Running in Louisiana

And now the fun begins.... :(

2010-08-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

So things have been going along swimmingly....I have actually been blessed with a completely complications free pregnancy. The biggest annoyance I've had to deal with is ridiculous swelling in my feet....until now.

Friday I started to get the slightest twinges of nerve pain in my lower back, on the right side. From dealing with sciatica for nearly a year from running I was immediatley thinking, "Great, here we go". And of course it got worse...by the time I left work Saturday I was hobbling around with shooting pain through my right leg. Yesterday I could barely walk at all, and today- the same :(

This greatly saddens me, as the main advice they give you to encourage the baby to be born is to walk! Not only that, but it looks like I'll be stopping working my second job about three shifts before I planned to even consider it....so that's basically about $300 I won't have....so much for paying phone and cable!

Anyone have anything that worked for them to make sciatic nerve pain manageable? The chiropractor really helped me before, when it was running related, but how exactly do you get a baby off your spine?

At least on the bright side, 17 more days!!!

Or Maybe THIS time? :)

2010-08-05T12:48:00.003-05:00

Soooooo..

Long time since last fall, and a lot has happened since then! In the end of September I was training (well, very loosely speaking, that is) for the Marine Corps Marathon and looking forward to the Atlanta Marathon.

MCM came and went, and was actually ok! I will have to check my time to update, but it wasn't TOTALLY as horrible as I expected....I actually probably ran 23 miles and walked 3, with the first 20 being continuous. And I enjoyed it tremendously, weather was amazing and I took a TON of pictures. So all in all it was a great race. I will put up some pictures eventually...

Also at that time I had started seeing someone new. That really took off and was partially responsible for my lack of posting!

The Atlanta Marathon came, and due to the new relationship I had not been training! I switched to the half, actually did ok (2:11, I want to say?) and had a great time. Stayed in Atlanta for about 5 days, and had a really nice time. Although I was REALLY missing someone... :)

Once I returned, training once again went by the wayside. I was super busy, it was the holidays, and between all that and a fairly new relationship I just sort of fell out of running. Or working out at all really. I started feeling really lethargic and just not myself, and low and behold eventually found out we were having a baby!

Now this is not how things were supposed to go at all. But, what can you do? I weakly attempted to stay in shape over the next few months....even did the Mardi Gras Half Marathon at 14 weeks pregnant. I was pretty proud of myself for that, actually :) We ran only about 3 miles of the MG 1/2 and it was really uncomfortable...kudos to all you ladies that run far into your pregnancies!! That was pretty much the last time I ran, I think....

I continued walking, going to the gym and generally trying to stay in shape for most of the next few months. I was still really regularly doing my 6 mile loop until 6 months pregnant. Then in June my boyfriend moved into my house, and we entered a whirlwind two months of cleaning, organizing, unloading furniture, painting, setting up the baby's room, and travelling. We had baby showers in NH and also in LA and TX, and pretty much every hour of every day was spoken for.

Fastforward to now, beginning of August, and I have only gone walking once a week (3 miles) for the last two weeks. I had gained weight pretty moderately during most of the pregnancy, but have added 11 lbs in the last 5 weeks!!! Ugh. I am due in 3 weeks (or please please please a little sooner???) and will absolutely die if that means another 6 lbs. So anyway- fitness has gone out the window (at least recently) and I am really looking forward to getting it back!

I am feeling really motivated to get back in shape. One, because I have added A LOT of weight that I'm not used to, and Two because I really miss it. Three- my sister is also embarking on a new weight loss/ fitness plan and it's always motivating to have someone to get in shape with. I can't wait to take the baby in my jogging stroller and am looking forward to some fall races.

Here's the main catch: I don't have much time....baby is due 8/27 (it's a boy!) and I am registered for a half marathon here in town on 10/10. I know that sounds crazy, but we NEVER have long local races, so I didn't want to miss it, and I also plan to only walk it so it should be doable, right? My primary goal is really to use it as training for the Women's Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, Florida on November 21...I am so excited for that race!! If either race allows strollers (which they never do but I always see on course....so annoying!!) I might take Alexander along for the ride. I may even try walking one with him in the baby bjorn, but not sure :)

So anyway, trying to come back to blogging, get back in shape, and otherwise document the boring details of the life of our little family :) I will get up recent pics soon, and hope I can be more dedicated this time around! I figure at a minimum I'll probably be pretty good about posting while on maternity leave, but I'm hoping for friends and family that it can turn into a way to stay in touch too.

Next on the agenda....catching up on y'all's blogs! I may just have to clear the reader and start over.....

Back...hopefully for reals this time... :)

2009-09-29T09:39:00.003-05:00

K.

Long break. Too much to cover so most will be skipped and the good parts I'm sure will surface periodically :) Basically right as soon as I got back on track with everything my friend Melanie came to stay with me for 10 weeks while doing an internship down here. It is all her fault. (Well, that's my story anyway...). We go way back and unfortunately have a shared love of good wine, better cheese, red stripe and late nights. Needless to say my butt was kicked off the gym wagon before I'd even warmed up the seat.

The next ten weeks went by so quick in a summertime blur of good times. We did a bunch of stuff, ate out a ton, sat by the pool a lot....but we did walk four-six miles pretty regularly.... What we did not do was run. I didn't run once the ten weeks she was here, and then for good measure decided to take of the next two also. This brought me to the end of August, and the stark reality, that the marathon was 8 weeks away!

Now I hadn't planned on running it, but rather was going to walk it with my sister. While it would have made me sore as hell, I could have walked a marathon on August 27 (the day I realized my plan was falling apart). Sarah had hurt her foot, (really bad plantar fasciitis) and it wasn't getting any better. After her 10 mile walk almost killed her, she decided she would switch to the half and see if she could finish that. Now I am doing the marathon with Lauren, but without my sister with us we feel like we should run it. So with 8 weeks, the both of us are desparately trying to find some way to finish it, not die, and not get injured. Possible? We'll see...

So starting in beginning of this month I tried to become more dedicated. Stuck to my three midweek runs, long on the weekend. Due to such a shortened timeframe however I ramped up my midweeks more quickly. I think I did 3,4,3 the first week of the month, then 3,5,3, then last week 5,7,5 and stuck with that this week. For longs I did 6,8,10, and then this morning 13. Felt pretty good, though I am having horrible sciatica (from my %#%##!! piriformis....STILL) in my right leg and need new shoes before I get stress fractures in my left foot. They are a hair too small and it's giving me some pretty serious pain in my first two metacarpals right in front of my ankle over my arch....any ideas what causes that? Super sharp pain sometimes....

Anyway sitting now in my recovery sox (gift from Lauren!) and they feel real good! Wish I could've stretched and iced more, but not time. Anyway, barring any major injury the plan is as follows.....there are almost four weeks left (rest of this one then three), and I'm only doing this as a training run for ATL in November, so I plan to take it nice and easy. No time goals, just want to finish. Upright. :)

This week (1): tennis today, strenght tomorrow a.m., 4 miles recovery p.m, Thursday crosstrain a.m., 6 miles p.m. Fri-Sun off (I know- I should get something in here but I'm going to Athens for the LSU/UGA game so I may as well just be honest with myself...it's not gonna happen!)

2: Monday 16 miles LSD, Tuesday 4 miles recovery, Wednesday a.m. strength, p.m. 6 miles, Thursday a.m. swim, p.m. tennis, Friday a.m. Strength, p.m. 5 miles, Saturday off, Sunday 18 miles.

3: Monday off, Tuesday am 4 miles recovery, p.m. tennis, Wednesday a.m. strength, p.m. 7 miles, Thursday a.m. yoga, p.m. 5 miles, Friday a.m. strength, p.m. tennis, Sunday 20 miles.

4: Monday off, Tuesday 4 miles recovery, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 4 miles, Friday Strength, Saturday off, Sunday Marathon.

Now I know it's tough, but remember I'm not afraid of walk breaks and don't have any time goal in mind. I am looking at this as my last long run before the ATL marathon on Thanksgiving day, so that is why there's no taper....After this I will taper before the next! So is it doable? I think so...will I do well? Haha....NO. But I'm not worried about it; I am excited for a number of reasons:

1) to see the fam
2) to run a BIG marathon
3) for the entertainment (it's at like every mile!)
4) to relax and have no time goal
5) to be in DC again...Yay!

So anyway.....really looking forward too it, and hopefully after the Marine Corps I will feel fit and on track for Atlanta!

For those who may care, my plan is to do MCM, ATL, mobile in January, and then the New Orleans Rock 'n Roll in February. I am really hoping to PR in Mobile and then again in Nola, but we'll have to see :) Obviously MCM is going to be awful, and due to the hills in Atlanta I'm not too hopefull about that either :(

I know you all probably don't believe me, but I swear I'm back and can't wait to back on track reading all your blogs ;-)

Official start next Monday!

2009-05-27T11:40:00.002-05:00

so I have come up with my new plan, and it goes into effect next week! Kind of exciting, I suppose, but what's not is the thought of doing all those runs on a treadmill :( that's what I get for signing up for a fall marathon, I suppose! Anyway, my sister has been at it for about four weeks now and her latest update is here:

http://sarahwurrey.com/?p=353

I have been trying to work on strength training, and ugh...I hate it! I am also such a weakling....today's mission is to put music back on my ipod...any suggestions?

100th post!

2009-05-18T08:47:00.002-05:00

Sad, actually, that it isn't more since I started this blog last August, but considering I took off from February through May (for the most part!) it's acutally probably not too bad.

Update from the week: took an ab class on Wednesday that I was totally not prepared for...you know when you aren't even sore the next day? It was like I couldn't even DO any of the exercises properly because I am so weak in the core right now that I didn't even get anything out of the class...I still blame it on having too-long legs :) I struggle whenever I try exercises that require raising and lowering your (straight) legs while lying on your back...this is so hard for me! Needless to say, I won't be heading back to 'killer core' until I gain some strength and flexibility...keeping my legs straight is impossible!

Friday I just ran on the treadmill...a pretty ho-hum 3 miles...but starting to feel better so I am on the right track.

Saturday took an hour and 15 minute pilates class that was great muscle-wise; a lot more weight work than I have done in pilates in the past, but not as much of the spine lengthening flexibility stuff that I like so much in my pilates dvds....oh well, guess I will have to continue doing my own dvds once a week or something.

Sunday I ran my butt off at work, so I didn't work out, and today is the upper body session with the trainer. I am scared! I didn't stop feeling sore from the lower body workout I had last Monday until Friday! I will also undoubtedly be embarassed; I have ZERO upper body strength. I can't even do one real push-up! I periodically entertain the idea of the push-up challenge that is always circulating around these blogs, but I never follow through.....maybe I'll get on that!

So workouts slowly gearing up...glad to have a gym and a pool so I can finally swim again! The one aspect of fitness I have really been doing great with however is nutrition. Past couple weeks have been great...getting back to my more preferred weight zone...we'll see!

In other news my sister has a new blog post...

http://sarahwurrey.com/?p=343

Check her out! And convince her to start a separate running blog! :)

Sarah's latest training update....

2009-05-14T07:39:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! To anyone who missed it a couple posts back I am doing the Marine Corps Marathon in October because my sister lives in DC and she really wanted to do it. She is new to running, and needs all the advice and help she can get! I am trying to get her to start a strictly running blog, but until then she is updating periodically on her website sarahwurrey.com

Her latest is here:

http://sarahwurrey.com/?p=339

check her out and give her some tips!

Wow...I actually do have hamstrings...and I feel them!

2009-05-12T06:59:00.002-05:00

So I am loving having a gym again. I obsess over the schedule, trying to figure out all of the classes I want to take and how I am going to fit them all in. I also love love love that their treadmills are so NEW and so high tech and smooth and that they each have a tv! I have never been able to watch tv on the treadmill because it is usually across the room and up really high, and I'm just not that coordinated, I have no desire to fall of a treadmill in front of 100 people. But with the personal tvs it's ok, and I think I am really going to appreciate this since the majority of my long runs for the Marine Corps Marathon will be happening over the summer, when it is still in the triple digits here.

I also for the first time have had a session with a personal trainer. Two free sessions come with membership, one for lower body and one for upper. Yesterday I did the lower body session....Let me just tell you, if I had any delusions about having retained some of the muscle and endurance I earned training for the Mardi Gras Marathon...they are gone! I am a huge weakling gasping for breath. I broke a sweat just doing his 7 minute warm up on the cross trainer! To save a little bit of face, however, he explained that no one uses these machines properly, they all just shift weight left to right and bounce up and down, which is apparently wrong. Your hips are supposed to be motionless, with all the effort coming from your legs...and this is WAY harder. (Well, maybe you all use these machines right, but looking around I noticed no one there did!). The super embarassing part was that after he had ramped me up to a heart rate of 185 or so we took it back down...the next heart rate check he thought I would be at like 120 or so, and I was still at 150! He seemed surprised for sure, and said, 'Wow, it should really have come down faster than that...'. The next time we checked it was still at 130, so alas, I am very out of shape! (I did have two cups of coffee right before at a late afternoon meeting, and I'm going to continue telling myself that that had something to do with it)...

Today I'm going for Killer Core and Pilates Sculpt. I am so happy to have my classes back! Only unfortunately (according to the schedule, anyway) step classes do not seem as populare at this gym as they were at my last, which is a total bummer....I love multi-step and step circuit....they only have two step classes and both are weekdays in the a.m. :(

Needless to say, I think I will have a much better grasp on strength training going into this marathon...hopefully it will help!

Joined a gym!

2009-05-08T08:22:00.002-05:00

Yay. So I am officially back on track...though at a much lower intensity :) I joined a gym, something I have been wanting to do forever, but have simply been too cheap. I would convince myself I can run outdoors, do handweights, pushups, squats and abs in my house...who needs a gym?

Which is fine for winter training. For the Mardi Gras Marathon I started in August, and though it was still hot til late October (I know!) November through January when the mileage really got up there the weather was great. Unfortunately this doesn't work as well when training for an October Marathon. We are steadily in the 80s everyday now, and it will only get higher. Humidity is like 120%, I swear, and that makes it really really hard to work out because you feel like you are breathing in water. Also the strange thing about the south is that the hottest time of day can be 5pm...right when you want to work out and think it should be getting cooler.

So yeah. I joined the Pelican Athletic Club here in town, and I LOVE IT. Since I moved from CA I have been missing gym classes, sitting by the pool, using the treadmills in AIR CONDITIONING!! I didn't want to run much in AC last year because the marathon had the potential to be warm, but given the Marine Corps Marathon is in the end of October in DC it should be ok this time. I am super pumped and hope to go alot, so I should be in a lot better shape than I was for the marathon last year. Only ran 2 miles yesterday, but hey, it's a start!

Anyone else doing Marine Corps?

OMG...I'm back ;) ....sort of....

2009-05-05T07:59:00.002-05:00

I know you all have been waiting with baited breath (whatever that means?), and it's finally here! I'm back! Or I'm trying to be at least....I have started running again (if I can even call it that at this point it's so pathetic...), and have registered for another marathon! Lauren and I are doing the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in October! I am very excited, not only to be doing another marathon, but to be going to DC where everything is free (museums anyway) and where my sister lives.

And she will be doing it with us!

She is new to running and needs everyone's support, so check out her first post:

http://sarahwurrey.com/?p=321

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Anyone else going to be doing MCM?

Off the running (and blogging) wagon :(

2009-03-25T11:03:00.002-05:00

Sadly with all my new plans and new motivation I have only run twice since the marathon :( I planned to go today, but have a horrid sore throat. I swear I swear I swear I am getting started on a new plan in April. But to avoid hating myself I am just going to admit that for the next 3 or 4 weeks I probably won't be very focused. I am really busy, for one, and also really poor...that might not make sense, but for me races are 90% of my motivation. If I can't afford to enter them I have little desire to train midweek....

I know, crappy excuses, but I swear, I'll be back! And really soon...bikini season is coming, after all!

Last of February in pictures...

2009-03-09T08:15:00.004-05:00

So to finish documenting what I was doing in February (since it wasn't running!) here are some more Mardi Gras pictures..

UGH.

2009-03-09T08:05:00.002-05:00

So I have hit another roadblock in my plan to stay in shape...and stay running. Lauren and I had planned on the Nashville marathon, but needless to say it has fallen by the wayside for me....in favor of the beach!! Sadly it is not motivation or interest that has caused me to put it off, but rather $$. Cash is very tight (as we all are experiencing in these sad economic times!) and unfortunately at this time if the options are two days and a 9 hour drive to Nashville to sweat my ass off for 26.2, or four days and a 3 hour drive to Pensacola to sweat my ass off with a cold drink in my hand laying on the beach....well, let's just guess what won out!

So I need a new workout plan, and all advice is much appreciated. See- if trying to get a beach body multiple long runs are not for me....I actually gained weight marathon training due to having such a voracious appetite after 2 and 3 hour runs....Now I know that in theory you just have to remind yourself that even that much exercise doesn't give you license to pig out, but for me easier said than done. I am thinking I need to be more well rounded, as well, and include some upper body and abs workouts along with running. My vague plan is 4 days a week running, 3-10 miles, and some arms/chest/back/abs stuff mixed in. Any thoughts? I have been steadily gaining weight since the marathon and need to get back on track pronto!

My beach trip isn't until April 30-May 3, but I am staying for two days at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, MS (which has a great pool) on April 16, so I have just over a month to bust my but back into shape! Help!

This Month in Pictures: Kate's Wedding Weekend

2009-02-27T08:55:00.004-06:00

Just a few pics to document Kate's (one of my marathon partners) wedding weekend. Lots of good times had by all....see February rundown a few posts below for the recap :) Next up....more Mardi Gras parades!

Mardi Gras Marathon...the rest of the story

2009-02-26T08:50:00.002-06:00

Ok. So this month is very haphazard in terms of posting! After the marathon I put up the first part, at least the day before leading up to the start of the race. Then I had a crazy month (see a couple of posts below)....I pretty much outlined the month in 'End of Excess....'. I plan to post all the pics to document the month a bit at a time, and have so far put up *most* of the pics of the marathon as well as a couple from the first parade I went to for Mardi Gras. I will continue with the bachelorette party/wedding in Florida and the rest of Mardi Gras, but first figured I should finally finish my race report.

So after not too many hours of sleep (unfortunately :( ) we headed down to the start. They were screaming for people to line up, and I was sooooo thankful our hotel was only a couple of blocks away. Needless to say, I already had to pee again, and in hindsight should have ignored the screams to line up and hit the pots. But I didn't, and stood there kind of having to pee for 15 minutes waiting to start. Grr....

We were off after 'Oh Beautiful' or 'America the Beautiful' whichever you call it..(no National Anthem??? What is this?). First mile was crowded, but not have as bad as I suspected. I was immediately having trouble with my fuel belt staying put (which is so funny since I wore the EXACT same setup on my last long run with no issues). It kept riding up and I think I messed with it for about the first 3 miles. :(

Around mile 1 my phone rings (I know- how obnoxious, right?) and I answer. It's my husband and he can't hear me, which is even more obnoxious...I'm screaming, 'Hello???'....finally he hears me and says he's calling to wish me luck...I tell him thanks and that I'm already running, and he still can't hear me. I hang up but see the guy next to me chuckling...What? I can't take calls while running? :)

We head down Bourbon Street which is amazingly quiet and NOT bad smelling! I was shocked. They had just finished soaping and hosing down the streets so everything was actually a little slick which I found kind of amusing. I appreciate the attempt to make it not stink, but come on! Isn't it enough of an obstacle race between people, pot holes and trash?

We turn around at Royal St and head back towards Canal. I am already getting a little bored...this is going to be a long run! Once heading out towards Audobon park around the 3 mile mark I start to really have to pee. Hmmm...this is no fun! It's great seeing people out on the street though, beer in hand at 7:30! Some restaurants are open (for spectators, I assume) and I consider stopping in one right before I see a McDonald's. Excellent! I will get a real bathroom and skip the line at the Port-o-lets. Or so I thought. Apparently so did about 100 other people. Ok, so realistically there were 3 people ahead of me. That stop cost me about 3 minutes I think, which is kind of a bummer. This is about the 4.5 mile mark.

I continue towards the park occupying my time calculating fluid/nutrition intake. I had a great marathon experience and I swear it was because I am totally regimented when it comes to this. I read somewhere along the line that the body can only absorb about 6-8 ounces of water every 20 minutes. My body seems to be on the light side of this, so I did around 3 oz of water per mile. About one big sip every 1/3 mile. This made the time pass quickly, since I was constantly looking to the next sip, gel, etcetera, and it kept me on top of hydration. I was drinking an electrolyte powder mix and filling my bottles at water stations. It is WAY easier for me to drink out of a bottle rather than a cup, and I was able to avoid the crowding by grabbing a cup, dumping it in and going. I had a gel about every 45 minutes, 5 total for the race at miles 4.5, 9, 13.5, 18, 22.5. I had only water with the gels, at least 6 ounces spread over the next mile or so. I don't know if this was why, but my stomach never bothered me and I never felt dehydrated.

By mile 6.5 we curve into the park which was a needed change. My ipod is keeping me going and the change of scenery is really nice. My husband calls me AGAIN around mile 7 to confirm if it is my mom's ACTUAL birthday and should he bring the card. Seriously? I'm running here! But I had to laugh because there was a race photog right there (though she didn't get a picture, darn it!) and I thought it would be hilarious to be like, "Here I am running the marathon talking on the phone...". I tell him I'm right on schedule to see him and my parents at the half and we hang up.

Mile 8 had a fantastic water stop. They called it 'Blood, Sweat, and Beers', and were all dressed like vampires. The had bats and cobwebs hanging from the trees, offered up orange slices, pretzels, nuts, water, powerade, BEER and MARTINIS. Yep, that's New Orleans for you! In actual plastic martini glasses. I passed on all of this but had a great time passing through. I though about the martini because I assumed it was fake (like lemonade or something), and thank god I did! Laura took one and said it was an honest to goodness vodka martini and that she tasted vodka the next 4 miles. OMG I would have puked for sure.

We head out of the park around mile 9 and I start looking for Lauren and Kate who had started together. I knew it would be close if I was to see them, since we entered the park around 6.5 miles. When I didn't see them I was happy (because I knew they were at a good pace) and sad (because it would have been a major boost to see someone I knew). This part of the race gets rather dismal....there isn't much to see, we're not at the half yet, and I know no one. :(

I also had to pee again. I told myself not until after I saw my parents at the half. I was right on target for 9:15 (the time I had told them), and was pumped to see them. Around mile 11.5 I really really wanted to stop. Right when I was really thinking about it Lisa (owner of a local running store I frequent) runs up and taps me on the shoulder! I am really excited to see her. We have both been training for and talking about the marathon since August, and had done several of the same races. She had two daughters in the race as well, with her youngest daughter trying to break 3:25! Her older daughter got preggers while training and decided not to run, but her husband took her spot to jump in and pace Lisa for the second half. So we are going along chatting, but she is pushing the pace (she wanted to stay with the 4:30 group who was just ahead). She had stopped to pee and was trying to catch them again. I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain this pace, but figured I'd stick with her until after the half.

At 12.5 miles I call my dad to tell him I'm coming up on the half. Sadly they'd hit some jams due to road closures and weren't able to circumvent in time :( I am sad but tell him I will see them at the 15 mile mark, which isn't so far now anyway! Lisa and I chug along and at the half are joined by her son in law and another friend who sees her. Sadly I cannot remember their names now...darn it! We are all running and talking so I decide to stick with them as long as I can. Luckily I did, because miles 13-15 were horrible. I felt great, but it was through some really crappy areas so it just sort of sucked the life out of you. By 14.5 I started looking for the fam, and it was a HUGE mental boost to see them. Unfortunately some coworkers were also around this spot, but since I was looking for family I missed them :( Luckily they stuck around and saw me around 24.5 :) We continued on and there was a water station just past my family. I grabbed a cookie (something I had never done) and it went down great!

Just before mile 17 there was a (seemingly) HUGE overpass, and the pavement was being repaired so it was all torn up and scored. This was really really hard on my legs and I told my crew I wouldn't be running the whole thing with them. I was getting tired and didn't want to hold them back, plus I needed to pee. They encouraged me, told me I could do it and we continued. Apparently they were tired also, because at the 17 mile water station they grabbed some icy hot or some sort of cream from someone and tried to loosen up their leg muscles. This was a much needed rest for me, and I took a minute or so with them to stretch out. This helped alot, as did the thought (which I repeated to them) that we now had only single digits left!

We looped through City Park for the next 7 miles. This was SOOOO boring. I am so thrilled I had conversation to distract me and three other people to cheer me on. We all had our moments of being the slowest one in the foursome, but encouraged eachother the whole way. It was really great :). By mile 20 I started to think maybe I COULD finish with them. We were walking through each water stop at this point, but having short term goals (next sip, next stretch spot, next gel) really helped.

Finally we were coming up on mile 24 were I would see my parents again and I was so happy!! They got some great shots (I think still on the computer at home) and told me they were shocked I looked just as strong as at mile 15. Yay! Crazily enough, right at this point I also so Laura! I screamed her name and we jogged and chatted for a minute. She took my picture (Laura I will send you my email today so you can send it to me! BTW congrats on the offer!) and then stopped to grab a couple of other pics. We continued on and rounded the corner around mile 24.5.

At this point I was pumped...less than 2 miles left! I saw my coworkers and jumped around like a maniac!! We hit the home stretch and Lisa was turning it on. I didn't have much left but tried to stay with her. Around 25.8 or so her daughters jumped in (her younger daughter made her goal...holy crap!) and they were so supportive of their mom. They told her over and over how great she looked, how far we had to go, and jogged side by side snapping pics the whole way. I hope my kids are like that someday :).

Finally.....26.2!!!!! I was so happy. I found my husband and mom and dad right away, and they were shocked I still had so much energy. I felt great. I was glad I ran it responsibly, didn't push for time and my splits were super even. I have to look it up, but I'm pretty sure each half was in a minute or two of the other. I think it was something like 2:18 and change for first half, and 2:20 and change for the second half. I was the most proud of this, as it proved I didn't go out too fast.

I'll have to put up the mile splits, but it was all really even. I was thrilled with how it went, and at the time thought I would do another right away. Howeva....now I haven't run in 25 days (boo!) so the one I thought I would do next weekend is out of the question. So that means no Maniac membership for me right now :( Lauren and I had considered one in March and one in April to hit 3 in 90 days, but that's not going to happen right now. It starts to get hot around here pretty soon, so it looks like my next marathon will be my last until fall at least.......So here it is.....next marathon......

Country Music Marathon, Nashville, Tennessee....April 25! It's out there, Lauren, so now we have to do it! Anyone interested?

This Month in Pictures: February 7

2009-02-26T07:43:00.002-06:00

Just a couple of pics from the Krewe de Vieux parade in New Orleans February 7. I have many others of a much more graphic nature, but as I'm not completely clear on the posting policies of blogger dot com, I better err on the side of caution...I think the monopoly float gives you the basic idea, however. Next up, bachelorette extravaganza!

Oh- and since my google reader has long ago runneth over, I have marked all as read, and am starting fresh now. I apologize for my pathetic commenting status lately, and I swear next week I'm back! I am just playing catch up this week at work. In Louisiana Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras are both holidays (yay for four day weekends!) so even though it feels like Tuesday it's Thursday...woo hoo!

This month in Pictures: Feb 1

2009-02-25T14:21:00.003-06:00

Hubby and I at the beer truck :)

My dad and Lauren's dad...working hard on finishing offthe kegs. Notice everyone else is gone

Will at the Superdome

We did it!!

day before marathon in hotel with mom and dad...

mom and dad waiting at the finish

Lauren bringing in the strong finish...I think she was just eyeing the beer in my hand...

Kate coming in.....screaming "How did I EVER let you talk me into this????"

Me at mile 15....glad I still look so happy!

And of course my lack of understanding of how blogger works made them all mixed up, but these are most of the marathon pics. Still a couple more at home.

The End of Excess...40 days to Redemption

2009-02-25T11:38:00.004-06:00

I am back. I think. Since February 1 I have had the marathon, recovery, plan for the wedding, go to the wedding (another four day blur), get home, work a couple of days, Mardi Gras (another four day blur).....and it is now truly time to get back on track.

While all was good times this has truly been a month of excess for me. 24 days of eating, boozing, sleeping, ...repeat. I have gained 4 pounds and my eyes may be permanently bloodshot. To recount:

Feb 1: Marathon. Finished in 4:39, had a fabulous time, waited for Kate and Lauren at the finish and passed the time by eating cookies, a subway sandwich, and drinking about 8 beers (yikes!). Full marathon story later, but first, the rest of the day...Parents were here so headed back to the Northshore where I live, about 40 minutes from New Orleans. Hit Wow! Wingery for a bathroom stop and to check it out for the Superbowl which would be on in 2 hours. Looked good, so we headed home, iced, showered, more adult beverages, headed out. Ate a wing sampler platter, cheese fries, quesedillas, brownie dessert (my mom's birthday) and other bits all washed down with a huge margarita followed by a few more beers and a 'Chalmation' (think dalmation, the dog) some huge, red, hurricane-like concoction named after the fine people of Chalmette a suburb of New Orleans. Ugh...total overkill. Headed home, had a couple MORE drinks, then bed.
Feb 2: Parents and Kate still here. Hit the Broken Egg Cafe for great eggs benedict and two mimosas. My husband took my dad to get his rental car (he had a business meeting) while mom, Kate and I went back to New Orleans for last minute shopping for them...next stop, bar for a last minute beer with Kate and a couple of quick appetizers. Drop Kate at the airport, head home, grab dad, and off to the Tap Room, where my parents try some local beers while we have MORE wings and some calamari. Head home, grab Will and off to dinner at Copeland's (where I work nights) for the best steak EVER, hot blue crab claws in italian vinegarette, and some great red wine. We take a white chocolate bread pudding and a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake (slices) to go. Sit around reading things to eachother out of The Birthday Book (basically astrology by the day you were born) and drink MORE beer.
Feb 3: Parents take off around 10. I have the whole day for vacay but had thought about going in after they left...Ahhh.....NO. I am way too sore, so instead I lounge on the couch all day eating desserts from the night before.
Feb 4-6: Catch up on work, pretty boring....
Feb 7: First Mardi Gras parade of the season for me, the Krewe Du Vieux rolls in the French Quarter. A great, really personal parade focused on sexual humor and bodily functions. Fantastic! Afterwards manage to spend $100 (that I don't have) on drinks...for just me. Several Irish Car Bombs and vodka redbulls later, I head home around 4 am...only to have to work Sunday at 10...ouch.
Feb 8: horribly hung over, beg my way out of work...ate a burger at work for lunch, go buy taco bell for dinner, sit on couch all day.
Feb 9: Crazy rush to finish work for wedding week!
Feb 10: finish work, head to salon for cut/highlight. Head to nail salon for pedicure...head to tanning booth for last tanning...head to mall for slutty bachelorette party dress...couldn't decide so bought 4! (again, with $$ I don't have!)...raced home, packed, hit the hay around 1 to get up at 5:45 (ugh) for the airport.
Feb 11: Yay! Kate's wedding week finally here! Get into Orlando at 10:30. 7 of us squeeze in the truck (believe me, it was interesting!). She shows the girls her new home, we have a couple of beers and a pizza. Head to Payless to get shoes to go with slutty B-party dress. Buy TONS of alcohol for next day's festivities. Head back, grill, drink more at house warming party. Finish wedding favors and head to bed at 3....to get up at 8:30...boo!
Feb 12:up early, decorate teh 15 passenger van we will be using to shuttle these 12 wild ladies around in...haha! Found this hilarious car/limo decorating set with all sorts of funny things including mudflaps with glitter fringe stating "On the Prowl" and all sorts of other stuff. After morning errands and trying to figure out how to get 12 girls suitcases into a luggage compartment meant for 2 we hit the road back to Orlando. Get to our condo at 12, and it is an absolute oasis. It was so beautiful (for $162 a night anyway!), spacious and right near the pool. We park the chick mobile and head to lay in the sun, have some drinks and get ready for our night on the town in the stretch Hummer. By 5 we head back for massive showering and hair drying, and slutty dresses donned head out. We hit a restaurant first, where our bachelorette is a little too enthusiastic. She polishes off two glasses of champagne in the limo, a couple of red stripes, an applemartini, a glass of wine and a lemondrop shot. By the time we get to Blue Martini, a really fun bar, she is done. We had free drink coupons there and she makes us leave! Waa! Next stop is Howl at the Moon, a Piano Bar, and we grab Kate's sister as our fake Bachelorette. It is only 10:30 so there is no way we are going home yet. At 24 and single, Meg loves this and jumps in head first. She enters the bar swinging the veil around her head and we are onstage in about two seconds after I turn in a request for 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'. To make an Already Too Long Story a little shorter, we stay here for the rest of the night and finally pass out around 3:30. To AGAIN wake up at 8:30. Casualties of the night: I drunken bachelorette, one zero alcohol tolerance friend (we're talking two sips...it's an enzyme thing), one barfing in the limo (and her bed!) bartender friend (pathetic, really) and one puking outside the condo friend. All said and done 16 girls, two passed out, two puked. Not too bad! Myself and one other bridesmaid were of course the last ones standing!
Feb 13: WE hit the van for the two hour drive north to Gainesville, location of the wedding. Stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way, only to have the clerk be annoyed we are ordering bagels. Seriously. She was like, 'Really? Another bagel?'...and I'm thinking, how do you work at Dunkin Donuts if you hate making breakfast food!! We get up there just in time to hit Bath Junkie for the bridesmaid party. Here Kate has arranged for us all to make a bath scrub, a spray lotion and another item of our choosing. We pick the scents and colors while munching on wine and cheese and getting hand exfoliations. Very relaxing and much fun. I picked Coconut banana for my scrub (light yellow), pomengranate-persimmon-tangerine for my spray lotion and regular massage oil for the third. After this we head to the church rehearsal and then back for the rehearsal dinner at her aunt's house (which is huge- she had seating for 80!). All in all much fun even though we were exhausted! We ate a ton of chicken parmesan and drank beer, finally heading back to the hotel bar for one last drink. Actually made it to bed by 12!...alarm off: 7 am.
Feb 14: Wedding Day! We hit the hair salon by 9 to start getting done up. Hair and makeup (and of course wine!) Until 11:30, then off for pictures. More wine, lots of pics, more wine, wedding ceremony, champagne, wedding dinner and reception....more drinks...hotel bar....more drinks...hotel suite with the bride...more drinks...bed at 4...WHAT????
Feb 15: Drive back, try to survive...grill out More DRinks??? Fly home...
Feb 16-18: Try to catch up on work....boring :)
Feb 19: Muses Parade. My new favorite! Every throw was great, the crowd was fun, we had daquiris, beers, drinks...gawd what is this trend???
Feb 20:Orpheus Parade here on the northshore. Discovered a new place to hang out! And it's cheap, yay! Went to bed early to prepare for long long day planned for Saturday.
Feb 21: Got up and showered at 7 to get ready for three Mardi Gras Parades down in New Orleans. Grabbed the cooler, champagne, oj, sangria and fruit to put in it and snacks. Headed to Erin's to get ready. Lots of glitter and fake eyelashes involved. Headed down at 9 (thankfully friends Jeff and Jon had staked us out a spot at 7 am!!). Broke out the mimosas first, then hit sangria...the third parade is pretty much a blur. We grilled, drank, caught beads, it was a fantastic day.
Feb 22-today: recovery. Sleep sleep sleep catch up on work...catch up on blog!

So yeah. That has basically been the short version (believe it or not) of my month. Next post will document in photos. Total drinks consumed 15,387,722 (give or take a couple). Total hours slept: 10.6 Total calories consumed: 1,567,970,564,369...Total Runs: 1 (but at least it was 26.2 miles!).

Next up, pics of all this. Then a Plan. a new one.... Oh yeah, and no more drinking as though I have gills....or eating as if I am in some sort of contest....at least for Lent, even though I'm not even Catholic!

I swear it's coming...

2009-02-09T07:34:00.002-06:00

I haven't forgotten about the rest of my race report! Unfortunately after a short work week last week (took Monday and Tuesday as much needed vacation days) and a short week this week (leaving Wednesday morning for best friend Kate's wedding (yes- she did the marathon two weeks before her wedding!) I have to spend some time on acual work (damn work getting in the way of blogging!).

I leave Wednesday and come back Sunday, so next week I should get around to the rest of the pictures and the rest of the story. See you soon!

4:39:06

2009-02-04T07:48:00.005-06:00

Ok...so I am horrible at uploading photos, and even though I did them in order they uploaded out of order...not sure how to fix it, but I'm sure you can all figure out the progression! These are just from my cell phone (hence the bad quality) but I still have two cameras to upload pics from tomorrow or the next day.

So Kate (my best friend, bib 1217 above) arrived from Florida at 8:45 Friday night. We headed back to my house (about an hour drive) and after much discussion over whether it was really in our best interest to have a couple of drinks, decided that we don't see eachother often enough and picked up some beer. I had rented Run Fatboy, Run for marathon inspiration, so we watched that, chatted, and worked our way through three beers each and about a box of Cheez Its...(oops). We were in bed by midnight, though, and didn't get up until 9 so we still got plenty of rest.

In the morning we started hydrating (something that is very difficult for me to remember on the weekend) and got all of our stuff together for the marathon. Kate hadn't ever used any nutrition while running (actually she only ran about 10 times in the last 6 months and never over 4 miles, but that's another story!) so we stopped by the local running store. She was scared of gels, so she picked up some Sports Beans and waist pack to carry her phone and beans in. We headed to the airport to pick up my parents and then met Lauren (striking her running pose above) at the expo around 2:30.

The expo was really lacking. :( No free samples, so we left fairly quickly after getting our packets and checking our timing chips. It was nice and organized, however, and took no time at all. We checked in to our hotel and then met up with my parents for a snack (fried crab claws and chips and salsa with quacamole...hmmm maybe not the best choice?) and yes, a couple of beers. Hell- I only get visitors here and there, and I'm obviously not breaking any records this time around so I figured I may as well enjoy myself. Then we drove part of the course to see where they would try to see us, and they dropped us off at our hotel around 5:30.

We got some things organized, then headed out for dinner around 6. There was a sushi place right across the street, so we figured rice and soy sauce = carbs and salt, and headed over there. I did avoid eating anything raw, just to be safe, but did do a little more carb loading via Asahi. We went back to the hotel just in time to catch Bring It On: All or Nothing on TV...bonus! We turned off the lights around 9. I, of course, couldn't sleep. I imagine I drifted off around 12, but my husband called at 2 am (what is wrong with you??) to wish us luck. Finally back to sleep, and then the alarm at 4:45 am.

I wasn't feeling as great as I had hoped...I ate two packs of oatmeal, stretched, and tried to calm down. I was tired and kind of off in the stomach, but luckily the female problem didn't arise, which was a bonus. I had some coffee and (thank god!) was able to use the bathroom, so that was one thing I wouldn't have to stress about during the race. We left the hotel at 6:30 and headed to the start.

Luckily our hotel was only a quarter mile away, so we got there quickly and checked our bags. Another bonus (at least at the start) was that it was warm enough to ditch our long sleeves before checking bags. I new this could spell trouble for later, but I was glad to not have anything to take off while running. We lined up (with 5kers and walkers of course in the way regardless of the announcements from the race director...grrr...) and at 7 am we were off!

More later on the race itself and more pics!

They come in 3s.....

2009-01-30T07:53:00.002-06:00

You know, bad things. Though I guess now it's more than three....Here I am two days away from my first marathon, and several things area going wrong.

1) I am sick..sort of. I have felt the beginnings of a cold all week. Aches, sore throat, my ears hurt, I have been taking zinc, vitamin C drops, multivitamins, and hydrating. Fingers crossed..

2) close your ears, men- 90% likely I will be having 'female issues' during the marathon. Great.

3) my garmin broke. Yesterday. Won't do anything...won't turn on, make a sound, nothing.

And those were only the first three really bad things. I have some twinges in one of my knees and one of my feet. My new shoes aren't working out, and the old ones are completely worn out...my ankles have killed my last couple of runs in them. And now the weather, which has reported a low of 40, high of 60 all week has changed to 55/67 with a 30% chance of rain.

AAAAHHH! Why are the running gods against me? Though I suppose the bright side is that it's my first one, so it doesn't really matter how I do. It would be far worse if this was my 10th or 11th and I was more competitive and going for time. Then all of this would really really suck.

But it still sucks!! :( I really wanted everything to go right. But I will keep my hopes up for a fun experience. Hopefully my garmin magically resurrects itself, and I can deal with feeling a little off as long as it doesn't get worse. Just please please please don't rain!!

Playlist

2009-01-27T07:22:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I have most things set and ready to go for marathon morning. I have to pick up some gels and new socks on Saturday, but that's pretty much it. Last night I sat down and got rid of all the songs on my ipod that I always skip while running. Here is what was left:

Womanizer- Britney Spears, Whine Up- Kat Deluna, When I Grow Up- Pussy Cat Dolls, Whatever You Like- T. I., What Them Girls Like- Ludacris, What's My Age Again- Blink 182, Welcome To The Jungle- Guns n Roses, The Way I Are- Timberland, Waiting For My Ruca- Sublime, Umbrella- Rhianna, Touch My Body- Mariah Carey, That Was a Crazy Game of Poker- Of a Revolution, Temperature- Sean Paul, Sweetest Girl- Wyclef, Sugar, We're Going Down- Fallout Boy, Stronger- Kanye West, SOS- Rhianna, Somebody Told Me- The Killers, Sober- Pink, Smack My Bitch Up- The Prodigy, Shut Up and Let Me Go- Ting Tings, Shake It- Metro Station, Shake- Ying Yang Twins, Roots in Stereo- P. O. D., Pump It- Black Eyed Peas, Perfect Exceeder- Mason, Paper Planes- M.I.A., Mr. Brightside- The Killers, Move This- Technotronic, Me Gustas Tu- Manu Chao, Lose Yourself- Eminem, Lollipop- Three 6 Mafia, Live Your Life- T. I., Leavin'- Jesse McCartney, King of the Bongo- Manu Chao, Just Dance- Lady Ga Ga, Independent- Little Boosie, In the Ayer- Flo-Rida, I See You Baby- Groove Amanda, I Need a Dime- Mike Jones, Head Sprung- LL Cool J, Gold Digger- Kanye West, Glamorous- Fergie, Gimme More- Britney Spears, Get Up-Technotronic, Get It Together- Beastie Boys, Free Fallin'- Tom Petty, Fat Lip- Sum 41, Everlong- Foo Fighters, EI- Nelly, East Coast Anthem- Good Charlotte, Disturbia- Rhianna, Dirt Off My Shoulder- Jay Z, Debaser- Pixies, Clumsy- Fergie, Click My Fingers- Erupt, Clandestino- Manu Chao, Circus- Britney Spears, Carinosa- Jandy Feliz, Can I Get A.. - Jay Z, Bust It Baby- Plies, Breathe- Prodigy, The Anthem- Good Charlotte.

So there it is- 4 hours and 40 minutes (don't want to give myself TOO much time! :) of music. A very strange list, I know. (I also know my music tastes tend toward those of a 15 year old rather than someone who's almost 32, but what are you gonna do?). Somehow even with my editing I have a few that I'm a little tired of and could replace. Anyone have any faves right now that I should consider adding in?

starting to get nervous....6 days!!

2009-01-26T08:46:00.002-06:00

OMG...so strange to have something you have been waiting for for 6 months finally almost be here! 6 more days til the marathon...hoping the weather is good and that it doesn't rain! I plan on wearing this shirt, which is my absolute fave right now...the Brooks Equilibrium short sleeve:

It is so comfortable. I am going to wear Moving Comfort running capris, my other fave. I think I have decided to stick with the old shoes. I have done two 5 mile runs in the new ones, and honestly, I just don't think they are working for me! :( I feel like I will never find perfect shoes. I have now wasted hundreds of dollars in the last year, and the only ones that have sort of worked were the Asics Gel Nimbus 9s. Why, you may wonder did I not buy new Asics? Well these ones were never perfect either, and I wanted to get something that fit better. I swear I hate when you can't buy the pair you try on! I truly think different colors of the same model sometimes fit different too! I tried on the Mizuno Wave Riders from the Mizuno Running Lab, but couldn't buy the demo pair. I had to order a pair, and it came in pink (I tried on teal) and just doesn't fit the same :( It feels like I am running with a lump under each arch and my heal...they feel too supportive and stiff, and I think they have made my knee hurt. Could just be overuse, but either way, I am sticking with the worn out Asics for the marathon and will figure out what to do after that.

I am really excited about Sunday though! I just want to enjoy it and have it be a good day. I am plagued by race day troubles....all my training runs will go great, with no forethought, poor sleep/eating, whatever...then when I try to plan it all goes to sh*t. I just hope I can relax and not stress out over it! How do you all fall asleep? I know this will be my biggest problem. I am 100% positive I will sleep about two hours. And I know the night before is what really matters, but still! Race starts at 7, and we will be in a hotel three blocks away, so I plan to wait at the hotel as long as possible. (Bathroom and all). Figure we will get up at 4:45 or so in order to eat a couple of hours before the start. I planned on having two packs of oatmeal. This is what I had before my 21 mile run, and it seemed to work. Then maybe a banana an hour before? I didn't try that, but I felt a little empty at the beginning of my last long run...I know everyone recommends eating 2 hours ahead, but I feel like I burn through that before starting to run! I am bringing 5 gels, and might grab whatever else they have available. I am trying to find Nuun around here, because I think it would work for me since it doesn't have sugar...otherwise I will bring my Crystal Light Electrolyte packs. I am going to use the fuel belt, but with only one bottle. It started to hurt my back on the 21 mile run because all three bottles were pretty much constantly full. With plenty of opportunity to refill I think I'll just bring one. But then I can dump a few cups in and drink when I want, rather than only at the aid stations. I really hope I can hold it the whole time and not have to stop at a Port-o-let...but I have a bladder the size of a walnut so that's not likely :(

All in all I am just excited it's finally here and am glad my parents will be there to see it!

Any last minute suggestions? 10 days!!!

2009-01-21T08:07:00.002-06:00

So the marathon is in 10 days and I am so nervous!! I know I can finish it, it will just be up in the air as to how I will do. Initially, when my training was right on track I actually had hopes of finishing under 4 hours. (I know- this is ambitious for a first marathon, but my back in November I was on track for it!).

Anyhow- things have changed. After running only four days in December (hush! I know!) I have had to adjust any time goals I had to basically....no goals. Well, that's not entirely true; I would like to hit 4:20, but I think 4:30 is probably more realistic. Either way, I am just aiming to finish upright and happy, and I will take it all as lessons learned for next time.

So I know you shouldn't make any last minute changes, but out of curiosity does anyone have any last minute tips? There were only two things I was thinking of changing... 1) I have never worn a hat while running, but thought it might conserve heat in the morning (if marathon day is similar to today it might only be 30 degrees!) and wick heat away as it gets warmer....also I got sunburned on my 21 mile run because it was so sunny! Doesn't seem like a huge change, but I'm worried about being too hot...thoughts? And 2) and this is a big one- I am thinking of wearing pretty new shoes. I got fitted last week for some Mizunos by their mobile running lab, but the local store here that they were at didn't have my size. I have been running in Asics Gel Nimbus 9s, but they are dead. My ankles and knees have been killing me. Of course because they didn't have my size and had to order them they won't be in until this Friday, most likely. That would give me three runs to try them out on....an 8 miler, a 3 miler and a 2 miler. Is that too few miles to give them a try in the marathon? I know everyone always says don't use new shoes, and you need to break them in and all that, but every running shoe professional I've ever spoken to has said that is a myth and that shoes, if properly fitting, should not need 'breaking in'. So what do you think? I am leaning towards one last run in the Asics, but the Mizunos were just so comfortable!

21 miles...

2009-01-20T07:43:00.002-06:00

Finally! My last long run. I did it. 21.51 miles. (Though actually I only ran the first 21, and even walked .5 of that...). Either way, taper here I come! It's disheartening that I only have two weeks instead of three, but I still think it was best for me to get that last long run in.

I headed out at noon (not smart in LA! It was 68 degrees in the shade in my backyard). I was immediately worried about the heat, and the first 8 miles were directly into the sun. But I stayed on top of hydration like a machine (3 oz every mile) and it seemed to work. I used Crystal Light Hydration, because I think the root of my stomach upset is sugar. The gels with sugar bother me, Gatorade and Powerade, and Red Bull....so yay! I've finally figured out what makes me wanna puke! So the CL Hydration has the electrolytes but not the sugar. I know, I know, artificial sweeteners probably aren't any better, but they don't make me feel bad. I drank that at miles 1,2,3,4, then water with a gel at mile 5 (5 oz with gel, then 3 oz at mile 6), CLH at miles 7,8, then water with gel at 9, rest of water 10, and repeat on the way home. I eventually wasn't able to get it all down (the temp dropped 12 degrees during the near 4 hours this run took), but I think aiming for 64 oz total for the marathon is realistic. How much do you all drink? That would be 8 bottles on my fuel belt, about what I had yesterday (though I only drank 7). But it was way hotter yesterday than marathon day will be (fingers crossed!) so I think I can stretch it 5 more miles...I felt a little water logged yesterday by the end. Anyway, here's how it went:
1) 10:29
2) 10:27
3) 10:47
4) 12:18 * stopped to refill one empty bottle and top off the half full one
5) 10:59 * took a gel
6)11:14
7) 11:10
8) 10:55
9) 14:09 * stopped again to refill bottles, use the rest room, took a gel
10) 10:57
11) 10:52
12)10:32
13) 12:11 *refilled for last time, took a gel
14) 10:42
15) 10:32
16) 10:20
17) 11:43 *walked 16.3-16.6, took at gel at end of mile
18) 10:35
19) 10:33
20) 10:50 * walked .2
21) 10:08
= 3:52:34

So it was ok. I did it. It wasn't the best, but oh well! I would have liked to have hit 21 miles at 3:30, but maybe in the marathon! One thing I learned...I need gels with caffeine! If you look at the splits, the miles get slower from 1-4, then I took a gel, but it was an e-gel. It didn't bother my stomach, but had no caffeine. The boost of energy I normally feel wasn't there. The miles continued slowly until mile 9, where I took a gel with caffeine. You can see the miles get faster consecutively each time after I took a gel at miles 9, 13 and 17. It's really bizarre! And mile 21 was actually my fastest.

I definitely see the merit in starting slow now. Even though each mile was slower than I would have liked, I find it interesting that I really WAS able to get faster in the end miles. And I definitely felt like I could have gone 5 more, which mentally will be good for me on the day of the marathon. So there it is....I am done my long runs! I am running 5, 4, 5 on Wed, Thurs, Fri respectively, then 8 Sunday, then 3, 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday, then two rest days, then 2 the day before, then marathon! I can't believe it's almost here.

Marathon Fuel

2009-01-13T08:31:00.002-06:00

So in trying to plan as best I can for the upcoming marathon my biggest concern seems to be fuel. I have the endurance- my speed is NEVER regulated by my legs, but always by my stomach. When I get off pace and slow down it's always because I feel like I'm about to barf. This never happens until after I have started drinking and/or taking gels. So what to do?

My dad (a former fairly successful half marathoner) advises that all this gel/sports bean/shot block/gatorade nonsense is foolish, and that science has shown all you need is water, just don't drink more than you're using, figure out your sweat rate and all that. While I agree to a certain extent, I can FEEL the difference when I use gels (caffeine and all) but if it makes me slow down in the end due to stomach upset is it worth it?

So I looked at several gel comparisons yesterday, and I think now I am more confused! (FYI- before anyone suggests anything solid, that is out...I cannot chew while running). So what is making my stomach hurt...is it the sugar, the caffeine or the sodium? And since Gatorade makes me want to puke even more, shouldn't I stick to higher sodium gels (like Power Bar Gel)? I am a 'salty sweater' and think I do need electrolyte replacement....So what to do?

1) I am limited to what they have at my local running store. My last long run is Monday, and I'm not trying anything new during the marathon, so my last chance to practice is Monday (meaning no time to order anything off the internet).
2) I have been using Power Bar Gels more than Gu, but could it possibly be the higher sugar causing stomach upset? And if I switch to Gu, where do I get the electrolytes from?
3) I like Gu Roctane, but it isn't recommended to take for every gel, but rather that you should alternate...
4) has anyone tried E-gels? Like them better/worse than Gu/Gu Roctane/PowerBar Gels?
5) caffeine- worth the possible stomach upset? I think so....
6) Just go with water/ Gatorade? Maybe I could handle the Gatorade without the gels?
7) I do NOT like Cliff Shots. Not sure why, but tried once and made me feel even worse...

So you see my dilemma. It is very frustrating being limited by digestion issues rather than muscle power or respiration!

What has worked for you?

18.6!

2009-01-12T07:52:00.002-06:00

So I actually did it people. I got off my lazy ass and did my first long run in a month! Yesterday I did 18.6. I ran this distance because it happens to be 30k, also the distance of The Wall, the race I skipped last Sunday because it was 80 degrees out. Yeah- after not running for three weeks the last thing I wanted was to collapse from heat stroke! So I put it off a week, and will be shortening my taper from 3 to 2 weeks. Trust me- for me at this point it is way more important to get in at least two long runs even at the loss of a week of rest.

So yeah. Put it off a week and I'm glad I did. It gave me a fresh start to try to do everything RIGHT for once. I took all of the mistakes I had made before previous long runs/races and tried to fix them in this last week. Here are some of the things I changed/incorporated:

1) no alcohol- I enjoy my beer and wine, but for this last week I cut it out (mostly...might have cheated once)
2) 60-70% carb diet- I generally eat A LOT of roughage, but tried to up the carbs and cut down some of the super fibrous stuff. I eliminated dairy and other fats in the two days preceding too.
3) sleep- I stayed home from work last Monday and Tuesday and slept about 12 hours each day. Wednesday and Thursday night were my usual 6, but then I got 8 Friday and Saturday, which is a first for the two days before a long run or race.
4) running- I went twice last week, 8 mile tempo on Wednesday, and 5 easy miles on Friday.
5) stretching/rolling- I actually did it for once! I stretched Saturday and Sunday before I went for several minutes, and used a rolling pin on my legs (I don't have The Stick). It really seemed to help!
6) Advil- I know this is controversial, but I had been having a lot of aches in my legs and it seemed to help. I took it Saturday night and Sunday before I left.
7) icing- I iced after my 8 miles Wednesday, and then Friday and Saturday night. I also took my first ice bath afterwards....Yikes! That was really cold, but it's true...you just go numb and get used to it.
8) water- I actually used the fuel belt. It helped, but I still have stomach issues with eating and drinking during running. I always feel fine until I start drinking/ having gels...
9) gels- I used three. Two Power Gels which I like because I think the electrolytes are a little higher and I have discovered I can't tolerate Gatorade during a run. Then for the third I had a Gu Roctane, which I am convinced really DO help decrease post-run soreness.
10) breakfast- I had oatmeal (the norm) and also a banana about an hour and fifteen minutes before. I had coffee (no cream this time) too.
11) hydration- during the week I always keep up on water, but Saturdays I usually forget. This time I remembered and had plenty of water all day.
12) the actual run- I tried to go slow and steady and I found that I really did have more energy in the end....I think I kept pretty good pace the whole time (more on this in a sec).
13) replacement- during the ice bath I had water and chicken noodle soup. I have read that it is particularly useful as replacement fuel because it replaces salt and has a good protein/carb ratio for replacing muscle glycogen and easing soreness. Either way it was good to have something hot while sitting in 55 degree water!
14) massage- I did self massage the couple of days before, and got my husband to give me a good leg massage with bengay last night.
15) weather- I know this is beyond our control, but it did help that the high yesterday was only 56 or something. And it was overcast my whole run. Fingers crossed that marathon day is the same!

And today I feel pretty good! My left achilles is sore, but that's it. So I did 18.6 in 3 hours and 16 minutes. Normally this would disappoint me, but given the last month I was pretty happy with it! I did stop at mile four to use the restroom and refill the one bottle I drank up to that point. I also chatted for a minute with an older gentleman who was asking me questions about how far I was running, why, etc. So in all the stop cost me three minutes. I then ran until I hit that spot on the way back (at 14 miles) at which point I stopped and walked about .4 miles to eat the last gel. I still have so much trouble with gels/stomach upset. This didn't happen with the last one...so is it that walking while I got it down really helped, or that I have more toleration for Gu products than the Power Gels? I might have to switch to some other Gu flavors for the first couple next week and see if it's better. So anyway, I continued running and only stopped again at 17.5 to walk about .2 to stretch out my hamstrings which were getting tight. Then I ran the rest and finished at 18.6.

The one downfall of the run was that I forgot to check and be sure the Garmin was locked onto the charger. My cats hit it askew all the time and it drives me nuts! It will be sitting on the charger, but not connected, so to speak, and when I turn it on it immediately says battery low. And I hate the Garmin for the one fact that it takes FOREVER to charge. I can throw my cell on the charger for 20 minutes and the charge is complete. The Garmin takes hours. So I charged it a quick 15 minutes and figured I'd see how long it lasted. I was worried, because I know my route til about the 6 mile turn around, but I had to go 9 before the turn, so I hoped it would last. (The last .6 is a loop in my neighborhood). Luckily the Garmin lasted to 12.2, so I knew when to turn, but it was a bummer in terms of my splits. The 12.2 took 2 hours and 6 minutes, so a 10:22 average pace. Again, slower than I would have liked, but I found I can maintain it because the last 6.4 took an hour and ten minutes (deduced from the fact that the whole run took 3:16) which is what, like a 10:55 pace? So not THAT much slower in the end, which can pretty much be explained by my walking .6. So I think all the running was probably pretty close to 10:20. I had orignally hoped to average about 9:30 for my marathon pace, but given the last month I would be happy with 10 even, which at this point I think might be doable.

So anyway, all went well and now I have only one more long run...YAY! I plan to run 5 Wednesday, 8 Thursday and 5 Friday. Today and tomorrow I am doing some pilates and stretching. Saturday and Sunday I will mostly rest, but want to do some squats and core stuff. May be too little too late, but I figure a little strength training will at least make me FEEL more confident, even if it actually doesn't help me physically. I do still have three weeks, and alot can be done for your core in that amount of time if you stick with it, just a little a day. Then next Monday I have my last long run of 21 miles. I wanted to go over 20 because mentally I worry about the dreaded 'Wall' which supposedly hits at that point. I feel if I just go a little over I can figure out how that will affect me, or, hopefully, find that it doesn't. This will also help me because 5 miles is my typical 'short run' so if I run 21 I will know that come marathon day I only have to do that plus a 'short run', so mentally it will seem a lot more doable. Make sense? Any last minute tips?

Back...(sort of?)

2009-01-08T07:22:00.002-06:00

Well, I am back from vacation. From work and from running. I unfortunately have sabotaged any high hopes I had for the marathon, and am now hoping to just finish.

After 15 weeks of really structured training, Thanksgiving hit and I just fell apart. Not that the busy holiday season should be an excuse, but coupled with a friend's graduation and wedding shower (out of state) and heading back to New England for Christmas things just didn't happen. I did have a half marathon on December 6th, and a 25k on December14th, but neither of those went as well as planned and it all stemmed from missing my first long run the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Looking at my running log I am very sad to see that since my December 14 25k I have run exactly 3 times. :( Here is what happened....I had that race on a Sunday. I took off Monday and Tuesday, and planned to run Wednesday but ended up home sick. Thursday I left for Florida (friend's shower and graduation), and planned to run 17 that Friday. Weeellll.....she is my best friend and we of course caught up until 3 in the morning Thursday night....and had a few drinks...so needless to say it didn't happen. Then her graduation was Saturday, her wedding shower Sunday, and I flew back Monday (after going to bed at 1 and getting up at 5). So I didn't run Monday December 22. Then Tuesday I was busy packing, wrapping gifts and getting ready to head home on Christmas Eve. I thought I could run that morning, but was up late the night before and had to head to the airport early in case of fog on the bridge (a real annoyance to me...when we get warm weather after it has been cold the warm air hits the cold water = fog and the bridge closes to one lane and 35 mph...(from 65)...it's a 23 mile bridge so a huge pain). After several delays we get home at 7 Christmas Eve. No running. No running on Christmas either, or the four days following. I have no excuses for that other than not wanting to run in the cold...I did nothing but sit on my butt for a week. We headed back on the 29th, and I finally forced myself to get in 5 miles on the 31st. It was much harder than I would have expected. New Year's Day was a waste for me. I did 8 miles on the 2nd, but about 10 minutes slower than I had been running my 8 mile route! I then worked the 3rd all day. I had a 30k I was registered for on Sunday, but with the potential for fog and the possibility of having to then get up at 5 coupled with the heat (70 in the morning!) and humidity I skipped my first race :( I thought I'd get it in at home on my own, but then I was too depressed about skipping it. Monday and Tuesday of this week I was sick (again!!), but I finally got in 8 yesterday (only about 3 minutes slower than usual).

So that brings me to now. Looking back it just doesn't seem possible that I have only run three times in three weeks, but what can I do? I am of course disappointed, because I was hoping to do well in the marathon. Luckily I don't really have time to dwell on it! So here is the new plan: I did 8 yesterday, and will do core and strength today, 5 tomorrow and get in that 18 on Sunday. It will probably kill me, but oh well. Then I will get in 5, 8, 5 next week, with a little strength and core if I can force myself. My last long run was supposed to be this sunday, but at this point I think it is more important for me to get one more in so I will do 20 on the 19th (off for MLKJR day) and have a two week taper. Later that week I will run 5, 4, 5. Then next week 8, 3, 2, then two days rest, then 2 the day before, then marathon!

Any suggestions/alterations?

Until Next Year!

2008-12-23T07:27:00.003-06:00

Well folks, I have been completely swamped the last week, and there is no end in sight. I have been an absentee commenter and blogger, and it looks like that's going to continue for the next week. Our flight to NH is tomorrow at 10 am. I have a very slight hope to get a run in before we leave, but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that that's not going to happen. We get in at 4 and it will be Christmas festivities for the next two days, lot's of family and friends and even a wedding!

Now I am dutifully bringing my running shoes and clothes even though chances are they will remain right in my suitcase until I get home. At the very least I will be very rested by next week! If the weather breaks 40 degrees I will try to get out there, and hopefully not break my neck on the ice.

Regardless of whether or not I get in any running it should be a good five days with family and friends, and we will be back next Monday. Our internet connection at home is spotty at best, however, so there is a good chance you all won't hear from me until Monday, January 5th. Hopefully I can come back telling you that I have got in two long runs and am feeling confident for the marathon!

Everyone have a fantastic holiday and wonderful New Year! I am sure my Google Reader will be even more overwhelming than it is right now, so chances are I may make a fresh start with the new year and Mark All as Read. But not to worry- I will start right back up on all of your fabulous blogs on January 5!

0

2008-12-22T09:25:00.002-06:00

Yep. That's how much I ran last week. To my credit, I had various extenuating circumstances, but still. I have excuses for the early part of last week, but when I went to Florida Thursday night I had explained to my best friend a MILLION times that I HAD TO RUN 17 miles (at least) on Friday. Unfortunately, my flight got in late, we were up until 2:30 talking, and when 7:30 rolled around I was feeling on edge and nauseated from lack of sleep (the three cups of coffee I immediately downed didn't help either) so I just sat on her couch all morning staring off into space.

It didn't get any better...I drank two diet cokes next, and by the time we headed out for the 2 hour drive to her mom's I was feeling worse. Then I decide to go in the car with her sister and brother-in-law (who had an important conference call to make)....let's just say I spent the 25 minutes he was on the phone trying not to toss cookies in the backseat and begging for the air to be cranked up. They froze in the front seat, but at least I kept everything down.

Unfortunately the rest of the weekend didn't go any better. I had the birthday party for her mom that night, Kate's (the best friend) graduation Saturday, and the wedding shower yesterday. Last night I went to bed at 12:30 and got up at 5 for my flight. I really really really need to run today, but I am no good without sleep. So what do I do?

The plan is to try to get in at least 5 miles in today, then if I can do 6 tomorrow and some later this week...of course I fly to NH on the 24th were they have been getting dumped with snow, so the likelihood of running outside isn't too high. HELP!! Will I be in big trouble if I don't get a long run in until next Tuesday? That will be two weeks since my 25k, with one week entirely off. I have long runs planned for next Tuesday, the following Sunday, and the following Friday January 9th....then the marathon is Feb 1.

So I think I'll be ok...I'll do 18 Tuesday, the following sunday is a 30k, then 20 on January 9th. My only concern is that that there will only be three days between the first and second, and four days between the second and third....is that too short? The only other option is to push the last one til Monday the 12th. I will have to use vacation time either way, and mentally I was just thinking it would be better at the end of the week (Friday) rather than the beginning. Thoughts? Am I in trouble?

Larry Fuselier 25k

2008-12-15T10:45:00.002-06:00

Bleh. That is all I have to say about this race. It went horribly, for the most part, with none of the "isn't it so great to be out running" feeling I had the weekend before.

I tried to follow my lessons learned from the last two half marathons, but things aren't cooperating with me! For instance I wanted to not skip any more runs, but it poured last Wednesday, and snowed on Thursday, so one five mile run was skipped and my 8 mile was pushed to Friday. I also had a Christmas party Friday, so I didn't eat that well. Saturday I was good on the eating, no alcohol, hydrating, but worked a double (tired legs!) and then when I was about to get in bed to at least get 7.5 hours, Will told me he messed with my ipod. Our computer was running so slow, so it took forever to fix my songs, and THEN his friend (who's been away in the army) knocked on the door (with two of their other friends) at 10:45. Needless to say, they stayed til midnight and I probably didn't fall asleep until 12:30....with a 6:15 alarm. So yes, I was tired again. I also didn't get in any core stuff last week, and just felt warn out in general.

I got down to the race start about a half hour before. I had drank a HUGE coffee on the way (which would later prove to be a mistake). I had oatmeal and a banana about an hour before, and brought two gels. I hit the bathroom and lined up at the start. It was really warm, and we were running on a paved running path, so not too much to look at. I just felt kind of indifferent right from the start.

We headed out, and right away I felt no energy whatsoever. Eeach mile was a struggle, but I finally started to get into a groove at mile 4. Right then I had to hit the port-o-potty. The path follows a ridge, so the potties had to be placed WAY down the slope. Huge bummer...you are already losing major time to get to them, and then after you have to run up a hill to get back! I lost two minutes there, and all hopes of doing well for this 15.5 miles.

I tried to catch the people who had passed me while I was in there, and managed to get back in the swing of things. I took the first gel at the bathroom stop, and it kicked in and I was feeling pretty good. Things continued looking up until the turn-around at 7.75. At which point I realized that the reason I'd been feeling so good was because of a crazy tailwind. That was now a headwind. By 9 miles I suddenly was stricken with regret for the gatorade and the coffee. Why do I continue to do this? I realized a while back that I have no toleration for gatorade (or really caffeine) during races. While they both help me performance/endurance wise, both irritate my stomach REALLY BADLY. So then I went into panic mode, trying to remember which water stop would have a bathroom. Of course it wasn't until 11.5, so I had to suffer through 2.5 miles of this. I had to walk a few times and it was SOOO annoying because it wasn't my legs or my lungs but my stupid stomach! And of course I get to the rest room and there wasn't much in the way of results. I was like, "that's it??? " and then you wonder if you will have another attack...so another two minutes lost (at the same stupid port-o-potty!) and I was back on my way. I took the last gel here, and hoped it wouldn't mess with me :( I caught up to the couple of people who had passed me while I was in there, just kept thinking "please let people be around before I collapse". (I get this weird feeling sometimes like I'm going to have a heart attack or faint...scary, I know). Finally I finished. I was so disappointed in the whole thing that I just left. Normally I at least try to get my money's worth of free chips, bananas, beer and jambalaya. This time I grabbed a water and moped over to the car. My legs were killing me too! My time was 2:39 something...I didn't stop the garmin in time, but that was the time on the clock and I only started about 20 seconds after the gun. I had hoped for 2:25 :(

Anway...enough whining! At least I finished it. And I will do better this week on my 17 mile run. Yeah right! It will be a miracle if I really do it. I'm going to Florida for my best friend's wedding shower, and I'm sure there will be a lot of celebrating (she's also graduating college Saturday...something that's been long in the coming...). But I fly in friday and hope to get it in from 8-11 Friday morning. I HAVE TO because I know I won't get much running in next week over Christmas. So fingers crossed I'll do it!!

OMG they weren't lying!!!

2008-12-11T08:44:00.002-06:00

Seriously. It was 75 two days ago!!! According to my friend, a native southeastern Louisianian, it has only snowed 5 times in the 40 years of her life! And never like this. The first picture was from a couple of hours ago too, and it has been snowing steadily since. If I wasn't too broke to pay the charge to send pictures from my phone to email I would've done a bunch more. We had tornado warnings two days ago because it was so hot, now this! Is the world coming to an end or what?

It is so exciting though! Schools are closing and everyone is going nuts! As a native New Englander I find it hilarious. There were so many accidents on the way to work, and it was only sleeting then! But yay! It feels like Christmas now.

Yesterday 75 degrees...today snow??!?

2008-12-10T09:04:00.002-06:00

So yeah. The weather is weird. And because of it I felt like I was going to faint on my run yesterday.

Regardless: Holiday Booty Buster Challenge: 5 miles = 5 pts! Hopefully will get 8 more today....

Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon results

2008-12-09T12:57:00.003-06:00

The results have been posted from the half marathon this weekend, and here is how I did:

2:03: 08 chip time
25/61 age group, 358/791 overall

Interestingly, the two girls I think I mentioned trying to stay with but couldn't hang? 2:00:36. So had I stuck with them I would have been oh so close to 2 hours. Maybe I'm better off? I'm kidding, of course (sort of) but I might've been more pissed to be so close and still not make it! They also had a timing mat (Lauren said it was at 7.25 miles), and I crossed there at 1:06:16 and a 9:09 pace (see, I told you I had it through 8 miles!!), but my pace for the second half (or overall? can't remember) was 9:24. The girls I tried to keep up with at the end, on the other hand, crossed the first mat at 1:06:42, almost 30 seconds after me and at a 9:12 pace, but they finished more than 2 minutes before me with a 9:13 pace (wow- talk about even splits!). I was with them until after 11 miles, I think, so I really lost time right in the end. I swear it's the knowledge that I'm not going to make it...it just kills me! Once I know I'm off pace I lose it mentally. Maybe next time! I'm going to keep an eye on my splits this weekend i n the 25k, and maybe I'll feel better if I cross 13.1 before 2 hours.

On another note, while this race wasn't very full marathon friendly (the whole crowd was gone by the time the marathoners started finishing) if I had done the full I would've had a chance at second in my age group! (The first place finisher was at 4:03, second at 5:18). So who knows, with training and luck I could win my age group here next year!

Not quite what I hoped, but still a PR!

2008-12-08T09:36:00.002-06:00

Thanks so much to all of you for your wardrobe advice. I found that everyone was right about wearing just a long sleeve over a short sleeve; if I had the jacket I had planned on I would have been sweating. BUT- (for me) I was right to wear pants when everyone suggested shorts. I would have gone with tights, but don't have any yet (it isn't often cold enough here for it). I was freezing until about the third mile, and even once I became comfortable my bottom half never got hot. I find running when my legs are cold very difficult.

Ok...so leading up to the race: Friday night cookie party with the ladies. Went really well; I think I (seriously) only ate three cookies. Two whole ones, and a couple of random bites of others. This isn't too bad since we made 5 kinds! As soon as my internet connection improves at home I still have to put up pics of Thanksgiving, the Christmas tree, and now the cookies. We made snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms (with the Hershey kisses), sugar cookies, katy-dids, and key lime white chocolate chip cookies. We had some wine and cheese, but I only had a glass and a couple bites of cheese and cracker, which is REALLY good for me. The only bad part was we finished up late and I didn't eat dinner until 9:30, which was a mistake. I had pasta and plain 'ol tomato sauce. I had everything mostly together but still didn't get to bed until after 11...that is something else I really need to work on in the future.

My alarm went off at 5, and there were two immediate problems: my husband was STILL not back from going out with his friends, and my stomach was all on edge. The second problem was the result of the first, coupled with the cookies and late night dinner, I think. I could have killed him and blame him for my not having a better race :(

In New Orleans things don't close until 6 (if they do at all), so late nights are not completely out of the ordinary...It's also not unusual for him to be out late (he's Latin and in South America you don't even go out until after 12...). And if he does drink he will stay with friends to be on the safe side, but always answers his phone. I called like a maniac my whole ride to Baton Rouge, which is a little over an hour. I probably called 10 times. He wasn't answering and I became more and more nervous....either he had crashed and was in a ditch somewhere, had lost his phone, or was somehow sleeping through it. I figured he had lost it and tried not to worry, but come on- he knew I was getting up for my race and the least he could do is borrow a friend's phone.

Needless to say I had to run the whole race (without my phone) wondering where he was and if he was ok. After the race I borrowed Lauren's phone and found out that he had left the phone at his friends house and hadn't picked it up until he dropped his friend off at like 7 (I know- who needs to go out until 7!!). At which point he called me and left a message, but my phone was in Lauren's dad's car....so I was pissed. I asked him why he hadn't called to tell me this (from Jay's phone) and he said he didn't want me to be mad that they had gone to New Orleans (an hour drive) when he had told me he was just going up the street to hang out.....As if I'm not more mad that I had to stress out all morning and have my race ruined!!

So anyway- aside from being nervous we got to the start at about 6:45, and jumped in the Port-o-Let line and were able to hit the bathroom and walk to the start right before things got underway. It was really perfect. We only had to stand in the cold for about 5 minutes. The race took off, and it was a REALLY slow start. And I had the inevitable walkers right in front of me!! Grrr...I just don't get it; I have walked things before and ALWAYS line up at the back! The street was really narrow, and we wound through some neighborhoods. It was really cool that some local families would be out in their yards, drinking coffee and holding signs for their friends, cheering everyone on.

Miles 1-3 were good, but I was off pace from the beginning (to be under 2 hours) given that the first mile was 9:24. I think mentally for me to eventually get under 2 hours I am going to HAVE to have banked a couple of minutes over the first half of the race. I know negative splits are better, but I just psyche myself out knowing that I will have to run the second half (when I am tired) faster. Miles 2 and 3 were on pace at I think 9:06 and 9:07, and things stayed pretty even through 8, but I never made the time up.

We wound through neighborhoods, around the lake, through LSU campus, and it was a really invigorating morning and a nice time to run. There were some purely perfect moments in there too....moments where I just had to smile to myself over how happy I was to be out running...finishing 13.1 miles before half of Baton Rouge (this college part anyway!) would even be up!

The water stations were really unique too- apparently they have a competition for a 'golden egg' trophy (the marathon mascot is a chicken) for the best, most creative, most supportive volunteer station. The first one everyon was in camouflage, exercising, doing push-ups, doing jumping jacks, cheering everyone on. It was really great. Another had women dressed up as sexy vixens, another gave out candy and fruit, another had some coconut bikinis (on men!). So it was really fun.

Miles 8-10 were HORRIBLE in terms of HILLS they LIED about in the race flyer touting a FAST, FLAT COURSE. I didn't know that many hills existed around here. And these were real ones; not the baby kind I mentioned in the Ole Man River Half Marathon. They were also one after another, though luckily there WAS down hill between each one. I did laugh though at the sign someone had put up at the bottom of the last hill that stated, "HILLS, WHAT HILLS?" with a smiley face. It made my smile :)

By mile 10 the hills were done but so were my legs. On the last hill I had started following these two girls who were trucking right along. I had hoped to stick with them and meet my goal. (Not sure what their time ended up being, but if they weren't under 2 hours they were REALLY close). By 11 miles, though, I just couldn't keep up. My hip flexors and hamstrings and piriformis were REALLY tight, and by mile 12 I was again fighting a side stitch. (Same place in the race as last time!!). At mile 12 I was at 1:42 and change. Without the side cramp maybe I could have charged through it, but 18 minutes for 2.1 after already having run 11 miles would be really difficult for me; I am still new to these distances.

Regardless, it didn't happen. I was going slower and slower due to the cramp, and was really just aiming to finish running and not walking!! A couple of guys flew past me in the last 100 yards, and that was kind of defeating, but then another guy was trying and my competitive nature kicked in and I thought, "Not so fast, pal!" and kicked it in enough to finish ahead of him :)

Official chip time, 2:03:08 (I think)...Garmin had 2:02:55. I need to check for official splits, but I think I got off pace during hills, and never recovered. STILL, that's almost a minute and half off my first half marathon time. Not bad for being all nervous about my Very Naughty Spouse and going on 5.5 hours sleep! So I'll be happy with it for now, but I will get under 2 soon, darn it!!

So the night before, when Lauren called me from packet pick-up I said, "Ok, see you tomorrow...when I'm going to finish under 2 and you under 2 and a half!" (Her PR was 2:36 and change...) AND.....she did it!! Good job Lauren! She finished in 2:29:54!

Afterwards we enjoyed a few post race beers with Lauren's old friend Wendy, who missed our race because we ran too fast!! We also had some alligator sauce piquante, some jambalaya, gumbo, cookies, bananas and a hotdog (and I wonder why I wasn't hungry the rest of the day!). This race also had great stuff! The shirt was navy blue, not obnoxious in any way, long sleeve and technical fabric. Yay! We also got Brooks running gloves, and the medal is really pretty. Again, eventually I will have a picture day and put up a bunch of stuff.

Later I headed home, stopping to get some Christmas shopping done along the way. Yes, I know, probably not the nicest for the other customers in the store, but I was pretty tired and didn't want to go home and shower and then go back out...When I finally did get home I showered, layed in bed, and proceeded to eat 5 cookies while reading my book. Then I took a nap and woke up to my husband calling to see what he should pick up for dinner. He ended up finding boiled crawfish (I didn't think the season started yet, but whatever) and brought that home with corn and potatoes. I stuffed myself some more, ate more cookies, and went to bed at 9 to sleep until 8:30 am!

Ironically I was still tired yesterday...I have my fingers crossed, but think I'm coming down with something. Yesterday I worked but still felt tired and sore all day. Last night another coworker had a Christmas movie party, and we all chowed down again (cocktail weenies in crescent rolls, peanut butter pie, chocolate fondue, bread pudding, delicious queso dip and tortilla chips, popcorn, m&ms, eggnog, spiked cocoa, pumpkin beer....so I spent another night tossing and turning. Ugh. I have a wedding shower and a wedding at the end of this month (where I have to wear dresses) so I vow to tone it down from here on out. I have been feeling like crap and diet is more than half the reason.

So hear are some things I learned from the half marathon:

1) no more skipping long runs!
2) no alcohol for at least 2 days before.
3) eat better!
4) more core! I think I get my side stitches from breathing shallowly due to back cramps.
5) more stretching. For reals this time.
6) more sleep. At least 8 hours for three nights before the race (really hard with my schedule!)
7) don't become mentally undone if a couple of seconds off pace.
8) sleep more.
9) ground spouse.
10) did I mention sleep more?

Help!! What would you wear????

2008-12-05T13:53:00.002-06:00

So the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon is tomorrow, and it is supposed to be 34 degrees at the start, and only 42 by the time I hope to finish!!! OF COURSE this would happen, since I've been praying for that perfect mid 50s weather...the last half was too warm (60s), and now this one, two weeks later, is freezing! No fair.

Anyway, it gets that cold here about twice a year, so I have no idea what to wear!! To all you northern runners, what would you wear in 34-44 degree weather with 76% humidity? A long sleeve and a jacket? Short sleeve to? Or instead of long sleeve? Pants and tights, or just pants? (Not proper running tights so can't wear them alone..too see through!). I have about 15 hours until I leave my house for the race....

So 5 miles didn't happen...

2008-12-05T08:17:00.003-06:00

I didn't run a minute yesterday :( What I failed to mention (besides in a comment on Viper's page) was that I was desperately hung over yesterday (yep, on a weekday!), and ready to die. Really.

I got home and the rain had stopped, but not the pure hatred of my body for me. I actually think I might also have had some minor stomach bug (I know- excuses!), because it just seems weird. I DID drink a whole bottle of wine, but (as much as I would like to) I can't say that's never happened before, and I've NEVER been that ill. Am I just getting old? I went through extreme intestinal distress all day, periodically feeling like I was either going to throw up or faint. This odd thing happens whenever I drink to much and don't sleep enough where I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack...does that happen to any of you? (Just say yes so I don't freak out...). Seriously though..it's so weird. I will feel like my heart is all irregular, skipping beats, racing...for the whole day after a night of too much partaking.

So I got home, tried pathetically to straighten the house for a cookie decorating get together I'm having today, and then collapsed in bed to rest an hour before heading to work. And right then someone called from work who was trying to pick up a shift!! Amazing, huh? So I gave it away and instantly felt better. Later I was able to make the dough for the party, clean and mop the floors, and watch Survivor while cursing at the TV that the contestants are always so stupid! Hello, vote out Sugar you idiots!! You know she has an idol and wouldn't be expecting it now! Anywaaayyy....then I made the 'baked Christmas' (the flour/salt dough you make ornaments with) so we can paint cookies that will inevitably not be as good as the ones we made in third grade.

So it ended up being a productive night. And I even got everything washed for my half marathon tomorrow. Which, hopefully, I won't be hung over for. I told myself 1 glass of wine only!! (To say I'm not going to drink anything at my own party would just be a lie). But to get to why I drank the whole bottle the other night....have I ever mentioned how much I love Christmas?

Didn't think so! Well I am OBSESSED with it. LOVE it. Always have. The hustle and bustle, the crowds, the STRESS, the gift buying, the food, music, parties, decorations, the SPIRIT. My future children will have the best Christmases and it won't be because of the presents they get. My parents were really great about making Christmas so special when we were kids.

So in my excitement for the season, I was going through my Christmas cookbooks and magazines, drinking wine and eating cheese and losing track of time. And due to the volume of Christmas books I have, it took a lot of wine to get through it all. So that's my excuse.

While NOT DRINKING WINE last night I spent a frustrated hour trying to put my pictures from Thanksgiving up here....alas stealing internet means you can rarely do things online that require a strong connection. Putting up images (or streaming video) is something I can rarely accomplish at home. So you will all have to wait to see my Christmas tree :( I'm sure you are so sad! ;)

Well, it's raining...

2008-12-04T07:52:00.002-06:00

...so I am losing motivation by the minute to get in at least 5 miles this afternoon. Of course, I can't run tomorrow, so if I don't go I will feel unprepared for the half on Saturday. I suppose I should also be motivated by the widget I stole from Lauren, though I couldn't figure out how to get it on the side bar...that's why it's just showing up as a post below. 58 days til the marathon!! I can't believe it's coming so fast...truly it feels like I just started the training plan a couple of weeks ago, and now I look and see I'm actually in week 16! Crazy.

New SpringWidget

2008-12-04T07:46:00.001-06:00

I'm wondering...

2008-12-03T14:49:00.002-06:00

Funny thing...just out of curiosity have any of you ever put the foil of a gel too far into your mouth and felt that horrible pang through a filling? I have done this twice recently....how annoying, it really hurts!

12 on Tuesday

2008-12-03T07:33:00.002-06:00

Well, I had to do 11, but wanted to do 13, so I split the difference and did 12. I was proud of this only because until 9.43 miles I had only planned on 11. This is how I often trick myself; I go out with only a certain distance in mind and find I can often get myself to run another mile or two once I am soooo close. I actually thought about 13, but it was really cold yesterday and it had all my muscles locking up on me and aching in the last mile. The feet were good, though, so I think as long as the warm weather stays away a couple of months I might not suffer such blisters and hot, hot feet as I have been dealing with lately.

I had another success as well.....the fuel belt! I didn't get out the door until 3:30. Sunset is at 4:59, so you pretty much have dusk until 5:15 or 5:20...then it's full-on dark. I knew I couldn't waste time stopping to refill at water fountains and the like, so I forced myself to wear it. It was definitely nice to not have to carry my gels and water bottle in my hand, but it was hard to get used to. It adds so much weight, it seems. And of course since I had it with me I found I only drank a bottle and a half (of three). I'm sure had I not had it I would have easily drank three bottles....but it was so cold I don't think I was sweating much or something...I just didn't want to drink. I only drank what I did to wash down the gels.

I had PowerGels yesterday...vanilla and strawberry banana. I really find I prefer chocolate flavors, but they sell only those two flavors (and only PowerGel) at the grocery I go to, so unless I go to one of the running stores I'm stuck with those. I actually think they work better for me too, and while I think the vanilla flavor is kinda gross, it doesn't have caffeine and doesn't bother my stomach at all. The strawberry banana was actually good, and did have some caffeine that helped in the end. I do like the Gu Roctanes, and definitely noticed more muscle soreness after this long run (the roctane has an amino acid blend that's supposed to help with the buildup of lactic acid), but the roctane's are over $2 a piece, so I may reserve that for races.

So it started out ok, I was resigned to having to get in 11 even though every bone and muscle in my body REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO....and miles 1-3 were ok. I had a gel at 4.5 miles, and actually found I still had a lot of energy by 8.5 where I took the second one...I think the cool weather really helped invigorate me a litte. At that point I looped through town and began heading back home and noticed I was at 9.43. I added another loop through town, and didn't look at the garmin but figured it was at a little over 10 miles. I knew from where I was to home was about 1.2, so if I added in the .6 mile loop around the block by my house I would be close to 12. I didn't look until about .5 from the house, and I was at 10.97. I added in an extra block there, and checked as I passed the house and I was at 11.6. One more block and finally, 12 miles! I was barely out of breath, but was really tight and stiff, especially through the hips and hamstrings. I am never sore or stiff in the quads...weird.

I iced for a bit, and then ate and watched the Biggest Loser. Don't bother with this paragraph if you don't watch the show....I sooo wish that Amy would've sent Vicky home two weeks ago. Then Amy was stupid and got herself voted out, and now Vicky is being just as stupid! Heba and Ed are her biggest competition, and she could have voted Heba out last week, and Ed out last night....now she will be the next to go, I'm sure...amateurs! Don't they know IT IS A GAME....don't keep people around just because they are your friends...this is for money, people!

Anyway, after that I read and was off to bed, but not before searching high and low for the camera...Will was supposed to put Thanksgiving and tree pictures on the computer, but hadn't. I couldn't find it anywhere, so I will have to put those up later. Rest day today, then 5 or 6 tomorrow before my second half marathon Saturday!

Unmotivated...

2008-12-02T07:40:00.002-06:00

I have zero desire to run today. I had zero desire Friday, Saturday, Sunday, yesterday....what is wrong with me?? While I haven't always been dying to get out there, I usually just know I have to and go home, change, and hit the road. For some reason all the overeating and too much sleep have just zapped my will to run.

I did run 7 miles the night before Thanksgiving, and then I squeezed in a quick 2.25 on Thanksgiving morning. That felt great! It was chilly out, there was no one out at all, it was like a ghost town. I loved the thought that I was out burning calories before the day of eating that was ahead. And I didn't even eat that much! We had people over early (see previous brunch menu), and started with champagne drinks and muffins and fruit around 10. I had one pumpkin muffin, and one piece of bacon. I sipped mimosas all morning, and ate some apple slices, but not too bad....by appetizer time I had a couple of bacon wrapped scallops and a couple of crackers with cheese, but by the time dinner rolled around (4:30) I was hungry and hadn't overeaten yet! I had normal portions, and finished the meal without being overly stuffed. A first for me! I did fairly stuff myself with dessert, by having a little of each, but it was nothing compared to how I've done in other years.

Unfortunately, the rest of the weekend didn't go as well. I pretty much single-handedly put away the leftovers, including all the desserts. We had friends in town, so we also went out in New Orleans, complete with sickeningly sweet (and calorie laden) hurricanes and creamy seafood pasta...And then Saturday after they left I decided I needed chocolate, and made brownies! (Which are now all gone...a whole pan :( but I had help there...). So yeah. I need to get back on the wagon!

In the midst of all this I was supposed to run 16 on Friday. I should have gotten it in. Our friends took my car to hit the sales (they actually brought a suitcase to fill) and I slept in. I woke up at 9:30 thinking it was too late to squeeze it in, and then sat around til noon waiting for them to come back! So I totally could have gotten it done. Saturday after they left there wasn't enough daylight, and then Sunday same thing. I worked until 4 and we put up our Christmas tree. Yesterday I swore I was going to do it. I had laid out my stuff the night before, and needed to get home from work, jump in my workout clothes, and hit the streets. I had to do it right away, because I would need to leave at 3:15 to have two hours of daylight. (Well, almost. The last mile would be in the dark, but could be around my neighborhood, not on the running trails which are way too scary in the dark!). Needless to say, didn't happen. My husband was off, and I just didn't want to leave the warm house.

So today it's on. I have all my stuff laid out, and have to go *at least* 11 miles. The FIRST program says 14, but my other two plans (one a novice I the other a novice II) say 10 and 11 miles respectively. Of course the novice II said 15 for last weekend, when I had the half marathon and only did 13....so I had adjusted it to 16 for this past weekend.....but I highly doubt that is going to happen today, so no reason to set myself up for failure, right? I will try for 13 but am willing to settle for 11. I should really do 13 though, because then this weekend I'm supposed to do 12 (FIRST), 15 (novice I) or 17 (novice II), but have another half marathon so will probably only do 13...have any of you had any luck with 2-a-days? My competitive nature won't let me run 2 or 3 miles before the race...I want to see how I can do, and would be more tired that way...and then the likelihood of running 2 or 3 after is, well, nonexistent, let's be honest. So I was thinking maybe trying to get a couple of miles in that night. Is it even worth it if it's not continuous? I don't really see how that would help endurance....or should I just write it off as a short week and try to get the rest of the long runs in?

Anyhow- it's in writing now...I have to do at least 11 today...no matter how cold it is! Unfortunately that means I'll only get 3 runs in this week....today, a short run Thursday, and the half on Saturday....but next week back on track! OH- and pictures to come later...Thanksgiving and the Christmas tree...

pics and splits

2008-11-24T20:46:00.008-06:00

So to recap on the half from Sunday, my chip time was 2:04:30. I had 2:04:28 like this:

1: 8:54

2: 9:02

3: 9:01

4: 9:21

5: 9:08

6: 9:04

7: 9:09

8: 9:08*

9: 9:42

10: 9:31

11: 10:13**

12: 10:00

13: 10:02***

.23: 2:14

* at this point I thought I was behind and kind of quit. Looking now, I realize I was still in it, if only I could have fought for it. But who knows; hindsight is 20/20, right? And the effort seems a lot easier now, of course.

** this was the attempted bathroom break, not only did I not get to go, but I lost .13!

*** I actually made up some time on this mile and was feeling good until I got a killer side cramp and actually walked about .2.

Here is Lauren finishing fast!

And Lauren and I showing off one of the race walker's awards!

This has been plaguing me for a couple of weeks, and I swear it is bigger than it looks ;)

Damn autofocus is trying to focus on Leo (behind my foot), but this was the lovely blood blister I got. How this happened when my shoes are a FULL size too big (not just a half) and I have at least an inch to spare...weird, huh? Super painful too!

In the end it was a good first half. There were about 1,000 participants (about 40% more than expected) and I was 80th out of 200 (according to Lauren...seems a little low for 1,000?) women, and 16/33 in my age group (ha! top 50% at least..) We'll see how things go later this week because my toes are pretty sore....two weeks until the next one!!

Ole Man River Half Marathon

2008-11-24T07:31:00.003-06:00

Well I finished my first Half! It didn't go quite as swimmingly as I planned, but it was good. I found the course ok, kinda blah, and the minor hills annoyed me, but it was a beautiful sunny day in New Orleans and there were some really great moments.

I felt rushed getting down there...it's about a 45 minute drive, and I had gotten to sleep late (of course!) and took half a sleeping pill to fall asleep fast (otherwise I'd have been up two more hours). While it worked to get me to sleep it wanted to keep me there, and I had trouble getting going. I grabbed the Quaker Breakfast Cookie I was going to eat and stopped by the gas station for coffee. I had a great Saturday morning three miles (8:48, 8:52, 8:44), and felt like I had a fighting chance at my goal.

I was nervous about breakfast, though, because even though I've eaten these oatmeal breakfast cookies before tons of 5ks, I made the mistake Saturday night of looking at the side of the box...5g of fiber!! No! And mentally this just convinced me I was going to have a bathroom stop.

I had breakfast and coffee on the way down, parked, picked up my number and timing chip, threw my shirt in the car, hit the bathroom and lined up with only a couple of minutes to spare. No anthem, nothing, and we're off. OF COURSE the people right in front of me (near the front, no less) are walking immediately. They had just finished saying that the walkers were supposed to start a half hour before and should not be starting now...GRR!

The first 1-3 went great. I was feeling good, it was still cool, and I thought if I could just keep pace (and bank a few seconds) until 8 miles I should be able to hang in there. The fourth mile, however, started to give me some trouble. It was an ever so slight incline, and the wind was at us the whole way. Plus a man in front of me staggered over to a police officer and collapsed, so it was kind of nerve wracking.

I was still on target, and miles 4-6 were ok. I wasn't feeling as great as I started, and I began to have some self doubt. The seventh miles was tough, with another slight hill, but just before 8 miles we hit the turn around, which for me mentally is good. I wasn't running great anymore, though. My blisters and the ends of my toes on my left foot were acting up, my back was killing me and my shoulder was really tight. I tried to loosen up, but once I saw I was about 5 seconds behind pace at the 8 mile mark I just lost it. This isn't even off by that much, but I had counted on having about a minute or so banked at this point, so seeing that I was at a 5 second deficit with the harder miles ahead of me just took the wind out of my sales.

I decided then that I should try to just enjoy it, and while I lost 10 seconds on the 9th mile and 20 on the 10th, they felt a little better. Then in the 11th mile I had the sudden thought that I needed the bathroom. I saw a port-o-potty about 100 yards away across a HIGHWAY, but decided to go for it. OF COURSE I get halfway across and realize it's locked. Rats! I turn around feeling like an idiot (there were some families here on the side of the course), and just try to tough it out, slowing every time I REALLY feel like I need to go. But the feeling finally passed, and I knew I could make it til the end. Too bad it cost me about a minute and a half!

Mile 12 I started to feel strong again, and kicked it up a little picking my targets...I passed back a couple of people who had passed me on my bathroom dash, and then I decided I would pass at least two girls. I came up on one girl, and proudly passed her, only to see she was about 12! Then I felt bad. But not bad enough to let her pass me back ;) Of course since I was JUST THINKING the other day how I haven't been plagued with side cramps in ages I should get one. Now. At 12.67 miles. I was so mad! I had to walk, it was crippling me, but I tried to keep it short. This is what I get for smirking to myself (upon passing a walker) about a quarter mile before about how anyone could walk that close to the end. Finally I was able to start up again, and finally finished, barely out of breath. 2:04:30 (chip time). Boo :(

So I didn't quite meet my goal. I will put up the exact splits tonight, along with pictures of my injuries (I hate my shoes!). Garmin time was 2:04:28 for 13.23 miles...I was pretty close to the front, so the lack of two timing mats didn't hurt me this time, but I gotta say, I hate that! How much more does it cost for races to have start and finish mats? Is it expensive? I just don't see the point....sometimes when you're in the back it could cost you a minute or more in really large races ... Anyway, I only lost 2 seconds due to the lack of a mat, but considering my bathroom jaunt cost me .13 miles I suppose I should care more about that! ;) The measuring was surprising accurate; at each mile marker the garmin was ticking off the mile at the exact same spot.

So all in all it was a good day, I got me second goal. Going in I figured realistically I could get 2:10, my hope was 2:05, and my reach under 2, so two out of three isn't bad! Plus it was only my second time at this distance. The first was en route to 14 miles total on Friday 11/14, and my time at 13.1 mile that day was 2:13 and change. So I took 9 minutes off! Now if I can only take off 5 more by December 6, I will be at my goal for the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon.

Lauren (who did yesterday in 2:36 even though her previous longest was 10 miles!) and I are doing that one as well, and I'm hoping for perfect conditions.

Things I learned/ Things that could have been a little bit different:

1) Get more sleep (the day before's three miles felt great because I slept 10 hours!!)
2) Try not to work the night before (worked a double waiting tables on Saturday...)
3) Give more time (if I got there earlier I could have stretched, relaxed, calmed down)
4) start slower (I know- the oldest trick in the book...but hard to do!)
5) cooler weather (probably 65 by the start (8 am) cooler would've been better..)
6) no hills! (I know this is wishful thinking; it's so flat around here that the slightest hill kills me!)
7) don't give up mentally when you are still IN it
8) eat lighter the day before (I had a huge plate of pasta at 10 pm...bad idea!)
9) better hydration (weekdays I sit next to a water cooler...at the restaurant I always forget..)
10) have fun!!! (I was concentrating so much at times I forgot to have fun.)

But there were a couple of great moments...actually the first three miles were perfect, and there were moments after that of true enjoyment, too. And to see some of the people on there way back (the ones ahead of me) with huge grins just really pumped me up. So yay! First half down...

TGIFF

2008-11-21T07:18:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you can figure out what the extra 'F' stands for. I needed the emphasis. I am so tired, had a crappy run yesterday, and am just soooooo glad I don't have to work tonight.

All I want to do tonight is lay on the couch, finish the rest of Breaking Dawn, and eat junk food. Unfortunately I can't eat junk food, and before I lay on the couch I need to run 4 miles and run several errands. The annoying part is once I'm home I hate to leave, but with it getting dark so early I really need to go home first, run, then do said errands....aggravating!

Oddly, I'm surprised I'm not excited to go shopping because most of the errands are holiday related, and even if I'm wiped out I can usually muster energy for ANYTHING having to do with holidays. I love it; the stress, the lines and crowds, the music...I live for all of it. I know- strange. But I have annoying tasks today, not fun ones. For instance I have to hit BB&B to try to find a replacement carafe for my coffee/espresso maker because that stupid idiot (my husband) broke it. And I have to rent a carpet steamer to get things ready for Thanksgiving because same stupid idiot husband whose klutzy with the coffee carafe is klutzy with everything else, and has spilled anything and everything imaginable in two spots: in front of the couch, and on the floor on his side of the bed. Seriously- the carpet in these two areas is DESTROYED and the rest of it isn't even dirty. Don't even get me started on the suede futon...that thing just has to constantly be covered with blankets he's spilled so much on it! (Mostly water stains, but still looks disgusting).

Anyway, before I get even more stressed out and aggravated by how he is a one-man accident waiting to happen, I suppose I should think of the couple of fun things I have to do. Like picking out wine and liquor and champagne for Thanksgiving! Yay! I come from a big drinking family, and while I know it is sad, I am much more excited about my holiday alcohol menu than the food. Here is the menu:

Brunch:
Coffee, espresso, cappuccino, pumpkin muffins, fruit, BACON!
Bloody Marys (with all the fixin's)
mimosas
pointsettas (champagne, cointreau and cranberry)
bellinis (peach schnapps, vodka, champagne)
flirtinis (vodka, pineapple, champagne)
cranberry bog champagne cocktail (cran and champagne)
french martinis (vodka, pineapple, champagne, chambord)
champagne cocktails (sugar cube, bitters, lemon twist, champagne)
Kir royales (I will substitute chambord for creme de cassis, and champagne)
grand champagne martinis (champagne and grand marnier)

If no one has passed out:

appetizers:
bacon wrapped scallops, chips and dip, cheese and crackers
beer

Thanksgiving dinner:
turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potato casserole, green beans
chardonnay, pinot noir, zinfandel

dessert:
coffee, espresso, cappuccino, layered pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cherry pie, bread pudding
baileys, white Russians, grand marnier...

Ugh. I don't know if it makes me excited or sick to look at it! As you can see, I have a minor obsession with champagne. When we lived in California, I belonged to the sparkling club at Laetitia, and bought Tobin James Dream Weaver by the case. So I am more than excited to watch the parade mimosa in hand. Of course I will not be sampling all of the possibilities, I just want them to offer. It may also look like a lot of food and drink, but it's for 11 people, so I think it won't be as gluttonous as it seems! My goal is to eat and drink responsibly, try to get a run in in the morning, and hopefully a walk that night. I DON'T want to get overly full, as I did the day before yesterday at our work Thanksgiving. I felt like crap the rest of the day and all I wanted to do was sleep!

So on to yesterday's run....It went horribly. I set out for 4 miles, and wanted to just take it easy because (again) I haven't been getting that much sleep, and right from the start I knew my socks were going to give me trouble. They felt dry and scratchy, like they hadn't had fabric softener or as though they didn't go through the dryer. I had forgotten bodyglide, and my blister flared up immediately. I always have blisters. I hate it; they never pop, just fill with liquid and gradually drain between runs. But this one just in front of my arch on the right foot, is HUGE and painful. So I was feeling that right away, and my legs felt stiff, my neck hurt, blah blah blah...and I quit after 2.6 and walked the rest. Totally frustrating, but I figured at least it was on a short run.

The sad thing is, I'm not expecting today to go much better. Had a whopping 5 hours sleep last night, feel like a zombie, and have too much to do. :( But I really need it to go well mentally, otherwise I will psyche myself out for my half on Sunday. Sigh....

I also forgot to record Survivor last night, so it's an altogether bad day! So cross your fingers my run isn't horrible today, and good luck to everyone with races this weekend!!

Self-tagged...

2008-11-20T10:16:00.006-06:00

So Marcy was tagged, and while she didn't tag others she left it up to us if we wanted to tag ourselves... Here was the deal: Go to your fourth photo folder and post the fourth photo...explain it and tag others. Well I'm also not going to tag anyone, but would love to see your pics too so you should take it upon yourself. My fourth folder is of a wine tasting party in June, and the fourth photo is this one:

This is my friend Brooke and I (I know- weird huh? both tall both blondes and both named Brooke!) before things got Out Of Hand. The rest of the night looked like this:

and this:

and no, our hair wasn't like that...we were just jumping...but hey- this is just us you should have seen everybody else. (Ok..so we might have been the only ones acting like fools, but whatever).

Let's see yours....

What I want for Christmas...

2008-11-20T07:44:00.004-06:00

So over at the Runners' Lounge this week's question was about what kind of gifts you can get runners. While the possibilities are endless, and there were so many great suggestions, the one thing I really hope to have one day is a t-shirt quilt. I would love this. You can bring it to race starts where it will act as your automatic converstation starter, and it will always remind you of how far you've come. I as of yet don't have enough pretty or interesting shirts, but I'm starting to sort the potentials separate from the others. What I hope to someday have is something like this:What is your ideal running gift?

Clarification

2008-11-19T07:10:00.002-06:00

Ok. So thank you all so much for the congrats yesterday regarding my age group win. But let me clarify- the 5ks I do around town are very small. The bigger ones have about 200 people, smaller about 100. So if you guesstimate even sex ratios, there are usually only between 50-100 women, then dividing those by age groups...you see what I mean. I'm just usually not up against that many other people. But hey- a win is a win and I'll take it!

Because I wanted to be faster, however, I went out for yesterday's 7 miles intending to push myself a bit. I find that I prefer to run anything over 3 miles totally in my comfort zone. I don't like wondering if I'll make it to the end. I tend to run at a pace where I don't even need to open my mouth to breath. In thinking about it, I'm assuming this means I'm not pushing myself enough. So yesterday I tried a little harder, and the result was: 9:45, 9:17, 9:14, 9:13, 9:05, 8:52, 8:34. I actually felt like I could've done one more sub 9 mile too, so maybe there is hope for under 2 hours at my half marathon on Sunday? I hate to say that, because I know I shouldn't have any goals for the first one, and that's a pretty serious goal (about 13 minutes under what I predict I can do it in), but we'll see. I would be just as happy about 2:05, so maybe that's more reasonable.

Three Rivers Art Festival 5k

2008-11-18T07:29:00.002-06:00

So all last week I barely got any sleep. I had a couple of functions at night, sometimes I worked, and sometimes I was just up reading or watching TV. I usually get by on fairly little sleep, but generally I have at least a night or two a week where I can try to get a full 8 hours. Last week I think I did the entire week with around 6 per night. Ugh. That is too little for me, and by the weekend I was dragging.

After my 14 miles on Friday, I went out with girls from work for some wine tasting and to check out a new wine bar. It was fun and it wasn't a late night. I headed home around 11, and should have gone straight to bed. Instead I ate a crunchwrap supreme my husband had leftover from taco bell. :( Those things have to have about 800 calories...so depressing to undo all the calorie burning I did on my run! I stayed up reading and probably didn't go to bed until 1...then had to be up at 7:30 to get ready for a a Saturday meeting at work before having to work a double.

I got home from work at 10:30 or so, but again, probably didn't make it to bed until 1. So when the alarm went off at 7:20 for my 5k, let's just say it took EVERY OUNCE of will power I had to get up and head out. Especially since it was like 30 degrees! That is the coldest it has been here yet this year. I hit the gas station for some coffee since my husband broke the carafe to our coffeemaker the day before, and headed over to the art festival.

I didn't know exactly where it was, and had a couple of moments of panic trying to find it and having to go to the bathroom REALLY bad. Luckily I came across it eventually, and ran over to registration. I registered, hit the disgusting Port-o-Potty, and was at the line ready to go freezing my butt off.

And hoping for under 25 minutes. I thought I should have a shot; at the Crescent City Classic 5k a couple of weeks ago I hadn't given it my all, and extrapolating my 23:55 time for 2.95 miles to what it could have been for a true 5k I think it would have been just over....So I thought I could do it. But as soon as I started I knew this wasn't going to happen. It was tooo cold. I couldn't breathe, my lungs were aching and felt frozen, and there were hills! I should have remembered that from a 5k I did in this part of town last spring, but I had forgotten. Granted when I say 'hills' that needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because there aren't REALLY any SERIOUS hills in Louisiana, but there was just enough rolling up and down (mostly up on the way back!) that I knew my shot at under 25 was blown.

I finished in 25:48, a big disappointment, but I guess the circumstances predicted it. It was the first 5k in ages, though, where I didn't PR, so I wasn't happy about it. With my mileage increasing I figured I would only get faster at these short distances. To be fair, though, I don't do that much speed work so I don't know why I would expect that I should be fast.

Anyway, I did win my age group! And a door prize! I have been lucky lately, I'm telling you! I swear, powerball here I come...

Running IS NOT low maintenance!

2008-11-16T20:18:00.002-06:00

Above are all the things I required for my 14 mile run Friday. And here I thought running was nice because it required such little 'gear'. Haha! I suppose I am lucky that I live in the south, at least, or the above singlet and shorts would have to be bolstered with various long sleeve layers, neck and ear warmers, gloves, hat, and potentially tights! Yikes...even more stuff?

So anyway, I had taken vacation time to leave work early enough to get in my 14 miles before dark. (Isn't that pathetic? It gets dark so early now!). So I left at 1:30 planning to be on the road by 10 minutes to 2, so I could be back around 4:15 (I had a friend picking me up to go out at 5). Well, let's just say that didn't happen. I ate a powerbar in the car on the way home...(I was a little worried that this was too close to running, but more on that later). I got dressed quickly and then proceeded to spend 20 minutes messing with the fuel belt.

Seriously. Am I doing something wrong? I put it on (it only velcro-ed), and then did a little test jog around the house. even with only one of the bottles on I just felt the weight of the thing going up and down..all the sloshing was so loud, and no matter where I tried to put it on it either rode up or felt like it would fall off. How do you run with these things? I was sure it was going to chafe or something, so in the end I ditched it and just brought one bottle (in hand), gels in the other hand (yeah, I couldn't even get it comfortable only wearing the belt and the pouch for gels!). I won't lie; there were a couple of tears over this because it was just so frustrating and was eating into my running time.

Finally at 2:15 I started out. I had planned on a slightly different route, but now that I was going to have to carry (and refill) a water bottle, I had to plan it out to go by a fountain. Things were bad right from the start. I had developed a really painful blister a couple of days before, and even with all the faith I had that bodyglide would work, it didn't :( 2 miles in it was already KILLING me and became a mind over matter sort of thing. Later in the run other things bothered me much more, taking my mind off of it. Ironically, it doesn't look that bad, it just really really hurts. I've had others that are all open and like raw meat, that don't hurt at all...so strange.

My stomach was also immediately off, and would be for the WHOLE run. My legs were tired, and I actually thought about quitting several times, but it did give me a little boost each time I thought about it, because I knew I WOULD NOT quit. Yay! I do love the strength to persevere that running has given me; starting something that seems difficult and knowing that I WILL do it. Hopefully it over flows into other areas of my life also.

So I was plodding along really slowly..oh yeah, it was also like 80 on Friday and really humid. Go figure. It's been cold for a couple of weeks and then right when I have a long run decides to warm up. Fan-effing-tastic. I refilled my water bottle at four miles, and was just thinking 'man, how am I going to do this?' I continued along and had an Espresso Love gel by Gu at mile 5. I did not like this. It burned my stomach and made me feel like air was trying to bubble up through but couldn't get through the gelatinous state of the contents of my stomach. Yuck! For the rest of the run I felt like I needed to burp but couldn't without throwing up. Ugh.

I also emptied the water bottle soon after forgetting that I had three miles to the turnaround and then three miles back to the fountain. Big mistake. I think having about 5 miles without water wasn't a good idea. I was really struggling from miles 7-10. Luckily, being past halfway always gives me a huge mental boost, so each mile that went by I knew I was that much closer to finishing.

I hit the fountain again at mile 10, and stopped for probably 2 minutes to eat the Gu Roctane (blueberry pomengranate flavor) and chug some water before filling up and heading out. I also stretched a little which really seemed to help. At this point I knew it was only four more miles and that I could definitely make it. Being in a race against the clock definitely helped too; I had someone picking me up at 5!

I did get a little boost from the caffeine in the Roctane (oddly I didn't see caffeine listed in the Espresso Love, which was the only reason I bought that flavor...could have been there though, I was reading on the run..), and it renewed my energy at least for a bit, but my STOMACH!! Ugh. I though I was going to puke (and almost did) several times on the last 4 miles. I think my eating plan for this day wasn't good.

I had gone to work at 7, and started with coffee. I never eat early, so I had oatmeal at 10. I then had a Yoplait light yogurt at 11 (I've never had dairy before a long run before), and even though I wasn't really hungry had my lunch (one of those lean gourmets) at 12. I definitely wasn't hungry when I left at 1:30, but was worried about my energy level during the run, so I had the PowerBar Engergize smoothie bar in orange. I think this was all too much food. My stomach bothered me the whole run, and then for several hours after! How annoying. I think I will definitely err on the light side with eating from now on.

So I struggled a little the last mile, but only walked from 13 miles to 13.1, and then from 13.6 to 13.7. The good news was I could have run it all, I was stopping at those points to avoid throwing up. I have to check the Garmin for the mile splits, but I think the total time was 2:23 minutes and some change. I had been aiming for 2:20, and I think it would have been close if I didn't walk at all. But it was over and I was happy!

The bad part was I started late (2:15), and then took a couple minutes longer than planned (I had stopped the Garmin twice, once when I filled the bottle and darted in the restroom at 4 miles, and once when I refilled and stretched at 10 miles), so by the time I got home it was 4:45!! I had to be ready to go out (wine tasting, no less) in 15.

I chugged some water, jumped in the shower, and quickly got ready. Luckily my ride was late, but I was out the door at 5:15. We went wine tasting with a group at a wine shop, then headed to my hair salon that was having a customer appreciation night with door prizes and a free cut and color to one lucky customer. They had wine, champagne, and an awesome spread of food. Too bad my stomach was so jumpy that for the first hour we were there I could barely stomach anything.

None of the five of us won any door prizes, but it was still fun and after we headed to a new wine bar/ art gallery in the same parking lot. I had one more major bout of 'oh my gosh I am about to barf' and then finally got over it. I was proud, however, that I tried to stick to my new eating/drinking philosophies, and had peach Absolut and soda water instead of wasting calories on juices and sugar sodas. I also only had 2, (instead of like 5). Yay! Progress!

In review, I learned several things on this run:
1) don't eat too much (or anything weird) before a new distance.
2) even $10 socks and bodyglide might not cure the evil blisters.
3) give more time than you think you need.
4) sometimes stopping to stretch can really help.
5) expect the unexpected from the weather.

On the Gu Roctane- I think I really liked it, stomach issues and all. I think eating was primarily responsible for my stomach problems, and I think the rest could be blamed on the distance. I hear many people talk about not even being able to stomach Gatorade on long runs. As for whether it helped the soreness, I can't really say, as I have never gone that distance before, but I was pretty sore after my 12 miler, so I think yes, it did help! Especially since I had to head out immediately and didn't ice, and I was never sore even a little! They are pricey, but I think it's worth it for the long runs, at least as the last gel you take.

My next long run is the Ole Man River Half Marathon in New Orleans this weekend, and I'm aiming for about 2:05. I would LOVE to be under 2, but I don't think it's going to happen...yet. Maybe by the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon on December 6...we'll see. Later I'll fill you all in on the Three Rivers Art Festival 5k, which was yesterday morning...

Oh yeah one more thing

2008-11-14T08:45:00.004-06:00

I almost forgot, thanks to joyRuN who mentioned that Marcy told her how to save race pics by adding them to your cart first...excellent! I had never figured out how to do that....of course we should all support our race photogs and buy some pictures too, but anyway...

So here is one of me and Lauren from the Disney's Women Run the World 15k in May. (And no, I am not that sweaty..that is water that I kept dumping over my head thankyouverymuch). And Lauren actually DID purchase this pic for the two of us, so I don't feel as bad about stealing it ;)

Dread and a New Challenge

2008-11-14T08:31:00.003-06:00

Today I have to run 14 miles. The good news is this will be a new Longest Distance for me. I also finally have a dorky fuel belt (I know- supposedly I will get used to this), and $10 socks that supposedly guarantee not only comfy dry feet but the fastest run of my life (what? that part's not true? Dang it! Duped again..). In addition I finally got some BodyGlide so I will unfortunately not be able to blame the possible poor performance on blisters or chafing or lack of hydration. Or an uncharged Garmin or ipod...

Instead I will blame it on being soaked. By pouring rain that is supposed to come RIGHT when I need to run. I am taking a vacation hour to get this stupid run in too! It is raining on and off right now, so my only hope is it will be more off than on come 2 pm. I'm excited to get it over with, though, and also to try the Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Roctane that I got free with yesterday's purchases.

Incidentally, I was just recommended this flavor by Maggs, who is also hosting a new challenge for anyone who's interested (each person contributes to the prize, so the more that enter the better the prize!). It starts Monday, so hurry over to her blog and comment if your interested!

Next stop...BodyGlide

2008-11-13T07:26:00.003-06:00

So the 7 miles yesterday didn't happen. :( I got home, got changed, and opened the door...to pouring rain. It had been sprinkling on and off all day, but had stopped after lunch, so I thought I might be able to squeeze it in. I headed back to the couch to mindlessly watch Made while I debated doing pilates first or just getting in the shower for work. I checked the door several times, only to see that yep- it was still raining. Just when I had finally become as lazy as possible (and now only had 50 minutes before I had to get ready for work) I checked one more time...

And it had stopped. Mostly. This annoyed me as I had now talked myself out of running, but I forced myself out knowing that at least I didn't have to go the whole distance, because I didn't have enough time. I was planning on 1 easy, 2 hard, 1 easy, 2 hard, 1 easy, but now only had time for 5 miles, so changed it to 1 easy, 1 hard, 1 easy, 1 hard, 1 easy.

The miles went like this: 10:02, 8:29, 9:57, 8:21, 10:24 (where I had to walk for about a minute because of KILLER blisters). I was sad that I couldn't try the 7 miles, but I don't know if I could have done 2 faster miles in a row. I do think I could have done 1 more hard and 1 more easy at the end if it wasn't for blisters. I need new shoes, I have always gotten blisters from these, but usually not until 10+ miles. I think it was because the roads were wet enough even if it wasn't actually raining to soak through my socks.

I have 14 miles planned tomorrow, and I'm even taking a couple of vacation hours at work to squeeze it in in the afternoon before it's dark, so I'll be damned if blisters are going to stop me. Which is why today I am finally going to pick up some BodyGlide. And I'm caving on the dorky water belt too. I really really really didn't want to get one, but I carried a bottle on my 12 mile run and found it very annoying.

Regardless of the how well slicking down my feet goes, I really need new shoes (ugh- again) and good socks. Socks in particular have given me trouble...any suggestions for either of these?

3 miles and a gel review

2008-11-12T14:30:00.004-06:00

Yesterday only called for 4 miles, which I was happy about since I didn't have much time. I left work at 3:30 (a half hour late due to having to make up time for being late...thanks, alarm clock!) and had to swing by the hair salon to enter the raffle for a free cut at this Friday's customer appreciation night. Seriously? Can I not just do this over the phone? OH....I get it. By requiring my cheap ass to go in in order to enter you hope that I won't do it, and will instead just pay for my haircut like a normal person. Well you thought wrong! I have no money as of late (ok, I never do but anyway) so any chance at something free is good. Besides, I have been lucky lately, so who knows? We will find out Friday, when I drink my fair share of free wine and eat far too much free cheese and pretend to browse products I am not going to buy*.

Then I had to stop by the local running store, Varsity Sports, to get some gels in preperation for Friday's 14 miler. Now this should be quick and easy, right? Gel selection for me, however, is rather painstaking after my bad experience with Gu Triberry. So I deliberated for an inordinate amount of time before selecting four different gels. I'll let you know how they all go. Can't remember exactly what I got (and no, not all for Friday!), but I think I grabbed a Gu espresso, a Clif Shot double espresso, a PowerGel in chocolate?, and a Gu Rocktane in vanilla orange. I am the least hopeful about the Rocktane, but it's supposedto reduce muscle soreness post run, so we'll see. A little pricey, I think (over $2, can't remember) but I'll let ya know if it's worth it.

So by the time I got home it was 4:45, and I didn't get out the door until 5. So I had about 20 minutes of daylight. Great. So the 4 miles changed to 3. Then the Garmin wasn't charged...so I just glanced at the clock at 4:58 and headed out. I tried to keep some speed, and think I did okay because the clock said 5:23 when I got back. The second hand was about 5 seconds further than when I left, so I estimate about 25:05 for the three miles. Not bad for me, who has immense trouble really picking up the pace unless it's a race. So quick workout in and still time for the Biggest Loser!

Now as for the product review...a few days ago on my 9 mile run I had Clif Shot Gel double espresso. I am hoping to try all different kinds/flavors of gels to settle on some that I like. The flavor of this was ok, though I found it more reminiscent of molasses than espresso. Maybe that's from the brown rice syrup base? I shouldn't have read the ingredients because that definitely turned me off, though I do like that it's 90% organic. I think caffeine in gels does help me, so I liked that part too. I definitely felt a little boost, but it didn't sit as well in my stomach, however, so I wonder if I will find that true of every flavor? I would basically say it ranked under Gu chocolate (my favorite) and PowerGel vanilla (second favorite) but above Gu triberry. It was thick like the Gu gels, which is ok, but I actually prefer how the PowerGels are a little more watery. I'm excited to try the PowerGel chocolate, because I think I may like that best. I'm still keeping my eyes open for Hammer Gels, but haven't found them yet. More to come on gels Friday when I try the Rocktane!
* I feel the need to do this at places like Sam's Club and Costco too. I'll eat a sample and then feel obliged to peruse the box intently as though I'm seriously considering buying it...I wait until the sample-passer-outer starts talking to the next victim and then quickly drop the box and move on...

Randomness

2008-11-11T19:15:00.009-06:00

I have a bunch of things I've been trying to remember to put up here, so this will be kind of a mish mash. :)

A Prize:
First, Lacey Nicole has reminded me that I never posted about the shirt I won from One More Mile! Been meaning to for a while, so here is a picture of what I chose:

It is lightweight, totally breathable, and of course comes with the saying of your choice. Mine, too, came gift wrapped like Lacey's, so it was such a nice surprise. As was the magnet and the hand written note; it really felt personal...thanks Aubrey and everyone at One More Mile! This was a prize for a runners' lounge contribution, so thanks so much to Amy and Tom for hosting the giveaway. I love the sayings, and during the two runs that I've worn it I've had a few smiles from others out exercising which is great.

An Update:

I mentioned that my festivities over the last three days of last week sort of ruined my 21 Day Habit Challenge...so here is the final number: I forgot to weigh myself yesterday, but this afternoon I weighed in at....154.6. I think my initial weight was 158.8, so that would be 4.2. Not quite the 5 I promised, but close enough for me! (Especially considering three parties in the last week!). One of which was...

Tailgating at the LSU/Alabama game:

LSU lost, but it was a really good game!

Afterwards, I even got a bathroom shot for Marcy:

And finally on being tagged:

I was tagged by Lacey Nicole, to write six random things...and then tag others. Well, I recently tagged some people already, so I'm just going to write my list, and you can write your's if you'd like:

1) When I have money I will get botox for the wrinkle between my eyebrows that drives me nuts. (Don't bother giving me the whole 'age gracefully' speech...it's something I can't stand every time I see it and I have no problem with cosmetic procedures...)

2) I love champagne. Everything about it...(including sparkling wine, and yes, techically there is a difference).

3) I have four cats and would probably have more if it wasn't socially inappropriate...don't want people thinking I'm crazy just yet.

4) As a child I was obsessed with leprechauns. As in I still sort of think they might exist ;) I used to set 'traps' in our attic with those little gold coin candies my parents used to get us for St. Patrick's Day...I had a couple of close calls, but they all escaped. With my gold. Damn greedy little bastards.

5) I take pictures EVERYWHERE. I will start to include more, but trust me, I have a very well documented life. My husband is worse. We look like tourists even in our own town.

6) I was once mistaken for a prostitute in a Canadian casino, but that's a whole other post....

21 day Habit: the good and the bad

2008-11-10T07:20:00.002-06:00

So last night was the conclusion of the 21 Day Habit Challenge, and it was both good and bad. Overall I do feel I've become a little better about eating, but I think mine will have to be a 42 (or 63!) day habit for it to really stick, so I'm just going to continue with it.

I was up and down (both with weight and how good/bad I was eating) over the entire three weeks. I found I do very, very well on days when I just have work/home, but any sort of 'activity' and it's all over ;) As of last Thursday I was at 152.8, a full 6 lbs down from the start of the challenge, but I knew it wouldn't stick.

I had one of our Around the World dinner parties on Thursday night (South Africa- yum!), and then tailgating at the LSU game Saturday, then a double birthday party last night :( Needless to say, I avoided weighing myself over the weekend because I KNOW I am definitely up now from Thursday. So I didn't officially achieve my challenge goal of 5 lbs, BUT...

I think I definitely did make some progress on not being a total pig at functions with food, and also how to handle parties and get togethers where there is a lot of food. For instance on Halloween I brought chicken wings to a party (in honey, butter, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce). Luckily I didn't eat any, but still ate a lot of junk food because everyone else's dishes were just as bad for you. Yesterday I was smarter- I brought a fruit tray and a veggie tray and ate almost exclusively from that. Not perfect, but a step in the right direction. So hopefully the holidays won't have their usual hold over me this year. And in general I am eating better, and at least avoiding junk food for the house (to my husband's chagrin). I will do an official weigh in tonight, but it's not looking good people!

On the running front, I was feeling hip pain since my 12 mile run last Sunday, and while it isn't severe, it is annoying! My husband came with me for a three mile run on Thursday, and totally annoyed me with his antics. You know, the whole I'm so bored we're going so slow so I'm going to do strange exercises and drills while we run'. He swears these are soccer drills, which they may be, but cut the crap! If you want to run through orange cones and the like, do it at home, not while you're out running with me. He kept urging me to hurry up, which also greatly irritated me as this was literally his third run, like EVER. How can men just go from the couch to a run on a whim and not struggle? Though to be fair it was only three miles, and he is a soccer player, and I am plagued by this damn hip pain....If he had come with me yesterday for the nine miles I'm sure he would have quit. Ha! So there.

I was particularly proud of getting in 9 yesterday. I wanted to get it done in the morning, but after my 12 hour tailgate Saturday that wasn't happening. I worked at 9:30, and knew I wouldn't get off until 4 and had a party at 7....I stopped by the grocery for my healthy snacks, headed home and was outside by 4:30. Totally forgetting that with the time change it was going to be dark by 5:30. I run on a running/biking path, surrounded by woods. While very safe during the day it is 'closed' at night and probably not a good idea. I did the first 5.5 on the trace, and then stuck to the neighborhood streets. It was a little difficult to come up with the mileage while trying to avoid major streets I might have to cross. I prefer out and backs, so this circling around zig-zagging felt like it took forever. But I did it! Like this: 9:41, 9:31, 9:26, 9:35, 9:58, 10:03, 10:24*, 10:02, 10:15 (*had to stop and tie my shoe). So I was pretty happy with that, and then could go to the party after having burned near 1,000 calories!

This Friday I have my first 14 miler, so stay tuned...I'll finally be over the hump and more than half way to the marathon distance....

Proud of a VERY slow run

2008-11-06T07:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was a very definite test for me to try to get in my 6 mile run. The day hadn't gone well nutritionally, for starters. I had no lunches in the house, so I went to Smoothie King and got my usual: Pineapple Pleasure. Unfortunately I was also feeling sleepy, so when the employee asked me about 'enhancers' I said, "Sure. How about caffeine?". Big mistake- apparently the caffeine enhancer adds a bitter taste? Or at least there was some additive in my smoothie that made it impossible to drink. I was so disappointed! I came back to work and added two packets of splenda to it and it just got worse. But I had no lunch so I choked it down anyway with an apple.

I felt ok for a little while, then at 2:30 I had a hot flash/ bout of nausea that always happens to me when I'm too hungry. I forced down the Power Bar Smoothie bar (in that gross berry flavor- I still have a couple left) and tried to wait for it to kick in. I head home at 3, and I felt faint and nauseated. I just couldn't imagine I was going to be able to run. Once home I had a couple of handfuls of Tostitos. I am trying to eat really well this week, but it was the only quick calories I could think of that wouldn't KILL me on a run. I thought about lying down for a few minutes, but quickly realized I may as well kiss the run goodbye if I did that.

So I headed out, and was immediately forced to slow down due to my right hip. The outside of my hip has been KILLING me the last couple of days running, but is ok walking. I played my 'just make it to the (fill in the blank with a nearby landmark)' game, and slowly the miles crept by. I had to walk for a brief couple of seconds at about half a mile because I truly thought I was going to throw up. This feeling came and went several times, but at least became less frequent and intense. My hip was also ok if I continued really really slow. So I plodded along, never thinking I would actually finish the whole thing. I was really dizzy, and the light coming sideways through the trees made me feel like I was about to have a seizure. I hate that...the flickering light from the side I mean. (Though I suppose I hate feeling like I'm going to have a seizure too, but since I've never had one it's just my approximation of what right before must feel like....anyway I digress).

But I finished it! And I am actually really proud of myself because it would have been so easy to quit. I learned two things: first, when I go really slow I don't get tired! I know- common sense, but I was actually amazed at how not tired or sore my legs were. And two- I am an excellent pacer. Really. I never look at the Garmin except when I hear it beep the mile marker, and here's how they went: 10:51, 10:50, 10:51, 10:51, 10:50, 10:46. And the funny thing is, the only reason the last one isn't right on too is that at 5.99 miles I glanced down (I know where in the trail I hit 6 miles), and started to think I was slowing...I didn't want my last mile to be the slowest, (even if they were all slow), so I sprinted the last 10 yards and probably cut off 5 seconds. Otherwise all six would have been right on.

I looked at the data on the computer when I got home, and compared it to dates earlier this year, and while I've always been a good pacer now I am damn near perfect. Seriously- I don't even need to smooth the data, and when I do the pace is almost a completely flat line. towards the end of runs it bounces up and down a little, but truly still not much. So I am glad to know that even if I am slow I run evenly and controlled.

Speaking of the Garmin, though, does anyone know how to graph progress over time? Every time I open up the training manager on the computer I lose interest before figuring it out. Basically I want to see the dates on the x axis and pace on y. So I can see how my average pace has improved over time. Any thoughts? I also need to figure out how to upload stuff here, but as I've mentioned, technology isn't my strong suit. Anyway...

Hurricane Gustav '08...very belated pictures!

2008-11-05T08:24:00.018-06:00

So I have a pretty boring running week on schedule this week, and nothing too exciting to write about on that front. Last night I was messing around with our pictures, trying to finally get some very old stuff off the camera and on the computer. I wrote about Gustav back in September, and I credit that storm with my complete near 2 week fall off the running/healthy eating wagon, but never really wrote much about what we did.

Basically, warnings around here were severe....up until about 2 am (of course the last time we checked the news) they were predicting a huge storm surge possibly putting much of southeastern Louisiana (including our neighborhood) under water. They thought (at that time) that Gustav had the potential to be worse than Katrina. We had planned on sticking around, and it wasn't until that night that there was a mandatory evacuation for the area we lived. I still probably would have stayed, but our house isn't elevated and the thought of a week plus in LA summer heat and humidity with no electricity was unappealing to say the least. My parents were going to be in Nashville on business, which is about 8 hours, so we thought why not? We headed out the next morning without listening to the news (which would have told us the storm had shifted slightly and predictions weren't nearly as bad, but whatevs), but WITH our four cats. Yep- I am that crazy cat lady. Who only has one pet carrier. It was so embarrassing! At every gas station we tried to go as far away from other cars as possible...I didn't want them seeing all our cats climbing all over the car...fur flying... But anyway....

here is our 'last' picture of our little house...had it swept away in the storm...please ignore the overgrown lawn.. :)

and here is Pagan 'navigating' for Will (the hubby). I adopted this cat from a shelter in Salem, MA in October of 2000 (hence his name), and he has driven cross country to CA (I have pics of him on Beale St. in Memphis, in the Ozarks of Arkansas, in New Mexico, at the Hoover Dam, and on the strip in Las Vegas!). He lived happily there for four years, from 2002-2006 (with the unpleasant interruption of a hip replacement...damn cars!) before I ripped him from his happy life to drag him once again cross country to Louisiana (this time he visited Vegas again, hung out in Fort Collins, Colorado, Kansas City, Missouri, and back to the Ozarks again before arriving at his new home with his younger brother, Pocho). So Pagan is an experienced traveller and he knows where he likes to sit. Right between us always. The cats are always loose while travelling because I can't stand the yowling. I know- a horrible safety risk, but if it stops me from driving off a bridge it's a chance I have to take. This trip he was joined by Pocho and his newer brothers Leo and Milo:

So it was an adventure to say the least! Not to mention that we then had to sneak four cats into the Holiday Inn! But we had a ton of fun, hanging out with my parents in Nashville, visiting the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg (a dry county...can you believe it? You do the tour but get no taste!), and going out downtown with my sister who flew down for her birthday (the low cost vacation option..anywhere with mom and dad!).
So a good time was had by all...the Gaylord Hotel (where mom and dad were staying) was beautiful. The weather was great and it actually didn't rain! (We never get through a summer day here without rain). So yeah. There are my two month old pictures. I think over November and December I am going to try to recap a couple of our other trips from 2008 too. So you may see some CA and Jamaica pics at some point. Who knows- I may even go back to 2007 and throw in some Peru and Japan pictures also....my husband's advice is 'more pictures'. He says my blog is too boring...all words ;)

OMG..holy soreness!

2008-11-03T07:55:00.002-06:00

So my 12 miles went good yesterday, but then I had to head to work and run around for 4 hours...bad idea! Most of us wear non-slip nurse clogs at the restaurant (for comfort and tread) when on your feet all day, and while they are comfortable standing still they KILL when you have to run around. Mostly I think because the sizing is a little off and they are a little big on everyone, so you have to sort of clench your toes to keep them on. So by the time I got home my shins and the tops of my feet were killing me. Does this indicate I had some poor form in the end of my run? I've never had shin pain before...

And then this morning my calfs are aching. I'm actually walking kinda funny, it's embarassing :) So luckily my schedule this week is only 3 tomorrow, 6 Wednesday, 3 Thursday, and 9 on Saturday. We'll have to see how the 9 goes Saturday...there is a 5k I was considering in New Orleans (45 minute drive across the bridge), and then I'm going tailgating for the LSU game, so I'm not sure I'll squeeze it all in.

One thing that I will stay on track with this week is nutrition. My 21 day Habit Challenge took a nose dive after two birthdays, two Halloween parties, and a marathon eating day yesterday after my run :(

So this is nose to the grindstone week food wise. No cheating until Saturday. Anyone have any healthy-but-yummy recipes?

Almost halfway to marathon distance...

2008-11-02T16:17:00.002-06:00

So after my pseudo-successful 5k yesterday, I napped, headed to work, and planned my route for today's 12 miler. I got home late, of course, but thanks to the time change I went to bed at 1 and woke up at 7, but still got 7 hours.

I had some coffee, and a Powerbar Energize Smoothie bar, and was so happy to discover that the orange flavor is SO MUCH BETTER than the berry! I didn't even feel a little bit pukey! So I sat around about 45 minutes to digest, and headed out about ten minutes after 8.

The time change made it nice and bright, but unfortunately also warmer. Regardless, the miles went by relatively easily, with the exception of the guy that stunk. Seriously- I passed this guy coming towards me, and he must have turned around right after passing me and quickly passed me again. Only to then slow down to my pace, about five feet in front of me. I didn't want to pass him and play that back and forth game, so I stayed right on his heels...or should I say his stinky feet? Seriously- I've never been able to smell someone when behind them...the wind was blowing a little I guess, but come on! If I can smell your feet it's either time for some new shoes (or socks) or some better hygiene. Of course I suppose who knows what I smell like after a few miles, but I'm particularly sensitive to the smell of feet....my feet barely sweat and my shoes never smell, but my sister's and husband's are HORRIBLE so maybe it's uncontrollable? Not sure...

At the six mile mark I had a Powerbar gel, in vanilla. It was ok, but I don't think I've hit on the right flavor yet. Any suggestions? I actually carried water this time too, but I still felt a little sluggish. Should it have been two gels? Not sure. The miles went like this:

10:14, 9:49, 9:47, 9:50, 9:48, 10:02, 10:36*, 10:11, 9:57, 9:40, 9:55 and 10:15 average: 10:02

* I stopped to eat the gel and drink some water...still not great at drinking on the run!

So it could've been worse, but I was actually hoping for a little better. The average pace was only 7 seconds faster than my average pace for my 11 mile run Monday, but I did this one in the morning before work so I was actually expecting it to go a little better. I'm also a little disheartened at how much my knees and right hip/glut HURTS after about 7 miles. Hopefully this is just because these longer runs are new to me, and I'll become more confident with time. The last mile was tough, I had to run/walk it due to a crazy ache in my hip....but still.....it was 12 miles! Done by 10, so I can't be too upset.

I had to head to work 15 minutes after...seriously- I ran in the house, iced my knees for 10 minutes and had to jump in the shower for work. I had a food running shift today to, which made things worse...no waiting on tables, just delivering all the food from the kitchen. I normally love these shifts because for once you can zone out and not have too much interaction with customers, but today I was hating life. My shins hurt so bad! So this may be my last long run before work. I might have to figure out how I can take the day off on my long run days.

Anyway- hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

Redbull really DOES give you wings!

2008-11-01T16:25:00.003-05:00

Alternatively titled: That certified course was way short. But either way- 23:55! Yay! So I qualify for a seeded position in the Crescent City Classic spring race, which is the 10k, and one of the bigger races around here. That will be cool- getting to start ahead of all the walkers who ignore the announcer telling them to line up at the back...

Only too bad it isn't legit. I finished in 23:55, but unfortunately it was for only 2.95 miles. I knew the third mile was short, and I thought they just somehow messed up the measuring. But then I heard people say that one of the leaders might have missed a little turn that should have brought us a little wider on the loop and made up the difference. I'm not sure, because the director never mentioned anything being amiss, but it definitely was. I don't think it affected order, because everyone just follows the person in front of them, but either way it resulted in some 'fast' times!

I wasn't sure how things would go, because I had a couple of roadblocks to having a great race. I got home too late last night, finally hitting the sheets at about 1 am, with a 6:45 alarm set. I had been to a little get together, (two, actually) and eaten a bunch of junk food (boo- things aren't looking good for the 21 day Habit Challenge after yesterday). The first was a pumpkin carving happening at a neighbors, the second at a friend's house later. At the first I ate a bunch of chips and dip, had a glass of wine, and won the contest with this:

Not the clearest picture, but you get the point. Then at about 7 I headed to another friends where a few of us from the restaurant were getting together. We have a pretty tight group of nine girls plus boyfriends/spouses that hang out. Here everyone brought a dish, and I ate far too much of all of it, mostly of the chips, dips, and cheese variety. And I had two glasses of wine, and came home too late.

So I hadn't had much sleep, had strange food in the system, and was running late. My coffee didn't do it's usual trick of taking care of business before the race, so I had that to stress about too. I didn't want to have to quit! I also was drowsy, and bought a redbull on the way about 30 minutes before race time...probably not the best idea since I had never had this before. I was confused as to where registration was, but eventually made it the start during the anthem with only enough time to get my headphones on and throw the t-shirt over a tree.

The first mile I knew was way too fast, at 7:46. I tried to slow down a little but not too much, and the 2nd mile was 8:13. I was right on target to be at 3 at 24 minutes, and have a minute to get to .1, but I felt like I was about to throw up. It was warmer than I expected, and much of the course was in the sun. I was trying to hold the pace until 2.7 or so, at which point I could probably kick it up a notch and finish well. Of course the redbull did give me energy, but was sloshing around in my stomach and I worried I was going to gag.

Anyway, right where I was about to look at the garmin expecting it to be about 2.7, I could see the 3 mile marker. This made no sense, and I checked the watch and sure enough it was early. Because I was about to lose my breakfast and now knew I had plenty of time I let off the pace a bunch. I finished (by garmin) at 23:52, with 7:52 for the last .95 miles. Yep- that's right...the course was short by .15! That's huge!

Still, I think I would've made 25, because I had slowed down a lot once I knew I was going to make it, and I'm actually glad I did. Had I gutted it out and made 23:30, I would probably never touch that again in a 'true' 5k, and it would be disappointing. So at least I can hope that I might be capable of 23:55 again on a course of proper length....just not right now!

Either way I'm happy, but kinda a crappy way to PR, you know? Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:17:00.005-05:00

So I'm not dressing up this year. Sad, but definitely saved me a lot of aggravation of the 'what-kind-of-slutty-portrayal-can-I-do-this-year?' sort. However I'll put up this picture in honor of Halloween. Not exactly what I was last year (a firefighter), but rather what I was the day after, a ho. On November 1 last year we rented a party bus for a Pimps and Hoes (or is it hos? I never can tell...) Party to celebrate two friends getting married. Sort of a joint Bachelor/Bachelorette Party. So as you can imagine, this is about the only picture that came out of that whole mess that is suitable for the masses (Without a lot of black bars/ blurred areas, that is).

Anyway, I'm glad to not have to dress up tonight (I am going to a party, but luckily the host decided that since it is only a small gathering we didn't have to costume...you feel a little weird dressing up for 10 people, you know? Not that I'm not normally psyched for any opportunity to dress like a skank...I just don't have money to invest in these right now.

Since I'm not dressing up, and the get together is an hour away, I'll also probably be home early and hopefully get some sleep before my attempt tomorrow morning at a sub 25 minute 5k. Not feeling too hopeful, but who knows? I was out sick yesterday and missed my 6 mile run, so maybe I'm well rested? We'll see....

Warning: contents may explode in your face

2008-10-29T08:59:00.002-05:00

Today turned bad at about 10 pm last night :( That was when I was making corn chowder for a co-worker's birthday today and failed to heed Laura's wise advice regarding the blending of boiling soups. So yes, it exploded all over me and all over the kitchen. It was burning my hands and arms, and I rushed to get water and clean up the mess. Then, like an idiot, I figured it had had time to cool and DID IT AGAIN. So stupid. I finally got to bed by 11:30, only to be woken by my husband at 12:15 telling me he was home.

I hate this, and it's something we argue about all the time. DO NOT WAKE ME UP!! I am the world's lightest sleeper, and will never fall back asleep. I stared at the clock for basically forever, and finally took a sleeping pill at 4 am. I have to get up at 6:15, but the thought of going to work after never having been asleep was much more horrible than dragging all day. So I probably fell asleep at 4:30. My alarm went off, and my mind was all, "Hell no", so I somehow reset the alarm and woke up at 7:09. I am supposed to be at work at 7.

So I rush out the door in a haze...and there is FROST!! Did I mention that while I don't like the heat (for running anyway) I HATE the cold??? So I grab the evil corn chowder in the crockpot and put it on the passenger side floor. Where it promptly empties its contents onto the floor mat as I take a turn too sharp in a hopeless attempt to only be a HALF HOUR LATE. Ugh. Is it Friday yet?

11 miles....check!

2008-10-28T07:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was actually cold. Yes, I know- I thought the day would never come. I had 11 miles on the schedule (a new longest distance for me!) and I was so glad I wasn't going to have to do it in 80 degree heat and humidity. I did, however, make the mistake of thinking I could still get by in shorts and short sleeved shirt, and was actually freezing!

Miles 1-3 I took slow and steady, and finally by the third felt as though I'd hit some sort of rhythm, something that has been missing from my running for a while. I started to feel really good, but kept it slow so I could finish the whole thing.

Miles 4-6 were also good. I hit some ground I've never been on before which was great. The direction I'd headed out on the trace is my usual, but previously I'd always turned around at mile 4 (since 8 miles is the furthest I've ran before this, outside of races!). It was clean and crisp, and the sun was shining, I felt fantastic. And this was even with my ipod with my husband at work....grrr! I had to do 11 miles with no music. But it was actually so peaceful. I had time to do so much thinking and organizing. I realize I do miss those runs without music where you can focus and concentrate on the task at hand, and alternatively plan your next day, your evening, etc.

By mile 6 I was a) happy I was more than halfway done, and b) freezing. My knees started to ache, and it wasn't even soreness, seriously I think it was from the cold! So I was thinking, great, finally some cold weather and my legs are still aching! I had this vision in my head that running would be effortless as soon as it cooled off. But you know what...it still pretty much was, so I shouldn't complain.

I started playing my game at mile 7, of just trying to make each mile a little better than the last. By mile 9.6 a crazy headwind picked up. All I could think was please God why now! I felt like it was taking all of my energy to go forward, and my arms and knees where numb.

Finally I hit my street, and started to walk as soon as I hit 11 miles. It was that weird walking...you know, like right after a race where running seemed so natural and then you try to walk and feel like you're going to fall over. I stumbled to the house, and went in.

It was the first time in AGES that I wasn't pouring sweat. I should have weighed myself before and after, because I'm really curious how much water I lose with no hydration. I know it's bad, but I just haven't figured out a good way to deal with that yet, and I really really don't want to carry anything with me. As for nutrition, I ate a Power Bar Energize Smoothie bar in Berry Blast about 45 minutes before I went out....and I have to say it was disgusting....but did the trick, I guess, because I wasn't tired.

My legs were sore last night, but nothing serious. I wish I'd had more time to ice, but I usually do, so once won't kill me. I do think that was probably my last afternoon long run. I just don't have the energy then and it's usually right before I have to head back to work, so I think I will have to start making room on the weekends.

Anyhow, the miles went like this: 10:50, 10:28, 10:12, 10:05, 10:02, 10:11, 10:15, 9:57, 9:54, 9:51, 9:41. So clustered really nicely, and almost perfect negative splits. What I'm learning is that while I may never be fast, I am a really good pacer.

Next up...12 miles Sunday! But first, my Saturday attempt at a sub-25 minute 5k....

First skipped race :(

2008-10-27T11:01:00.002-05:00

So I feel a little guilty that this past Saturday is the first time I've skipped a race I planned on doing. It was only a 5k, but was my last practice before trying to hit under 25 minutes November 1. I basically can't do speedwork on my own (I know- it's in theory possible but it just doesn't happen), and it was also for a good cause so I feel bad :(

I had everything all laid out the night before, but worked late and found myself heading to bed at 1. The race was at 8, and I hadn't registered, so I was planning to get there at 7:30, so up at 6:45 = 5:45 hrs of sleep? No good. I was exhausted all week, and fretting about this caused me to still be watching the clock at 1:30.....which led to me switching my alarm from 6:45 to 9:30. Oops.

So I felt a little guilty. But that being said, I oddly don't regret it. I have 11 miles scheduled today, and just felt I needed the sleep. So I slept in, went to work refreshed, and felt great all day. I tried to squeeze the 5k in before the wine party I had to go to that night, but that didn't go as planned.

I tried to imagine it was the race, and figured that in 5ks I pretty much just go with the crowd, which is always much faster than my natural pace. In trying to imitate that, I found myself at the half mile mark at 3 minutes, with a cramp in my heart. I swear, in my heart.

Or at least that's what it felt like. So I quit, went home, and went out to drink about 2 bottles of wine, with loads of nicely paired food....ugh. So no calories burned, and about 3,000 in....not looking good for my 21 day Habit Challenge of eating healthier and knocking off a couple of pounds. :( Hopefully better news tomorrow, after I have achieved my new longest distance of 11 miles!

Running and Weight

2008-10-23T12:18:00.005-05:00

This weeks TiaRT topic over at the Runner's Lounge focuses on Running and Weight. Now thinking, reading, dreaming and practicing running is a lot newer to me than thinking, reading, dreaming and practicing (notice I don't say perfecting) weight loss. While I've only been dabbling in running for about the last 4 years, trying to lose or maintain weight has been something I've struggled with for 10 years. I'll describe it here, along with some good habits I've picked up along the way....

I grew up thin, and was always in sports, so managing weight and watching what I ate was something I never had to do. Until I was 21 I never thought about what went in my mouth. That year my activity level and metabolism reached an all time low, and I spent most of the next 5 years significantly over my ideal, and the last 5 yo-yoing up and down within a smaller range of pounds.

The year I turned 21 I was 1. able to drink, and 2. therefore often hungover and needing fat laden recovery food :) I also moved home to commute to college so 3. had lost access to a gym and 4. worked at a diner similar to Denny's where free junk food was plentiful. I don't know how much beer I drank or potato skins filled with sour cream I ate, but judging by my ever increasing waist line it was a lot! This pretty much continued through March of 1999, at which point I got an internship at a wildlife refuge.

I moved to Arkansas probably having lost a little, but still probably close to 30 pounds over what I am now! Lucky for me, the job was very physical, and even if my eating didn't improve I probably returned home 6 months later and 10 pounds lighter. At this point I had my first of four experiences with WW, or weightwatchers, for those of you not in the know :)

My dad was doing WW, and having amazing results. I dabbled in following along, and also got a gym membership. Over the next four months I dropped to what seems to be my body's preferred weight of 157 or 158. I'm 5'10", so this is an acceptable weight for me. I probably only stayed there 6 months, however, because in the spring of 2000 I began a serious relationship (translation- no longer have to worry about how you look! Lots of dinner dates!) and graduated college, moved back to Boston and started The Job Search and contemplated What Am I Going To Do Now? (Translation...STRESS...EAT!!).

This gain was probably about 20 pounds...and I was introduced to WW again. This time my sister was going (and ended up losing 100+ pounds!!), and I stole and copied all her recipes, tips, and exercise ideas. I loved the 'points' system and found it easy to follow, and even (gasp!) fun. I probably got rid of 10 lbs of extra weight, but eventually fell off the wagon again.

Two years later, in 2002 I moved to CA and started grad school. I was actually very disciplined about exercising through the next few years, but still eating badly. Enter WW x 3. This time I enrolled myself with a friend. It was summer of 2004, and also when I started running. I went from 171 to 143 in a year! I felt great, had tons of energy and was really in control of my fitness and nutrition.

I bounced up and down a bit over the next year, and was back at 155 by June of 2006, when I got married. Looking back, it was inevitable that I would gain weight. In the fall of 2004 I had met my now husband, and enter again the world of dinners out, and not having to maintain the 'dating weight'. We moved in together in July of 2005, and that first year of domesticity led to lots of caloric meals (my husband is one of those annoying people who struggles to gain weight), cookies and wine. Right after the wedding (like 5 days!), we moved here, to Louisiana, for a job I'd accepted.

Once again I started the cycle of eating badly and not exercising. This time, however, it wasn't entirely my own fault....we moved without securing a residence, and therefore spent the first three months living in a kitchen-less guest house (actually room) of a family our realtor had hooked us up with. Three months of fast food and ramen noodles definitely didn't help my physique, and neither did that fact that Louisiana is basically the hottest, most humid place on Earth. I swear.

So WW x4. This time with a coworker. I quickly got back down to 153 or 154, but my Lifetime Member weight at WW is 150, so unless I was less than that I had to pay. Pesky 4 pounds! Needless to say, being tight on cash and not loving the meeting leader here, I stopped going...Again. We moved into our house in October of 2006, and finally able to cook again I lost a couple inches again, and regained some lost fitness as well. I continued only occasionally exercising through 2007, but found myself still above my ideal weight.

In the fall of 2007 it finally cooled down, and I got serious about running. I was going several times a week, and finally going further. In the past, even at my most fit I was generally never running over 3 miles. A coworker and I signed up for the Crescent City Classic, a 10k in New Orleans in March, and I found I really liked following the 10k training schedule we found online. We did a couple of 5ks also, and ended up doing Disney's Women Run the World 15k in May, which was so much fun. Theeennn....it got hot. Ugh. I took most of the summer off, and combined with summertime food and drink (Yay margaritas!) the scale was creeping up again.

I finally got back into running in September, and have had great progress getting back in shape. I still have a hard time watching what I eat, but the 21 Day Habit Challenge couldn't have come at a better time. Now, on Day 4, I am 153.8 (but this means nothing as my weight fluctuates greatly on a day to day basis). Fitness and Nutrition will remain an ongoing struggle for me, but one that gets easier as I go. The yo-yo still goes up and down, but not half as far as it used to.

I have learned many things about healthy eating over the years, and my diet mistakes are rarely in ignorance any more...I just don't heed advice that I know works! Some of the things I do believe in:

1) WW. It works. Period. Not having foods that are taboo makes you feel free-er; you can have the brownie, you just have to count it. I always turn to this when things really get out of hand.

2) Hydration. Many people don't realize how much better a properly hydrated body burns calories.

3) Portions- this is something WW really helped me with. There analogies are given comparing measured amounts (say 4 oz of meat) with recognizable objects (like a cassette tape). I have also learned how your mind tricks itself...you will think you've had a serving only to find out you've had 3. For this reason I divide things. If a serving of tortilla chips is 13 chips, I will take a bag and count out 13 at a time and store them in Ziploc bags. I buy cheddar cheese that has 8 servings in a block. I divide each half into four, and keep in a Ziploc bag.

4) snacks! self sabotage is less likely when you're not starving (though these need to be healthy snacks; I've ruined myself recently with junk snacks!).

5)shop from the perimeter of the grocery...where the fresh food is. Avoid the middle aisles.

6) fill up on the lo-cal stuff. Eat tons of veggies.

7) fiber. while not necessarily good in large amounts of a runner's diet, I found it to aid greatly in weight loss in the past.

8) identify problem times. For me this is at night when I read or watch TV. I will inevitably find myself wandering to the pantry.

9) get rid of the extras that contribute fat and calories but not much else. You can replace so many ingredients in cooking and baking that shave calories here and there for an overall savings throughout the day.

10) journaling. I will probably always have to log everything I eat. I just go overboard otherwise!

So learning about and understanding nutrition and weight loss is like running for me- a work in progress. I refuse to be a slave to a diet, but I don't want the extra pounds either. I want to eat my cake and be thin too :) The route to learning more involves reading more, so I'll leave you with the simple but true formula of nutrition writer Michael Pollan: 'Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.'

"To use the word 'try' is to quit with honor...."

2008-10-23T10:52:00.003-05:00

Tuesday night on Biggest Loser I heard that phrase, or something like it. I wish I could remember exactly what was said. They were doing some challenge and one of the participants said he would 'try'...the trainer responded with that. I don't know exactly what he said because I was watching while making dinner (mmmm....sausage and pasta!) but it stuck with me nonetheless, and came in handy yesterday when I started thinking around mile 3 that I would try to do six, but might walk at 4 or 5. It worked, and I made it the whole six.

I've been wanting to walk a lot lately, I've noticed. My legs never feel great, and usually hurt. I know this is because I don't stretch. Ever. I know this is awful, but I hate it. It hurts, is boring, and I just don't have time :) I know you will say, 'but if you stretched regularly, it wouldn't hurt, and running probably wouldn't hurt either'....but I just can't get myself to do it.

My plan for today is to try to stretch and do core exercises (my other MAJOR weak spot) during commercial breaks of Survivor. I always read that this is a good use of otherwise pointless advertising time, but I tend to tivo everything, so I fast-forward through commercials. Always. Even if I'm home I tape shows and start watching them about 20 minutes late so I can speed through all the useless commercials. But tonight I will change that, and see if I can get myself to stretch if only in 3 minute increments :)

Does anyone have any other advice on how to cure sore legs? I never used to have this problem. In the past my speed and endurance was dependent on respiration, not muscles. Lately I find I never get out of breath, just my left knee, both hips, and sciatic nerve are all irritated. I still don't think I've found the perfect shoes either, so this could be contributing. The one thing I am good about, however, is icing, so hopefully that's helping a little.

In 21 Day Challenge news, things are off to a good start. It's amazing how much more substantial meals can be when you stop wasting your daily calorie allotment on snacks! Now if I could only cut out the wine...

Day 1: Success!

2008-10-21T07:49:00.002-05:00

So day 1 of the 21 day habit challenge (see previous post) went well! I tell you- all I need is a little accountability. Amazing how that works. Tell people you are going to do something and then you HAVE to. That and documenting it. I was glad that Jenn gave the little calendar to go with the challenge. Documenting progress will also ensure I do it. It's sort of like how I am about schedules. I will do whatever a schedule says to be able to check it off. (This goes under how I am about lists). So this challenge is sort of the same. If the calender is going to say 'down 5 lb' at the end, I know that that has to be accomplished somewhere in the middle, so the daily logging of weight helps me see this happen, and therefore I can check it off my list. See how that works?

So day 1 was a success, in that I avoided the ever-tempting junk food at work and home, and managed to stick to my planned meals and snacks. I suppose the part that wasn't a success was the initial 'weigh in'. Now I could have made this a qualitative challenge for myself, but I'm a numbers person. I wouldn't really feel like I had succeeded in the 'habit' of say, getting in better shape if it wasn't quantified somewhere. So ugh- here it is- initial weigh in 158.4.

So for success in the challenge my weight at 3:30pm on Sunday, November 9 has to be 153.4 or less. To clarify, this is possible (and not too extreme) for two reasons:
1) about three pounds is very recent weight. I usually find recent weight to be particularly easy to lose...almost like it hasn't entered your cells yet :) Now this isn't true, of course, and I'm not talking about water weight here....but for some reason weight that has only recently been gained is more easily lost. and,
2) I'm tall. 5'10" to be exact. Therefore for me five pounds isn't as much as it would be for someone who is 5'4". I can gain and lose 10 pounds at about the rate someone of that height can gain/lose 5. This is a blessing on the 'gain' side, as I can pretty much gain 10 lbs before it's obvious, but annoying when you can lose 10 lbs and no one can tell!

So yeah, it's possible, and I'll show you! :) This has come at the perfect time, and I found it so ironic that the Runners' Lounge post today (and leading up to Thursday's TiaRT discussion on weight loss and nutrition) touched on several of the things I need to work on to turn this into a real Habit. (The post itself even mentioned Jenn's challenge!).

To clarify one more thing- while I want to lose 5 (ok really 10) pounds, I by no means think I am overweight. I put myself in the 'few pounds to lose' category. Every inch taller someone is than someone else they should be around 5 lbs heavier, so if I'm 6 inches taller than someone of same build, I should be about 30 lb heavier....So no worries about a weight loss challenge going off the deep end! (Besides, I am way too much of a foodie).

What I really hope to accomplish is the habit of eliminating mindless eating and snacking on chips and sweets. This is where I REALLY sabotage myself. My meals are all healthy, I drink 80 ounces of water a day, and exercise. THEN I sit down to watch TV and munch away...so THAT is what I really hope changes. I think I need to keep some sugarless gum at home. Seriously. My brain associates TV with eating. And I know, I know, I shouldn't be rotting my brain with TV either, but cut me some slack...I work 80 hours a week and am trying to train for a marathon...I need some time to just veg out! :)

Ok- so on to yesterday's run. With all my new-found motivation for my diet, I had stuck to not snacking in the afternoon besides my designated afternoon snack of a quaker protein granola bar....which I ate immediately after lunch. This is another thing I need to change...by the time lunch comes I'm hungry, so I eat my lunch and my snack at the same time....now before lunch I have breakfast and a snack, but I'm at work for 7, so I'm starting to think maybe I should try more a.m. calories...But anyway- so I ate my 2:30 pm snack at 12:15...now I was looking at three hours before my run with no food! When this happens I usually eat a small, easily digestible snack right when I get home at 3, and then try to at least wait 30 minutes before running if it's a long run, short ones I find it doesn't bother me. (I have actually gone running out of guilt after complete pig-out sessions with no ill effects also).

Soooo, since I needed a small snack, and have been waiting for next weekend to try the gu, I figured what the heck. I felt kinda silly since I was only going 6 miles, but I sucked down the Chocolate Outrage flavor (and a small glass of water) and headed out. It was delicious! I was shocked. I thought it would taste disgusting. I found it to taste exactly like Betty Crocker chocolate frosting. Not sure how I'd feel about that after 10 miles, but before exercising it tasted great.

So I was curious to see if I would have a little energy boost about 25 minutes into my run, and I guess I did...it's hard to tell. Afternoons are REALLY bad for me in terms of feeling tired and sluggish, and my afternoon runs usually reflect that. The miles were 10:04, 9:27, 9:24, 9:24, 9:24, and 9:06. Now I would love to say it was perfect negative splits, but if you want to split hairs the second 9:24 mile was 9:24:59, so almost a second slower than the first one :)

Regardless, I'm happy with that, though the last mile was really tough for me. I can't wait to get some of these shorter runs back in the 8s, but I need to be patient, I suppose. (I did take four months off, and this is only my second month running again, so what can I expect?).

New challenge and Free stuff!

2008-10-20T08:35:00.003-05:00

With my nutrition not exactly, um, on track shall we say (translation: pigged out all weekend) Laura's post about Jenn's 21 Day Habit Challenge came just in time. I had a horrible weekend eating. I will repeat it here only to shock myself again and hope that the horror of seeing everything I ate in print will scare me out doing it again. (The scale this morning probably would have accomplished that if I had dared to get on it!):

Friday: wake up 6:30 am
Quaker Lower Sugar oatmeal for breakfast...banana snack....chicken noodle soup for lunch...granola bar snack...not a bad start, eh? Brings us to 2pm:

***something inside me snaps*****

2pm: I eat 8 snack size candy bars at my Day Job. Feeling the day is shot, and knowing I have no time to exercise, I go all out and stop on my way to my Night Job..

3:30pm: ....for a whopper Jr and side of fries! I eat this, feel sick for about 6 hours, and then as the night winds down at the restaurant where I work at night, I find 'dead' food in the window. This is what we call food that was accidentally made, or cancelled by a table, that never is served.

9:30pm: So I found an appetizer order of Blue Crab Claws (served in a lemon vinaigrette made with about a pound of butter)...I proceed to dip a biscuit in the sauce after eating the claws, and our biscuits are made of like 3/4 lard and have around 400 calories each (seriously- it's online!)..when the biscuit is done I start in on a chicken Alfredo (fried chicken, pasta in a sauce of pure cream and Parmesan cheese...oh yeah, and butter of course). Then I switch back to the sauce from the crab claws this time dipping Cheese Toast (this is brioche bread brushed with oil and toasted, spread with Alfredo sauce then covered in mixed shredded cheeses and toasted again like pizza)....finally I feel sick again and stop.

11pm: about lo leave work when a coworker shows up in the kitchen (as I'm eating Corn and Crab Bisque out of the empty pot on my way to send the pot through the dishwasher) and asks if anyone wants the rest of her carrot cake. "I do!" I yell before I even comprehend what she has said...I just know it's about food so of course I want it :) So yeah, then I eat a half a slice of carrot cake, which is my favorite, and which everyone knows is the Most Caloric, Most Fattening Cake. I know- deceiving, huh? Considering it has vegetables in it... no fair! :(

11:30pm: Arrive home, and sensibly realize I don't need dinner after all that, so instead I just eat a bowl of frozen peas and drink 3 beers. GREAT NIGHT.

Saturday, am: I do great on Saturday during the day, a granola bar for breakfast, work through lunch...looking good...then I get hungry at work. Always bad..

3pm: don't want to spend any money, so I pilfer fries and eat them with the Restaurant Ranch. I emphasize Restaurant Ranch because everyone knows it is way more delicious than any store bought kind...this is because (most) restaurants don't have to publish nutritional information for their menus...and they add a ton of buttermilk and other fattening deliciousness that makes their dressings soooo good, but if you knew how many calories these had you'd never eat them, so store bought brands can't make theirs as good (at least that' s my explanation).

I make it through the rest of the afternoon on nothing (I know- bad) and even get a run in because I'm saving my calories for the Red Sox game.

7pm: friends come over to watch the game. We decide to try to imitate stadium fare, and have chips with guacamole (about a pound of it), corn dogs (I had two), southwest egg rolls (the Friday's version sold in the frozen food section), jalapeno poppers (also Friday's), toll house ultimates chocolate and peanut butter cup chunk cookies (or something like that) and of course like a case of beer. Oh yeah, and queso dip.

Sunday: slept horribly due to all the junk. Too tired to run.

am: granola bar for breakfast. Work is really busy, nothing during work.

3pm: eat a banana after grocery shopping. Not doing too bad! Get home and realize my husband doesn't want to do anything even though it's gorgeous out so I read a magazine and eat the rest of the jar of queso dip and half a bag of tostitos scoops.

6pm: Feel guilty so go for a 3 mile walk, inadvertently stopping on the way at the store for a king size bag of m&ms..oops!

7pm: watch the Red Sox game, eat dinner (steak, potatoes and corn).

10pm: read before bed while eating about 1/2 the m&ms....

And that brings us to today. So far so good....and I'm starting this challenge with my goal being to cut out junk food (anything that isn't borderline nutritious) and lose 5lb in the 21 days. I will have my first weigh-in tonight, and will let you all know what it is to keep me honest! Any advice on how to curb junk food cravings (or how to cut yourself off if you've fallen off the wagon and are thinking about a real food bender..) is greatly welcome.

Good news from this morning is that I won something! I participated in last week's Free Stuff Giveaway over at Runners' Lounge, and won a t-shirt from One More Mile! Can't wait to see it...I'll have to link a picture. But yay! I never win things! The Giveaway question was about what you listen to while running. If anyone cares what my answer was, it's here.

Bad news from this weekend the Red Sox lost last night in game 7 of the ALCS. But the Rays won, so I'm happy for another team making history!

**edit: due to my dietary downfalls, I am very excited about this week's TiaRT topic...hope you all have some great tips ready!

I am le tired....

2008-10-16T14:33:00.003-05:00

...to borrow from my favorite animation. Really. I feel very uninspired this week. I guess the 10 miles on Sunday took more out of me than I thought. Tuesday's 3 miles were ok. I actually felt the urge to pick up the pace and pass a guy running just ahead of me. I felt like I had energy and went through the three pretty quick, but then I was wiped out.

On Wednesday's 5 miler I just felt kind of blah. I tried to keep it slow so I wouldn't tire, but after 3 I really felt dead. My left knee was hurting, and FOR ONCE I decided to listen to my body and walk a bit. I ran/walked the fourth mile, and then was planning on walking the 5th, but halfway through a good song came on and I decided I could handle jogging the last half mile. My knee had stopped hurting and it actually felt pretty good. My legs were really tired that night at work, however, so I think I'm not getting enough rest.

Yesterday's 3 miles were the same. Didn't have much energy...first mile 10:02. Felt a little better in the second, and it took 9:33. The last mile I think was on track for the same, but at about .6 miles in I tried to turn it on a bit and it was 8:40. This is only good because seriously the first .6 were probably at a 9 1/2 minute pace, so that last .4 must have been pretty quick (for me!).

Regardless all this so-so running has left me uninspired for the weekend. I was planning on a 5k Saturday morning, but my body is begging for a sleep-in day, and I think I'll run 6 on Sunday, so not sure if I'll do the 5k afterall. Actually I'm not sure about my schedule at all. Technically I have 6 on the calendar for this week, then 11 next weekend, but I have a lot more free time this weekend....so I'm considering switching them? Not sure if it's a good idea, though, since I think the reason for the step-back this weekend is obvious from the fatigue I feel. Whoever makes those schedules up must be familiar with how first-time-marathon-training runners feel a couple weeks in.....it must be time for a long run break? I have no idea...I'm strictly going off the advice of those that do!

I actually think part of the reason I want to do the 11 miler this weekend is that I'm anxious to try gels. I have never tried them before (or any during-the-run nutrition), and I'm not expecting to like it, but I am hoping for a brief boost in energy. Any advice on flavors/brands is definitely welcome. I bought two yesterday, but would obviously only try one on the 11 mile run. I picked up Tri-berry and Chocolate Outrage (I think those were the names?). I am a total chocoholic, so I thought I would love that one, but I was disappointed when I got home and looked at it to see that it has only 20 g of carbs (compared to tri-berry's 25), and 2 g of fat and 3 g of sugar! Fat is something I'm not looking for in a gel, but again, all advice on personal experience with these and other gel flavors extremely needed! Has anyone tried the plain? That just sounds so disgusting to me...like snot or something...(shiver), but considering I had a hard time stomaching even the gatorade on Sunday maybe plain's the way to go?

In other news the Red Sox SOMEHOW managed to eke out a win last night. Really, where did that come from?? I went to bed depressed at 10:30 and they were down 0-7 in the bottom of the 7th....and I wake today to find they somehow pulled it out 8-7??!! Go Sox!

Good luck to you all who have races this weekend!

Lakeshore Drive 10 Mile Run

2008-10-13T07:21:00.002-05:00

Well, the race on Sunday was pretty blah.... I did make 1:40 (according to my garmin), but since the garmin said 10.07 miles when I crossed the race clock said 1:41:03 or something...I crossed the starting line at 15 seconds, but that still puts me over 1:40:00 ....ugh. I didn't even feel tired; I just wasn't in it at the time. After Saturday night's wonderful nutrition choices and only 5 hours of sleep, the last thing I wanted to do was go drive an to run almost 2. My stomach was in knots due to my brilliance with the cheetos, and I was already stressing about how many bathrooms would be on the course. I stopped to do business at a gas station about ten minutes away. Mission accomplished, but not completely it seemed, so I was still stressed. I knew it wasn't going to go well...here's a brief recap:

The Good:
This is a new Longest Distance for me! That really helped 9.3 to the finish go by really fast and effortlessly. (9.3 or 15k is the longest I'd done before this, and only once, in May). So it was the longest and much, much easier, which must mean my conditioning has improved. In Disney in May I was ready to keel over once I crossed the line. It was also good that I found the start so easily, and good that it started so early. Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans is really pretty. It (obviously) skirts Lake Ponchartrain which is huge, so it felt like running along the ocean. One last good thing was that during the short loop (out and back 1.5) there were potties every quarter mile or so. This gave me reassurance that when the urge struck, I wasn't going to have to run to someone's yard :)

The Bad:
The bathroom problem. I got my number and immediately got in line for the disgusting port-o-lets. I was lucky enough to get one with toilet paper, but couldn't go. I knew would cause problems later, but what could I do? The announcer yapped forever while everyone was at the start, which is something I also hate. Just start already! It's already 80 degrees at 7:30, are you waiting for it to get hotter??? Finally we're off. It was two laps, an out and back 3 mile for the 5kers, and then an out and back 7 mile for the 10 milers. This was incredibly boring. I hate out and backs, and it's even worse to do it twice! On the Outs there was wind driving at you. It was actually good the second time out because it felt cooling as it whipped against all the sweat pouring down my face (gross, I know). But it also felt as if it held you back. Oddly, I didn't feel it helping me on the Backs...all it seemed to do was blow all my sticky hair to my face so I couldn't see :( It also sucked that the sun was BEATING down on us the whole time. None of this was shady. I got a blister on the side of my foot that bothered me from 2 miles on. Now I mentioned there were a lot of potties on the first out and back. Therefore this also covered first 1.5 of second 7 mile loop. So that brings me to 4.5 miles. Finally I get to see some new ground, and guess what? No more bathrooms! Residential neighborhoods :( My fears of course became stronger, which, in turn, made me feel like I had to go. It wasn't urgent yet, so I kept on moving. By mile 6 I saw one! This reassured me, and since I knew the turn around was in half a mile, I kept going, figuring I could walk back if I was suddenly stricken. I made back, and was now at 7 miles, so the game began of how to avoid hitting the outhouses. I saw the one from 6 miles, and thought...'well, it's only 1.5 to the next one, I can wait'...and so began my game. I did make it, all the way, in fact, only to finally cross the line, get some water, and get stuck in a conversation with someone I didn't know who wouldn't shut up! All of a sudden I was just like, 'excuse me!' as I ran away when the guy was mid-sentence. Luckily I did, again, get one with tp.

The New:
this race had one element I wasn't prepared for: Hills! I always liked running hills in CA, but I was a lot more prepared for it then. Needless to say, on the way out there was a downhill, and two up-and-downs. I vowed that on the way back I would pass someone on each up....and I did! Actually the last guy I passed was around 8 miles, and he came up to me after to tell me he tried to pace off me when I passed him, but couldn't keep up!

So the miles weren't all bad...I think the last two were somewhere in the 9s. And I could have pushed it for sure; I was just worried about passing out from dehydration (see Saturday's post) or going in my pants...

The weird thing was, usually when I finish after a few minutes I am invigorated and full of energy. Yesterday I felt like crap all day. Was I just hungover? Not sure. But it definitely put the fear in me to watch what I eat/drink before a race! Next up a 5k this coming Saturday, I think....maybe I can get closer to the 25 minutes flat I need by November 1..

5 servings of Cheetos Puffs and 4 beers

2008-10-11T22:34:00.007-05:00

Yep, that's right...that was my pre-race carbo load dinner. :) Probably an absolutely horrible idea that I will pay for tomorrow, but hey, that's what I was in the mood for.

I'm thinking of following it up with some merlot and junior mints, but haven't yet decided. It is 10:40, and I have to be up in 7 hours, so I should be thinking more about sleep than the creamy deliciousness of Junior mints (which are made by Tootsie Roll Industries, did you know that?) but what can I say? I relish self destruction :)

Seriously though, what good thinking on the company's part to come up with two perfect Low Fat Foods. And they probably weren't even thinking about diets back in the fifties when they came out! Back then people were perfectly happy (and even aspired!) to be rounder.

Alas, that is no longer the case, so I eventually have to crack down on my binges ;( In terms of racing, though, I figure it can only help me during the training process. If I will eat like this, not drink any water and sleep too little, and then do a 10 mile race at 7:30 am (an hour drive away), I can go no where but up! I mean, I might be slow as sh*t tomorrow, but it will only look that much better when I rock the half marathon in a month, huh? No? Come on! Shut up and let me enjoy my warped way of thinking! :)

So for tomorrow I am hoping realistically (given today's turn of events) to finish at about 1:40, but let's say my reach goal is 1:30. Totally doable on an ordinary day, but maybe not this day due to my excellent choices so far. The one smart move I made is that I actually took yesterday and today off from exercise, and I didn't even work last night! That is a big step for me, because as I've said, I dig a schedule.

I eat exactly the same thing for breakfast everday (oatmeal right now), rotate between two lunch choices (lean gourmet lasagna or progresso chicken noodle soup), and between two dinner choices, "my salad" or "my stir fry". I say this because I will call my husband on the way home from work and say, "make my salad" or "make my stir fry".

They are both simple. The salad is romaine lettuce, 1/4 of an avocado, a couple teaspoons of honey roasted almond slices, 1 oz. of sliced Cabot sharp cheddar cheese, and Olde Cape Cod fat-free balsamic vinegarette dressing (I know I spell vinegarette wrong but like I said before shut up!) and one glass of Kendall Jackson Sauvignon Blanc. I emphasize glass because in this day and age (and back in the 60s) that meant about 4 or 5 ounces, but that is ridiculous so I use large wine glasses and fill it the brim, so my glass is an easy 8 ounces if not more. But it sounds so much better to say that I have one glass rather than two (or let's get real- three!)...so I may buy the glass that they sell in so many wineries that holds a whole bottle (hint hint, Christmas is coming if any of you are planning on buying me something...haha). "My stir fry" is even easier. A whole bag of stir fry veggies, about 10 medium frozen shrimp, Miracle Shrimp Seasoning, and a 24 oz Bud Light. Seriously (for some reason I prefer the 24 to two separate bottles or cans). And my husband knows that when I order either of these two meals, all parts are necessary or I will flip. Nothing annoys me more than to get home to "my salad" and have there be no avocado. As I've mentioned before, how does anyone live without avocado? But I digress.

The point is, I am a creature of habit and like a schedule, so two days off was a stretch for me, but I needed it. I ran the night I hosted the Around the World Dinner Party (aka an excuse to drink too much wine on a weeknight), albeit only 3 miles. And guess what? I was still sick Thursday night and Friday, so maybe I've finally learned my lesson. I now feel good, so hopefully tomorrow's 10 won't suck the life back out of me.

And yes, I am now drinking merlot and enjoying Junior Mints. But come on- it's Saturday night, and if this is the highlight of my week that's pretty sad, so you should let me enjoy it. At least until tomorrow, when I'm sure I'll be hating life. But I'm pretty sure I did the same thing last weekend, and I PRed in the 5k then, so maybe it's a good thing? Speaking of which, finally the photo evidence that I did PR:

and a couple others from that morning:

In other news I finished the second book in the Twilight series, and am at least intrigued enough to read the third. I've also finally caught up on Heroes, though I'm now so totally confused (after the 9 month lag between seasons) that I have no idea what's going on. Survivor and the Hills are, as usual, annoying me, but I will watch nonetheless.

Now, however, I have to force myself to go to sleep. I am ridiculously tired, and it is 11:30 and my alarm will go off at 5:40. Ugh. Wish me luck....ten miles will be a new Longest Distance for me!

Tagged!

2008-10-10T07:41:00.003-05:00

I was tagged by Leana. I have to write six random things about myself and tag ten other people. Hmm....Let's see....

1) I am a very caring, compassionate, and empathetic person. I can't watch many commercials (especially anything from Visa, Cotton (the fabric of our lives), or the Humane Society), romantic movies, or anything on Animal Planet without getting upset. My mom says when I was only like three or four I used to cry when we passed the nursing home, and ask why no one took care of the elderly people.

2) I love schedules, day planning, to-do lists....as a child I used to get more excited about school supplies than new clothes. I loved getting a new calendar or planner and writing down all the things I have to get done each day, checking them off one by one. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something. I think this can only help me in marathon training; I will do what the schedule says each day, because I have to...it's in writing and I need to check it off!

3) I pride myself on super efficiency, and I can't stand watching someone do things the long way. Most of the time I probably seem lazy, but really it's only that I've done what everyone else had to do (be it a class, work, chores) but a lot faster. :) I am an excellent multi-tasker, a skill my husband completely lacks, to my dismay.

4) I am very OCD about some things. I could be ten miles from home and I will turn around convinced the curling iron is on, when in fact I know that it's not. I check my alarm clock like 100 times, and at red lights put my car in first gear over, and over, and over until the light changes.

5) I like to drink, like most people I know, but in particular I love the aesthetic of it. I love the sound of ice being dropped in a cup, the way wine looks in a glass, garnishes on martinis. I love classic cocktails and bartenders that make them well. (Don't get me wrong- I do way more than my share of cheap beer drinking, but I truly love the fancy stuff).

6) I am a caffeine addict. I have tried various methods to rid myself of this habit, but I drink four cups of coffee each morning and usually a diet soda at lunch. I know- it's bad. :(

I'm tagging:

More on the Peruvian food night later...Ugh. I am so tired...6 hours of sleep is not enough for me! Maybe worknight parties are a bad idea...

How quickly we forget....

2008-10-09T12:46:00.002-05:00

that we are sick! So I get home yesterday with every intention of NOT exercising...but I couldn't help it (oops). Not that I'm some die hard fitness buff, just that I am terrified to get behind on my schedule. I am convinced that it will snowball until I am weeks behind, and then I won't be able to finish the marathon. I know this isn't true, it's just my mind's poor prediction of future events.

So I did the five miles anyway. I know, I know....and I felt crappy afterward...of course. But the run was good! Part of why I went was because it was so gorgeous outside, and that made it worth it. No ridiculous sweating, and I actually felt fairly strong. I still haven't gotten back to the really free feeling I used to have; my muscles still feel locked up and stiff somehow. But it's getting there! I think the miles were as follows: 10:03, 9:52, 9:48, 9:27, 9:33. I was really trying the last mile, but apparently it just wasn't enough.

As soon as I finished it seemed the floodgates in my head let loose and I spent the rest of the night (and most of today) trying to not spray the world with snot during one of my million and one sneezes...I know- TMI, but it's true. I feel as though the worst is over (and I'm aware I said this yesterday) and I'm hoping that prepping for my Peruvian food party tonight will keep me too busy to run the 3 on my schedule for today.

Peruvian food? Curious, I know. We are starting Around the World parties at work, and I wanted to be first. My husband is Peruvian, and according to him I do fair renditions of some of the classic dishes. I'll have to post some pictures if any of it comes out good. To anyone who is curious, seek out a Peruvian restaurant in your city...the food is excellent fusion cuisine influenced by the Inca culture as well as waves of immigration from Spain, India, China and Africa. To me it's most reminiscent of blending Thai and Latin flavors. Yummy!

27 hours of sleep in two days...

2008-10-08T10:33:00.002-05:00

Well...the 9 miles didn't go as planned. It was ridiculously hot, and I had already been getting the slightest hint of a sore throat all day...I should've known what was coming. Unfortunately I have a 10 mile race this Sunday, and didn't want to go into it with my longest run being 8 miles 2 weeks ago!

So I tried, and it just wasn't happening. It was so humid, and I was soaked by the end of the first mile. Then my headphone wires decided to keep trying to tangle up, get in front of my face, or fall out of my ears. The first 4 miles were still ok, and I kept telling myself if I could get to 4.5 then I just had to "go home". This is what I always tell myself, and it usually works. Of course I'm usually on an out and back run, so I have no choice. This time I did a strange loop that brought me to the center of town at 6.1 miles. I stopped to drink from the fountain and felt like I was going to die. I had blisters on both feet since I was so soaked, and I just knew 2.9 miles more wasn't happening.

I wobbled back to the trail and started up again, heading back home instead of the .8 more in my current direction I would need to hit 9 at home. I walked from 6.1-.2, then attempted a jog again for another quarter mile. I stopped at 6.45 and walked the rest for a total of 7.25 :(

This wouldn't have been the end of the world, except then I noticed that my little sore throat was now a full blown I-feel-like-crap cold. I still had to get ready to work that night, and I felt sore and achy, my head was stuffed and my throat was SO SORE. It wasn't a bad night money-wise at work, but I just knew I was going to have a crappy night.

And that I did. And the whole next day was the same. Of course I stayed home, and slept until 3 pm so when I say the whole next day I mean from 3 pm until 10pm, when I headed back to bed. Now it was congestion in my sinuses and a horrible headache that woke me up at 3 in the morning until 5...ugh. I called work again to say I was going to be late, and finally pulled out of the worst of it around 9 am. At least I hope....now if only I can avoid the temptation of the 5 miler I have scheduled for this afternoon....I know it would make me feel crappy again, but I just hate getting off schedule!

25:39!!!!

2008-10-06T10:45:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's right. A new 5k PR!! By almost 2 minutes! I cannot begin to describe how excited I am by this...Saturday morning was REALLY warm, and my hopes of coming in under 27 minutes were dwindling with each sweaty minute before the start of the race. I also had some digestive complications which sent my running to the restroom 3 times before the start...I was slightly worried I wouldn't even be able to start the race, let alone PR.

Something that may have helped was that I had a fan for the first time! My husband was finally able to come to a race, and I think it really inspired me to try my best. He was also able to get a couple of pictures, which I'll put up here when I get the chance. It was really great to have him there for my best race to date, and I hope he can see many more. I came in second in my age group, so I got an age group award also but haven't been able to pick it up yet because I had to leave for work.

I worked 7 hours and then headed off for race number two...(I know can you believe it? A new PR and my first two-a-day...). This was another Oktoberfest race and luckily I could partake in the free beer at this one! This was a much larger race, and after the morning's efforts I wasn't able to keep the same pace (26:49 for the 3 mile course), but it was a lot of fun and it felt great to still have energy after doing two races (albeit short ones). They had great technical shirts at this one also. I really wish more race directors would realize that most people would pay a little extra to have a shirt they can actually run in rather than another men's t-shirt to throw in the closet. (That's my other irritation- if you must do a t-shirt can't you at least have a women's cut and a men's?).

So in all it was a good weekend. 9 miles on the calendar for today, but it might get a little dicey...I am coming down with something and have the worst sore throat (clarification- if I ever mention a sore throat it will always be the worst. I hate sore throats!!

Yay for the shuffle....(ipod that is; not my running technique..though I suppose it's close to that!)

2008-10-03T10:52:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had a great run. I headed out for 5 miles and for the first time in ages it felt good...right from the start. I didn't feel dead tired in the legs, and definitely still felt relatively fresh when I finished...not exhausted like I usually do. Truly I could have gone a lot further, but I'm trying to stick to my training plan and not over do the short runs.

My ipod definitely spiced things up. I did miss the solitude I've been enjoying lately, but it was also invigorating to have something to run too and not have to think! I haven't heard these songs since I broke my last Shuffle in May, so it was really cool to hear my favorites again and the miles whent by really fast. Well, in my head they went by fast, in actuality they went like this: 10:42, 10:10, 10:06, 10:02, 9:28. The last mile I thought I was going A LOT faster, but hey, it still felt good and I was really pumped about my races on Saturday. I had decided that my small goal would be to just beat my current fastest of 27:28, and my bigger goal is to be under 27 minutes. If I can do that, I think I'll have a chance to get to 25 minutes by 11/1 for the Crescent City Fall Classic and get a seeded position for the 10k spring Classic in April.

At least this was what I was thinking until the pinched nerve under my shoulder blade turned to raging pain when I woke up this morning. I am about to head to the doctor and hoping they can give me some serious meds because I can't even turn my head or look up....Grrr! And to think it had actually loosened up alot last night. What a bummer....

I still plan to be under 27 minutes, though....I'll keep you posted!

Exciting news...

2008-10-02T14:24:00.005-05:00

I can do pictures! Here are a couple of the trace. This is the paved path I mention that I run on pretty much exclusively:

More info can be found here. It's just like this the whole way, with occasional intersections with real roads. It's really convenient to get to with an entrance about a half mile from my house. In total I think it is about thirty miles long, stretching from Covington to Slidell. The view shown above is heading south, the way I usually go. You'll notice the sun is on the right, to the west, and below the tree line making it shady in the afternoons. From the map you can see the part I run on is the vertical north/south part, with the direction I went the other day (to the west) being the little curve to the left it takes in the upper left of the map.

Look at that! Pictures and links in one post. I'm growing more techno-savvy by the minute!

In other exciting news we now have local channels back! Don't worry Survivor, ANTM, Heroes, Biggest Loser...I haven't forgotten about you...I've just been watching you on the internet cursing our satellite...but it looks like now I can actually use the tv again. A good day all around..

A whole new world....

2008-10-02T07:52:00.002-05:00

So after really hurting after a 5k on Saturday, and a rather disastrous 8 mile run on Monday, I finally sucked it up and went shoe shopping. I went to a different store and the selection was much greater. I went to this place because it's run by a guy with a PhD (I assume in exercise phys or the like), and being the science-minded person that I am, decided that this meant he Knows What He's Doing. I was therefore a little disheartened when I entered the store (in a house...really cute actually...if you're ever in Mandeville, Louisiana check out Varsity Sports) and found that the salesperson helping me was....a 15 (ok maybe 16) year-old girl.

Now nothing against kids, but I was just a little skeptical that someone so young would really be able to assess my gait and judge by my height, weight, ability, and intensity of training what shoe I should be in. But I was wrong! She watched me walk, and asked what I had been wearing recently. When I told her the Asics Kayano 14, she immediately said she thought that that was way too much stability for me, with a pretty neutral arch. I 100% agree, as that shoe feels like running on two bricks (to me), and has hurt my feet (specifically the inside of my ankle) since day 1. And I never mentioned to her that it wasn't working out for me.

So with my new found trust she proceeded to show me several models. I hate the process, because how do you really tell which is best? I tried to not get wrapped up in the look, but it's so hard! I am slightly vain, and do want something that is both functional and stylish. This is something I find majorly lacking in most women's shoes. Seriously, why are they all so ugly??? WHY do designers choose those colors? And why, please tell me why, does everything have to be metallic? I hated most of them, but tried not to let this get to me and hope I made a decision based on function. With the many suggestions from others, I tried on the Asics Axiom, Asics Nimbus, Brooks Glycerin, Saucony Trigon Ride, and some Mizunos the girl grabbed. I was disappointed they didn't have the Pearl Izumis, as those had been recommended as well, but I'll try 'em on if I ever see them anywhere.

I finally narrowed it down (actually based on fit!!) to the Mizunos and the Asics Nimbus. The Nimbus was only available a whole size too big, but seeing as I'd read that you should get running shoes at least a half and up to a whole size larger than you normally wear I didn't think about it too much. They felt a little bulky, but nice and soft, which was something lacking in the Kayanos. I worry that I may not have been fair to the Mizunos since I have never worn this brand before, but in the end I went with the Nimbus.

Yesterday I went for 3 mile run and it went great! The miles were 10:49, 10:04, and 9:18, so I'd say they should work out for me. I had NO foot pain after, which I had become accustomed to, but my knee was a little tweaky. This went away towards the end, and I think it may just be a matter of getting used to shoes that don't hurt.

The great part is that they are the older model, so they were 30% off! I figure if they work out long term I can then get the new model a half size smaller. Hopefully I don't trip! We'll see this weekend.

I also finally took some pics (that my husband was supposed to upload last night and didn't grr...) of the trace where I run. I'll put them up soon. I also got a new ipod! Finally some running with music! I broke the last one at some point in May, and have been running tune-less since. I have actually really enjoyed the serenity and the chance to focus on nature and my form and breathing...but 9 miles is a long time to be introspective (for me anyway) so some distraction will be nice. Plus for better or worse I run faster with music.

So the big question is what do you listen to? I know this has been asked a trillion times, so if any of you can just point me in the direction of some of these discussions that would be great. I like fast music for running, and don't really like country (during running) for that reason, but all suggestions welcome...I need to freshen up my playlists!

Yesterday I ran...ok, very slowly jogged.....

2008-09-30T10:14:00.002-05:00

8 miles. Not the best running I've done, but 8 nonetheless. It was really hot, and my shoes were killing me, but enough excuses! I forget exactly what my time was, but I think around 1:31? Or 1:32? I believe the miles were roughly 11:50, 11:51, 11:36, 11:38, 11:57, 11:50, 11:33, 11:18. What's that add up to? 1:33:33? That's probably about right...I'm sure of the first four miles and the last two, but I forget miles 5 and 6, although I know they were under 12 minutes. I had hoped to start out slow and then pick up the pace, but it was WAAYYY too hot. I ran the whole 8 though, only stopping at 5.8 to grab a drink from a fountain and use a restroom. And everyone is right- drinking really DOES help! Imagine that. I never carry water or stop on runs, because once I stop I'm done for, but yesterday I had to, and it really helped the last two miles.

I made a crucial error right from the start. Normally I head out on the trace to the right of my house, heading roughly south. This puts the sun to my right, and by afternoon it's usually low enough to be below the tree line, so I am, for the most part, in the shade. You never realize what a difference shade makes until you are in the full Louisiana sun. Ugh...I headed left instead of right, which heads North initially but then curves in the center of town heading due west. This meant almost no shade, running straight toward the sun. I went this way thinking it would be better because the other direction hits a main road at 3 miles. I knew I had to go four before turning around, and that road is a huge pain in the *** to cross. No one let's you go, which GREATLY annoys me, since they would only have to pause a minute. It sometimes causes me to stop for over a minute...both killing my time and my motivation to keep running. Needless to say the other direction is out of the question also, so I may have to get more creative with my routes.

I'm actually considering finding some trails. I used to run Bishop Peak when I lived in San Luis Obispo, and I really enjoyed it. Of course finding hills around here is impossible, but hiking trails exist, I'm sure. I think it may help my heel-ankle-knee issues to run on something soft...that and the new shoes I will hopefully get today! Any last minutes suggestions very welcome.

You may have noticed something new in that last paragraph...I have learned to link! Yay! (At least I think...let me know if it doesn't work). This opens up a whole new world of possibility for me, so expect to see lots of links and pictures in the future!

So anyway, 9 for next Monday, which I've only done once before, so that should be interesting...and then 10 on the 12th of October, which will be a brand new distance for me!

Finally, a race!

2008-09-29T07:52:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning I was finally able to enter another race, and it didn't even get cancelled. Imagine that! The Great Wake Up is a 5k that is actually in my town (another imagine that!) so I only had to go a few blocks down the road to the start. This was really nice, and I wish they had more races here.

The weather was great, nice and cool, but it did get warmer as we waited...and waited. Apparently an exit was closed on the freeway, so they wanted to give people more time to arrive. The part I didn't understand is that the next exit is only two miles down the road, so I don't think anyone needed much more than 5 extra minutes, and we waited 1/2 hour, but whatevs.

The race went out on the St. Tammany Trace, a paved running and biking trail that goes through Abita Springs and many other towns and is the trail I train on exclusively. It is always amazing to me, though, to see how much faster you can go when you are carried by the crowd around you. I didn't wear the garmin, so I don't know the splits, but I do know that a woman about 5 seconds behind me yelled out 9:02 at the first mile, so I must have been under 9 minutes then..yay!! I'm sure I dropped the pace a little, because after the second mile I felt like I was really struggling. This was frustrating, because I've been running often...and it was only a 5k! But I guess I was going much faster than I usually do, so maybe that's why? Anyway, I finished at 27:31, which is 3 seconds off my other 5k...but I'll take it! I finished 10th out of 75 woman, and first in my age group. And I got a trophy! Haha...I'll have to add a picture here as soon as I finally figure out how. Seriously- anyone know of any 'blogging for dummies' classes?

I am doing two 5ks next Saturday, so we'll see how that goes. I've never been running twice in one day, so it should be interesting. They are both Octoberfest races, so there should be good food (and beer) at both. Luckily for me I have to work in the middle, so I won't be doing any drinking at the first one....Eating, on the other hand.....

Yeah, eating is something that hasn't been going well. I don't know what's wrong :( I have been sabotaging my diet repeatedly, and GAINING weight instead of losing. I know it's self indulgence, but I can't stop it. I keep cheating. Aside from going over my calorie goals I am also really high on fat. This is something I'm trying to work on, but so far no luck. I do great all day, then overeat at night. I think I'm also doing badly BECAUSE I'm not seeing results. It's a vicious cycle. If I saw that I was losing a little weight I would be so motivated to stick to it. Well, this is a new week, so hopefully a fresh start.

Speaking of fresh starts, I think I need to suck it up and get new shoes. I am not entirely frugal, but I just haven't been able to justify getting new ones when there is only about 50 miles on the ones I've been using. Unfortunately these have been an incredibly uncomfortable 50 miles, and while some may say they're just not even broken in yet, they are just not working. Not only are they about 1/4 inch too short, they are also too narrow, and too stiff. I was told I slightly overpronate on the left, but this shoe has been killing both my feet and doesn't seem to cushion at all. I'm mad because they were expensive, but I feel like I'm on the verge of stress fractures and injuries, so I just need to suck it up. Anyone have any suggestions for shoes they've just loved?

Improving....slowly...

2008-09-26T10:03:00.002-05:00

I have thought for awhile now that I wasn't really seeing any progress. Finally, however, I went through the garmin and realized, while it may be slow and steady, that I am gradually getting faster. This is a relief, as I would hate to think I am going to still be this slow with all this running! Yesterday I did four miles, and they were 10:58, 10:39, 10:37, and 10:16. I was happy with this because I hadn't been pushing the pace, and it felt like a relatively moderate intensity run. I suppose I'll really see where I'm at in my 5k tomorrow, but at least no 11s yesterday!

I'm going to try to get in some pilates this afternoon, but it will be during my 30 minute break on my 16 hour day. :( I hate Fridays because everyone else loves them and they are the longest day of my week. Saturdays are tough too, at 12 hours, but at least I only work until 4 on Sunday. Of course after that it's off to my husband's soccer game...unless I get tempted to do my 8 mile on Sunday, haha! Probably not, but each week I tell myself I'm going to.

The weather has been perfect lately, really making me wish I didn't have to work so much....I would way rather be outside! Speaking of which I need to take my camera to the Trace. This is the path I run on, that is many miles long (not sure exactly), and it's beautiful. I have been meaning for awhile to try to document the seasons, and I better hurry, as I've already technically missed summer. It's Louisiana, so it's still really lush back there, so I figure I can pass off a September picture as 'summer' or at least 'late summer'. I also need to start making a list of all wildlife I've seen there. I have it in my head, but want to start keeping track to see how many different animals I see. Yesterday I nearly broke my neck when I jumped about three feet in the air (that's actually high for me!) to avoid a snake! It was a tiny snake, but I could still imagine it would have bit me given the chance :)

Everyone enjoy your weekends and update, please! I have become hooked on about 10 different blogs, and read others sporadically. It took me some time to catch up to the present (I like to start at the beginning), but now I'm all caught up and so disappointed every time I go to check one of my favorites and there's nothing new!

Running after 'adjustment' = bad idea....

2008-09-25T08:36:00.002-05:00

Now that I have tried it three times, I have definitely decided that running after seeing the chiropractor is a bad idea. I did it last Wednesday, and then Monday and yesterday of this week. I was advised against this practice, but hey- I gotta get the runs in and my schedule is pretty tight! I do think from now on, however, that I will avoid this. On all three occasions I left the office feeling looser, more energetic, and basically just in the mood to run. However I would find that my neck felt kind of unstable, and that after a couple of miles kind of compressed.

I think basically what happens is that the chiropractor does his snap crackle pop and loosens everything up, spacing out the bones and probably starts to make progress on breaking up my scar tissue (from an old car accident) and realigning everything...and then I go and pound on the pavement for an hour jarring everything right back to where it was. I have had bad headaches after this, so have finally learned (I know- after 3 times!) that maybe this is a bad idea. You think?

Regardless, I ran three yesterday, and in the legs anyway, felt stronger. I am still soooo slow, but the miles were 11:19, 10:48, 9:37. I can live with that, since I am trying to start slow. I have a 5k Saturday, so that will be a more accurate test of my 'speed' (or lack thereof). Today I want to do four, and it's so cool outside today I'm hoping it will go well. Maybe I'll drag my husband with me....though it will annoy me that he'll bounce along as if it's no effort even though he never runs...on second thought I probably won't bring him :)

Survivor is also on tonight, so I may have to rustle up somewhere to watch it. My satellite (due to foliage) only gets local channels in the winter. I know, this is ridiculous and I plan to switch to cable in November, but it's humorous none the less. Seriously...for two years we've noticed that our local channels and international channels (my husband is Peruvian) only work once the leaves fall off the trees. The fact that we've put up with this for so long is funny, but we did have a two year contract...

I am a push-up weakling!

2008-09-24T08:24:00.002-05:00

So yesterday was to be a light training day, and I had promised myself I wouldn't run even though I sort of wanted to. I did that last week (running day after my long day) and I ended up with blisters and felt slow and sluggish....so wanted to sort of rest/cross-train. (If you can call it that!).

One of the things I wanted to do was the test for the 100 Push-Up Challenge. Can I just say I am a total upper-body weakling? I thought I would probably be able to do around 8-10....I can do 2! Of course I can cheat and do more, but perfect form, lowering all the way down...2. Pathetic! This greatly disappointed me, so I did a bunch of cheater pushups, and then went out to try to clock the actual distance I did Monday without the garmin. Needless to say, hopefully in a couple of weeks I will have better news about the push-ups!

I had better luck with my distance from the other day....I had estimated it at 7 miles, and it was actually 7.26! Yay! This makes me happy for two reasons: 1) running 8 this weekend will only be .74 more, and how easy is that? And 2) my 82 minutes don't seem quite as slow now that an extra 1/4 mile is thrown in. So this was good. I just drove to a known distance from my house and clocked the extra bit I had done on the garmin.

After walking the 1.5 out and back, I went home to do some 'strength training'. This should be interpreted very loosely, as my dedication for anything besides running outside of a gym/class setting is sporadic at best. I lose interest very quickly when no one is there to see me quit. For instance lunges....from my living room to the kitchen and back is good enough, right? Squats...I'm sure that was about 30 seconds (actuality 10)...and so on. So after about 10 minutes of half-hearted exercises I did my 30 minute pilates dvd. I have only done this a couple of times since getting back into things, and I am still pathetic. I have to quit on the teasers, can't straighten my legs during any of the exercises, and have zero core strength it seems. I would be really depressed by this, except that my experience with pilates is that flexibility and strength come back really quickly with a few sessions.

So that was all the exercise I did...and today I'm totally sore! How sad is that? But I guess I have to do some core and upper body stuff at some point. Today 4 miles is on the agenda, and hopefully I can loosen up then. (And hopefully the garmin has charged...I've had more problems with that thing having a low battery...).

Unfortunately nutrition didn't go quite as well yesterday....I ate exactly what I had put on my daily plate, which was 1,282 calories...plus I ended up stealing little bits of chicken as I made a chicken salad for work...two beers, some chips and salsa, three bites of my husband's ice cream...ugh! I hate the way all those little things add up! And I wasn't even hungry...just bored, I guess. So I need to add those in, and then I will be around 1,700 I imagine. That would be ok on a big run day, but not for yesterday. :( Oh well....it's all a process, I suppose. Unfortunately today won't be any better...it's a coworker's birthday, so we always do potluck for lunch. Too much yummy stuff to turn anything down. I've already had a piece of pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling (think pumpkin bread rolled in carrot cake frosting. Yum!) and am desperately trying to avoid another piece...Can't wait to see what lunch has in store. I brought chicken salad, but it has mayo AND sour cream, so it's no better. At least the pumpkin loaf was made with splenda ;)

So yeah...improvement needed all around. The only thing that doesn't need improvement right now is my TV schedule!! I know, it's horrible, but can I just say how glad I am to have ANTM (that's America's Next Top Model for all you non-fans), The Biggest Loser, Survivor, Heroes, The Island (the latest in MTV challenge drama!) and The Hills all back on the air? Not to mention that John and Kate Plus 8 (my total cheesy weakness) had a 'before they were 10' episode of John and Kate from when they met until when they had kids (twins then sextuplets??). My husband hates that I watch this show, but I just can't help it. I love the way they constantly fight, and I love seeing two people actually manage with 8 small kids. I would curl up in a corner and cry. I am in awe!

Things are looking up....

2008-09-23T08:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday turned out to be a good day after all. I went to the chiropractor after work, which now (my 4th 'adjustment') scares me just a little bit less, and I felt pretty good when I left. I had told myself all day yesterday that I was going to run 7 in the afternoon, since I didn't do it (as scheduled) over the weekend. As the day went on I became less sure of this, as even though it was the first day of fall it was still really hot and humid here. I had a great six mile run last Tuesday, and I think it was due in no small part to cooler weather. So I was nervous about it, but I forced myself to do it.

It started off ok, and then about a mile in it became cloudy and a little breezier, which I was so happy about! Unfortunately this didn't last, and by the third mile I was dying, really struggling. I thought there was no way I would make it. I was tripping and chafing and pouring sweat. I was really wondering if it was possible for a raise in temperature to not only cause me to overheat, but fatigue my muscles? I just couldn't understand why it felt SO HARD. I also didn't have my garmin, which is a major motivator for me. I love to beat my time on previous miles, making each one faster. I thought that the trace (a paved running and biking trail I train on) had mile markers through the whole length, but the disappeared 2.75 miles in, so I had to estimate the last .75 before turning around. I think I hit the 3.5 or maybe a little past...not sure. I'll have to go back today and check to see just how far I went. Anyhow- I felt soooo tired and just kept thinking I was going to keel over from heat stroke, so I tried to slow the pace. I just couldn't believe 3.5 miles was so hard?? I made it to 5.5 without walking, then during the last 1.5 had four walking breaks. The first two about 30 seconds each, the last two about 1 minute each. But I made it back! I would have been really disappointed, but I stumbled to the backyard to check out the thermometer (which is in the shade), and it was still 84 degrees at 5:30 pm! So given the temp and humidity I'll cut myself a break :)

In other good news the 10 miler I was complaining was cancelled was rescheduled in another town for the next day....so Yay! I won't have to go into the 1/2 marathon on Nov. 23 with no recent longer races.

Maybe things are starting to shape up....running is a little easier, and thanks to the Daily Plate I'm getting nutrition under control...though I wonder- does anyone else find the calorie recommendations (for consumption) and the calorie deficits (for exercise) really high? It tried to tell me that for my height and weight with my level of activity I should consume 2,900 calories a day to lose a lb a week!! Please. Try gain 2 lb a week....and it also said my 7 mile run (at about 5.2 mph) burned 1,100? I don't think so...I had always been taught that no matter how fast you go you only burn around a hundred calories a mile. Any thoughts?

Another cancellation????

2008-09-22T10:45:00.002-05:00

O...M...G...WTF???? So there is some force against me running- I swear. The third consecutive race I was planning on doing has been cancelled!! First there was the Crescent Connection 4 miler, then the Haulin' Ash 5k, and now the Middendorf Manchec 10 miler. I was really looking forward to this one, too. What is going on? Why all the cancellations I wonder? REALLY annoying. Hopefully the one I have planned for this weekend (the Great Wake Up) goes as scheduled. Anyone know of another 10+ miler in Louisiana in October? Seriously I am so annoyed....

Do people live without avocados??

2008-09-22T10:20:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day of fall. Yay! I am so happy fall is here, even if it won't feel like it for another month. I tried to do three miles on Saturday, but it wasn't happening. Normally I have at least a little determination, but this time, no. I went .56 miles and completely quit. Oddly, I was excited to go out....then just lost it. I was already sweating, and it was really humid, and I was really tired from Friday night.

I'm trying to figure out how to reorganize my training schedule; I work 16 hours on Friday, then 12 Saturday and 8 Sunday, so running on the weekend is really draining. Last week I did my long run on Tuesday, which went really well. I think doing the long run midweek will work for now, until it gets up over 10 miles. Then I doubt I will have time, considering M-W I am only off from 3-6, then I head to my other job. Morning runs are out of the question during the week- I start work at 7- and on the weekend I just feel really stiff in the morning. I have found that the last three times I've tried a morning run I've quit. Any suggestions?

The truth probably is that I may have to give up the Saturday double shift as training progresses....I will miss the $$, but may be better for my schedule for a couple months...of course with the holidays coming I will need the money more than ever...hmm....for now I suppose I won't worry about it. Maybe as it gets cooler those morning runs won't be as awful. There is still the issue, however, that I don't get out of work Friday night until 12, and then have to be back Saturday at 10:30 am. So to get in down time, sleep, and a long run would be pretty difficult.

Today I'll either run 7 or do an hour of pilates...we'll see, I haven't decided yet; I'm waiting to see how the weather shapes up. If not today, 7 tomorrow for sure!

I've started using the Daily Plate, and I'm really hoping it will help me get on track with nutrition. So far it turns out I'm good on calories, but high on fat...37 grams! Yikes. I would've estimated about 20. Turns out this is due in large part to my love of avocados and cheese. But I really don't think I could live without this, so I may have to change everything else :)

Obsessed with blogs!

2008-09-19T12:11:00.003-05:00

So I don't know which I like more- running or reading about other people running. I have become obsessed with running blogs. Specifically Absolut(ly) Fit, Running Duff, and Pieces of Me....me and technology don't mix, or I would have those as active links, but anyway... I have read probably 12 hours of blogs in the last day! I have read nearly all the entries of these three, and a gazillion other random entries from a dozen or so other blogs. Help! I need intervention :) Seriously, though. I am obsessed with the perfect formula, so I read like crazy to figure out exactly what sort of program everyone else follows to make it through a marathon. I need help.

In other news, I ran 2.5 yesterday on what was supposed to be my rest day! No idea of my pace, because the garmin had a low battery (does anyone else deal with this? If it isn't perfectly aligned on the charger it doesn't charge, and even if it does it only holds it a few hours...hope I never want to do an ultra! Hahaha...yeah, right), and I went on a 3 mile loop but stopped and walked the last .5 because my blisters from the day before were acting up. But I was glad I did it anyway. Maybe it counteracts some of the 6 brownies I ate yesterday. These were made with applesauce instead of oil, so in my mind they should only count as four brownies, but whatever. :)

Regardless of whether I counteracted the brownies, I DEFINITELY didn't counteract the two martinis, three beers, and shrimp fajitas I ate after that. Oh yeah, and the ice cream :( That along with not drinking any water, going to bed at 12 and waking up (not on purpose) at 4 has led me to be having a STELLAR day. Yeah. I am SO EXCITED to be at work right now feeling gross and with a headache and knowing that even though I've already worked 5 hours I have 11 more to go. Yay! And I'm even more excited to be contemplating ANOTHER trip to the vending machine, because the doritos I ate this morning while wallowing in self pity aren't cutting it. Even though according to Daily Plate I've already eaten 916 calories today. Double :( !! And even though it's Friday I have the excitement of a shift tonight, two tomorrow and one on Sunday at the restaurant, my SECOND job. But anyway, enough complaining!

What I am looking forward to is reading Twilight this weekend (in my scant free time) and doing a 7 mile run on Sunday. If this goes well I will feel like I can definitely do the 10 mile race on October 11. That's only 22 days away, but I have done a 15k...granted it was in May, but regaining fitness you once had has to be easier than building it from scratch, right?

I hate Wednesdays.

2008-09-18T07:38:00.002-05:00

So today I had my second visit to the chiropractor. After being tazed for ten minutes (that's what I think of while lying on their little electro-stimulation thingy) I had the quick adjustment and was out. It wasn't as bad this time, either because the popping and cracking the first time was louder being the first step of realignment, or maybe just because I was ready for it. Unfortunately I didn't listen to the advice to not exercise, and went out for a 5.65 miles.

I was on the phone at first, so I only ran 2 of it, but I came to two conclusions:
1) at least some of my neck pain is related to talking on the phone on that side. I realized walking and talking is something I've done for years...trying to tell myself that it's exercise....Thinking of it now, it is probably very bad posturally to hold a phone (and thus one arm up and head possibly tilted in that direction) for many miles. I will have to stop this habit.
2) running shoes aren't made for walking. At least not the ones I have! My feet felt great on Tuesday, and I thought I must have finally broken in my shoes, but then yesterday, BLISTERS. I think it may be the 'memory foam' of the shoe, and the fact that my foot is in a completely different place inside when walking as opposed to running. I think maybe these sneakers have conformed to my foot running, and I was just not lining up right inside for walking. Or I suppose it could've been the socks. Regardless- my feet are killing me today!

I also have some neck pain again (grr...) and not sure if it's normal or because I went out and jarred my spine for 5.65 miles after having it 'adjusted'....hopefully it goes away. I want my faith in the chiropractor to remain....I really don't want to find out next week that I've been paying $25 copays for nothing!

Now very soon I have to tackle my other major fitness obstacle: Nutrition. I cannot seem to get healthy eating under control this time around! Normally it is very easy for me to be a very disciplined eater, at least while dieting ;-) But lately I've been snacking like mad. We had a work party yesterday FILLED with junk food, and today I have girls' night FILLED with margaritas. Hmmm...maybe next week I'll think about healthy eating....

A good day

2008-09-17T09:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a great day. I think the chiropractor (and the cooler weather) really helped me, and I was finally able to run 6. All negative splits! Embarrassingly slower than I used to run, but hey, I'm just getting back into things...The miles went as follows: 11:28, 11:19, 10:53, 10:29, 10:20, 9:56! I was very happy about that, and even more so about the fact that for the first time in FOREVER my mind was able to wander, I was able to take in the scenery, and think about something (anything!) other than the pain emanating from various parts of my body. My left knee still twinges a little, and so does the right hip, but overall I didn't feel like I was 80! Progress! And I even feel like I will have no trouble running three today, something that has also been plaguing me lately..(back to back running days). Maybe this will be possible after all.

Yesterday was also great because after the run for the first time in ages I felt like I had energy! And optimism! And exclamation points! Haha...but really, my mood and general well being have greatly improved. Now if only I could find a job making more money....hmm...oh well, one step at a time, I suppose.

Lastly the great thing about yesterday was that the internet was working when I got off work. So I was able to catch up on missed episodes of the new season of America's Next Top Model...one of my countless addictions from the idiot box....we all have our vices, no? And I'm reading a great new book, Twilight, which has me hooked and staying up too late for my 7 am work day.

The only downfall now is that I feel like doing a race, and the next one is nearly two weeks out. My last two were cancelled, so I'm really itching to see if I've made any progress. The Crescent City Connection 4 miler fell victim to Hurricane Gustav, and Haulin' Ash 5k to Hurricane Ike. Enough of these storms already...you're messing with my schedule! I wish I could find one for this weekend, but it looks like the Abita Wake Up 5k will be the next, on 9/27. Main good thing about that race is that it's in my town, so for once I don't have to drive an hour to run. The first big one I'm looking forward to is the Manchac 10 mile, on 10/11. I am relieved to finally be able to put in some distance, since the date for that race is creeping closer and I'd been having so much trouble.

I go back to the chiropractor today, and hopefully it will be less scary and just as beneficial!

What I'm not doing....

2008-09-16T11:44:00.002-05:00

is running :( I was supposed to go six at some point over the weekend, but I have just had so many aches, pains, strains and such that I finally decided I needed to get to the bottom of some of the more fixable problems. First- my work shoes. Finally bought a pair of on-your-feet-allday clogs, and things are ALREADY so much better. Amazing what a supportive pair of shoes can do, really.

Second- neck pain. Now I've had this pain on and off for a couple of years now, but running really seems to aggravate it and results in this dull strong ache at the base of my skull. Well, I went to the chiropractor yesterday (for the first time, I might add) and finally discovered that a car accident I was in four years ago actually severely damaged ligaments in my neck! I have lost the natural curvature, and also have a couple of thin discs. This is good, in that I now know what's wrong, but bad in that it won't be 100% fixable and having your head pound up and down on top of damaged ligaments and discs is not good. Regardless, I had my first 'adjustment' yesterday, and aside from scaring the crap out of me (are noises that loud really supposed to come from your bones??) I actually felt some relief. So I have 5 more appts over the next two weeks, and hopefully I'll be back on track.

Needless to say, I am trying the six today, and hopefully will be able to get my act together this week for a 7 miler on Sunday. Probably should space it a little more, but I really don't want to miss any long runs during this process.

On another good note: it's cooling off! I was about to join a gym (and still may) but then the weather turned and it's at least 10 degrees cooler today than it was on Sunday. This (I am imagining) will help me tremendously. That and finally replacing my ipod which I hope to do soon...

The last bad note is my shoes. As much as I've tried to convince myself they fit, they just really don't :( So add another expense onto the list...I will probably stick to the same shoe, just order a bigger size. I'm still planning to use them for now, as I just can't afford it yet, and hopefully I don't do too much damage.

On the last good note: TV is back! I hate to admit to rotting my brain with useless programming, but I have 8 shoes that I like to watch (I know...I shouldn't admit that!) and they are all finally back on the air after summer hiatus, so life is good :)

How do I get INTO this?

2008-09-12T09:01:00.003-05:00

Well, I didn't make it out on Wednesday....I just wasn't feeling it. I allowed myself to skip that day since I will be running both days this weekend, but I still felt guilty. My whole plan for training is to try to stick COMPLETELY to the suggested mileage totals for each week. I figure at a minimum I should be able to finish that way, and I'm still holding out hope that it's about to get easier!

Yesterday I went out for 5.65, and the only reason I went that far is that I was running/walking, and was determined to do four miles. I have been getting a cramp in my chest (seriously...feels like my lung?) lately, and it's been disrupting my running. Monday I was able to just walk .1 and get past it, but yesterday it was really nagging. Regardless, it finally went away, and I felt pretty good in the end. My pace has been horrible lately, probably mostly due to the three or four pounds I've gained lately...but I just can't seem to get diet under control! Any suggestions are welcome. When I was training in the spring of this year I found running really reduced my appetite...don't know why this time around I'm craving so much junk.

I think I'm just depressed with the totally oppressive weather. I can't wait for it to get cooler. I think then I might feel like I have some energy! I've also been plagued with a series of minor aches and pains....I just don't feel GOOD running. Yesterday it was my left knee...sometimes my left hip...sometimes between the shoulders....always the left ankle...I just want to return to when things felt really smooth and fairly effortless. I'm hoping it's just that my patience is lacking this time around and my expectations for a return to previous fitness in a short amount of time are unrealistic....it could also be that my shoes don't really fit as well as they should. I'm sure I'll sort it out eventually.

I think I would also like to either get a new ipod or find a running partner. While silent runs have given me a chance to focus on breathing and form, and to reflect and appreciate nature, I think I'm starting to get bored! And this is bad, considering to date my longest run has been 5.25! I have a 5k tomorrow, and I'm hoping that will snap me out of this rut...I like doing races, and find that it's the only way I truly hit 'race pace' I just can't go faster on my own. Maybe another reason why I need a partner....

In better news, I FINALLY managed to squeeze in a pilates session yesterday...after my run! So I'm proud of myself for that, and I think it really helped to loosen me up. I'd like to do it daily; I have a DVD with mat workouts for am and pm. They're short, so it's not much of a commitment, and I think I might relieve a lot of my nagging pains if I had stronger abs and actually stretched!

Bored....

2008-09-10T08:39:00.002-05:00

So things are finally getting a little easier. Yesterday I went out for three miles, and for the first time so far I didn't feel like I was going to die! Hahaha....progress. My shoes are finally getting broken in as well, I think, so things are looking up. Of course it is still more hot and humid than should be possible at this time in September, but I can only hope a couple more weeks will bring some relief. I have four scheduled for today, and my first long run of 6 this weekend. I have modified several training programs to come up with a 20 week plan, so hopefully all goes well. I do still need to get back into the pilates....I know it would give me some relief (or possibly help me not feel like an 80-year-old when I get up in the morning!) but I just can't seem to find the time right now.....in better news all my TV shows come back in the next couple of weeks, so finally something to look forward too! Ha, I know...my life is so full of excitement!

Back from Nashville.....

2008-09-08T08:45:00.002-05:00

Finally! We are back from Tennessee. Hurricane Gustav didn't amount to much around here (thankfully!). Lots of trees down, hundreds of thousands without power, but compared to Katrina, Gustav was fortunately not even half the storm. Unfortunately, you just can't predict what it will amount to, so our neighborhood was mandatorily evacuated, and we headed to Nashville.

We had a great time, but we (and our 4 cats!) are glad to be back. Vacations are never good for me for exercise, so I didn't do much but eat and drink and have thus gained three pounds and did not run a day :(

Yesterday I climbed back on the wagon, and it was tough. I went for 5.25 in 90 degree heat, and basically thought I was going to die....but I finished it! I am very much off schedule for my midweek runs, but at least I got in the long run. We'll see if I'm ready for 6 this weekend. It was hard to do 5.25, but I'm hoping after three runs this week, and maybe the possibility of joining the gym before the weekend I can do 6 (in airconditioning!) a little easier than I did 5. I really had planned on two weeks at 5, but missed last week. I brought my running stuff to Nashville, but should have known I was kidding myself. Oh well...back to work.

Going to the French Riviera....

2008-08-29T07:33:00.002-05:00

....Gym. I know. The real Riviera would be so much nicer :) I decided that since it will be hot until, I don't know, forever, that I needed to look into somewhere cooler to work out. Plus a gym would give me the option (and hopefully nudge) to actually do some cross training. So I found a local gym here that is actually affordable. It doesn't have locker rooms or showers or group fitness....or a pool or beach volleyball or a bar...all things I loved about my last gym, but hey- it's like a third of the price so I'll take it! And it's close to work, and has 24 hour access. This may be especially good considering then I could work out late or early regardless of gym hours. Kinda scary, but they have cameras and apparently people are in there at all hours, so we'll see. But anyway I'm excited for air conditioning!

So yesterday was my first day there, and I just wanted to use the treadmill for my four mile run instead of dying of heat stroke. Seemed like a smart trade. But I haven't been on a treadmill in 2 years, so it was a little weird. I played around with the incline and the pace, which is why I love treadmills. You can create your own hills and push yourself to go faster all while distracting yourself from how long you've been on the thing. I tend to start at 5.5 mph and work up...I go up .2 mph every two minutes. My highest yesterday was 6.8 (8:49 min/mile pace). I would have liked to increase the speed more, but early on a did a half mile at 5.0 mph on a 4 degree incline, so Iwas dying. I don't know what the incline levels correspond to in real life, but if felt like a steady medium climb. I should have looked at the elevation covered in feet or meters or whatever it measures that in, but I forgot. All in all I did my four miles in 39:57. I was happy with that because I was playing with the speed so much and did the half mile at only 5 mph (12 min/mile pace) that I was surprised it didn't average to more than 10 minutes per mile. But it was surprisingly difficult and I was definitely sweating. This shocked me as I thought it would be a walk in the park after running outside lately! I'll be back there Monday and hopefully find out how much it actually costs to join. I hope it's not more than I've heard through the grapevine- it's a cute, quiet little gym and I think I would like to go there.

In other news, my race Sunday has been cancelled :( I was registered for the Crescent City Connection 4 mile Race, which goes over the bridge of the same name from the west bank to the east bank of the Mississippi in Gretna, Louisiana. Tropical Storm Gustav (let's hope he keeps that name) has threatened New Orleans enough that city officials decided it might not be smart to have one of the major bridges closed while people might be trying to evacuate. So let's hope this storm fizzles out....Louisiana needs a break from hurricanes for a few years at least!

When does it get easier?

2008-08-27T07:40:00.003-05:00

I wasn't feeling well yesterday, and slept a few hours in the afternoon....I think the rest really helped me, but I still wasn't feeling TOTALLY refreshed. At the least it prevented me from heading out until 6 pm...at which time it was still 88 degrees! I have truly had enough of summer, but unfortunately I don't think I can really expect the weather to change drastically (in the afternoon anyway) for two months at least. Which may mean switching to morning runs, which would be really difficult during the week since I start work at 7....Who knows...maybe things will cool down sooner than I think.

So anyway, had four miles planned for yesterday, but I just wasn't feeling it so I stopped at 3.14 and walked the rest of the last mile. I was only wearing my new (too small) shoes for the second time, and by three miles my left toes felt bruised. I am hoping this is only because my toenails are so short right now, or that the shoes are just new. I know a little of it is psychological- I would've thought they fit fine a month ago...it's only since I read that your shoes should be a half to a full size bigger than what you normally wear that I feel they're too small. Needless to say- I can't return 'em since I've worn them twice, so in a worst case scenario I'll use them only for really short runs or for everyday wear. But I'm still hoping they'll break in a little. So the three miles went like this: 11:04, 10:42, 10:51....still far off my past training pace, but what can I say; I've never been fast! My hope for the marathon isn't to be fast either, but rather just to finish feeling relatively good, so hopefully that's possible.

I think some strength training and cross training will help, so I'm checking out a gym this afternoon. It's right near my work, which might make it possible to work out in the am, since we have showers at work...something I'll have to keep in mind if the high temps do persist! If only I'd joined in May I wouldn't have lost three months....grrrr....hindsight.

Thank you, Fay...

2008-08-25T08:03:00.002-05:00

For some cooler, wetter weather! Well, Sunday, anyway. I shouldn't really be happy for tropical storms in Louisiana, but I guess it's ok since Fay didn't amount to much....

So Friday was a good rest day, other than the fact that I worked 15 hours...with 7 of that running around at the restaurant. I really need to make better work shoes a priority- it's pretty stupid to be so careful with running shoes only to work 30+ hours in shoes that will soon cripple me they are so painful. And speaking of shoes- my new shoes came on Friday, which I was happy about, and I was able to try them out on Saturday. Of course because I never have luck with online ordering, they don't fit the same as the ones I tried on in the store. Even though they are the SAME size and MODEL. Totally annoying. They are supposedly 1/2 size bigger than I normally buy, but actually feel tighter than my last shoes! Totally disappointing considering how much they cost. :( My only hope is that my feet are just swollen from the heat lately and that they may fit a little better soon...I think this is wishful thinking and I'm probably going to have to go buy the ones I tried on anyway....I'm hoping I could use the tight ones for short runs and the others for the long days.

So I didn't exercise on Friday, but my legs and feet were still pretty fatigued on Saturday. I suppose going from no running at all the past three months straight to a 20 mile week was probably a bad move. Needless to say, I had three miles planned for Saturday, and was excited to try my new shoes (even though they felt snug), but as soon as I started I just wasn't feeling it. It was 9 am, but was already super hot, so I quit after a very rough mile. I walked back, and was glad I quit. I think sometimes you need to listen to your body. Besides I worked a double shift on Saturday, so I had plenty of running around to do anyway!

Sunday was the New Orleans Track Club 45th Anniversary race, a three miler in City Park. Getting up at 6 was pretty tough considering I didn't even get home from work the day before until 10. I think I was in bed by 11:30, but I was still tired. I was glad to do this race, however, because it was the same course we ran for the Al Briede Gold Cup in May, so made for a convenient comparison. I ran it in May in 26:46, and yesterday in 28:16, so that's not too bad I suppose. I've lost 1:30, but I've had three months off!

I worked after the race, and was limping by the time I got off...I really need new shoes! I relaxed the rest of the day and even went to bed by 9, so I feel a little better today. Luckily today is a rest day too, so hopefully I will feel a little refreshed by tomorrow.

The bright side....or should I say the hot side?

2008-08-22T07:23:00.003-05:00

Wow. Yesterday wasn't good, but looking up the hour by hour temps for yesterday in Abita now I know why- it was 97 degrees!!! Knowing that I actually don't feel as bad about my three mile run taking 34:10....Man no wonder I ALMOST DIED when I finished...I went in the house and seriously nearly collapsed! Even though it was such a short workout I don't think I recovered for about an hour afterwards....in air conditioning.

In realizing this I looked into a couple of the other days this week and realized I was underestimating temps by 5 degrees or more...which is actually good- should mean that as September brings some cooler weather I will greatly improve. I am actually surprised I am able to run at all in 97 degree weather...

So yeah, 34:10 (11:39, 11:41, 10:50). A step back time-wise, but still felt good, even though I was drowning in sweat :-) This is something I really hope continues. I am really curious with this week's times how I'll do on Sunday. I had been hoping for a sub-30 minute time, but now I'm not so sure....of course last Saturday it was rainy (as it will be on Sunday) and I was able to do 30:27 even though it was my first run in months, so who knows? It's early, too, which should help. I 've always done better running early. I'm hoping that by the 9/27 5k I will be able to match my previous times, somewhere in the 27 minute range, but that may be wishful thinking...the spring is much cooler (and less humid) than the fall, and at that point I had been running 3-4 times a week for months...we'll see, I guess.

In other news I figured out how to link my training log to this site! Yay for me! Computer stuff is really not up my alley, so this is actually an accomplishment. Now if only I could link my schedule....I would love to get feedback as I've tweaked it a little...sort of combined what about 5 different sites reccommend, and reorganized around races I wanted to do. In time, I suppose.

Later last night I met Lauren (marathon partner), and while we talked alot about running, we each put away a bunch of buffalo tenders and queso dip :( The nutrition aspect is something I definitely have to work on...

A Cold Front- only 85 degrees!

2008-08-21T08:03:00.002-05:00

So after my abysmal run on Monday, I decided I would go out slower for the 4 miles I had planned for yesterday. Aside from making me feel like the slowest person in the world, this worked, and I was able to cover the whole distance without walking even though it was probably 85 degrees out. So good and bad, I guess.... I finished it, but in 46:20! This made me feel rather pathetic, but at least the miles went like this: 12:27, 11:39, 11:23, 10:51....so I did improve. (I must also add that for the first mile I had to go back in the house because I forgot to give my husband $$ to take the cat to the vet, and I didn't pause the garmin...I know- excuses!). So I did improve each mile, and actually it felt pretty good, which is something that's been missing from my runs since March.

When I first started training for the Crescent City Classic back in January I got to a point where I enjoyed running and it actually felt comfortable. Gradually, however, that feeling disappeared and was replaced by typical running aches and pains....that never went away no matter how much rest, icing, stretching, etc. I was doing. Ankle pain would gradually travel to my knee and hip in my left leg, and what I thought was a hamstring pull in my right leg I now think is a lingering case of sciatica....So it was nice that yesterday actually felt pretty good- huh...maybe those running experts are onto something! I definitely think doing more pilates this time around will help, and I'm also trying to get used to running without music. I think many of my previous problems were form-related, so this time I'm trying to focus on breathing, pacing, and form, and for me that means no music. If I listen to music, I am always faster, but often this is at the expense of good posture and breathing. I am trying to do this injury free, so I want to be as by-the-book as possible. I expect this will be really difficult once I get into 10+ mile runs...unless I find a running partner....too much silence!

So today I have 3 miles planned and will hopefully see some improvement. I am definitely impatient, given the mileage and pace I was running up until the end of May I am hoping muscle memory will get me back there relatively quickly....That and my new shoes which should be here Saturday...then I will be so fast :) Mostly for now I am happy that I have made it almost through the first week without skipping any planned workouts. I feel very motivated and hope this feeling continues, though I am sure there will be bad weeks.

I hope to soon figure out this whole blog-thing as well, and will be linking my training schedule, workout log, and pictures of my routes and stuff, but it will probably be slow going considering my complete incompetence when it comes to computers!

I love/hate Ana Caban

2008-08-20T08:21:00.002-05:00

So yesterday was going to be a rest day (I know- in my oh-so-intense workout schedule!) but I decided to at least go ahead and do a 25 minute pilates tape. Now I have loved pilates for years, and have been partial to tapes/discs by Ana Caban, but man can I not stand her voice and silly phrases. I have a couple different DVDs of hers, and of course she uses the same annoying analogies in each one (be long like a noodle!... imagine you are using an ice cream scoop...scoop out the abdominals...). But I've tried other instructional pilates mat workouts and don't like them as much....so obviously there's something I like about her! So even though it wasn't much of a workout, it did give me some very necessary stretching...I get so locked up I can't even turn my head to look over the backseat when I'm in reverse! So hopefully incorporating this regularly will really help.

I've also started a training log that I discovered on Runner Leana's (another fitness blogger) page. I started reading her page before the Minnie Marathon, and man does that girl work out! Anyhow, she has a link to a training log on buckeyeoutdoors which I have yet to figure out how to link here....I am so technologically incompetent it isn't even funny. I imagine my sister can help me figure it out, but we'll see. Anyway- I started the training log and that's a really good place for recording my daily workouts. I still need to figure out if I can link my garmin info here, but one step at a time, one step at a time.

Yesterday I picked up Hal Higdon's Marathon, a wonderful and motivating book about the process of deciding to enter, training for, and eventually running (or should we say jogging?) a marathon. I have read almost 25% already, and find it very inspiring. I am also less apprehensive, having read the many tips and words of wisdom he collected from others regarding running their first marathon. I can do this, I know it!

When does summer end again?

2008-08-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, so yesterday was supposedly Day 1 of getting back on fitness wagon....hmm....getting on any sort of motorized transportation would have been nice, it was so damn hot! I went out to repeat my Saturday route; it is a flat 3 mile loop through my neighborhood and part of the trace (paved running/biking route through several towns in this part of Louisiana), and needless to say it was MUCH more difficult this time in 90+ degree heat and sun compared to Saturday's 75 degrees and rain. Basically I thought I might keel over and realized just how out of shape I am :( Though I do give myself the excuse that I always prefer exercising in the morning (yesterday was afternoon), and at least I can still MOSTLY do it...I actually only ran the first 2.5, I seriously thought I might faint. So it was a very SLOW 26:31 for 2.5 miles...again, definitely not my best day, but only room for improvement from here, right? On a positive- I must say that tech fabric shirts DO make a difference! I got one from the last race I did, but rarely wear it as it's short sleeved and I prefer tank tops, but it really does wick the heat away from you and did (at least at first) help me stay cooler.

Last night turned into a Bad Day in terms of eating....here I am trying to get healthy and I ate half a cheesecake. Yep, you read that right- HALF. Oh well. All that means is now it's almost gone so hopefully I won't be tempted by it again! Today will also not be great as I am meeting Lauren, (marathon partner) not for training but rather more eating and drinking.....small steps I suppose....I'll get there eventually! So today I'll be lucky if I pull off a quick pilates video?