The Vicky Cristina Barcelona one.

Today: 11 miles, home to 119th & Nall, 86 minutes. Muscles are tight from the heavy lifting and labor at work. Got to love the Blue Moose.

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."
- Steve Prefontaine

My new favorite movie. I absolutely love the language and can't wait to fall in love with the city. Should I just skip medical school and stay in Spain? I know I have yet to go there, but for a few hours, I was definitely considering it.

The one where I get into the groove.

Yesterday: 8 miles, hill training, 1 hour 6 minutes.
Today: 5.28 miles, hill training, 43 minutes.

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
-William Faulkner

The one where Abby graduates.

Saturday: 12 miles, treadmill.
Today: 6 miles, tempo training, treadmill.

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"
- Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

Abby graduated!

The one with the beautiful day.

Today: 3 miles, 25 minutes, treadmill. Abs, triceps.

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."
-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner.

Today was all about me, and I loved it. I slept til 9:30, did research on Europe, went to the gym, and went shopping for hours. It was a beautiful day, 70-something and sunny. Driving up Ward Parkway to the Country Club Plaza was gorgeous as always. And of course, I spent way too much time in Anthropologie.

The one in Kansas.

Wednesday: 6 miles hill training, treadmill, 45 minutes.
Today: 8 miles hill training, home to 135th & Nall, 63 minutes.

As you can tell by the title of this post, I am finally back in Kansas. It's always interesting living with my parents again. Even though I'm 21 years old, they sort of group me with my 18 and 15-year-old siblings and forget that I was even gone in the first place, therefore assuming their roles as parents and rule-makers again. Not fun. I mean it's nice eating for free, but I always enjoyed my independence.

Yesterday I got an email from Baylor asking me to work in the medical humanities office this summer. Had I gotten the offer two weeks ago, I would have been all over that! Unfortunately I had to turn it down since I'm already home and set to work here. Plus, my flight out to Paris leaves from Kansas City so I'd have had to come back at some point anyway.

Bonnie, Erin, and Jean finally left for Maastricht this afternoon, after five days of delay due to the ash clouds. I'm assuming their flight departed, so I just pray that they don't have to turn around again! It only just makes me worry about my own trip. Speaking of that, today marks the 40-day mark in the countdown! I'm one Lent season away from the highlight of the summer. I bought an umbrella today; I've spent the last three years at Baylor without one and I figured I might need one in case of rain in Europe, and I don't plan on spending 25 Euro on something I could have (and did get) at Walmart for 6 bucks. My mom also got me an adorable dress at White House Black Market for my trip. It's jersey knit so it'll roll up well and not wrinkle in my backpack.

The first one.

So today I am making my blogging debut. I sit here in my apartment in Waco anticipating departure for "home" tomorrow. Although I don't so much look forward to it. I'm not too sure where "home" is, really. I've spent enough time away from Kansas to say that it has become a little unfamiliar, yet Waco isn't quite home either. Either way, this summer will be a different kind of summer, different from the last several. As of today, I have only 43 days until Europe. Paris, Barcelona, and Rome await!

Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of this blog is. Maybe it has several: document this summer's experiences and training.

What hit me this afternoon was how much change I am going to encounter in the next twelve months. This week's graduation for the class of 2010 was a preview of all I have coming my way next year. I realized that this summer I will be filling out the paperwork confirming my enrollment at Baylor College of Medicine. This summer is my last true summer at home, as a "non-adult." And this fall, I will be a college senior, experiencing my final welcome week, my final undergraduate homecoming, my final Tri Delta recruitment and Pigskin. But all of these endings are merely beginnings to something new. I will start my first cross country season, my first semester as a "student-athlete" (crazy, right?). I will begin planning my new life in Houston; I will be living there in a little over a year! I don't feel old enough for this. I should still be sitting on my dorm bed in Collins thinking about rush and studying for those classes that used to be easy.

But back to the present: I revived the training for cross country again today after nearly a week off from a strained left knee and shin. I can't believe what a week off can do to my fitness! Maybe part of it was the humidity that has finally found Waco. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get up early enough to get in a run before the long drive tomorrow. Not promising anything! At least the pain in my leg is nearly gone. Rest does wonders. The first few days of pain I thought I could push through it, which would have been ideal if I were participating in a race. So the first eight minutes of each run would be a little painful, but soon the aching would subside and I'd be able to run the normal distance...bad idea! It only perpetuated the pain, which I'd feel about an hour after completing my workout.