New Year

Well, it is hard to believe it is now 2010. Chad, Emma and I had a great time in Louisiana and Texas with our family for the last two weeks of 2009. We love the life we have made for ourself in Kentucky, but I think we are both ready to set roots down in Louisiana and settle into less of a transitional time in our lives. We plan to be in Kentucky for another year and a half, but I have a feeling the time will fly by as fast, if not faster, than the past four years have.

I am really excited about my running and triathlon goals this year. My goal is to do one half-marathon, two marathons and at least one (but maybe two) triathlons.

Here is my planned schedule for major races in 2010:

• March - Lexington Half Marathon (3/28/10)
• April - Country Music Marathon (4/24/10)
• August - Lame Duck Triathlon (7/31/2010)
• November - NYC Marathon (11/7/2010)

I will add in local 5ks and 10ks as well, but the races above are what I really want to focus on. If I am able to add in another sprint distance triathlon in September, that would be great as well. We will have to see how the budget goes!

The first week back to real life after Christmas vacation was wild and disorienting. We left Louisiana in mid-30 degree weather, and as we drove north the temperature continued to fall, landing at 17 degrees when we pulled into our driveway. Brr. As like most of the country, things didn't get better this past week! It has been freezing and snowy here, which has put a big damper on my run. Also, the hot water at the gym went out, so there went my morning treadmill runs or swims. I went out for a 1 mile run on Wednesday morning to test the conditions (and some of my new winter running gear!) but it was too snowy and icy to be safe and/or get a quality run in.

Things were extremely hectic at work as we began classes for a new January term, and wrapped up all of the odds and ends of the fall semester. Between the weather and work, I have been exhausted each day. Chad, Emma and I spent each night at home bundled up and warm and eating gumbo. It was really great to have each evening to recharge before the next day.

Now that newness has shaken itself off of 2010 and I've found some familiarity with a routine again, I am ready to jump into marathon training. I started this morning with a 3 mile run on the treadmill at the gym. It felt great to get a run in, since I haven't run in the past two weeks! Yikes. But, it was a good break and I think that I needed it.

In other news, Chad got a huge tattoo on his arm this week! He has been wanting one for years, and he finally did it this week. It is a picture of the Agnus Dei image (google it) and it is on his left arm. It is way bigger than I could have ever imagined, but I am so happy for him because I know he loves it! It is pretty wild though!