Tag: running

11/16/04

Okay, so I sound like a broken record. Must get back on track. Well, I was doing great this week, until Saturday. 🙂 Okay, that was somewhat extraordinary. And really, I shouldn’t be complaining because I’m only -.5 flex points and today’s my last day. But there was the half bottle of champagne. The drinks purchased for me. And most of all, the IHOP omelette early Sunday morning. Mmm, but that was good. And you only get to have
one first breakfast after you get engaged.

But now, look! I have another goal! Just like I wanted! Excellent. I have approximately one year to lose 25 lbs. Oh wait, that’s not right, is it? When do I have to get a dress? Six months before? So I have about six months to lose 25 lbs? (I think my goal of Feb 18 is a tad unrealistic.) I think I can do 25 lbs in six months if I really work hard and don’t gain a million pounds over the holidays and train for the one or two half marathons I was planning to. I think running a lot is my best plan.

So now I get to come out of the proverbial wedding-planning closet and I can read my Bride’s magazine in front of George without hiding the cover! Now I can tell him when I think of ideas for the reception. It’s all very exciting.

Race

Just got home from a 5K race I did with Polly. 34:03, which is I think 25 seconds slower than my fastest time. Which sucks. I don’t think I could’ve gone that much faster. And it was finally cold during a race. Which was very nice. So all in all, I’m not disappointed, seeing as I haven’t really been training, but it would’ve been nice to have beat my PR. (And the only reason I think I could’ve is because of the weight I’ve lost since I set my PR.)

11/12/04

Nothing profound to say today. Last night George and I went to the mall so he could return some pants. I tried on three pretty dresses as Dillard’s, just for fun. (I have $20 in my checking account.) It’s exciting to try on pretty dresses now that more of them fit, though two of the ones I tried on were satin, which is so pretty on the hanger, but is not so pretty on my lumpy bits. So must resist the temptation of trying on satin dresses, or self-esteem will plummet. Also I like going to the mall to gaze in the jewelry store windows. Even though my boyfriend pulls me away from the sparkly things. (I like to think he is trying to tell me something with this, but I shall not get my hopes up.)

Yesterday from my office window I watched a Veteran’s Day parade go by. What a great view. Too bad the Mardi Gras parades don’t go by here. On the other hand, I’m on the seventh floor and the windows don’t open, so I wouldn’t be able to catch anything, so maybe it’s best that they don’t go by here.

The new Bridget Jones movie comes out this weekend. Must go see it. My computer just made a weird noise that startled me. Might do a 5K this weekend if Polly wants to. (Maybe I should do it even if she doesn’t. I think it’s another small race, and if she doesn’t do it, maybe I could place. But then again, it’s no fun without Polly.)

Okay, enough babbling. George and I are going to a wedding of one of his colleagues (and, coincidentally or not, two of the members of the band that we decided will play at our wedding. Assuming they’re not of retirement age by then.) I’m going to wear my new pink ballerina-raincoat skirt that I wore to Chris’s birthday last weekend. (It’s made of some strange waterproof-ish material, hence the “raincoat” bit. H&M sure does pick strange fabrics for its clothes. But it was cheap, so that’s okay.)

10/27/04

Okay, so I gained .2 this week. I want to say I’m not really concerned. I should be, probably, but I’m not. I know why I gained .2 and didn’t lose this week.

It started with two Krispy Kremes on Saturday morning and swiftly went downhill from there. Granted, the doughnuts were after a brutally hot 5K race that I ran nearly all of. (Can’t end sentence in preposition. Must figure that one out.) But ten points for two delicious rounds of fried, sweet love don’t offset the mere five activity points I earned for the race. So then it was the waffle cone of ice cream at Six Flags. And then later the half of a large pizza at dinner. I wasn’t that hungry. It’s just that it was sitting in front of me and it was so good. (Did I mention the five beers? At least they were light beers. Don’t laugh.)

Anyway, that was just Saturday. Sunday was Mexican food, Monday was leftovers. And so on and so forth.

But today is a fresh start. This week may be difficult, with dinners out and Halloween on Sunday. But I’m going bowling on Friday night. How many activity points is that? Ha ha.

Will be good this week. I swear.

10/26/04

I have yet more wedding pictures to post, but I’m being lazy. As if anyone (including, possibly, my sister) wants to see yet more pictures of the nuptials of Jenny and Rob. But post I will.

Had a fun weekend. Fun! Saturday morning Polly and I ran in a 5K. It was a teeny tiny 5K, maybe 30 people total. We didn’t even get numbers, it was so teeny. But the upside to teeny races is you get a better chance of finishing with a good-sounding place. (Or you could easily finish last.) Fortunately, I didn’t finish last, but I was the 5th female! That is terribly exciting to someone who is usually the 286th female. Okay, so this time there were maybe 10 or 15 females, but still! It was exciting! I didn’t get a medal or anything because they only gave out one award in each age group and a 27 year old girl (who, Polly and I couldn’t help but notice was wearing a THONG under her MESH RUNNING SHORTS) finished ahead of me. Ah well. I even beat Polly! Miracles do happen. She probably let me, but I don’t care!

So the race ends (and I finish in a miserable time of 37:12 – hey, we’re still having a heat wave, in fact the warmest October on record) and then they have door prizes. And this race had lots of door prizes, and since there were only about 30 participants, Polly and I each got prizes! Yay! I won a $20 gift certificate to an Italian restaurant and Polly won two sets of Halloween potholders and dishtowels. She very generously gave me one set of them. Tee hee. Okay, I came out ahead twice in this race. Sorry, Polly.

Anyway, so later, George and I and Polly and Colin went to Six Flags to use the free tickets Polly and I got at a race we did back in April. It was fun. I ate a massive waffle cone of ice cream. I didn’t ride too many rides because I am a wuss but I didn’t care. The log ride really was fun! And we got really wet! And then we rode another ride and got nauseous! And I didn’t realize George really doesn’t like rides that go upside down, until we were strapped into a ride, whirling around and I wondered aloud when we were going to go upside down. Well, the panic in his voice made me laugh, I’m sorry. So I’m an insensitive girlfriend, but it really was funny. Anyway, we only flipped around once or twice.

Saturday night was pub time and I ate HALF of a pizza. God, I love pizza. Pizza is why I will never get to my goal weight. Sigh. It’s worth it, though. Pizza or being thin? Pizza. I would rather have pizza and be fat. (I know, I know, it doesn’t have to be one or the other.)

Sunday was relaxing. Was going to work in the yard, but it is TOO DAMN HOT and I was worn out from Saturday. Then we went and ate Mexican food (hello, lots more points!) and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. What a great movie. That reminds me, I have to return it tonight. Damn. I hate Blockbuster.

Symphony Run 5K

Last night at the 5K Symphony Run race:

Cool picture, eh? I actually look like I’m running! I mean, I was running. Fast. For me. Finished the race in 34:59. Not a PR for me, but I’m pretty damn proud of that, seeing as the only running I’ve really done since May was last weekend at the bridge race.

And I ran (har har not literally) into Emily, one of the women I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon with. Although she didn’t get to do it. But that’s another story.

So I’m starting Core today. Went to the store after the race and bought a bunch of fruits and vegs and some soups. So I’ll try it for a week and a half (until next Wednesday’s weigh in, the one next week) and see how it goes.

Boooooo

Today was disappointing. There was lightning striking all over the place all through the night which made me happy, initially, because it meant I could sleep in and not go running with Polly. I am so lazy. But then it meant that the HP Classic golf tournament was cancelled for the day. Not that I’d usually care if a golf tournament was cancelled (unless it was the one Blue Cross has in memory of my dad, that would be sad) but I was supposed to have half of the work day off to volunteer at it. And I’d get free lunch. And now you really know why I’m disappointed. No free steak sandwich from Ruth’s Chris. I’ve never had steak from Ruth’s Chris, and if we want to continue to pay our mortgage, I doubt George and I will ever go, so this was my chance! And now it is down the toilet. Blah. I suppose I should look on the bright side that I am now not going to ingest a bazillion points for lunch and can instead spend them on beer tonight. But I had to buy lunch today, which I’m not really financially prepared to do. Blah.

Tomorrow I’m getting my hair cut, though, and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I love getting haircuts, and I haven’t had one since the day after Christmas. I’m only getting a trim, but it’s from my favorite hairstylist in Baton Rouge and because of my freshly trimmed and blow-dried hair, I will look sleek and clean (instead of my usual sorta wavy in bad places) for the wedding we’re attending tomorrow night. In Opelousas, which is hours away from here, but it’s for a high school friend, who I am very excited to see. Along with other high school friends that will be there. Yay!

Molarthon ’03

So on the spur of the moment, I decided to do a 5K yesterday in Audubon Park. Here’s the report I posted to the drs list:

So here’s my race report for the Molarthon ’03 5K.

(and DON’T SKIP TO THE BOTTOM! that’d be cheating!)

…I get to Audubon Park at about 8:45 am, the race starts at 9. I register, use the restroom, and then go line up. It’s a small race, and I line up in the middle, behind the obvious walkers but behind the speedy runners. It’s warm, 70 degrees, sunny, a little humid – great weather for a picnic, but not ideal when one is trying to break a PR. (33:38, for the record, set at the Fat Boy 5K back in April.)

So the gun goes off, I start to run. Not too fast, not too slow. The great thing about doing a 5K in this park is that I’m very very familiar with it. I know where all the quarter mile splits are painted on the path, so I can easily see how I’m doing (since there isn’t anyone calling out mile splits). I hit the first quarter mile in 2:35. Whoops, a bit faster than I wanted, but it feels fine. I wanted to stick with 2:45 for 11 minute miles. I slow down a tiny bit and finish the first mile in 10:33. Dang!

I’m getting hot, blah blah blah. The turnaround is at 1.55 miles, which is kind of a pain because the middle mile splits are kinda weird. There’s water at the halfway point, and the guy giving out water gives it to the two people in front of me, but not me. Nice. So I try to grab some off the table, can’t get a hold on any. Spill.

Ooops. The guy apologizes and hands me some. I manage to toss a bit in the direction of my mouth. Fine. Two point one miles comes at 22:30, that’s a 11:57 1.1 mile. Whatever that means. I have a little over 11 minutes to finish with a PR and I’m hot. And breathing hard.

But I think of Julia and that I’m not going to die or anything! I think of what EB said too. So I push on.

I pass a woman who is thin. Yay! (I’m not thin, nowhere close, so this is a small victory for the erm, “large-boned” among us.)

Next three quarter miles in under 2:45. This is good. I might PR by a few seconds. Better than nothing, I figure.

Nearing the end. I look at my watch. I speed up, somehow. (I can collapse when it’s over, just get to the end, dangit!)

I see the clock. It still says 32:xx. I’m not very far!

Gaaa! Now I’m excited! I get to the finish line at 33:09. yay! yay!

yay! Last mile in 10:40! Dang! Woah!

Now I think I’ll definitely PR in the 2 mile race on Dec 13. Just my first and last miles add up to a PR, and maybe then it’ll be even cooler.

This was a great race, not just because of my new PR, but also because of the goody bag. This being the Molarthon, and put on by the New Orleans Dental Hygenists Association, I got two nice toothbrushes, three things of toothpaste, floss out the wazoo, listerine, etc, etc. Ya!

After the race, George, Polly, Colin and I went to Abita Springs to the Abita brewery tour. It was very fun – and lots of free beer. We got there, they let you into the taproom, drink, drink, drink, then tour (which was maybe 15 minutes) then back to the taproom, drink, drink, drink. As I was the driver, I didn’t drink as much as the others, but it was nevertheless fun fun fun. We went and ate at the Abita Brewpub, appropriately enough, after the tour.

Marine Corps Marathon Race Report

Sunday, October 26, 2003

Overall time: 5:49:33, PR of 8:03

So here’s how the whole weekend went…

I had planned to work until noon on Thursday, as our flight didn’t leave until nearly four. I switched shifts with Janice, one of my colleagues, and was to go in at 7:30 a.m. instead of my customary 9:30 or 10:30 start. But by the time everyone got into the office by 10:30, I was too excited to sit in my chair and do any work whatsoever. So my boss Irene said I could leave early. We had a group hug (a silly group hug, not a cheesy group hug) and I left at around 11. I had packed the night before, but I repacked that morning, just to make sure I wasn’t bringing too much stuff, and to make sure I brought the right stuff. Fortunately, I didn’t have any problems forgetting anything vital. And I still had plenty of room to pack my IKEA purchases.

Lindsay drove George and me to the airport, my mom and Alice met us there. Checked in, blah blah blah, nothing exciting to say about our journey to DC. Kristina and Anne picked up George and me and Jenny (my sister) picked up Mom and Alice. George and I stayed at Kristina’s that night (I’d say “slept there” but Kristina’s cat is pretty erm, energetic, so sleep wasn’t really an option.) The next morning, we went with Kristina to her office, then George and I met Jenny, Mom, and Alice at Jenny’s office to go on a Capital tour. Nothing terribly exciting about that, either. Pretty building. Blah blah.

George and I went to the Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian) after lunch but didn’t stay too too long as we were both exhausted from lack of sleep. Made it to the Hyatt, where I was staying, and checked in, rested, went to the expo. Got my number. Yay!

Met everyone for dinner at an Asian restaurant in Cleveland Park, wherever that is. Somewhere near where Kristina lives, which is near Georgetown. Whatever. Kristina brought me to my hotel while everyone else went to an Irish pub across the street. Slept reasonably well that night.

Saturday morning, Peggy and I got up early for a meeting with our TNT people and a short group run. Naturally, Peggy and I were the slowest of the bunch, but the run went well. My ankle barely hurt, and the run really helped my confidence. The weather was nice and cool, which I hoped would hold for the marathon. After that, we went back to the expo, I got a few running shirts (courtesy of my mom) and then we had a TNT pasta lunch. The Penguin guy was the speaker. He was funny. The food was fine, ate some pasta, ate some bread, drank lots of water.

After lunch, Kristina came and picked me up for a trip to Woodbridge to see a friend, and then to IKEA. Yeah! Bought lots of cool stuff, for like 20 bucks, total. It’s now in my suitcase, hopefully making its merry way to my house. Afterwards, Kristina and I went to my sister and her boyfriend Rob’s house in Fairfax for dinner. Everyone else was quite buzzed on wine, which is always entertaining as the sole sober person (except for Kristina, because she had to drive me back to the hotel.) It was a pretty calm evening, and afterwards Kristina drove me back to the hotel. The clocks went back an hour that night, which was great because we were able to get plenty of sleep. Well, it wasn’t perfect sleep, there was a bit of tossing and turning, no surprise there.

Got up at 5:15, got dressed and went downstairs to catch the TNT shuttle. The temperature was already around 60 degrees. Faaaaaaaantastic. I think it was probably cooler in New Orleans. Sheesh. I was profoundly irritated at my luck. Never again will I make the mistake of thinking that Washington DC will be cold in late October. Grrr. Yeah. Just because it was 48 degrees on Friday…why in the world wouldn’t it be 60 degrees with 90% humidity?

Made it to the start around 6:45. Dropped off baggage. Found Ren! Went to the bathroom. I tried to time it so I wouldn’t have to pee when the race started, but of course I did. Thank goodness the people in our 5:30-5:59 corral didn’t move for 20 minutes, so I was able to pee one last time before we started. Peggy and I positioned ourselves with the 5:30 Galloway pace group. I thought we could stay with them, they were doing a 3:1 run/walk, and we’d done 6:1 in training, but as it turns out we lost them almost immediately. Not sure how we got ahead of them, but I don’t trust those Galloway people anymore! (But I’ll still run and walk, don’t get me wrong.)

Now I’m going to try to remember every mile…Keep in mind, to run at 5:30, our pace should have been 12:36 per mile.

Mile 1 (12:10) Ooops, too fast. Where is the Galloway pacer?

Mile 2 (13:13) Maybe if we slow down a little we’ll find him. Here we meet Jane and Kay, two older and very cool ladies who were also trying to stick with the 5:30 pace group. We managed to stick together for quite a while. Jane is a breast cancer survivor – she had it last year! We lost her about ten miles into the race, but I was pleased to find that she did finish, right around when Peggy finished. Kay finished a bit later, I’m also pleased to see from the results. I was a little worried about her because we caught up to her during the Rock Creek Park stretch, but then lost her again.

Mile 3 (12:32) Well, on a better pace, at least. Whose idea was it to run around the Pentagon? Ah well, at least I got to see it.

Mile 4 (13:08) First water stop, plus it’s uphill to get to it. Cruel!

Mile 5 (11:44) Oooh, here’s the downhill, plus a little extra running to try to catch that dang pacer.

Mile 6 (12:29) Better pace. Probably a downhill here too.

Mile 7 (13:19) Saw Mom, Jenny, and George here. And they took a picture. Look how fresh I am!
mile7
Lots of spectators here because it passes right by the start/finish area.

Mile 8 (13:19) Used the restroom here. Right before we saw Kristina and Anne and Rachel for the first time. That was awesome. (Both finding a free portalet *and* seeing friends.) The girls were holding up a sign provided by Tylenol that they had written “Go Pam and Peggy” on, and were photographed by the Tylenol people holding it. Maybe we’ll all be famous!

Mile 9 (12:08) Up into Rock Creek Park. It was gorgeous here, lots of red and yellow leaves fluttering through the air. I spent part of the time trying to catch a leaf. Got one, and was going to save it, but accidentally crumpled it later. Oops.

Mile 10 (13:16) Rock Creek Park…Kay (the woman from Oklahoma City we met at the beginning) caught up with us here (or vice-versa, I can’t remember) while running with her son. What a great guy – he was way ahead of her when he saw her on the out-and-back part, but stopped to run with her, losing a lot of time in the process. Lovely. He just wanted his mom to do well.

Mile 11 (12:44) Turn around (and a mini-downhill) at this point. Was hoping I’d see Devra (a friend) here, as she lives nearby. But I was so stressed and busy in the days before the race that I neglected to call her and see if she was going to come out. So any disappointment I felt was my own fault. But at least the scenery was gorgeous here, that always helps. Also looking for Ren behind me, as we were now on the back part of the out-and-back. Don’t see her, so I’m worried. But I needn’t have been, because here she is when my sister saw her. Doesn’t she look cheerful? Well, appearances can be deceiving because this is when she was cursing me.
renny

Mile 12 (12:36) Saw Kristina and Anne and Rachel again at the end of this mile, as we were leaving Rock Creek Park. Yay!

Mile 13 (13:36) Kind of a boring part. Goes by the Potomac, which was pretty, but not much support here. I think this is where Peggy started to feel nauseous. Or at least where she admitted it to me. There was a pretty strong headwind here, too, which didn’t help.

Mile 13.1 – overall time 2:47. Pretty well on pace for 5:30 race. Also when the sun comes out and Peggy starts to slow down. But let me say here, I may complain now that we walked too much, but I never really complain at the time about walking. I am fundamentally very lazy, and I like to walk. So when she said “can we walk?” I almost always said “yes” because that’s easier! However, had I been running alone, I probably would have tried harder to stick with the 3:1. Or at least not gone out too fast. I hope. The halfway point came right as we turned onto Constitution Avenue, a long stretch with nice scenery, spotty support, and most torturously of all, trucks lining the street selling hot dogs and hamburgers. I was hungry.

Mile 14 (13:14) Stuck my tongue out at the White House. Blew GW a raspberry.

Mile 15 (14:52) Going up to the Capital. Sun was out. Hot.

Mile 16 (14:36) Up Capitol Hill. Enough said.

Mile 17 (14:28) Down Capitol Hill. Much better. (In feeling, anyway. Time was only marginally better.)

Mile 18 (13:40) I remarked to Peggy that mile 18 feels like a landmark, even though it really isn’t. She grimaced at me, I suppose to stop herself from vomiting all over me. Kristina, Anne, and Rachel were here, and a bit further down, George. Yay! They gave us water bottles whenever we saw them, which was great. Not so much for drinking, more for pouring on our arms, legs, and head. Refreshing.

Mile 19 (13:16) Someone hands me a Starburst sucker. I love this person. We go over a few little bridges now and run around the Tidal Basin, whatever that is. The 14th Street bridge is tantalizingly in view, and though there was no question about making it in time, now that we can see it, it’s a bit more real. More strong headwind here. Evil! Go over some small bridges.

Mile 20 (13:04) I loved this part. Mile 20! The teens are done with! The road narrows here, we catch a high-five from some supporters. Always nice.

Mile 21 (14:36) The evil 14th Street Bridge. The one the slowpokes like myself worry about. But we made it in plenty of time. However, it’s long, dull, and had a vicious headwind. We walked a lot of this mile, and of…

Mile 22 (14:31), still the bridge. Evil! Evil! The flabby, soft underside of my arms is chafing. Ow. Stop to ask everyone on the side (aid & rescue people) for vaseline, no one has any. One aid guy says “wow, next time I’ll know to bring vaseline and nail clippers…” and goes on to list more seemingly obvious things. What did he have? A bunch of band-aids? Yeesh.

Mile 23 (14:21) My last mile with Peggy. We got chocolate chip cookies during this mile. Mmmmm! Soft, chewy, delicious Nestle Tollhouse cookies. Like manna from heaven, they were. Gorgeous. Peggy wasn’t feeling too hot after the cookie break, so she insisted I go on without her. I briefly grappled with my conscience, but ran on ahead. She said she didn’t think she’d be able to run much more.

Mile 24 (13:34) A cruelly dull portion of the race, just when you need support. Through the parking lots of the Pentagon. Who thought of this? I manage to get back on the 3:1 ratio again here, though I’m tiring.

Mile 25 (13:11) Water stop here, more dull dull scenery. Until the last half of the mile, when you start to see people again. A great pick-me-up. This is when my stomach gets butterflies. When I start to gasp and nearly sob. Everyone’s calling my name. Try to at least do 2:1 here. Maybe 1:1. Hard to run while gasping for breath and tummy is in knots.

Mile 26 (13:26) Allllmooooosssst there….still struggling with emotions, until I hit the evil hill at, oh, around 25.8. I really couldn’t believe it. It’s very wrong. My emotions turned from excitement to anger at the jerk who designed this racecourse. My energy is nearly sapped. But I know there isn’t much further to go. I see Denise, a TNT runner that we did our 20 miler with. I see Kristina, Anne, and Rachel.

Mile 26.2 (2:18) Sooooo close….I can see the finish line. Just as I’m approaching it, I hear my name being screamed by my mom, Jenny, George, Alice, Rob…and I turn to them and turn into monster lady. I yell “JUST LET ME FINISH!!!” and then turn and smile big for the camera as I cross the line. I was able to give a strong kick at the end, no thanks to evil hill. I apologize later for my annoyance at my supporters. They love me, they understand.

Get my medal, picture taken, blanket, etc, etc. Bananas and bagels and not much else in the finisher’s tent. Hmmph. Pick up my baggage and find my family. Yay! Go to the TNT tent, then the VIP tent to have a yummy sandwich and to attempt to see Peggy cross the finish line. I check the results on the handy-dandy computer there in the VIP tent and find that she’s already finished, 7 minutes after me.

About an hour later, finally see Ren cross the finish line. I was very worried that she wouldn’t make it. Apparently when Kristina and Anne saw her at mile 8 (and then later at 18), she was cursing Gary and I strongly. When we found her after the race, she was sobbing, partially out of happiness…she said “I’m so glad I never have to run again!”

Am pleased that I didn’t hit the wall. Glad I didn’t get blisters. My toenails are a-okay. I came through this marathon unscathed, except for a little chafing on my tummy where the pouch I was wearing clipped on to my shorts. (Boy was that pouch annoying. I didn’t train with it, duh… I was able to give it to Anne after 12 miles, at least.) My ankle stopped hurting during the marathon (thanks to the anti-inflammatory I popped like M&Ms) and hasn’t hurt since. Figures.

On the other hand, I wish I had insisted to Peggy that we slow down at the beginning. I knew we were going too fast. But I didn’t slow us down. I didn’t say anything. I wanted to find those dang Galloway pacers too! How disorganized of them to be *behind* us. How in the world did we pass them? Why are they only at the beginning of the pace group? Why not sprinkled throughout? There were a lot of people wearing the 5:30 pace tags on their backs, most of them had lost the leaders.

Next marathon? Maybe a spring 2005 marathon. For now, though, I think I’ll concentrate on 1. losing weight, 2. getting faster at shorter races. Hey, I think if you look at my post race report for London, I probably said the same stuff. Ha ha!

Final Stats:

10K – 1:17:56

Half – 2:47:35

21M – 4:38:09

Pace – 13:20

ClockTime – 06:08:30

ChipTime – 05:49:33

OverAll – 14115

OverSex – 5144

OverDiv – 1098

Two down…

I did it! I did it! Marathon #2!

Final time: 5:49:33. Not the improvement I had hoped, but better than London, at least.

Will be writing up full race report later. After I have some beers to celebrate…

Six days until the marathon

Six days until the marathon…

Was supposed to run 10 miles this weekend. My ankle is bothering me. This is not good. So I ran 2, went to gym, cycled 10, walked 1.5. At least I got the blood flowing. Yeesh. Talked to Ren, though. She got us some kind of anti-inflammatory medicine from her stepdad that should at least get us through the marathon. (Her knee is her problem.) Well, it’s not a terrible pain, just a niggling ache. But 26 miles of a niggling ache isn’t fun. Whatever.

The best part of the weekend, though, was that Kristie came in. We went to our old college friend Marcie’s wedding. I wasn’t really invited, but Kristie took me as her date. It was okay. I only knew Kristie and Anne and Herpreet, another old college friend, but it was basically a high school reunion for most of the guests. I did not go to high school with them, so you can imagine how fun it was. But the food was good, and it was nice to see people I haven’t seen in a while. Harry Anderson, of Night Court fame, was supposed to be there, he’s married to one of Marcie’s friends. (Yes, he married a hot young twenty-something.) But he didn’t show. Dang!

After the wedding, Kristie and I hung out at the pub, reminisced, that sort of thing. Yesterday I cleaned the house a bit. Just enough so that when I get back I’m not depressed by my messy house.

Tomorrow night is dinner at Jacque-Imo’s with the pub gang and Vince (yay!), as long as I can reschedule my dinner with Peggy and Emily for Wednesday night.

Before I go to work today, I need to call a guy named Squirrel who hangs out at the pub to fix my breaks. Don’t you just love his name? I’m sure it’s not the one his mom gave him, though.

10/16/03

I feel kind of like a fraud while training for this marathon. I haven’t been keeping up with my midweek runs, so while I’m in my “taper” now, I’m not running any less (or more) than I was three or four weeks ago. I don’t feel like my lack of midweek runs has hindered my long weekend runs (but then, how would I know, really? Perhaps I could be doing so much better?) so I don’t feel all that bad about them, but still. My left leg was really bothering me this morning while I tried to run on the treadmill. I had to give up and end up doing elliptical trainer work instead. It has hurt, though, at the beginning of my long runs, and I do get over it, so I’m not that concerned about race day, I just don’t want it to get worse.

Can’t believe it’s Thursday already. This week has gone by fast. Monday I’ll be full-time! Parking in the employee lot…a badge…health insurance beginning Dec 1…accruing vacation time (three hours every two weeks – that means 2 weeks of vacation a year! Woo!) and all the other good stuff that goes along with full-time permanent employment. Yay!

Am a bit stressed about this weekend. So much I want to do, so much I need to do…Friends I want to see, friends I won’t be able to see…ugh. I hate this. So I’ve made an executive decision to follow the following schedule this weekend:

Friday evening…hang out at pub, see Vince (who I haven’t seen in well over a year and is in town for only a week.)

Saturday morning…run 10-12 miles at Lafreniere Park

Saturday afternoon…clean my house! Do laundry! Whatever!

Saturday night…hang out with Kristie. She’s going to a wedding Saturday afternoon in N.O., I hardly ever get to see her, since she lives in Boston.

Sunday…what…ev….errrrr

Could run on Sunday morning instead, and see Polly play soccer, but I’d rather get it over with on Saturday and really enjoy myself Saturday night with Kristie. Yes, that sounds good. Because next week is going to be too crazy to get much done, I have to do it this weekend. Tuesday night I’m having dinner with Peggy & Emily; Wednesday night Dawn is coming home and I want to say hi and bye before I go to bed early because; Thursday I’m working at 7:30 am until 1, so I can leave to catch a flight at 3:50. Whew!