A Day in Lubbock

No running for me today unless you count running around in the dog park, trying to wear Molly out. Andrew and I plan to run either tomorrow or the next day with the Elgin and 20th group (I need to find out what they call themselves or come up with something myself...20 Elgins perhaps? Or the Elgin 20s? jk).

My day thus far has involved taking care of Molly, unpacking boxes, putting stuff away, watching a few episodes of How I Met your Mother from season 1, and going to see District 9 (a good movie but much more violent than I expected, even from Drew's description of it). We might do some more exploring tonight or tomorrow. It's weird living somewhere new after 18 years in the Goliad/Victoria area and 6 years in Huntsville. It just doesn't feel like home yet...but then again, we have been here less than a week- what do I expect?

Anyway, I should get back to unpacking. All for now!

Slightly Homesick Already...

On Friday Andrew and I moved to Lubbock so he can start working on a Ph.D. in English at Texas Tech. Our moving crew consisted of us, both sets of parents, and Andrew's brother Kevin and his girlfriend. We also had the two cats and puppy with us who were not especially pleased about the 8 plus hour drive even with medication. Molly slept most of the way but the two cats would occasionally burst out with a nice solo or duet expressing their ire. I think it is safe to say they were relieved to finally arrive at the new apartment.

Our family moving crew left Sunday morning, and Andrew and I got to work unpacking...so much so that when my mom called later that evening to say they were not far from home, I had to remind myself that yes, this was the same day. There's just something about unpacking that makes time feel sooo slloooooowww. On the bright side, we have the kitchen basically set up, the office and bedroom in progress, the living room almost complete, and the dining area does have a table in it (and an exercise bike that does not have a spot yet). Moving is fun! :-P

In regards to running, we ran this morning for the first time since our last run with the Renegades on Tuesday. Apparently the informal group runs are Monday through Friday at 6amand Saturday and Sunday at 7am and vary in distance but are primarily on roads. The five of us (more runners participate on the weekends and during the school year they said) started running when it was dark and finished when there was some light. I'm already nostalgic for the evening weekday runs and late morning Sunday run at the park. :-P But I must say not feeling like I need flippers or Curtis to throw me a life vest or something to get through a run (or with that level of humidity more like a swim) was nice.

In other news, Molly is loving the dog park at the apartment complex that is probably 20 feet from our door, the cats have found new hiding places, and Andrew and I are slowly getting used to it here. All for now, and we miss you all!

Long Absence

Okay, so we got a Labrador Retriever puppy named Molly a little over three weeks ago which is why we have been very scarce and have hardly been running. Before that I had stopped keeping up with the blog because of the stresses of work and class. However, I plan to try to be a little better, posting randomly and at various intervals, but at least once a month or once every week or two. :-P

Anyway, Molly will be 11 weeks old June 2nd. She has a ton of energy as can be expected with a puppy and one of her breed. In a year or two we hope to be able to take her running with us...but for now, she's simply too little.

Anyway, all for now!

Huntsville State Park

Hans, John, Curtis, Ken, Andrew, and I ran the trails yesterday (about 4.5 miles). We completed it in under an hour. The bottom of my feet (my arches) were hurting by the end...I'm guessing because of pushing myself for yesterday's long run and then running again today along with breaking in new running shoes.

Today I am giving my feet a running break. We may run tomorrow's suggested 4:30pm 7 mile run at the trails...depends on my feet.

And my shoes remain a little white, lol.

Today's Run at the State Park

Ran about 8 or 9 miles today at the park starting at 1pm. Marisa and I ran together with Hans and Chris catching up to us at the road (we had passed Amy's Crossing to continue on...and they had added on an extra two miles which is why they were behind us). Andrew went straight instead of turning in towards the dam then took the service road to the dam and back out again, and I have no idea what Phillip and Norman ran or Ken. Basically today was one of those days where we all ran the route...they just happened to vary between individuals or small groups. :-P

I saw Andrew when he came in via the service road to the dam and then as a quickly fading red dot, lol. He's trying to push himself, walking less and increasing his distance.

The weather was in the upper 40s or low 50s think...I wore the gardening gloves Phil gave me, earmuffs, a beanie, a long sleeve tech shirt, a t-shirt, and pants. Early on I took off the beanie and earmuffs (got too hot within the first few miles) and I took off the gloves a little after that only to put them back on for the last mile or two. I really need to figure out how to dress for this weather...

Oh, and I wore my new shoes today. They are slightly dusty but the white parts are still practically blinding. I figure if I run at Pritchett anytime soon though, that will change quickly. Good old red dirt. :-P

Valentine's Weekend Plans

Andrew and I signed up for the 25K for the 14th annual East Texas Ultra Runners 25/50K held at Tyler State Park. This will be our second 25K (our first being Rocky Raccoon in November). We plan to camp at the park the night before and the night after...hopefully the weather won't be too miserable. Andrew was all for driving in that morning, but if the race starts at 7am, I do not want to be leaving Huntsville in the wee hours of the morning and then attempting to run a 25K.

I would like to beat my previous time at Rocky (3:22:49) or at least be under 3:30:00. Then after the race, Andrew and I can drive in to Tyler to wander around or something...*shrug*. At the very least we won't have to worry about trying to get back to Huntsville quite yet.

We are also considering running one of the races on The Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon Weekend. It's the last weekend of our spring break. After completing two 25Ks, the half marathon wouldn't be so bad...right? They have a neat thing they call the Pelican Challenge where you can run a half marathon on Saturday and another on Sunday and get a 10 dollar discount for signing up and an extra medal. It sounds intriguing...if only I could be certain my legs would move the next day! :-P

Oh...and today I got new shoes!!!!!!!!!!! :-D Yay! Perhaps I'll post a picture later when they aren't so new and shiny...:-P.

Short and Sweet

Andrew and I ran the City Hills on Wednesday and 6 or 7 miles at the park on Monday. Yesterday afternoon Andrew went running on his own because I was not home yet. And that is pretty much it in regards to running....for now. :-P

Oh, and to make it sweet...cupcake! ;-)