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...