Ready to Run

It is finally warm enough to enjoy the outdoors. It was 65 degrees today! Yes, I do know this won't last, but with the ice gone, I can at least go running again. I have missed it the past few months, but unless you had a death wish, it was pretty dangerous to run on the sidewalks covered with inches of ice (expecially with a dog that could pull you over). I was a little disappointed because I bought a lot of warm layers in hopes of running through the winter, but it was definitely not worth risking another broken bone to try and run on ice. So alas, I am starting essentially all over (I did retain some of my endurance, but it is pretty humbling). But man, it feels good to breathe that spring air, and I think Mosby might be even happier than me about it!

I have run pretty much since high school, but I always hated it. I pretty much just did it because it was good exercise. But for some reason, last year I really started to enjoy it. I ran a couple of 10K's, definitely the longest I had run, and it was really quite comfortable (in other words, I wasn't dying). The pictures below are from one that I ran a few days before my dad had a heart procedure, so I ran it in honor of him. I just found it to be such a great stress reliever (especially as I was teaching my first class at the college level).

I am trying to pinpoint what was different about last year (why I enjoyed it), and to replicate it this year:) All I can figure is that I started out really slowly and let myself stop whenever I wanted. I never started out with a goal or anything; when I felt good I just kept going, and eventually it ended up being more and more miles. Keeping it fun like that has already proved to be more difficult this year because I have a goal of running a 10 mile race this year, so I have a plan of adding milage as the season goes on. I really hope I can take it slowly enough to keep enjoying it though, because I love the time outside, hanging out with the puppy, and people watching. I also have a friend that is training too, Shannon, who is going to run races with me this summer, so I will have someone to talk to:)

Happy Spring!
Kirsten

A well overdue post

It has been a while since our last post and for good reason- it has been a busy few months! Will's hours have really picked up. He has been working long days (one day last week he left home before 7 am and didn't get home until after 9pm), and I have to brag about how dilligent he is:) It is definitely not always easy work either, so our weekends have been spent charging up the batteries for the week. I just defended my doctoral preliminary exam last week, which has been taking up much of my time, so now I get to move on to my dissertation proposal and preparing a class I am teaching this summer at the U.

At least being so busy made the winter really fly by. We packed in some fun times to keep us going (here are a few pictures):

*Dinners with friends

*Hiking at state parks

* Going to concerts

* Going to hockey games (Gophers and the state tournament)

*Getting ready for Kirstin and Stephen's wedding