Back Among the Land of the Blogging

Right. So... I'm back.

And No, I don't want to talk about it.

My head is screwed back firmly in place, and all is well in my world once again.

So, let's recap:

In the past month and a half since my last real post, I've...

joined Weight Watchers and lost 8 lbs.

I'm seriously ecstatic about this. Last week, I put on a pair of pants for the first time in 2 years. I was jumping around like a freshman that just got invited to the senior prom. It was like someone just told me I'd won the lottery.

Seriously ecstatic!

Or Mentally Deranged.

I have no weight goal beyond fitting back into two dresses that I have hanging in my closet. So, whenever I hit the happy number that allows me to put on those dresses and zip, sit, and breathe all at the same time, I'll call it a done deal.

walked what feels like a million miles.

My mom and I are still doing our morning walks whenever she is in town, which has been great.

faced the fact that I seriously need to rejoin a gym.

But, so far no decision has been made as to which gym. I think I know. But, I'm not quite ready to commit. For now, I'm just enjoying the decent weather. And maybe in a month or so, I might join. I'm thinking that a gym membership might be a great thing to ask for as a birthday gift. *hint, hint*

stopped being in denial about my knee.

I've finally faced the fact that my knee just plain hurts most of the time, and refraining from running has done nothing to actually help it. So, I've made an appointment for next week with my primary doctor to get a referral to a specialist. I think my running days are probably over for good. But it would be great if I could actually walk or bike (or maybe just stand!!) without pain.

gotten insanely busy at work.

It's back to school time, so all the kids need their eyes checked. Which means I've turned into a walking zombie from being so busy for the past 3 weeks.

spent a fortune.

Since my basement is almost a done deal!! I bought my bar, ordered my counter top, got the carpet replaced (finally!!). So, in a matter of weeks it should no longer be a construction zone.

And, faithful reader, I do believe that has you caught up with the world of runnergirl. Thanks for staying tuned!

Blogging Hiatus

I'm going to fall off the face of the earth for a bit.

But, never fear, I'll be back. I promise!

I just have too much swirling through my head right now to form coherent thoughts, now yet actually get anything down in written form. I really have no desire to even try.

For now, I'm just going to let it all spin around in there, and when I get it all sorted out I'll be back in full force.

Happy running, walking, swimming, biking, and blogging to all you awesome people out there in blog land!

Racking Up the Miles

My mom and I have walked 65 miles this month, and biked about 10. Wow!

My mom will be out of town for the next few weeks, so my goal is to try to get a few runs in and test out the various aches and pains. We'll see how it goes.

Wish me luck!

A Big Thanks!

I just wanted to say thanks to Liz, Lisa, and anyone else that sent a letter for helping me out with this .

Matthew ended up getting over 60 pieces of mail - I didn't get an exact count from him mom.

Unfortunately his doctors said his counts were too low to risk going in the lake, so he didn't get tossed in. Instead it sounds like he got to pick someone else to take his dunkings for him, so I'm sure some of the staff at the camp weren't too happy that Matthew is so popular!

So, thanks again for helping me!

Something Had To Give

Those readers that have been around for a while know that I love Jayhawk. I might even have a crush on her because she's just so darn cute with her new hair.

Some of her writing hits me so hard it about knocks me off my feet. Sometimes I think we are long lost running soul mates separated at birth. Today's post is inspired by her most recent one.

I could have written it myself.

In fact, I pretty much did.

Then a few months went by and things got a little more under control, and I was feeling better but not great about the state of things, and I was considering giving up my blogging.

Luckily, I decided that I enjoyed it too much and decided to stick around.

So, here I am blogging, but I'm not running.

Instead I'm just boring everyone with my ramblings.

Something just had to give or I was going to require a straight jacket and a padded room.

So, the running gave. And right now, I'm honestly ok with that. I miss it. I watch the other runners that I drive by every morning and feel a little pang of jealousy and regret.

But the relief I feel to not be training in this heat, and to not be in constant pain far out weighs any negatives. And I still haven't made any final decisions about the future. I'm just taking it one day at a time.

And until I decide to wrap my mind around my running future, I've been walking like a mad woman. I think my mom and I have logged about 50 miles walking and 10 miles biking since June 1st. So, even though I'm not running I haven't turned in to a couch potato.

Yet.

In addition to the running, there was something else that had to give. Something that I used to do a lot of, and no longer have been doing.

Some of you may have noticed that I have been MIA in the comment sections of your blogs.

In order to make time for my own blogging, I decided that I needed to cut back on some of the things I was doing that were taking up my time. And going to each individual blog, reading each post and leaving a comment for the 40 odd blogs I follow was just too much.

So, now I read them all in bloglines and rarely leave comments. It is a source of guilt for me, and I would like to eventually get back to leaving more comments. But I can only do what I can do. And when I dropped all those balls back in January, there were a few of them that I never picked back up. But I know they're still there waiting on me. And one day I'll get back to them.

In the mean time, I just wanted all of you wonderful and inspiring bloggers out there to know that I'm still reading!

I've just turned into a lurker.

Crunch Time

A while ago I was talking about needing to make a decision about my gym membership. The time is quickly approaching for me to finalize that decision and I'm still in limbo! I have until the end of the month to renew my membership if I am going to do so.

The gym has a deal to keep you paying every year by offering a discounted yearly membership after your first two years. I can basically renew my memberships for just under $100. That's a darn good deal, and hard to turn down. But at the same time, I don't think I've set foot in the place in the last 6 months!

I joined the gym two years ago because it was where my boyfriend goes, and I though maybe I'd go with him. It just really didn't happen though. We live and work on opposite sides of town, and we have different schedules. I wanted to go in the morning since I don't go in to work until 9:00, but he starts work at 7:30. He got off at 4:00 and wanted to go after work, but I didn't get off until 7:30 or 5:30 depending on the day. So, it was very inconvenient for one or both of us to try to go together, and it just didn't seem worth the 40 minute round trip drive to go by myself.

I feel guilty to give up the membership. Which is extremely stupid! I'm not going anyway, and at least by not renewing I'll be saving some money. But I still feel guilty. I guess I know I should be going and if I still have a membership I can fool myself into thinking that I will go. Without the membership I can't hold onto that little falsity that I keep telling myself.

What I'd like to do is join one of the two gyms near my house and start going in the mornings with my mom. But I'd have to get my mom to agree to join with me, and I'd be spending a fortune as the last time I checked the membership fees were $35 or $40 a month. Yikes.

Mostly I miss having an indoor track to walk and run on, having the weight machines readily available, and being able to attend the classes. Of course, if I join the Y that is right across the street, yoga isn't one of the classes included in the general membership fees - you have to pay extra.

Maybe I should just continue taking my community sponsored yoga class and buy one of those all in one weight machines for my house! Every time I think I have made a decision, I change my mind.

Ugh!

A Simple Reminder

On my way to work I have to drive by the walking/running path that I was talking about here. A portion of the track runs along the road and you can see the people on it while you drive by.

This morning on my way into work there was a little boy running on the path. He couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 and he was just running along, pumping his little arms. He was really moving. Probably could have given me a run for my money. It was the cutest thing.

I did find it alarming that there was no adult in sight and I'm seriously hoping that his parent was not too far behind him where the path veers off away from the road.

But, the sight of him running along made me smile. It reminded me of the pure joy that I find in my night running. Which I am itching to get back to now that summer is here. I've just been too darn busy lately!