bed downstairs to make the master look like a bedroom. The office went back upstairs and Jason, Karson, and I have been sharing a bed in Karson's room so that we'd still be close to Jackson. We cleaned and prepped the place for market.

We looked online at dozens of houses and all sold before we could see them. We found two places and one was in the same development as some friends. We loved it on the spot. We put in an offer before we left for vacation. While on vacation, our place went on the market and we sold it. I can tell you vacay isn't nearly as relaxing as it should be when trying to counter offer and complete real estate transactions but hey, we were thinking long term and it made the extra work from the beach okay.

This was our first home. This is the first home that our boys will remember (Karson may not even remember it...) and will be a place that holds so many special memories. We hosted birthday parties, Thanksgiving meals for friends, planned thousands of events from our kitchen table, and cooked dinner here almost every night for the last decade.

We are so excited about tomorrow and our new home. It will be a great place for the boys to grow up. I will miss our condo. (Probably even more so when we are doing yard work!) I will miss the coziness of this place and I will cherish every memory made here.

Time for a new adventure.

See ya on the roads!