CrazyGreys

This again?

2012-01-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Been playing around with the blog and changed the description to include triathlons since I will most likely be talking a lot about the subject. Especially since I am going to be REALLY involved in the local triathlon club. Kind of turns out that starting next month I am going to be the President. Huh? Who would have figured?!

Husband and I are trying to figure out a spring half to do. There is one, Skunk Cabbage, but I am nervous to sign-up for it from what people tell me about it. Not that it is hard, but that the rule of no ipods is strictly enforced. To the point that if you are seen wearing one they will actually take your bib! Like defile and embarrassed your sorry wearing ipod ass right there on the course. Listen. I don't need any extra humiliation. My pace does it for me.

The season of the great ipod debate is upon us (AGAIN). I wonder how many blog posts are about this very subject? Million? And here is million and one.

It begins at the Skunk Cabbage with their flogging of anyone who dares run 13.1 to Eminem or *gasp* Bieber. Does anyone run to a Bieber song? If you do. Better keep it to yourself. Really. Keep it to yourself. Then we have the Mountain Goat training runs that will start in March. Last year there was a lot of hoopla about running with ipods. If you were seen wearing one you were asked by fellow runners to take it off. I am using the word 'asked' loosely here. If you have been running for awhile you know the fanatics I am talking about -- yep, those bastards.

*Standing up with arms raised to the heavens*

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL! I AM A HUMAN BEING

I wear an ipod. Why? Because I don't want to be alone with my thoughts. I hate my thoughts. I do everything in my power NOT to think about things and having music makes sure I am not thinking. As for the listening to the sound of my own body. No thanks. I get enough grunts and heavy breathing from my husband. Music helps me get through a 10-12-18-20 mile run. Through the hills. And sometimes. Shuts the negative voice out.

I am not an elite. I am the back-of-the-packer that you will never seen until the beer line. Give me something. My ipod.

I do understand why people get all pissy about ipod wearers. It is the same as road rage. When you see someone doing something stupid you want to punch them. Normal. But you wouldn't ban people from driving? You yell, raise a select finger and call them every name in the book and move on.

Instead we should spread the word of Courtesy Rules When Wearing an iPod:

1: Have only one ear bud in.
2: Keep the music on a level that doesn't make your ear bleed.
3: Keep the music on a level that runners next to you, behind you and in front of you can't hear what song you are listening to.
4: Here is the biggie. PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU ARE GOING.

Done.

2012-01-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or does anyone else avoid the treadmill at all cost? Can't stand it and so much so that I went for a long run (not really all that long) in freeze-your-nose-hair cold. Yep. Froze my tah tah's off, but it was a hell of a lot better than the treadmill.

It was an okay run after a few miles and my face was so numb that I couldn't feel anything. But I didn't freeze my ass off alone. I had my friend Shannon and Kris with me. They are my fellow idiots. We planned on 10 and decided on 6.5. Running on the snow/ice covered trail was kicking our asses. I forgot how much energy it takes to run on that shit. Felt like the Tin Man afterwards.

Tomorrow I am going to get my butt on the trainer for about 45-60 minutes. I am excited to get on my bike because I had aero bars put on them last weekend! I've had aero bar envy for a long time and now I have my own. Makes me feel like a real cyclist!

Have you seen Pimp My Ride? I want to do that with my bike. Make it look badass intimidating?! Maybe a skull screwed to the top of the aero bars? Like a hood ornament! That would take away my real cyclist title, but how COOL would it be!

Now. To find a skull....

How does this happen?

2012-01-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am better. Not angry, but sad.

We are struggling with the decision on when enough is enough for John. He doesn't appear to be in pain, but he is having a really hard time getting around. He is putting barely any weight on his left front leg and his back end is swaying like a drunken sailor. His spirit is there, but his body is shutting down.

Playing God, sucks.

Then my friend and running buddy called me yesterday. Her healthy greyhound dropped dead suddenly. He was fine and boom...gone. He ate dinner, they put him out in his kennel and after he peed he went to the kennel door to come back inside. Shannon said he just fell to the ground. He was gone. They vet thinks he died from a blood clot.

What is worse? Losing them suddenly or making the decision of letting them go?

Regardless. It hurts. Give me running 26.2 miles any day. That is easier than this shit.

2012-01-11T16:31:00.001-08:00

I am pissed.

Pissed that it takes months to prepare for a race and get into shape and only weeks for all the fitness to go down the toilet.

Pissed that our greyhound, John is not doing well and we are out of options.

Pissed that for sixth time I will have to put a dog down.

Pissed that I am going to miss him so much.

Pissed that I love him so much.

Pissed that people are douchebags and feel they don't have to be accountable.

Pissed that my fitness has taken such a nose dive due to me being a lazy asshole.

Pissed that yoga is not an aerobic exercise.

Pissed that I have no will power, drive, intiative to get my ass out running more than once a week.

Pissed at everyone posting motivational running quotes making me feel even worse.

Pissed that those quotes don't motivate me.

Pissed that I can't come up with a motivational quote!

Pissed that no one sends me free shit to test so I can blog about it.

Pissed that I can't think of jackshit to write.

Just. Pissed.

2012-01-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

The other day I found a journal I kept when training for my first triathlon in 2006. At the time I wanted to keep record of the training and managed to get a whopping FOUR entries.

FAIL.

Obviously this means I suck as bad at keeping a journal as I do keeping up with my blog.

Out of the four entries there was something that I wrote that had me realize how far I have come since '06: "Swim class was good - still a bitch though. I am looking forward to the time I can do 2 laps non-stop"

WTF! This week I went to the pool and my warm-up was 8 laps. This makes me happy. Very happy.

This year I haven't figured out what intermediate race I am doing, but I do have the sprint figured out. And I feel like a hypocrite since I bitched out it. Yep. I am doing the Iron Girl again this year. Even though the course has it out for me, I am still doing it. Why? Because it is right in my backyard and I can measure improvement (or suckage).

I have a bee in my bonnet about the bike and really want to work on getting to be a better cyclist. Seriously. I suck. I didn't even know where the "big" gear was till this week! Cycling was never my thing. Running is my thing. But I am going to make it my thing. Actually, I am going to make it my bitch.

Happy 2012...almost.

2011-12-29T05:59:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has passed. Sigh.

We had a very nice holiday, but I did miss being with family. A few years ago we made the decision to stay in Syracuse instead of driving 9 hours to Ohio. After 12 years of near death experiences on I-90, we decided it was better to visit in the summer. And it is better. However, I still miss the noise and the family drama. For about 5 minutes.

The husband did a great job with the gifts. He got me a year supply of my favorite chapstick. Carmex is the only way to go! I do believe I have a slight obsession (among several other things)about chapstick. If I think for a second I don't have any immediately on hand my lips get cracked and dry like I've been out in the desert for days. A little pyschosis perhaps?

My sister bought me the most awesome hoodie jacket! It is from Under Armour called "The Storm" WATER RESISTANT cotton?! WTF? Oh, yeah, baby. Next time I am at a race standing in the freezing rain I will have this beauty on to keep my sorry ass nice and dry.

Bill and I have a tradition of giving the pups a few gifts too. The crew received two stuffed toys each and some chews. John isn't into the toys any longer. Guess he is too old for that type of crap. Lily is scared shitless over the Angry Bird toy. The oinking noise it makes freaks her out and she hides in the bedroom. Sissy.

Sophie thinks it is her job to eviserate all of the toys and has been successful with the rabbit. It wasn't a pretty scene and I had to pick cotton out of her front nibblets. I could tell she was damn proud of herself. Evil dog.

It is also the time for resolutions. I am not a fan. Every year the Y it is packed to the gills for two months and then in March. Poof. Everyone disappears. Why not make a resolution in the summer? When you are much more motivated to get outside? January is just a brutal month to begin an exercise program. Cold. Dark. Snowy. It is like asking for failure. It is hard for people who regularly excerise to get out and get it done. Instead. Why not focus changing eating habits with a few days of excerise either at home or the gym. Slowly get in the habit. Don't go all balls to the walls and then stop because it is "too much" or "didn't have enough time."

For me, I am not making any resolutions, but hope to do better in a few areas of my life. For example, I would like to do better at following a training plan. I would like to do better in sending cards and staying in touch with people. I would like to do better in the area of finishing projects at home. In 2012, I want to look at certain areas of my life or things I currently do and focus on doing them a little better. Not changing. Not adding a new goal, but instead staying present with what I have and can do and see if it can be improved. If it can then maybe...just maybe...from there a new goal can come to be.

Focus...not so much

2011-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

I am struggling. I have no focus about what I want to accomplish over the winter months. I am teaching yoga twice a week and taking a 14 week Tri program, but can't figure out where I want to go with it. Where do I want to be with my training by spring? After? Races? Crap. I *feel* like I am having a mid-life crises as an athlete. I cannot seem to make a decision and the indecisiveness is driving me nuts.

On the bright side of things. The winter tri program is going great -- granted it is only the second week, but I am really enjoying it. The coaching staff are awesome. It is nice to be learning so much about the sport. This is the first time ever using a bike trainer and I don't think I will ever be able to go back to a spin bike again. I love being on my own bike. This week they had us doing 5 minute intervals at 90-100 cadance. As sweat was dripping in my eyes, I thought, they want us to go this fast out on the road? The thought scares the shit out of me.

On the running side. I am running once a week -- a long run. My friends and I want to keep our fitness up with running 10 miles on the weekend. This isn't the smartest thing on my part and need to get in a few short runs during the week, but it has been so hard to get everything to fit in my schedule!

Last weekend in lieu of our long run we did the "It's A Wonderful Life" 5k and had a blast. I do believe I had a PR 26:36 (garmin time - the clocked only at the end with a guy and a wand so I am going by the watch). And I felt every bit of it. This was the first race in a long time that I thought I was going to puke by the end.

At the end, I thought, DAMN. What would have it been if I have been running consistently?

Self doubt. It sucks.

Not The Best Look

2011-12-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

This week I started a 14 week tri training with our local Fleet Feet store. Tuesday nights are swimming and strength training and Saturday morning will be cycling.

On Tuesday's I teach yoga from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. and the tri program starts at 7:30. Since it is only a 10 minute drive from the facility where I teach it isn't too big of a stressor to get there before 7:30. Because I have only 30 minutes between I thought it would be a good idea to wear my swim suit under my yoga clothes. This way all I have to do is whip off my clothes and head out to the pool.

I do not recommend this. Two words: MAJOR wedgie.

They split everyone in two groups. One group jumps in the pool for drills and the other group does a strength routine on the pool deck. My group was first in the water -- after about 45 minutes we get out and switch.

Okay. So. I am on my mat in my bathing suit. They have us do "fire hydrants" This is where you are down on your hands and knees and you lift one leg up, like you are peeing on a fire hydrant. This works your hip flexors. Good. Doing this in a bathing suit with a dude behind you. Bad.

NOT a good look. Felt like I owe the guy behind me an apology. Or not.

This and That

2011-11-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

Happy AFTER Thanksgiving! NOW it is appropriate to listen to Christmas music.

We had a very lovely turkey day here in the household. It was Lily's first Thanksgiving with us and she and crew had their own special thanksgiving meal of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin pie.

Seriously. I thought her eyes were going to spin out of her head she was so excited. Exactly 30 minutes later we had three snoozing, tongue hanging out hounds. If they wore pants, they would be unzipped.

I am keeping up with at least one long run on the weekend with a few friends. We do a minimum of 10 miles. During the week. 'Eh. I try.

P90X -- I try to do a few DVD's during the week, but realized early on I have to be careful not to over do it. Since I teach yoga 2 nights a week I need my arms not to be like noodles. The Kenpo X I really like and the Plyometrics DVD too.

Signed up for a 14 week tri training program that starts next week. It will take me through to March. I am hoping this will keep my butt somewhat in shape during the off season.

Decided that I am going to do a few Olympic distance tri's this year and end the season with the Hudson Mohawk Valley marathon. Or half. Haven't decided yet.

Finally. What the hell is up with this weather?! I was actually out on my bike this past weekend!!! Holy hell.

Fitness Expert? Really?

2011-11-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

I am going to declare myself a fitness expert. Why the hell shouldn't I?! It is all the rage. A few people I know are "fitness experts" and since I have just enough knowledge about running and yoga I am going to jump on the "fitness expert" wagon. Move the fuc* over people.

So what if I haven't spent years studying the philosophy of yoga and can't pronounce a pose other than in English! I can't do a Head Stand or the Crow pose without looking like someone having a mild seizure. Does that matter?! All that matters is that I can do a mean Warrior I.

Have I ever broken the finish tape at a race? Not unless I am the only person in the race. Will I ever run Boston? No. But wait. I could run for charity and ligit say "I ran Boston" by not mentioned the charity part. No one really needs to know that. As far as pace? Whatever. My blistering pace of 8:30 for two miles should be good enough to earn me the title of expert! Besides all my qualifications, I have run THREE marathons. Shhhhhhhhhit. Therefore, I know everything there is to know about marathons.

In all seriousness. What the hell is going on with the world.

I am definitely not an expert. Do I teach yoga. Yes. I've taken certification classes to be an instructor and to teach yoga. Do I think this makes me an expert. Hell, no. Do I teach a running class? Yes. For beginner's. My goal for this class is to get them to run 30 minutes without stopping. Once members complete the program, I tell them to go to someone who is an expert to take them to the next level. That person is not me. Hell, I am still trying to get to the next level!

When I decided to look for a coach, I needed to figure out my goals and do my research. Go figure. RESEARCH. If I was going to pay someone money then I wanted to make sure they knew what they were doing. The person I chose ran a 2:17 marathon, trained with Kenyans and ran the qualifications for the Olympics and was a pro athlete in marathon running. I was fairly certain he knew a thing or two about running. Compared to someone who *believes* their abilities are that of an Olympic athlete, yet their times prove otherwise.

This week has proved a bit much after coming across a few situations (people) who I know that are going around talking a lot of big talk when in reality they are just average like most of the population.

So please. Ask questions. Do some research and find out if the person really does have the background/education to backup their big talk.

A Post About Nothing

2011-10-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

What the hell have I been doing lately? A whole lot of nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. And you know what? I LIKE IT.

However, I know that I've got to get my ass back into gear before my ass is assigned its own zip code. With that being said, I have made the plunge and have decided to do (not TRY), but do p90X.

I've talked to several (okay, two) that have done it and they have told me it does work. But it extremely hard and will suck. P90x is not easy in the sense of the workouts as well as the time commitment. Everyday with one day off. Sounds like my marathon training plan.

Why do I want to do this? I am sick of being "soft." NO. I will not be posting pictures of before and afters. You will just have to take my word (blog) for it. Anyway, I am happy with my weight, but I am more fat than muscle. There is more giggle than I care for. More muffin top than should be for my weight. Something I want to change.

Everything should be arriving this week to get me started.

I am also back to teaching yoga twice a week. Saturday was my first class in A LONG time and let me just say, my ass is killing me! Freaking Warrior 3's. The yoga I teach is not 'Yo Mama's yoga. I like it to be fun and light in mood. The music I use is R&B and some modern tunes. I even have the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When in my class I want you to feel good, like you do when you hear a good tune on the radio. People seem to like it so I will stick with it.

What else. Oh. I wanted to write a post about coaches and then I came across this blog. Give it a read because it is entertaining and I think, very true.

2011-10-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

What not to say to a person whose pet just died:

"Eleven is old for a greyhound, isn't it?" OR any combination. That does not make me feel better. Because to me he wasn't old. He. Wasn't. Old.

There is a big emptiness in the house without Rim. He had such a quirky personality that we can't help but feel the void. At least the humans feel the void. The other three canine nimrods could care less. People ask me, "how are the other dogs?" They don't care. To them they are hoping they get his portion of treat, food and bed space.

I used to get upset that the dogs wouldn't show ANY type of sign they knew one of the pack was missing. Instead we were met with the same "hey, what's for dinner" attitude. Then it hit me how awesome dogs are and I wish I was like them. Life is a moment to moment type of gig. You don't worry about what is coming next, who left or why.

Rim wasn't scared. Wasn't freaking out because he knew what his fate was. All that concerned him was he didn't feel well and was tired. His big heart was sick.

He had an infection that went to his heart. We think the cause was from his dental. It was sudden and he was extremely ill. Monday morning he could walk into the vets office, but by the evening when we had to move him to critical care at an overnight hospital, it took 2 techs and a vet to get him to the car. When I saw him. My heart shattered into a million pieces. The suffering in his eyes was too much to handle.

The ER clinic was wonderful. By the time we went to see him again later in the evening, he was much more comfortable -- lots of pain meds, antibiotics, fluids, and his fever was going down. He was laying on the super comfy bed we had made and his favorite, with his head on a soft fleece pillow. I had some hope.

The next day were a lot of tests. At lunch I took him a couple hamburgers to see if he would eat. Nothing. He was getting around with little assistance, but was clearly still struggling. X-rays showed an enlarged heart and ultrasound showed some concerning views around his heart. Later in the afternoon he started having an irregular heartbeat. The infection was going to win. That was when we decided to let him go.

They brought him in and he laid down on his bed. I laid behind him and we spooned. Rim always was a dog that had to be touching you when napping. Either he wanted to be right up against you, or he would snuggle his nose in the crook of your neck. I held him, stroke his soft ears, kissed his nugget head and let the tears softly fall on his beautiful fawn fur. All the time telling him how much we loved him and what a good boy he was. He was sound asleep. I put my hand where his heart was and felt it slow to a stop. He never opened his eyes. He left this world peacefully and doing what he does best. Sleeping. That was precious to me.

**I miss him pushing me from behind with his head to get me to hurry up.
**I miss him using his big mits called paws to get my attention.
**I miss seeing his beehive (ears standing straight up)
**I miss him play bowing in front of me and giving a slight "woof" when he wanted to go outside.
**I miss his 80 lbs body snuggles and practically pushing you off the side of the bed.
**I miss his nose rooting around your neck to get it tucked in just right.
**I miss how he loved to pee on something and then give a few swift kicks to let the other dogs he was a bad ass.
**I miss how he fretted.

I miss him.

2011-10-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Rim Fire Lichtinger
December 25, 1999 - October 18, 2011

Fly free, baby.

Race report and Med tent

2011-10-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

Time for the race report and a little story of how I ended up in the medical tent for the first time since running. All I have to say is Mrs. Duffy -- you were right.

I would like to give the Empire State Marathon a thumbs up! Job well done. There were a few hiccups, but I am sure they will work those out.

Have to give a shout out about the shirts and medal. The shirts were men and women sizes! Mine fits perfectly. Seriously. I've run a lot of races and only TWO shirts (one being the Empire) fit and doesn't hang on me like a circus tent. The medal is pretty sweet too. I am all about the 26.2 bling.

My sister flew in on Wednesday for a short visit and to cheer me on. She has never seen a marathon or me in a race. It was awesome to have her here and to take three days off from work before the race. Mental note. Do that again.

I thanked my lucky stars that race day wasn't Saturday because we had horrific weather. Rain and high wind. The local weather station was calling for Sunday to be a "breezy" day. I was thinking to myself the word "breezy" means hell by mile 23. And I was right.

Race morning started out stressful because one of my greyhounds suddenly because very ill. Why do these things always happen on a weekend?! ***He is still very sick and is in critical care, but that is another blog post. I get to the start around 6:30 a.m. and wait for my running buds to show up.

We do our usual -- port-o-john stops, bitch about how cold it is and just fret till it is time to get going. Finally it was time. My goal was to keep a 9:50-10 minute pace for as long as I could hold it. Ease on the hills and pick it back up on the downhills.

Gun went off and boom off we go and it felt like EVERYONE was passing me. I really hate that feeling. People running by you like you are standing freaking still. YET, my pace was about 9:30-9:40 so I knew I had to reign it in and I did. But man, I was pissed. Secretly I was hoping the people passing me would die on the Green Mile. Little did I know I would be part of the carnage.

The first 3 miles of the race are on Onondaga Lake Parkway -- a highway next to the lake. There is no protection from the wind. It it wide open. There was a water stop at the first mile. I passed it because there were to be an aid station every mile and would hit one every three miles like in training. However, there weren't every mile in the beginning - or the end. Insert - HUGE hiccup in race organization.

Mile 2. Nothing.

Mile 3. Nothing.

We get in the actual park and I don't see anything until a little past mile 4. Here begins my mini freak out. I was scared that there wouldn't be aide stations every mile. I decided to drink at every stop. Bad decision #1.

My pace was steady and consistent -- took it easy on the Hayes hill and worked my way into B'Ville. And can I just say this one thing. Sorry, break in train of thought. **I HATE RELAY RACES. Especially after mile 13. You have NO idea how bad I wanted to trip a relay person, rip off their relay bib and stuff it up their relay ass. But I was too tired.

Here are the splits from 1-13:

9:55; 9:58; 9:48; 9:45; 9:53; 9:49; 9:40; 9:58; 9:57; 10:20 (hello, Hayes); 9:50; 9:49; 9:46.

I am extremely proud of those splits.

In B'ville I hit the "fucker" hill. Oy. And it was. I am sure if a hill could smile, it was wearing a big old grin. It was as brutal. The only thing that got me through was knowing I would see the husband and my sister. It was the boost I needed to keep my pace under 10. After I passed them I was thinking two things -- get to Kelle at mile 20 and keep it under 10. However, around mile 17 I started feeling light headed and I stopped sweating. Uh. Oh. I've been drinking only water till about mile 15. After 15, I started drinking Accelerade. But I think it was too late.

Splits from 14-20:

10:22 (freaking hill); 9:59; 9:55; 10:09; 10:24; 10:21; 9:56.

Again. Very happy with my splits even though I knew I was slipping. Around mile 18 it was a fight to keep my pace and I tried. I tried so hard. It is so frustrating at this point because I desperately wanted to keep it under 10, but it wasn't in the cards.

The last stretch on River road was tough. Real tough. A few times I really wanted to walk, but kept pushing through. When I hit the parkway -- at mile 20 I knew I was in trouble. I was feeling weird. Real weird. Like, light headed, weird.

My friend, Kelle, joined me. At first I told her to pace me to stay under 10. But that quickly changed when we hit the wind. I do believe I may have yelled the word FUCK in front of a large crowd of people...and children. But hey, at the 20 mile mark, it is anything but pretty.

After mile 21, I thought I needed nutrition because I was feeling so light headed/dizzy. Thought the carbs would give me the boost I needed and decided to take a gel. The one I had in my ass pocket would taste like hot ass so I decided to take what was being offered on the course.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I thought I would be fine since I have take gels before. Not this year, though.

Again. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

What I pick? Accelerade - Chocolate with caffeine. I couldn't pick the goddamn grape!

I was already feeling weird, but by mile 23 I was feeling WAY weird. Light headed with a topper of heart palpitations. There were times I had to walk because I thought my heart was either going to explode or stop. Kelle was scared. Her exact words to me were "please don't die."

It was a combo of taking in too much water and my body wasn't processing it through my system and not enough electrolytes and adding to the mix of ingesting caffeine.

I screwed up and I knew it.

Splits from 21-26:

10:17; 10:18; 10:54;

Walking the Green Mile: 11:20; 10:54; 10:33.

After I crossed the finish line I made a bee line for the medical tent because I really felt awful. They took my blood pressure and heart rate. Blood pressure was good, but heart rate...not so much. It was through the roof and I had to sit there being monitored until it started going down.

Total time per my Garmin: 4:26:58. Last years marathon was 4:31. A 4 minute PR.

I am very happy with my time. However, I am not happy that my net time was recorded as 4:28? How is that possible? Screw that. I am going by my Garmin. He would never lie to me.

What am I most happy about? Keeping my pace under 10 for longer than I thought I could. PR'ing even though it didn't come CLOSE to what I wanted.

What am I not happy about? Making rookie mistakes. I know better. Yet, I was an asshole and did it anyway. Feel free to come and kick me in the ass.

What am I concerned about? Feeling so physically wiped out afterwards. Not just the soreness. That is a given, but the sheer exhaustion. Typically I am ravenous and want to eat everything in sight. Not this time. I couldn't even look at food without feeling nauseous for a few days.

I am considering take a year off of marathons and focusing on half's. Key word - considering. Haven't decided. Maybe I will focus getting faster in half's and working on doing more sprint tri's.

Regardless. These feet will still be hitting the pavement.

**Rimmy passed away two days later from an infection of the heart .

**Several of my friends ran the relay, but I still love them.

Finally here ---

2011-10-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is race day. It is finally here.

Gear is ready. Hopefully the body is too.

Praying that there is little to no wind. Rain, I can handle. Wind. Suuuuuuuuucks.

Bought some Carbo Boom at the Expo. Considering trying it on the course. This could be the worse or best decision I've ever made.

Have my targets -- get to the husband and my sister around the 16 mile mark. Get to my running buddy, Kelle at mile 20. She is going to run the last six with me.

Lastly. Believe.

See ya.

Anxious...

2011-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

There is so much I want to write/say, but I am having trouble just sitting down to write. It is because I am feeling very anxious. Sister is coming on Wednesday and the house still isn't "guest" clean. And, of course, the marathon Sunday. My mind is a whirlwind of trying to prepare -- diet, clothes, hydration, and mental prep.

I've been working hard on my mental state to change the nagging negative, self-doubting thoughts to positive thoughts. Telling myself to just get out there and run. Fuck it. Just run. What happens will happen.

What I hope to accomplish:

Start out at a conservative pace and ease into my race pace.

Stick with the race pace as long as I can.

Easy on the uphill and roll with the downhill to make up the time.

Know it is going to hurt at the end. Prepare for it.

Do my best and give it what I can and be happy...regardless.

Regardless.

I know I should trust my training. But. When you are a notorious slacker, it is hard to do. Have I put in most of the work? Yes. Have I've done all of the work and followed the plan exactly? No.

Anyone else feel this anxious? Doubtful? How did you get your negative self to shut the hell up?!

Taper and Doubts

2011-09-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

I am officially tapering for the marathon in..glup..two weeks. Damn! Where did the time go!? It wasn't that long ago I was writing about the start of training. Now, I am sitting here stressing about the race.

I am not stressing about finishing. I will finish. I am stressing about my performance. Can I do what I want to do? Do I have it in me? Everyone keeps telling me "you look strong, you can do it." But only if I can believe that I can and there is my problem.

I talk a big talk, but in truth, I have no will power. The negative thoughts creep in, take a vice like hold and many times I lose the battle and play it safe. This time, I am hoping I can put up a good fight or at least long enough to get me close to the finish line or even, mile 23. Keep my feet moving at a 10 m/m pace. It isn't that I want to PR (trust me I do). It is more than that. It is me testing me. Does that make sense?

Sigh.

What I am excited about is my sister is flying in to see the race. No one in my family has come out to see a race. Not because they don't want to, but just not possible. It means a lot to have her out there and will definitely keep me motivated.

Tomorrow -- 2 hour run. Wooo hooo. You know you are in taper when you are happy about a 2 hour run!

Say what?! K-Team

2011-09-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am excited!! Why? Because of this --- Katherine Switzer is coming to Syracuse and I get to be part of the K-team. I am excited to wear a shirt to support Katherine and all that she has accomplished. Her book Marathon Woman was such an inspiration to me at a time when I really needed it. My favorite part was how she started running out in her backyard as a kid.

It still boggles my mind that it really wasn't that long ago that people really, truly thought women running was not feminine (ugly) and dangerous. I guess that is why I have an issue with
IAAF's decision to make women's world records in running only count if it was an all women's race. S.T.U.P.I.D. If I get to meet Katherine Switzer I would like to ask her what she thinks about this new rule.

Tomorrow is our last long run before taper. 3:45 hours or 21 miles around Onondaga Lake. I HATE this route. But technically we are running it in Fall so maybe....no, it will still suck.

Next Sunday, 16 -- then 8 and then...MARATHON TIME. Still have not figured out what my race pace/strategy will be. I also have to figure out what the hell I am going to wear to the start line!

2011-09-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

This has been a whirlwind of a week. My BFF and her hubby flew in for a wedding this weekend. They stayed with us for a few days and we were able to hang out with my other BFF, Jen. The three of us are the 3 stooges & musketeers all rolled up into one. It amazes me how effortless our friendship is and how we can pick up right were we left off no matter how long it has been since we saw each other. It was great to spend time with them for a few days. They left on Wednesday and my in-laws arrived later in the afternoon.

Thursday was John's vet appointment. We decided not to do x-rays because we didn't want to risk setting off another seizure. Instead he is on a different pain/maintenance drug and we are going to try acupuncture/herbal treatment. The vet they referred is highly recommended so...fingers crossed.

As I was driving my in-laws around town there was a horrendous grinding noise coming from the back brakes. Lovely. It was so bad, that we decided my car had to be taken to be checked out. Dropped it off before dinner and three hours later and over $400 I have two new brakes and rotors. WTF.

We had a lovely dinner on Thursday and I am still thinking of the lasagna. Ate the entire thing -- don't judge. When we got home, Lily, our evil younger greyhound mix, decided to break-in the guest room and tear it up looking for candy. I felt so bad that my in-laws suitcases were defiled!! Lily was fine and was acting like a 2 year old on crack.

Obviously there wasn't a lot of running this week. I didn't even bother to write down my mileage on my calendar because I didn't want to see how lazy I was this past week. See, the problem I have is that I enjoy NOT running as much as I enjoy running. Anyway, I did get in a few short runs here and there.

Saturday I took Lily for a 4 mile run and she kicked my ass. It is sad when your dog is mocking you about how slow you are AND yes, she was mocking me! I could practically hear her saying "COME ON!!! Why are we going so slow!" as her little black ass was straining to go faster. Flipping dog didn't even break into a pant, but I was huffing and puffing. Very embarrassing.

Today was a 19 mile run and it felt great. A lot of it had to do with the weather. It was down right cold this morning! Took me about 2 hours to warm up enough to shed my long sleeve shirt. The best part of the run is I think I found something that works for me, nutrition wise. Andes candy. Yep. The chocolate little mints. Easy to carry. Tasty. And just enough sugar.

4 weeks till the Empire Marathon. Let the countdown begin.

Empire State Marathon - Course Preview

2011-09-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Our 20 mile run this morning was our practice run on the Empire State marathon course. It is great to be able to do a local marathon that you can go out and get a feel for the course and an idea for what to expect. After today's run, I feel more confident and have a better idea of where to conserve energy and when to pace.

Here is my review of the Empire State Marathon course.

This is not an easy course by any means, but nor is it horribly challenging. Training on hills are a must to have a successful race though. Those who are used to or have trained on flat will be in for a not so pleasant surprise. The ESM is all about the rollers.

We start at the beginning of the East trail -- this would be 3 miles from the start. After we got out of the park that is when the fun really begun.

There is a small uphill up to the bridge and then we turned on Hayes Rd. Hayes is a very quiet road and when running alone you may hear the theme song from Deliverance playing in the background. The scenery for the most part is okay. There are some houses that you think cannot possibly be inhabitable. However, it might be different when the leaves start to change because there is a lot of foliage and parts are pretty. Key word. Parts.

What I am concerned about on this stretch is the crowd support. Meaning, there will be none. There is no where for spectators to park and/or stand to cheer -- especially if the road isn't closed. My gut feeling is this is going to be a lonely couple miles unless the people who live along this stretch come out to cheer.

The other part that runners need to be aware of is the Hayes Rd. grinder. It is a slow gradual incline at the end. It is hard to get a sense from this picture, but it is a steady incline back up to Rte. 370.

What this picture also represents is 90% of what the run will look like -- open farmland. It is a lot of country road running. If it is windy the day of the race -- it is going to be brutal. 'Nuff said.

As we hit the top, we turned back on Rte. 370 to head to Baldwinsville. What I like about 370 is you can see the hills ahead of you. There are two in particular I remember on this stretch.

This one - a slow gradual climb -- again hard to get an idea from the pic. Jen and Shannon are also not happy that I took a picture of their backside. However, on the other side of this hill is a nice loooong downhill. Then there is another quick, steeper uphill afterwards. That one was harder than this one, at least in my opinion.

This is the end of the pictures because at this point I was getting really tired and have already sweat ed out about 5 lbs. After the 2nd hill we are heading into the village of Baldwinsville.

Once we get into the village we take a little jaunt to the left on a little side street -- this takes us around the back of the village and on a cider type path. I do not like this section. Other people might, I don't. At one point I was waiting to see a homeless camp and it stinks because of the river. On race day when the weather is cooler, maybe it will be different. But this little part. Not pretty. Thank goodness we were only on it for less than a mile.

Around the back of the village and up to a main street -- turn right and another right (you are on Rte. 31) to be on the main drag. We are running down the middle of village of B'ville. The smell of the B'ville diner in the air. BEST burger ever, btw.

Here is the thing about this part -- we are 13 miles into this run (16 on race day) when a hill comes out of no where. Seriously. You. Do. Not. See. It. Coming. I am not even sure WHERE the incline starts, but suddenly, you feel it. Then you look up and realize you are on a fairly steep hill. We've named it "the fucker." I think this is the hardest hill on the course. It is just...awful. It starts when you are heading out of the village and goes up to the Budweiser plant. It is a total kick in the balls. Watch for it.

There is another decent roller, but after the one by the plant, it seems cake. When you turn on River Rd., the worst is behind you. There is one nice size roller near the end of River Rd., but nothing horrible. After that roller it is home free...meaning it is FLAT all the way home. This would be around mile 20 into the race. The last 6 will be flat. It is just mile 6.5-20 you have the hills.

I've come to the realization that this is not going to be my super goal race of 4:15. I don't think I can pull it off with all the rolling hills. Instead I am going to shoot for a 4:22-4:25, which will still be a PR for me.

We shall see what race day brings.

20 miler - Ready or Not

2011-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday is our scheduled first 20 mile training run on the Empire State marathon course. I plan on writing a detail description with elevation on my blog. Hopefully this will give people coming in for the race some idea of what to expect. But here is a sneak preview:

The start and end of the race is flat (6 miles). We run down the Onondaga Parkway which is a pretty with the lake, but there is absolutely no shade or protection from wind. Nada. Nothing. The course takes you into the park -- the trails will not be closed so people will be out there doing what they normally do. However, good news in the a.m. it won't be crowded, but for the middle/late packers for the marathon, expect people on the way back in.

Runners will come in on the East trail -- flat and has three bathrooms along the way -- Willow Bay is the third and closest to the trail. As you go under the bridge and head to the dog park (near the end) there is one more bathroom right by the dog park. Half marathoner's turn around at the dog park and marathoner's head out on Rte. 370.

Rte. 370 to Hayes Rd. Hayes Rd is a loop that will take you back to 370. Here is the thing to remember about Hayes. There is a decent sized climber at the end of Hayes. And when I say climber, I also like to call it a grinder.

After that, you will have to wait till the next post. But from what I hear, it is a lot of rollers.

CRAP!!!!!!

So Tired

2011-08-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

I am tired. Last week we did a BRUTAL hill workout. Six repeats of a quarter mile hill with a slow incline of a over 100 ft. We start out at 545 ft and end at 658 ft., and it is hell. By the 4th repeat I was feeling a little queasy. By the 6th I was working hard not to puke over the side of the railing. I know hills make you stronger, but damn, they suck.

The next day was to be a 6 mile run. I did 4. Thursday was to be a 9 mile run. I barely squeaked out 6. And it was a tough...tough 6. Saturday I taught yoga and Sunday was to be a 2 hour run. And I swear, I had EVERY intention of going. Had everything ready to go and was about to walk out the door when it started raining. Looked at the radar and it wasn't going to be a light drizzle, but pouring rain. Decided I would go later in the afternoon. Yeah, well, that didn't work out.

Yesterday was a tempo run. My assigned time was to keep an 8:44-8:50 pace for 4 miles. When my coach told me my pace zone my reaction was -- "Are you fucking crazy? I can't keep that pace." And he said, "you wanted to do a 4:15 marathon." Shit. There was a lot more bitching, but I decided I would try and slow my pace down if I didn't think I could sustain it.

We did a mile warm-up or what we like to call "slog.' Hit the Garmin and kicked it up. The first mile, I really felt it in my legs, but managed to keep the pace at 8:47. Mile 2 wasn't any better and actually saw a friend of mine walking her dog. All I could do was offer a feeble wave, and she asked me today if I was pissed at her because the look on my face was a death stare. Yeah, I wanted to kill someone, but that someone was me. However, mile 2 was 8:42. At this point, I am thinking slow down, bitch, take it a little slower. But I fought the urge and decided to just try to keep it -- mile 3 was 8:40. The last mile was clearly the horse-to-the-stall syndrome. I just wanted it done and thought if I just kept going at this pace the sooner I would be done. Then I could walk. I wanted to walk SO bad and that was my carrot. Mile 4 was 8:38. Mile 4 on the dot, I walked. Walked for quarter mile and slogged it back to the start.

Today, my legs are feeling it. Went out for a 4 mile run (was supposed to be 6) and barely managed an 11 minute pace. Tomorrow I am meeting my friend after work for 8 miles and then I have to sub a yoga class right after.

This isn't going to be pretty. I may get into dog down and not be able to come out and let's not even discuss piegon. What I can predict is there will be some groaning from the instructor.

Fantasy Island

2011-08-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

I am dating myself, but I used to love the show Fantasy Island. A place where your special fantasy comes true. Here are few of my ongoing running fantasies:

I am new to town and show up at a group run. As the faster men start out, one makes eye contact...oh wait, wrong fantasy. ooops. It is THIS one.

I am right with them. At one point they get quiet because they picked up the pace to try and shake me, but I keep up. Easily. As they start to struggle, I pass them. Humming a tune to whatever is on my iPod. Look at my watch and I am running a conversational 6 minute pace.

Same fantasy, except this time, I start out and they can't catch up to me. I am always JUST a little further of them, but they can't catch me. Again. 6 minute pace.

The above two are always a group of men. Never women. Maybe it is the fantasy of a woman being faster and making a guy question his masculinity. Yep. That's it.

Zen running. No watch. No pressure. Feel an all cosmic feeling while running at a 6 minute pace. In my fantasies it is always a 6 minute pace.

Crossing the finish line and breaking the tape. Typically, the fantasy on this one is winning the NYCM. A no name that comes out of no where. The announcers go crazy.

All my running fantasies have me running a comfortable 6 minute pace, with a tempo being in the 5:00's. Yes. They are that specific. That is what makes them a fantasy.

Besides the fact that I clearly need therapy is that I would love to know the feeling of running fast. REALLY fast for more than 10 seconds.

*sigh* back to my fantasies.

Newest member!

2011-08-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Guess who is now on the Board of the CNY Tri Club? MEEEE!!!

You are looking at the new Membership Director. I will be handling all the registrations, answering questions, and helping out. I am really excited about the opportunity to get more involved with the club. They really are a gem of a resource for anyone training for a Tri. They offer some nice perks for being a member. They even have their own Winter Training Facility (WTF). I would really like to make some t-shirts with the WTF acronym.

The gentleman that was handling it before wanted to move to another board position so the membership position came up. I was approached by a woman involved in the club about if I would be interested and I said yes, because I think it is important to give back.

What I am even MORE excited about is this will (hopefully) keep me motivated to keep training over the winter months. Which I need all the help I can get. My M.O. is to go into total hibernation mode after my fall marathon.

I am also excited about breaking the perception of being labeled in one of the two camps. You know the "you are a triathlete" or "you are a marathoner." I do believe (and I know one personally) there are people who think you can't be both, which is stupid. I hate labels, BUT, I will take one proudly. It is the label of being an athlete.

Damn

2011-08-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Non running post.

This is John. JetRocket John is his racing name. He is 12 years and 3 months. Out of the 8 greyhounds we have been blessed to own, he has lived to be the oldest. Sally was just shy of being twelve when we had to let her go.

We just can't seem to get a hound to make it past twelve and it breaks my heart to say this, but John will not be the exception.

John is having major issues. He has had problems with his neck & spine. But we have managed to get him past the "episodes" with medication. This time the medication isn't working. There is a lot more going on and I am so sad.

He is limping badly on his front leg. His back end seems to be weakening more and more. He can't go down the back stairs to the yard. We have to take him out the front door and around to the backyard.

Sigh.

Looking at him, I realize how much I am going to miss him. I love all my hounds, but John. He is my special boy.

John goes to the vet on Thursday. We are going to get x-rays, but I am almost 99% sure it is cancer. If it is. This will be hound #4. Damn.

As if this isn't enough. Our other hound, Rim Fire goes in for extensive dental surgery next Monday. He is 11 and will be turning 12 on Christmas.

The next couple weeks are going to be tough.

Mind Games

2011-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

Empire is 8 weeks away. The mind games I play with myself have started. I do this every freaking year and give myself mini panic attacks because I am positive I need more time to train. I still have TWO months of training so why is this freaking me out so much?! It just does.

The pressure that I put on myself is what screws me over. For this marathon I am putting a lot of pressure on myself. I want to improve. By a lot. And I am scared.

Scared if I don't.

Scared if I do.

I am fighting with myself to not play this race safe. And I really want to play it safe.

See, I want to shave 16 minutes off my time. Which is an INSANE amount of time. And I know it. My goal is a 4:15 marathon. Last year, I did a 4:31. What the fuck is wrong with me?!

There is something I can't explain that is holding me back to go for it. No, I can explain it. It is fear of failure, self doubt and the inability to let go.

To make it happen I will have to hurt, push myself mentally and physically like I have never pushed myself before and believe I can do it. I don't know if I can.

*slap* *slap*

I am back. This is what I am going to do. I am going to train like I am going for a 4:15 and be happy with anything less than 4:31, even if it is a 4:30:59.

Can't wait to read this post again in 9 weeks.

****I've changed my mind. After last night's run, my new goal is a 4:25. I think I was smoking crack thinking about a 4:15 this year. Maybe next year.

This isn't Disneyland!

2011-08-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very conflicted about if I will do the Iron Girl next year. Although the race was extremely well run and I had a great time, the overall *feel* of the race bothers me.

It isn't just the Iron Girl either, but races like the IG that are marketing machines. In my humble opinion I feel these races are taking advantage of the sport(s) to manipulate the masses to "experience" a triathlon or marathon. Corporations put on these races to sell the sport as if people were going to Disneyland.

The selling of the experience of the sport(s) is my biggest pet peeve. A marathon and/or triathlon is *not a ride in the park. It is a SPORT. Plain and simple. It is a sport you work hard training for so you are mentally and physically prepared to experience the sport as it was intended; a test of endurance for the mind and the soul.

To be completely honest, I did chose a huge race for my first marathon because I wanted to be in with thousands of runners and have tons of crowd support. I fell for the marketing. I wanted to experience a huge race. I did and I saw first hand what these races were really about. At the Philly expo they filter people through the Philly store before you could get to the rest of the vendors. They wanted to get you in their gift shop first. At that moment I knew this was a money making machine and I was the cog that kept it going, but I was okay with it. Just like the other thousands of people, I plunked my money down on merchandise.

So, this is why I am conflicted. I do like the idea of big races getting people, especially, women out there to exercise and learn the sport(s). The marketing..cough..manipulation..cough..will get women to sign-up. It is chance for women to discover their potential in the sport(s) and to realize how good it feels to get fit, but more importantly get rewarded for hard work by finishing. There are women who do this race and get it. They love it because they put in a lot effort into their training and get to feel that great sense of accomplishment of finishing. With that being said, it is the *other* participants that make me nuts. They want entrance into the park and nothing more. They get on their scooters and eat turkey legs all day long. And they come in droves.

Why does this bother me so much? Why do I let it bother me? But it does. It makes me angry and I get really offended when I hear women talk about how they haven't trained. A friend told me that women just want to experience a tri when I was going off on how if I hear one more person tell me they didn't really train for the IG I was going to go bat shit crazy. What pisses me off is that they are not taking the sport(s) seriously and I feel it is extremely disrespectful to the other participants who did train and work hard to cross the finish line. IT IS A SPORT, NOT A TEA PARTY. Yet. They get the medal too. But I can't put all the blame on them because they did drank the IG kool-aid: anyone can do a triathlon.

Yes. Anyone can do a sprint triathlon or a marathon without much training or any training. But isn't' the point of training to prepare the body to do the best you can do physically and mentally? When people tell me they haven't trained, I want to ask them if they would have their child join a sport without practice? Gee, Jimmy, you don't need football practice, just get out there and play. What? Jimmy doesn't want to play anymore because it was too hard or he got hurt?

The hard truth is that tri's and marathons are **dangerous. People need to wipe the fairy dust from their face and come to grips that training is an important element so you don't get hurt. Take it seriously. Get yourself prepared and I guarantee the feeling of crossing the finish line will be much sweeter. Also, if you don't take the sport seriously and haven't trained then may I suggest you keep your mouth shut. For us who put in a lot of time, sweat and tears to get ready to push ourselves, we do not appreciate hearing how you didn't train, but will finish and get a medal.

So do I do the IG again knowing this? And knowing it will be worse next year because they are upping the field to 1800 instead of 1200. Should I pay my money to an organization that I do have some issues with? Am I am going to let the attitude of the non-serious participants drive me to not doing the race, when really, I should be focused on my performance and not those of others?

Again. Conflicted.

Thoughts appreciated.

*Well, maybe the kind that makes you want to poop your pants.
**When I say dangerous, I mean it can be dangerous when you don't know what you are doing. You are putting yourself and others at risk.

Iron Girl 2011 Race Report

2011-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

This was my 2nd sprint Tri. The first was back in 2006 and it took me five years to do another one.

Saturday, I headed to Oneida Shores to get my packet and rack my bike. Wanted to get a good spot. I got there when they opened at 11 a.m. and the line waiting to check-in was a thousand miles long. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. Seems I am not the genius I thought I was. I get my bike out of the car and get in line. Low and behold there was a woman from my beginner running class from two years ago. Very sweet, but likes to talk. The majority of the time was her telling me how she hasn't trained, blah, blah, but she will do okay, hasn't trained, blah, blah. Finally, the filter between my head and mouth broke and I told her she had to stop telling me she hasn't trained because it was ticking me off. It worked because she stopped talking about it.

Finally, I made it up to the registration desk and got my wrist band. Next was my packet and chip. Final stop was the transition area. Holy shit. This is when reality set in because it was HUGE. My jaw hit the ground and I thought to myself, how the hell was I going to find my bike! Going down my designed rack line, I found an area on the pavement that had two white lines that crossed each other. I parked my wheels right on the lines. All I had to remember was six racks down at the white T. See, I am a genius!

Later that night I had a mini (major) meltdown because this was the first race on my own. No friends. No group. Just me. My friends were going to be there to cheer me on, but I knew I was on my own to figure things out. Where to go, how to transition, and more importantly, I had to push myself. It scared the shit out of me. I am used to being in a group. With people to turn to and share pre-dawn jitters. Knowing that it was just me on race morning freaked me out. After several panic text's to my buds, they got my head back on straight.

Sunday morning at 4 a.m., the alarm goes off. Damn, 4 a.m. is mothereffing early. Go to the bathroom and guess what? Aunt Flo came early. Really?! Really. Not a great way to start race morning. Glad the swim wasn't in the ocean or else my nickname would be shark bait. Anyway, only thing I can do is hope for the best and come up with a game plan. The game plan was if things got ugly to say I cut my leg. Yep. That would work.

Saturday night it rained so when I got to the transition everything was drenched. Who I really felt for were the people that had to set their gear up in huge puddles of water. Damn. That just sucks. Thankfully, my area was dry. Whew! Get my gear set-up and proceed to use the port-a-jon's at least 4 x's before the start.

Head to the beach to wait...and wait...and wait. Finally, it is our turn to swim. It takes me awhile to get my groove and find my breath. After I make the first turn, I am in my groove and feeling good. Then I hear and see someone to my right calling for a lifeguard. This make me pop my head out of the water and BOOM...my head hits the corner of the lifeguard's kayak. Talk about seeing stars. He was trying to cross the traffic of swimmers. I was fine, but pissed! At this point I wanted out of the water and people to get out my way. I swam my little arms off to finish. At one point, I started to eat silt. What the....?!? Because the water is so shallow and a lot of women were having problems they were standing up and walking to the shoreline. I had no choice, I had to stand up a lot sooner than I wanted because I couldn't see shit due to all the kicked up sand. I was not a happy camper. On my way to transition a friend took this shot.

I was trying to smile and failing.

Although I was hit in the head, I was REALLY happy about my swim performance. It was a million times better experience than my first tri. I felt strong and didn't freak out (besides the kayak).

Swim - 15:16.
Ranking was 131. Say what?! Uh, huh. 131 out of 1054! Slap that bitch down!

T1-4:10 This is SO slow. Have to work on this for next year. What the hell was I doing? Picking my butt?

The bike portion had me worried because I didn't get in the training I wanted too. My goal was to finish this 18 mile ride in 1:10. As I got out there I started passing people. This boosted my confidence because I managed to maintain a good mph and felt strong throughout. However, this leg was not without its drama. I was probably about a quarter mile from the finish when a wasp the size of my fist flew into my arm and stung me!!! IT HURT LIKE A SONOFABITCH. I am yelling and clutching my arm. Look down and there is blood and it is starting to swell. At this point, I am thinking why does this race hate me!? What the hell did I ever do to it!

Bike: 1:02:29 Yippy skippy!!!
Ranking: 442 Hey, I will take it!

T2 2:17 Again, SLOW. I blame this on the wasp from hell.

Get to the transition and throw some water on my bloody swollen arm. Get my shoes on and head out to the run. See my friends a long the way who took these wonderful shots.

"I WAS STUNG BY A BEE"

"I WAS HIT IN THE HEAD BY A KAYAK"

On the run, I buzz by people and keep a nice steady pace. At this point I just want it done. I've been bashed in the head, stung by a bee, and I want OUT! Screw all this women empowerment crap!

Run: 28:35 -- Very happy with this time.
Rank: 208

At the end I felt really good. Physically and mentally. I conquered this event and training on my own. And you know what deserves all the credit? Marathon's.

Marathon's have toughed up this girl both mentally and physically. Without all the grueling training and running of 26.2, I don't think I would have done half as well as I did.

Search for Nutrition

2011-08-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

It has been four years since I started training for longer distance races. In that time I still have not found nutrition that works for me. It is like trying to find Jimmy Hoffa. You know he is out there, but you just don't know where.

Here are some of the things I have tried over the years:

GU Energy gel in most of the flavors. I was able to get over the texture -- come on ladies (and some gents) we all know what texture I am referring, but it was the way it sat in my stomach. I've tried it several times. Finally, I decided it just doesn't work for me. **Can I tell you how hard it was not to put in a "I don't swallow" joke here? Wonder how many times my blog will be found now!?

Shot Blocks didn't do it for me either. Or Sport Beans. Get stuck in the teeth. Too sweet, hard to get out of the packet when running and not fun to eat when they are warm. However, I could get over all that, but what really did it for me was they make me thirsty. I would drink too much water and then feel bloated.

Red Li Hing Mui Seed. What the hell is that, you ask? Here are the ingredients: plum, sugar, salt, licorice, aspartame and coloring. This is a snack from a friend who lives in Hawaii. This is what she uses when out on a long run for nutrition. It is a plum seed that is coated in sugar and salt. You tuck the seed in the side of your mouth, like you do tobacco, except you don't spit. It is the weirdest flavor -- at first it is sweet --and you think it isn't so awful. Then it hits you. The salt. It is overpowering, but still it has that sweetness! Your mouth start watering like crazy which only intensifies the flavor! I could only keep it in my mouth (insert joke here) for about 5 minutes. It is definitely an acquired taste. If anyone would like to try, let me know. Still have two packets sitting in a drawer. Bet they have a self life of Twinkies.

Chi Seeds. A woman in my running group a few years ago would put chi seeds in her water. The seeds would get gelatinous -- that word just sounds gross, doesn't it? She said it tasted like ice tea, but the chi seeds were good for energy, blah, blah. Okay. I would try it. As you can tell by now, I will try anything (insert joke here). But I couldn't get over the texture of the gelatinous seeds. I was like drinking tapioca pudding. Didn't notice any energy boost either.

And finally, salt packets. Another runner told me she would pour a salt packet on her tongue, drink some water and she was good to go. Doesn't sound good does it? It isn't. During a long run of 17 miles, I stopped, opened the packet of salt I had from the glove department of my car, dumped it on my tongue, drank some water and nearly puked. Check this one off the list.

Next on my list is trying Stinger Waffles. I've read rave reviews about them so maybe, just maybe I've found my Jimmy Hoffa.

Redemption!

2011-08-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

I went into Saturday's 16 miler like a soldier going into battle. During the week I made sure I ate a lot of protein and good carbs, hydrated and slept well and made a new kick ass playlist. When I pulled in the parking lot, I had my game face on.

We did a route that was out in the country and let me tell you, it got real warm, real quick out there. Oooh, boy. Even the cows were looking at us with pity with their big bovine eyes.

Shannon stashed a cooler with water at an intersection that we would hit at the 6 and 13 mile mark.

We hit our cooler at 6 and then hit a series of slow, only-found-in-the-stupid-country-hills. After the hills, we got lost. We were supposed to hop on the canal, but missed it....by a lot. After we realized we went WAY to far, we decided to turnaround and go back the way we came. Judging the distance we would get back to park at 16 on the nose. Cool.

What wasn't so cool were my hamstrings. As we were heading back, I got a cramp in the upper hamstring area..aka..by the ass. Luckily I carry Cramp 911 -- this little roll-on I bought at an expo years ago. This stuff is the bomb! I clutch the back of my leg and Shannon immediately asks if I have my stuff. I get out of my pouch and lift my shorts up. As Shannon is rolling it on an area way close to my ass a truck with two dudes drive by. Hope you enjoyed the show fellas. You could have thrown a $20 out the window.

I gimp along for a few minutes then I am all fine and dandy. Like I said -- this stuff is the bomb.

At around the 11 mile mark we polish off the rest of our water & Gatorade because we knew we would refill at the 13 mile mark. As I was about quarter mile from the 13 mile mark and I could see Shannon's hubby in the mini-van pull into the little intersection and a few minutes later pull out. Then it hit me. He took the cooler! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

All of us agreed we were not going another step until the cooler was returned. After a quick phone call, the cooler was back in about 5 minutes. We drank. Refilled and headed off.

My average pace was 10:45 and I had negative splits for the last two miles.

Ah, redemption feels good.

Death March 2011

2011-07-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

It has taken me this long to be able to talk about last Sunday's death march of 13 miles. This run has risen to the top of being the worst long run in the three years I've been training.

Yep. It was that bad.

At the start I knew it was going to be ugly because I felt tired. Bone tired. The day before I ran what was to be a 5k (see previous post) but ended up running close to 4 miles at a tempo pace (8:59). Plus I just got back from vacation and didn't run much because of the heat wave of 2011. Add on that I totally screwed up taking my thyroid medication. It would help to actually take it! Put all this together and it added up to me wanting to slit my wrists by mile 4 into our long run.

To prove it (I can't believe I am doing this) here are my splits. Typically, my long runs I can hold an average of 10:30-10:35 pace.

11:46 (this is going to fucking suck pace)
11:14
11:13
12:29 (WTF am I doing pace -- get the razor blades!)
11:26
11:24 (someone kill me now pace)
11:18
10:53
10:42
11:59 (starting to doubt everything in life pace)
13:02 (and we are walking)
13:08 (still walking)
10:58

My legs literally ached so bad. I could not move them any faster (obviously). It hurt. It sucked. And I wanted to cry. At one point I was 100 percent positive that I was going to bag the marathon. Say 'fuck it' and just run when I want to, when I felt like it, and not a moment before.

Then I showed up for hill repeats on Tuesday.

I am still devastated about last Sunday and have a lot of doubts swirling in my head. This year I wanted to get a 4:30 or better marathon. With the way things are going, I am not even sure I can do the marathon without walking. What is wrong with me?!

This Saturday we are scheduled for a 16 miler. I am praying to the running gods that just part of the run feels okay. I expect the end to suck monkey tits, but dude, I need a good run.

I NEED IT. I need a fix.

Sigh.

The 5k Clusterfu*k Race

2011-07-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

I've ran some poorly organized races in my days, but this one wins the Clusterfuck of the Year award. It was so screwed up that the organizers basically put a bullet in the head of this race -- it is dead. No one is going to go back.

The race was a 5k to raise money for a non-profit organization. It was also the race for the beginner runner group I teach. What a mistake. I feel so bad.

I chose this race for these reasons:

1. It was local. Not much travel and it was really close for most of the group.
2. It was at the Parkway which is as flat as a course as you can get. Out-and-back. Easy.
3. It was small. Not a lot of pressure or large crowd to deal with.
4. It was timed.

Here was the major problem with this race. It was organized by non-runners. Right there my friends is why this race was a huge cluster. The people organizing the race weren't runners and had no freaking clue on how to have the CORE elements for a successful race.

There was no defined start line. Which is okay. They did have a nice finish line because of the timing. Runners were timed at the END of the race, which was okay too because the race was REALLY small.

The head volunteer was not clear on her instructions at the start line about where to turn around, where the water stop was, etc. It was clear she was A. not a runner and B. new to this whole race thing.

As we know it has been hot as shit with the heat & humidity. Today was no different and the East trail of the parkway was freaking brutal. Not a lot of shade so you feel like a piece of bacon on a frying pan. The race organizers did not account for the heat. There was one water stop that consisted of a woman and her 10 yr old daughter next to a small blue cooler holding out little dixie cups of water. If you blinked, you would have missed them. The water stop was to be at the halfway mark and that is when the runners were to turnaround.

Two problems -- it was at the ONE mile mark and they had no clue on telling people to turnaround. So, we kept running and running and running and running.

Wait. Make it three. They were the ONLY TWO VOLUNTEERS on the course.

At one point, I looked at my Garmin and it reads 1.7 miles and I haven't seen ANY of the front runners on their way back. My second thought was FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I reach the salt museum and go around the loop (following others) -- some of the front runners when further to the Wegman's playground another .25 miles.

At the start of the race, I told my group I was going to 'race' and I would come back to get them at the end. Well, that went out the window when I realized how screwed up the course was and it turned into a survival to the end kind of thing. On my way back (finally) I came across members of the group and told them to turnaround at the Marina sign (just ahead of them). Actually, I told everyone on my way by to turnaround at the sign because the course was wrong and they were running a lot longer than 3.1 miles.

When I crossed the finish, I ran 3.78 miles and the runners who went to the playground ran over 4 motherfu*king miles for a 5k. My group ended up running about 3.5 miles. I was SO PISSED.

All of this could have been avoided by having an orange cone. One little orange cone.

The Time I Didn't Race

2011-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Had an absolute blast running the Boilermaker. Why? I didn't race it. And I am SO fine with it.

A friend of mine had a stroke three weeks ago. She is my age (42)!! Say it with me. What. The. Hell.

She made a full recovery and was out of the ICU in 4 days. Seriously. You would NEVER guess she had a stroke. The doctors told her that if it wasn't for her level of fitness it would have been a whole different story. Actually, she is going to be on their website! Anyway, this was her first run since it happened. Yes. The doctors said it was okay for her to run.

We decided this was an easy...EASY...long run. And we took that seriously. It was GREAT! We laughed, sang, did the YMCA and rocked out the R.O.C.K in the USA, thanked the volunteers and went through sprinklers. At the 8 mile mark my friend felt so good that she was near tears. A great weight was lifted from her shoulders. Mine too because she is my running rock. Do you hear me, friend!! NOTHING CAN EVER HAPPEN TO YOU.

I was more than happy to be by her side. The Boilermaker is not a race I like to really go full out because it is too freaking crowded. The first 3 miles are extremely frustrating of bobbing and weaving around people. You are NEVER not shoulder-to-shoulder with people. My energy is more focused on the people around me and not my running.

When you decide not to race a race you get to see a lot of douchery during a race. Here is a recap of some of the douche behavior we witnessed:

1. Dude in a full spiderman costume. I hate...HATE...people who run in costume. I don't get it? Why would you want to put on a full polyester costume on with a face mask during a race called the BOILERMAKER. You deserve the dehydration, douche.

2. Girl talking on her cell phone at mile six. To quote "it is to hard to text while running so I called." You have NO idea how much I wanted to slap that phone out of her hand. Or slap her in general.

3. This is a good one. A guy hands water to the girl he is running with. She drinks and then throws the cup directly over her head behind her. The person unfortunate enough to be behind her got a cup in the face. Really?! Have you NEVER run a race before?

4. Guy wearing the shorts that was only being held up by his penis. Dude. Pull up your shorts!!!

5. The girl wearing a running outfit that should never have been seen in public. We nicknamed her kaleidoscope girl. The shorts were TIGHT spandex in lime green, orange swirls and the top was the same fabric, same colors but a different design pattern. It hurt my eyes. And my brain.

6. We also saw a BIG hairy dude wearing a similar color scheme, but his shorts were the silky, short, shorts with the slit up the side. Yeah. It will take a while to get that image out of my head.

7. The lady that was running so far up my friend's ass that her feet went underneath my friend's heel and she stepped on her foot. They both almost did a face plant. She didn't apologize or say a word. I have a word for you, lady. DOUCHE.

Maybe next year I will carry "douche" stickers with me and slap them on people? I will be sure to start with myself.

Beginners

2011-07-08T15:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the last class for the beginning running program I teach at our local YMCA. For 12 weeks I've been coaching a group of people to complete a 5k without walking. Most of them have never run before. They were scared, nervous and lacked confidence that they could complete the program.

They started out running 1 minute/walking 4. When we hit running 5 minutes/walk 3, you thought I was asking them to run a half marathon. They were THAT sure they couldn't run 5 minutes.

Each week they accomplished something they didn't think was possible. They ran in 90 degree heat and awful humidity. Each week they did their homework of running 3 x's a week and their confidence grew.

Time to get ready for the "race."

I marked the course (with a few choice sayings along the way) and told them I wasn't running with them. Time to take the training wheels off. They were totally on their own. I would be out on the course on my bike, but it was all on them to get the job done.

The course for a first time runner is not easy (evil snicker). I am huge about running hills. They suck monkey balls, but they make you a stronger runner mentally and physically. There is a hill in the beginning that is like climbing up a wall (short wall, I am not that evil). At the end, there is a gradual incline then downhill to the finish (see, I am not that much of a bitch).

"Max" is in his 30's and has great potential. I wanted to push him because he is like a little volcano waiting to erupt. Last half mile he was cruising along. Of course, I wasn't having that shit and made him pick up the pace...faster...faster...and he was up the challenge. He finished in 27 minutes.

"Mary" is in her late 20's and a former cross country runner. She was in front of "Max" for most of the race. She started out too fast. As soon as she hit the straight-a-way, I made her turn on the jets. She finished in 28 minutes. She is SO going to kick my ass in races.

"Sam" is a big guy in his early 40's. Sam has lost some serious pounds and is the surprise of the program. He worked his ass off during this program. For his size it couldn't have been easy, but he was determined to do this program for his kids. Mid-course he just caught fire. Crossed the finish line at 36 minutes -- his goal was 40. He CRUSHED it.

"Gina" wife of Max. This girl had BLISTERS all over both feet and this was her first 3.1 miles. She didn't let the pain stop her. She kept pace with Sam for most of the course. Time: 37 minutes.

"Sarah" wife of Sam. Tiny little thing that is always smiling. BEST attitude ever. Seriously. Up for anything and will just do it. Time -- 38 minutes.

"Gina" in her early 20's came around the corner and you could see it on her face how hard she was trying. She was laying it all out on the course. She wanted it. You could just see it. During the program she had a lot of problems with her left foot. Despite her foot issues she put in the time and work. She finished in 38 minutes too. She was so happy.

"Suzie" also in her early 20's was next. Quite little Suzie. I swear I think she may have said 10 words to me the whole program. Face red and sprinting to the finish line - 40 minutes.

"Judy" in her mid 40's was the last runner. At the start she was so nervous that she couldn't do it. Her last couple runs have been tough ones. She ended up walking, but come to find out because she wasn't eating before class! She also battles that "negative" chatter that goes on in the head. She didn't walk. She finished strong and in 41 minutes. She had tears in her eyes as she finished because she ran her first 5k without walking.

All of them were cheering and hollering for each other. They were so happy. Inspired by each other. And just flat out proud of themselves. DAMN. It was awesome. This is why I teach the class. For that exact moment.

Now it is time for them to fly from the nest. Their first official 5k will be July 23rd. My hope is after this a few of them will catch the running bug. That they will continue their journey and come back to kick my ass in a race some day. Which will really piss me off.

Seriously?!

2011-07-04T12:48:00.001-07:00

When I read blogs about the struggles of fellow runners, I usually feel empathetic. Can appreciate the pain, frustration and feelings of inadequacies.

Then I read their race time.

Sympathy out the window. Insert anger. Even consider trying to find an address to mail a personalized bitch slap.

Seriously?! A 5k time that is a 7 minute mile is not fucking slow. You know what I would give to be able to run that pace for a mere 30 seconds?!

*rocking back and forth in fetal position**

Okay. Okay. I am fine.

When I read post's like these I think what the fuck is consider slow? In running there is no measurement...is there?

Well, now there is --

5:00-6:30 m/m - Motherfucking-Kenyan-Leap over tall buildings-UBER Fast (and typically uber skinny).

6:30-7:30 m/m - Burning with jealously and envy- Really fast.

7:30 - 9:00 m/m - Kind of hate you - Fast

9:00-10:00 m/m - Strong dislike with a tinge of envy and a dash of jealousy - boarderline fast.

*10:00-10:30 -- Hello, average. Nice to see you. Let's hang out for awhile. Average.

*10:30-11:00 -- Limbo. Feet still moving forward and dream of consistently falling in the above average category. Boarderline Average.

11:00+ -- Keeping it real. Someone has to cheer on the UBER fast runners. Slow.

*Is typically where I fall. ONCE I fell in the boarderline fast category. Once.

Although I am an average runner and in some circles slow, I don't care!!! Well, I do. But I have to keep myself in check. My goal is to do the best of what MY ability is and not measure it to the bullcrap above. However. If anyone bitches about their 7 m/m pace in front of me I cannot be held accountable for my actions.

Views of a Run

2011-07-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days as a runner that I felt amazing. Like I could run forever.

Entering the trail I see the incredible beauty ahead of me. The rain has made all the things around a vivid green and lush. Then I look up to see the baby blue of the sky above me with the rays of the sun sparkling off the path.

I turn a corner and see the span of the lake. How clear and clean. The colors bouncing off one another.

On the trail the only sound is the crunching of the stone beneath my feet. Birds chirping and singing and a rustle of a squirrel moving through the brush. I quicken and let my breath set the rhythm. My body is relaxed. My legs are powerful.

Next corner is a view that makes me realize how tiny I am in the universe. How on days like today, I feel like a small speck in something greater than I will ever know.

So many times when I am out running I forget to see what is really around me. Trees are my ultimate favorite in the summertime. Looking across the lake I get excited to get to the other side. After my run, I jumped in the water for a 25 minute swim. The water was crystal clear and as I swam, I could see the fish beneath me. Beautiful fish the colors of gold, blue and green. One gold one that I nicknamed Bob never moved from his spot in the warm water of the shallow end.

Today I appreciate being a runner and bow down to the humble and beautiful things that surround me everyday.

The Great Running Skirt Debate

2011-06-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of smack talk about wanting to "look cute" and wearing running skirts. People tend to think the two go hand-in-hand. People who want to look cute or wear skirts aren't real runners. My take?

Bullshit.

I couldn't have explained the pro's of running skirts better than Go, Tracy, Go on her blog. For me, I like them because they don't ride up in the hooha area and hide the crotch sweat and/or swamp ass while out on a long run. As an added bonus you get a nice breeze up in the lady parts area. Winner!

I really don't give two shits about what I look like or if I am wearing a matching assemble on my run. My running "outfits" consists of only a select few items that I wear over and over again. If I happen to look *gasp* cute wearing one of my running skirts, then wooo-fucking-hooo. Although unintentional, I am happy someone thought I looked cute because I guarantee you that I am not feeling cute. But don't mistake me for not being a real runner. My swamp ass can prove it.

If you are against wearing a running skirt because you don't want to look cute (or they are too cutesy) or don't want people to think of you as a real runner then why are you running? Is what people are wearing really that important or is the attitude that pisses people off?

The latter, I get.

Listen, I've snarked on people for looking like they have just jumped off of a "Women's Running" magazine or on people who wear full make-up to a race, but here is the thing. If that is what makes them feel comfortable or confident in order to have a great race, then I need to shut the hell up. Face it. Running is a vanity sport. People want to feel good about themselves and we all display it in different ways. It is the attitude that separates the runners from the wanna-be's. Not the skirts.

People that don't put the work in, but strut around like a pretty little peacock and try not to break a sweat so their make-up doesn't run are the ones that need to have their asses kicked. But don't get them mixed up with the ones that are putting the time and effort in and just look fucking good doing it -- skirt or no skirt.

Hills Suck!

2011-06-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

My feet hurt! And I have a big ass blister on my toe. Can I bitch any more? Yes. Yes, I can.

Last week's long run sucked so bad that there is no level of suckness that would describe it. But if there was it would one of the circles in Dante's Inferno.

We were to run 12 miles. By mile 5, I knew I wasn't going to make it. It would have to be 10 and that was if I was lucky. To make matters worse is that my water bottles had been stored in a drawer that held dryer sheets. Yep. Every sip tasted like I was sucking on a bounce dryer sheet. Ahhhhh...refreshing.

It was hot...so....hot. I do not do well in the heat and we were doing hills. Long, tortures hills up on the SU hill. Now, I work at the University and DRIVE the hills, not run. This was definitely a painful eye opener. Finally, my whining wore down my friends and we agreed to only do 10. Then one of my running gals dared suggest we run another monstrous hill on our way back to the cars. I turned into a five year old and had an absolute fit on Comstock Ave. There was foot stomping, swearing and quite possibly threats. No. There was definitely threats.

Seeing as I have the best running buds ever (or they fear me) we headed back to the cars minus the bitch slapping hill. However, there was a lot of walking the last mile. It was a demoralizing run.

Today, however, was a much better! It was a hell of a lot cooler, cloudy skies, and the course was flat as my chest. We ran 12 miles and the last mile sucked, but doesn't the last mile always suck on a long run? My feet hurt and I have a blister, but it was a good run. Finally! A good run.

Inspiring Women

2011-06-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

During your training have you ever come across an opportunity to meet someone or see something that puts life in perspective? Makes you look at yourself and who you are?

This morning, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman that epitomizes the word courage and why I run, bike, swim and stay active. Because no matter what, the best thing we can do for our mental and physical being is to always challenge ourselves, but at the same time be compassionate, caring and realize that we are all in this together. Put the competitive crap aside and be part of something other than yourself.

I am training for the Iron Girl in August. The University I work for put together a team and I got sucked into it. There are about 70 women, but I've only met a handful of them. This week, I sent out a message about getting together to ride the 18 mile bike course. Out of 70 people only five people showed up today; the most awesome five people on the planet.

All of us were strangers in the beginning, but comrades by the end. Why? Because we all had one core value in common: No one gets left behind.

A woman in our little group is 61 and has brain cancer. She didn't have the greatest bike and was a little unsteady as she rode. We all agreed immediately that we would watch out for her, although she kept telling us not to worry, go ahead without me, I am fine. No. This group of strangers made a decision that her safety is more important than a workout and it worked out perfectly.

One of us would ride with her, while the others rode ahead to the next intersection. Wait. Take a short break. Then switch. Each of us got a good ride in, but was able to help "Sue" get what she needed to do.

It was so inspiring to ride with these women. They made me appreciate life and compassion.

Get out there. Appreciate what you have, not what you don't.

Spending money like I got it

2011-06-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

This week I bought a new pair of clip shoes. WTH on the price of clips shoes!!! The lady at the cycle shop pulled out a pair with a $200 price tag! I was like those shoes better have jet engines on them for that freaking price. Then she said something that made me shut up:

"How much do you spend on your running shoes and how often do you replace them? These you will have for years."

Damn.

However, I still refused to spend $200 bucks! Even if they lasted till the next Rapture, I couldn't bring myself to plunk down $200. Thankfully, I found a nice pair at a less than sphincter tightening price and I bought them. Before I left the store, I asked them if they could take the clips off my old pair and put them on the new pair. All I can say is thank you baby jesus I asked because the shoes I bought didn't fit the clips I had on my old shoes. The new pair only fit the BIG ass clips, which meant, I had the wrong pedals for the shoes I just bought.

SHIT!!!!!!!!!

You know what the asked me? If I wanted to buy new pedals to go with the shoes. Ummmmm...hell to the no. I just bought a new bike and replaced the pedals with clip pedals so I want a freaking shoe that will fit the pedals I already have!

Their argument. These clips/pedals will give you more power.

I. Don't. Care.

I am cheap AND I am not an elite athlete. All I want is to complete. Not compete.

They found me another pair of shoes. Best part. They were cheaper.

Tomorrow -- my first open swim. *sob*

No Noodles!

2011-06-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

I am nervous that I may not be training enough -- why do I feel that way? Because it is a struggle to get one ride in a week and when I do, it is only 8 miles. Running is down to 2-3 times a week (one run being long). Swimming about 2 times a week. Not. Enough.

I am struggling. One solution is to get up in the morning. Have to suck it up and get my ass out of bed. But I LOVE sleep. Seriously, I do believe I was a cat in a past life.

What is killing me is that I have a training plan laid out in front of me. However, the past 3 weeks have been difficult to follow due to life; animal emergencies, family and work events, etc. I have to make a mental effort to hit all my workouts (a.k.a. get my butt out of bed) this week.

There is one thing I am really happy about and it is my swimming. Today was the last day of the 8 week swim clinic. This clinic has helped me tremendously with my technique and speed. Still have a lot of work to do on the endurance. I have the same problem in the water that I do on land by starting out WAY to fast. Something I have to master before the Tri in August.

On the agenda this week is my first open water swim on Wednesday. Last week, I went out to volunteer and observe how everything went down. About 90 people showed up and they expect over hundred next week. To keep from shitting myself from fear, I kept telling myself this will be great training to swim with a hundred people thrashing around me, trying to kick me in the face. Good times.

During the swim, I'd noticed a few women coming in with noodles. You know the kind kids play with in pools. Found out that the lifeguards give them to people who are struggling.

Please, please, please. I don't want to get noodled next week.

Blonde Moments

2011-06-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

I am losing it, people. My brain is slowly turning into something you would see here.

Friday, I went to a surprise birthday party with the full intention with only staying an hour and being home by 7:30 p.m., because I was running a 10 miler the next morning. When I walked in there it was...an open bar. Shit. My second intention was to only have one drink. But every time my drink was empty another would magically appear in my hands. I knew it was time to go when I started doing the booty dance.

Next morning I drag my hungover ass out of bed and head to the parkway. My friend, Shannon, was not sympathetic to my cause and actually, I do believe, was amused by my pain, but she was great the entire run. Letting me stop (a lot) for water breaks. It didn't get really rough until mile 7. At that point the pounding on my head matched that of my feet hitting the pavement.

After the run, I went home to stuff my face, drink a gallon of water and take a 2 hour nap. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh....naaaaaps.

Next day was my swim class that I have been taking for the past six weeks. But today, it was like it was the first class. Why? Because I showed up 30 motherfuc*ing minutes late. Why? Because I had it in my head it was at 9:30 a.m. I'VE BEEN TAKING THIS CLASS FOR SIX WEEKS. What is wrong with me?!

I stroll in and walk by the windows to the pool. See people in the pool and think "hey, I wonder what class that is" Insert blonde joke here. Head to the locker room and now I am getting the sense something is wrong. Where is everyone?! It hits me. That was MY class.

Now. There is NO way to go into class without everyone -- even the coach -- not noticing that you are 30 minutes late! Literally I slink in --eyes downcast -- tail tucked between my legs -- take my shirt off -- and high tail it to a lane. They were 30 minutes into class and working on something -- still don't know what. I jump in and start swimming like a mad woman with each stroke saying to myself -- idiot -- idiot-idiot and finally got in a nice rhythm. Who knew self- deprecating could be a training technique.

Here comes blonde moment #866 for the day. In the locker room I am standing there in my bra looking for my shirt. Where the hell is my shirt? Oh. I wore it out to the pool. It is sitting on the bench. S.H.I.T. Really?! What the hell is wrong with me.

I went home and went back to bed.

Good News!

2011-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

John is doing much better. The sparkle is back in his eyes and he is getting around on his own. No more having to take him out the front door to get to the backyard. He can go up and down the stairs on his own.

I have to admit I was very skeptical over the laser therapy, but a few of my friends had it done on their greyhounds with great success. It appears it is working wonders for John too. Waiting patiently for his first laser treatment

Kathy the tech getting everything ready - I get to wear the groovy glasses too

All Hell Breaking Loose

2011-05-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went out of town for a bridal shower and hubby stayed home with the pups. It turned out to be two days of complete hell and horror for the husband. I, on the other hand, had a grand time.

It started on Saturday night when Lily our recent addition and John got into a fight over a smidgen of bbq on the chair. Lily is only 2 yrs old and John is 12 and has spinal issues. Lily manged to jerk John's neck to the side and down he went. Husband said it was horrific because John was on his side crying and shaking like he was having seizure. What I think happened was he pinched a nerve and was having spasm as a result. It was off to the emergency vet.

Hubby arrives at the ER VET and there is a TWO HOUR WAIT. Since John is able to walk he takes him home and gave him prednisone that we have used before for his back. Thankfully, today, after complete rest and the pred, he has improved, but still walking very weird. He will need to get to the vet to get checked out.

Okay, as if this isn't bad enough. Hubby is literally freaked out and beyond stressed because it was such a bad scene. He is constantly worried about John and is distracted. Because of this...

Nightmare #2 begins.

He is taking our other older grey, Rimmy, out for a short walk and was so distracted with worry about John, he left the front door open a few seconds to long. Sophie squirted out. Then John. Both dogs are out and across the street in a blink of an eye. With their muzzles on. If anyone with greyhound's know this is an owners worst nightmare.

Thanks be to all that is holy they stopped in the neighbors yard. The neighbor was home and helped the husband corral everyone. After everyone was safe my poor husband proceeded to have a mini mental breakdown and a very large drink.

So much for a relaxing weekend.

Please send healing thoughts to my boy, John.

Damn you, social media

2011-05-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am getting addicted to Twitter. *Sigh*

A few years ago I started blogging and then stopped for a long time. Just recently, I've taken it up again. I blog because I like to think it helps my writing. Sometimes I wish I could write about deeper things, but in all honesty. I am a very shallow person. I admit it. My sense of humor is equivalent to a 13 yr old boy (farts make me laugh). What I write is who I am. Average.

ANYWAY....

The point of me joining Twitter is that I don't want to become a dinosaur at work. My job is working with college students. The last few years have been all about social media. It is how they communicate with each other and now the world. In the past year employers have been using Twitter. It was time to get in there.

Here is the thing. I feel just as awkward on Twitter (socially) as I do when I first meet people in person! It is this feeling of trying to be with the cool kids when I totally feel like a loser. Seriously. I was a little freaked out because I didn't want people to think I was crashing their party.

I have issues.

After a few 'replies' to people and a couple tweets to me, I started to feel more comfortable.

Maybe I can hang out with the cool people.

Swimming, Running, Oh My!

2011-05-21T05:04:00.000-07:00

There is so much I want to write about that I don't know where or what to start with first.

Swimming

Last week coach moved me over to the intermediate side of the pool. Although I was happy to be recognized for improvement, I was instantaneously nauseous. I do NOT like being singled out and/or being noticed. I'd rather fade and blend into the background like the good wallflower catholic girl I am. People *think* I am an extrovert and outgoing, but the truth is I feel extremely awkward around people I don't know and have a tendency (a lot) to be overly friendly. Yes. I am that weirdo.

At the end of the practice he had us do speed intervals. MAJOR suckage. As I do with running, I started out WAY to fast. You get to rest for 15 seconds, then go again. By the third repeat my heart was beating so hard my eyeballs were pulsing and I do believe a lung was near rupture. I stopped. And I heard about it. Next little speech to the group was "don't quit" Yeah, well, when you feel like you are about to spontaneously combust then I think it is time to take a break! Shit. Even the woman next to me asked if I wanted to use her inhaler.

Brick Workout

Did my brick workout with the tri club on Wednesday. Oh, the drama. I love reading a smackdown (especially when it doesn't involve me). The brick is to run 2 miles - bike 8 or 12 and then run 2-3 miles. The problem that caused all the drama and aforementioned smackdown was headphones.

Headphones are such a hot topic in the running world, but I didn't think would be an issue in cycling. Oh. How wrong. The shitfit was about a woman wearing headphones WHILE ON THE BIKE. I remember seeing her because I was behind her on the bike. I remember thinking, why the hell is she wearing headphones. BAD, BAD, BAD idea. I was so distracted that I didn't notice she wasn't wearing a HELMET either. Hence. DOUBLE shitfit.

BTW - it was extremely windy that night. There were times were I felt like a hamster on wheel. My legs were spinning, but I sure and the hell weren't going anywhere.

Running

The class I am teaching is going well. We did 5/3 (run 5, walk 3) and everyone did awesome. I have a guy in my class that is doing extremely well. He is a big guy and when I was running with him he said "I HATE running" And he meant it. How do you respond?! I tried to be encouraging and told him how great he was doing and that after all this hard work that he sticks with it. Why do all the work if you aren't going to stick with it?

I am going to be honest. I don't love running. Wish I did. There are runs that are enjoyable. But overall it isn't something I would say I love to do. What I do love is what running gives me. The ability to eat crap (in moderation, of course) and fitness. It feels good to feel good for me. Running to me isn't how fast, how long, how often I can run. It is about taking care of the one and only body I will have in this lifetime.

Bearded Lady

2011-05-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

What happens when you mix up regular towels with dog towels?

It was after my swim. Getting out of the shower, I grabbed my towel and started to wipe my face. It felt like I was drying off with a kitten. Dog hair. All over my face.

There was so much hair stuck in my eyelashes and eyeballs that I could barely see. I stumbled to the mirror trying desperately to hold on to my towel with one hand and clawing at my face with the other. I get to the mirror and this is what I see...

I can't even talk about it without my eyes watering.

Speed Demon

2011-05-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

"Uh, huh, I am a badass"

My dog is faster than me!! BY A LOT.

My husband and our a new little speed demon, Lily ran the Six Legged 5k this morning. Their time is one that I don't think I will ever run unless my ass is on fire and even then it is doubtful.

It was a pretty crappy day. Rain and dreary, but that didn't stop Bill from wanting to get Lily out there on the course to show her stuff.

We were nervous on how she would act around other dogs because we've only had her for about 3 months and we are working on some 'issues' She can be a bit of a bitch to the other dogs. However, she did awesome today with all the other dogs. *Sniff* So proud.

Bill got her out front and she was LITERALLY pulling him like a sled dog at a 7:15 pace!!!!!!!!! Barking for the first quarter mile. Bill had to reign her in or else he was going to give out! They settled in and found an owner with his female Pit Bull, Justice to run with for awhile. Lily must of really like Justice because when they stopped for water she came to a dead stop. When Justice caught up with them, she started running again. So, she can be nice...sometimes.

They crossed the finish line at: 23.17

Is it wrong to be incredibly jealous of one's dog?

Silly Me.

2011-05-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Holy kick in the pants, Batman. This week I dove head first into my training. Manged to do a workout everyday and I am officially cooked. It is so funny how I fooled myself into thinking I have maintained fitness over my sluggish, wah, wah, whiney ass, poor me it is winter. I *thought* I could jump right back into the swing of things and be ahead of the game.

I. Am. An. Asshole.

Now, I will admit I do have some residual running fitness -- one good thing that comes from running a freaking marathon. However, when it comes to the bike and swim, I am like a infant. A legless and armless infant. A stump on a bike. A blob in the water. How is it that I can run 26.2 miles, but swimming 400 yards wipes my ass out! And I don't even want to go into the cycling. One would think that being a runner, I would have the quad strength to be awesome on the bike. WRONG. I went out on a ride and people were flying by me like I am riding a fucking tricycle with training wheels. Sigh.

So now I am pissed. And when I am pissed I am motivated. Today I received my training program from Hypercat Racing and I am pumped. It is extremely detailed and it is just what I needed. Structure.

The light bulb has gone off in my head this year that if I don't have structure my motivation goes right out the window. In the past couple weeks the variety of workouts for a Tri is challenging and I am not getting bored. SCORE. But I do know I have to be careful not to get overwhelmed. When that happens I go to the other extreme. I just say fuck it and not do anything. My goal is to maintain the balance and give myself credit for each workout I DO and not beat myself up on the ones I miss.

Goal: Complete the workouts. Don't stress out about the workouts. Get stronger. Kick some ass.

Grooming

2011-05-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

You know what has been a huge pain in the ass since I started swimming again? Grooming. The last time I have shaved this much and often was before I was married.

Sunday, I thought I wouldn't shower before swim class. Why bother, I was going to shower later. I put my suit on under my clothes and started getting my gym bag together. About 10 minutes before I am to leave I had a terrifying thought. I DIDN'T SHAVE!!! And people. *I am not talking about my legs.

Question: Why is it after 40 hair grows at an alarming rate? ANYWAY.....

I knew I had to at least do a precursory shave or else I wasn't going to be able to concentrate in class because I would be obsessing thinking there were a whole bunch of rogue party favors going on down there. So I did a quick shave and headed out the door feeling pretty good about things. A feeling that was very temporary.

The class was a extremely frustrating. "Coach" had us working on drills that would help us be more balanced in the water. After the first drill it was clear I have no balance because I ingested half the pool. (side note: cholrine burns when it goes up the nose).

Sigh.

Here I am going to tell you why I am going to hell. To make myself feel better about my suckiness, I would wait to go last so I could see who in the class sucked worse than me. AND not only that, I was so happy that there were people that sucked worse than me.

Make room in the hand basket.

*I apologize to any of my relatives reading this because there is just some things you don't want to picture.

Motivation

2011-04-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first class of the "Learn to Run" program I teach at the local YMCA.
Stupid name. Great concept.

The structure of the training is to start participants out as a walk to run, then gradually phase out the walk. The end of the 12 week program is to have all participants run 30 minutes without stopping. A thought that is beyond their wildest dreams. This is why I love teaching this program. Watching people slowly realize that they can run more than one minute...two minutes...five minutes...fifteen and to see them when they cross the finish line of their first 5k is a feeling that I cannot explain. It is what makes me proud to be a runner.

There are 25 in the group and if HALF don't drop by week six, then that would be awesome. The problem of retention isn't the physical aspects, but keeping them motivated. In the beginning everyone is all excited, but once it starts getting hard (week six) they drop like flies. This year, I am trying something different and I hope it works.

At orientation I asked everyone to bring in a picture next week of something that represents why they are doing this program. What is their motivation? Kids? Wife? Father? This is what I am going to have them put in a place where they can see it everyday to remind them why they should stick with the program. On my way home, I started thinking of why do *I* do this? What is my motivation? Good freaking question.

Then I think back on the people I have met. My friends. They are my greatest cheerleaders. They are the people that believe in me, more than I believe in myself. The beginner runners are huge too. Seeing them work so hard to achieve their goals. My brother, Pat who passed away seven years ago. Finally, the woman I met last night in my group. She was last in the group and I started focusing on her. She told me she has M.S. and this (completing a 5k) is her goal. Wow.

That is what motivates me. Those who have the courage to try.

Test? What test?

2011-04-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

The only part of my body that isn't sore are my fingers. And I have to go for a run this morning. *sob*

The first day of the swim clinic went well. Actually, it went great because I realized how much I enjoy and miss swimming. Granted, I suck at it, but it felt good to get back in the water.

There are 14 people in the class. Half are beginners (me) and the other half intermediate. The coach said if we could swim 50 yrds without stopping we should go to intermediate. Surprisingly, I could swim 100 yrds without stopping (thank you marathon training), but there was no way in hell I was going over to the intermediate group. It has been at least 5 years since I've been in the pool and I didn't want be *that* asshole. When you are first meeting people, it is awkward enough and for me to switch, I felt like I would be saying...'nah, nah, I am better than you.'

Coach had us do a few fitness tests. The first was to count our strokes (snicker, I said stroke) for 4 - 25 yrd swims. They were: 21, 20, 20, 20. Don't know if that is bad or good. Then we had to swim a 100 yrds counting our swim strokes for the entire 100 yrds. Mine was 80, but I am not sure because there was a guy in my lane that wasn't doing very well and I almost swam up his butt a couple times so I had to stop and let him get ahead. The last thing we did was a test of endurance. Coach asked us to swim 400 yrds as fast as we could and time it. 400 yrds!!! Sonofa....

My time was under 5 minutes and felt like my lungs were going to explode and my triceps were going to spring out the back of my arms. I *think* I swam the entire 400, but there were a few people in my lane that I had to either stop, wait and then go around. This was distracting and since I can barely remember by own phone number or any 3 digit number I am sure I lost track.

After our testing, came the video. Groan. He videotaped everyone from the side (left and right) and from the front and back. He will evaluate our technique and give us a detailed description and copy of the video of what to work on. Can't wait (note: sarcasm).

Happy Easter!

Swift Kick in the Ass

2011-04-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that in my very near future, I am going to get my ass kicked. Hard.

Tomorrow morning is the first day of the swim clinic I have signed up for in order to get ready for the IronGirl in August. It has been about 7 years since my last sprint tri and about that long since I've been in the pool. I am so screwed.

The clinic is being conducted by a local college swim coach. The email I've received today contained the words "plan on videotaping." I am sorry. What? Video? The thought of me standing in my swimsuit in front of 13 strangers is giving me panic attacks (seriously, you might as well be naked) and then I find out there will be a video! Xanax may be needed or a shot of tequila. All I have to say is if anyone asks me when I am due, I am taking them out.

My M.O. is to totally slack off in the winter months and then hit the training hard in May. This year is no exception. I have a 10 mile kick in the crotch race on May 1st. That should be the name of the race instead of the Mountain Goat. Kick In The Crotch is a much more accurate description of the course. Then the IronGirl Tri in August, followed by a marathon in October.

Let the ass kicking begin.

Pupdate 2011

2011-04-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we decided it was time to start fostering for one of our local groups. We were slated to get a foster boy from Alabama named Poco. While we were waiting for Poco an emergency situation came up. There was an abuse case where there were three dogs left out in a barn. No food. No water. Nothing to lay on except hard concrete. People are such assholes. Two of the dogs were greyhound mixes. They were confiscated and sent to a local shelter. Both had frost bite on ears and tails, were underweight and had sores all of their bodies. The shelter contacted the local greyhound group to take them in to their care. We got the call to see if we could take the female from the group. The shelter named the female, Helen. The initial description was she was timid, possibly shy. With a name of Helen we also thought she was older. I don't know what dog they were looking at, but they were WAY off base. After 5 minutes of picking her up, I knew that she was going to be a handful. And the name Helen must go. Meet Lily or "Hell Dog" Since she was literally born in a barn, she had no house manners at all. She was also a baby. Just over a year. There was nothing shy or timid about her. What the hell were the shelter employees thinking? She is extremely sweet, but super bossy. The other dogs have been really patient with her and let her rule the roost. She has two speeds. Sleep and hyper. I don't know what the hell she is mixed with, but it is something that has a lot of energy. Took her for 3 mile run and it didn't even phase her. Sigh. Now enter Poco.

Poco is a HUGE black male. Racing weight was 83 lbs! Ha ha on the name, which means tiny. Very funny.

Poe is extremely laid back and him and Lily are BFF's. These two play together all the time. I've never seen greyhounds rough house like this before. At first, it scared the crap out of me because our guys do NOT play without someone going to the emergency room.

Poe has been adopted and will be going to his next home this week. I am so happy because he is going to really good friends and he is going to spoiled rotten! However, I am curious to see if they miss each other.

Here is a little video of them playing together. This is what poor Rim, John and Sophie have been putting up with at home.

Mushroom Hat

2010-10-30T03:19:00.000-07:00

Interesting. I was conducting a science experiment and didn't even know it. Turns out, that if you leave a stocking cap in a grocery bag over spring and summer, that a mushroom will grow inside the stocking cap. WTF!

A few weeks ago, I was getting ready for an early morning run, I needed a hat because it was really cold in CNY. I was on the hunt for my stocking caps. Then I remember I saw them in a grocery bag somewhere. I did find the little bag of horrors.

At first, I thought it was a cookie. A BIG cookie. But I couldn't figure out why there would be a cookie left in the hat. Why was I eating a cookie and the bigger question..why the hell did I put it in the hat?! Then I looked a little closer. And screamed. It was no freaking cookie that was for sure, but a MUSHROOM!!!

How does a fucking mushroom grow inside a hat!? The only thing I can think of is that I wore the hat last winter so it was still moist (ewwww...I hate that word...moist. Just sounds gross) and threw it in a grocery bag to get later. Obviously much later. Shiver.

The thought that crossed my mind as I was stuffing it to the bottom of the trash can was: What if I put it on my head without looking!???????!!!!!!!!!!! *Gag*

Steamtown 2010 Marathon Race Report

2010-10-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

I am finally ready (and have the time) to write a race report about the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA.

This is an AMAZING race and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Not only was it extremely organized from the day of registration to the end, it was a hell of a lot of fun. Yes. I said fun in reference to running 26.2 miles and I am not even drunk...yet.

Leading up to the marathon you get a weekly email from the race directors that are informative, but very funny. Closer to the marathon you receive a packet in the mail with detailed information on the course, directions, parking, buses, maps, etc. I wish all marathons did this because it is nice to have all this information at your fingertips. Plus, if you are neurotic like I am, you will almost wear the print off the page from reading it so many times.

About the race:

One thing they beat into all the runners heads is to not go out fast and bank time. You will die. Okay, that is a little dramatic, but you will FEEL like dying. Why you ask. The hills. Holy Mary Mother Of God, the hills. More on that later.

We got up at the butt ass crack of dawn -- strike that -- it was earlier than the butt ass crack of dawn, to catch the first bus out to the start line. It was at 5:45 a.m. SO...SO...EARLY and freezing. It was the coldest start they have ever had at Steamtown. But we wanted to get there early so we had time to wait in line at the Port-o-Jon's. We all know, that early in the morning, a Porto stop was not an option.

The bus ride was 45 minutes of heading up and up and up and up to where we finally arrived at the high school. As we got off the busses there were teenagers every where cheering for you and escorting runners to the gym. I have to give those kids HUGE kudos for dragging their butts out of bed that early on a Sunday morning and looking HAPPY to be there! Maybe they were drunk?

We found our little spot in the gym and decided to head out in the freezing cold for our first pit stop. As we got out there we noticed that there are Men AND Women Port-o-Jon's! GET THE HELL OUTTA OF HERE. It was great because it really cut down on the lines. Steamtown, you had me at Port-O-Jon's.

The morning was cold, but clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Just a gorgeous day for a race. As we started off, we went through a little town and a few people were out on their porches in pj's drinking coffee watching the many smiling faces run by. There are a few steep downhills at the beginning. After the first inital downhills, we reach a stretch where the trees are blazing with so many colors. The beautiful scenery really made the miles go by because there was so much beauty around you.

However, this is where runners can get into trouble, if they let it. What is important to remember is the race is 14 miles of downhill. 14 miles, people. And you don't even realize you are going downhill. Here is the thing I want to stress in my subtle way: LISTEN TO WHAT FORMER RUNNERS OF THIS MARATHON TELL YOU. Do not fly down these hills, thinking you will bank time. Reign it in and save it for the end. Which I did and it totally worked in my favor.

My goal was to keep a consistent 10:15 pace up until mile 20 or 23 and then try for negative splits at the end. Negative splits...ahahahahaaaa........snort....I am an idiot.

In the beginning people were FLYING by me like I was standing still. A girl in our training group was a good 3 minutes ahead of me, but I was militant about keeping my time of 10:15 on these downhills. I am so happy I did. Around the 19 mile mark, I started catching up with those people who were so far ahead of me in the beginning and caught up to the girl in our group and passed her. In the end -- she ended up finishing 15 minutes behind me. At mile 20, I was passing a lot of people.

The course goes flat around mile 15 (with some rolling hills) until mile 23. You run along a beautiful canal on soft trail terrain which is a nice break for the legs and you get to a really pretty section where the trees are bending over the trail making sort of an archway. The sun was shining through and it was so pretty. At this point, we come across an EMT that was cracking us up. He would point at people and say "you are going to make it" "YOU are going to make it" etc. We wanted to wait around to see who the person he said "you aren't going to make it."

Up until mile 21, I felt great! I mean, really good. Felt like I wasn't going to hit the wall at all and then....I did. The wall for me is major aches in the hips, fatigue and the worst...the overwhelming feeling of wanting to start bawling my head off. This is so weird because I am NOT a crier. I rarely cry and when I do, it is in private, with my face stuffed in a pillow. I don't like to cry and like to push all those feeling down deep and reach for a glass of therapy.

Thank GOD for my dear friend Shannon, who meet me at mile 17 to run the last 9 miles with me. She kept me sane, kept me on track and kept my ass moving.

Mile 23 has a nice sized hill (Bastards). After that, it was pure survival mode and my pace really started to slow. However, even with my pace coming down to 10:30 -10:45, I was passing people. The major bitch of the race was mile 25.5. HOLY SHIT. If one of the race directors were there, I swear I would have bitched slapped them into next week. This hill was HUGE. This was where the wheels really started to come off. There was a lot of whimpering and tearing up at this point, but Shannon and my coach were the only things that got my ass up that hill. After the hill and a quick puke, it is downhill and straight to the glorious finish.

The thing that stands out the most about this race was the crowd support. It rivaled the Philadelphia marathon and in some ways, out did Philly. This is one of the biggest reasons I will run this marathon again. The people in the Scranton community were amazing. You couldn't swing a cat without someone offering you water, Gatorade, Swedish fish, Oreos, brownies, fig newtons, etc. There were so many amazing, kind, enthusiastic, supportive people along the way that made you feel like you could run a 100 miles. People were out tailgating and enjoying the race as much as the runners. I cannot express how important this type of support is and how it it is welcomed and needed by runners. If anyone from the communities of Scranton are reading this...THANK YOU.

My time: 4:31 -- a personal best. Knocked 9 minutes off my Philadelphia time. I was VERY happy with my performance (besides the crying part). BUT, it took a full week before I could walk down a flight of stairs. Those downhills bit me in the ass...hard.

If you are going to run Steamtown:

1. DO NOT BANK TIME
2. TRAIN ON DOWNHILLS
3. DO NOT GET IN A HOT TUB DIRECTLY AFTERWARDS.

2010-09-11T02:41:00.000-07:00

I've reached that point in my training where I just want it all to be over. I am tired. I am burned out. I am not running like I should and that is making me feel worse. It isn't the training, but just life. Things are getting overwhelming and it is hard to juggle all the responsibilities of work, running, teaching and home. Sigh.

Enough of that shit. Time to suck it up. My life is pretty damn good and I feel like slapping myself after reading what I just wrote.

What I am excited about it seeing my friends complete their first marathon. It is like watching someone give birth -- weird analogy I know -- but stick with me --

1. They decide it is time in their life to train and committed to a marathon
2. For months, they have been training to get ready -- working on their breathing, eating what they want and preparing for the big day
3. The big day arrives and all the excitement surrounding it.
4. On the course they give it all they got -- there are tears, pain, support, and moments where they don't think they can make it, but they push through.
5. They cross the finish line and they realized at that moment the beauty of life -- of their life -- they have received a precious gift called accomplishment. And it is beautiful. They are sore, tired and beat all to hell, but the smile on their faces will tell everyone that it was all worth it.

2010-09-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

I am now in marathon panic mode. SHIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It hit me when I recieved an email from the Steamtown Race director that mentioned it is 4 weeks till the marathon.

Huh? What? 4 weeks? How did that happen? I am not ready. Me = hyperventaling. Not really, but I think I did crap my pants..a little. Not, really, but I FELT like crapping my pants AND hyperventaling while doing it.

My longest run has been 18 miles a few weeks ago. Life, work and everything has been so crazy that it has been hard to get the time in, but now, since I am in full panic mode, I am going to have to make the time. Next weekend it will be 20-21 miles. Has to be.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

Finally - RACE REPORT

2010-08-28T02:25:00.000-07:00

Aaaahhhhhhh....it has been a month since I've last posted!!! Bad..bad..bad. I am going to get back on the Blog wagon again by posting at least weekly. All of my three readers (that is what family is for) will at least get 3 (boring) weekly updates.

Okay, on to a...drum roll...Catherine Valley RACE REPORT! Woot Woot!!!

Catherine Valley was a Half Marathon in Watkins Glenn, NY last Sunday -- on that day CNY received RECORD rains falls. Funny, because it was the same day, I got MY personal record!!! Beat my previous time by 10 minutes.

It was raining the moment we left Syracuse and there was a brief time period of maybe 10-15 minutes it stopped raining, but that was before the race started. HA!

We get there and it is of course, raining, but not pouring. We were like, okay, if it stays like this it won’t be too awful. Running in the rain is nice, but running in a downpour isn’t. The race organizers were totally disorganized. It was crazy. They totally didn’t have their shit together. Afterwards, we heard that everything that could possibly go wrong -- did. The start line was in a field between two orange cones. As the runners get out there it starts to rain pretty hard. Great. Everyone at the start was like, okay, might as well get soaked now.

The organizers lost the bull horn so they had to yell GO. But beforehand we were told, they“hope” the mile markers are up and they “hope” the volunteers are at the water stops and they “hope” the police are blocking traffic at mile 2. Everyone is looking at each other and laughing because what are going to do! There were only about 125 runners (if that) and 95 percent of them hard core. I mean, one of our crew, who is in his 50’s ran a 1:33 and was 10th in his age group and 20th overall. WTF?!?!

The race gets started and around mile 4 the heavens opened up and it just POURED rain. I mean, torrential. At one point I was laughing to myself because it was so comical. Seeing as I was running alone, I am sure I appeared to be a complete LOON to the volunteers. Anyway, the race was so small that I ended up running alone for most of the time, which was fine with me. It gave me a chance to concentrate and get into my groove.

The trails started to get seriously flooded and there was no way around the puddles, you had to run through them so my shoes ended up feeling like they weighed 40 lbs by the time I hit the turnaround. Oh, and the turnaround was a tent put in the middle of the trail. You either literally RAN into a volunteer (which I am sure that had to happen) or as you approached, they yelled: “STOP!!! Do you want some water? Okay, turn around.” HILARIOUS. Who needs a freaking cone!

The last 3 miles the wind decided to show up and at that point is was raining SIDEWAYS. It was terrible, horrible and everything in-between. I just wanted it over with and was in a panic because I didn’t think I was going to get in under 2 hours. Then when I hit that field, I was like SONOFABITCH WHAT IS THIS SHIT…(less than .5 mile left) I had to run through a flooded field – it felt like running through spare tires, I was trying to get my legs up so I wouldn’t trip! Have you ever tried to run through a flooded field? Don’t!

Finally I get on the high school track to run around to the finish. In my mind I kept telling myself to treat it like a 30 second speed interval – then I rounded that goddamn corner and nearly came to a dead stop because the water was so deep – I almost started crying -- I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO………tick…tick…tick…went the clock. The corner that you took to get to the straight-a-way was, and I am not exaggerating, ankle deep water. There was no way around it because they entire area was flooded. We called it the bath tub. It was like coming to a stop – I was desperately trying to lift my legs to get through it because the time is ticking away for under 2 hours. It was the last motherfucking 100 yards!!! It was like slow motion. Then I looked and I made it with 30 seconds to spare. WHEW! It was a close one. I’d crossed the finish line at 1:59:27.

We knew the race was going to be small, but little did we know that every fucking UBER runner in the Finger Lakes showed up. Seriously. I am running the 9’s and I am ALONE. WTF! There were a ton of people ahead of me. However, it did feel good to blast by at few people on the way back. AH HA motherfuckers.

What I am the most proud of is my last three miles because they were negative splits. I’d wanted to keep a steady pace in the beginning and then treat the last 3 miles as a tempo run – for the first 10 miles, I kept an average of 9:17 pace and then my last three miles were:

Mile 10 – 9:00
Mile 11 – 8:41
Mile 12 – 8:53
Mile 13 – 8:29!! WTF. Pure adrenaline at this time. I wanted that sub 2 and was going to give it everything I had.

Afterwards, we all were like drowned rats. One of the crew brought Mimosa’s and we had a celebration drink and headed off to lunch. After lunch we hit a few wineries on the way home. Despite the horrific weather...it was a perfect day with awesome running friends.

How I love me some Gatorade

2010-07-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

It is actually cool this morning for my long run! Like 55 degree's cool. Oh man, it is going to be great. Well, the weather, the run may suck. Isn't it weird how you can wake up feeling good and *think* you are going to have a good run, but once out there everything goes to hell. Running can really fu*k with your head.

Last weekend, ran 2:45 hours with a friend and we covered 16 miles. Humid as hell, like wring your socks out from the sweat, humid. The weekend before, we ran 2:45 hours and covered 15 miles. Shitty...shitty...shitty run. The difference was that last weekend we didn't have the sun beating down on us so it wasn't as hot as the weekend before. It was the heat that got to me, but I think the biggest difference between the two is I wasn't a dumb ass and brought Gatorade with me this past weekend. Oh what a difference Gatorade makes.

Happy trails!

Proud as a Peacock!

2010-07-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the big day for the group of runner's I've been coaching for the last 12 weeks. It was their first 5k. Most have never run before...ever.

The day was humid as all hell. All week the news was covering how oppressive the heat and humidity was going to be on Saturday. And for once, the news was right. CRAP!

Woke up that morning and it was horrible. It was 70 degrees with 90+ percent humidity. My first thought was please, please don't let anyone go down. Let them finish this race that they have worked so hard for.

The group arrives at the race and everyone was so excited. One of my runners was literally vibrating with excitement. Before the race I gave everyone a stern warning of NOT going out fast because this was a day to just finish, not break any records. The weather conditions were not in the cards to really haul ass. Especially for their first race.

Everyone was running strong. Then. The inexcusable happened. NO WATER. Yep. The race ran out of motherfucking water on one of the worst humidity day of the motherfucking year. I cannot tell you how pissed and still pissed I am about this. This was not a HUGE 5k. There were stores everywhere to get water. The 1st stop had plenty of water. How was there no water at the 2nd stop. In-motherfucking-excusable.

I was running with two of the slower runners and they were struggling because of the heat/humidity. They needed water and there was none. Seriously. I was panicking because nothing is more important to me than the safety of my runners. We see a gentleman and his wife sitting in the back of their truck watching the race and they had 4 glorious bottles of water. I happened to mention that I was seriously considering mugging him for a bottle. He then offered us one and my faith in humanity was restored...for a second. I told him he possibly saved a life.

We rounded the end and took off for the finish. She finished strong and I went back for the last runner of the group. She also finished strong. Everyone finished and ran so well in such shitty weather, that I am just in awe of all of them.

The best...the BEST...was when Kitty, age 66, took 1st in her age group. The screaming and cheering that erupted when we heard her name was like something from a Justin Biber (oh whatever the hell his name is) concert. She had tears in her eyes. We all had tears in our eyes. Shit. I am freaking tearing up right now! In the car, on the ride home, Kitty was sitting in the front and quietly said to me "I have the fever."

That's my girl. And she is going to kick my ass in a 5k one day. I can't wait.

Beat Up!

2010-07-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

Long run this past Saturday was brutal. One of those runs where you think of seriously throwing yourself in front of a car so you can be put out of your misery.

The run started out okay. Felt good, was running with two of my girlfriends that I haven't seen for awhile so we were chatting away until mile 7 and then silence. Why? THE MOTHERFU*KING HEAT. I am telling you, this summer is killing me. Just killing me. Plus, the route we took was not a good one (okay, it sucked monkey balls) to run in the summer. It really is a route to save for Fall/Winter running. Most of the 15 miles was not shaded, on asphalt with a lot of traffic. Mix that in with a cloudless, sunny, humid day and it equals one shitty run.

When we hit the 5 mile stretch in front of the State Fairgrounds and that is when the wheels began to fall off. It. Was. So. Hot. And it was humiliating because not only was I crumbling, I had an audience. Last weekend was the big "car show" at the State Fair. A huge line of traffic waiting to get in the Fairgrounds. Nice. I felt like a bad opening act. Look honey, while we sit here at the light lets watch this lady over there do an impression of the Humpback of Notre Dame. Oh, she is running? Really? Okay.

FINALLY we get past the Fairgrounds and I see a convenience store ahead. I had to stop and get water because I was out. Only had two bottles on my belt with only water. Add this to the stupid shit I did that day. Standing outside I noticed the ice cooler. You know the ones where you can get bags of ice? Then it struck me. I am not joking when I say I crawled in the cooler, only thing sticking out were my feet, to get my body temp down. It felt glorious. I highly recommend it to anyone about ready to have a heat stroke.

At this point we only (ONLY - HA) have 3 miles to go. I walk my ass up the hill and we are at the bridge to cross back in the park to glorious, glorious, shade. My last three miles were at a 12.12 pace. Made it back to the start and in-between gulps of water, swore to never run that route again in the summer. EVER.

Find the Joy

2010-07-17T02:23:00.001-07:00

Here it is 5 a.m. again on a Saturday morning and this is the only time I have to write. This summer has been so incredibly busy with running and teaching at the local YMCA. I am only home one night a week to spend time with the husband and to catch up with my cheesy reality shows (don't judge me!).

Training is going well. Just finished 4 hellious weeks of hill workouts. I really..really...hate hills. Hate. Them. The heat wave we've been having doesn't help either and a coach that really doesn't care it is 95 with 90 percent humidity. Actually, he cares so little that he increases the time spent on hill repeats. There are days I swear he really is Hitler with longer hair.

There are some amazing people in this years crop of people and I don't foresee many dropping. Last year, the group started with over 20 and ended with about 12 (if that). This year, there is a different vibe and it makes the workout's fun, if you call sweating so much you have to wring out your sport bra, fun.

A few people have said that they can't believe the difference in my running this year. That I am a stronger runner, not the same person. This surprises the hell out of me because I feel like the same runner. The only difference this year is that I don't care about my pace. Well, I DO, but I am not obsessed with it. Last year, my Garmin was like a permanent tattoo on my wrist and there were runs I would give myself whip lash from looking at it so much to see how fast or slow I was going. It, not me, ruled my running and I started to hate running. That my friends is bad.

Then I read a book in the Spring that changed everything. A little book called Born to Run. The message I got from that book is to get back to the joy of running and everything will fall into place. That is what I did. This year, I run by how I feel and I don't beat myself up. I've accepted that I am not going to be a front of a pack runner and hell, sometimes not even near the front of the middle of the pack. I run because there are moments of such beauty. Times where you feel like you have wings on your feet (even if you are going at an 11 min mile) and you just feel GOOD. That is the feeling I love and after when I run. Don't care if I am running a 8 min pace or a 11 minute pace (won't lie, would be nice to know what an 8 min. pace would feel like and not feel like puking).

The other change is my confidence. I've run a marathon, made it through and have learned from it. I know I can do it. The big question is how pissed is my body going to be and what retaliation will it take upon me. Shiver.

Time to get ready. Looking out the window and there is an absolutely gorgeous sunrise. Ah, that is what I am talking about.

Future races

2010-06-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Finally committed to the two races I will be running this season:

Catherine Valley Half Marathon - August 22nd in Watkins Glenn, NY. It is a very small half (approximately 120 runners last year). I chose it because it was small. If I fail miserably then I can head straight to the wineries and, well, you know. Oh, who are we kidding, either way I will be heading straight to the wineries.

This is the race I've chosen to PR. I want a sub 2 hour half. This is where all my focus is with my training right now. This past week I've logged 39 miles and have run six days in a row. For me, this is an accomplishment and for people who know me, think it is a complete miracle!

A friend has offered to pace me during the half. This scares me a little. Mentally, I am not all the tough and I am not sure if this would drive me or beat me down? Plus, I don't know if she will still be friends with me afterwards if I happen to go to my dark place.

If all is going smooth with the training, I am shooting for the Steamtown Marathon on October 10, 2010. I was going to do the Toronto Marathon with the friends I ran Philly, but it is the weekend of my brother's wedding. Steamtown is the weekend before so I can feel free to relax and party afterwards. Won't have to worry about training, etc. SWEET!

There you have it -- written down and on the internet so there is no turning back. Eeek!

2010-05-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

How is it in this big wide world of space that when running one can eat a fly? Thankfully, it wasn't me. It was a friend. Chuckle. And it was huge.

Got up early this morning to get my 60 minute run in before the heat settled in for the day. I am so happy I did because it is in the low 90's today. The new house is staying nice and cool. LOVE the ceiling fans. However, I still want central air one day! Sigh. Central air.

My goal for this year with training is to really work on my consistency. The traning calls for 6 days of running and that is REALLY hard for me. But, if I want to reach my goal of a sub 2 hour half, I am going to have to work on my consistency and get in my mileage. So far, I am off to a good start.

Flames of Hell

2010-05-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

It is 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday, so why not write a blog post. It's been awhile since we've caught up.

You are probably wondering WTF are you doing up at 5:30? Well, I did it again. Signed up for a summer of ass kicking. This will mark my official 2nd year of marathon training. Funny thing is, I haven't decided on a marathon!! My goal this time around is to get faster and PR in a Half. I want to get in under 2 hours. Don't give a damn if the clock reads: 1:59:59 - just as long as it is under 2! A friend offered to pace me, which I might take her up on. Of course, she might have changed her mind after last week.

This past Tuesday it was freaking HOT. Like 90 hot. All of us in CNY aren't used to these high temps! Especially me. I do not do well running in the heat. It is ugly. Real ugly. Like, Bridget gets hateful, ugly. My friend, on the other hand, is a camel. The hotter, the better. She is insane, but I still like her. However, I would like to say before I go on, that I warned her.

The other important tid-bit to know is that I am slow. She is fast. Normally we don't run together because our paces are light years apart, but this week she was sick. Lucky me.

We headed out around 5 p.m. on the Erie Canal, with the temp hovering around 90. The canal, by the way, has little shade (just saying) and it wasn't far into the run I started to whine. Probably around .25 mile marker. Around mile 2.5 the wheels started t come off. Barely made it to the 3 mile mark and then had to walk. Yes. Walk. For about 40 seconds. My friend asked "Bridget, you only walked for 40 seconds, did you really need to?" YES, YES I DID BECAUSE IT IS MOTHERFUC**** HOT OUT HERE. I didn't say that, but I thought it!

Around mile 5 - I literally stopped in the middle of the trail and this is what I said...
"*&%$!*ass^%$#&&6^788*mother*&^^%&&sonofa*&^%%cock(*&&^bast(*&^^*

My friend just stood there and stared at me. Thankfully, she started laughing. Not many people can handle hearing that many obscenities at one time. They tend to disintegrate or cry or pray. I don't know what happened. It was like I was possessed as I was running through the flames of hell.

We ended up running 6 miles. I survived and looked like a great big salt lick! If there were a herd of deer somewhere they would have been all over me. The thought of that kind of tickles. Sorry, off topic, anyway, I am fairly certain my friend made a pack with herself to never run with me again.

Light at the end of the tunnel

2010-04-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived that the house is ready to go on the market. We've worked our asses off these past three weeks and it shows. The house looks fantastic and our realtor couldn't be happier. We hope all this effort will bring a buyer.

As for the basement. **Wet Basement Solutions of Syracuse were FANTASTIC. These guys really went above the call of duty. Anyone having issues...CALL THESE GUYS. Not only did they do a great job for a very reasonable price, they helped out on a few things that normally other companies wouldn't bother with. They answered all our questions and even made suggestions on how to fix a few things around the house non-basement related.

**No affilation just happy customers

The Money Pit

2010-04-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Remember this movie? It has become my life.

We've moved into our new house about 3 weeks ago. We couldn't be happier with our new home. It fits our lives like a glove. But we are still working on our previous house...aka...the money pit. Seriously, it was like we were living like animals!

First, the move. We are cheap and we don't hire movers. We are healthy individuals, right? Why would we pay someone? Next time. We pay. I. Am. To. Old. For. This. Shit.

My dearest didn't think he needed to reserve a truck on the last weekend of the month. *I can hear you laughing* What we got, was a van. We made due, but my back may never be the same again. It took us a thousand trips, but we got *most* of everything to the house. What we didn't get was all the (shit) stuff in the basement and garage. Two of those things were the washer and dryer. After multiple bruises, a possible hernia, several scratches and a close call with a concussion I was NOT moving a 10 year old washer and dryer up the basement stairs...to the van..UP in the van...DOWN out of the van and UP into the new house. No. Fucking. Way.

Solution. We ordered a new washer and dryer. Done.

The following weekend we had to get the rest of the (shit) stuff from house. One of the things was switching out the stoves. This past year we bought a double convection oven and the bastard was coming with me. No way was I giving it up. So, we made a switch. The new house had a stainless steel front stove. Nice, but not as nice as ours.

Did I say it was just the two of moving? Yeah. It was brutal. We had to take off the handles to get them through the doors. Then we finally get our stove in the new house and I go to plug it in. I am standing there staring at the floor for 10 minutes because my brain can't compute what the hell I am seeing. The outlet is a 3-prong outlet, yet I am holding a 4-prong plug. It is then I start to string together a creative array of curse words. Thankfully, my husband is a genius. He takes apart the back of the stoves and switches the electrical cords. BRILLIANT.

Okay, now to the money pit. Let me give you some background before I go in more detail. Our previous house was built in the early 70's and still had the 70's vibe when we bought it. When we decided to sell we knew we had to do some updates in order to get a good price and for it to sell in a decent amount of time. We had new carpet installed, hardwood refinished, painted every room in the house except the basement. The basement is what is screwing us.

We *thought* we were ready to put the house up. All we had to do was some cleaning and poof it was ready. Hubby does woodworking down in the basement so it was a dust, dirt, cobweb mess, but I thought (ha) it just needed a cleaning. When the realtor came by to look over the house he found water damage in the basement. Which led him to the crawl space. Which led him to his freak out.

Every year the crawl space gets standing water when we have the big thaw or if we have a monsoon. When he went down there was standing water. Long story short, we have to get it fixed.

Here is what we have to do and I want to rip my hair out and cry (at the same time). A company will come in and dig a trench around the perimeter of the crawl space and put in drainage tiles and a sump pump (no, we didn't have one before), plus take care of the mold and paint/seal the concrete. They will also take care of another room and a closet area. In the meantime, we have to paint the paneling in the basement and the laundry area. That was my day today. My back is killing me and the fingers on my right hand have atrophied!

We are hoping the company will be able to get this project done by the end of this coming week and we can finally....finally...put the house up for sale.

You know, I didn't think my hair could get more grey. I was wrong.

2010-03-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

Still have not closed on the new house. Was supposed to close LAST week. Seriously considering wearing a t-shirt to the closing that reads "just do your job."

We've been living out of boxes for awhile and quite frankly, it sucks. No one should have to go down to the family room to get their underwear. It is just wrong.

The good news - our current house looks fantastic. Everything has been painted, bathroom updated and once we get out there the new carpet installed and all hardwoods refinished. We hope all this work will pay off with a quick sale! Woot Woot!!

Work has been insane because of the end of year student panic. I've been in resume/letter critiquing hell and can't WAIT for summer. There are days that I feel like a robot repeating the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Running. Non-existent. I am running once a week and that MUST change. However, I did run
a race a few weeks ago and actually got a PR. How the FU*K did that happen?! Anyway, I am going to start with the Mt. Goat Training runs this Saturday to hopefully light up fire up under my fat, drooping ass.

That is all the poop to scoop...which is another subject! Hello Spring...Hello poop.

2010-02-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

I, Bridget, solemnly swears to never buy things that will languish in the basement, to be covered with dust/dirt/cat litter/dead spiders. I solemnly swear to avoid buying tacky decorations for all major holidays, or things, that I might need "some day" such as gold glitter paint. Maybe I was planning a 70's theme something or other. However, I cannot bring myself to giveaway or sell my Fiesta Loony Tunes plates, sugar & creamer bowl...and clock. It was a phase. Don't judge me.

My morning was spent cleaning, tossing and packing our laundry room. It was dirty, dirty work. Not the type I enjoy (wink, wink). It was 4 hours of on my knees, scrubbing the floors, then the walls, and inhaling all sorts of nasty stuff. I think smoking a pack of cigarettes would have been healthier.

2010-02-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

We have been making progress with the house. Things are getting packed, thrown out or donated. Wednesday, we are getting rid of the old, ugly ass, 70's kitchen table and chairs. Personally, I wanted to start a bonfire and do the Hustle in celebration around the dancing flames.

On the weight loss front, things are coming along okay. I am down to 143.0 and that makes me happy. If I can just get those last 3 lbs off. Maybe, I can with the new exercise routines I learned this weekend!

I work p/t at the local YMCA and to keep being a fitness instructor you have to earn CEC's (Continuing Education Credits). This weekend I took a 3 hr class called "Triple Threat." It was about using the step and stability ball to do an intense weight training circuit. I learned lots of great ways to work the chest, shoulders, back and legs. Tomorrow, I am going to head out to buy a ball so I can practice some routines. Maybe, I can still have those buns of steel after all.

2010-01-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

Crazy. Insane. Stressful.

That is what the past couple weeks have been like. It all started when we bought a house. Yes. We bought a house.

The house is great. One level and a great backyard for the dogs. I am so excited to get them out there. They are going to love it and I won't freak out when they start running because there are no trees in the yard. That means no sticks, which means no greyhound boo boo's! Our current yard is very wooded. I love the trees, but I can't tell you how many times my guys have come into the house with a tear and/or hole in the foot! As a matter of fact, Sophie has a nice dime sized hole in between her front toes. We've also had dogs slide on the snow/ice and hit a tree. It will be nice to take them out and throw their toys around so they can run, run and RUN!

I am stressing out because we are trying to get OUR house cleaned out and packed. The plan is to move into the new house and then put our house on the market. We have SO much to do. Thinking about it makes my blood pressure go up.

Because of this the 10 lb challenge. Out the window. I've been bad. Real bad. Like, hand me those large Wendy's fries bad.

Then. I received the call. Maggie's ashes were ready for me to pick up. I was happy to have her home, but....ugh. The vet and his wife were so wonderful and kind. They sent a beautiful card and made a donation in Maggie's name. Then when I picked up her ashes, they had a mold with her paw print and a beautiful small clear ornament with her hair. DAMNIT. I started bawling all over again.

I miss her.

2010-01-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

This morning I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and went to the YMCA for the Body Cuts class at 6 a.m. It is 50 minutes of a group of people doing weights to music. It is hell. Squats, Fly's, Lunges, oh my. When I was getting ready for work my arms were shaking so much that I could barely put on my eyeliner! Freaking looked like Cleopatra all day.

Excercise and food report:

Body Cuts - 6 a.m.
2 cups of coffee w/Stevia and non-fat creamer
2 hard boiled eggs without the yolk, but with a tablespoon of hummus instead- YUM.
Cup of OJ

Then...evil came into the office -- it goes by the name of "Low Fat Cranberry/Orange Muffin"

Bastard.

I admit it. I ate half. Then came to my senses and threw it away.

Lunch:

Ran 3 miles on treadmill
4 Hershey kisses
Cheese stick
Yogurt

I did bring my lunch of leftover WW recipe, but it didn't taste all the great so I only had about 1/4 of it.

Water throughout the day

Dinner - WW recipe of Black Bean Taco's - 4 points each. I had two and they were delicious!!

Snack - Skinny Cow Ice Cream bar - Mint.

Seems like my weak point is lunch. CRAP.

2010-01-11T16:14:00.001-08:00

Holy Fiber Batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just saying. Woof.

Weight

2010-01-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

This morning, I lumbered downstairs to the scale for my first weigh-in. I wasn't happy.

146.4 lbs.

This is without having coffee and being butt ass naked. Not good. Not good at all.

Breakfast:

Egg Mug (2 points). This is a recipe I found on the Hungry Girl site. It is 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters and a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese. It was very good. Orange Juice. Coffee w/stevia and fat free creamer.

At work, I had another cup of coffee. I am not a nice person until I've had my second cup of coffee. Mention anything about points to me beforehand and I might shove a stapler up your ass.

Lunch:

Yogurt - 1 point and here things took a nose dive. I went to King David's and had the Vegetarian Plate. I have NO idea how many points it was, but it was goooooood. It has hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh, greek salad, falafel patties (4) -- these were the first to be consumed, and pita bread (1). So what do you think? Like 20 points?

Oh, and I forgot. 4 Hershey Kisses.

Tonight, I am heading to a spin class. Don't you think an hour of ass kicking should counter lunch?

Dinner: Progresso Vegetable Soup - 0 points.

FML.

2010-01-10T13:09:00.001-08:00

Getting ready for the 10 lb challenge! Went to the grocery and tried my best to plan out my meals and snacks for the week. My friend, Z, gave me the best tip! She should since she is going to be a WW leader next week. She told me about these.

I was very skeptical and thought for sure they would taste like cardboard, but to my surprise, they are very tasty! And only 1 point. *giggle, giggle* I loaded it up with hummus and veggies. Extremely satisfying and tasty. Gives me hope that I am not going to starve.

Thank You

2010-01-10T05:45:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone for their kind words about Maggie. We miss her terribly, but our girl is no longer in pain. Maggie was very much as independent as she was sweet. The last few weeks of her life she wasn't able to do the things she so enjoyed. Now she can.

Sweet Angel

2010-01-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

September 1998 - Friday, January 8, 2010

10 lbs Challenge

2010-01-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

Jen, Trac and I have decided to do a 10 lbs challenge. The first person to lose 10 lbs wins. We are going to 'officially' start on Monday. Shit. Personally, I think Jen is going to win before this thing even starts! She emailed us with what she has been eating and let's just say, it is amazing she doesn't weigh 600 lbs. You know I love ya, Jen!

This is how it will work. We will weigh-in once a week and email each other everyday with what we ate for the day. Trying to guilt and bitch our way to better eating. In light of this challenge, I am going to use my blog to help keep me on track. I figure if the Biggest Loser can use public humiliation to get people to lose weight, it might work for me too.

We are going to use the Weight Watchers points system. My daily points are 19. Sob. I think I've tried to stay to 19 points once and I blew about half of them before noon. This isn't going to be easy. As a matter of fact, I think it is going to blow monkey chunks.

Stay tuned.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Maggie is hanging in there. We have her on a multitude of pain meds that seem to be doing the trick....for now. What just sucks and is so devastating is that this is the only thing wrong with her. She is playing, eating and being happy. Just sucks.

I am so grateful to have these 2 weeks off to be with her. Not only do we get to spend quality time with the pups, we have been busy getting some home improvement things done. Getting the house ready to put on the market hopefully around March. It is a serious pain in the ass.

We've also been looking at houses and haven't come across anything that makes us tingle. One thing we have decided is we want a ranch. Why? The dogs. I think we have finally gone over the edge. With Mag's going through what she is and John with his neck issues, it would be great to have a house without stairs. John is close to 100 lbs and when you try to pick him up, he feels like 200. He is a tank.

ANYWAY....I am trying to get my lazy butt back into gear and exercise. Today I ran the Resolution Run and it was a blast. You show up and you don't know the course or how far. Could be anywhere from 3 - 6 miles. It was 4 miles this year. You get a little champagne halfway through and free beer and pasta at the end. I think it was the perfect way to kick start 2010. Let's hope the momentum continues!

2009-12-29T15:35:00.001-08:00

The holiday's went by in a flash. Ran around like a mad woman, socialized and had a great time. But the great time ended when I got home.

Maggie, my perfect little girl, was diagnosed with bone cancer.

A friend of mine said, WTF.

WTF is right.

2009-12-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

This was on Syracuse.com today. Thank you, Donna. This totally brought a smile to my face this morning.

To the Editor:

Let’s look at the bright side of winter.

Top ten terrific things about cold weather:

Zero mosquitoes
Stay clean walking across frozen mud
Under 20 degrees Farenheit justifies hot chocolate
Snow squeaks under 14 degrees Farenheit
Boiling water thrown outside turns to vapor under 5 degrees Farenheit
Fill driveway potholes with water
Sundogs
Men and cats become really affectionate
Ice skating
Rude gestures ineffective in mittens.

Top ten terrific things about snow:

Animal tracks
Junk in neighbor’s yard looks much nicer
Free unlimited sculpture material
Snow forts and snowball fights
Snow angels (child, adult and canine)
Snowshoeing and skiing
Snowed on dog smells better than rained on dog
You can tell if the mailman has been by
Moonlight on sparkly snow
Your neighbor just shoveled off your car by mistake.

My favorite - Sundogs. Our hounds LOVE to lay in the sun in the living room. We have a huge bay window and on those days when the sun is streaming in our dogs lay around like bloated beached seals soaking up the rays. Maybe, I should try it.

So much to do, so little time

2009-12-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been feeling frazzled and overwhelmed with holiday shopping and having a long list of projects to do to get the house on the market and life in general. However, after this weekend I've decided that I am not going to spend another moment letting the little things control my life. Instead, I am going to get organized and do what I can do, when I can do it. Not everything needs to be finished today or tomorrow. It is time to re-evaluate and prioritize.

Saturday is a prime example of Bill and I taking time out for ourselves. We didn't head to the mall. We didn't head to the outlets. We headed to a monastery. A place of peace, quiet and simplicity. Also a place where the monk's make delicious baked goods; bread, fruit cake w/whiskey, brownies, jams and jelly's. Bill and I came back with a bunch of delicious, holy, goodness.

When we were in the bakery one of the monk's came up to me to chat. Totally caught me off guard because I thought they took a vow of silence! Immediately I'd broken out in a sweat. I don't know why, but he made me so nervous! Maybe it is because on any given day I usually let at least 2-3 curse words fly in any given conversation AND I don't even realize I am doing it (most of the time). After about 5 minutes he moved on. Whew!

Today, I finished Christmas shopping and packed up stuff to go in storage. Overall, I feel like I accomplished a lot. Next thing on the list. Call a tree service to get rid of the tree that smashed our neighbor's fence. Oh, I didn't mention that did I?

Friday, we had wicked winds and it took down one of our trees. The tree took out the upper part of our neighbor's fence. SONOFABITCH. Grumble, grumble, grumble. The fence only needs to have 3-4 boards replaced and it was in pretty bad shape before the tree hit it. Haven't talked to the owner about it, although we've been over a couple times and she wasn't home. Today, I left a note. Sigh. It is always something. Life. It can be a bitch.

2009-12-11T17:06:00.001-08:00

To the tune of We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah
Blah...Blah...Blaaaaah...Blah.

That is exactly how I feel.

Blah

Post Marathon Blues

2009-12-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

This sucks. I have too much time on my hands and I am not running.

This past Sunday I ran 5 miles with Shannon and Kris and had to walk twice because of the knee. Today, I had to do something...or kill...so I jumped on the bike. It felt good to break a sweat. Sigh. I have an appointment with the doc to look at my knee. I will be really pissed if it is anything that a little more rest won't cure.

In other news. Bill and I are meeting with a realtor about selling the homestead. Have to say I am a little sad. I love this house. Originally, we were going to do some major renovations (new kitchen, expand the family room, blah blah), but it turned out to be a very expensive project that we wouldn't get a return on the investment. It would be more economical to find a house that already had all these things. Maybe we will build. Who the hell knows. I am so confused.

Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

2009-11-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Philadelphia around 2:30 on Friday. We arrive at the Best Western which was in a perfect location and was within walking distance to many things. However, the start line wasn't one of them. It was 2 miles away. The Philadelphia marathon website said it was .15 from the start. Ummm, dude, I think you misplaced a decimal point.

We took a nice walk around the neighborhood and we passed by Morimoto's (the Iron Chef) restaurant and I started ooooh'ing and aaaaah'ing because I love Morimoto and always wanted to try his cuisine. Low and behold, my darling husband made reservations there a few months ago as a surprise. Hee, hee!!!! Damn, I am one lucky girl!

The restaurant was gorgeous! My only complaint is that the front of house staff must not have had a good impression of us because they sat us at the very last booth, by the kitchen, by the check-in area for the staff. There were a ton of tables empty and it just struck me a little strange that we were sort of hidden. Oh well, the food was still out of this world! Worth every penny.

Saturday we headed to the expo to pick up our packets. The place was a MAD HOUSE. It reminded me of the shopping frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. The merchandise was completely picked over, people elbowing each other (not really), babies crying (not really), and a few fist fights (not really).

Sunday. The big day. I had three goals: To finish, to keep a 10:30 pace and to end strong. I am proud to say I accomplished all three!

We started out nice and easy. The first part of the course went through the historical parts of Philadelphia and was very cool! But I will tell you this. If anyone tells you that this course if flat is LYING! This is NOT a flat course. The hills are terrible (if you train for them). There are two that people fell victim -- the one by Drexler University and one by a park. So if you are running Philly, my advice is to train for hills. You will be thankful. I know I was! They barely phased me...going up that is...going down...different story.

My right knee started bothering me around mile 5, but it worked itself out. So I thought. When I crossed the finished line my knee was toast. It was so extremely painful. Not even in my training had any part of my body hurt like this. It's been almost a week and my knee still has some pain. Sonofabitch. ANYWAY, the longest part of the course is the out and back after you pass the halfway point. It is brutal. Mile 13-20 seems to go on FOREVER. Oh, and there is a hill at mile 17! Bastards.

Bill meet me around mile 23 and thank God!! I am not kidding when I tell you that from mile 23 to 26 I barely remember a thing. It was a total out of body experience. What I do remember is passing A LOT of people. Then, I heard Bill say - "honey, you only have a quarter mile left..I will see you at the finish line" It was like he splashed cold water on my face! I woke up and FLEW to the finish line!!!

It was a great race, well organized and a hell of a lot of fun!

Holy Shit and Holy Hell

2009-11-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

I did it!!! My time for my first marathon was 4:40:39!!! I couldn't be happier.

More later. Right now, I am butt ass tired and my knee is killing me. Time for good sleep. But will post more of a detailed race report later.

Ready for Philadelphia

2009-11-20T05:45:00.001-08:00

Packed and ready to go.

How the hell....

2009-11-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday. I am officially in a new demographic. It sucks. I know it is just a number, but shit, I blink my eyes and I am turning 40! How the hell did that happen. I swear, yesterday, I was 27. Sigh.

We are heading out tomorrow for Philly. I am excited, nervous and ready for it all to be over with so I can get on with my 40 yr old life. ANYWAY...I will be posting so I can go back on this and either laugh, cringe or cheer.

2009-11-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

This morning, I ran my last long run till the marathon. Yiiiipppppeeeee!!!! 8 easy miles. It was glorious and all I kept thinking was in two weeks I will be able to sleep in on the weekends. I am SO looking forward to that.

The taper is going great. My legs feel fresh and energy level is up. All I need to do is stay away from sick people. If I get a cold now, I will be PISSED.

7 more days!!!!

Turning the Corner

2009-11-01T12:59:00.001-08:00

What the hell happened to me? When did I turn the corner in my training? For a long time I thought I was getting slower and was feeling depressed. I was running slower, I had a hamstring injury and things just sucked. I felt like all the proverbial chips were against me. Then today, things changed.

This morning I felt really good. Could it be the 2 Tylenol I downed before the run or the BioFreeze I slathered all over my legs? Maybe. Or it could have been the half of pizza I gobbled down the night before. Regardless, something clicked in today. I can only PRAY it stays clicked.

Our pace stayed around 10:30 for the first 7 miles. From mile 7 to 11 we sped it up to be in the mid 10's. Mile 12 - 10:08! But here is the shocker of the run -- mile 18 - 9:55! SSSSSHHHHHIIIIITTTTTT!!!!! Mile 19 - 10:03 - Mile 20 - 10:03 - Mile 21 -10:04 - Mile 22 - 9:51 - GET THE FU** OUT OF HERE.

Overall average pace for today was 10:19. This is by far the fastest I have run in a very, very long time. Please, oh please, let the good running mojo stick around for another 3 weeks.

Sicko's!

2009-10-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay!!! I changed the picture so everyone didn't have an up and close view of Rim's....errrr...you know. Instead, I went with this embarassing picture of him!

New Look

2009-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Felt it was time to change things up a bit with the old blog. The photo cracks me up and I love that you can sort of see John's snaggle tooth.

The past couple weeks have been action packed. We've been dog sitting and had the in-law's visit for a few days. I am SO lucky to have great in-law's. I hear stories all the time from friends about how they don't get along with their in-laws (fights, passive aggresive behaviors) that it makes me realize just how lucky I am.

On Wednesday, when our guests arrived we headed out to do a little letterboxing. It was the first time for D&B and my hubby. We had a blast. I forgot how much fun it was to go letterboxing. If you haven't tried it, try it at least once. Letterboxing got me out and about in Syracuse. I've been to places I never knew existed.

This morning, I went out the Green Lakes to conquer the "Bowls" one more time before Philly. I just had to run them one last time. The hills were as hard as ever, totally kicked my ass and at one point I thought my heart exploded in my chest. However, for the first time I ran them TWICE! BOOM BABY!

The Bowls put the marathon in perspective for me. If I can do 2.5 hours (over 13 miles) on hills that make you feel like you can't get enough air and your heart is working its way out of your body, then I can do a marathon. When I am going up the hill that seems to never end, feeling like I can't go any further, but end up at the top, then I can do a marathon. The bowls are a neccessary evil and thank you God, I don't have to do them again till next year.

Ready, Set - GO!

2009-10-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Don't want to jinx myself, but I am finally at peace knowing I am ready for Philly. Completed 21 miles and feel tired, but good. Thank you for the running mojo! It worked! Definitely at the end I *felt* like I could go for the additional 5 miles. Of course, I know those last 5 miles will feel like 20.

I ran with my peeps that are going to be running Philly with me...errrrr...I mean ahead of me! Shannon and Virgina are going to kick ass and are SO going to do a 4:15 if not under that time. I am so excited for them. On today's run they looked REALLY strong. Trust me, I had enough time behind them to notice. Shannon's hubby, Loren, has been doing their training and he was sweet enough to let me jump in on the band wagon since my training officially ended last week.

Loren is an awesome coach! He drove ahead of us and every 2.5/3 miles he was waiting for us with Gatorade and water. He strongly suggested we drink the 6 oz Gatorade and we did. I think my friends that did the trick for me. I felt really good and didn't have to pee until around mile 14. And if you know me, you know this is a miracle.

Only a glorious 12 mile run next weekend!

Ready or Not?

2009-10-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Send some running mojo my way if you don't mine. In 12 hours I will be heading out for a 22 mile run. After this run, I will be either crippled or ready for Philadelphia. Will let you know which tomorrow.

Running Weekend

2009-10-11T15:23:00.001-07:00

Saturday was my first long run in three weeks. My leg is feeling about 80 percent. I stayed away from the hills, but managed to get in 17 miles in 3:07 -- average around 11 minute miles. UGH! I just can't seem to break those 11 minutes! BUT, I am blaming the total ass whooping that Kevin gave us on Tuesday. Holy shit. We did MAJOR hills for 20 minutes -- sprint up/easy down and these mother's where steep. The next few days my ass was killing me. Damn! I haven't been that sore in a looooong time. Freakin' hills. Anyway, I was still feeling Tuesday on Saturday, but still, it is starting to piss me off. My goal for Philly is to maintain a steady 10:30, which will put me at a 4:30 marathon.

Today was seriously very cool. Four members of our group were running the Fulton Century Half and Full Marathon. Pat, or what we like to call him, Fast Pat, was running the marathon. Kelle and Mary Ann were running the Half.

A group of us decided to get together and head to the race to cheer for our running buddies. We meet at 6:15 a.m. to make it to the 7 a.m. start and let me tell you, it was FREEZING. The wind was whipping and I was thanking God I was not running, but cheering. We see them off and head out to find a good spot to cheer. It wasn't hard. This race is extremely small, therefore, there isn't a lot of....ummmmm.....extra's? Meaning, traffic isn't stopped, the mile markers are little white arrows marked on the shoulder of the road and little to no spectators. It would be a very lonely marathon for a lot of people.

We find the water stop between mile 5 and 6. No one was there so all of us decide to start filling the cups and sort of took over. Good thing because none of the volunteers showed up. Oh, wait! One did, but she was supposed to direct the runners around the orange cone that was 10 ft. around the corner. The course coordinator was there to make sure no one cheated and just turned right at the stop sign. HA! He was a great guy. There we were screaming, clamoring our cow bells, holding our signs and having a ball. It was so much fun!! I screamed so much I started to lose my voice!

We received a lot of smiles and thank you's. It was a great feeling. We saw all our friends come in and run a great race. I couldn't be prouder of all of them. They are truly an inspiration.

Indian Lake 2009

2009-10-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Back from our annual trip to Indian Lake in the Adirondacks. It was exactly what the doctor ordered to get the soul and mind replenished. The picture above is what greeted us each morning.

The dogs did great, which is no surprise because they are greyhounds! I am sorry, maybe I am a little bias, but greyhounds are awesome travelers. We did have one little scare on our last day. We were walking the dogs down the road back to the cabin when across the street I see the neighbor get out of his truck with his Sheep dog, Percy. Percy, didn't like seeing other dogs in his neighborhood and made a bee line right over Route 30 to us. Now, my gut instinct told me Percy wasn't coming over to play. His stance and the look in his eye was not of, "hey neighbors!" I reacted without even thinking about it and put Sophie and Maggie behind me, stood in the road in an aggressive stance and was saying "NO" in my God voice while trying to maintain eye contact with Percy. Meanwhile, Percy's owner came running over yelling, PERCY, PERCY!! Percy wasn't listening. Finally, he was able to get Percy by the collar and said "sorry" and went back across the street. How none of us were not creamed by a truck or car still amazes me. Anyway, we headed back to the cabin no worse the wear so I could change my pants.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

I love the look on this duck's face! He is like a bad ass with feathers.

John, looking utterly adorable.

Sophie looking bored shitless.

One of the sad thing we are coming to realize is that Maggie may not be joining us next year because this hiking was too much for her little old lady legs. It was like she had the will, but her back legs didn't not want to work. Once, we had to carry her back to the cabin because she just couldn't get her back legs to work. After much needed rest, she was fine, but the hiking was just too much for her. Makes me so sad.

Oh, and I didn't run at all. Nope. Have no excuse other than I didn't want to! So there! Better get my ass in gear because Philly will be here before I know it. Crap.

Fall Running Rocks

2009-09-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

This morning I finally had a good run. My leg felt good! Still a slight pain, but nothing NEAR what it was two weeks ago. I cannot express how happy I am at this moment.

It was also a gorgeous morning. Yes, it was cold -- 38 degrees when we started, but the sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, the trees are starting to put on their peep show of colors, there was a mist coming up from the water and deer and bunnies all over. It was the type of morning where you look around you and see how amazing the change of season can be.

Before the run I was able to get a group shot (only half were there today!) of the 1st Marathoner's with our fearless leader, coach Kevin.

Aren't we cute?!

Injury Woes

2009-09-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, I talked to Coach Kevin and he put me on a recovery plan for two weeks. My right groin muscle and the muscle that starts behind the knee and goes up (don't know the name) have been extremely painful. Coach seems to think that one injury led to the other. Anyway, it got to the point where it hurt to walk and running...ha! It was more like limping quickly.

However, I am not in a panic. We have 10 weeks till Philly and I've already logged one 20 mile run. I am confident if I listen to coach and take it easy I will be okay for the marathon.

This week all I did was 15 minute easy runs. I've been stretching and icing as well. Today, I went to 30 minutes. There was some definite discomfort, but not pain and I wasn't limping. Wooo hooo!!! If things are still going well, I will do a 90 minute run on Saturday and then jump back on track with the training.

In the meantime, we've been looking for some t-shirts to wear at Philly. We want matching shirts and something funny and a wee bit sarcastic. We've found a few and this one, which I can't wear, but made me laugh out loud: 26.2 - not as easy as your girlfriend last night. SNAP!
The one I think I am going to buy is:

If Found On Ground Please Drag To Finish Line.

20 Miles...check

2009-09-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today was the day. The first 20 mile run. But first, let me give you some background.

Tuesday, was a tempo workout and I managed to maintain an average 8:30 pace for 40 minutes. Second mile was my best -- 7:59 mile! I was so happy. My legs? Not so much. The tempo just tore up my legs...bad.

Thursday, I headed out for a easy 60 minutes. There was nothing easy about this run. When I took my first steps it hurt so bad. Not like, my legs are sore hurt, but shooting pain in both legs pain. For a minute I didn't think I could run, but hobbled (literally) for 5 miles. When I finished I was scared. What the hell did I do to my legs and how bad is it? Is all my hard work going to be for nothing?

Today, I get to the run site and inform Coach Kevin about the run on Thursday. He advises to run for 90 minutes and see how the legs feel. If the pain works itself out and I can keep going, keep going.

We start out and the first few miles hurt...a lot. It was SLOW going and around mile 3 I thought for sure the 20 mile day was going to be another day. However, about an hour in to the run the legs warmed up and the pain wasn't too bad. The decision was made -- keep going.

Mile 17-20 were HARD!!!! Strategy was to get through it one mile at a time. After each beep of the Garmin I would tell myself...only 3 miles...only 2 miles...less than 2 miles...only a mile...less than a mile. We finally hit 20 miles at 3 hours and 41 minutes. The emotion of completing those 20 miles is indescribable. My legs were killing me, but I felt triumphant!! I did it. 20 miles. Only six more to go.