Ten miles!

Yesterday I ran ten miles. That's the farthest I've ever run - I'm pretty pleased with myself. :)

I've added the handy nikeplus run log onto my sidebar. I used it once before in a post, but I didn't realize that it was a fancy one that will update with my new information all by itself. Kind of a cool little gadget, even though it clashes pretty badly with my page. So now, if you feel so inclined, you can track my running progress.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom rocks.

When she's not busy going around the sun, she enjoys taking photos, gardening, and being with her family (both the two and four legged members). She's kind, and honest, and thoughtful. She's quick to laugh and slow to judge.

Now that I'm big and she's little...

Love you, Mom!

Dramatic chipmunk.

(Click to play.) (Need sound on.)

Running.

I have unwittingly become a member of the Jeff Galloway running cult. (I rhapsodize about him the same way my newly-world-traveling aunt does about Rick Steves, her travel guide book guru.) I recently read Galloway’s Marathon book, and I dig a lot of his strategies. I’ve always broken up my run with short walk breaks, and here’s a fitness expert who not only approves of this, but actually recommends it. It makes a lot of sense that if you give a short break to the running muscles periodically, they will work better, last longer, and recover faster. I walk for about a minute out of every ten, and I’m able to keep pace and even speed up at the end of my longer runs. I don’t run for speed (nothing about my solid frame and short legs says "fast"), but I enjoy improving upon my own unhurried times.

Now that my runs are getting longer, I’m braving the fascinating world of sports nutrition. I’m still not a huge fan of Clif Bars or Luna Bars or any other bar packing that much protein and that little flavor, but I’m slowly getting used to them. I’ve had packets of Gu on my last couple of runs, and that is a sports fare that I can get behind. It gives me a great boost of energy, it takes care of some electrolyte replacement, it’s readily absorbed by the body as fuel, and it tastes like frosting! It’s like a reward – after an hour of running, I get to eat some chocolate!

I’m slowly increasing my runs – not by distance, but rather by time. I find it less stressful to measure in time, since an hour will always just be an hour, but five miles will vary in how long it takes me, depending on all sorts of things (temperature, humidity, hydration, lack of sleep , etc..). Yesterday I ran for 1:40, and next week my long run will be 2:00. I remember a few years back, the first time I made it to thirty minutes. I was ecstatic that I could finally run that long, and I certainly figured that was as far as I’d ever go. It’s exciting to find out that you can do something you never thought yourself capable of.

Many random bits, on account of my not posting anything for so long...

Summer in Western Montana is warm, sun-filled days, and crisp, cool evenings. Daylight lingers until nearly ten o’clock, and the west sky glows a soft green until much later. I love sleeping with my windows wide open, letting fresh breeze drift into my bedroom.

I met a guy the other day who reminded me forcibly of Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds. I love that movie.

I’m running in the Missoula half marathon in twenty-five days. I’m pretty excited, and a little bit nervous. The 10k was only slightly longer than I usually run on my own, but 13.1 miles is significantly more than I usually do. Like, more than double. I’m training for this one, trying to steadily increase my distance each week so I can manage the whole thing on race day. I have no time goals for this one, my only goal is to finish. I'm using my handy nike+ ipod sport kit to track my mileage and progress. Here is the record of my last five runs - you can scroll through them by using the gray arrow on the left:



Tonight I played pool with my new friend Andy. He's cool. I love meeting new people.

I bought a bellydancing instructional video last fall, and although it was a lot of fun, I only did it a few times before leaving it to collect dust with the rest of my extensive workout video collection. Yesterday on a whim I popped it in the player and did the workout, and holy cow do I hurt today! Every little muscle from my ribs to my knees is sore, especially my hamstrings... I loved it, though, and so today I went and bought a salsa video to alternate the bellydancing with. Since I can only run every other day (don't want to risk an overuse injury), and I have enough spare time in the summer to work out daily, I thought I'd cross train with something really different.

I have finished uploading my photos from Spain to my flickr account, so feel free to have a look if you like.

One of the nicest things about my recent engagement (other than getting to marry the guy of my dreams, naturally) has been calling family and old friends with the happy news. I have a sister in Kentucky, and another in Phoenix, both whom I adore but rarely get to talk to. I have girlfriends from my days at Washburn who I swore to keep in touch with, but over the years it has dwindled down to a call or two a year. It's been lovely to have a wonderful, happy reason to call these people, but I should do it more often, just because. Life is too short to put off the most important things.
I think my favorite part of getting older having a history. I love seeing old friends, laughing at old stories. Once I realized that change is not only inevitable, but good, it became a joy to reminisce in how things used to be.
Life is beautiful.

Ah, the red wine is kicking in, and the sappy has started seeping out. Perhaps I should stop now before I really embarrass myself. On that note - goodnight!

A perfect day.

Last week, after returning from Spain, Luis and I had several days in Boston before I was to fly back to Missoula. On Wednesday we, along with Luis's mom and brother, visited a small barrier island just off the northeast coast of Massachusetts. We spent the cool, sunny afternoon with our pant legs rolled up, wading into the freezing ocean and playing in the sand. As the afternoon sun began to soften, Luis and I went for a walk down the beach. When we got to the end, he asked me to marry him.

A lovely, perfect day.

Home, sweet home.

I arrived back in Missoula on Thursday. I love vacations, but it sure feels nice to sleep in my own bed again...

My blog left off several weeks ago, the day I was boarding a plane to Spain. We arrived in Madrid early on May 20th, and during our two weeks in Spain we spent time in Madrid and Cordoba, and we took day trips to Toledo and Castro del Rio. We stayed with Luis's family, who welcomed us into their homes with a genuine hospitality I have come to associate with Spanish culture. We ate tapas often, and drank beer in the middle of the afternoon. We wandered the crowded streets of Madrid and the narrow, winding streets in Cordoba and Toledo. Luis gave a two guitar performances, playing a scheduled concert at University of Carlos III in Madrid, and an impromptu recital in Cordoba for a gathering of friends and acquaintances. We hit the bars with Jonathan, and enjoyed some of Madrid's energetic night life. We visited breathtaking cathedrals and mosques, and several sites of Roman ruins. We marveled at the history preserved in the buildings and the cities. We had a wonderful time, and I hope to return someday.
I have slowly begun uploading trip photos to Flickr, so feel free to hop on over and have a look. I took a zillion, so it's taking a while to wade back through them all.