Key Largo, Montego, Baby Why Don't We Go

Heading out to Key West today, folks. Even though today is usually my day to sleep in, I was up early this morning trying to get a few chores done: laundry, packing, running to the bank, etc. We're leaving around noon when my husband gets done with work, and then it's nothing but Keys, baby, Keys!

Have a good weekend everyone and I'll see ya back here on Sunday!

Bolwing, Bowling, Bowling, Rawhide!

Okay, homies, this is gonna be the best bowling post ever! Because I have had the right amothiy of alcohol and I think I type pretty good.

So, I hadsome pretty good gmes. First game was alright, second game was aweosme and third game again was laright. B/c 2 team mates were gone, I let my sister and stepmom bowl int heir place (hope that's okay!) and my stepmom did awesome but my sister was still wokin on not getting it in the gutter. But she did improve and that's what counts -- plus, I think she had fun.

We did not earn any points (sorry, Shannon).

I had me lots of beers...and one shot. I think my setpmom was kinda leary about me drivy home but I said "I drive home all the time".....so maybe that eased her min!

Anyway....am sad that my friend Amy is leaving tomorrow for Denver. I had some mini tears ove rht eev departure. Hugged her. Hugged LBK (little baby kyle). Sad they are leaving but also happy fo them if this is the ahppier life they want...what can I do? Soemtimes friend smove away and all I can do is eat corn dogs. (Which was deiclisou).

Alrighty,,,enouh sad things. Amy and Kenivn and Kyle will be ahppy in Co and I will go ski there, so its cooll. Maybe.

Do they have corn dogs there?

Kidding, I grew up there, adn yet...I don't think I had a cron dog til I moved to MN (maybe that's where they invented corn dogs) andyway, they are delcious at the bowling alley.

Sokay, I will miss them all -- sad toseee them go but happy about corn dogs.

What else was ai gonna say? Oh yeah, quote of the night:

Ont he way to bowling, my sister was trying to figure out the exact confirguation of her visor (hat thingy)and she said: "I like t by pimpin wherever I go"!!! That is aweomse. My new motto.

I like to be pimpin wherever I gio. Yey, that's me. Pimpnin, Homies.

2 for Thursday

Because I kept hitting "snooze" this morning, I didn't leave myself much time for a run, but I knew if I didn't do something, I'd regret it. So, I dragged myself out of bed and got 2 miles in. I know it's not much, but it's better than nothing.

I wish I could say it was a fast two miles, or that I felt great afterward, ot whatever else I could add that makes 2 miles sound more glorious than they are, but I can't: it was a slow, hot (read: humid), and boring 2 miles (my mp3 seems to have died again -- it apparently erased ALL the music on there, on its own; I don't even wanna think about that thing -- it has caused me so much aggravation).

Maybe I can do better tomorrow, we'll see. And yes, tonight is bowling, and I don't know for sure if my family is coming with or not: they said they maybe would -- partially depends on how much they do today and if they feel up to being around a bunch of drunken hooligans.

Wanted: More Sleep

My family arrived safely and on time yesterday, we enjoyed a nice dinner out, and then spent a relaxing evening chatting and catching up.

But this morning when my alarm went off at 5:20 for my planned run, do you think I got up? No, no I did not. I shut it off and went back to sleep for another hour. No run. Dang my lack of willpower!

Well, I didn't sleep great again last night (I think I had WAY too much coffee), but that happens. No running for today, and I'm hoping that while my company is here I'll be able to force myself to do the necessary running first thing in the mornings so I can better enjoy my afternoons and evenings with them. I'm excited for my stepmom and sister to arrive this afternoon -- I haven't seen them since my wedding (18 months ago) and my stepmom, especially, needs a good vacation.

I don't talk about my family much on this here blog, but that's primarily b/c I figure this isn't really the place for it, and b/c there's honestly too much to say and it requires a book, not a blog to explain. But essentially? My family is pretty dysfunctional. (Yet, I can't say that's been all bad -- it's shaped who am today and I don't think I turned out too badly.)

But the past couple of years have been rough on my stepmom: she went through both ovarian cancer and breast cancer (currently, is in remission for both and doing successful with treatment), she and my dad got divorced (so, "technically" not still my stepmom but I still think of her as family), and has dealt with my nasty teenage brother and sister (let's just say that my brother's behavior over the past year led him to a few nights in jail). So she needs a break, and I hope I can provide the right amount of fun and relaxation that she needs.

I'm looking forward to her and my sister's stay, and am excited to see them both this afternoon. Cross your fingers that I'll have the willpower to get up early tomorrow morning and get my 7 done.

Monday's "To Do" List

Teach classes: Check.

Wash guest bedding, make bed: Check.

Wash all windows (including large sliding glass doors inside and out): Check.

Wash Scooter: Check.

Dust, clean bathrooms, clean all floors, vacuum Scooter fur off couches, take out trash, run dishes, wash and dry all rugs: Check, check, check.

Finish reading stack of papers: Check.

Run 4 miles? Motherfucking Check.

That's right, peeps, with a little "can-do" attitude and a whole lotta caffeine, I got everything done on my daunting checklist. I friggin rock.

The Heinz 57 Post: A Little Bit of Everything

The group coach emailed me back today in response to what I sent her last night and she was very apologetic and took full responsibility for my getting left behind. She assured me that if I returned, it wouldn't happen again.

I tossed and turned last night in bed and couldn't fall asleep partially because of my email last night to her. I worried that I was being too critical and, perhaps, arrogant, but at the same time, I feel that I have to be firm and assertive in my running needs and goals within this group (and, as was mentioned, I am paying for it), and the group markets itself as accomodating all levels of training and running, so it should be able to accomodate me. So, thanks for all your comments re-assuring me that my response was appropriate in tone and content. That made me feel better this morning.

And the coach's response today was warm and I think she will address my concerns in future long runs, so I think the experience will improve.

But...I also couldn't sleep because I was thinking about everything I had to do today (because, yes, I blew off chores yesterday and went to see Harry Potter -- luh-ved it!). As I mentioned, I have company coming tomorrow (my stepmom and sister) and I want to get some stuff done around the house (like wash the guest bedroom window -- Scooter's snoot snot is all over it -- and wash the guest bedding); plus, I have a shitload of papers to read (and because I am a Muggle, I have no magic way of making them read themselves), and I have to run tonight. Thinking of that long list, and cursing myself for being lazy all weekend (though I wasn't too hard on myself; I believe that I deserve a certain amount of laziness on the weekend), I found sleep difficult last night.

The result? I'm tuckered out today. And what am doing that is not on my "to-do" list? That's right. Blogging. So, I'd best toddle off and get to work!

Follow-Up to Saturday's Dismal Group Run

This is the email I received this evening from the running group's coach:

Hey there!
I did not see you after the run on Sat. Are you ok?

Please tell me you had someone to run with > I apologize I lost track of you and Michelle.

Will you be out there this week?
Coach T

Below was my response; what do you guys think?

Good evening,

Yes, I'm fine, and I appreciate you checking up on me. But I'll be honest, I was pretty upset after Saturday's run. I ended up alone, and while the route was fairly straight forward and I easily found my way back, I was discouraged by being left behind and by myself. Frankly, my interest in a running group was not to run solo.

When I finished my run yesterday, I was a bit upset and, honestly, in no mood to socialize, so I quickly headed home. I'm no longer upset, and my wish is not to upset any kind of group dynamic, but I certainly have to seriously question if this group is right for me. Everyone just may be too fast for my level of running.

I will be out of town the next two weekends in a row, but I would like to give the group another go. If it's just not the right fit, I would appreciate recommendations for others who may be a bit slower and better able to accommodate my pace. Again, thanks for checking up -- that does make me feel better, and I will certainly return in two weeks on Saturday, August 4 for the long run; hopefully, this Saturday's lonesome run was a fluke.

Thanks,
Jess

I'm glad she checked up with me about the run since it did NOT go well (see Saturday morning's post below if you missed it), but at the same time I wanted her to honestly know how I felt about it. Do you guys think my response was appropriate?

*BTW, in response to some previous comments: This group is a formal group and I do have to pay for the training and the group runs (although, I have not paid yet -- had check ready on Saturday but then after the disappointing run, shoved it back in my purse). So, you'd think this would call for a higher level of professionalism (or maybe "athleticism"), right?

Chillin

Scooter's relaxed and reclined position here pretty much sums up the rest of my day yesterday: I just chilled.

After my long run yesterday morning, I stopped by the bookstore, got a few new reads, and then spent the rest of the day lounging and reading (interspersed with some tv watching and a little napping as well).

Then, last night I went out for dinner and drinks with a few close friends (one of whom is moving to Denver next week, so we needed the bonding time before she goes). We had fun eating, drinking, gabbing. After dinner we went to this bar that has outside seating, and in the time we were there (maybe an hour and a half), it was so hot that my feet and my fingers swelled. Seriously. I got home and had tree-trunk feet and ankles. It was unreal.

Today, I have a few chores I'd like to get done (we have company arriving on Tuesday and there's a few things I'd like to do before they arrive), but am also thinking about totally blowing off those chores and going to see the new Harry Potter. Hmmmm. Choices, choices.

Group Run

I'll be honest with you homies, my Saturday long run with the group? Sucked.

I was doing 8.5 today, as were several other people, and others were planning on 12 (those that go further take another route). Well, as I mentioned last week, most of these people are fasty-fasties, and just like last week, the bulk of them shot off at the beginning and I was far behind with two other women. Now I know I'm a bit of a slow-poke, but this is where I'm at and I don't be-grudge myself that; plus, I know that my long run pace should be about 10:30-10:45 per mile and that's what I was doing.

At the first water station, there was a split in the road: those doing 8.5 were going right, and those doing 12 went left. The two I was with? Going back. Fuck.

I tried keeping close enough to a pair of fellow runners on my 8.5 route, but slowly I fell behind and after awhile, I lost sight of them. So I was alone. Without a Garmin or my mp3, running a path that I was unfamiliar with, I quickly became discouraged and, well, pissed off. If I wanted to run by myself, I'd do it at home. The whole reason I wanted to join a running group was to run with other people! Make sense? Yes?

On the way back, I got a little lost and am not entirely sure what my total distance was (at least the planned 8.5: could've been longer -- felt longer but that's probably because of my mental frustration), but I found our meeting spot; I signed myself as "back" (restrained myself from adding: "no thanks to any of you fuckers"); I got in the car without waiting for others and went home. Now that I've showered and am enjoying the coolness of the house, I'm not quite as mad. After all, it's not their fault they're fast. However, maybe this isn't the right group for me. I don't know.

I had a good run last week, so I can't totally discount the group, and just b/c I had one bad run with them doesn't necessarily mean that I will never return. I am out of town the next two weekends, and will have to run by myself then anyway, and when I return I'm inclined to return to the group and give it another chance. If I end up alone again, I may just need to shop around again for another, slower bunch of runners.

Bowling last night was tons o' fun. First off, my husband and I had a friend over for dinner before bowling and he brought along a 12 pack of delicious Bud Light, so the 3 of us had a few beers with dinner. Thus, when we arrived at the alley, I was already comfortably buzzed.

And that's why my game peaked in game 1. I had just the right amount of alcohol for that first game (it has to be enough to make me loose and relaxed, but not so much that I can't stand up straight) and I did well, but then it went downhill -- because I kept drinking. Game two hated me and game three was slightly better but was still embarassing. Our team totally lost all points and I'm sure our ranking is going to dip down to the bottom numbers now (we're not so hot this season).

Above pic: Me enjoying my beer in a sensible manner, and no, I don't take regular pictures: What fun is a picture without my tongue hanging out the side or my eye cocked? Below pic: Erin and I. Well, mostly me. I kinda edged Erin outta the pic.

But, bowling is only half of the Thursday night experience, so the loss didn't really affect us too much, and after we finished, we were all congregating by our last two teams playing, eating corn dogs (I scarfed down two and I wonder why I can't lose those 5 lbs), drinking the last of our beer, and chatting. For some reason, no one was really ready to go home, so I suggested we all go back to our place.

The drinking continued at our (newly finished) house, and people played Guitar Hero on the Xbox. Either the Gutar Hero or the drinking kept people around longer than normal, and it was 1 am before everyone left, which is a perfectly acceptable hour on a weekend, but for a work night, it's kinda late. Not a problem for me b/c I don't have classes on Friday, but my husband was a little slow this morning getting ready for work, poor fella.

All in all, it was good times, good times. I maybe over-hugged some people, but on the whole it was the right amount of fun without the "after drunk guilt." That's two thumbs up in my book.

Thurday Boling

Okay, b/c of some comment,s i's trying to be good a tyoer:

Soooo...Bolwing: Wwll, I pekaed in game one. So that kinda sucked. But the alcohol wa awoooosome!!! I had many, many beers, (warmed yp a4v 4:30 : woohoooooo!!) and currently we have poepl over playing some guitar heor oa nd drinkingosmebeers!!!

Which is wawoem ! yay!

Okay, I', gonna write this bettr otomorrow/. I to dont suck at wirint when runk! ya!

T.G.I.T

Thank God it's Thursday.

This, right now, is my favorite part of the week: Thursday afternoons. Granted, b/c I teach college, my schedule changes every four months -- thus, my favorite part of the week changes, but for now, this summer, this is my fav. At this time, I am done with classes for the week, I don't have to run, and I have bowling to look forward to tonight!

And while, yes, I always have papers to read, class to plan for, a house to clean, and laundry to do, I don't have to do any of that this afternoon. Thus, Thursday afternoon is mine! All mine!

What will I do with that kind of power? Use it for good? Or, for evil? I opt for lazy: I'm thinking of changing into some sweats, plopping down in the comfy chair, and watching some Seinfeld on DVD. Ahhhhhh.....

A Motley 6

Thankfully, I charged my mp3 for this evening's 6 miler b/c I don't know if I would've made it through that last mile without a little Motley Crue and some "Kickstart my Heart." At that point, I was feeling pretty fatigued: I was hot and sweaty as hell, my fingers were swollen to the size of frankfurters, my shorts were rubbing me on my side, and I was very thirsty (despite a water break at 3.5 miles).

So even though I felt like walking the last mile, the Crue came on, my heart was kickstart-ed, and I cruised through my final mile. (And if there's anything sweeter than peelin off wet, sweaty clothes and getting into a cool, refreshing shower, I'd like know; otherwise, I think that is the closest to heaven one can get.)

Now, I have 4 papers left to read before "Top Chef" and then I'm hittin' the sack.

Tubular Tuesday

My walking partner got stuck at icky work this evening, so Tuesday Walking was cancelled. I considered just taking the day off, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get an extra run in, so I went out and put in another 3 miles. My mp3 battery died at mile 2, so I had to run the last mile with only the voices in my head, but it still went well.

Again, I don't know times, but I still felt fast -- just like yesterday -- and that was awesome. I hope the momentum continues through the week. No, wait, scratch that. I hope it continues for the next 3 months. That would be sweet.

Beep, Beep!

I didn't bring a watch or the Garmin for my 3 miles tonight, but I gotta say, I felt frickin FAST. I swear that to passersby, I was just a blur, much like the Road Runner as he speeds away from that darn Coyote.

I'm tellin ya, not even an Acme Anvil coulda slowed me tonight.

I was on fiyah!

In the past eight days, I have consumed record numbers of alcohol and fatty, high-cal food. Partial fault goes to the holiday last week and celebrating it twice, but the majority of fault goes to moi. And I can feel the effects of my gluttony today (sometimes the fat cells need a few days to coagulate and make their final resting stop on my thighs). I feel like a fatty-fatty-two-by-four.

I didn't make the mistake of weighing myself this morning (Mondays are bad enough, who wants to step on to the scale and add to the misery?), but as I sit here, I feel like a lard ass. Not good.

At the beginning of May, I felt this way and resolved to try and lose 5 lbs. Did I do it? Nyet. I am still 5 lbs fat. So, today I re-resolve to lose those extra pounds of chub and try to become the lean, mean running machine that I'm always aiming for. I guess that means I need to go to the grocery store, and no more Bud Light and mini egg rolls for me. Straight up salad, here I come.

*Editor's note: Okay, Erin, I guess you weren't drunk this morning, b/c Blogger won't let me write a title for this post either. Booger.

Last Night

So, after running yesterday morning, I spent the entire day helping my husband with projects around the house. We worked all day and in the end, we were proud of ourselves for finishing the house and getting it cleaned. Thus, we decided to show the place off and invited a few people over for a couple of celebratory drinks.

Okay, things got out of hand.

By the end of the night, one person was angry over being constantly teased (you say something stupid once in this group and it never dies, so I can understand his frustration), one person was crying, and one person left without his pants on (a little incident with Scope in places where they shouldn't be -- explaining that one is just too hard). My husband made up for being sober on Thursday and had a little too much and is still in bed.

Me? I'm fine: I didn't get angry, I didn't cry, I managed to keep my pants on, and I feel fine this morning. But it has me puzzling over why every time we have people over things escalate like that. It doesn't happen at other people's houses.

Anyhoo, I'm thinking that today will be a well-deserved rest day. Rest from running, rest from chores, rest from work. I'm gonna chill out, read my book, maybe watch a movie.

The Group Run

went well.

And, yes, I had nothing to fear. True, these people are pretty serious runners -- most of them were trim, toned, and speedy (I was the "back of the pack" with a few others and we were pacing at 10:00-10:30, so most people were running 8:00-8:30 miles!) -- but they were also very nice, and the coach frequently circled back and forth between the sub-groups to chat and encourage, so that was nice.

As I mentioned previously, I planned on doing 9 miles today, but with the group, I ended up doing 10, and it was 10 that felt good (didn't even need a walk break; although, I was grateful for each water station) despite the incredible humidity and the bugs. At the end of the run, I was literally soaking wet with sweat and I was coated in little black bugs.

Now, that I've experienced the group run, I really don't know how I ever did those long ones by myself; it was seriously that much better, and it just makes so much better sense: it's more motivating, it's safer, and it's better paced. I plan to return to the group next Saturday morning and continue with them. But then what sucks (well, only kinda), is that I'll be out of town two weekends in a row (be in Key West one weekend and Sanibel the next -- poor me, right?) so I'll be on my own for long runs then.

Ahhh, it's good to have that run out of the way for the weekend (and to feel some of my confidence in my training restored), and tomorrow I can sleep in and relax knowing I already got it done! This must be why everyone touts getting up early and getting it done, huh?

Marathon Program

As per some questions: I have been following Higdon's Novice 2 program, but for me, I think the weekend long runs were a bit accelerated (I only have one marathon under my belt, and it was a struggle to finish that, so I am very much a novice marathoner). So, now in week 5, I've decided to keep the Novice 2 weekly runs, but switch back to Novice 1 weekend runs. We'll see how it works.

This morning, I'm actually up at this ungodly hour (currently, it's 5:05 am) b/c I'm meeting a running group at 6 am for the first time. I am pretty nervous: Did NOT sleep very well, tossed and turned, and when the alarm went off, I really felt like not getting out of bed. As I have expressed before, the idea of a running group mostly freaks me out, but as is also clear: I am not good with the long runs by myself -- and I must seek others if I'm going to be successful with this marathon training (trust me, it crossed my mind this morning that maybe -- to avoid the group running -- I should just not run Chicago; although, that thought has already crossed my mind in other forms as well, for now, I have to ignore those doubts).

So, I need to finish up my cup of coffee, get my shoes on, go to the bathroom and then skedaddle: instructions were quite firm as to the strict 6 am start time. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Aftermath

Okay-dokey, looks as though I'm going to need to put a baby gate up around the computer on Thursday nights b/c I cannot be trusted. And good lord, I can NOT type when intoxicated!

Soooo, yeah, I had a good bowling night. First game sucked, but then the beer kicked in and I did much better in the 2nd game, and then I had two shots and more beer and still rocked that alley in the 3rd game. Unfortunately, our competition was tough, so we didn't win all the games -- I think we took home 5 out of 9 points for the night (2 points per game and 3 points if you get total pins: I believe we won one game, but took total pins). And even though I showed up to bowling ready to go to bed -- I was soooo tired yesterday -- by the end of the night, I was wild! And my husband, who wasn't feeling very good and was totally sober, was a little annoyed with me. But I had fun.

Anyhoo, aside from drinking far too much this week, it's been an irregular week in terms of everything: including running. I had my rained out run on Monday. Our walking on Tuesday was also rained out, so we did Dance Dance Revolution for 45 minutes (it was a good workout, but I suck at DDR), had my 5k on Wednesday, ran 3 miles last night -- slowly b/c I was just dragging, and I was thinking of doing something short again today. I guess we can label this week a "cut back" week even though that was not my original intention. My long run this weekend is also a little shorter, 9 miles, b/c I decided to go back to the novice 1 program and integrate some of that schedule with the one I've been using. The long runs were just too accelerated for me, I think, in the novice 2 program.

But for now, I need to get to my chores: hubby has me on trim-painting duty, so I'd best get to it!

Hey Homies!

Yeah, I'm drunk, yeah, Id on't regret it!1

So myhusbad says i douhl g not be on the computer, but Isa "srew you!@"' Yea, we migh need to get hism tom more beers!!

I rokced at bolwing and I ddi real geooo! Yay!

Okay, husbad says DO NOT Pulish!! I say "yeh, wlell ti do waht I want!"

thats how I roll.

A House becomes a Home

When we bought our condo 2 years ago, we were kinda looking for places that we could put our personal touch on. Thinking he'd enjoy having a house as a project, my husband was eager to have weekends full of construction where he could put many of his abilities to use. Thus, our condo.

Certainly a project.

An old man had lived here and had lived here since the place had been built: mid-80s. There was floor to ceiling wallpaper. There were floor to ceiling mirrors in the living room, wallpaper on the blinds, the outlets, and even on the ceilings in the bathrooms. There was terrible carpet, outdated tile, and old, decrepit cabinets.

We set to work. And we worked and worked, and no project went easily (pulled down some wallpaper in the master bedroom, for example, and the whole wall came with it), but within the first six months, we had finished both bathrooms and both bedrooms. But then we lagged; slowly, the office was finished and we started to de-construct the other rooms, and then let many months fall in between projects; then the new year, and suddenly we were on fire again. So in January we set out to finish this place. We started in the kitchen. Above (top picture), is the kitchen as it was a year ago: old cabinets, crappy laminate counters, old tile floor, poor layout.

It all came out. As you can see from the pic (second pic) with my husband working on the plumbing: that gaping hole was where the sink used to be.

For many months, we washed dishes in the bathroom and ate primarily take out and pizza, but slowly it came together, and when the tile was installed last week, the kitchen project was finally completed. We do still plan on replacing the appliances (we'd like stainless steel), but that will be several months from now when some of these construction costs have been paid off.

What was left for improvement was the living room/dining room. All those walls with black splotches? Those used to be all mirror, baby. (We briefly considered the idea of abandoning the idea of a "home" and just turning this place into a discotheque.) We tore out the old carpet, which was grody, chipped up the old tile in the entryway, tore out the old half wall and my husband built a new one with shelves, and yesterday -- on his holiday -- my husband installed the flooring.
We still have trim to do, and there are certainly some touch ups that need to be finished, but otherwise? This completes the 2 year endeavor to remodel.

I can't believe it. This project has spanned not just 2 years; it has been an era: In that time, we got married, got Scooter, I ran a marathon, I got a full time teaching position, we traveled, we bowled, and we drank a lot of beer, so now that it's finished? I honestly feel like a huge chapter is coming to a close. Now we will finally be able to live in this entire space: We will be able to have friends over to watch a movie and those friends won't have to sit on the bed to watch the TV!

Granted, I will now care if someone spills a full glass of red wine on the floor, but I guess that's how adults live.

Once we finish the last details, get some furniture in here, and get a chance to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne, I'll feel settled. I suppose my husband will be lost without the constant feeling that a project is looming, but our credit cards will get a breather and I hope it's the end of arguments over what kind of knobs to get for the closet doors (remodeling is not easy on a marriage). So finally, this place will feel like "home."

Caffeine, Please

It is wrong, just wrong to have a holiday in the middle of the week and have to return to work the following day. Especially a holiday that is celebrated by barbeque, beer, and late night fireworks.

I'm gonna need extra cups o' joe today!

Independence Day 5K

Short version of the race:

Time: 29:22 Not a PR, but not too shabby.

Long version of the race:

I got up at 5:15 am in order to have a cup of coffee and enjoy a Cliff bar for breakfast before heading out the door at 6 for the race. I arrived at the festivties at 6:30 and figured 30 minutes before a 7 am start time would be plenty of time to register, get my bib, get my chip, and get to the start line. And while it was plenty of time, I ran into a snag.

As I was standing in line, registration form and money in hand, they ran out of numbers. No more bibs, no more chips, end of the line. Now, I wasn't the only one left standing there in line sans the necessities, and I would've been more understanding if the woman behind the registration table hadn't been such a be-atch. She starts loudly announcing: "You snooze, you lose, people. You should've registered ahead of time. Registration is closed!"

"You snooze, you lose"!?

If race day registration is open, they need to be prepared. Sorry, bitch, I did not snooze (note the time I got out of my sweet, sweet bed), so "fuck you" b/c I'm running a fucking race today. Crumpling up my registration form and tossing it in the trash, I tucked my $20 in my short's pocket and headed for the start line without a bib or chip. I figured I wouldn't be official, but I could still go by the race clock and that was close enough (besides, I've never had a chip time that was drastically different from the clock time).

The start was crowded -- clearly this race was more popular than anticipated -- and in the first tenth of a mile, it was hard to break away from the group. Plus, as can be imagined (it is a holiday today), racers were primarily families with kids. For those of you who know me, or have read this blog long enough, you know that I have nothing against kids (in fact, one fine day I hope to have a few ankle-biters of my own); however, I do NOT like kids in races. Typically, they are unpredicatable: they swerve in and out of traffic, and slow down, speed up, or stop without warning or consideration of those around them. So, I spent the first half mile dodging the little beasts before I was able to break into my own stride.

Time at mile 1: 9:25. Excellent. I was on target for my intended pace. Time at mile 2: 18:40. Again, excellent. But then the sun started to rise and the heat/humidity really began to get to me (I could see it affecting others around me as well). You see, at 5:15 when I rose this morning, it was a cool 75 degrees out -- but it was 90% humidity. That adds at least 10 degrees to the temp, and by 7:20, my guess is that it was easily in the upper 80s -- and sweat is NOT evaporating in that kind of humidity. Sticky, very sticky.

So, I could feel myself slowing in the final mile, and while I was not disappointed by a finishing time of 29:22, it now seems so obvious why my 5K PR was a November race.

After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed my water, and headed out to my car (I'm not really the sort to hang out at after-race activities, especially since I was by myself this morning -- hubby opted to sleep in on his holiday). But, I couldn't find my car. I don't know if it was post-run amnesia or what, but everything looked the same to me. After wandering around the parking lot for nearly 10 minutes, I finally got my bearings (spotted a Starbucks I was certain I had walked past on my way in) and located my car. Plus, the fact that I had managed to not lock myself out of it was an extra bonus.

All in all, it was a fine race, but I guess if I choose to run it again next year I'll have to remember to pre-register so I can "officially" run it.

Considering...

...a race tomorrow morning.

I haven't run a race since March, and it's kind of a vast wasteland for races here in FL in the summer (too hot -- most races are held between Nov and Feb when temps are optimal and even then, start times are early: Disney, for example, started at 6 am), so I've been scanning local race calendars, but many of the 5k's are races I've done before and am not overly eager to repeat (two of them I probably will just b/c it's good racing practice and it's always kinda fun to see if you can beat your own course time). The 5k I'm considering for tomorrow is not one I've done before, so that might be interesting, and a race may be just the thing I need to light a fire under my lagging attitude.

Of course, starting the 5k at 7 am means that the race will be warm, to say the least, but I think I can deal with it for 3.1 miles. I doubt it will be a PR event, but it could be a fun 4th event for the early morning.

What do you think, should I get up early on my holiday and run a 5k?

Rain Soaked

About an hour before my 3 miler this evening, the sky darkened and thunder clouds loomed overhead. I figured that was good: The rain would cool the day off and be over by the time I set out on my run. Wrong.

It was sprinkling when I set out and I thought: "Hey, I'm tough -- it's 3 miles; I'll run through it." At first it just drizzled on me, but it quickly upgraded itself and it started to pour. Then, I thought: "Okay, this is gonna suck" but I kept through it. Then, the wind kicked up and the rain started pelting me with sideways pellets and it began to pour even harder. I hadn't even gotten to the .5 mile point and I was completely drenched (shoes sloshing, shorts clinging, sports bra a soggy mess) and I could barely see, the rain was falling so hard.

"I'm not running in this kind of fuckery," I thought then, and I turned around.

So, my planned 3 miles? Yeah, turned into 1 mile.

For now, I'm glad I came in -- it's still a torrential downpour and the lightning and thunder are crashing around the house (better wrap this up before the power blinks). Damn you summer rain; we need the moisture, but you make running hard!

Monday, Monday

We were busy all day yesterday with home projects and cleaning, so by the time we finished up in the early evening, both my husband and I were ready to sit back and relax. We made ourselves some dinner and then settled in for some "Freaks and Geeks" (one of the best cancelled shows ever).

So, no running for me yesterday -- I needed the day of rest.

Last night, we also made a trip to the bookstore to pick up some new reads. I'd finished reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" last week, and was very much impressed with it, and had kinda started reading Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher" but I could tell 60 pages in, that I wasn't in to it. I like Stephen King and do think that he gets brushed over by critics and academics all too often; however, I don't think all of his work is noteworthy. Sometimes, his novels lack depth, characters are flat, and the plot is tired, and even though I just started it, I could tell that this novel was not something I wanted to spend another 700 pages on. So, I pulled my bookmark (kinda like pulling up anchor) and got me two new books: "A Dog Year" by Jon Katz and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hoisenni (I'm positive I didn't spell that right, but I don't have the book with me, and am too lazy to look up the author's name; in fact, I might have gotten the title wrong as well). Started the first one last night and am loving it -- I always like good dog tales (pun intended).

Tonight I have 3 miles scheduled. Stomach is feeling a little queezy this morning and I don't know why. I had yogurt with raspberries for breakfast -- bad berries?

The Land of the Free

The 4th of July celebration (a few days early) by the numbers:
30 people

2 kids

4 dogs

9 lbs of fried fish

$1000 worth of fireworks

144 beers

And a partridge in a pear tree.

It was awesome: there was a fried food extravaganza: cheese curds, fry bread, onion rings and fried fish. We drank quite a few beers (I don't know about the rest of you, but I lost count when I'd had 5 beers before dinner), and then lit off a small city's worth of fireworks -- ohhhh, ahhhh.

I don't know if it was the early run from yesterday, all the food, or the beer, but by the end of the night I couldn't keep my eyes open, and when we got home, I crashed. This morning, I slept late and felt like I could've slept all day (my exhaustion is documented by the oh-so-flattering-pic my husband captured of Scooter and I this morning; apparently, we were so beat that we slept the same way as well).

Scooter's still crashed out: it's tiring for a little dog to play all day and then freak out over fireworks all night.

Today, we plan on cleaning up the house (tile installation was completed yesterday but we need to do some clean-up) and my husband is finishing up a few projects in the kitchen, then he'll need assistance putting the appliances back in there. I will take some pics and show them off later -- it turned out really well, and now we're one step closer to having our house finished. Yippie!

I will kiss the finished flooring when we're done with this project: this house has been in the process of remodeling for 2 years. 2 years! I'm ready to be done with it, so we can actually live in the whole place.

AM Run

Got up at 4:30 this morning and was out the door for my long run before 5. Ran my scheduled 11 (ugh -- went alright, I don't feel great about it, but what counts is that it went, right?) and was home by 7 am. I was totally sleepy by the time I finished, so I showered and got back into bed for another 2 hours of sweet, sweet rest (and the tile guy arrived, which interrupted my sleep -- otherwise, I may have kept on sleeping!).

One thing I've been thinking about this week is how I scheduled my training. I decided to work beyond the novice program I used for Disney and am currently using Higdon's Novice 2 program (with some of my own modifications), and I am definitely pushing myself a little harder than I did for Disney. Which is kinda what I wanted to do, but now I'm wondering if I'm capable of pushing it. Especially with the long runs. If I were doing the novice program, I wouldn't be doing the 11 for another 2 weeks, and that seems more appropriate for my level of running.

Today, I'm not going to dwell on it, but I will contemplate changing some aspects of my schedule tomorrow -- maybe try to tailor it again so it fits me a little better. Also, I need to get in touch with a running group and see if I can get in on some group runs. Doing these long runs by myself is brutal (mentally).

Clouds of Bugs

The tile got mostly installed today and it's looking really wonderful; plus, the installer left a little path through the hallway so we can access the bedroom and bathroom and he'll finish that area tomorrow when he returns to do the grout.

Since I had access to my own shower, I went this afternoon and got my short run out of the way. It was pretty miserable: hot, humid, and VERY buggy. When I returned, I was covered in a blanket of those little black gnats. Ick. But, at least I got the run done and was able to shower at home.

If all goes well, the tile should be finished by tomorrow afternoon, which will be awesome.

Funday Friday

Alrighty, sorry about that little tirade over bowling last night. There's nothing I really want to elaborate on -- let's just say that it's been an up and down week emotionally and I took something that someone said and kinda blew it out of proportion in my mind and let it upset me more than I should have. Combine that with some beer, a crappy game, and yeah, at the end of the night, I found myself sitting outside the bowling alley crying. And that's probably what upset me the most; I cry maybe a few times a year and always over the stupid stuff. My friend Lou died in April and I couldn't shed a tear. But someone says something stupid at bowling, and I'm a waterworks. (This happens, of course, b/c I hold back when I shouldn't and I allow months' worth of stuff to bottle up -- then something insignificant happens and I'm like Nigagra Falls. It frustrates me.)

Anyway, after a solid night's sleep, I feel just fine. Last night I just needed to do a little cursing.

Today, however, is not going to be an exciting day -- my job is to sit around and wait for the tile people to arrive (they were supposed to start yesterday but that didn't happen), and once they do arrive, I have to sit around while they do their job (at least I have the new RW to read!). Hopefully, I get a short run in this evening, but I'm not sure how that will work since the tile will block our access to the bedroom and bathrooms and we can't walk on it until tomorrow. So, running produces the problem of needing a shower afterward, and I don't think my husband wants to spend the night on the air mattress next to stinky-mcgee. I guess I'll have to see how the tile progress actually goes before committing to any running plans.

Ear Muffs Needed

Two words for bowling: IT SUCKED.

Yeah, capital letters. No wait: IT FUCKING SUCKED!!

2 exclamation points.

My game sucked, the night sucked, I hate the world, etc.

Usually bowling is the highlight of my week, but for this week, it was the motherfuckin' crap cherry on top of my cocksuckin' craptastic week. Fuck bowling.

Hydration

You guys are right, I probably should be bringing water along for anything more than 4 miles now that it is so hot out. Normally, I don't bring fluids for anything that short (partially b/c I hate, hate, hate carrying fluids, would never drop off, and thus I usually buy stuff at gas stations -- yes, I despise the fuel belt as well), but I was thinking last night in those last two miles that I should've drank some water or a replacement at mile 4 -- I felt it then.

Today is my marathon of classes (need some gels or replacement drinks for that as well!) and then tonight we have bowling: yay! Thank god it's Thursday and I have tomorrow off b/c this week has me feeling wiped out.

Oh, as a side note, when you guys track your weekly mileage, do you count a week as Sunday-Sunday? Monday through Sunday?

Wednesday, What Day?

I did my scheduled 6 miles this evening, and when I set out at sunset, the temps were blessedly cooler and there was a light breeze, but the heat and humidity were still over-powering. And I don't know if it was the heat, or if I was dehydrated, or if I am deficient in iron or something, but I struggled with fatigue through my final mile. I really had to fight the urge to slow down and walk -- I ran the entire distance, but I think that last mile was pretty slow.

When I got home, I was parched and immediately gulped down a bottle of water and I'm currently most of the way through a second. I am usually a very good water drinker, but perhaps I need to be conscious of consuming another 8-16 oz daily since the heat is definitely affecting my runs.

Anyway, glad to get the 6 done. Now I have to help my husband move our appliances out of the kitchen (we're having tile installed tomorrow) and then I'm gonna chill out and watch "Top Chef."

Flirtin' With Fast

Last night after dinner I did not want to run, but I figured that since it was not a scheduled run day that even if I got some running in that it would be a bonus. So I decided I would do just a short, quick 2 miles. I grabbed the Garmin, left the mp3 and set out to see what a "quick" 2 miles felt like.

It felt good:

Mile 1: 10:03
Mile 2: 9:32
Total Time: 19:35

Now, I know I can be faster than that, and have been faster than that, but getting out there and getting through those 2 miles in under 20 minutes reminded me of what I am capable of, and I needed to be reminded of that -- especially this week.

Tonight, I have 6 miles on the schedule, and that 2 miler last night helped restore some of my running confidence that was lost earlier this week, so I can now look forward to those 6, instead of dread them.

What to-do Tuesday

The second summer term began yesterday, so now I am teaching 3 classes instead of two, and I can tell already that Tuesdays and Thursday are gonna be rough: the 3 classes are back-to-back. That means 6 hours of straight-up class, yo.

I have ten minutes between classes, but after factoring in students staying to speak with me (and most likely telling me that although they signed up for a 6 week course, they're leaving next week for a week in the Bahamas --- umm, "no" I tell them), I have barely enough time to pee. Thus, I had nothing to eat between 7 am and 3 pm. Not good. I need my food. Maybe I can get some of those yogurt smoothie drinks to consume during class -- that might be smart.

Anyway, the day is pretty full and kind of exhausting, so I'm glad that the term is short.

Soooo, Tuesdays are usually my day to walk, but my walking partner is in Chicago enjoying the windy city for work (so, I don't know how much enjoyment she's getting out of the trip -- hopefully some). I could: A.) Walk by myself, B.) Make my husband walk with me, or C.) Go for a run. I'm thinking of C, but we'll "see." (Ha! Do you care for my wittiness there?) If I do run, I'll have to wait until later b/c right now it's the same temp outside as it is on the surface of the sun, but that's fine. Right now, I feel like laying around for a bit anyway. I need to de-school myself for awhile.

Back to Back Crap

Last night I set out for my 9 miler and the good news was that the temps had cooled, but the bad news was that a storm was blowing in. Here in FL, summer also means "rainy season" aka "hurricane season" and storms can brew up very quickly and you haven't seen rain until you've seen tropical rain; however, I wasn't gonna back down from the long run. In the first mile, it drizzled on me, which was fine -- I don't melt -- but then the lightening and thunder started.

Florida is the lightening capitol of the US -- more people get struck by lightening here than in any other state, so there's either lots of electric activity or a lot of people cursing God; I don't know which.

Anyway, at mile 2, I see it -- the wall of rain -- and it's coming for me. Also at mile 2, a blade of lightening serrated the sky right above my head and the thunder that followed was loud enough to make my heart jump into my throat. I turned around right there. Running through rain is one thing, but running in lightening is just idiotic. So I headed home. I got soaked in the torrential rain and I was nervous the whole way home that I would get struck by a bolt of lightening (I occassionally curse God, so I figure one of these days, I have it coming).

I got home after 4 miles, drenched, a little nervous, and disappointed that I had achieved so little. Thus, I resolved that this morning I would exonerate myself by rising early and getting my 3 miler in before work. Well, I did get up, did get out running, but my 3 miles sucked. I even walked for a quarter mile. Seriously, I felt kinda like crying because the two runs had gone so badly. The past few days my energy has been so low, I've been tired, kinda cranky, and mentally mucky, and usually running helps with those kinds of funks, but between the past two runs, running has only contributed to the "mean reds."

I know, I know, "tomorrow's another day" and all that crap. I know I'll lift myself up out of the poopiness and sometime later this week or next I'll have a great run that puts me back on top of the world, but right now I'm disappointed and frustrated and filled with self-doubt. Damn you running! You break my heart sometimes!

Why I Should do Morning Runs

It's not just about the temperature difference in the morning; it's about getting the run done so that the rest of the day is free, and especially on the weekend, I never know what plans might pop up that will take away from my running time.

So, yesterday, as you know I did not do my long run in the morning, and I kinda thought I might do it last night. But when friends asked if we wanted to do a game night and order pizza, I didn't have to think twice: friends, pizza, beer, games? Or running? Yeah, the former won out.

And of course, I did not get up early this morning, so that means I've procrastinated enough this weekend that my long run has to be done on Sunday night. Good lord, next weekend I have to get my act together b/c Saturday night is our 4th party (a few days early b/c we all have to work on the 5th -- damn the 4th for falling in the middle of the week!). So, I think I'll spend the day today relaxing and waiting for the cruel sun to set -- then I have 9 miles to log.

The Morning Run Didn't Happen: Act Surprised

Yeah, I didn't get up early this morning. My alarm went off, and I shut it off so fast you'd think it was on fire. Then, I rolled over and went back to sleep. My husband tried to do his part to motivate me, he said: "I know you don't want to hear this, but if you go for your run now, you'll be happy you did it."

Sweet, isn't he?

I didn't even give him a response. I hate it when he tries to motivate me; it makes me want to choke him.

So that means I'll probably do it tonight, or tomorrow night. I don't know if I'll ever grow up and become a morning runner.

For now, I've been sitting here craving pancakes, so I'm thinking of running to the store and picking up some milk and making some pancakes. They sound delicious, don't they? Mmmmm, cakey-cakes.

Friday's 3

The only way to describe my 3 miles this evening is with one word: HOT.

At 7:30, the sun was setting and a breeze was stirring the palms, but the temp was still hovering close to 90 and I don't know what the humidity was. I could feel my face burning from the exertion and I was thankful that the schedule only had me down for 3 -- I don't know if I could've survived much more in the heat.

I have, have, have to try and get up early for tomorrow's 9er; otherwise, I fear that I may burst into flames.

Uff-Da

You know that feeling when you wake up after drinking, and it's not the "ugh" feeling in your stomach or in your head? It's the odd sensation that you were a *tad* obnoxious the night before. No? Is it just me?

So, um, yes, I had me some drinks at bowling, and yes, ahem, I got a little intoxicated. When I'm drunk several things happen: I get loud and foul-mouthed and I tend to talk a lot. Thus, this lingering feeling this morning that I was a handful last night.

Doesn't help that I also did a little drunk blogging as well -- I should know by now that I can't type when drunk and I shouldn't be allowed near a computer. Thankfully, my husband told me to get off the computer and go to bed, b/c otherwise? I probably would have gotten much further with the blogging and/or email.


But, it was a fun night. My team got our shirts in, so now we match and look smashing together (we included that baby bottle in the pic just for you readers). The only downside? My shirt is a touch big, and they are all made of polyester, which is not so breathable, so we all got a little sweaty in them. But, that's the price you sacrifice for the team, I guess.

And, at the end of the night, my husband bought me a delicious corn dog -- seriously, at the time, it tasted like a little slice of heaven (that was battered, deep-fried and stuck on a stick). I had my beer, my corn dog, my homies, and bowling. What more does a girl need?

(Well, this morning I needed a lot of water and some aspirin, but that's totally different.)

2nd Blogoversary

"Happy Birthday to my blog!" If blogs ate cake, I would make it a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but alas, my blog has no teeth.

But, yes, today marks the 2nd anniversary of my blog! Here's the original post that began this crazy chronicle of my running "habit." So far, the task I set myself with 2 years ago has been pretty successful. I've completed one marathon, have run many 5Ks, and am training for mary #2. I've lost some weight, gained some back, but have pretty much maintained; plus, I've learned a lot and have certainly shared a lot and met a lot of wonderful bloggers.

Thanks to the long time readers! I've seen many blogs come and go over this time, but I appreciate everyone who has been reading faithfully for a long time now -- makes me feel special! *Sniff*

But enough of the sentimental crap.

Tonight is bowling, and I plan to rock that alley! Wish me luck!

Fiver

Not the rabbit, my run. (I will give a special shout-out to the first blogger to get what I'm referring to there.)

So, at dinner this evening, we invited some friends to join us in order to make them decide which tile we should install in our kitchen and entryway -- they gave us their opinion, we fed them pizza. But after dinner, when we were talking, my friend Ryan (who shall not be hyperlinked b/c his blog is top secret) said it would drive him crazy to run without a watch or Garmin, and it made me reflect on a few of my fellow RBFer's comments; thus, I decided to dust off the Garmin and take it along on my after-dinner 5 miler.

Here are the stats:

Mile 1: 10:19
Mile 2: 10:15
Mile 3: 10:56
Mile 4: 11:20
Mile 5: 10:47

Total Time: 53:57
Avg Pace: 10:46

Now, these numbers are handy to have, and they seem right even though passing under some trees made the Garmin wink out for a bit; however, when I run with the Garmin, I'm suddenly thinking about nothing but the numbers. See, usually my mind wanders on runs and then, suddenly, I'm done! But with a time keeping device, I'm constantly glancing at it, assessing it, worrying over it, and inadvertantly, my run seems to go slower.

Plus, it feels bulky on my wrist (and I hate the feeling of something rubbing my wrist bone -- the reason why I never, ever wear a watch).

Anyway, I like to take the Garmin out for a spin every once in awhile, but overall, I like to keep the numbers somewhat mysterious.

Also, Ryan, "karma" bitch-slapped me for making fun of your calorie counting by making dinner feel like a brick in my stomach through the first half of my run. I guess someone should be doing a little calorie counting of her own. It's just so much more fun to ridicule.

Reflections of the Grammar Gestapo

I did, eventually, work my way through that stack of papers. And I don't want to sound as if I neglect my grading because students' work is poor or boring, it's just that after you read 25 papers, they all start to sound eerily similiar, and while there are definitely those who excel at the work, most are average writers who make the same average mistakes over and over. It's hard, therefore, to remain fresh with each paper.

But I finished those, and have another stack to work on today, and I get a final stack today which I'll need to read by tomorrow afternoon before submitting grades -- with all that reading (not the fun kind), I'll be happy to sneak out this evening for my 5 miler.

As per some comments yesterday on how I must have brain bleeding reading your blogs and comments -- I can assure you, it's not true. Certainly, my inner grammar Nazi does provoke me sometimes to wince at grammatical errors, but my mother always told me it was impolite to correct others' grammar, so I usually refrain. Besides, I certainly make errors as well! In fact, sometimes my typing (especially for commentary on posts) looks as though it's been done by a drunken monkey!

Plus, many of you are WAY faster and WAY stronger runners than I: If I criticize, I don't think I could outrun you, and I don't want to get beat up.

Procrastinating

Because I don't want to read papers.

And I am eyeball deep in papers.

I have to finish this stack today because I want to return them to students tomorrow -- it's their last day of the term (summer session is broken into two, short, six-week terms -- my next term begins on Monday), but I'm just not feeling very motivated.

Thus, why I watched some of VH1's "Rock Honors" (Heart gave a good performance), why I played with Scooter for 20 minutes (he needs his exercise, right?), and why I'm currently blogging. If I just gave the work a focused, concentrated effort, I could be done before 5 pm, but I know me. I know I'll sit down, read 3 or 4 papers and then find an excuse to get myself something to drink or find a snack, or I'll turn on the TV -- for a quick break -- or I'll take Scooter for a short walk -- again, a "quick" break, and it will take me all afternoon and evening.

I know I'll get it done. I'm just not in a hurry to do it.

Hmmm....maybe I should take a quick trip to the store and get me one of those Starbucks Iced Coffees...

No.

I should read 3 or 4 papers first.

Rainy 3

It rained on me yesterday for my 3 miler, and I got my shiny new shoes all dirty.

But at least the rain kept me cool.

New Shoes!

Because I have munchkin feet that barely register in the adult shoe sizes (I wear a size 5), finding any kind of shoe is a difficult and often frustrating task. Same holds true with running shoes. However, after I started frequenting a running store, I settled into the right shoe for me: the Brooks Adreneline, which is always conveniently in stock (I actually wear a 5.5 for a running shoe -- you know, to give the toesies some room).

As great as it is to have a reliable shoe, as you can see from the line-up above, it can get rather boring wearing the same shoe month after month, mile after mile. So, when I walked into the store today I asked if I could try on some different shoes. The sales girl told me no.

Well, she didn't say "no" exactly, but she said that once you find a shoe that works and your gait hasn't changed, etc, that it's best to stay with the same brand and model. Fine, I thought, I'll get the same ol' shoe, but when I opened up the box, I got a terrific surprise: the shoe was the same, but the look turned out to be different!

I was thrilled that the colors were changed and the design style was slightly altered! It was enough for me to feel as though I was getting a different shoe even though I was getting the same one. Wa. Hoo. And I used a gift certificate I got for my b-day (back in April), so I also felt as though I got an incredible bargain as well! (See how easily I am tricked?)

Now, I know I don't need 3 pairs of old running shoes cluttering up my closet, so I should find a place to donate at least two pairs (I always like to keep one old pair as a "back up" -- I don't know why). But it's kinda hard letting go of old running shoes -- they have a history -- but along with some other, older street shoes, it's time for them to find a new home. "Move over old shoes! Time to make room for the new ones!"

Sunday's 8

Despite the fact that the afternoon and evening rain helped drop temps into the high 70s, it's still almost 90% humidity out there which made my evening 8 miler a little sweaty (to say the least).

I haven't run 8 miles since, probably, January? Maybe in February. Anyway, it's been awhile, and I could feel it. Not in the first 4 miles, and not even up through mile 5, but at mile 6, I was starting to feel tired, and at mile 7, I felt pretty much done. My foot was starting to ache and my right arm had rubbed against my sports bra (didn't remember the Body Glide there) and that was smarting as well. So I stopped at a red light that blocked my crossing and stretched a bit (for as much as I bitch about having to stop at lights, sometimes they can be a blessing). That seemed to be what I needed, and when the light turned green in my favor I resumed running and made my way through the last mile.

I didn't bring a watch or my Garmin (I'm not much for running with time gadgets), but according to the kitchen clock, it took me about 90 minutes, which seems right. My foot is still achy, but I stretched and iced and the hubby has promised a foot rub, so all of that should help.

But, I'm off to sip the rest of my Gatorade and enjoy some crappy Sunday night TV! Good night.

Brain Ache

I have a wicked bitch of a headache this morning. No, not because of drinking (although I did enjoy a few beers last night, but it wasn't enough to warrant a headache). The headache is actually a holdover from yesterday. I hate it when a headache lasts this long and I especially hate waking up with one (my husband was probably smacking me in the head last night while I slept; that, or the dog was bouncing up and down on my skull -- that's what it feels like anyway).

Hope it's not a brain tumor...

...anyhoo, I am saving my long run for this evening b/c unlike the rest of you dedicated individuals who are able to rise early and get your run or bike or swim in, I find any hour before 8 am to be evil, so I slept in. That means the 8 miler will have to wait until about 7:30 pm. Not necessarily the most desirable time of day, but that's how I roll.

And, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Including both of mine (sorry, I did not buy any gifts! I'm so disorganized and the day snuck up on me!)!

No Need for the Permanent Membership

Last night I ran 3 miles and the foot felt fine. So I was thinking today I would run another short run, probably 3 miles again, and then tomorrow do my week's long run: 8 miles. I had been aiming to do my long run today, but then several things impeded me. For one, I felt that one day of running was not enough to ease me back and go straight for the long run (granted, I did a lot of elliptical cross training this week, but it's not the same as running). But for another, I just didn't want to get up early this morning.

So, I'll just flip-flop the weekened training distances and then Monday I should be in good shape to resume my normal training schedule (if the foot is still feeling fine after the long run).

This is why I should NOT re-join a gym: I had a trial membership for 7 days, and how many of those days did I use it? 3. 3 days. There is good stuff at the gym, but I think my issue is just getting there. It's only 2 miles away, but for some reason, getting in the car and going there seems like so much more effort that lacing up my running shoes and heading out the door.

Day after Bowling

Despite the 4 leaf clover necklace and the beer, I did not perform well during last night's league games; I think my highest game was 110 -- but my memory is a little fuzzy, so it could have been a little better or a little worse. Maybe I shouldn't have bought those shots, hmmm...

Here's my team! The Pinderellas. From left to right: Meg, Amy, Shannon, and Me

Here I am crying into my beer; some friends gave me a diaper -- maybe for in my car. Meg is trying to either get a sip of my beer or sneak into the pic: I'm not entirely sure.

This was a little at-home warm-up: my pre-game, if you will. So, at the end of the night, my husband and I both found ourselves knuckle-deep in Nacho Supremes -- we were able to avoid the temptation last week, but not this week. Oh well, clearly this week has demonstrated how fallibly human I am, so I'm not gonna beat myself up over consuming some fast food.

Today, I was a little tired for my morning workshop, but I survived. Afterward, I met the hubby for lunch, and now I am definitely feeling the afternoon sleepies. I think I might take a nap and then go to the gym, or if the rain lets up, maybe I can run outside.

And the Prize Goes to...

...Kirsten D! For discovering this.

My only regret is that I am not the inventor of "Poop Off"; surely, that could've been a major claim-to-fame. I suppose, for now, my job is simply "Poop On": Let someone else think of how to clean up the mess!

And yeah, this whole incident makes me think of the "Seinfeld" episode where Jerry gives his car away b/c of the stink. You'll also remember how hard it was for Elaine to get the stink out of her hair -- thankfully my smell has not permeated such depths.

Soooo...no smooth way to transition away from this topic...but, in non-poop related news, I did not work out today. No, the mud-butt did not hold me back, and the foot is totally feeling normal again, but I just am not feeling like exerting myself beyond what it takes to type this post. Besides, "The Empire Strikes Back" was on HBO this afternoon, and after that I just had to watch "Dreamgirls" which arrived for me via Netflix yesterday. Thus, I decided to put on a kettle of tea, and park myself in front of the TV and I enjoyed both movies: "Empire" is a classic, and I just can't get enough of it, no matter how many times I've seen it (my personal opinion: it's the best of the "Star Wars" trilogy), and "Dreamgirls" was fantastic (that Jennifer Hudson was impressive).

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish up the laundry, get dinner started, and prepare for a killer night of bowling. I'm going to wear my 4 leaf clover necklace, so maybe the bowling gods will smile down on me this evening and bless me with an awesome match. Also, they have beer at the bowling alley, and tonight, I'm drinking up: It's not every week you crap yourself and then share the story with the world wide web.

Deep Thoughts

Well, I'm glad my poo-plosion could be of so much entertainment for you all: feel free to laugh at my expense -- that's why I share!

But what I find particularly interesting is how many of you seem to be able to relate: either you have pooed yourself or you know someone else who has -- clearly this is something of an epidemic. But it does make me feel better; I'm not alone on this embarassing matter, and some of your stories made ME laugh out loud.

Good lord, poo is funny.

Soooo....my car stinks today: had to drive to work sitting on a towel (for good measure) and with the windows rolled down. I am a little scared of what kind of science experiment will grow in there over the course of what will surely be a very hot, humid day.

Perhaps it's finally time to buy a new car.

Dinner Date Turned Disaster

*Warning: The following story is graphic. No, not violent, nor does it describe any strange sexual act, but it IS gross. I warn you, dear readers, that I share the following with some hesitance. Scratch that. With a great deal of hesitance. However, it's just too funny to keep between my husband and myself. Tonight, my friends, my worst fear was realized: The following is a true account, an all too real account.*

My husband and I decided to go out to dinner this evening, and we had a very nice meal. It was lovely conversation, good food, blah, blah, blah. The meal is not the story. After we paid, I could feel the rumbly in my tumbly that signals poo is on the way. Now, I should have just used the restroom at the restaurant, but you know that in a story like this "should have" is useless.

In the car, the poo quickly became a much more dire situation than I at first anticipated, and part way home, I had to tell my husband to "shush!" because I had to focus on not crapping my pants. Readers, it very quickly became a painful situation and I was sitting there in traffic, sweating with the effort to hold it in, near tears because I had to go so bad and we were stuck at a red light, and my husband is repeating: "It's okay, you can make it. We're two blocks from home. You can make it."

"Shut up! Shut up!" I yelled, "I'm not going to make it! I can't hold it! I'm gonna die..." was my response (clearly, you want me in an emergency situation).

And then it happened. I crapped my pants.

I literally could not hold it anymore and the light seemed like it would never turn green, and then...yeah, I pooped myself.

"Oh my God!" my husband yelled, "It stinks so bad!"

He rolled down the window, tears from laughing streaming his own cheeks, while I sat there in my own shit. And it was messy. Very messy. And I have to say, it was one of the worst feelings in my life because it wasn't just a little squirt of poo, it was a load in my pants and I was sitting in it.

Finally, the light turned green (and God had had his laugh for the day), and we raced home, quickly parked and I hauled ass into the bathroom where I showered so thoroughly I took off a layer of skin.

Thankfully, I made my husband promise (before we got out of the car) that he still loved me and wouldn't leave me over such a debacle (he also promised he wouldn't tell anyone, but I think he said that because he knew I'd be telling everyone myself...it's a disease, I have no shame), so that's good -- I knew those vows weren't for nothing. Otherwise, I have to admit that this is THE single most emabarassing thing to happen to me (and I got de-pantsed in front of the entire 6th grade!), yet I have to also admit that on a certain level, I'm relieved. My worst fear has finally been realized (and thank god it didn't happen on the way to school -- I would've had to call in sick and rush home), and it's kind of a relief for it to have just happened.

Now, on the other hand, I know my friends and husband will never let this die (I'm sure I will hear endlessly of this tomorrow at bowling, but that's the price I pay for my own forthcoming of the story), and my car will probably never smell the same (something tells me that might affect the trade-in value), and those pants are done for. Ugh.

Worst. Incident. Ever.

No Hoo-ah! for Hump Day

My energy is kinda low today. I was friggin' sleepy when my alarm went off this morning, and after lunch, I felt pooped, so I took a little nappy-nap. It. Was. Awesome. Slept for 2 full hours (I don't mess around with naps -- none of this "twenty minutes" crap for me; if I'm napping, I'm gonna be out for awhile, drooling away). Afterward, I certainly felt better rested, but still felt a bit out of it.

Still, I went to the gym and decided to plug away at the elliptical (BTW, on my way over to the machines, I was assailed by the salesman from Sunday; I assured him I was enjoying my temporary membership and that I was seriously considering the regular membership -- that was a lie), but my mojo wasn't what it was on Monday, as is evidenced by the numbers:

45 minutes
3.78 miles
425 calories burned

I thought about following that up with some time on the bike or the rower machine, but just didn't feel like it, so I headed home. The excellent aspect about today is that the foot is feeling rather fabulous -- totally normal. So a big part of me is eager to get it back out there on a run tomorrow. But then another part of me is warning that I should be cautious and restrained and hold off for another few days. What do you guys think? Run tomorrow? Or no?

MFin' Blogger!

Okay, sometimes, I fuckin' hate Blogger. I just wrote a beautiful post that would have enlightened all of your lives, but it wouldn't publish. Or rather, it said it published, it appeared on my "post" list, yet it was invisible on my blog.

I had to delete it. And I'm sorry, I don't want to re-write it. Perhaps later today I'll have something more significant to share; until then, I'm sorry for the void this very blah post will leave in your existence.

New and Improved Vitamins

On Sunday morning, I swallowed my final multi-vitamin and I was ready to search for something more digestible. What I found is glorious.

For those long time readers of my blog, you'll recall the numerous complaints I've lodged against the vitamin industry for manufacturing large, hard-to-swallow, disgusting vitamins; I have been making the demand for years that vitamins be reduced in size and coated in something tasty. Someone was listening.

The good people at Viactiv now have multi-vitamins that are flavor-coated, and they come in two tastes: vanilla and berry. I picked up the berry and I had my first one yesterday -- I can report to you, dear readers, that it goes down smooth, has a pleasant taste, and is indeed smaller than the previous vitamin (yet has all the same contents). Granted, it's more expensive (flavor-coating doesn't come without its cost), but for me, it's a worthwhile expenditure.

Yeah, I still have to choke down that horse-sized fish oil (omega 3) pill, but perhaps with another few years' griping, I will prevail on that front as well.

Elliptical Monday

The foot is again feeling better today, which leads me to think that perhaps I just strained or pulled something; at least, I hope it's as simple as that. I have been continuing with ice, IBs, and cross training.

Today, I went to the gym and remembered my mp3 for the elliptical. Much better. It was nice too to be able to work out in the afternoon (my most convenient time of day); it's too hot out there now to be able to walk, much less run.

Elliptical stats for the day:
60 minutes
5.7 miles
670 calories burned

After the workout, I headed across the street to Borders and picked up two new books, so now I think I will relax and read. Ahhh...

Cross Training Creativity

So, the foot feels better today than it did on either Friday or Saturday, but it still ached a bit, and I figured it might be pushing things to run on it. Yet -- I didn't want another day of rest. And, as you'll recall, I gave up my gym membership about 3 months ago. So, what to do?

7 day trial membership, my friends.

I went online and got a pass for 24 Hour Fitness (ironically, not open 24 hours everyday) and went in to the closest location (about 2 miles away). After filling out some informational forms and sitting down with an unfriendly salesman in his cramped office, I had a 7 day (free!) pass in hand, and I headed upstairs to their machines.

I did 35 minutes, which was just a little more than 3 miles, on the elliptical and then 15 minutes (also 3 miles) on a stationary bike. After that, I was too bored to stay any longer. There were no magazines and the overhead music was not great and the TVs were not broadcasting anything of interest. The foot felt a little tired, but not hurting afterward, and I'm currently icing it (Scooter keeps licking the ice). I figure I'll spend the 7 days cross training and resting the foot from the impact of running; if it still hurts after 7 days, I'll see the doctor, but if it feels better, I will resume running.

So, tomorrow I plan on returning to the gym, but I will need to remember my mp3 player and some magazines. I can't stare at the wall again for an hour.

6 Weird Things

Okey-dokey, I got tagged by Neese to post a list of 6 weird things about myself, so here they are:

1. When I add things up in my head, I think of everything in terms of 12. Example: If I were to add 7 + 8, this would be my thought process: I would take 8 + 7 (which is made up of 3 +4), add 4 + 8 because that equals 12, and then add the extra 3 that make up 7, and voila! 15 is the answer. Needless to say, adding takes a long time for me.

2. I only drink soda if it comes out of a can or soda fountain. I never drink soda if it comes out of a plastic bottle. However, I drink water out of a plastic bottle, almost exclusively.

3. I do not like foods that end in the word "loaf" ex: meatloaf, turkeyloaf, etc. Ech. Makes me want to hurl.

4. Nearly everyday on my way to school, I almost poop myself. Or, I fear that I may poop myself. There's something in the timing of getting up, getting ready, having my coffee, having my breakfast, and driving for 30 minutes that gets the system moving, and I inevitably think that I may end up crapping my pants. Thus, to prevent the possibility of such an incident, I have carefully chosen 3 spots along my route to school that are "possible poop posts": a Starbucks, a Chevron station, and a Publix (grocery store). These three bathrooms are up to my standards and are acceptable to poop in. I have had to make emergency stops in all 3.

5. I don't wear underwear. Or, at least, hardly ever. (Thus, making the thought of pooping myself even more terrifying.) I prefer the freedom that going "commando" offers me. The circumstances when I do wear underwear: when I'm wearing shorts, when I'm wearing skirts/dresses, or when I'm going shopping and know I'll be trying on clothes.

6. When sleeping in any bed, I always choose the side farthest from the door because I am scared that monsters will come and eat me. Therefore, my husband is always positioned as "monster bait."

Are those sufficiently weird? Now, for tagging others. Hmmm, who should be my victims? Miss Petite America, Brunette Chicago Gal, Krista, Kristen D, Runner26, and Tough Cookie: Have fun with it!

Poopy Foot

So, on Thursday afternoon I was walking Scooter when my ankle/top of my foot started to ache. It was kind of a weird, shooting pain and I was completely baffled by it -- I was walking the dog (which mostly entails standing around while he sniffs and rolls in things) for God's sake. So, I ignored it at bowling (and self-medicated with beer).

But it was really hurting yesterday. It doesn't hurt when I'm not on it, but when I walk, it's a sharp, shooting pain across the top of my foot, and this morning it was still paining me. What could it be?

I looked up some injury info online and in some running books and it could be several things: including a stress fracture. There's no swelling, no tenderness when touched, and as I mentioned, no pain when I'm not on it. If I have another injury that demands I sit out from running again, I'm going to throw up.

I didn't run my 6 miles this morning (too sleepy), and I took some ibuprofren and am planning on icing it. Perhaps I should not run at all today and see if the extra day of rest improves it. What do you guys think?

Beer, I mean "Bowling," Report

Here I am, bowling. Don't I have good form?

So, despite my expressed desire to "not drink too much," I consumed many glasses of beer (this is why pitchers of beer are so dangerous -- your glass just keeps getting magically refilled and there's no way to truly keep track of how many you've had), yet this was the key element of my game because my best game was my 3rd one (score: 139, not real great, but great for last night -- I had a dismal performance).

Overall, bowling was loads of fun and it was great to be back in league and see some leaguers that we hadn't seen in a whole year, as well as enjoy good times with the friends we see frequently (our circle of friends makes up a fourth of the league teams -- we are a presence). At the end of the night, my husband and I restrained ourselves from stopping by the Taco Bell drive-thru (there's something about the combination of bowling and beer that works up a terrible hunger for a chalupa); instead, we found ourselves at home scarfing down leftover paella. That's got to be a little better for us.

Anyhoo, this evening I have a party to go to where I really do need to take it easy on the drinks because tomorrow I have a six miler. But for today? Nothing but rest, homies, nothing but rest.

The Impossible (or, maybe just Improbable)

First of all, it did rain all afternoon yesterday and while it still remained humid, temps cooled off some and I was able to fit my 5 miles in before dinner. The rain continued through last night and is forecast for today as well, but this morning when I went -- gasp! -- running, it was just humid, no rain.

Yes, that's right. I did the impossible: I got up early and ran. I set the alarm for 6 am and was up and out the door by 6:10. I ran 3 miles and was home by 6:40. Showered, ready and out the door by 7 am (I am fast at getting ready, but I don't look real pretty). I told myself that if I got up early and did the run, I would reward myself with Starbucks on the way to work, so I stopped at 'Bucks and got me a grande nonfat latte and a croisant --- mmmm, delicious. I haven't had Starbucks in awhile, like maybe 5 weeks, so it was a good treat (still enjoying the coffee).

Tonight, we start our summer bowling league! Wa. Hoo. I love league. So, cross your fingers that I bowl like a superstar and that I don't drink too much. Even though tomorrow is a rest day, I would like to NOT feel like poo.

Summer Runnin'

Should be good and hot this evening for my scheduled 5 miles. This morning at 7 am it was 80 degrees with 80% humidity. There's a good chance it will rain throughout the day today, and I pray it does, otherwise? Running tonight will be HOT.

All By Myself

I did run my scheduled 3 miles last night -- it was hot as hell (at 7:30 pm, it was still nearly 90 degrees out there) and the bugs were nasty (damn little black things always want to fly into my eyes and nose), but I finished it.

I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program as my basis, but I tailored it to fit my schedule a little better. Essentially, I am running 4 days a week (a fifth day can be added or it can be a cross trianing day -- I suppose it will depend each week on how I feel) with 3 shorter runs during the week that build over the weeks (the peak distance in the middle of the week is 8 miles) and 1 long run on the weekend that peaks at 20 miles.

So, my next step is trying to find a running group. When I trained for Disney, I trained alone, and that made those long runs tough. Actually, I like to run by myself, but anything more than 12 miles is a bit tough when you're all alone -- thus, I shorted myself on many of my scheduled long runs in the course of training for Mickey's Marathon. I don't want to repeat that mistake.

Yet, I'm not totally excited to find a running group; in fact, the thought of joining a bunch of runners on a Saturday morning fills me with dread. Partially it's because meeting new people is always a little nerve-wracking, but mostly it's because other runners kinda freak me out (with the exception of all of you, of course). Will I look "runner" enough to them? Will I run "runner" enough for them? Will they judge me? And more importantly: how annoyed with them will I be? Will they be all peppy at that hour on a Saturday morning? Will people try to make conversation with me?

The situation kinda reminds me of college: Even though I was an English major, I hated hanging out with other English majors (such nerds :)) and it wasn't until graduate school that I started liking the company of (some) fellow English geeks. Same situation: Even though I'm a runner, being around other runners kinda makes me feel like tearing my hair out. Is it too clear a reflection of my own personality? I'm not sure, but I do know that I need to get over it. I don't know if I can do another 18 or 20 miles alone.

Alarms are Evil

Last night I planned to get up early this morning and get my first run of the "official" Chicago training underway. I set out my running clothes, set the alarm, and went to bed full of good intentions.

Yeah. I didn't go.

5:50 am is just too early for me. And the bed is always just right at that hour: So that means I have to save the run for this evening. If I'm going to stick to my new running schedule, there are some days when I won't be afforded the opportunity to do the run in the evening; it will have to get done first thing, so I will have to re-shape my morning attitude. Ugh.

No Kayaking

Instead of kayaking and getting to see some sea cows yesterday, we ended up going to see "Knocked Up" -- which was sooooo funny (but, I have to warn: it deserves its "R" rating; it's very raunchy) -- and then drank beer the rest of the day and night. That was fun. But we didn't need to drive 300 miles to do either of those things. Damn that Tropical Storm Barry!

Oh well. No kayaking. No manatees.

But we're home now, where it's 90 degrees, and clear -- hmmm, would be a perfect day to kayak here.

Anyway, I might run later tonight if I feel up to it. Don't hold your breath. Tomorrow begins the "official" Chicago training, so then I'll have to get my ass in gear, but that means that maybe today can be reserved as a last "slack off."

No Need for Sunscreen

Well, we're in the Tampa area, but guess where Tropical Storm Barry is heading through?

That's right. Motherfuckin' Tampa.

It's raining and blowin' here, so kayaking has been cancelled. Poop. It might clear up tomorrow and we might be able to go then, but we'll see. On the agenda for today? Maybe a movie.

Checkin' Out for the Weekend

Last night I was lazy, so I didn't run. But this morning, I did get out there for 3 miles, so I felt good about that (it's cloudy and cool today too so I didn't even have to get up early -- woo-hoo).

But, I have lots to do today. We're leaving this afternoon to the Tampa area with some friends for the weekend. Tomorrow we're going kayaking! Cross your fingers that we see some manatees! Have a good weekend everyone and I'll be back on Sunday!