Tea for Two

This has nothing to do with marathon training really, but I gotta give the cute husband some props for the best Christmas present. ever.  (Only mine is fancier than the one in the picture because it's red.)  There may be a New Year's Resolutions post in the very near future, but don't expect giving up caffeine to be on the list!

Run-Around

I was supposed to do 11 miles today, but I'm not very bright, and I planned to turn around at a road that has no name. So of course I missed the turn-around and ended up adding 1.132 miles to my trip. (And I ALMOST took my Garmin with me!) Seeing as how I haven't run since Tuesday, my long run last weekend was only 9.7 miles, and I ate way too much over the past week, 12.16 miles today hurt. Anyway, the long run is done, Christmas is over, and I'm back on track. Happily, the long runs now start alternating with less-long runs. So only 6 miles next weekend... woohoo!

I gotta give the Good Cat some attention now. She took a lot of abuse from Tony Randall while we were gone.

Holiday

I guess there's no place like home or it's good to be home or something. For some reason, the clichés are not easing the pain. Home is where it's 42 degrees on its way to a low of 31. Whereas for the past week I was on the beach/in the pool/in the hot tub in Daytona Beach.

Despite perfect conditions, I only managed one run and one workout on the elliptical. 11 miles tomorrow... back to reality.

Let's Go

A'ight, girls. You put me to the task of finding a fall beach half-marathon within somewhat-reasonable driving distance (at least that's how I remember it, but there were quite a few empty wine bottles by the end of the night). Here are some choices. Let me know what you think.

September

Rock-n-Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, September 5, 2010

October

Hamptons (NY) Marathon & Half-Marathon, October 2, 2010
Jacksonville (FL) Marine Corps 1/2 Marathon, October 2, 2009)
Atlantic City (NJ) Marathon (& Half, 10K & 5K), October 15-17, 2010

November

Maine Coast Women's (and One Lucky Guy!) Half-Marathon and Significant Other 5K, date TBD (was November 8 in 2009)
Space Coast (Cocoa, FL) Marathon and Half-Marathon, date TBD (was November 29, 2009)

December

Marathon of the Palm Beaches (West Palm Beach, FL) Marathon & Half-Marathon, December 5, 2010
Kiawah Island (SC) Marathon and Half-Marathon, December 11, 2010

Take It Back

Yikes. I think I just accidentally registered for this marathon that I'm allegedly running in April. The price goes up by $15 on January 1st, so register to join me today!

Party in the U.S.A.

Last year, three of my best girls and I ran the Virginia Beach half-marathon on my girl Lori's 40th birthday. Tonight, we're going to party it up at Laura's to celebrate Elizabeth's big 4-0. Laura's due to hit the big one next month (we share a birthday... how cool is that?) and then I'll be the only one of us rocking the 35-39 division. I'm sure that means I should pick up the pace.

(And just in case you thought I was really mature [since I hang out with a bunch of old ladies], I'm throwing some Hannah Montana at you.)

Hot Pants

I'm having a hard time getting into this whole holiday spirit thing. I did actually try to go shopping today. I finally had some success (read: braved Target), but only after I bought myself some cute yoga attire on clearance at Sports Authority. I'm supposed to be boycotting them (Sports Authority, not yoga pants), but I tend to forget as they have very cute workout clothes. I can't remember exactly why I decided to boycott them. I think it was either the large display of candy at the counter or the fact that they never have the jimmy soccer stuff I'm looking for (yet they claim to be the Authority!).

Other personal boycotts I keep forgetting: Perimeter Mall (something about the Easter Bunny), Chevron (an unfortunate emissions testing incident), and Fleet Feet (they sold me the first pair of running shoes that doomed me after completely ignoring everything I told them). I guess I showed them!

Set the Fire to the Third Bar

So I squeezed nine miles in between kids' basketball games this morning. The cute husband helped by driving to the first game, so I could run home (the long way) from there. We ended up missing the first half of the second game, but it's little kid basketball, not our Tar Heels.

I've spent the bulk of the afternoon trying to stay warm with the help of the aforementioned cute husband, the gas fireplace, and a cozy blanket. At least I'm not playing (or watching) football in Missoula, Montana right now.

Note to self for next week's long run: Chapstick and tissues.

The Warrior

I found something to look forward to after the marathon...

Welcome to America’s most insane race. Warrior Dash lands in the Southeast for the first time in 2010 where 11 obstacles from hell await this 3.22 mile course. Are you a warrior?

1. Knee High Hell: Speed step through hundreds of tires.
2. Leap Frog: Bound from bank to bank across floating platforms.
3. Warrior Roast: Leap over the Warrior fires.
4. Breathless Bog: Plunge under water and weave between submerged logs.
5. Junkyard Jam: Stamped through the scrap yard.
6. Warrior Wall: Conquer the wooden barricade.
7. Cargo Climb: Maneuver over the cargo nets.
8. Tunnels of Terror: Burrow through the black tunnels.
9. Black Forest: Forge your way through uncharted forest.
10. Cliffhanger: Rappel down the steep ravine.
11. Muddy Mayhem: Scramble beneath barbed wire as you near the finish.

And the more important list from the FAQ page:

What do I get?

• Free beer.
• Warrior helmet.
• Bad-ass Warrior Dash t-shirt.
• Custom Warrior finisher medal.
• Live music.
• Post-race food and water.
• The pride that comes along with being a Warrior.
• Warrior race bib.
• Steel warrior helmet age division prizes.
• The craziest frickin’ day of your life.

I'm really not the toughest girl in the bag, but there's something oddly appealing about this.  Who's with me??

Toes

If this guy can run a marathon barefoot (raising money for kids in developing countries to have shoes) and do it in UNDER FOUR HOURS, then surely I can run a marathon in fancy running shoes (and by fancy running shoes, I mean the only shoes that don't give me either ITB syndrome or Morton's neuroma).

Workout update: 3.7 miles yesterday morning (when it was warm... ah, that was the good ole half-day) and Iron Yoga DVD tonight (scheduling didn't work out for Hot Yoga). Looking forward to 9 miles Saturday in the cold rain, oh yeah!

Shawty Get Loose

Back to hot yoga tonight, this time with my favorite work acquaintance (FWA is the new BFF, y'know). I guess I'm getting better, but it's hard to say... especially when Heavy-Cologne Man parked his mat right behind us. Yuck. But I got my sweat on, and then it was home to watch The Biggest Loser finale with Ms. Prien whilst (of course) eating pizza (Amy's non-dairy roasted vegetable, but still) and drinking (organic, sulfite-free wine is still booze!).

More rain here, and it was cold coming out of hot yoga tonight (and cold when I went into Whole Paycheck in shorts on the way home). But at least we aren't getting "ravaged by a December blizzard" like the Midwest or in a "wintry mess" like the Northeast.

And in other good news, clementines are back!

litterbug

I see the typical litter while I'm running here in Suburbia. This morning I saw a cigarette pack, and I see fast food trash and beer bottles way too often. On my seven-mile run last week, I saw a condom wrapper.  All about what you'd expect from people who think the entire world is their trash can. But today I ran past a half-full (I'm such an incurable optimist) gallon of milk.  Um, ok then.

(Do the) Mashed Potatoes

Cooking is like running.  When I don't do it for awhile, I get really lazy and forget I actually like it.  I dog-ear recipes in magazines all the time that I never make and sabotage my training (and budget) by eating junk.  Since blogging about running has helped my running, I'm going to try to blog about cooking to encourage me to do it more often.  (PS - don't tell my mom that we eat out a lot and mainly use the oven for frozen pizza.)

So on to Installment One in our new series with tonight's offering: Shepherd's Pie with Buttermilk-Chive Mashed Potato Crust (except I forgot to buy buttermilk and chives and had to use skim milk and rosemary) from the January/February 2010 issue of Clean Eating.  On a scale of 1 to 10, Jimmy # 1 gave it a 5 (but easily finished it) and Jimmy # 2 gave it a 2 (he claims not to like mashed potatoes... seriously? and ate as much of it as he eats of anything [i.e., not much]).  I liked it, but then I'm a big fan of Irish comfort food (less a fan of eating cute animals like lamb... luckily, turkeys aren't known for their cuteness).  The cute husband has not yet weighed in as he's still refereeing.  There are carrots and peas (a.k.a. vegetables) in it though, so he might "forget" to try it.  Anyway, there are 160 calories per serving, 4 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein. Not bad!  And the house smells yummy, so yay.  (Oh, and cost per serving: $1.33.)

Postscript:  Tony Randall gives it a 10.  (In the interest of full disclosure, Tony Randall gives all people food a 10.)

8 mile

I ended up not doing my midweek run... I made the decision not to do it on Wednesday due to the downpours and then had a lot going on with work on Thursday. So I should have just gone Wednesday... bad call.

I did, however, get up at 7 to get my 8.2-mile run in before the cute husband had to leave to go referee all day. We've been hearing all week that we were going to get a wintry mix today. I think it all happened while I was running. Now it's just windy and very cold (poor cute husband). I ended up getting the better deal by being out early... now it's 38, feels like 28; when I left at 7:15, it was 39, feels like 31. With my windbreaker on, I was fine (I thought I would die when I took off the windbreaker for a minute to take off one of my long-sleeved shirts). Too bad soccer referees don't get to wear a windbreaker.

Anyway, the run was good. I saw a big running group at one point and briefly thought about checking into that... it might have been The Chattahoochee Road Runners Club. I like running alone though. Especially since I do long runs listening to my favorite podcast. (Obviously I haven't been doing many long runs lately because I'm still listening to July podcasts... it's weird hearing about warm weather in Oxford, Massachusetts when I'm running in snow.) I did have some mild discomforts during the run... I remembered the Bodyglide but didn't apply it liberally enough. The back of my left knee felt a little tight, and I could feel some potential blistering on my left big toe and right instep. No big deal since I was only running 8 miles, but I may need to Bodyglide and/or Band-Aid there next week. I did an 8:1 run:walk ratio, which was probably a good idea. I'm not sure about the back-of-the-knee tightness; it doesn't sound like a Baker's cyst or pulled hamstring like these people are talking about. I probably just need to stretch more (and by stretch more, I mean stretch at all).

Same Old Song and Dance

I'm tired and only posting because I wouldn't want my massively huge audience to think I've been slacking off. I ran 3 miles yesterday morning and did my 90-minute hot yoga class tonight. I don't think I'll do tomorrow's run in the morning since we're getting more torrential downpours here in the Atlanta Rainforest. And it's suddenly cold now that it's December. Boo.

I'm watching last week's So You Think You Can Dance, and let's just say that's not what I look like when I do Dancer's Pose.

Speaking of TV, I was up late working (yes, I work!), and I caught the season premiere of Hoarders. All I can say is Wow. I thought we were crazy cat people with too much clutter. But wow. This disease is fascinating and disgusting and heart-breaking. I can't go into detail because I'm eating dinner (um, so much for mindful eating), but if you're voyeuristic like me, you can catch it Mondays at 10 on A&E.

Centerfold

Over the holiday, the cute husband and I spent some time in Asheville, wishing both that we lived there and that I had brought a coat (the cute husband thinks I've acclimated to 105 degrees). In addition to buying more books for our imaginary bookshelves, I picked up a magazine I hadn't seen before, Marathon and Beyond. The current issue features an article about the ultramarathoner whose book I recently read who did four desert marathons or something and almost died. I have a feeling there's an article like this about him in every issue. Anyway, it's a good magazine. I like the marathon ads scattered throughout... it's kinda how we do our vacation planning these days. I'm currently trying to sell the cute husband on Mobile, Alabama in January (half-marathon, anyone?).

addicted

I gave in today and purchased a hot yoga package since I'm apparently addicted. Yesterday, when we got back in town, I thought about not going for the 7-mile run, but I knew if I put it off until today, I wouldn't be able to do hot yoga too. So I guess it's a good thing. I noticed today how freakishly tall these yogis are (at least compared to my 5'4 self). Apparently yoga can make you taller. I'll let ya know how that works out for me.

proud mary

I just finished my seven-mile run, and now is as good as a time as any to let you in on what training program I'm using.  Being somewhat injury-prone, I'm going with the Galloway run-walk method. Since today was my first over-10K run in over a year, I decided to add the walking in today.  The book I have leaves a lot of the details up to the individual runner, so I tried 9 minutes of running for 1 minute of walking today.

It was pretty pleasant knowing I always had that minute to look forward to, and I can't say that it slowed me down at all.  If anyone has any two cents or experience with Galloway, and particularly how to determine the run-walk ratio, I'd love to hear it. My girl Lori used it when she completed the Virginia Beach Half-Marathon on her 40th birthday, despite being injured and in quite a bit of pain.

And while I'm giving shouts out, I'm very proud of my girl Emma who finished the Atlanta Marathon in under four hours, despite the fact that miles 22-25 were all uphill.  Considering I would never be able to do this even within the five-hour limit, I find her time pretty darn impressive. And in other impressive news, my brother-in-law and fake sister-in-law ran a 5K in Antarctica (or thereabouts) in under 30 minutes (and with full bellies as it was the day after Thanksgiving).

Notes to self for the next long run: don't forget the Bodyglide for the girls. Also, ditch the Band-Aid (assuming the toenail is still trying to hang on).

Hot N Cold

I tried somewhere much closer for hot yoga last night. They don't do the cool lavender towel there, but it was still pretty fancy. The class was a lot smaller, so I got some much-needed correction, which is a good thing when most of the yoga you've ever done has been in front of the TV. Also, the room was a perfect 106 degrees. I'm adding that part here because somehow the cute husband didn't realize that when I said "hot yoga," I really did mean hot yoga.

I did my just-over-3.14 run this morning in 39 degrees. It's no marathon like my girl Emma is running right now, but it's my "pi" run, and I'm planning to have pie later today.  Speaking of which, I gotta get going.  Happy Thanksgiving!

daughters

I'm so delusional that I'm already searching for a Fall marathon. In so doing, I came across this gem of an article: Dad Forces Girl, 6, Into Marathon

"Yang said his daughter recently ran 138 kilometers (86 miles) in two days. He wants her to train until she can run the same distance in one day.

"The [Shanghai Daily] reported the girl is forced to run laps as soon as she gets home from school, sometimes until midnight.

"Yang is said to be concerned about his daughter's puffy toes and swollen feet, but the training continues."

Interesting... this article had the effect of simultaneously making me feel like a complete slacker of a runner and a fan-TAS-tic mother.



[Disclaimer: The use of the song Daughters in the title of this post should not be construed as any type of endorsement of either the over-the-top corny and offensive song (I'm just happy it's not 2005 anymore) or the out-of-control ego of the artist. I happened to catch him in a rather long-winded radio interview the other day, so the song came to mind.]

three days

I did manage to sneak a run in before trivia, mainly because the cute husband said it couldn't be done. It was the first time since I've been regularly running again that I wanted to get it in. And since I'm only running three days a week on this schedule, I don't really have a choice. I've always heard that taking three days off in a row is bad, but maybe that's just anecdotal. This guy seems to think it won't make much difference.

In more good news, we won first place at trivia (no thanks to me), and today's Fake Friday. Woot! Woot!

mountain

I was supposed to run yesterday, but I ended up walking up some crazy hills with two of my best girls instead. It was definitely a good work-out (although my girl Laura is delusional if she really thinks we were walking 12-minute miles), plus the benefit of girl time. Until my girl Lori freaked us all out by convincing us that we were being watched in the dark by some unseen smoker. And then of course that led to the cyclist who was murdered on the Silver Comet Trail. And somehow that led to Deliverance. Lovely musings when you spend a lot of time running alone.

Anyway, since I didn't run yesterday, I guess I gotta run tonight before we trivia it up. I'm tired though, so it may not happen. The youngest jimmy woke us up crazy early by playing basketball in his room. Apparently he's excited about his 5-day vacation that has now officially started. It didn't entirely wake me up, but I tossed and turned... dreaming that my mom and I were sitting in folding chairs on a gabled roof until I decided that maybe I shouldn't sit quite so close to the edge. At which point I stood up and promptly fell off the roof (somehow only spraining my wrist). At one point in the dream I asked someone how much red wine their two-year-old should be drinking (as it turns out... none).

Hot Hot Hot!!!

I'm supposed to be cross-training three times a week. If you're wondering why you haven't heard more about cross-training, that's because I've been slack. But this afternoon/evening, the cute husband's soccer games were rained out (read: I could go somewhere without the jimmies), so I ventured back to my favorite place for bikram yoga for Hot Core Power. Hot yoga is a good balance for running, and I'd do it way more often if it were a lot cheaper and a lot closer. It was crowded... 40 or 45 people in one small room, but I figure that just helps get the temperature up where it's supposed to be.

And then at the end, when you're in Shavasana, the instructor puts a cool lavender towel over your eyes. It really doesn't get any better than that. Well, maybe comparable to that was when I finished the Virginia Beach half-marathon last year (#5 of 5 halves) on the beach and was handed a cold beer while I waited for my friends to finish. Yeah, that was pretty good too.

Doomed!

So it seems that I've doomed my toenail.  The only time this has happened before was during my second half-marathon, and I haven't run anywhere near that distance yet, so I'm thinking it might have happened when I kicked a soccer ball in inappropriate shoes here.  This reminded me of all the other running maladies I've had.  I'm too vain to detail each one, so I'll just tell you that I've had about a dozen of the following 40 (after reading over the ones I haven't had, this is turning into a seasonally appropriate Things I'm Thankful For list)...

Achilles Tendonitis

Ankle Sprain

Arch Pain

Athlete's Foot

Baker's Cyst

Black or Lost Toenails

Blisters

Bunions

Calf Strain

Chafing

Dislocating Kneecap

Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis

Exercise-Induced Compartment Syndrome

Groin Strain

Hamstring Strain

Heel Pain

Hip Bursitis

Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Itchy Legs

Knee Pain

Lower Back Pain

Metatarsal Stress

Morton's Neuroma

Patellofemoral Syndrome ("Runner's Knee")

Pes Cavus ("Claw Foot")

Plantar Fasciitis

Plica Syndrome

Pulled Hamstring

Rashes

Runner's Trots

Sever's Disease

Shin Splints

Side Stitches

Snapping Hip Syndrome

Sore or Bloody Nipples

Stress Fracture

Tendonitis

Turf Toe

Urinary Incontinence

Verrucas

So why do so many of us still lace up our sneakers (I love this expression... who wears sneakers anymore?), often while suffering from any number of the above?  It must be that one side effect that makes up for all the rest.  I know I'm feeling pretty groovy after my 6.1 (sigh... I better correct this - the cute husband knows it was only 6.0905)-mile run... icky toenail and all.

You Shut Your Mouth When You're Talking to Me!

(The cute husband has Wedding Crashers on.)

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm quite the do-gooder.  When I'm not running, let's say, once every five years or so, I do some sort of volunteer activity.  (I also used to give blood... I'm expecting a call about Sainthood any day now.)  Anyway, I was inspired by my friend who Gives Back by sometimes pouring wine for the needy here.  So when he asked me to help judge a law school mock trial competition, how could I say no?  It's for the kids!  And that's how I spent my Friday night in the Big City. 

Share the Sidewalk!

The only remotely interesting thing about my run this morning (besides the fact that 39 degrees didn't feel nearly as cold as I feared it would) was that I almost got run over by a guy on a bike. On the sidewalk. I know Atlanta is a particularly bad city for cyclists, and I'm all about sharing the road when I'm driving. But at 5:30 a.m., there's just really no reason to be riding your bike on the sidewalk.

Two much more interesting things happened to the cute husband yesterday, but I'm hoping he'll blog about them himself.

Cooler Than Me

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier that our Chomp and Stomp hostess just had her picture in the paper while she was on a 20-mile run.  Very cool.  And thanks to the cute husband for going out to buy the paper last week while I was at the c.l.e.  I'm going to display the (somewhat blurry... my girl runs too fast) picture for inspiration.

non-observations

It might be time to invest in a headlamp.  Don't tell my mom, but I ran through an underlit neighborhood in the dark this evening.  I'm not so worried about the bogeyman as the very dead, very large raccoon-possum-wharf rat I very nearly stepped on, thinking it was just one of many piles of pine needles.  The other bad thing that happened was I was lip-syncing somewhat obnoxiously as I bounded into the light of a streetlamp before I saw a woman walking her dog.  I'm sure she didn't think I was at all retarded.

so very very tired

I just now got in my 5(.4)-mile run.  I intended to go this morning before the jimmy's soccer game, but Tony Randall kept me up all night... pouncing on my face, knocking candleholders into the bathtub, and generally acting like a kitten.  Anyway, the run is done, and pizza is on the way, so it's all good.  The jimmy count has also gone from 2 to 3... the cute husband and I are getting overrun.

Adoption Announcement

Tony Randall

On November 13, Tony Randall was asked to remove himself from his place of residence.  That request came from his new parents.

We welcome our newest addition, Tony Randall,

born approximately four months ago and found behind a Land Rover dealership.

5.6 pounds at adoption

Kate and the Cute Husband

Fair Weather Running

I ended up doing Wednesday's run this morning, and since I am heading out of town for a c.l.e. in a bit (and didn't have to leave as early as usual), I got to run in the sunshine.  Some observations:

1. Chihuahas only bark if you're running up behind them.  Apparently they don't like that.  I'm a cat person, but I've been pro-chihuaha ever since I saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
2. There's a downside to running by a fire station.  When a fire truck leaves in a hurry (as they tend to do), people pull their cars over right next to you, and that can be a bit freaky.
3. The good thing about an out-and-back 4-mile run is that if you're running into the sun for Mile 2, you know you'll get to enjoy the sun at your back for Mile 3.  Which is Good Stuff (not to mention much more pleasant than running a marathon at the South Pole).

Rain, rain, go away...

I should have run this morning, but I was promised the rain would be gone by the end of the day.  I actually don't so much mind running in the rain, once I get going.  And because I'm nothing if not helpful, here's a link to some handy Tips for Running in the Rain. And from there you can click on Top Visibility Gear...

If you want to show the runners in your life you care about them, get them this runner's reflective gift pack, complete with an orange reflectovest, two lime reflective legbands, and lime reflective hot spots and tape[!]

So now you know what do get me for Christmas.  And as an added bonus, I'll be able to get a part-time job as a crossing guard!

"I can make the runner stumble..."

I admit it, I have '80s cheese on my running playlist. I had a good run this morning (4-ish miles), and it was warm enough at 5 a.m. that I could run in short sleeves. Always a plus in November in my book. I felt good when I was done until I remembered advice received by my ultramarathoner when he was but a high-school freshman:

"If it felt good," [Coach] said, squinting like Clint Eastwood, "you didn't push hard enough. It's supposed to hurt like hell."

Oh well.

Bonus running tonight: I took the 7-year-old to soccer practice and then found out it was "moms against kids." I guess it wasn't 45 minutes of pure sprinting, but it kinda felt like it. (Don't ask who won.)

crack nuggets and 420

the cute husband and I went to the chomp and stomp festival in cabbagetown. first though, I lost some serious weight, less so I think from the four-mile run than the hair choppage-offage (see new profile pic). yes, I ran this morning with a ponytail and now, well... see the profile picture.

borrowed a fancy new book from our lovely cabbagetown hostess: Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner. For some reason, I've read the first part of this book, but I forget where. So far it's good though and will hopefully inspire me to run an ultramarathon minus the ultra part. Also, the lovely aforementioned hostess will be running her third marathon this month. Because she rocks like that.

one more thing I'd rather run a marathon than do...

...play soccer against Elizabeth Lambert yesterday. (Besides the fact that I'm nowhere near college age and suck at soccer, of course.)

Wow. The cute husband told me about her unsportsmanlike conduct (to put it mildly), but you really have to see it to believe it.

"I know that I am running as fast as I can"

"But I know that that's not very fast at all."

I kicked it to some Allison Crowe this morning. ("Running" followed by Snow Patrol's "Run"... still going in reverse alphabetical order, as you can see.)

The run was good... I got to go a little later, which was nice as the sun was out. But it was still 42 degrees (jacket off at mile one, wishing for gloves early on, kept hat & 2 long-sleeved shirts on).

I got heckled by this funny guy when I was almost home.

déjà vu all over again

Nothing new this Tuesday... I should just refer you back to last to last Tuesday's post. 40 minutes on the wave this morning for 40 minutes of chips and queso. That's even, right?

Observations

Two things I saw while driving this morning that I should remember when running (and/or when trying to get out of bed to go run):

1) A lady running with a double jogger. I do not miss those days. I don’t care how good the jogger is; if there is even the slightest hill, it’s miserable. I did this regularly one summer when the jimmies together weighed 70 pounds (and often with a jimmy foot on the wheel because he thinks he’s a funny guy), and it SUCKED.

2) A University of Florida lemming flag. Forget the sticker. If I actually run a marathon, I’m sticking a flag out of my car window. Forever. (Why not? The Gators aren't exactly playing today [right?], and I’m doubting Tim Tebow was driving that Avalon in front of me. If they’re still gloating two days later about beating Georgia [c’mon, it's Georgia!], I can get my brag on if I actually stick to a six-month training schedule.)

PS - weather note on the run for my future reference: 44 degrees, fake mittens off at half-mile mark, jacket off at one mile, thought about shedding the second long-sleeved shirt and/or hat but it was too much effort at that point.

so very very wrong...

I had to go to Walgreen's yesterday to return a movie (love that redbox!) and get hemming tape for a last-minute adjustment to the Grim Reaper. Anyway, I wouldn't say I lost all respect for Jillian, but she's skating on thin ice with me. Yes, "TV's meanest personal trainer" is now hawking diet pills. Only $99.99 to get started! Hypocrite.

Anyway, cross-training day... I did 30 minutes on The Wave. (I'm sure it too was overhyped on the infomercial, but at least it's exercise, not a pill.) It's gorgeous outside-62 degrees now with some strange bright object in the sky. So I packed up 3 youngsters (I swear I started with 2) and went to watch the very fit husband referee. There was a playground next to the soccer field... I wonder if I can count swinging as cross-training?

mmm, pumpkin

Good thing I ran today.

La prima settimana è finita.

My apologies to anyone who actually knows any Italian, but the first week is done! Props to the cute husband for having to leave this morning at 8. I avoided the showers that started right after that because I had to get my (3.15 mile) run in early (DFCS apparently frowns on jimmies being left at home to fend for themselves... if you want to feel like mom of the year, click here or here... I could add way too many more, but I'm getting angry, and this is becoming one heckuva long run-on sentence).

Anyway, the aforementioned cute husband is now refereeing fútbol (I had to switch to Spanish because I didn't really believe the free online translator that soccer in Italian is "calcio") in the rain, as the temperature drops from 72 (at the time I left for my run) to now 64 on it's way down to "near 55." The things he does to support my shoe addiction!

Just asked the jimmies if we should trick-or-treat if it's still raining tonight. They were not amused.

"day off"

Because Saturday will start becoming my long run day (all too soon), I get Fridays off. So all I did today was a 10-minute intro to my latest infomercial purchase, which finally came today. I admit I'm a sucker for infomercials. This time, I'm blaming the half-hour black hole in programming on CBS Monday nights. Anyway, it looked like fun. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Oh, and here's a show that's better than The Biggest Loser (don't tell my girl I said that). These ladies signed up to lose 50 pounds and then found out they have to do a triathlon. Oy vey.

Speaking of things I'd much rather run a marathon than do, I just started A Walk in the Woods. Sure I'd love to be able to say I'd hiked the entire 2,100 miles of the A.T., but dude. There's like bugs and stuff out there. Or as Bill Bryson puts it more eloquently on page 5:

The woods were full of peril--rattlesnakes and water moccasins and nests of copperheads; bobcats, bears, coyotes, wolves, and wild boar; loony hillbillies destabilized by gross quantities of impure corn liquor and generations of profoundly unbiblical sex; rabies-crazed skunks, and squirrels; merciless fire ants and ravening blackfly; poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak, and poison salamanders; even a scattering of moose lethally deranged by a parasitic worm that burrows a nest in their brains and befuddles them into chasing hapless hikers through remote, sunny meadows and into glacial lakes.

Yeah, I think I'd rather spend a morning running on asphalt, thanks.

good stuff

I did a 60-minute Iron Yoga DVD this morning. It's definitely a challenge to hold the balance poses while doing bicep curls, etc. with weights. It probably didn't help that the cute husband was in the room for the second half. Although afterward, he seemed more focused on making fun of the instructor's manner of speaking ("now extend your arm while you in-hell") than my lack of coordination. (Phew!)

Strong Legs, Anyone?

I have 5 miles scheduled for November 14th, but I'm thinking about rounding up (everyone knows that 5 rounds up to 6.2) and doing this (25th annual!) race. I did it a few years ago but not in Turner Field - I remember the course being pretty hilly. The T-shirt was poorly designed, but not every event can be the Pride 5K. (Oh yeah, happy Pride, fellow residents of the A!)

Back to my point... I know I don't exactly have enough readers to merit throwing out this question, but anyone wanna run Strong Legs with me? Races are a good thing... there's nothing like the possibility of public humiliation to keep one motivated during the week!

And They Said I'd Never Last...

Oh, that's right! Run # 2 is done! Same as Monday's, but I mixed it up with the playlist! My tunes were in reverse alphabetical order! Crazy, I know! (And what's really crazy is that Itunes thinks 99 Red Balloons should go at the end of the alphabet instead of the beginning.)

Anyway, the weather was good - 57 degrees and foggy - I really didn't need the hat. Or the jacket. Or even the long-sleeved shirt. Maybe next time I'll look at the temperature before I go out, instead of after.

I was tired this morning (not from the margaritas, I actually gave those up). I stayed up too late watching The Show and then got woken up at 4 by some hater blaring his horn. Oh well, I feel a lot better now... that's the magic of running.

Date Night

Gotta date tonight for trivia (see also cute husband's earlier entry). This is usually a jimmy-free night, with occasional guest-star appearances by my favorite artist, Ms. Prien (who is always good for a French Revolution question). Anyway, tonight the team will consist of 4, then 5, then 1, when Ms. Prien and I, having partaken of the highly-caloric margaritas will go to Casa Kate to watch The Biggest Loser. We are aware of the irony. And, to answer Sharon's question, this is why I am not deserving of the pseudonym Jillian.

Ms. Prien is currently laughing that my "marathon delusion has reached blog proportions." It's good to have supportive friends.

Inspiration in Strange Places

I just ran into an attorney I haven't seen in months who did the San Francisco Women's Marathon a week and a half ago. I asked her about the hills, and she said there was a mile-long hill, which was a doozy, but that the flat parts along the coast actually got a little "boring." Uh huh.

I can't wait to look up her time.

1:11 p.m. edit: Found the race results... she had a very respectable time and finished in the first 1,000 out of 3,910 finishers. I must keep reminding myself I'm not in competition with anyone; I just hope to finish... Too bad Nashville isn't on the coast.

Boo!

So Google maps might have exaggerated how far I ran this morning. I'm pretty sure I started my odomoter at the right place on the way home from Trader Joe's tonight, and it would make my run under 4 miles. I guess I could always bust out that Garmin Forerunner, wherever it is. And figure out how to use it. And remember to put it outside ahead of time so the GPS can start working...

Oh yeah, about the workout...

Today was the first run on my plan (cross-training yesterday - did a 45-minute yoga DVD)... only had to go 30-45 minutes - ran until what seemed to be the appropriate number of songs on the ipod and then turned around - turned out it was 4.35 miles, which ain't too shabby for the wee hours of the morn. Luckily, plenty of people go to work early, or I'd have been even more freaked out about the dark than I was (maybe not a good idea for me to see Paranormal Activity this past weekend).

Anyway, the run was good - temperature was "50 degrees, feels like 47." I'm a big wuss about the cold, so we'll see how this goes as the temperature drops. May necessitate some cute new running wear. My left ankle felt a little funny, which is odd because I've never had any ankle problems (my usual schtick is Morton's neuroma... which I'm sure I'll whine about later).

I told the cute husband about the new blog and added that I'll tell one more person every week I stay on the plan. Not to assume I'm going to fail or anything...

1:19 update: Okay, I told my sister. The husband wasn't commenting enough.

Nashville or Bust

Week 1 of my training plan for the Country Music Marathon. I'm going to try to blog about the daily workouts to keep myself motivated. I'm just trying to finish the race and get that "26.2" sticker. I've done five half-marathons, four of which were in the rock-n-roll series, and now (at age 37 on race day) it's time to do the whole thing. Plus, I'm hoping to lose a few pounds or at least avoid the winter weight gain.

More later...