2018 Injury and Goal Check-in

From a recent group run. Not me, but a friend.

Hola! Since I'm not doing weekly posts anymore I thought I'd pop in to the HoHoRuns/Taking the Long Way Home linkup and do a little mid-year check-in. (Umm... I wrote a draft of this on June 10th and forgot to post...) 

Injury Report: 

My stupid runner's knee returned after I stopped doing my PT stretches and working on my cadence. From late May to mid June my right knee would seriously swell after long runs. Luckily, after refocusing on PT and upping my mileage [I honestly think it gets worse when I run less], the pain is sporadic and doesn't affect my runs too much. It's not totally gone, but it's improved after two weeks of focused PT. So remember: do your stretches!

2018 Goal Check-in:

(These came from my end of 2017 post.) Let's see how we're doing:

1. 5K PR. All miles under 7:55. Nope 
   I haven't run a 5k, so this hasn't happened yet. I'm not really training for speed, but maybe I'll make an attempt at August's Sweet Pea 5k?
2. Half PR. All miles under 8:59. Yep
   I did it! 1:53 for an 8:40 overall pace. I have a half next month (Missoula), but since I haven't been training, I doubt I'll beat or match that time. Instead, I'm setting my sights on the Trinity River Run in Dallas while I'm at a work conference in mid November. 
3. 10k PR. 8:30 pace or better. Yep
   Oh hey, I did this, too! This was a big surprise. I started slow and chatty and sped up a lot. 51:57 for an 8:21 pace. Sea level rules. 
4. Keep up strength training.  Yep
   I'm still going to TRIBE classes twice a week.   
5. Avoid injury! Nope
   I mean, I'm not broken anymore, but my knee is periodically swole. 
6. Keep running with other people. Yep
   Not only did I break my 10k PR while running with a friend, I've been able to get out almost every weekend since spring with my BRFs on some beautiful roads and trails. Even though I'm kind of half-assing my current training cycle, getting out with others has allowed me to keep up my long runs and maintain a good base. 

Well, I guess that's all. My goal for the rest of the year: concentrate on PT exercises and keeping my right knee healthy!

Cheesin' with my baby muscles.

Did you make 2018 goals?
If so, how are they going? 

January: Life Currently...

Photos from my Instagram

I skipped December because I figured you guys knew what I was up to via Weekly Review, Friday Five, my Year of Running, and my books of 2015. I'm back with January. Feel free to join in.

Reading Jackaby, which I won on Goodreads. It appears to be a paranormal historical mystery and potentially YA. So far, so good. I also have books in at the library, so I need to get crackin'.

Listening to my Youtube playlist of guilty pleasures, Undisclosed podcast (meh), and I've pretty much abandoned Serial Season 2. I'm getting ready to start Mindy Kaling's new book. I didn't love her first one so I'm hoping the audiobook version will help.

Watching Nothing in particular. We're in between shows and I'm not following anything new, but somehow still find myself in front of the TV on a nightly basis. Hmmm....

Wearing As many layers as possible.

Eating + Drinking Trying to get back into making more food and eating out less. One of my resolutions is to use up my nice stuff, so I'm slowly making my way through my stash of fancy tea.

Exploring Routes and trails near my house. I don't like running in my neighborhood very much and can't do it at night (no lights or sidewalks), so I've been venturing out.

Making logos, stickers, patches, and postcards. I don't normally do print design, so this is interesting. I still prefer web.

Feeling content. I have a long list of to-dos, but it's manageable. Also, I really think my run streak (day 74) has made me happier and more laid back. Weird!

Planning I'm making a list of races in the upcoming months but I can't book anything for mysterious reasons... to be revealed soonish. (It's not a baby. Gross.)

Wishing for sunshine and warmth, but snow is cool, too. Wish I could curl up and read all day. Or get a jolt of super productivity and clean out my whole house.

Loving the snow this week. If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow! I'm also loving track workouts. No, not really speed work... just workouts that happen to be on a track.

Looking forward to the Broke Man's Winter Warm Up this weekend. I'm an ambassador so I'll be helping with packet pickup and set up. Plus, I get to run the 7 miler! Hoping to score a fleece lined buff, too. Unless I'm really feeling it, this will be treated as a training run.

You can view past months here.

How is your month so far?

November: Life Currently...

Apparently I hung out with a lot of animals this month. (from Instagram)

Reading Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson -- Catching up on my pre-1990 YA novels, I guess. It's not too bad, but I need another amazing book like Career of Evil.

Listening to Missy Elliott - WTF (Where They From) She's magical and I want a disco ball tracksuit.

Watching The Great British Baking Show (ok, one episode so far, but it's good!), Aziz Ansari's new show Master of None, and for some reason lots of fail compilations on YouTube. Here are some jerk cats.

Wearing We're getting back into cardigan season, y'all.

Eating + Drinking I can't say I'm eating quality food, but I'm definitely not drinking as much as last month. OH YEAH! You guys don't know that our microwave stopped working (apparently blew a fuse) and took the stovetop out, too. Only half of our oven works so we've baked, used the slow cooker, and grilled out (and there's always take out). I've been assured an electrician has been contacted.

Exploring Ashtabula and Laurentia Winery last weekend. You know, I haven't been anywhere else this month...

Making so many wireframes for work. SO MANY. (Wireframes are black and white page layouts before the full design. They help us figure out how the user should interact with the software.)

Feeling goooooood. I have a lot of work and freelance, but becoming a morning runner has made me a lot happier at night! I get to be semi lazy and have more time for relaxing. (Or interneting...)

Planning My races and trips for next year. Florida is a go, California and Alaska are in the planning stages.

Wishing to read/run/hike all day. Or for a wood-burning fireplace.

Loving the warm weather this November. On the cooler days, I love my warm clothes and blankets. As I kind of mentioned, I love running in the morning and maintaing the #chasethebird run streak... even if it is so hard to get out of bed.

Looking forward to a $10 beer and chili trail run this weekend! And more laying around being lazy.

You can view past months here.

How is your month?

October: Life currently...

Photos from my instagram

Reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Listening to Halloween movies at work (we have them on in the background) 

Watching Walking Dead (only two episodes behind!), Extreme Homes, and Fixer Upper 

Wearing Layers, long sleeves, pants, socks... I'm not really ready for cold weather.   

Eating + Drinking So many donuts at work (I think it's the season change). Drinking lots of beer (also related to the season change).  Edit to add: I've been eating air-popped popcorn every night for the past month. This isn't really new for me, but it's my longest streak of continuous days (minus travel). 

Exploring Cincinnati breweries after my half last weekend, Pittsburgh during StepTrek earlier this month, and Dallas for a work trip (ok, I was mostly at the office and hotel).

Making ... well, drawing some illustrations for a kid's book. (This status is the same.) Hoping to make my Halloween costume soon. 

Feeling pretty good. I finished my biggest obligation yesterday and ran a 4 mile PR this morning. Now I need to focus on our Halloween party next weekend.

Planning the Halloween party!  

Wishing for time off to tidy up the KonMari way. I feel like I'm always saying this! 

Loving the fall color and slower pace. I go into hibernation mode in cooler temps and the tea, blankets, and books haven't been too bad so far! 

Looking forward to Halloween and getting the house super spookified. Plus, our bathroom reno is almost done! (!!!)

You can view past months here. 

How is your month?

September: Life Currently...

All photos from my Instagram

Reading Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. for Long Distance Reading Club #LDRClub

Listening to my new playlist of upbeat music 

Watching Chopped on Netflix. Weird because I don't normally watch cooking shows

Wearing Oiselle everything for running. (I'm going to do a Roga shorts review soon.) I'm slowly going through my non-running clothing and I need new everyday stuff badly.  

Eating + Drinking Well, I just finished a Boston Cream donut... Last night we went to the opening of my boss's new arcade and celebrated with plenty of tasty pizza and beer(s). The past month has been filled with lots of beer. 

Exploring Indianapolis while we were in town for the Indy Women's Half. 

Making ... well, drawing some illustrations for a kid's book. 

Feeling a tiny bit stressed this week. I'm booked solid for the next three days. Sunday will be amaaaaaazing.

Planning the rest of my racing year. We signed up for a Turkey Trot, now we need to figure out December race(s).  

Working on freelance again. Always. 

Wishing for a little downtime and a good six mile run later tonight. 

Loving the warm weather. I AM NOT READY FOR FALL. (Really, I'm not ready for the earlier sunsets and chilly weather.) 

Looking forward to running 11 miles this weekend with the group. Also looking forward to Oktoberfest volunteering and finishing one of my major freelance projects! 

You can view past months here. 

How is your month?

August: Life Currently...

Photos from my Instagram

Reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens.

Listening to The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (read by Juliet Stevenson). 

Watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (ok, I've watched one full episode). Also catching up on Switched at Birth (guilty pleasure) and Scandal.

Wearing mainly black and white to work, but I got my first pair of Oiselle Toolbelt Rogas last week and loved them so much I immediately ordered another pair. Hey, I haven't announced officially on the blog that I joined Oiselle Volée, have I? (A post to come, perhaps!)

Eating + Drinking Drinking lots of coffee and Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  Eating a ton of homemade Chipotle bowls. 

Exploring A neighborhood of fancy houses nearby. Found myself lost on the winding streets and next to a golf course I didn't expect to cross.  

Making a new website for the company I work for. It's always our last priority, but I have some time. (Honestly, it's just a quick face-life.)

Feeling very middle of the road. Looking for the next big aha moment... 

Planning a trip with my parents and Alex to Florida in February. Running a half in Naples and then my mom wants to go to Harry Potter world with me (!). 

Working on freelance for the first few weeks of the month. It has since slowed down a bit so I'm getting pumped to start the KonMari method. 

Wishing for two things: 1. some new "purpose" or goal in my life and 2. time off to get my house in order (this seems to be a recurring theme. Time to do something about it!).

Remembering all of the adult responsibilities I've been putting off! Ack. Stress. 

Loving the sunshine and clouds lately. Beautiful white puffy clouds on blue skies. Perfection! 

Looking forward to running Emerald City (hoping to redeem myself from last year's suckfest) and seeing good friends this weekend. I'm also looking forward to September plans. Should be a nice month. (Gosh, this summer went fast...)

You can view past months here. 

How is your month?

July: Life Currently...

Photos from my instagram

Reading I finished four books during my trip to Canada (last week) and my favorite was Megan Abbott's The End of Everything. I'm currently reading Einstein's Beach House, which I won on Goodreads. 

Listening Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance audiobook. So far, so good.

Watching Silicon Valley season 2. The first season reminded me of work, but now the guys are dealing with issues I've (thankfully) never had to think about. Good show. Glad they added a few more female characters. 

Wearing swimsuits last week (mixing and matching tops and bottoms is genius). This week I'm wearing my reject clothes. I took all of my good summer clothes to Canada and have yet to do laundry... 

Eating + Drinking I ate so much food last week on vacation. I'm going to try to avoid chicken for a while. Blargghh. Prior to vacation, I ate sushi almost every day for a week. Akai Hana is a new favorite spot. I drank a lot in Canada, too... it's kind of what you do around the campfire. During one overcast day we went to Gananoque Brewing.  

Exploring the area surrounding Red Horse Lake in Ontario. Usually we stick to the water, but this time we took a longish walk/hike past surrounding houses and lakes. 

Making not much, really. I finally ordered scrapbooking supplies for our wedding album. Two years later... 

Feeling Meh. Vacation was nice and it's good to be home, but I wish I had more time for house / life projects. 

Planning I'm considering an all-women half in September (a full month before my scheduled fall half). I've been training with marathoner friends, so I'll be ready physically. Not sure about mentally. Alex has kind of dropped the ball on our late-August Alaska trip, so who knows if that's happening (crying). 

Working on freelance. Always. It seems never-ending at the moment. I've made a tiny bit of progress on unrelated children's book illustrations, but not enough. I need to get it off my plate asap to make time for the aforementioned house / life projects! 

Wishing I could stay home and read all day. Maybe have someone organize all my junk so I don't have to. (I'm keeping this answer from June. It's still true. Gosh, this month went fast.) 

Remembering not much. I'm trying to keep my head above the water at the moment... 

Loving running and relaxation. It's keeping me sane. Also loving the samples from my Influenster I Do Vox box. Reviews to come. It's been fun testing things I wouldn't normally buy! 

Looking forward to a day off (again). I'm also looking forward to the next three weekends. Besides long runs, I don't have any plans! It's a miracle! 

How's your month?

June: Life Currently...

Photos from my instagram

Reading I finished Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins, which took forever. I'm currently reading Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event and Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican.

Listening While running: the Archers omnibus, while commuting: lots of alternative 90s/00s music (I found a new radio station). I just reserved Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance on audiobook.

Watching Gilmore Girls. STILL. I'm up to season 5 and I know something's going to mess with Luke and Lorelai and ... ugh. I've also been watching HBO and HGTV in hotels, which feels slightly luxurious. Getting ready for Orange is the New Black and the last half of the current season of Game of Thrones.

Wearing sundresses. There's nothing better than throwing on something as comfortable as pajamas and looking instantly put together.

Eating + Drinking see the pulled pork mac and cheese and the saison in the blue cup above (from Whole Foods and Granville Brewing). We went to Digfest [Drinks in Grandview] on Saturday. After volunteering for set up, we were rewarded with plenty of free drink tickets. One of my favorite festivals of the year.

Exploring we just returned from North Dakota (trip summary post to come). Alex and I have been converted: don't save it for your last or second-to-last state; it's gorgeous!

Making messes - currently trying to focus on one project at a time and the house is not the priority for me. Alex, on the other hand, tiled the bathroom. We're one step closer to being finished!

Feeling content. Nothing's as crazy/terrible as it was this time last month.

Planning a trip to Alaska in August or September. My last state beckons... plus we have airline miles to use!

Working on freelance illustrations. I finished my major project and need to move on to some hand-drawn sketches for a book. I was banished from the house yesterday and went to the local library to get work done. It was amazing and I need to do it more often!

Wishing I could stay home and read all day. Maybe have someone organize all my junk so I don't have to.

Remembering to focus on one thing at a time. I'm a great multi-tasker, but at the moment I have too many large, daunting tasks and they were too overwhelming to juggle concurrently.

Loving the sunshine. It's a bit humid–and actually pretty rainy today– but when it's sunny and there's a breeze it's heavenly. Also loving the relaxed pace of the past two weeks. I'm sure the vacation helped.

Looking forward to a day off (I know, I just got back!). I'm working four day weeks this summer, but I'm not sure what day I'll take off... Taking advantage of my slow down in work and trying not to look forward to how busy I'll be in the future.

How's your month?

May: Life, Currently...

More photos on my instagram

Following in the footsteps of some of my favorite bloggers and websites, I thought I'd try a something new for the next few months: Life, Currently.

Watching Gilmore Girls. I'm slowly making my way and I'm in the middle of season 3. I love Emily Gilmore.

Reading I've just started Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins, which I won through Goodreads. Like Life After Life, it's going a little slow in the beginning, but I'm sure I'll reach the point where I can't put it down.

Listening While running: the On the Media podcast, while working: domoslayer's soundcloud mixes.

Wearing this long sleeve stripe shirt in Egret. Runs a bit large (I got a small), but it's so soft and looks great with everything. Unfortunately, I don't think it will last long as it's already pilling a bit.

Making cookies, chili, messes

Feeling restless. I think I'm ready for something new!

Planning some trips, but mainly planning projects around the house.

Working on the aforementioned house projects which I will be posting about. We've redone the paver path to our front door and started planting flowers. Alex is currently renovating our bathroom... and I'm writing this from a hotel! (One bathroom + no toilet during reno = I have to live somewhere else for a night)

Wishing I could retire, or at least take time off to focus on the house for a solid month

Remembering my step aunt, who passed away suddenly this week.

Loving the sunshine, patio lunches, being outside

Looking forward vacations this summer. More immediately? Having our toilet back later today! ;)

How's your month?