I was cleaning out some comment spam, so thought I'd stop and say hi. It's been so long since I've posted anything, it's kind of hard to start. First, I want to thank you for your congratulatory comments on my previous post. Here's a brief update on what's going on with me:
I haven't run for a couple of months now. I hurt my hip and have been seeing a PT. He say's it's tendonitis and has been working on it for a month now. I'm feeling a lot better and hope to be able to run soon. I'm doing light weight training and yesterday walked on the treadmill for a whopping 20 minutes. It's the little things.
My friend Bunny ran the California Int'l Marathon in Sacramento last December and I went up to cheer her on. It was ridiculously cold that day and she was way underdressed. I joked that it "felt like snow", and in fact it did snow the next day. Bunny hasn't run a marathon in a few years and did really well. She missed a BQ by 15 minutes, but it was still a huge PR for her. If it hadn't been so cold I think she would have qualified. I commend her for finishing; I'm not sure I would have.
It was nice to watch a marathon for a change. After Bunny ran in, SD and I walked to the car. We passed the 5 hour people as they straggled in. Trying to cheer them on, I yelled to one group that they were looking good. I remembered what a boost that gave me in New York. It seemed to have the opposite effect though. These guys just looked at me like I was on crack.
SD and I went to Munich the week before Christmas. He had been to Munich in Dec. '76 and remembered the Christmas markets and wanted to experience that with me. It was pretty magical. We also took an overnight trip to Salzburg and a day trip to Garmisch. A friend of ours has a second home there and he took us to the Olympic ski jump area and the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany. I was excited to be in the Alps. I was also glad I still had my winter coat and boots from when I lived in Mpls. because it snowed while we were there.
Returning home on the 23rd, it was a scramble to get ready for hosting the family dinner, but it was well worth it. My dad really enjoyed himself and I was happy to be able to give him that. It was pretty clear that it would be his last Christmas; he was wasting away from the cancer. He died on January 6 and even though it was expected, it was still too soon. I moved here to be close to my parents when they needed me in their old age, but I thought it'd be another 10 years or so. I'm glad I moved here when I did, though, since I was able to share some good times with them. Mom is doing as well as could be expected. She's adjusting to life without her partner of 46 years and learning how to manage what Dad used to manage for them. My sister, Deni, and I are helping as much as we can.
But I had a good year in 2009, running wise. I PRd in every distance I ran except the marathon. I'm going to give it another try--I'm registered for Chicago in October. It will be my seventh marathon and I'm hoping that's my lucky number. I've got a start on strength training with the physical therapy and I plan to build on that.
I'm also registered for the San Francisco half in July. It's the same route as the marathon and you can run the first half or the second half. Ever the optimist, I opted for the second half, cause it's supposed to be faster.
But before I train for those races, I have a 50-mile bike ride coming up at the end of April. Gulp! I have become so out of shape with everything that's been going on that I hope I can get my fitness level up in time. It's called the Wildflower ride (not the same as the triathlon) and I'm expecting it to be beautiful. I'm looking forward to it.