Austin (hi!) made me laugh when he devoted an entire blog entry essentially to “you’d know more about all this stuff in my [running or not-related] life if I took the time to write about it” because I can absolutely relate. I’ve had this domain since 2008 (I think), and just take a look at the archives; you can see for yourself the huge gaps in months for a long time… and then there’s the fact that many of my entries begin with something along the lines of “yes, I know, I’m a terrible blogger, but [insert excuse here].” Maybe it comes with the territory.

That said, just like what Austin did, here’s what you’d hear more of if I were writing more regularly (though I am working on it… and being essentially off the grid the past few days has helped some):

1. I am really stoked for Eugene. Like, super stoked. I’m really excited to go to that part of the US (never been), to see and rock the race with this guy, and to play with this girl, and to run like hell, and to have an amazing time with them before but especially after the race. It should be awesome.

2. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon (registration blitz be damned) after a few nights of convincing from this speedy fella that we would have fun running it and that (big gasp) he wouldn’t let me do any less than a… what’d you say, 3:25?! More on that to come; let me get through Eugene first…

3. Despite (or because of?) me not weighing myself at all in the past 3 weeks, I have been feeling strangely empowered yet also like I’m losing weight (or at least “toning” or “tightening” [makes me think of 80s workout videos] in ways I wasn’t anticipating). Not weighing myself daily for the past almost-month has definitely made me re-evaluate how I think about my eating habits and body image as well. I’m super curious to see where I am now but am also a bit afraid of getting back into the habit…

4. Speaking of, I’ve been meaning to write on the topic of fear for a while now, and in that vein, I took a deep breath and signed up for adult swim classes next term with the Chicago Park District. To say I am nervous, and/or scared, is an understatement. Truth be told, I’m excited as well, but it’s about 97% nervousness/scared and 2% excitement (with 1% “other”).

5. I’ve been considering more and more going 100% vegan. I am probably about 98% there already, and having a stomach bug for nearly a week, after what I thought was surely brought on by dairy, has damn near sealed the deal.

6. I took a quick trip with my daughter and mother-in-law to my MIL’s farm in rural SE MO to see her family and got to run through the country, cotton fields on both sides of the road and everything. The town’s population? 469. Also, I think I found one of the only places flatter than Chicago. One day, I also ran into Arkansas; I don’t think I’ve ever crossed state lines on a run before (not even from last year’s Madison-Chicago Ragnar). I was just excited to wear shorts every day I ran there… particularly when Chicago was getting slammed with snow.

   

   

7. I ran 4 consecutive weeks of nearly 50 miles/week since I began training for Eugene; this is enormous for me. Before giving birth, 50 miles/week was my sweet spot, the point at which my left ITB would tell me to eff off and I’d have to take a couple weeks of very easy, relaxed running to get comfortable again. Now, 47, 48, 50+ feels about the same to me as 35-40. Pretty crazy.
8. My parents are coming to stay with us in late May when my dad comes in for a work thing. It’s not running-related at all, but hey, I love my parents 🙂 and surely I will run when they’re here… they generally don’t begin their days before 10am. 😀
9. My daughter is almost 2 years old already (early May). That is probably the most unreal thing of all, running-related or not. It’s cliché to say that kids grow up quickly, but good god… and how.

   

   

    

10. I quit crossfit. It wasn’t them, or my box, or the coaches; it was me. I do miss the people though.