I've been gone from Blogland for awhile!

I don't really have an excuse for not writing a blog entry in almost a year.  It seems like I just didn't have that much to say!

I've been thoroughly enjoying retirement.  I do a lot more reading, needlework and genealogy than I ever had time for before, but my running has suffered some major setbacks.

I have had six surgeries (seven, if you count cataract surgery!) in just over six years.  I had to take several weeks to several months off after each surgery, so it was difficult getting back to any kind of running shape.  The last surgery was for a torn meniscus in my left knee, and now that I have fibromyalgia, my healing was really delayed.  Thank heavens for therapy!  I used to be a skeptic, but no more!

I am happy to report that my knee is doing fine now, and I am walking up to 7 miles at a time.  I have only tried a little bit of running, and only on the trails, because I am afraid.  I know I probably shouldn't be, but my doctor did tell me I had quite a large area of bone-on-bone already in my knee, and everything I've heard or read says that you are only making it worse to run if you have bone-on-bone.  It doesn't hurt me any more to run than to walk, but still.  And, the doctor says I need to have the right knee done, too, but I think I might put that off until it starts to bother me more.  The recovery was no piece of cake on the left knee, that's for sure!

I am spending some time "coloring" images.  The one attached, I did years ago, but I still like it.  (George Barr created the original line work.)  I will use some of my images to create products at Zazzle.  I don't make a lot of money off my Zazzle store, but it is just so much fun.

Hopefully, I will have more to say this year than last.  Don't give up on me!

Huntsville Half Marathon

Well, I finished.  I wasn't really expecting to do very well, considering I've only been allowed to run for less than six weeks since my last surgery, but I actually did better than I expected!  I thought it might take me close to 4 hours to run, but I finished in 2:56:14!  I'm happy with that!

Pinhoti 100

On Saturday and Sunday, some of my running buddies and I will be "sweeping" parts of the Pinhoti 100 Trail Race in the Talladega National Forest.  The race starts near Heflin, AL on Saturday morning and finishes 100 miles to the southwest in Sylacauga, AL on Sunday morning.  Our job is to follow the last runner, pick up the course marker flags and make sure no one has fallen by the wayside.  Two of my friends are even HAM radio operators and they will have their radios with them on the trail.  Apparently, that is a first for this race.

Three of my friends will be sweeping from Mile 41 to Mile 60, in the dark!  There is one steep downhill section, aptly named Blue Hell, that is rocky and boulder-strewn with two creek crossings.  Did I mention that they will be running this section in the dark!!!  Not for me!

I will be sweeping with two of those same friends, plus one's husband, from Mile 85 to the end on Sunday morning.

I'm so excited, you would think I was one of the racers!

(Photos courtesy of the Pinhoti 100 website.)

Elkmont Lions Club Rails to Trails 10K

Ahhh!  It feels good to be racing again, even if I did have to walk the whole race!  I am being a good girl and following my doctor's orders — no running for another 10 days.

But I managed to finish the course in 11 minutes less than I had expected, so I am happy.  AND, I got to see some of my running pals — what could be better!

And I survived the deluge on the way home.  They say a cold front is coming through and we might even have several days in a row without rain.

2009 EuroCross 5K

What a hoot!  EuroCross is one of my favorite races each year, guaranteed to provide some dirt and mud and lots of fun.  The 5K is run as five loops on a 1K course with two creek crossings on each loop.  There are straw bales to jump over, one short-but-steep hill, another longer hill, and a little segment on pine-needle covered trail through the woods.

That's me in the background, two years ago, climbing up out of the second creek crossing.  This year, the water at the first creek crossing was chest deep!  This crossing was waist deep instead of the usual calf deep you see here.  Everyone was suitably soaked and streaked with mud by the end — yum!

I even managed to get 2nd place (out of two!) in my age group this year.  I'll take 'em any way I can get 'em!

Big Horn Trail Run 30K

Lately, I've been training for my next big (and maybe last!) race, the Big Horn Trail Run 30K (18.7 miles) in the Big Horn mountains near Dayton, Wyoming on June 20.  I ran this race last year, too, and it was a blast!  There are also 50K, 50 mile and 100 mile races running simultaneously with different start times.  They bus us up to the start of the race at about 7600' and let us run down to the valley at about 3800'.  Last year, my bus actually saw two moose grazing alongside the road.

I didn't take any pictures on race day, but I borrowed some from another runner (thanks, Molly!) to show you what it was like last year, and what I'm looking forward to this year.  This photo shows what the start of the race looks like.  Don't be fooled by the gravel road.  It didn't last long!

This is what a lot of the course looks like.  The wildflowers were awesome last year.  There was still snow under the trees in many places.  We even get to cross several shallow streams.

Eventually, we wind our way down into the Tongue River Canyon, shown here.  The coolness coming from the icy water was very welcome, because the last leg of the race is run on a very flat, hot, dusty gravel road.  Last year, I asked another runner if the road ever ended and he replied, "Not today!"  It sure seemed that way...

But I did finish the race in 5 hours and 15 minutes, and the best part was that my Dad was waiting for me at the finish line!