Yes, I'm still out here!

Okay... where to begin...

First, sorry about being gone so long from the blogosphere. Seriously, I didn't think anyone really cared, and then I start getting these random angry emails from eople telling me they're sad that I'm not blogging. REALLY??? Okay... sorry. so now I'll make a concerted effort to blog regularly from now on... consider my hiatus over.

Second, I'm still singing, still marathon trianing, still working at CASA, still a grad student (only now working on the dissertation and a couple of other side projects), still in New York City and still loving it. John and I are still together, still bliss incarnate, still healthy and keeping busy. I still kept all of the weight off, weighing in at the same weight as when I reached my goal back in December (sometimes even dipping below it by a couple of pounds!). John is also still working to keep the new bod looking good, and doing a great job. He's also still hard at work on the classics, taking on a summer course in Greek authors, which borders on fun for him these days. Basically, that's about it.

So where to go from here... I run the New York City Half-Marathon tomorrow; I'm nervous, but not freaked out. It'll be fun, lots of people there to cheer us on, and maybe even a couple of friends will come out to support me. That's always nice... honestly, it really does make a difference when you cheer runners on during a race. I remember a couple of races ago when a friend of ours was several yards away from the finish line, and I heard him shout, "Yeah! Go, Emily!" In that instant, I'm not quite sure what happened... in short, I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. I just remember feeling a jolt of surprise and excitement as soon as I hearn him yell out my name... then I found myself in a whole new state of mind; I wasn't even tired anymore. I took in a deep breath, set my eyes ahead of me onto the finish line, and started kicking. There was even a photographer in exactly the right spot to immortalize the moment...

Bryan, the aforementioned friend, is the tall guy in black that I passed just before the picture was taken. the older couple in the sunglasses seem impressed, right? Anyway, the result was definitely unexpected... I hit the finish line in my best time yet... a 7:58 mile. Not bad for having just started running less than a year ago and having lost 70 pounds in the process. Since that race, I've beaten that time with a 7:44 mile (granted, in a 4 mile race instead of a 6.2 miler, which is what the other race was, but still... yeay). Tomorrow won't be about speed, but about distance run well; as long as I finish in under an hour and fifty minutes, I'll be able to live with myself well enough.

Right... so I'm back... and okay, I missed you, too.