Doing what I want v. what I should...

Well, we had a rare weekend at home this past weekend filled with running, friends, and relaxing (while watching the Tour). It was a nice change of pace for us since we have been traveling so much. However, that won’t last as long as previously thought because I threw a curveball into our plans when I decided that I wanted to run Tahoe Rim Trail 50k this weekend. I registered for the race way back in February when I was deep in the midst of trail running. For a variety of reasons, it slipped off my radar for awhile, but I still couldn’t bring myself to cancel our hotel reservation. I checked flights sporadically, but couldn’t really find any great deals so late in the game. I had been quite ambivalent about going until the past week or so – I knew the logical, rational thing to do was not to go based on financial reasons, our busy schedule, and training goals, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to do it. After finding frequent flyer options that would make it possible to go, the final push over the edge was getting an extra day off for winning an award at work last Friday. That sealed the deal for me. So, we’re going! I’m sure I’ll probably have moments when I’m out there on Saturday when I question my decision. After all, I said after Jemez that I wouldn’t do another mountain race again, but then again I retracted that statement once my memory started to fade. Stephanie (50 mile) and Jane (50k) are running this weekend as well, so think good thoughts for us on Saturday.

In other running news, I have been more consistent with my running in the past couple of months than I have ever been. Despite all of our out of town adventures, the weather, and life in general, I have only missed a handful (fewer than 5) of my scheduled runs. While I’m definitely not a mileage monger, I am maintaining a respectable weekly mileage which is higher than is typical for me, especially when my race is still 12 weeks out. It’s all been about slow, easy runs for base building so far, yet I can’t help but wonder if it’s all really going to come together for me in terms of my BQ goal. Some days a faster pace seems easy, while some days a slower pace feels hard. We start doing quality workouts this week, so we’ll see how that impacts things. I’m really eager to add in some cross-training (biking, swimming, weights) somehow to break up the monotony of running 6 days/week. It seems hard to do though without sacrificing some mileage or more time.

I have a birthday looming a couple of weeks away. I can’t say that I have thought about it too much other than planning a trip to Chicago for that weekend. K has a big birthday this year – 30! But, mine doesn’t stand out too much, other than the fact that 33 puts me one year closer to the “Advanced Maternal Age” threshold of 35. Still no plans on that front though.

I’m still really bitter about how much more we are paying in taxes since getting married (so maybe we should have a kid to get the tax break!). I have been having an additional $300/month withheld from my paycheck. Think about that folks, $300/month that you were used to getting is just now gone without getting anything extra for it. Grrr. This essentially canceled out my cost of living increase that I got last fall. And, with no salary increases expected for the next year either, I am not happy. This prompted a discussion with K about our finances last night. K makes more money than I do and always will, just by nature of the different fields and organizations that we work in. Yet, about 20% of my monthly income goes to pay my student loans for the career that makes me less money than he earns. As I said, GRRRRR. Work should really pick back up for me after one of my key staff members leaves next week. More stress, more doing what I don’t like to do, and less of doing what I like to do. Let’s start the 20-year retirement countdown…