30:37

   Early this spring, Jason and I said we were going to do a 5k this summer and that we were going to make each other train for it. Well, that didn't exactly happen. I think I may have run two or three times since April and only for 1 mile or less. But, in August I decided that I was going to run the Freedom 5k that was in 2 weeks. I had seen the run advertised at the park a few times and that Friday I just decided to do it. My reasoning was that if I never signed up for a 5k, I would never actually run. So I went and registered and thus began my two weeks of training to be able to run 3.2 miles all at once.
   Three times a week, I'd go out after taking Gunther for his run (which I rode a bicycle for) and walk about 1 1/2 miles to the park. The first time, I set my iPod to go 1 mile and then I ran, slowly as it may be, around the park for a little beyond my goal. Each time, I'd set the distance a little further, and each time, I'd make myself go beyond the goal. I had it figured out that I needed to gain a quarter of a mile with each run in order to be even close to running 3 miles in 2 weeks. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, I almost made it. My last run before the big day was 2.71 miles and for both weeks, I was averaging 12 minute miles. (That's really pathetic, by the way.) I have to say, after the first couple runs, I wondered why I was even doing it as my legs hurt a lot and my knees seemed to protest each night. But for the most part, it got somewhat better as the two weeks passed.
   The Saturday of the 5k arrived and I got up at 6am and rode my bike down to where the race was being held. I got my goodie bag of stuff and waited for the race to start. The race was to start at 8, but there was a pre-race ceremony and stuff going on. I felt kind of weird as a lot of

August: The Things You Will Find In Wyoming

    In my last post about August, Jason had left again and was supposed to be gone for 2 more weeks. Well, three days after he left, he called me and said that his trip had been cancelled and that I needed to go pick him up the next evening. Usually when I have to make the trip to Casper, I just hop on the interstate and ride it the entire way. This time, I took a different, non-interstate route and got to see some new scenery. 

 Did you know that there are pyramids in Wyoming? If you look closely, there is one on the right side of that plateau in the back.

August: A Little Bit of Everything!

   Actually, this post starts at the end of July before Jason came home. My friend, Shannon, and I attended a night of Frontier Days since she had never been before. We tried to dress somewhat appropriately for the event we were attending, Championship Bull Riding, and set out to try some specific carnival foods.

Shannon was going for the Australian look with Jason's kangaroo hide hat.

Touring Melbourne

Just a side note, I find it hard to believe that it has been over a year since I lived in Australia! These photos are from January of 2012.

   Driving back into Melbourne after being out in the open country for a week was a bit of a culture shock. I believe Linden was driving and I was giving the directions that we had gotten from some guy at a food shop. We were trying our hardest to avoid the toll roads which pretty much surround the city. It was an adventure, but we finally made it to our hostel in the CBD.

 Just a small glimpse into the lovely traffic we encountered along the way.

In-land and Eastward Bound

   After leaving Umpherston Sinkhole in Continuing the Australian Holiday, we journeyed eastward back to Melbourne, Victoria. Instead of following the route we had just come, we took the in-land route to hopefully fulfill someone's wish to see all the farmland possible.

That person with the farmland wish is in this photo...