The president of holidays

I love long weekends. If I was the president of holidays, I'd give everyone at least one long weekend a month. Even better, I'd institute a bunch of new holidays and switch to a 4 day work week/3 day weekend schedule. (I wish president of holidays was a real job.)

It's always nice to have extra time off to relax and enjoy the festivities. On Saturday, I went on my first long run (10.9 miles) since the marathon and it felt good. I'm excited to start training again and hopeful that my next marathon will be better than the first. I also bought the Nike + SportBand and Nike Free shoes. The sensor fits right into the shoe and the watch keeps track of your distance, time and pace. Then you can upload and track your workouts. Monday I ran over to the track at Brighton High School so I could calibrate the watch. I realized how much I miss running track - the springy feeling of running on a nice all weather track, and the going-all-out feeling of the sprint. I'm looking forward to doing some speed work and shorter (5-10K) races this summer.

On Sunday, I ran 2 miles with Mike. After Cleveland, he was worried I wasn't getting enough protein and he said he'd start running if I started eating chicken again. So the deal is on. Truth be told, I know I don't have the most nutritious diet. I have the taste buds of a 5 year old. So this time around, I have to be better at fueling my body with more high quality, nutrient rich food and less dessert. Though I will never, ever give up dessert. A life without dessert is no life at all.

Saturday night Mike and I went to The Little to see Everything Must Go, which was a sad but fantastically written movie. I loved it. On Sunday morning, Meghan, Mike and Kelly came over for brunch and Sunday night we played euchre with Mike's parents. I totally need to organize euchre night on my porch this summer. Monday we went to the Roc City Rib Fest at Charlotte with my parents (because everyone else loves meat and I love any festival that has kettle corn and drinks in coconuts carved into monkey faces). Good times.

Everytime I stop and think, man my life is pretty sweet, I find there is even more awesomeness waiting for me up ahead. I love that I have somehow become part of a team, in running and in life. Cheers to many more years of good runs, good friends and good times.

Lyric of the moment: "Oh my life is changing everyday, in every possible way. Though my dreams, it’s never quite as it seems, never quite as it seems...I want more, impossible to ignore, impossible to ignore..."