Apologies for the very long time lapse since my last update-- unfortunately there is no exciting excuse about some whirlwind adventure undertaken preventing me from posting. Rather, I have been doing a lot of relaxing (and running!) to make the most out of these last few weeks before law school commences August 18. Marathon training is now officially underway (with the "official" start marked 16 weeks before race day), although with the base training of early summer, recreational (and actually enjoyable) running on mild spring days, and several months of indoor training in the gym last winter, there is no clear point that marks the end of last marathon's training season and the start of this one. By that measure I suppose I have been training for three years now-- but I assure you wholeheartedly there has been a whole lot of leisure time in there to refute that logic altogether.

And leisure time, my friends, is never appreciated more than on the wickedly hot, humid days we have been served repeatedly in New York. I dearly wish it would be unusual to report that the weather forecast for this week includes 3 days of 90-degree weather, with the rest in the upper 80s, but rather it has been the norm for the past few weeks. Along with the humidity and resident poor air quality, training has been less than enjoyable and at times downright HARD. This is coming from a martyr of the 2007 Chicago Marathon (the first in history to be cancelled due to heat, and which I completed regardless). I'm crossing my fingers for the heat to break, all the while missing the cool breezes from Lake Michigan in which I trained in years past and 100% willing to trade in the hills of Central Park for a nice, flat run in Lincoln Park. I'll be spending this upcoming week in Martha's Vineyard, during which I have five runs scheduled including a 10k-- I'm truly hoping for some nice sea breezes and fresh air to cleanse my running palate.

In less than two weeks I'll be competing in (read: faking my way through) the New York City Half Marathon Presented by Nike. Having been since last October that I have run any distance over 8 miles, I'll be interested to see what happens. I've been known to undertake long races while massively undertrained, and certainly also known for suffering the consequences during the subsequent week of muscle cramps, spasms, pains, and a handful of other ailments. Which means in my hiatus from training following the half, I'll have plenty of time to post my results and update again while icing my quads. And calves. And hamstrings. And ankles. The list goes on.

Until then, thanks everyone for your continued good wishes and fundraising support!