Why hello blog-land

So, where did I leave off? haha (this post will be long btw)

I have been very absent from writing in my blog, but I have still been reading reading reading the blogs I enjoy.

I dont event really know where to start with this post (I feel like I start a lot of posts that way).

Lets start with the obvious. When I last wrote, I was running the Wildlife Half Marathon the next day. I wanted badly to PR this race. It was a flat course that I was mostly familiar with.

Fast forward to the end of the race: I didnt PR. This was an out and back course. I cruised the first four or so miles, and as I started to see people running back past me, I got pumped up. I got excited. I was happy for them, and I was happy to running. And so I ran faster. Too fast through the middle. I bombed around mile 10 and was struggling to keep under a 12 min pace. I walked part of the last mile and a half. I finished in 2:24:51, 20 seconds slower than the CCRR 2012, and about 5 minutes off a PR. Ah well.

A few weeks after I ran that half, I ran a race that I want to run every year for the rest of my life. And I am NOT exaggerating. I ran the Great Turtle Half Marathon on Mackinac Island. I ran this race entirely with Erika (Who I have ran 4 out of 6 of my halfs with) and it was fun to just cruise. Erika has a bun in the oven right now, so the plan was to walk the uphills and cruise downhill. And that i what we did. Time was not great for this race. But it was BEAUTIFUL. I loved every minute of this race. I went into it knowing there was no chance of a PR for me (although TWO people I knew running PRed!!) and so it was so easy to enjoy. I finished in 2:38:04, still faster than the Detroit Half last year :).

In between those runs my sister got MARRIED! The day itself was stressful, but the reception was so fun. And I am so happy for her. It was a great day with family and friends, and anytime my family is together, we find a way to have fun (the best example I can give of this: my Uncle Joe and his son doing the Gangnam Style dance. LOVED IT.).

The couple of days after the run on Mackinac were bad days. My family stuff has been happening, and so that has been the main thing occupying my mind since then. I wont really go into it more. I will say it is something that will be ongoing and I am sure at some point I will open up more about. I want to open up about it. But its not mine to open up about.

And on that note, back to running? My last race of the year was the Detroit Turkey Trot. You have all heard about the CLUSTER F*CK that was this race. This was my third year running the 10k and I have NEVER experienced anything like this. The race has always been a bit crowded, especially before the 5kers split off. And that was the case again. After the 5k was split, there was plenty of room. Until the finish. I was one of the people who had a PR in the bag, or so I thought. I was on track to finish somewhere around 1:03 (My PR is 1:04 and something). I would have had it, if I hadnt hit the wall o'people that was the finish. But it is what it is. I know I can do it now. So I just need another 10k, and I will do it.

Besides that, not much is happening with running. I am working towards my 1000 mile goal for the year. If I count miles walked, I am 34 miles away. If I dont count miles  walked, I am 69 miles away. Part of me wants to say just count the miles walked! But part of knows that if I do that I will feel like I am settling. And so I shall carry on. I have a plan, and I have about 3 days at the end of the year where I dont have runs scheduled so if I stray from my plan, I gave myself a cushion to make it up basically.

And that is that pretty much. I just typed all these words, so I will go back and throw in some pictures now. Time to end the longest post ever.  :) I will leave you with the below picture. Those two guys...they make everyday so much easier. I am so thankful for every minute I get with them.

 

 

 

Good night all :)