i’ve been on a hiatus from running. the marathon was over 9 months ago; one toenail has repaired itself, the other has a good 3 months left before it’ll be back to normal. oh, and then there’s the $5k of physical therapy (luckily i’m insured, so i got this for a steal - about $1k - ugh!) to repair the knee, which can now handle 6 miles. i had initially thought about doing a half marathon at the beginning of august, however, the idea of spending all my saturday mornings running didn’t seem appealing. i did that last summer.

anyway, here’s a pictorial history of my involvement with running. items of note:

1. july 07 - a solid preparation for what should have been a solid 10k. i was no match for the heat. worst. race. ever. i still regret every step of it.
2. march 08 - training for the half is going well, going well, going well - then BAM. don’t get a new job and a cold and take a cross country flight the week/day before a half marathon.
3. october 08 - don’t be fooled. i tried to skimp on my marathon prep. those bars leading up to it should be more frequent and a lot higher. as you can see, however, the marathon has subsequently put me (and my toenail, and my knee, and my ego) in my place.

all that to say, i’m beginning to wonder if i will ever actually run a race that i feel prepared for. i think if i could follow a training plan to the number, not get sick, not have to travel, have nothing go wrong, run the race, feel good and set a PR i might hang up the shoes forever. leave on a high note, you know?

showmanship, george. when you hit that high note you say good night and walk off.
-seinfeld

i live just about 3 blocks from our closest post office. you may think this is convenient. the post office is terrible. i know, i know, ALL post offices are terrible. i can guarantee, this one is worse. i am so angry about my visit there, i can’t even tell you about it yet, and it happened 5 months ago. i’m still THAT mad. anyway, this has led to a new hobby for me. reading ravenswood post office reviews on yelp. seriously, its very funny.

and when you’re doing reading that, read these awesome reviews of an awesome (three) wolf t shirt, and these reviews of tuscan whole milk, 1 gallon, 128 fl oz..

check it out - my foot being featured right there on the chicagoist website.

i recently decided i need to post more pictures here, as i have a new camera that is being severely underutilized. more to come.

for now, enjoy this little gem.