Made it to NJ in really great time. It’s so great to see Aunt Cathrine and Uncle Bob. We spent the afternoon and evening getting the grand tour and catching up on pretty much all the things. They seem so happy in their new place and I don’t blame them. This place is pretty awesome! They rented us the little guest apartment that is right next to theirs and it is really so very nice. I’m truly exhausted, though, and glad for some quiet time before going to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day – and hopefully not too wet. Please?
Author: peanut7312
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March 14
It was a pretty smooth drive to Virginia today, but oh so long and boring. It was nice to arrive before dinner time so we had time to relax a little before heading back out. I’m loving my new car, which welcomed us to every state we drove through and only needed 1 1/4 tanks of gas to go 500 miles. Not too shabby, little car.
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March 13
It took a little over an hour of overtime, but I think I managed to get everything done at work that I needed to before going on vacation next week. There is so much to do and I am barely keeping up, but it is what it is at this point. I’m just happy I got the most important things done. I’m all packed and ready to leave in the morning. It feels weird to have everything done and not be rushing to do it. So this is what happens when you don’t leave everything for the last minute!
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March 12
My ankle still hurts after playing it “safe” and running on the sidewalk in the dark and not on the street, where I’m more likely to get run over if someone doesn’t see me. I was rewarded for that decision before I even rounded the corner, because I turned my ankle on some uneven sidewalk. It just keeps hurting more and more, which is annoying because I only got like two runs in after my last injury. The good news is it’s starting to feel better today, but with traveling next week, I will have to wait a little bit longer for my running fix. The good news is I found my headlamp, so I’ll be running on the flat pavement from now on.
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March 11
Robin had her second gymnastics trial class, this time level 2. Believe it or not, level 2 was easier than level 1, primarily because everyone in the class was between 7-9 years old. A lot of the apparatus they were using were too small for Robin to even use. She clearly needs to be in a level 3 class, which may still be too easy for her, but they are all filled. We’re waitlisted for one of them and in the meantime, Robin decided to stick with the level 2 class to brush up on her skills and stay active. I give her a lot of credit because it’s not easy taking a class when literally everyone is half your age, especially when you are only 14. It’s a huge developmental divide, but she’s into it, so I say yes! She also signed up for volleyball club at school, so I’m really happy to see her getting active in something. I hope it lasts.
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March 10
Nothing much happened today. I went out for a run this morning and it was still dark out. I haven’t really run in the dark before. Even though I wore a bright colored shirt, I’m not sure drivers could see me. It was a little unnerving. I may have to unearth a headlamp to run with. The run itself was good. I am doing intervals to try to build back some base mileage. It’s humbling, but it’s so good to be out there again. I’ve missed it so much. I had my car serviced this morning and that went about as smooth as can be. I was in and out in 45 minutes, and they washed my car too. Everything else was pretty much the usual. Work, dinner, dance. Rinse, wash, repeat.
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March 9
I completely forgot about Robin’s dentist appointment today. Billy asked me something about it right around the time I should already have had Robin in the car and been on the way. I ran out the door and made it to school in five minutes and they almost didn’t let me pick her up because dismissal was starting. I must have looked either desperate or pitiful, or maybe both, because she called for Robin anyway. We got stuck at a traffic light that wouldn’t change or else we would only have been about two minutes late. Which is impressive because I left the house 15 minutes before the appointment time. All that hustling was for nothing, though, because the dentist was 40 minutes late. Sigh. So much for my superpowers.
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March 8
Billy mentioned that the Atlantic Sun men’s basketball tournament was happening here in Jacksonville, so on a whim we went to the championship game. It was Central Arkansas against Queens University and it was a pretty good game. When there were 54 seconds left, we all guessed how long it would take before the game ended. We were all wrong, because the game went into overtime, which added another 10 minutes. Queens won, which, even though they’re not from the borough of Queens in NY, I consider a namesake, so I’m down. I think I will also root for them in the NCAA tournament. Why not? I’m glad we went. There were maybe 300 people there. Traffic was a breeze!
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March 7
The Gate River Run was a bit of a disappointment. If I had known the 5k was a completely separate race and not actually part of the Gate run, I probably wouldn’t have gone. My medal is so ugly, and it was the only reason I decided to race even though I haven’t been training. I have decided that I am going to run the 15k next year whatever it takes. If it takes me all year to train, I am going to do it. Also I did not in any way need to wake up at 4:30am. But I used all that extra time to look up 15k training plans for people with runner’s colitis. I can’t wait to get started.
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March 6
Picking up my race materials for the Gate River Run today felt somewhat shameful. There were tables and tables of race bibs being handed out – 18,000 of them – and my bib number is 18223. The tables only went up to 18000, so when I asked where the higher numbers were, the woman was like, “Oh, you want the 5K table. It’s over there.” And she pointed to a lonely table all on its own in a dusty corner (ok ok the corner wasn’t dusty). It had like 15 bibs on it (ok ok it was more than 15). I didn’t even get the same shirt as everyone else, and this one is crazy ugly. But… so it is. I will make the most of it. I did get a box of cous cous in my race bag. That’s exciting.
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March 5
I hit a wall today at work. Too many stupid things left me feeling too depressed to go on. Luckily I was saved by Christina’s dance class, which gave me an excuse to log off early. Tonight I finally sat down and put together Robin’s 8th grade tribute ad for the yearbook. She wants to see it, but she’s just going to have to wait. I ran for six minutes this morning. That is six minutes more than I ran last Thursday, so I am doing good.
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March 4
We bought Sea World and Busch Gardens annual passes today. The most expensive option available was still significantly cheaper than Universal passes. We bought four of the highest tier Sea World passes for less than it would cost for three of the lowest tier Universal passes. Plus we get to bring guests for free! I’m looking forward to going during spring break.
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March 3
Two things of note happened today: One, I showed up one entire day early for my therapy appointment that is actually tomorrow and not today. This explains why it wasn’t on my calendar. And two, Robin tried a gymnastics class this evening and enjoyed it, which makes me so relieved because that girl needs something to make her smile. We are going to go back next week. Everything else was just everything else. Pinot here is mad at me for not letting him lick the inside of my mouth. Sorry, bud. Even I have my limits.
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March 2
I went for a run this morning. I reached a point where I was losing more than I was gaining by trying to rest my injury. The toll it has taken on me mentally is worse than the pain I was feeling before I stopped running. So back I go. I did a five-minute run and it was humbling. It was not easy, and my pace was so ridiculously slow compared to where I had been. It’s a pace so slow, I previously thought it was impossible. But… I’m going to keep at it. I got there before and I’ll get there again. Going to try to repeat tomorrow and see what happens. One step at a time.
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March 1
Day two of dance was so unbearably long. We got there at 10:30 in the morning and Christina’s performance was at 12:30. Awards weren’t until 4:30, and they lasted an hour, so we were there for seven hours. I was good until about 3:15 or so, and then the walls started to crush me. Christina did ok – her dance came in third out of five in the category. It was a tough weekend with a lot of very good dancers to go up against. But the studio did win the sportsmanship award for the weekend, which in my opinion is worth more than any other of the awards they could get. Christina seemed in good spirits, so that’s what matters to me.
Year in Photos 