Hmm, I don't know where to begin. I have suffered one ankle sprain, recovered and re-sprained my ankle after my triathlon in Livermore. It's currently recovering and it feels just fine. So, I'm back to my workouts but take it day by day to expedite recovery.

I started college this week and maaaaan, do I feel burnt out. I'm taking US History, Human Sexuality, Swimming, Swimming (two different classes) and Human Biology. A lot of H's there, hadn't notice that previously. School is great, I'm really enjoying it thus far. I'm always in a rush though. From class to class and then work out to workout. Mostly because I need to get my homework done after my workouts. Especially since my US History class is an online course and requires a LOT of reading, which I don't mind. It just takes a bit of time to go over properly.

I broke up with Evan the day he left for Canada, that was coincidental, not intentional. He never treated me like a boyfriend. More like a fuck buddy, if anything at all. Evan had the tendency to be very insulting. Now, I have a sarcastic sense of humor, don't get me wrong. I can be a super douche from time to time but I KNOW the line of being a jerk and just being blunt. Evan could not seem to understand the limits. He would keep pushing and pushing until you blew up, which I did. I'm a hothead, it doesn't take much to piss me the fuck off. I introduced Evan to my parents and friends. He never introduced me to any of his friends or his lovely parents. When I came over his house, I had to "sneak over." Now, I understand that he wasn't out to his parents or what-have-you, but he didn't have to introduce me to them as his "boyfriend", I would have been happy with just "a friend", you know.

However, I will not dwell on the circumstances of our relationship. We "made up" as friends and I told him that I was not looking for another relationship with him nor was I "saving grace." I owed him an explanation for ending things so abruptly, so I gave him that. I don't owe him anything more than that. He will live his life and I will live mine. Evan was jealous over my athletics and the fact that I spent more time with my training buddies and Ty (my ex) than him. But you see, Evan spent ALL of his time working or with his friends. I tried to incorporate him in my swimming workouts (he is a swimmer after all) and I hung out with him whenever I could.  As time progressed, I found myself reluctant to hangout with him at all. I was not happy being around him, sick of constantly being called "a douche" or "an asshole."

Fuck, I digress. Hahaha, sort of anyway. I have three races left. I say three because I've decided NOT to race in the San Jose Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. They're asking way too much money for that race. It's not that scenic and totally not worth the money. I will stick with Big Sur on Monterey, Tri for Real (Sprint Triathlon) and CIM (California International Marathon). I want to clock in at 2hr45-50 at CIM. Hopefully I can achieve this goal. I will start training harder as my ankle heals.

Well, that's all I can think of writing.

I miss you guysssssssss. Good luck in all your endeavors and training. Train hard, race hard and party hard.

Jeez, I take a lifetime to update things, don't I? I apologize for that. Man, so many things have occurred. Where do I possibly start?

Oh, I know. Let's start with the San Francisco Marathon on August 26, 2009 at 5AM. I was in Wave number 2, starting just behind the sub-3hr runners (I should have totally been in Wave 1, FYI :P). I felt nervous, yes but definitely at peace with this run. I treated it casually. No big deal and it ended up being a lot of fun. I ran 7/mi splits for the most part. We were really hitting between 6:50 to 7/mi, which was great! It felt perfect. The weather was awesome, the spectators were fantastic and my 3:10 pacers were fun and delightful to talk to. I know I could have done better, to be honest. If I had the proper time to train and had not been injured the two months leading up to the marathon. I should have ran a 6:30/mi pace but I will take my time with all the gratefulness and admiration I need to. Oh, I got marathon pictures in today too! Maybe I'll share that.

The marathon was on Sunday. I showed up for work on Tuesday to do my work and I got called in on Thursday for a "meeting." Uh-oh. I know, right? Getting called in for a meeting is never a good thing. I work for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. I would set up booths for farmer markets, race events and health fairs promoting the team. I was damn good at my job and I typically bring more people to the booths than my co-workers (I kid you not!). Unfortunately, during a previous event as I was parking, I accidentally nudged another car. I scratched their car light. So, I got out of my truck and assessed the damage I had done. It was minimal. There was an inch scratch along the rear light along the plastic. SO, I left a note with ALL of my information and contact number.

Now regardless of doing all of that, I got fired for nudging a car with my own personal vehicle before working hours. Fuck you, boss. That's all I'm saying. She never liked me to begin with. Why hire someone you don't like anyway? Whatever.

I also severely sprained my ankle while delivering boxes for work before I got fired. So, that was a double slap in the face, bitches.

Where am I at this point? Jobless but happy. I have a great new relationship with this boy named Evan. He's fantastic, I'll tell you more about him later. I have a triathlon this Sunday and despite not being able to run for the past three weeks, I'll be okay. I've been swimming and biking like a mad man to make up for it. Given that I was able to run a 3:06 marathon with minimal training, I think I'll be okay. Running is my thing.

That's it for now.

:D

EDIT: 08/18/09 Here are some photos!
The starting line


Somewhere in between. :P (Golden Gate Bridge)




Finish line

Dear Xanga,

I'm currently stretching out for a run. You may wonder how this achieved while I typing. It's quite simple, really. I'm stretching over my keyboard. Duh. I'm going out for a thirteen mile run. This may seem odd given the fact that I will be running a marathon this Sunday.

At one point in time, this marathon meant the world to me. However, as months flew by and injury after injury fell over me, I realize that this race really isn't all that special to me at all. At this moment, all I am concerned about is finishing the San Francisco Marathon. A couple of months ago, this marathon would have been all about time and yes, eventually, that is what it will be about again. But frankly, I am not remotely trained for this marathon. Though strangely enough, I have the remarkable ability to do this long endurance events with little training anyway. I know I can finish. I just won't be as fast as I had expected to be.

But life happens. It gets in the way and not all expectations can be met. Some will, just not all.

Yet despite all of this, I feel at peace with this race. Relatively so, anyway. I'm nervous to some degree but I don't feel that nervousness until I'm actually toeing that start line. I don't feel it until I feel the crisp San Francisco air hit against my skin, causing goosebumps to jump along my skin as it whips my hair back.

On Sunday, I will run the San Francisco Marathon. I am in wave number two, with the assumption that I will finish between 3hr30-3hr40. I'm not really sure when I finish and frankly, I'm not too concerned. My wave starts at 5:31AM. My friend's wave starts at 6:31AM, she is expected to finish at around 4hr00-30m.

I should go now.


Dawson