And so it goes...

Can I really wrap up months upon months of living into one blog post? The answer is yes, but would you read it all? I'm not that naive ;).

Biggest thing: I live in a house with my sister, her boyfriend, and their dog. I am happy here. It's a lot of fiscal responsibility, but I'm 26, so responsibility should be a "thing." I love the independence, and the freedom. I feel like a grown up! Plus, the running area is MUCH more manageable. It's in the city, so the hills aren't rolling and gargantuan. I love the running route where I grew up, but I'm pretty sure it's a big reason I got injured last year.

Marathon training came and went--no big injuries this year, thank God! I most CERTAINLY PRed. Considering the disaster that was the Pittsburgh Marathon 2012, I figured I could only get better. I was injured like an MFer last year, and I just made it under the 6-hour mark. Oh, it was excruciating...the injury and the embarrassment. haha. I finished a marathon, though, so whatever.

This year, I finished in 4:20 or so--over 90 minutes better! I was still not at my best (1. I walked over three miles to the start. I need a car. 2. overtraining, you and I need to break up. 3. aaaand I really need to incorporate foods/gels into my training...MAJOR cramps at mile 16--was good up until then!), but I was pretty damn proud. Had I not overtrained, I may have been nearer to my goal of 4:00. Til next year, Pittsburgh Marathon. I most certainly had a preferred experience this year.

The biggest thing missing? My mother's smiling face at mile 20. I passed the spot where I saw her last year, and I smiled. I think I might have cried. Can't be too sure. The whole race was kind of a blur. I do remember being more determined at that point.

I cried when I finished. I cried because I finished. I cried for many things. Three years ago, no way in hell my body could have done this. I cried all alone, sitting on a patch of grass. For 20 minutes. Then, I struggled to get up and couldn't stop smiling. I smiled the rest of the day. I met my sister and Cody halfway through the walk home, and we walked together the rest of the way. I smelled like a dirty diaper, but I felt like a million bucks.

We went to Burgatory after, had something to nibble on (I had a drink too, whatever), talked to a bunch of my coworkers (I like to refer to them as "friends"--seriously love working there!), then headed up to our friend's house for margaritas, a bonfire, and Mexican fooood. So satisfying, Man. haha. It was a great night, just hanging out with friends, shooting the shit. I don't have enough of that in my life, and that needs to change.

It's been a month since that day. I've been running here and there, but not nearly with the intensity I had during training (which is obviously the right decision). I've also been taking a summer writing course, as a prerequisite for...

THE COORDINATED MASTERS IN CLINICAL DIETETICS AND NUTRITION PROGRAM. I GOT ACCEPTED. I AM IN.

My goal has been achieved. Fuck yeah, Man. I worked my ass off this past school year--classes (4.0, beeches), two jobs, aaaaaaand marathon training on top of that? I'm giving myself a pat on the back right now, don't judge.

This summer, I'm setting new goals. I know that diets should not exist--just eat healthy, exercise, and things will fall into place. However, my appetite is still in marathon mode. Noooooooot okay. haha. I've tweaked my diet for the "off season," and I'm still finalizing it, but it will definitely be filled with more nutritiously wholesome foods and less of the processed stuff. I didn't eat as well as I had liked during training--that probably affected my performance as well. In order to get that 4:00, ya gotta work at it during the offseason as well! Plus, I just feel better and more confident when my body is well-oiled :).

So, some short term goals for this next week, to then build upon for the rest of the summer:

1. NO ADDED SUGAR. Just fruit.
2. NO PROCESSED FOODS. Whole grain, hos.
3. NO FRIED FOODS. They just make me feel like poop the day after.
4. LOTS of water. This shouldn't be a short-term goal ever. Especially with the way I sweat. haha
5. FIVE WORKOUT DAYS. Most of my training, I worked out 7 days. Not a good idea. I'm thinking 3 running days and 2 low-impact cardio days (it could be tweaked). More strength training on non-running days. I focused more on strength training and core strength this training cycle, and it definitely showed!
6. SLEEP 7.5 TO 8 HOURS, JERK. This is my biggest problem, and probably lends itself most to my terrible eating habits. Blegh.

Soooooooo, I'm going to try this out for a week, and I'll see how that goes. I will try my hardest to document everything, but my life is a whirlwind, sooooooo yeah.

Gotta have my fun this summer, because next semester will be intense--full courseload, probably going to work as much as possible for money, aaaaaaand tackling marathon training again? Jesus Lord. haha.

I dunno if anyone still reads this, but I hope you all are having a time of it :).