Best Speedwork Evar!

I just added this because it made me laugh so hard I cried. This is our local weatherman at the Iowa State Fair:




So on Sunday, Kori and I decided to practice for the Leapfrog Half Marathon in two weeks. At first the original idea was to do two practice sessions with 1.1 and 2.2 mile intervals and see which was fastest. But considering I am really only up to three mile runs, a two mile interval? So not going to happen. So we went up to the lake and we did loops.

And it was a superfun way to do speedwork! Seriously! I mean, I have never had so much fun running mile intervals. We both ran fast not to compete with each other, but because we didn't want to be the one holding the team up. In complete serendipity, Kori runs faster than me, but I bike faster than her, so we were right on in terms of finishing every other interval together (you need to finish the race together).

We did four intervals and I was pretty beat at the end - doing two more is not going to be easy. And I sorta have nightmares of the free for all that this is going to be at the race - people can stop wherever they want and I have visions of bikers pulling over unannounced. Helmets aren't required (!) but I sorta think we should wear it anyway, despite the time savings we would get without it. And really, Audrey's incident should be evidence enough as to why we need bike helmets.

We decided that after the race we might still do this workout since neither of us are lovers of the track. Even though I am sure we might raise a few eyebrows on the bike path around the lake with our random dismounting and leaving the bike.

In other news, tomorrow I head home for a whirlwind trip to New England. 5am flight, parents pick me up to the airport at 11am in Boston, and then we head directly up to VT for the wedding of perhaps my oldest friend in the world who I sadly haven't seen in almost ten years. I seriously hope that she didn't seat me with my parents. There is nothing like a wedding and a few glasses of wine to bring out the love life questions from the parents. I think they seriously think I hide things from them when the sad reality is that there is nothing to hide :-) On the plus side, I have discovered that it all goes much smoother if I match my parents on the wine intake at a 2:1 ratio (why it took me this long to figure that out is beyond me!)

In other other news, I talked with the dude in NZ yesterday and we are plotting and scheming to make this proposal the awesomest so that I can go live in Middle Earth New Zealand for two years on the US taxpayer's dime:
Aren't you all glad to know that you might be funding my life of being surrounded by cute boys with accents science? Don't worry, with my extravagant salary, I plan on getting a two bedroom apartment (with an ocean view, naturally) to house anyone who feels like visiting!