HELP! I can't move my hand.

     In a turn of events, my broken pinky finger ended-up requiring 2 surgeries to fix! My hand was in either a cast or brace from August-November. I pushed through this struggle, and finished off the year with a half marathon.

Eating thai food after my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon

Broken Pinky Saga

     

     This summer, I my running fitness was improving, so I decided it would be a fun challenge to try a sprint triathlon. I researched and bought a new bike. A week later, I crashed my bike, fracturing my pinky finger. It was my first-ever broken bone! The fracture was at the base of my finger so required surgery. Basically, life just got a little more interesting/challenging.

Spring Updates

   
     Wow! It's almost June. Since I last wrote, mostly I have been searching for a job, walking around town and reading a bunch. Also I have been in physical therapy since January. Both my doctor and physical therapist recommended (very adamantly) that I take a break from running. So from March-April I took long walks instead. I was still able to participate in a couple runs though. Here are some races (and experiences) I've done since I last wrote.

5K Along the Water

     This morning I participated in  a virtual 5K for the blog Runs For Cookies. I have never run for a virtual "race," but it was free and sounded fun, so I went for it.

Scenes From the Pacific Northwest

   

     Craig and I have been enjoying an extended winter break in Western WA. Craig got a new camera and has been taking gorgeous photos. We went for a walk at Lord Hill Park and got some beautiful shots.

Garmin Forerunner 235 Review

      Hi! It's been awhile since I have posted anything on the good-old blog. Mainly this is because through December I was in a mad-rush to finish writing a thesis, defending, and graduating with my Masters. And guess what!? I did it!

     

     As a graduation present, Craig bought me a new running watch- the Garmin Forerunner 235. I was not necessarily needing a new watch, as my old FR15 was still working fine. However, I had mentioned to Craig all the things I wanted in a watch, including activity monitoring, live tracking, text messages, and running features like VO2 estimates, which I had not seen put together all in one product. Until now! 

     Anyways I thought it would be fun to share with everyone my personal experiences with this watch compared to my old model. Below is a run-down of what I found to be  most useful in this product and what I wish I could change. 

Grad School Finish Line

I am finally getting a real taste of graduate school. The gritty, no-time-to shower and too-tired-to-cook-dinner life. It's actually not so bad. Mainly because I know it has to end soon (I defend Dec. 14!). It's been sad because I am not getting to spend as much time with Craig because I have been going in to work on the weekends and after dinner.

Race For A Soldier 2015 Recap

     I haven't written for a awhile. This is mainly due to 2 reasons: the crazy amount of stress being in my last semester of graduate school and a lingering cold. The last month basically has been write, write, write, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep...zzzzzzzzzzz
 
     Despite all this, I had a ton of fun at the Race For a Soldier last weekend in Gig Harbor, WA.

Mt. Rainier and a Bubble Run

      Right before classes started up again, Craig and I were able to escape to Western Washington. We camped and hiked at Mt. Rainier. I ran in the Seattle Bubble Run with a friend (it was so fun!). Then, my extended family had a reunion! It was an awesome trip.

What did I even do all week?... Work?

     Finally! My research project has begun to succeed: this week my DNA extractions worked.

Below is an image from an email I sent to myself. It's probably garbled-ey-gook to everyone but what it basically means is that I was finally able to extract quality DNA from a fungus that I want to obtain a whole genome sequence from. Exciting, no?