pumpkins! everywhere!

did i tell you guys i love halloween? well i do. i didn't as a kid because my mom never let us go trick or treating or get dressed up. she was always paranoid about us getting posion candy or being abducted by strangers. and she never wanted to buy the expensive store bought costumes so she was always scrambling at the last minute to help all three of us come up with something.

but as an adult, you can do whatever you want! i don't drop the 70 plus dollars on those skanky ass costumes at the store. i like making my own. I LOVE MAKING MY OWN!! (and i'll spare everyone a huge long diatribe about how i hate that halloween is just an excuse for normal girls to dress like skanks. if you're a skank, be one all year round. don't hide behind halloween. and seriously, are you THAT uncreative? that's all i'll say about that.)

anyway, onto pumpkin carving! MH and i went to a pumpkin patch after work and picked out some decent sized gourds! all i thought was, YES! LOTS OF PUMPKIN SEEDS! so we took 'em home, along with some pizza, beer, and a scary movie, and dug in. my FAVORITE part is cleaning out the inside! squishing my hand in all the guts gives me such satisfaction. the designs we chose ended up being harder than we thought, but i think they turned out nicely, no?


and because a few people asked, here's the recipe for the pumpkin cranberry scones:
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole-wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c dried cranberries (but i like them, so i add more!)
6 oz (3/4 c) canned pumpkin
3/4 c soy milk (it's a vegan recipe)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c pure maple syrup

preheat the oven to 450. lightly oil a baking sheet.

to a large bowl, add the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. whisk or stir well to distribute the baking powder and salt throughout. add the dried cranberries and stir again. set aside.

to a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, soy milk, oil, and maple syrup. add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just to combine. do not overmix or the scones will be tough. drop the batter by 1/4 cups onto the baking sheet, 1 inch apart.

bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown on top. served hot. great with fruit preserves or even with chili or soup!

i made scones!

from scratch! pumpkin cranberry. yum.

i was hoping to have a few after my workout this morning, but my dad gobbled up the leftovers in the middle of the night! i guess that means i can call them a success.

insomnia

instead of sleeping, i'm trying to redesign my blog. but with very little success. i am a print designer fumbling with web designer tools. arg. but i guess this is a good way to keep my brain occupied during my taper.

my hat goes off to all racers out in chicago today. i would have melted into a pile of steamy goo! i don't even like being at the beach in those conditions. i wonder how jess fared, considering she trained in the hot, humid swamp that is southern florida...no matter what though, all you chicago marathoners are super-troopers in my book!

in happy race news, allison ran a smokin' hot ten miler! the good kind of smokin' hot! go on over and congratulate her and her bionic knee.

my fall tan

5 gus, 2 liters of water, and 20 miles later

lately, my short runs have been slow. like slower than usual. so my goal for my final long training run was to run 13 minute miles. and i did average 13 minute miles. just not the way i wanted to...

before my run i was feeling crappy, but had gotten that all out of my system by mile 5. and through mile 9 i was feeling like i was born to run. my splits: 11:32, 11:00, 11:59, 12:15, 11:55, 6:45 (my watch accidentally stopped but the real time is somewhere in the 12 range, 12:16, 12:13, 12:16. obviously, i'm not at my goal pace, but i'm finding it very hard to slow myself down, even with walking breaks.

so i started making more of an effort to slow down. miles 10-11: 12:29, 12:45. it helped that i was kinda getting tired.

at this point, i started damage control. forcing more frequent walk breaks at a ratio of 3 min running to 1 min walking. miles 12-14: 13:20, 12:37, 13:02,

then mile 15 kicked me in the ass. 15:11.

at this point, i veered from my planned route. i couldn't bear the thought of anymore hills and if i had kept on going i would have to tackle 3 more, not counting the one i had no choice to run up to my house.

so miles 16 and 17, i fared much better: 13:23, 13:24. it helped that i played "til i collapse" on a continuous loop.

then came mile 18: 16:35. what happened? i stopped to stretch, a lot. and i started getting this uneasy feeling in my stomach. like i was gonna throw up. i could barely down the gu i was scheduled to take. i could barely drink anymore water. i've never felt like hurling during a run before.

so i tried to pick it up for mile 19 but during my bouts of running, i started getting dizzy: 15:30. at this point, i'm quite certain i'm dehydrated and i guess it wasn't a surprise since it was past noon and temps were in the mid to high 70s. and maybe i hadn't properly hydrated the past two days?? it didn't feel like it, but maybe PMS requires drinking more water?

if i could have stopped, i would have. but as it was i was still a mile from my house. so i trudged on, walked on. my final mile: 14:22. total time 4:20: 49.

as for my 5 gus, i alternated 3 gus (mint chocolate flavor!!! tastes JUST like brownie batter with caffeine!) and 2 powergels with 4x the sodium. as for my water, i had 1 liter in my fuel belt and i refilled at mile 11.

i don't really know what to think at this point except that 1. if i'm PMSing now, any period issues will have passed by october 21. and for that i am eternally grateful. 2. it most likely won't be as hot come race day because i will be in sf and 3. there is always something i can do about hydration. if anyone has any suggestions for race day, i'm very open to them.

so now officially begins the taper. which considering my inconsistent, lazy training, shouldn't be too hard ;) i'm undecided what "long" distance i should run next week, so any suggestions on that would be helpful too. other than that, i'm planning on yoga-ing my heart out, spinning to keep sane, and enjoying my shorter runs.

#4890

that's my nike bib number.

i kind of like that it ends in a zero. other than that, it's really just a number.

uh yeah, the number for my first ever marathon!!!!!!

a slice of heaven

if you've never been to carmel, ca, stop what you're doing and start planning your trip now. it's romantic. it's relaxing. it's great for familes. it's even good for dogs. my mom and i stayed only one night, but carmel is so close to heaven that 30 hours is all it takes to fully recharge your batteries. once i hit the beach and took in the crisp, salty air, my soul opened up and my whole body breathed a huge sigh of relief. the three hour drive was worth that one breath.

my mom and i were meeting my best friend and her mom who were taking a 2 day excursion north from their week long vacation in san diego. we stayed at a cute little inn about half a block from the beach. the property featured lush gardens and lots of private little seating nooks. there was also an outdoor fire pit, which we soon noticed was a fixture in most carmel restaurants.

so we took the famed 17-mile drive along the coast to monterey. had a sardine and salmon lunch in cannery row, window shopped for things we would never ever be able to afford, basked in the sun while reading in the garden, dined alfresco next to a roaring fire, and sang showtunes at mission ranch's piano bar (owned by clint eastwood, carmel's former mayor!)

the first day was a picture perfect california day: sunny, temps in the 70s. the second day was a different kind of typical california seaside day: foggy. but i LOVE fog. it's calming. it's mysterious. you can hear the ocean, but you can't see it.

i was sad to go, and dreaded the 3 hour drive back to reality. but i could never live in carmel. everyone there is old. and too rich for my blood. i would probably be relegated to cleaning their toilets. unless i made a sugar daddy out of one of them.

check out all the pics from our relaxing getaway to carmel. trust me, you'll be planning a trip out there asap. and when you do, call me. i'll meet you there!

carmel 2007

so ugly it's pretty

about a week after i dropped the ice block on my toe, i got a pedicure. but after 2 months, it was time to remove the polish. i have to say i'm totally fascinated by how ugly my first toes are. i think i want to show them off.

i promise i'll have real pretty pictures to post soon. i'm off to carmel for a mother/daughter getaway!

idle hands are the playground for the devil

ok so maybe i'm a loser for doing this but, hey whatever we all do this right? right?!

i was bored. and i remembered that yesterday was my ex's birthday. so i looked him up on myspace (the other playground for the devil). and lo and behold he has a new girlfriend! not a surprise at all. just a surprise that he'd announce it publicly, considering his sneaky, cheating ways.

but anyways, the new gf? omg. i am SOOOOO much cuter.

blink! and you miss...

am i the only one who's totally appalled that it's practically OCTOBER?!

seriously, where did the summer go? or for that matter, the year?! how is it that there's only 3 more months left in 2007? i swear i just got used to writing 2007.

and i totally missed my one year blog-iversary by 20 whole freakin' days! but today marks the 4 week countdown to marathon madness! and madness is the only word i can use to describe it! i cannot WAIT til race day. i'm excited. and nervous. but mostly excited. i have a 20 mile training run still left this week. but i'm pretty confident. or delusional.

looking back on my training, i'm actually kind of shocked i've made it this far. i'm like the suckiest, least consistent runner in the world. i'll probably be the most undertrained marathon attempter of all time. but i will say this: i'm not injured. and after my last two half marathons, i suffered from some overuse injuries in my foot, knees, and hips. and this time around, even though i didn't train nearly as hard or as often or as consistently as i would have liked, i can definitely say i did respect the rest component of training.

training for 16 weeks for one race is like waiting 10 years for one christmas! i'm sick of waiting already!!!!

the monchichi turns 2!

yesterday, my nephew turned a whole 2 years old! it's crazy! these lil buggers grow up way fast. when i cam home in december he could barely walk, let alone say anything comprehensible, and now we've got to chase him everywhere and he won't shut up, even if we don't understand him half the time!

i love seeing his little personality emerge. he's starting to learn sarcasm (gee i wonder who taught him!) but he's still so very gentle. i absolutely LOVE his laugh. if we could somehow bottle it i'm sure it could cure every disease on earth. i love when he reaches for my hand. and i love when he holds me just a little tighter when he doesn't want me to let go. it's good being an auntie :)

he gets his real party with everyone in the family on saturday but here are a few highlights from his actual bday:

digging deep. like to china deep.

just call me the human hamster.

i did 18 miles on the treadmill. AFTER a 7 hour waitressing shift.

i'm totally serious. here's how it went down:

miles 1-9 were pretty good. i was a little tight in the beginning but by mile 3 my legs loosened up. you would think my legs would be nice and warm by then, but they were also tired. on one tv i watched a marathon of america's next top model. on another tv i watched fat camp on mtv. both were very motivating in keeping my ass in gear. thank god i couldn't hear any of it though because tyra banks makes me want to vomit. and not in the bulemic, i want to be a supermodel like her kind of way. but in the oh my god she is so freaking annoying kind of way.

once i hit the halfway mark, i was a little tired. not like pooped, but i wasn't excited to do a whole 9 more miles. but i plugged along anyway. mile 10 was a little harder. mile 11 sucked my ass. hard. i was like fuck this shit. fuck this marathon. fuck fuck fuck! i was really, really, really tired. my legs ached. my feet throbbed. and even though i was dead tired, i could feel my adrenaline rising with all my stressing. so i went into damage control mode. i clicked through my ipod to find a slow song to sing to.

i am embarrassed to say that "secret lovers" is what got me through my 11 mile freakout. i mean that song is just so freaking cheesy. i love the line, "in the middle of making love we notice the time..." i don't know if music videos had been invented when this song was out, because i certainly don't remember ever seeing a video for this, but if there was one, i can imagine what this particular scene would look like: candles, white billowing curtains, a man with a jheri curl and a woman with huge hair, tumbling in red satin sheets, they look up and *gasp* !!! the clock! such drama! the woman flees quickly putting on her shiny purple dress with the huge shoulder pads, her blue eye liner smearing across her face. jheri curl man runs to the window to watch as his sweetheart drives off...as they sing...to each other. hil-freakin-arious!

ahem. ok. moving on.

so since a slower paced song helped to calm me down, i tuned into my military cadence playlist. i turned the speed way down, like the slowest possible speed that can still be considered running (4.5 mph. yes i was actually still running at this speed). the rhythm of the chants and the footsteps in the background helped clear my mind so that i wasn't wasting energy on thinking. about anything. seriously. my mind has never been so blank. all i did was repeat the chants as they said them. that is the beauty of cadences.

so i got through to mile 16 this way. for a brief second i just wanted to roll off the treadmill and fall into a heap and sleep on the floor. in the middle of the gym.

2 more miles. just 2 more miles. i stopped and walked for a quarter mile. to just muster the strength to run. and then i ran. at mile 17, with only one mile left i knew i would make it. i even gave myself permission to walk the entire thing if i had to. again, i walked another quarter mile. then i clicked over to the rocky theme, and busted out the final three quarters.

18 miles, people. 18 miles.

i am way too tired to get together an ice bath for myself. so i might just soak my legs in cold water before switching to warm. the scary thing is i work tomorrow at 7 am.

if this marathon is about endurance, i think i've got what it takes.

splits:
1: 13:57
2: 12:57
3: 12:11
4: 12:13
5: 12:02
6: 11:57
7: 11:44
8: 12:24
9: 11:52
10: 12:20
11: 12:08
12: 14:57 (the mile of suckage)
13: 13:23
14: 14:00
15: 13:45
16: 13:17
17: 15:53
18: 14:34

T: 3:55:42
AVE PACE: 13:00 (slower than molasses, but what can i do?)

being productive

i was so productive this week with other things: met with a new client, got my invoicing paperwork and tax research done, put together 2 bookcases from ikea, organized all the crap to put on those bookcases, did 3 loads of laundry, reorganized my closet, babysat the nephew.

so let's just say that between all that and work, no running got done. i planned on getting my long run in friday morning, but i got some news thursday night that knocked me on my ass and i was in no frame of mind to sleep. i won't go into the details, but having had the whole day to let the information sit, i'm no longer feeling so discombobulated about it.

so today, must be more productive, in terms of running. i'm doing 18 tonight, after work, on the treadmill.

i know i'm insane. i can't quite believe i'm actually planning to do this, but i've read that musicians and other people who travel a lot, who also happen to train for marathons, do this too. so yeah, wish me luck.

anyone got some prozac?

i hate that i turn into a bitchy monster once a month, but i can't help it. my hormones are a force stronger than anything on earth. even drugs. even alcohol. but that doesn't mean i won't try to calm my inner beast with a few glasses of wine.

after my 16 miles on saturday, i had to work 9 hours at a wedding, and another 8 hours the next morning. monday after work i was pooped and it's taken me until today to feel half normal. i'm counting my overtime at the hotel as cross training and getting a recovery run in tomorrow.

but right now, i'm self medicating with chocolate and wine.

rollin' with the homies

at long last, a triumphant long run report!

last night i was able to find my watch, but my nike plus receiver was still at large. so i made a plan to run a 3.25 mile loop from my house, continue on to run the 10.25 mile loop to the golf course, and then finish up with the 3.25 mile loop i started with. when i charted it out on gmaps pedometer, it would total roughly 16.75 miles.

before my run, i drove to the entrance of the golf course to stash 2 bottles of water. i also stashed one on my porch. i had 4 full bottles on my fuel belt but i always get nervous that i don't have enough water and there was only one place along my route to buy water and that was at safeway. and we all know how i feel about safeway! i packed 4 gus with the idea to stop and walk every 45 minutes to take one. i also planned to take 10 second walk breaks somewhere between each gu. (thanks wendy for your tip)

so off i started in the semi-darkness. the first mile kinda sucked as it included a hill, but once i found the other side, i was running pretty smoothly. i did my 3.25 loop, got back to my house and peed. while it was annoying to have to stop i felt confident that i was properly hydrated.

so off i went again. there was another small uphill portion but for the most part, the next 2.5 miles would be nice and flat. which would be good because the first half of the golf course was a long, slow climb. by the time i got there, i was not even halfway through my bottles, so i didn't have to refill. onward i trudged. up, up, up. before i knew it the worst of the hills were behind me and i could cruise the slow, descent down.

somewhere along the way i reached the halfway mark and i assessed my situation. i wasn't spent, but it also didn't feel like a walk in the park. my spirits were high, but i knew i wasn't going to just fly through the second half. but i pressed on.

i made it to the entrance of the golf course, and found my water bottles totally unfucked around with! while i'd heard of people doing this all the time, i'd never done it myself because i was always afraid someone would find my bottles and put drugs in them or something. stupid, i know. but you have those thoughts when you are raised by a paranoid, overprotective mother.

anyway, at this point, i was relieved to run a nice flat stretch of road. during this time a couple thoughts ran through my head. i tried to do the math of how far i'd run and how much longer i had and what time it was now and what time i wanted to finish , but my brain started to get really confused. then for some strange reason, i thought of where i was on 9/11. . i remember that day very, very vividly. i remember the second i heard the news and everything that happened afterward. i don't know why i started thinking about it, but i did. then my mind started to prepare for the uphill climb back up to my house, where i would reach
13.5 miles.

the idea of stopping then didn't even occur to me. i was tired, sure, but i knew i only had 3.25 miles left to go. even if i had to walk half of it, i'd still try. so up another hill i climbed and down again i went. when i got to the turn around point i was fucking spent. at that point i'd cleared about 15 miles, a valiant effort indeed. i took my final gu and a took a long walk break to figure out how i was gonna finish the last 1.6 miles. i was just sooo tired. and my legs were really starting to not like me.

but then wendy's voice said to me, "your mind is stronger than your body". she appeared out of nowhere, hovering in the air, with her arms crossed looking really stoic, looking kind of like a genie. then i heard anne's motherly voice, whispering in my ear "you can do it". she was sitting on my shoulder like one of those good angels. then i saw jen and maritza on the race course, with a big sign cheering and yelling like they were on crack. then i heard marcy, swearing and cursing at me to finish. i saw neese on the sidelines, meditating and calm, sending me good vibes. and i saw jess and bcg at the finish line with huge pitchers of cold, frosty beer in each hand. i was mentally high-fiving people left and right, amy, teacherwoman, josie, gina. what a coincidence that bobby brown's "every little step i take" came on my ipod. i felt sooo invigorated!

and it was very appropo that rihanna's "umbrella" came on as i rounded the corner to finish the last quarter mile home! i felt so much more energized at mile 16.5 than i did at 15! mind over matter, people. mind over matter.

while i couldn't take splits at every mile, i took splits at distances i knew.

split: (total distance): split time: (total time)
1.625: (1.625) 20.53 (20.52)
1.625 (3.25): 19.08 (40:01)
2.5 (5.75): 27:54 (1:07:56)
5.25: (11): 1:02: 26 (2:09:23)
2.5: (13.5): 31:47 (2:41:10)
1.625: (15.125) 20:08 (3:01:18)
1.625: (16.75) 21:21 (3:22:44)

ave pace: roughly 12:00

so finally, one grrrreat long run in the books. the plan is to run an 18 miler next week, then a 20. the last week in september i'll be in carmel, so i'll probably cut back to a 10 miler. then do another 20 miler the week after that. and officially my taper will begin.

shuffling things around

the long run today? didn't happen. but let me explain:

1. i got home really late last night. totally unintentionally. i had dinner with a friend that just ran late.

2. this morning, i had some last minute changes to a freelance project i thought was finalized earlier this week.

3. i helped my mom with an errand on her lunch hour.

even after all of that, i thought i could still drive to sf to take advantage of the cooler temps, but by the time i got done with catching up, i realized it would just be a big hassle. so i waited for it to get cool here and ran an easy 5. no watch or nike plus. all i know is that it was breezy, cool, and FAB-U-LOUS!

i tackled a few hills using the new visualization technique i learned about earlier this week. and it worked!! i felt like there was a team of people helping me up the hill rather than the burden being solely on me! i imagined i was a car on a roller coaster ride and a chain was tied to my belly button. and as i ran, i imagined the chain getting shorter and shorter as i got closer and closer to the top. and in my head i heard the "click, click, click, click" sound rollercoasters make. i couldn't WAIT to get to the top to throw my hands up in the air and go "wheeeeeeeee" down the other side. maybe it sounds cheesy, but it TOTALLY worked!

and my long run isn't totally canceled for the week . i have friday night off and saturday morning until 3 off, so for the first time in months, i can do my long run on saturday morning like most of the world!! yippee!! it also gives me time to find my watch and nike plus receiver. how i keep misplacing those two things i'll never know.

long run eve

if you missed my new list of mantras, check out yesterday's post. you're bound to find one you can use. also feel free to add to the list!

in true comeback style, i logged an energetic 6 miler last night after work, and an hour of crosstraining this morning. i meant to get to spin class at 6 am this morning but after MH's moroccan birthday feast last night, 6 am was so not possible. (can you believe he's NEVER had moroccan food!? or seen real, live belly dancers? the hookah, though, he was very familiar with. and we got to try a new flavor: orange blossom) i managed to get out on the stationary bike at 10 am to eke out 10 miles on the alpine setting. then i went another mile on the tread climber. i'm hoping i can squeeze in yoga class between my errands tonight.

i've got a TON of errands that need to be done in the next two days PLUS my long run (of an undetermined length. i'm shooting for anywhere between 12-16 miles.) long run preparation can take so long sometimes, especially since i have to do laundry (can't run without the fave gear) and if i do drive into the city (either tonight or tomorrow am) i've got to pack all my nutrition essentials, dry clothes etc. etc. etc. plus i've got stock up on more gels. i've also decided to give shot blox another try. i'll have to compare sodium and caffeine contents closely at the store.

so enough blogging, got to get moving! happy hump day, peeps! oh and here are a few pics from last night. i wanted a shot of the belly dancer but i felt skeevy about taking pictures of her while she was dancing. there already was this nasty man totally entranced and drooling throwing his money at her. besides him, there was a family of about 6 and a whole group of what i assume were college students, holed up in a large corner booth, enjoying about 3 hookahs. but the food was a-mazing. and any meal ending with baklava and mint tea is alright by me!

f*ck you marathon! you're my bitch, now!

lately, i've been feeling pretty unmotivated about a lot of things in my life. and that who-the fuck-cares attitude has trickled into my running.

i've decided that enough is enough.

if i'm gonna turn things around, i'm gonna start with the one thing i've always had control over; my running and my attitude. because dammit, no matter what i've said in the past, or how i've acted, i really do fucking want this marathon. i just didn't want to be that jackass newbie who after a month of not really training thought they could just waltz in at the 11th hour and pull it out of her ass.

but even so, i decided that i am not going down without a fight. even if by some freak force of nature the marathon isn't mine come race day, it won't be because i quit. my legs will have to physically fall off. my heart will have to beat out of my chest. and my lungs will have to collapse. but it won't be because i quit! if i can stand, i can run. and i will. i have 46 days to fucking prove myself. and i will.

i didn't come THIS far to quit now. i didn't run my mouth to everyone and their mother about it to just quit. i don't feel shame a lot in my life, but man would i feel it if i quit. especially if i didn't even give myself the chance to try!!!!!!

i scoured the internet for running mantras. here are some good ones that i think will help me:

• it’s worth it.

• aren’t we runners the lucky and the blessed!?

• it’s harder when you think, so just run!

• i am never down. i am either up, or getting up.

• FUCK YOU, stupid hill! You’re my bitch, now! ( i really like this one!)

• The night is dark
The night is long
Be with me God
And make me strong.

• it does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. - Confucius

• screw it, run through it.

• it feels good to show some courage. - Joe Namath

• every mile is the marathon.

• keep running you’ll feel better after, trust me

• tough times don’t last, tough people do.

• failure is not an option.

• SMILE!

• i am a warrior!

• it hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse. - Ann Trason

• if oprah can, i can,

There’s now way out but up.

• I read a trick for hills. They said to imagine that there is a rope dangling down the hill which your can hook onto, and “they” will tow you up the hill. Now when I get to a hill, I think “Thank heavens it’s a hill. I can rest while they haul my buns up.”

• this is not a dress rehearsal. this is IT.”

• some people run to get in shape......we get in shape to run!

• don’t fear moving slowly forward...fear standing still.” - Kathleen Harris

• pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit.

• losers look what they are going through. winners look where they are going to.

• action cures fear.

• at some point it doesn’t get any worse.

• it’s supposed to be hard. this feels good!

• heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads – David Thoreau

• the only way to be who you want to be is by being what you haven’t yet been.
- Sally Edwards

• i am my own hero.

back among the living

and running...

i was feeling like utter crap up until yesterday, with saturday night being the worst. my fever had returned and my head felt like it was going to explode. after an evening with ice packs on my head and neck, i decided to finally call in sick at work and spend sunday recooperating. best. decision. ever.

i now feel like a practically normal person. FINALLY, after friggin 2 weeks.

so before the butt crack of dawn (4:15!) i woke up to get my arse to the gym. i managed to eke out a mere 2.5 miles before i had to pack it in to go to work. the plans are to run 5-6 tomorrow am, spin wed am, and attempt a long run on thursday. i'm banking on 10, hoping for 12, working for 14. friday it's yoga and saturday calls for an easy 5.

i'm quite scared as to whether my body is ready for this marathon, considering that the month of august has been almost a total wash. the schedule is supposed to go:
this week: cutback
next week: 18 miler
next week: cutback
last week of september: 20 miler
then begin 3 week and 2 day taper

god, i'm royally fucked, aren't i? shit!

any advice or suggestions? i know i can't "cram" in the miles at the last minute, but it still is possible, isn't it?!

glad my credit card is tucked safely away

this comes as a poster as large as 16" x 20".

there must be a better way to cure my insomnia other than googling eric bana.