Is it just me?

I don't know if it's just me, but I still think I can do anything. I know I can't actually, but I still have a weird confidence of "yeah, I can handle that." Especially when it comes to running. I once walked a half-marathon because I thought it wouldn't be that hard to walk 13 miles. (Note: it was much harder than I thought, mentally and physically). But I did it. It was the first year they did a Nike+ challenge and if I finished I would get a key chain and a t-shirt, so I had some incentive to finish. I signed up for the Drumstick Dash 10k last month and barely trained. My training basically consisted of playing a weekly soccer game and run/walking 4 miles on Monday. I figured that if I can run 4, I can run 6. I know I can finish the race, and that I'm not actually racing, I'm just out running an organized event. It most certainly won't be my best 10k, but I can do it.

I have lots of friends that run and it seems like we each take a different approach to running. Some of my friends are very scheduled and stick firmly to a plan, others make their own plan, and I seem to do whatever I want, usually without a plan. Per Runner's World, I'm an "independent" runner. I also seem to be an "up for anything" runner. I'm like that for more than just running though, if it piques my curiosity, I'll almost always give it a try. And if it's something I haven't tried in a few years, I try it again knowing that my tastes might change. Being open-minded about things makes life fun. If you always so no, you never know what you might miss out on. So, the next time you feel challenged, accept it head-on and go for it. I bet you'll like it.

Jackpot.

No, I didn't win a giant jackpot in Vegas. As per usual, we pretty much broke even, which I'm always happy with. It essentially means that we get a bunch of free entertainment. But my jackpot came when I unexpectedly ran into my college roommate. I haven't seen her in about 8 years. We were randomly paired together as roommates freshman year, she became fondly known as "Lindsey with an E", since there was also a "Lindsay with an A" living in our triple room. She and I also lived together for a semester our Sophomore year before she transferred. I ended up transferring the next semester and have only seen her couple times since. Her family moved back to Canada so she had little reason to come to back to MN for any reason, but what are the odds of running into her in Vegas? Adam and I were heading to the Mirage to see Seth Meyers do a comedy performance and she and her husband were getting ready to see Cirque Love. I don't even know how many entrances there are to the Mirage, but the fact that we opted for the one that had us walking by the glass door of the Starbucks she was sitting inside is still giving me some shock. We walked by and I saw her profile and thought for a second, no, that can't be her. But I was curious enough that I walked back to the door and walked in and called her name. She looked as shocked as I did. We only had a few minutes to catch up, but I was happy to get to see her, if only for a few minutes.

Overall, our trip was great. Very relaxing, as I was hoping it to be. I didn't even think about work once, which is pretty good considering the day I had before we left. Now, I'm back to thinking about getting back in shape. After a few days of vacation eating and drinking to excess usually does that. Turning 30 doesn't hurt the matter either. I was sick almost the whole month of May with allergy issues, then I was busy dancing the first half of June, now that it's July I'm focusing on running and biking. Adam's car is acting up, so it gives me a good excuse to bike into work this week. I've given up on running a half-marathon in early August, so I'm trying to find a couple longer races 10K-10 mile for early fall. Subaru is sponsoring a Mud Run in August, a 10K obstacle course that sounds fun. Hopefully I can handle it. There's also the Breath of Hope 5K on August 18th. So, I've got a couple of events on the horizon. We're also trying to keep Adam's blood sugar at healthy levels, so I'm trying to cook more and keep things nutritional. Although, I still have 6 cupcakes and half a delicious carrot cake in my freezer left over from my birthday, so once those desserts are gone, I'll really be focused on eating healthy... I always blame the baked goods and not my lack of will power.

Self Evaluation.

Today is a Monday and I can't seem to focus. We had a whirlwind weekend driving to Chicago on Friday and getting back Sunday evening. I barely took any photos (there are a few here: http://redshoeprint.tumblr.com/), but we had a good trip despite the lack of photographic evidence to prove it. We took in a Cubs game, saw a concert, went to Gino's East (the pizza place we dined at to celebrate our engagement almost 5 years ago) and caught up with a good friend. It was short and sweet, but I'm glad we got to go. Adam and I haven't gone anywhere together since last May, so even though we didn't have much time there, it was nice to get away together.

My distraction for the day however isn't Chicago, it's my health. When I got back from Vieques, I had a migraine the following week and then another the week after. It felt like my head hurt for most of March, it was awful. The diagnosis is this horrific allergy season that is causing frustrations for most allergy sufferers. Either way, constant headaches/not feeling good, caused me to eat poorly and not work out. Two things I intend to change starting today. I'm making a commitment to working out regularly and eating better. Now that my work life has calmed down I feel like I can finally focus on this and really commit to it. I'm also planning on running the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in August. I really like that distance, so 2 years after ACL reconstruction, I finally feel ready to take that distance on. Training starts May 14th, so I've got a couple weeks to gear up and get physically and mentally ready for training. Ready. Set. Go!

Staying Busy.

I prefer to stay busy, because if I don't, I end up doing absolutely NOTHING. That was this weekend. I'm semi-ashamed to even admit it, but that's what I wanted this weekend to be. After a week of rehearsals prepping for performances and then 3 nights of performances, I needed a nice week off. I'm also positive that Adam and I will never be on the same "energy" schedule. When I'm awake and want to go out, he doesn't. When he does, I don't. Adam's car was acting up last week so I biked into work on Friday so he could use my car. I enjoy the ride in, however on Friday, my knee started to hurt and feel achy once I got to work. Needless to say, that made the return trip home less than ideal and of course just wore me out. Adam wanted to go to down to Lake Calhoun, walk around and get a beer, but I just wasn't feeling it. We settled on take-out and movie night on the couch. Which was exactly what I wanted and needed. That was pretty much our routine for the rest of the weekend. Movies, naps, take-out. It was nice and relaxing, but I always feel a little guilty about not doing ANYTHING. But at the same time our MN summer has kept me in hibernation mode, preferring the air conditioning to the triple digit heat indices. Yes, I'm trying to make myself feel better about a super lazy weekend that consisted on multiple-per day naps. Of course, I woke up around 3am this morning and couldn't fall back asleep until sometime after 5, so instead of feeling rested and revived, I'm itching for more sleep.

The other reason that I was OK with not doing anything this weekend is that I'm heading to Chicago for Lollapalooza. I know I'm going to need my energy for 3 days of music. It's been a while since I've been to an all-day musical festival, let alone 3 days of music. I'm hoping that I can comfortably handle the crowds and my knee (which is still sore) can handle all the standing. I think the fact that I'm more worried about crowds and my body indicates that I am for sure getting old. My 16 year old self would be worried about how to catch 2 bands playing back to back on different stages. I know I just need to relax and enjoy my time visiting friends and one of my favorite cities.

Lastly, I'm started to get worried about the duathlon and half marathon I've signed up for. I'm 28 days away from the duathlon and my knee has been too sore to train much, and the weather has been less than ideal for long bike rides or outdoor running. I'm letting my knee call the shots these days, so if I can't do it, I can't do it. I want to. I love the idea of a duathlon, but not if my body is going to be hating me every step of the way. My heart was in the race last year when I signed up (and was healthy). But this year, after deferring my entry to this year and a year of recovery, I'm not so excited about it. I'll keep trying but I'm okay if I have to throw in the towel on this race. Sadly, I know that if my knee won't let me do a duathlon, then a half is certainly out. But again, I'll call that as it gets closer. It was this time last year that I started running again, so maybe everything will work out after all. Maybe?

I need a diet.

I have to say, hanging out in a dance studio with a bunch of 20-year-olds, in spandex, it really does a number on one's self esteem. Since my knee has been so inconsistent, I haven't been working out much, or at all, other than dance rehearsals. Rehearsals aren't as strenuous as my high school ones, so I really haven't been working out at all. I'm also coming off my birthday when I ate a bazillion cupcakes and pretty much anything else that I wanted. And I continued to do that for all of last week. Today, the last thing I wanted to do was watch myself dance in a mirror. I've been saying that I need to workout more and eat better for a couple of weeks now, but today I reached the point where I'm actually going to take action on it. I'm also 47 days from a duathlon that I haven't started training for. It's a 5k, 18 mile bike ride and another 5k. I'm more worried about the 5ks since I haven't been running much. My old me would be able to get there in time, I'm hoping post surgery me can as well. I'm mostly going to need to build up my endurance since I have none at this point. Hopefully I can get there in a coupe weeks. Thankfully the wonderful MN humidity has subsided and I can bike to work tomorrow without the threat of heat exhaustion. Depending on how my knee feels, I'll also be able to do a short run to start working on my endurance and my running. My knee had been feeling great until last night when Adam jaywalked and I ran across the road to catch up with him. I'm going to be very annoyed if my knee pain lingers for a couple of days because of that.

Anyway, here is my public declaration that I need to workout more and eat better. Healthy me, let's do this.

Motivation.

I just bought a bikini online for our trip to Miami at the end of February. Nothing's more motivating than a swimsuit ready deadline. The one thing that kills the motivation? Knee pain. I think I'm ready to officially kill any fall marathon goals. It just isn't in the cards this year. I don't want to push myself too much and end up being in pain for a few months of training. I'd much rather figure out a way to safely manage my pain without having to pop pain killers regularly. I've hardly taken any pain meds since surgery and don't want to start now. I also want to figure out a way to work out regularly and not be in pain afterwards and a solid schedule of running doesn't seem to be the right thing. So, I'm going to keep working on building back up my running base, focusing on 5k's, and cross train with cycling and swimming. I think the key will be balancing impact with non-impact cardio. I also wonder if once the winter passes if I'll still be experiencing knee pain. I ran a 5K early November, before it got cold, without any issues. Now, I seem to be lingering in a stiff/sore stage since winter hit. Makes me want to re-locate to a warmer climate. Or, perhaps just a long weekend in Miami will make it all better.

New Routine.

I struggled to get to the gym last week. I had my gym bag with me everyday, yet still couldn't make it happen. So, I'm enacting a new routine. Over the weekend I was looking at some of the group classes to see if any of them fit my schedule and saw a 6am M/W yoga class. 6am, not ideal, but not horrible either. I usually set my alarm for around 6 and hit snooze for an hour. So, I'm not exactly missing out on quality sleep if I just get up and get out of bed at 5:30. Today was the trial run to see if I could, in fact, get up and out of bed and make it to the class semi-on time. I was a few minutes late, but was able to jump in without a problem. It was a little more advanced than any other class I've taken recently, but I liked the challenge and the flow of it. Overall, I really enjoyed it. After the class I talked to the instructor for a few minutes. He asked if I was a dancer because I had "gorgeous feet". He said he noticed because he's also a dancer. I was already planning on going back to the class, but the compliment on my feet solidified that plan.

I don't really do resolutions, but I'll set a new routine...
M/W- yoga and running in the morning
T- either lunch yoga or post work run
Sa- Yoga and running
Su- Spin class

Thursday and Friday are just too hard to plan and I'm guessing Tuesday will be hit or miss too. But if I plan to work out 4 days a week, I'm good with that.

We'll see how long 6am yoga lasts, but it started my day off just right, so I think it's going to be an addicting habit. And a yoga addiction is something I can handle.

Staying in check.

As soon as I hear about something that appeals to me, I want to sign up. Immediately. Generally without thinking through all the necessary logistics. Usually it's not much of an issue, but I'm trying to keep things in check.

Within the span of about ten minutes, I almost signed up for a 1/2 marathon race. In March. 2 months from now. Thankfully I was also able to talk myself out of the race realizing that while my mind can get ready for that, I'm not sure my body can. And do I really want to train for a 1/2 marathon in a MINNESOTA WINTER?! I don't mind the treadmill, but I can't do it for more than an hour. I do like running outside in the winter, but not when it's zero degrees. Too many unknown factors for me to commit. Thankfully I paused long enough to think these pieces through. Of course the last issue with the race is that it's 2 days AFTER St. Patrick's day. I'm not a racing expert, but I'm confident St. Pat's celebrating is not recommended that close to a race.

In the meantime, I will sign up for the 7K in two months and train for a 10 mile race for the weekend BEFORE St. Patrick's day. But I'm not signing up... yet. I'll see how my training goes and how my knee feels before I hand over my money. I need to keep my aspirations in check as I learn what my knee is capable of doing and how much running it can handle.

2011 is my rebuilding year.

Bring it on.

My new goal.

My latest goal to kick start my workout routine is to become foursquare mayor of my gym. I don't know if it is possible, but I'm going to give it a shot. I'm not a hugely competitive person, but I do like a friendly competition and today as I checked in at the gym, this was my latest idea. I'm mostly just getting a tad bit nervous about my 10 mile race that I signed up for that is in 3 weeks. I never really think of these as races, as just scheduled runs, so for me, it's all about finishing them and having a good time. I'm starting to get nervous that this will not be fun at all since I haven't been running consistently or building up miles. I slowly ran/walked my way to 4 miles this morning, so hopefully I'll be able to just keep moving forward.

I just need to keep reminding myself that I liked this distance when I was marathon training and that in a couple weeks, I will like it again.

Side note, its super easy to run when you're watching Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style.

A relaxing state of mind.

For the first time in a great while, I'm feeling pretty calm and not really stressed out. Granted, it's only Monday, so this could all change mighty quickly. I'm actually trying to kill a couple minutes before I head out of work to bowling. Yes, bowling. There is an advertising bowling league that takes place on Mondays and since I got a bowling ball for Christmas (from my parents), I'm trying to get as much use out of it as possible, and I just like bowling (and its work paid for). I probably should be heading to the gym instead to kick up training for my 10 mile race in March- 7 weeks away. Unlike for my first 1/2 marathon, I was just interested in hitting my miles each week, now I want to actually "train". As in, have a goal for my workouts instead of just finish them. But alas, I'm going to go bowling where there is a lot of sitting, eating and drinking. At least my one arm gets a work out...

Hopefully I can make it to the gym in the morning so that I don't have to spend all of Tuesday feeling guilty about not going.

Apparently when I'm killing time, I don't have anything interesting to post, or perhaps my posts are never interesting... I'll contemplate that question another day.

Scratch that.

Yesterday, I was all for a spring marathon, today, not so much. I started looking into some spring races and decided that they can be quite expensive. There are not any races close to where I live, so we would have to drive to the race, stay in a hotel, buy food, the race fees, etc. It all adds up and can take up the whole weekend. The part that seems the least exciting- sitting in a car after running for 5 hours when all I want to is lay down and take a nap. I also started remembering my training runs once I got over 13 miles and recalled how not fun they were. I like the mid distance races and enjoy running them, so it makes sense to stick with that for a bit. I've already signed up for 4 more races this year (3 of them 1/2 marathons) and told myself that I don't need to sign up for anything else. But, this is what happens- I get an idea in my head and I want to follow through. Its a challenge- can I do it? Slowly, I'm learning that I do not need to follow through on every crazy idea I get. I don't know why I can focus on something small, like getting faster, perhaps that will be my next goal...

Someday I will know my limits and be able to know when to stop. Someday.

Party like its 1999.

Ten years ago, my sister and I threw the best New Years Eve Party. My uncle let us borrow his house, er, small mansion, to have a party. There was an indoor pool, sauna, whirl pool, basketball court and we invited a friends band to play... along with 30 or so friends to ring in the new year. It was a great night and I knew it would probably be one of the most fun new years I would have. NYE becomes a night with so much expectations, yet rarely ever lives up to it.

This year was just as I wanted it to be. A nice dinner with Adam and a relaxing night at home. We didn't have to deal with crowded downtown or paying expensive cover charges. It was just what I needed.

I don't have any resolutions this year, but I'm sort of toying with the idea of a Spring marathon. I'm running a 1/2 in June... but for some reason suddenly have the urge to do a spring race, a long race.

This might just be too much couch sitting talking... we'll see what happens.

23 days ago, I listed out the following as my November goals:

1. Get started on this: http://www.nanowrimo.org/
2. Join a gym
3. Get on some sort of schedule
4. Read a few books
5. Relax

I did get started on #1 and worked at it for a few weeks, but fell behind and was on track to catch up and just fell behind again. After a long day of work I just need to relax when I get home. Creative writing isn't the most challenging, but my head still needs a rest. So, I'm officially calling it a day on novel writing in a month. But, I do intend to keep writing what I started and maybe spend some more time outlining what's going to happen and try to piece together the things I've already written. I'm just not going to stress myself out over trying to finish something that I started on a whim. I'm trying to be realistic about how much time I actually have these days.

2. I did and have been going- yeah!
3. I don't know what I was going for with getting on a schedule, I'm pretty sure it relates back to #2. I'm working on this one. I've been resetting my alarm more often that I should be, that's for sure. (ie. Not getting up and going to the gym pre-work like I want to).
4. I should finish reading my 3rd book this weekend, so this one is good to go.
5. I've been doing better about not running myself too ragged, but somehow I still ended up with a cold.

I woke up on Monday with a sore throat and a bit of a headache, by Tuesday my head was completely congested and I just felt awful so I stayed home from work. Today, I was feeling better, but still not awesome. I already had a vacation day planned, so it was nice to get to spend one more day recovering instead of rushing back to life. I'm running a 10K in the morning, so hopefully I feel good for that. I'm hoping a good night sleep will give me the strength I need to run. This cold has zapped the energy right out of me. But, I have a feeling running might make me feel better, or at least wake my body up. I'm also going to see how the 10K goes before signing up for all the races I want to do. Once I list them all it, it really seems extreme. I've also been thinking more about doing another marathon. I want to do another one, but I realize, that it isn't the only thing I want to do, so I might hold off on that for now until I find a way to balance exercise into my life without it taking over. I tend to be really sporadic with exercise, so I'm working on my consistency (hence the gym membership and attempt at a schedule). Consistency will help out tremendously during my training and all the races I want to do. But I know that I can't over extend myself and push myself too hard to these things. I want to make sure I stay healthy and injury free. I guess for the rest of this year, I'm working on balance: balancing, time for myself, work time, Adam time and friend time. Since it is the holiday season, I should include family time too.

Time to Think

After an insane few weeks of being constantly busy, I find myself in a lull. I'm thinking of it as the calm before the storm. I know this is short lived and I suppose a chance to get revived before another few weeks of mass chaos. But, I don't like it. I like having a to-do list with things that I can check off and forcing myself to move to the next project because I have 5 things to get done in one day and they all need to get done. Instead, I don't have that... and my mind wanders. Today's wandering subject matter: Races. How much money is too much money to spend on race entrance fees? I already have a list of 1/2 marathons that I'm thinking about for 2010, but now I'm thinking about a couple more races.

Here is what I'm thinking:
1. Polar dash 10 K on New Years Day
2. Winter Carnival 1/2 Marathon on Jan 23
3. Mpls 1/2 marathon on June 6th (already registered for that)
4. Red, White and Boom 1/2 marathon July 4th (inaugural race from the people who bring us the TC marathon)
5. Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon on August 7th
6. A Breath of Hope 5K September TBD
7. Monster Dash 10 Mile or 1/2 Marathon October 30th
8. NYC Marathon Nov 7 2010-- This is a big maybe.
9. Drumstick Dash 10K- Thanksgiving Day

Most of the races are at minimum $30, NYC marathon is $185! Of course, there's no guarantee on that either. Its a lottery system, so they don't charge you until you get into the race, but that's just running the race, that doesn't include all the travel time (plus NYC spending money) to get there. It would be nice sometimes if I didn't get such grandiose ideas in my head. The more I think about the NYC marathon, the more I realize that its probably not the best financial investment, and its getting to be a large enough expense that I probably need to consult with my husband on (in which case, he will probably disagree with the large sums of money that I want to spend, just to run through the 5 boroughs of NY). Of course, this makes the Chicago marathon seem that much more appealing... We could drive there to save money on travel costs... Or I just stop thinking about running marathons and stick to halves that are located in the city I live in. The good thing about most of the races, they are for a charitable organization, so at least I'm running for a cause, but I still don't think that justifies all the money I spend on this new found hobby. I'm also getting a gut feeling that its not good to over-extend myself to so many things. I think we all know that our gut tends to be right...

Keep on running.

My next adventure is another 1/2 marathon... in 12 days.

I've discovered that I can't just sit back, I need to be doing something. Or perhaps its the fact that once I get my mind open to an idea I have a hard time letting it go. Especially when I know that I can do it. I now know I can run 13 miles, I've done it several times now, so I can totally do it again.

Adam and I are off to Chicago this weekend to see some of our favorite bands. I wrote this post over the summer of my dream week of concerts, and it is happening.

Tomorrow we're seeing the Get Up Kids in Minneapolis. Then we're off to Chicago on Thursday to see them again and then Lawrence Arms on Saturday. I'm so excited to see these bands and to get to spend some time with Adam. Considering the fact that I have less things going on in my life, one would think that means I get to see my husband more. Shockingly, no... I've been back in the working world for less than 3 months and I definitely need a vacation!

I am a Marathoner.

Three years ago, I ran my first 5K in 41:18. When I say "ran" I really mean, ran/walked. The next day I watched my one of my friends run the Twin Cities Marathon. We waited for her at mile 23 cheering runners on and cheering especially loud when we saw her. I remember thinking "this is crazy, I could never do that" but at the same time in the back of my head thinking "what if I could". I began running more, slowly building up the ability to run one mile without walking, and eventually two miles. I signed up for an indoor triathlon (400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run) and finished second to last in my heat, but I finished. I then signed up to run Grandma's half marathon, and was committed to doing it until I hurt my knee in a soccer game a month before the race. I think I was sort of looking for a reason not to run and used the injury as a good reason to back out. I was dead set on running a mid distance race because I signed up for the Twin Cities 10 mile and the Nike + 1/2 marathon in October 2007, just one year after my 5K debut. I again backed out of the 10 mile due to another knee injury from soccer and decided to walk the Nike + 1/2 marathon completely untrained. It took me 4 hours and it was sort of unpleasant, but I wanted to finish so I wasn't going to give up.

During grad school I ran off and on, but I still had some residual knee injuries. This last winter, despite grad school, I decided that I needed to take time for myself again and started running more frequently. But, I was still only running 3-4 miles regularly. In April 2009, I signed up for the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon in the same week. With my track record of signing up for races, I had no idea if I would complete either race. I finished the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in 2:16:52 and ran the whole time. Yesterday, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and finished in 5:14:36.

The marathon- It was a physical and mental journey, harder than I anticipated. I knew it was going to be tough, but there's something about being so close, yet still so far that can cause some vicious mind games. During my training long runs, I always felt good up until about 10-11 miles, and each mile after that was harder and harder. So, I knew after the half way point (13.1 miles) things would get harder, and they did. I was running with the 5 hour pace group thinking that we would be running 11:30 miles, but we were running at 10 minute mile pace for 10 minutes and would walk one minute and take 30-40 seconds at the water stops. This worked out for me for 17 miles but then, I just couldn't keep up the 10 minute/mile pace. I was getting light headed and feeling like I could pass out. I dropped back from the pace group and contemplated my marathon future.
Should I just stop right there? Should I keep going until I just pass out?

I slowed down to a walk and started to wonder if I would be able to finish at all. My head was whirling with worst case scenarios when I looked down at the pace bracelet on my wrist and saw I was only 2 minutes off my pace group. That suddenly jarred me back to reality and then I saw the 19 mile sign and I was back in the game. The last 6-7 miles were tough. A lot of the fans on summit had left and those that were there seemed to have minimal cheer left in them. Mile 25 felt like it was never going to end. And then the capital was in sight and I heard all the people cheering at the end. It was such a great feeling.

It still feels like a dream (except for all of my day after soreness) because I never thought I could say I ran a marathon. This was something that other people did, not me. I still don't feel like I'm a runner, despite the fact that I keep thinking about what races I wanted to do next. I used to be nervous to run 6 miles, now I'm not afraid anymore and know that I have the endurance and strength to handle just about anything I try. I am a Marathoner.

Pictures of the big day:

Mile 15 with the pace group. Still going strong. (Me in the purple)


Mile 20 "the wall," I smiled to myself when I got there as my 'wall' was mile 18 and I had already surpassed it.


Mile 23... Tired and ready to be done!


Nearing the finish line!


Crossing the finish line.


My parents with my Uncle Tim and his grandson greeting me at the finish.

Mystery Package.

I haven't ordered anything online in awhile, but this week I ordered some clothes from Old Navy and some boots from Zappos. I ordered the clothes from Old Navy on Saturday and they estimated I would get them in about a week, in my experience things seems to always arrive a day or two early. Either way, I've been checking the shipment confirmation daily since I ordered to see where its at, today I saw it was in Brooklyn Center and knew that I would get my clothes today or tomorrow. I just got home and saw a package for me in the mail pile and got excited for my new clothes.

I was looking at the return address and it wasn't from Old Navy and the size of the box certainly couldn't hold the boots I ordered so I was stumped. I opened the box to find a fuel belt. It is a belt that many runners use to hold water or sports drinks on long runs. I had been thinking about buying one, but since I only have one long run left until the marathon, I talked myself out of it. I honestly have no idea where it came from. Someone bought and shipped this to me and I have no idea who to thank.

Who ever you are, thank you for this kind gesture!

Close Call.

I was heading out for a 12 mile run around noon and asked Adam if he was going anywhere. He's on vacation this week and was looking pretty comfortable on the couch. He said he was staying there, so I told him I wasn't taking my house key.

The weather said it would be scattered thunderstorms and I just had a suspicion that I would be sitting outside my house in the rain because Adam left. It started raining the last 2 miles of my run, but it was refreshing and felt really good.

I was 1/2 block away from our house finishing my cool down when I saw Adam leaving the house. I yelled his name and he saw me, so he stopped.

If I would have walked a little bit more, or gone down a different block to get home, my premonition would have come true.

Thankfully, this time it didn't.

Is it real?

It has certainly been an adjustment week not having classes after work. Last year when classes were done, I jumped right into wedding planning. Now, I've jumped into running, which is such a different mental challenge. Instead of having to think about a bunch of different things, I actually get to focus on one task at a time. With running I have to push myself to run farther and faster. I need to reassure myself that I can actually do it instead of being stressed out trying to finish work and homework. It is really nice to know that I have the time to work out and the marathon training is forcing me to be consistent. Last night I got home from work and Adam was sitting on the couch eating dinner and had a plate set out for me. I was tempted for a second to sit down and eat, but then I knew that if I did, I would not go for a run. So I quickly changed and got out the door before I got sucked into couch sitting all night. I ran 2 miles and it was sort of a tough run, for a "short" distance, I thought it would be easy, but I had a hard time getting into it. I was scheduled to run 3-4 miles this morning, so I was dreading that after such a tough 2 mile run yesterday. On top of that, I biked into work (its bike/walk to work day) which takes about 40 minutes, so I thought it would be a very difficult run this morning... I was pleasantly surprised when my run was easier. I think the bike ride helped warm me up and I was able to run at a faster pace than I usually do. While not that exciting, it makes me feel less scared about the marathon knowing that I'm building up the endurance I need to. Of course all this activity is making me tired by 10 pm. I can barely make it through the Daily Show before I'm out. So on the plus side, I'm getting a lot of sleep these days!

When I was in school, I kept thinking that once I'm done I will be able to balance my life between work, me and Adam better. But that's not working out as much yet. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, I'm still focusing way more on myself than I am on Adam. Yes, it is important to take time for myself, but I also need to take time for my husband. I feel like there is always an excuse for me... this time, it's "once I get my paper done".

June 10th my paper is due (27 days)
June 17th Capstone defending (34 days)
June 19th heading to Vegas (36 days)

2 weeks to go!

I've been insanely busy the last couple of weeks. My uncle Terry passed away after the Twins home opener on April 6th. He was a huge twins fan, so I was only fitting that he would want to wait until after the game was over. My family was looking to me to help out with a lot of things for the service, which I was happy to help with everything. But, with school and work, it took a toll on me and my time. Last week, I was beyond busy at work, but it also reminded me why I like advertising. I really like the rush of finishing a project and seeing all the pieces come together. Of course, in this economy, and layoffs abounding in advertising, I'm more than thankful to have a job and a job that I really like. About 18 people were laid off from my company this week, ugh. It's never fun to see your friends and co-workers go.

Last weekend I road tripped with 2 friends to Tecumseh, Michigan. We stayed with my friend Katie's family and got to see all the wonderful sites of Tecumseh, Saline and Ann Arbor. Driving through Chicago on the way there and back just made me want to go to Chicago. I don't know what it is, but I am just drawn to that city. I am hoping that I can make it to NYC and Chicago this summer. I have a trip planned to go to Vegas in June to celebrate my graduation and our one year anniversary. It just feels like so many things are going on I can't even keep track anymore.

The best news is in 2 weeks, I will be walking across the stage of Northrup Auditorium for the 3rd time. My high school graduation was also held at the U of M, so the only place I have ever donned a cap, gown and tassel has been Northrup. Of course, I still have to finish my major paper to "officially" graduate, but I will be done with classes in 2 weeks! Quite exciting!!

I really don't know where the month of April went, it really flew by. I'm hoping that once graduation is over I can keep myself motivated to get my paper done quickly. I have a feeling I'm going to utilize my free time with a whole lot of sitting and not thinking... actually... I'm going to be spending a lot of time running since I signed up to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October! 3 years ago, I ran my first 5K the weekend of the Marathon (they have a lot of shorter, family friendly races the day before the marathon and then a 10 Mile race at the same time as the marathon). At the time I thought, wouldn't it be cool to run, but I never really thought I would commit to it. This is a complete test of my endurance and ability. At the end of the day, I want to say I ran a marathon-- or at least tried. If I don't finish, I don't finish... but I'm going to do as best as I can. I also signed up for the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in my hometown of Richfield, so that should be fun and hopefully give me a good idea of how the marathon will go. If nothing else, I should end up being in the best shape of my life.