The Highs and Lows of the Last 6 Months

It's been almost 6 months since I last updated my blog. A lot has happened in that time.
Here are the highlights and lowlights:

May
May 1: On the eve of my dad's 83rd birthday, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. The mass was the size of 2 golf balls and inoperable. He rested comfortably in the local local long term care unit under hospice care. I spent as much time as possible "up north" with him.

June
June 2: Dad passed away this evening. All of his children and grandchildren were able to see him during his last month. My mom spent time with him every day. He never lacked in the visitor department. The man knew EVERYONE!
June 3: After a bottle of wine, many tears, being comforted by a dear friend and Neil, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep, before running the Dexter-Ann Arbor 1/2 Marathon.  I decorated my race shirt in his memory. He would have wanted me to run the race, so I did, and set a PR in the process: 1:53:44
June 17: Ran the inaugural Ann Arbor 1/2 Marathon in 1:55:02.

July
This month, I really focused on increasing my mileage in preparation for the Chicago Marathon.
On July 31 we held my dad's memorial service at Watervale. It was a wonderful service and I was surrounded by so many friends and family.

August
August 4: Peter, Rachel, and I walk/ran the Onekama Days 5K. Peter finished the run with a time of 31:30 (and that was after accidentally running th 1 mile fun run).  Rachel walked it and finished in 51:58. I am so proud of them, especially Peter! As for me, I set a new PR with a time of 24:43.  I came in 1st in my age group! Our good friend Frank managed to win the whole darn race!
August 6: The kids and I again participated in the annual Baldython at Watervale.  I ran a new PR here too -- 37:36 (it's approximately 3.5 miles). In the woods, I tripped on a tree root and fell down hard on my left side. My friend Brad said he wondered what that THUMP was! I was only down a few seconds and the pain didn't set in until later. I went in for X-rays, convinced I'd broken a rib, but the results were negative. I couldn't run for about 4 days. It took about 3 weeks to feel healed.

Well, that brings us to September.  Today I ran 18 miles. Ribs don't hurt much (a bit stiff after the run), my left knee feels better (NEW SHOES! - it's been bothering me a bit the last month or so), and my recurring back pain subsided enough to get the run in.  I miss training with others. Running alone has its benefits, but as the mileage piles up, I sure miss my Team in Traning partners.

What have I learned these last 6 months? Running is my "ME TIME".  Some people may have thought I was crazy to run the day after my dad died. He'd have wanted me to run. He knew how important it was to me. It's my "THERAPY". I am a much happier person when I can run. I get all sorts of aggression out, daydream, think, and appreciate all that is around me.

'Til next time. Hopefully sooner that 6 months.