still here!

Well, it has been awhile, huh? We are still here in New Zealand. Sonny is waiting on his oral examination, and we finished up our last semester working as tutors. We are currently applying everywhere for everything, trying to decide what's next. In the meantime, however, I thought I better give the more neglected blog some attention.  Life has been busy lately, full of fun times and challenges and we were just too busy living it to write about it. Some experiences though, I want to be sure I remember, so I plan to document them here. I'll start with the more recent events, then we'll travel back in time to July so I can attempt to capture the pure awesomeness that was my trip back to the States with my family.

I spent most of this year running and training to run a marathon. I also tried my hardest to walk that line between telling enough people about my goal to ensure I was held accountable, and not being one of those irritating people. Something like this...



I picked a marathon on Waiheke for two reasons: 1) it was the cheapest race I could find and 2) I thought it would be a nice way to say goodbye to my home of the last six years. Plus, it makes training easier when you can run the same trails as the race. Waiheke Island is gorgeous and full of lovely trails, but those trails are never flat. In fact, the entire island is NEVER FLAT. I (and the local running club) have to do all speedwork on a single 1 km loop in Blackpool because it is the only substantial distance that is flat. Running all those hills is great for leg strength, but not the best for average pace. Trying to fit running in around work was also not the easiest, but I did it. Some pics throughout my runs below....

My favorite training partner since Sonny quit on me due to knee issues

The hill to get up here is straight up, with a handrail added because its so steep. I was panting

Weird winter lighting

There are leaves on these trees now

Matiatia cloaked in the remnants of a fog bank

This was a 25K run, and the last long run I took Lilith on. She started limping after about 18K and I had to call Sonny to come get her. It would help if she would not sprint everywhere at top speed. (Palm Beach in the background)

The lovely Onetangi Beach on a late spring day. Part of the marathon ran along the beach, so I did lots of training along them as well. Plus running along beaches, when the sand is hard-packed is just fantastic