Summer Is Flying By

The past month has gone by much faster than I can remember most months going by. Since returning home from a disappointing finish in Duluth training has pushed forward to new and exciting times, vacation has rocked my face off, and our family has lost someone very dear to us.



The week following USA 1/2 Champs I went to see Leo Kormanik at Ohio Sports Chiropractic to figure out what is behind the hamstring issues I've had. Leo is a good friend/former roommate/ and stellar runner that has a heart for helping people run and live healthy. We are lucky to have someone in North East Ohio like him! Pretty much the moral of my hamstring is I've developed some major lazy habits over the years. So I am working to correct those issues, and hopefully have a go at the Olympic Trials "B" standard for the marathon using the Akron Half in September. I believe that if I am diligent in focusing on the underlying issues I will be able to correct them and come away a better athlete for it.

I had much needed down week on vacation. We had a ton of fun and enjoyed the Gulf of Mexico! I was able to get in a run everyday and still soak up enough sun to show off the incredible concentration of melanocytes my skin holds! haha! I tan a little too easy and it was obvious on day 2 of vacation! We had a blast and loved every day at the beach! My sister-in-law, Carly, married Kyle on Friday and it was a beautiful wedding with a hilarious officiant. I was easily brought to tears of laughter through his semantics. Carly was stunning, and Kyle was handsome as always! The day seemed less than perfect with a few rather strong storms passing though, but just in time the sky lit up and for an hour or so held off for a perfect beach wedding! So happy for you guys!

Late friday evening we received the news of Grandpa Spellman's passing. It made for a long drive home the following morning, and my heart hurt watching people I love so much suffer from grief. For me my main focus was to help in anyway I could and try to show support in a way that each of my family members needed. Wednesday and Thursday were the calling hours and funeral, and it wasn't until Wednesday evening that I really wrapped my mind around the loss of an incredible, loving, sincere, and truly funny man. I struggled a lot on Wednesday and Thursday to keep myself together, and I found the people around me being the supporter I hoped to be. My friends and family close and far consistently send support in small and large ways. I haven't dealt with death much in my life, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can honestly say watching the family come together was a thing of true beauty. The love they have for one another is selfless and altogether stunning.

Once back in Akron, training and spending time with so many ladies and gents I love felt familiar and thus comfortable. I tried to express my gratitude for the relationships I have a little more. Now I am a rather affectionate, loud, and passionate person, and not much is awkward for me, so that means my friends and family may have been smothered with a whole lot of hugs and "I love you"'s. Ask Kyle or Nicole what happens when I say "I love you", and you don't respond...haha!

The heat and humidity have made hard and easy efforts alike a little more of a challenge, and staying hydrated is seemingly a losing battle these days. However Nicole, Aubrey, Lizzie, Meredith, Heather, Laura, Barb, the rest of the CED group and I have had some pretty great workouts. We are hoping to see fast times in our upcoming races because of them. Nicole and I have been pretty excited to see the times were able to hit and eager to watch the outcome of enduring them! We will be racing tomorrow, July 21st, in Painesville. The Johnny Cake Jog 5 miler is a tough course, but usually yields some fast times with good competition!

Like I said it has be a quick month, and summer is flying by! I look forward to seeing what we can do over 5 miles tomorrow and eager to see where this summer leads us going into the fall!