Unshod Jogger: Summer Lovin!

Wow, to say I have been busy would be a complete lie. This is actually the least busy I've ever been in my life so there is no excuse for letting this outlet of expression fall to the wayside. So I will not offer any excuses. Instead I will just continue on as if nothing ever happened and we can all pretend that I've been diligently posting on a weekly basis. Good deal? Great. I'm glad we cleared that up. Now where were we? O yeah, I was about to tell you about what has happened since JANUARY!!

In the interest of time I will keep this very brief. Since I last posted I have finished my Graduate degree and am currently jumping through many hoops to obtain my Arizona Teaching License. I am currently licensed in Virginia and will soon be in Colorado as well. Now I'm sure wondering why someone would need to be licensed in so many places. Explanation: Virginia is where I went to school, Arizona is where I currently live and Colorado is where I would like to live. Simple right? Not so much. The hoops of the education world are many and frustrating. I have been waiting all summer for various investigation agencies to look at my fingerprints and then do whatever it is that they do to verify that I am in fact not a pedophile.

While I wait for all these requirements of teacher licensure to be met, I have significantly sharpened my skills at puzzling, vacuuming, and even sun-bathing. O yeah, I run copious amounts through the desert but most of you who know me already guessed that.

As for running, I have not ran a race all summer simply because Arizona racing season takes a backseat to monsoon rains and dust storms during the summer months. O yeah, heat too. Obviously. I did run a race in March, and I did write a detailed mile by mile race report but never posted it due to my complete lack of...well...we'll just call it laziness. So here is the condensed version...albeit 6 months late. I started way too fast, like 5 min/mile too fast.Decided after two miles that I would never run again because I hurt so bad. Had a pity party for six miles. At mile 10 decided the race was too beautiful to waste the view and started pushing the pace again. All in all, I ran a PR half-marathon of 1:49. Full results are on the link on the right.

View from Finish Line

Okay this post is long enough, See the right hand column for new racing ventures that are in the works for the fall. I've enjoyed immense amounts of fitnes thanks to running on my own in the morning and then running with my lovely wife in the evenings. Who, by the way, is training to run her first half. She is committed now. I wrote it and it on the interwebs. No going back.

I'm not even going to promise to post more because that is getting old. In the meantime...enjoy some pictures from some of my summer adventures, many of which will be of the sunrise or sunsets here in the valley. Mainly because they are awesome!

Jog on!