...AND...I'm back...

Ever since the marathon, I have not exactly been my normal running self. Part of it was "recovery" but the other part was "lazy." I guess I had been so mileage driven for six months, that I just wanted to not be for a little while. Of course, it doesn't make you feel very good not to run often.

I managed to run a slow and short 2 miles the week after Shamrock. The following week I ran twice, both times short and slow. Last week, I managed 3 days of 2-3 miles each time. I haven't been extremely motivated to get out there with bouts of heat, ridiculous levels of pollen, and finding other things to occupy my time. I have decided to try a few new things to get back on the train.

The first thing I wanted to try was get up and run before work. I went to bed EARLY on Sunday night after I laid my clothes out. Of course, I couldn't force myself up. Luckily, Chip decided he would run with me after work. We did a nice 3 miles around my part of the Beach. The last mile he made me increase pace, so we both managed to finish out of breath. Today I was forced to run alone. I finally got out there and ran a little less than 5 miles at a normal pace without feeling like my legs were made of lead. I'm back in business!

I ran into a running buddy this afternoon and he's already agreed to join me on Thursday. We are going to try out a running group in the area and join them for a hills workout. I'm pretty excited. I like new routines! Speaking of routines, I'm super pumped to get back into the long run routine. I need it, not to mention I haven't seen Karen in like 2 weeks! Hooray for back to normal!

V-Card for Austen

Last fall I joined a classic fiction book club led by a friend of mine at work. I have always loved classic fiction and to find a club solely devoted to it was a perfect fit. We have read some fantastic books (Uncle Tom's Cabin) and attempted some less than fantastic ones (Ivanhoe). This month I was finally able to read an author that I have always wanted to read but never had the opportunity. It's quite an embarrassing confession: I have never read Jane Austen. Don't judge me! I have felt like I was somehow less of a woman for never falling in love with Mr. Darcy or meeting Emma. You can imagine the excitement when I learned that we would be reading Mansfield Park. The others said they were disappointed that my introduction to Austen would be this book, but I was looking forward to it nonetheless. The book started out slow and she had lots of characters to keep up with in the beginning. Once I learned who was related to whom, I was able to follow the story much better. Plus, my knowledge of English history and culture is very limited, so things that were considered unacceptable and "vulgar" did not register at first. About mid-book, the plot finally began to develop and I was intrigued to find out where she was going with this descriptive family dynamic. Then, the story took off and I absolutely loved it. So, I'm watching the movie tonight to compare and looking forward to reading her more familiar novels soon. I'm proud to declare I am no longer an Austen virgin!