Well well well. Back at it again.

I’ve had absolutely zero motivation to blog this year – considering I’ve only published two blog posts so far (!) and it’s already August. But for some reason I thought “yeah, I miss that little corner of the internet” today and decided to share what I’ve been up to.

Reading: I just finished reading Modern Lovers by Emma Straub last week. I’ve read fewer books this year than I have in the past 5 years (for real, I normally read about 25 books a year and I can count the books I’ve read this year on one hand…). I was so happy to pick up Emma Straub again after reading The Vacationers a few years ago. Her writing is witty and genuine and I feel like Modern Lovers could make for a great romantic comedy — fingers crossed Hollywood picks it up if they haven’t already.

Obsessed with: 

• Coconut LaCroix — I love coconut and I can’t get enough of it at work.
• Stranger Things — the hype is real, people. I started it on Friday night and finished the entire season by Monday evening.
• Beautiful Anonymous podcast with Chris Gethard – the concept of this podcast is that a stranger calls in to a hotline, which Chris answers. They have 60 minutes to have a conversation about literally anything they want, but they can’t share any information that allows Chris to find out who they are (beyond their name and where they live). Some of the conversations are hilarious and others are sad and deep—it’s sooooo good.

Training for: Chicago Marathon – round 2! Chicago was my first marathon in 2011 and it was the most amazing experience. You may recall that my goal race was Chicago last year — before I experienced a stress fracture in my foot. When I decided to pick a fall goal race, I was a bit hesitant about the idea of Chicago again. I mean, what if I got injured? What if Chicago’s cursed for me? But it’s a special one. This will be Lucky #7 and there’s nothing like running 26.2 through the city you call home. I get goosebumps and my heart starts to pitter patter just thinking about it. So far, training is going well and I’m in *much* better shape 10 weeks out than I was before Carmel. Last Saturday, I ran 18 miles and spent the afternoon recovering at EDGE. I really should do that more often – after the cold/hot contrast baths and an entire hour in the recovery boots, I woke up on Sunday feeling like a million bucks (no soreness!).

I have my first 20-miler this weekend and I’m surprisingly not anxious about it. The long runs have been going okay so far, with only slight hiccups caused my the heat (especially last weekend, when the heat index was over 100 degrees later Saturday). I feel like July is always a tough month for training — the combination of getting back to fitness AND dealing with the heat and humidity can be brutal. I’ve realized over the last year and a half or so, that I am no longer a morning runner despite my best intentions and I’m fine with it for now. I’d rather get 8-9 hours of sleep each night and fit in longer workouts after work (on the treadmill, if I really have to). That said, I’m pushing myself to get out the door much earlier for long runs from now until early October. I need to beat the heat, get the run done, and enjoy the best naps ever for the rest of the summer.

Trying not to stress out about: wedding planning (!!!) We have most of the big things crossed off the list: venue, caterer, photographer. I’m making headway on a few other things (like dress shopping) and sleeping accommodations for guests, but sometimes it’s really hard to stop thinking about all those other little details that need to be nailed down eventually. We’re going for a very low-key day so I know that, in the end, it will all work out. The Man and I are getting married in June 2017, so we definitely have time to make those decisions — and I’m thinking the winter is going to be the perfect time to dedicate to that stuff. So now, focus is on marathon training, sleep, and work. Come November and December, I’m hoping I have more motivation to cross some more items off the wedding planning list. 🙂

What have you been up to lately?

-JP