Recap and Happy Monday!

Today's run: 4 miles (36:09)
Week to date: 4 miles (Happy Monday!)
Month to date: 39 miles

So, last week. Even my back up idea fell through, but it all worked out in the end.
Wednesday was a roller coaster ride. I had my first job interview in Minnesota!

It felt like it went amazingly, and I should be hearing back this week about it. I was feeling pretty awesome afterward, but my day went downhill quickly after that. The long and short of it is that we lost our family dog, Lester, on Wednesday, after a short and sudden illness. He was only 7, and it happened so quickly, so it was a real shock. It left me destroyed for the rest of the day, so working out was a lost cause.
Thursday was my YMCA orientation. I felt pretty awful after not sleeping the night before, but I knew I had to take care of business. The orientation was pretty basic--she just showed me how the machines worked, and a half hour later I was done and on the treadmill. I did 6 miles in 56:31.
Friday, we were Michigan bound! I went to the Y again in the morning before we left, and my goal was to do 6 miles again, faster than I did it the day before. I succeeded: 6 miles in 56:09.
Saturday, I didn't workout. I meant to go to the gym at Tech, but I woke up feeling pretty rotten (another trip to the UP, another cold.) But, we got back to Duluth earlier than anticipated on Sunday, and I had a bag in the car already set to go, so I had Brandon drop me off at the Y when we got in to town. My goal was to do 4 miles quickly, and by "quickly", I meant under 37:00. Well, I did it, but not by much--36:55.
So, I wound up getting in all the scheduled miles for last week, totaling 20.

Today, I wanted to see if I could go faster than yesterday, and kind of really see what I'm capable of running comfortably. I learned that 6.6 mph is the fastest I can go comfortably at this point, so that's about a 9:05 pace. It's still slow, but it's actually much faster than I thought I could go at this point. Even better--that's a 1:59 half marathon, so I think I'm at really good place right now, and I think my goal of 1:52 is definitely in my reach as long as I keep working hard. :)

In other news...
It's no secret that Mondays can be kind of a downer at times, especially coming off a good weekend. With that in mind, I bring you "Happy Monday!", in which I post a short list of things that are making me happy at the moment. Big things, small things, silly things, serious things, anything that I find bringing a smile to my face can be on this list.
So, here are a few things making me happy this Monday!
1. My Valentine's Day present!
It's no secret that we're a hockey household. My fiance and I met through our hockey fandom, and we're big in to both college and pro hockey. So, my gift from him this year was PERFECT:

Sunday Sunday Sunday! Red Wings (my team) vs. Wild (his team) in St. Paul! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! My first Wings game, my first Pro game! I'm beyond excited.

2. Michigan

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Just because. It was good to go "home" this weekend. Minnesota is great, but Michigan will always be home.

3. The Duluth YMCA

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Getting a membership there was a great decision. The equipment is great, the facility is great, the people really nice. I'm very glad to have that as an option now. :)

What's making you happy this Monday?