Week 2 - The Math Don't Work

Week two down. Three training runs of 2, 3 and 4 miles. Two cross training days and two rest days (should have been one rest day, but Monday sucked). Honestly, the 2 mile and 3 mile runs made me seriously reconsider whether I wanted to run a half marathon in June. My legs felt dead. I did both runs at over an 11 minute pace, which is sort of a bummer. Then this morning I ran my four mile run and felt fantastic. Weather was perfect, legs felt strong. I ran my 4 miles in 42:50, a 10:43 pace. It's sort of odd to me that I run faster when I run longer. Obviously, I have many miles to go before this is a scientifically proven fact. Regardless, I'll take a good 4 miler over a good 2 miler any day. I bought some new running clothes this weekend, so maybe that made me faster. (P.S. I have to blog now since my alternative is watching a show called "Ninja Warriors" with my husband. So far, it appears to be American Gladiators in Japanese, but the losers fall into a pit of murky sewer water. I hope this is a channel we only get for a temporary trial...)

Training Week #1

Well, week one of eleven is down. (Granted, I didn't really start the "training" officially until Wednesday...) To show for this week's efforts, I have three cross training sessions (elliptical x 2, random wii exercises x 1) and two runs (2 & 4 Miles). All that and the wii says I've gained weight. Good times. The wii also says, "It takes time for your hard work to pay off." I'll believe it when I see it Mr. Wii. After watching the last seven holes of the Masters today (Love you, Lefty), I went out for my "long run" of four miles. I feel like quotes are necessary since up until recently, four miles has been a "short run." Anyhow, it's my first run of longer than two miles since January, so it means more than nothing and it means I'm back out there doing something I really love / love to hate. I finished in 43:19, which was 41 seconds better than my goal. (10:55, 11:06, 10:44, 10:34) Overall, I am happy with today's run and week #1. Just like the Wii says, I'm sure my hard work will show results soon! (The wii also said my adjusted age was 52 today. I asked Daniel if that makes me a cougar since his wii age was 33.)

Is This a Good Idea?

I've been posting less lately and my posts have been noticeably absent of one topic...running. Post my roly-poly adventure in the Rock n Roll Phoenix half, I basically stopped running. I could make loads of excuses, but it doesn't seem worth the effort. It was never really my intention to quit running, but without a motivating race I just didn't make the running happen. That changes today, I plan to register for the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon in Durango, Colorado. The race is in less than 11 weeks. In the last 11 weeks I've run 6 miles. In order to get (semi) ready for the June 19th race, I'll need to run 134 miles in the same amount of time... I probably should have started preparing earlier, but here we are! So, to keep me accountable, I am going to start posting on here about my training again. So, tonight: 2 Miles in 21:57 (10:59 Pace). Run felt harder than a 2 mile run should feel for someone who ran hundreds of miles last year, never mind. Beautiful day, perfect conditions, took the dog for a walk to cool down. She was really happy.

Dorks Like Us

I was quite the "little wife" this weekend. I made a nutritious and balanced meal on Sunday. (See Cheez-it Chicken and asparagus below, still enjoying the leftovers from that endeavour). I also made my first ever pie on Sunday, an apple pie. Since Christmas, I have been planning to attempt this feat of baking. You see, I don't eat pie. I generally think it's gross. That said, I married a man who hasn't met a pie he didn't like and I felt as though I was depriving him of his god-given right to pie. My mom tended to agree and I felt ambitious this weekend. So, below is my first attempt at pie: I was feeling pretty good about my accomplishments until my husband said, "Did you make the pie because of what day it is?" I racked my brain, but couldn't think of a related special occasion. He said, "Well, it's March 14... 3/14... I read about Pi (3.14) - day celebrations and pie eating contests." I have a naturally nerdy job and I really fight to stay out of the nerd holiday celebrations. Somehow, my sub-concious knows who I really am and the day I choose to bake my first pie, is Pi Day. So, here's to 3.14159 and the other kind of pie.

I'm In.

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. My house went on the market, my house flooded, my house went off the market, my car broke down. In addition to those really stellar events, I got offered admission to the PhD program at the Univ. of Utah. First and foremost that means I got into grad school and will be leaving the Land of Entrapment within the next six months. Now, it's just waiting to see if I get in anywhere else and then evaluating the best fit for me. In two weeks, I'll head to Salt Lake for a visit. I've been to SLC twice before and what I remember most was how difficult it was to get a drink and how empty the restaurants were on Sundays. This time around, my focus will be elsewhere as I try to decide if Daniel and I can live in that city for five years... I think it's biggest draw is skiing, which is no draw at all to me. I lack the coordination necessary for downhill skiing and have accepted my short-comings in that area. I'll be interested to see how the visit goes. Most importantly, I am that much closer to going after a long held dream and that feels pretty damn good.

Traditions & a 40 Oz.

Many families have traditions, perhaps your revolve around the holidays. In 2004, my North Carolina Tar Heels lost to Texas in the NCAA tournament. I had championship hopes for them that year and I was so disappointed when they lost in the sweet 16 that I went to the convenience store on the corner and bought my first 40 oz., a Mickey's 40 to be specific. Thankfully, Carolina won the NCAA tourney the next year and much was redeemed, but in that fateful March night of 2004 a tradition was born. ************************************************************************************* Tonight was the Carolina - Duke game. This is (in my opinion) the best sports rivalry. (For you nutty football fans, I will say it is in the top five for rivalries.) My husband and I commemorate each Duke game with a Mickey's 40...each. This season, since Carolina is unranked and may not make the NCAA tourney, heavy alcohol is really needed to watch the games. Tonight, they played really well for 35 minutes of basketball. (Oh crap, the game lasts 40 minutes.) So, not a success. Between the heavy booze and the constant yelling, the poor dog was scared to death. While I may not be able to be thankful for a NCAA championship (or berth) this year, I am very thankful for a husband that loves Carolina basketball like I do, a husband that will stand in line with miscreants to buy a 40 ounce and request a brown bag for each. Somehow, I picture us at 70 drinking our Mickey's and screaming at the TV. Not many people would be willing to do that and so I know I am really lucky.

The Longest Month

I know that February is technically the shortest month of the year. This is a case where knowing and believing are two really different things. Last week I submitted my final application for graduate school. Based on my prior experience, I the first week of March is when I will either get rejection notifications or requests for interviews. That makes February the longest month, regardless of what the calendar says. Really well-intentioned people keep asking me where I am going back to school, so it's never far from my mind. In just over a month, I'll either find out where I will spend the next five years of my life or find out that this grand experiment of applying to grad school was just a fun (and expensive) diversion. I'd like to think I am assured of getting into at least one of the seven programs I applied to, but admissions rates for accounting PhD programs are around three percent. That's a crazy low number although better than my chances of winning the lottery. Five days in, 23 to go...