in all my excitement, and anxiety, and planning, and denial, i haven't yet really taken the time to step back, and say "hey jenn, you done good." just typing that now, brings tears to my eyes. in all the weeks i've trained, i was concerned with being focused, driven, strong, motivated. i was thinking strategy, nutrition, hydration. and during the many times i thought for sure i could not do this, i was picking myself up, not allowing myself to fail. i was quick to see my flaws and weaknesses, but slow to feel proud of my accomplishments.
but today is that day. the day i look in the mirror and see the perfect little marathoner that i have become. somehow i had gotten it in my head that i couldn't feel this good because my training hadn't gone perfectly. i missed too many runs, drank too many beers, didn't cross-train enough, i thought. but no one's training ever goes perfectly. but that's what training is about! training is about pushing, feeling pain and learning to cope. it's about enduring imperfect conditions and flourishing anyway!
i look in the mirror now and certainly don't see the body of a marathoner. but that's kind of the miracle of it. i trained my short, chubby, not-biomechanically-built-for-running body to run 26.2 fucking miles. my imperfect body. doing seemingly impossible things.
so here i stand, in utter amazement of myself. it's funny, pride isn't a feeling i let myself feel very often. because i'm always looking to see how i can do better. or feeling like people do this kind of stuff every day. but today, is my day. to pat myself on the back and really appreciate me. as a runner. a strong, kick-ass, never-ever-gonna-quit runner.
Friday, October 19, 2007
pressure cooker
ok i had my first mini freak out last night when i realized how many of my family members were coming to cheer me on on sunday. my brothers and dad weren't able to make it, so i thought the number would be small, just my mom. but then a good number of my cousins and a couple of my aunts will be there too. which somehow turned the pressure waaaay up.
which is totally ridiculous. i'll be fine out there. i'll be fine....
which is totally ridiculous. i'll be fine out there. i'll be fine....
Thursday, October 18, 2007
inside my mind
i had to empty out my purse before running errands yesterday and i just had to laugh at the contents. they say you can tell a lot about a woman by what's in her purse. mine reveals the madness of a tapering marathoner. there was the standard fare: wallet, keys, planner, journal, tampons. but i also had a second wallet, about $50 in ones not in either wallet (and i'm not a stripper!), a bow tie, lots of mail, a banana, an apple, a persimmon, a bottle of green tea, a pair of running gloves, a pair of running socks, the non-runners guide to marathoning, and a full sized bottle of advil. all i'm missing is some bodyglide and my shoes! that's a lot to schlep around!
in other news, the ball-between-your-legs yoga i did yesterday has made my butt and hips sore. boooooo! bad for taper, but useful information for later.
this waiting around is driving me nuts. i'm trying to be patient, but i just want to run it already! the expo starts today and goes through saturday. i could be a total geek and spend my time (and all my money) at the expo, but i think that really might tire me out. what i should do i finish the rest of the errands on my list from yesterday, but who can think about work at a time like this!?!?!?!?
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
the perfect morning
i slept in until 7 am today and got my three easy miles in shortly after waking. i followed it with an hour of yoga. today we did a core class using a small ball which we held between our legs the entire class. looks easy, but keeping the ball in place required more concentration and skill. the poses we normally do took on a new dimension for me today. and my yoga instructor is starting to grow on me. she seemed a little too hippie-new-agey for me in the beginning, but now i almost laugh at her attempts to be funny.
i followed all that with some homemade banana walnut pancakes! YUM! i topped them with a little bit of almond butter, sliced strawberries, and the littlest bit of maple syrup. HEA-VEN. i've just finished the crossword puzzle and am trying to get motivated to really start my day.
the afternoon will be full of a lot of work. ugh. i have stacks of mail to go through, invoicing, a new freelance project to start, and some laundry (my least favorite chore, ever) . among my more fun errands are to gather my gear for the marathon, stop at the running store for gels and a bigger pouch for my fuel belt, and start to put together the game plan for myself and my spectators for the weekend.
my reward for a busy afternoon will be a relaxing evening diving into my new book, the wonder spot by melissa bank (author of the girl's guide to hunting and fishing) i recently finished a long way down and how to be good, both by nick hornby. i meant to pick up hornby's latest book, slam, but the wonder spot was on sale. once i read it though, i'll have read all of hornby's novels. if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you also know i like john irving. i've had his latest on my shelf for forever, and i try to read it, but i don't think i can train for a marathon AND try to do marathon reading sessions as well. i tried reading everything is illuminated by jonathan foer, but could not for the life of me get into it. i've heard good things about david sedaris, so he's also on my list to try. for a while, i was really into memoirs, but lately i've just been reading what's on the remainder table at BN or books with interesting covers i find at thrift stores. randomly, i also picked up a copy of the odyssey this summer. we'll see if i ever crack that book open. lately, i've been diving into 2 new cookbooks: student's go vegan cookbook and la dolce vegan. what's on your shelves?
i followed all that with some homemade banana walnut pancakes! YUM! i topped them with a little bit of almond butter, sliced strawberries, and the littlest bit of maple syrup. HEA-VEN. i've just finished the crossword puzzle and am trying to get motivated to really start my day.
the afternoon will be full of a lot of work. ugh. i have stacks of mail to go through, invoicing, a new freelance project to start, and some laundry (my least favorite chore, ever) . among my more fun errands are to gather my gear for the marathon, stop at the running store for gels and a bigger pouch for my fuel belt, and start to put together the game plan for myself and my spectators for the weekend.
my reward for a busy afternoon will be a relaxing evening diving into my new book, the wonder spot by melissa bank (author of the girl's guide to hunting and fishing) i recently finished a long way down and how to be good, both by nick hornby. i meant to pick up hornby's latest book, slam, but the wonder spot was on sale. once i read it though, i'll have read all of hornby's novels. if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you also know i like john irving. i've had his latest on my shelf for forever, and i try to read it, but i don't think i can train for a marathon AND try to do marathon reading sessions as well. i tried reading everything is illuminated by jonathan foer, but could not for the life of me get into it. i've heard good things about david sedaris, so he's also on my list to try. for a while, i was really into memoirs, but lately i've just been reading what's on the remainder table at BN or books with interesting covers i find at thrift stores. randomly, i also picked up a copy of the odyssey this summer. we'll see if i ever crack that book open. lately, i've been diving into 2 new cookbooks: student's go vegan cookbook and la dolce vegan. what's on your shelves?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
great news!
today, my car is officially paid off! woo hoo!! i'm doin' the dance of joy!
what will i be doing with my newfound riches? paying down my credit cards...but the light at the end of that tunnel will be much faster approaching now! like by february! woot!
what will i be doing with my newfound riches? paying down my credit cards...but the light at the end of that tunnel will be much faster approaching now! like by february! woot!
Monday, October 15, 2007
thoughts while tapering
i know they say the taper is the most excruciating part of training, but i don't really see what the big deal is. to be honest, i have welcomed this taper with open arms. i am so. over. training. already. i think part of me is avoiding thinking about the marathon because if i think about it too much i'll waste soooo much energy getting too excited. seriously, i remind myself it's this weekend and i get all giddy and start clapping my hands and making squealing noises. i'm really really excited. i can see the city in my mind, filled with crowds and music and runners. i'm afraid i'll get myself so excited, i'll exhaust myself.
and yeah, i'm nervous. i'm anxious. i don't think i trained nearly enough. i'm not in as good of shape as i thought i would be at this point. but there's nothing i can do about it now. i've made my bed and now i just have to run this fucker knowing at the very least that i never, ever, quit any of my long runs. even when i was exhausted after a long day of work. even when monstrous hills lay before me. mentally, i'm ready. physically?? we'll just see. but if this race is a mind over matter thing, i have a fighting chance.
i've waffled on whether i'm going to run another marathon after this. part of me doesn't think i'm really cut out for this much endurance. 16 weeks of training is a long time, and you all saw me fall off and get back on the wagon several times over. it's hard for me to remain dedicated and focused for that long. but having gone through it, i now know it's really not THAT bad. the next time around, i would definitely be smarter. and based on my ability to bounce back even after what seemed to be the longest of hiatuses, i think i could totally do better the next time around. and it's that thought that makes me want to run another.
what would i do differently? a lot. i wish i was in better shape all around. i'm probably the only marathoner to gain weight during training, and it ain't muscle. my diet would be good one week, crap the next. then good, then crap. and lord knows, a good strength training regimen would have done me worlds of good. also, next time around, i think i'd like to run with a training group. i think it will help make me more consistent. and in making my workouts more structured. i was so lax with my schedule sometimes that intervals turned into tempo runs, tempo runs turned into easy runs etc. but also, i'd like to be surrounded by "like minded" people. i love my family and friends, but they make slipping back into my drunken couch potato ways all too easy. and they have no interest in my training. it would be nice to talk to a real live flesh and blood person about that kind of stuff. it can be hard doing it all on your own.
so i guess in a way, i'm glad this training is over and i get to wipe my slate clean again. and with this being my first marathon, i'm excited to just be doing it! to have gotten this far at all. maybe i'll be the very last person across the finish line, but i don't care. i don't care if i have to stop and walk. and i know i'll hit parts where i will not want to run another step, but i won't stop. i never have. i know for a fact that i WILL cross that finish line. i know for a fact that i will have the freakin' time of my life!!!!
see there i go again, getting too excited!!!!!!!
and yeah, i'm nervous. i'm anxious. i don't think i trained nearly enough. i'm not in as good of shape as i thought i would be at this point. but there's nothing i can do about it now. i've made my bed and now i just have to run this fucker knowing at the very least that i never, ever, quit any of my long runs. even when i was exhausted after a long day of work. even when monstrous hills lay before me. mentally, i'm ready. physically?? we'll just see. but if this race is a mind over matter thing, i have a fighting chance.
i've waffled on whether i'm going to run another marathon after this. part of me doesn't think i'm really cut out for this much endurance. 16 weeks of training is a long time, and you all saw me fall off and get back on the wagon several times over. it's hard for me to remain dedicated and focused for that long. but having gone through it, i now know it's really not THAT bad. the next time around, i would definitely be smarter. and based on my ability to bounce back even after what seemed to be the longest of hiatuses, i think i could totally do better the next time around. and it's that thought that makes me want to run another.
what would i do differently? a lot. i wish i was in better shape all around. i'm probably the only marathoner to gain weight during training, and it ain't muscle. my diet would be good one week, crap the next. then good, then crap. and lord knows, a good strength training regimen would have done me worlds of good. also, next time around, i think i'd like to run with a training group. i think it will help make me more consistent. and in making my workouts more structured. i was so lax with my schedule sometimes that intervals turned into tempo runs, tempo runs turned into easy runs etc. but also, i'd like to be surrounded by "like minded" people. i love my family and friends, but they make slipping back into my drunken couch potato ways all too easy. and they have no interest in my training. it would be nice to talk to a real live flesh and blood person about that kind of stuff. it can be hard doing it all on your own.
so i guess in a way, i'm glad this training is over and i get to wipe my slate clean again. and with this being my first marathon, i'm excited to just be doing it! to have gotten this far at all. maybe i'll be the very last person across the finish line, but i don't care. i don't care if i have to stop and walk. and i know i'll hit parts where i will not want to run another step, but i won't stop. i never have. i know for a fact that i WILL cross that finish line. i know for a fact that i will have the freakin' time of my life!!!!
see there i go again, getting too excited!!!!!!!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
holy. crap.
i'm running a marathon next week!
i'm running a marathon next week!
i'm! running! a! marathon!
NEXT!
WEEK!!!!!!
i'm running a marathon next week!
i'm! running! a! marathon!
NEXT!
WEEK!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
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.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
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 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.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, October 01, 2007
#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!!!!!!
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!!!!!!
Friday, September 28, 2007
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!
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| carmel 2007 |
Tuesday, September 25, 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!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
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.
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!!!!
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!!!!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
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:
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:
Saturday, September 15, 2007
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?)
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.
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.
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