Just Plodding Along

Finally got back to more regular running after being kind of eh about it for a few weeks. And I felt it. Some shin soreness happened but it seems to be going away. Monday I ran 6 miles and lifted weights. Tuesday and Wednesday I threw in some 400 repeats into my 3.5 miles on Tuesday and 5 miles on Wednesday. Well that almost killed me. I haven't pushed it in awhile. Thursday and Friday I took off. Saturday I went for an easy 4.5 miles in the desert by my house and ran by my favorite water storage tank. Why there is a fish, I don't know but I like it. Sunday I did 10 miles with some of my favorite runners.  It was a good morning. Bit windy and I could for sure tell that I have been running between 3 and 6 miles and nothing longer. After mile 8 my hamstrings were like "what the hell are you doing!?! Are you trying to kill us!?!?!" But I made it. I am really gonna miss running with these people. That is one area where I feel very lucky in life. I have live...

D and I have been busy exploring the area while waiting for our stuff to arrive. Two things: 1) We are back in the land of 7 Elevens! 2) So much good Mexican food!!! We went here for brunch on Sunday. Amazing! Now hopefully our stuff will be delivered today (everyone cross your fingers) but sitting around staring at the blank walls got me thinking of what I would have done differently this PCS (Permanent Change of Station for those not fluent in acronym speak. Lets be honest I know like four Army acronyms. PCS just happens to be one). It has been awhile since the Army has moved us so I got a little rusty. Hopefully these tips will help anyone else on the move. 1) Change your Tricare coverage right before you go (if you have a new address before you leave) or right after you arrive when you lock down the new address. Now this normally I guess wouldn't be a big deal but for me has been a huge pain in the butt since I need to get into see a doctor asap. And I was all well...

On the road again. We have been making our way West slowly but surely. We stopped in New Orleans last night but didn't see much but our hotel since it was storming pretty hard. We will be back NOLA. You can't hide from us. Today we landed in San Antonio in time to wander the Riverwalk. Fun but oh so hot and sweaty. Tomorrow we land in El Paso our new home sweet home. Once we land I have a full 50K report including how much I did not enjoy it and the trip to the ER the day after. Fun stuff. Long story short there are no more ultras in my future but more on that later. Wish us luck finding a house cause ya know, having a place to live comes in handy. ;)

I interrupt the non-stop chatter about running to bring you fun tidbits about always moving. And by fun tidbits I mean things that for some reason bug the crap out of me about moving all the time even though you would think by now (5+ moves in the last 8 years, this blog alone has been brought to you from the great states of Arizona, Illinois and Georgia ) I would be over it. Well I am not. Condiments . It is a vicious cycle with the condiments. We are either new at a place wondering where the ketchup is only to realize we don't have ketchup because we had to dispose of all the condiments at the last house OR trying to give away our ketchup to a neighbor or friend because everyone knows what your neighbor or friend wants is a half used bottle of ketchup. Now this doesn't seem like a big deal but if you think about all the salad dressing, bbq sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustards, olives, pickles, etc you have in the doors of your fridge it becomes a lot of stuff you are eit...

We interrupt the constant chatter about running to talk about Army life! Yesterday D graduated from Infantry Officer Basic Leadership Course or IBOLC. Yayyyyyy D! It was pretty exciting. And not only because I actually got out of workout clothes. I also got to see some of my favorite people and I am super proud of D and all that he has accomplished! One of my favs! Amanda, who has become a total run nerd with me and I could not be happier about that! Look at this handsome guy in uniform! Not sure why I refused to take of my jacket but red coat for the win. More of my favorite ladies! Before the actual graduation ceremony there is the blue cord ceremony. Infantry soldiers wear a blue cord on their dress uniform and I got to put D's on his. So fancy. Then the wives who participated in the Earn Your Blue program (walk or run 56 miles during the guys time in IBOLC which is the same amount of mileage they do in total of ruck marches) had their own little ceremony ...

Two awesome things happened today: 1) 6 a.m. run with the Big Dog peeps where we got to wear test some new Brooks gear. This shirt below is da bomb. Warm, fuzzy, just long enough, everything you want in running clothes. Good thing too because it was about 34 degrees this morning...... ahhhhh what. I would expect this kind of weather from Illinois. But Georgia. Really??? Get it together. I also got to try an awesome vest- this one Source Feels like paper, keeps you all toasty. Some sort of voodoo magic going on. And it is super bright which comes in handy at 6 a.m. now. I might need my own version of this. Bit classier than the classic sweater vest I do believe. 2) Got to see two of my favorite peeps this morning plus some other very nice ladies at a little social event. I decided pumpkin bars were needed at this event so made some to take and share and swear I have eaten the majority of the pan. Somebody save me from myself. Why do none of my pants fit....? I blame...

Nothing like watching super fit soldiers navigate an obstacle course like it is no big deal to make you feel lazy. This morning I swung by to pick up two friends who are also Army wives and headed to the obstacle course to watch training. This is one of the few times we get to see what they do so it was pretty exciting.  There is no freakin way. Besides having useless arms I am afraid of heights, especially heights that could easily result in me falling from five stories high.  You know it is a rough day at the office when there is an ambulance standing by.  After watching for two hours we were just exhausted so we left the men to it and went to meet other wives for breakfast. After that it was off to accompany my friend to the doctor's office and then ice cream. Had to keep our stamina up.  FYI: Sam's club is letting active and retired military members shop without a membership while the commissary is shut down due to the government shut do...

One of the cool things we got to do while D's parents were here for his Officer Candidate School Graduation was go to the National Infantry Museum. If you ever have the opportunity to go I would highly recommend it. I am usually not one for museums- I have the patience level of a toddler when it comes to these things- but even I really thought this was interesting. Below are some pictures from the museum. The museum has several interactive exhibits and different sections divided in time by major conflicts.  It is a lot to take in and I feel like I need another go around to soak it all in. There are several more exhibits opening in the near future so we will have to revisit. This museum is free though there is a fairly aggressive person at the front asking for a $5 donation so I would say it is $5 to get in but on the bright side you get a sticker that says you donated. Well worth the $5. FYI for readers: You may have noticed a subtle shift in the blo...

Fun fact- when I blog on my phone while watching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress my grammar/ spelling/ everything is ten times worse that usual. So.... sorry about that last post. D is on 10 days of TDY. It is leave you get to move or settle into your new place. Since D is the luckiest man alive and married to me everything was all moved and set up before he ever went on leave so we have just been able to hang out. Well I still have to work. I was lucky enough to get to stay on part-time for awhile at my old job and work long distance. But man when one person is off and able to do whatever they want all day it just seems unreasonable to ask me to work four hours a day. It is just too much. Could you imagine if I actually had to put on work clothes to work instead of sitting in my kitchen wearing shorts and a t-shirt I would never make it. While I was sad to leave my job because the people I worked with were awesome it is exciting to figure out what I am going to do next...

Yesterday I ran a total of 8 miles and found a fun group to run with twice a week so pretty excited about both of those things.  The other exciting thing that happened yesterday is that I got to go with D to the OCS formal in celebration of their upcoming graduation from Officer Candidate School.   The formal was held at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus and if you ever happen to be around you should stop by and visit, it is pretty cool. The formal was very fancy and a lot of fun. It was fun to see all the officers dressed in their dress uniforms and their dates all fancified. I like to call it adult prom.  I mean besides getting married how often to you get to dress up as an adult. It doesn't seem like very often for me but then my preferred outfit is running shorts and a t-shirt.  There was a fancy dinner and dancing and a speech by an American war hero.   Major Retired Dan Turner spoke to us about being a good leader...