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?

Feeling Way too D*mn Good

First off, thanks for all the sweet comments on my last post! :)
If this week had a theme song, I think it would be this.
I'm not one for Nickleback, but this song sums up exactly how this week has gone for me. Things are going way too d*mn good. I'm feeling way too d*mn good. I'm loving it, but there's always that part of you that is waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?

Anyway, my runs this week have been great.

Tuesday, I finally made it back outside to the Lakewalk. I also learned a valuable lesson: when the wind blows the wave off of the big lake just right, the Lakewalk kinda looks like this:

Source

Ice. Lots and lots of ice. Of course, everything else was dry and clear, so I was gripper-less. So, I walked across the icy parts and ran on the dry parts. I felt great while I was going, but the walking slowed me down quite a bit, I think. 6.21 miles in 1:00:53. Nothing to be ashamed of, really. Slow, but I felt awesome when I was running. Ice happens. Slow runs happen. Highlight: hanging out with some deer on my walk down (literally right outside my apartment, which is pretty close to downtown...), and having a squirrel running just ahead of me on the train tracks along the Lakewalk. 

Wednesday was my first day of work!!

This is going to be awesome. SO awesome. Everyone there is great, and I'm already learning so much. I get to hang out with runners and work with sweet gear all day, it really doesn't get much better than that!
After my first shift, I hauled over to the Y to do some cross training. 30 minutes of walking at 4.5mph on a 3.0 incline, and 30 minutes on a bike. I wanted to do more, but I needed to get home.

Thursday! Thursday! I was kind of in a rush because I had stuff to get done before I headed in, so I "cranked it". 4 miles, with the last 3 at my goal pace for the 1:52 finish (8:31 min/mi). It was challenging, but I could do it. Now I just need to get to where I can do 10 more at that pace, eh? 4 miles in 34:31.

Today is kind of my flex day. It's an extra day built in to my plan in case I need to shuffle workouts if things come up. I've been looking at it as an optional rest and/or cross-training day if needed, and judging by how I'm feeling right now, I think it's going to be rest. I did a lot of walking in addition to my workout yesterday, so I think my muscles could use a break today before my 8 tomorrow (6 of which I'm doing with the training group the store has put together. I'm pretty psyched about that!)
But, even with how early it still is, I already have great news--I won Tricia's  sweet-awesome GoLite gear giveaway! :D:D:D:D Thank you so much, Tricia!
All right, I should head out. I hope you all have a great day and an awesome weekend!