Another milestone!

I ran 7 miles this Saturday, which is the new longest distance I've done since the marathon. I felt great. I think I was never really paying attention to my body, and now I really do when I run. I suspect that I always felt achy, probably moreso than I do now, but now I'm more careful. I still want to run well into my life, so why kill myself now.

I ran on Kelly Drive early in the morning on Saturday. My headphones went kaput halfway through, but that was actually kind of nice. I focused on the pretty scenery and not much else and was able to completely zone out.

I needed that zen-ness for the rest of my day--Tara's Bachelorette Party! We visited a spa. The pedicure I got included a massage of my calves, which was sooooo needed. Then we went out dancing and stayed up way too late eating awful things, but it was a blast.

This week's long run will be 8 miles, and I'll get to do it at home in NY before we head up to a big family party at Michael's aunt and uncle's in upstate NY. I like the route I run by my parents' house, and it'll be a new milestone.

Also in the plans...new shoes. YAY! Happy Monday :)

Quite a week...

Wow, it's been a week, I tell ya. Poor Michael had a horrible flu and landed in the hospital.

Let me start from the beginning. First he went to HUP for late effects testing two weeks ago. He got a pretty clean bill of health. They just prescribed a beta-blocker at a low dosage to help protect his heart. However, probably when he was at the hospital, he picked up a nasty flu. We wound up in the ER when his fever got out of control, and they discovered that his white blood cells and platelets were very low.

So as this blog almost reaches its one year anniversary, we thought for a second that we'd have to start a new battle against leukemia on a much more personal level. It was less probable that his cancer had returned, especially since he had good tests the week before. However, living on the cancer floor with Michael in isolation for three days was enough to full unnerve both of us.

He's been home for almost a week, and he's back at work and feeling well. In the meantime, I'm continuing my running, which has totally helped my spirits and energy this week. I did my longest distance since the marathon, 6 miles, last Saturday. This weekend, I'll try to tackle 7. I'm feeling well.

If I learned or was reminded of anything this week, it's that we have some amazing family and friends, and I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Michael.

Welcome America!

What a fun weekend! We had our friends, Alison and Derrick, over on Friday night, waltzed around the city on the 4th, and did a lot of relaxing. Oh and our wine-blending party (good times, guys!) was a success, but it resulted in the need for the lots of relaxing. My first week of training went well. My midweek runs are about 9:15-9:30/mile, which I'm happy with. Michael and I did the loop at Cooper River yesterday. We went slow, but I felt great. Then we played at the driving range for a while. Note to self: wear sunscreen when on the top deck of the driving range!

My spinning instructor was finally back this morning. I don't know if it was the 7-8 miles of walking we did on Saturday or running yesterday, but my legs are exhausted! It's fun to be back in training. It's also interesting to train alone. I've never done that. I can always find people to run with, but I'm actually doing a program by myself. It's kind of cool.

And my thanks to Derrick for showing me his crizazy textbook about everything running (http://books.google.com/books?id=wAa9qq9kbncC&dq=lore+of+running&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=7zlSSubqNYPLlAfC-6GUDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4). What a good reference guide, and I'm impressed with Derrick for getting it. If you ever needed to know absolutely EVERYthing about running, here it is.

Apparently my black Hurricane 11's are at the new shoe shop in Northern Liberties for under $90. I might have to get them...again...