Temple to Temple 5k Walk/Run

Well, we did! I did it! We ran almost the whole 5k. I psyched myself out and I had to walk for a couple of blocks. It felt really good to run across the finish line, knowing that I had run for pretty much the whole time. We ran it in 33 minutes. We ran for our ancestors: John-William Oxenbold. Baby John-Francis Johnson (his great grandpa), Me (Lena)-Sara Roylance. We ran for fun. We ran because we could, it is a blessing to have healthy bodies that function properly.

Baby John fell asleep, so we waited for my parents to finish the walk. My poor dad's back was hurting so they were taking their time. We greeted them at the finish line and took our traditional end picture.

It was such a good day! We rode the bus to the starting line, which Baby John loved. I can't wait until next year when Little John will probably enjoy walking/running some, instead of the stroller the whole time. I love this walk/run. It is such a cool tradition and fun way to celebrate the pioneers, our ancestors, and the blessings of the temple.

The Book of John Francis 7: 1-10

1. And it came to pass that in the seventh month of the life of John Francis, he began to crawl like a soldier during battle upon the floor. Thus he began exploring the world around him and quickly moving around the room. Therefore we can see that he has begun to rock back and forth upon his knees, preparing to crawl in the traditional way of our fathers.

2. And he has begun to walk: holding onto the hands of Mommy or Daddy; he can not yet stand on his own, but is beginning to pull himself up. Now we see that he enjoys to stomp his feet as if to dance.

3. Behold, he is large in stature (according to his age).

4. Wherefore, we have erected a wall in our room to protect Baby from unsafe forces without or rather protect the objects without from Baby.

5. Now behold, he, John Francis, has tasted of the Cheerios, and has found that they are good. (And he feeds them to himself and smiles with joy;)

6. And it came to pass that the signs of teething have been seen; For there has been much weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of gums. (And we know that these are the signs of teething, for we have been taught by our parents.) Wherefore, we know for a surety that two teeth on the top of his mouth are making their way down through the gums. And this is a painful process, and Baby John has suffered much. And yet he continues to smile, and laugh, for which we are very thankful.

7. But behold, we can not see or feel the teeth, for when our fingers come near his mouth, his lips shut tight, like unto a dish. But we do not doubt there are teeth coming.

8. And we have faith and hope that perhaps they have cut through, for last night his sleep returned to normal. And now our prays are that he may continue to sleep through the night.

9. Thus we see that much has happened: And we can see that John Francis has grown much, and developed much, and continues to grow and develop much. And he is loved much.

10. For we, his parents (who are John Michael and Lena Marie), are filled with great joy, and love, and charity, towards our son. We know that he is a son of God, and choice spirit. And we hope and pray and have faith that his future is bright. 

The Story Behind My Son's Name

(Started this on Father's Day)

As today is Father's Day I have been reflecting on all the good men I have in my life. Truly I have been blessed with great examples of kind, righteous men, through out my whole life. My grandfathers, uncles, neighbors, bishops, primary teachers, Sunday school teachers, stake presidents, school teachers, college professors, seminary and institute teachers, my friends' dads, my brother, coworkers, mission president, elders I served with, my friends' husbands, brothers' in law, and friends that have grown to be good men. I am sure that I have forgotten some categories, but that's all the one's I can think of. So many good men in my life. I'm sad for those who have been victims of men who chose to abuse and mistreat and worse. My prayers are with them.

Heavenly Father is the most important being in my life; I know He lives, I know He loves me. He is real, He knows me (and each of His children), He wants us to be happy and provided the way.

While reflecting on all the men that have been examples to me, and served me, the men that who are the most important to me in this life are my father, father-in-law, and my husband. My son is named after them, his name is John Francis Clark.

My dad, Francis, raised me (alongside my mom) in a righteous, Christ centered home, filled with love. He treated my mom, my siblings, and me with respect and kindness. He taught us the gospel not only in word, but in deed and through example. He is my hero in many respects. Between helping me with school projects, dealing with my tantrums during math homework, and running lines for plays with me, he deserves part of my high school diploma. :) He is a creative problem solver, hard worker, easy going, fun loving, mister fix-it, handy man. He is also very gentle, would never pull out our teeth even if they were hanging by a thread, kind of man. I could go on, but I won't.

My father-in-law, John, is a great man. He loves he loves the Lord and his gospel, he loves his children too. He raised them in the gospel and each have developed the same love and faith. (My mother-in-law is wonderful too, and also taught the gospel.) He has welcomed me into the family with nothing but love and open arms. He has been through some tough things in his life and never complains. Similar to my dad, works hard, creative fixer, handy man, plays with the grandchildren, and more.

My husband John is the most perfect man for me in every way. Is he perfect? Absolutely not, but he and I fit together perfectly. (Heavenly Father is a good match maker). There are not adequate words to describe what I feel for John, and how much I love, admire, and cherish him. He has a great love for the Lord, a desire to serve Him and His children. He is honest to the core. He faithfully fulfills his calling, even though it can be challenging at times. He works hard to provide for our family. He is a good man, a righteous man, a good husband, and a good father.

I love these three men! It seemed only right to name our first son after them. Our little guy is John Francis Clark. He has some of the best examples in his life: his father, and two awesome grandpas.

Reading with Daddy

Daddy

Grandpa John

Grandpa Francis

Couch to 5k weeks 3, 4, and 5

Let's just say I have completed weeks 3, 4, and 5. I haven't blogged, because the past few weeks have been a bit all over the place and blogging wasn't a priority. But we have been running. Today (June 24) we ran for 20 minutes straight. John did just fine, I survived. I actually started to get in the groove and felt pretty good, although I was still glad to stop. Running is not yet my favorite, but it's not as horrible as I believed it to be.

3 more weeks of the challenge! I can do this. I AM doing this!

Couch to 5k Week 2

Monday morning I forgot about running, when my husband reminded me I wasn't excited.  Also I forgot my phone so John downloaded the app. When I checked off Monday on my phone I hoped it didn't think I was cheating. I struggled running. I wanted to quite. Half way through I turned to John and said "I really hate this right now." He asked if I still wanted to finish the couch to 5k goal. I said I did, but I didn't. Finished Monday's session, and was thankful to be done; felt slightly nauseous, I need to drink more water and cool down better.

Wednesday I just sort of questioned everything. And could hardly run. Ugh, it was hard for me to keep running the whole 90 seconds during each sessionm but we finished strong, and took time to really cool down.

Friday John didn't come so it was just me and baby John. He got fussy near the end, but I pushed through and completed another week. Yeah! 2 weeks down, 6 more to go!

It is warm in the mornings now so we can run outside which it nice, the rec center could get a little crowded on the track.

Tomorrow starts a new week. Hopefully this week my legs won't feel so much like jello. ;)

Couch to 5K Week 1

I have been wanting to exercise for a LONG time, but I really dislike exercising, so it's been a struggle. I know it is important, and I also feel the affects of not exercising (out of breath going up stairs, unable to actively play long with my son, feeling like 'bleh' a lot of the time, etc.). I want to be healthy, I want to give my body a fighting chance to have a long life, and feel good living it. I also really want to run the temple to temple 5k, I've walked it the past 4 years.

I've tried various things, but have yet to stick with any form of exercise for long. The other day I had a break through, I need a buddy. I really don't like being alone. As much as I hate to admit it (it feels like a sin) I actually started to enjoy running when I ran with a companion on my mission. So last Sunday I asked my husband if I could join him for part of his runs; he likes to run by himself, gives him time to think/reflect and such. He suggested that instead we do this thing called "couch to 5k." We found an app to download that goes through 8 weeks of running/walking sessions, and by the time you are done you should (hopefully) be able to run a 5k. You do the 30 minute sessions three times a week. The first week is 5 minute brisk walk warm up, then alternating between 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of brisk walking, ending with a 5 minute walk cool down.

We started on Monday (May 22, 2017), and it was kind of rough. My legs started getting itchy and tingly and I had to drag myself to run the last time. John and Baby John did great. Wednesday was better. My legs weren't tingly, but I stilled struggled the last few run times. Friday I did even better. I tried to push myself, when John would say 15 or 10 seconds left during a the 60 second run time I would find something ahead to push myself to run to even if the time ran out before. John also helped by encouraging me to run faster during the last couple run sessions. Keep pushing myself to run farther and faster.

Thankful the first week is done. Thankful my husband is doing it with me even though he can already run a 5k. Thankful my son seems to enjoy the running in the stroller. Thankful we got a membership to the Provo Rec. Center so that when it is cold in the mornings we can run on the indoor track. Thankful that I am healthy enough to do this. Thankful that the temple to temple exists so that I have a greater motivation to do it in the short time frame. Thankful for the app which makes this process so much easier than simply running until I can run no longer.

The next thing is working on eating healthier. My challenge is I like chocolate more than most things. When I get stressed, I like to eat. When I get bored, I like to eat. I like to eat. Baby steps right?