Where Have I Been?

Well I could blame getting married for the busy summer that brought an end to my blogging at chasing forrest, but to be honest, being married had nothing to do with the busy schedule that ensued post-marital bliss.  We were away all but 2 weekends throughout the summer and thus, blogging ceased. 

However, running didn't.  I continued to train for the Baystate Marathon in October, and though I was babying a hip injury, I did manage to get all my long runs in.  My mileage was nowhere near where it was for my Hyananis training, but it was enough to pull me through.  I finished Baystate with a 3:46.49 and was mostly pleased.  This was one of those races that you learn a lot from.  Going into it, I was hoping to bq, but for the most part, I wasn't expecting to.  Therefore, I had NO plan.  I didn't know how my legs would react to so much less training.  Well, the result was interesting.  I maintained a 3:30 pace for the first 15 miles.  "Hmmmm."  I thought to myself while running alongside a young man aiming for 3:30 at the 14 miler marker, this will probably not end well.  And then, shortly after I heckled the Pats fans out on the course with a "Go G-men!" my legs proceeded to die.  This was not a slow death, but a halting, painful, humiliating leg demise.  Needless to say, I got what I deserved in the long run, (no pun intended) and laughed myself across the finish line.  I definitely recommend this race and would do it again, just with either more miles behind me, or a much more conservative (or present) plan. 

I've also tried out some shorter distances since my last post.  I've done a 10 miler, a 10K, 2 different 5 milers and a 5K.  Each race has brought out a PR (the 10 miler and 10K were my first, so I guess that's not really fair but...) and the two 5 milers brought trophies (one in the shape of a turkey!)  Running, it seems, has been going relatively well.  Though my hip still isn't one hundred percent and I'm a bit nervous going back into marathon training. 

What's next on the running front?  The Country Music Marathon on April 30th.  I'll be running my 4th race with Team in Training and I am psyched to be back at it.  I haven't planned out my exact plan yet, but am not sure if I want to stick with pfitz or try something new.  I'd love to get back to 60 mile weeks, but I've got to be fair to the hip as well. 

What's up in life.  Well, I'm still teaching 7th grade.  I'm loving my students this year, so it's been fun to go to work!  Eric and I are enjoying marital bliss.  We just got our first Christmas tree and may even be hosting Christmas Eve Dinner.  

That's all for now.  I've got some grading, planning, and fund-raising to get to!