Checking in...

Hello, blogland!

I know, it's been another extended hiatus. However, June has been just a bit crazy for me. For part of that, I have one thing to blame:

Source

No, not running it, but working it. Working at a running store during an event like that = 60 hour work week. We had a series of booths at the Expo. While those were some long days, they were super fun and I enjoyed them and talking with a lot of really interesting people and telling them about some interesting shoes. (Vibram Five Fingers and Newtons.) And, for my trouble, I may or may not have walked away with a pair of slick shoes of my very own:

(Thanks, Justin!)

The Newton Distancia U Lightweight Universal Trainer. Or, as I've started calling them, my "Holy crap are these things bright pink" shoes. I've only taken them out once so far, as Newtons usually require a bit of an adjustment period, but so far? Not a bad shoe.

Speaking of shoes, I think things are starting to get a bit out of hand here: 

Clockwise from top: my current trainers (Mizuno Wave Inspire 7), my on-deck trainers (same), my Nikes I was given to try (Lunarglide+), the aforementioned Newtons, my now-retired Asics Foundations, and my racing shoes (Asics DS Racer 8). 

Yeah. Three I have been given as part of my job, one was a gift, and the other two I have purchased myself (like when I found out the Foundations were causing me to supinate and giving me IT band issues). But in 6 months time, I've gone from hoping I'll get shoes for Christmas because otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford them to having shoes coming out of my ears. Do I remind myself how lucky I am? Every freaking day, multiple times a day.

Anyway, Grandma's, between the Expo, the store, and the race watching party we held there was a crazy weekend. I'm glad I've finally witnessed the hullabaloo, and I think I'm going to throw my name in the hat for the half next year, despite the whole "Oh, hey, I'm getting married the following weekend" thing.

In other news, I spent a bit of time this month recovering from the awesomeness that was Bayshore. I'm starting to pick things back up a bit in prep for the Cherry Fest 15K. My first 15! Usually I do the 5K--it'll be a nice change of pace, and I'm excited.

I was curious what I could do for a 5K these days though, so last weekend I did one-- the Midnight Sun Midnight Run. This was SO much fun! It was a perfect summer night--clear, a little cool but comfortable outside. It was right along the Lakewalk, my primary training grounds, so my familiarity with the terrain made up for the lack of light. I felt fantastic, even with the odd start time completely throwing off my pre-race groove, and I ran a HUGE PR. My official race time (gun time, not chip time) was 22:58, but my watch time was 22:43. Either time is a massive PR and my first 22. :) I'm pretty excited.

So, that's what's going on here. What's up with you all?

So, uh... hi

Hi, everyone.

Yes, I know it has been just over 2 months since I have posted anything besides an absurd number of tweets and DailyMile posts. I've lost count of the number of times I have thought, "OK, today's the day--I will dust off the blog and get back to it," and then found myself otherwise distracted. (And, if it is another 2 months before you see another post from me, blame Angry Birds Chrome. Eeeegad is that addicting.)

So... what has gone down in the last 2 months and change here?

For one, a couple of awesome races:

The top one is the Goldy's Run 10 miler in Minneapolis, MN on April 9. Brandon and I were in the Cities for the 2011 College Hockey Frozen Four, and this was my little way of making sure I still got my run in while I was there. I also treated it as a tempo run, trying to see if I could hang at an 8:30 pace. I did that and then some--my official chip time was 1:22:44. I was just a bit happy. :) The finish was awesome--they brought you around TCF Bank Stadium (Home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers), and you crossed the finish line at the 50 yard line, with your finish shown up on the JumboTron and your name announced. So, awesome... even if my finish line shot got blocked by some lady.
The bottom one is me coming down the home stretch for the Bayshore Half. If you remember, my goal was to take 10 minutes off my Marquette time, so 1:52:55. I DESTROYED that--1:48:51. The best part of that race? Running with my mom for the first 8 miles. If you would have told me a year ago that would have happened, I wouldn't have believed it. Despite being wet and slightly cold, it was an absolutely amazing morning.

Oh, and the awesome singlet I'm wearing in those photos? Well, the store I work at has a all-inclusive racing team, and the staff is included on this team (the main objective is to be represented by people who reflect the sport positively by being active and a positive presence at racing events.) . :) So, I'm on a racing team.

And, that job at the store? Well, I had my first review after about 2 months (usually that happens at 3, but they wanted to get mine taken care of). The long and short of it: I nailed the training and probationary period. Now, I'm in the process of being trained to be an assistant manager, taking over that around 8/1. I'll be taking on a lot of new roles, including employee training, community outreach and marketing, coordinating clinics and "spike nights" with local high school teams, among other things. Pretty excited? You bet. :)

And, to close--the numbers:
March mileage total: 103 miles
April mileage total: 110.4 miles
May mileage total: 102.4 miles

Yeah, my first 3 triple-digit months. :)
2011 mileage total to date: 435.7 miles. Yes, I am 15 miles shy of matching my 2010 total.

So, if there's anyone who still is following this little bloggy-guy... what's new and good with you?