Big Week

I have two excuses for lacking a blog post for the last month or so: 1. I lost my camera in the back of our car, which is currently parked at my dad's office having the timing belts changed for the last week and a half, and 2. I set two goals for myself this summer and was coming down to the wire to get them accomplished. I did have one week where I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even make the beds one day, had a melt down, and almost didn't shower. That is saying a lot for someone who prizes cleanliness like I do.

Goal #1: Take the GRE and do well enough that I will not ever have to take it again. I finally took the GRE last week and did much better than I thought that I could do. I actually scored higher than I ever did on any of the practice tests, and when I took the real GRE I thought I was literally doing so badly that I was about to cancel my scores. Now I just need to get the rest of my stuff together and graduate school here I come!

Goal #2: Finish a half marathon, and actually run the whole thing. I have had a series of injuries that have made this goal illusive, but this summer has been mostly injury free (I HIGHLY recommend cross-training, I was faster and less sore when I rode the stationary bike 2 times a week). I signed up for the Provo River Trail half marathon, and my sister Emily and I drove down last weekend to run. We had an awesome road trip, despite the fact that she would not let me listen to Johnny Cash in the car. The race was great. We started pretty far up the canyon and had a ton of down hill stretches, so I did not feel too tired, but it was a lot harder on my muscles. I was able to do between 9 1/2 and 10 1/2 minute miles, pretty speedy for me, and didn't stop once, not even to drink water (I did however try to drink and run, and that resulted in most of the water running down the front of me). I could not walk for about two days after, but I am so glad that I did it.

Max, I am pretty much a big deal.