Just Keep Running!

Moved Back!

2010-06-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

I know, I'm a crazy fickle person with the blog, but I'm officially back at http://www.runthirteenpointone.blogspot.com

Tempo Day

2010-01-22T20:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's day of rest about killed me. I wandered around the house. Cleaned a bathroom. Threw in a load of laundry. Wandered back to the couch. Bitched. Went to the grocery store. Sat on the couch. In other words, it sucked and I was a massive bitch by the end of the day. Resting is NOT for me! I'm going to have to have a little pow wow with Coach Bill during Sunday's long run.

Today was a tempo run. Bill wanted me to warm up for a mile then run 4 at 7.1 on the treadmill. What I actually did: warmed up for 5 minutes, jacked it up to 7.1 for 3.5 miles then up to 7.2 for another mile and a half. Total run: 6 miles in 51 minutes. When I was done, I was still kind of cranky because I wanted to run faster. Which is totally stupid but it is out of habit. I have to get over the days of "turn it on, run fast for an hour, get off". I enlisted Bill's help because I want to become a better runner and I can't become a better runner if I'm not going to follow his plan. I know, I get it. But if I have to have a day off, it makes me crazy hyper the next day and results in a rule breaking f-up of a run. He told me that these tempo runs are going to get a lot harder. That I'll need to run them faster and I'm sure when that happens, I wont be such a horrible student but until then, I'm a rebel. But lets keep that between us.

After my run, I went to Pilates. I'm really loving it. I am by far the least bendy person in there which is pretty funny. Everyone else is bending way over and contorting in crazy positions and I'm standing there, hardly able to touch my toes and look like I'm 95. It's pretty funny. I've finally gotten past being embarrassed about it and just enjoying the workout. I've also noticed that I'm really feeling it in my hips which is great because they are certainly my weak point. On last Sunday's long run, by mile 12, my hips were screaming. I'm really hoping that Pilates is going to help with that.

Tomorrow is yet another rest day but it will be a busy day since both my boys have basketball games which will help. Sunday it's supposed to rain again just in time for the long run. Hopefully it wont be windy too. I'm not sure what Bill has on tap. My guess is we will do at least 13, maybe he'll tack on another 3.

Wednesday Funny

2010-01-20T14:30:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the Dennis Quaid video in Starbucks?? Freaking hilarious!!!

Ellen's Hidden Camera Starbucks Prank! - The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Surviving Week One and Marathon Decision!

2010-01-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

I made my marathon decision. I decided to run the Delaware Marathon on May 16th. That pro/con list clearly pointed at Delaware as the better race....all 3 points of it. I'm excited to have a date and a plan. Onward!

After Sunday's long run, I was off on Monday. My first off day in a long, long time. Fortunately, it also happened to be a school holiday so the kids being home made it a lot easier. Tomorrow, however, is yet another scheduled rest day and it's going to be hard. Real hard. I'm dying to 'cheat' and go to my strength training class anyway but I'm absolutly the worlds worst lier and I know Bill would find out. I'm sure once my long runs get longer and my mid week interval run and temp run get more difficult, I'll be thankful for these built in rest days but for now, I'm dreading them.

After Monday's rest day, I was very anxious to get back to it on Tuesday. The schedule called for interval training on the treadmill which I'm new to. I had to write the workout down on a sticky note and put it on the treadmill because I knew I'd never remember it all. Normally, I hop on, jack up the speed and run until I don't feel like it anymore then I just turn it off....yeah, no warm up, no cool down, just balls out run until I decide I want to stop. Told you I needed help.

Anyway, the interval run was set up like this:
Warm up for 15 minutes at 6.2 (yawn, I hated this part. I managed a 1 mile warm up then went on...)
2 miles at 7.0
Begin intervals. Four 4 minute intervals as follows:
1. Speed at 8.0 for 4 minutes; after 2 minutes, increase incline to 2% for 30 seconds
2. Speed at 8.0 for 4 minutes; after 2 minutes, increase speed to 8.4 for 30 seconds
3. Repeat interval 1
4. Repeat interval 2
Between each interval, I jogged at 6.0 for 3 minutes.

This was a great workout. I really liked the intervals, watching the time and increasing speed or incline made it go by faster for me. It was a challenge, but not horrible. The 3 minute jogs between intervals felt a little too long...after about 90 seconds, I felt ready to go again. He said that these intervals will get more difficult - longer in duration, faster in speed and higher in incline.

Today was a 'recovery' run. He told me I was to stay between 6.5 and 7.0 for speed and not to go any faster because, "Your easy days need to stay easy!" Ok, ok! Geesh. I did as I was told and ran 6 miles in 52 minutes. After the run, I went to spinning class.

So. That's where I am. Week 1 is almost in the books. Tomorrow will be....interesting. Then Friday I have a 5 mile tempo run on tap. And wouldn't you know that after all the sun we are experiencing right now, the rain will be back just in time for Sunday's long run. Again.

Long Run #1 in the Books

2010-01-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

Today was the first official long run of spring marathon training - woo hoo. Holla. Yippieeee. I'm really glad I have Bill and the rest of the group because if I didn't, no way would I have done this run today. It was 38 degrees and pouring rain. Awesome. We set out for a 2 hour run and I thought we'd stick to the straight, flat trail I usually run on, I couldn't have been more wrong. He took us on a hilly route for the majority of the run only to hop on the trail when he wanted to run 2 miles at marathon pace. The area he took us to while hilly was really awesome. Beautiful open spaces, and I imagine that on a sunny day, is even better. It was really good to get out of my comfort zone and these hills are great training for me. This is the longest I've run in I don't know how long so between the length of time on my feet and the hills, I was pretty tired by the end. Having said that, I'm really glad I went and feel great about it now that I'm dry. And warm.
Bill is full of information. Nothing like having a multi-time Ironman training you for your next marathon. We ran most of it at a conservative pace - which was another reason I'm glad I have him because normally, I run way too fast and if the weather is shitty, I run even faster just to get it done. He kept me at the proper pace, talked a lot about fueling and heart rate. It was a great learning day for me. Then when my legs were good and tired, we got on the flat path and ran 2 miles at marathon pace. After a short slow down, we ran a half mile at faster than marathon pace then .2 at about 20 seconds faster than that. The idea is for those bursts to get longer in distance. The last 2-3 miles were a nice steady cool-down type run.
Obviously by all my run on sentences, my mind is swirling with information right now. I'm excited about the prospect of finishing the marathon strong and finally having the OBX monkey off my back!

Marathon Training Has Offially Begun!

2010-01-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

I had a goal yesterday to get back to my blogging now that I've got a few races on the calendar so I sat down, wrote and wrote and wrote then had to run out so I saved my post only to come back and find it gone. Gone!!! Oh blogger you make it so hard!

Anyhoo.....I found (obviously) that it was really hard to keep up with the old blog when I wasn't training for anything. I can only post about the gym so many times before I'm so bored of myself I want to put a stick in my eye. Now that I've signed up for a race and have two others in my site, I'm back to full on training and blogging about it. Insert cricket noise here. I'm excited.

I got myself a running coach and am hell bent determined to run a marathon that does not involve the following:
Going out too fast
Tears
Throw up (sorry)
Cramping
Tears
Dehydration
Walking
Questioning why the hell I'm doing it
Tears
I'm sure there is more that happened at OBX that I'd like to not have happen again but clearly I'm working on blocking that entire experience out.

I am officially registered for the Suntrust National Half Marathon taking place in Washington, D.C. on March 20th. March 20th also happens to be Quinn's 7th (7?!) birthday which I'm sure is good luck. After that, I'm trying to decide between the Frederick Maryland Marathon and the Delaware Marathon.

Pros of Frederick:
Very close to home - no overnight travel necessary
Um, I think that's it
Cons of Frederick:
Hilly
Course - I hear it's pretty gross although running through a Walmart parking lot does sound different.

Pros of Delaware:
Sounds like it's a lot less hilly
Why are my pros lists so short?
Cons of Delaware:
Requires overnight travel
Double loop course - not thrilled about running past the finish line, hearing and seeing all the halfers finish only to have 13.1 more miles to go.

I need to make that decision pretty quick and will do so as soon as I can either find a coin to flip or someone leaves a comment telling me what to do.
My coach and I officially start on Sunday with a long run. Bill does things different then I ever had which is why I like him (although he also seems to think that a 3:50 marathon is more than doable for me which is why I've dubbed him Coach Oncrack). He goes for time on feet rather than getting hung up on miles run. So on Sunday, we are meeting for a 2 hour and 10 minute run on a "medium hilly course". I have no idea what his idea of "medium hill" is but I can guarantee you that it is different from mine. If it is steeper then 1.2% on the treadmill, it's going to feel like a mountain. The time run is going to be hard for me to get used to because during training for Shamrock and OBX, I was very hung up on my mileage. If I went out for a run and didn't get exactly what the schedule called for that day, I'd beat myself up for it. However, for OBX I ran way too fast on those long runs because I just wanted to fit all the miles in. I ran every single long run at or close to marathon pace. As a result, by the time I got to OBX, I was completely burned out, exhausted and miserable. This Sunday, the plan is to run 5 at a "conversational pace" (I'm sure he'll give me an exact number when we start out) then 2 miles at marathon pace then back down for the rest of the time. Interesting. So not what I'm used to but given what happened during my last marathon, perhaps exactly what I need. He is going to really get into target heart rate as well which I'm excited to learn more about because honestly, I'm totally clueless as to where my heart rate should be when training. Yeah. I'm a moron. A moron that is getting help at exactly the right time!

Then next week, he has a full schedule for me to follow. My only issue with it is that I've gotten totally addicted to several classes at the gym and I have to seriously alter that. This going cold turkey thing is going to stink, big time but I think I'll be glad once we really ramp up the miles and speed. Right now, I don't allow for recovery time which I know is really bad. I workout every single day. Starting next week, Monday will be an off day (since we will always do long runs on Sun) so I have to skip my spinning class and Thursday is an off day which means he is actually asking me to skip my beloved strength training class that day. This could make me very cranky. I'm trusting him though. He seems quite serious and I know he'll find out if I go against his plan mostly on account of I'm a horrible lier.

Next week, I'll be using this blog as my official training journal so the numbers will probably get pretty boring but I know my 4 readers can handle it.

Zero Excuses....Just Posting

2009-12-11T20:52:00.000-05:00

I know. I said I was going to be a better blogger. And I totally meant it when I said it! Problem is, I think I was trying to convince myself that I was totally over the awful OBX Marathon experience when I obviously wasn't. So. I took even more time away, beat my head against the wall a few more times, cried a few more times, talked myself out of the idea that I should stop running and eventually, started running again. Yay.

So. I'm back to running in a super casual, "yeah, I'm all cool, I only run when I feel like it because I'm totally not training for anything so I have no pressure and, like, whatever, running is totally over rated anyway!' kind of way. And I have to say, it's working for me! The only problem is that since I've pushed running to the back burner, I've shoved all other workouts to the front and in a bit of an obsessive way.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been pushing myself harder than I ever did when training for a half or full marathon. I've been doing two a day workouts every single day minus one of the weekend days.

Monday's and Friday's, I run for 4 or 5 miles then take an hour spinning class. On Tuesday's and Thursday's, I run between 6 and 7 miles then take my all time favorite strength training class for an hour. But my Wednesday's have become what I refer to as my 'marathon gym day'. It starts with a boot camp class from 9:10 - 10:10am - it's a crazy hard core sweat fest that I LOVE. Then I do a core class from 10:15 - 10:45. At 10:45, I scarf down a bit of food, run an errand or two and then get back into the gym for the noon spin class. By Wednesday evening, I'm pretty much toast but in such a happy way, it isn't even funny.

It all sounds crazy and kind of manic when I actually say the schedule out loud. And to make it worse, if I skip a day, like today, I feel horrible and guilty. Healthy, right? Yeah. Not. So like I said, I'm obviously not over the stupid Outer Banks. At some point, I'll either burn out or find a happy medium.

I had several opportunities to run a 5k before and after Thanksgiving....Turkey Trots are so easy to come by....but I managed to avoid them all. I had a million excuses. Racing has been the last thing I've wanted to do. Which brings me to this Sunday: The Jingle All the Way 10k race in D.C. Lucky for me though, it's not going to be a race in that I have to get all psyched up and freak out about a PR, etc, etc. I'm running it with a big group of friends - most of them were on our Ragnar Relay team - and we all have different average times of 6:45/mile - 12:00 run/walk per mile. The plan is for us all to dress up in a festive way (which is apparently the norm at this race) and to stay together which means a lot of walking and a very fun and festive day. I'm really looking forward to it.

Incredible What Two Years Can Do

2009-11-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my plan was to go for my first run post-marathon. I decided that it would be fitting to get out there, exactly one week later, and get a nice strong run in. I was going to do just a short, 3, maybe 4 miles and come home all refreshed and with a new attitude. That was the plan. I woke up on Sunday morning dreading the run. I was cranky just thinking about it. I wanted to do anything but run. So I skipped it. Didn't even put on my running clothes to see if that would hype me up. I decided that if I was dreading it that bad, if it was making me that cranky (read: bitchy to everyone around me) then it just was best to not go. I really don't want to force myself to run, have a shitty run because of my attitude then hate the sport. I love running. Love what it does for me both mentally and physically so until I'm sure I'm ready, I'm not going to force it. Having said all that, I have these pesky 4 training pounds that have got to go! I'm feeling bloated since apparently I kept eating like I was in training all last week. Um, duh. So! Back to spinning I go!! I got into spinning when I was training for the Shamrock Marathon last winter and really loved it. It helped my running quite a bit as well....gotta love cross-training (wish I had done it during OBX training!). The rec center where I workout offers spinning on Mon/Wed/Fri at noon which is perfect for me. I'm really excited about getting in there today and blowing off some steam.....and maybe a pound of bloat.

When I sat down to blog today, I thought I'd look back at my first ever post
just to see where my head was at. It has been exactly two years since I started this journey. Back then, the longest distance I had ever run was 6 miles and yet, for some reason, I decided to sign up for the Marine Corps Half Marathon (hence the reason for starting this blog). I wish I could tell that scared beyond belief girl, "You can do it! And not only can you run a half marathon but you can run three! And two full marathons! And a crazy ass 24-hour relay from MD to DC!" I'm amazed at what the body and mind can do if you just give it a chance. In other words, I will run again. And I will run another marathon because I know I can do it if I just give myself another chance.

Outer Banks Marathon Report: Warning....It Isn't Pretty.

2009-11-12T15:17:00.000-05:00

Today is day three of post-horrible-everythingbadthatcouldhappendid-cryfest-Outer Banks Marathon experience and since I've finally stopped crying, I thought it would be a good time to jump back on the blogging bandwagon, pick my head up and get going with the next step.

What's the next step? I have no idea. None. I have no desire to run....well, that's not entirely true. I have a desire to run one mile (but only one) really really fast just to prove to myself that I can, in fact, run but my body has other plans. My hips are still in pretty bad shape - more on that later - and since I still feel pretty beat up, I think I'll keep running on the shelf for a bit longer. In the meantime, I'm making sure that I'm staying active. I took Monday totally off. I parked my tired, cranky, crying at the drop of a hat ass on the couch all day and felt sorry for myself. By Tuesday, I was totally sick of myself so I went to the gym. I went to my favorite strength training class (meets every Tuesday and Thursday) and did as much as I could and honestly, it felt really good to move. It also felt really good to see my running peeps. The people who know me best and have seen me run a 3:56 marathon so they know that a 4:29 majorly broke my spirit. Two of them were even down in the Outer Banks with me so they saw my body give out on me and then my head quickly follow. After making sure I wasn't going to cry, we had a good laugh about it and they started talking about my big come back. Yup. It's gonna be huge. Huge! I'll let you know what it is as soon as I come up with something.

So I'm just going to get this part over with and be done with it. The goal at the Outer Banks Marathon was to run a 3:50 which would qualify me for Boston 2010. After my first marathon, Shamrock last March, I felt confident. I went into Shamrock with a great attitude. I just wanted my first marathon experience to be fun. I didn't put any pressure on myself, no time that I had to get, I just trained really well, and got super excited. On race day, I was happy. Excited. Jumping up and down ready to run. I started out with the 4:00 pace group and stuck with them until mile 22. At that point, I felt so strong that I was able to pull away and finished with a 3:56 and huge smile.

Contrast that with how I went into the OBX Marathon and you can start to see where it all unraveled. I put a ton of pressure on myself to get that 3:50. It's all I thought about on every training run. I ran all my long runs at almost marathon pace which now looking back on it, was the beginning of my downfall, it really beat my body up. I knew I was supposed to run them slow but I was so busy trying to convince myself I could run at that speed that I threw all common sense out the window. I have a friend who qualified for Boston when we ran Shamrock and she really wanted me to get to Boston too. I'm certainly not putting any blame on her, I wanted to get to Boston too, but she was so convinced I could do it that the idea of letting her down really haunted me. I was running a lot and fast and I wasn't doing the cross training that I did prior to Shamrock. The week leading up to OBX, I was full of fear and dread. The morning of, I felt horrible. I was this close to having a full on panic attack. I didn't feel positive, I felt scared. And not ready. Not a good way to start a marathon. I found the 3:50 pacer who was lackadaisical at best about getting the 3:50. We started off fast. Too fast. We should have been averaging an 8:47 but instead, we were averaging 7:45s for the first 6 miles. I'm not going to sit here and blame my failure on her, I knew better. I had my Garmin and knew exactly how fast we were running. A few of us kept telling her we were going too fast and her response was "Oh, guess we should slow down" which she would, to an 8:10 or 8:20 for a few minutes then all of a sudden, we were back in the 7:50s. Oh, then she dropped out at mile 6 because of a head cold. She certainly didn't help. After she left us, I tried to keep up with the group - there were 4 others who needed that 3:50 for Boston - but they were continuing to run too fast. By the time we got to 13, I was toast. My legs felt like cement blocks. My breathing was out of control thanks in part to the fast running for so long but also due to aniety. I kept thinking, 'this isn't right! this isn't how this is supposed to go! this isn't the plan!!' A little past the 13-mile marker, I let them go. I slowed way down to try and regain control and watched them run off....along with my Boston dream. Yeah, I can be dramatic like that.

The rest of the race went downhill from there. I managed to keep running until the water stop at 18. I walked through it and couldn't quite convince myself to start running again. My hips were on fire and my left knee (which I believe is ITB related) had all but totally given out on me. I walked for about 200 yards then started running...ok, jogging....again. It went on like that for a long time. My friends kept shadowing me, trying to keep my spirits up - by this point, I had cried a few times. When the 4:15 pace group ran past me, I lost it. Just totally lost it. I was that runner you see in races and you never want to be - that hobbling, half jogging, half running, crying mess. At that point, I just wanted to finish before the 4:30 group so I somehow, willed my legs to move.

When I crossed the finish line, I limped to a curb and sat down. My friends found me and I just cried. Sat there and cried. It was awful. Awful. Then we still had a long drive home. Plenty of time to rehash all that went wrong.

So that's it. I trained all wrong. My attitude was all wrong. I honestly can't think of anything that I did right. So that's my lesson. That's what I learned. It was way more then the fact that the stars didn't align or that the running gods were out to get me. I had a hand in this disaster too. And now I'm just trying not to beat the hell out of myself over it. I've now blogged it and that officially makes me done with it. Move along, there's nothing to see here! On to the next big thing....whatever that happens to be.

193 Miles Over Two Days

2009-07-10T10:37:00.000-04:00

Yup. I'm in. I can't believe I forgot to post about this but I'm going to be doing the Ragnar Relay in September! I know!! I was asked by a couple of friends to join their team and to be honest, had never heard of the Ragnar series. They had to fill me in that it is a 11-person relay race that starts in Cumberland, Maryland and ends down in D.C.....193 miles people!

Each participant runs 3 legs ranging from 4 to 8 miles each. It's supposed to be a ton of fun so I'm really looking forward to it. Here is a little blip about it from Ragnar's site:

This 193 mile adventure-fest will push you and 11 pals through the stunning scenery of the Potomac River Valley. Starting in the Appalachian town of Cumberland, MD, your team will head east along the C & O Canal as it snakes along the Potomac, around night fall you'll get off the trail and run through the quiet streets of many charming historic Civil War-Era towns, ultimately passing within the shadows of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The race (and your stamina) wraps in the heart of the nation's capitol.

Also, Active has a good article on the Utah race here. I'm all jazzed about it, I think it will be a really good time and certainly an experience I wont soon forget! Anyone ever done one of these before?

In training news, I had to miss track last night because my husband had a business dinner to attend so I did a 6.8 mile tempo run after my strength training class instead. It was a really great run that I finished in 54 minutes so I was happy with that. The fact that the weather here in DC has been damn near perfect lately certainly helped. I can't imagine any other July when I would have been able to go out for a run of almost 7 miles at 1:00 in the afternoon and be comfortable during it!
I'm either going to do an easy 3-miles today or just a dvd of some kind because tomorrows long run calls for 10-12. I will get up and run with the group at 6:30am! I will!!!

I leave you with my little man in all his glory hitting the sprinkler fully clothed last night. He just couldn't resist and was so stinkin' happy that I couldn't say no!

Week One of Marathon Training in the Books!

2009-07-08T18:49:00.000-04:00

My first 'official' week of marathon training is in the books. Well, it was actually in the books after my long run last Saturday but I'm just now getting around to recording it. It was a pretty good week. Speed training at the track didn't happen because the coaches were out of town for the holiday but I did get 3 quality runs in, 3 days of strength training and then my long run on Saturday (which by the way, I kind of slacked on as far as meeting my running group...my alarm went off at 5:45, I laughed, turned it off and went back to sleep. I have to get up this Sat though; the miles will be so much easier running with happy people). Hopefully, tomorrow night at the track will go a lot smoother than the first night since I've picked up my training a few notches since then. Anyway, total miles for last week was 25 - 6, 6, 3 then 10. This week, I've done a tempo run of 5 miles, and a great hill workout for 5.5 miles plus 2 strength training days. Tomorrow is another strength day followed by track then I'll put in 3 on Friday. The schedule calls for 10-12 this weekend, I'm hoping for 12.

As far as strength training goes, I've been able to attend the Tuesday/Thursday class at the rec center with the help of a babysitter (I wish I made that much money when I was a babysitter!) and a helpful mother-in-law. For the 3rd day, I've been doing a Jari Love dvd. Have you seen this chick? Holy crap balls. She is seriously kicking my ass. Yes, it's a dvd workout but yes, I swear, it is so tough but in a really good way.

I got her 'Get Ripped' dvd from Netflix to try it out and really loved it. It's non-stop weights with bursts of cardio mixed in. My heart rate was way up and I had to quit 40 minutes in (of a 60 minute workout!) the first time I did it. I went on Amazon to buy it but saw 'Get Extremely Ripped' and thought, "well shit, if I'm getting ripped, I outta just get extremely ripped" right? So I bought that one instead. I tried it out on Monday for the first time. I made it through 45 minutes of the 60 minute tape before I had to quit. I could have made it all the way through but I had a 5-mile run scheduled for that evening and she was trying to kill me with the squats and lunges so I figured I'd better call it a day. In that 45ish minutes, I burned (according to my Polar HR monitor) 358 calories which isn't too shabby. Also, my legs were feeling quite the burn the next day thanks to that and a run. Having said that, I think I preferred the plain 'ol 'Get Ripped' version more. It's actually harder in my opinion because of the cardio bursts. She does a lot of pylo moves which we as runners know are fantastic for building up leg strength. It's crazy hard and you are cussing and dripping with sweat while you are doing it, but it seriously kicks ass.

Ok. So that's about it on the marathon training front. I've been keeping busy taking my kids to and from swim lessons and now this week, golf camp. Summer is flying by. Today, I actually said yes to woopie cushions from 5 Below. Some things never get old. I was laughing like a 9-year-old boy in the store. What was I thinking?

Marathon Training Officially Begins July 6th!

2009-07-01T14:57:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to slowly get back to running 3 days a week at least plus starting that long run on the weekend thing. I ran 6 on Monday, 3 yesterday, and plan on running 4 this evening. According to the handy Runners World schedule, I should be jumping into official marathon training next week for the Marine Corps Marathon. Yup. And so it begins. I'm trying to get my girl-positive hat on but honestly, getting back into already seems mighty soon. I was just getting used to being 'run whenever the hell I feel like it' girl.

Tomorrow evening will be week two at the track and I have my fingers crossed that I wont have that overwhelming feeling that I want to barf like I did last week. Then on Saturday, our group long run calls for 6-8. I do like that we are starting off with such low mileage, that's for sure. In addition, I'm trying to keep up with my twice weekly strength training class because I really enjoy it which is most important but secondly, I really feel like the weight training helped with my running when I was training for Shamrock.

Speaking of running and strength training and being as big a bad-ass as you can be, have you ever heard of Tracy Anderson? She is Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow's trainer. And apparently, she wants us all to have the body of a 12-year old, pre-pubescent girl. She just launched a new gym in New York where the membership will only run you $900 a month. But for that small fee, you too can have a 'teeny-tiny body', a 'Victoria's Secret butt' and 'absolutely not have cellulite!'. She is big on using either no weights or very low (2lb) hand weights and doing a bajillion reps - 60 - 100 - of your standard exercises such as bicep curls, squats, etc. Oh, and you have to dance a lot too. Ok, fine. To each her own. If you are into that, more power to you. I'm an advocate of people moving, period. Do whatever feels good to you but just do something. Having said that, I hate that she constantly tells us to go for that 'teeny-tiny body' and that bulk (um, you mean muscle?!) is ugly. And that she bashes certain forms of exercise that work for a lot of people, i.e: yoga and Pilates and running. Yup. Running too. She says plain and simple regarding yoga and Pilates that 'they don't work' and that she has 'banned' Madonna and Paltrow from practicing yoga. And if you don't move for at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, it isn't going to be effective. Period. Really? Is that really the message you want to give people? I'll stop now. I could go on and on about this for way longer than necessary. I'll just leave you with this quote from a recent interview with the Telegraph UK. "...running gives you an ugly butt – 'because, as with every other type of exercise, using the same muscles again and again will build too much muscle in certain places and bulk you up, and a bulked-up bottom is not a pretty one’." She can kiss my bulked up ass. Oh, and then give each of my bulked up biceps a peck too.

Yada Yada 6-miler Yada Ya....

2009-06-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

Today my kids started swim lessons. I have tried multiple classes with various instructors and yet I still have two kids who can't swim. This year, I decided to bite the financial bullet and sign them up for private lessons at the rec center where I work out. This morning, imagine my surprise when the instructor walks up to us. She is none other than the chatty spinning class chick!!! I swear! No lie! I about fell over. I didn't even know she was an instructor there. This explains why the spinning instructor doesn't say anything to her when she and her friend talk through entire classes! And I am now glad that I didn't say anything nasty to her after the spin class...I need her to get my kids swimming!

I managed to sneak in a 6-miler today. The running group I meet with at the track on Thursday's started group long runs on Saturday but we were out of town at a wedding so I didn't run. The schedule only called for 6 which I was happy about because it was easy to make it up today. I ran it super slow though. My plan is to get up early tomorrow and hit the treadmill before my husband has to work and do a speedy 3 or 4 miles. I'm laughing as I type that because getting up super early to run is something I seriously hate but with the kids off of school, it's the only choice I've got! Besides, I've got to get used to it...they meet at 6:30 on Saturday mornings. Yikes.

Oh and one last totally unrelated story. Tonight I took my boys out to see my husband play softball. We haven't made it out to a game all season and this was the last one. Anyway, imagine my delight when some dude on his team popped his Achilles!! Ack! First of all, it just makes my stomach turn to see someone go down like that and the pain he was in was so obvious. All I could think of was how long I'd be down if something like that happened to me while running. But besides all that, my boys were completely freaked out by it. Swell. They'll never play ball again.

Back to the Track!

2009-06-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first group speed workout at the high school track. It was a lovely 87ish degrees and sticky out there. We did a mile warm up followed by some strides. The workout was then a timed mile (6:58 which I was rather disappointed in because I just lost a lot of steam toward the end) then 2x800s and 6x400s. It was tough. I didn't feel good at all. I think part of the problem was that I haven't done much running lately, I've been a bit of a slacker in addition to being sick. Prior to Run Amuck, I had only run once in 18 days and that was a slow 3-miler on the treadmill. The other issue may have been that I had gone to my strength training class that day too. You forget just how much speed drills take out of you. I don't think the two a days will continue to be an issue once I get used to it (and I don't know how often I'll even be able to make it to that mid-day class) but yesterday I was totally exhausted.

I got home from the track at 8:15, jumped in the shower then stood in the kitchen looking at the fridge waiting for something to magically appear cooked and ready to eat. Since it didn't, I fell into bed and passed out by 9:00. I know, I really need to eat something after such a big workout day but I just wanted to sleep.

So. I believe I've got a lot of work to do friends! It was good to get out there though. I know that despite how tough these Thursday night workouts can be, they really help shave time off your races.

Run Amuck Race Report!

2009-06-24T09:40:00.000-04:00

Run Amuck was so much fun, I can't even tell you! I guess I'm not all that surprised that I loved it so much - my inner tomboy was in heaven!

We drove down to Quantico on Friday evening and went straight to the base for packet pickup. Did you know that on base, they have an entire building and and staff for the MCM race events? Obviously the marathon in October is their biggest but now with the half marathon in the spring and various smaller events, coordination is a full time job! Anyway, we got out packets and watched about 5 minutes of video from last years race (which I'll admit, freaked me out a bit) then on our way out, found a very helpful (and large) Marine who pointed out where all the obstacles on the course were. Sufficiently scared, we headed to our hotel. As I was prepping my gear for the next day, I grabbed my shoes to put on the d-tag only to find that I had no soles in my shoes!!!! The shoes I wore for this race were the same ones I wore for the Shamrock Marathon. After that race, I bought new shoes. When I did, I pulled my orthotics out of the Shamrock shoes and put them in my new ones but obviously never put the cushioned soles back in the old pair. So. I had to run this thing with no soles and let me tell you, you can feel every little pebble when there is no cushion in your shoes. I doubled up my socks but I'm not sure that helped much.

Saturday morning, I rode to the base with two friends who were also running. They were so excited and super chatty but for some reason, my stomach was doing flip flops. I'm really not good at facing the unknown and this race was about as unknown as it gets. I had no idea what to expect and it was really getting to me. We were in different waves - I was in wave 6, they were in 12 - so I quickly got up there and waited for my start.

We started by doing a half lap around the track then we hit the streets for about a mile and a half. I wanted to run the street portion quickly because I was assuming there would be a lot of walking once I got into the woods. It was really humid and I was still coughing quite a bit from this chest cold so I only managed a 7:40 for that first mile.

There was a water stop at the edge of the woods then you hit the trails. We have gotten so much rain in Virginia lately that the trails were essentially mud. It was challenging because it was so sloppy and slippery that you had to really pay attention to each step. We hit a few hay bales then two sets of tires. Then the hills started. I can't even describe these hills. You would literally run straight up - and it was rocky and slippery - then once you got to the top, you could see the next one straight ahead. It was like a roller coaster - yes, seriously! Downhill was a bit tricky again because of the wet surface. I was able to run....ok, jog....most of the hills but there were a few that I only made it halfway up and had to walk the rest. One of the hills was so steep going down that they had ropes that you were to grab on to and go down backwards. That was really hard for me because I was so worried about falling.

In between these hills were a few more interesting obstacles. The first mud pit we hit after climbing over a short, a bit higher than waist high, wall. I took a step in and the water was up to my waist. No problem, I thought. I'll just walk through as quickly as I can. Just then, my left foot landed in a hole and I went down. The water came up to my neck! I (along with everyone around me as you can see in the picture) started cracking up at that point. It was one of those moments when you are thinking, "Why the hell am I doing this??"

They also had fake barbed wire in the form of caution tape cris-crossed across the trail. You had to do a full commando crawl under it and I swear they hosed down the mud you were crawling through because it was the sloppiest, nastiest mud ever. We also had to go through these giant tubes. They were big enough that I didn't have to get down on my hands and knees but I did have to stoop over pretty far.

The race was so physically demanding. Just totally exhausting. The miles seemed really long too. After we hit mile 3 and there was no end in sight, a woman behind me said, "These must be Marine miles!" When we thought we couldn't do any more hills, we got slammed with another mud pit that you had to crawl out of because you had to go under a cargo net (hard to see in the photo but that black thing is the net you had to go under)...up hill. Trying to get enough traction to pull yourself out while on your hands and knees was so hard. Then once you get through the cargo net, you have to go up this steep hill which they had ropes criss-crossed across so you could hold them and try and pull yourself up.

After that hill, we were out of the woods. We ran through a fire hose then back down to the track where we had to run only a quarter of to the finish. Once I crossed, it took me forever to catch my breath and my husband said, "You look way more exhausted than you did after the marathon!" And it was so true. I felt it too! But I'm so going back next year. It was so different and so challenging. I just loved it! (And can I just say, I'm only posting the photo at left as a public service announcement. Please, please, please, when you cross a finish line, do not stop! Do not slam on your breaks! Move to the side! That woman just came to a dead stop and as you can see, I slammed right into her. Seriously people. )

When we got home and I looked at the results, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw I came in 3rd in my division. Never saw that coming! I wonder what my prize is...a jar of mud perhaps?

Mud Mud Mud Mud Mud....and More Mud!

2009-06-20T17:57:00.000-04:00

Holy awesome dirty filthy mucky hilly crazy race! I had a BLAST! It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done - yes, I'm including a marathon - but it was fantastic. And I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I took 3rd in my age group - WooHoooo!

RENAE #563

LEESBURG, VA

Age: 39 Gender: F

Distance	4M
Clock Time	43:01
Chip Time	42:55
Overall Place	171 / 1094
Division Place	3 / 102

Heading to Quantico!

2009-06-19T10:53:00.000-04:00

And I'm kinda about ready to flip my shit. The more I hear about this race, the more scared I get! This morning, I heard from a friend who spoke with a Marine who ran it last year and he warned her that the 'hills are killer' and that for most of them, you need a rope to help you up them. Um, anything that a freaking Marine thinks is killer I'm guessing will either kill me or at least make me barf. Also, we've been warned that we should wear long pants and long sleeve shirts because of all the crawling under barbed wired and throwing ourselves over tall walls. Uh, yeah. So I've got that to look forward to. I'm having this really awful flash back to elementary school when we had to do the rope climb in P.E. Remember that one? Where all the kids watch (and in my case, laugh) while you try and haul your cookies up that stupid rope that was hanging from the ceiling? If I can't get over a wall and try to walk around it, do you think a Marine will scream at me and force me over the wall?

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

2009-06-15T09:38:00.000-04:00

My house got freaking slammed with some kind of upper respiratory/sinus bug from hell and I'm down right pissy about it.

Ahhhh....that felt good.

So, yeah. My husband came down with it first about a month ago and then managed to pass it to little kid who passed it to big kid who passed it to me. For some reason, the sound of constant coughing is something that drives me up the wall and lucky me, that sound is all I've been hearing for a month. And the more I cough, the more my head pounds. Ugh. I had Quinn home sick 2 days last week and Carter home for one. I got it early last week but as I'm sure all you moms out there know, there is no such thing as a sick day for moms! And it's such a busy time around here with the end of school quickly approaching. Class parties, volunteer days, field days, etc, etc, etc.

And if I were not cranky enough over this bug - and, lets be honest, the fact that I haven't been able to work out at all in over a week and a half isn't helping my mood! - we had a rescue dog that we had to give back because he basically wanted to eat my husband. Hang on, I have to cry for a second.....

Best damn dog ever. He was about a year, crate trained, house trained, gentle with the kids, listened to me but he must have had a horrible past with a male owner because one minute he would be hiding in the corner away from my husband, the next minute, he'd be growling and barking at him and I'd have to drag him away. It was awful. So we had to drive him back to the farm and yeah, I may have shed a tear or two. So the search for the family dog continues.

In other news, the Run Amuck race in Quantico is this Saturday. I'm kind of freaking out about it because I can't walk up the stairs without having a coughing fit and being winded for 10 minutes. Not sure how a 4 mile obstacle course is going to go. Cross your fingers that I don't pass out. We leave on Friday right after school for the drive down. Should be a lot of fun because some friends of ours are also going so we got into the same hotel with a pool and will be able to just hang out and enjoy ourselves while the kids play in the pool Friday night. I'm just glad the run is only 4 miles or I might have had to pull myself out. The boys are super excited for their run though so we are going and we are going to have fun damnit!!

Bet you are sooo happy I posted. Geesh. Lighten up whiny.

Decision Made!

2009-06-02T09:34:00.000-04:00

I finally made my decision about Lifetime Fitness. It took forever but I feel good about it. Meaning, ever since I made it, I've felt very relaxed and haven't questioned it one bit. I decided not to join. It's so strange because I thought I wanted it so bad and the fact that I had my husband on board was, I thought, a sure fire sign that this was a perfect move for me. However, I just kept turning that monthly fee over and over in my head and was having a heck of a time justifying it. And I know my boys would love it for the first few days, but would that enthusiasm hold up or would the noise/running around/chaos of the child care center get old fast? I'd hate to have to drag complaining kids to the gym just so I can work out. I know me well enough to know that I'd feel horribly guilty if that happened. And not only that, but if I were paying $140/month, I'd feel like I couldn't sign the kids up for anything special (short mini camps, etc) during the summer.

So! Now that that decision is out of the way, I'm sure you are dying to know how the hell I plan on staying fit and not becoming a cranky bitch this summer. Right now I'm full of optimism and 100% convinced my plan of action is going to work so hang in there with me and when I start whining by mid-July, please don't say, 'you should have joined the gym!'

First, I am going to purchase a 25-daily admission pass to the rec center where I currently work out because I know there will be days when I will be able to get to my favorite classes. My husband works from home and every now and again, he just may take a lunch break at the noon hour when my class is held. Also, my mother-in-law is in the area and occasionally takes the boys for a day at the pool during the summer.

Next, I discovered that Netflix has 'watch instantly' options for exercise dvds. I must have been living under a rock because I had no idea this was available. I have the lowest of the low membership with them, I can only have one movie at a time, but the 'on demand' feature doesn't count toward that dvd. I have a ton of dvds that I've been wanting to try in my queue right now. My current go-to favorite is 'Crunch: Total Resculpt'. It is 44 minutes and divided into two sections - upper body and lower body. I've done this workout several times and what I love about it is that while short, it really packs a good punch. I feel like I got a great workout and my boys don't bug me. I've made sure to do it when they are around and it has worked great. And if I need to, I can do just one half and cut it down even more. I could finish upper or lower body while they are eating lunch. This may not be a great option for some of you, but I've never had a problem with workout dvds. I actually kind of enjoy them. I'm a huge fan of The Firm and have their big 'ol step up in the playroom. When I can fit it in, the 55 minute cardio workout is fantastic. Lots of step-ups, some weights and short cardio bursts.

I also have a Wii. While I'm not really counting on using this option much, it's available. I have Wii Fit (kinda boring if you ask me), My Fitness Instructor (which I have yet to try), Golds Gym Cardio (fun for short workouts) and I'm seriously considering the new EA Sports Active. The problem with my Wii is that it's down in my dark basement and the kids and I rarely go down there. In order for this grand plan to work, I need to be in the same general area as the kids which is why the dvd/netflix option is such a promising one; I can have my laptop anywhere.

There are other great options all over the web. Make Use Of recently had a posting on Best Workout Websites. They list Exercise TV which is another option I already use (again, great to have a laptop so I can move to different areas of the house) and highly recommend. They have tons of short, free workouts or, you can take it a little further and purchase longer workouts for not a lot of money. I think I'll try the Fitness Magazine Create a Workout option. Even though I subscribe to that magazine, I had no idea this was available.

Then of course there is the treadmill that I have. I can always hop on that after the kids are in bed although, that is probably my least favorite time to get a workout in.

So what do you think? Am I nuts? Think it will work?

10k Firechase

2009-05-24T08:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I ran the Cascades 10k Firechase. It was hot. Really, really hot. I had forgotten just how hard it is to run, let alone try and run fast, in the heat. It was a double loop which had a couple of not so pleasant hills but it also had a massive firetruck spraying us down. I almost stopped right there during my second loop. I can't tell you how great it felt getting sprayed - literally soaked! - by that firetruck. I didn't feel like I had as good a day as I could have (49:39). I really need to get out in the heat for some runs to get used to it again. Speaking of running in the heat, the track workouts with my running group are going to be starting up again soon. We meet at the high school track every Thursday night for speed drills and it is hard. Like really, really hard. Last summer, I would start every Thursday morning with, "Crap. Speed day." but I went, every Thursday, and at the end of the workout, I was always so happy I went. Those workouts are run by a married couple that own the local running store I go to, Potomac River Running. They also happen to be pretty bad-ass runners. Ray Puglsey's name is a regular in winner circles as is his wife, Cathy. Ray won yesterday's 10k, Cathy came in second. If that doesn't keep me motivated to get to those speed workouts so I can hear advice from them, nothing will!

Now I can spend the rest of my weekend at BBQ's (started with one last night) and save another run for Monday. Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend!

To Join or Not to Join

2009-05-20T14:12:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged in a week! A full week! It is so unlike me to have nothing to say. I'm a big fan of talking and typically don't care if other people are bored enough to shove a stick in their eye, I just keep on talking. However, I've seriously had nothing to say! This week I got back on the spinning bandwagon and I guess it's just sucked the talking energy right outta me! I just got home from my second spin class of the week and since I refuse to spin on Friday's (Friday's are supposed to be fun!), I'm done with it until Monday. Don't get me wrong, I love spinning when I'm done with it - nothing makes you feel un-puffy like 45 minutes of spinning! - I just hate actually doing it.

I haven't done much running. On Saturday, my husband drove my kids to Quinn's soccer game at a close by school and I plotted a very round-about way to run there and got 5 miles in. Tuesday after my strength training class, I had a very productive, runners-high inducing 6.8 miler but that's been it. A couple of us are doing a last minute 10k (the Cascades 10k Firechase which means, hello, there will be firemen there. Oh yeah!) this weekend though so that'll end the week nicely.

Speaking of working out, I've gotten so used to my strength training classes and occasional spinning that I'm seriously starting to panic about this summer. My kids are out of school in 5 weeks and the rec center where I workout has no childcare. Well, let me re-phrase that, they don't have biggish-kid childcare. It's all babies and toddlers in a room the size of a closet. I went to Lifetime Fitness over the weekend for a tour and price check because I really don't want to give up my workouts. Holy freaking crap balls is that place nice. Like off the chain nice. I had my boys with me and their little jaws hit the floor when we walked in the child care room. Huge! Climbing structures! Computers! Videos! Full court basketball! Massive outside running/soccer/general mayhem area! Quinn wanted to stay and play basketball right then and there and Carter was wandering rather quickly towards the computers and muttering something about Club Penguin. Needless to say, our tour guide (a fairly slick guy who chuckled at the idea of working out at a local rec center) was thrilled with their reaction. They also have a fantastic rock climbing wall, indoor pool with a lap area as well as a big 'play' type pool with beach entrance, outdoor pool with a massive deck, beach entrance, two slides and a snack bar. Oh and they have a little cafe in the gym and just in case I'm having a bad hair day, a hair salon where I could also stop for a quick mani/pedi. Whew! The class schedule is endless. More opportunities than you can shake a sick at and they had no less than 200 treadmills. I swear, it was crazy. And don't get me started on all the other kid activities they have available, at an additional cost of course. Anyway, it's super nice and I'd love to try it but it just seems like a lot to spend. Even though I know my kids would dig it and we'd get a lot of use out of the pool this summer. As you can see, I'm very wish-washy about this decision. Anyone belong to Lifetime?

Pacer's Half Marathon

2009-05-13T12:19:00.000-04:00

Sunday's race was full of surprises. The day started off quite crisp but sunny. My friend Amy and spent the 30 minutes prior to the race finding small areas of sun in an effort to stay warm before the start. Once we got going, we were good and warm quite quickly though. The sun was pretty strong and by mile 3, it was starting to feel down right muggy. The course map online was horrible. It was so small and basically impossible to get a good idea of elevation so I was pleasantly surprised when the first 1 -2 miles were a nice down hill slope. I tried to keep my pace slow despite going down hill because I was worried about the unknown that was to come. And boy I'm glad I did! We were sent on a course that included several hills (one very hard one around mile 7 that tried - and almost succeeded - to take my mojo from me) which was unfortunate for me because I haven't run hills in quite some time. I was keeping a really good pace, had a couple of 7:45's a 7:15 (which is the one mile that I like to talk about most!) a 7:25, 7:30, and that hill at 7 that had me so worried I managed to tackle in 8:22. I was getting pretty excited around mile 9.5 because to be honest with you, I was very unprepared for this race - the furthest I had run since Shamrock was 10 miles and I had only done that once! - but I was thrilled with my splits. Going into the run, I was hoping for a 1:55 finish. But as I got to mile 9.5 or so, I was starting to let myself think about a 1:43 or 1:44! Then we made a turn and the last 3 miles went straight into some of the strongest winds I've run in. The kind of wind that would normally send me running for a treadmill! I couldn't believe it. The guy next to me was dropping all kinds of 4-letter words and my heart just sank. I had my head down and sideways and it was all I could do to plow ahead. The last half mile was up hill which only added to the turtle pace. I'm still very happy with my time, 1:45 is a pr for me, but I can't help but be a little miffed about that wind at the end. I keep thinking "if only it were calm!"

Another thing, and I guess I'm just completely clueless, but are all races not the exact distance? I got to meet Jennifer of RunHappy who was waring a Garmin. According to her Garmin, the race was actually 13.49 miles long!!! Um....wha??? This kinda pisses me off, I have to be honest with you.

BUT, I am not going to dwell on it because it was a great day! My husband and boys were about 50 yards from the finish screaming their heads off which made my day even better! The photo left is one my husband snapped as I was running by. I only include it because it seriously cracks me up. I'm hoping I only look like that because I just ran through a freaking hurricane! Look at that turtle head! Scary.

Because of the hills and my lack of proper training, I'm still a bit sore in the hamstrings. Monday was hard for me, I kind of hobbled around all day. Tuesday I got on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes at the gym which actually really helped loosen everything up. Today I'm just about 100% but seriously have no desire to run....not sure why. Now with nothing on my race calendar until the 4-mile obstacle course in Quantico, Run Amuck, on June 20th, I'm just going to keep doing what I was doing between Shamrock and this half - run when I feel like it, for however long I feel like and with no pressure...ahhhhh!

Pacer's Half Marathon - Done!

2009-05-10T13:45:00.000-04:00

A very windy and surprisingly hilly race is done! Official time: 1:45:48.

Time to chill with my boys! I'll do a race report tomorrow.
Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Training vs. The Rest of Life's Stuff

2009-05-06T15:18:00.000-04:00

Did you watch Biggest Loser last night? I really don't want to give away any details in case you recorded it but let's just say that Jillian, the queen of quotes, had her best one of the season last night: "Wanna know how to train for a marathon? You run. And after that, you run some more. And after that, you run more." Said while pushing the speed up, up, up on a treadmill. Classic. I think I'm going to put it on my side bar.

Speaking of running then running more and more, etc, etc, etc....do you ever feel like the rest of your hobbies have been shoved way to the very back of the back burner? I know after Shamrock, I went on and on about how now I was finally going to get back to things I had neglected during my marathon training. Like maybe I'd finally fix these:

Those are the drapes in my bedroom. I bought them at Ikea over 3 years ago. See the cut edges...the strings hanging down all willy-nilly? Apparently, French doors are way taller in Sweden then they are here in America (I wonder if they even call them French doors?? I bet they are Swedish doors! Totally explains the fact that they were approximately 4 feet too long...). I am not a type who sews. As mentioned previously, I've been a 'tom-boy' my entire life so the idea of sewing a curtain to the proper length literally makes me itch and kind of freak out. So what did I do? I cut them. Yeah. Smart, right? The idea was that I'd cut them and then use that super simple iron mending tape stuff and just like that, a perfect hem! Fast forward three years and I'm still looking at what you see above. After the marathon, the plan was to take the advice of The Nester who is just stinking brilliant and 'mistreat' them. I was going to find the perfect cute yet sophisticated trim/fabric and hot glue it on and finally be done with it. After the marathon when I was feeling all full of myself and homemakerish, I went to Jo-Ann's and within 5 minutes, nearly had a nervous breakdown and ran out of there.

The other thing I've completely neglected is my love of reading. I've been a big reader for as long as I can remember. Nothing makes me happier then curling up with a really good book and a glass of wine. Before I started running, I'd read a book a week at least. There were a lot of times when I'd be reading two books at once - one for 'the kids are at school and I'm on the couch with tea' reading and one for 'the kids are asleep and I have wine and a fluffy pillow and not a care in the world' reading. During marathon training, by the time I'd get into bed, I'd crack a book, read three sentences and promptly fall asleep. As you can imagine, it takes me approximately 4 months to read a half of a book. That didn't stop me from buying books though and so this is what my side of the bed looks like:

I felt no need to panic or feel guilty because as soon as Shamrock was done, I was going to read! I was going to hot glue and read!! But then I signed up for this Pacer's Half Marathon and so I'm still reading what I was reading when I ran the Shamrock Marathon. And I really want to be done with it because honestly, I'm kind of tired of it.

I also had big plans to cook all kinds of fabulous foods. I have a semi-abnormal love of cooking sites and blogs and read them daily. I bookmark and print out recipes sometimes I even go so far as to purchase necessary ingredients but then I'd be so drained from training, I'd resort to some old standby meal. I'm sure this explains why I've been so excited about the foods I have managed to create lately (Catilin's perfect pesto, Sunny's breakfast muffins and last night's chicken in mushroom sauce from Eating Well).

Anyway, the point is, I kind of miss all that stuff and really, really, really mean it this time when I say that after this weekend's half marathon, I'm going to take a much needed break from training. I'll keep running but I'm going to force myself not to sign up for any major runs before October's Army 10-Miler and Marine Corps Marathon. Think I can do it? How does a person addicted to training find balance?

I Almost Forgot!

2009-05-05T18:21:00.000-04:00

In my haste to hit 'publish post' and get back to my exciting Cinco de Mayo happy hour, I totally forgot to share with you what I had for dinner last night! I made Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce from Eating Well. It was so fantastic! And easy!! And I'm a horrible cook!!! The only change I made in the recipe was I swapped 2 tablespoons of light sour cream for the 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and I used white wine, not vermouth. Also, they wanted me to cut the tenders off of my chicken breasts but I was all, "Hell no!" and left them on because I'm wild and crazy like that with my extra calories.

(and no, this is not my actual dinner...it looked good and all but not that good!)

Hola!

2009-05-05T17:44:00.000-04:00

So today is Cinco de Mayo and since I'm not one to let a party opportunity pass her by, I choose to indulge! I give you happy hour treats!

Yeah. So that's exciting. Seriously though, I do love the little 100 calorie packs of Wholly Guacamole. I'm a sucker for guacamole and would easily put away way more than a single serving so for me, this is one time that the 100-calorie pack idea works. And yes, I know, it's a good fat and would be even better if I would make it myself but come on - cut, squirt, eat - that's what I'm talking about people!

I went back to the podiatrist yesterday and this time I mean it....he is so fired! I hate to bore you with the details, I've already gone from 7 followers to 6 so I really can't afford to be any more dull than I already am. In a nutshell, he now seems to think there is some kind of pinched nerve going on. He did this tap tap tap test on the front of my ankle/foot and when he did, I got really wacky tingle-pins & needles type feelings all up the side and back of my calf and down the top of my foot into my toes. And the feeling lingered for a bit after his tapping. He suggested maybe I was wearing some kind of strappy shoe that was cutting off the circulation at that point on my foot. Yeah, you clearly don't know me doc. No strappy shoes here. I wouldn't even know how to strap strappy shoes. So he gets that scrunched up face look, says a few "huh"s and "hmmm"s and I say, "Well, I used to be notorious for tying my shoes too tight but I've been trying to pay attention to that and feel like I've gotten better." So he says, "Well, it would make sense that your shoes are the problem. What kinds of other shoes do you wear?" so I say, "Running shoes and flip flops." and he says, "What about strappy shoes?" ARGHHHHH!!!! I tell him that I have been a tom-boy for as long as I can remember and didn't even wear strappy shoes to my own freaking wedding so could we please move on? Seriously. He decides to give me another cortisone shot in the nerve he is thinking is pinched and tells me I should feel immediate relief and to return in three weeks.

Foot pretty much feels the same.

I did manage to run 7 miles last night and another 3 today so I guess I should just be thankful that I can do that and move on to a new doctor. I have a friend who is a Chiropractor and informed me that all those nerves that travel down your leg and into your foot all start in the spine and I should come in for an adjustment. And he said he could adjust my feet too. Um. So. I'm not sure about that one. I told him that I have to run a half-marathon on Sunday and I didn't want to try any new kind of treatment before then. Blah.

Pacers Half Marathon.....

2009-05-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

.....is in 6 days. On Mother's Day. I was thinking I had another week, not that it was this coming weekend. See, this is what happens when you get talked into a race at the last minute and your heart is not really in it: you forget about it. Crap. So. I guess I should technically be in taper mode. Which means maybe it's not so bad that it's supposed to rain every single day this week. That will help keep me under control. I managed a great 10-mile run on Friday but then Sunday's run was a horrible flop. I got on the treadmill intending to do either 4 or 5 miles but after 2.5, I got the worst side stitch I've ever gotten. I couldn't get it to go away so I gave up and called it a day after just 3 miles. I'll try again today. I've got to find my training schedule from the Baltimore Half to see what I did the week before that race and duplicate it. I'm a little worried about this race because while I've had some good weeks total mileage-wise, I haven't run more than 10 miles at a time. I'll just have to hope for the best and stick with my friends and more importantly, stick to the original plan which was to just have fun and not take it too seriously.

I'm headed back to the podiatrist today. I know, I know...I said I was going to fire him and I am! Just after today's visit. He gave me that shot of cortisone 3 weeks ago so in fairness, I thought I'd keep this follow up just to tell him it didn't work and the mystery pain is still here. After today though, I'm done with him.

Yuri the Canadian

2009-05-01T10:53:00.000-04:00

The other day I was bouncing around web and found so many cool new blogs. One in particular that I really love is The Beholder. She is so stinking hilarious! I wish I could remember how I found her but it was one of those click click click days where you can't remember where it all began! She is training for her first half marathon but her site is full of so much more fun stuff than just running. In fact, she is currently walking me (ok, all her readers but I like to think it's all for me!) though expert mascara application! Anyway, other than mentioning her just so you too can get a laugh a day by reading her blog, I also mention her because it was on her site that I found Yuri the Canadian Hottie Trainer Dude. Yuri is officially my new trainer...he just doesn't know it. I'm all over his YouTube videos like a pig in shit. Besides the fact that he is fun to look at, he has some really great workout clips and tips.

Check him out with a foam roller showing me how to loosen up all the "gunk and toxic buildup" in my IT band (I had no idea I had toxic buildup, this explains so much!). Then he goes on to fix my T.F.L, yet another thing I didn't know I had but clearly mine is tight/sore/stiff because that pigeon pose is one of my favorite things about my yoga dvd. And he says "bum"! Love that. I didn't know Canadians said bum.

And here he is with an awesome core workout he calls the "Super Abs" workout. I'm going to do this one for sure minus the leg pull ups because I don't have a bar. I've done the roll ins with the stability ball and while hard, they really work.

Had a great 10-mile run today followed by a super yummy vanilla yogurt/handful of strawberries/handful of blueberries smoothie....yum! Hubs and I are supposed to be heading to the Nationals/Cardinals game tonight but I'm being a wee bit whiny about it because it's chilly and rainy. Blah. We have four tickets for tomorrow afternoon's game when we will be taking the kids so I think it's total fine for me to be all anti-tonight's game. Right?

Food Glorious Food!!

2009-04-29T07:04:00.000-04:00

I have no idea how I managed it but yesterday I had a really good day in the kitchen and by really good day I mean the food was awesome and the smoke detector didn't go off - yay!

The most awesome food blog I have found in a while (and believe me, I have a ton of food blogs bookmarked!) came to my rescue and provided me with the best spinach-garlic pesto recipe ever! You guys have to try it. It was so simple to throw together and if I can manage it, believe me, anyone can! I actually squealed, "I did it! It's actually good!" after that first apprehensive taste. Kelly over at Cooking With Caitlin is the rockstar that passed along this recipe and since then, I've been drooling over the food on the site. The best part about it is that they have videos....videos!! I am a visual learner, especially when it comes to the kitchen, so having the videos to watch really helps. It's almost as if they are here holding my hand and walking me through it....yes, I'm that bad (my poor husband). Anyway, here is the link to the spinach-garlic pesto. And here is a photo of it straight out 'da mixer:

Hello green fantasticness!

I slathered it on top of a boneless, skinless chicken breast and popped that sucker in the oven. And can I just tell you.....I was a happy, happy girl! Oh, and it goes well with wine. You know, that one glass a day is good for you and all!

I also made muffins yesterday. I saw Sunny Anderson make these on The Food Network and knew I had to try them. They are so good! They've got banana, strawberries, blueberries and walnuts, yum, yum and yum! The only thing I would change is to chop the walnuts a bit finer..smaller...choppier? I warmed one up in the microwave this morning and it was still just as good as it was fresh out of the oven. I'm going to have to freeze some though because no one else in my family seems interested...picky, picky boys!

Now that I've stuffed myself silly, it's time to think of today's workout. The rain is coming down in buckets (which I'm actually thrilled about because the pollen was getting out of control) so my plan for a long outdoor run has been canceled. I'll probably hop on the treadmill after I get little man off to school and do a shorter run and follow it with some core work instead. Yesterday I only managed to get 4 miles in before my strength training class. Speaking of ST, my arms are killing me today! She was a maniac with the bicep curls and skull crushers yesterday!

Foot Contraption Just Might Save the Day.

2009-04-28T09:18:00.000-04:00

I may have found a solution to one of my feet issues! Have you seen the Bunion Aid?? Wow. This thing looks like it could do either some serious damage or quite possibly be the answer to my pain! Look at it! It looks like something you'd see on an infomercial in the middle of the night. Not that I have anything against infomercials, I actually happen to really enjoy them and have a bit of an infomercial-addiction. I can't believe I'm admitting this but there have been many a treadmill run that I've spent watching infomercials. I love any of the fitness related ones...I've seen the P90X one no less than 10 times and can practically recite all the testimonials given by heart. And The Wave by The Firm! That one is so entertaining! Anyway, this one says it's "Flexible!" and "Versatile!" and "Innovative!" All excellent infomercial words which means I'm totally buying into it.

According to their scientific information, the Bunion Aids "soft splint design can help reduce your bunions by 17.2 degrees while most traditional splints only help about 10.4 degrees, says lead study author Klaus A. Milachowski, M. D., of Ludwig Maximilian's University in Munich". Wow! Hear that?? 17.2 degrees!!! I have no idea what the hell that means for me but with a name like Klaus, I'm willing to believe him! All they need is the Billy Mays stamp of approval and I'm sold.

All this talk about firing my podiatrist might just not be talk after all. I could get this contraption for my left foot, take OldSchoolRunner's advice about shoes for my left IT Band issues along with a lot of other advice I've gotten about a foam roller and I'd be well on my way to self-curing! All I've got left to fix is that nagging, undiagnosed problem in the top of my right foot/up the front of my ankle that foot man can't fix. Perhaps more Advil is the answer! (Kidding....sort of.)

Today the pollen count is "very high" as opposed to yesterday's "high" and I'm sneezing up a storm. I need to run though so I'm going to get a quick 4-miler in at the gym before my strength training class. Time doesn't allow for more than 4 or 4.5 unfortunately but I'll run further tomorrow.

Yesterday's spinning class was pretty brutal. I haven't been in a week and I have found that if I take a week off of that class, it's like starting all over again. Which sucks. Big time. But I got through it and was glad I went, yada yada yada.

Today I'm going to make yet another healthy muffin recipe. This one has blueberries, strawberries, banana and walnuts in it so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. The Applesauce-Apple muffins from the Joy Bauer cookbook I made were so good and I've managed to finish them off almost single handily so I'll be making those again for sure. Speaking of muffins and this is probably a really stupid question but I'm not exactly a fab cook...any tips on freezing muffins? I'm worried that they'll get freezer burn and not be as tasty when I thaw them. And do you thaw them or just toss in the microwave straight from the freezer? Oh! And while I'm searching for cooking advice, anyone have a good recipe for Spinach-Pesto? I'm guessing it's as simple as spinach, olive oil, walnuts (or pine nuts) and cheese but I'm really bad about experimenting. I feel like I have to follow a specific recipe.

Happy Pollen Filled Monday!

2009-04-27T09:36:00.000-04:00

It seems that Spring skipped the Washington D.C. area this year. My heat was cranking on Wednesday and by Saturday, the air was on. What the hell? Unfortunately, the pollen didn't skip us. Everything is covered in a lovely shade of green-yellow and my entire family is a sneezing, snot-nosed, wheezing mess.

My big kid turned 9 yesterday. I cannot believe that I have a 9-year-old kid. He wanted to have his party at Chuck E. Cheese so we did that yesterday afternoon. And apparently, every kid in the county was celebrating a birthday on the very same day and at the very same time because the place was about as crowded as it could have been without the fire department coming out and shutting the place down. My ears are still ringing.

I feel like I'm fully back into the running schedule. Last week I logged 26 miles which is the most I've run since before the marathon. My feet are holding up. I took the orthotics out for my last two runs - a 7-miler on Friday and an 8-miler yesterday - and that seemed to help. I'm over my podiatrist. My IT band is still irksome so I'm going to get one of those foam rollers and give that a try. For some reason, I've been running crazy fast though (last week, I ran one of my 7-milers in 57 minutes which is totally unheard of for me and a little insane) . I think it's just because I've been so excited to get back outside. I'm going to have to slow way down though if I think I'm going to get through the half marathon in a couple weeks.

I've been meaning to post about ExerciseTV for a while now. I love that site because you can do quick little 10-minute workouts or a longer one depending on how crunched for time you are. It's not perfect, but on days when you can't get to the gym or out for a run, it really helps. Recently, I went so far as to purchase three 10-minute videos and downloaded them to DVD. On Thursday, I didn't get to the gym so I popped in the DVD and have to say I was quite happy with the workout I got in such a short period of time. I went with Cindy Whitmarsh and purchased her 'Six-pack Ab Calorie Burn', 'Strong and Sexy Upper Body Burn', and 'Booty Burn'. I'm not into the names but the workout was pretty dang good! She is a little crazy but I like that in a trainer.

Today is going to be another hot one and I'm sure by the time I get little man on the afternoon kindergarten bus it will be well into the upper 80s so I think I'll go to the gym and take a spinning class instead of running. I fully expect her to torture me and to hate ever second of it while I'm there but then be all jacked up when I walk out. That's always the way it is with spinning it seems!

Run Eat Do

2009-04-23T07:34:00.000-04:00

RUN:

One month after Shamrock (is it wrong that I'm still on a marathon-finisher-high??), I finally got outside for a run yesterday. I can't believe it was my first outdoor run in a month but then, I did take a lot of time off. It was so great to get out again. I forgot just how invigorating running outside is vs. the treadmill! I actually missed hills! And turns!! And the occasional breeze! I was super pumped when I got out there so I ended up running the 7 miles much faster than I normally would so my legs are a bit sore today. It's one of those good kind of sores though. It was a lot of fun to just turn it up.

EAT:

Have you tried Kashi's new microwavable rice? I'm a huge fan of all things spicy, in fact, my husband is constantly laughing at me because for me, a normal place setting includes a plate, fork, knife, napkin and red pepper flakes so I was super excited to see Kashi's Firery Fiesta rice. When I first found it, I bought two packages sure I would love it. Unfortunately, I didn't. It was pretty dry (I'm more of a mushy rice kinda gal) and I didn't think it was spicy. However! I'm super happy to report that I gave it a second chance (only because my husband was out of town, I didn't feel like cooking and it was the only quick-cooking thing I had around). This time, I followed the "recommended" method of cooking. Instead of just tearing the top of the bag and microwaving, I dumped it in a bowl, added 2 tablespoons of water, covered it and let it go for 90 seconds. Much better!! No more dry rice! I didn't find it spicy but then, my taste buds are a bit hard to please in that area, but after several dashes of red pepper flakes, it was perfect! Kashi does it again!

WHAT THE HELL MOMENT:

Wednesday I took my boys to the dentist. After the cleanings, the (hot) dentist comes in and starts chatting to the boys, talking to me about teeth, etc. I was still in my gym clothes (I know, gross, but a girl's gotta fit it in when she can!) and so he suddenly says to me, "Are you a runner?" so I (beaming) say, "Yes." and then he says, "I can tell by your physique." Uh, hellloooo Dr. Dreamy Dentist! (Note: normally I would find this a bit odd and possible offensive but in the case of hot-dentist, I was kinda giddy about it. I know, I'm totally shallow.) Unfortunately, my, "take that all you boys in high school!" feeling didn't last because he followed that comment up with, "So, do you notice that your face is sagging at all? It seems to happen to runners, why do you think that is?" What. The. Hell. Seriously. WTF??? I had no idea what to say. I stammered and then I said, "Do you mean that a lot of runners have thin faces? I think that's probably because running burns so many calories." And he says, "Well, sometimes they look a bit drawn." Yeah, yeah dental boy. Just finish up so I can get the hell out of here. I get in my car and immediately flip down the mirror and give my face a good, hard look. I don't see it. Was he talking about me or runners in general, I asked myself. And then, just like that, I was in high school again and just wanted to go to my room and turn up my Bryan Adams record and write in my notebook, "Dental boy sucks!"

DO:

I think I need to get one of those foam roller things for my left IT Band. It was pretty painful during the marathon and it's still acting up on me. Anyone have experience/advice in this area? Do the rollers really help (the woman in the photo sure looks happy)? I'm really bad at stretching....meaning, I don't do it. I know. That is the worst thing I could do.

One Half Out...Another One In!

2009-04-21T19:27:00.000-04:00

I decided against running the Zooma Half Marathon in Annapolis. I just can't justify another overnight race right now. I was a little bummed out about it because it really looks like it would be a fun race so imagine my surprise/excitement when I heard about the inaugural Pacers Running Festival taking place practically in my backyard! They have a half marathon among other races so I quickly contacted a couple of friends and we decided to sign up. The race is in Arlington, Virginia and the starting line is right smack dab at a metro stop....sweet! What's the catch, you may ask? Well, it's on Mother's Day - May 10th. Um, yeah. That soon. Not sure why I'm blogging when I seriously should be running! We are doing this one just for fun - putting all time concerns on the back burner. The three of us all run at completely different paces so we are just going to pick the slowest time and hang there and enjoy it! Great way to spend Mother's Day!

Kara is My Hero

2009-04-20T19:10:00.000-04:00

How exciting was the Boston Marathon today?! Even though I bitched about it not being on T.V. and then whined about having to watch it on the computer, I still loved every second of it! I was screaming, "Go Kara!!!" at my monitor and probably looked like a complete fool but dang that shit was exciting!
After the race, my heart just broke for her as she hugged her husband and cried. What an incredible showing though. At the press conference, she said, "I'm proud of how I ran. I'm proud of how I did and I raced the best that I could, but I wanted to be the one who won for everybody." She is amazing. Seriously amazing. And such an inspiration. I got my butt on the treadmill immediately following the race even though I really, really didn't feel like it. Thanks Kara!

And! I learned that I have something in common with the great Kara Goucher!! Check this out from Runners World:

Goucher also ran into trouble with her water bottles in New York and today donned gloves studded with rubber tread on the palms for extra traction. Even so, she laughed, "I missed a bottle again. Apparently I have no athletic skill at grabbing a water bottle."

Holy shit! Me too girl!!! I am so with you there! That water grabbing/drinking on the run thing is hard! Those gloves I wore during the entire freaking Shamrock Marathon? It wasn't because I was cold, it was so that I could clean my face after spilling every cup of water all over myself! Those gloves were the next best thing to a bib!
The gloves are on around mile 21-ish despite the blazing sun..

Yup, that's me, the headless finisher, with the gloves still on just in case someone throws some water my way.

And apparently I couldn't even take them off for the official finish photo. I think I was thinking ahead to those 4 free beers.

I'm so happy to hear that she has issues too! It's like those US Weekly articles, "Stars: They're Just Like Us!"

Boston

2009-04-20T08:56:00.000-04:00

Please tell me why none of the 47,000 sport channels my cable line up includes are showing the Boston Marathon? Last I checked, Boston was to runners what the Kentucky Derby is to horse fans so in my opinion, it's crazy that it's not being broadcast. Especially since it's not competing with anything 'major' like a baseball game.

I've Managed to Stump the Doctor

2009-04-17T19:23:00.000-04:00

He has no idea. I can tell. He is acting all sure of himself like he knows exactly what's going on but I can read through it. He has no idea. He is now blaming the pain on the top of my foot on.....crap....I can't remember the medical name of the spot but there is this tendon right where the top of your foot meets your leg and ankle type area...to the outside of your foot...um...ok, trying again. There is this little hole you can feel when you touch that area of your foot I so eloquently described above; it's between your ankle bone and the middle of the top of the front of your foot. Sigh. Anyway, it's there, trust me. So he says that it's that thing and it's causing the nerves that go down the top of my foot to hurt. Solution? A shot of cortisone of course! So he did that and told me to come back in a few weeks. I was at the front desk making my appointment when he came up to me and said, "How is it? Feeling better yet?" Um. Yeah. Not quite yet. The shot was at 10:45 yesterday morning and I'm still not feeling much different. Well, unless you count a bit of a burning pain at the site of the injection, that's different.

He didn't place any restrictions on me so I'm just going to blast full steam ahead and see what happens. And not only that but the second I got in my car, I took off my running shoes and put on these:

Then I went to the outlets and shopped. So there.

2009-04-16T17:49:00.000-04:00

I know I'm way late on this one but I finally (!) watched Spirit of the Marathon last night. Holy crap balls was it good! I really loved it. I've had it from Netflix for at least 2 months now. It's just been sitting on my night stand waiting patiently. I can't believe it took me so long! I was going to send it back today but I think I'm going to watch it one more time first. Talk about inspiring! It was also really interesting to see the people that trained for Chicago with a running group vs. the woman who trained all alone - like me. I realized while watching it how much more pleasant my long runs could have been if I had done them in a group setting! Although I have to say that I agreed with just about everything the lone-runner was saying. I found myself nodding in agreement and saying "Right!" and "I know!!" at the t.v. I wanted every person in my family to see it so I could say, "See! Do you get it now??"

Today I ran 5 miles before my strength training class. That's the longest I've run since the marathon and it actually went really well. The top of my right foot was bothering me a bit in the beginning but once it loosened up, it was ok. I'm really starting to wonder if it's tendonitis. Then after the run, I zipped into the fitness classroom only to have the instructor announce that she was going to concentrate on the lower body. Groan. A million squats, lunges and side-steps with resistance bands later and I hobbled out to my car. Ouch. Feels good to be active again though. And I'm really feeling positive about my feet. A girl can hope, right? I have another appointment tomorrow, as I think I've mentioned far too many times, so we'll see what foot-man has to say. If it goes well, I'm going to sign up for the Zooma Half in Annapolis in May. It sounds like a really fun race and I wanted to do it last year but felt it was too close to the first half I did.

Spring Break is Officially Over

2009-04-14T15:26:00.000-04:00

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am one of those (annoyingly anal) people who thrive on routine so I was pretty happy to get us all back on the routine-loving tract. It's Tuesday which means strength training class at the gym - yippy! I didn't do much...ok, I didn't do anything...over spring break so getting to the gym felt pretty damn good today. I ran on the treadmill for a quick 3 miles before class then really pushed myself in the class.

Since the marathon on March 22nd, I've run 3 times for a whopping total of 10 miles. 10 stinking miles. I've been pretty determined to give my feet the rest I think they needed so I stayed off of them. I ran 4 miles a week after the marathon which was a pretty painful experience for both feet. Then the day after we got back from South Carolina, I ran 3 miles at a very slow and easy pace. Things were much better but toward the end, I could feel the twings and pangs of the pain coming on. Then today, I got on again and ran a fast 3 just to see where things are at. It went well. The pain in the side of my left foot seems to be pretty close to gone but the top of my right foot is still in a bad way. I have no idea what the hell it is. Is it possible to get tendinitis in the top of your foot? I made another appointment with my podiatrist for this Friday so we'll see what he has to say. If he tells me it's muscle soreness caused by overpronating again, I'm going to tell him where he can shove my orthotics because I know that's not it.

In other news:

I know!! Crazy? Cool? Fun? Nut-case?? I'm already signed up for the Army-10 Miler taking place three weeks before MCM but I don't think that will matter. I'm excited. Hopefully all my feet issues will be a thing of the past by October 25th and I'll have a fun run. It will be very interesting to see what happens with my time. I know that it is a very crowded field so that will have a big effect but I'll be doing the speed workouts with my running group this summer which is going to have an effect as well. Anyway, I'm kind of excited. Did I mention that I was excited?

I'm Still On Spring Break...And I'm still Not Running.

2009-04-08T22:47:00.000-04:00

I probably spoke too soon when I said I didn't need a 12-step program for my running/cardio addiction. I'm dying to exercise. It's freaking me out. I feel like a slug. I'm having a blast, but a little 6-miler would do me a world of good right now. But! I did have a fantastic birthday with my peeps today. This is our 3rd celebration since I got here...can't have too many cakes in one vacation, I always say. I'm so going to the gym the minute I get home tomorrow night. I think every muscle that took months to develop have turned to mush in the matter of 5 days.

It's all worth it though. It's nice to give yourself a break. I'll appreciate push-ups and hill runs that much more when I get back. Um, at least that's what I keep telling myself as I sit on swings with venti sized Starbucks coffee.

In other news....I'm seriously leaning toward signing up for MCM. If it's not sold out by the time we get home, I'm doing it. I think. I'm almost 99% sure I will. Really!

I Think I Forgot How to Run

2009-04-06T17:40:00.000-04:00

So I'm down at my mom's celebrating Spring Break with my hubby and the kids. We are having a fantastic time with lots of non-stop talking, laughing, birthday celebrating (my mom's, my kids' and mine!) and beer involved. And no running. Not a single step. Unless you count the shopping. Which is just fine with me since I'm on a self-prescribed hiatus from running in the hopes that my foot heals. Day one was a bit difficult for me because I can't remember the last time I sat still for an entire day. I was having major cardio withdraw but by day two, I'm happy to report that I'm over the withdraw. Twelve steps is not needed for this cardio-addict! I think I mentioned that I was really getting into the other methods of cardio available at the gym - rower and elliptical for the most part - and have been chugging along pretty well without running. Anyway, I haven't taken time off from working out in so long and I'm such an addict that I packed my resistance bands and gear to go walking in but I haven't touched any of it (photo at left: me giving cardio the screw you face). My foot better appreciate this! Speaking of the foot, I was in with the general practitioner again on Friday for my ear issues and we were chatting about the marathon. I mentioned to her my pain and she sent me to the x-ray room. The x-ray was negative for a fracture so at least I know it's not a major break. Having said that, I do know that a lot of times that stress fractures don't show up on x-rays so I guess that's still a possibility. I'll try to run when I get home and if I'm still having an issue, back to the podiatrist I go. Blah.

That's about it from here. I'd love to stay and blog some more but I've got birthday cake to eat!

MCM: Still Undecided. Army 10-Miler? Bring It!

2009-04-01T17:46:00.000-04:00

Well, it's April 1st. Also known as Marine Corps Marathon decision day.

I haven't made a decision.

I got a couple of good comments yesterday and I agree with them both. I have heard that MCM is a packed field and very hard to get going particularly in the first 8 miles or so and thus, is very hard to get a good pace on. I've also heard that running with a pacer is dang near impossible because they zip out right at the start and weave in and out of all those people and it's super hard to keep them in your sights. On the other hand, I can't justify another travel race this year so if I'm going to do one, I need to keep it local. MCM is nice and local. Also pulling me toward the registration button is the experience of MCM which I have heard is just incredible. So. I continue to ponder but I better make up my mind soon.

I did, however, sign up for the Army Ten-Miler today! I'm really excited about this race, which takes place three weeks before MCM, because I know a lot of people who are going to run it so it should be a lot of fun.

I went to spinning again today. It doesn't seem to bother my foot at all so that's a definite plus. I'm going to keep doing that, the rower and the elliptical and give my feet a good rest. I just heard them sigh with relief. Your welcome feet.

Marine Corps??

2009-03-31T09:29:00.000-04:00

Things went well in spinning yesterday. Didn't bother my foot at all which was a pleasant surprise. I'll have to stick to spinning and rowing while I give my foot some time off from running.

Speaking of running...I've got someone trying to plant a seed for another marathon. I'm still dealing with issues from the first one! Registration opens tomorrow for the Marine Corps Marathon here in D.C. in October. How am I supposed to make that decision already!? What to do, what to do......

Stupid Foot Ruins Weekend.

2009-03-30T10:01:00.000-04:00

I finally got a run in over the weekend. I went up to the gym because I was a bit concerned about how my left foot was going to feel so I wanted to have other cardio options around. Is it just me or do you feel like a total slug after a week of no cardio activity? I was so anxious to get moving again! Anyway, on Saturday morning, I headed up to the gym and jumped on the treadmill. I started running and it felt great. In the beginning, it was kind of like walking on a hardwood floor in a really old house - lots of creaking and other odd sounds/feelings - but once I got into it, things loosed up nicely. That is until minute 12. All of a sudden, wham, the foot started hurting. I had the speed up at 6.8 so I bumped it down to 6.5 then 6.2 then all the way to 6.0 but the pain persisted and kept getting worse. Then, since I was doing a weird run/limp thing, that stupid unknown pain in the top of my right foot started in! Shit. I dropped the speed down to 3.0 and walked for about a minute or two then, just because I was pissed off, started running again at 6.5. I'll be the first to admit that (a) it was probably stupid not to stop, and (b) I'm about as stubborn as they come but I kept going until I got 4 miles in. Then I hobbled over to the rower and did 20 minutes on that because I was so dissatisfied with my run. As a side note, I was wearing my Polar F11 and burned 195 calories in just 20 minutes (set at 7) on the rowing machine! I was pretty surprised by that number, it was way more than I would have thought.

So after that, I headed out. I was going to try the elliptical as well but had a moment of smartness and decided against it.

On Sunday, I was limping big time from the moment I got out of bed. Usually, the left foot doesn't cause me to limp until towards the end of the day so I knew this wasn't a good sign. When I looked at it, it wasn't swollen but it had a very deep red, almost bruise like, area all up the outside of my foot and on the top just below my ankle. Nice. Today, the redness is almost gone but it still hurts and I'm still a bit gimpy.

I have no idea what to do about it. I'm thinking about giving it another week before heading back to the Podiatrist but we are leaving for Spring Break on Saturday to head down to my mom's for a visit so it will really be 2 weeks. What to do?? I am going to try my best to not run on it. I am (insert stubborn girl here) going to go spinning today and see what happens there. I really want to see if it's just the pounding that causes the pain that makes me have to stop and if I can handle a non impact cardio. I'm kind of anti-podiatrist right now because I don't think the orthotics helped me and he did nothing but shrug his shoulders about my right foot pain (top off foot, near ankle) and tell me it's because I overpronate. I'm assuming I'll go in and he'll tell me it's painful because I just ran a marathon and to rest it. I can do that without a copay. So there. Yeah, I'm a pain in the ass.

What to Do Post Marathon

2009-03-26T16:01:00.000-04:00

I know what your wondering....what the hell have I been doing with myself since Sunday's marathon. Well, I'm gonna tell you!

I've spent a good majority of the week in here:
That would be my over-flowing laundry room. I'm not exactly sure what my kids wore the week before the marathon but judging my the amount of dirty clothes I've been dealing with, it is quite possible they went to school naked. Or at least in high water jeans.

I finally created a 'message center' inside one of my kitchen cabinets:

I had seen this idea somewhere a long time ago and kept saying, "I really need to do that". This seemed the perfect time. So I got some cork squares at the craft store, cut them to size to fit inside the little lip of the cabinet, used the double sided tape that came with it and ta-da! Instant message center! That's just my grocery list hanging up there for now but it'll be full of all kinds of random notes in no time. I even went a step further and hot glued buttons (I used Elmers first but they didn't hold very well. Hot glue will stick anything to anything...including your fingers to your fingers....) on the top of the tacks to add a little interest and color:
Yeah, I know...I really need to sign up for another race.

I also went shopping for a trash can! I know! Can you stand the excitement? Our kitchen is so small that there really isn't any place to put a free standing trash can but the one that came installed (one of those pull out numbers) is so small that I'm constantly taking the trash out. Look at this pretty big 'ol thing I saw at Home Goods:

Pretty sexy for a trash can, eh? It's going to have to work. It's pretty skinny so I'm just going to try and live with the fact that it's slightly obstructing the doorway to the dining room. We'll see how long it lasts before it's sent elsewhere.

I've also finally had the time to sit (sit!!) and catch up on my reading:
I have a bit of a magazine addiction but since I've been spending every spare minute either running or going to the gym, these babies have been stacking up big time. There is nothing better than hanging out on the couch with a cup of tea (or wine if it's in the p.m.) and a shiny new magazine!! Oh my hear is just going pitter patter!

I also finally went to the doctor about my ear. I think I mentioned when my kids had the flu that I had a bit of an ear ache. Of course I ignored it and just lived with the pain and the fact that I couldn't hear out of it. Two days before the marathon, it got pretty swollen so I promised myself that I'd have it checked out after the marathon (can I just say that if I had a nickel for every time I said, "I'll do it after the marathon"?). I went in on Monday morning and apparently I ignored it for a bit too long:
Sigh. Two types of antibiotics, Tylenol with Codeine (whoo-hoo!) and Motrin for the swelling. Not to mention a nice little scolding from the nice doctor. Whoops.

Oh! And I made a massive batch of these:
Those oatmeal raisin cookies I told you about a while back (from Smitten Kitchen). These things are the best oatmeal raisin cookies ever. Ever! You have to try them. I've managed to eat almost all of them completely unassisted thankyouverymuch.

And most importantly, I had lunch with a friend. Lunch! In the middle of the day!! It has been so long since I've done that. I forgot how nice it feels not having to be at the gym or on a run and just be able to sit and catch up with a friend!

I did manage to drag my ass to the gym for my strength training class on Tuesday. It wasn't bad, it actually felt kind of good to move around and wake all my muscles up. I went back today and since I now feel 99%, it was great. My energy level took a while to get back up to speed. I was dragging until about Wednesday. I haven't run yet though. Maybe tomorrow.....if I'm not too busy.

Shamrock Marathon Race Report

2009-03-23T15:55:00.000-04:00

So I need to write an official race report....I don't even know where to begin! What a day! (photo: me at mile 19.)

Thank you for your kind words, good luck emails and post-marathon cheers...I appreciate you guys so much! Old School Runner suggested that I go for a Boston qualifying time next time and since he mentioned it, I'll go ahead and tell you guys what my original pre-marathon plan was. I'll turn 40 a few weeks before Boston 2010 which would mean I'd need a 3:50 to qualify. My original plan (that I totally got talked into because I never would have thought of it on my own) was to run with the 3:50 pacer and see if I could get it. That was the plan until Friday before the race. I started to think real hard about it and I was really concerned that the pace would be too fast for me to sustain for that long so at the last minute, I chose to run with the 4 hour pacer. The morning of the race, my friends were telling me that I should stick with the 4 hour guy until about mile 6 then take off and I could make up the time and still get a 3:50. That sounded like way too early to leave the comforts of a pacer so I decided against that as well. I really wanted this to be a good experience and I didn't want to have any regrets and if I had run with a 3:50 pacer and thus hit a wall, I would have really been upset with myself.

The 4:00 pacer was fantastic. He was really fun and hilarious and kept us dead on a 9:09 every single mile. There were a few times that I felt strong enough that I could go but I kept thinking it was too soon. He said several times that if we felt strong enough, that we should go but to wait until mile 20 or, if we were first timers, even wait until mile 22. I took his advice and at mile 22, left him behind. (Photo: me some time after mile 23ish.)

At that point, I still felt really, really great. Too good almost. I had a ton left in the tank so I just ran. When I realized that I could make a 3:55, I really turned on the gas. I got water at the 24.5 mark and I think that's where I lost that 30 seconds. I was a little bummed that I missed it by that little but then again, I was just so happy at how great I felt and how strong I finished.

Things that I did that I think really helped:

Pacer. I would recommend a pacer to anyone. It was so helpful. Like I said before, there were times I felt I could have taken off but I stuck with him and he made me glad I did. Having said that, there were times I was thinking about letting up a bit but I was terrified of losing him so I just kept listening to his voice - his corny jokes and crazy songs and before you know it, I felt great again. Pacers are the best people in the world.

Sport Beans: I ate a package of sport beans (the flavor on the far left of the picture) about 20 minutes before the race then every hour, regardless of if I felt like I needed them or not, ate another package. I really think they helped. I had so much energy, it was incredible.

Water: I made a point to get something at almost every stop. Even if it was just a splash of water to rinse out my mouth.

Pre-race Fuel: I learned my lesson after my first half (Historic Marine Corps in Fredericksburg last year). I ate a pretty good sized dinner the night before then the morning of, I had two eggs, two plain pancakes, a couple of bites of a bagel and a banana. Oh, and lots of water. Food, food, food.

I'd like to say there was something I did wrong, but I really wouldn't change a thing. I'm happy that I stayed with the pacer for as long as I did because I think it helped me stay so calm - not to mention filled with so much energy. Could I have left him earlier? Yeah, probably, but there is no way I could have known that. I had so many people telling me that the 20-mile mark was "the worst" and that "everyone hits the wall at mile 20!" that I had this huge fear of that point of the race. Note to self: don't listen to other people's horror stories! But I'm glad I stuck with him. I had a really good time, finished strong, finished happy and most important, with no regrets.

On Monday, I had some pain in my left knee. My left IT Band started hurting early on...around mile 6 which had me a bit nervous...and I think it's just left over from that. I also have a very strange pain in the bottom of my left foot that I've never, ever felt before. That pain has me a little nervous but I'm hoping it will be much better by tomorrow. I'm thinking that it was caused by my orthotic because there have been a few times since getting them that the left one felt a bit funky in that arch area. Then I have a bit of pain in my left Achilles but other than that, I'm good to go! Oh, and a funny thing - my shirt collar must have been rubbing on my neck because I have all these awful chafing marks on my neck right smack dab in the front. Pretty.

So I guess that's about it. Nothing too crazy to report - didn't seen any crazy outfits or anything. It was just a really, really fantastic day and just about the best feeling of my life. And a pretty good after party too!

I have to give a huge shout out to my husband who drove my friend Amy and I down to the race and drove all over the race course taking photos like my own little paparazzi and my friend Nancy who planted the seed in my brain and even drove down to VA Beach to cheer Amy and I on. You guys are the best!!

This photo is my husband and I enjoying the post-race beer party. They gave me 4 beer tickets - woo hoo!

Marathon? Check!

2009-03-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

RENAE #1502
VA
Age: 38 Gender: F
3:56:29
Distance MAR
Clock Time 3:57:27
Chip Time 3:56:29
Overall Place 814 / 2555
Gender Place 190 / 982
Division Place 38 / 168
Age Grade 59.1%
7 Mile 1:04:32
Half Split 1:59:59
18 1 Mile 2:45:31

Official "Chill the Hell Out" Mode....

2009-03-19T14:27:00.000-04:00

....Yup...I am. Stop laughing! I swear!! Both kids are back in school today which, I admit, had me doing a bit of a happy dance, and tomorrow is the first day of spring and I've had pasta more in the past week than I have in an entire year and my headache is gone. Ahhhhh...... See? Chill the hell out mode has set in big time. Why, I believe I may be almost zen-like. No, your right, that's pushing it.

I went to my strength training class today. I know, I know....not advised. And please don't tell my mother because she specifically told me not to go and the last time I did something she told me not to....shudder.....lets just say it wasn't pretty and it involved flying utensils. Anyhoo, it was all good because I only did the upper body stuff and I did that with very light 8 lb weights. I mostly went to see all those friendly faces and to get out of the house. It actually was really good. Everyone was super sweet and wishing me luck and they really got me back into it and excited again.

After, I headed over to Target because as I'm sure you all know, nothing brings a girl out of a slump then that big 'ol red bulls eye. I had to get a cupcake holder. Did you know these things existed?? Quinn's 6th birthday party tomorrow is at Chuck E Cheese (gag) and I was wondering how the heck I'd get all the cupcakes there without major damage. So this is what it looks like:

Crazy incredible, right? I had no idea there was such a thing. I have now decided that it may have taken me almost 9 years but purchasing this baby today officially gives me The Mom Card. I also got all the random dollar store crap for the goodie bags. It's so funny to me how much kids love the birthday party goodie bags. It's like swag for kids. So I was shaking my head as I loaded up on plastic yo-yos, Sponge Bob bouncy balls, and plastic wrist puzzle thingys when I realized how excited I get when I get handed a plastic bag full of crap at a race. I immediately run back to the hotel room and dump that puppy out on the bed and squeal with delight at every little piece of junk. Lesson learned: Kids, they're just like us only smaller.

Dora Loses Weight...I hope she did it the healthy way.

2009-03-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

Totally off the marathon/flu topic here....have you seen the "new" Dora? It's times like this that I really worry about young girls. Looks like Dora went on a diet and then got a makeover. How early do we need to start teaching that thinner is better and prettier?

Official Diagnosis

2009-03-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

So both boys tested positive for the flu. Yup. The flu. Fortunately for Carter, we caught his within the first 48 hours so he was able to get Tamiflu to treat it. Quinn has had it for 6 days so there isn't much we can do for him but wait it out. He did have an ear infection too so we got antibiotics for that.

Obviously I'm a little stressed. I've been nursing Quinn since last Wednesday and now Carter too. It would be one thing if it were my husband (no offense honey but I'd banish you to the basement faster than you could sneeze at me) but when it's your kids laying there with a fever and looking totally miserable, your heart just breaks for them and you let them cuddle with you, sneeze on you and get you kind of snotty. Being a mom comes before being a runner so if I get it, I get it. Not much I can do about it at this point. I had a few moments of tears yesterday...the "4 months of training could possibly go down the drain" feeling sorry for myself thoughts but I'm over it now. I just can't predict or control what will happen and the added stress of worrying about it certainly isn't going to help.

I'm trying to get a lot of sleep, which is hard due to all the coughing, and trying to get in lots of extra water and good food. I haven't run since I did the 8 on Saturday. The schedule called for 3 miles yesterday followed by another 3 today then an "easy" 15-20 minutes on Thursday. I'm hoping to get 3 on the treadmill tonight after the kids go to bed. I think at this point, aside from the obvious fear of getting sick, I'm most worried about being drained mentally as well as physically because of all of this drama come Sunday. We shall see!

Sick Kids One Week Before Marathon??? WHAT?

2009-03-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

Less than a week to go and all hell is breaking loose.

My littlest kid is still sick. I thought he was getting better this weekend but he woke up this morning with his temp back up at 101 and now is complaining to a ear ache in addition to the coughing/sneezing/snotty stuff.

If that isn't enough, my big kid started with a fever last night. I gave him Tylenol and sent him to bed with fingers crossed. This morning, he was on fire.

So. I have two sick kids home with me today and an appointment scheduled for the pediatrician today at 2:30. If I don't get this bug before Sunday, it will be some kind of miracle. My husband, knight in shining armor that he is, has volunteered to take the boys to the doctor for me which is the best news I've had since last Wednesday when Quinn came home sick. Why? Well because I can't imagine what is lurking in the sick waiting room of the pediatrician's office right now: flu/fever/snot/coughing/barfing/general virus crap. Yeah. That's what I need.

I am a major stress factory but I am trying to remain calm.

To remain calm, one must look for a silver lining, right? Sure that weather.com would provide that for me, I checked the forecast for Sunday in Virginia Beach: high of 58, low of 45 and.....and this is the best part.....partly cloudy! Only "partly" cloudy! This is so much better than "completely" cloudy and rain which is what it said 2 days ago. Silver lining people, silver freaking lining!

New Shiny Shoes!

2009-03-13T18:19:00.000-04:00

My son is still illin' so I haven't been on a run since my panicked 3-miler on Wednesday. I had planned on using these sick days as true days of rest but, not surprisingly, just can't sit still so I dusted off my old The Firm dvd's for some cardio and strength training. Not quite the same as being in class or out on the trail but better than nothing. Tomorrow I have an 8-miler scheduled which I'm very much looking forward to!

I got new shoes on Wednesday. I need new kicks but I was going to wait until after the marathon and go back to the fancy running store. The stupid orthotics are starting to nag me and I have been blaming it on my shoes. Anyway, I was in Off Broadway looking for some casual non-sneaker type shoes when I saw the exact running shoe I own, the Asics 2130, marked down. They were selling it for $85.99 and then I saw the additional 20% off sign. Woo! So I picked them up fully intending to buy the same shoe I've had for almost a year now when I saw the bright and shiny new Asics 2140. Ohhhhh....pretty! I tried on my size and they felt a little small in the toe box so I grabbed my size in a wide and oh my oh my oh my. Comfy! Off Broadway was selling them for $89.00. So I bought them. With zero knowledge of this particular shoe, just marched right up and bought the suckers. I haven't run in them because, well, I haven't run period since I bought them so I'm not sure how they are going to feel but I'm excited to try them out. I'll probably stick to my old Asics for the marathon though.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I have got to get out of this house.

Marathon Brain

2009-03-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

I had a fantastic weekend "off" of running. I needed the mental break and I couldn't have picked a better weekend, weather-wise, to get one. I might have had a few too many beers on a date with my husband Saturday night but I'm just going to chalk that up as very early carb-loading.

On Monday, I went to the gym for a strength training class that I don't normally attend. I had to give up my Tuesday regular class because I went on a field trip with my son's 3rd grade class so I was excited to see a class on Monday. The instructor seemed nice enough but it just reinforced what a creature of habit I am. I just couldn't get into it. She was so different from my regular instructor - she was the more perky type where as my regular class has a more military yet hilarious instructor. The class was jam packed but everyone was very quiet with very little interaction with the instructor. My regular class is a bunch of really fun women and when the instructor yells something out to us, we all happily respond. So I was pretty excited to get back to my old stand by today. Then my kindergartner got off the bus yesterday with a fever. So much for that plan.

Obviously no one likes to see their kid sick but right now, I have to admit, this has me way more freaked out than normal because I'm terrified that I'm going to get his bug. He is coughing up a storm, laying on the couch and generally looks miserable. I am a week away from a marathon! Holy crap-balls. Aside from putting him in a bubble, or me for that matter, I just don't know how I can prevent getting it. Especially since I'm a wee bit stressed out right now which I know opens me up to the bug. Think good thoughts for me!

Speaking of the little punk, his birthday is next Friday. And oh yeah, might want to send out invitations, order a cake and get goodie bags put together. My marathon mush brain is in full effect. I had totally forgotten all the stuff I needed to do! So yesterday, I got all the invitations together, addressed, stamped and mailed. After I mailed them, I realized I didn't put the return address on any of them...whatever, no biggie right? Yeah. No biggie until I realized that I put .39 stamps on them. When the hell was the last time I mailed something?? Marathon brain. So my husband says, "Don't worry about it, they'll get returned by tomorrow or Friday and you can just resend them." Um, yeah honey, that would be true and great and all if I had put the freaking return address on them!!! So. While sicky lays on the couch, I am redoing birthday invitations.

After having the weekend off, I ran the schedule-called for run of 4 miles on Monday and 3 miles on Tuesday. Wednesday was supposed to be a rest day but since it was so nice out, I decided to run the 6 that is on tap for today. I got out there on the path and was a little over a mile out when I realized that I didn't lock the truck. My gym bag with wallet, phone and house keys were in there. Marathon brain. So at 1.5, I turned and literally sprinted back to the car 100% sure that my stuff would be gone. Thankfully it was still there. So much for my 6 miles.

This weekend calls for 8 miles which I'll do Saturday. Then next week is two 3-mile runs and that's it!! Oh, and I got my confirmation card in the mail on Tuesday with my bib number. Pretty exciting!! It says that in addition to all the beers they will have after the run, there will be Irish Beef Stew. Um. Yeah. I'm pretty sure my weak stomach wont be able to handle beef strew!

First Spring Run?!

2009-03-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

I decided to do my long run today rather than wait until Saturday. It was a mere (hardy-har-har-har) 12 miles so I could fit it in between kindergarten drop off and afternoon pick up plus, in all honesty, I've really been missing my family Saturday's. Spending my morning fueling for a long run, stressing about a long run, trying to figure out how many layers to wear on a long run while my husband and boys talk about how they are going to spend the day - indoor pool? lunch out? an afternoon of Wii-filled-laughter? - has come pretty dang close to putting me over the edge. Then when I finally finish the run, the rest of Saturday is spent on the couch. Given all that, and the fact that it was 60 degrees out today (and sunny!) I decided to shake things up (I'm all kinds of kooky like that) and get my 12 miles done today. Oh, and one other big reason why I did this today: on Wednesday, I went out for my 7 mile run and decided to turn it into a tempo run. I decided I would get 7 done in under an hour. I really let myself go and just ran - no iPod, no heart rate monitor - just ran. 67 minutes later, I was finished and feeling very strong and refreshed. I've also received so many kind comments and emails from fellow running bloggers after my last 'feeling sorry for myself' post. You guys are the best and seriously have no idea how much you are helping me get through this training! So, still feeling the love, I was hoping that I'd blast through 12 nice and strong.

It was so perfect out today! The birds were back and louder than I've heard them in months and I actually saw some brave flowers poking through the dirt. Spring may actually be right around the corner, folks! I ran the 12 in 1 hour, 46 minutes. Not to shabby for someone who has been filled with self-doubt lately. And the best part? I get to spend tomorrow, which is supposed to be even warmer, with my peeps!

Official Count Down: 14 days: 14 hours: 58 minutes. Gulp.

2009-03-05T07:55:00.000-05:00

Several days have past and I'm almost over my nightmare of a long run this past Saturday. As I'm sure you recall, because I'm am that exciting and memorable, Saturday was supposed to be my last long run before tapering and it was to be 20 miles. Yup. So. It didn't actually go as planned. I only ran 18.5 miles.

First Excuse: it was 34 degrees and windy. Reason why that excuse blows (no pun intended): I was wearing the perfect amount of layers and really stayed quite warm with the exception of my ears which were not covered but unless I'm mistaking, my ears have absolutely nothing to do with my legs.

Second Excuse: The reason I didn't finish is because of the leg/foot pain. So I told myself (while tears were starting to fall during the walk to my car) that it was because I over did it during the week with attending two spinning classes on top of my regular classes/runs. Reason why that excuse blows: My work level has really not changed all that much since I started this marathon training madness. I don't normally attend spinning twice, usually just one class per week, but I have done it and not failed on Saturday.

So now of course I'm even more terrified of the marathon. 18.6 is no where near 26.2! I can't stop because of aching legs! And I have no idea what is going on with this foot. It's really got me worried but I'm hoping (again) that it was the spinning and have vowed to not return to spinning until after the marathon.

Enough of that.

Did you see Dane from The Biggest Loser on The Today Show this week? He puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the producers saying that when it became apparent that he would not finish the marathon in the 6 hours required before the course closed, they made the decision to drive him to the finish line so they could get their money shot. Okay. I can see reality show producers wanting to do that but why did he agree? Why not say no and why not make a point that it's not always the finish but the effort? This could have been a really good message, one that I'm sure a lot of overweight people that are just starting to exercise would appreciate hearing. Results are not always instantaneous. Running/walking 23 miles is a major achievement for him and that should have been the highlight. Having said that, I still don't understand why no one is addressing the 3:53 time they said he finished with. I find it hard to believe that not only did he not know they were going to make it look like he ran the entire thing but that he also did it with an incredible time!

Biggest Lies About Marathon Finish

2009-02-27T09:01:00.000-05:00

Spoiler Alert: If you are a Biggest Loser fan and are not caught up, stop reading.

Did you stop?

Seriously, stop because I'm going to mention who got kicked off this week.

Ok, I think they are gone.

At the end of the Biggest Loser the other night after he got kicked off, they showed the little 'how are they doing now' bit and showed Dane running in a marathon in AZ with his wife. Then they cut to him crossing the finish line and standing there talking about how great it was to "run an entire marathon with my wife" all while standing in front of his time of 3 hours and 53 minutes. 3:53!!!!
The next day at the gym, I was talking to a couple of my running friends about it and we were all a bit skeptical. And now it turns out that it was all a big, fat lie. Apparently, producers picked them up along the route and dropped them close to the finish line! So how do you feel about Dane, the latest Biggest Loser eliminated contestant, lying about his marathon finish? Personally, I find it totally insulting. There are those of us who spend countless hours at the gym and on the trails training in the desperate hope that a 4 hour marathon is achievable then this clown comes along and lies about not only his finish time, but the fact that he "ran the entire marathon".
Here is a link to the story on Reality Blurred.

Yada Yada Yada

2009-02-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Apparently Wednesday is chatty-chick-day at the gym because those non-stop talking girls were back at spinning yesterday. I hate to say it but I think I'm going to stop going on Wednesday's. It's that freaking annoying! They are so loud! And at one point, the one girl said,"What did you say?" and so the other one started talking even louder....and continued at that level for the rest of the class. I find it hard to believe that I'm the only person who notices this. I left right after, skipping the ab portion which I never skip. Bummer.

As a side note, I have a friend who is from Australia and she says they don't call it spinning class there, they call it Cycling. Cycling. Doesn't that sound civilized? It makes me totally forget how sweaty and nasty I get during that class.....makes it sound like I'm off to have a spot of tea.

The outlook for this weekend is cold with a rain/snow mix. Doesn't sound good for a 20-miler. If it is really nasty out and I do 12 on the treadmill instead - pushing the 20-miler to next weekend, is that a bad thing?

Remember I told you about those oatmeal raisin cookies? There is only one left. And before you get all, "Oh that's so fantastic that your entire family loved them too!" let me just confess that I ate them. All of them. Well, except for the one that my 5-year-old tried to eat while picking out all the raisins. Other than that one, I ate them. Every. Single. One. Every time I walked by the Tupperware container, I'd have to double back and grab one. It was awful. Crack cookies I tell you! I tried to justify it by telling myself that raisins are a fruit and thus, good for me and that oatmeal, well, heck, it's a form of a grain, right? It's a good think I only made a half a batch.

Off to strength training today then a 5-mile run. The joys of marathon training....they are endless.

Wine Rocks My World After Running 18 Miles.

2009-02-24T16:53:00.000-05:00

My schedule called for 18.6 miles this weekend. I gave it the big middle finger and "only" ran 18. That'll fix 'em. 18 flipping miles. I don't care who you are, 18 miles is damn far! For the first time, I experimented with eating while on a run. The idea of popping those gels has never appealed to me so I've always been searching for other options. Imagine my delight when fig newtons kept popping up in various articles. I love me some fig newtons! They are my weakness. I stuffed two in a zip lock baggie and off I went. I pulled the first one out somewhere around mile 14 and took almost a half mile to eat it. Little tiny bites at a time. I was pretty nervous about it though because my stomach has the tendency to....um....overreact quite a bit. I got the first one down fine then waited for about 10 minutes and started on the next one. I honestly have no idea if they helped or not. Was two enough? I finished the 18 without walking and am alive to tell about it so I guess they must have helped a little, right?

One thing I learned about running that far/long. Two glasses of wine with dinner make me giddy quite a bit faster than on a normal night. Awesome.

I took Sunday off then on Monday, I was supposed to run 5 miles. Yup, the middle finger went up again and I went to spinning instead. Then today after strength training, I ran 5. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day with Thursday being a 10 miler. Honestly, I'm not trying to make excuses here, but how the heck am I going to fit in a 10-miler in the middle of the week? I will have to jump on the treadmill the second after I put Quinn on the bus for kindergarten then get right back to the bus stop as soon as I finish! I'll figure something out. This weekend is the biggie....the grand finale of long runs....the dreaded 20-miler. ACK! I'm praying for nice weather to help me get through it (Saturday was perfect for my 18).

In foot-related news, the orthotics seem to be helping a bit. I'm still having pain on the top of my right foot though. But here is the interesting thing. After my long run this weekend, I was fully expecting to be attached to the Advil bottle all day Sunday but it really wasn't that bad. Both feet were a bit achy but hey, I made them run 18 miles so what do I expect? But not the major pain in that right one that I was expecting. But then yesterday, I went to spinning and by last night, the top of my right foot was killing me. And when I got out of bed this morning, I had to limp my way around! So. I have a feeling that spinning was the cause of it. I talked to someone who had a similar problem and said it was a nerve or tendon or something.....these runs are messing with my memory....but I just find it so interesting that I am in so much pain after spinning rather than the run. I really don't want to give up spinning so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. Do I actually have to invest in official spinning shoes??

Last, I just pulled the most incredible oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven. If you are a sucker for oatmeal raisin like me, you have to give them a try!! Yum!

Chatty Group Classes

2009-02-20T06:51:00.000-05:00

In my spinning class on Wednesday, there were two women that talked and talked and talked through the entire thing. For some reason, this really bugs the crap out of me. First of all, they were obviously not working hard enough if they were able to carry on a full conversation for 50 minutes, second of all, why would they want to? And whose job is it to get them to shut the hell up? The instructors? Or should they have just gotten the hint by all the glares they were receiving? At one point, our instructor said, "If you can carry on a conversation then you are not pushing yourself as hard as you should be right now during this hard climb people!" She didn't use their names, but it was pretty obvious to everyone who she was talking to. Everyone but them, they chatted on.
This class runs from 12:00 - 12:50 then from 12:50 - 1:00, she tuns off the music and does a mini "ab-blast" session. And here is where I really had to bite my tongue. These two women stayed in the class, standing by their bikes and talked through the entire 10 minutes! Talked! And laughed! And generally were having a grand 'ol time! WHY didn't they leave the room? I was so mad which actually may have helped me get through the nine million bicycle crunches we did but wow. Seriously folks. If you are in the mood to chit-chat, don't go to a group class. Please tell me you guys agree with me and I'm not being overly critical here!

2009-02-18T09:13:00.000-05:00

After a relatively easy week last week (thank you schedule Gods), I'm back to more strenuous activity this week. This past weekend only had me running 12 miles which I had to to on my treadmill. I really tried to focus on starting out slow and keeping a nice easy pace. These long runs are going to do me in if I don't learn to keep the pace slow.

This week, I ran 5 miles on Monday, 4 yesterday after strength training, spinning today, 9 miles tomorrow after strength training then the weekend run calls for 18.6 (um, why .6? Why not .5 or 19?) I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to get that run done since the weather this weekend is looking sketchy at best. It's going to have to get done on Saturday because on Sunday, I'm taking a photography class from 12:30 - 4:30. I'm so excited about this class! I have this awesome camera and have no clue how to use it to it's full potential. It's also kind of nice to have something else to think about and focus (haha, no pun intended) on.

I've been sticking with The Firm yoga dvd. Of the 3 I've tried, that one seems to be the best. She doesn't tell me how I should reach for the sky while focusing on all the beautiful things that are happening when I take a deep breath, blah, blah, blah, she just goes through the poses.

I also tried Jillian's new dvd, 30 Day Shred. It's broken into three sections, or levels as she calls them. I went straight to phase three the first time I did it. During the warm up, she kept saying things like, "See? I told you phase three was no joke! This is so much harder than levels one and two!!" and I was all, "Ha! This is so easy! I'm such a bad-ass!!" Yeah. Then she really got into it and it was tough! It's only about 30 minutes but it really gets your heart rate up there. It's 3 minutes of strength moves followed by 2 minutes of cardio then 1 minute of ab work over and over with no breaks. Good stuff for a day when I can't get to the gym and just want something quick.

I also got back on my Wii Fit this weekend. I got it when it first came out and have to admit that I used it all of one time. Recently I spoke to someone who was loving hers and got me all excited about it again so I decided to give it another go with my kids. It was a ton of fun. My abs got a great workout just from all the laughing we were doing. I still feel like it's great for someone who doesn't do any form of exercise but I just get bored because it doesn't move fast enough for me. I wish you could get it to roll through all the strength moves continuously rather than having to go to the menu every time and select a new move. Same with the yoga. The running and hula hoop are fantastic though, super fun and really get your heart pumping.

Note on the orthotics. I'm using them 100% of the time now. They didn't take any getting used to...they warned me to start off only and hour or two at a time because I may experience "some discomfort". I didn't have any problems though so just dived right in. So far, so good. My left foot is feeling a lot better but that pain on the top of my right foot is still there and still killing me. I'm starting to think it's a nerve thing. It's really strange.

I Want to Retire

2009-02-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

I'm so over this. I am no longer having fun.

I ran the required 17 miles on Saturday and everything beyond mile 11 sucked. There is just no way I can sugar coat it. At mile 13, I walked for about 200 yards which actually made things worse....I am not the kind of person that can walk, regroup then start up again. The starting back up is way harder then when I just keep running. My legs were killing me. Every inch of both legs from the hips down. I finished though. It took me 2 hours and 41 minutes, but I finished.

So I got home feeling totally dejected (how the hell am I going to run 26.2 if 17 feels this bad??) and pulled out my schedule to write it down. It was then that I really took in how much I had done all week. First of all, my last long run of 16 miles was on Sunday so it hadn't been a full week yet...I have to think that another 24 hours would have helped a little! I had taken Monday off (just some yoga) then Tuesday went to strength training class followed by 4 miles. On Wednesday, I took that tough spinning class then on Thursday, went to strength training again and followed that up with a 5 mile run. Then on Friday, I ran 7. So, I'm thinking I shouldn't be so surprised that Saturday a.m. was a difficult run. But still. I'm feeling so over it all. It's taking so much of my time - it's all I think about - and I'm starting to get seriously stressed over it all.

Blah.

So there.

That was pleasant.

This week has a slightly easier schedule. I am doing nothing today in protest. The schedule calls for three runs this week of 4/5/6 then this weekend is "only" a 12-miler. I'm wondering if they (whoever the "they" is that made this schedule) knew that right about now is when babies like me start getting all emotional and so they threw us this little bone of a lighter week. I'm not going to spinning on Wednesday because I have to volunteer in Quinn's class and that's probably a good thing. Need to get my legs rested up. I'm getting too old for this crap.

Spinning/Running/Feet

2009-02-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to spinning and I seriously think my ass will never be the same. Ouch. I haven't been in awhile due to schedule conflicts and not being able to get a bike (when are the new years resolution people going to drop out??) and so that's probably why I'm so sore but man! Kinda makes me re-think the spinning idea. On the other hand, I have to believe that something that is so hard to get through has got to be helping me. I have such a love-hate relationship with spinning. I totally hate it while I'm there but once I'm done, I am so proud of myself for surviving. And the aching legs that scream out in pain as I walk up the stairs tells me it's working muscles I don't work while running. I wore my new Polar F11 during the class yesterday and I burned a whopping 496 calories! Impressive! That'll keep me going!

I ran 4 little miles on Tuesday night. Now that my long runs are getting longer, I'm finding it harder to get my weekly miles in....fortunately the schedule still has them pretty short. I just don't feel like it! Tuesday was ok once I was about a mile in but 4 was plenty. Today after strength training, I've got to get back on that treadmill for 5 miles then I still owe 8 before this weekends long run. Blah. I guess I'll do the 8 on Friday and then long on Sunday. Yawn. I'm starting to bore myself. See? This is why I don't post often....there are simply no witty stories about mid week runs on the treadmill.

I got a call from my Podiatrist. My orthotics are in. Oh boy. So I go to pick them up tomorrow. I'm sure he'll tell me what to do but what do you guys think....should I run my long run with or without them? I was thinking I should do several shorter runs first to get used to them before wearing them for a long run.

Another Long Run in the Bank

2009-02-03T07:09:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I ran 16 miles. The most I've ever run was the 14.5 from two weeks ago and of course my two half marathons so this 16 was a big ass deal. I'm still amazed that I did it. The path I ran was pretty sketchy too. It was pretty warm on Sunday, waiting until 11:00 helps with the temps, but there was still a lot of ice out there. I was pretty tense over those parts terrified that I was going to fall or twist an ankle. As a result, it took me kind of a long time to finish the 16. But then again, what do I know, I've never run 16 and haven't a clue how long it takes! Then on Sunday evening, we had a party for the big game. I was full of energy which I can only assume was the famous runners high. Yesterday though, I was beat! After that many miles, a party and staying up until midnight, my body said, "Ha! What, you think your 21 or something?" So yesterday I listened and stayed away from the gym. I did managed to do my 35 minute yoga dvd but that was it. And I have to say, as much as I really hate to admit it, I think that crazy dvd is working! I've been feeling a lot less tight lately.

This week calls for 3 runs of 4, 5 and 8 then a 17 miler this weekend. I wish I had longer than a week to celebrate the 16.

I used my new Polar F11 on the run. That thing kinda rocks! I've got to do a bit more reading though because I don't think I'm using it up to it's potential.

So that's it. Off to my strength training class today and hopefully I get into spinning tomorrow.

Blah, Blah, Blah...

2009-01-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Running: Yup, been doing it. This week I've followed my marathon training schedule to the exact number. This weekend calls for a long run of 15.4 miles. Gulp. I'm hoping to get that one done on Sunday because the weather looks like it's going to be slightly warmer than on Saturday.

Cross Training: The kids had 2 days off of school and one 2 hour delay this week for "snow". One inch of snow. In my pre-gym-addict days, this probably wouldn't have bothered me much but this week it had me in a total tissy. I missed both strength training classes and the Wednesday spinning class. On Monday, I got to the gym 10 minutes before the spinning class (too late, I know) and missed out on a bike so I ran instead. So. No cross training for me this week. I did, however, dust off my Yoga dvd (The Firm) and did that twice. I need to get that back into my routine because holy crap-o-la are my legs/back/hips tight!

Foot Dr.: Yes, I finally went to the podiatrist on Monday. He took no less than 9,000 x-rays of my feet. I was sure he was going to find a stress fracture or something else extremely dramatic but he didn't. Apparently I'm an over-pronator. That's it. Nothing else. He ordered me some orthotics which should be in two weeks from now. It was all I could do to not say, "Seriously? Are you sure? Can you look at the x-rays again because my feet are killing me doc!" I got home and did what most people do when they have what they are sure is a major injury, googled it. I have to admit that the symptoms and problems associated with overpronation fit me pretty well so I'm trying to stay positive and I'll give the orthotics a fair shake.

Gadgets: I got a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor! I'm super excited about it. The only problem so far is that before you exercise with it the first time, you have to put it on and find a nice quiet place to lay down and basically chill for at least 5 minutes. No phones, no kids, no noise, no distractions. I've had the watch for 3 days and have yet to find that 5 minute window.

iPhone App: If you are as addicted to your iPhone as I am then you spend a lot of time checking out the app store. I recently downloaded Lose It! which is a nutrition tracker. I'm borderline obsessed with what I eat...not in a diet way but in a healthy food way. I can tell the difference in my running big time when I eat too much crap. So this app is really cool. You plug in what you eat and it tracks calories, fat, carbs and fiber. You can also enter your daily exercise. The only thing it doesn't track is sugar which I'd kind of like to have. For a free app, it's pretty damn cool!

Three Quick Things

2009-01-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

1. I'm still 100% Spenda free!!! Very exciting, right?! And as a result, I don't drink as much coffee....that 4:00 pot I was brewing is a thing of the past!

2. Even though I'm still full of excuses (it's my shoes fault; it's just a bruise; all people have feet issues that keep them up at night...) I've finally caved and made an appointment with a podiatrist. D-day is Monday. I am totally in that, "I really don't want to know" mode...but trying to maintain a positive attitude!

3. This weekend, I made the most fantastic Chicken Tortilla Soup ever! I got the recipe from Oxygen Magazine so it's sorta good for you even!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 7-oz can diced green chili peppers
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 lb chicken breasts (I actually used 2 big breasts....yeah, yeah, yeah...haha)
2 cups chicken broth (I used 3 because I don't like dry soup)
2 cups water
2 14 1/2-oz cans whole tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes and one can with jalapenos!)
1 14 1/2-oz can corn
1 14 1/2-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
salt to taste
2 whole wheat tortillas
1 lime quartered
4 tsp Greek yogurt
1/2 English cucumber, diced

Add first four ingredients to large stockpot over medium heat, let simmer until onion softens. Add chicken, broth, water and tomatoes with liquid. Cover and increase heat until liquid boils, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Return chicken to pot, chip up tomatoes in the pot with a spoon, add corn and beans and continue simmering for another 10 minutes or until chicken is entirely cooked through. Salt to taste. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. Slice tortillas in half and then into strips and place on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until crisp. Garnish soup with tortilla strips, lime wedge, teaspoon of yogurt and cucumbers (I didn't do all that garnishing crap, I just ate it).

Anyway, it was a really yummy soup...perfect for this cold weather!

Survived Another Long Run

2009-01-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

This weekend, despite having foot problems all week, I went out for a long run. I pampered the foot all week long - ice and lots of Advil and very little running and I think all those things helped. I'm still not sure what happened exactly. I'm still leaning towards a bruise on the bone. I think maybe I had my shoes tied too tight when I ran that 12.4 on the treadmill last Saturday. It was painful but rest and ice helped. This weeks long run schedule was for 14 miles. Gulp. Next weekend, it's 10 so when I decided to give the foot a try, I was thinking I'd flip flop the weekends and attempt 10 this weekend. If I made it to 10, great, if not, no biggie. I headed outside on Sunday (I know - outside! How exciting is that?!) prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. I took it nice and slow and managed to get all 14 miles in! Yay!! My foot held up, it was a little sore. But my hips and my hamstrings - holy crap! By mile 12, my hips were really aching and my hamstrings were starting to scream. I slowed way down and finished but I'm thinking I've got to find something I can do to strengthen those areas.

Something smart I did for yesterday's run: purchased a book from iTunes and listened to that instead of music for a nice change. Something I did that was pretty stupid: I didn't bring water with me. I drank some water when I got home then took a shower and started some laundry then started to feel really bad. Horrible stomach issues and then I started feeling very nauseous. It didn't take long for me to realize what was happening. I was dehydrated! Stupid, stupid, stupid!! I lay on the couch and forced myself to keep drinking and after about 2 hours, started to feel better. I have no idea what I was thinking but I wont make that mistake again, I can tell you that!

Other random stuff: Has anyone heard of or tried these:

It's called a Buff and this one is from the 'original' buff maker, Planet Buff. It's a fleece piece of material with no seams that is like a tube and you can wear it as a neck warmer, pull it up over your mouth and ears or even wear it on your head. Yesterday, my neck and ears were pretty cold and I think it would have been pretty cool to have something like this that I could pull up or just keep it around my neck. Yet another reason why I wish I could sew though....how difficult can it be to make a tube of fleece?

I also found a new site over the weekend (via Andrea Vincent of SeeMommyRun) that I'm playing around with call Just Finish. Their tag line is, "Motivating and encouraging ALL runners, walkers, cyclists and multi-sport athletes through the FINISH." It's a very friendly site and so far, I'm really enjoying it. Go check it out!

Finally - A Run Outside!

2009-01-13T07:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's schedule only had me running 3 miles so I decided to stop being such a baby and do it outside. I figured I could be cold for 3 miles plus, the weather for the rest of the week screams treadmill. I went out to the trail and I can't tell you how great it felt to be back outside! I ended up running a lot faster than I had intended and a bit longer - 5 instead of 3.

Weird injury though. After my 12.4 treadmill hell on Saturday, I went to the grocery store but other than that, I was in the house all weekend so I never put on my shoes. My feet were, as always after a long run, sore but nothing too terribly out of the ordinary. But then yesterday when I put my shoes on to take Quinn to the bus, the top of my right foot screamed in pain. I thought something was in the shoe so I took it off but it looked fine. Put it back on, took a couple of steps and, OUCH! What the hell? It felt like the tongue was the problem so I kind of wiggled it around but it still hurt. I got Quinn to the bus and drove out to the trail. When I got out of the car, I messed with my shoe a bit more then just ran. It hurt on and off during the run but when I got home and took off my shoe, I found a big 'ol bruise on the top of my foot! It starts on the top, bone, of my big toe and spreads across the middle of my foot. I have no idea what this is all about. Maybe my shoe was too tight during the long run and then yesterday's additional run was enough to make the bruise appear? It's sore though, that's for sure.

Today's schedule calls for 4 miles then rest tomorrow followed by 7 on Thursday. I have more time today than I will on Thursday so I'm going to flip those two days and try the 7 today - hopefully my foot will chill out. This weekend is a long 14 miler that I'm recruiting my friend to run with me.....that should help big time. Hopefully we don't freeze our asses off!

Something that has absolutely nothing to do with running: My mother got my boys this alien maker thing for Christmas. It is the coolest! I can't get enough of it.....er...um, I mean, they boys love it but they always need my help!

Day of Rest = Day of Eating & Long Run, Check!

2009-01-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

Friday was my official rest day. I was really looking forward to it. But as it turns out, I'm not so good at resting. I was bored off my ass! I almost ended up eating the entire kitchen just to keep busy. Fortunately, I snapped out of it and reminded myself how hard I had worked at the gym...that kept me away from the chips!

Today was long run day. Unfortunately, it's a typical winter day in Virginia though - cold, wind and rain. Yuck. Lucky, lucky me, I have a treadmill so I hopped on and started to run. Do you have any idea how much 12.4 miles sucks on a treadmill? I do. Big time. The run itself was pretty good. I felt great until about mile 10.5 when I started to feel....um....crappy is to strong a word....how about just not so great. By mile 11.5, I wanted to quit. Hopefully it's just because I was stuck inside. I pushed out the last mile and slammed that 'Stop' button a tad bit harder than necessary. All I can say is that it better be nicer next weekend when I have to run 14 miles because I seriously don't think I can do that on a treadmill!

2009-01-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot to post my solution to my Spenda problem! I've been so hooked on the stuff for years and recently woke up and read all the awfulness that is being written about it. So I've been trying to find a better substitute. I didn't want to go back to regular sugar because my addiction to it in my coffee/tea was so bad 9 years ago that I'm convinced that if I used it again now, I'd be right back to my old addict self. Not pretty. On Monday, Joy Bauer was on The Today Show giving the usual nutrition tips and she said that it takes about a week for you to get used to not having that sugar taste. She said to try and stop using any kind of sugar or sugar substitute for one week and that by the end of that week, you should be totally fine without it. That's all the motivation I needed....that and for some reason I was feeling full of self-discipline. I started on Monday and am happy to report that I've made it this far with zero Splenda! Yay! I know, I know, it's not that big of a deal to most people but for me it's huge! The coffee is still not tasting great to me, but it's not as awful as it was on Monday morning either so I'd say that's progress. How's that for cold turkey?! Of course, this is all coming after I found this super cute Splenda-holder thingy. I can't tell you how many packets of the stuff is floating around at the bottom of my purse. I dig and dig for it when I'm anywhere that doesn't have it available for coffee. I could have used this thing!

In training news, I ran for 7.5 miles today on the treadmill and then took my usual 1 hour strength training class. Fortunately for me, she was 100% focused on the upper body and abs today....my quads are about ready to quit on me this week. At least they are as far as regular walking around, sitting and sleeping are concerned but as soon as I start to run, they are totally fine. I felt like I could have run a lot further today but wanted to hold off since I have a long run scheduled this weekend. Tomorrow is a day of rest that I am very much looking forward to. I'm trying to follow the training schedule from the Shamrock's website. I'm joining it 6 weeks late but I'm not too concerned because my regular base mileage wasn't much lower than what they were up to. Having said that, this weekend is supposed to be a long 12.4 miler....haven't pulled one of those out in a while.

Day 2 - Still Alive

2009-01-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the kind words regarding my jump into Marathon-Mania. I'm beyond freaked out about it but your support is very helpful!! Today was day 2 of marathon training. Well, I guess officially it should have been day 3 since I registered on Sunday but since I spent all of that day laying on the couch crying, "Why, why, WHY?!" I'm not really counting that. Day one was spent spinning and a bit of core training. Today was my favorite hour long strength training class followed by a 5-mile run. Strength training kind of sucked today because we haven't been in a while so she decided to punish us. For some reason, she thought millions of lunges and squats and massive amounts of push ups would be fun. Yeah, woo hoo. So after that, I got on the treadmill and had that leg-buckling moment where I thought twice about running but stuck with it and ran it off. I'm glad I did because it was a good run. Short, but productive! So there!

Tomorrow I shall spin again. I'm convinced all this spinning is building up some kind of super human power in my legs which will help me through this massive challenge ahead of me. I have to keep thinking that way otherwise I'll stop going to spin class. Honestly, I know it's good for the legs and I like the teacher and the music is good, blah, blah, blah, but it's just plain hard!

So now on to an embarrassing issue....cough, cough....anyone got bunions? Yeah, I didn't think I did either. I was sure I had perfect feet until that trip to the running store last spring when the shoe sale guy was kind enough to point them out. Then my mother came to visit, took one look and said, "Yup. Bunions." So. Okay then. Now out of the blue, my left foot/bunion/thing is kind of killing me! What to do?? New shoes? Band-aid?? You know me, I have been attacking it like I do everything else - Advil!!! But really....anyone? Help!

Routine is BACK!

2009-01-05T14:35:00.000-05:00

So if you are a mom and you are anything like me, today is a very happy day. Back to school!! Woot! Don't get me wrong, I love my sweet little angel faced boys and have enjoyed the 2 weeks of 24/7 togetherness, it has truly been a blessing but oh you should just see how cute they are climbing up the steps of that big yellow bus! It is just adorable!!

Finally! Back to my sweet routine! And in all honesty, they were excited to go back too. Kids do love that routine as well. So today it was off to the gym to get back into my spinning on Monday schedule. I managed to get up there a couple of times over the winter break but the class schedule, obviously, wasn't the normal one so I did my fair share of slacking too. And don't get me started on how much crap I ate and how full my recyclable bin got if you know what I'm saying. And I clearly didn't do a bit of blogging either. That was mostly because I didn't want to type in, "Today I'm eating and not exercising...." for 2 weeks straight.

I love a fresh new year. It's all so exciting. I am still very proud of all that I accomplished in 2008 though....it was my best year ever as far as building a better me goes. But now it's 2009 and time to set some new goals!

And my new goal is going to be my hardest one yet. I signed up to run the full marathon in Virginia Beach, the Shamrock Marathon on March 22nd. Yeah, that one I swore I wasn't going to run. That one that I said, "I'm not letting anyone talk me into anything...." and then said, "I will only run a marathon when I can give it the time and respect it deserves..." haha, that one was my favorite. So there it is. I clicked the "Register Now!" button just this morning. I have 74 days to get my ass in gear. Are you laughing at me yet? You should be because I am!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and are set for a great 2009!

Random Products and Help Needed!

2008-12-10T16:37:00.000-05:00

It's 'advice needed' day again!

First up, sugar. I used to use a ton of sugar a day in my tea back before I got pregnant with my first son. I would drink hot tea at my desk all day and in each cup, at least 1 pack (usually 2) of sugar. When I got pregnant, I stopped the tea which meant stopping the sugar. After he was born, I went right back on the sugar. Enter baby number two. Stopped sugar again, then right back on when he was born but a funny thing happens to your body when your second kid comes along and you are 33, the pounds don't just melt away in 6 weeks. I decided to kick the sugar habit and dabbled in the Sweet-N-Low then Equal sugar substitute area. Yuck. I hated both but suffered through until I found Splenda. I love me some Splenda!! So here I am, drinking at least 3 cups of coffee a day (usually more) each with a packet of Splenda in it. I think I'm a bit late to the party but I've been reading a lot of very, very scary stuff about Splenda lately. So my question to you guys is, what can I use instead? I know, I know, try drinking my coffee with just milk or just top drinking coffee! Yeah, um, no. Next? What about Stevia? What's the deal with that stuff? Anyone? Bueller?

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these SBIBelt running belts. I've seen them at a few expos and usually walk right on by because to be honest, they remind me way too much of a fanny packt and I can't be seen sporting a fanny pack y'all! However, I need something to carry my stuff in. I never run with my phone because I can't stand the bouncing if it's in my jacket pocket and if I don't have pockets, I can't stand the idea of carrying it. Also, I usually tie my car key to my shoe lace which is pretty annoying too. I really need to have my phone with me because I just know one of these days the school is going to be calling me because one of my kids is sick or got hurt and they wont be able to find me. Oh, and then there is always that chance I could get mugged - kidding Mom! Totally kidding! So what's the deal with these? They look pretty small. Do they bounce?

Also, I finally found a sports bra/tank that I'm digging. I don't exactly have a lot going on in the chest-like area...OK, so I've got nothing going on in the chest area...and because of that, I hate wearing tanks because (a) they usually flop right down/open/over because I've got no girls but if I get one tight enough so that it doesn't, I'm smashed like a pancake. Pretty. And, (b) I hate, hate, hate anything tight. It makes it harder (to me) to get a full breath in when the run is getting tough and I just don't like the restriction. And don't get me started on the headlight issue. Hello?! Can we get a little privacy please?? Typically, I wear a t-shirt if I'm in a class at the gym or on the treadmill which is fine although a bit hot. The spinning class on the other hand, is crazy super hot! I simply have to wear a tank in there if I have any chance at survival. Enter the C9 by Champion Yoga Tank that I found at Target on Monday. It's got "built in cups" which is nice because there is no see-thru action and I actually look like I've got a bit going on....a bit like small bullets, but still! It's a little tight around the ribs but it flares out a bit after that so it's not tight at all across my stomach or waist and it's a bit longer too so there is no ride up - yahoo! I wore it today for the first time in my spinning class and I have to say that I loved it! They are sold out on line (well, except for purple, but I hate purple). Has anyone seen anything similar to this?

Next up, a cooking magazine. I love, love, love watching the Food Network (especially when on the treadmill), reading cooking magazines and reading cooking blogs (um, hello, have you witnessed The Pioneer Woman's love of butter?). I'm not a cook though. I know, weird. I try stuff and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, whatever. It's the watching and reading that I really enjoy. But on Monday, I found a newish cooking magazine at Wegmans, Clean Eating. This thing is the bomb people! It's got fantastic healthy recipes that are easy looking and very non-preachy about eating healthy, aka: clean. I've dog-eared at least 10 pages of stuff I want to try and I think I'm going to go online and order the 4 back issues. Check it out if you see it!

2008-12-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Last week, my littlest punk was seriously illin' so I was stuck in the house Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He came down with some random bug in the middle of the night on Tuesday (why do fevers and barf always happen in the middle of the night?!) and it just kind of hung on for the rest of the week. I have to say, and I'm very ashamed to admit it, that on Wednesday morning, his first day home from school, I actually thought to myself, "Well, at least he is sick on a non-strength training class day!" I know. Isn't that horrible? I can't believe I even admitted that.

As it turns out, poor kid was home for the rest of the week. On Thursday afternoon, my father-in-law came over to get my older son from the bus so I had an opportunity to sneak out for a quick run. As luck would have it, it was 49 degrees on Thursday afternoon, a perfect afternoon for a run! I was so happy to get out there and the miles felt very easy under my eager feet. I got 7.6 in and was in a much better mood when I got home. Friday was a treadmill day as was yesterday because it was so crazy windy. And here is what being home with a sick kid all week does to your brain. When I got on the treadmill yesterday, I was sure that I had to get a longish run in because I hadn't run long since last Sunday's 7 miler at the gym. So I plodded on until I had done 8 miles. The last 2 were very hard. My legs were screaming at me. I assumed it was because I hadn't been very active since Quinn had been home sick. When I came upstairs, my husband had to remind me that I had run 7.6 on Thursday and 4 on Friday which may not sound like a lot to you awesome non-stop runners out there but for me who has been spending more time spinning and strength training, it was a lot. Hopefully my mush brain will return to normal today right after I put Quinn on that kindergarten bus!

This morning I read an interesting article on MSNBC via Men's Health titled, "Are You Running Yourself to Death?" I'm happy to report that no, I am not, but I did find this little quote quite hilarious:

Over the course of a generation, the marathon has undergone a startling change in status. What was once a loopy stunt attempted by only a few weirdos is now a rite of passage for many, the coolest test out there of fitness and health.

Do you agree? I have to say I do. As much as I am thrilled and proud of my 2 half marathons, there is that little itty bitty teeny tiny spark in my gut questioning if I could handle a full marathon. That spark needs to shut the hell up because I tend to take those kinds of thoughts as a challenge! And I'm quite happy reading about marathons on all you weirdos* blogs!

*said with love and admiration of course!

Up for a challenge?

2008-12-03T10:42:00.000-05:00

I just read about the 'Holiday Bootie Buster Challenger' over at Run to Finish (via P.O.M) and it sounds like a great one! We could all use a little extra motivation during the holidays, that's for sure! It starts on December 8th so get over there and tell her your in by Friday!

I Am Not A Sinner

2008-12-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

Well, most days.
Spinning, dammit, spinning!

Sinning: Second Attempt

2008-12-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

It is so true what they say about spinning class - it is as intense as you make it. Since I was able to move with no discomfort after my first attempt, I decided to go back today and kick it up a bit. Oh yeah. That did it. I was sweating like a maniac. I was totally drenched by the end of that class. It is such a good cardio workout. A very nice change from the treadmill hum-drums. I managed to run 7 miles on the treadmill on Sunday followed by 10 minutes of rowing (which, I have to say, is a pretty dang good workout in itself, that rower!). I really like the change up of the spinning so I think I'll try to keep it up. She has a class Monday/Wed/Fridays. My plan is to go on Monday's and Friday's and keep attending her strength training class on Tuesday's and Thursday's (after that class I get on the treadmill). That gives me Wednesday's off. I should be good and ready to start training for something come spring.

Kind of unrelated, have you ever watched Ruby on The Style Network? Oh my gosh! You have to check her out! She is such a sweetie and you want her to succeed so bad. Check out some videos on the shows website and I guarantee you'll get hooked!

Freeze Your Gizzard 5k Report And I Spun! Span? Spinned?

2008-11-26T19:48:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in forever! I'm in that weird have nothing to train for therefore must have nothing of interest to say place. I'm pretty sure that was one of my awful run on sentences. See what I mean? I Should just step away from the keyboard.

Anyhoo. I have been attending my new favorite strength training class ever Tuesday and Thursday without fail. I still love it. Every class brings a new challenge followed by a new kind of sore. And I went one step further into - gasp - gym rat mode....I took a spinning class!! I know! What the hell!? I've heard they are kick ass and always thought I'd try it out, some day, but much like my fear of running stores, I was just plain scared. Well. I marched right in there like I knew what I was doing and hopped on the bike! And then I nearly fell off the damn thing because apparently whoever spun (span?) before me was 7 feet tall and liked to lean forward. Fortunately, the instructor is the same woman that teaches the strength training class (which only proves that I'm still a giant chicken shit of the unknown and only really went because I knew I'd like the instructor) and she, while cracking up, helped me adjust the seat.

The class is 50 minutes followed by a quick 10 minute ab workout. It was crazy! I really liked it....um, kind of....and I'm sure I'll go back. The only problem is that it's just one more thing that is taking me away from running. Since I'm in that weird nothing to train for place, I'm not all that worried that I'm not running as much but realistically, I know I'll need to get better about getting the miles in if I'm going to run a spring half marathon. I know, I know....what about Shamrock?! I'm still thinking. And thinking. I just don't know if I'm there yet. The time and dedication that it takes to train for a marathon is just something that I don't know if I have yet. Maybe when my youngest is in 1st grade and I have more time, I'll do it. I really think that the very fact that I'm having to think this much about it means I'm not ready. I want to give the training the respect and time it deserves so I'll probably wait. Letting people talk me into it is just not right. The last time I let people talk me into something I didn't want to do, I was hung over for 3 days.

On to the Freeze Your Gizzard 5k report! Ugh. Blah. Awful. Burrrrr. Wind. This is a run that I was really looking forward to. When I ran it last November, I was still so new to the whole running thing so I was thinking this would be a great "look how far you've come!" moment for me. Truth is, it pretty much sucked. It was so damn cold and windy. It was one of those runs where within the first 5 minutes, I was questioning why the hell I was doing it. I was panting and my toes were numb and I was just cranky. Yeah. Could I whine a bit more? Well sure I can!

For some reason they decided not to have advanced packet pick up this year which meant a crazy long line the morning of. When I finally got to the front of the line, they had no record of me. Swell. So I had to fill out paper work and get a new number and a shirt tossed at me and it just was annoying. As a result of that, my toes were totally numb, my mental state was screwed and the race started about 15 minutes late.

When we finally got started, I was panting (as I mentioned) and when we rounded that first corner, the wind hit us big time (and in case you think I'm exaggerating, here is what the race write-up dude said on Run Washington: "...the day was unseasonably cool and very windy..." See?!). I was wearing a baseball hat, something I never do, and I spent way too much time and energy pushing it down on my head. Very distracting. I was trying to pace myself but I was having a heck of a time because of the panting. And I know it's stupid to do, but I had my Austin 5k time in my head and really wanted to beat that. I was feeling like if I didn't, then I failed. I'm guessing that this is what happens to people that race a lot and I have to say, it kind of sucks. Austin was hilly but it was a road race and the temperature was perfect and there were no winds. This race was cross country, it was 20-something-degrees and windy as hell. See? Told you I could whine more.

Lets just be done with it, shall we? I finally crossed the finish line and thought I'd never catch my breath. I headed to my car for my coat and another pair of pants then hooked up with a couple of people I know from the running group. They all were able to find their times on the finish board, I was not. Sigh. I got home, checked Run Washington, still no results (I should say that they finally showed up so kudos to whoever found my time and applied it to the proper last minute non-registered but really registered runner).

So all in all, it was a pretty frustrating experience. I felt like I had a shitty run and vowed to never run the Gizzard again.

That was until about 2 days ago. I know what I did wrong (hello moron, warm-up perhaps??) and I know the weather in November is totally unpredictable (only a week before it was 75 degrees!) but I still love that run. I love that it was one of my first races and I love that it's off road and I love that everyone that shows up looks so stinking happy to be out there freezing and I love that I'll do it every year for as long as I live in this town because routine and predictability is something I thrive on people!

On a totally different, non-running note, Beyonce, or should I say Sasha Fierce (ha!) was on The Today Show this morning. My kids watched it because the absolutely love live music of any kind (patting myself on the back here - my husband and I are huge music lovers and have been taking them to various live music shows since they were babies...oh, no worries, not Metallica or anything!). They were getting all into it and dancing around the room, blah, blah, blah. Fast forward to bedtime tonight. My oldest says to me, "Remember Sasha Fierce this morning? I hope she is on again tomorrow morning, she was good!" Totally cracked me up.

And on that note, Happy, Happy, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

M.I.A.

2008-11-19T08:27:00.000-05:00

Yup. I have no idea where I've been either. Kidding. I've been at the rec center (the big one for those of you that couldn't wait to hear which place I chose - does sarcasm come across in type?) taking that strength training class I mentioned. Holy crap balls. This woman is serious. The class meets every Tuesday and Thursday at noon for an hour. It is my favorite thing at the moment. I cannot wait for Tue/Thur at noon. Then I get in there and she totally kicks my ass and I can't wait to go back. I've never enjoyed a class so much.

So what's the problem? Well, my running has been shoved to the back burner unfortunately. One time, I got the the gym a bit early and ran 4 miles prior to the class. What a mistake that was! She started with the walking lunges at 12:01 and by 12:05, my legs were already shaking. Then I tried to run on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. Yeah. That didn't work out either. Mostly because I was so sore from the class. Last Tuesday, the workout was a tough one as usual and by Tuesday night, I was hobbling around like a 95-year-old. Needless to say, I didn't run on Wednesday and almost didn't go to the class on Thursday. I ended up going which was a good call because once I started moving around in the class, things got loose and I felt good. I ran 5 miles after the class and still felt good. Then Friday, I was 95 again.

So. No running on Friday or Saturday then Sunday my only excuse is that we were having a party for the Redskins/Dallas game (I so don't want to talk about my hatred for Dallas right now) and I was busy doing party-prep-type-stuff....icing beer ranks higher than running in the wind.

Yesterday was class day again and she had a thing for the lower body (Okay, you know what I mean!). Ouch. I got on the treadmill right after class and it was like running on noodle legs. I managed to get through a whopping 4 miles. I'm going to try and go back today and run again even though I'm really sore. All this class stuff made me totally forget that on Saturday morning, I have a 5k! Yikes! I think I'll run my slowest time ever because thinking about the hilly cross country course is kind of freaking my legs out right now.

And that, my friends, is what I've been up to. It's weird not having something specific to train for - obviously I haven't made up my mind about Shamrock or what my next race will be - it is good in a way because it's nice to have a break from the non-stop running and mile counting but I don't want to slack too much on the training because it's a hard up hill climb when that happens.

I Resolve to Cross Train.....Again...

2008-11-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

I'm back on my 'gotta cross train!' fix. I seem to get all anxious about my lack of cross training every 3 months or so. Here we go again. I'm all anti-paying the big bucks at the gym so yesterday and today, I went to two different county rec centers in the hopes that one would be the answer to all my 'I want to cross train but I don't want to deal with annoying gym-type-people' prayers.

The first, where I went yesterday, is a very small center but I like it. I went there quite a bit last fall and winter before I got a treadmill and was perfectly happy there. The Pros: (1) it's small - I like this about it because it is very down to earth if I can use that saying when referring to a gym. In all the times I've been there, I've never once seen a woman in full make-up which is a good sign. I did have that issue with the kid eating a candy bar on the treadmill next to me that one time which was totally annoying but other than that, no problems. (2) it's fairly affordable - I can pay $5 at the door and workout all day if I wanted to. The Cons: (1) it's small - they don't have any classes and I'd really like to get into a strength training class and maybe even try (gasp!) spinning. (2) it's kind of far away. Yesterday I drove straight there from the bus stop. Once I got in, I ran 5 miles and rowed for 15 minutes then had to leave because I needed to hit Costco and if I had stayed any longer, it would have been pushing it for getting back to the bus stop. My plan was to run, row and bike but I had to leave before getting to the bike. So that kind of sucked.

Today I went to the much closer, much bigger rec center. The Pros: (1) it's size - this place is big. They have an indoor (and soon to be outdoor) pool, a big fitness center, classes, racket ball, basketball and probably some stuff I haven't seen. Now, to be honest, I'll never play racket ball or basketball and I'm not one for swimming...I just thought I'd throw them out there because they sound good. (2) the classes - today I took a one hour strength training class that was similar to the super-popular body pump class (which is one of the reasons why I wish I had a Golds membership). This class was awesome. The instructor was fantastic. I'm pretty sure I wont be able to raise my arms above my head tomorrow and squatting may be difficult. It was perfect. (3) the location - very close to home....10 minutes max. The Cons: (1) I'd have to go with size here. The fitness center always seems to be pretty busy. At the small place, I can stay on a machine for longer than 30 minutes because there is never, ever a wait. At this place, I am assuming that people are always watching you to see how long you 'hog' a machine.

So what to do? I think I'll just keep paying the $5 daily fee at the big place so I can take the Tuesday/Thursday class because I really love it. But $40/month seems a bit steep for a rec center.

In other cool news, there were two women from my running group in the class I took today. After class, we were catching up on our fall races (they both just ran the Marine Corps Marathon) and they brought up the Shamrock Marathon and Half Marathon that Chia was telling me about. I told them that I didn't know if I was going to go because I might not be able to talk my husband into another overnighter for a race. They said they had a big group of people going down for it and I could jump in with them - cool, right? I wont even tell you about the fact that they were both trying to talk me into running the full marathon instead of the half. I laughed so hard, I snorted.

Lance Armstrong Knows How to Raise Money for a Great Cause.....But With Logistics? Not So Much...

2008-10-29T10:53:00.000-04:00

We are back from beautiful (and sunny and warm!) Austin, Texas y'all! We had a blast - what a cool ass city. We've been to Austin several times before and my husband is secretly dying to move there so when we decided to have a fun weekend getaway without the kids, Austin was our first choice. The LIVESTRONG Challenge happening was an exciting bonus. Just before we left, I have to admit I was regretting signing us up for the events because I knew we wouldn't be able to live it up at night like we normally would - the 5k for me was at 7:30am on Saturday and the bike race for Jason was at 7:30 on Sunday - but I'm really glad we did. It was a truly awesome experience. The people were incredible. And the turn out at the bike ride was so inspiring.

Lucky for us, our hotel was downtown and actually right on the 5k course route so we were able to walk over to the starting line at 7:15 thus avoiding all traffic and parking issues. It was a cool morning, perfect running weather. The race started just a tad late because of some kind of course issue but it was no big deal. The course itself was fun and actually very challenging - who knew how hilly it could be in downtown Austin! I wish there were mile markers on the course, but other than that, no complaints from me. I even got a PR of 22:49 - woot!

After the 5k, we walked back to the hotel to get all cleaned up and then it was time to go tailgating at the UT football game! We were close enough to walk to the stadium and get our drink on then headed into the stadium. The atmosphere was fantastic and the game was awesome; we were super excited to go to a game when they were sitting pretty at number 1 in the country! After the game, we headed down to 6th Street to grab some dinner then we went back to the hotel. The bike ride was scheduled to start at 7:30 on Sunday morning but it was a good 50 minutes from downtown so we had to crash early.

So. Yeah. We left the hotel very early as instructed and all was fine until we were 2.9 miles from the event parking. They sent us down some random one lane dirt road that led to another side road and it literally took us one full hour to go that 2.9 miles!

Once we got to where they were parking cars, the real disarray was showing. The parking attendants looked totally freaked and shocked at how many cars were coming in. They kept running around and sending cars to different side dirt lots - I don't even know how to describe it other than total chaos. It was unreal. I've never seen anything so unorganized. I have no idea how they couldn't have realized how many cars would need to park!

Finally we got our spot then we started walking - just following other people because there were no signs and we were obviously not at the high school where the starting line was. We saw a school bus near the road and it looked like people were wandering toward it so Jason flew up there on his bike. Turns out it was a shuttle for spectators. I ran up there and jumped on and said to the driver, "Sorry! I didn't know there was a shuttle!" He just stared at me. Seriously. Didn't say a word! Just glared. He looked so annoyed.

Jason rode off to find the start and we sat there for about 10 minutes. Finally he started driving and only then did I realize just how far we were from the high school. I cannot believe that in all the emails LIVESTRONG sent out, they never once mentioned a shuttle service. There were a ton of spectators walking and I'm sure they missed the start because of it. We could hear the dispatcher over the radio bitching about everything from parking to people to traffic. At one point, she even said, "Did anyone give this thing any thought at all?!" The driver dropped us off at the opposite end of the school around back from where the start line was. Didn't say a peep, just dropped us and drove off. We all kind of stood there for a minute because we had no idea how to get around to the other side - there were bikers flying around everywhere and we were obviously in the staging area for them.....there were several rides: 90, 65, 45, 10-miles....so it was really packed back there and kind of chaotic. We found ourselves dodging bikers. Very unsafe for us and them and I'm sure beyond irritating for the bikers. I eventually got my way round the front and started to take pictures.

Once my irritation wore off, I was able to take it all in. It took my breath away. I cannot believe the amount of riders! They did the 90-mile start first and it took about 15 minutes to get them all across the start line. Then they did the rest of the rides with 5-minutes between each wave. It was quite a sight! Jason rode the 10 miler and I was excited that I actually got to see him cross the starting line. Then, 38 minutes later he was back (blue shorts guy in photo below; isn't he hot?!). Big smile and totally excited. He loved it and is already talking about doing the 45 miler next year.

We didn't stick around because at that point, there wasn't much going on. I'm sure it got fun later in the day when more booths opened up and more riders came in. Oh, then I had the fun of trying to find a shuttle again. We went around to the back of the school where I got dropped off and eventually a bus showed up. I had to describe the lot I was in and she looked pretty clueless. She snapped, "Just get in, we'll find it." Okay then. Another woman on the bus said to the driver, "I started walking then thought maybe there would be a shuttle somewhere. None of the volunteers seemed to know anything about it." the bus drive growls back, "Yeah, well, this is pretty unorganized. I don't know who put this thing together but it's awful." Oh boy.

So, note to Lance: You raised a ton of money for a very worthy cause and because of that, we will participate again, however, you may need to hire a better planner.

The Race Photos Prove I'm Nuts.

2008-10-21T07:53:00.000-04:00

In my Baltimore race report, I mentioned that I was crazy happy/excited/nutty girl when crossing the finish line and that everyone around me was looking at me like I had totally lost my mind. Well! I'm happy to report that when looking through the photos on Marathon Photo, I found a guy that was quite possibly just as excited as me! Check out brown shirt dude!!

See him?? Just in front of me? Look at that face! He is so excited! I'm so bummed that I didn't notice him...too busy being in my own little glory I guess. Here is another:

I love that guy! We obviously had the same plan: do not turn off watch until all the way across finish line.
I love that I have someone giddy with excitement right next to me. I wish we would have noticed each other - we probably would have been jumping up and down screaming like kids.

I also found a few hilarious photos that I have to share with you just to prove (in case you were not already aware) just how much of a dork I really am. Apparently, I started to celebrate approximately a half a mile prior to the finishing mats. Look how early I'm raising my arms in celebration:

See me way in the back of this photo? You can't even see my head, but you can see the premature raising of the arms!

Here is another. Still not on the mats and yet I have the arms way up and the "Woooo!" face on. Nice. Brown shirt dude isn't even that overly excited! Oh, and check out the blue speedo guy....ew.

Finally, the finish line. At this point, I've had my arms up for about 15 minutes. Dork! No wonder everyone was looking at me like I was crazy! I was!!

Slow and Steady

2008-10-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

I went for my first post-race run yesterday. It was a very awkward, slow, gimpy 3-miler. I limped around for the rest of the evening feeling a bit dejected. I was having soreness in places I didn't realize I could be sore. Today, I decided to get right back on the horse and try again. I ran much slower, avoided most hills and managed to run a much happier 5 miles. Good thing too because I think I'd go mad if I had to take much longer off!

My girl Chia just may be on to something when she suggested my next race: The Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon in March (Chia is way more of a bad-ass than me though, she is running the full marathon!) First of all....anytime the first word of a race is a beer, it's worth a second look! And second of all, according to Chia, you get 5 free beers after the race! Five!! Hot damn! My only issue is that it's another travel race. But then again, Virginia Beach isn't all that far and I've never been down there before. Also, I'd get to meet a super cool blogging friend - how awesome would that be?! And I could get this really cool shirt:Cute, right? So all I have to do is convince my husband that we need to hit Virginia Beach for a night, book my mother-in-law for the punks and do it!

Baltimore Race Report

2008-10-15T10:47:00.000-04:00

I think I'm finally climbing out of my post-race fog. It's so strange...I've been walking around in a daze since Sunday. I'm feeling very "now what the hell do I do?" and I also came down with some kind of head cold. I spent most of Monday and Tuesday couch bound with zero energy, a killer headache and some major nose issues. I didn't utter a single complaint though because I was so happy my body waited until Monday to come down with it! Now that I'm feeling better, I've noticed that the 'now what' feeling still lingers. After the Marine Corps Half back in May, I never had this feeling because I went straight from total elation of having crossed the finish line to training for Baltimore. Now, with no races on the horizon, I'm feeling a wee bit lost. So what now.....take up a new hobby? Yoga perhaps? I think I'm too hyper for yoga. Maybe I'll try spinning? I've yet to run since Saturday and was thinking about heading out tomorrow to see what happens. I'm fully expecting my legs to buckle under me causing a major fall.

So enough of that....

On to the Official Race Report!!

When we arrived in Baltimore, we drove the route before heading to our hotel. To say that it scared the crap out of me is an understatement. Literally from the first few steps across the starting mats to mile 9, the course was hilly. Big time hilly. There were a few flat parts but I felt like we were doing noting but climbing. My husband was trying to make light of it, cracking jokes about how he was glad he wasn't driving a stick shift and when at stop lights, asking if we were rolling backwards. My face must have been white because then he was all, "Just get to mile 9 then it's all downhill!" Oy.

We headed back to the hotel where I was so anxious, I couldn't sit still so we decided to walk over to the Raven's stadium where the expo was. After getting my packet (quite the odd layout I have to say - there was quite a bit of walking between each 'step' involved and while I'm sure this was all marketing so that you could see all the booths and hopefully spend money, I found it pretty irritating) we decided to walk over to the Inner Harbor for dinner. In all, the walk from our hotel to the harbor (and the starting line for the next day) was 1.5 miles and I was (duh) wearing flip flops. I started imagining all these random pains in my feet and calves and was seriously considering a cab.

The fist thing I did differently from my first half was to eat a big dinner. The night before Fredericksburg, I was also very (majorly) nervous and could barely force down a piece of grilled chicken but Friday night in Baltimore, I went all out. I ordered the whole wheat fettucini with grilled chicken and spinach. It was the most pasta I've eaten in 6 months but man was it good! And I had 3 beers. Carbs people, it's all about the carbs.....ok, and the nerves.

After dinner, and feeling a bit more relaxed, we walked through the Harbor where I stopped into Urban Outfitters and found a sweet top on clearance for $19.99. I was starting to feel things were swinging my way....I do love a good buy. We started to walk the 1.5 miles back to the hotel and of course since I'm a woman and I had 3 beers, I had to go to the bathroom. So our walk turned into a speed walk. Probably not so smart the night before a big race!

I read for a bit then it was lights out around 9:15. I actually slept really well which was a good thing. Another good, the start time. The half marathon was scheduled to start at 9:45 so I had a bit of time in the morning to have a good breakfast, coffee and a shower. After discovering what eggs can do, I had 3 plain eggs on a whole wheat english muffin and that, my friends, is another big difference between Fredericksburg and Baltimore. In my first half, I had one packet of instant oatmeal and a banana which probably isn't bad but I don't think was enough after the small dinner I had the night before.

We walked over to the start and found my pen. I got in there with 2,500 other cattle and waited. And waited, and waited. That part was so hard. Way too much time to stand there and think about the hills. And the heat. I was very concerned about the heat. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was already feeling pretty hot.

Finally, at 9:50, they started walking us to the starting line.

The first 2 miles were so crowded. It was all about weaving around people - already quite a few walkers - and trying to find some kind of rhythm. The good news, we were going so slow that those first few hills were not so bad. I finished mile 1 in 9:30 and mile 2 in 10:00. After that first water stop at mile 2, things started to open up a bit and I started to find a pace I wanted to try and hold on to.

Honestly, I don't know what happened. Everything was just clicking. I felt really good, really strong. The heat wasn't noticeable. The hills, while noticeable, were not kicking my ass they way I assumed they would. I didn't look down at my feet while hitting the hills like in my first half, instead, I kept my head up and talked my way up.

Before the race, I had written on the inside of my wrist '6 in 50!' because I knew, if I were to get this thing done in 1:50, I had to be at mile 6 in 50:23 so I was starting to get my hopes up when I crossed mile 6, looked at my watch and saw 50:10. I started telling myself I should slow down because I didn't want to hit the wall at mile 10 like I did in Fredericksburg. I slowed for a bit but felt so good that I sped back up again.

Before I knew it, I was at mile 9 and practically giddy with happiness. The guy on top of his car wearing a full tiger suit blasting 'Eye of the Tiger' helped.

At mile 11.5, I started to feel tired so I had to pull my iPod off and get my shit back in order. I thought about my form and tried to get my attitude back in check. Fortunately, that was at the exact time that I noticed a guy watching who was holding up a sign that said "RUN YOU CRAZY BITCHES!" which made me laugh out loud. By mile 12, felt pretty damn good again.

The finish was awesome. I felt strong and very, very happy. I wasn't on the verge of tears like last time and boy, does that make a world of difference!

After I crossed the line and checked my watch no less than 10 times to be sure I really did finish in 1:49:10, I just started clapping and laughing like a crazy person. People around me were looking at me like I was nuts....especially when I let out a few "WooHoo!" shouts.

So that's it. I don't remember any particular funny stories...I was in some kind of freaky zone where I was the only one there. There were some spots on the course that felt horribly crowded and you really had to force yourself not to give into the frustration of it, but other than that, I really have no complaints.

We found the Mich Ultra stand and some shade and drank a couple of beers. Then we walked over to a sports bar to partake in more post-race beers and watch the Texas/Oklahoma game. We had a blast.

And so now it's over and while it couldn't have gone better - it went exactly the way I wanted it too - I still can't get past my 'now what' feeling. I'm hoping that once I get out and run just to run, I'll get over that. Runners are unbelievably obsessed people.

Yahooooo!

2008-10-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

After getting to Baltimore and driving the route, all I wanted was to get in under 2 hours; the hills were out of control! I'm so excited right now, I can't type! Partied like a rock star all day yesterday and late into the night last night so this is all I can manage to type now. Race report to follow!

LEESBURG, VAAge: 38 Gender: F

Distance	HALF MAR
Clock Time	1:55:44
Chip Time	1:49:10
Overall Place	729 / 6224
Gender Place	245 / 3673
Division Place	47 / 569
30K	50:00
Mile21	1:07:17
Ctz	USA
Pace	8:20

Me at the finish line.......

Hitting the Road!

2008-10-10T12:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm off. There is nothing more I can do but try and relax and breath and for the love of God, stop looking at that stupid elevation chart!! The weather may be an issue. It's pretty warm and yesterday, quite humid so that's another thing to try and not stress about. Hills and Humidity. Yeah.
Last night, as I was gathering all my stuff and printing maps and yes, trying to figure out exactly how bad the hills were going to be, I found this little blurb in the runners handbook that I hadn't noticed before: "....our course has been described much like that of the Boston Marathon with hills on miles 16-22..." (that's 3-9 for me) Swell.
SO! I'm all packed and ready to go. Just waiting for my husband to finish up some work-type stuff (seriously, how can he work at a time like this?!) and we are off to Charm City! We are going to hit the expo as soon as we get there then I think we'll drive the route. I hope that's not a mistake. I'm hoping it will calm my nerves but I don't know that it can at this point. Maybe I should have a beer before the tour.

2008-10-08T19:01:00.000-04:00

Today I had a pretty crappy run. I intended to run 6 today but only got 5 done. The problem started when I realized I was dressed way too warm for the weather. It was chilly this morning so I had on some thick pants, a short sleeve shirt and my Nike jacket. I ran some errands after putting Quinn on the bus then headed to the W&OD Trail. As soon as I got out of my car, I knew I was going to be super hot. I took off the jacket but 10 minutes in, I was burning up. The wind was pretty strong but it didn't seem to help much. My legs felt really tired and I felt like I was huffing and puffing so I cut the run short and quit after 5 miles. BUT! I can be a glass half full kind of gal! I'm looking at it like this: I haven't had a crappy run in a long time so I was due. And how perfect that it came on Wednesday before the half marathon! Yay! Got that out of the way! See? Totally positive thinking here. Oh! I saw some kind of crazy animal today on the trail! From far away, I thought it was a dog on the path but then as I got closer, I decided it was a large cat. Getting closer, I thought "ok, seriously large cat"....he started moving around all nutty like and then I was 100% positive that it was a massive beaver and 150% sure it was going to bite my ankles as I ran by. It waited until I got right up on it to scamper into the brush and honestly, I still have no clue what it was. It didn't have that beaver dude tail so I'm sure I was wrong on that guess but I know a cat when I see one and it wasn't that either! Gopher? Too small, um, I think...how big is a gopher? Ground hog?? Hmmm...possibly. I wish it was a duck billed platypus, I've always been fascinated with them. I'm such a city girl it isn't even funny.

I found out my bib number: 20762. That means I'm in the second wave of runners. According to my super-official-official-runner-handbook, there are approximately 2,500 runners in each pen. The first is starting at 9:45 then they will wait 5 minutes after them to start the second pen. So I should get going around noon. Kidding. But seriously, this get in a pen and wait like cattle thing is totally new to me. I hope I don't have to poop.

We are hitting the road for Baltimore Friday some time after lunch. I really can't wait to leave. I just want to get there. I might have my husband drive the route but I haven't decided for sure yet. I was going to do that in Fredericksburg but decided that it would make me too nervous so I didn't. In hindsight, I wish I had because I learned that I don't know how to properly read an elevation chart. Those little hills kicked my ass when they turned out to be big-freaking-mountains so it would be nice to be prepared. Who knows. I may just get a beer and go to bed.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

2008-10-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

Less than a week to go. Good. Get this crap out of the way! I'm tired of thinking about it. I'm getting whiny.
Ran 14 miles on Saturday which was pretty great. The longest I've ever run (aside from the half in March) was 13 on a treadmill once. So 14 was pretty cool. And I'm thinking it will make Saturday a breeze seeing as it's one mile less. Yeah, right. I'm still a bit worried about the hill situation but honestly, just want to get up there and get it done. The race time has me a bit baffled too. The half marathon doesn't start until 9:45. Hopefully watching the start of the marathon and the relay will get me all jazzed up to run and not nervous.
I took Sunday and Monday off. I'm running 6 today and tomorrow then on Thursday, I'm not sure what to run. I don't want to push myself too much but I don't want to slack off either. So we'll see.

2008-10-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

This weekend is my last long run before Baltimore and boy am I happy about that. In the last 2 1/2 weeks, I've run 74.5 miles. That may not seem like a lot to most of you, but for me, it's tons. Especially since in that same amount of time, I've also been to 2 back to school functions, volunteered in the kindergarten classroom, been to 7 kid practices, 3 scrimmages and 3 games and 2 kid birthday parties. I'm not bitching, believe me, it's been all good. I feel strong, feel more than ready to get this thing done but now I'm at that point of, "just get this over with already!" My youngest has come down with some kind of bronchial funk that I'm just praying to avoid for the next 8 days. After October 11th, I could get whatever bug decides to come my way...well, anything except a barfing bug, I hate barfing bugs..... So as you can see, I'm totally boring beyond belief and have nothing to say. Run, run, run. That's about it. It's almost time to start stalking weather.com and obsess over what to wear so at least that will be exciting.

The Offical Runners Handbook Arrives and Makes the Race Officially Official.

2008-09-27T16:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I received the "Official Runner Handbook" for the Baltimore Running Festival. It was my first hint that this race is just a wee bit bigger than the Marine Corps Half in Fredericksburg was. The handbook boasts that they will "....top out at over 17,000 runners this year...." Um. What? Did you say 17,000?

The Running festival has a full marathon in addition to the half but still, that's a lot of peeps to run with! 3,800 people crossed the finish line in Fredericksburg and I remember thinking "look at all these people! This is huge!". Oh boy. I read on.....time line, healthy & fitness expo, multiple 'carb-load dinner parties' , loads of host hotels, shuttles, airport information, public transportation information, pace groups, medal engraving, celebration village (this time I will take advantage of that beer ticket!), more information than anyone could possibly know what to do with regarding the Baltimore Ravens football stadium parking, and on and on and on. I'm obviously not in Kansas anymore. Now I'm a bit freaked out!

I turn to the course map. It's tiny. I need a magnifying glass. I skip down to the elevation chart....gulp.....moving on.... I decided to look for the rules. I'm a stickler for some rules. No dogs (no problem), no in-line skates (I wonder if I could wear those shoes that area all the rage with the kids, you know, the ones with the wheels in them?), no musical devices (and I know people will wear them anyway like they did in Fredericksburg but I'll be the hold out convinced I'll get in major trouble if I get caught) and no bikes. Gotcha.

Then there was the 'D-Tag Timing' thingy. I'm new to this so hopefully I'll get it on my shoe properly....I'm assuming it will be fine since there is a full paragraph telling me exactly what to do. Then there are all the what not to do's with respect to the D-Tag. Don't forget it (duh), don't exchange it with anyone (damn, I was going to find me a Kenyan), don't secure the D-Tag to anything other than my shoelaces and then the final two "Do Not!" warnings: "Do Not cross the finish line twice and Do Not go back on any part of the race course. Really? Seriously? They really need to tell people that? I somehow don't think I'll be saying to myself "Wow, that big hill at mile 6 was awesome! I think I'll go back and do it again just for fun!" And how many times does anyone want to cross the finish line? Once for me thankyouverymuch. And I shall consider myself lucky if the once even happens.

So that's the basics of my handbook. I got an email letting me know just how close the race is and telling me in all caps "READ YOUR RUNNERS HANDBOOK WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT IN THE MAIL!" As I said, I'm a stickler for rules so I read it all. Even the stuff on the 5k which I have no intention of running.

In other news. I made it out to the group run this morning although I was an hour late. I had to wait around and find out if my son's baseball game got cancelled which it did but I didn't find that out until 8:00. When I got out there, there were still plenty of members around as the marathoners were to run 20-22 today. Ugh. I'm sticking to half marathons so the sentence "I'm running 20-22 miles today" never comes out of my mouth. Instead, I ran a happy 12. It was pretty muggy out there but I got it done and now have my legs propped up on the ottoman. Ahhhhh.....

As a crazy side note....I read today that it's Shaun Cassidy's 50th birthday!!!! Holy shit. I had a t-shirt with his face on it when I was a kid. I'm old as f-ing dirt.

It's Almost Thursday!

2008-09-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

Which means Grey's Anatomy is almost back! I, for one, look forward to a little trashy t.v. to get my mind back on track and totally de-stressed!
Check out hilarious clip from Jimmy Kimmel (thanks Cathie!):

2 1/2 Weeks 'Till Baltimore!

2008-09-23T09:29:00.000-04:00

That's it! Wow has the time flown by since my kids started school! The schedule has been non-stop crazy with homework, birthday parties, play dates, and activity schedules (I seriously cannot believe my 8-year-old's baseball schedule!). Oh right, then there is the running! Things are going really well. I've been getting out there at least 3 days during the week and then getting the miles up on my long run day. Last Saturday morning, I met up with the running group and ran 11 miles that were really great - I felt really strong and ready to go. I think the fact that the weather is cooling off is really helping me. I am so not a hot weather runner! Having said all that, if I meet one more person that responds to my running the Baltimore Half with "Oh wow, that is a really hilly course!" I'll scream.

LIVESTRONG Challenge '08!

2008-09-18T09:31:00.000-04:00

My husband and I are traveling to beautiful Austin, TX next month to participate in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. As I'm sure you are all aware, Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor himself, has been a major figure in the fight against cancer. The LIVESTRONG Challenge is his signature fundraising event. The event takes place in four different cities with Austin being the final stop. There is a running event on Saturday, October 25th that I'll be participating in and of course several biking events on Sunday, October 26th. My husband will be doing the 10 mile ride.
It is our goal to raise $250.00 for the cause. If anyone is interested in donating to the LIVESTRONG cause, please check out our donation page: Crush Cancer. Thank you!!

I'm Famous!

2008-09-17T09:04:00.000-04:00

Well, sort of. Okay, not really. But I am to me and my mom and my good friend, Cathie!
A while back, Leslie who writes a fantastic blog for iVillage called The Weighting Game, wrote a post about undercover dieting. Basically, it's the idea that we hide the fact that we are dieting, or just being healthy, around friends or coworkers for fear of being ridiculed and will usually end up just eating what they are (greasy pizza instead of that veggie wrap you were originally planning on having!). It was an interesting post on a topic that really gets my blood boiling. Women can be so cruel to each other, it's almost as if we want to see each other fail in order to make ourselves feel better. Horrible. Anyway, I made a comment on her post because as I said, my blood was boiling and all that.
Fast forward to Monday. Leslie appeared on The Today Show where the topic was secret dieting and they used my comment!! Little 'ol me! It's around the 2:05 time frame on the video. It was so cool to see my words up on the big screen! Leslie has the video posted over on her blog...check it out!

In other news, I managed to squeeze in 9 miles yesterday after another magic egg breakfast! I'm telling you, you guys saved me with all that egg talk!

Time for a New iPod or Wishful Thinking?

2008-09-10T17:16:00.000-04:00

After having a breakfast of 2 eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast (apparently that will be my breakfast on run days from now on - plenty of energy and no tummy issues, yahooo!) I headed up to the W&OD Trail again for my 6 miler. I got my iPod all snug in my arm strap thingy, set up the Nike+ and was about to start running when the song that was playing started acting all crazy like it was skipping. I just hit the arrow to skip to the next song thinking it was just having a bit of a hiccup but the next song did the same thing. I turned the thing off and back on (my IT husband says that is the cure for everything) but it still didn't work! It was like the songs were being fast forwarded. I was super pissed but wasting valuable running time standing there in the middle of the path messing with it so I put it back in my truck and ran the old fashioned way: no music and just my trusty Timex to keep my time. It wasn't bad either! I've run without music before, in fact, I did the half marathon with naked ears so it wasn't totally foreign to me but today it was actually pretty great. The path is so quiet with the exception of birds, crickets, the occasional frog and the hum of a bike flying by. It was relaxing not having super fast song after super fast song banging away in my ears and just listening to the sounds around me. I flew through my 6 miles with no problems at all - no stopping, no major panting, no cramping, aching, bitching or even whining so it was a a good day indeed!

So my question is this: do you think it was a coincidence that my iPod has decided to act all wonky right after Apple announced the release of the shiny new Nano?? I think not!

Eggs Are Magic

2008-09-08T08:33:00.000-04:00

Last week I ran twice while my kids were at school, 4.4 on Wednesday and 6 on Thursday. This new found freedom in the middle of the day is pretty awesome indeed. I'm anxious for the weather to cool off though because Quinn doesn't get on the bus until about 20 after 11:00 so it's pretty hot when I run. Wednesday was pretty miserable and I was beyond frustrated that I only ran that far. On Thursday, I decided to head out to the W&OD Trail where the running group meets for it's long runs on the weekend. The thought was that I needed something flat...my neighborhood is pretty hilly. By the time I got to the trail, it was pushing noon and super hot. I had my good attitude hat on though and took off. I ran the first 3 way too fast so when I turned to head back, I had to slow down quite a bit. Then the stopping began. I stopped to walk for 2 minutes at mile 3.5....and then again a little after 4.....and again at mile 5. I managed to push through that last mile without stopping but by that point, I was probably speed walking rather than actually running! I have no clue what my problem has been! Yes it was crazy hot but I shouldn't have such issues with 5 miles! I stopped at the running store on the way home and bought a fuel belt. Carrying a bottle of water has gotten old so I decided that if I had a belt, I would have one less thing to whine about.

On Saturday, I took advice that I've gotten from a few of you and switched up my breakfast. Instead of my usual peanut butter on a whole wheat english muffin, I had 2 eggs and 1 piece of whole wheat toast. I am a creature of habit so I have to say that eating something different felt very strange. 2 hours later, I hopped on the treadmill (because Hurricane Hanna made running outside impossible) and ran 10 miles! Without stopping! I only had the incline at 1.5 and there was no wind, sun, heat to get in my way which I'm sure aided in my run but it felt great to get back up into the double digits again, I can't even tell you! I'm hoping that I was just having something similar to writers block....maybe all my issues have been in my head? Or at least contributing to it? I'm only 4 weeks away from Baltimore and I've been freaking out a bit (ok, a lot) about it telling myself I'm not ready and no way would I run the same time as I did in Fredericksburg. Beating myself up certainly hasn't helped.

I'm going to run again today after Quinn gets on the bus. The plan is to run 5 today, 6 Wednesday, 5 Friday then some kind of long run on the weekend. The schedule calls for 12. Yeah, don't know about that.
Oh, and for the record, I had eggs again this morning....2 again only this time, with a little spinach thrown in. I'm hoping they work their magic again for today's run!

School Starts....Built in Excuses Lost

2008-09-03T10:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for my short people. My big kid started 3rd grade and my baby started kindergarten. Now that Quinn is a big time kindergarten goer, I have 3 hours, 5 days a week to get my run on. So there it is. Zero excuses. No more, 'my husband is out of town so I couldn't run', or 'having kids makes is sooo hard!' (although I cannot guarantee that I wont still throw that one out there from time to time because it's still true). I just need to wait until I put little man on the bus at 11:18 and then go. Good thing too because the Baltimore Half is 5 short weeks away and I don't feel ready in the slightest. Time to buckle down! My husband and I have been acting like 21-year-olds for the last 3 weekends and that crap has got to stop. I can't run after being out late and don't get me started on the beer. Sigh. Anyway, it's on! I know, you've heard this before....

One quick story about my kindergartner. When he got off the bus, I asked him what he learned on his first day. This was his response: "If you have to go pee pee, you should go on the potty and if you have to throw up, you should do that on the potty too. Oh! And if you have to throw up and go pee pee, you should aways throw up first! In the potty of course." Something tells me his kindergarten teacher has been thrown up on a few times! He was quick to add "And I did an ABC worksheet too!"

Forehead Slap

2008-08-27T17:45:00.000-04:00

My boys are major scooter addicts. Usually, I grab a book or magazine and sit on the front porch while they zoom up and down the street at lightening pace. Today they wanted to venture out a bit further so I threw on my running shoes and off we went. We flew up to the local tot lot then right on past until we got to the middle school where they are doing some work on the fields that once were there. There is an old concrete track there and in the middle, there are huge mountains of dirt. The boys went around the track twice on the scooters while I ran then they played happily on the dirt mountains while I continued to run around the track. When they announced they were done, they scooted home while I ran. In all, I think I got in about 3.5 miles...not bad for a day when squeezing a run in seemed impossible! All I kept thinking was, "Summer is just about over and I'm just coming up with this plan now?!" Just goes to show, a little creativity can go a long way!

I Need a Nutritionist STAT!

2008-08-25T14:31:00.000-04:00

This is the third weekend in a row where I've fallen short on my long run. I'm not sure what the heck is going on with me, but I am no longer using my slacking vacation as an excuse - that was weeks ago and I feel like I've been doing pretty well for a couple of weeks now. At this point, I think there is something else going on and I'm willing to bet it's my diet. I'm in serious need of some nutritional advice. I feel like I eat ok. I'm very aware of what I put in my body and I don't need to diet. However, I think I'm not eating enough of the energy providing foods that I need to be able to run for as long as I want to. During yesterday's long run, by mile 6.5, I was toast. I felt so fatigued. And it wasn't that my legs hurt or anything, I just felt tired. I walked for about 3 minutes then started back up, much slower. I had to stop again at mile 7.5 for a minute or two then finally finished at mile 8.4 just wiped out. I felt like I had run 13 miles. I can't figure it out. This exact thing has happened 3 weeks in a row now. And always, just before I have to stop, I get this really weird tingling feeling - almost like the chills - that starts in my arms and moves up to my neck then head which sometimes is followed by feeling a bit dizzy although yesterday it didn't. It's really strange. Is this a food thing? I don't think it's dehydration because I carry water with me.

I don't eat a ton of carbs....I've been anti-pasta for a long time and not because I think it's the devil, it's because I love it so much that I can't sit down and eat a reasonable amount so I decided to just stop eating it - I eat a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter every morning and usually snack on fruit (typically strawberries and blueberries and maybe a banana) mid morning. For lunch, I always (I'm in a rut here) have a Wegmans Spinach, Garlic & Pesto tortilla (200 calories and 33 carbs) with hummus, baby spinach, a couple slices of turkey, tomato and a piece of cheese. My mid afternoon snack is typically fruit again or yogurt and maybe some animal crackers (totally addicted to those empty calorie things) then dinner is usually chicken cooked in a variety of ways and some kind of veggie. I drink a lot of water during the day and nothing else (after my 3 cups of coffee in the a.m. that is!). Of course, every day could be plus some random thing or minus one of these. I throw this list out there out of pure desperation. What am I doing wrong? Is there a Nutritionist in the house?? More carbs? Less animal crackers? But seriously, I think I need more energizing fuel, I'm just not sure what to add. I certainly don't want to add a ton of carbs and gain extra pounds that are not necessary. I think I'll go google this issue and see what I come up with...other than 'eat pasta all the time'.

Back at the Track

2008-08-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

I made it to the group meeting at the track last night. The schedule called for 6 x 1200 with a 60 second break in between. I ran a slow mile warm up then the fun began. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. It's been 3 weeks since I've been out at a speed workout and I felt every second of it like it was the first time out. I managed to complete all 6 and was very consistent with my time so that's all good and even better, I was so excited that I went....well, excited once it was over! I'm feeling it today but in a good way. I'm not going to meet up with them at 6:30 tomorrow morning for the long run because my husband and I are going to a concert tonight and I know better than to assume I'll be up and awake enough at 6:30am to cover the 10-12 miles the schedule calls for. Instead, I'm going to head out on Sunday and hope for the best. If I get 10, great, but I'm assuming it will be more like 8!

Trying Not to Punch Other People Can Be Hard.

2008-08-19T18:27:00.000-04:00

Today I took my punks up to the pool to meet up with some other neighborhood moms and their punks. When it was time to break for lunch, we sat over by the volleyball courts so naturally, after they all ate, an impromptu game of volleyball started up. I made a comment that my kids were probably loving it because we've been watching so much Olympic coverage and they've seen a lot of volleyball. Anyway, a bit of Olympic talk started up and I may have been a wee bit more enthusiastic than the other women, but so far, no big deal. But then.....one of them said "I actually had to sit through 10 minutes of that women's marathon on Saturday night. I finally made my husband change the channel!" and another one chimes in with, "Oh I know! Seriously, who can watch that!?" Their attitude had me a bit steamed so I said, "I watched the entire thing and loved it! It was fantastic!" Insert cricket sound here. Then someone says "That woman who was winning, she wasn't even American; you still watched?" "What the F&*# does it matter where she is from??" No, I didn't really say that...what I said was, "It was actually thrilling. Did you know that she is a 38 year old mom? What an incredible accomplishment!" Then one of the cats says "Oh yes, well, you would like it. You are that running one." Oh. My. God. Please, someone hold me back. I honestly don't get why people can be so snitty! What the hell!? So then I had to go on and on about Deena Kastor this and Paula Radcliffe that and they all stared at me like I had 3 heads. Just then, my big punk comes over and says "They are playing volleyball and since I've seen so much of it on t.v., I totally know how to play!!" and I said, "Yes dear, television is for learning." which got even more looks. I'm officially the freak of the neighborhood.

Self Beat Down

2008-08-18T15:01:00.000-04:00

The days of little miss wishy-washy runner are officially over. I've now had two weekends in a row where my long run has fallen significantly short of my goal. And not only that, but I've had to do a bit more walking than I'd like. I beat myself up pretty good on Sunday during and after my 10 mile long run that ended up being a 7.5 mile run with 3 walk breaks thrown in. It finally hit me: you cannot continue to take multiple days off in a row then expect to be able to kick ass whenever you feel like it. And that's the nice (and short) version of what I actually told myself. So this morning, all black and blue from my self-beat-down, I headed out again to try for a bit of redemption. The plan was 5 miles. I did get the full 5 done but I did have to stop once and walk for 3 minutes (yes, I timed the walk). Also, and this is probably because I was still pretty mad at myself, I chose the route with the most hills possible. Yeah, that made it all kinds of fun. But now I'm happy to say that even sitting here black and blue and with burning hamstrings, I feel good. I think hitting that wall was exactly what I needed to have happen to get me out of the "whatever" funk that I was in. I just assumed that when I finally decided to get off my ass and get consistent again, it would all just come back. Well, it doesn't work that way. My lungs were sure to remind me of that fact. This week I'll be back at the track for speed work with my group...and after 3 weeks away, it should be nice and ugly but I'm going anyway. I have to get back to the routine! The schedule for this Saturday's long run is 10 - 12 miles. I'll be happy if I get 10 in. Hopefully by Saturday, I'll be feeling a bit better and even if I have to stop and walk, I hope I wont beat myself up again because at least I'm aware of how bad I screwed up and am trying to fix it.

In other news:

1. How much does your heart break for Deena Kastor? The official update from her coach is that "she suffered a broken bone in the distal head of the 3rd metatarsal in her right foot. It is a clean break all the way through. The doctors did not have to set the bone since the X ray showed that it was lined up where it should be. They have immobilized her foot, and she is now on crutches. We will do further tests when she returns home to the U.S." Sad, sad, sad. I can't even begin to imagine.

2. Constantina Tomescu is officially my new hero. She kicked some serious ass!! As a fellow 38 year old mom, she had me jumping up and down in front of the t.v.!

3. Heartburn. Yeah. I have no idea what is happening but the last 3 times I've run, I have had serious heartburn that kicks in at mile 4. It's always mile 4. I haven't had heartburn this bad since I was pregnant with my first kid (and no, that is not it!). I spent a good amount of time with Google this morning and best as I can tell at this point is that it can be blamed on my crazy diet. In addition to getting off the running bandwagon, I also have been a pretty crappy eater since vacation. Lets just say there has been lots of burgers, chips, salsa, fries, crackers with pepper jack cheese, wine and beer involved. Not pretty. That nasty food is probably another reason why I'm a bit cranky.