On the road again...

Running that is! I am so excited to say that I am back to running at just 6 weeks post-op! Saturday mornings are our running morning with the gang and I have missed that time each Saturday! So this week I decided to try running, figuring I'd run about a mile or so and then head to the gym to finish up my cardio. I met Tara and Debbie (mom didn't run bc of the half marathon on sunday) and we began our usual run on the blvd. My knee felt a little odd/unstable and the very beginning, but these were the first running steps I'd taken in 6+ weeks. Soon I had no pain/uneasiness feelings and ended up running the whole blvd (5.2 miles). YAY!!! I was so proud of myself (my knee to be exact!) as I knew I had the endurance from hours at the gym but was unsure about my knee's strength. But I did it and I didn't hurt at all!!! =) As I mentioned, the Knoxville half and full marathon were this past Sunday (today) and I had registered last fall for the half before knowing I'd be having another knee surgery. My first plan was to simply walk the 5K portion of the event simply because I'd already paid the fee and wouldn't wear the shirt without participating! When I discovered that I could run some, I decided to run part of the half today! The course went through my parent's neighborhood so I met Mom about halfway on the course. I felt like such a cheater though, hoping in the race at halfway! But I know it doesn't matter and I had a good reason to, but that's just the way I think/compete! My knee was a little tired the first half mile since I ran yesterday and had gone up in weights at body pump on my squats of Thursday since I never dreamed I'd be running this weekend! But soon the uneasiness feeling was gone and I was ready to go! The course was not too bad and I enjoyed the uphills as those are easier on my knee than the downhills! I waited a little for Mom so we could cross the finish line together and get our names called out at the same time! We finished on the field at Neyland Stadium and were on the jumbotron as we crossed the finish! Chris was there as the photographer/crowd support so that was great! The postrace party was decent, nothing to brag about as far as food, but it was okay! I am just so glad and blessed I was able to run yesterday and today and am looking forward to getting back on the road and training for something this fall!

In other news....Chris and I went to Atlanta last weekend for shopping (for my new job!) and to see the Georgia Aquarium. I got some great deals on clothes and shoes (everything I bought was on sale even at the outlets!) and the aquarium was amazing! We had a great time seeing all the fishes, whales, sharks, and everything else! I would highly recommend the aquarium! We had a great dinner that night too! Sadly, on our way out of town we were involved in a minor wreck...we were all safe but my poor new car sustained damage! She needs a new back door and alot of touching up of paint, etc. The wreck was not our fault and the guy who hit us was really nice...we had to wait 45 mins for the atlanta police to arrive to file the report so that delayed our getting out of town. At least where we got hit was in the nice area of the city (buckhead) and the guy who hit us drove an infiniti and has insurance...it could have been worse! But all in all it was a great get-away weekend and I'm excited about all my new purchases!

I start work full-time this week and am looking forward to it! I did 2 days last week at the office with one of the docs just to get a feel for how they do things, but this week I'm on my own! My APN license came through so I think all the paperwork is now done! Yay! I pray this week is not too overwhelming and that I can keep up with my schedule!!!