Feel Free to Get Offended...

You have my permission to get offended or take this post personally. I rarely get on my soapbox, but this had to happen. Daniel (my husband) recently told me what his co-worker named her new born baby boy...Vaden. This is one of the many times I have heard of someone taking a name I really like, Aiden, adding a letter to the front and pretending the result is a human name. Name your dogs what you want, but these are people, people! Tonight, I saw a story about the top baby names of the decade. Normally, my husband's name is a winner. Reliably top 25. This year, he dropped to 28. Aiden is #1. I then saw #11, Caden. I said to my husband, "Let's play a game and see how many fake-Aidens beat you." The result, three. In addition to Caden, we have Jaden (#14) and Brayden (#22). On the positive side, only one name in the girl's top fifty had gratuitous use of the letter "e" in the name.

Another PR

Tonight we ran the Albuquerque Farolito 5k. For those of you not versed in your hispanic holiday traditions (or terms), a Farolito is a luminary or more simply, a sack of sand with a candle in it. It was actually pretty neat as I don't ever intend to run after dark, but I will make exceptions when the course is candle-lit. The thing about a 5k versus the longer distances we have run lately are the appearance of gangs of children. Since 3.1 miles is totally doable for kids, you constantly here the thundering of feet approaching to overtake you and possibly trip you, if you're super lucky. Despite the packs of stray dogs (sorry, I meant kids)and a pitch black section over uneven terrain, I finished in 33:25, beating my previous record by over two minutes. I felt pretty strong through the whole run and enjoyed the holiday theme. ************************************************************************************* Honestly, the encouragement was much needed. I didn't run in DC last weekend or at all this week. I was in DC for a conference and have been working on my grad school applications with each waking, non-working, moment. At this point, I am seriously considering running the half-marathon in January since it seems completely unlikely that I will be ready for the marathon. I hate to think about dropping down, but don't quite see the point in running horribly in an event I am not ready for. We are five weeks away and I don't think I can get to where I'd need to be to run 26.2 miles in one go. Time will tell, although time is running short...

Not a Good Idea

Maybe it's just a phase, but if you asked me today, I would tell you I will never consider running a marathon in January again. It requires a certain toughness to run on a normal day. Today, the high was 30 degrees. It was dark by 5pm. With the wind chill, it was 10 degrees at 6pm. Needless to say, I crapped out on my run. Does it count that I drove my route in search of LED Christmas Lights? The rest of December looks about the same. I peak on my mileage during Christmas week. We'll be in Colorado, surrounded by snow, trying to run a 20-miler. Good luck with that. My parents have a treadmill, I guess I could try 20 miles on that. (Kill me now.) ************************************************************************************* This weekend, we head to DC. I need to run 12 miles this weekend to feel even remotely on track for January's Rock & Roll Marathon. I am hoping the interesting sights of the nation's capital will keep me distracted. Hell, it's 50 degrees there right now, that should help. ************************************************************************************* Last week, I ran a 10K in Mesa, AZ for Thanksgiving. I really wanted to finish in 68:30. If you are trying to set a PR, I don't recommend drinking a bottle of wine and getting five hours sleep the night before. Through mile 4, I was on track with my pace. During mile 5, the heat started to kick my ass, as did the dehydration. (Clearly I am difficult to please since I complain about it being too cold above and now too hot.) I ultimately finished in 70:09. I was frustrated with my time until I realized I beat my previous PR by over 3 minutes. While I am still slower than I would like, I feel myself getting stronger and I don't quit as easily as I did when I started running in January. I guess I will take those improvements and work for 68:30 next time!

I'm All Jacked Up on Mountain Dew!

Well, the GMAT came and went. I feel like that might be all I have to say, which probably gives you some indication about how pleased I am with the result. I did raise my score slightly. Sadly, I went from a 95% to a 97% on verbal and from a 66% to a 67% on math. Since we all know that speaking english clearly is not a requirement for college professors, the verbal score is hardly worth the paper it's printed on. I am moaning about an overall score in the 92nd percentile, but I had hoped for a little more mathematical progress. *************************************************************************************I selected my top five schools before taking the test and here's the list: 1) Univ. of North Carolina 2) Univ. of Wisconsin 3) Univ. of Maryland 4) Univ. of Arizona and 5) Univ. of Utah. I will leave the obvious conflict between my love for alcohol and my applying to a school in Salt Lake unexplored. I will also have to pretend I am in jail if I decide to select the Univ. of Arizona since my family is composed of die hard Sun Devils. For an ASU fan, it would generally be better for a family member to be incarcerated than to attend U of A. Carolina is my dream school all around, but don't let them know, I don't want to seem over eager. I will add 1-2 more schools to the mix, but these five lead the pack. ************************************************************************************* The best part of taking the GMAT was how I spent the rest of my day off. I got to eat lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with my husband, get a massage and then finish the day like any budding accounting scholar... I drank a bottle of champagne while watching Talladega Nights and then sang my heart out to a few of my favorite Guitar Hero World Tour songs. I can almost guarantee that a person who gets a good score on the math portion of the GMAT probably wouldn't enjoy an evening spent in this manner, so I guess I am happy just the way I am. If I have to pick between Ricky Bobby and grad school, I'll take Ricky Bobby any day.

And Now it is Upon Me

On Wednesday, I take the GMAT for the 3rd time. While I have consistently scored in the 90-95th percentile on the verbal section of this test, I have earned a 49 and 66 percentile ranking on the math part in the earlier sessions. While that means I am better at math than 66% of people taking the GMAT, many PhD programs like to see scores in the 90s and well, that's just plain unlikely to happen for me. Often people assume that my accounting background would make me good at math. What it makes me good at is excel and that's not allowed in Wednesday's effort. When's the last time you calculated 13! by hand? How many of you even know how you would begin to caluclate 13!? ************************************************************************************* Either way, Wednesday will be the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. For a while I can put the study books away (at least until I take linear algebra in the spring...woo-hoo party!). On Wednesday, I will begin the month long process of actually applying to schools. Last time I applied to eight schools, got three interviews and accepted admission at Michigan State. (Enter economic crash - stage left.) This time, I will apply to at least six schools and max out at eight. (The schools have a 3-8% admission rate for this sort of thing, so I think it's wise to cast a wide net.) I have selected two of the finalists, but can't seem to fill in the rest of the list. As I explained this dilemma to my husband yesterday, he suggested that since the decision is such an important one, one that will likely impact the rest of our lives, we use a highly scientific system. Essentially his system involves examining NCAA football records and applying to those schools with the best records. I asked him what we would do about schools that didn't have football teams and I believe his response was something like, "Why would you apply to a school that doesn't have a football team?" ************************************************************************************* Ironically, my mom would tell you that my dad selected his PhD school based on the football team and it seems to have worked out okay for them. At this point, it's probably as good of an indicator as any in the school selection process. That and the proximity of a Chipotle.

The Time of My Life

I've been MIA from the blogosphere for a few weeks. First I got sick (thankfully not H1N1) and then I started my studying for the GMAT. (Last week, I studied over 15 hours of algebra, geometry, etc. It was a real party.) Excuses, excuses, but even more unfortunately, I took two full weeks off from running or really exercise of any form. Last week I was mostly back on track with the training schedule for January's marathon and finished the week with a respectable 18 miles ran. Tuesday was an easy 2 miler, Thursday was a 6 mile death march. (As a tip, no matter how hungry you are, don't ever eat a hot dog, a tortilla and several handfuls of beef jerky and then hit the road for a six mile run. Around mile 3, I was praying to throw up and considered committing my first bulimic act. I kept my food down and finished the run, but it was ugly.) ************************************************************************************* On Sunday, my 10 miles represented my first double digit run since the marathon. Up to this point, I have seriously doubted the existence of the "runner's high" that I have heard so much about. The best feeling I have ever felt during or after a run was a combination of disbelief and relief at the completion of each mile. Well, call me a believer, but I think I caught a glimpse of the running holy grail on Sunday with the best run of my ten-month long running career. The weather was perfect, I felt great, I was in the zone and my pace felt completely natural. Through some magic feat, I was able to keep a pace just below 11-minute miles for the entire 10 mile run, something I haven't done in a long time. Since I am targeting a 12-minute mile pace for January, I am thrilled with any run that adds distance and keeps me below my goal pace. Essentially, I kicked that run's ass! At the end, I felt like I could have kept going, but we were running late for a Humane Society event that involved us walking two miles with our dog. I will admit that some of the euphoria was gone at the end of the dog walk and I didn't have much desire to move for the rest of the day. I was ready for bed at roughly 8pm, but as I fell asleep, I was still very much on the high of my best run ever.

Bound for Our Nation's Capital

It's official! I booked my work conference in Washington DC today. Occasionally, this job does have its perks and I will be headed to a national meeting of accountants in early December. I haven't been to DC in several years, but loved it the last time I visited and this time I have a husband to take with me. Hopefully I will run into the Obamas out for a stroll or at a bare minimum a few friends I know that live in the area! Can't wait for December 4th!

Your Rat is Dead

Almost two weeks ago, my husband and I were sitting in the family room watching some TV. We heard water dripping in the kitchen and couldn't figure out what it was. My husband walked in the the room and realized our "water dripping" was two mice, eating bread wrapped in foil on the counter. I've never had a mouse in my house and I did much screaming and crying. We quickly went to a store at 10pm and bought traps and bleach. We set the traps and went to bed. I didn't sleep much as I envisioned mice crawling on my face while I slept, Daniel slept like a baby. Within a couple days, two mice had been caught, the kitchen had been thoroughly bleached and all was well with the world. Cut to last night... ************************************************************************************* Daniel was out of town and so my mom came to visit. Around nine, I headed into the master bedroom and saw a really fast "critter" run behind the elliptical (thank god someone is exercising around here, but that's another post.) I ran screaming from the room and for the next thirty minutes, my mom and I screamed and jumped around, a la Lucy and Ethel, as I tried to gather up the courage to run into the bedroom and grab my purse. (You know my new Coach purse wasn't spending the night with the mice.) We set traps and barricaded the door so the mouse wouldn't continue to explore the house. I "slept" on the couch, although images of mice crawling on me wouldn't leave my head. ************************************************************************************* This morning, I had my carpet replaced. Part of that job was recarpeting my master bedroom closet. I felt bad sending our installer into that room and warned him of whom he was sharing a room with. About two hours into the job, I was debating my mom on how much to tip the installer. I wanted to tip him something since it was Sunday and he was doing the job all alone, except for the mice. Was it $20 or $50, the two bills at my disposal? As we talked, I heard a cracking sound and then he walked into the room where we sat and said with a thick accent, "Your rat is dead." At this point, he wiped a hatchet clean on a cloth and dropped a baggie containing the mouse in a garbage pile. I felt the need to explain that it wasn't a rat, since that would be really disgusting, but decided against and decided that a $50 sounded good. ************************************************************************************* So, this is an ode to Fernando, the Lowe's carpet installer. He went above and beyond the call of duty. While I doubt I will sleep in that room tonight, (some combination of mouse murder and potential mouse friends lurking in wait has me envisioning mice attacking me while I sleep), I really appreciate his effort.

My Exciting Life

I am an accountant by trade and I mostly do research accounting. When I tell people that, they usually respond with a snide remark about how exciting my life must be. I can easily take that in stride, since I actually like what I do most days and find it plenty interesting. I guess that would indicate that I have a lower "excitement tolerance" than most people and it probably explains why things have been a little too exciting for me lately. ************************************************************************************* Per last week's post, I live in a neighborhood that would be voted "Most Likely to Have Regular Shootings" if neighborhoods participated in high school superlative contests. Then Monday night as I left work, I was notified by our security guard that we were banned from leaving the building. Apparently, two suspicious packages were within a block of our building and the bomb squad was called in. After sitting in the lobby for two hours, we heard two massive explosions as they blew up the suspicious packages and then we received a police escort to our cars. ************************************************************************************* Tuesday morning, as I went through airport security, my bag was selected for additional screening. Through the course of the screening, they detected trace amounts of explosives on my bag and then went through a process of searching me and removing every item from my carry on and individually checking it. I still made my flight, but I saw the way other people were eyeing me and hoping I wasn't on their flight. If I can see one positive, it's that no one wanted to sit next to me on the Southwest flight and so I had extra room. *************************************************************************************Tomorrow I head home and I am hoping that the return flight is less eventful. The last few weeks have had more than enough excitement for me!

Back in the Saddle Again

On Monday, I officially started my training plan for the Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon in January. In the three weeks following our marathon, I was the runner's version of a sloth: I vacationed, I went to an out of town wedding and I ran ten miles. For a normal person, or non-runner, this probably doesn't sound like sloth-style living, but my former catholic guilt has apparently transferred to my running life. I felt lazy, purposeless, like I was losing tons of fitness and a little dirty for my three weeks "off." ************************************************************************************* In order to make up for three weeks of pain-free living, I set ambitious goals for my training this time around. Since I would really like to cut nearly an hour off my marathon time for this next race, I need some serious commitment to training. That's something I didn't exactly have last time. I probably did about 5% of my cross-training, 50% of my core work and about 75% of my running. This time, I would like to average about 80% of each. It's unrealistic to think I won't need a break here and there in the next fifteen weeks, but I should be able to complete most of my training days. ************************************************************************************* Well, here's the report of week 1. I did 66% of my running and 33% of my cross-training and core work. That leaves me at 50% for this week's training. I could make excuses, such as: "due to a shooting in my neighborhood and fear of death, I didn't run on Wednesday" or "my parents were in town and it would have been rude / impossible to cross-train during their visit". Both those things would be true, they just don't get me any closer to a 12-minute/mile pace in AZ. So, as I close out week one and head into week two, I am going to be optimistic. I spend four of my six training days this week in Dallas and the hotel has a top notch workout room. No excuses this week!

In the Ghetto

On Wednesday night, our neighbor rang our doorbell around 9. We don't know our neighbor well and she sold us a bum mini-fridge at a garage sale, so I wasn't too happy about the late night visit. She informed us that two men tried to force their way into her home earlier that day and that she just saw them again on our street. She had called the police and they promised to up their patrols of our neighborhood, but it still really creeped me out. Then yesterday, there was a shooting at the Walgreen's just down the street. As a matter of fact, I had been at the same Walgreen's roughly two hours before it was robbed. It just turns out this is the fourth shooting fatality within a 1/2 mile of our home within the last three and a half years. I am normally afraid of nearly everything and this stuff isn't helping much. Yesterday, I was too uncomfortable to do my five-mile run in my neighborhood in broad daylight. Last night Daniel and I discussed whether we should start running in a different neighborhood. ************************************************************************************** All of this just really enforces for me that it's time to get the hell out of dodge. I couldn't be more done with the Land of Entrapment. I did enjoy my time here and my neighborhood hasn't always been a battleground for druggies, miscreants and thieves, but I can say that the "maybe this isn't the best place for you" message has been delivered. Our house will hopefully be on the market sometime this month and we can get serious about our adios to good old New Mexico.

Certified or Certifiable?

Today I took a CPR training course and am now theoretically qualified to assist you should you decide to drop dead while I am around. The instructor was entertaining, if not a little lewd. How many of you that are CPR certified can say that the dummies you were using were wearing women's lingerie? How many of you can say that the word "pubes" was used at your training? I am guessing that no hands are in the air. The best part is that my work sponsored a training today that violated virtually every human resources sexual harassment video we have seen, but I learned more from him than I have in the last few months of my job... Anywho, on a more serious note, if you haven't taken a CPR course, it's well worth it. It is really important to know how to provide help to those you love should they need it. While I hope to never need the training I got today, I am really glad I have it just in case.

Truce?

Apparently, I inadvertently declared war on the spider / insect kingdom and I am using the blog as a forum to request a truce. I assume that my foes use the internet for networking since they have quickly gotten the word out that I am to be attacked. To reach the broadest audience possible, I should probably post this on Facebook or perhaps "tweet" about it since Twitter seems more their speed. (I don't tweet, but I'll make an exception if it will stop the attacks.) Here's the background. ***************************************************************************************I have an irrational fear of spiders and insects. Neither the size, nor the hostility of the creatures matter. I view them all with the same level of distaste and hysteria. (That level is "HIGH" or "RED" in Dept of Homeland Security terms.) This weekend, I killed many of them as I cleaned out my garden. I think that's what really pissed them off. I guess, technically, the outdoors are "their domain," it's just that I also enjoy being outdoors and would prefer not to be touched by so much as a fly while I lounge outside. ************************************************************************************ On Monday morning, I woke up an put on my eyeglasses, which had been on the nightstand for roughly seven hours. Immediately, my face was covered in a fine film and I realized that in the night, spiders had built an intricate web completely covering the lens portion of my glasses. It was, at once, the most amazing and most disgusting thing I had seen in a while. I quickly woke Daniel, showed him, cleaned my glasses and tried to move on. I killed no bugs on Monday. ****************************************************************************************This morning, my eyeglasses were clear and I thought the events of yesterday were a fluke. I got out of the shower, put on my warm, fuzzy robe and looked in the mirror to see a large (all things being relative) spider crawling out the arm of my robe and onto my arm. I quickly flung the robe to the ground, where it remains now. I told Daniel to burn it when he gets home. ***************************************************************************************I can only imagine what they have planned for tomorrow's surprise... So here's my public plea: Bugs, you can have the outdoors if you give me back my house. Heck, if you'll just stay out of the rooms I use on a regular basis, you can have the guest room and the outdoors. (Sorry Mom, you might have company on your next visit.)

The Greatest Friends Ever

I have to say thanks to all my wonderful friends and tell you that you certainly were a big part of what allowed Daniel and I to finish the marathon a few weeks ago. (We probably owe you some of the champagne in the picture, but we seem to have finished it all...) *********************************************************************************** During the run, we both carried the 26 slips of paper that you all filled out and sent in. The combination of the words you wrote were at once encouraging, hilarious, biblical, motivational, and lewd. I think those adjectives aptly sum up my menagerie of friends and that makes me very grateful. ********************************************************************************** At one point around mile 16, I realized that the baggie containing my slips had broken and was only half full. I turned around and realized that they were strewn over the last 1/4 mile. To let you know how important they were, I walked that 1/4 mile back...in the rain...uphill...and bent over to retrieve those little slips of paper. Essentially, those slips were my lifeline in the last ten miles and you are great friends for participating with me by sending your words, or in the case of one friend, the wise words of Britney Spears. Thanks, you are exactly the friends I hoped for!

I Ran a Marathon

Well, I am a marathoner. (I think you can say that after only running one, right?) On Sunday, I finished my first marathon alongside the beautiful pacific ocean in Kauai. I finished in 6:07:05.5. It was a slower time than I anticipated, but the course was widely agreed to be brutally hilly and while it was awesome to have cloud cover, the clouds brought ridiculous amounts of rain. My shorts, shoes, etc were drenched from mile 4 on. It was a great experience and I was lucky enough to run most of it pain-free or at least pain-lite. Daniel also finished in 5:25:47.8. Want to hear the nuttiest part? We are already talking about doing a 2nd marathon at the Rock n Roll in Phoenix in January. Looks like we've caught the fever!

Panic at the Disco (or The Final Countdown)

Holy crap. I have to run a marathon on Sunday. I suppose I knew, somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain, that when I started "training for a marathon," that it would eventually involve running a marathon. Only now, it's here. Like really here. We are in Phoenix tonight and fly to Kauai tomorrow. Then, on Sunday at 6am Kauai time, we will begin running. For me, the running (assuming I don't quit at mile eight) will continue for the better part of a work day. I can only be thankful that there is a seven hour cutoff. I will either be done, or nicely escorted back by men driving a van at 1pm. Either way, plenty of time for a tropical drink and random pain-prompted moaning from a beach chair afterwards. ************************************************************************************* I suppose that the reality is that I am beyond nervous. I don't feel like I trained enough or that my body has responded well in the last few weeks. I have new pains, lots of shoe drama and a real concern that I will look like an ass if I can't finish the run. I am totally trapped in the mental game of the marathon now and trying not to admit defeat before I even see the start line. Here's my truth... I will run slowly. I will end up walking nearly half the marathon. I will cry at some point. I will finish. ***********************************************************************************

A Pirate Looks At Thirty

Monday was my thirtieth birthday. I can honestly say, now that it’s come and gone, that I don’t feel much different. I did have a few anxious moments the day before and then again yesterday when I had to check the 30-35 age box on a survey for the first time. We had a nice weekend in San Francisco to celebrate, which included good food, sailing, a 13-mile run through Golden Gate Park and champagne. Those attributes, plus actually seeing my husband for the first time in a long time, made for a great trip. *********************************************************************************** On Tuesday, I turned down a job I had wanted since I became an accountant. It had all those attributes that make a job an “It Job.” I would have made quite a bit of money, been part of a high-level management team, had a snappy title and generally hit the big time in my thirtieth year. 22-year old Erin would not have recognized the Erin that turned down the job this week. 22-year old Erin only wanted to succeed at work, at any cost, and become a CFO as soon as humanly possible. *********************************************************************************** 30 year-old Erin could easily see that this job would have required sacrifice of everything else in life: a definite end to volunteering, a likely end to running and sailing and a possible end to my marriage and other relationships. 30 year-old Erin could see that no job is that good and the decision was easy. ************************************************************************************ I guess the reality is that I know, with certainty, I can succeed at nearly any job in my field. My determination and dedication are mostly unmatched when it comes to accounting and my capacity for learning seems to be endless. I suppose that I’d like to see if I can apply those same talents to my marriage, my friendships and other aspects of my non-work life. Rather than making a work promotion my highest goal, I am going to try and experience personal growth and satisfaction in a new way in this new decade of my life. Maybe getting old isn’t so bad after all.

Thirty Books While I am Thirty

You will note the new feature "Thirty Books While I am Thirty" to the left. From another blog I follow, I got the idea to read thirty books during my thirtieth year on earth. (The blogger I follow was doing 48 books in his 48th year which is clearly more bold... I'll start with 30. Do we think he knows that there are only 52 weeks in a year?) I am already cheating since my first book was started five days before my thirtieth. I will post reviews of my books and try to keep my self honest through the small number of folks who read my blog. More to come about the birthday...

Why Do the Ones We (try to) Love Hurt Us So?

I have really been trying to give Dallas a fair shake. Despite my preconceived, George W influenced, views of Texas, I have been trying to see potential in the Lone Star State. You see, there's an open job here. It would be a great opportunity for me, in theory, and I think I would have a good shot at getting the job if I expressed interest. Since I am trying to keep an open mind while I reconsider what I want to be when I grow up, I am open to almost anything. The job in Dallas would be more interesting, pay well and be a great advancement on my resume. Because of all those things, I refused to close off a great job because of a little thing like a state full of secessionists. ************************************************************************* Oddly enough, Texas seems to have rejected me. The first time I was here, I hurt myself running (an injury that has hung on for nearly two months), I was nowhere near a Chipotle, there was a tornado and subsequent torrential downpour that had me stuck in my hotel room for days on end. The next trips were somewhat uneventful other than heat waves and humidity that caused death in some. Tonight I got locked in the work parking garage and was unable to get out for quite sometime. It seems that Dallas is being as inhospitable of a host as possible. I wonder if it's just some cosmic force telling me to keep my eyes on the prize of grad school...or maybe I just want to believe that. *********************************************************************** Well, I head back to ABQ for the weekend and then spend all of next week in Dallas. That will be the last week of my formal courtship with the Dallas office. Will I end up wooed or will Dallas find another way to make it clear that I am not welcome?

Really?

Not quite sure what to think of this one...

Some Thankfulness

My job is not the fulfillment of everything I want in a career. I have had some really stressful weeks and insane hours lately and thoughts of quitting have come regularly during this period of high frustration. That said, I just found out that someone I am close to lost their job yesterday and I realize how much I take my job for granted. So, I am thankful that my job pays me a reasonable wage and that generally I have bosses that allow me flexibility I wouldn't get at any other job. I am thankful that we can pay our house payment, travel and enjoy a very comfortable life and not have any real money worries. The worries we have are "rich people's problems" and never involve how we will eat or where we will sleep. Somehow I always think of all the things my job ISN'T and forget all the things it IS. My thoughts are with anyone that is unemployed or underemployed now, I can't imagine how tough it is to face this economy with the uncertainty it provides...

Treadmills Lie

I am back in Dallas for the week and it's just too hot to run outside. Since I really can't afford to miss any more training days, that had me on the hotel treadmill this morning for my normally quick two mile run. (Never mind that the basement of the hotel, the location of the fitness center, smells like feet. Did I mention it's a "four star hotel?") I did some quick math in my head and set the treadmill to the pace I normally run outside. At this point I almost had a "treadmill incident" since there was no way I could run at my "normal pace" on the treadmill. I took the speed down a few notches since falling off the back of the treadmill is a fear of mine. As such, a run that would normally take me between 20 and 22 minutes took over 26. I don't know what to make of that. Although I am not fast, I don't think I run a 13 minute mile. My recent races seem to prove that out for the most part. So, I must conclude that treadmills lie and I ran closer to 2.5 miles today... Good for me!

For Better or For Worse, I am a Runner

I haven't run in the last two weeks. I ran a couple miles on June 29 and my pulled quad muscle (no healing since June 9) and sore knee convinced me to take a run off. That one run turned into four runs off and I missed a major long run the weekend we went to North Carolina. Last week I was in Dallas for work and it was beyond hot. I worked most nights until after 8pm and didn't much feel like running after that. Today I was back out there for six miles. That distance certainly won't get me to a marathon, but it was better than nothing. *********************************************************************************** Although odd to admit, the "not running" has proven to me that I am now a runner. Over the last couple weeks, I have felt off. I felt like I was gaining weight. I was grouchy and lacked energy. I just wasn't the best version of myself. Despite my generally slow pace and my "walk/run" style, I am a runner. When I am running I feel better mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. I am excited to be back in the groove and am determined to keep my eyes on the prize. The marathon is only 55 days away. I know I won't impress anyone with my time, but I will finish...because that's what runners do.

Our Haunted Houses

As an adult, the haunted houses in my life have become much more terrifying than those of my childhood. When I was little, going through the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was terrifying, but it generally ended within ten minutes and then life was good again. In those haunted houses, I felt fairly secure that my parents could protect me if things got out of hand when a scary guy jumped from behind a wall. Mostly, I inherently knew that nothing really bad was going to happen to me. ******************************************************************************** The haunted houses of my adulthood seem to pack more of a punch. We own two houses in the greater Albuquerque area. We bought high and are now enjoying the good times of selling low. We put the house Daniel bought on the market in February of 2007. In May of this year we finally got an offer at 82% of the initial listing price. At that time, we were just glad to get the house sold. Initially the house was supposed to close on June 12. We are now nearly one month later and still no close. We were told with certainty that July 2 was the close date and then again on July 6. The latest was supposed to be yesterday, now we are hopeful for tomorrow. I don't know when the house will close, the champagne is on ice for whenever that happens. ******************************************************************************* When that day comes, Daniel and I will be left with the house I bought. I really like the layout of the house and it gets incredible natural light and has nice space for entertaining. That said, we have roof problems, bug problems, heater problems, etc and I fear we are steps away from our own personal money pit. If you've seen the movie The Money Pit (if you haven't I highly recommend it), you will know that Tom Hanks and Shelley Long resort to just about anything to pay off the renovations on their house, which they find is a lemon. Sadly, we don't have any super rich friends willing to give us money and so if we are ever to leave Albuquerque, we'll need to find another solution. ************************************************************************************ I remember my apartment days so fondly now. If it was broken, I called a number and it was magically fixed while I was away at work. After my year lease, I could leave and never hear of the place again. I didn't have a colossal mortgage that feels, on some days, like an albatross around my neck. Sure, I couldn't paint, but that seems pretty small now. So, I guess that I will go back to work tomorrow and probably the next day and hope that we can escape our Albuquerque Haunted Houses someday soon. ********************************************************************************

Format

Blogger hates me and doesn't allow me to enter space in between paragraphs. I apologize to my readers that the post below is just one gigantic paragraph. If you have any suggestions on how to fix this, I am all ears...

I Probably Won't Try That Again...

On Saturday night, Daniel and I set out for a 14-mile run. For this distance, it's easier to run on an established trail and so we headed down to the Bosque, a 16-mile wooded bike trail that runs next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. Although I ran 13.1 miles just a week earlier, it quickly became obvious that this run wouldn't go off without serious physical harm. I was dragging through the first three miles, my knee was killing me and my stomach was upset. Daniel was already out a good ways ahead of me and I decided to short the run and just turn around when I saw Daniel heading back my way. (It's an out and back course.) I was thinking that this would get me to about 12 miles. Around mile 5.5, the trail split. I took the route I assumed Daniel had taken, but I kept my eye out for him on the other trail just in case. Around mile 6, a pack of stray dogs became very interested in me and I decided it was probably time to turn around and head back to the car. I didn't know why I hadn't run into Daniel, but I figured he'd be along sometime soon. Around mile 7, I still hadn't seen Daniel and realized that I wasn't going to be able to run much on the route back. I did some quick math and realized that at my current pace, I would get back to the car around 9:20, about 2o minutes after it became completely dark. Now mind you, the Bosque isn't a lighted trail and by this time I was one of the few people left on the trail. I also figured that Daniel had to be ahead of me since there was no way he was going as slow as I was. I kept moving forward, but by 8:45, I was still over 2 miles from the car and it was getting really dark. Also around this time, I saw a coyote on the trail. I repeatedly called Daniel's cell, but he leaves that in the car. Naturally, I also called my mom who lives roughly 200 miles away since clearly she could help. She assured me that coyotes weren't interested in me, but also urged me to consider calling 911 if I didn't hear from Daniel soon. At 9:00, it was pitch dark with no moonlight at all. I saw the lights of a major street up ahead and decided that I would just wait at this street and hope that Daniel called soon. This would put me about a mile from the finish line, but there was no way I was walking a full mile in the dark on this creepy trail. Thankfully at 9:05, Daniel finished up his run and got my messages. Within another ten minutes, he picked me up from my spot on the Paseo bridge. That run was much more exciting than was necessary and for someone purportedly good at math, I didn't quite calculate the finish time correctly. I don't think I will start out a run that will take nearly 3 hours at 6:30 ever again! At least Daniel and I lived through this one!

Half-way There

This past weekend, we completed the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon. I was within 2 minutes of my goal time and Daniel was able to shave almost fifteen minutes off his previous half marathon time. All in all, it was a great race and a great success. We had a wonderful weekend and got to see my parents and old friends and drink many beers. I also got my first race medal and it takes a ton of restraint not to wear it everyday since I am really proud of this achievement. I can say that I still feel completely daunted by the marathon, which is now only 74 days away. There are many miles to run between now and then, but I try to calm myself by realizing that we are half-way there. When I started training in January, I would often think after completing a training run, "I would have to run that same run almost 9 times in a row to complete a marathon." At the time that seemed impossible. Now I can say, "Okay if I can just do that twice, I'm there."

The Good, the Bad and the Duckie

Well, I am sitting at the Dallas airport waiting to head back home. At the end of my first of several trips to Dallas this summer, I thought I would summarize my thoughts...

The Good

• I made it to Chipotle last night. I did had to run across an overpass with no sidewalks, but I think the Chipotle cashier felt sorry for me and so he gave me a free bag of chips and prepared a very thoughtful and fantastic burrito.
• I took a bath each evening, that's a luxury I don't enjoy at home since the only bathtub is in the "termite bathroom."
• I think the work is going to be really interesting and different. I am a little burnt out on my job right now and this seems like a great chance to take a breath and do something different for a while. I think that will help me narrow my long-term plan. Also, the people at the Texas office seem...happier. I know that's a total intangible and maybe I just saw all the best moments, but I would say these people seem to like thier jobs more than many of the people I work with in ABQ. It kind of makes me happier to be around happier people, so I think that's going to be a good thing.

The Bad

• Well, my flight is indefinitely delayed as I right this. So that's bad, right? Despite the good stuff above, I would still like to go home.
• On Wednesday night, I had a true Texas experience. There were severe thunderstorms in the Texas area and those storms turned into tornado watches (warnings?, I don't know the difference). I was still at work when this happened and we all got to head to the basement for about 20 minutes as a precaution.
• I miss my husband, my dog and my garden.

The Duckie

• After my five-mile run (read sweat-a-thon) on Tuesday, I decided that I would take a quick dip in the pool. After all, I plan to take advantage of as many travel perks as possible. The pool was outdoor and next to a small lake. Apparently the ducks prefer the lounge atmosphere of the pool, as a duck was sitting on the pool steps. I really wanted to swim, so I just walked past the duck and we agreed to peacefully co-exist at opposite ends of the pool. All in all, I would say I enjoyed my trip and I didn't totally expect to feel that way. It's early in the summer and we will see if I am singing the same tune in August.

False Advertising

One of my primary "pros" about coming to Dallas for work was that a Chipotle was only a half mile away. I love Chipotle with a love mainly reserved for family members and best friends. Since I don't have a rental car, being walking distance to a burrito and chips was 75% of what made me board the plane this morning... Now I find out that I have to walk across a major freeway to get to the Chipotle. A woman here at work said, "Well I guess you could walk there, but I don't think anyone ever would." I know that over the course of the week, I will find a way to hoof it over there, but it does limit my original plan of having Chipotle for lunch and dinner each day... (I am now eyeing this trip with a more skeptical eye and am going to need some other form of bribery to make it back next month...)

Fruits of My Labor

Jackie sent me a postcard with this caption a while back and it seems appropriate now. I am my mother's daughter in that I love gardening. Until now it's just been flowers, but this year I decided to try my hand at vegetable gardening. In early April, I planted tomatoes. Since then I have planted several herbs, cucumbers, bell peppers and zucchini. I used cilantro in a recipe last week, but I don't count that as much of a victory since the cilantro came already grown. Tonight we had the first real product of my work, a big juicy red tomato. I love tomatoes, Daniel isn't much of a fan (apparently, Riley, the dog, is also in Daniel's camp), but he gave it a try. That said, I was in heaven and can't wait to eat through my garden this summer. I leave for Texas in the morning and I am entrusting Daniel with my precious little plants. No pressure honey...

Here's the tomato from a few weeks ago:

Here's me enjoying my delicious tomato:

Just in Case

I hope this is not my farewell blog. That said, I like to be prepared and I think I might die today during my weekly "long run." On Memorial Day weekend, I ran eight miles up in Pagosa. The run went fairly well, but I felt a lot more joint soreness and general pain than I normally do. As such, I took a week off from running. The week turned into nearly two weeks except for a quick 3-miler somewhere in there. This morning, I am setting out to run ten miles. While "easing back in" would be nice, I know that our 1/2 Marathon looms large since June 20 will be here in a heartbeat. So, I am leaving now for the ten mile run along the Bosque. My only comfort is that if I collapse, it is likely a bicyclist will find me (only as a function of having run me over since they are apparently a menace on this trail.) Just in case this is our last meeting, thanks for reading and see you on the flip side...

Was that really necessary?

Daniel is out of town for a couple nights and I am not super comfortable sleeping in my house alone. I did all the right stuff last night to ensure a decent night's sleep: I checked the closets, locked all the doors, left on lots of lights and had an extra glass of wine. When I went to bed around 11, I felt confident and was glad that nothing had gotten me anxious. I knew sleep would come quickly. Around 2am, I woke up to the sound of our house alarm screeching. Then the power went out. Seriously. The power flashed on and off a few times and each time, the alarm went on and off accordingly. I was completely disoriented and scared to death. I called Daniel and sound sleeper that he is, he didn't answer. Thank God for my mom, who picked up on the second ring. I checked outside sure that a storm was causing power flashes and the related alarm sounds... It was totally still and I heard a car door slam outside. Well, that was enough for me. I grabbed my purse and in my pajamas and general disarray, I drove to the nearest hotel. I brought nothing with me except a Runner's World magazine and hammer (just to make sure I could make it to the car safely). I know the folks at the front desk likely thought I was crazy, but hey, the credit card went through. I have decided to acknowledge that I am not brave and I hate sleeping in this house alone. As such, I am headed to a nearby resort tonight at a reasonable hour. I plan to take a good book, enjoy a bubble bath and then sleep well. Thankfully, Daniel will be home tomorrow!

So Long, Farewell

Tonight we moved the absolute last item out of the "Gavin House." While I am glad to almost be out from under one of our two mortgage payments (our status since March 2007), it was kind of sad to say goodbye tonight. Although the sale won't close officially (keep your fingers crossed) until June 30, our buyer moves in tomorrow. As such, I won't be in that house again unless he's standing next to me complaining about the evaporative cooler (we are essentially landlords for the next month). It's been a mental strain to own the second house and we have really struggled with it during it's 15 months on the market. During that time, I have gotten to go over there several times a week to get mail and water and make sure no one was squatting. It's part of the reason why I had to turn down grad school and part of the reason why we aren't making as much progress as I would like financially. With all that said, when Daniel and I were first falling in love, we looked at this house together and in it I saw our future as a couple. I remember how thrilled we were when his offer was accepted. We really learned about each other and learned to love each other there. I planted my first plants at that house and we learned evaporative cooler maintenance during hot summer nights together. I planned our wedding there and together Daniel and I learned the perils of room painting and ceiling fan hanging. I guess I can say that the Gavin House will always be our first house together and like any couple should, I plan to hold all the best memories with me. It's odd that as you draw to a close on a relationship, you can easily forget the bad memories and see all the good clearly for the first time. Bye bye, Gavin. In the name of moving forward, it's time to call it a day, but you will always hold the title of "Best Bath Tub" to me!

Running Highlights

I haven't blogged much lately about my training. That hasn't been for lack of running, just lack of blogging time. Back in Janaury, I came home from a run and immediately put fingers to keyboard. Now, I come home from a run, take my dog on a cool down walk (to keep my muscles from seizing up to the point of paralysis) and then do a "core muscle strengthening routine." By the time that's done, all I want is a glass of wine and to sit in a stupor, even if it's 7am.

I have been really regular on my last month of training. I have only missed one day of training in that time. I can feel myself getting stronger, gaining endurance and getting tougher mentally. This past weekend, I ran my first 8-miler. It was tough, but I was able to keep pretty close to an 11-minute mile. Honestly, I am not fast. I will be really happy if I can run the marathon close to an 11-minute mile (roughly 5 hours). I still walk about 20% of my mileage and don't know that I will be able to remove the walking completely before the race. That said, 8 miles was doable and I feel confident about my progress.

This weekend, I will be really challenging myself. Although it's another 8-miler, I have been running at 5100 feet elevation and this weekend I will visit my parents who live at 7000 feet. I think the 2000 foot elevation gain and a more hilly run will test my true progress, but mostly my mental growth and resolve.

I did put in a new playlist this past weekend and while I am not ready to reveal it in its entirety, here's a few highlights:

* Song that lights a fire under me: Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers

* Song that would most appall my mother: Lose Yourself - Eminem

* Song that was a hit when my mom was in college: Green Onions - Booker T & the MGs

* Slow song that seems to be working: The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

Texas & Me

I confirmed today that I will be spending a large portion of my summer living out of a suitcase in Dallas. (I would really appreciate any positive views on this situation.) A woman in our Texas office is heading out on maternity leave in early July and will be out for roughly two months. In her absence, I am going to "help out". For me that means I will spend roughly 4 workdays there in June, 10-16 workdays there in July and 7 workdays there in August. If I weren't a total homebody, this would be no big deal, maybe even an adventure. For me, I love my house, my garden, my dog and my husband and don't see much reason to leave the house.

Good Things:

* Chipotle (we don't have those in NM)

* Frequent flier miles

* Better shopping (if I have time)

* Chipotle (I plan to eat there more than once)

Bad Things:

* Running in severe humidity (this could be a good thing since it will help me prep for the humid Kauai marathon)

* Living out of a suitcase

* Being away from my home

* Being away from my husband

Help me add to my lists...

A Great Dog

My parent's dog, Spiker, was a happy and enthusiastic dog. He was 12 years old. Although I didn't live with my parents for much of the time they had Spiker, I would describe him as a family dog. As a golden retriever, he had perpetual optimism and perpetual bad breath. I guess you take the good with the bad. He endured a lot of torture at the hands of grandkids and other family dogs, but he never snapped or got angry. As you can see (in the only grainy image I have), Spiker is letting my parent's other dog, Herbie, sit on his back. That was pretty much his life. He loved Colorado and hikes and being pet for hours on end and he especially loved dinner time.

Yesterday, it became obvious that age and a botched hip surgery were keeping Spiker from enjoying life anymore and he was put to sleep. If you have any pets, make sure to pet them a few extra times today. You don't realize how much they add to your life until they are gone.

Keep your fingers crossed...

but not double crossies, since I really I really don't need a jinx. On Wednesday we got an offer on our other house that we've had listed since Feb '08. We accepted the offer and with any luck, we close on June 12. Selling this house will open up a world of possibility for me and take a world of worry away. I am so grateful that something is happening and am looking forward to the day when we are not a real estate moguls. One mortgage is more than enough!

My 10-K Playlist

My 10-K Playlist Since mid-March, I have run almost exclusively to the following playlist. During that time, I have run two 10-Ks, a seven-miler this past weekend and a few other runs totaling 53 miles. The playlist has served me well, but as I gear up for my half-marathon in June, it’s too short for my long runs and I just generally need a change. You can see that my musical taste is generally poor, ranging from top 40 to the old and obscure. For example, I bought Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” on I-Tunes last night as the cornerstone of the new playlist. You will see that many of the songs involve surviving, which is my only goal on my training runs and the songs repeated at beginning and end are meant to give me an extra added boost… (Boost=not crawling the last half mile.) I am always open to suggestions, so props to my friend, Jackie, for sending me a CD of suggestions a few months back. Two of her tracks appeared in the 10-K playlist (#8 & #15). 1. Viva la Vida … Coldplay 2. Stronger… Kanye West 3. Black Horse & the Cherry Tree… KT Tunstall 4. Young Folks…Peter Bjorn and John 5. Hey Ya…OutKast 6. Birdhouse in Your Soul…They Might be Giants 7. I’m Yours…Jason Mraz 8. Mr. Blue Sky…ELO 9. Gotta Get Thru This…Daniel Bedingfield 10. Bubbly…Colbie Caillat 11. The Safety Dance…Men Without Hats 12. Put Your Records On…Corrine Bailey Rae 13. Crazy…Gnarls Barkley 14. It’s a New Day…will.i.am 15. Foundations…Kate Nash 16. Yummy…Gwen Stefani 17. Stronger…Kanye West 18. Viva la Vida…Coldplay

Come Sail Away

I have been AWOL from the blogosphere due to illness and home improvement. I went to Phoenix for the NCAA tourney and got another cold. Ugh. During the climax of the cold, my parents (also sick from said Phoenix trip) arrived to help me redo my backyard while Daniel was out of town for work. I so appreciate their help, especially since we all just really wanted to crawl back into bed. We rebuilt my deck, my mom stained it and then we added some new plantings to the backyard. It's starting to come along, but it's nowhere near done and Daniel will get to enjoy many weekends of digging since I have put in my time. When we get a little further down the path, I will post some before & after picks.

Also since I last blogged, my dear Tarheels won another NCAA championship. It was great to see although the end of a season always makes me sad. I cry every year during One Shining Moment and spend about a week having withdrawals. We have some fantastic players leaving this year and I really don't have the same love for the NBA, NFL or College Football. At least our local Triple A baseball team had the home opener tonight, maybe I can get into that.

Tomorrow, I leave to meet Daniel in Santa Barbara. I would like to say that excitement is my number one emotion for this trip... In reality, it's fear. We are headed on a sailing instruction vacation. We will spend four days sailing around the Channel Islands and learning basic sailing commands and procedures. It's just Daniel, the instructor and myself on the 24' boat, so I am guessing I won't get to sit and drink wine while they work... It's not that kind of trip. This is one of my dreams and I decided to achieve it as an early 30th birthday present to myself. That said, I probably get a C- in general coordination, so hopefully that's not necessary. Maybe as I head into my 30th year, I will learn how to laugh and my shortcomings and just enjoy the adventure. That would be a great step forward for me!

Slightly Obsessed

I am sitting on a pile of sheer wonderment. In mere moments, I could be rich. My world may be about to change altogether. What prompts this bout of optimism? Albertson's Monopoly.

My local grocery chain is currently having a game promotion. They have done this in year's past and I have generally ignored it. I suppose that something about the economy and something about having no idea what I am doing with my life is prompting me to search for the "light at the end of the tunnel" and Albertson's Monopoly appears to provide an appropriate diversion.

The game started about a month ago. You get Monopoly game pieces for certain products you buy and then certain combinations of game pieces mean you win prizes. What I would now describe as an obsession started out as slight interest. When I did my normal grocery shopping, I would get a game piece or two and check to see if they matched my board. Somewhere along the way, I started altering my shopping so that I would buy brands that had game pieces instead of brands that didn't. Of late, I just buy things that have game pieces and refuse to buy anything that doesn't have a game piece. (P.S. We don't eat a lot of vegetables these days since those aren't included.) I have gone so far as to search the web for fellow addicts who might be willing to trade game pieces. Most of those sites are "mom blogs" and I do see that as a childless, well-employed, non-minivan driving person, I don't fit in with the normal "Grocery Gamer."

Today, I bought the following:

24 Powerades

9 Coca-cola 2 Liters

6 Hershey's Candy Bars

2 CPK Frozen Pizzas

3 Boxes of Cheezits

All in all, I walked away with 50 game pieces today. I will spend the next hour opening each piece and hoping I am a winner. The game ends at the end of March and I know that I am running out of time. At least if I don't win tonight, I can keep the faith alive due to the 40 individual Cruise Sweepstakes entries I sent in during the course of the game.

Tonight I told my husband that maybe we should go back and get more powerade tonight. Mind you, we have about 50 total in the house right now and before I started playing the game, I hadn't had a powerade in years. He looked at me with slight fear in his eyes and I said, "If I don't win something, I am going to totally freak out." He said, "More than you are freaking out right now?" He seems to think that my actions aren't "normal".

My greatest fear, besides not winning at all, is that I will win the $2 prize. I have bought about $75 in powerade since the game started and $2 seems like a "Bernie Madoff type return" on my investment. Daniel just asked me what I wanted for dinner. How does powerade, a candy bar and some cheezits sound? That's all that's in the house.

Oh, that's right...I don't like running!

I've discovered something about running over the last week, it sucks. I know that sounds a little negative and certainly it's not the best conclusion since I am still training to run a marathon in September. I am sure things will start looking up again, but the last week of running has been B-R-U-T-A-L, brutal! Last Sunday I ran a 10-K. While I was glad to finish my first 10-K, I ran pretty slowly since the course was crazy hilly. We have been training on mostly flat land and I wasn't prepared for all uphill/downhill, all the time.

Since I didn't do that well on Sunday, I thought that this week's training runs would be good. Well, I "ran" 4 miles on Wednesday and had to walk most of it since my calves/shins were screaming after mile 1. This weekend I was supposed to run 7.5 miles, but it was pretty clear that this wasn't going to happen without medical intervention and/or being carried on someone's back the last few miles. So, I ran 5 miles instead and am amazed that I continue to get slower with each run, even though I am not running longer distances. We're headed to Phoenix on Wednesday, so I will be doing two of my runs in sunny (hot) Arizona and that should be interesting.

In an effort to focus on the positive, I ran/walked 5 miles today instead of sitting on the couch. I am at 9 miles for this past week and 23.2 miles in the last two weeks. I have run 79.2 miles since we started straining in January, despite having sat out for four weeks due to illness and a knee injury. That's more miles than I have run in my life prior to our 1/1/09 state date. I may not be progressing as fast as I would like, but I am still pretty amazed when I look at the mileage. Within the next two weeks, I will reach the 100 mile mark of training. That's pretty awesome for me...

P.S. As I type this, it dawns on me that my dad (clearly not 100% sane) ran 100 miles in just over 24 hours during an endurance run several years ago (see www.ws100.com).

Daylight Saving Time...Friend or Foe?

I grew up in Arizona. For 22 of my 30 years, or 73% for you math majors, I avoided the madness of switching my clocks twice a year. That leaves me nearly unable to adjust my life to daylight saving time or remember when I lose an hour vs. gain one. I am told by my mother that I lost time this week. Since I am up and blogging after midnight, despite having to wake up at six tomorrow morning, that seems about right. Apparently my body is still tuned to the sun and expects to stay awake for a certain number of hours after it sets. As such, I would say I didn't lose one hour, but at least three over the last few nights. By the way, heart attacks spike shortly after the switch to DST.

That said, I got home from work tonight at 7:15 and was able to still get in about 15 minutes of my run before it was dark. In that way, I guess DST is a friend as we train for the marathon (it's so daunting today that I feel like it should be The Marathon, the capitalization expressing how large it looms.) I have been really sick and/or working about 60 hours a week for the last couple weeks. That combo meant that my last run was 5.5 miles over two weeks ago. That would seem like a problem, except we have a 10K (6.2 miles) this weekend and half marathon (13.1 miles) in a little over a month.

Tonight I ran an easy 2.5 miles to ease back in. It wasn't great and wasn't terrible. I think I will be able to make it through this weekend's 10K, but we'll see if my body is a little shocked after a few weeks of inactivity. All in all though, training is going good. D. is kicking my butt, but it's easier for boys...

I Ran Four Miles Tonight...

...and I have the scars to prove it!

Tonight was a four-mile night, which isn't that long considering I am going to attempt to run 26.2 miles at one time in September. That said, it's tough to jam the run in between work and darkness. I knew that I was going to be cutting it close since I really don't like to run in the dark by myself. I got through all but the last mile in pretty much daylight, but then darkness settled in and I started to freak out.

To add insult to injury, I decided to wear my prescription sunglasses on the run. It wasn't the best logic, but I generally think that if people saw my eyes as I ran, they would see that with each step I wince a little and I don't need their pity. Sunglasses have one main purpose: to block light. Sadly, they did a bang up job of this tonight and I was nearly blind for the last mile. I even took off the glasses for a while to see if my horrible vision was better than total darkness.

Also in the last mile, I started to chafe really badly in my under arm area (code name: armpit). I tried to adjust my shirt and sports bra to mitigate the damage and realized that I was actually being gradually stabbed by a renegade bra underwire. Here's the thing, I love my bra. I generally sleep in it and I run in it too (despite wearing a sports bra). The underwire made a break for it during the run (I don't blame it) and my skin blocked its escape. I bet I am the only person who has ever removed the underwire from their bra while running... I also wanted to be "special" and now I am.

So, I have a hole/bruise/scratch from where my bra attacked me during my run in the dark. I think that is grandly ironic since I was so concerned about injury due to attack by a mad man while I ran in the dark. Turns out bras are far more dangerous!

Mix It Up

We started running about six weeks ago and while I have seen a steady progression in our distance and endurance (we did 5 miles today), I haven't seen any progression in my "running mix." About a year ago, I put together a 50 minute mix of mostly hip-hop/pop to listen to on the Ipod while I workout (pre-workouts, I did my calculus homework to this mix, both are similarly excruciating.) I've now listened to that mix for the past six weeks, about three times a week. While Kanye's "Stronger" still gets me through the last few minutes of the workout, I need to make a change on the rest of the mix. Although I have admittedly horrible taste in music (usually a large contribution comes from Top40), music really inspires me. For example, if I hear Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in the morning, I face the day with greater strength and optimism.

Playing on my mind these days is the importance of a marathon day mix. Besides training my body to run 26 miles at one time, I need to spend the next 6.5 months fine-tuning the mix that will carry me through the race in September. I think I will likely find an hour-ish long mix that I can repeat many, many times until I drag my tired body across the finish line. [How long does an Ipod keeps its charge?] In the last week, I pulled some CDs out from high school/college to see what I might add to the mix. I rediscovered Cake's Fashion Nugget album and Everclear's "So Much for the Afterglow" and know that I have some potential contributors.

So, here's the question: If you had to run 26.2 miles, what song would get you through mile 26?

We won!

Tonight the North Carolina Tarheels played Duke and beat them handily. It was awesome. Here I sit in my #50 UNC Jersey and I am so happy. Daniel and I continued a tradition that I started years ago in Phoenix... We drink a 40 of malt liquor (Mickey's is our pick) as we watch the first Carolina - Duke game of the season...out of a brown bag. As I bought the Mickeys' today, the clerk at Walgreen's said, "Mickey's, huh? You don't strike me as a Mickey's drinker." My mom asked if our future potential children would drink their juice out of brown bags if Carolina and Duke were playing... I said, "Of course."

D. doesn't really swear much, I swear enough for the both of us on a regular day. That said, I think he stores most of his annual swears up for the Carolina - Duke game. The dog is hiding in another room because of all the yelling tonight.

The Carolina - Duke game (especially when the good guys win) is like a holiday to me, probably equivalent to Christmas. Go Heels!

I Love Jesus, but I Drink a Little

This video is a little long, but well worth watching... It made my week. (p.s. I don't know how to post youtube videos on here, but the link is below.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

It's all in my head...

Today's run had me going 3.5 miles. That's not too long, but not as short as the "easy" 2.5 mile run on Mondays. I have really struggled since the knee injury with my pace. Since the 5k, it just seems like I am destined to be at an 11 minute mile during the training runs. That doesn't bode well since I am not running very far right now and as you add distance, you generally lose speed. At this rate, I might as well walk the marathon in September! Anywho, I really wanted to push myself today and since my body has been feeling pretty good post-acquisition of the knee brace, I went for it.

I was holding pretty close to a ten minute mile pace for the first mile and a half and then started to slow down on the second half of the run. I knew that finishing in 35 minutes was quickly slipping out of my grasp, so I promised I would really push it for the last mile. Somewhere about a half mile from the house, I could actually see the house and I started playing mind games. I was really tired and starting to wheeze a little. I started to think, "Who would be hurt if I just walked the last half mile." At that moment, I was reminded of what Daniel has said, "So much of this is mental." I realized that I am mostly fighting against my mind and not my body at this stage of training. My mind is a lot lazier than my physical body. My body could definitely finish up strong, but my mind was trying to quit.

In the end, I told my mind to shut up and pushed myself to finish in 36:01, that's about a 10:17 mile. I know that over the next couple months, fighting my mind will be the biggest battle. I am pretty healthy, so my body can make it to the April half-marathon. It's messages like that I need to keep repeating instead of "I can't."

Four Miles and a Leg Brace

We have reached the official start of our training. The first month was really about conditioning and getting our bodies used to running several times a week. Today, we started adding mileage, which (in theory) will allow us to run 26.1 miles seven months from now. We went up to four miles today and although it was a little rough (read headwind and horrible cramp), we made it through and I guess I feel encouraged by that. Last week, after the 5k, I would have told you that 3.1 miles was my max. Yet, here I am today at 4! I also bought a knee brace today and it made a huge difference during the run, so maybe I won't need to carry a bag of peas with me everywhere I go after all!

I can't wait to be 30.

Today we ran a 5k. I have been out of commission for the last two weeks since I really jacked up my knee with a run a few weeks ago. The 5k was my first run back and I started out feeling great and the first mile was really no big deal. Sadly, I still had a couple to go and my knee started acting up. It was a tough run, but I finished in 35:36. That isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, but I had to walk a lot of it. D. finished in 29:42, my dad finished in 39:02 and mom was somewhere around 44. My mom actually would have placed 2nd in her age group and gotten a prize, but she didn't wear a timing chip. I am sadly at the top end of my age bracket these days... Today I ran against 20 year olds and while I recently complained about moving to the 30-39 bracket this year, I realized that in race terms it isn't a bad thing to be the youngin' in the age bracket. There's one positive to turning the big 3-0 this year. Regardless, it was a good way to start out our Superbowl Sunday and it brings back my motivation to get back on the training route, even though my knee may not cooperate! I plan to have a bag of peas at hand at all times for the next seven months and run like my life depends on it!

Is this what being 30 feels like?

I posted a couple weeks ago about my fledgling jogging "hobby" (aka adventure in masochism). I have spent the last two weeks with a bag of peas always near my person, frequently on my right knee. My knee has felt unnatural and generally painful since the last time I ran, which was over two weeks ago. On Sunday, I head out to run a Superbowl 5K. This was in my initial training plan and I will admit that the wings offered at the end of the run provide some motivation. I hope my knee can keep up with the rest of me for 3 miles (or a little longer), since I am determined to run on Sunday. We are now just slightly over seven months from race day and I will be ready...

Lonely Runner

D. is out of town, so I did today's run on my own. I guess I should be proud that I actually got out there and did it without his encouragement, but I was a hot mess on the road and I think I did more damage than good.

Let's see: I don't understand how to work my stopwatch, I decided to take my Blackberry with me so I could call for help, if needed, but it's so heavy it kept pulling my pants down, stuff kept falling out of my pockets, I somehow tweaked my knee and I kept looking behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed by someone sinister. As you can imagine, most of my energy was focused on these items and my pace and running form suffered. I will be glad to have my running buddy back tomorrow (for more reasons that this)! For now, I sit here with a bag of frozen peas on my knee trying to be happy that I made it through another training day! I plunked the big bucks down last night and paid for the marathon, so there's no backing out now.

Hurts so good.

That title is a lie. There is nothing good about the hurt I am feeling. Today was our sixth day of running in the marathon training plan. Up to this point, the running has been pretty easy and I have felt like being "marathon-ready" was just a few steps away. Today, I would say that me completing a marathon is as likely as me being able to balance an elephant on my pinkie finger while running on a treadmill.

We are on a run:walk program that sounds deceptively easy. Each workout, you repeat the system until you get to thirty minutes. We started with a few days of running 1 minute and then walking 2 minutes, repeat. Then we switched to a couple days of 2 minutes run, 1 minute walk. Today was our first day of 3 minutes run, 1 minute walk, repeat. What a difference one minute makes.

They examine that concept in the movie, Sliding Doors, a personal favorite. In the movie, they follow Gwyneth Paltrow through two different lives and the difference between the lives is due to her being a minute late for her train one day. I won't ruin the movie for you, but let's just say the minute leads to her demise ultimately... Today one minute nearly led to my demise also! When we were about a mile and a half from home, I nearly laid down on the concrete and just quit. Now I remember why people groan when the subject of running comes up, it's really hard.

I mentioned to D. that in order to complete the marathon, we would have to repeat today's workout nine times...in a row...without dying. He mentioned that's it a good thing the marathon isn't tomorrow. That said, we are home, I haven't vomited (yet) and tomorrow is a scheduled rest day. For these things I am thankful.

Day #2 of 245 - Into the Snow

Okay, we didn't quite run in the snow, but it did snow earlier today so I think the title is appropriate. When we set out for our run, I added a warm hat to my running wardrobe since I knew it was colder than yesterday. That was confirmed as we could see our breath for the whole run. About halfway in, I was in no way warm and my arms (with a thin shirt covering them) felt as though pins were being stuck in them. I think I know a) what a tattoo feels like and b) what the beginning stage of hypothermia feels like. Perhaps a light jacket would have been a good idea. While that all sounds dramatic, I checked the temp when we got home and it was 25 degrees.

We did another 2.8 miles today (and took the dog for a quick walk after) and I'm feeling good about it. Tomorrow our schedule provides for a "Rest Day" and I sense my muscles will need it since they are a little tight now and not used to all this motion. We stopped into our local running store today and D. got fancy new shoes that are apparently going to make him a top athlete, so that will be nice. The guy that helped us (and there was only one guy and us in the store) was so nice. He gave us his personal email address and told us he'd help with anything including developing a plan that will get us ready for our run in September. That's one thing about runners, although elite runners exist (and I suspect this kid is one), they are not elitist. I think runners are excited when people want to take up this wacky sport that they love. People that want to run 26.2 miles are a rare breed and those that have already achieved that milestone seem to want to help everyone else get there. We probably visited with him for an hour and it was one of the best shopping experiences I've had in a long while. (Which is ironic since I didn't buy a darn thing.) Here's to the hope that I will be able to get out of this chair eventually since my hamstrings seem a little "tense."

Day #1 of 245 - Into the Wind

Over the Christmas break, my sister invited us to join her on a trip to Kauai in early September. It sounds relaxing until you hear that she will be running her first marathon while we are there and it looks like several members of my family will be joining in on the fun. My brother-in-law and my dad plan to run the half-marathon and D. and I plan to run something, but are still debating whether we could really be marathon ready in eight months. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but this may not be my time. The marathon falls on my sister's birthday which is a cool coincidence! At least there is plenty of beach and several tropical drinks if you reach the finish line.

Today we started the "conditioning plan" which takes a body that has run before and gets it into shape for steady training. We did a run:walk combo for thirty minutes and covered about 2.8 miles. D. does the run faster, but I am quite a power walker so we stayed fairly even. I think we would have hit 3 miles had it not been for the wind that blew in our faces for 50% of the run. All that said, it felt good to get out there and do something active. We have 244 days remaining, so we'll see how long the honeymoon period lasts. To get me in mental shape, I have been reading a hilarious book about a woman who probably had no business training for a marathon, but did. It's laugh out loud funny and is giving me a tip or two while making me laugh about what's to come. Here's the link for anyone woman who wants to laugh about running!

http://www.dawndais.com/The_Book.html