Undecided

A sicky with weak hips.

2010-02-03T17:21:00.006-06:00

I felt like I had found a sort of groove for about 2 weeks. I was staying true to my resolution to move, whether it was running, walking or biking. I'd bike in the gym during my lunch break, then come home and try to lift some weights or walk or run. After my last run my shins killed me for about two days. When I mentioned it to the girls at work I was grilled about my running: what speed, how far, what surface was I running on, what incline (since I tread). I'd only done 2 miles at 6 mph and had thought (at the time) that everything felt great. One of the mother hens told me I needed to do some exercises to strengthen my legs and I needed to slow down until I get back into the swing of things. If I start out too fast too soon I could do some damage. So she told me that I needed to start by going 4.5 mph and only do a mile or so. "Are you kidding me? That's not even running." But I listened to her and that night I ran about a mile and a half and felt like I could have run all night. It was awesome. Unfortunately, that was the last time I ran. Family came into town and I got sick and everything physical is on the back burner for now. Boo.

In addition to my weak legs, my hips are really weak. WTF. How did this happen? I'm a young, relatively healthy chica that did several sports in high school and whatnot. Yes, I know that high school was like 10 years ago, but still. I guess now that I've put it that way it isn't difficult to understand why almost 10 years of sedentary behavior might've zapped my strength.

So I work in a clinic that specializes in joint replacements and a coworker and I started doing the hip circuit that some of the patients do and I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that I could barely eke out a few reps of each of the exercises. It certainly gave me new respect for the patients who range from their 40's to their 60's or 70's. We had plans to do the exercises at lunch on certain days but that has gone to crap since we've had lunch meetings and other stuff going on and since I haven't been at work since Monday. Like I said, my other exercising ceased last week when family came into town. We had a wonderful time but the snow outside (we got about 4 inches, which is crazy for The Boro) put a damper on the activities we had planned: hiking and walking on some trails near the house. I'm going to jump back into things full force as soon as I'm feeling better...which I hope is very soon. I don't think I have EVER missed more than one day of work at a time for being sick and now I'm at two and counting. If I don't feel up to going to work tomorrow I'm going to bite the bullet and go to a walk in clinic. If you know me well, you know that I have a stubborn, almost childlike distaste for doctors. I'd rather extinguish a cigarette on my face than go to the doctor. I just hate it.

This afternoon I sent an inquiry to a local gym about their spinning classes. I've always wanted to try it and a friend of mine mentioned she's started doing it again and she's really enjoying it. I'm hoping I am able to try a few classes for free. The gym is pretty close to the house and the group class/spinning schedule offers many different classes that I'd be able to attend either before or after work. I'm kind of excited about it. :) Happy Hump Day.

Back in the saddle

2010-01-20T21:55:00.007-06:00

So I ran two miles tonight - yay! It's the longest I've run in quite awhile. Sad but true. I hopped on the treadmill after work. This afternoon I thought about running in the neighborhood but it was storming like a mother when I got home. The thunder was booming so loudly I heard it over my ipod a few times. The run felt pretty darn good. I think I did the 2 in just over 21 minutes. My legs were screaming a bit afterward with quite a bit of shin pain but after popping some ibuprofen and stretching I feel fit as a fiddle (what the hell does that mean, anyway?!).

I think my body might be trying to trick me back into running with how easily the miles and pace came tonight. I felt so good I could practically hear it saying, "Do you see how easy this is? Come on, you were made for this. Lets get together again tomorrow, hmmmmm?" I hope that feeling sticks around for awhile. I'd be ok with that.

So the end of my drive to work is on a beautiful road that's got a gentle roll and lots of huge trees and beautiful old houses. I see runners every day and it always make me a bit jealous that I can't run along that road in the early morning before work. :( Anyway, today I saw one of the regulars, Old Man Graybeard, who must run every single weekday b/c I can't remember the last time I didn't see him on the way in. What was so wonderful about seeing him today was that it was raining and he was the only runner out. As soon as I saw him I just started grinning and I wanted to roll down my window, pump my fist and say "You go, Old Man Graybeard! You rock!" I have no idea why it made me so happy but it did! I wished so badly that I could call into work, get some running clothes and just run around in the rain. It's one of my favorite things to do and I don't get to do it nearly as often as I would like. Maybe I should make my next personal day coincide with a nice rainy day. Now that's a thought. :)

Day two

2010-01-18T21:40:00.005-06:00

So I worked out again today (if you can call my walk yesterday a workout). Yay. My goal is to simply MOVE everyday, whether it be walking, running, ellipticizing, yoga, whatever. As long as I'm off my bum and moving around for at least 20 minutes, I'll be happy. I rode the recumbent bike at work for 15 mins during my lunch break and then came home and got straight on the treadmill. I was on for about 45 minutes and did a mile and a half of running and 1.76 miles of walking with an incline. I only planned on being on for about 20 minutes which turned into 30. Then some old school Michael Jackson came on my ipod and propelled me for another 15 minutes. I know a lot of people hate the treadmill (and I certainly agree that the scenery doesn't quite compare to running outside) but I feel like I often stay on longer than planned because I try to make either the time or distance a somewhat "round" number. I doubt I'd do that on an out and back run or just a walk around my neighborhood. Score 1 for the 'mill.

I'm debating whether I should sign up for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in April. It's wicked expensive: $105 (this is more than I paid for the Marine Corps MARATHON) and is only about 3 months away. I have read a lot of great things about the rock n roll marathon series, which this race belongs to, but am worried about signing up for another race after I crapped out on Chicago. That was a very different situation and wasn't 40 minutes away but I'm still feeling gun-shy. I guess I will give it a few more days. It would also help if anyone else wanted to run with me. Kim and her husband Jeff are sitting it out because it's so pricey and because she's in school and will have limited time to train. Hmmm. I will just mull it over for a few more days anyway. I feel like such a geezer but I'm whooped. Time for bed. :)

Deja vu

2010-01-17T21:56:00.006-06:00

Here I am beginning again. My last "beginning" fell flat on its face and went absolutely nowhere. I signed up for Chicago last year and was super psyched about it but the plans fell apart. Many exciting things happened that contributed to the collapse of my Chicago '09 challenge. I got married (yay)...my husband and I bought our first home (yay)...ok so I guess that's it. By "many" I meant two big things. Anyway, too much life got in the way and Chicago became a no-go. I was sad about it. I still am sad about it because I keep getting emails from the Chicago Marathon peeps and Nike. Hell, I even got an email containing a link to print out my finisher's certificate. That was a good one.

Fast forward to 2010 and here I am contemplating my goal(s) for the year. I refuse to make resolutions. I feel like the word is cursed...I can't think of a single damn resolution I've ever kept. Maybe it's just easier to blame the word than my lack of discipline. :) Oh well. I digress. So for over a year I've done far too much sitting on my arse and far too little running, walking or anything in the physical realm. I hate it. Tonight I walked on my treadmill for about an hour. It felt wonderful. I really need to update my ipod...the songs that got me going 2 years ago have lost their fizz. EnVogue's "Don't let go" came on and rocked my world though. It was a lovely surprise that invoked my most heartfelt jam out session of the night - which also turned out to be a bit embarrassing when Dave poked his head in the garage to find out 1. whether cats were fighting somewhere outside our house or 2. if I had fallen off the tread and was screaming for someone to help me. Ouch.

I would have run but I did something this morning to completely jack up the right side of my neck. It hurts so bad when I turn my head that I have to instead move my entire torso to the side if I want to look at something to my right. So I'm hoping that gets worked out asap so that I can get my act together. Dave and I rearranged the garage so that the tread is now unobstructed. Until this afternoon, if his car was in the garage I couldn't use it. So the good news is that I can use it anytime I want. The bad news is that obviously I no longer have an excuse for not using it. Damn. I guess I'll have to get more creative. Mwahahahahahahaaa.

In terms of eating "right", I think my body has finally vowed not to let me eat what I want when I want. The concept of sort of feeling what you're eating has clicked with me. Yesterday was one of those days. It started out alright: toast with pb and jelly, milk, coffee, and yogurt. Then I went to a movie with Kim where we shared popcorn and drank water (maybe I'm finally outgrowing my soda cravings - yay). This was followed by an impromptu trip to a rinky dink bar called The Wagon Wheel where we each had a bottle of beer. Sidenote: I must tell you how much I love spending time with Kim. Time with her always yields something spontaneous and memorable. While we were driving to my house I made the comment that I really want to go into that bar sometime - simply because it looks like a total crap-hole-in-the-wall dive. I love places like that. So she responds with, "Right now?!" Me: "What, no..." We exchanged meaningful looks and after about 20 seconds she said "Ok, we'll do paper, rock, scissors for it. If you win, we go. If I win, I just take you home". Paper, rock, scissors, throw. We both threw paper. The obvious choice next would be scissors...if you're an amateur. Pffftttt. So I threw rock, which clearly smashed the hell out of her scissors and she promptly made a u-turn and headed to the bar. It was good stuff. So after that we decided to go to the store for beer to drink while watching the remainder of the Saints/Cardinals game. We also got chips. So that was my dinner: Coors and BBQ lays with the occasional mini peanut butter cup thrown in when things got too salty. Needless to say, I soon felt like horsecrap since I'd had nothing containing any nutritional value since the early morning. My stomach ached something awful so I decided to eat an apple in a pathetic attempt to make peace with my poor bloated body. Today I was much better. I'm too old for that shit. I need to get my act together. Anyway, it's time for bed. If anyone's out there, thanks for reading. If not, that's cool too. It feels good to kind of verbally vomit (pardon the term), as one of my favorite former coworkers used to say. I've missed this.

The beginning...again

2009-05-27T22:16:00.011-05:00

Starting over kinda sucks. After running 26.2 it’s a real pisser to huff my way through a few lousy miles. I did 3 miles tonight, which translates to 1 mile of running, .75 mile walk, followed by another mile of running and then a .25 mile walk. During the last .25 of the second “run” I started to feel like my body was literally going to fall apart. It’s incredible how much my feelings can vary during a run. I started out pretty strong, trotting along, and then Dave got home. For some reason, every time he infringes on my “running space”, I immediately get distracted and have the almost irrepressible urge to STOP running. All of a sudden I notice I’m tired/sore/in need of water. It is quite irritating (the urge to stop, not Dave, he's awesome). I guess it might be b/c when no one else is there I let myself get into the zone. I stare straight ahead and am totally immersed in what I’m doing. Then he walks in and BOOM. I want to stop and talk to him or start cooking dinner or get online or whatever the hell else. His presence sucks the force right out of my body and my concentration goes out the window. I’m able to get my focus back but the phenomenon leads me to believe that I’m just a loner when it comes to running. During my last marathon I trained almost entirely alone (and on a treadmill). You’d think that having another person there to talk to would be a welcome distraction but that isn’t the case with me. I have to get into my own head and work things out. For awhile I have been convinced that I have adult-onset A.D.D. Seriously. I'm like a small child, it's ridiculous. I could provide at least 5 examples off the top of my head but it's late and Dave is yelling at me to come to bed. The A.D.D. theory may explain why I do well inside on a treadmill. There are a helluva lot fewer distractions (and things to make me feel self-conscious) in a room staring out the window than there are out on the road. Oy. Enough psychoanalyzing, back to the recap. There were a few times during the run that my step felt light and springy and I felt like I was a carefree 8 year old running around the neighborhood. I love that. I hope to have the feeling more often.

It’s tough to beat the feeling that comes over me after I’m done running. I feel strong, calm and pleasantly exhausted. Maybe if I write this down and read it repeatedly it will be enough to get my ass on the road (or treadmill) tomorrow. :)

Chicago '09

2009-03-31T21:44:00.002-05:00

I just signed up for Chicago. Eeeeeee! So I've decided that my challenge this year, unoriginal as it may be, is to run another marathon, but to do it faster and in much better shape. I haven't decided on a firm time yet, but I'd like to do it under 5 hours, which would be a 37+ minute improvement from the MCM. My good friend Ana's birthday is the day of the race and a bunch of us are going to Chicago to celebrate her birthday and a few of us will be running Sunday. I hope she doesn't feel like her thunder is being stolen with the race going on Sunday.

Oh sweet Jesus, I'm nervous but I can't wait to see CHICAGO! The closest I've been is when connecting flights have landed at O'Hare. I better get some sleep so that I can get my training on tomorrow. :)

Where did the time go?

2009-03-15T14:19:00.008-05:00

Somehow, four and a half months have flown by since my last post. More disturbingly, in about 10 hours I will officially be 27. Yeesh. The birthday challenge thing has been on my mind for months, or really ever since I successfully completed last year's. I have no idea what to do. A few things have come to mind but they're so boring that I'm ashamed to mention them. Beyond that, the ideas I've come up with aren't challenging enough to warrant an entire year dedicated to them. Furthermore, the ideas aren't related to a physical challenge. The physicality of the marathon challenge served (for the most part) to 1. make me proud to divulge my challenge to anyone who was interested enough to listen (or read) 2. get my ass moving, which is no small feat because unfortunately I am, in nature, an extremely lazy person (thanks Mom and Dad...just kidding) 3. carry me through the most incredible experience of my life to my proudest moment. The marathon was BY FAR the coolest thing I have ever done. The entire run went frighteningly well and part of me wants to pull a George Costanza and just quit while I'm ahead "Alright, I'm out. You've been great, thanks." But of course another part of me wants to do it all over again; maybe choose one in an exotic location or convince a few friends to run with me. As much as I wanted to do the Shamrock Run in VA Beach (it's next weekend), that isn't happening. I pretty much stopped running altogether. Ok, not "pretty much". I did. I just stopped. It sucks but oh well. A couple of weeks ago I joined the gym at work with a coworker and we've been going about 3x week. I'd like to get into a consistent routine and get healthy and fit and drop a few lbs before the wedding in May. I am hesitant to say "I want to lose weight for the wedding" because I want to institute a lifestyle change, not a temporary one designed to make me look good for a few days and a weekend of pictures.

So back to the challenge. It seems that a lot of people transition from marathons to triathlons but those don't appeal to me at this point. Maybe one day but not right now. I feel like whatever I choose to do it's got to be very physical and very tough. Unfortunately, I set the bar kinda high with the marathon challenge. How do I top that? Maybe I'm just not thinking hard enough. Maybe the 6 pack of Coronas from last night are impeding my thought process. A few people I've talked to about the challenge have tried to let me off easy this year: "Why don't you make the wedding your challenge?" Well, probably because that isn't a challenge, but a natural progression of a wonderful relationship over 4 years in the making. No bigs. I got that shit in the bag. Seriously though, does anyone have any ideas? Part of the problem is choosing something that isn't going to break the bank. It wasn't too difficult to buy running shoes, socks and sports bras. I also feel like the challenge must have a clear end point or win/lose decision. My 2005 "piano lesson" challenge left me able to tap out a few intros on the keyboard but I never got the feeling that I actually accomplished anything. Perhaps it was the nature of the challenge. It isn't feasible to think that I was going to master the friggin piano in less than a year, especially when I was not apt to put in the practice. I need some sort of finish line to cross or some other indicator that yes, I have achieved what I set out to do. It must be measurable. So there we go. It's got to be cheap and measurable. Hmm. Not quite sure what I can do with that. If anyone has ideas please send them my way. Until then maybe I'll just make this a fitness log (yawn). Must keep thinking...

News

2008-10-29T21:07:00.017-05:00

I'M ENGAGED!!! Dave proposed last Sunday night after the marathon. His original plan was to do it after I crossed the finish line but due to transportation complications he changed the plan. I wondered why, a mere 3 hours after I'd run a marathon, he was asking if I wanted to take the metro into D.C. to check out some monuments. "Um, no. I can hardly walk. Why in God's name would I want to do anything but sit here on my tired, sore ass?!" Apparently he thought it would be cool to propose outside a monument. Indeed. If only I'd obliged. I think he started freaking out a bit but was good about hiding it and actually things worked out perfectly. We went to dinner with my aunt and uncle who ran the race, and another uncle who was up visiting. We devoured massive, scrumpulescent burgers washed down by a few frosty beers. Yum. Then my aunt told us about a cool waterfall park a few blocks away. We decided to check it out. It's difficult to describe but it's almost like a giant infinity pool that flows over a long wall. Just off the sidewalk there is a small vendor's cart where coffee and small snacks can be purchased, along with several small tables and chairs. Trees are interspersed to create a quaint and charming atmosphere. We decided to walk up to the second level so that we could look out over the small waterfall and enjoy the view. After we'd been there for a few minutes enjoying the view I asked if he was ready to go. To my surprise he said "Um, no, let's stay a few more minutes". I had a feeling something was up b/c it was fricken freezing and Dave is a FL boy with very little tolerance of temps below 70 degrees. He looked a little nervous but started talking..."Well, you got your medal today and I have something else for you. I'm very proud of you and I think we make a great team. I love you so much and want to spend the rest of my life with you. (gets down on bended knee) Jennifer Stills, will you marry me?" Of course I got all teary but managed to blurt out "Abso-friggin-lutely!!" I gave an excited little yelp and gave him a bear hug. I was secretly hoping he'd propose during that weekend. I'm so glad we were on the same page. :) He told me about all the 26's and how it just seemed perfect...it was Oct 26th. I had run 26(.2) miles, we were both 26 years old, when he filled up my gas tank prior to leaving the total was $26. I guess it was just meant to be. It was the absolutely perfect ending to a perfect day. When I told Kev, one of my BFF's, his response cracked me up: "You were very productive today. Most people just go to church on Sunday and you ran a marathon and got engaged." That's how I roll. The picture of the ring doesn't start to do it justice...this little fella kept blinding the camera. It's good stuff. Me likey.

Soooo, I'm still somewhat waddling around like a penguin and yet all I can think about is when I will run next. :) That surprises and pleases me. I'm considering doing the Shamrock Half in VA Beach next March. It's right around my b-day and I think it'd be fun to get some friends together and give it a whirl. I am so so so happy that I chose the MCM as my first marathon. I think it was a fantastic choice for me. I'm still trying to let the weekend's events fully register. It all seems so surreal. I just couldn't be any happier right now. :)

Thanks again to everyone who provided athletic support (heh heh, couldn't resist) via this blog. You guys are the best!!! I've got a ton of blog reading to catch up on this weekend. Happy Hump Day. I'm gonna take a hot bath and chillax.

Mission accomplished!

2008-10-28T08:19:00.022-05:00

Wow, where do I start? I had the most incredible weekend of my life. I took on this challenge with apprehension and without a full realization of exactly what I would be doing. But I could not be more pleased with the results.

We arrived at my aunt and uncle's in Arlington around noon on Friday. Throughout Fri and Sat I kept having phantom pains all over my body: particularly in the legs and feet. I told my aunt about it and she said "Oh yeah, me too. That's normal". Good deal. The night before the marathon I was strangely calm. It was as if the gravity of the situation was nowhere close to registering in my brain. I had no idea what I was in for. We got up Sunday morning around 6. I forced down some toast with peanut butter and about 1/2 a banana. We left the house around 6:40 or so to take the metro to the race. My aunt and uncle were running as well and Dave got up to come with us so that he could see us off. By the way, if you are running a race and will be relying in public transit, it's a good idea to already have your fare paid for; the lines to get the tickets for the metro were out of control!! I was so glad they had tickets for all of us. We took the metro to the race and found the Coast Guard tent to put our stuff down (my uncle is a Coastie), used the porta potties and were off to the start line. We'd lost some time along the way and ended up getting to the line a bit late. I had talked to some of the Clif Bar Pacers at the expo on Saturday and was stoked to join the 5:30 group. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to find them before the race; I was walking toward the back of the starting line b/c I knew I had no business being around 3:30 and 4 hour runners. Before I could get anywhere near where I should have been, everyone started inching forward. So I turned around and started walking with everyone else. I was nervous but figured I could catch up with them later. I reasoned they would be easy to find with the bright balloons attached to a stick raised high into the air. You know what they say about assuming...

I knew I had to run as slowly as possible for the first several miles, and that I should probably do some sort of interval, but that was difficult to gauge without a watch. I'd been debating whether or not to wear one and decided against it figuring I'd have no need for it, "Some else will be doing all that work for me. I'm just gonna run and then walk when I'm told". Oops. As I ran under the puffy bright red arches I got a little emotional. No tears but damn close. I was finally doing it! The first mile flew by. I couldn't believe it. The crowd support was intense. People were EVERYWHERE. There were tons of signs and cowbells and people were yelling and cheering. I saw a few signs for JEN and although they weren't technically for me, for the first time in my life I silently thanked my parents for my ubiquitous name. My aunt and I had both written our names on pieces of tape with black marker and put them on our chests. That might have been my smartest move all day (other than applying Body Glide). Nothing in the world boosts you more than random people yelling "Lookin' good Jen, keep it up!!".

Around mile two, I remember looking to the left side of the course and seeing a line of guys relieving themselves among the brush. Penis envy set in even though I didn't even have to pee yet. It was just the principal. Miles two and three flew by. My mind was uncharacteristically quiet. I was very relaxed and was focused on just having fun. I enjoyed taking in all the sights: the spectators, the signs, the runners, the buildings around us. Everything was so beautiful. I saw a sign that said "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever" and I decided to make that my second mantra for the race, after "Have fun". Mile four took us across a bridge and at one point I heard "JEN, JEN". I followed the voice and saw Dave waving at me from behind a row of spectators off to the right. I got pumped. I was so happy to see him. I waved and continued on my journey. The view straight ahead of us was incredible! The tip of a tall steeple peeked out of the fog just on the other side of the bridge. No description or picture could do justice, however, it was at that moment that I really wished I'd had a camera.

Miles six and seven went by painlessly. Mile eight, for whatever reason (and despite the small hill - "flat" course, my ass), was awesome. It must've been the crowd support. I was just pumped. I felt great! People would yell my name and I'd flash a smile, do a few double fist pumps and yell "thank you!" I was lovin' it!! I couldn't believe how great I felt. I saw a few more signs that cracked me up: "Run like you stole something" and "Where the HELL are the endorphins?!" I got a good chuckle from both. I should mention that During miles 3-8, I was trying to incorporate walking breaks but had no idea what I was doing. For a while the pack of runners was so thick that I didn't want to walk and risk someone literally running into me. When a group near me started to walk I did the same. I silently counted to 60 and then began to run again. Although I was attempting to walk with some sort of regularity, it was thrown out the window b/c it seemed like there were many times I was about to start walking and the crowd support was just outrageous and there was no way in hell I was walking while people were yelling and cheering for me and telling me how great I was doing. Nu-uh. I think I had my first PowerGel packet around mile 8...maybe it was before that. I can't remember. There were water and Power Ade stations about every 2 or 3 miles. While I planned on walking through most of those, my plans were usually foiled by a Marine who would say something like, "You're doing great Jen, keep it up!" I would smile, yell "Wooo!!!", thank them, and start running again, just like that. Every few miles there would either be a clock, or a Marine announcing the time. I'd try to quickly do the math to see if I was on track for my 5:30-ish finish. I figured I was pretty close.

Miles 9-11 went by relatively quickly. A dreadlocked man shouted "DO THE DAMN THANG" to us as we ran by. I smiled. Around this time, I started to get a bit emotional (again) as I thought about what I was doing. I was about to run 12.2 miles farther than I ever had in my life and was going to do something that a relatively small percentage of the population can claim they've done. I thought about how we're capable of doing so many incredible things but rarely push ourselves to experience or achieve beyond what we're comfortable doing. I was so proud of myself in that moment. The balls of my feet started to ache a bit during these miles but the pain wasn't too bad. I took some Motrin around mile 11. I stopped a few times to stretch my IT band as my hips were starting to feel argumentative when I'd begin to run again after my walking breaks.

I was worried about 12-14: Haines Point (sp?). At the expo the girl at the pacer booth mentioned that I'd want to be with a group at this point b/c it can be a bit desolate: it's a long loop that runs along the Potomac. There aren't as many runners and it helps quite a bit to have company. I told her I'd need as many distractions as possible. Fortunately, it ended up being fine. There were enough runners near me to keep me distracted and there was an entertaining group of people on a speed boat that rode alongside us and waved and yelled.

Mile 15 was tough. I somewhat expected everything to go downhill at this point, reasoning that I'd never run that far and surely, bad things were just around the corner...thankfully I was wrong. Miles 16 and 17 were superb. There were tons of spectators and I did a lot more smiling, high-fiving and fist pumping as people called my name. I really hoped that I didn't have Power Ade or gel stained teeth and then thought "Screw it. I'm running a damn marathon. I'm supposed to look at least a little bit funky." I was running strong and feeling great and hoped that somehow I could hang onto that feeling at least until I saw Dave and the family and mile 23. I guess I was a little too pumped because as one person called my name and told me how great I was doing I did my smile/fist pump combo and after I shouted "Wooo!!" he told me to calm down and save it. He said "that's what I'M here for. Save your energy". What a nerd. No way was I gonna stop my random mini celebrations when I was feeling so good.

Miles 18-20 were ok. I got some interesting grub from spectators. People were lined up on the sides of the street giving away full bottles of water, Power Bars,candy, pretzels, you name it. It was awesome. Mile 21 was across a long bridge that I swore would never freaking end. It was awful. I did a lot more walking at this point. Spectators were fewer and farther between but I tried to do as much running as I could. A few times, I was scared I wouldn't be able to start running again after I'd been walking. My hips were sore and my body was starting to register more signs of fatigue.

Miles 22-23 went through Crystal City, which is where my aunt and uncle live. During these miles I had a brownie, a mini snickers bar (the girl shouted, "It's carbs, it's carbs" - SOLD!), another gel and some water. The road was split between those of us starting the trek through Crystal City and those of us finishing. I looked longingly at the other side. I was feeling good though. Brightly colored flags flanked either side of the road and there were tons of people cheering, ringing cowbells and holding signs. Oh, and on mile 22, there was a guy sitting in the median on a bicycle and he had a boombox on the handlebars that was blaring M.C. Hammer's "Can't Touch This". I smiled, sang, and somehow resisted the urge to perform the "Hammer-crab dance" as I like to call it. I typically only pull this move out during wedding receptions and only when I'm brimming with "liquid confidence". I charged on. I saw Dave from the opposite side of the road and started flailing my arms and yelling. He saw me and snapped a pic. I hoped it wouldn't be too long before the course would wind back by to where I was on the same side of the street with him. A few minutes after the turn I was approaching him and my G-ma and my uncle and cousins, with my uncle holding the awesome sign Kim made for me (pictures forthcoming. The sign read something like: "Jen - you're the worst runner in the world. FALSE. You're awesome. I love you! Make 26.2 your &%$@#!" (it's loosely based on a Dwight line from The Office). I started cracking up and held my hand out to give Dave a high-five. Apparently the girl just to the left of him thought I was trying to give her a high-five and after I passed her she yelled "Oh I'm sorry. You wanted a high five..." so I turned around, slapped her hand with gusto, did something ridiculous like a backward leaning double fist pump that almost bordered on a pelvic thrust, yelled "Yeahhhh, wooooo" and then turned back to Dave. He snapped some pics and I was off again.

My plan was to run the entirety of the remaining 3.2 but I couldn't quite make it. I walked more than I would have liked. My energy was waning but I was excited that I was so close to the finish. My pace slowed to a crawl but I forced myself to keep moving. At mile 25 I saw a guy sitting on the side of the course receiving medical attention. It looked like he was getting in IV. Yikes. Spectators were a bit scant in these parts but assured us that we were "almost there". I decided that I had to run the last 1.2. No exceptions. It seemed like most of the people around me were walking but I had to run...or shuffle along because at that point that's all I could manage. Someone yelled, "mile 26 is at the bottom of that hill" and I smiled and followed my aunt's advice to just "take it all in" and think about what I was about to accomplish. The finish line is actually up a small hill. What a sick joke. I felt myself picking up speed as I approached the mile marker and continued up the hill. Spectators were crammed on the side of the course like sardines and they were all yelling and cheering for everyone. I began to grimace as my right knee felt like it was about to give out. I thought about what I was on the verge of accomplishing and felt my face tighten and tears welled at my eyes. I breathed heavily and propelled myself to the finish line. The clock read 5:41 (although apparently my actual time was 5:37:11). I slowed to a walk and tried to enjoy the "congratulations" and "great jobs". I grabbed a bottle of water, a space blanket thingy and got in line to receive my medal. As I looked up at the person in front of me I realized it was the pace leader for the 5:30 group that I never found. I couldn't believe it. How the heck had I not seen them?! I smiled and congratulated myself for pulling this thing off all by myself with the same result I would have had with a group. Somehow I think it worked out better that I forged this on my own. My only goal was to finish and if I'd been running with anyone else, chances are I would have been inundated with other expectations. I finished and more importantly I had FUN! It was such an incredible experience.

I want to recognize the 4 outstanding "performance enhancers" that helped me on my journey:
1. Body Glide. Without you I would be a huge chafed mess. I walked away with absolutely no chafing. I was amazed!
2. Packing tape and black sharpie. Like I said, wearing my name on my shirt was a brilliant move and reaped many rewards.
3. Trident peppermint gum. I chewed one piece of gum the entire 26.2 miles. I swear to God, that gum must've been magic and I genuinely attribute part of my success to it.
4. The Marines and spectators. The race was so well organized and the volunteers and supporters were beyond fantastic. I can't find the words to accurately describe how wonderful everything was. I wish I had the opportunity to thank the Marines not only for their help and support during the race but for what they do every single day. They (along with the other branches of the military) make sacrifices I would never dream of and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.

I feel like I have so much more to say but am afraid this post has already gotten too long. Thanks to everyone that has followed my journey and encouraged me along the way. I thought about you all during the race and am so thankful that I had the crazy idea to start this blog. The result has been nothing short of amazing and has buoyed my spirit and confidence. I hope to meet many of you over the years. :)

I must get some breakfast. I will write again later today or tomorrow b/c I have other news as well...

Catching the "Spirit"

2008-10-22T21:32:00.009-05:00

I netflix'd "Spirit of the Marathon" last week and finally had the chance to watch it tonight. I knew it was going to be good when I turned to Dave with tears threatening to fall no less than 3 minutes into it. Nothing huge or miraculous happened; some guy simply said something like, "Running a marathon will change your life. You will absolutely be a different person after the marathon than you were before". BAM! Cue emotionally over-the-top overreaction. 'Grab some Puffs you little ninny!' The movie followed several people training for the Chicago Marathon (running gods/goddesses AND everyday people). I couldn't help but grimace during the parts where the runners are struggling through their 18 and 20 mile runs, thinking (me, not them), "Dammit dammit dammit. I shoulda done that! I am so screwed." What is it they say about hindsight...?! I was really impressed with the training program featured in the movie. It was a huge organized group that got together for long runs (if not other weekly training runs) and was broken down into pace groups. I think it was a 3 or 4 month long program. I had no idea that things like that (apart from TNT) existed in cities. That would be so fun, not to mention extremely helpful for someone like me with close to zero self discipline. Hmm. Maybe next time.

Today at work the marathon kept popping into my head; much more than normal. Every time I started to think about it, small knots would form in my stomach and I'd feel a little queasy. Good stuff. I can't wait to see how that intensifies by Saturday or Sunday. Yeesh.

Some fun facts about the Marine Corps Marathon:

*It's the largest race in the world that does not have cash prizes for the winners.
*Nickname: The People's Marathon
*4th largest marathon in US, 8th largest in world
*Date of first MCM: November 7, 1976
*Size of first MCM: 1,175 runners (by comparison NYC had 123 runners for it's first marathon in 1970)
*The race is now limited to 30,000 runners

That's it for now. Gotta hit the hay. We're leaving here tomorrow night after work to drive to D.C. G'night!

6 days. God help me.

2008-10-20T21:08:00.010-05:00

The marathon is just six short days away. How the hell did it get here so quickly? I'm looking forward to the race, despite my lack of training and preparation, but can't help but feel like I've bitchslapped the very idea of my marathon. I've made a mockery of the training. I've dissed all those training plans I carefully studied and then discarded. I just feel kind of...bad about my lack of commitment. Maybe it's guilt. I also can't help but wonder if on some level I've sabotaged my training so that I can have an excuse if things go poorly. It's much easier to blame my poor performance on a lack of training (b/c my life was just waaayyy to busy to properly train. Er, yeah, that's it) than to say "Oh, yeah, I trained my ass off but 12 miles into it I got a hellacious cramp/ache/sprain/strain/whatever, that I simply could not recover from." But I'm not planning on having a crappy race. I really do believe everything will go well. At least as well as can be expected when you are pushing your body and mind far beyond familiar and comfortable territory. That's the exciting part though.

I just finished an awesome book that I hope to draw on for inspiration during the race. It's called "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner". It was brilliant. I got it from the library last week and began reading it during commercial breaks of one of the Rays/Red Sox games (go RAYS!!). I couldn't put the damn thing down. I really couldn't. When it was time to brush my teeth I stood in the bathroom, book in one hand, toothbrush in the other. When I had to pee, I chilled out and read for a while. (I know that was TMI but I gotta keep it real). I stayed up late reading until my eyes could no longer stay open. The next day at work I read during my lunch break. I couldn't get enough of this book. Anyone who orders a pizza, cheesecake and coffee during a race and is able to consume it on the go immediately gains my respect. Dean Karnazes is un-freaking-believable. Although I realize that our levels of fitness are radically and vastly different (ginormous understatement), I am inspired and comforted by the feats he has accomplished. I keep thinking "If he can run 200 miles straight, surely I can run a measly 26.2 miles". Cake, right?! I have a feeling that one of my race mantras (and temporary tattoos courtesy of a sharpie) may be "never give up", which was certainly a resonating theme throughout the book. I know that I CAN and WILL do this. And I look forward to crossing the finish line and crying like a baby once I realize how much I've just been through mentally and physically. Good stuff. :)

I got tagged.

2008-10-20T20:55:00.003-05:00

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

10 Years Ago (1998):
1. Sophomore in high school.
2. On the swim/dive team, soccer team, tennis team.
3. Got my dad's '95 Monte Carlo: "the MC".
4. Went to Alaska.
5. Got my first job...or was that '97? I can't remember.

5 Things on Today's "To Do" List:
1. Return jeans to the store b/c they made me look like I had "mom" jeans on.
2. Work.
3. Yoga or run.
4. Get package together to send to friend.
5. Watch 'How I Met Your Mother'.

5 Things that I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy a house.
2. Take a month long (at least) trip around the world.
3. Pay off car.
4. Give some away to friends & family.
5. Invest.

5 Places I have lived:
1. Sebring, FL
2. Tallahassee, FL
3. Clearwater, FL
4. Murfreesboro, TN
5. ???

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Cashier at the "Big K"
2. Admin Asst
3. Office Manager
4. Pimp
5. Clerical Support Specialist

Now, I'm tagging....
I didn't really check to see who's already done this, so forgive and ignore me if I retag.
1. Suebob
2. Rachel
3. Emily
4. Irish
5. Julie

Nike = El Diablo?!

2008-10-12T20:52:00.010-05:00

So my BFF Kim ran the Murfreesboro Half Marathon yesterday (GO KIM!!) and Dave and I were there to cheer her along. I decided to make a couple of signs the the the sign featured in the picture was my favorite. It came to me like a thunderbolt Friday night. I was trying to think of something funny and since I'm not witty enough to really come up with anything on my own I decided to use something from my favorite tv show - The Office. You can imagine my surprise when Kim approached us during the race and I noticed she was giving me "the bird". WTF?! It turns out she couldn't see what was underneath "Faster, Faster" and her first thought was "Dammit, I'm going as fast as I can. Don't tell me to go faster you bitch". Luckily she got a big kick out of it when she was able to read the entire thing. I have a picture of her laughing and pointing (at what looks like a Dr Pepper can on a traffic cone but I know she was really laughing and pointing at my kick ass sign). I was so proud of her and being in a race atmosphere certainly made me excited about my upcoming race. :)

Working at a physical therapy clinic definitely has its perks. One of the therapists has been asking me how my running is going (on a twice weekly basis at least), and seems to be amused when I say "Don't remind me!" after she conveniently reminds me "Only XX days left, Jen!" I've been complaining a bit about my foot and finally last Thursday she said "I'll take a look at your foot if you want me to". Hmm, let me think about this...free medicine. Sign me up! So she did an evaluation, which consisted of looking at and feeling my feet, watching me walk and making me do a variety of things such as standing on one foot (to see if I had to shift a lot of weight), doing a straight leg sit up while she held my legs down (no clue what the heck this was about but afterward she told me one leg might be longer than the other...wtf?!) and there were a few more things that I can't remember. I felt very self-conscious when she and another therapist were watching me walk. When I get nervous or overly self-conscious, I start grinning like an idiot. So as I was walking away from them I kept seeing my reflection in the floor to ceiling mirrors on the opposite side of the room. I tried to stop myself from smiling but I couldn't. It was ridiculous. I felt like such a retard. Anyway, it turns out my left hip is weak and I walk like a pigeon-toed ninny. Also, my super high arches are causing my foot pain b/c I'm over-pronating and the lateral part of my foot is trying to overcompensate for that. Somehow my weak hip comes into play. Apparently the weak hip always affects the opposite leg/foot. She gave me loads of information which I almost immediately forgot. Oops. She was also so kind as to give me a list of hip and knee exercises to do along with some therabands. Which reminds me I need to do those tonight. Booo.

When she asked me what kind of running shoes I had and I told her Nike she just shook her head and another one of the therapists held up her two forefingers in a cross as if to indicate Nike is the DEVIL (bum bum bummmmmmmm). They said New Balance is what they recommend to people as they tend to have the best support. Since I've had the shoes for over a month I don't imagine Fleet Feet will be too eager to take them back for me to exchange. I don't know what I'm going to do but I'll figure something out. I asked her whether she thought I should still run or not and she said I should try to get some different shoes but she doesn't think I'll hurt myself too badly...knock on wood. I ran thrice this week with minimal problems. I'm leaning more towards adopting a Galloway style for the race. That's how I completed my 10 miler a few years back with virtually no training, and it went pretty well. I'm hoping that since I have a decent, albeit smallish base, I'll still be ok. One good thing is that Kim's half mary piqued her interest in racing. I'm hoping that we can get together a few times a week (after my race) and run. I know that would be really good for the both of us. I still need to work on Dave though...

Less long runs, more pain and apprehension

2008-10-08T18:37:00.006-05:00

Sooo, the 14 miler I last blogged about was my last long run. I was sore for 2 days and on the 3rd day my right foot started bothering me enough that I couldn't help but grimace as I limped around the house and the office. Not cool. I stopped 2.5 miles into my first run last week, unable to go any farther b/c my foot hurt so bad. Unfortunately, I didn't run again last week. Yeeaahh. I know, I know. I should have done 20 miles by now...or at least 18. I'm just gonna have to wing this thing bigtime. I've been thinking about joining either a much slower group or a Galloway group during the marathon. I haven't decided which I'm leaning towards. I'm just eager to talk to the peeps at the expo and see what they think (other than the fact that I'm a moron and a slacker).

I've done 6 miles so far this week and have had a bit of pain but nothing like what it has been. Honestly, I'm not sure what to attempt this weekend in terms of a long run. To be honest, part of me is saying "Screw it. How much good can it really do? Although you WILL finish this marathon, it's going to kick your ass so hard that a few extra miles probably won't matter". Ahh, yes, I'm known far and wide as the eternal optimist...or is it the eternal procrastinator/slacker/lazy ass? Something like that.

I don't have much else to report. We had some friends in town last weekend, which was wicked awesome. We did a corn maze, watched some football and went into Nashville where we drank way too much. Oy! Oh, and I learned an impromptu physics lesson Saturday night at the bar. Let me give you a quick background: we're at a bar where a live band is playing cover songs - most of which are country. The drink special was $4 pitchers of PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon)...which were going down like water. Sometimes I get really into music, like, embarrassingly so, and begin to do things like play the air fiddle (my favorite), air guitar (not quite as common), or just jump around like a spastic moron on crack. Well, one of these "inspiring" songs came on - I have no idea what it was - but it was the kind of song that you just HAVE to get into. My chosen "dance move" at that particular moment was a sort of old-timey clap and leg slap: do a fast clap and then each hand slaps a leg in succession, then repeat very quickly over and over and over. I'm probably not explaining that well but I hope you get the picture. The problem was that I obviously couldn't do that with beer in my hands. Do I ask someone to hold it? Do I put it down somewhere? No. I put the plastic cup 3/4 full of beer in my mouth so that my teeth are gripping it. Guess what? Plastic cups flex and bounce. Guess what else? When plastic flexes and bounces (along with ones killer dance moves), whatever is in the cup splashes up (and into your face). I got maybe halfway through my second round of the quick clap/slap when the beer flew up and coated my face. We all had a good laugh. I'm glad I was good and drunk by that time or I would have been far more embarrassed (although my judgment probably would have been better than to do what I did). Anyway, the moral of the story is to simply ask someone to hold your beer before you get your groove on. Godspeed.

14 big ones.

2008-09-28T19:33:00.004-05:00

So I officially had my first 20 mile week. I realize I should have surpassed that many moons ago but better late than never, right? I did two 3 mile runs earlier in the week, being sure to take it slow because I've been on the verge of having a full blown cold all week. As per usual, I'd planned on doing my long run on Saturday but that didn't work out. So after having breakfast, reading the paper and doing some laundry, I suited up and got cooking...er, running. I watched football as I ran and the first 5 miles flew by. I felt great. I swear, watching football is one of the best ways to pass time while running. It's so encouraging b/c in "5 minutes" in NFL time, I've usually run at least 2 miles. Good stuff. But I digress. So at mile 5 I stopped to stretch, drink some water and have a PowerAde gel packet. I hopped back on and did another 3 miles and took another water break and reset the treadmill b/c after 100 minutes it just stops. Since I was close I figured I might as well reset it. I did another 2.5 miles, took a break for water, did 1.5, break for water, 1 mile, break for water, and then the final mile. As you can see I was VERY THIRSTY. I guess I hadn't drunk enough water prior to running. It was very annoying. I chewed gum in a useless attempt to keep some moisture in my mouth but it didn't turn out to be very effective. Also, I was really starting to fade around mile 11. My ankles hurt, feet hurt and all I wanted to do was stop and chug a gallon of water. I ended up walking for 1 minute on the last two miles. Somehow, I managed to kick it up a little on the last .25 mile. I had been doing straight 12 minute miles and I think I ended up on a 10 MM pace for the last .25. Nothing groundbreaking, I know, but I was happy to have a little something to give. Then before I could finish recording my mileage, time and calories on the back of my "Learn Spanish a page a day" calendar I let my body fall backwards on the treadmill. I couldn't bear to stand a minute longer. My hamstrings immediately began to burn and ache and I figured I should probably not have just stopped moving like that but I didn't even want to think about getting up and walking or doing anything whatsoever. I laid there, grimacing, and took my shoes and socks off. A few minutes later I crawled over to my water glass and chugged. Then I got up and recorded the rest of the info. Of course, part of me was thrilled that I'd managed to do 14 miles but the other more dramatic (with good reason) part of me thought "Are you fricken kidding me?! That was just 14 miles. You will almost be running double that 4 weeks from today. How in the world is THAT gonna happen?!" Good question. I don't know. But I'm going to finish the damn race, whether it be on 2 feet, my hands and knees or crawling on my stomach. I'm hoping for the first option.

A few minutes later I was bending down to pick my phone up from the coffee table and felt like my nose was about to run. "Oops, need a tissue" I said aloud as I wiped my nose on my shirt (classy, I know). However, when I looked down I realized my nose was not running, it was bleeding. What the...?! I got some t.p. and stuck it up my nostril, took 4 Ibuprofen, got some frozen veggie stir fry bags out of the freezer and plopped down on the couch. What a sight I must've been. I still have no idea what the nosebleed was all about but it's better now. I was one salty dog though. There was a huge rough and slightly discolored patch on my shirt from where I'd wiped my face while running. Dave saw me a few minutes after the run and told me I had powder or something on my neck. I said "no, it's probably just dried sweat. No biggie." He was amazed and I'd like to think also a little impressed. :) I think I'm going to sleep very well tonight.

Yeesh.

2008-09-23T18:17:00.005-05:00

Is it really almost October already?! Where is the time going? Not too much has been going on. I wish I could say that I've been so busy running my ass off that I've had zero time to blog about it. Not so. Last week was a bust. I missed my long run b/c as per usual, I put it off until Sunday even though all week I'd decided to do it Saturday so that I could avoid exactly what happened. I swear I'm just too smart for myself sometimes. Anyway, Saturday turned to Sunday and we had plans to go into Nashville to a sports bar to watch football. On the way there I kept telling myself (and everyone in the car with me) that I can only have a beer or two and then tons of water b/c I have to go home and run. Yeaaahhh. About that...one or two turned into several and I was enjoying myself way too much to stop and think about a freaking run. Then on Monday I felt like horse crap all day not only b/c my body felt run-down but because I was seriously racked with guilt over missing another run. I was not in a good mood AT ALL. I feel better today but still feel like a crapbag for having such a lousy week of running (or lack of).

Two weeks ago I cut my long run short and only did 6 miles. I guess the good news is that for the most part, I feel really great when I run. When I did 11 a few weeks ago, I felt like I could have easily continued. I know, 11 is still a drop in the bucket compared to what I will be doing in a month (oh my God, almost exactly!), but for whatever reason it makes me feel a teensy bit better. I will be doing at least 14 this weekend. I'm kind of at a loss for what to do b/c I know I have to increase my long runs (by quite a bit) but I'm worried I'll take that too far. I know the general rule is to increase mileage by 10% or some crap like that, but I'm going to have to throw that out the window and hope for the best.

My other concerns regarding the upcoming ass kicking of the year include the fact that I will NOT be:
1. running on a treadmill
2. while I watch tv
3. in the air conditioning
4. with my shirt off

Yikes. I am, however, excited about pace groups, which I read up on in the recent issue of Runner's World that was sent to me as a "free gift" (for 3 months - courtesy of Saturn). Has anyone used one during a race? It sounds like JUST what I need b/c every time I run outside I'm at a loss when I try to set my pace. It'll be much easier to have someone else set that for me. I'm pretty stoked about that and the prospect of having a cheerleader of sorts running with me for 26.2 miles. I really hope I'm not embellishing the role of the pace group in my head...I guess we'll see.

Yay.

2008-09-10T21:43:00.003-05:00

I had a great run tonight and figured I should blog about since it seems like all I do on here is bitch and moan. ;) It was a 3 miler after work in my new shoes - details to follow later - and felt fan-friggin-tastic. My legs felt strong and all they wanted to do was go FASTER! My first mile was sort of a warm up but the rest were fast by my standards: 10:05, 2nd: 9:33, 3rd: 9:09. It has made a huge difference that I moved the treadmill so that it's not facing the wall. Now it is literally in the middle of the room...at an angle...so that I can see the tv. Priorities, people! I don't think the feng shui is particularly stellar and it looks like hell but it helps me run. So as long as Dave can tolerate it, I'm all for it. Now that that's out of my system I've got to go to bed. Happy hump day ya'll.

How not to train for a marathon

2008-09-03T18:09:00.005-05:00

1. Don't select a plan. Why use something created by people who know what they're doing? Just wing it. Surely you, a novice who just started running, can make up a plan to get you through this process successfully without injury to yourself or others.

2. Don't pick a marathon too far away. Just started running? Give yourself less than a year - maybe 8 months or so. Why wait, right?!

3. Run by yourself. On a treadmill. Nuff said.

4. Don't worry about following the plan you made up for yourself. That's too much hassle. Just run when you feel like it.

5. Don't bother changing your eating habits. Runners thrive on pizza and beer at least once a week, in addition to lots of Mexican food, margaritas and more beer.

6. Don't cross-train or do any strength exercises. Why bother? That's just adding more crap to your list of things you already don't feel like doing...i.e. running.

That's all I can think of for now. I feel like a colossal jackass. My marathon is a mere 53 days away and my daily mantra has become "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." I'm freaking out about this. My training is inconsistent and at times, nonexistent. I think I should have given myself more time, especially considering what went on this summer with us moving to another state and trying to get our lives in order. I really could sit here and "coulda, shoulda, woulda" all friggin night. The bottom line is that I need to crack the whip and get my run on. I just don't know how (obviously since I've been saying this for months now...) Ok, I'm done with the whiny self-loathing. At least for the moment.

Last Sunday I had 12 miles on the schedule. Since I haven't found a great place to run that far I figured it would be fun to break it up and do 6 or 7 outside and then the remainder on the treadmill. That didn't quite work out as planned. I did the 6 outside but was mentally worn out. I realized I had a problem when I told Dave (who was biking with me), "I think I'm going to stop and walk at the corner". Now, "the corner" was about .4 from where I was supposed to stop. I had no reason to make that my endpoint other than that I was being lazy. I realized that if I'm choosing a point to stop - instead of just stopping - I don't really need to stop. It's not as if I'm injured in any way and simply cannot go on. I'm being lazy. So I didn't stop there. I finished it out. Then when we got home I did 2 on the treadmill and stopped. Mentally I couldn't go any farther. I think part of it is that we recently got my treadmill from Kim's house and whereas it was in the garage in front of a tv when it was at her place, now it's facing a wall and it's driving me insane. I haven't been able to run more than 3 miles on it since we got it back. I need to rearrange or something b/c this isn't going to fly.

In other news, work is going well. I forgot how entertaining it can be to work with the public. Last week I was chatting with one of the patients and she was asking me how I was liking the job and if I was adjusting ok and whatnot. I told her it was going really well and I was catching on but it's definitely a lot to learn, blah blah blah. To which she replied, "I always used to get diarrhea when I started new jobs." Wow. Ok. I didn't see that coming at all. Thank you maam for telling me more than I ever wanted to know about you and your waste system. She's this sweet 65 year old lady and no, she didn't even lower her voice when she said the "d" word. It was nuts. Somehow I managed to stammer (with a straight face nonetheless) "Well, I haven't had anything like that...so that's good". I might have even held up my crossed fingers as if to say "here's to hoping...". Since bowel movements turned out to be a prevailing theme last week it's only fitting that another patient was talking about a "miracle bowel movement" she had. She literally used "miracle" and "bowel movement" in the same sentence. She was praising God for it and everything. I'm so upset that I didn't hear that firsthand. A few different people recounted the conversation for me. Ahh, good times.

I'm going to eat dinner now. My goal is to get up at 5 tomorrow morning and run. We'll see what happens with that. Maybe I should hire some kind of personal trainer or running coach or something. Hmm.

Double digits in the hiz-ouse!

2008-08-18T22:53:00.004-05:00

I'm hella tired so this will be quick. I ran 10 miles on the treadmill last night...finishing up around 10 pm. I walked a bit, which I didn't anticipate doing, but I'm ok with it. My mom always calls on Sunday nights and I didn't want to miss her so I walked while we talked. I felt like I was going to ralph for a majority of the run, so I'm really surprised I mustered the will to finish. There were so many times I wanted to quit but all I kept thinking was how badly I needed to do this long run. I finally realized that I could spend all day coming up with excuses (and many times I have) but while I'm doing that I could be much more productive and just get the damn run over with. I downed some strawberry-banana Power Ade gel around the 6.5 mile mark and felt really good for about a mile and a half but then slowed down again. I was surprised at how "easy" the concept of going 10 miles was once I was over the 5 or 6 mile mark. I thought to myself, "Well you've done 8 miles before and that wasn't too bad. Surely you can do 21 more minutes or approximately 6 or 7 songs worth of running". And I did. Sure, my head was tingling (not sure what that was about) and my upper back was a bit stiff (anyone else have this problem? I think I might run like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or something), but dammit I did the 10 and am quite pleased. The worst part was showering later and feeling like I had a hundred tiny paper cuts on my legs - chafe much?!

Work is going really well. Everyone is super nice and I feel as if I've been there a lot longer than 3 days. It's very comfortable.
We've got company at the house right now so I've been unable to catch up on my blog reading b/c as soon as I get home from work (it's so nice to be able to say that again - finally) we're either preparing dinner or going out or running errands. I hope everyone's kicking ass with their running. I appreciate the support from you ladies about my last post. I think I'm going to print out the Hidgon schedule and enter my info into the Runner's World Smart Coach and see what kind of workout it generates for me. I really need to buckle down. Dur. I feel like I've been saying that for months. Anyway, g'night for now.

Working Girl

2008-08-13T14:22:00.006-05:00

No more mornings sleeping in
No more daytime LMN*.

No more couch potato days
Spent lazily in my p-j's.

My green pleather sofa I will miss
But it's time for a goodbye kiss.

I'm once again a working girl,
Thank you Jesus, I desperately need the dollar bills.

:)

*Lifetime Movie Network

Unfortunately, I have no running achievements to mention but can proudly say that I (finally) start work tomorrow - at a physical therapy office! It only took 3 months after we moved up here but I finally found a friggin job. Yay! I'm excited (and a bit nervous) to get back to work, meet people, and get into a schedule of some sort. I found the job on craigslist - which was surprising b/c until now I'd thought almost everything listed on there was a scam or b.s. of some kind - and interviewed for it about a week and a half ago. I was told during the interview that they were going to do a "round 2" for whoever they wanted to interview again. It would be an informal interview to meet the other therapists and see how well the personalities meshed. I was extremely nervous as I was driving to the interview and almost wanted to turn around and go back home. My stomach was killing me, my heart was racing and I felt all gaggy. I arrived early and was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the office was. It's a tastefully decorated, open area on the 9th floor of a huge building downtown Nashville. There are gigantic floor to ceiling windows that overlook rolling hills and downtown. When I met the interviewer I felt as if we clicked almost immediately. She completely put me at ease. There were several times during the interview that we'd deviate from the question she'd asked and start talking about anything from jewelry to "reality" tv. I felt so comfortable, in fact, that after she described her role in the office that I told her she was "kind of like the Michael Scott of the office". She didn't get the reference right away and I thought "Oh shit, maybe I should have reconsidered this". Then I asked, "Do you watch The Office?" and she said "Yes, I love that show". Looking back on it I'm lucky she didn't misconstrue my comment and think I was calling her a complete moron. Oy. After the interview as I drove home I was smiling the entire way. I felt SO good about the interview. I tried my best not to get my hopes up too high; Dave found himself in a similar situation back in Feb when he interviewed for a job and I would have bet $100 that he absolutely had the job...and then he didn't get it. So while I was excited about the experience, that situation was in the back of my mind the entire time warning me not to call off my job hunt just yet.

A few days later, I think it was last Tuesday, she called to see if I was still interested in the job. I said "absolutely" and she said "Although I planned on doing a second round of interviews, I had such a good feeling after your interview that I'd like to offer you the job". I was stoked! Not only did I want the job hella bad but was extremely flattered that I'd made such a good impression that she decided to ditch the second round of interviews. Score! It was funny b/c I told her how I left there and was in such a good mood b/c I got such a great vibe from her and the office and how excited I was about the job and she said "Me too! I was in such a good mood after you left and thought what a great way that was to end the week". Good stuff. The only drawback it that it's a bit of a hike: probably between 45 minutes and an hour each way. But I'm fine with it b/c I got a great feeling from the people and office when I was there and physical therapy is something that has always interested me. In fact, when I began taking college classes, I was actually taking prerequisites for P.T. Unfortunately, I was told by several people that the "supply had met the demand" and there wasn't that much of a need for P.T.'s. These comments, along with the fact that P.T. had recently become a Master's Program were enough to dissuade me from pursuing it. Of course now I wish I'd been forward thinking enough to realize that the pendulum has to swing the other way as Baby Boomers age, etc. Oh well. I'm hoping that my proximity to the field and other therapists will help me decide whether it's still something I'm interested in pursuing.

I had no long run last week. Boo! It's incredible how my weeks of running can be as different as night and day from one to the next. Two weeks ago I was absolutely pumped and was very focused on running and moving my ass in general. Last week I was more concerned with sitting on my ass than moving it. I couldn't seem to muster much excitement or motivation to move. I think I ran 7 miles the entire week. This week isn't shaping up to be much more promising. I've done 5 miles so far and contemplated doing 9 or 10 today but there is another part of me that is more concerned with fully enjoying my last day of freedom by watching t.v., reading, organizing the house, and cleaning (in preparation for company this weekend). I did do yoga, so at least that's something. I know I really should just do the friggin long run b/c there probably won't be much time over the weekend. God I wish I had a trainer or running buddy to keep me in line. Grr.

In other news I was on mypyramid.gov last week b/c for the life of me I could not think of all the food groups - which I feel like a moron for admitting but oh well. I noticed a link on the page for "MyPyramid Menu Planner" and thought that sounded interesting so I clicked on it. The page requires you to enter your height, weight, age, gender, and level of physical activity. With a bit of trepidation I entered the information. I know I'm bigger than I should be for my height but was unprepared to be taken to a warning screen that advised the following:

"The weight you entered is above the healthy range for your height. This may increase your risk for health problems. Some people who are overweight should consider weight loss. For more information about health risks and whether you should try to lose weight click here, or talk with your health care provider."

Ouch. I then had the option to view menu plans for my current weight or "to move toward a healthier weight". I guiltily chose the latter. I guess it's better to "keep it real" but it still stung a bit.

I guess that's it for now. I hope I have exciting running news to post in the next few days. If anyone in the Nashville/Murfreesboro area happens to read this and wants a running partner, please leave me a comment. I need you!!

The elusive eight

2008-08-04T08:47:00.004-05:00

Ta daaaa! I finally set a new distance PR last week. On Thursday I did an 8 miler on the treadmill. Woo hoo. It's about damn time! I have to say I can't believe how great I felt for the majority of it. Of course, I had to stop a few times to reset the treadmill; I knew it would shut down after 30 minutes so I had to beat it to the punch. My initial plan was to do 2.5 miles, 2.5 miles, then 3 miles. The plan was briefly thwarted when someone asked me to buzz them into the computer room. I got off the treadmill, forgetting to look at how far I'd gone. When I got back, naturally, all of the info had been erased and the counters were all at zero. Blast! I knew I'd been on for just over 11 minutes so it was safe to assume I'd gone at least a mile. So I went for 2.75 mi, then another 2.75, then 1.5. Around the 6 mile mark, I was mentally fawning all over myself, congratulating my mind and body on so flawlessly executing the (almost) 8 miles. I was imagining blogging about it and writing, "I could've easily gone 10 miles! It was SO EASY." No sooner was I through with that that everything felt like it came to a screeching halt. The last mile and a half felt like it would never ever ever ever end. I kept looking down at the display thinking, "No way. I must've gone more than .03 mi. It feels like ages since I last checked!" I kept trying to focus on my songs to make the time go by. "Ok, 2 more songs and I should be done." Finally the end came. It took me 1 hr 24 minutes. I felt really good when it was over. I was proud and excited and a bit exhausted. I was very happy that I'd managed to ignore the immense urge to skip the run and put it off for another day. I always have those thoughts. The ones where you think about running and then immediately try to dream up excuses as to why you cannot run, why you have to put it off for another time: "I have to load the dishwasher." "I feel like I'm going to throw up." "I have to finish my sudoku puzzle and then make my bed." etc etc. It all worked out, I'm happy to say. The weird thing is that my legs didn't seem to be sore until 2 days after the run. My body appears to have a delayed reaction to these long runs. My hips were a bit sore on Friday but my legs didn't hurt until Saturday and Sunday. Anyone else have this problem?

Let me back up a minute. I planned on running with the local running club last Tuesday night. I noticed on the website that they met in the parking lot at a particular Kroger location at 6. As six o'clock drew closer I felt surges of nervous excitement. I was looking forward to meeting fellow runners and maybe making some new friends. I suited up and drove to the Kroger, arriving about 15 minutes early. I sat for awhile, talking on the phone and looking around. I figured it would be easy to find a group of people dressed in running shorts and t-shirts. WRONG! I drove around the perimeter at least 3 times and never found them. How difficult should it be to find a group of runners in a parking lot?! The moral of the story is to get more information when attempting something like this. I should've called to get specifics and make sure the run wasn't cancelled or anything. So I will probably get some details and give it another try tomorrow. I got home and did 2 gut-wrenching miles on the treadmill. The oven roasted chicken sub and grape Fanta did not agree with my choice of post dinner activity. Ugh.

On Saturday Dave and I decided to do some exploring. We went to the Radnor Lake Natural Area, just south of Nashville. It was absolutely stunning! We hiked for about an hour and a half and had so much fun. There is a paved trail that winds along the lake, and then to the right of the trail were hills with more primitive unpaved trails that ranged in difficulty. We were plugging along on one of the hilly trails when all of a sudden Dave (who was about 5 ft behind me) said in a very stern voice, "Jen. STOP. TURN AROUND VERY SLOWLY AND WALK BACK TO ME." I stopped and followed his instructions, freaked out that there was a bear in the trees up ahead or a huge spider web I was about to walk through or God knows what else. When I reached him I managed to choke out, "What? What is it?" "It's a deer" he says. "A DEER? Are you friggin kidding me?! I thought it was something that was going to ferociously attack me! Not a damn deer!" He tried to explain that he'd seen videos of "deer gone wild" on tv where people are attacked by deer. I figure the people must've done something to provoke them b/c although I'm no deer expert, I find it hard to imagine a deer charging at someone for no reason. I turned back around and saw a momma deer laying in the tall grass to the right of the trail. Not exactly life-threatening at first glance. It's crazy b/c I would've walked right by it! I had to laugh though after I calmed down and thought about how funny it was that Dave was trying to protect me from a lazy deer lounging in the grass. He wanted to turn around but I wanted to keep going. "Pleeeease Dave. Pleeease. I'm sure she won't attack. Let's just keep going." He acquiesced and as we continued our hike we ended up seeing 25 more deer. That was not a typo. Twenty-five more deer! How crazy is that? Including 2 fawn. It was incredible. Those deer were not scared of us. They were just doing their own thing. At times we were 10 feet from them. It was very cool! I can't wait to go there and hike again. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in the fall.

It was a really good weekend. For this week, I'm trying to decide whether to do 9 mile or skip ahead to 10 for my long run. I guess I'll just play it by ear.

Botched long run attempt/yoga fun/yay for sub 10 min miles

2008-07-28T17:35:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday I was determined to FINALLY get a long run in. I headed to the Greenway with what seemed like an excessive arsenal of "must haves" for my run: ipod, chewable Rolaids, gum, chapstick, sport beans, water and keys. Since I only had 1 small pocket, I was forced to carry my water and keys. I fit my sport beans in a tiny pocket on the inner lining of my shorts. I applied the chap stick, chewed the gum and popped the Rolaid as a preemptive strike against my nasty foe, Mr Acid Reflux, who enjoys visiting during runs. For some reason I had it in my head that the trail was 7 miles with an additional mile trail that connects to it. I was planning on doing the 7, then running 1/2 the other mile, turning around, running back and voila! I'd be done with the 8 miles and have a new distance PR under my belt. The first half went relatively quickly and I was suspicious when I looked down and noticed that I'd gone what I thought was 3.5 miles in just over 20 minutes. Although I knew there was no way in hell I'd managed to shave a few minutes per mile off my pace, I forged on, secretly hoping my watch was broken because I'd much rather buy another watch than realize I'd gone significantly less than the intended 8 miles. I'd stopped at the half to go to the bathroom and study the map, and then a few other times (VERY short stops, in my defense) to 1. readjust headphones that were falling out of my ears 2. rest for a minute or two and 3. eat my beans. I felt like I had to choke them down and they didn't seem to give me a boost like I'd imagined. :( I was concerned when I reached the starting point and noticed that instead of indicating 3.5 miles, the marker noted 2.75! What the &%$#?! I thought, "I swear it HAS to have been farther than that!" On the way out, the trail ended at 4.5 miles. So how the hell am I only at 2.75 right now?! The other "mile" of the trail lacked markers and I felt like I was about to puke so I turned around after a few minutes and came back. I ended up walking for a bit and considered the fact that I always look at people who run during the noon - 2pm hours and wonder why the hell they are running during the hottest part of the day. I don't know whether to respect them or put them in a straitjacket. Just kidding, of course I respect them...even if I do think it's a bit crazy to run in such heat. Except here I was, at 1:30 in the afternoon, attempting my longest run to date. Oy! When I finished I was happy to be done but exhausted and very thirsty. My water was out and unfortunately, the water coming out of the nearby water fountain was HOT. I spat out the mouthful I'd slurped and got in my car. I didn't even have the energy to stretch. Bad girl, I know. I really thought I did somewhere between 7 and 8 miles (despite the screwy mile markers), but my time was only 1 hour 9 minutes. In my gut I knew that there was no way I'd gone 7-8 miles. The timing was too far off. A few days later I went back to the trail and noticed that what I thought was 3.5 miles was only 3, and that more than likely I only did about 6.5 miles. Boo! I was pretty pissed and considered vowing to never run that p.o.s. trail ever again. I need to figure out where the other "mile" starts and stops so that I can accurately run the 8 miles IF I choose to do so on that trail. It's either that or try to do the 8 on the treadmill, which I'm not psyched about.

Friday I did a lousy 2 miles in 19:24 and felt my shins starting to hurt, so I figured I'd stop and give it a rest. I have been all about the Namaste Yoga programs that come on Fit TV. I have my dvr set to record all of them and I am enjoying varying the workouts. I have not been able to memorize the actual names of the poses so for this story I will simply describe what I was doing. It's funny the way timing works. I was just starting to feel like my flexibility was genuinely improving and was mentally patting myself on the back when I got a reality check. I'd been in a kneeling pose, with my butt on my calves with hands clasped behind my body. Then I was supposed to lean forward slowly and gently touch my forehead to the floor. When I was about half way down, I lost control and rocked forward, with my entire face plummeting into the carpet. Talk about a nosedive. I had to laugh because I must've looked like a prize idiot. Thank God I was in the privacy of my living room! I look foward to the day when I have the yogic mastery not to grind my face into the carpet. I hope that day comes soon. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, I did 4 miles today in 38:47, which pleased me. I'm happy to still be on track with the sub-10 min miles. Surprisingly, that pace now feels good and comfortable - at least on the treadmill - I'm still worried about pacing myself on asphalt. I'm thinking about going to a group run tomorrow night that is typically "somewhere between 3 and 7 miles". I'm very nervous but figure I HAVE to take a shot. I don't know how else to meet runners up here and have realized that I'm not sure how much farther I can go on my own with this training. I enjoy my solitude but I think I could/would/will benefit tremendously from having at least a partner to run with. Wish me luck!

Built-in timer: friend or foe?

2008-07-21T20:45:00.004-05:00

So we’re all moved into our new place and last week I decided to give the “gym” at the complex a try since my treadmill is still at Kim and Jeff’s. I felt a bit self conscious b/c 1. I hate gyms and 2. there are two sizable windows that look out on the lobby/office. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic through the area and I was the only one in the gym so all was well. I hopped on the treadmill and started a warm up walk. It was was sooo smooth. Like walking on friggin buttah. Being on mine feels like walking/running on rocks in comparison. After a few minutes I started my run. My legs felt great and I was thrilled the entire time I was running. I just watched the giant plasma tv mounted on the wall and mentally patted myself on the back for going to the gym when it was the last thing I wanted to do. I was also thinking about how great it was going to be to get rid of my treadmill b/c these are so awesome that there is absolutely no reason for me to keep mine. I was planning out the design of the office/guest room/workout room sans workout gear and I was super psyched about it…until 30 minutes went by and the damn machine STOPPED! I suppose I should have realized something was up when all of a sudden the display started flashing and beeping. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled. I had an idea how far I’d gone so I knew how much I had left to do for the 3 miles but all I could think was “You’ve GOT to be kidding me.” Although the timing mechanism infuriated me, I’ve come to realize that it can be a powerful incentive: run your ass off so that you can do 3 miles before it stops. I believe I have that damn timer to thank for my new 3 mile PR from last Friday: 28:42. Woo hoo! I couldn’t believe how great I felt. Of course, part of me felt like I’d just gotten the crap kicked out of me; but knowing I’d run sub 10 minute miles (at least for the two, I think the first mile was at 10:10 or so) absolutely made my day!! So at least for now, my negative feelings for the timer have subsided. I’m happy to report that since the day I got cut off (last Wed), I’ve been running consistent sub-30 minute 3 milers. For the past two weeks I have run 3 x week, 3 miles each time, so I guess that is decent. And I did 3 today in 29:51 followed by a “Yoga for Distance Runners” program…

However, the bad news is that I have not done a long run in over a month. I hate this and feel like such a butthead b/c I know how important the long run is. Because it seems to be too difficult for me to do it on weekends, I’m thinking of switching it to Wednesdays…at least until my schedule changes, aka when I get a job and have to actually do shit during the day other than clean, read, watch tv (I’m obsessed with our Direct TV and DVR!!), and eat/cook. I think this might be a good solution to my problem. It makes more sense for me to do the long run during the week, when I’m on my own, as opposed to during weekends when I'm enjoying what little time I have to spend with Dave. I really was planning on doing it yesterday, up until 9pm…however the two Blue Moons I had during dinner convinced me otherwise. Oh, and I saw Dark Knight yesterday and it was badass! Loved it, loved it, loved it. Batman rocks!

That's it for now. I hope everyone is doing well! :)

I <3 Bryson City, NC

2008-07-10T15:36:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, we went to Bryson City, NC over the weekend for a family reunion. It. Was. Gorgeous. That is an understatement. I absolutely fell in love with it. We arrived at the Nantahala Village around 1 am on Friday. I stayed up and had a glass of wine and talked to my dad for about 45 minutes and then crashed on an airbed in the common area of the cabin. When I picked my head up the next morning the first thing I saw was sliding glass doors that led to a patio that contained a small hot tub and rocking chairs and beyond that I saw bright green trees and mountains. That's a good way to start the day. We did some reunion activities that day and just hung around. The next day my dad woke me up to tell me that a bunch of the family was going for a run and that if I was a serious runner I'd get up out of bed and run with them. As much as I was enjoying my beauty sleep, I was looking forward to running in new territory, so I got up and got dressed. It was raining so we waited a bit for it to slow down. About 20 minutes later we headed out despite a steady drizzle. I wasn't the youngest but was by far the most fledgling runner in the group. Fortunately, I managed to hang with the rest of them at a comfortable pace. The first part of the run was down a HUGE hill and it took extreme concentration and coordination on my part not to lose my balance and go tumbling down the hill like a runaway tumbleweed. The road snaked through the cabins and trees, down to the horse stables, complete with fresh piles of manure dotting the way. After a few more minutes the cabins disappeared, the road got a bit rougher and the only thing to see were huge, gorgeous green trees. The soft cool rain and unusual scenery were welcome changes and served as distractions that allowed me to feel nothing but awe and happiness. I'm not sure whether it was the rain, the company, the scenery, or likely a combination of all three but it was the best run I've had in a very long time. We ran for about 40 minutes, taking a few walking breaks after particularly hilly portions of the trail or when we were figuring out where to go. I was completely whooped toward the end but had no shin pain whatsoever. After the run we went back to the cabin and some of the family was going for a walk so I grabbed a quick drink and headed out with them. The run had been so energizing! After that it was time to grab some food and head out for whitewater rafting.

The rafts held 6 people plus the guide and our raft consisted of me, Dave, my dad, his wife Michelle, and my sister and brother in law. The Nantahala is a class 2-3 river, which translated to a very calm ride with about 3 small rapids at various parts. The frigid 45 degree water served as an unnecessary wake up call and since I was at the helm with my sister, I got more than my fair share of it. The combination of the cold water and warmer weather created an eerie but beautiful blanket of mist on the river. I'd never seen anything like it. I expected to do a lot more paddling during our trip but since it was so calm, Isaac, our guide did the majority of the work. Isaac is a musician and is a guide part time and his wife is a massage therapist, yoga instructor and trail guide. When he said that I thought, "No fair, I wanna do that!!" Nevermind the fact that I have absolutely no training or qualifications for any one of those but I can't think of anything that sounds more fun than living in such a beautiful place and doing those jobs. (sigh) Oh well. Maybe one day.

We got back to The Boro around 11am on Sunday and immediately took naps. We'd stayed up late the night before, talking to my aunt and uncle about the marathon. They are both experienced marathoners and were doing a fantastic job of reassuring me that I will be fine and will absolutely finish the marathon and that the most important thing is to just have fun. Everything they said was just what I needed to hear as I've been second-guessing this challenge for a few weeks now.

Between naps and laundry and watching baseball, I skipped my long run on Sunday. Monday I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes and followed it up with 30 minutes of yoga and some hand weights. Tuesday was a lazy day and I was in a shit mood so I didn't do anything. Yesterday I did 3.1 in just under 32 minutes. Then I walked with Kim and some of her coworkers. We did 4 miles on the trail. Oddly enough, while I felt great after running, the walking did something to upset my hips and make them sore. Today has not been successful. I ran a mile on the tread and felt like I needed to stretch my legs so I stopped to stretch. My shins hurt a bit so I thought maybe I could do some yoga and then try to run the remaining 2 miles. As I was doing the 2nd friggin warm up pose I felt a weird pain in my wrist and had to stop. I'm making dinner for Kim and Jeff and am hoping that I have the energy and discipline to run later tonight. I feel like such a failure for only doing a friggin mile. Oy!

Tomorrow the plan is to run early and then, joy of all joys, start the moving process. Yay! We move into our own apt tomorrow. I am super psyched about it. I can't wait to have a pool again - although it will be odd only being able to use it for a couple more months. Living in FL my whole life meant being able to use the pool almost year round. I guess I was spoiled. I hope the move goes well. Tomorrow Jeff is going to help me and then Saturday Dave and I have a Uhaul rented but no helpers b/c everyone has to work. Whatever we don't get done Saturday will be done Sunday when we have back-up. I hope it doesn't take too long to get everything unpacked. At least I have plenty of time to dedicate to the process. :)

I better start dinner - chicken and dumplings. Mmmmmmmm. Except I feel like a jackass b/c Kim doesn't like dumplings. They're friggin biscuits swimming in chicken broth! What's not to like?! I guess I should have done more research prior to planning/shopping for this meal. I'm hoping she at least likes the chocolate trifle for dessert. Brownies and pudding and cool whip, oh my!

Playing tag and catch up

2008-07-03T16:13:00.006-05:00

I'm really slacking on this blogging thing. Last week I ran 4 times, which is good...but skipped my long run, which sucks. I think I only did about 10 miles for all of last week. Blech. This Tuesday I did 3 miles outside sans ipod. Despite getting new headphones I'm still experiencing issues with the buds coming out of my ears. I think my ears are oddly shaped or something. The run went pretty well. My only complaint is that I'm having difficulty driving out the incessant "All I want to do right now is stop and walk" inner voice. It's as if my mind is incapable of forming any other thought. Maybe it has something to do with being able to hear my labored breathing...I ran past a sweet old man twice and the second time he made some friendly (I think) remark and since the only thing I could have heard over my breathing might have been 10 raging fire truck sirens, all I could do was flash my sweetest grin and keep on running. My shins slightly bothered me but could have been worse. Apart from that, since I ran earlier in the day than usual, I felt like I had sooo much energy the rest of the day. It was pretty fantastic. Of course I thought, "And why is it that I don't do this EVERY day?!" Now if I could just bottle that up and release it every time I wanted to ditch a run, I'd be golden. A few hours later I attempted a yoga routine I dvr'd on fit tv (my new favorite channel) but only lasted 15 minutes or so. I had to stop when they started doing handstands. Yeah, maybe one day but certainly not anytime soon will I be able to contort and lift and support my body the way those girls were doing it. God bless them.

Yesterday I did another 3 miles and incorporated some pickups. I ran a mile to warm up (10:25) and then did 5 two minute pickups (8:34 pace) with a 1 minute recovery (I slowed way down for these - 12:00) then ran the remaining .50 mile to complete the 3 in just under 30 minutes. I was really struggling during the last mile or so of the workout...AGAIN because all I could think about was how badly I wanted to stop. Anyone know of any at-home lobotomy kits I can pick up?! Jesus Christmas it's ridiculous.

Today I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and a 30 minute yoga routine. I felt really good after the yoga. The woman that narrates the workouts (Namaste Yoga) has such a soothing voice. I really like it. I netflix'd Rodney Yee's Power Yoga workout. I'm eager to give it a try next week.

I was double teamed or perhaps more appropriately tag teamed by Julie and Chris to share 6 random facts about myself.
Here goes:
1. I've been skydiving and can't wait to go again.
2. Ive never broken a bone.
3. I love peanut butter and jelly on toast with bacon. It's one of the most scrumpulescent snacks ever. Don't knock it till you try it.
4. I've recently started watching Days of Our Lives.
5. I want to live in a big city where I can walk everywhere and not have to rely on a car.
6. I received my one and only referral on the bus while I was in kindergarten, yes kindergarten, for "flipping the bird". I didn't even know what that meant. My friend had showed me how to do it and I turned to her and said "Brittany, is this how you do it?". The bird flew too high and I got busted.

here are the rules:

* link to the person who tagged you.
* post the rules on your blog.
* write six random things about yourself.
* tag six people at the end of your post.
* let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
* let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I'm tagging Tammie , Aron, Carmen, Adrianne. The other people I was going to tag have already been tagged. I look forward to reading the random facts. :) I hope everyone has a safe and happy July 4th! We're going to NC for a family reunion. I'm looking forward to taking in some new sights while running in a different territory.

Long time no blog

2008-06-24T11:21:00.004-05:00

I've been a slacker with my blogging. I spent last week in Ohio babysitting my beautiful 7 month old niece. It was a lot more fun that I'd anticipated. :) I did manage to do my 3 weekly runs as dictated by the Virtual Training Group I belong to. If you are in need of some motivation and camaraderie, feel free to check the group out and/or join. It's good stuff. Thanks again to Chris for setting that up - great job!

I am not sure how far I ran each time but it must've been between 2.5 and 3 miles (30 minutes every time). My sister's neighborhood is perfect for running/biking/walking/rollerblading. I ran right around dusk and was fortunate enough to see the stunning full moon last week. It was bright and low in the sky and all I wanted to do was sit down and stare at it. It was unbelievable. I really need to start running with a camera.

I had some trouble getting motivated one night and happened to be on the phone with my dad. I told him that for whatever reason I was dreading the run and was thinking about putting it off until the next day. His response was brilliantly simplistic yet highly effective. He said "I have days like that too. If you break everything down into baby steps it's much easier. You don't want to run but how about just putting your shoes on? Can you do that" I could tell where he was going with it but played along. Me: "ya" Him: "Then how about stepping outside?" Me: "ok, I know..." It turned out to be just what I needed to hear. When I stopped thinking about how long/far I'd have to run and instead started at the most basic level, I had no problem getting out there. I have a bad habit of getting fixated on things and stressing out about them, which usually makes me want to just forget about whatever I'm doing and do something less stressful instead. "Why do something today that can be put off until tomorrow...or indefinitely?!" Getting started really is the hardest part but it doesn't have to be. I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful (HUGE understatement but I can't think of an appropriate all-encompassing adjective) dad.

My long run was only 6 miles and was on the treadmill. I talked a big game about going "off" the treadmill but it's just so convenient...especially when I can watch episodes of The Office while doing it. It took me just over 65 minutes to do the 6. I had minimal pain while running but afterwards I felt fantastic. I don't think I've ever felt that good after a long run. I wish I could feel like that every time.

The official results for my 5k were finally posted and my time was listed as 31:17. I about spit out my coffee as I was scrolling through the results and noticed a 72 year old woman finished in 29:40. Holy hell! I want to shake that woman's hand. How awesome is that?!

It's over.

2008-06-12T15:19:00.004-05:00

I'm thinking of leaving my treadmill.

It's not him. It's me. The past 4 years have been great but I need room to grow and get stronger and I can't do that while being involved with him. I think it's time we go our separate ways, at least for a while.

This decision comes about not from what the treadmill did but what it does not do. It does not acclimate my legs to harder surfaces like asphalt and concrete - the surfaces I'll be running on. If I could do a treadmill marathon, that'd be one thing. But since I can't I need to run on those surfaces so that I can get used to them. I'm tired of having a run outside one day only to attempt to run the next day and be forced to quit after 1/2 mile because my legs hurt so bad that all I want to do is lay down in the middle of the trail and cry while I wait for a pack of angry bicyclists to run over me and put me out of my misery.

Tuesday, I ran outside. It was exactly the run I was going to attempt last week where I just ran without having a pace or distance in mind. I set my watch to 30 minutes and headed out in the neighborhood. I almost turned around after about 13 steps because my shorts kept riding up...as I like to say - "my thighs were eating my shorts". You get the picture. As I briefly paused to look back at the house, I had a Harold & Kumar moment, thinking "No way man. It's too far" and turned around and kept running. It was a nice opportunity to check out the 'hood since I haven't done a lot of that yet. I hate to admit it but I did stop once, almost halfway through. I stretched and walked for just a minute and then started running again. I hate that I stopped but felt a little better afterwards. I can't say that the run felt glorious and I ran like the wind and all that good stuff, but it was nice to run outside. I'm tired of experiencing the running equivalent to bikram yoga while on the treadmill in the garage. When I was out running errands today, I decided to satisfy my curiosity of how far I actually ran. I figured it was anywhere between 2.5 and 3 miles. I'm happy to report that it was 2.8 miles and I did it in 30 minutes, so that is pretty good. I imagine if I'd run the remaining .2 I would have beat my 5k time. Damn those water stops! But overall, this run was certainly faster than what I've been doing it on the treadmill. That gives me hope.

Yesterday I was going to run again. It didn't work out. I'm resting today. I think I'll do some weights and maybe some yoga. I might venture outside tomorrow and see what happens. Wish me luck!

Doughboy Report

2008-06-10T07:54:00.010-05:00

Contrary to what it looks like I am NOT speedwalking in this picture. I actually am running. Just somewhat slowly...and with minimal lifting of the feet. And I felt like a big dork but Dave made me put the medal on for the post race picture. I was so tired and weak that i couldn't muster a proper expression or pose. Sad but true.

It was only a 5k, but since it was technically my first 5k (that I was running alone, anyway), I was ridiculously nervous from Friday afternoon until just before the race. Would I be super-slow? Would I have to stop? Would I look like a colossal jackass? Would the race people even have my info?! This was a big worry as I just mailed the entry form along with a check, on the very last day "early" entries would be accepted. I did see that my check cleared, so I figured that was a good sign. It still stressed me out though because I wasn't sure how that worked, i.e. if I would get some sort of confirmation email or something. Apparently not. These worries plagued me so much that I actually considered skipping the race. The only thing stopping me was that I couldn't come up with any excuses that would not make me seem like a total crapbag.

Saturday morning we got up around 7, got dressed, had a light breakfast, and headed to the VA Center where the race was held. While we were on our way there I was slightly more calm but apprehensions about the race kept running through my head. I think I might want to get a lobotomy prior to my marathon because otherwise my friggin head might explode. About halfway to the race, I almost wanted to turn the car around and change my clothes. I thought, "Maybe if I'm not dressed like a "real" runner, I won't feel like such a jackass if I come in dead last or fall or do something stupid (as I tend to do). I can pretend I entered this on a whim, just for the hell of it". Unfortunately, there was no time for that. We got to the race around 7:30, I picked up my packet, got a banana, and put my chip on. It was a pretty small race. I have no idea how many people entered but it couldn't have been too many more than last year's - which was just under 400 people. I decided against wearing my ipod in hopes that I might strike up conversation with some peeps (I was secretly hoping to find an awesome new running partner that would whip me into shape and make me the most kickass runner in the 'Boro). No dice.

The race began at 8 and we were off. I wanted to make sure I didn't start out too fast and burn out quickly. I just ran comfortably, trying not to be too upset with the number of people that were passing me. The first mile of the race was on some sort of one lane service type road that circles a large field. It was really beautiful. There were a few dilapidated barns and other old deserted buildings off the side that were actually kind of charming. It was a very peaceful place to run. There was a water stop about 1/2 mile into it, which was surprising but I went with it. As I grabbed a cup of water, the plan was to kind of gently toss some in my mouth while running because I didn't want to stop. I tossed the water with a bit more force than was required and about choked myself, but I didn't stop. woo hoo. Just prior to the stop I'd started running alongside an older woman who'd met up with a friend. Their pace was comfortable so I ran along with them for the remainder of the first mile. When we hit the 1 mile mark I checked my watch: 9:52. Holy hell! MUCH better than I'd expected. I attributed that time to my unsuspecting running buddies. Unfortunately, just after the 1st mile, they sped up and as much as I tried, I couldn't keep up. Dammit. I just kept plugging along at my own pace. It was troubling how few people there were around me at times. I thought "Am I really going this slow? Is everyone up in front of me?" I tried to push those thoughts aside. I ended up stopping to drink a bit of water at the 2nd water stop. I took this opportunity to pick up the pace to pass some 6th graders who were just ahead of me. Haha suckers! The end of mile 2 was at the bottom of a small dip and as I checked my watch I noticed I'd slowed down quite a bit: 10:13. Oh well. It was still better than I had expected. The last 3.1 was more difficult than I'd expected. Fortunately, the last part was a repeat of the first loop and then some, so at least I had an idea where I was and how far I had to go. I had zero energy though and all I could think was "Oh sweet Jesus, this is killing me. How the hell am I going to do 9 times this? Maybe this whole marathon thing is a really BAD idea". At the last water stop, I stopped again. Damn. I'd always seen people pour water on their heads but since I had a hat on I didn't want to do that. So what was the next best thing? I poured the water on my arms (and shoes. oops). As you can guess, that did absolutely nothing. Oh well. I shuffled along, wanting so badly to stop and walk but knowing I'd be upset with myself if I did that. Finally, I turned the last corner and could see the finish line. I ran and ran and I swear to God the Finish line kept moving farther away. I had no juice left. A couple people passed me and as much as I wanted to catch up to them, there was no way my legs were going to move me fast enough to do so. I crossed the line at 31:16: well over 2 minutes faster than my goal time, so that was good. I felt like I was gonna die. My legs were sore and weak and I really thought I was going to fall over. It was pretty dramatic. Overall, I had mixed feelings about my performance. I was happy to have beat my goal time, but I felt like I could have done better. I wonder if this is inevitable?! It makes me feel like I definitely need to push myself harder during training because I thought I was running pretty hard last week when I did 3.1 miles in 32 and change...and I shaved over a minute off that. Next time I'd like to have negative splits instead of...positive splits (?) or just splits or whatever the hell you call it when each mile gets slower. My times were: 9:52, 10:13, 11:11.

My adjustments for the next race will be: 1. Warming up prior to the race 2. Not stopping to drink water 3. Having a running buddy or just doing a better job sticking with someone whose pace is comfortable with me (even when they kick it up a notch) 4. Taking pictures with the race characters. I was kind of upset after we left and I realized I didn't get pictures with the Doughboy or the Lucky Charms guy. Oh well. Live and learn. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

P.S. I must give "mad props" to Dave, who was the paragon of a supportive BF. He took lots of pics and listened to my worries and did a fantastic job of reassuring me that I'd be 'awesome'. He rocks. :)

I'm "special"

2008-06-04T20:26:00.005-05:00

I had a little accident yesterday. Not of the bodily function variety, don't worry. This accident occurred whilst performing a mundane daily activity. After rolling out of bed around 10am, I started making the bed. Now, the room we're in is on the small side and my side of the bed is about a foot away from the wall (if that). I had squeezed between that space to make my side and was side-stepping toward the foot of the bed, which faces the door, when I stepped on the bag o'shoes that I so carelessly left on the floor. Apparently I was moving too fast to feel what I was stepping on and correct myself, so instead my ankle rolled and I went down like a sack of potatoes. On the way I managed to hit not only the sharper than hell bedframe (with my thigh) but also the door (with my head). Oops. I sat there for a minute thinking, "did that really just happen?" and "what am I, 80 years old?!" I felt like such a moron. I've got a nice black and blue forming on my thigh. I think I'm going to tell people I got it in an MMA fight or something.

My "I'm just going to run and not think about it" run on Monday didn't turn out the way I planned. I brought a towel with me so that I could toss it over the clock but since the treadmill moves so much (either the floor is uneven or part of my tread is jacked up), the towel kept falling off the side. I don't have enough self discipline to NOT look at how far I've gone or how fast I'm going. I ended up doing 3.1 in 32 minutes and change. I was pretty pleased.

Today I went to a nearby trail and walked. I ran for a bit, maybe 13 minutes or so, on the way back to my car. It was a bit frustrating because the trail lacked markers - how hard is it to paint numbers on the ground?! C'mon people. My walk/run was about 45 minutes, which was nice. It was good just to get out of the house for a bit. Dave and I took a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood tonight after dinner. I like that we're on the move a little more, even if it's just walking.

Happy Hump Day.:)

Doughboy Challenge and a short recap

2008-06-02T14:58:00.003-05:00

A few days ago I signed up for my first "race" since beginning training: the Doughboy Challenge 5k. It's this upcoming Saturday, the 7th, and I'm very excited but a bit nervous. My only goal is to finish in under 34 minutes...which shouldn't be too difficult. I just hope it won't hinder my performance that I've been running slow, comfortable miles instead of pushing myself harder. I guess we'll see. :)

I think I have finally figured out how to use the elliptical machine. Woo hoo! For whatever reason I felt very awkward every time I'd use it; like I was putting weight on the wrong parts of my lower body, which in turn hurt my knees and felt like I was throwing everything out of whack. After a few more attempts I must've found my groove though, so I'm happy about that. Wednesday I did 30 minutes, then did crunches and worked with some hand weights. I also took a walk that night with Dave - around 30 minutes or so.

Thursday I decided to do some light speed training. Here's what I did:
Ran 1 mile: 11:08
Ran for 1 minute: 9:40 pace
Ran for 1 minute: 12:00 pace
Ran for 1 minute: 8:34 pace
Ran for 1 minute: 10:00 pace
Repeat 2x
Ran for 1 minute: 8:20 pace
Ran for 1 minute: 10:00 pace
Repeat 2x
Ran 1.5 miles. Average 10:00/mile pace.

I felt friggin fantastic!! I tried to pay attention to my breathing after reading about breathing patterns in one of my books. I think it said that during normal runs you should be on a 3 step inhale/2 step exhale pattern and then 2/1 when running pickups. I think I'm more of a 2/2 breather almost all of the time. Running those repeats must've been a great warmup because by the time they were over and it was time to run again, I was at 2.5 miles and only planned on doing 3. Then I decided to do 3.5. I felt so good I decided I may as well do another .5 to make it an even 4 miles. I felt soooo good and it was a nice change to feel that strong and comfortable.

Saturday I did a measly 2 mile run. I ran 1 mile (10:10), then did some weights: bicep curls, lateral raises, tricep extensions and overhead extensions (I'm sure there's another name for these but I have no clue what it is). Then I ran another mile (9:55) and did weights and squats.

I am disappointed to report that I skipped my long run. I need to do something to prevent myself from deviating from schedule, particularly when it comes to long runs. I slept in and then Kim and I went to see Sex and the City, which was of course fabulous. Then Dave and I did some running around and cleaning. I finally ended up doing 20 minutes on the elliptical at 10pm because I felt bad for not doing anything. I'm going to get on the treadmill when I'm done with this and just run for a while. I don't want to look at time or mileage. I just want to run.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

3 miles and a 6 word memoir

2008-05-27T19:44:00.004-05:00

After running 7 miles on Sunday, I was almost excited to run 3 today. "I just did 7. Three miles is cake". Eeehhh, sort of. I just feel like 3 miles should have turned to 4 by now and I should be faster and I should be able to do it painlessly. Enough of the "should be's". The 3 miles dragged on - I think it was my psyche's punishment on me for thinking that 3 would be so easy and would fly by like it's nothing. And my shins hurt. So that sucked. Times weren't too bad so I can't complain too much.

M1: 10:53
M2: 10:42
M3: 10:11

I really want to start speedtraining but am scared that doing so will exacerbate my shin pain. Maybe I should at least give it a shot. I also wish I knew when to push through pain and when it's better to stop. I think there's a fine line there. But does anyone really know when to say when?

I've been tagged by Emilie to do a 6 word memoir. My life in 6 words or less.

Here's what I got: Transplanted, growing, running. Finding my groove.

Hmm. Now I have to tag people. I'm not sure whether these people have been tagged yet but here goes:

Suebob: http://suebob1.blogspot.com/
Julie: http://slowbikefastlife.blogspot.com/
Miss Allycat: http://www.missallycat.com/index.html
Tammie: http://tammie-mylittleworld.blogspot.com/
Aron: http://runnersrambles.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. :)

Sunday 7 miler and new headphones

2008-05-27T15:14:00.008-05:00

I did some light cross-training (elliptical) and weightlifting last Friday, took Saturday "off" and decided to attempt to FINALLY surpass my 6 mile wall on a long run on Sunday. I think I've been stuck at 6 miles for over a month and it has been very frustrating, mostly because it's attributed to my overall slacking on scheduled runs than being physically unable to push past 6. I needed to remedy the earbud/headphone issue though, so I picked up a pair at Walmart Sunday morning: the sport kind that wrap around the ear. At first, I had a hard time getting the bud in my ear; it felt too big (that’s what she said). With the assistance of a friend, I got it in and wrapped around my ear. Something as simple as that clearly should not require assistance but just go with it.

I got on the treadmill around 1pm and almost immediately, both my shins hurt. Not a good start, especially considering that I was doing a 12 minute mile. I started out that slow because I assumed it'd be safe and easy on my body. Silly me, you know what they say about Assuming...I tried to just focus on my music or the silent episode of Seinfeld that was playing on the tv. I would have been thrilled to just call it quits and plop down on the couch...at least until the guilt of skipping yet another run set in. I was having major reservations about the miles ahead of me. I forged ahead SLOWLY, every so often pushing the earbuds farther into my ear(s) or adjusting the piece that wraps around the ear. They weren't uncomfortable but it was clear they weren't completely secure. Only once did one of them fall out, which isn't too bad. It was tricky getting it back in my ear because I was so sweaty that it took a minute of slippery fumbling. Around the 5th mile, I started to think about energy boosters: sports beans, Clif shots, blok shots, etc, and how I didn’t have any. I’m not sure how much of it was mental (I’m willing to guess about 98% of it) but toward the end of that mile, I started to feel incredibly weak. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do 2 more miles. All I could think about was that I needed SOMETHING. At the beginning of mile 6 I stopped the treadmill and hobbled into the kitchen to get some Gatorade, figuring that would be better than nothing. Dave was sitting on the couch and assuming I was done said "Nice job, muffin". I said "I'm not done yet" and felt like a real badass because even though I didn't tell him I'd already done 5 and was planning on doing a couple more, I'd been in the garage for around an hour, if not longer, so it was obvious I wasn't messing around. I was seriously hurtin’ though. I gulped the Gatorade down, torn between wanting to pour another glass and being scared that if I drank too much it might try to make a reappearance. I decided to play it safe and stopped after the one glass.

Surprisingly, mile 6 felt pretty fantastic. My legs finally felt as if I’d found my groove and the Gatorade was just the boost that I needed. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. The last mile was pretty rough. I felt sluggish again and almost felt like I was going to pass out. In addition, I had an odd pinching pain on my left shoulder blade. But I managed to tough it out and was elated and extremely exhausted when I completed the 7th mile. Part of me wanted to cry tears of joy for FINALLY doing more than 6 miles. Since I started running around 1pm inside a garage, I was completely drenched with sweat. I have NEVER EVER sweat that much in my life. I might as well have been running in a sauna. I was a glistening, stinking mess. Since I didn't want to offend anyone with the sight/smell of me, I did some quick stretching, got more Gatorade and headed to the bathroom to take a cool shower. I felt like a new woman afterwards. I popped some Ibuprofen and was happy that I didn't have any pain in my legs or hips for the rest of the day. In fact, I didn't have any pain until the next evening when I had to run to the car to avoid getting soaked during a shopping excursion. It was only then that my shins started to hurt again.

Here are the details:

M1: 12:00
M2: 12:00
M3: 12:00
M4: 11:34
M5: 11:32
M6: 11:24
M7: 11:08

Dave and I went to a sporting goods store yesterday and as I was perusing the candy selection near the register (I still think it's weird that a sporting goods store has candy but whatever) I spotted some Clif Blok Shots: lemon lime and strawberry. I bought 2 of the strawberry and Dave and I sampled some in the car on the way home. I didn't quite know what to expect but have to say they tasted better than I would have guessed. It almost made me want to go home and do another long run so that I had an excuse to use them!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! :)

Blah

2008-05-22T15:13:00.007-05:00

Let me start by saying "my bad" for the comment about <3 being for 13-17 y.o.'s. I was really just going off what I read on urban dictionary. That and hearing Kim say her 13 year old cousin and her friends use that like it's going out of style. Sorry ladies and gents, I did not mean to offend, I just didn't have enough info.

I also want to thank everyone for their feedback on my XT question. I figured that would be the case (that I'd need to XT instead of just running). I just needed confirmation from people who know what they're doing. :)

The past week has been pretty lackluster running-wise. After my last entry I did another 3 miles, with plans of doing at least 9 more between a 3 miler and another long run of 6. That did not happen. Instead, I spent time with Dave and went to Renaissance Fest on Sunday with some friends. It was a fantastic opportunity for people watching. I didn't realize I'd see so many elf ears...Anyway, we drank yards of beer, ate deep fried Snickers (WOW), threw ninja stars, and then came back to the house to grill some burgers and dogs, throw horseshoes...and drink more beer. All in all it was a very productive day except for the whole running thing.

I've run twice so far this week: Monday I did a workout found in one of my running books that combines running with strength training exercises. It went something like this:
Run 11 minutes
Do 10 pushups
Run 5 minutes
Do 10 crunches
Run 5 minutes
Do 10 reverse crunches
Run 10 minutes
It kicked my butt. Don't ask why because I know it looks pretty harmless. I think my problem was that instead of doing "easy" miles (like the book said), I pushed to make sure my total mileage would be 3.

Today I went to the trail near the house and ran. I think it was just under 3 miles. My iPod earbuds do NOT want to stay in my ears, especially my left ear. Does anyone else have this problem? It's driving me crazy. I came this close to throwing the friggin shuffle into the friggin river today (temper, what temper?!). Overall, the run was not good. I couldn't find my groove and I swear an infant who just learned to crawl probably could have passed me. I don't know what my deal is. I don't do well when I run outside (granted, I've only done it 2 or 3 times, but still). On top of that my shins have really been bothering me. I was browsing through a book with some stretches in it and decided to give a shin stretch a try. You get down on your knees and then slowly sit back so that your butt is resting on your calves and ankles. When you start to feel uncomfortable or in pain, you lean forward and put your hands on the floor to support yourself. I can't even do this stretch. At all. It hurts too bad the minute I lean back. Not cool.

I really need to get back into a running groove. Even though I have all the time in the world, I can't seem to get anything done. I thought "It will be so great when I'm between jobs because I will have SO much time to run and do all the things I need to do". WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. Instead, there is a terrifying pull toward the t.v., in particular the Lifetime Movie Network. It's so difficult to get motivated to do anything. I'm not sure what to do.

I hope everyone is doing well!

I <3 my Shuffle!

2008-05-14T10:47:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I just learned yesterday (by way of Urban Dictionary) that the above symbol <3 is supposed to be a sideways heart. I'm probably a bit old to be using it (I think it's reserved for 13-17 year olds) but whatever.

So my Shuffle has helped tremendously with my running. I totally love it! The "I'm going to get up early and run every day" I blogged about last week never quite came to fruition. Oops. Maybe someday soon. Last week I didn't run again until Sunday when I did 6 miles. Six was the farthest I'd ever previously done and truthfully, I was really worried as to whether I'd be able to do it again since my running has been slacking so much. I took it slow and started out with the goal of doing 5 and I felt so good that I decided I was going to do 6. It felt fantastic! Nothing hurt at all and in fact my biggest challenge of the run was getting rid of a side stitch at mile 3 after I was unable to control myself when "Midnight Train to Georgia" came on my ipod. Apparently belting out music at the top of your lungs (thank God for near-soundproof rooms) throws a wrench into your breathing pattern, causing stitches to appear. Oh well. But once that was gone it was smooth sailing again. I felt like I could (almost) go on forever...until mile 5 when I thought "Ok, it's a good thing I only have 1 mile left". Here's the dish on my time:

Mile 1: 11:34
Mile 2: 11:34
Mile 3: 11:34
Mile 4: 11:19
Mile 5: 11:06
Mile 6: 10:49

Although I took it slow to begin with (because I wasn't sure I could go that far again) I decided to push myself toward the end. I've come to the realization that I need to push myself a little bit more because that will bring a lot more progress than just moseying (sp?) along. I play it safe too often but am working on that. :)

Yesterday I convinced Dave to go to a trail with me to run. The trail is about 7 miles long (with plans for expanding it to 22 miles or something like that) and it runs along a river. There are tons of trees and it's perfect because while you're on the trail, unless it's high noon, odds are you've got quite a bit of cover from the trees, thus it's usually cool and comfortable. So we walked .5 mile, ran .5 mile, walked .5 mile, ran .5 mile and finished up with a .5 mile walk. It was great. And I saw a guy with a 2006 MCM shirt on. I was too embarrassed to talk to him but I got really excited because I immediately recognized it and thought "I'm going to have a shirt like that in less than 6 months!" After that we came home and I decided to run 3 more miles. Again, I felt great. I had some slight pain on the side of my right foot but it quickly went away and I finished strong.
Mile 1: 11:06
Mile 2: 10:42
Mile 3: 10:37
I have been wearing my old Asics because I can't find my Saucony's and am wondering whether the Asics are contributing to my legs and feet feeling as spectacular as they have. My dad will be coming up in a few weeks and as a belated b-day present we're going to a specialty store to get me properly fitted for shoes. I'm super psyched.

I hope everyone is doing well! Oh, before I forget, I want to get feedback on cross-training. How important do you guys think it is? What about weight training? At this point I'm not doing either but have been thinking I probably should. Happy Hump Day!

The Tennessean

2008-05-06T21:23:00.007-05:00

That's me now. Wahoo! We left Thursday afternoon at 4pm and stopped for about 2 hours at 11pm. Then we had a lovely 4am breakfast at an Awful House (aka Waffle House) in Alabama, got back on the road and got to Murfreesboro (fun fact: the "Boro" as it's called was once the capital of TN) around 9am CST. We took the truck (24 foot Budget truck) to storage and proceeded to unload the stupid thing for something like 6 hours. I was ready to rip someone's head off for several reasons at that point: I was tired, hungry, frustrated, tired, smelly, starving, etc. I think my dad would have been proud of the way Dave and I managed to stack all of our shit in that 10 x 20 unit. It was pure genius. We were all a bit apprehensive when we first started unloading everything. I think the phrase "Holy crap. No way is all our stuff going to fit in there" was uttered at least thrice (and thought at least a dozen times). But we pulled it off. Score!

The rest of the weekend was spent driving around, eating and trying to get organized. We dropped Dave's dad off at the airport on Sunday and then headed to Percy Priest Lake to be picked up by our friend and new roomie Jeff, who took us (by boat) to their camping site. It was wicked cool. It was a little more hardcore than the "camping" I'm used to; there was no toilet, no electricity, it was on an island, etc. We stayed out there for a few hours, drinking, eating and fishing. Good stuff.

My cat, Ava, who is a bit of a scaredy-cat (gross understatement) hasn't quite been getting along with Kim's cat, Marshall Mathers (yes, that's his name). Neither of them are used to being around other animals so both are having territory issues. Ava has basically been hiding under the bed 24/7. Yesterday an interesting thing happened. Ava and Marshall had been sharing a litterbox (at least that's what I thought) that was placed in another room. I was sitting at the computer desk in our room and Ava tried to run by me but was blocked by my legs. I thought nothing of it, figuring it was just another one of her spazztastic moments. Then I saw her out of the corner of my eye so I looked over and she was sitting on the air vent and was looking up toward the ceiling. I thought to myself "that's how she looks when she's taking a whiz" and then realized that that was exactly what she was doing. I couldn't believe it! In FL the vents are in the ceiling so maybe that caused some confusion...So yeah, she peed in the air vent. I was pretty mad and worried that our room and the vent would forever reek of cat piss (one of the worst smells in my humble opinion) but I managed to clean it up pretty well. So I'm hoping it will be ok. Kim was pretty good about it (thank god). I think she was much cooler than I would have been about the situation. That's why I love her. :)

As far as training goes, I finally ran tonight for the first time in about a week. Honestly I can't remember the last time I ran - yikes. Anyway, it felt pretty great. I took it slow: 2 miles @ 11:19, 1 @ 11:08. All day yesterday and today I've felt so groggy. I've been completely exhausted for NO reason. I haven't done anything but some cleaning, driving around and shopping. What's so friggin exhausting about that?! As much as I wanted to continue sitting on the couch drinking Pomegranate Margaritas (best drink ever. No joke.), I hopped on the tread with the intent of doing at least 2 miles. My legs felt fantastic: no pain at all. I think it also helped that Kim has a small tv in her garage (where the tread is) and she put on Chappelle's Show. I couldn't hear it because we had music on but having something to focus on prevented me from checking my time/mileage every 30 seconds. So that was cool. I think instead of sleeping in tomorrow (because that's what we unemployed people do) I'm going to get up early and run. I'd like to make a habit of starting my day out like that. What was incredible was how clear-headed I felt after the run. I felt motivated to do something productive. Since it was after 9 pm when I got done, there weren't too many productive things I could do, so I showered, called my mom, and decided to finally get my blog on.

Oh, I almost forgot, I bought an iPod Shuffle a few days ago per Julie's suggestion. I can't wait to use the little guy. It's bright green and I love it. I thought about going with the nano or something a little bigger but I think the Shuffle should be more than enough for me. I think that's it for now. Sorry this was so long. I have a TON of blog reading to catch up on since I haven't been on for almost a week. I hope everyone is doing well! :)

MCM here I come!

2008-04-30T10:32:00.002-05:00

I just registered for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct 26th. My stomach is in knots. I'm so excited but also pretty nervous. I guess this means I need to get my ass running again! :)

Running on eggshells

2008-04-28T13:52:00.011-05:00

I ended up running on the treadmill Friday afternoon. It was too hot outside and I was eager to get through the workout because I was supposed to have dinner at my aunt's house and go to a movie. I tried to be as gentle as possible while running - to the point where my feet felt like they were barely leaving the treadmill platform. It felt more like shuffling than running. It was slow but I completed the 3 miles in just under 36 minutes. Everything felt ok except for a sporadic pinching feeling on my left quad. I could've sworn there was a sadistic midget with a lobster claw hand standing behind me. It was pretty irritating. But it could have been worse...

Saturday my friend Jes came into town for one last hurrah before I move THIS FRIGGIN THURSDAY (I'm still in shock that the date has sprung up as if from nowhere). We went to the beach, ate, shopped, ate some more, and just spent some quality time doing much needed catching up. We went to the Melting Pot for dessert and it was delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We shared the Flaming Turtle (milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans, flambeed tableside). Sooooo good. I wasn't able to do my long run yesterday for two reasons: 1. I had company all day. Before Jes left, my dad and his wife, Michelle came over, we spent some time with my relatives, I did some packing, and then they left and my good friends Chris and Julie came over to spend the night. 2. I'm a moron and didn't apply suntan lotion to my legs or stomach while we were at the beach on Saturday. Why I neglected those areas is beyond me. You'd think I'd be more than familiar with the effects of noontime FL sun on a pasty un-SPF-ed body. As a result, my poor legs and hips are so badly burned that it hurts to sit, stand, bend over, walk...more or less any movement is unpleasant. So not only am I unable to run, but I fear that my burn is going to prevent me from fully enjoying my massage tomorrow (going away present from my boss). Damn it all to hell.

I will be very happy when this week is over and we're situated in TN and I can stop stressing so much about The Move. Then maybe I can establish some semblance of a routine again.

I'm nervous

2008-04-25T09:23:00.007-05:00

So I plan on running tonight after work and am deciding whether to try another outside run or if I should just play it safe and stay inside. I'd like to give outside running another whirl but here's what I'm nervous about: if I run outside and have another episode similar to Wednesday's, I don't know what the hell I'd do. I could barely walk. Seriously. I usually err on the side of caution so I'm thinking I should just stay inside. Comments? Suggestions?

Also, is it wrong to take a few ibuprofen PRIOR to running? Does it minimize pain and/or swelling?

I thank you in advance for your suggestions! :) TGIF!!!!!!!

2 Month Anniversary/Wicked bad pain/Outside run

2008-04-24T10:55:00.012-05:00

So, today is officially 2 months since I decided to embark on my marathon training journey. Yay! It's incredible how quickly the two months have gone. I'll do my best to resist the urge to criticize myself for not being farther along in terms of mileage. It's way too easy to say, "You really SHOULD be doing double digit long runs by now". That thought has gone through my mind too many times to count. But it's useless to think that way. I just need to keep on keepin' on, as I like to say.

Yesterday after work I got on the treadmill with visions of running 4 miles dancing through my head. I've been wanting to up my weekly mileage just a bit and figured it would be a good day to do it. Boy, was I wrong. I started out at 10MM...for some reason not only did I want to push my mileage up, but I wanted to do it FASTER! Somewhere in my peabrain it failed to register that I should have focused on one or the other. I'm not friggin SuperWoman. The first mile flew by. But soon after that, I started to hurt. My shins hurt, thighs hurt, ankles hurt. So I slowed my pace down a bit. That didn't seem to help too much. And once again, I felt like I was dying of thirst. Does anyone else have this problem? Being too thirsty while running? It's ri-friggin-diculous. I've read people's comments who've said they don't really hydrate at all for something as short as a 3 mile run. Who...are...these...people?! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, I'm not sure what my deal is but I hate constantly feeling thirsty. I've also read that if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated and that you're supposed to drink x amount of water per hour or mile or God knows what. I guess I just need to drink A LOT more water during the day. Whatever. Back to the run. I was in the "stare at the mileage and urge it to go faster" mode (it didn't cooperate), which was supremely frustrating, not to mention the fact that my math skills temporarily flew out the window. I'd tell myself "Oh, I only have 1/2 a mile to go, that isn't so bad" and then I'd realize that no, I actually have A MILE AND A HALF. Shit. My shins started screaming so bad that I thought I was going to die. Yes, I'm a wimp. Yes, I'm a crybaby. But this pain was far unlike any other pain I've experienced running (or doing any other sport for that matter). I had to stop. And my mileage was only at 1.94. Gimmie a P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C! So I hobbled off the treadmill, on the verge of tears, wondering what the hell was wrong with BOTH my legs, wondering if somehow I'd fractured them. How do you know if your legs are fractured?
Maybe if they:
1. Are in excruciating pain during periods of movement and/or non-movement
2. Prevent you from walking
3. Make you whimper and cry little a little beyatch
I told myself that I MUST at least do 2 miles. So I got back on the treadmill, put it on 12MM pace and fast-walk/slow-jogged. The pain temporarily subsided, which was really exciting, so after the remaining .6 mile, I decided to shoot for another 1/2 mile. Pfffffftttt. Not.Gonna.Happen. I stopped after the next quarter mile. Shut the treadmill off, wrote "BAD RUN. LOTS OF PAIN. 2.25 miles/24 minutes" on the piece of paper I use to record my dailies (the backside of a "Conversational Spanish" page-a-day calendar). Then I went inside to address the issue at hand. Every single step was punctuated with either "ouch", "ohmigod" or an expletive. I got some water, some frozen vegetables, and plopped down on the couch. I called Dave so that I could bitch and complain and have someone else (besides me) feeling sorry for me. We talked for a few minutes and even a brief conversation seemed like it required too much effort so I flipped the tv on and scrolled through the channels, all the while, I'm practically yelling because even though I'm not moving, my shins are absolutely killing me. The frozen vegetables felt like they were burning my legs so after about 5 minutes (if that) I had to take them off. I got up and went into the kitchen to take 3 Ibuprofens. Then I hobbled back to the couch and laid down again. It was awful. I moved my legs around in vain attempts to put them in a position that would take away the pain. There was no such position. They hurt no matter what I did. After about 30-45 minutes, the Ibuprofen must've kicked in (thank you Jesus) because I felt 100% better. I got up, ate, and did some of the packing I've been planning to do for over a week now. It ended up being a productive evening. It's incredible how much you can get done when you get up off your ass and stop watching tv. Good stuff.

I decided I was going to take today off, in hopes that my legs would magically heal themselves in time for another 3 or 4 mile attempt Friday. We'll see. I got up and walked on the beach at Sand Key Park this morning on my way to work. The weather couldn't have been more perfect: about 74 degrees and sunny, with a slight breeze. So I walked for about 30 mins and went to work. I might try to do some yoga moves when I get home from work because I feel like some stretching would feel beyond fantastic right now.

Ok, so on to the outside run which commenced on Tuesday, around 6:45 pm. Prior to leaving the house I tried to gulp down as much water as I could (without feeling like I would pee my pants mid-run) and popped a stick of gum in hopes of avoiding the dreaded drymouth/chapped lip thing I've had going on. For whatever reason I was extremely nervous. The feeling was similar to the anxiety I used to get before swim meets in high school. I'd feel physically sick to my stomach and super nervous and it was always really horrible. Three cheers for what I can only assume was some form of social anxiety! YAY. So anyway, I left the house, telling myself, "It's ok. No big deal, we're just taking this outside today. No harm done. Chill out." I had measured out what I thought was 1.5 miles so that I could do a simple out and back run. I walked for a bit longer than I planned because there was a family with razor-scooter riding children coming my way and I felt more comfortable passing them while walking instead of running. So as soon as they were past me, I started to run. My pace felt lightning fast, but at the same time I felt really awkward; like a fawn just learning to use its legs. My form felt ridiculous and unnatural. It took a few minutes to feel a little more "normal", for lack of a better word. I started breathing pretty hard after a few minutes and had to slow down a bit (maybe that's when and why my form improved?!). Since I was running along a MAJOR road, I felt self-conscious but tried my best to think of other things. Since I have no ipod or mp3 player, I was forced to listen only to the traffic and my own labored two steps in/two steps out breathing (and the occasional grunt or whimper that managed to escape my lips). When I was almost to the turning around point, I decided to take a detour to a water fountain. Although I'm not good at judging distance, I guessed that my detour was the same distance as the remainder of the first half. So I moseyed on over, drank, and began to run back. When I was almost home, I got a sudden burst of energy and decided to ride it all the way home. I ran fast and strong and it felt superb. When I got back to the house I saw that I had only been running 25 minutes. From my best estimate, I probably ran about 2.75 miles (because of the walking at the beginning, and in retrospect, I think the distance to the fountain was actually a bit shorter than the amount I had left to run before turning around). One sidenote is that my legs felt FANTASTIC the entire time. I couldn't believe it. I have to wonder if the pain I endured yesterday was a result of running on pavement?? I don't know. All in all, I'd like to run outside more often but under the following conditions:
1. I take water with me
2. I have music
3. It's not hot as hades (this is a huge prob in FL. Like Jess said in a comment on a previous post, in FL you have to run super early in the morning or late as night because it's WAY too hot. Since I'm moving to TN in exactly one week, I'm hoping the weather will become less of an issue.

I'm glad I ran outside and would like to slowly scale back on treadmill running and run outside more often, especially because I need to be comfortable running on pavement.

I'm sorry this post was so friggin long but I felt the need to update you guys. Happy running. :)

Best coozy (sp?) EVER

2008-04-22T13:06:00.007-05:00

This is super random but I had to share. I bought this about 2 weeks ago and made the mistake of deciding to give it to a friend. We use a lot of air quotes and she's a big beer drinker so I thought "This is perfect, she'll love this!". So I called to tell her about it because I was super excited...but after I got it home and christened it, I decided that I really want to keep it. :( It's not the best picture, I know, but it says "I have a bit of a (insert hand quotes here) drinking problem (and here)". The store I made the purchase at only had the one and I'm going to try to go back there and find another one but the store is at least 30 minutes away and traffic is always horrible and there's nowhere to park and on top of all that I'm just a generally lazy person and all these things clearly do not make a good combination. I guess we'll see how much a girl will do for some entertaining drinking gear.

Underhydrated Wall Hitter

2008-04-21T21:09:00.008-05:00

Before I launch into the story of my less than stellar long run, I'd like to send congrats out into the blogverse for all of the Boston Marathon Finishers. Good job guys! I hope to one day join your ranks.

So yesterday was long run day and I put it off as long as I could. While I was laying in bed watching tv my legs suddenly started to hurt and I thought "I think my body's trying to tell me something. Maybe I shouldn't run today..." And you know people ALWAYS say you should listen to your body, right?! Nice try. After arguing with the angel on one shoulder and her nemesis on the other, I finally got up enough energy to change out of my pj's (at 6pm...it was kind of a lazy day) and into my running clothes. Since it was still warm out I figured I'd do this one on the treadmill despite all the positive feedback and encouragement I've been getting on running outside (that's for another day but I loved the feedback!). I brought some mixed cds to see if a change in music would jazz me up a bit. So I started out at just under an 11 min mile. I was feeling ok: legs were good, which was my main concern. But for whatever reason, the miles were a bit more difficult than I would have liked. I was having trouble finding my groove. Going into mile 3, Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah came on and I picked the remote up to change the song. After a few seconds I decided to just listen to it because I hadn't heard it in a while. While I normally try to listen to faster, more peppy music, I found the piano and slower, melancholy but soulful ballad to be soothing. While the song was on I just ran along, enjoying the melody. I wasn't thinking about what hurt or what I had to do later or how far I was going to go. I just ran. Perhaps I should have put that song on repeat because shortly thereafter, things fell apart.

I had talked to Kev before I got on the tread and knew he'd be coming over sometime within the next 45 minutes, but probably sooner than later. Because of this, I kept turning around while I was on the treadmill (it's on my back patio - which is enclosed) to look through the sliding glass doors to try to catch him coming in. He loves to scare me and there are few things I despise more than being snuck up on, so it's a constant battle of the wills. Turning around every minute or two started getting distracting so I called him to find out exactly where he was so I could be prepared. We talked for a few and fortunately, I was able to catch him as he was silently slipping onto the back patio. Butthead. He talked to me for a few minutes and put in a new cd that he'd been telling me about. While all this was going on I suddenly became hyperaware of my insane thirst and bone-dry, chapped lips. Since I didn't have any ChapStick at my tread station, I had to just keep licking my lips, which was pointless because all it did was exacerbate the problem and make me think about how thirsty I was. Since I sometimes have problems with losing socks and then wearing mismatched sets, the sock on my right foot started slipping under my heel and was driving me crazy. At mile 3.4 I stopped to fix my sock and drink water. As I gulped the cold, glorious water I thought about how badly I wanted to stop. I knew it was a colossal mistake to stop but I ignored my better judgment. I told Kev to go ahead inside; that I was just going to finish the 4 miles and do a long run a different day. But as I approached 4 miles, I thought about how I really needed to do at least 6, if not 7 and just get it out of the way. So I decided to go for 6, but had visions of titling my next blog "Lucky 7" (not that there was anything lucky about it per se, I was just lacking creativity and/or catchphrases affiliated with the number 7) if I could somehow manage to last that long. For whatever reason, I just could NOT get my concentration back. I switched music up again and tried to focus on ANYTHING other than the fact that I had at least 2 miles left. I told myself to remember how easy the first two were; they just flew by; it was nothing. I trudged along, changing speed every few minutes (first up, then down, then up again, then down again, then down some more) and finally at 5.2 miles (55:02 minutes), I decided I'd had it. I stopped. I was so upset at myself because I've had to fight those feelings off several other times and was always able to talk myself into continuing. But I was too distracted and absolutely could not get back into the right head space to continue. Ridiculous. I do much better running when I'm just left alone without distractoin. Somehow though, I wasn't as pissed at myself as I would have thought. I'm just going to try to use it as a lesson: either learn how to deal with distractions and how to keep your head in the game, or run on a hamster wheel forever with no contact from the outside world. Easy as pie. Oh, and I need to drink more water prior to running...and get water bottles with straws or the nipply thingies.

Later this week I am going to go outside for a run. I'm excited about it. I think I'm going to just run for 30 or 40 minutes and see how I feel. I figured it'd be better to try running outside for a short run. I'll let you know how it goes (obviously). :)

Honey Nut Cheerios + toast + lemonade = uncomfortable running

2008-04-18T21:01:00.004-05:00

So I wasn't sure I was going to run tonight. Typically, I run as soon as I get home from work so that I can "cross it off my list", however, I was super tired when I got home and decided to do other things instead: practice piano (my last lesson is Tuesday. :( ), watch tv, talk on the phone. I had some Honey Nut Cheerios, toast and lemonade for dinner while watching "What Not To Wear" (as much as I hate to admit it, I always get emotional during the "reveal". But I digress). All of a sudden, I was inspired to get on the tread and go at it. Surprisingly my legs felt great - there was no pain anywhere. I don't remember the last time I ran and didn't have pain in my ankle or thigh or hip, etc. It would have been too good to be true if EVERYTHING had felt great during the run. So I was running along and all of a sudden felt like the Cheerios were trying to make a reappearance. Not interested. So I slowed down a bit and tried to breathe steadily. I started cramping up a bit and just felt generally uncomfortable. My digestive system was less than thrilled with my decision to hop on the tread within 30 minutes of eating. Live and learn. I started to feel better though and I ended up finishing 3 miles in 29:52, which I was pretty happy with. I just wanted to finish under 30.

I have to wonder how different my time would be (if at all) if I'd run the 3 miles outside instead of on the tread. Sometimes I feel like I'm capable of a faster pace but just go with the flow (while treading). For whatever reason, I'm a little too intimidated to run outside. It sounds ridiculous (even to me) but I just am not comfortable with it. It might help if I plotted out a route where I knew distance and landmarks and whatnot. I need to do that. Even though I just wrote that I think I'm holding back, I'm worried I will have no idea how to really pace myself on my own. Jesus God, I'm overanalyzing the hell out of this(Dave must be rubbing off on me). I just need to go outside and run. That's all there is to it. I'd really like to get some gadgets to help me along...like a Garmin and an iPod...hmmm. :)

Yesterday I rested. Wednesday I did 3 miles in 30:23. It went alright except for pain in my right hip area. Not cool. I'm feeling pretty good right now. I might go biking tomorrow and am still trying to figure out whether to do 6 or shoot for 7 on Sunday. I'll just play it by ear. Happy Friday!!!

I'm back on...

2008-04-16T14:05:00.009-05:00

So I did run last night, yay! I did 3 miles: 10:19, 10:10, 9:57. They were NOT very comfortable miles - I probably should have slowed down a bit b/c unfortunately, 10's are still "fast" for me. I guess the important thing is that I did it though. My left achille's heel/calf were bothering me, which was something new and unusual. I made it through it though. I hope to have a repeat performance (but maybe without the pain) tonight when I get home. I might slow it down a bit though.

I forgot to mention this awesome sign we saw while driving through Alabama last week. It said Go to church or the Devil will get you. I was so pissed that I didn't have my camera out! Good stuff.

So this is really embarrassing but also really funny so I have to share.
A few days ago I was talking to my boy Kevin and we were discussing Pizza Hut's new Tuscani Pasta or whatever it's called. He mentioned that he really wants to try it because it looks so good. I told him it kinda creeps me out but I've heard that it's really great and is supposedly even better than pasta at italian restaurants...to which he replied:

K: That sounds a lot like the commercial
J: No, really, I swear I just had this conversation with someone. They said it was the best pasta they've had
K: Are you sure you're not confusing the commercial with reality?
J: No, I'm not. It was just the other day, they went there and had...the...pasta...and...LONG PAUSE................................Holy shit. Maybe it WAS the commercial! Oh jesus, this is ridiculous. I can't believe I just did that!

We had a good laugh about it and in fact, he just texted me a few minutes ago with "Remember when you confused the Pizza Hut Tuscani commercial with real life? That was hilarious". I really think I need to get my head checked. I would have put Benjamins on the fact that I actually had that exact conversation with someone. If that isn't effective marketing, I don't know what is.

Off the wagon

2008-04-15T14:19:00.008-05:00

Well, this sucks. I feel like a huge piece of excrement for not running since...two Sundays ago. I knew this past week was going to be tough exercise-wise (say that 5 times fast) but had no idea I'd handle (or NOT handle, as it turned out) being on the road and training this poorly. I didn't do a damn thing. I take that back, I walked twice. Last Tuesday night after work Dave and I headed to Tallahassee to visit friends. We spent time just hanging out, shopping, eating, etc until Friday morning when we left for Nashville. We did the same thing in Nashville at Kim and Jeff's (but with a little more drinking involved) and then I left Sunday afternoon. Since I've been home I have done some cleaning, eating, and have been watching lots of tv (Veronica Mars, The L Word, Significant Others - HILARIOUS show...I can't believe it only lasted 2 short seasons on Bravo!) Despite my fear of cursing myself, I'm going to go ahead and say I'm going to run 3 miles tonight. I think I will feel A LOT better afterwards and hopefully it will reignite my excitement and dedication to this project. Right now I just feel kinda lost and lonely being home alone. There is a ton of stuff that I need to do since I'll be moving in 2 weeks (geez where did the time go?!) but I can't seem to get motivated to do anything at all - except eat and watch tv, of course.

In other news, when I weighed myself last week I had lost 2 pounds, which was super exciting since it's the first time the scale has budged in a few YEARS. No joke. But I'm sure I set everything straight with my bingeing, lazy ass behavior from last week. I wonder if any other lbs appeared with the other 2...I really hope not. I guess we'll see. UPDATE: My 2 little friends are back and brought 1/2 lb with them. Way to go, guys.

This sucks. I hope I have happier, more productive things to write about tomorrow. Oh, I just thought of something I have to look forward to: the new season of Workout starts tonight. Much as I hate to say it I friggin LOVE that show! Woo hoo!

7 miles*

2008-04-07T08:40:00.013-05:00

When I run, I usually just sing and 'armdance' a bit (not in public, just on my treadmill at home), however, during yesterday's run it was as if a sassy, Tourette's Syndrome-having entity took over my body. NEVER have I ever spit out so many expletives during a run. It was HORRIBLE. Two things were infuriating: 1. The time and distance numbers were STUCK. I swear to God they were not moving. I was running along, thinking "I must've gone over a mile by now" and I looked down and it had only been .25 mile. Cue expletives. This went on for a few miles. 2. Everything HURT. In both legs. I was waiting for my legs to snap in half and fall off during the run. It was awful. Around mile 3.40, I turned a corner and felt 100% better. Oh, and I should also mention that on mile 1.6 I had to stop the treadmill to run upstairs because 1. my shorts kept falling down and 2. my thighs were chaffing. Sexy, I know. So anyway, (around mile 3.4) I felt a lot better for about a mile or so and then the old legs started to hurt again. It was really frustrating. I was wondering if I was even going to be able to make 5 miles...somehow I did. Between miles 4 and 5 I realized that I might as well shoot for 6 miles because it's only 4 more laps, right?! I was in desperate need of water so as soon as the 5 were up, I walked for about a minute while chugging water. Then I continued for the remainder of a mile to bring my run to a whopping 6 miles. Woo hoo, a new distance PR! And I walked for about 30 minutes earlier in the day and ran for about 11 minutes so all in all I "ran" about 7 miles yesterday. So what if they weren't all together?! It still counts as a 7 mile day, I reckon. Good stuff.

I think I just ran 3 on Friday...that sounds about right. While I was running Dave called my cell. Normally, I don't pick up the phone when I'm running but thought maybe it was something important. So I picked up.

J: hey
D: hey, what're you doing?
J: (out of breath) running
D: what?
J: RUN-(gasp,gasp)-NING
D: Oh. Ok. (this is where I thought he'd be like Ok, call me later. Not so much) Is there anything you need from Bass Pro?
J: what?! seriously? no, not that I can think of.
D: how about 30 feet of rope for $7?
J: for what?!
D: I just figured we could use it for camping or something.
J: ok, whatever you want. I don't really care...
He started saying something else and I just couldn't handle it. I told him I'd call him back. I love him tremendously but was in no mood to discuss $7 rope. On the last mile of my 3 (which is when he happened to call) I decided to shoot for a sub 10 min mile. My body wasn't pleased with that. It fought me the entire way. It was awful. Kinda disappointing but oh well.

He called back again a few minutes later.

J: you're killin me, Smalls
D: I'm sorry! I just found something you might like.
J: what's that?
D: a camelbak. maybe you could use it while running?
J: Aww, that's sweet. Thanks.

He's very thoughtful. Does anyone use these for running? I don't normally see people using them but thought I can use it for biking or hiking. So I'm excited about it.

My left thigh is still bothering me. It has been doing so since last week. Funny thing is that it doesn't bother me too much when I'm running. Perhaps I should start running everywhere?! I've been reading up to try to figure out what the heck it is that is hurting so bad. It's on the outside and middle of my thigh. I haven't been able to find anything. It's difficult to describe. I wish it'd just go away!!

In other news, I Netflicked "Marathon Challenge"...it was at the top of my queue for like 2 weeks before they finally sent it because it had a very long wait. It was a Nova documentary about 13 sedentary people of various ages who trained for 9 months to do the Boston Marathon. It was good. Not quite what I expected though. It was heavy on the science, whereas I was looking for the emotional/motivational stuff. I did end up a bit teary-eyed at the end when 12 of the 13 completed the marathon. I was really happy for them. I can only imagine how emotional I will be when it's ME crossing the finish line. :) My story is basically like theirs...except I'm doing it in 8 months instead of 9...and I don't have coaches, doctors and running partners at my disposal...and I'm not running Boston. But the sedentary part matches up.

"Dunder Mifflin: Limitless paper...in a paperless world"

2008-04-04T08:50:00.004-05:00

I sat on my bum watching reruns of The Office last night instead of running. I felt unproductive and upset with myself for not running but my entire left leg: hip to ankle, was really bothering me and I'm scared to death I'm going to train through it and hurt myself so badly that I bench myself for a few weeks. That is the LAST thing I want. I probably need to amp up my stretching; and by that I mean I need to start doing it. I stretch a little bit after a run but usually not before. A few times I've taken a minute or two to stretch after my warm up, but I don't know if that was even productive. I'd like to run tonight and try to do 6 miles as my long run this weekend. I guess we'll see.

Dave is in Ft Liquordale visiting family and quite frankly, it sucks being at home without him. I miss that little bugger. I've always been ok, if not happy, with my solitude but I've gotten so used to having him around that it just feels abnormal and as if something is missing with him being gone. :( Boo hoo. I guess at least I can watch C.S.I. without hearing him bitch about it and attempt to change the channel the minute I get up to walk into another room. Who hates C.S.I.? Seriously.

I did it

2008-04-03T12:21:00.007-05:00

When I wrote "I don't care if it's 10 pm, I'm running dammit!" in yesterday's entry, I thought I'd put that in there just to sound like a hardass. I never thought I'd actually be home that late. It was a gross exaggeration - or so I thought. We had a fantastic time with the fam. We ate pizza, played a game...I think it's called Catchphrase, and ate dessert. The game got pretty heated but I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard during any sort of game playing. There were about 13 of us and we all sat in a circle and decided that teams would work out so that every other person was on the same team. The "gamepiece" was a handheld electronic gizmo that had different categories: food, entertainment, sports/games, etc. After selecting a category, you hit "start" and a word would pop up. You had to try to get your team to guess the word without saying the word (duh). Once your team got the word, you'd hit "next" and pass it to the next person. Oh, and there is a built in buzzer that beeps faster and faster as the time goes and eventually beeps loud and obnoxiously one last time to end the round. While this sounds simple, I had a little slip up when I was trying to get my partner (we did a sudden death round where if the buzzer went off while you were holding it, you were out) to guess "cool beans". It went something like this:

Jen: "Ok, not warm, but ___".
Cuz: "Cool"
Jen: "yes! awesome. Ok, uh uh uh FRIJOLES NEGROS" (Yeah, no, I'm not Spanish. I don't know a lot of Spanish. My English is usually pretty good but for the life of me this was the first thing that popped into my head. I have no clue why.)
Cuz: "what?" long pause..........."cool beans?"
Jen: laughing hysterically, "yes yes yes. ohmigod. good job!"

So we went on to the next round and everything was fine until one of my cousins got out because he said part of the phrase and someone was like "Well, wait a minute. Can you say the word in another language, because Jen busted out with some Spanish?!" Shit. That was pretty stupid. Somehow, I stayed in the game and the final round was between me and my former partner (who guessed cool beans). She ended up winning...I can't even remember what I was trying to get everyone to guess. Oh well. Anyway, it was really fun. I'd highly recommend it.

After that we had dessert: brownies, vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry topping. Wow. I'm salivating right now just thinking about it. It was out of this world. We ended up leaving around 9:30 or so and had to stop by the store on the way home so we ended up getting back around 10. I had no intention of running because my stomach was killing me and I felt like if I even thought too much about running, that I might vomit or pass out. I figured maybe I'd lift weights or something. Well, we got home and then I started feeling guilty and thinking about the blog and what I'd written. After putting the groceries away and watching a few minutes of South Park I decided I was going to do a mile or two, just so I could say I ran. So I suited up and got on the tread. My legs felt pretty heavy and I wasn't feeling all that hot overall, but I had a feeling things would get a little better. I did my 5 min warm up and started running. It was really annoying to just run and stare at the closed mini blinds but I didn't have much of a choice. I think by this time it was 10:40 or so. After about a mile I decided that 2 miles just didn't SOUND like enough so I vowed to do 3. I don't know why but in my pea-brain there is a huge difference between running ONLY 2 miles and running 3. It's dumb but just go with it. My left thigh started to hurt, which was something new and not so exciting. In fact, it still hurts today. Not sure what that's about. That faded in and out while I was running. Also, (this is gross so skip ahead if you want) I've been having a problem the last few times I've run where I start burping and have to do creepy lamaze-esque breathing because I feel like if I just burp, I will throw up. Literally, I feel like I've been nanoseconds away from ralphing all over my treadmill in the middle of a run. It's really irritating and disgusting. A few times, I've even hopped off the tread to run to the bathroom and grab some rolaids. And it's not like I'm running my little heart out or anything. I'm doing comfortable paces. So I'm not sure what that's about but I hope it stops soon. And it's not like I eat a pizza and drink a 6 pack before every run or anything...my food intake varies (in terms of when/what I last ate and I try not to eat in the hour or so before I run) but that doesn't seem to matter. I still get burpy. Ugh.

So anyway, I managed to finish the 3 and was very proud that I pushed myself to do that when it would have been a lot more fun to see who got kicked off Top Chef. Yay for small victories.

April Fool

2008-04-02T14:09:00.002-05:00

So I totally forgot yesterday was April Fool's Day, however, the April Fool's Fairy did not forget about me:

April Fool's! Your alcohol tolerance isn't what you thought it was!
April Fool's! You're going to pay for your 3 beer consumption the next day!
April Fool's! You won't have time/energy/coordination to work out!

Since yesterday was Dave's last day of work, we met several of his former coworkers (who are ALL awesome. He really lucked out in that dept) for drinks/food/goodbyes. It was a FANTASTIC time and I really thought I was being conservative with my consumption but I must have miscalculated somehow. I only had 3 Shock Tops (Bud's equivalent of a Blue Moon - although this place served them sans orange slice. What a ripoff) but I guess that's all my body needed to make me feel like crap last night and today. Not cute. I really did plan on working out last night after we got home...however I had also planned on NOT drinking. But how could I say no to people wanting to buy me drinks?! That's just rude.

I am hoping I will have the time to run tonight. I'm picking Dave up after work and we're going to my Gma's house so that he can say goodbye to my relatives and eat some pizza (score!). So even if we get home at 10pm, I'm running, dammit. In addition to feeling gross from the alcohol, I feel bad that I haven't run since Sunday. It's funny how it can put me in a bad mood when I haven't done anything physical in a few days. My body has gotten used to being active and oddly enough, it kinda likes it. Good stuff.

B.R.I.E. v R.I.C.E. and a PR

2008-03-31T08:18:00.015-05:00

Good morn! I can't believe it's Monday already. Geez. I forgot to mention last week that I finished "The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide". It might be the first book I have ever read cover to cover...I read the intro, body, epilogue, acknowledgements, about the author, etc. I just couldn't get enough. Then I got sad because I thought "What do I have to look forward to now?! This is horrible." Somehow, I shall go on.

I put a new twist on an old classic on Friday: B.R.I.E. instead of R.I.C.E. For those of you not familiar with the acronym it stands for "rest/ice/compression/elevation". My version consists of "beer/rest/ice/elevation". On Friday I did a short warm up, then ran 3 miles straight. My left leg was bothering me a bit and as I waddled around the kitchen (somehow looking like I'd just gotten done with a 14 hour horseback ride), I decided to grab a brew, a bag of frozen corn, and flop down on the couch to watch season 3 of The Office. I was quite pleased with the results.

Saturday was a rest day. Dave and I went to St. Pete Saturday morning. I LOVE downtown St. Pete very much. There is always something going on. On Saturday mornings they have a Farmer's Market from 9am or so until 2 pm. There is always a band playing (usually cover songs), and there are food vendors, crafts, plants and tons of people walking around with their dogs and/or kids. I love to walk around and take everything in. There is just so much LIFE happening and it always puts me in a good mood to be there. We walked around for a while, did some shopping, had lunch at our favorite pizza joint, and watched "Run Fat Boy Run". It was pretty cute. Of course I wanted to see it because it's about a guy who decides to run a marathon to win his ex back. Ever since I made the decision to do this challenge, I have been consumed by all things running: books, magazines, movies, blogs about running, just to name a few.

Sunday we went to Caladesi Island, which I BELIEVE has won several awards for being a top beach in FL if not the country. I need to read up on that. (Yes, Dr. Beach made it #2 a couple years ago and it's 4th best beach in the country according to another source.) Anyway, you go to Honeymoon Island state park, then take a ferry to Caladesi. On the ferry ride we saw a momma dolphin and a baby. SO CUTE! I've never seen a baby dolphin before. It was quite a bit darker...I guess they lighten with age. So we got to Caladesi, walked to the beach area and plopped our stuff down. As I sat down and looked out at the completely smooth, clear beautiful water, I could have sworn I was in a Corona commercial - except for the beer drinking part :(. It was absolutely beautiful. One thing I really love about our beaches is the white sugar sand. We walked for a while, looking for sand dollars because for whatever reason, Dave is obsessed with them. We found quite a few of them, as well as some other cool shells. Oh, and we saw a HUGE starfish that washed up on shore. Dave put it back in the water. I hope it was ok. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of any of this. We figured the camera was better off in the car. Not really. We just forgot it. I was so pissed. I didn't ask Dave if we had the camera in our bag until we were literally walking onto the ferry and he said "oops. it's in the car, behind your seat." I wanted to scream. I wish I'd have asked him sooner...like while we were waiting in line for 15 minutes waiting to get our ferry tickets. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun. We stayed there for a couple hours and then decided to pick up some food on the way home to cook out. After that we went to an impromptu get-together at my aunt's house and then came home. I knew I had to do my long run but was totally pooped. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I groaned about it for a while, trying to figure out if I could somehow justify NOT doing it. I couldn't. So I suited up and got on the treadmill. It was a bit painful starting out. I felt like I couldn't quite catch my groove. I worried that I wasn't going to be able to do 3 miles, let alone 4 (if not more). Somehow, 1.5 miles went by pretty quickly. I started to feel a bit better. Around 2 or 2.5 miles, I decided I wanted to do 5. Prior to this, the most I'd ever run straight without stopping was 3 miles. A few weeks back I did 4 miles in one of my workouts but it had walking intervals. To keep from feeling overwhelmed at having more miles to do around the time when I am normally stopping, I decided to start counting songs.."Oh wow, only 6 or 7 more songs until I can stop. That isn't so bad". Then when I got closer to the end I started counting down laps "Yay, only 3 more to go!" More than anything, I wanted to be able to say that I did 5 miles. My body felt great during the run. My biggest obstacle was convincing my brain that I could do it. Five miles sounded like SOOOO much. But here I am. I did it and felt great. So that was my PR (personal record) for distance. It took me 58 minutes to do the 5 miles. I won't be breaking any records with that, but it's ok. For now the only records I care about breaking are my own.

Also, I want to give kudos to my body, which has refused to relinquish even a SINGLE pound despite going from being sedentary to running over 40 miles this month. A round of applause everybody... Seriously, I'd like to lose just a few pounds to get things rolling. PLEASE. I'm dyin' here. Does anyone want to start a "I'm running my ass off but the pounds aren't going anywhere" club? Let me know.

Feelin' good

2008-03-26T18:30:00.003-05:00

Wow. I feel great. I just got off the tread. My workout was splendid. In fact, I was feeling so good after I was done with the running portion that I walked another .75 miles (also because I wasn't quite ready to end my private "Jen sings Maroon 5" concert). I warmed up for 5 minutes (.25 mile), then ran 1 mile at 11:50, the second mile at 11:45, and the third at 10:29. Yay for negative splits! So, including the walking portions my workout was 4 miles. Should I be counting my warm ups and cool downs in my mileage? I think the way I've been doing it has sort of been a mixed bag. Oops. Oh well.

I have no idea where the energy is coming from but today and yesterday, my legs have just been wanting to sprint their little hearts out. My typical slower pace is simply not sufficient for them. It's like they're saying "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, can we PLEASE go faster?!" So slowly I increased my speed until I found a comfortable pace where it didn't feel like the bottom half of my body was going to miraculously split and take off running in front of me. I can't properly express how wonderful I felt while I was running. It was insane. Maybe a music change was what I needed in my workouts or something. I was running along, singing my heart out with as much passion and vigor as Adam Levine himself (and far more arm movement, bravado and ridiculous facial expressions). Could this be my very own "runner's high"?! Whatever it is, I'll gladly accept it.

Yesterday I did a quick warm up, then ran 2 miles and quickly cooled down. I think my pace was somewhere between 10 and 11 minutes/mile...whatever I started out at I gradually increased speed and I think my final half mile was at 10 minutes/mile. Good stuff.

27 random facts

2008-03-26T15:49:00.007-05:00

Following are 27 things you may or may not know about me.

1. I was Lady Liberty in a play in 5th grade.
2. Some people can pull off funky toenail polish colors like blue and purple; I'm not one of them.
3. I HATE barnacles. They disgust me.
4. My dad used to wake me up in the morning by singing Elvis's "Blue Christmas" (regardless of the month).
5. I once made someone laugh so hard on an airplane that she peed her pants.
6. I love boiled peanuts.
7. I love boiled peanuts so much that my bff Kim and I contemplated moving to Seattle and opening a boiled peanut stand outside the Space Needle to bring a slice of the "South" to the Pacific NW. Sadly, I doubt this dream will ever be realized.
8. Keeping with the boiled peanut topic, Kim and I brought cans of boiled peanuts onto a flight once as a snack. I think the pop tops on the cans would now be considered weapons.
9. When I was 5 or 6 my sister got angry that I would never try new foods so she surreptitiously added tuna fish to my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All it did was make me cry and then swear off tuna fish for the rest of my life.
10. I hate seafood.
11. I got a friend to complete my button sewing project in Home Ec class in 6th grade.
12. I did not get a manicure or pedicure until I was 24.
13. I am addicted to 'Rock of Love'.
14. I watched the movie American Pie in the theater with my friend Jes and my Grandma.
15. Sometimes when I'm cooking I pretend I'm on a cooking show and describe what I'm doing while periodically looking up at the (invisible) camera and audience.
16. My mom is going to Alaska for four months to work at a lodge in Denali. She kicks ass.
17. My ideal breakfast consists of pancakes, crispy bacon and coffee with french vanilla creamer.
18. Sometimes I really enjoy public speaking - like if I'm really comfortable with the group...or am slightly intoxicated.
19. I've been a bridesmaid in 5 weddings.
20. I get teary eyed at sporting events when there are fly-overs.
21. I'm a pizza monster.
22. I was the District champion for #5 singles in high school - either jr or sr year. I forget.
23. I have a really horrible memory.
24. My cat, Ava, sleeps on my pillow or curled up by my side at night. It's precious.
25. I have the funniest, most fantastic boyfriend in the world!
26. I hope to be able to one day walk in high heels without looking/feeling like an assclown.
27. When I was 6 I told my Dad I was going to run away if he didn't make me pancakes for lunch. I even packed my bunny duffel bag (it had a bunny head at one end and a tail at the other). I walked to the end of the driveway with my bunny bag, looking back every few steps, waiting for him to run out and say "Ok, I'm sorry. Of course I'll make you pancakes!" I'm sure you see where this is going...when I realized I wasn't going to win I turned around, dejected, walked back to the house and ate p-jelly for lunch instead.

Happy Hump Day! Woo!

Potpourri

2008-03-25T13:15:00.017-05:00

I think the way my last entry ended was with a prediction for the workout I was going to do that night. I should have known better than to do that because every time I do that, there is no follow through. It's like a weird curse or something. I should start writing what I am NOT going to do and maybe that will be more accurate. I think I ended up lifting some weights and doing a few yoga poses while watching C.S.I. reruns. On Friday, I ran 2 miles: 1 mile straight and on the second mile I did speedwork: 1 lap running fast, 1 lap walking, 1 lap running fast, 1 lap walking. Then I cooled down. I'm mad because I usually write my workouts down so that I can log them but I guess I didn't do that on Friday. Bummer. So I THINK that's what I did...Saturday was a rest day.

Sunday was supposed to be another long run day but that fell through. My dad and Michelle were in town for Easter and we went to John Taylor Park and met up with the family and ate, had an easter egg hunt, played volleyball, and ate again (we REALLY like food). The weather was absolutely perfect: bright and sunny, but cooler (70's) with a nice breeze. I thought I was too old for easter egg hunts but apparently not because I was recruited to be a part of it. Just to make things interesting, the adults decided to partner us up and tie our legs together with jumpropes. This was every bit as difficult/entertaining/embarrassing as one would imagine. I was partnered up with my cousin Matt and I have to say I think we made for a spectacular team. We ran pretty well together. Surprisingly, I didn't fall at all while we were running around. The biggest challenge was navigating among all the trees. Neither of us was very vocal so we'd be heading toward a tree and I'd just start screaming "Tree, tree, tree!!!" (no, he isn't blind or anything, I just tend to panic as opposed to formulating any sort of plan. It's much easier). Of course we'd each try to go on our own side of the tree then we'd feel the other person pulling so we'd each go for the other person's side of the tree and then finally one of us would call a side. We ended up tied for 2nd place with a whopping 7 eggs. Bear in mind there were 5 teams and about 36 eggs hidden. So we didn't do too badly.

Although I didn't do my long run, at least I got some unscheduled cross training in...sort of. The volleyball game was a lot of fun (and just a little intense) and I had no idea until the next day just how many different muscles I jolted to life with my wild sliding, running, spinning, and diving. I could barely walk. It was horrible. I STILL ache. So I guess this is a wake up call that I need to broaden my exercising horizons because there is a whole lot that I'm NOT doing to activate certain muscles. Hmm. Who'da thought?!

I bought a book last week called The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women. It's got to be one of the funniest books I've ever read. If you enjoy running, are training for a marathon (or have ever trained) or just enjoy laugh out loud funny, sarcastic humor, please check into this book. At one point, I was laughing so hard I was on the verge of having an asthmatic reaction. I got all wheezy and had to take a few minutes to catch my breath. I'm probably going to be done with it tonight or tomorrow. It's really fantastic. :)

Here are some pics I took last Saturday. We went to the Safety Harbor pier hoping the manatees would be there. No such luck but I got some nice pics. Sometimes Dave and I ride our bikes to this pier. It's a really beautiful ride and we're so lucky to have the trail so close to home.

A.M. Workout

2008-03-20T14:53:00.011-05:00

On Tuesday I got pumped to try a morning workout after reading some discussion threads on the Runner's World website. Somehow, I managed to abide by my loud and irritating cell phone alarm that went off at 6:10 yesterday morning. How I was able to spring up out of bed at that time remains a mystery to me since on most weekdays, I cannot get out of bed until around 7:40 when Dave is yelling at me for at least the 3rd time to get up. At any rate, I got up, brushed my teeth, changed into the clothes that were laid out, and went downstairs to drink some water and have a small snack - piece of bread with some crunchy pb. I went on the back patio and plugged the treadmill in and put my brand new Lenny's Greatest Hits in the cd player. It was really nice to listen to him without the skipping. Since it was still dark out, I didn't open the blinds because I would have been staring at my reflection and that creeps me out. Side note: another reason I can't open the blinds when it's dark out is that I get a recurring daymare (a daydream that is a nightmare. I think I just made this word up) that I'll be trotting along happily and a clown will pop up outside the window (as if from nowhere) and scare the bejesus out of me. And of course I'll be paralyzed with fear, unable to scream and he will fly through the wall and most likely kill me. Fortunately, this isn't something I think about all the time. It usually only happens on the treadmill...or sometimes when I'm washing dishes at night and the porch blinds are open (there is a window above my sink in the kitchen that looks out onto the patio). Although I don't view myself as an unstable or bizarre person by any means, I can certainly see why one might think otherwise after reading what I just wrote. Oh well, I gotta keep it real. I hate clowns. Always have.

Ok, back to my workout: I hopped on and warmed up for about 3 minutes. Then I did 6/1 intervals for 4 miles. It was kinda tough and I was really tempted to stop after 3 miles but just kept going. One thing that tripped me up a bit was that as I was on my last .25 mile I realized that I didn't reset the distance on the tread and that if I wanted to truly do 4 miles, I would have to go BEYOND the 4th mile. Grrr. So much of the workouts are mental and when you've got an end point in mind and have been focusing intently on it, it's a real pain to push beyond said "end point". Of course, I wasn't awake or bright enough to look at the distance after I finished my warmup, so I just ran an extra .25 mile to be safe - I knew I hadn't gone nearly that far in 3 minutes walking as slowly as I did to warm up. As frustrating as it was, I'm really glad it was only .25 and not a longer distance. My cooldown was about 8 or 9 minutes and then I stretched a bit.

I know a lot of people love working out in the a.m. because they feel energized for the rest of the day. Prior to yesterday's workout, that had never really happened to me. Sure, I only had a handful of a.m. workouts but I never had that fantastic feeling...I'd be good for a while and then I'd crash in the early afternoon. Thankfully and surprisingly, yesterday was different! I felt really good physically as well as mentally - knowing my exercise was already done for the day and that when I got home from work I could do whatever I wanted (unfortunately, this turned out to be laundry, dishes and vacuuming). I didn't experience my midday slump either, it was incredible! Here we are today and I could literally fall asleep as I'm typing this. I planned on getting up this morning but couldn't muster it. Bummer. I'm going to attempt to remember these two days and how drastically different I felt so that I can encourage myself to get up early at least a few days a week. For the longest time I've said that ideally, my day would start with waking up early to work out, followed by shower, breakfast, reading the paper, and then heading to work.

Tuesday Kevin and I wogged, which entailed more walking than jogging but it was good nonetheless. I think we went about 3 miles. Tonight I'm going to do 2 or 3 miles, depending on whether I decide to do speed work or not. Happy Spring! :)

Rookie Plan with a splash of Galloway

2008-03-17T11:13:00.010-05:00

First of all, Happy St Patrick's Day!!! Second of all, I really want green beer. I doubt I will have any today but a girl can dream, right? Anyway, let me get to the point here. My training thus far has been all over the board. I was going to try to stick with any one training program but that hasn't really worked out. Originally, I was going to do the Jeff Galloway plan but I feel like I should be doing more jogging than 3x week (here I go being a Numbers/Distance Queen again). So I came across the "Rookie Plan" on the Runner's World website and think I might do that instead.

Plus, with Galloway's plan, Mondays are "off" days and although I could shift my days, I'm just really impatient and hardheaded and want a plan that starts NOW. I will definitely incorporate Galloway methods (i.e. walking intervals) but am confident that this Rookie Plan will be a good match. So, today is 30 minutes of cross training. I think I'll see if Dave will ride bikes with me. The weather right now is absolutely perfect: 76 degrees, sunny, with a nice breeze. I went out to the mailbox a few minutes ago and had to force myself to come back in. I wanted to just take off for a walk. Maybe I will do that at lunchtime. Hmm. Anyhow, I hope everyone has a happy SPD. Slainte!

aaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa

2008-03-16T21:29:00.004-05:00

So, Thursday was my massage. I don't think 90 minutes has ever gone by so quickly! It was fantastic!! I'm very glad that the masseuse knew it was my first massage. She did a really good job of making me feel comfortable and explaining things to me (not that there was THAT much to be explained: you strip and lay on a friggin table, but still). The room was small and dark with candles lit and a table in the middle of the room at a diagonal angle. There was just enough light to see the warm light brown walls and inspiring* (I'm really ashamed to admit that I just typed "inspirating" and had to correct myself a few minutes later after rereading what I'd typed. Sheezus.) and relaxing words on the wall: "love, light, energize, gratitude", etc. It was cute. So I hung my clothes up on the wall hooks, took my jewelry off and hopped on the bed. There was a weird body mold thingy under the sheet (light brown jersey sheets in case you were curious - and they smelled fabulous: Downy fresh) and she had instructed me how lay and what anatomy went where: "stomach here, breasts here, neck here, head here". She came in a few minutes later and turned soft music on. It was some sort of "landscapes" or "seascapes" type of cd. Very relaxing stuff.

She asked me a few questions which was kind of awkward because the headrest muffled my responses but I didn't want to pick my head up and interrupt anything she was going to do on my back or neck. So I kind of just mumbled and apparently that was ok because we just kept talking for a few minutes. She took warm towels and placed one across my upper back, and one on each of my feet. Ahhhh. Then she just dove in. At times I would have sworn there was another person in the room massaging me as well. Both hands would be running down one arm, gently but firmly massaging and then all of a sudden I'd feel pressure going down my back while my arm was still being massaged. I seriously wondered if maybe someone else slipped in the room while my eyes were closed. Fortunately, I don't think that happened. I think she was just THAT good. And she always had at least one hand on me, massaging. There were a few little parts that hurt; as I was laying on my stomach she bent my leg up and rotated my lower leg in a circle as she pressed her other hand on various points of my gluteus muscles. I was really paranoid that she would hit some sort of reflex and I'd kick the crap out of her. Lucky for both of us, my worries were for naught. After massasing everything from my back to feet to arms to hands, she made me flip over so that she could work on my face (a nice surprise), head and neck. At one point, I almost lost it and started cracking up because some weird song came on that sounded like a bird making a crow-like "caa" noise and this coincided with her lifting my head up and turning it to the side. I wondered if I was on some hidden camera puppet show. I would have felt like a psycho if I'd have started laughing because I don't think I could have explained it well and God knows sometimes people don't find the same things funny that I do. A while later, just as I was drifting into a completely new level of consciousness, I noticed her hands weren't on me anymore. I opened my eyes and saw here with clipboard in hand and she said "ooohhhkkaaayyyyy..." I said, "Please don't tell me it has been 90 minutes already. There is no way". She just laughed. I'm sure she gets that a lot. Not that I thought she was a dishonest person, but as soon as she left I checked my watch - in case she'd pushed the clock in the room ahead - she hadn't. I think my only suggestion would be to design a new face rest with a drool cup. When I was laying on my stomach, every few minutes I'd have to (very quietly) kind of slurp and make sure I wasn't going to drool on the floor. I'm sure I wouldn't have been the first though. So all in all, it was a fantastic experience. If I could, I would get a massage every single day.

Unfortunately, I decided to take Thursday off from training (thinking, "I'll just jog tomorrow before we leave". Wrong! DO NOT put off for tomorrow what you can do today!) Friday I got home late (stupid traffic) and was too irritated and tired and didn't have as much time since we were leaving for Sebring. I walked a bit on Saturday and walked 2 miles on Sunday...I was going to jog when we got home today but it didn't happen. So tomorrow, I've got to get back with the program. Dave got me some books on running for my bday, as well as a new Lenny Kravitz cd. YAY!!! No more skipping! Oh, and headphones for my mp3 player. Woo hoo! :)

Update

2008-03-13T16:39:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday and Wednesday I did 3.5 miles each day. Tuesday: 3.5 miles/45 minutes total: .25 mile warm up, 3 miles of 4/1 intervals, .25 cool down. My shinsplints were bothering me in my left leg but it wasn't too bad. Then on Wednesday I jogged 3 miles straight. I started out thinking "Ok, I'm just going to jog 2 miles. I don't want to push it too hard". Then since the time was about 23 minutes, I figured I may as well just run 30 minutes total. As the 30 minute mark approached I noticed that I had gone over 2.5 miles and figured I may as well make it a nice round number and stopped after 3 miles. Then I did a long cool down: about 10 minutes. My left shin and both ankles bothered me a bit but I was happy to have gone 3 straight miles. And my time for the 3 miles was 33.44, which is almost 30 seconds faster than the 3 mile jog I did with my aunt and uncle a while back. During the jog I did 2 fartleks (that's what the Swedes call "speed play"). I wasn't quite sprinting but significantly picked up my pace for 30 seconds during the first one and then 5 minutes later did a minute long jaunt. The original plan was to do one every 5 minutes but I was worried I would hurt myself. Overall it was a good workout though.

yay massage!

2008-03-12T15:11:00.004-05:00

My boss, Jerry, who is the best boss one could imagine, has scheduled an hour and a half long massage for me tomorrow for my b-day present! I can't wait! Maybe I can pick the masseuse's brain for a bit since I was considering going into the massage field at one point. Jerry said after an hour and a half I'm gonna "be like butta". Bring it on! Oh, and it's another thing I can cross off my list, so that's cool too. Yay.

Oh dear

2008-03-11T13:35:00.008-05:00

I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Even though I knocked on wood, it didn't turn out to be enough. I had no idea that my weekend would be such a vast departure from what my last blog entry stated. Yes, running is exciting. Yes, my body is my temple. No, I did not remember these things over the weekend while I consumed massive quantities of wings, french fries, pizza, bacon, biscuits, beer, and cookies (curse the girl scouts! not really. just their crazily addictive cookies). I will say that we had friends in town...so it's not like I went on some insane "I've gotta eat all the worst things I can think of" binge. I didn't work out Saturday or Sunday and I ate really horrendous things. So it's no huge surprise then, that Sunday afternoon/evening I felt like CRAP! My stomach hurt, I felt lethargic and I felt sad. I missed my workout and I missed fruits and veggies and feeling like I am doing good things for my body.

So yesterday I jogged. Dave agreed to ride his bike while I jogged. (I told him he'd be better off walking or trying to jog with me because I was probably going to be pretty slow. He didn't listen) I was sick of being in a room running on a treadmill and decided that I HAD to get outside and jog in the fresh air. It started out ok. I didn't walk at the beginning to warm up. I just started a slow jog. I concentrated on looking graceful and strong as we ran by the Starbucks where several people were talking and sipping their beverages on the outside patio. Then we turned and went into a neighborhood that leads to the Clearwater East/West trail. It's got a few hills, which is a nice albeit challenging change. I jogged for about 10 minutes and then decided to walk for a minute. I felt like such a tortoise! It seemed like I was going much more slowly than I do on the treadmill, and it seemed more difficult. I guess my treadmill is a lot more forgiving than the concrete. I jogged 10 more minutes then walked for 2. I planned to then jog the rest of the way home but stopped for a few more walking breaks. Of course, I jogged by Starbucks again on the way back. It's so funny how when I knew people COULD be watching, I kicked it up a notch (and didn't feel too bad doing it). I wish the entire route could have been lined with spectators cheering me on...I bet my performance would have improved significantly. I have no idea how far we went but since it was only 30 minutes, I would guess somewhere between 2-2.5 miles. It was pretty disappointing. I don't know whether I just never found my groove or if I was trying to jog too far or what. I will probably just do my 5/1 interval tonight on the treadmill. Wish me luck.

P.S. Oh, I forgot to mention that I DID jog on Friday night. I think I ended up doing 3.5 miles: 2 miles of 5/1 intervals and 1.5 miles of straight jogging. The miles were alternated: 1 mile of intervals, 1 mile straight jog, another mile of intervals, then a .5 mile jog. I desperately wanted to do a full fourth mile but felt the shinsplints again along with a few other aches and pains and didn't want to push too hard. It's frustrating because I don't know what is causing them. It could be the way I run, the shoes, that I started doing too much too soon, etc. I hope they don't flare up again. I feel like I should slow down a bit with the training but I don't want to slow down TOO much. Where's the line, ya know?

Progress?

2008-03-07T11:05:00.007-06:00

Last night's training jaunt was a little different. I decided to increase my jogging interval (5 min jog/1 min walk), which was cool, however, I only did 3 miles. So it was kind of bittersweet. I was bummed about only doing 3 miles but I decided not to push it and do a fourth mile as I felt like I was getting shinsplints in my left leg. I'm still struggling with some of the details of my training..."is it more important to do longer jogging intervals or more miles?" "how long should my 'long runs' be?". I'll figure it all out but I guess I'm just going to experiment and see how I feel.

Whenever I get to the end of my mileage for the interval or jogging portion, I always want to kick it up a notch and finish fast. My body's saying, "Come on, this is the end, let's make it happen, captain" but my mind's saying "Nope, we're not ready for this yet. We're just building mileage so cool your jets. There will be a time and place for building speed and kicking it up later." Aaarrrrghghghgh!! It's so frustrating sometimes!

I feel pretty good today. My legs feel strong and for lack of a better word, light. Yes, they feel light. It sounds weird and contradictory (to them feeling strong) but I don't really know how else to describe it. I've been feeling that way for about a week now and had noticed it before, usually the day after a good workout. I'm also filled with this anxious energy...I'll get up from my desk to fill up my water glass and I just want to take off running. It's kind of funny. I don't want to curse myself...hold on, let me knock on wood...but I don't think there has been a day yet where I have NOT been excited about doing my training. That makes me very happy. I think that is due to the fact that I'm not doing this to lose weight, so it doesn't feel like a chore. Since it's a personal goal and something I'm very focused on (which is rare for me because I swear I've developed adult-onset ADD), I look forward to it. I love the way I feel during and after a workout. I love to sweat!! I feel like I'm gaining a new respect for my body. We are capable of SO much and we only get one body, so it makes sense to treat it as your most precious and valuable possession. You know, all that "your body is your temple" jazz. I'm starting to really buy that. It's been a long time coming but I'm diggin' it.

I've been much more aware of the food I eat as well. This isn't to say I've done a complete overhaul and eliminated all the bad stuff. But I'm more conscious of at least attempting to eat more balanced meals...more veggies and fruits; more whole grains; less fast food and soda; more water; smaller portions, etc. You get the picture. I've been thinking of food more as fuel than something to reach out to when I'm bored. I do A LOT of mindless eating and that is something I hope to eliminate. Speaking of eating, I'm going to have some lunch. I hope to do 4 miles tonight but will probably take it pretty slow. Wish me luck (and no shinsplints) :)

week 2

2008-03-05T08:33:00.002-06:00

Monday was my "rest" day so Dave and I just went for a short walk: 1.6 miles. I was pretty eager to get rolling again and decided that I was going to up my mileage on my workout days. Yesterday, after my warm up, I began my intervals (4 min jog/1 min walk). I decided to slow down a bit to see if I would feel better. Sure enough, I did. My pace was just over an 11 min mile. I was trying not to be a...whatever the equivalent to a 'size queen' would be for running pace (a 'speed queen', a 'time queen'?!). I breezed through 3 miles of intervals and then decided to jog a mile straight. It wasn't too bad. So with warm up and cool down I did about 4.5 miles in about 55 mins. I was thrilled that I did 4 miles. yay. I think I will try to do the same on Thursday and Friday.

I'm still undecided on the marathon I will be doing but am leaning toward the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in November. I think it's right on the TN/GA border. It's a smaller race and is supposed to be really beautiful. Also, I figure I will save a lot of time and $$ on travel expenses if it's closer to home (which will hopefully be Murfreesboro/Nashville at that time). Check it out: http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=1195081108

ouch

2008-03-03T11:58:00.004-06:00

This is a shame but I am PRETTY sore from yesterday. My thighs and calves are killing me. The sick part is that I kinda like it though. It means I worked hard. I'm moving slowly today and am wondering how tomorrow will be when I resume running. I think I might just take a walk today.

"long" run

2008-03-02T22:02:00.005-06:00

This morning I did my "long" run for the week. As a novice, this translates (at least for ME) to a straight 3 mile run with no stops. In my book, that was a pretty good accomplishment as I cannot remember the last time I ran 3 miles straight. Go me, go me! My aunt and uncle, Jed and Patsy, accompanied me. I think our time ended up being 34 minutes. I can say with about 97% certainty that had I attempted a 3 mile run on my own, I would have stopped to walk half way through (and that is a generous assessment). At one point, walking was all I could think of. Naturally, as I was struggling with fighting off that urge I wondered, "How in the world am I EVER going to do this times 8, and then some?! Am I nuts?!" It's a scary and intimidating thought. Luckily, I pushed through all the exhaustion and can safely say it was definitely worth it. About an hour or so later (after I stretched and cooled down), I felt fantastic both physically and mentally. What a fantastic way to start my day! Sooo, counting today's workout, my first official week of training consisted of approximately 11 miles. Woo hoo. I'll take that. :)

chicken or egg?

2008-02-29T17:53:00.012-06:00

I've been struggling with a sort of chicken or egg dilemma with this project. Specifically, whether I should train a few more months and then choose a marathon (because I'm not sure how quickly I will progress), or if I should choose a marathon NOW so that I have a goal and time frame. Which would be better?! Well, I got a call from my uncle Jed this morning and he suggested that I choose a marathon so that I have a goal in mind (plus a lot of registrations fill up quickly apparently) and then we'll start our training (we had scheduling difficulties this week). Now that I've thought a little more about it, I think he's right - it makes a lot more sense to have a date in mind so that you can plan accordingly and stay motivated. I spent some time today researching marathons and made notes on some of the ones that I like. I hope to have made a decision by the end of the weekend. Our move to TN and starting a new job doesn't exactly help with things but oh well. Everything will work out.

I just finished my 3rd training session of the week. yay! My legs felt kinda heavy, and my right calf was bothering me a bit, which wasn't fun but oh well. And getting things going on the jogging intervals wasn't quite as easy as it was Wednesday. I feel really good now though, so I can't complain. My workout was similar to Wednesday's: I did a 5 min warm up, then 6 intervals of 4 minutes jogging/1 minute walking, then a long cool down. I found that my music made a HUGE difference in pacing. I started out listening to Kylie Minogue. I liked it but it didn't get me pumped up enough. So then I tried Madonna's "Confessions on a Dancefloor" (I think that's the name anyway - you know what I'm talking about, it's her most recent cd). The cd begins with "Hung up" and the first line is "Time goes by....so slowly" and I'm thinking "girl, you are not lyin'. This friggin jogging interval is never going to end". During these jogging intervals my pace was slower than on Wednesday; not by much, but still. So then I'd had enough of Madonna so I turned on Lenny Kravitz's Greatest Hits. I absolutely LOVE this cd. I know some of you are probably making fun of me right now but I'm ok with that because I'm secure in my love for Lenny. I think I'm doing to have to buy another copy because mine has a few scratches on it (I'm a cd's worst nightmare. They ALWAYS end up scratched) As soon as I heard the electric guitar and heavy drums in "Are you gonna go my way?", my pace picked up. All of a sudden I was pushing myself to sub 10 minute/mile paces and was loving it. Pondering my delight in the electric guitar rifts made me think of the Dave Chappelle episode where he and John Mayer prove that it's not that white people can't dance...we just have to have the right music. So they sneak into a board meeting a a company with all white employees and John starts playing the electric guitar and everyone goes nuts. Bras go flying, whities start swaying and getting their groove on. So this scene plays out a few other places with the same result until they try it at a barbershop. It turns out that at the barbershop, which is predominantly a black hangout, drums are the chosen instrument. It's very funny. How did I get on this tangent?! Good lord. Anyway, if you haven't seen that episode, check it out. I think it's in Season 2. It's good stuff. I think this post has gotten way out of hand so I'm going to ride out. Happy Leap Day!!

3 miles

2008-02-28T13:06:00.006-06:00

I did another workout last night. I hopped on my treadmill (weather's been rainy...I was about to write "and nasty" but I love the rain so I'm not gonna dis it. It's just not the best weather to run in) and warmed up walking for 5 minutes and then began intervals of jogging (10-10.5 min mile) 3 minutes and walking 2 minutes. I did 6 intervals and then cooled down for 6 minutes. I was only shooting for a 30 min workout, but as I approached that mark, I felt really good and wanted to make it to an even 3 miles, so I continued. My workout was right at 41 minutes. The intervals make the time go by quickly since you're thinking about the time in much smaller increments.

My aunt Jenise told me about Jeff Galloway's website and suggested using his training schedule. I just watched a mini video on him today that I found on CNN. He has been referred to as the "Marathon Man" and has completed almost 120 marathons during his 50+ years as a runner. The plan seems simple and very easy to follow: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html

I think I will do another week or two of my own little intervals and then begin his program. He said that if you've been walking/running for a few weeks before starting the program that is cool. So that's what I'll do. I'm still really excited about all of this. I was very eager to get home yesterday and get my trainin' on. I hope this feeling lasts for a while. I really wish I could just bottle it up for when the going gets rough. :)

First official training session - shaaa zaaaam!

2008-02-26T08:49:00.009-06:00

So, I had my first training session yesterday. It was pretty easy but I moved my butt nonetheless. Dave and I walked for about 30 minutes and had 3 light jogging intervals. The jogging actually felt great and loosened my thighs up quite a bit (they had been aching from a measly mile long run Saturday and bike ride on Sunday).

I need to get new shoes, which I'm pretty excited about. What a typical female response - "I can't wait to go shopping for all the gear I need!" Sheesh.
I talked to my uncle Jed and he agreed to jog with me so we're in the process of setting up some kind of schedule. It will help a lot to have an experienced runner/marathoner to train with, and running with a partner certainly beats hopping on my treadmill.

At this point there are many unknowns with this project but I have decided on a few details of my training:

1. I will jog/do intervals at least 3 days a week
2. I will cross train (bike, walk, swim) at least 1 day a week
3. I will sign up for at least one 5k and one 10k this year prior to the marathon
4. I will keep a log of my workouts and how I feel
5. I will give my body 1 full day to rest per week

I should probably modify my diet somehow but I love food (particularly bad food) too much to think about that right now. Maybe I'll tackle that later.

I'm still deciding which marathon I will complete. I think as time goes on, I might pick a few and then create a poll on my blog for peeps to cast their vote. How fun does THAT sound?!

The training is difficult because I'm so psyched about it that I want to get off to a running start (literally) but I know I need to pull the reins back and focus on doing things a little bit slower so that I don't injure myself or burn out and lose interest. It's frustrating because I don't know how slowly to start but I'm guessing I should just listen to my body...or maybe some of the experienced runners in my family. :)

I want to thank everyone that has read my blog and left comments or emailed me. Your support means A LOT and has somehow managed to make me even more excited about this awesome project. I didn't realize that was possible because I'm totally stoked! Woo hoo!

Life List

2008-02-25T11:01:00.004-06:00

Life list as of 3/12/08:

Learn a foreign language
Parasail
Bungee jump
Visit all 50 states
Ride in a hot air balloon
Visit at least 3 other continents
Learn to play a musical instrument (piano) (Done, sort of. 2/07)
Take a pottery class
Take a kickboxing class DONE 2007
Take a yoga class
Skydive again
Get a professional massage
**Run a marathon
Be in a play (even if it's a small part)
See a Broadway play
Climb Mt. Rainier (or comparable mtn)
Go ice fishing
See the Northern Lights
Visit Stonehenge
Buy a house
Stand in the 4 corners of the UCAN states
Go white water rafting in stronger rapids than a class 1
Go Rappelling
Live in at least one other state (Will do this in 2008! Tennessee here we come!)
Create a fabulous "signature" recipe and keep it a secret
Go hanggliding
Go muddin' in an atv
Scuba dive
Learn how to surf
Go ice skating at Rockefeller Center
Go to Oktoberfest
Go to a pro hockey game (Yay, I did this about a month ago and loved it! 3-16-07)
Go to an Arena Football Game
Take a ballroom dancing class
Go kite surfing
Take flying lessons
Ride a 2 person bike (tandem bike?!)
Take a zip line canopy tour

Decision '08...No, not THAT Decision '08.

2008-02-25T10:07:00.000-06:00

Hello. I am not quite sure how to start this (I wonder if this is how everyone starts?!) but here we go. Last year, on my 25th birthday, I decided that I was going to start doing a "birthday challenge" every year on or around my b-day. I figured it would be an easy, fun and surefire way to slowly chip away at my "Life List". Last year I decided to start taking piano lessons, as learning piano (or guitar) was on my list. I've been taking lessons since May of last year and have been really enjoying it. As far as measuring success though, I'm not quite sure how I'd define the experience. I've learned how to read music (well, very basic music, but still). I can play a several songs (well, snippets of them at least). I'm having fun doing it. I guess that is one of the most important things. And I LOVE my teacher, she is fantastic! I hope that it is something I will continue to do for the rest of my life but we will see. It's a bit early for that.

So that brings us to the present. On Saturday while I was on my treadmill, I started thinking about what my challenge could be this year. As I was walking along suddenly it hit me like a flying fish (this is a reference to my bf Kim getting whacked in the head at Pike's Market during our trip to Seattle a few years ago. If you haven't heard the story it's a good one. That entire trip is a great story. But I digress). I thought, "since I will be turning 26 in March, what is something significant (numerically, if nothing else) that I can do?!" And then it hit me: I can complete a marathon: 26.2 miles! Ta Daaaaa!

All of a sudden, I was more psyched than I have been in a long time. Sure, it's going to be pretty difficult (understatement of the year perhaps). But I think this will be really, really great for me. Of course, I've already been plagued with my moments of doubt - "But you can barely run 2 miles right now!" "But you hate running" "Is it possible to train and complete that in a year?! Maybe you're biting off too much". I am trying my best to acknowledge those thoughts and then argue against them. I think right now, the most important thing is that when I start training - this week, that I do it super slowly. I don't want to burn out. I have several runners in my family so I will definitely be taking advantage of that. As far as hating running...I don't think I've really found my groove. I decided that I hated running a year and a half ago while doing a 5k for the Susan G Komen foundation. In retrospect, I think if I had actually trained (and passed on all the free food and drinks vendors were giving out prior to the race), I might have enjoyed it.

I've long been of the opinion that our bodies are capable of truly incredible things in the fitness realm, and have sooo much respect for people who push themselves and achieve things they had no idea were possible. I hope to be one of those people sometime in the next year. Wish me luck! :)