Done and done. :)

Okay, y'all. Here I am, approaching the finish line, after running through snow and dodging puddles and ice. It's not a flattering picture, but that's okay. :) I don't know what my time was, and they haven't posted the times on the race website yet. Oh well.

The day before....

It's my birthday today. 29. Woah. Today was pretty good. My family members all called me, in what turned out to be an amusing domino pattern. I spent most of the day in jammies alternately napping and watching Bones. :)

This evening, my Roomie, her boyfriend, and another friend from church took me out to dinner at my favorite BBQ place: The Smoking Apple. I had pulled pork and sweet potato fries. In honour of my birthday, they also gave me a piece of cheesecake, but it kinda tasted like long-life milk. The rest of the meal, however, was bliss. Afterwards, they took me for my favorite dessert: a twisty cone. :) I'm such a child sometimes.

Tomorrow morning I will go run my first-ever 5k. I am excited about it, although the weather is worsening even as I type this. It's snowing. For real. Ick. They're actually re-routing the race in order to keep the runners on asphalt and pavement. Apparently the original route went through the woods or something. Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have signed up for this particular 5k... Still, I'm looking forward to it. I'll just have to be sure to bundle up really well.

Still going strong.

No, I haven't fallen off the horse. I am still running 3 or 4 times per week, and it's still the best part of each day. I have started "tapering" in preparation for my very first 5k, which is where you run fewer miles in order to give your body rest, etc before the race day. My race day will be the day after my 29th birthday. I'm really excited about it. :) The 5k. Not the birthday.

Woah. 29. When the heck did that happen? For as much sticker shock as that number incites, I'm in a good place in my life. I can run longer and faster and farther than I've ever been able to run in my life. I'm making progress on a thesis I'm really excited about. And I'm beginning to gain perspective into the many trials I had last year. Last year, life felt like a matter of survival. Bad crap kept happening and I was depressed and it was not good. This year, though, feels good and I feel hopeful. I feel like I'm back to being me. I still have stresses and I still worry too much, but there are also things to hope for and look forward to.

And I have running. I love running. Every day I want to run when I wake up, and I have to talk myself into resting. While it may not be changing my body much, it is certainly changing my life, and that's way more important. I also have amazing friends who make me laugh and make me feel loved and appreciated. AND my bestie from college will be driving through in about 2 weeks, and is going to crash here. I can't wait to see her. :)