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...