Search and rescue...

Joe (our coach) and K came to the rescue tonight.

We were set to run 5-miles on a course on the Greenbelt that Joe had previously marked with flags tonight. I ran much of the run on my own ahead of the main pack; K and another guy were the only ones ahead of me. There was another girl who I was aware of that was slightly behind me and she ended up passing me while I stopped to tie my shoes at some point. Thank goodness for that. I didn't start getting concerned until mile 4 or so and then we finally admitted that we were truly lost when we hit mile 5 and weren't anywhere close to the creek to finish up. Thankfully, I had my phone in my Camelbak and called K. I figured at some point he'd get concerned when I wasn't back yet and perhaps think to check his phone in the car. He finally did a little while after I left a message and called me back. He and Joe were headed out to find us, but I had no idea how to convey where we were! Um, we're near some trees and rocks? Meanwhile, we had started to retrace our path in hopes that something would look familiar or, worse comes to worse, we'd make our way back the way that we came. I was out of water and it was going to be dark soon. I was much calmer about the situation than I would have been if I'd been out there alone. Thankfully, they found us somewhat near where we apparently got off course. K had refilled his water bottle so I was able to rehydrate as we headed back. The situation could have easily turned out differently. And, I'm thankful that it had a happy ending (with extra mileage tacked on again for good measure).

A birthday among other things...

Yesterday I quietly turned 32. The day came and went without much fanfare or reflection. Our long run on Saturday morning was at Enchanted Rock, so we drove out to Fredericksburg on Friday after work so that we wouldn't have to make the drive early Saturday morning. We had a delicious pasta dinner out there on Friday then called it an early night at a local B&B. We met up with our group shortly after 8am at Enchanted Rock to get the route then off we went. We started out running around the perimeter before the climb up.
Despite the amazingly hot temps (and minimal tree cover), I felt really good and had a strong run overall. We came up the back side of the rock and finally there was really only way to go...up and over. Once I realized what we had to do, I wanted to stop and cry like a baby. I was terrified of sliding down because the surface was so smooth in some places that it was difficult to get a good footing. Seriously, the only way that I made it up was with group courage. Thankfully, I was with others at that point.
Once we made it off the rock, we stopped to refuel/hydrate then went out again for a shorter loop (avoiding the rock this time!). I was on my own and took a wrong turn so I just headed back the way that I came with a little extra mileage tacked on for good measure.

After the run, we headed back to Fredericksburg to quickly get cleaned up before we had to check-out then had lunch at Cranky Frank's BBQ. The food was yummy, and we even got a t-shirt from the restaurant for K's dad who is indeed "Cranky Frank."
Since I hadn't been to Fredericksburg before, we decided to spend a couple of hours window-shopping down Main Street. I didn't get a post-run nap though so I was on my way to turning into "Cranky Mel," so we headed back to Austin in the late afternoon. No elaborate birthday dinner either...K just picked up pizza for us instead. I think I was in bed by 10pm for the second Saturday in a row.

Overall, I'm still happy with my running right now. I'm getting all my runs in, even with everything else we have going on. For example, I knew we wanted to get on the road quickly after work on Friday so I did something that I *never* do - I got up early and ran before work. And, I realized that I much prefer running in the higher temps of the evening than in the higher humidity of the morning. I enjoyed sleeping in this morning and did my 6-mile run on the Greenbelt this evening instead. I also got a much needed massage today.

In wedding news, we'll hit the 30-day mark in a few days. We had our walk-through at the venue with the caterer last week. I think it was supposed to reduce my anxiety to know that they have things under control, but it had the opposite effect - it raised my anxiety because there's still many things to do and we're quite simply running out of time, especially when you factor in running and my upcoming teaching gig.

An interesting proposal has recently come up at work. The County is considering allowing some employees in certain roles to shift to a 4-day 10-hour work week. When my supervisor initially told me about it, I assumed that it would only apply to line staff in my unit and not necessarily to me. But, I am eligible to be considered for it. So, K and I have talked about it, but I'm still not sure that I'm gung-ho about it for several reasons. I'd probably be willing to give it a try (if it goes forward) to see how it would work, but I'm still not sold on it. It is a nice change of pace though to know that they are actually considering something like this.

Hope...

Well, I think there might just be hope for me and K in terms of dancing together after all. We had our initial consultation at the dance studio this evening and it went better than expected. We liked our instructor and she walked us through some basic moves for the fox trot, two step, and swing. I think that we'll probably do the fox trot for our first dance. We're going to take a few private lessons over the upcoming weeks so that we'll feel more comfortable and not look like idiots out there. I think it will be fun and something that we'll be able to take forward even after the wedding.

Weekend recap...

Apparently, I am old, according to K. After a long day at work on Friday followed by a brief appearance at a going away happy hour for one of my staff, I came home and had dinner with K (he grilled) then went for a short (4-mile) run later in the evening. I opted to end the evening there and go to bed at my usual time while K went out for drinks to celebrate his best man's birthday. I guess his friend inquired about why I never go out with them anymore. K's retort was "She's old." Seriously, he said that. Nevermind that I have no interest in staying out late, drinking (when I wouldn't even be drinking anyway), and hanging out with people who I don't really know. I would so much rather stay in and catch up on shows that we recorded from the week and go to bed early so that I can wake up early the next day to have a good run. That was apparently too hard to explain, so K just boiled it down to the fact that I am old. Hmph.

We did get up early on Saturday for our first long run with the Palo Duro group. It's a larger group than I was expecting, with folks training for either the 20k, 50k, or 50 mile distance. We did an out and back run on the Greenbelt from the Spyglass entrance. I think that I was one of the few who ran the full 9-miles that was on the schedule for the 50k-ers because I realized that the spot where the coach told us to turn around would only be 7-miles total. After the run, we had breakfast tacos at Taco Deli. Yum.

Then, we came home to get ready and pack then we were on our way! It took us a little while until we finally got on the road to head to Dallas though because we had a couple of errands here to take care of first. We stopped to have lunch in Belton and stumbled into one of Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ joints, Schoepf's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que. You order your food from the pit on the patio before you even enter the restaurant (similar to Cooper's in Llano). K and I were in meat heaven. With our bellies full of goodness, we finished the trek up I-35 to Dallas, but not before we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam just outside of Desoto/Lancaster. It's always something lately on that drive.

We checked into our hotel downtown and had about 30 minutes to spare before heading over to La Calle Doce in Lakewood for our shower. We had a lovely time with everyone. My cousin did a terrific job planning and organizing everything, such as including our wedding colors throughout.
So, after a very long day (and no post-run nap), we were in bed before 10pm last night. Apparently, I am old after all.

Although we got up plenty early this morning, we didn't venture out to try a trail run as planned. We enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning at the hotel before packing up and meeting my mom for an early lunch at La Madeline at The Galleria. K got to ice skate for a couple of hours while my mom and I did a little shopping. Since I didn't run this morning, I wanted to make sure we got back early enough that I could get my run in tonight. Who knew that it would still be 100 degrees at 6pm? Hello, August in Texas. I still got my 6-mile run in, so I feel good about that.

It's another busy, busy week ahead. I think they are all going to be like this for the next couple of months. One day at a time...

Finally, it's Friday!

K made it home in the early evening yesterday from his trip to Ohio. I was so happy to have him home. We had a nice dinner at Zax (with a 20% off coupon from my Keep Austin Weird race packet) then spent a relaxing evening at home. At dinner, we had a discussion about my relationship with his parents, my soon to be in-law's. This was brought on by the disapproval that his parents, particularly his dad, has "indirectly" expressed about the fact that we are not getting married in the Church. I can understand their feelings and some of the contributing factors to their interactions (or lack thereof) with me. We value different things. I am a strong, well-educated, successful, professional, kind woman. Those are all qualities that I value in myself. But, those aren't necessarily things that they appreciate - they would much prefer it if I was described as traditional, conservative, and religious. That's not who I am. It worries me in terms of how K and I are going to negotiate holidays and even the wedding events around this. I'm sure they probably hope that I'm going to start popping out babies soon after we get married. Uh-uh, not happening.

Speaking of family, we're going up to Dallas this weekend (after our first long run with the Palo Duro group tomorrow morning) for a couples shower hosted by my cousin (who is one of my bridesmaids) and aunt. I'm really looking forward to the trip and am glad that it's finally here. I appreciate the effort that my cousin has put into pulling this together, and I'm glad that K will get to be a part of it. I know that several of my friends up there won't be able to make it because of other commitments, but K will be able to meet some of my extended family who he hasn't met yet. His cousins are attending as well. We're (well, at least I am) also planning on fitting in a trail run up there on Sunday morning, so it will be interesting to explore a new area.

I'm pretty excited about teaching in the fall (I already have 11 students signed up for the course - with a cap of 15 - so it seems pretty certain that it will make). However, I had a momentary freakout last night as I realized what the next month will entail with the wedding, training, and prepping to teach a class. I know that it will all get done and everything will be fine. It's still just a lot on my plate over the next 6 weeks.

Good news?

Well, I just got this email about the position at St. Ed's, so I guess I got the position? :)

Please save the date: August 23--faculty meeting for new and returning faculty members. More info to follow!

Update...okay, this was followed with the official email offering me the position to teach the intro counseling skills course in the Master's program as an adjunct in the Fall. Yippee!

Self-reliant...

I hate having to depend on others to do something. HATE IT. Today just reinforced that yet again for me. I was greeted with an email this morning from the seamstress who I had scheduled an appointment with to get my wedding dress altered in a couple of weeks. She informed me that she needed to cancel the appointment that we just set a couple of weeks ago because she has relocated to New York. WTF? Really, that's not the sort of thing that you want to do to a bride at this stage in the process. Then, part of the reason that we had originally delayed scheduling the appointment was because I was told that my shoes may not be in until 07/28. However, when I just called to check on the status, I was informed that they have been there since 07/03! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............

And, to make matters worse, K's flight is delayed in Chicago right now.

Getting ready with the lights on...

I generally leave for work before K even gets out of bed in the morning, which means that I get dressed without turning the lights on in the bedroom. However, I have gotten dressed with the lights on for the past two mornings because K is out of town. It really is a blessing that neither of us travels for work because I don't do well when we're apart. I have tried to keep myself busy the past couple of evenings with running and taking care of things around the house. It's amazing how much more productive I am when he's not here to distract me with his K-ness! I'll be happy when he gets home tomorrow though.

In wedding news, time just keeps going by and our big day is fast approaching (6 1/2 weeks, but who's counting?). It's exciting to check the mail each day and receive the RSVP cards to see who is coming. We have so much coming up in the weeks ahead that the day will be here before I know it! We also still have a lot to do in between other things that are planned. We are going to Dallas this weekend for our first shower. Then, next weekend we are going to Fredericksburg for my birthday after all since our long run is scheduled out there anyway at Enchanted Rock. I love it when things work out like that.

We interviewed for the vacant psychologist position today, and I am hopeful that we identified a good candidate. I would love to have this person on board before I take off for 2 weeks for the honeymoon (and so would my boss), but the hiring process moves slowly in our bureaucracy so I'm not counting it. I also interviewed myself today for an adjunct professor position at St. Ed's. It sounds like a promising opportunity, particularly if I am able to teach some of the courses that I am especially interested in at some point, such as abnormal or assessment. We'll see what happens.

Back on track...

After a 2-day hiatus from running due to my fall during Tuesday's trail run, I'm happy to report that my running is back on track. I met up with Kellie C. from my Trail 101 class after work yesterday for a short run on the Greenbelt. We were pleased with our navigational skills and our familiarity with several areas that we ran out there with our coach. All in all, a good run with enjoyable company as we shared stories the whole way. I was really happy to be back out there...and I think K was happy about it too. :)

Then, this morning K and I did the "Taco Run" at Rogue. This was my first true road run in a long time, and I'll be honest, I did it for the tacos (unfortunately, my stomach couldn't really handle one after we finished). We had options of 5, 7, or 10 miles. I chose 10, while K did 7 (as did most folks, I think). I have a really difficult time managing my hydration needs during long runs in the summer, and today was no exception. We didn't start until 8am, and it really warmed up quickly out there (thanks, Mr. Sun). Overall though, I managed the distance fine, and I was happy to get the run in.

I got the training schedule for Palo Duro yesterday, and I am really happy with how well I think that it will work with our schedule of non-running stuff coming up in the next few months. I'll have to tweak some things here and there around wedding events and the honeymoon, but overall it seems manageable. I've also decided that I am going to do the 50k out there (that's 31 miles to you non-running folks - point of reference, a marathon is 26.2 miles so this is considered an "ultra-marathon" because it is longer than that). Yes, I know that I am crazy (no need to point that out to me), and as a psychologist then I am uniquely qualified to say that. I have my reasons, but I don't feel that I have to justify this decision to anyone other than myself (and K, although he already knows that I'm crazy and knew that this was coming at some point - he's going to do the "sane" 20k fun run, by the way). So, there you have it. I'll officially start training on Monday.

I have a massage later this afternoon, which I am very much looking forward to. Then, K is making burgers for dinner (that boy makes a mean burger!) and we are going to see "The Dark Knight" tonight. Good day.

Off...

K and I have been "off" slightly in our relationship with each other for the past two days; each for different reasons. For me, I've been cranky because my knee has been hurting and I have been taking the conservative approach for once in terms of taking a couple of days off to prevent a minor problem from potentially escalating. I've been so consistent with working out on a daily basis over the past few months that it has been hard not being able to do anything. And, obviously, it has affected my mood. The abrasions on my knee are still healing so it hurts to bend it. Thankfully, we finally got the remaining dirt out of the cut on my elbow. I was really worried about it getting infected and hadn't been able to really get it out until I used Kellie and Phillip's miracle loofah soap on it tonight. Now, that hurt...almost as much as K pulling off the remaining skin that was hanging - he enjoyed that waaaaay too much by the way.

I think that K and I may just kill each other if I don't get back out there soon. I'm probably going to try a short run tomorrow after work to see how I feel.

Update...

It's been a week since I last posted. Things just keep rolling along. We've been busy with the usual things...

-Running continues to be going well. I've increased my mileage and I'm still feeling great. It's been a mixture of runs on TLT and trail runs. Each run on my regular TLT routes is faster than the previous one right now. I'm still enjoying the trail runs as well. I took K out to Bastrop State Park last weekend since he didn't go with me the previous weekend. We both enjoyed the change in scenery out there. We met up with some of the girls in our Trail 101 class last night to do Ken's Loop (up off 360). K did a good job leading the way, although the route we took didn't seem exactly the same as when we originally did this run with our coach a couple of weeks ago. I took my first fall out there during our previous run, and I took my first really bad spill out there last night. I banged up my knee pretty good - I don't think it's anything serious, just swelling and abrasions. I sent K out to get some Hydrogen Peroxide and Neosporin last night when we got home, and he came back with a giant bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide...I guess he thought that we'll need it with all this trail running that we're doing! We've both signed up for the Palo Duro training group, and I'm currently debating the distance that I want to do out there. More on that next week after I talk with the coach...

-The wedding countdown continues - 7 1/2 weeks! We took inventory of our "to-do" list over the weekend and reprioritized things. I think we both feel good about where we are, although there is still plenty left to do. I'm sure my stress level will continue to increase with each passing week. Speaking of stress, money continues to be a huge stressor for me. Seriously, I have already budgeted every paycheck for the next 2 months, and unfortunately, that doesn't leave any wiggle room for extras. On a positive note, we are both really looking forward to the honeymoon (of course). K found out that the guy who lives in our garage apartment recently got back from touring in Europe, and he shared a beautiful photo book of Santorini with us last night. The water and the architecture are absolutely breathtaking.

-I suddenly realized last week that I have a birthday fast approaching. With all of the wedding stuff, that has gotten a bit lost in the shuffle. I think it will be a pretty low-key birthday this year given everything else that we have going on. With the showers in Dallas and Austin within a few weeks of it, it seems awkward to make a big deal out of it with others. So, K and I may take a trip out to Fredericksburg or we may just spend it running, eating, and sleeping the way that we spent last Saturday.

-We had a recent death in the family. My maternal uncle died on July 4th, but family members weren't notified about it until last Thursday. The circumstances around it were particularly sad. This is the first death of any of my aunts or uncles, so it's somewhat anxiety-provoking to realize that we are moving up a generation now.

-Speaking of family, K is making a quick trip up to Ohio for a few days next week to go to an amusement park with some of his family members. That means that I'm in for a couple of sleepless nights while he's gone. :(

Hump Day...

Halfway through another week already.

I had another great ("fast") run on Town Lake on Monday. It was sprinkling slightly when I started out and continued to prove that I have never had a bad run in the rain. Then, last night was our final group workout for the Trail 101 class. We headed up to St. Edward's Park for this one. As our coach said, the only negative thing about this park is that there's not many miles to do, but we did some criss-crossing and went up and down twice to get a decent workout in. There was a long downhill section that I really enjoyed - that alone was a nice way to end the class. Several of us are going to do the Palo Duro training group, so I'm happy that we'll be able to continue on with some of these folks. That group will start in two weeks. I did another solo run on the Greenbelt this afternoon. I'm realizing that I don't necessarily like running out there by myself because I have to pay more attention to where I'm going so that I can find my way back. I like to zone out (as much as you can while running trail) and follow someone leading the way.

I enjoyed a day away from the office today, although that didn't stop them from calling/paging me and me responding to emails while I was attending a conference. I was surprised to see a fellow colleague also there who is the one who presented the opportunity to take over his practice recently. He continued to try enticing me with the notion/reality that private practice can be lucrative. But, it can also be unstable and lack security. We'll see where this may go over the next few months though. I also got referred to another career opportunity by a different colleague yesterday. He put me in contact with a possible adjunct teaching opportunity at St. Edward's in their Master's in Counseling program. This would be a nice supplement to my current work and obviously add a little extra much needed income. Again, we'll see where it may go.

Wedding invitations went out in the mail today! So, check your mailbox soon.

4th of July weekend recap...

I have thoroughly enjoyed having a 3-day weekend, not that we have necessarily done anything spectacular, but mostly just because it has added an extra day to get things done. Friday felt like Saturday, and Saturday felt like Sunday, so today feels like a bonus day off from work.

Part of the reason that I chose not to train for anything right now before the wedding was so that I wouldn't have to stress about getting runs in amongst everything else going on and so that I could sleep in on the weekends without having to get up early to run. Yet, what I did I do on both Friday and Saturday? I got up early and ran of course. On Friday, I did a solo trail run on the Greenbelt and really enjoyed some of the first few miles off the main trail. It was so tranquil out there. I didn't see a soul until I finished my run at the HOL. Then, on Saturday, I took advantage of our coach's offer to meet up with some of the other trail groups running out at Bastrop State Park for an extra bonus run. I was the only one in our group who went and ended up running with the Trail Performance Project out there. And, I held my own thank you very much, although I was only doing 1 loop whereas they were doing multiple loops. It was a nice change of scenery and terrain so I am very glad that I braved the 5:30am alarm to go.

Notice that K did not join me for either of those runs. K was too busy partying like a rock star all weekend (and I think he's paying for it now). My friend Pete came down from Dallas again late on Thursday night with his DJ friends, The Party, who were doing a couple of shows this weekend. So, K had a great time partying with them on Thursday and Friday night. I really wanted to get those morning runs in so I bypassed the late night festivities, but I did get to hang out with them at lunch on Friday.

Other than that, we went to a cookout at Holly's last night. Seriously, that girl is amazing. She is such a great hostess, cook, baker, interior decorator... We had a lovely time and enjoyed seeing everyone.

In wedding news, we (finally) booked our flights to Greece for the honeymoon. YEAH! We had been planning on leaving on Monday after the wedding, but were able to work out the flights to get to leave on Sunday so that we'd have an extra day. I know that we'll be tired from all of the wedding events in the days prior, but I'm excited that we're going to get to leave on Sunday so that we can get the fun started! We're still working out the itinerary for once we're there, but it looks like we're planning to go to Athens, Crete, Santorini, and Mykanos. We'll be on our way in 9 weeks from today!

Look up...

Next time that you are driving up 360 just north of 2222 look up to the east. See all those beautiful expensive houses waaaaay up there at the top of the hills? Well, that's where we ran last night with our trail group. And, there's only one way to get up there and that's to run or, as it turned out in most cases, walk on the steep climbs. Holy moly. We started out essentially running on a very narrow path on the edge of the cliff, which I did not like. But, we finally made our way up and around then were greeted with some nice trails back there. The views obviously at some points overlooking 360 were amazing. I couldn't believe we were actually up there! K and I both took our first falls last night, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Mine wasn't too bad since I slid down on my booty, but as I was walking in to work this morning I noticed a slight pain in my hip and wondered what it was about...oh, yeah, I bet it's from when I fell last night.

I realized last night after we got home that I am on track for a 30 mile week this week (plus 2 weight sessions at the gym and a swim). I know that's not a lot of mileage to those of you who are currently marathon training, but that's a lot for me right now. I don't know where it came from either. I'll take it though.