I’ve been off this week, using some of my carried-over vacation time, I think. And you know what? I’ve been freaking busting my ass!

That’s a bit of a dramatization, I guess. It feels like I’ve been busting my ass because my back hurts, I’m tired, and I have to go back to work on Monday being all, “what? But I still have 203 things to do! What do you mean I leave for Little Rock on Monday?”

So. Yeah. Ass-busting apparently suits me, because even on my vacation I can’t just relax and chill – except for tomorrow and Saturday when we go to New Hampshire with our friends, drink beer, and hang out in the woods – but then, then (!), it is all back to business on Sunday.

Take a look at what we’ve done this week. Yard work. A shed-raising. Plus spring cleaning, which is awfully boring, somewhat gross, and takes twice as long as you think, in spite of the fact that you keep your house clean on a regular basis. Sigh and woe.

The good news is that now the place smells like castile soap and you could pretty much eat off of the little space in the windows between the screens and the actual window part. I mean, if you wanted to.

The bad news is that I could get used to this life, this not working, but again with the sigh and woe, because it will be a long time before that’s a reality.

Well, I can say this about the half: it was a real challenge, I’m glad it’s over, and I can’t wait for the next one. Although I didn’t have the race that I wanted, it was still a proud moment for me and I still can’t believe I ran that far.

There were a bunch of reasons for having a somewhat disappointing race, but I don’t really want to get into it. I mean, it’s the first one – the baseline – so I don’t really care that my time sucked. I talked to Caitlin afterwards and she was pretty pissed about her time, the heat, etc., so I don’t feel as bad about my own race. Elissa was really struggling with the heat, too, and I ended up splitting off from her just past mile 10, finishing about 6 minutes ahead.

Whatever. I’m done. I earned my medal. Now it’s 2 days off, and then I’ll figure out what’s next. New Haven, probably, and/or the Lowell Half in October.

Only seven days left until the half. Yikes!

Yesterday was our last long-ish run, logging in at 8 miles. It was hot & hilly, but we finished. Now if I can convince Elissa that she shouldn’t run the day before the race, we’ll be all set come Sunday. ;)

Honestly, the hardest part about all of this training has been the scheduling. With work, the dog, family obligations, and travel, it’s been really hard to keep going the last couple of weeks. I have been unbelievably tired every single day, and this weekend was the first one where I had a full day to just enjoy myself – to get my hair cut, straighten up the house a little, walk Bo, and hang out with friends. It was amazing, and I wish every weekend could be like that.

That said, I don’t know how people train for a full marathon. It really blows my mind. Don’t get me wrong; one day I’d like to find out for myself, but just not now. I can’t even manage to log the miles I’m supposed to log for this race, fer cryin’…

Anyway, seven days. Just a few short runs, one 2-day trip to Little Rock and (hopefully) a lot of sleep between now and the race. Then, on to the next one…

Only two weeks until my first half, and I am feeling pretty good. My feet are a little sore, but ice, massage, and stretching have helped. I’m kind of excited already, but I can’t figure out if it’s about the half, or that I’ll be on vacation the following week. :)

Elissa and I ran yesterday, and I have got to figure out how to combat these stupid arch blisters. The gross, dry skin (former blisters turned callus) came off last week, so this Sunday’s run gave me a huge, new blister. Ugh, and ick.

Work continues to bring travel and long days. I am very, very tired, but I am enjoying what I’m doing and feeling very valued there, which is nice.

Bo boarded at Jill’s over the weekend, and did very well, which means that one day we will get to take a vacation. He is pretty much in love with one of her dogs, and sighed all day on Sunday when we brought him home.

As for vacations, we are thinking about a trip to Yellowstone, because we’ve never been, or Monaco in October, once Rob’s parents return for the winter. I know, it’s a hard-knock life, isn’t it?