I am so excited that it seems like Spring is FINALLY here.  Of course, given the way this year has been, I have little faith that it won't snow this weekend.  Mom actually mentioned that it might snow in STL this weekend.  Just flurries, but still.  It's April.  Shouldn't we be done with this?

The Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Race was last weekend.  As expected, my two friends who originally were going to run it had to pull out - for valid reasons, so I ran it alone, along with 9,999 strangers.  It was cold and raining, and I did not run fast, but I finished in under 2 hours, which was my goal, so I'm happy.  I'm especially happy considering that my longest training run was only 7.5 miles.  Whoops.  Plus I ran the whole way, walking only through water stops (I still haven't mastered drinking on the run - I get water or Gatorade up my nose). 

I think my knees weren't quite ready for the race, as they've been a bit off all week.  I thought it might be my shoes, but they've got under 100 miles on them.  That said, it might be time to look into a second pair to rotate in.  Something to plan for in next month's budget. 

Has anyone else been watching The Biggest Loser?  I am SO impressed with those people.  I could never do some of the physical activities they're doing, and I weigh less than they do.  Well, than some of them.  Ali totally has me beat.  She looks great though, and I'd love to see her or Kelly win. It's time a woman wins, I think.

The rain has thwarted my plans for today.  Just as I get ready to go outside, the skies open again.  I think its a conspiracy.  Or a sign I should clean my house...

Or just watch tv. 

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I had a physical this week.  The doctor told me that in her opinion, I should stop running and lose 10-15 pounds, but she was not going to tell me to do either of those things.  It was a very weird non-instruction, I have to admit.  Besides, if I stop running, that would make losing 10-15 pounds a whole lot more difficult.

I ran outside today.  I can't take the treadmill any more.  I think all that pounding on the treadmill has been bad for my joints.  My hip is bothering me, as is my knee.  After today's outdoor run, my knee is twinging a little bit, which worries me somewhat, but I am hoping that a day or two of rest is all I need.  I put in 5 miles today.  Behind schedule in my training for the 10 miler I'm running in April, but being sick for a few weeks will do that to you.  The goal is to try for 6 miles next weekend.  I'll have a running partner then, so I'm hopeful she keeps me going.

I've got a crazy couple of weeks coming up.  Cathedral Choral Society concert this coming weekend, AniMal and Lizett's wedding the next weekend, and then on March 17, I start my rotational assignment.  As part of my fellowship, I have to go work at a different agency (of my choice) for 4-6 months.  I'm going to the GAO for 6 months, and I'm looking forward to it.  It's a strange feeling though, since I've only been at my current agency for 6 months.  It should be a good challenge, so I hope I really enjoy it.  If not, I'm still stuck there for 6 months.

I have decided that the weather in D.C. sucks.  It's warmer than St. Louis, but that means lots more cold rain and less snow.  Not that I particularly want snow in D.C. - no one knows how to drive in it.  Snow flurries?  PANIC!  It's ridiculous.  However, if I have to walk through it, I much prefer walking in the snow to walking in the rain.  At least I can take the metro to work and don't actually have to drive along with all the crazy people on most days.

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Things have gotten a little crazy around here lately with work and with the cold that just won't quit.  I don't remember the last time I was this sick.  Two weeks ago, I came down with a cold, spent two days unable to move, had an evil cough for a week, and continue to have a slight annoying cough.  I keep getting told "You should have gotten a flu shot!"  But I never once had a fever, chills, body ache, any of that.  I was exhausted and congested, but none of the other symptoms.  That tells me it wasn't the flu.

I'm feeling better, though still coughing a bit.  It's killed my training for the Cherry Blossom ten-miler.  I was doing 6 and 7 mile runs, and now I fight to get through a 3 mile run.  The Cherry Blossom race has a time limit, which has me a little bit scared, but it's enough that even if I have to walk part of it, I will still make it fine.  I just can't walk a lot of it! 

Work is work.  I'm not going to say much about it, but it has been a source of quite a bit of stress lately.  I just remind myself it's only a job - it's not my life.

So that's where things are now.  Bad Movie Day occurred a few weeks back - I should put up reviews of the super sweet movies we watched.

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Clearly, being back in a cubicle environment is not good for my health.  I have had more colds this winter than I have in years.  Currently, I'm home from work.  Thank goodness for sick days.  I haven't slept well for two nights now, but I think I have found a miracle drug, and hopefully will be back at work tomorrow.  Conveniently, I will likely still sound like a monster is lodged in my throat, so no one can say I was just trying to get a long weekend.

The illness has definitely affected my running.  Thumbs down.

In an effort to try to do more, to take advantage of what D.C. has to offer, I auditioned for, and was accepted into the Cathedral Choral Society.  We rehearse and perform in the National Cathedral.  It is a very cool experience.

And now, back to sitting on the couch and recuperating.  

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Well, my 2007 resolutions and goals... were for the most part not achieved.  I think that's true of so many resolutions though.  Here's the list for this coming year. 

I do resolutions and goals.  To me, a resolution is something that I plan to do, like eat well.  And a goal is a result I want to achieve, like lose 5 lbs.  The two are tied together, but can be achieved separately.  So even if I don't lose 5 lbs, if I ate well, that's still good.

Resolutions

• Try to post at least once a week.
• Keep my finances in check and try to save more.
• Workout at least five times a week.
• Stick to my running plan. 
• Watch what I eat and stick to some sort of healthy eating plan.
• Spend an hour a month on creative writing.
• Stay positive about my job, regardless of how the day goes.

Goals

• Hit my 10% goal weight.
• Run a sub-30:00 5k.
• Run over 125 hours this year.
• Run 1000 km (621.4 miles)

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Well, as it's just about the end of the year, let's see how I did this year with my resolutions and goals.

Resolutions

• Try to post at least twice a week. 
  
• I don't even think I posted once in the month of September.  Whoops.  And I didn't even manage to finish Holidailies this year.
  
• Stay within my budget. 
  
• My budget drastically changed, what with the new job, but so far, so good on that one.
  
• Workout at least five times a week
• This one was going well til I moved and my schedule got all out of whack.  I'd say I got close though.
  
• Stick to my running plan. 
  
• Again, going well until I moved.  But at least I didn't give up.  I came back to it.
  
• Continue to watch what I eat
• This one is going... ok...  See below goals for the miserable details.  I decided to join Weight Watchers to try to keep myself on track.  Running leaves me ravenous, but then I end up eating too much.  There is a happy medium, I just have to find it.
  
• Read two books a month. 
  
• This was possibly the most enjoyable resolution.  I read some terrible books.  But it was still fun.
  
• Spend an hour a week doing creative writing
• I don't even think I did an hour a month.
  
• Spend time each week cleaning the house, rather than letting everything pile up and become disastrous.
• This one is not going too badly, but could probably use work.
  

Goals

• Lose 8 more pounds and keep them off.
• Nope.  Gained about 5 lbs.  I see a 2008 goal here.
  
• Run a sub-30:00 5k
• Only ran two 5ks this year, and the one was mis-measured, I think.  My fastest is still 32:01.  Slow and steady, right?
  
• Run over 100 hours this year
• We have a winner!  I ran 112 hours this year.  That's 4 days and 16 hours.  And considering how dismal the last 4 months of the year have been running wise, it's amazing I did that much!
  
• Be able to run the park path by the end of the year.
• This one came with a caveat that I still live in the area at the end of the year.  Clearly, I don't.  As to whether or not I could run the park path... well, that's up in the air, so let's just say this one was not quite completed. 

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I have officially failed at Holidailies.  I blame the internet though.  The internet connection at my parents' house pretty much died and I couldn't really access anything.  I suppose I could have posted in some sort of manner, but really, it wasn't exactly at the top of my list.

I am back home, however.  I can't decide if my cats are happy to see me or if they are just enjoying sniffing everything that I brought home.  I am sure that I brought home a whole lot of interesting smells, what with all the pets at my parents' house.  I had to ship most of my presents to myself, however, and they won't arrive until Thursday.  Kind of takes a bit of the thrill out of it.  But I wouldn't have been able to take them on the plane.  I got a bunch of new pots and pans, which I am very excited about.  I need to clean out what I have and make room for everything.

I finally got sworn in while I was home.  I am officially licensed to practice law!  That was an exciting moment.

It was nice to be home though.  It was good to get to spend time with the family.  I'll see my sister this spring, but I'm not sure when I'll get to see everyone else.  We're talking about a trip to Disney with my aunts and cousins, but whether or not my dad comes for a few days is still up in the air.

I also decided to kick my training into gear.  More running, fewer potato chips.  That plan starts tomorrow.  And then on Monday, I will go out for New Year's, and the plan will have to be re-started, but hey, you do what you have to do.

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I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year.  Anyone else?  Yes, that's right.  50,000 word novel in one month.  And next month I've got to spend a few days in PMF training as well.  Should be an adventure.  I'm prepared to write the biggest pile of awfulness ever.  But it's still a fun way to waste time.

This weekend, MB and I went and looked at monuments in DC.  It was a good time, but it proves how lazy we are.  Admittedly, I did go running in the morning, but about 2.5 miles in, we decided we were tired of monuments and just went home.

We did go running this morning though.  We're not that bad.

And now, I leave you with a hilarious picture from Erin and Jay's wedding.  I have no idea what was going on, but clearly it was awesome.

EJ215218

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Long time no post.  Good job, self.

So the basics of it are that I have moved to the Washington D.C. area, started work, had some fun, and done my best to try to get back into running.  Oh, and I found out on Monday that I passed the bar exam!  All that work wasn't for nothing.  So that has made the week pretty sweet.  No idea how I'm going to get sworn in, but I don't even care. It's done and I never have to take the bar exam again.  Well, at least not that particular bar exam.

There are a ton of great places to run here.  I'm just not so good at taking advantage of them.  When the weather cools off a bit, I want to start running the monuments.  For now, I just run in my neighborhood, hitting some crazy trails on the weekend.  It's nice, but I'm not quite back to my 16-20 mile weeks just yet.  Soon enough though.  I have to admit, I'm glad I decided not to start marathon trianing when I moved.  It just would have been too much, what with everything going on.  I'm just going to try to get back into shape, increase my mileage again, and then think about marathoning.  Maybe the Marine Corps Marathon next year?  Maybe not.  This year's is at the end of the month, and I'm thinking about going down to the race to cheer on the runners. 

Work is good.  Don't want to say too much, but the people are, on the whole, very friendly, and the work is interesting. Starting a new job is always a bit slow, but things are starting to pick up.  It's only my 3rd week after all!

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MakeTracks07

Yesterday, I ran the Make Tracks for the Zoo 5K.  Sadly, it wasn't actually held in the zoo but rather near the zoo in Forest Park.  Still a pretty good course.  It was a huge race.  I think they said there were 2500 participants - though that includes the run, the walk, and the 1 mile run as well.  Still though.  Tons of people.  Tons of very fast people.  I was just pleased that I kept a pretty steady pace throughout.  So I passed a ton of people during the second mile - people who started out too fast and just couldn't keep it up.  My goal was to just keep a steady pace and run well, which I did/

I ran the race in right around 32:00.  Fast for me!  But still incredibly slow.  I'd like to get under 30:00.  Maybe by next year.

I beat these guys though.

CIMG0318

And these guys too.

CIMG0310

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