I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

I will probably start to blog more faithfully now.  I probably will not catch up on everyone's blog until this weekend.  This is finals week and grades are due at 3 on Friday.  I will be grading myself silly during this week.

Running hasn't been great,  but I've kept relatively consistent.  Except for last week.  I had a sour tummy and troubles all week.  It's hard to run when you're about to have some sort of explosion any minute.  I did feel better by Friday, but I had class on Friday and Saturday.  By the time I got home Saturday (at 4) I just figured that missing one more day wouldn't make much of a difference.  What the heck, right?  I am basically starting over as far as running is concerned anyway.

BUT

I am done with my master's!  Hooray!  I am happy to be done.  Getting all of my work finished has been my #1 stress for the last two months.  I never have to go to class ever again.  I never have to write another paper ever again!  Now I just have to wait till February to see if I might have a new job next year...

Running on the frozen tundra.  It was slow going, but still fine. 

My only plans for this year are to run the Illinois 1/2 with my normal running buddy.  I'm proud of him--he signed up for the race even though he is just getting off chemo.  I know he is going to do this race even if he has to walk it, and this year I will stay with him.  So I may be looking for another 1/2 to race, either 3 weeks before or a couple weeks after. 

I decided that I would use a different route so that hopefully sidewalks would be more clear.  I didn't have to run in any ankle deep snow, but it was still slow because the sidewalks were spotty at best.  I tried to speed up in places where the sidewalks were clear, but it was hard to get anything good going, since clear patches lasted maybe 3 houses.  So pace was slow, but that was to be expected.

My #2 stress since I stopped blogging was that we have been unable to conceive (still).  In the beginning of November I had to learn to accept the fact that it wasn't going to happen.  So we did a lot of clearing out of baby stuff.  We gave our furniture (crib and dressers) to my brother, who is expecting a girl in March.  We are not 100% sure that we will or won't try again...but for now I'm back on the pill because that's my only chance of success, according to my doctor.  In theory when I go off of the pill my body will do what it's supposed to for a couple months, until it sputters to a stop again.

I wish I had looked into a crystal ball a long time ago.  I would have done a number of things differently.  But I know what they say about hindsight :)

I always start the week off right, but the week never ends as I hope.  This week was a frenzy of grading portfolios.  I stayed late at school on Thurs. to grade, went to Caleb's Christmas program, and then went to bed.  Woke up early on Friday, was at school by 5:30, graded until quitting at 5.  Grades were due at 3 Friday.  I didn't finish till noon on Saturday.  It was my tactical error--this year I added a speech component to the senior final and that (+ an unproductive snowday on Monday) left me with less time than normal to finish.  These miles were halfhearted, but I felt that I needed to do them.

Probably one of the most ridiculous runs I have ever gone on.  It was snowing hard, but I thought I'd venture out.  The sidewalks were relatively clear for the first mile (and where they weren't I could run in the street).  Then it was slow going.  Visibility was bad.  On one of the busy roads where no one shoveled I walked because the snow was mid-calf deep.  At least it wasn't windy.  Once I got through that I decided to turn up to meet up with where I had already traveled so I could head back.  

But it was kinda pretty.

We had a little melting today.  I went a different route than yesterday and it wasn't terrible.

I finally finished my Christmas shopping!  I just cross trained when I came home.