So. It has been almost a year since a real post. Guess that makes me a terrible blogger. Oh well. Not that it matters much. Aside from a few passively curious facebook folks, I doubt anyone reads this. Blogging is a fad that will pass in any case. So thanks for tuning in.
The lack of posts is due to the nature of being a procrastinator. One, its something that I told myself I should do, so I put it off. Two, the longer I waited, the more there was to sum up, which meant it would take more time, which means I had more reason to put it off. And so on.
Then of course is the reason I stopped writing: I was pretty shook up by a very serious car wreck last November. If you're on facebook you can (or long since have) found the pictures. At the time, I figured maybe I shouldn't say anything about it in writing, just because there might be legal repercussions. And so on and so forth...
In any case, here I am, writing again. I'm probably putting something else off to do it too. Lucky for you, phantom reader.
And where do I find myself, having started year two of playing at being a professional runner? Much the same place as last year, and perhaps even less inspired. I'm starting to wonder if this little jaunt of mine is not the thing itself but merely the vehicle that is going to get me to the rest of my life. In other words, choosing to run after school might be the thing that knocked me off the standard career path that (most) everyone else takes, and on to whatever path it is that I will travel. I think I'm pretty ok with that.
The past year: As I said, a terrifying wreck in November. If you ever want a real life lesson in physics and physiology, get T-boned at 40+ mph. We forget how much force we're throwing around when we travel that fast in metal boxes that weigh several hundred pounds. Oh, and when they told you in biology class that the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can affect you systemically and instantaneously, they weren't kidding. (Editor's note, I do not recommend LOOKING for a real life experience to discover these things for yourself. Just take my word for it.)
For a month or so I didn't have a car, and rode my bike seven miles each way to work. It was actually pretty refreshing. I'm now saving up to buy a new bike so I can do it more often, but in comfort and with a little more speed. Dad generously sold me the spare Kia he had for the insurance check, so I am still driving a Sportage (albeit an automatic. Yuck).
What else? February was an interesting month, having to do with girls. I won't go into detail. Life is full of surprises though.
Its safe to say I have fallen in and out of love, had a fling or two (unusual...), and still spent most of the year on my own. Its funny, I thought I had more to say there, but its not really your business now is it...so I'll keep it to myself.
I was promoted at work. I am now the ddministrator (technically Administrative Specialist) at the store. It is good, I'm off my feet, I have regular and better hours, I have the flexibility I need, better pay, full benefits...everyone wants a piece of me, the job title really should be "everyone's bitch" as I am part secretary, part filing clerk, part tech support, part hiring manager, part HR liason, part purchasing agent, among other things. But I work well being pulled in ten directions at once. So it works.
Which brings me to running. I ran a handful of road races, won two of them, placed behind my roommate in a few others...then on to steeplechasing. I went to Oregon for my big shot, and fell for the first time, clipping a barrier with my LEAD foot, and falling on my quad right at my knee. I finished the race, but shouldn't have; the trauma and subsequent exacerbation had me out for a few weeks. I was left with a last-chance race in Indiana right after Nationals to try and pull something out of the season. It ended up being a really fun whirlwind 24 hour trip--literally left around 8am the day of the race, flew up, drove to the site, race at 10pm, drove back in the middle of the night, hung around the terminal until it opened, and flew back at the crack of dawn to arrive home around 8am the morning after I left. But of course, the race was completely mediocre: I ran yet another 9:05, the time that I have been pegged at for two years now.
Oh well.
So life goes on. I miss the Northwest more and more. I might be killing my soul living down here in Houston, and if I admit it, Texas. There's just not enough green, and no place to go to be outside (if you're from the Northwest, you know what I mean). I'm also fighting plantar fasciitis in my right foot, which has now somehow affected my heel strike in my right leg, so while I can run without problem, running will eventually cause problems. Absolutely the worst situation possible for a runner. Hopefully it clears up soon (before I go insane).
And that is the somewhat terrible synopsis of the past year as a steeplechaser.

Oh yeah, and of course, I'm now 24 years old.
Scary.

Congratulations and thank you for your attention. You have too much free time on your hands, or you have an unnatural obsession with my life. Or you're family...

More next time.