Running for Biscuits

Epic life update for @funnyrunner, even though she hasn’t posted about her last Ironman. Tag, lady. You’re it.

So, in February I ran a marathon and then the world fell apart.

On August 1, Maya was diagnosed with bone cancer. On August 10, she turned 11. And on August 31, we lost her. To say my heart was broken would deprive it of some of the sadness it felt. It was shattered. Her presence in my home is still a giant, gaping hole.

In October, we welcomed Roman, an 8 week old Portuguese Water Dog to the family. Cody tolerates him. Lucy adores him. He’ll be a good running dog and a fantastic playmate for her.

I have a new niece who was born in September, but thanks to this whole pandemic thing I have been unable to go home to meet her and see my other two nieces and the rest of my family. I miss Wisconsin, but am grateful for technology to keep me connected.

Lucy and I are both still running. She’s done two half marathons this year (one this morning, even.), and continues to have more joy than I ever thought possible.

I ran the Rock N Roll New Orleans marathon yesterday.

My third marathon. I ran each step of this 26.2 miles next to one of my favorite people, with 20 of my friends and family at the finish line cheering for me.

I’m an average runner.

I’m not really fast. A lot of people would consider me slow.

But you know what?

New shoes.

New Shwings.

New month.

New GOALS.

Around mile 9 I tend to question why I’m doing this.

At mile 13 I remember.

A big weekend of running, friends, beer, and pizza. The a 50k relay that was part of an Ultra Race on Saturday, volunteering at the Ultra from 10pm-2am helping the 100 mile/100k and 50 mile runners through the night, and then the St. Patrick’s Day 1.7k and 5k this afternoon.

The run I didn’t want to do tonight turned out to be the best run of the year.

Today’s run was a fun game of “what route isn’t flooded?”

My kayak would have been a good running accessory today.

When I was thinking about getting a dog I knew I wanted a big dog with a lot of energy and endurance to be a long distance running partner.

I didn’t expect this big of dog with ALL THE ENERGY but she’s definitely a great running partner.

“Gently rolling hills” at a 10k with my niece this morning.