Not much going on here. Certainly not running, I can say that. I've gotten in about 2.8 miles since last Monday. I'm in a bit of down cycle I guess. I am going shoe shopping later today, so I am guessing mileage will pick back up.
Last week I had a job offer from a very nice (although very low on the salary side of things*) place. I then did the dickhead thing and used that to get the job I wanted to get their stuff in gear and offer me what I was hoping for from them. I actually feel really bad about it and I hope that I haven't hurt my rep in this market (it's a small market, so everyone knows everyone in the biz here). I know that people do things like that all the time and it's just how things work, but I still feel bad. I will get stuff started up with the jobby job in mid-July.
The family will be in town for this afternoon for a whirlwind visit. So the tiny apartment will have the addition three extra people and a basset hound that has so many hang ups she needs to see a shrink. Dr. Katz perhaps??? Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.
*It's not their fault really - as much as I love this city, it's not much of a market for the big bucks in production/editing
6/25/08
6/21/08
Shake It Off, Kippy
The hubs and I are spending an evening in watching the Women's Gymnastic Olympic trials. I have been quoting this awesome moment from SNL (circa 1996) all evening.
Swimming Olympic trials start next Sunday. In this household, it is shaping up to be more exciting than Christmas, New Year's, and the Super Bowl combined.
Swimming Olympic trials start next Sunday. In this household, it is shaping up to be more exciting than Christmas, New Year's, and the Super Bowl combined.
6/17/08
10K Race Report
The 10K on Saturday AM was a good event all around. Well run, plenty of water and port-a-potties, and a jazzy t-shirt for my time. Overcast (mercifully) and uber humid.
I got there about 45 minutes before race start. Picked up my packet and chip and walked the two blocks back to my car to put my goody bag up. Hit the port-a-pottie which still had no wait. The sky started spitting rain a few minutes later so I headed back to my car to get my hat. I sort of half-jogged to "warm up" although I didn't put much effort into it. Truth be told, I almost thought of going home. I had my shirt. I could just lie to my husband and pretend that I had done the run. How pathetic is that? I think the humidity, combined with the fact that I had not run in a calendar week, intimidated me. Thankfully my pussification subsided and I made my way back to the starting area.
I saw a few folks that I know from campus. All fast people, one of whom actually won the women's overall 10K (6:55 pace for the whole thing - wowzas!). I saw another guy I know that happened to be one of the race volunteers - he was very impressed that I had a blue 10K bib on instead of the white 5K one - the race had not started, but that slight gesture kind of made me feel better about doing the race.
I fell into the middle of the pack, where us 10:00 milers belong. Well, we were actually slighty back of the middle of the lineup. I talked with a few folks who had done the Country Music Marathon the past few years and it turns out one of them had done the half at Disney in January as well.
The run itself was actually most uneventful. A very hilly course. Over one bridge, back over another. The middle two miles of the course were part of the Riverwalk, a route I usually do at least once or twice a week. I was doing quite a bit of mental cheering and coaching and reminding myself that I OWN this slab of concrete and that I would be done in a mere 4 more miles.
I was having some pretty bad knee/shooting pain down my entire left leg during the fourth mile for some reason. I ended up running with some (for lack of a better term) old man - that's really the best way to describe it. He was just some really old dude, but with one look you could tell he was a very seasoned runner. Turns out he had already run 5 miles prior to the event with the Saturday morning long run group of the local track club and he was using the 10K to get himself up to an 11 miler for the day. He also worked on recruiting me for said long run group and assured me that he always ran at this pace. He may do the Rome (that's Italy) marathon in March**. I had to stop to stretch the leg, so he left me behind. I finished up the last 1.2 miles - final time was 64:57, 20th in my age division (out of 26).
As I was finishing up I started to think about how this running thing will never come easy for me. I really doubt I will ever have anything better than a 9:15 mile for any given run. A (very big) part of the reason for that is that I am not consistent in training and 18 months into this venture I still don't do things like speed work or hill work or any other specialty workout - my own fault, I know. Every run I go on is junk mileage and I can't seem to get past it. Ideally, I would love to be a 25-30 mile-per-week person, but maybe I should accept my 12-15 mile-per-week-ness and be okay with that.
**I wonder if the water stops in the Roma Marathon are all San Pellegrino.
I got there about 45 minutes before race start. Picked up my packet and chip and walked the two blocks back to my car to put my goody bag up. Hit the port-a-pottie which still had no wait. The sky started spitting rain a few minutes later so I headed back to my car to get my hat. I sort of half-jogged to "warm up" although I didn't put much effort into it. Truth be told, I almost thought of going home. I had my shirt. I could just lie to my husband and pretend that I had done the run. How pathetic is that? I think the humidity, combined with the fact that I had not run in a calendar week, intimidated me. Thankfully my pussification subsided and I made my way back to the starting area.
I saw a few folks that I know from campus. All fast people, one of whom actually won the women's overall 10K (6:55 pace for the whole thing - wowzas!). I saw another guy I know that happened to be one of the race volunteers - he was very impressed that I had a blue 10K bib on instead of the white 5K one - the race had not started, but that slight gesture kind of made me feel better about doing the race.
I fell into the middle of the pack, where us 10:00 milers belong. Well, we were actually slighty back of the middle of the lineup. I talked with a few folks who had done the Country Music Marathon the past few years and it turns out one of them had done the half at Disney in January as well.
The run itself was actually most uneventful. A very hilly course. Over one bridge, back over another. The middle two miles of the course were part of the Riverwalk, a route I usually do at least once or twice a week. I was doing quite a bit of mental cheering and coaching and reminding myself that I OWN this slab of concrete and that I would be done in a mere 4 more miles.
I was having some pretty bad knee/shooting pain down my entire left leg during the fourth mile for some reason. I ended up running with some (for lack of a better term) old man - that's really the best way to describe it. He was just some really old dude, but with one look you could tell he was a very seasoned runner. Turns out he had already run 5 miles prior to the event with the Saturday morning long run group of the local track club and he was using the 10K to get himself up to an 11 miler for the day. He also worked on recruiting me for said long run group and assured me that he always ran at this pace. He may do the Rome (that's Italy) marathon in March**. I had to stop to stretch the leg, so he left me behind. I finished up the last 1.2 miles - final time was 64:57, 20th in my age division (out of 26).
As I was finishing up I started to think about how this running thing will never come easy for me. I really doubt I will ever have anything better than a 9:15 mile for any given run. A (very big) part of the reason for that is that I am not consistent in training and 18 months into this venture I still don't do things like speed work or hill work or any other specialty workout - my own fault, I know. Every run I go on is junk mileage and I can't seem to get past it. Ideally, I would love to be a 25-30 mile-per-week person, but maybe I should accept my 12-15 mile-per-week-ness and be okay with that.
**I wonder if the water stops in the Roma Marathon are all San Pellegrino.
6/16/08
Weekend Wrap Up
What an awesome weekend.
Kicked it off with the 10k. I'll probably post about that later.
Then Cousin, Cousin-in-law, and baby Cousin came a visitin'. We sampled food from some of the yummiest places in town, including some jazzy new pizza joint with the unfortunate name of Crusty's (in reference to their "world famous paper-thin crust"). We all went for a dip in the outdoor pool here on campus and we went for a few exploratory trips around town. Good times indeed.
The Hubs and I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon on the lake. The advantages of coaching a swim team - the swimmers' parents like to have parties at the lake with their combined armada of pontoon boats, ski boats, and jet skis. I got to ride the tube behind a boat for the first time in at least 10 years. My arms are a bit sore, but it was well worth it.
We were both absolutely bushed, and a little sunburned, when we got home last night. A sure sign of a good weekend.
Kicked it off with the 10k. I'll probably post about that later.
Then Cousin, Cousin-in-law, and baby Cousin came a visitin'. We sampled food from some of the yummiest places in town, including some jazzy new pizza joint with the unfortunate name of Crusty's (in reference to their "world famous paper-thin crust"). We all went for a dip in the outdoor pool here on campus and we went for a few exploratory trips around town. Good times indeed.
The Hubs and I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon on the lake. The advantages of coaching a swim team - the swimmers' parents like to have parties at the lake with their combined armada of pontoon boats, ski boats, and jet skis. I got to ride the tube behind a boat for the first time in at least 10 years. My arms are a bit sore, but it was well worth it.
We were both absolutely bushed, and a little sunburned, when we got home last night. A sure sign of a good weekend.
6/14/08
6/10/08
How Did I Miss This?
I lived in Raleigh for two years. I worked about a mile from the N.C. State campus. I love Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (Dunkin' Donuts, your doughnuts aren't any good - there, I said it).
The Krispy Kreme Challenge
Run two miles
Eat a dozen hot glazed
Run two miles back
Sure I would throw up. But how great is that? I may have to "visit the in-laws" next year just in time for the event. This past year, they raised $20,000 and had 3,000+ runners.
SI even noticed it (two years ago - again, how did I miss this?) -
85. Run the Krispy Kreme Challenge at NC State. Two years ago, in a fit of sugar-coated inspiration, Wolfpack basketball guard Chris McCoy dreamed up a race tailor-made for the Peter Griffin set. The plan: Run from the campus bell tower downhill two miles to the Krispy Kreme store in Raleigh, where each runner would scarf down a dozen glazed doughnuts and then dash back uphill to the tower, in under 60 minutes. (The irony: McCoy, a redshirt sophomore, overslept on race day and didn't participate.) The other 10 runners successfully completed the inaugural race -- junior Ben Gaddy took home bragging rights -- but not without some gut reactions. "The first two doughnuts are delicious, but then your saliva starts to turn into a syrupy glaze," says organizer Greg Mulholland. "When you're running back, it feels like the syrup's coming through your pores." Mulholland, a junior, aspires to turn the race into a charitable event, "maybe for something ironic like the American Heart Association."
6/7/08
Is it in you?
Currently it is 93 degrees here, but with the humidity it feels like 100 degrees. Six hours ago I think the outside temperature was about the same, or maybe even hotter. It certainly felt that way at least. I may have to get up and run at 5 am Monday if the weather holds as such.
Got in the whole eight miles this morning. The last mile was the worst. I ended up back at my car at the 7.60 point, so I had to just run (in the loosest and slowest sense of the word) around the park to make up the other 4/10ths. I could have stopped and called it a run, but I had been suffering long enough, what is 4 more minutes tacked onto the end of it? Today was definitely one of the hardest runs I have ever done. Part of it was the hills, but the main culprit was the heat.
In the shiny new issue of Runner's World there was an article that said that chocolate milk was an excellent run-recovery drink. Something about protein. I have some milk here and I have some chocolate syrup. But I was REALLY tired from that run and the thought of actually mixing my own chocolate milk up was just too much, so I went with the Light Chocolate Soymilk (a new addition to our fridge anyway). Well it was DELISH. I have been having some of it each night to help with my sillystrong chocolate sweet-tooth, but the drink has only been so-so up till this point. There might a label on it that says "formulated to taste best when you need it most" or something like that, because it was so good I had to go for a second glass. Like chocolate Gatorade. As I said in the walk of shame post, don't judge.
I was going to photoshop some Extreme Cacao Chocoblast Frost Quench Gatorade bottle. Perhaps I'll work on that this evening.
Got in the whole eight miles this morning. The last mile was the worst. I ended up back at my car at the 7.60 point, so I had to just run (in the loosest and slowest sense of the word) around the park to make up the other 4/10ths. I could have stopped and called it a run, but I had been suffering long enough, what is 4 more minutes tacked onto the end of it? Today was definitely one of the hardest runs I have ever done. Part of it was the hills, but the main culprit was the heat.
In the shiny new issue of Runner's World there was an article that said that chocolate milk was an excellent run-recovery drink. Something about protein. I have some milk here and I have some chocolate syrup. But I was REALLY tired from that run and the thought of actually mixing my own chocolate milk up was just too much, so I went with the Light Chocolate Soymilk (a new addition to our fridge anyway). Well it was DELISH. I have been having some of it each night to help with my sillystrong chocolate sweet-tooth, but the drink has only been so-so up till this point. There might a label on it that says "formulated to taste best when you need it most" or something like that, because it was so good I had to go for a second glass. Like chocolate Gatorade. As I said in the walk of shame post, don't judge.I was going to photoshop some Extreme Cacao Chocoblast Frost Quench Gatorade bottle. Perhaps I'll work on that this evening.
6/5/08
Potpourri (for $1000, Alex)
Kettle bells class last night. I am sore today, but not like I have been the past two weeks. I think I finally got my form right on most of the exercises, so that made it seem much easier (although it was still a hard workout).
I am set for a 10K next weekend. I've even paid and registered for it. Not my usual "Oh I'll just register day-of," which always results in me sleeping all morning neither registering for, nor running the event.
I hope to do Tuesday's busted 8-miler this Saturday or Sunday, a usual week of 4 mile runs, and then the 10K next weekend. The weekend after that is the 10 Mile event. See that? That's my version of taper!
I may be getting myself some new shoes this weekend. I've got about 350 miles on my current pair and the soles are looking a bit worn. I wondered during the walk of shame the other day if maybe that was the cause of my back pain. Perhaps. I have loved my Saucony ProGrid Triumph 4, but I don't know that I will go with the new version (the aptly titled "ProGrid Triumph 5") whenever I do buy. For the first 100 miles on the current pair, I was having wicked blister issues - I had to tape my feet up for even a four mile run. When my left knee went wonky in November, I added some insoles which helped the knee greatly, AND I haven't had a blister since. During the marathon I only had one teeny tiny one on my heel. So the fact that I had to add the insole makes me think I should go with a different model next time. I am sure the sales guy at the running store will let me know that you should NEVER use those insoles from Walgreen's and that I'm lucky that my feet didn't just fall right off of my body.
I am set for a 10K next weekend. I've even paid and registered for it. Not my usual "Oh I'll just register day-of," which always results in me sleeping all morning neither registering for, nor running the event.
I hope to do Tuesday's busted 8-miler this Saturday or Sunday, a usual week of 4 mile runs, and then the 10K next weekend. The weekend after that is the 10 Mile event. See that? That's my version of taper!
I may be getting myself some new shoes this weekend. I've got about 350 miles on my current pair and the soles are looking a bit worn. I wondered during the walk of shame the other day if maybe that was the cause of my back pain. Perhaps. I have loved my Saucony ProGrid Triumph 4, but I don't know that I will go with the new version (the aptly titled "ProGrid Triumph 5") whenever I do buy. For the first 100 miles on the current pair, I was having wicked blister issues - I had to tape my feet up for even a four mile run. When my left knee went wonky in November, I added some insoles which helped the knee greatly, AND I haven't had a blister since. During the marathon I only had one teeny tiny one on my heel. So the fact that I had to add the insole makes me think I should go with a different model next time. I am sure the sales guy at the running store will let me know that you should NEVER use those insoles from Walgreen's and that I'm lucky that my feet didn't just fall right off of my body.
6/3/08
Walk This Way
The walk of shame. Don't judge. Who among us has not done their own walk of shame? Or at least made fun of that girl who is making her way through an apartment complex parking lot at 7:00 on a Sunday morning, with her "going out" black pants and a sparkly "going out" shirt on, and a wicked case of bed-head (bonus if there is a vomit stain or she has on an obviously borrowed and not-to-be-missed t-shirt)? I admit to having done a few of those back in the day. I don't recall ever feeling "shame" so much as "hangover."
Today I experienced newer, much more shame-inducing walk of shame. Three miles into my scheduled eight miler, I threw it in. My back was hurting, the knee was hurting, it was hot and humid, sweat kept running into my eyes, this one spot on the back of my leg wouldn't stop itching, the lining of my shorts kept riding up, my water was getting too warm, dogs were making fun of me, ladies with double strollers full of toddler were passing my slow ass, etc, etc, etc ...
So approximately a half mile away from my car I just went with the walk. I had spent the better half of the short run rationalizing cutting it short, so by the time I stopped, I was resigned to it. A few minutes later I thought about trying to salvage something by at least running the rest of the way to my car. I ran a few steps and resumed my walk with an "are you kidding me?" And I felt the shame. Silly, I know. Yesterday was a tremendous workout. I should have known that today would have been the suck.
Today I experienced newer, much more shame-inducing walk of shame. Three miles into my scheduled eight miler, I threw it in. My back was hurting, the knee was hurting, it was hot and humid, sweat kept running into my eyes, this one spot on the back of my leg wouldn't stop itching, the lining of my shorts kept riding up, my water was getting too warm, dogs were making fun of me, ladies with double strollers full of toddler were passing my slow ass, etc, etc, etc ...
So approximately a half mile away from my car I just went with the walk. I had spent the better half of the short run rationalizing cutting it short, so by the time I stopped, I was resigned to it. A few minutes later I thought about trying to salvage something by at least running the rest of the way to my car. I ran a few steps and resumed my walk with an "are you kidding me?" And I felt the shame. Silly, I know. Yesterday was a tremendous workout. I should have known that today would have been the suck.
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