Long time no blog...

Hello anyone who still checks and/or reads my blog. Hello? Anyone? *crickets*

Well yes, it's been a while (ahem, 3 months) since my last post (as usual), but that's only because I haven't really had much to report on. So, I'll use this post as a "catch-up."

Life is somewhat busy, but not all that exciting. I'm still working my cubicle job, teaching voice lessons, attending church meetings, etc.

The bulk of my remaining free time has been spent...you guessed it...running! So far, so good. My toe is still healing, I'm waiting for the scar tissue to go down, so it will be a normal size. But, it doesn't affect my running or anything else. So that is good.

I've been in race mode ever since the doc cleared me to run. Don't worry, I won't bore you with every race I've done...just a few. I love seeing friends and fellow runners at races and obviously trying to better my times. (the food at the end of the race is a big draw, too!)

For whatever reason, I'm hitting some big PRs that I really didn't expect to hit this year or this early (given being off for a month). So far, I've PR'd in the 5K, 8K, and Half Marathon. I'm so excited!

The 5K PR came at an adorable "tutu" trot fundraiser race. My Garmin wasn't working, so I really had no clue what my pace was. I ran a 23:04 and was shocked!

The Half Marathon PR came at the Sturgis Falls half in my hometown. This was a tough race, as my dad has been at that race cheering for me for several years. I knew it would be weird running it and not seeing him at the usual spots. Lucky for me, I still had some cheerleaders. My mom was at several spots and my brother, sister-in-law, and their kids were at the finish. The best surprise was around mile 11. I came to a corner and saw my aunt and uncle, their 3 kids, and grandkids. I didn't know they were going to be there, so it was SO nice! And that's where the big teardrops fell.

I took off too fast and felt horrible for the first two miles. Like, I pretty much decided during mile 2 that it would be a 2:00 half marathon day...and that was ok with me. But then I fell into an 8:15ish pace and couldn't break out of it. With four miles to go, I was still thinking I'd run around 1:50, which was my previous PR. It wasn't until the last half mile that I realized I was definitely going to do better than 1:50. I ran a 1:47:48, nearly a 3 minute PR. Wahoo!

Before reuniting with my family, I took a moment and thought about my dad. He would have been photographing the time clock and then running over to SHOW me my time. I definitely got emotional, but I know Dad was excited, watching from his new place.

A week after the half, I ran the local 4th of July 8K race in CR. My previous PR was at this race in 2009, 39:24. While I wanted to set a new PR this year, I just wasn't sure if it would happen. I made a "secret" goal of running it in around 38:00. I figured I could try to keep a 7:30 pace and see what happens.

Well, what happens is, you feel like crap! OMG - I started a little fast, but fell into the right pace...painful as it was. By mile 4, my watch was reading just under 31:00. I don't think I've ever run 4 miles that fast...and there was still 1 more mile.

I won't lie, I did the math and figured I could just jog that last mile and still come in under 39:00ish, which would technically be a PR...right? But I tried to keep at it, pukey as I felt, and push through. I'd say I was near puking in the final stretch, so I couldn't finish as I hard as I wanted to. But, my final time was 38:04! Wahoo again!

Common denominator for all 3 of these PRs? I wanted to puke my guts out during all of them. So, the pukey feeling is apparently key to running well...

I have no idea how/why I'm hitting these PRs, either. For starters, I took a month off and did absolutely NOTHING...but still ate crappy. For another, I am not doing any speedwork (other than races) or weight training (at least, not regularly). And the final thing? Um, I eat terrible. Maybe not as bad as what they talk about on news programs...but a health freak I am not. It makes it kind of tempting to keep up the bad behavior, doesn't it? :-)

To be fair to myself, I have been pretty good about getting back into a regular running routine, and adding in longer runs. No plans for a marathon this year...looks like I'm taking the year off from that distance.

What else have I been up to?

Oh, I went to visit my Auntie Rose in Prescott, AZ. I'd never been to Arizona before and it was gorgeous. I had perfect running weather, too! It was so good to bond with my aunt and just hang out, no plans. We shopped a little, ate a lot, read, and watched some junky tv. Good stuff.

My wonderful friend Sarah came to visit in late June and we had a blast! Again, there was good discussion, junk food, and a movie. Love it!

I also babysat my nieces and nephew the night before the half. We watched "Tangled" and snuggled on the couch. They are the cutest, sweetest, most fun kids - period.

I've declared this the "summer of reading" and so far, it's going well. I'm 2 for 2. I've read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and "The Help." I highly recommend them both - so interesting and hard to put down. I just started reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand." I'll let you know my thoughts on that one.

OK, let's hope I don't go another 3 months before I post again...

Hello again...

Yep, I'm aware it's been over a month since my last post. And? I have no excuse...nothin'. So, I'll just do a little catch up and assume none of you missed me. My last post referenced a 5K I was about to run that weekend. It was a lot of fun and my time ended up being only 5 seconds slower than my PR in October. So, I was pretty happy about that.

It was a fun morning with fellow friends & runners. That was my final race before having surgery on my toe. The surgery went well, as did the recovery. It killed me to be couch-bound for 5 days and then pretty sedentary for another 3 weeks. But, I did it! I was cleared to run (as tolerated) on March 31st - and, of course, went running that night. I would say I'm semi-back, as it'll be a while before I can run farther than 4ish miles. Other than that, it feels great. The toe still has some swelling, but doesn't bother me when I run.

I have to say, my sanity has returned (a bit) since I could start running again. I honestly felt like I was going to explode, without the outlet of running. So, that has been a big boost. I ran my first post-surgery 5K last Saturday. I had never run this one before, so I had no idea what the course was. My only goal for this 5K was to run it. I really wanted to get a feel for how much fitness I lost. It should be noted that large quantities of food/sweets may have been consumed during previously mentioned sedentary time. While my metabolism stepped up (thank you) and there were no major weight ramifications...I was concerned how un-fit I might be as a result.

I took off, knowing I was going too fast, but just tried to stick with it. First mile - 7:36. Ouch! OK, on to the 2nd mile. It turns out there are 2 sizeable hills in this course - CRAP! So, they made their appearance in mile 2. I did not enjoy them - at all. Mile 2 - 8:30. LOL, that really shows that I must have been walking those hills (I didn't, I promise). My legs and body were hurting by mile 3. I was thinking, "WHY did I think this was a good idea my first week back?" There was a also a fun little headwind during the last half mile. Mile 3 - 7:56. Overall time was 24:11 and the course ended up being short. It was basically 3 miles.

I'm pretty happy with it, considering I've done zero hills (or anything) in the last 4-5 weeks. It was good to get out there and see where I'm at. I think endurance is the big thing I've lost, but I'll get it back. (I have to, I'm running a half marathon in June!)

Other than that, life goes on. Nothing else to report - that I can think of.

Catch up...

Well, yet again, I've neglected my blog. Oops!

My life has had a significant change since my last post. Many of you already know about it, but I'll share it here. I was awakened late on Tuesday night in mid-January, to hear that my dad had bleeding in the brain and was in the ER. After some cat scans, he was taken, by ambulance, to UIHC. It was determined that he had had a brain aneurysm.

A brain aneurysm is bad, but my dad was on blood thinner for another condition, so, it was extra bad. Dad went into a coma before I ever saw him. I made it to the hospital that night and UIHC sort of became our home away from home (not in a good way) that week.

They did perform brain surgery on him and were able to sort of stop the bleeding, but the damage had been done. After several days and a meeting with the doctors, it was determined that Dad's condition would not improve. We made the difficult decision to take him off of life support. Dad passed away peacefully on January 25.

It's been a difficult time for all of us, and definitely a rough start to the year. Many of you know this, but I'm so incredibly appreciative of the thoughts, prayers, cards, donations, etc., that were sent my/our way. I'm very blessed to have the friends I do - believe me, I know it!

Since the funeral, I've been trying to get caught up and back into my routine. I finally feel like I'm in a place where I don't feel completely behind, which is good.

I've been running and enjoying it. In fact, the morning Dad passed, my friends Carrie, Erin, and I went for a run. I know Dad was smiling down on us! It was just what I needed.

I'm running a local 5K this Saturday, which should be fun. I don't have any big goals, other than to have a good race. After that, I'll be on hiatus for a few weeks (most of March). Remember this post? Well, that stupid toe still hasn't healed. I actually broke a piece of bone off...and it never reattached.

So, I have to get a little surgery on my little toe. So. Stupid. But, necessary. At some point, shoes shouldn't hurt (because your gigantic pinky toe doesn't fit in them). I'll be fairly immobile for a few days and then a bit better after that. I hope to be running sometime in late March.

Then, I'll be back at it and planning some races. I will not do a Spring marathon this year, as it's just not in the cards. But, I do hope to run a Fall marathon - not sure which one yet. Here's hoping I "come back" better, stronger, and faster (and not just in running)!