June-a-thon

I am just days short of being one month out of grad school. And wow - the last month has flown by. Graduation feels completely official now that I've walked through commencement & hosted a party for family & friends this past week (pictures & a post to come soon...) I'm feeling a little nostalgic about the whole grad school process. I got a little bit sad when I went to campus to return my hood a few weeks ago. It's kind of like when you break up with someone and then after a few months, you kind of forget why you NEVER should have dated them in the first place... and they seem like this wonderful person.

But I've got this little thing called a ginormous student loan that keeps me from trying to 'get back together' with grad school. At times, I will wake up in the middle of the night, panicking over that student loan payment that will kick in this October. I calm myself down by reminding myself that I have increased my earning potential by getting that degree, but I'm not the most rational person at 2 am...

So those mini-panic attacks prevents me from even considering obtaining another degree. Seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a betting board in Vegas on how soon I will be back in school. That was the question/on-going joke at my party last week. I got a lot of 'sure you aren't going back to school' looks. But believe me - I am done with formal education until those loans are paid off, or at least paid down considerably!

Of course, language classes are an exception to this. I fully intend to work on becoming fluent in French as soon as the thought of sitting in a classroom doesn't induce a gag reflex.

So what have I been up to during my last month of freedom? Lots of stuff. I have absolutely no trouble filling all the hours that used to be consumed by homework, class, and group projects. I read 4 books last month and started knitting a scarf.

And I ran. That was my main goal for the month, and I am pretty happy with my progress. Being the analytical person I am, I kept track of how often I ran. The final stats? I ran 14 out of 31 days. Which means I probably logged more miles in May than I did during the entire spring semester...

I'm taking it easy and am only running 3 miles each night, but I am starting to feel like a runner again. A half-marathon in the fall is looking like an attainable training goal.

I'm pretty pleased with the 14 out of 31 days of running. But it could be better.

I read a post by a local runner that has inspired me to set a goal for June. I am going to attempt to run every day in June. I think know it is possible... but it will be a challenge for me. I put my gym membership on hold, so this means I need to run, rain or sunshine. It will also force me to get up and run on the mornings when I have plans after work.

I'm borrowing her title and am calling it a June-a-thon. It will be a challenging goal, but I know I can do it. And by putting this out there in the blogosphere, I am more likely to follow through with it. There's nothing like posting about something you intend to do to keep you honest.

So here goes. I'll probably post occasionally to let y'all know how it's going. Especially if I fall off the wagon. But let's hope that doesn't happen.

After all, Abby's wedding is just over 2 months away, so it's crunch time for this maid-of-honor!

Wish me luck!