I’m still alive and still running! Just continuing to suck at blogging.

Today I put together my training plan for the Lake Sammamish Half, which is eight weeks away. I’m struggling a bit with my weeknight runs on the treadmill (especially right after BODYPUMP on Tuesdays and Thursdays; my legs are just tired), but my weekend outdoor running is excellent. Today’s long run was probably the fastest I’ve ever run seven miles outside of a race, and I was actively trying to slow down. Let’s hope that means I’ve stayed in good-ish shape through the holidays and have a shot of PRing (sub 1:55) at Lake Sammamish!

I’m loving my new Garmin 220, by the way. Besides being much smaller, lighter, and prettier than the Forerunner 305, it also picks up satellites in a flash and can stop/start automatically when I have to wait at a stoplight. It takes about five seconds to sense that I’ve come to a complete stop, and maybe three seconds to sense that I’ve started running again, but it’s pretty sweet.

It also seamlessly uploads my data to Garmin Connect, whereas the 305 required me to do a handstand, spin around three times, and chant in Swahili to actually upload anything on the first try. If you asked aliens who observed me trying to upload my runs what the name of the device was, they’d probably tell you what I often called it: “F***ing worthless piece of s**t!!!!”

I’M STILL NOT OVER IT, CAN YOU TELL?

I am counting down the days to a two-day work trip to San Diego, which will be immediately followed by a week-long vacation to Maui. Only one full work week + a few days to go!

If any of you caught the Seahawks/Saints game on Saturday, you know that Seattle is experiencing its height of gray skies, wind, and rain. As I watched a bit of the 49ers/Panthers game on Sunday, my strong (STRONG) dislike of Colin Kaepernick was only eclipsed by my jealousy of the Carolina sunshine.

Just a little sun is all I need to get me through the rest of the winter. Oh, how I look forward to running outside in shorts again!