Work is insane lately and I’m very tired. I took 2 days off for the marathon & had friends in town for it, but then it was back to work on Weds. Because of the short week, I had to catch up on work at home, and then a bit on the weekend. Plus, yard work, house work, running, etc.

Last week was fairly successful as running goes. The week before was a different story, but with guests in town, it’s hard to be like “oh hey, um, I’m going to go run 8 miles. See you in a while,” then go walk around and sightsee all day. Ow.

But last week kind of kicked ass. I ran a hot 4 miler after work in 80º temps, which didn’t kill me (although it wasn’t pleasant). Rob and I ran on Friday night – another 4 miler – and I kicked his ass because he’s been hibernating all winter. On Sunday, Elissa and I ran another 10 miler, which went far better than either of us expected. We ran a bit faster than last time, and my foot felt better after that run, too. I ended up soaking my feet in an ice bath again and it helped tremendously.

This week, I’m working like crazy and going to San Francisco on Thursday, but coming back on Friday. My boss is travelling with me, and he’s going down south today for another client project.

So… work is busy. Really, really busy. The next two weeks bring more travel and more late nights, I’m sure. That’s just part of a startup.

The only thing that has been bumming me out a bit is that many of my friends have asked about my painting and I’ve had to say, no, I’m not making any work right now. I feel this pull to work (painting) but I have very limited time and emotional energy for it these days. My job is creative and interesting, and I really love it, but it’s not everything. I’ve got to find the time to make my work, to take more classes at Harvard, to read more, etc. Just trying to figure it out is all…

Oh, also! My friend PJ got engaged yesterday. She and her fiancé are about the cutest couple you can imagine, and I am so, so happy for them. :)

We did it. 10 miles!

Elissa and I had a great run yesterday, in spite of my developing blisters and very sore feet. Serves me right for wearing ridiculous shoes while in Ohio. I don’t have a lot to say about the run itself, other than that we kept a decent pace – faster than our 9 miler – and we had perfect weather.

I’m still a little sore, but some yoga tonight and another ice bath for my feet will do the trick. Then 4 tomorrow and Thursday, and 8 on Sunday.

I had to make a fairly impromptu trip to Ohio this week to see my grandmother, who is not well. Ironically, it was my Nana who has been drifting away these last few months.

My grandma Ruth is my dad’s mom. She is 92. She and my grandpa (94) live in a retirement community in a suburb of Cleveland, sort of near my parents and sister. For their age, they’re remarkably self sufficient. My grandma is a strong woman. She was always involved in local issues & local politics, knew just about everyone in our home town, and cared deeply about the community. She was an amazing teacher, and was the only reason I ever passed Algebra II & Trig. She and my grandpa came to just about every concert, every performing arts event, every swim meet I ever had.

Right now, she is hanging in there, but I am worried. Her heart is failing and she’s down to about 100 lbs. I hope she will improve, but with congestive heart failure, her long term prognosis isn’t good.

That said, it was important that I come home, so I’ve been here since Tuesday evening.

Today, I attempted to run from my sister’s house, out of her development and the land of concrete, to see where it would take me. Holy crap, I’ll never do that again.

Running amidst a patchwork of developments and farmland isn’t easy. For one, the roads have only a soft shoulder (meaning, gravel) which drops off suddenly into culverts. The country roads themselves are narrow as well, and cars have to move around you, which they sometimes don’t bother to do. With the increasing sprawl, the roads are crowded with cars, and no one obeys the speed limit. Fifty five in a 30 is the norm, and it is downright frightening to experience. Sure, there are some sidewalks, but they abruptly begin at the edge of a development, and end shortly afterwards. I knocked out 5 miles in the drizzle at 7am, and it was probably the worst run in recent memory – soggy, nervewracking, humid, and annoying.

Thank god that’s over and I can go back to Boston for my 10 miler on Sunday.

One of the things that makes running more challenging is travelling for work (Brent, can I get an Amen?). Although I was only out of state for 2 days, my schedule was really messed up this week. I did my cutback week long run, yesterday, for 7 miles, but the rest was all zeros, which was disappointing. My foot had been killing me, and I was just… tired.

As for work and travel, my presentation at IUE in Ann Arbor went well. I showed 2 demos of our current work and talked about creating shopping experiences that were engaging and on-brand. I met some really nice folks there, and hope that they’ll be touch. I also learned more about My ePets and Webkins than I ever imagined. ;)

But yesterday, ho ho! Yesterday was great, and my foot didn’t hurt, so I got ready and headed out for my long run, which I completed faster than last time.

Later, I hobbled around the house. *sigh*

It’s PF, and it’s from my orthotics, and I am living with it until after the half is over. Icing every day helps, as does stretching, so that is my plan. Obviously, not running is not in the plan, but I did drop the 3 milers from the remainder of my schedule because of the pain. If I can do 2 shorter (4 – 5 mile) runs during the week, and keep up with my long runs on the weekends, then I’m good. After all, I’m just running to finish, with no particular time goal in mind, and the long runs have been great, thus far.

Oh! Also! I registered our team for the Corporate Challenge today. Fifteen people have signed up from our 50-person company! That is huge participation! I’m so proud of everyone who signed up – especially the reluctant runners and walkers.