Another thumbs up (and other updates).

As you may recall, back when I blogged about my experience at the Virginia Wine Country Half-Marathon, I structured the story as a series of thumbs up/thumbs down ratings. Well, now I have another thumbs up to add! The official race photographer (from Brightroom) actually managed to get two good photos of me:

Note the nice scenery AND flattering pose!

Is that a smile? I usually look like I'm about to collapse.

These photos are a near-miracle. My parents, siblings, and I all suffer from some kind of genetic abnormality which makes us look awful in about 95% of photos (fortunately, the next generation seems to have been spared). For me, this problem only gets worse in race photos. I always seem to be making a pained face, caught in a horribly unflattering pose, and/or blocked by another runner. Every once in awhile, I will get one decent photo from a race (see slideshow above). Two is unprecedented. Brightroom photographer, I give you a very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Two other updates:

1) Normal life is exhausting. As most of you know, I spent September '07- May '11 both working full time and attending grad school full time. Between those obligations, church committments, and running, I was left with roughly an hour of free time every other week. Now, I have graduated and I am re-discovering long-forgotten pleasures like going to movies, attending friends' parties and events, and (gasp!) meeting friends on weeknights. Over the long weekend, I saw friends every day. I probably have not seen friends 4 days in a row since 2007. At one time, seeing my friends often was normal, and I am excited that it might become normal again. I must admit, however, that right now it is exhausting! I woke up this morning so beat that I skipped my scheduled run without a second thought and I have been dragging all day. If you had told me 5 years ago that one day I would find it easier to run 10 miles than to go out 4 nights in a row, I never would have believed you. Yet, that seems to have happened.

2) I love my gym. Spend even a short time with me and you will probably hear me sing the praises of my gym, Annapolis Athletic Club. I love AAC for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that the people who work and work out there are very friendly and caring. In many ways, it feels like a big family. I was reminded of that this past Saturday when I attended a wedding celebration party for one of my Group Power instructors, Kelly. Kelly got married in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, so a fellow trainer and a member of our GP class threw a local party in her honor. The party was a decent size, and it was all people from AAC. It was fun to hang out with everyone away from the gym, and touching to see how much we all value the relationships we have there. The most entertaining part of the evening was seeing what everyone looks like in regular clothes. Every time someone walked into the party, the whole room would gasp "Oh my gosh! You look AMAZING!" Its easy to impress a group of people who usually see you sweating in shorts and tank tops at 6am!