Hiatus is over

Well, it has been 6 months since I last posted anything on this and while it may be true that time flies when you are having fun - for me, the past 6 months has not had a lot of fun in it.  Instead it has been a span of frustration, suffering, misery, hurting, awkwardness, learning.

I still have a lot to learn, especially on a personal level.  I'll leave the personal stuff there - personal.

This has (mostly) been a running blog and quite frankly I have missed posting stuff.  Recently I have started to catch back up on some of the blogs I used to peruse and got to think: "Hey, I used to do that, it was kind of fun, maybe I should do that again." 

So I will look to pick up blogging again and focus on my running exploits, throwing out there some favorite recipes I have learned (just kidding), maybe mixing in some stuff about my kids. 

Our most recent family photo


My 3 amigos are running less, but playing soccer more, and getting better at it - which is really cool to watch.  In the Fall I will have a kid in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary school.  They are growing up and fortunately (and very gratefully) I am very much a part of their lives - and get to see and be a part of that.

Actual recent photo showing my new running and weight loss training "before" photo.

On the running front - despite a seemingly endless and very miserable six week layoff recently from any kind of running, due to a very severely sprained ankle - I am back running.  I am certainly nowhere near any kind of good fitness level yet, but I am improving. 

I missed 2 races due to the ankle injury recently - including my nemesis (The Greenland Trail 8 miler) and a 1/2 marathon in Jemez, NM.  I was going to use these as kind of a springboard to my Summer of training for my goal race of the year.  Fortunately I found another race to run in that is now less than 2 weeks away, and I am getting excited about it.

The Turkey Tracks Trail Run is a half marathon in Pagosa Springs that looks like it could be fun: lots of single track trails through forests and meadows, with a bit of climbing (it is Colorado after all), and it is in a beautiful area to run - that I have not run in before. 

I will need to treat the race as a tanning training run as I have only been running again for 3 1/2 weeks.  I've had a couple of good runs, ankle is about 95% and getting stronger.  My silly right knee injury from two years ago is still giving me grief, but I am working on getting that better also.  If I can keep my body from falling apart - then I might be able to run okay.

I turned 45 years old back in April (insert sound of groaning).  And with that comes the delight reality of a new age group to run in.   Does that give me any better chance to pick up an occasional age group trinket?  Maybe.  Hope so.  Will have to wait and see.  But honestly that is one thing that I am aiming for in my goal race of the year. 

More on that in the next post - which I hope will not be in another 6 months time.