Those who risk, win: Guess who's back, back again

Sure, it's been almost two years since a post, but you know how these things go. There wasn't much left to talk about, I felt like the running posts were all getting repetitive anyways. But there have been a lot of life changes since then, so I decided to resuscitate the blog to get back some accountability for the future. In the next few weeks, I'll be back to running again and I think throwing it all out onto the internet will help motivate me to keep moving. Or not. We'll see.
We're also in the market for a new gym routine, either back to Title, joining the Y, or just sticking with Planet Fitness. Lately, I've just used online PopFitness videos, which, if you haven't used, are actually really good. There are all sorts of workouts available, with modifications even, so you can do them in your living room. I imagine it's like Beachbody on Demand, without having to pay a ton or invest in Shakeology. So, if you're like me and you want good workouts without having to join Beachbody, I recommend PopFitness on Youtube. Most of the time you don't need any equipment either, which is nice.
So, I have about 2 weeks before I can consider getting back into running mode, and probably about 8 weeks before I can actually start running again at all. Those dates are fluid but good estimates. In an effort to make sure I do get back out there, I signed up for the Baystate Half in Lowell on October 21. My goal is to run/walk the route, with as much running as possible. But, the last time I ran a half or any type of distance over 5 miles was back in January at the Louisiana Marathon. So, there's a short training time in there which means a DNF is also a real possibility. That's ok though, as long as I have the starting line in mind for now.
As a quick catch-up on the running, since August 2016 I've done the Disney Marathon, the Stone Cat Trail Marathon, and a handful of half marathons. Disney was fun, but really cold, so I would love to go back and do that one again, preferably with better weather. I'd actually like to do the Dopey Challenge but it's expensive. Plus, the year I ran the full they had to cancel the half due to weather, so I'm not sure I'd want to invest all that time just to be disappointed. Maybe someday though.
Outside of the running, it's been two years, of course, things have changed around here. As a teacher, I left behind elementary school and moved up to high school History, which is where I've always wanted to be. I made it through my first year of that and enjoyed the change, so I'm glad I did that. We went on some exciting trips, most notably to Switzerland last year and Belgium/the Netherlands this year. Our little buddy Nala walked over the Rainbow Bridge earlier this year, in February, and just a few weeks ago, we got a new rescue puppy, straight off the streets of Jamaica. He's a real cute pup, but he is scared of everything, so getting him to do much is still a struggle. Stella is still here and going strong though, you can tell she's not thrilled about the introduction of a new friend. I also had my last coaching season this year, at least for the time being. Maybe in years to come, I'll go back to it, but for now, we're going to be too busy with other life events for me to have to worry about coaching track. If you can guess what our new life event is, great for you, if not, stay tuned and you'll find out in a just a few short weeks! And with that, I think we're all caught up!