Training Week 6: A Goth Locker Room and the End of an Era

Training Week 6 is in the books. As I write, I'm a week out from race day and feeling good. Here's the run-down of my week:

Sunday: Laundry Day
Which now has a new name in our house.

On laundry day, my husband calls our bathroom my Goth Locker Room. Ha!

Monday: 6 miles EZ
This early morning run was darn near perfect. A gorgeous sunrise* and I felt amazing.

* I feel like a broken record about the sunrises here, but honestly, every morning is this unimaginably beautiful thing, like 340 days a year. Maybe it's that I lived without mountains for 8 years. Maybe it's the dry, sunny climate that lets it be beautiful so often. I don't know. But I know it's amazing.

Tuesday: Yoga Power Hour
This class! Some weeks it's super hard, other weeks less so. Class was easier this past week. Plus I rode my bike to class, so I felt pretty awesome about that.

Wednesday: I slept in. It snowed. Like, all day. 
Yep, snow. We've had very little snow this winter (don't hate us, east coast--we would gladly have taken some of yours), then April comes and BAM. Snow. It was pretty and didn't stick, which is pretty much ideal if it's going to snow in April. Right?

Thursday: 10x400
Love--LOVE--that every week I'm getting closer to hitting all the paces, and every week it's feeling better during the workout. This week's workout was 10x400, with 200m recoveries. I hit 5 of them and came very close on 3 more. Here's how it came out (400s only):
1:48--always trying to find the right gear on the first interval out--actually started way too fast then over-adjusted trying to get it right
1:45
1:44
1:51--heading into the slightly elevated corner of the park again plus started out too slow and just couldn't recover the time
1:45
1:42
1:48
1:49--into that higher corner again--bore down on it but just couldn't get the time down
1:47
1:43

I paired this with a 2 mile warm-up and a 2 mile cool-down.

Friday: 5 miles EZ 
In the PITCH BLACK. I met my friend Tessa at 6am at a popular running trail that's about halfway between our houses. She thought to bring a clip-on light. I hadn't brought one, thinking it wasn't necessary since we were on a trail that isn't accessible to cars. I was wrong. We had a really hard time seeing other runners until we were very close to them, which is kind of creepy. Next time I'll take my light. Dark or not, it was great to see her and run together. It makes me think of last summer when we met all the time to run at totally crazy hours of the pre-dawn.

Saturday: 8 mile medium-long run
I'm a little torn about this. My schedule said to do 8 miles because my half is next weekend. But, I'm not trying to actually run a 1:45 at this half, or even PR it. This is all just base training for Utah Valley, in which case, I should probably have done more mileage today. But we had places to be, so I did my 8 and packed it in. It was a great morning for a run. Along the way I stopped to refill water and got to chatting with two older gentlemen about running. They were delightful, and both retired from prestigious careers here locally. It was one of those rare conversations where you feel like you've known someone for a long time, it's so comfortable, and you just met. How lovely!

In my afternoon errand-running, I hit up the running store. My feet and knees have been hurting some, and I realized that I probably hadn't replaced my shoes in a long time. Uncharacteristically, I didn't make note of it here on the blog, so I don't actually know how many miles are on them, but I'd estimate about 450. To the store! Time for new shoes.

For 8 years, I've been running in Brooks Adrenalins, size 102A*. I've loved them. But, last fall while marathon training, I learned that while my heel is somewhat narrow, my toe box isn't, and as a consequence of this, my shoes were causing the ball of my foot to hurt. I worked with the sales rep at Salt Lake Running Company today to find a solution. We decided on the Mizuno Wave Inspire, which is designed so that the heel sits in deeper than in most shoes, which helps to keep it from slipping. It's truly the end of an era, this not buying Brooks business. Wish me luck with the new kicks! I'm kind of excited to test these new waters.

My first pair of non-Brooks in 8 years.

* I wear an 8-8.5 street shoe. I realize that going up 1.5 sizes is not normal, but every time I try a smaller shoe, I lose toenails. The 2A means narrow. 

Total Mileage for the Week: 26.9
# Runs: 4
# Other Workouts: 1

I'm also happy to say that I'm making progress on my goals! I successfully journaled my food this week, and I did well with pre-run fueling this morning. For the coming week, I'm going to focus on hydration and rest, to prepare for the Salt Lake Half on Saturday. Stay tuned for a race report next weekend!

The Internet's Latest April Recap

Ok, ok. I wasn't going to do an April recap. Then I had to go through my stats anyway to figure out how old my shoes were (400+ miles old!). Then it seemed silly not to write one. So, I'm posting the world's most ridiculously tardy-to-the-party April recap.

Total miles: 103.7, making this I think my first ever set of back-to-back triple digit months!

# runs: 16

# other workouts: 2. I went to yoga two whole times.

Favorite run: The Salt Lake Half!! A new PR! A race with new friends! Beautiful weather and got to see my family mid-race.

Setbacks: Part of the reason this post is so late is that I had to put together mileage from two different Garmins and miles kept just on paper. I'm thankful that I was able to get a new Garmin when the old one died though, so it's not a complaint!

An update on the Achilles: it continues to hurt some, but I've been better about foam rolling and that seems to help a lot. I'm going to keep at it and hope it continues to improve.

House projects completed: It's not exactly a house project, but I did finish a baby sweater. And now I'm working on a Christmas stocking for one of my nieces.

Significant progress has been made on our bathroom and some other projects, but nothing is finished yet. Hopefully I'll have updates by the end of May!

April also saw both my birthday and my younger son's 2nd birthday. In case I've never mentioned it, I love cake. 

Training update: After Salt Lake, I more or less took off the following week (I ran twice). Then I completed the workouts Monday through Wednesday of the following week, then promptly got sick, missing the Thursday through Sunday runs. The following Monday I did part of my scheduled workout, and have been back on track since. I have a little under 5 weeks to go until the Utah Valley Half!! (note: I replaced my shoes before my 5/10 long run)

My training schedule is way more aggressive than what I'd been doing, and I'm loving it. I've surprised myself by being able to hit my training paces consistently. Fingers crossed for a new PR!

Things I'm enjoying/looking forward to in May: 

• First and foremost, to have our bathroom and closet finished!! I'm so over the dust and disorganization that accompanies home renovations.
• Also, early May brought the end of the semester and my release from grading jail--woohoo!! 
• The grandparents are visiting for my older son's birthday later this month. 
• Focusing on the next two weeks of training, as they are the peak of the training cycle for Utah Valley. 

At long last, there you have it. April in review. I'd say I'm looking forward to reading everyone's, but I think I already have!

Mondays in Love: Potpourri

It's ThanksUkkahMas! In our house this means:

• new placemats for children to utterly destroy in under 1 month
• finding the box to return the fall paraphernalia to the basement 
• trying to remember which wrapping paper is "Santa's Paper Not To Be Used On Gifts From Parents Under Any Circumstance"
• Raking leaves and wondering how long either the City or our neighbors can stand to see the pile of bags before caving in and picking them up despite, apparently, there not being any city leaf collection
• Starting to plan holiday outings that include both small children and senior citizens, both groups of which have unyielding demands for cookies and drinks along the way.

But you know what else it's time for? Outrageous holiday catalogs! Want to pay $47 for pumpkin spice potpourri? Sure! Or read about other people making fun of crazy crap. 

All this is just a lengthy preamble to a Potpourri of Running post. Because I'm a week overdue for a post, and because 'tis the season to be crazy. Oh, and because I do what I want. 

First up, my Turkey Trot. The plan was to participate in the Orlando Turkey Trot, which benefits a senior citizens social services group. However, by age 8 I was the only person in my house awake on a weekend before about 11am. So, dragging anyone away from slumberland to join me proved difficult, so my Mom and I decided to make a donation to the charity then cover the distance later in the day. 

The good: It was adorable. My nieces (3 and 5 years old) joined us for the first half mile. My Mom headed inside with foot issues after about 1.5 miles. And my lovely SIL, Kdot finished out the 5k walk with me. It was really nice to just spend some time one-on-one with her (which we also did while shopping on Wednesday for pretty things)

yes, I am completely over-geared for walking 3 miles. Whatever. It was what I had on hand!

While away for Thanksgiving, we also got to continue one of my favorite traditions, the middle generation Christmas Martini. I love, love, love these evenings out with these people. 

Kdot, ODP, me, Mr. Joanna

And a brief November recap: it was a little light on miles after my race. I enjoyed every one of these miles. 

Miles: 44.9

Best run: easily the Raleigh City of Oaks Half-Marathon (race recap here). 

New shoes broken in: the week leading up to the race

New gear: I picked up a pair of Moving Comfort capris--my first pair of capris. Do you have these yet? If not, go now. Buy a pair. I love them. They are soft. The waistband is perfect. Love. 

Unexpected change: Both the Army ROTC and the National Guard have started showing up to train in my park before dawn, though not on the same days. 

Around now-ish, I've been meeting lots of runners, and have several leads on some running groups/running buddies that might work out. I am so in love with the outdoorsy lifestyle of this place!!

What's in store for December? 

• for starters, I intend to sign up for....wait for it....a full marathon for 2014!!! 
• Snow. That angry looking snow blob on the weather map? Yeah. That's us. 
• Too. much. travel. And we're not even going anywhere for Christmas. But we are getting to spend lots of great time with friends and family. 

How was your November? Did you do a Turkey Trot? What's in store for your December?

Apparently I cannot contain my runner enthusiasm

Instead of a weekly wrap-up this week I'm going to give you some of the highlights of my very stellar week.

Highlight #1: Friends rock. On Tuesday I had dinner with a bunch of other newish faculty that I've gotten to know. Good times. On Wednesday we hosted one of my college friends (Frank, who I ran the US Half with) and her family as they trek from DC to California for military relocation. On Thursday I had a fabulous girls' night with my neighbor and friend Kayla, which brings me to...

Highlight #2: Taking Kayla to buy her first pair of grown-up running shoes. Earlier in the week she texted me from a Sports Authority asking for input. I told her to leave and that we would go to a real running store together so she could get properly fitted. I had a *really* hard time containing my enthusiasm about bringing her into the fold. She intended to just buy shoes, but ended up leaving with shoes, body glide, socks, and some runner food. And then we had dinner at a chocolate bar. Because we can. Here we are afterward with our plunder. My plunder included new shoes, which brings me to...

Highlight #3: I have narrow feet. This means I wear a weirdo size of running shoe: 10-2A. After all your wonderful input about extra-cushion shoes (huge shout out here to Sarah--thank you so much!), I'd decided that it was a smart thing for me to experiment with. So when I got to Big River Running (LOVE that place) I asked for the Brooks Trance in 10-2A. Not manufactured in that size. Damn! So let the record show that I came home with my 400th pair of Brooks Adrenalines (8/26).

To sort of compensate, I decided to try some extra cushion socks. At $11/pair, I just bought one to try them out, and I'm officially a fan. I will be going back to get more. How have I not discovered them already? I'm hopeful that I have a good combo of stuff on the feet now.

Highlight #4: As if life could get any better, this weekend is one of my absolute faves in StL--the Festival of Nations. A little less than half of my neighborhood park is taken over by 42 booths selling foods from 34 nationalities (we got a list), plus a world bazaar where mostly the same set of nationalities sells goods, and live music plays basically all weekend. After my run I met my boys there so we could chow down. I'm not even going to tell you what I ate. You'd just hate me for it. Nom nom nom.

What did you have going on this week? Are you any more successful than I was at containing runner enthusiasm with newer runners? Yeah, I didn't think so. :)

A new weekly best!!

SO PUMPED to tell you that I hit a new personal best mileage week: 36.8 miles! Last week was insanity on a few fronts. My running attire went from thermal tights to short sleeves and shorts. Work was totally out of control. Oh, and in case I didn't mention it, I put 6+ miles on my standing highest mileage week ever. Go me. Here's the recap.

Monday
4 miles easy. It was 34 degrees for this early morning run, so I hit the streets in thermal tights, a jacket, gloves, and, for the last time ever, my Penn State ear warmer.

Tuesday
Yoga. Class starts at 7am. By 7:15 I was ready to walk out. This chick was hardcore and I wasn't in the mood for it. But I guess she does the hardest part of her workouts first. It turned out to be a great workout.

Wednesday
By far my most memorable run of the week. I told The Redhead that if "Hills are for Heroes" then "Wind is for Winners." Yes, yes, I am laying claim to this mantra on behalf of all Midwesterners. It was gray, windy, and cold out. Every time I rounded the bend of the track and came into head-on wind, I just had to repeat that mantra and keep pushing on. I did a 1 mile warm-up, a 4 mile tempo+ run, and a 1 mile cool-down. My tempo times were 5-18 seconds faster than scheduled. I feel good exceeding my goal times consistently. And in case you're wondering, when I do tempo runs mid-day at work, I use the track because I work in a highly urbanized area and get stopped at lights too often to reasonably run a tempo workout.

Thursday
3 mile recovery run with my neighbor. I think we're going to make this a regular thing, which I'm pretty excited about. :) Also a point of excitement: the debut of my new Pearl Izumi ear warmer. LOVE it.

Friday
7 mile pace run. Went well. Not much else to say there. Debuted the new pairs of Brooks.

Saturday
16 mile long run. By far my most successful long run this training cycle. Woot! I made a conscious effort to keep the early miles at the same pace I'd expect of the later miles. I kept roughly a 10:07 mile pace, which is only about 17 seconds slower than my goal race pace. It was a gorgeous 60 degrees and sunny. Absolutely beautiful. It felt so good to do my long run in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Eat your heart out, winter!!

I'm feeling good about the distance at this point. I build miles again next week, then cut back before Martian. Next week is also a lighter week at work. It's gonna be awesome.

My make it rich quick scheme

So, I was out running the other day and a thought came to me. One year when I was young I had a 365-day Far Side desk calendar. My mom had a 365 Uses for Duck Tape calendar (really, and she's the normal one). I wondered if we could come up with 365 days of running--some combination of running rules, inspirational quotes, very short stories, etc. This is my make it rich quick scheme. It's gonna be huge, I tell ya.

This came to mind as I've been reminded of my most frequent running rule infraction--wearing non-technical fabric head gear. Specifically, my Penn State ear warmer. Because I love it. Ok, and maybe I don't have a tech fabric ear warmer*. The problem is that it does its job for about the first 30 minutes, then does exactly the opposite of its purpose.

* yet--there's one with my name on it at my local running store, as soon as I can go pick it up. Yay!!

What are some other good things I seem to forget rules? Seriously, if this isn't evidence that I need a running desk calendar, I don't know what would be!

1. Replace your shoes every 300-500 miles. Another rule I'd apparently forgotten until I wondered if I'd cracked a bone in my foot on Saturday. 
2. Don't eat lots of fiber before a run. True story: Meg once picked me up for our long run and I got into her car carrying a box of Mini Wheats and a Diet Coke (read it here). 
3. Hydrate after a hard run.Otherwise live with the pounding headache. 
4. Gu every hour. No more. Or suffer the digestive fallout. 
5. Buy a good sports bra. As I recently told a friend, "no one should have to wear two bras."
6. Double layer socks! 
7. And I think Body Glide almost goes without saying. Definitely a rookie mistake. 
8. Wear ShoeID or RunnerID or something. It took me getting sketched out by a bright blue all-the-doors-open Hummer in the park to finally put on my ShoeID. 
9. Don't take a hot bath/shower after a hard run--your muscles will only get more inflamed. It's hard to resist though. 
10. Per RW, develop mantras to get you through the tough miles. It's not supposed to be easy. 
11. Always tell someone where you're going and about when you'll be back. 
12. Buy a foam roller the very first time your hips ever feel stiff. Don't wait. And if it gets worse, go see a physical therapist or sports medicine person immediately. Because it doesn't have to be horrible. And, foam rollers are lots of fun for the whole family. And yes, my living room always looks like a tornado went through. I blame the 2-year-old. Don't judge me.  
    Oh, and they are also really fun to try to describe to The Beastie on Skype. Especially when she "print screens" you and shows you how ridiculous you look.
    
13. Your shins will hurt for 2 weeks when you're just starting. And you will be slow. And you might not make it far enough from your house to warrant technical fabrics. And that is all just fine. Everyone starts somewhere. 
14. The running blog community is freaking awesome. Awesome. Be part of it. 
15. Celebrate your achievements. I have an Inspired Endurance race tag for each of my marathons and will get another one after Cleveland. I wear them together on a necklace all the time. I also keep my medals displayed to keep me motivated. 

What can you add to the list? Time to strike it rich. And get me a desk calendar. 

Smell that potential

As a Runner's World article once said, new running shoes still in their box have the smell of such limitless potential. Breathe it all in, then lace 'em up and head out. Yes, folks, the day finally came for me to hang up my 500+ mile pair and switch over to these gorgeous new things. I really felt like my old ones were still just fine...until I put these on. "What...what is that?" I thought to myself. "Oh, that's funny. These shoes come with arch supports. Huh." It's funny how after a while you forget what they ever felt like fresh out of the box.

And what did I do with my limitless-potential-shoes? I went out for a 16-mile long run and simultaneously explored a park (a park? Not just a park. A gigantic park that includes a golf course, zoo, civic opera, history museum, visitor's center, and something called the Jewel Box that I haven't quite figured out yet). The park is about 5.7 miles around its perimeter, so my plan was to complete the perimeter twice then do a partial out-and-back loop. Here's the breakdown on how that went.

Arrival

I wasn't looking for them, but when I parked I noticed that the local chapter of the Team happened to be using the same parking lot for their meet-up spot. I sort of nervously went over and introduced myself, and MUCH to my delight found out that alumni are welcome to train with the group! No need to fundraise in a town where I know no one! I am thrilled about this. :) This week I will get in touch with them via email and see how it might work out. YAY!

Lap 1: Mile 0-5.6

My first 5 mile times are a good indication of the rest of the run:

9:04

9:43

9:44

10:16

10:54

When I started, I underestimated the heat. I passed water fountains thinking I was just fine. By the time I realized that I needed water, the only fountain I could find didn't work. I rehydrated when I finished the first loop, but it took a while to really cover.

Lap 2: Mile 5.7-11.3

Mile times ranged from 10:40 to 12:40 on this loop. I stopped as often for water as I could find fountains. It turns out that there are plenty of fountains in the park if I'd just looked for them the first time around. The frequent stops are part of why the mile times are so slow.

Lap 3: Mile 11.3-15.7

I decided to run 2.2 miles into a third lap, turn around and come back. And honestly, by this point, I cared little how much of it I ran and how much I walked. So I walked up most of the hills and ran the flat and downhill areas. And stopped for water as frequently as possible. It was slow. And hot. And hilly.

At the end, I found a snowcone stand. Perfect! So there I sat, feeling like 8-year-old Joanna with my red raspberry snowcone.

I think I'm going to be sore for a day or two from this run. I also think I need to try another 16-miler before I up the miles again. I keep reminding myself, I only trained to 16 miles before Detroit, and I only ran that distance once. And I still finished. So, even though I don't have as many runs at high mileage as I'd like before L&C, I WILL be better prepared than I was last time around. So it will have to be ok, right?

434.4 + 4.4 + 16.0 = 454.8

Hit the ground running

On Monday I decided it was too nice out to run on a treadmill, so I tried a new course--about 2.4 miles from my office to downtown, turnaround and head back. It's a hilly 4.7 mile loop, with portions of shade and only a few intersections that really require you to stop. I liked it so much that I decided to repeat it this morning, but with more effort on doing it faster (hills! tempo! yeah!). So there I was, gliding along at that coveted "comfortably fast" pace (averaged 9:03/mi), enjoying the cool morning air, charging up hills and racing back down. And then, out of freaking nowhere...

BAM! I was face down on the sidewalk. I totally bit it on some uneven pavement.

So there I was, processing what had just happened and slowly starting to peel myself back up off the sidewalk. Checking to make sure all my body parts were still attached. Making sure nothing was bleeding too badly. Dusting off some of the dirt I acquired. Standing all the way up and assessing my ability to run back to the office. I decided I was in pretty good shape, so I picked myself up and continued on. I'm not going to lie. I wish I could have been all gangster and hauled my sorry carcass back at the same fab pace I'd been keeping. Yeah, not so much!

I'm not sure whether it's a sign of the times or a blessing that no one asked if I was ok. The only thing really damaged was my dignity. And my wedding ring! Apparently I hit the ground hard enough to scratch platinum. You're impressed that I bit it that hard. You know you are.

In other news, I found a local running store that carries my not-ungirly-at-all size 10/2A Brooks Adrenalines. They had to have them transferred from one of their locations out in the 'burbs. They should be in tomorrow or Friday. I'm excited about new shoes (500 miles and counting on the current pair...), but more about having a good excuse to go scout out a local running store. Nerdy running excitement? Maybe. And it feels great.

424.9 + 4.7 + 4.7 = 434.4 miles

Cut-back week

I think we're all aware at this point that my training for L&C has been a little more uneven than I would really prefer. First there was The Incident, then the Epic Move of 2010, and one weekend lost to illness after that. Despite all this, I've been consistent enough to build up speed and mileage and progress well enough toward race day.

This week I was just wiped. Exhausted. Beat. So I decided, in the name of self-preservation, to take a cut-back week. I hadn't intentionally taken one in some time, and The Team took one last week and I'm a week behind them. I did about half the mileage this week that I've been doing and I think it was a good call. Today's longer run included some fast miles and felt easy.

But the week still had its moments of drama...

#1: Logistics FAIL on Monday morning

As usual, I planned an early Monday morning run before work. On these days, Mr. Joanna takes the babe to school on his way to work and I leave a bit later. I usually try to make it back from my run before they leave, at least, because otherwise I wouldn't see my little boy at all until after 5pm (he's usually still in bed when I leave for the run). So I was thrilled when I turned the corner at the end of our block and saw Mr. Joanna's car still parked in front of the house....until I realized he was in the process of taking the babe back out of the car. Turns out our completely unreliable automobile wouldn't start. Cue panicked rush to get them my car keys and get them re-situated, and then my complete ignorance of how to get myself to work. Should I attempt to navigate the bus system on the fly? Should I call a co-worker? In the end I called a co-worker who was beyond gracious about it. We've since adjusted to life with 1 car...for the time being.

#2: Treadmill time limits

Whaaaaat???? WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT TREADMILL TIME LIMITS WERE REASONABLE?? As I was leaving the gym after my 4.1 mile treadmill-enhanced hill workout on Thursday I saw this polite little sign hanging on the back wall of the cardio area: "Rules...Please limit time on each piece of cardio equipment to 30 minutes, and to 20 minutes during peak periods." What kind of workout is 20 minutes?? I have a completely biased, angry rant on this subject, which you can probably imagine fairly readily. I've decided that the diplomatic solution is to pretend like I didn't see the sign unless there are people waiting for a treadmill. 'Cause this chick ain't voluntarily subjecting her ITB to the 7-laps-per-mile indoor track. What would you do in this situation?

#3: 10, 2A (Narrow)

My Brooks Adrenalines are size 10, width 2A (narrow) (note: my street shoes are NOT a size 10. A fact I feel compelled to point out. My pretty shoes are a more feminine 8.5, thank you). This is, apparently, a size REI does not sell. Although my current shoes still feel fine, they have over 500 miles on them, so I'm cutting them off before they cut me off (right, Stephanie?!). Those of you who order running shoes online, where do you order from? I'm going to try a local running store tomorrow, but if that doesn't work I'm going to turn to the powers of the interwebs to help me find new kicks.

mileage: 410.1 + 4.3 + 4.1 + 6.4 = 424.9 miles

Post-race updates

Things have calmed down a bit since the race. As all the stories and pictures have come together, a few things have surfaced that merit updating on here. For instance, I later found out that the woman who drove into the course in Detroit was eventually arrested. Thank goodness! Unfortunately, that's the most exciting update. The rest are: my IT band still gets tight (but doesn't hurt) even on short runs, I got new shoes (the 4.1 mile run below was their debut), and I'm in love with my race tag.

After taking a week and a half off, I finally got back to running. Yesterday afternoon when the babe took his nap, B and I took one too. The 60 degree weather and blue skies overpowered my need for sleep though, and I laced up my new shoes and headed out. I'm so glad I did. Weather like this in November has to be savored. It's just incredible. I need to work this afternoon, but I might tear myself away for a quick run. It's too nice to stay inside.

402 + 3.3 + 4.1 = 409.4

Since I've now given my niece's First Year album to her parents, it's time to start a new project, and I've chosen a worthy one: finish scrapbooking 2005 and 2006. I finished 2005 through my wedding day some time ago and parts of the rest of that year and 2006 are finished. However, there are large chunks of both years that just never got done, like our honeymoon, my brother's wedding, Christmases, and my besty N's wedding. Basically anything complicated I skipped over. It is time! It's getting ridiculous. I don't want to leave you with the false impression that I have the years between 2006 and now finished. Quite the contrary. I like lists, so here:

1999-2004: finished

2005: finished through my wedding with parts of remainder of year completed

2006: maybe 1/2 to 2/3 completed

2007: hardly touched

2008: coming together, but I've barely touched my son's baby pictures, which will likely be an entire separate album

2009: are you kidding me? I'll probably scrapbook the Rock & Roll half this coming weekend, but I think that will be the first thing done for this year

Right now I'm working on last Halloween (I'll post the pages when they're finished) and like I said, will probably do Rock & Roll this weekend, but after that, I'm on a mission to finish those older years. I'll probably cover more of my crafts projects on here now that my running season is coming to a close.