my exact time for the cherry blossom 10 miler on sunday was 2:00:31!!!!!! i could not be more thrilled.

i've had some great runs since last posting. i've consistently been running under 12 min/mile! i hope to make this the new norm. i also met porsche at the gym today. we were on side by side treadmills and went by our own paces. it was a blast having a partner at the gym. i have been wanting and praying for a running partner for a while. it will be nice if this works out. i would love to do some races with her.

work this week has been totally ordinary. it has been a good week.

the memorial was tonight. it was nice. there was a good turnout. once the hall is remodeled we will be filled to capacity. we saw keith and denise stonesifer, they look good. peter and i have been able to stay current with our memorial bible reading so far. there is a little bit to do tomorrow and we intend to do that. i love doing that, it always puts me in the right mind set for the memorial season. it truly helps me appreciate what christ sacrificed for my benefit.

peter and i hope to go out in service tomorrow, and i want to met prosche at the gym again. i'm just hoping i don't get a migraine. i've had the feeling one had been looming for the last few hours.

AWESOME RUN THIS MORNING!!!!!!!!!! we had the cherry blossom 10 miler this morning, and it was great. the weather was great, the turn out was great, the people there were great, there is nothing to complain about. i had fun with lori and patsy. norm, mark, and tim were all came down and watch what they could and cheered runners on. it was just a lot of fun running around the tourist areas of dc. they could not have timed the cherry blossoms any better, they are at peak bloom. the weather could not have cooperated any better for a race, it was sunny, and around 60 at the finish. i think i set a pr, i think i did it in about 2:02!!! just over 12 min miles!!! i could not be more thrilled with my times. it would have been faster, but i had a stitch for the last few miles, and could not keep up with lori, and patsy for the last two miles. the entire experience was a blast! i would totally repeat it. i wish it were on a different day of the week, i hate missing the meeting at the kingdom hall. i wish there was a way around it, but there is not, so i have to keep my hobby in check. that is not really a bad thing since too much running can lead to injuries, but i do enjoy it!

just went online to see if they posted the times of the race, and they had!!!!!! totally exciting!!!! i NEVER ran soooooo fast for sooooooo long!!!!! i did 12:04 miles for 10 miles!!! i completed it in 2:00:31! totally awesome!! i could not be happier. i honestly thought going in that 2 hours was a very long shot, i am totally amped that i was able to do that time. i would have done better, but i had a stitch that would not let up. i could not get rid of it, and had to slow down for the last two miles. the reality of a 2:45 half marathon is a complete possibility, i may even get closer to 2:30 by the end of the year. i am totally stoked for speed work!

i didn't sleep too well last night. i was afraid i would sleep through my alarm and miss my ride, so i was obsessive about checking the time every time i woke up. i am exhausted now. physically i feel well. the 10 miles on flat is much easier than eight to nine around the hills here. my legs feel much better than usual after a long run, and i think i can take my long run up to 11 or 12 miles. i am just tired, and feel in need of a good nights sleep. i am hoping for a normal boring week at work so i can hit the gym hard this week. i am reved up for my half marathon training.

wow!! it has been a long time since i've posted. i've had a good week. doing well with the reduced dose of gabapentin, and hopeful i will do well off it in 3 weeks. i have been getting more headaches, but i see maureen in may so i can address it then if it is still a problem.

my runs this week have been great! i had my first run of 5 miles done in under 60 minutes!!!!!!! i never thought it would happen. i was ecstatic. i tried for a repeat today, but i was tired, and didn't want to push myself too much because i have the cherry blossom 10 mile on sunday. i have been looking forward to this for a long time. i'm hoping this will be fun. lori has not been feeling well, so i hope she is really up to it, but i guess she has until sunday to really decide. i just think it will be fun to get out there and fun flat and scenic in dc. i have never seen the cherry blossoms in full bloom, and they should be this weekend. i'm not thrilled with all the tourist, but, that is what i have to deal with, that is the compromise. i have always done better with crowds when i've been outside anyway.

nothing really going on at work this week, mostly uneventfully.

so much to talk about since my last post. saw dr r and she is reducing my neurontin some more, then eliminating it! i am excited about that!!!! the thought that i may be able to deal with some aspects of this illness without all the current meds is great! hopefully i can deal with thing without it. if things get to the point that i can't i will see her in five weeks, or she is only a phone call away. i am just going to have to be aware of how i am thinking and feeling.

we also went away for a long weekend, and had a relaxing time at the beach. i ate like a pig, and will probably be stunned when i get on the scales at work this week, but oh well, it was fun. the ice cream was great! we stayed at the fenwick inn with the dog, and trumpyie seemed to have a good time. i ran along the boardwalk friday, and set a new time. i did 3.5 miles and did 11.23 mph! i've never even come close to that. the best i've done is around 12. my knees and ankles were sore from all the running i did last week (24 total miles), so i'm taking it easy this week. i have cherry blooms sunday morning, and don't want to go into it achy.
the rest of the vacation was fun, and enjoyed myself shopping. got a pair of shoes for the gym, and some running shoes.

i was bummed that pt seemed to want to sleep a lot, but when we got home, i arrived tired, and he is well rested, and refreshed. i forgot to bring the heating pad, and ended up with a migraine on saturday night. i could not believe it, i got my period AGAIN! it is coming all the time. it feels like it was two weeks ago, but i think it was probably more like three. it just feels like all the time.

anyway, overall, the last four days have been enjoyable. we are cutting back on meds, had a fantastic run, had some fun playing outside in oc, along with some necessary, yet fun shopping at the outlets. seems a shame to go back to reality and ruin it.

there is so much to say that i'm not sure i'm going to get it all in. the weekend was nice. i got to the gym saturday and did some serious lifting. i was totally surprised because i was nowhere near sore sunday. the dinner party went well also. the turkey turned out well, in fact all the food turned out well. nancy brown took a turn for the worse, so dennis and patsy could not make it, but all who were here appeared to have a good time.

sunday was a blast. the 5k went well. i was paced nicely the first mile by someone named collette. i found out later that she is a patient. we chatted for the second mile. i could have taken off for the third mile, but it was my turn to reciprocate. she appreciated my help getting up the little hill at the end. after the race, i listened to the meeting on the phone. garry gave the talk. i changed clothes around three times(the temperature went up about 20 degrees), and went out running again. i went on a new route, i finally did the tannery road route. i was so proud of myself. i pushed myself on the hills, and my time showed it, it was something like 12:15 min/miles! i was so excited when i saw that. i was a little disappointed at first because i thought it was 8.5 miles, and it turned out to be 7.5 miles, but still, my overall time is still great. i had complete running endorphins going when i got home and was excited to do anything. that lasted about an hour. after that, i was exhausted, and just wanted to nap. i ended up just finishing laundry, folding those cloths, and going to bed around ten.

i talked to patsy last night and made arrangements to give her some of the cheesecake that was leftover. she was able to come this morning. she looks good, but i am worried about her. she and dennis are doing a lot of running between the kh remodel, and nancy. i hope they are ok. hopefully the cheesecake gives her some happiness. i know she likes that kind.

today at work was uneventful, but busy. young people kept needing stuff. we had a rash of kids needing blood work between 4:30 & 5. it did not set a fun tone for the evening. anyway everything got done, and i got out at a reasonable time, so i'm happy. i guess i can look forward to doing this again tomorrow.

i thought i would have more energy today. i got a good nights sleep last night, i ate right, had coffee, and when i felt a midday lull, i went to the gym and exercised. i am exhausted. i have no idea why i am so tired. i thought the med change was working, and i had more energy, but, this week i have had zero energy. i got up and went out in service this morning, but after that i have had nothing. i did enjoy the gym. i cycled, and did the elliptical for a little cross training. hopefully i will see some running results in three to six months if i can do this twice a month. my ideal schedule is to run four days a week, lift twice a week, and do other cardio twice a week. i doubt that will happen b/c i didn't even do half of that this week, and i'm exhausted. we will see what reality will bring. i hate feeling weak.

tomorrow we are having ppl over to celebrate our 20th anniversary. it is supposed to be 5 couples. chris and michelle may not make it because nancy is not doing well. apparently she had taken a turn for the worse. i'm not sure if there is anything i can do to help. i was hoping to stay out there tonight, but i have to be up early tomorrow to put the turkey in the oven. jean was saying it may be less than a weak. i didn't realize that nancy was that bad off. i'm hoping to stay there tuesday afternoon. i feel very selfish not helping. i am not helping this weekend because of our anniversary party, then a race, then we are going away for a long weekend. everything is revolving around me.

by the way, maryland won their first game in the ncaa tournament. they were the lower seed (#10 beating a #7). they will have a much harder game tomorrow. it is a #2 seed, memphis. i am not holding out high hopes.

it's been a boring couple of days. i finally recovered from my stiffness from the gym, so i went again today. i ran the treadmill, and did some very light lifting. work has been busy. i still very much notice that we are short a nurse, but am somehow coping. we are somehow getting through. yesterday afternoon was extremely crazy, heather was out. today, not as bad. there was a lot from yesterday to catch up on, but it all got done. after work, it felt nice to run, then lift. i just wanted to re acclimate myself with some machines. i didn't want try too much. i don't want to be stiff tomorrow. i can hopefully lift again on saturday.