I’m sorry!
I know, it’s been a long time since I had a chance to post. Like I explained the last time, I had a huge deadline at work. Seriously–if this didn’t go well, things wouldn’t have been pretty. But luckily, with a lot of hard work (and a slight deadline extension) we completed our work and more, so I think everyone is happy.
In other news, other than spending countless hours at work over the past few weeks, running is pretty much all I did. I’m lazy, so here’s an excerpt from my training plan, going all the way back to early September during the week when I sprained my ankle and caught the devil cold:

Enjoy this picture, because it’s the only one I have for this post. LAME, I know, but like I said, I’ve had some other priorities the past few weeks.
If you’ll look at the last entry, you’ll see that I ran a half marathon this morning…and it went well! It wasn’t a PR, but I’m happy for several reasons:
- It was a very challenging course. Out in the country and lots of rolling hills. Not to mention that the two longest and steepest hills were in the last 1.5 miles. Now that’s just sadistic.
- It was extremely windy, and the wind was directly in my face for the last three miles–including while running up the two devil hills at the end.
- I made a rookie mistake again and went out too fast. At the mile mark I heard a volunteer reeling off times and yell “6:45!” as I passed her. FRICK. I’m pretty sure a “Son of a bit… gun” escaped my lips at this point.
- I’m six months post serious injury that kept me laid up for over two months. No matter what happened today, I went out there realizing that this day and my ability to run are both gifts from God. As long as you use the gifts that God gave you, not much else really matters.
I finished in 1:37:28–a few minutes off my PR, and good enough for 6th place female overall (and a $100 prize!). I’ll take it! My friend Terry has taken to calling me “bona-fide” (I told him to watch O Brother Where Art Thou–one of my favorite movies–a few weeks ago and he did, and is now quoting it every chance he gets. Naturally, I am getting a huge kick out of this).
In other news…
- Bone density: I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but shortly after I fractured my leg, I volunteered for a study at the local medical university that studies changes in bone density in people with stress fractures of the lower leg. At my most recent monthly appointment, they offered to do a bone density scan on my hip so I could get a T-score that would give me an indicator of my risk of osteoporosis. Considering that I’ve had two stress fractures, two broken wrists, three broken toes and a broken tailbone in my lifetime, I expected something dismal. WRONG! My T-score was 1.07–well above average! It was good news, but a “What the heck” moment at the same time. My husband informed me last week when we were out for a run that I have a normal footstrike on my right side but on my left I land out the outside of my foot, but don’t pronate in. It’s surprising that my right leg is normal, because my entire right leg is actually misaligned due to an old knee injury (I learned that during the study, too, when the university’s director of orthopedics was studying my legs one day). Probably explains the “rare” fracture I got (fibula fractures are rare to begin with, and most are near the ankle–mine was about halfway up the leg). I likely get an abnormal amount of force on a bone that is supposed to be non-weight bearing.
- Ike: Ike has been back at the vet twice in the past few weeks. The first time was because of intestinal issues (what else is new?). The vet recommended a biopsy of his small intestine, but I asked if we could hold on that for awhile. We agreed on limiting his diet to only his prescription food and training a new antibiotic that targets just his small intestine. Fast-forward two and a half weeks: Ike wakes us up coughing, so we bring him back to the vet’s (we’re making them rich). Treatment for kennel cough is pretty standard, but the good part was after they weighed him–he gained 2.5 pounds in two weeks!!!!! Seeing how he is recovering from serious malnourishment, this is a HUGE deal! It appears that we have finally found a treatment option for him that is working–I am so thankful that we have finally made some progress. He will never grow to full size, but at least it’s looking like we can get him to a healthy weight for his stature.
Our little man hit another big milestone this week–he turned one year old! They took the most adorable birthday picture of him at doggie daycare, but as I can’t figure out our scanner, I can’t post it. Instead, in honor of Ike’s first birthday, I’ll share a couple of my favorite pictures of him. Make sure you can handle oodles of cuteness before you continue.





















