Mid week

Many jobs have been applied to this week, probably in the 30 plus range. I'm getting excited for the leads I have, and anxious for more leads to come through.

In running news, I realized that I have come in 1st place in my age group at both races I've run this year. Not all that tremendous--I generally run local races--but exciting for me nonetheless.

Still here

Apologies for any distress caused by my month of absence.

I'm up to just about 450 miles on the year and still plugging at least a mile a day. In the last week I've put in miles in the hills of Ohio; Durham, NC on the campus of Duke University; and the Appalachian Trail near Bland, Virginia. All in all an exciting week.

Just after my tonsils healed completely I got the flu, and just after that ended I went down to NC and either have a cold or some relatively severe allergies. I'm still wondering what it feels like to be completely healthy again.

That's all for now, updates will now come more than once a month. Maybe.

Back at it

Two days of actual running, jogging rather, have been very successful. Monday was a 4 miler, half of it in pouring rain/hail with some lightning thrown in for good measure. Pulled off 4 easy 8 minute miles with no difficulty. I think it has something to do with the 10 pounds I've misplaced since getting my tonsils out.
Last night put in just over 6 miles at 9 minute miles in lovely 55 degree weather. Today and for the next handful of days the high temperature is in the 70s, which will make for more excellent shorts while running weather.
For the moment, though, I'm just waiting until the Meijer pharmacy gets my prescription for painkiller refilled.

It continues

Today should be the day I can actually 'run' instead of shuffle about at a pace faster than a walk. Even with the recovery from my tonsillectomy going on I've managed to keep putting in a mile or more each day. Now that the weather is nice I can easily get ready to roll with just a pair of shorts and a tshirt. No need to pile on gloves, jacket, shorts, pants, extra socks, baselayer, hat.

326.92 miles in 2012 so far.

Goodbye tonsils

Tonsils are gone. Managed to get a mile in the morning before my surgery, and then today I got outside to walk about a bit and timed a mile of it in order to keep the streak alive.

I'd rate wisdom teeth at worse than tonsils right now. I'm not in pain, just very uncomfortable. However it is only day 2, less than 36 hours without my tonsils, so I can't say for certain that it's easy sailing from here on out.

Out of Juice

Turned a rough long run into a great opportunity today!

14.5 miles today. I started running through all my energy about 9 miles in. Kept on plugging away and made my last couple miles in the 8:00 mile range. Apparently I was pretty low on electrolytes because I plowed through a bunch of potato chips when I got back. Should have brought more food with me.

128 miles for February; only 15 miles shy of January's total with 3 days left in the month to keep on trucking!

Reaching the century mark yet again

96 miles in February. Will get to 100 miles tonight! Last night was the first night all year where I got home and thought "I need to run tonight", instead of "I get to run tonight". It was a rough first few steps, but like usual I got into the stride of it and had a great 3.5 miles at an easy pace. Easy pace last night turned out to be about a 9 minute mile, which felt like I could run forever.
Without the snow, I feel lighter and faster, so I'm excited for the snow to disappear. Then I'll be lighter and faster all the time. I'm also excited for there to be more light after I get out of work. It would be great to see a fellow runner while I'm out, which now is generally half an hour to an hour after it gets dark.

I have stitches in a toe from a biopsy I had on Friday. They hurt quite a bit on Friday and Saturday, but I don't notice them now unless I do something weird with my foot. They come out in a week, but they don't effect anything about my life now, so there isn't really anything to look forward to in that respect.

See everybody on the road!

Legends Drum and Bugle Corps

This weekend is a Legends rehearsal weekend. Looking forward to spending the weekend ironing out the opener. If you know anybody interested in marching band, Legends still has several open positions. You can find out more information at the website above.

The trickiest thing about a rehearsal camp is finding time to run. I like to use it as a rest because I can usually only fit in a few miles per day. It's a great way to recharge: teach some music that I had a hand in sculpting, teach some excited musicians a technique that I have been allowed to implement, hang with some staff from across the country, and put in less than 5 miles over the course of a weekend.

Come Monday I'll be recharged and ready to dominate a workweek, pump up some mileage, and apply for jobs across the nation.

Now it's time for a biopsy!!

The punishment continues

87 miles in February thus far. Considering last year I put in only 90 total miles in the month of February, I'll say I've been successful to date. I've run 46 days in a row, which doesn't sound all that impressive to me yet, but I'm sure it will get there.


Remember, I'm running for a reason. Well, I'm using my running to generate money for a good cause. It's not the reason I'm running, but it keeps me moving all the same. DONATE!

...one more thing

I hit 200 miles for the year sometime this weekend...either Friday or Saturday. Last year it took about a week into March to hit that mileage.

I was wrong...

...winter is not done. Last night I ran in the -1 windchill. Tonight I put in 4.5 miles against more of the same. The benefit of the bitter cold is that the birds outside the window have shut up in the morning.

I think that soreness is a thing of the past. I said that with winter, so hopefully I don't wake up without being able to move tomorrow.

They're out there...

Two things: Tonight I was abducted by aliens. At least according to Garmin.

Topping out above 600 mph, I took a shortcut across Kalamazoo, then back again, covering two miles in 30 seconds. The only frustration out of this is that it added two or three miles to my total. 

Second: Running everyday has made my calves enormous. Last week was a week of immense soreness, but after my long run on Sunday all is well. Each run is getting easier, so I think I've built up an excellent base to start adding in some faster material to my weeks. 

It's Puppy Bowl Sunday

Today there was some backwards, human version of the Puppy Bowl on TV.

It was also my first double digit mileage run in just over two months. I wore some shorts, my Point Six socks that I won in my first trail race last October, and packed up my Amphipod belt with some snacks and water. Not having to wear a hat and gloves to sweat all over, I had quite a bit of fun being on the road for almost 100 minutes.

Just before I hit the road, I saw a small bird flying laps over a small creek, dipping low to touch the water. It wasn't moving fast, so I began to think it wasn't a bird. Upon closer inspection, because the little guy let me get pretty close while he took some drinks, I saw that it was a tiny bat. It was sticking out its wee tongue to snag some water from the creek. He was probably pretty pissed when he woke up today to discover that it was going to dip below freezing again, forcing him back into hibernation. I've never seen a bat in the daylight, so it was pretty cool for me.

Why would anybody steal a groundhog?

Put in a varied pace 3.1 miles today, just down the road and back. Thrilled that I topped out at 5:30 pace for just about half mile. To date, I have 155 miles under my belt. Last year it took me another two weeks to hit that mileage. No new news on the GotR front, but please spread the word and direct people here to click the donation link!

Groundhog's Day Eve

A new month.

Just 7 miles tonight. Not speedy by any means, about a 9:30 pace throughout. I broke out the Injinji socks tonight. If you are into socks, Injinji is where it's at. If you don't like toe socks...that's your loss. I've spread the word through the 'book to this page, so if you're coming from one of the Facebook pages I stumbled across today, welcome.

In news combining two of my favorite things: I present the Zombie Dash. Well, I am not presenting it. But I'm advocating it. I did a hash run in October and really liked the vibe (there's a possible bias because I took first overall by 5 minutes) and I like the goal-oriented adventure race checklist thingy. I definitely enjoy the challenge of trail running AND running at night is very freeing for me. At the very least, it's good training for the zombie apocalypse.

Results Are In!

January is just about done.
145.62 miles in my 366 day challenge so far.

The weather tonight was fantastic, 53 with some rain here and there. Saw some fellow runners outdoors for the first time all year. Nobody really looked happy to be running, and nobody bothered to respond to my enthusiastic greetings. Their loss, I say. It was fun to be outside in shorts, with no hat and gloves. The wind picked up a little (a lot) near the end, and my mile times definitely show it.

I ended at 9 miles, which is the furthest I've run in my VivoBarefoot Evos. If nothing else, putting in mileage every day has made my feet extremely durable.

1/12 of the way through with 2012, looking forward to the next 1,000+ miles!

30 down

With nearly one month down, I've knocked down 136.6 miles. It's taken 20 hours, 56 minutes and 56 seconds and I've burned 20,126 calories.

Is there anyone out there that knows about the kindness of local businesses? Not anywhere in particular, but just in general. I'd like to see about getting local Kalamazoo businesses to match, or supplement in some way, the individual donations that are received by way of my activity. I'm still trying to figure out this whole blogging experience, but you're supposed to be able to leave a post. If you have any experience raising funds, let me know.

One last thing. It was warm out today. I can't speak for yesterday, but it was even warmer today.

The 366 Day Challenge

In 2012, I'm doing what I call the 366 Day Challenge. Every day this year I'm going to run at least 1 mile. To date I've been successful, and have put 125 miles under my belt. 

Initially the undertaking was solely a personal challenge. Not to see if I could put in the miles, but to see if I could muster the dedication of running each day in rain, shine, snow, ice, hail, wind, and later on this year a potential Mayan doomsday scenario. Since starting the 366 Day Challenge, I've partnered with Girls on the Run Kalamazoo to use my goal for something greater than myself. I'd like to think that a person reading about my mission of running the calendar this year would feel at least an inkling of inspiration. If that person is you, feel free to donate to Girls on the Run Kalamazoo at the link on my blog. 

If a monetary donation isn't your thing, Girls on the Run also has ample opportunities for volunteering you can participate in. Look them up and find what you can do. 

Ultimately, the real challenge is personal. Am I able to run every day this year? I'd like to think so, but I'm only 4 weeks down so far. More than raising money for any organization, my goal is to challenge myself and challenge others. If I don't raise a cent, but half of the people reading this decide to get out of bed and be active for half an hour each day, then I think I've done an okay job. 

I read a poster once, or a picture online, or something similar. It showed a girl running and the caption read "Someone who is busier than you is running right now." When decided that I would do this, I realized that a mile takes less than 15 minutes if you're taking it easy, less than 10 if you're moving at a decent clip, and less than 8 if you're in a hurry. There's always time to get moving during the day.