Monday, September 1, 2014

BRB - Going Back to School

I often start blog posts start with "I can't believe it's already [insert day/month]."  Well, it's September, and I can't believe it.  (Surprised?)

I've been absent from the blogging scene -- partially because I've been absent from the running scene. One of the challenges of writing a blog about running is that you need to be racing (or engaged in some related activity) to have content beyond "I went for a run today."  To be honest, I've enjoyed the break from race training because it gave me time to enjoy that my best friend was here for an entire summer.  I had time to get settled into my new apartment, go to my five-year college reunion, see BeyoncĂ© live, get my canning on, get to know some new friends, and explore some new hobbies.  

This isn't to say that I haven't been running.  It's just been less pressured; that is, I don't feel like I have to run and don't feel the guilt of missing a workout.  Since the marathon, I've averaged about 52 miles a month -- which is probably a normal amount of running if I think like a rational person and not like an obsessive marathoner.  I ran the Crystal City Twilighter in July and made it more about having a consistent race than trying to hit a PR.  Later this month, I'm running the Navy 5-miler; and, while it'll be nice to PR, I'm really just going to enjoy it. 

With school starting this week (eeep!), I don't know how much I'll have time to train for longer distances. I'd like to say that I'm going to have time to train for a half marathon, but I don't know if that's going to be the case (hopefully, by spring, I'll be able to figure that out).  But, I'd be just as happy trading running crazy distances for other pursuits and building relationships.  Besides, there's nothing like training for a long distance race in the heat of summer, which is when I'll have a little more breathing room (at least until I get to the dissertating phase).

Things will probably be quiet here for a while, but I'll try to keep this updated with tales of my journey to becoming Dr. B.  (New blog title! Called it!)