Hi, My Name is Ada

"Are you done with your blog?" my mother asked yesterday when I stopped in to eat lunch and steal some of her speedy wi-fi to download a new batch of podcasts.

"No!" I said, somewhat surprised by the question, until I realized it really had been two and a half months since I last blogged.

How did this happen?!

For one thing, March ended up being a month full of freelance work and travel. What free time there was, was devoted to half-marathon training. Then winter just didn't stop, and somehow the days between blogging turned into weeks, which turned into months, and well, now it's 81 degrees, the lakes are ice free and the world is full of blossoms and bugs. 

The thing is, a lot has happened in these two and a half months (as you might guess), so here's the bullet point version real quick like of what's been going on since I last wrote.

Andy caught a big fish. He also got to enjoy using his snowmobile for five whole months. Yay winter?

Meanwhile, I was in Chicago, spending important time with my elderly grandparents and other family for a long weekend at the end of March. The official reason why we were all gathered was to run the annual Shamrock Shuffle 8K in downtown Chicago; my brother and his girlfriend came down from the lower peninsula of Michigan for the race too. Here's part of the crew waiting for the "L" home after the race. When I signed up for the race, I figured I'd be lucky to run the race in 55 minutes, but I actually finished with a time of 47:40. To say I'm ecstatic in this picture would be a major understatement.

Unfortunately running the race that fast triggered my old friend, patellofemoral pain syndrome. Also known as runner's knee, this malady is very common running injury (so much for a cool, funky chronic pain issue), particularly among females. It's been rearing its ugly head in my left knee since my early teens, but after running all last summer pain-free, I thought maybe we'd finally parted ways. Bahahaha.

April was a rather glum time as I kissed my beloved half marathon training schedule good-bye, iced my knee multiple times a day (during which I read a really awful Marilyn Monroe biography), spent a lot of time on the living room floor doing physical therapy, and going on a handful of painful short runs. In other words, not really how I'd planned to spend the final weeks before a May 3rd half marathon.

Knee pain aside, April had plenty of bright spots, including a bridal shower for a good friend, Easter celebrations at the cabin, and even a lovely memorial service for a great uncle. I also finished reading the Game of Thrones series . . . that only took 17 months. ;) 

Also, it kept snowing. The picture below was taken on April 25. The seemingly endless winter made it awfully hard to believe that my fifth season at work was just a couple weeks a way. Happily, I managed to get my rear in gear and actually get necessary things (you know, like gift shop orders) done.

Then all of sudden it was May and Jenny was coming into town for the Ham Run Half Marathon. I'd gone running only five times in April and my longest distance had just been eight miles. Still, I truly felt (with a little athletic tape and some ibuprofen) that I could do 13.1 miles. (Actually 13.2 miles - the course is long.) So I did.

Back in March, when I was healthy, I'd hoped to run the race in the 2:10 - 2:20 range, but considering my training and injury, when I crossed the starting line, I just wanted to also cross the finish line. 2:44:11 later, and I did. At the time I finished, I was too tired and hungry to be to overwhelmed by the accomplishment, but the more time that passes, the more I can't believe I did it - particularly after the three short runs I've huffed and puffed my way through since the race. On a bright note, after six weeks, my knee is finally pain-free again and I plan to keep it that way.

The weekend after the race, it was crafting weekend. As usual, this was such a happy fun time, until on Saturday evening, five out of seven crafters were brought down by a nasty Norovirus. Friends who barf together, stay together? Photo by the lovely Anne Victoria - pre-spewing, obvi.

 

With a slightly queasy stomach, I headed back to work full time the Monday after crafting weekend, and that's pretty much what I've been doing since. Today, I got half the garden into the ground, and also managed to clean the bathroom at long last (and make ice cream sandwiches - my real priority of the day). It's been a happy, happening time around here; I hope you've been well too.