the week:
Finals week in grad school is a VERY different place than finals week in undergrad. It about took all of my energy, while also taking a little bit of my pride. All-in-all, some great learning experiences outside of the course content. Last week was my last week at my full-time job, so I look forward to being able to focus more on my studies in future quarters – and having a LOT more sanity in my life.

weekend:
This was the weekend that I was going to run my first 50-mile at Hitchcock, but I withdrew. With all my leftover energy focused on grad school (since I have also been working full time all this time), my training dropped off and I was sincerely worried about the stress of everything injuring me physically if I attempted the race. It took a lot of contemplation, but in the end wasn’t worth the risk – particularly because I have just had one bad race after another this fall, and Route 66 marathon was kind of the top of the bad for me. Hitchcock half remains one of my favorite races, and I hope to get back out there healthy next year.

In any event, I’m excited to see Waitress tonight at the Des Moines Performing Arts Center! We’re trying out a new downtown restaurant, too. Stay tuned!

seven things, seven days:
1. I’m on a 4-week winter break starting Monday; there’s a lot of free time to fill (and cat hair to clean and furniture to move… WHAT IS THIS FREE TIME?!)
2. My race and training season are over, and I’m filling the void with strength workouts, yoga, and… barre.
3. I’m also looking forward to my kickboxing classes that start up in January.
4. And I’m also considering doing a drop-in roller derby practice in a few weeks. Am I crazy?!
5. Maybe I’ll actually get all my drafted race reviews published over the next few weeks!
6. I don’t like going to the movie theater, but there are so many good films out right now that I want to see (Three Billboards, Lady Bird, Murder on the Orient Express, The Greatest Showman…). Maybe there is a matinee in my future. Also: STAR WARS NEXT WEEK!
7. Why ultra-running needs to solve its gender inequality problem {via CTS, Jason Koop}