I’m Back … Again!

Just over a year ago, after 6 months of not posting, I wrote a post saying that I was “back” to blogging. In my defense, I also said that I didn’t know exactly what it would look like. Apparently what it would look like is a few posts and then nothing for another year. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone back and forth and back and forth some more about whether I wanted to continue to blog or even be on the internet period. Indecisive much? Yep! At one point, I took down ALL social media (were are talking no Facebook, no Instagram, no Strava, no blog, no nothing). At the time, I think it’s EXACTLY what I needed. I even went without TV or internet at home for over a year! It was quite refreshing.

I’ve had a few big life changes (i.e., I got married and moved). With all the changes going on, I just didn’t have time or energy to devote to the blog. There was also the whole no internet thing that made it slightly problematic. Ha. At this point, I can honestly say that I miss blogging and connecting with random strangers on the internet. During the time that I wasn’t blogging, I even had the opportunity to meet a couple of my “blog friends” in real life. The connections were priceless and wouldn’t have existed at all if it wasn’t for this blog. Pretty cool!

So here I am, sitting in my She Shack (think She Shed, but more redneck), telling you once again that I am “back.” I see myself writing weekly training logs, monthly recaps, race recaps (if we ever get to have races again!), etc. You know, typical running blogger stuff. I also see myself writing more about projects and things we are doing at home. In the last year we planted a garden, birthed baby goats (triplets!), got some ducks, built a barn and built a shop. It was a busy year! Our next big project is going to be to build a house. I would love to document that process and our progress here. The plan is to do it as an owner-builder with hopes of saving a substantial amount of money. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never built a house before and this will definitely be learning process for me. Oh and apparently, I am in charge of the budget. This will be very interesting!

As far as running goes, in this time of no “real” races going on or coming up, I feel like I’ve been doing a fairly decent job staying motivated and I think it’s because I truly love the process of training and feel like it helps me to be the best version of myself that I can be on any given day. While I do enjoy the process, I would be lying if I said that the results don’t drive me as well, because they absolutely do. What I have actually learned over the last few months is that I am super competitive with MYSELF. I participated in a number of virtual races this Spring and I had such a good time with it (pun intended). I have run my fastest times at the 1 mile, 5k and 10k distances over the course of the last four months. I hesitate to call these races PRs as I feel that is reserved for certified courses, but there is no doubt in my mind that these were my best performances to date.

After the McKirdy Mile series this summer (four 1 mile races over the course of the last two months and actually I ran five because I am extra like that), I took a slight down week last week and this week I am starting to ramp back up again. I ran a 5:02 for my last mile in the series. Five oh freaking two. I am pretty determined to work on getting 3 seconds faster and making that a 4:59 by the end of the summer. I would also really like to “race” (i.e., time trial) a 5k on the track by the end of the summer as well and get just under 17 if possible. Those are my current short-term plans at least. I’d like to then progress up to a 10k and hopefully, maybe, if all the stars align and races go on, find a half marathon to do later this fall.

Testing. Testing. Is anyone out there still reading? If so, what are you training for during this time of no “real” races?!

I’m excited to be back and hopeful that this time it will actually stick! Fingers crossed.