Feeling IL (and missing ME)

It's been almost two weeks since my last blog, and for that I offer my sincerest apologies. It's hard to get through an hour, a day, a week without an update on some ridiculous girl's running...or not. But if there ever was an excuse, this is it.

See, I've taken myself on a Midwest adventure, stopping in at some friends' houses in Michigan and Indiana, and then to Illinois to get some of that good ol' quality family time.

I drove out late last week (hence missing the Thursday training run) and I'm still here, sitting in a coffee shop cursing the traffic and the endless tarmac that makes up a Chicago suburb. And my big brother - with all his toys and cars and big TVs and whatnot - has no internet at home.

Add to that, I killed my cell phone (well, I didn't, my coffee did. It has a mind of its own, you know, and simply took a nose dive onto my poor communication contraption, drowning it. Murdering it). So I lost my contacts, got lost on the way west, and the MaineToday servers have been on the fritz since Friday so I can't get any work done on the road (I wanted to, I really, really wanted to).

I haven't run in ages it seems, though I did walk around Lake Lansing in MI, and that has to count for something. (Please, please let it count for something!) Instead, I've been binging on Buffalo chicken and a variety of local brews (three cheers for Michigan Brewing Company and Oberon).

I'm altogether stuffed, overtired and cranky (of course, maybe you already got a sense of that). And I think the lack of exercise is only exacerbating the matter.

So I chatted with my old man about heading out for a jog. He's just getting back into the running thing, too, so I'd venture to say we're hovering at the same level of mediocre athleticism. If I can at least get two runs in this week, I won't entirely hate myself.

But I'll be home on Sunday with lots of dirty clothes and a trunk of six packs I've picked up along the way. And I'll have no choice but to hit the ground running - literally. The Beach to Beacon is Aug 2...a month away. Here's hoping this driving adventure hasn't squelched the progress I'd made thus far.

And here's to better luck (which would include NOT getting caught in a traffic jam prompted by a white mare and a donkey standing on the interstate. True story).

I miss you, Portland!