A Brand New Goal

So the past few months I've set goals for a certain number of miles to be fun over a 30-31 day period. This is all well and good, but I'm ready for more.

Providing I don't injure myself, here's my goal for July and August: To run the Lake Country Half Marathon on September 2. That's right. I'm making it public, because that's how goals come to fruition. I have a training plan, and it looks doable on paper. In practice, it might be tricky, if only because of time management, and fitting in an hour or more of running 4 days a week. It may also be tricky getting myself to rest on those other 3 days, when I'm in the habit of going out for shorter runs every day.

I'm crazy excited about this. You know you're obsessed when you spend your run thinking about running, and I've been thinking about this half since I got the flyer on my car a month ago at the Bravado Challenge.

If anyone would like to do it with me, or train with me, I would love that.

60 Miles in June

Another one bites the dust... Running goal completed, sticker chart filled in, and I'm satisfied. I wasn't too sure I was going to make this month's goal, since I kept hurting my foot and needed to take quite a few days off to rest. But some hard work and dedication, and a couple of double runs at the end of the month, paid off, and I managed to finish off in style.

Some highlights and musings of the jogging month, for those who care about my new obsession:

• I've managed to plot out very nice routes ranging anywhere from 1/2 mile to 6 miles all over the city, near my house, my work, downtown, church, and friends' houses. This really helps to keep up variety.
  
• Running on vacation or while camping is a great addition to the trip. It's such a wonderful way to get out and see different scenery, and makes for a refreshing beginning to your day.
  
• It's also become my biggest stress relief. Pounding the pavement when I'm ticked off at the world does so much more than moping ever did.
  
• I've noticed that once you start running, you start to make a lot of friends who run, too. This is fun, but I feel like an outsider, not having run track or CC in high school or college. Am I a faker?
• Lastly, what do I do with my keys and ID? I switch between clipping my keys to my shoe (very annoying jingling sound) and carrying them, and I sometimes tuck my ID in my shorts, but I'm not satisfied with any of those options. Surely there's got to be a good solution out there to run in safety.

And as usual, I've rewarded myself with a treat from REI. Well, I bought myself a treat from REI, and decided that since I met my jogging goal, I could excuse the purchase by calling it a
reward. Meet my Arc Teryx Bora 75 pack. I need to stop shopping at that store...

Ouch!

This is belated, I know, but it's taken me this long to recover from last weekend's fun in Crivitz, WI, where paintball was played and funyaks were paddled up and down the river. Well, mostly don the river.

You know you're living a great life when you have a chance to go into the woods with eleven of your closest friends, and shoot them. Paintball might be my new favorite sport. And for those keeping track at home, I only cried once, and my bruises have almost faded.

Also, Taco John, wherever you are, you're my new hero.

Thunderstorms are Nearly As Sexy As Ben Harper

Seriously. If we're talking about sounds that make me giddy happy, gushing about everything that's right with the world, then the music that God creates with His storms ranks right up there with the likes of Mr. Shawn Mc Donald and Mr. Ben Harper. The storm tonight is definitely not of the mellow, acoustic, variety that I've come to love out of these gentlemen, but it certainly is soulful and dreamlike, but with a strong, fierce energy that's about more than just the sound. The storm brings everything together in a wild blend of light and wind and rain, engaging every sense and causing you to pause in your everyday life and just listen.

This is music.

The Break Up - A Review

I've been meaning to see this one for awhile, but since I so infrequently watch movies at all since Movie Club ended, there's usually something more meaningful or worthy of my time standing in the way. Tonight, though, my friend and I just needed something that didn't require too much thinking, and that would keep me awake (Children of Men and Pursuit of Happyness were the runners up, for those keeping score). We chose relationship humor over anything more serious.

All I'd like to say is this: 1. I don't like when movies make girls look dumb, and this movie did a few times. Jennifer Aniston redeemed herself eventually, though, I think. 2. For a comedy, it was a little too thought provoking for my liking. A few parts where I found myself nodding off. 3. I really liked the ending.