Mary Poppins Wasn't Perfect

After my half marathon last weekend, I took Sunday as a day of rest and recuperating. Little did I know, I'd get the next 6 days to do the same thing. I've always struggled with allergies, no matter where I live, and springtime proves to be the worst. DC is no different. But I think I got slammed with them more this last week than I have ever in the past. 6 full days of the worst allergic episode I've had. Nothing was relieving my pain, releasing the sinus pressure, or helping me to breathe. Finally I went to the CVS minute clinic and was given 2 steroids. 48 hours later, I'm breathing again. If all last week I was 15% functional, today I am at 70%. This morning was the first morning in 7 days I'd not woken up severe pain and inability to breathe. Making progress. At any rate, I started a puzzle last weekend on my dining room table. It's been slow going, but I've had ample time this past week to work on it. And here in comes the cheezy analogy. ...

As most of you know, I ran my first half marathon back in June. It was quite the experience. An overwhelming one, for sure. But good. And tough. Tough enough that I felt I'd call it a day and hang up my shoelaces. Well- in regards to long races like that. And then my apartment burned down. (I know, I know. Talking about the fire again! Sheesh) My friends Jaclyn and Leticia (from college) had both run the Rock-N-Roll DC half marathon the year before and had registered to run it again this year. And since I'd be in DC- they encouraged me to sign up. I was so torn on whether or not I should run. I'd be moving to a new city. I wasn't sure how much I could train. I wouldn't know WHERE to run. But to be honest, I needed a goal. With the fire affecting so much of the 'right now' season of my life- I needed to look ahead and have a goal. I needed to look beyond what was happening right then. So I decided to register. And then the training began. I wasn...

Almost 2 months of DC living and here are the things I've made note of: -I am of 'perfect' height to have my face plastered into armpits of men who are holding on to metro rail. -Heels. I've been here less than 2 months and have worn down the heel of 2 brand new pairs. -While I thought most people would pack their dress shoes to avoid hurting their feet and then wear tennis shoes in their commute- I'm beginning to think it's to preserve the shoes. Priorities, people! -Fresh flowers. Easy to come by and worth every penny to keep them fresh in your house. -Church on the weekend means dealing with the metro on the weekend. Not good. -I LOVE running in DC. Gorgeous sites. New trails. It's good. -Stand on the right. Walk on the left. Never forget. -Metro workers are not often happy people. -Walking to get groceries means you can go a LONG time without any groceries. -Everybody is SOMEbody in this city. -And in regards to that last statement- I feel ...