New PR

Yay new PR! Saturday was the Fat Boy 5K. My goal was to do it in under 35 minutes, which I thought was sort of ambitious since my old PR was 36:11. I’d have been happy with anything under that, but boy did I go under!

The race was in Baton Rouge, and I ran it with Chris, Teresa, her sister Larissa, and Joe. Oh, and Hunter the dog. We made up a team (had to weigh 650 lbs, we did that easily) and they combined our times at the end. I’ll just say now that we came nowhere near winning for the team time, but it was fun anyway.

Friday night I had gone to a baby shower for a friend who works at Barnes & Noble, so I didn’t even make it into Baton Rouge until about midnight. I was a little worried that a lack of sleep would affect my race, but as usual, I slept like a rock at my mom’s house and was pretty well-rested for the race. Chris and I rode together to the race, and it was a gorgeous morning. A bit too sunny for my liking for a race, but fortunately the course was very shady, you never actually had to run in the sun. The temperature was in the 60s, and there was no humidity, so it really was nice running weather.

What I’m never prepared for in Baton Rouge is hills. New Orleans is literally flat as a pancake, there are absolutely no hills, no undulations whatsoever in the roads, so even though Baton Rouge would be considered flat by most standards, compared to New Orleans, it’s positively mountainous. So I struggled a bit with the hills, but it was not a really big deal.

So the race started with Chris and Joe lined up near the front, and Teresa, Larissa and I in the middle. Teresa and Larissa went ahead of me for the first half of the race, but after that I passed them up (slow and steady, etc, etc) and met up with a struggling Joe. We ran together a bit, but soon enough, I left him in the dust. Woo hoo! Okay, it’s mean and petty, but all these people are thin and healthy, and even though they’re not runners, I didn’t really think I’d beat them. I’m a terrible friend. Sorry, guys!

I was keeping a very steady pace for the first two miles, 11:01 for the first, 11:00 for the second, and during the third mile, I knew I’d be able to go under 35 minutes. Before I knew it, I could see the end, but there was a steady grade that wasn’t pretty. The clock at the finish was approaching 34 minutes, and I knew I wouldn’t make it by the clock, but I’d crossed the start line about 30 seconds after the gun, so I was safe.

By my watch, I crossed in 33:38! Ack! 2:33 faster than my PR! Amazing! Wow! I couldn’t believe it. Yay! After that, we all met up (Teresa, Joe, and Larissa all came in around 36:00 – see, they also beat my PR, those slender people kill me!) and had Krispy Kremes, sausage po-boys, eggs and grits…well, it was the Fat Boy…

So that was my exciting race. There really aren’t any more 5Ks until the fall around here, so I will have to wait until then to reach my next goal…sub-30:00!

But I have decided to possibly sign up with Team in Training for the Marine Corps Marathon in October, so I’ll be training a lot this summer. Will be hellishly hot. But should be good conditioning. We’ll see. There’s a meeting on the 30th. The cool thing is, last night at the pub, I was talking to this woman Cindy, and she did the Maui Marathon with TNT, and she might do MCM with me, so I’d have a training buddy. Yay!

Last night was another wedding reception at the pub, this time a crawfish boil. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!! Oh god, it was so good. And I only have to wait two weeks until the next one, at Kettie’s mom’s house; it’s her wedding shower. And then the following weekend my mom’s having one because my brother/sister-in-law/sister/her boyfriend are all coming to town. Woo hoo! Crawfish out the wazoo!

Job milestone!

Oh my gosh! Very exciting! I got my nameplate on my door! I’m official! Wow! Okay, I’m a dork. I get excited about these things. But I’ve never had a nameplate on a door!

04/08/03

Okay, so then on Saturday we woke up, Kristina made a yummy breakfast, and we went to Devra’s house to meet up with everyone (all 20+ people who went to the game) but of course there were late people so we waited around there for a while before heading to Baltimore. Kristie rode with us, it was fun, we giggled a lot. Then we got to Baltimore, met up with everyone at a pub across the street from the stadium and had a couple of drinks. Then we went to the game, my second major league baseball game, the Orioles vs the Red Sox (hence the 20 people visiting from Boston). As with my first MLB game (another Red Sox game, in Boston), I spent most of my time not watching the game but going to the concession stand, the bathroom, talking with friends, etc, etc. I do know the Orioles won in an exciting manner, (sort of…the bases were loaded then a batter was walked. So not all that dramatic) but that’s about it. Afterwards, everyone else went back to the city and Kristina and I went and ate down by the harbor. Had yummy crab cakes. Then we went back to DC, exhausted.

Later, Ren came to Kristina’s house, we hung out a bit, then made our way to someone’s house to meet up before they all went to a club. Kristina, Ren and I went to a pub to meet my sister and her boyfriend instead. Hung out there for a little while, but we were all so tired that we didn’t feel like staying out much longer and Rob (whom my sister hopes will one day be my brother-in-law) brought us home. The next day, Ren left and Kristina and I went to Potomac Mills to shop. Bought a few things, mostly earrings and a baby gift for a friend. Then had to high-tail it back to the Baltimore airport so I could (unfortunately) go home. We giggled a lot. It was a lot of fun, so good to see my girls again, good to see Kristina’s apartment finally and meet her cat, Jack. Only problem was that it was way too short. At least I’ll see everyone in May, either at Ann or Kettie’s wedding or at the reunion.

Didn’t get back home until after midnight, didn’t sleep well Sunday night, but thankfully slept a lot last night. The weather is horrible here, still want to go back to bed. There’s nothing better than that in a thunderstorm anyway.

I have so many things to do in the next two months that I hardly feel like I’ll have any time to just hang out. Next weekend is the Fat Boy 5K race and Mike’s band is playing at a bar in Baton Rouge, so I’ll be there on Saturday. Oh yeah, and Friday night is a baby shower. And the following weekend is Easter. (Anne F’s coming in…yay!!!) Then, it’s me and George’s one year anniversary (awwww) and Kettie’s wedding shower. Then, my brother and sister-in-law are coming to visit (yayayyayayyayay!) and Jenny and Rob too (supposedly I’ll get my birthday present then) and then the next weekend is around George’s birthday, I think. I may actually have a free weekend in there. Then, Memorial Day weekend is Ann Tatum’s wedding and the reunion. And then (whew) is Kettie’s wedding in Dallas. Ack!

04/07/03

Had lots of fun in DC. Didn’t get to leave work until a little after 4, was kind of stressed getting to the airport. But made it on time and flights went smoothly, nothing out of the ordinary, got to Baltimore at almost 1 a.m., Kristina picked me up, we drove to her apartment in DC (very cute) and drank half a bottle of red wine before going to sleep at 4.

Rest later…

04/04/03

yay! am going to DC tomorrow! And my boss is letting me leave at 3 so I don’t miss my plane. Yay yay yay!

Worked out today with Terry. I sweated a lot. Ran 2.6 miles on the treadmill. I think I’ll be able to break my PR (36:11) in my next 5K, on the 12th. Am excited to see.

Last night went to dinner at Ross & Raul’s. Was very yummy, yet spicy. Delish.

04/03/03

Yesterday was April Fool’s Day. Fortunately, I was on alert at all times, and nothing happened to me. Have to be very careful, especially around George. I figured this would be his favorite holiday of all. Hmmm. I inadvertently played a trick on him, though. Laurie offered me free Mamma Mia tickets (the ABBA musical) and when I told George about it, he thought I was playing a sick joke on him. Ha ha. I ended up giving them to Ross and Raul, they were very very happy and grateful. I hope they had a good time. They’re having us over for dinner tonight. Yum. Still have to pack, though. And clean. And dye my hair. So much to do, so little time!

Watched Requiem for a Dream at Robert & Terry’s house on Sunday. Evil movie. Had to keep my eyes shut for most of the second half of the movie. Well, okay, shouldn’t blame the film, is the fault of my own wussiness.

03/30/03

Because of last weekend, very little alcohol has been consumed by myself this weekend. Friday night, I didn’t even go out, just stayed at home, rested, read, watched TV. Was very relaxing, got over cold I thought was coming on. Saturday morning, I went and worked out with Terry at the Navy base, then we went grocery shopping, then George and I got our inspection stickers. After that, we went over to the French Quarter to browse Beckham’s, this cool used bookstore. Three stories of random stuff. Great bookstore, as different from B&N as can be imagined. Then we went to Marie Laveau’s Voodoo Bar, a tiny tiny tiny room on Decatur, where we sat and had a drink.

Then, I cooked a deeelicious lamb dinner from the groceries I had bought earlier. Yum. And to the pub after that, where I stayed sober around everyone else. Was fun, nevertheless. Particularly since I don’t have a hangover right now.

Am off to the gym again before this afternoon’s APMS meeting…

03/26/03

Went to gym again last night, this time without Laurie. Even though it’s obviously much more fun when Laurie’s there, (or because of this) the fact that I can drag myself there knowing she won’t be there is pretty cool. Yesterday I almost didn’t go, kept thinking of excuses (though none of them very good) but I went anyway. Yay! And didn’t regret it. I ran on the treadmill for 35 minutes, managed to do a 5K in that time. Considering I walked the first .25 mile, that definitely constitutes a new 5K PR. Okay, doesn’t really count, since it was on a treadmill, but I ran fast at times, sometimes close to an 8 minute mile! Treadmills can be fun!

I overslept this morning, apparently didn’t even hear the alarm. Woke up at 7:30, need to leave at 7:45. Made it though, with ten minutes to spare! Whew. I hate the feeling of oversleeping. Had a lovely dream, though. Well, all I can remember of it is that someone told me it looked like I’d lost weight, since going to the gym. Suppose it’s not as lovely when it’s only a dream, but whatever. It was nice to hear, even if it was only my subconscious saying it. Ha ha.

03/25/03

Just got back from Spinning class. Again, thought death was imminent, but lived through it. Laurie came this time, which made it infinitely more bearable. Also did some arm exercises before the class, so I’ll be super buff. Woo!

03/24/03

Curses! Did it again! Completely erased everything I just wrote! Ack!

Okay, then it’s going to be brief rundown of the weekend.

Sad driving to BR on Friday afternoon, won’t go into why. Very sad. Had dinner with my mom. Drinks and girl-time with Teresa and Joe. (Joe left before the girl talk started.) Much fun. Saturday went to mall with mom, got cool Benefit lipgloss. Drove back to NO, ate sushi with George and Polly and Colin, went to Annie’s art show. Saw a girl I went to high school with, who also had art in the show. Went to the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone. Spinning old bar. Very cool. Then to the Gold Mine, a cheesy dance club. Fortunately, we got there early enough so that no one was there. Played old arcade games (yes, George loves this place and had Flaming Dr Peppers. Haven’t done that since freshman year of college. Oh god, that was 10 years ago. Night gets fuzzy after this. Went to Lafitte’s but didn’t stay. Went to O’Flaherty’s but didn’t stay. Went to Kerry’s, had a drink. Surely there was somewhere else in there, but cannot remember. Got ferry back before midnight, went to pub. Did not drink there. Found out that the seaweed sheets they use to make sushi rolls does not digest. Hmmm.

Felt (justifiably) very very crappy yesterday. Even had to leave APMS meeting, in the middle of Jon’s movie, The Third Man. Felt terrible and guilty about that, but could not sit there, had to lie down. Watched the Oscars last night. Big whoop. I hadn’t seen many of the movies nominated, so didn’t have much stake in it.

Going to spinning class again tonight, I think, if we get reservations. Butt will hurt tomorrow. Oh well.

03/20/03

Mardi Gras picture. I have bangs now (this is a big deal!) but you can’t really see them in the picture.

03/20/03

Oh dear, haven’t posted in a week? I’m not doing too well. Work has been reeeeeally busy, which is good. Days go by much faster that way. So let’s recap the last week, then…

Friday night was Jon and Paola’s wedding. Lots of fun. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of drink, fun, fun, fun. Managed to get up Saturday morning to join a gym with Laurie in Metairie. It’s pretty convenient to work, and it’s cheap. Not only that, we worked out. I was pretty dead after that, though, spent the rest of the day just being lazy. Sunday was APMS at Nick’s house, he showed Breaking Away, (or is it Breaking Free? Can’t remember.) a boy movie but a good one. This weekend it’s at the pub, which could be dangerous.

Only two weeks and a day until my trip to DC! I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see Kristina and Annie and Ren and Devra and Joanna and Kristie and Bill and Mike and oh dear I haven’t even told my sister I’m coming, suppose I should tell her.

Took a spinning class on Monday. Was very difficult. Sweated a lot. Tuesday did the treadmill instead for 30 minutes. Less deadly, but was much more sore yesterday. Hmm. Or could have been the weight machines that did that. Whatever. Am working out with Terry at the Navy gym tonight.

Last night, George and I went across the river to eat. Was nice. Wandered around the Quarter looking for somewhere to eat, ended up at Felix’s. Yummy. Had a Krispy Kreme for dessert. Yummy.