My Race Schedule (!!!)

Oh, hello blog.  Sorry, I was just so busy with work this past week, I really just forgot you were here.  But I'm back!  And the amazing weather this weekend allowed me to run outside and get super excited to set some running goals.  I have some races for this year that I would like to run, so maybe I can knock out some of these ambitious running goals I have.  Except the marathon.  That is not happening this year.

But here's what I think will be happening (A race schedule!!!):

March 16-NIXPO 5K
I'm going to try to get Rand to run this one with me!

March 23-Pitter Pat 10K

This was my first 5K last year that I finished in less than 30 minutes.  I finished in a little over 28 minutes, actually.  This year I plan to run the 10K.  10K isn't a distance I'm interested in running very often, but I want to try it out.

April 6-The Color Run 5K

This one is just for fun.  I will not get a new 5K PR-it's not even timed, but I thought I would put it on here anyway!

April 27-Frisco Highline Railroad Run Half Marathon

I think I can....you see, it was just a month and a half ago my long runs were around 7 miles.  And then I got sick, and then it got cold, and then it got harder to run again.  Right now, I can run four miles anytime, and I think I could go farther if I pushed hard enough (but I'm afraid of getting hurt) so I'm just going to pick up another half marathon training plan and start at the 5 mile week.  I have plenty of time for this if I can stick to a schedule.

May 18-Joplin Memorial Run Half Marathon

May is so perfect for running...so I want to try this one too!  We'll see!

June 9-American Red Cross Run for REDiness 5K

My husband loves the Red Cross.  Have a mentioned he's a professional lifeguard?  If I run this alone I will be trying for a PR in less than 25 minutes.  But maybe I can get Rand to run it with me. :)

So there you go.  There are always 5K's all over the place, so hopefully I can find one to PR in.  But this is the year of longer races for me.  I'm so excited!

Are you planning any races for this year?
 

Running goals and the good old days

One of the awesome benefits of my husband working at a university is getting to eat at the student dining halls. We have gotten very spoiled and are in the habit of eating there every evening for dinner.  The spring semester doesn't start until next week though so this week has been rough.  We've had to figure out how to prepare delicious meals on our own and on our Dave Ramsey budget.

Funny thing, though, I was standing in the kitchen tonight with Rand, and he was cooking and we were listening to records, and I was dancing with our cat, and I just thought about how I usually wish most days away, dreaming of a future when we live somewhere beautiful and have more money and aren't taking classes anymore.  But really, these are the good old days of my life. Someday I'm going to look back and wish more than anything that I could go back to that kitchen with Rand and our cats and the record player.

*sigh*

So here's some pictures of these beautiful cats that fill my heart with love and happiness everytime I see them:

A possible explanation for my warm and fuzzy mood tonight might be that I finally got it in gear and went for a run!  I had gotten sick a week before Christmas and I was really sick for about two weeks.  Then it got really cold, and our gym was closed because the university was closed (maybe we should move onto campus?) so I just didn't run.  I think with running you have to run to appreciate running.  It's kind of a hard thing to get into because if you haven't had a really satisfying fun, it's hard to understand why anyone would want to do it.  So after not running for about three weeks, I was starting to forget what was so great about it.
 

But then I decided to go for it tonight.  And I'm so glad I did.  I only went three miles, but I feel awesome.  And then I came home to my warm little house and my wonderful man and sweet cats and yummy dinner.  Seriously, how did I get so lucky?

Still really excited about the dining hall opening back up again.


Anyone else have a great workout or some ambitious fitness goals?

Do you cook for yourself?  What in the world do you cook?  
-I only have about five things I rotate when I have to cook, and they're all Hamburger Helper or Marie Calendar's. :(

The show that kills me (haha) and trying new coffee

 

Oh Dexter-I need more of you!!!

I just finished Season 6 and ohmaword, I NEED more.  Yes, I'm always running a season behind because rather than pay for cable and Showtime I wait for seasons to come out on Netflix.  Major bummer, but better for my budget.  And this season did not disappoint!  It was incredible.  Actually, this show is really bad for me because when it arrives in the mail I can do nothing but watch every episode back to back until it's all done.  I am still in my pajamas. 

It's like Battlestar Galactica.  (Season 2 of Portlandia also just became available on Netflix.  Always. A. Season. Behind.)

So it's 8:00 pm and I have accomplished nothing today.  Did not run.  Or read.  Or make anything. Or do anything.

I went to Starbucks today, as I do every Saturday morning, and instead of ordering a caramel latte, I ordered a white chocolate mocha.

Yeah, pretty much tastes exactly the same to me.  Until you get to the end, then there's some sweet stuff that sort of sits at the bottom of the cup I guess.  So...I'm not the coffee connoisseur I had hoped I was.  Or that one just wasn't that great.   I'm thinking next I'll try the caramel machiatto, but if I still don't taste much of a difference I'm going back to my old stand-by.   Caramel lattes are the cheapest thing on the menu (probably why I started ordering them) and there's no sense in using up my gift cards too fast.

Do you have a favorite drink at Starbucks?  What is it?

What TV show are you currently addicted to?

Did you change into something other than your pajamas today?

1984

 

{Source}

I have owned two copies of this book for many years and just now decided to read it.  My fabulous life as a teacher means a long, lovely Christmas break, so I was able to read this one straight through in about four days.  It was crazy and a little scary...and I liked it!  

It's all about the things the most annoying people I know are scared of-the government watching you closely, trying to patrol your thoughts, taking away all of your weapons and your ability to fight back, and making you disappear if you don't conform.  Interesting to note Party also stayed in power by constantly keeping their people at war, by promoting their ideas through children, and by altering history to support their claims.   Well, let's stop here.

Next, I considered finishing Jack Kerouac's On The Road because I only read it about halfway through, but I hated it and I may just give it up.  That book has a few good quotable lines, like the title of this blog and that "The ones for me are the mad ones.." but the rest of the book was a mess. 

So what to read next?

What good books have you read lately?