No Music

After a crappy drive home and a less than stellar day I left for a quick run last night.

Got out the door, key safely tied on shoe, turn on ipod.......NOTHING. That sucker was DEAD. No juice left at all.

So I ran sans music - surprisingly I was ok - but I only did about 3.5 miles, there is no way I could do 10 on the trail with nothing, I think I would have to sing to myself, which could be interesting for everyone.

On the brightside I've found my Garmin is much more agreeable if I place it on the porch while I'm stretching. And now that I've said this it's going to curse me, we'll see how tonight goes.

Don't worry I charged that sucker up last night, I'll have plenty of music.

Boston Baby!

I'm all signed up! As of Wed as approximately 7:58AM I was officially signed up and given a Submission ID # soooooooooo now we wait while they verify my time and hopefully in 4 weeks I will get an email that says - you rock, welcome to Boston!

I don't see any reason why I wouldn't get this - BUT - I will wait patiently none the less.

I've been running here and there - nothing too serious just yet. I did the "virtual" Nike Human race with my SIL Lisa and we rocked it. It was crazy hot, I had no water, and I drank a boatload the night before, but we still kicked some butt. And also I picked the worst route ever, there were almost NO TREES, poor Lisa must have been thinking I was a moron. But it was so fun to run with someone again and someone who loves running like me!!! Hopefully she'll be racing again next summer and we can do something together!

On the homefront there is a problem.

Every morning this week I have encountered a 'pede in the bathroom. Tue and Wed I got those suckers. This morning the loser hung out underneath the cabinet like a scardy-'pede. If you know me, I LOATHE 'pedes, I loathe most things insect, but 'pedes are the worst. So when I got home tonight I was on 'pede radar and I got that sucker good! I was on the phone, saw him racing across the family room, screamed some expletives, dropped my cell phone mid-call and stomped the crap out of him. I am not happy. One 'pede a day.....what if this multiplies to two....seriously get the crap out of my house. Or at least do me the curtesy of showing up around Dave so he can kill you.

So this is war.......and I plan on winning.

Muddy Buddy '08

About a month ago Dave and I did our second Muddy Buddy. IT WAS A BLAST. I basically talk about this race all year, this past year I registered the day it opened, some absurd date like December 27th - in short I am obcessed....but for a good reason. This race is literally the most fun you can have with your close on! People of all ages come out, families, friends, sure it's a race, but plenty of people aren't there to win it. Ugh I wish it was closer to next years....but somehow I will survive.

They changed up the course a little this year, although Dave and our friends seem to think they didn't that is a DIRTY lie, I start on the run and there were DEFINITLY way more hills this year. It was a completely different race since there was no torrential down pour leading up to the start, infact it looked like this:



Yes that would be the SUN and yes it is just starting to RISE (sidenote, we get up at 445AM for this race, that is dedication)

There were a few more pre-race photos:


Helmets are so HOT right now


Ready to Rock!

So as it turns out Dave and I are super consistent. In 2007 we placed 14th in our age group.......in 2008......we placed 14th in our age group! We were about 8 minutes behind the first place finishers, but there were plenty of people behind us. We were not even CLOSE to as Muddy as last year, but I'm not upset about that, I think I had mud in places I didn't know existed last year. It was an absolute BLAST.


All hosed off....


Rock on with your Muddy self

We changed and headed over for a few free beers, at about 10AM :) - next year we plan to bring our own cooler nad enjoy the whole day. Seriously you just have to do this race!



Now the countdown begins to Boston Registration!!!!

Good News....well kinda

So I FINALLY uploaded our Muddy Buddy pix to the computer, like a month later. I blow. The bad news is that it's late, the gold medal volleyball match is on (GO USA) , and so I'm going to blog them tomorrow. I promise.....Paul has really been buggin' me about it, so up they go tomorrow - stay tuned......

Holy Crap it's HOT!

It's freakin steamin' out today! YOWSERS!

First of all I would appreciate it if my dang Garmin would stop searching for satellites for 80 million years while I run. So a note:

Dear Garmin,
I am now dependant on you and become very frustrated when you fail to operate, even though I practically know the mileage by heart I would still like to track my pace and oogle at the calories I am burning. You were not cheap - please work.

Love only if you stop being a poo, Heidi

Also, when it's like 85 and I'm sweating like a mofo, people who wear pants when they run literally make me want to die. I see their pants and become like 3 degrees warmer. YUCK.

Hurray for warm weather - The bike got a pre-Muddy Buddy tune-up, we're obviously not into this race at all.....T-minus 3 days :)

Called out........

So I've been called out by Paul my older brother for not blogging - and crap he's right......although to be fair several other people have called me out as well - props to Katie and Eric (not my older brother) In my defense if you check the date at least I didn't go a whole month!

I have been running here and there. Instead of boring you with the gory details which I can't even do because I don't have them we'll chat about the weird crap that's gone down lately like our new gym's lockers....

It was raining on Sat and I thought I'd get a start on the day so I hit the gym at like 9:30. Our new gym bought out old baby gym and it's all fancy shmancy. Like the lockers for example - you don't even need a LOCK. WHAT!? So I've only been there twice right, and there's an intricate card which explains you set your code with the arrows and midnight, close, move to nine o'clock and scramble your code. Well, being my second visit I figured I had it down pat right. YEAH not so much - def locked myself out....so I walked up to the front desk with my eyes to the floor and some perky chick screamed so everyone could hear "Locked out?" Yes, thank you, could we please tell everyone on the 4th floor as well!? So she proceeds to unlock my locker, which PS she did without asking for an id or even confirmation that it was actually my crap in there......then looks at me and step by step explains again how to lock it. Really!? You think I didn't learn my lesson? Blah so obnoxious. As a side note, after my run I did 50 crunches and 18 push ups - I was so sore on Sunday it hurt to laugh......note to self, your core blows!

And in other weird news. Last night I hit the trail up for a 5 miler-ish. Everything was fine, no biggie. But cops on the trail ANNOY me, I ran by a squad car - yes a car, on the trail - and what was the officer doing - smoking a STOGIE.......are you kidding me, you seriously couldn't wait to get off work to smoke that?! I'm sorry there is just something wrong with that picture. Also, not a fan of cops on horses. I COMPLETELY understand that the horse has to drink, but it creeps me out when he's drinking of the water fountain trough. It just does. And then they poo all over the trail - big horse poos - ew. And now because I've complained about this something terrible will happen on the trail and I'll be praying for a cop on horseback - CRAP!

My favorite race of the year is coming up!!!!! Get excited!!!! the Muddy Buddy is about a week and a half away!!!!!! Hands down favorite race - cannot wait! If you're lucky I'll have pictures to post......

Yowsers!!

Holy crap! I managed to miss a whole month of blogging! For shame!!!! Well let's see, what's my excuse......I've got a whole laundry list:

-Wedding planning
-Not running as much as I should
-Soul searching aka trying to decide what to do with my life
-Complaining about the hooligans upstairs
-Cursing the hooligans upstairs
-Getting freaked out when I thought a 3rd hooligan was moving in upstairs, thankfully this was not correct!

Alright - so they aren't great - but they are for the most part true. I did do a 6 miler this weekend just for kicks. I was fine, but I've been better.....and there were 10,000 runner groups out who I constantly had to pass so I could beat them to the water. And I decided I need new kicks, but new kicks are always expensive.....grrrrr.....I wish there was a "new kicks" fairy - there should be anyway.

Well it's technically already Wed - so at least we have that going for us. Perhaps this little cheesehead will get her act together and blog again before a month is up.

OH and sidenote, due to the aforementioned hooligan grill stealing escapade we were forced to use mini-beach-grill for delicious bbq on Sunday evening - the hooligans walked by while this was going on and didn't say a dang thing - damn you grill stealing hooligans!!!!!!!!

People blow

This was a great day until about 6pm.

In a hurry to leave on time I unlocked Dave and my bikes so I could meet up with Dooner and bike to Webster place to see SATC movie.

My tires were flat....so I decided to take Dave's bike instead of blowing my tires up. MISTAKE OF THE WEEK

Rode to the theater.

Locked our bikes up, headed into the movie.

Walked out of the movie feeling very lovey dovey (it was Sex and the City!)

Bike GONE ----- Tears commence

If it had been my bike I still would have been crying but I would have been a little more ok with it. Instead it was Dave's. Because I was too lazy to pump my tires up. I'm a jackass.

So bike thief, you miserable scum you, wherever you are, I hope someone steals something of yours, and I also hope that while you're riding the bike you stole from me you hit a pot hole and fly on to the concrete and break your face - you suck.

As for me, I'm going to go feel crappy for the next few hours. And you can bet your bottom dollar that my bike is no longer locked up on the porch.

Get motivated!

So maybe saying I was back in the saddle was a little too serious. We jetted off to WI for the long weekend, and although I packed 3 days of running clothes, only one day got used....oops! Sunday, after feeling guilty about gorging on brats, cheese, beer and everything else that is the glorious state of WI I figured I should work a few of those calories off before the next big bbq (and believe you me, we had one!) I pretty much forced Dave to come along via guilt trip - he likes running, he just doesn't like running with me.....I will keep telling myself it's because I can beat him! We ran on the trail through Thrivent and saw about 80 billion (yup that's right) of what we believed to be Orioles mating......but upon explanation to my mom turns out they were likely Red Wing Blackbirds (we also confirmed this on google) but it was so cool, the males were all showing off, very funny. It was a great weekend, but I'm pretty sure I consumed the recommended one year adult consumption of brats...and the summer is just starting!!

Hold off - have to go watch the Cubbies attempt a come back in the 9th - we can hear the crowd chanting for Fukudome.....

Tonight I did not want to hit the road. The couch was so inviting, I was feeling lazy. But Dave was heading out for a bike ride/haircut so I felt the peer pressure. But I did the one thing that made all the difference - I recently got some new songs on itunes and I threw them on the pod before heading out. When "The Longest Road" by Morgan Page came on I had instant runners high, that kind where you are running, the right song comes on and you instantly feel lighter, I think I even smiled. So if you haven't heard this song, and you have to get the long one, you need to, it rocked my 4ish miles today, I even ran extra because of it :) And I almost forgot, I almost got hit by a cab rolling through a stop sign - but I caught him and yelled rather loudly "HEY", thankfully he stopped, about 5 people walking looked at me funny, but I like my legs where they are so whatever!

Also, as a side note, every time I head out my back door and see the porch above us with the grill that used to be OURS but the guys above us STOLE from our porch (and not in the funny friendly way), I want to throw rocks on their cars....I don't actually do it, but I think about it almost every time....

Running Grove you have to check out: The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix) - Morgan Page

Back in the Saddle

I've taken the whole recovery thing a little too seriously I think - I've only run twice since the race!! But I needed it and our new apt needed me. And now that our real computer is up and functioning I'm hoping to get some race pics up this week! We did find out after the race that not only did we run a marathon 2 weeks ago, we ran OVER a marathon! Technically we ran .2514 more than necessary and they have a calculator that adjusts your time, so if you want to get picky I was like 3:31 and some change but I'm just as happy with the recorded time - it gets me to Boston :) My family, friends, co-workers have been AMAZING! Everyone was so congratulatory and it appears half my family will be jetting off to see me in Boston. I think you always know you have the support of your loved ones but it was great that everyone was so proud of me!

The past week I think I may have eaten everything at Jewel. Ok...fine, perhaps it was only 80% of the store, but I've done an amazing job of stocking up on the things I stay away from during training....soda, mass amounts of beer, hot dogs, chips, you name it, I ate it.....and I enjoyed it :)

Saturday was gorgeous, I donned my running gear, dodged a few Cubs fans and headed to the trail. I even left my Garmin at home, I'm such a rebel! I did somewhere between 5-6 miles and I felt great. Can't wait for more beautiful days out on the trail!

What a Weekend!

Travelling to a marathon can be a little tricky - not to mention if you are also getting your engagement photos done that same weekend - you can only imagine what I packed....

We left for Cincy a little before 5PM on Friday, which is right from work, I think I checked about 5 times that I had my running shoes in the car - pretty much everything was replaceable EXCEPT the shoes, that would have been devastating!

We rolled into Oxford around 11 and chatted it up with Steph for awhile - we probably should have gone to bed, but when you haven't seen your best friend since Oct you just can't help it!

I wanted to get to the expo pretty early, we had a full day on Sat and the expo was an hour away. The weather Sat was shaky, pouring rain, bouts of sunshine, more rain, then more sun. I realized halfway to Cincy that we forgot our camera - BOO - so we only got a shot with my cell but I'll survive. The expo was alright, got some free food, which I pretty much hated and plenty of free toothpaste and mouthwash - no one likes a dirty mouth! Then we got our numbers, poster, decent sized gym bag and shirts. For those of us running the full marathon the shirt for this race is nice, it's a technical running shirt, aka, not your average cotton shirt. The design/logo leaves a little to be desired but heck free real running shirt, who am I to complain! Dave ran the half and they got the same logo/design but it was a mere cotton tee.

After the expo we met my college roomate for lunch and hit of Kenwood for some jeans for the man. Then it was back to Oxford to pick through the 5 outfits I made us bring and decide what would work best for the engagement pics :) We ended up going casual which was great and met the photographer under the arches at 5pm (so cliche I know!) I could not believe how long he spent with us, 3 hours! And we probably could have done more but it was freezing and we had some carb loading to do!!

Steph made an AMAZING pasta dinner and we loaded up on carbs and good company. We got to bed around 11, I of course was petrified my cell alarm wouldn't go off - it did of course. The Flying Pig starts at 6:30 am......so when you are staying an hour away that means getting up and out the door at 4AM, YIKES! We made it to Cincy with plenty of time and got decent parking near the Bengals stadium. I was surprised so many people were getting out and heading to the start - the race was more than an hour away at this point - it was far too chilly for this chick to vacate the car just yet. My pre-race breakfast consisted of a yogurt, peanut butter sandwich and a banana. With about 45 min to start we gathered everything we needed and headed out in search of bathrooms. The Pig starts right at the Bengals stadium so the neat thing was they opened up the stadium and we could use the bathrooms in there, a hare nicer than you average porta potty!

Dave and I positioned ourselves in the start corral right around the 4 hour sign, we couldn't really get any closer and we were ahead of plenty of people. The people just ahead of us had run the Pig before and let us know that the worst of the hills were 7-9, I had mildly predicted this based on the elevation chart but it was good to get the reassurance. The start was actually delayed 15 min due to a multi alarm fire but we wouldn't find that out until later. Even though I went right before we got in the corral, I already had to pee again. Boy was I ticked, I NEVER have had to go during a race, I was hoping it wouldn't be a problem.

We started in typical marathon fashion, people everywhere (the race field is about 20000 at the Pig) and Dave and I froggered our way along. Dave stayed with me for about 2 min before heading off, he was only doing the half after all. The course has changed over the years, the first few miles took us across the bridge into KY, the sun was just coming up and as we hit mile 4 I took off my long sleeve and tossed it on the street. Those beginning miles flew by, I had a great pace, I was people watching and the sun was warming us up. By 7 I couldn't hold it anymore and had to stop at a porta-potty. I tried to time it so I could race up as someone was coming out but that didn't work the greatest. I didn't lose much time, and within a few minutes a guy came up to me and said, "either you sped back up to pace, or I slowed way down" so I knew I was back where I needed to be!

7-9 was the climb up to Eden Park, throughout the race there were plenty of hills, I took them one at a time and I seemed to manage. I didn't let them get to my head and I think that really helped. At 9 I took my first power gel and felt a little rejuvenated. For not being as big as Chicago there were plenty of spectators cheering us on. They were so great, yelling my name, slapping hands, it was a big help! At this point I was about 9 min faster than BQ pace, and I was super happy but kept telling myself that at some point I was going to die down. I was literally convincing myself throughout the race that I did not want to do Boston this year and it would be fine if I didn't qualify. When I hit 13.1 I knew Dave was done and I was so jealous.....I also knew I was well under 2 hours.....awesome!

At 16 I took my second gel. Still feeling decent, after the 7-9 climb there were about 3 more big hills and everytime we hit one someone was yelling "this is the last hill" they were liars, I know they were trying to push us on, but not know the course and being hopeful I believed them and my calves screamed everytime another hill came around the corner! I always take 3 ibuprophen before a big race and on the advice A-train I put 2 in my shorts for later, I took these at the water between 17 and 18 and they were AWESOME!!!

One of the great surprises of a race like the Pig and being relatively in the front was I actually got orange slices!!! These were like small pieces of heaven. At 20 my brain literally said if there are any more hills I might burst out of your skull, this was also the point where I realized I was still about 9 min ahead of BQ time. This meant I could drop a min per mile and still be ok, this was probably the first point in the race that I thought it might be possible to get a 3:40. Miles 21-23 were the hardest, not because of hills but more mentally, once I got to 23 it was just a 5k, but 21-23 had me picking landmarks and just getting to them.

The final 2 miles is pretty much a striaght shot back to downtown Cincy. I kicked it up a little too much at 25 but I realized it and tried to calm down. At that point I had 15 min to get a mile done and I was almost certain I would be a qualifier. The last mile was lined with people, they were everywhere, on the sidewalks, on the walkways above, hanging out of the parking garages. I searched for Dave but I coudln't find him in the sea of people, but he saw me. At .2 left I could see the finish banner and the official clock and it was well below 3:40, that's when it became a reality. I sprinted - well as much as I could at that point - and clocked in at 3:33:15 - I was so overcome with emotion that I was crying as I crossed the finish line, I'm sure I looked stellar, but I'm more than ok with it, that was my moment.

I made my way through the finish food, they even had ice cream and Dave miraculously spotted me. He was just as excited as I was and it was great! We hung out near the lake for a few and took some photos then headed back to the car for the trek home. As it turns out due to that fire I talked about during the start they had to re-route us and we ran a quater of a mile MORE than necessary. We are told the course will be re-certified and our times adjusted by our pace. As long as it's re-certified I could care less. Going into this race I didn't know what to expect.....as it turns out, sometimes we surprise even ourselves.

The stats:
Chip time - 3:33:15
16th in my age group - 25-29yr old females
58th woman overall

today was MY day.....

If you talked to me in the last week you know I was cautious, "What are you shooting for", me: "Well I'd love to BQ but that's unrealistic, I'd really like to get a sub-4but honestly I'll be happy if I beat my last PR 4:17:33" Well.....

I spanked my PR today and I kicked major ass in the process.

Chip Time: 3:33:15

I'm not sure if I have ever been more proud of myself. .2 miles from the finish when I could see the finish line and the clock and it was well under 3:40 for the "official time" and I realized I would qualify for Boston it was too much. I cried at the end, this is the culmination of a hard training winter, giving up Friday nights out, and pushing my body beyond what I thought was possible. And I'm still walking too! For now I'm going to kick back and celebrate with a beer - race report to follow...

Marathon Weekend!!!

It's finally here!!! I'll be heading to Cincinnasty (as we fondly call it) shortly. Nervous, excited, ready to go! Looks like the weather should be pretty stellar for Sunday - knock on wood!!! Send me all your strong running karma for Sunday! Race report to follow......

Holy hill workout.....kind of......

So I had an 8 miler this weekend......and I had no clue when I would fit it in....and just as I suspected, it was impossible, BUT considering that I probably went up and down 2 flights of stairs almost 100 times this weekend carrying anywhere from 5-20 lbs each time I think I will be ok.

We officially live in the new place!!!! Its less than organized right now but I'm hoping Dave can take care of that tomorrow while he's off and I'm at work!! I'm sure I'll return to find everything in its rightful place...heh heh. My legs are exhausted, which I'm convinced means that I lifted things correctly yesterday, and my hands smell oddly like a combo of lysol and fantastik, but it's all good! I spent literally like 6 hours cleaning my old place today and it's officially void of any remnant of me.....as a side note Mr. Clean magic erasers....seriously magic....my kitchen floor looked like a warzone AFTER swiffering and lysoling, then I thought what the heck I'll try the eraser, looks just like brand new now!

The race is less than a week away....wow how did it creep up so fast! I fly to NY for work tomorrow, just for the day thankfully and I'm praying that I don't get stuck sitting next some sneezing, sniffling sicko - I CANNOT get sick! Well back to the kitchen to commence tidying up - and actually going to bed soon seeing as how I'm getting up at literally the crack of dawn - worky work busy bee!

Looking back....and forward

It's been a busy and stressful week. Work. Run. Pack. Repeat. Also sleep if there is time. Thankfully since it's taper my runs were only 4-5-4 this week. Tonight would have been my last run on the lake front path from my apt......but it was raining.....so I had to go to the gym. And I know I will still be running on the trail from our new place, it's just it won't be just across the street. And I won't know the exact spots my garmin claims the miles are at. I'm so excited to start the next chapter with Dave, but I'm also a little sad to leave my first apt in the city. So I'm feeling a little sentimental - although tomorrow morning at 5 when the alarm clock nazi is going off I will be reminded of why I'm so happy to leave! Change is good. Moving on to bigger and better things with Dave, even better! And we'll only be like a mile away so we can still hit up all the favorite spots.....and find some new ones!

Taper is the life!

The race is getting so close I can feel it....although I can also feel the bajillion boxes sitting in my apt waiting to be moved on Sat - can't wait! Less than 2 weeks til the Pig, and I feel more ready than ever!

Last week was a smooth 5-6-5 week, nothing too terribly exciting, although I've been running considerably faster than normal. And when I say normal I think I really mean than I used to. I have a sneaking suspicion that I've been cheating myself by thinking I can't run faster.......perhaps running 2 marathons in one year does have payoffs!

Saturday I thought about running, I also thought about packing, then Dave kicked my butt into gear and forced me to pack. This ended up being a great option as Sunday brought sunshine to the lakefront! I set out for an interesting 12 miler......

Around 3.5 miles I was still keeping a steady pace at about 7:40 (have I mentioned I think perhaps my Garmin is now lying to me, I just can't believe this) that's when the first "event" happened. As I cruised around the curve I saw a man pushing what appeared to be a woman in a contraption similar to a wheelchair. But on closer inspection it was not a woman at all.......it was a mannequin....no really. Then at about 9 miles, I had dropped to about an 8:20ish pace at this point, I saw the "crazy old cat lady" weird clothes, huge old sunglasses and the biggest bag ever with yes, you guessed it, a cat sticking out of it. Then to cap off a great run (under BQ time!) as I'm walking it off and heading to the apt a man and women put their small dog down and the poor thing is dyed PINK!!!!!!! That's the glory of the big city...you just never know what you're going to get.....

It's a pretty easy week. I'm not even sure what I will do with myself!! I'm getting pretty excited but I'm trying to keep it in perspective. Cincy is not a flat course, I train on relatively flat terrain, there is a chance this could be my worst marathon showing yet - although I think it's doubtful, but I'd hate to go in expecting another PR. I won't lie though, I tracked Boston runners today....and I was jealous......someday.....

It's all downhill from here....

And thank goodness!! My 20 miler today can be summed up in a 4 letter word (no not that one) and I'd like to repeat it several times as well. WIND WIND WIND WIND So after giving Mother Nature a hard time she accomodated me by keeping the weather clear of rain, she did not however keep it clear of a strong a steady wind.

I left A-town around 9, rolled into Chicago, parked ate all the good stuff. I left the apt around 1:45. I really really really didn't want to have to go as far South as I went for my 18 miler so I decided to head North for 2.5 miles. I haven't run North on the trail in probably a year. It's still under construction, and the newly paved part looks like it will rock when they finally open it. I immediately noticed the wind, then the wind was actually causing me breathing problems - I'm thinking how fun the next 18 miles will be. As a side note I saw a kite surfer, just a guess, but I'm thinking Lake Michigan is hella cold right now....

So I turned around after 2.5 to head South, it was great, the wind at my back, I was cruisin'! BUT the whole time I had a little devil in the back of my head telling me how bad it was going to suck when I had to turn around and head back home. BOY was that little devil right. My final 7.5 miles was brutal, face to the wind, stick your chin out and barrel through it brutal. At one point my steady pace dropped to a 10:15 mile because the wind was so strong, thankfully this was only for about half a mile.

Overall I felt pretty strong. I wanted to finish at or under 3 hours and I came in at 2:51:03, this is actally only about 4 min off BQ time and if the dang wind wouldn't have kicked my butt I may have been able to cut it - SWEET! I'm feeling really good about a possible sub-4, but only if the weather cooperates and the hills aren't my enemy.

I'm crazy tired now though and my legs are a little less than thrilled. Perhaps tomorrow cross-training will only involve light lifting....

Is that snow?

Halfway into my drive up to WI steady rain turned into....sludgy muck, then sleet, then I started to see cars with all out SNOW on them, like real snow on the top of the car. I almost turned my car around and said screw it.

I've actaully had a stellarly productive day, met a fantastic photographer, tried on dresses (so fun!), hit up the mall and found a new suit, who knew you could get so much done if you actually get up before 11 on Saturday!

I'm not looking forward to my 20 tomorrow, mainly because it will probably be raining. I swear, if it rains in Cincy for the marathon Mother Nature and I will never talk again...

Off to load up on water.....had a few too many margaritas...thanks mom and dad....

Thank you traffic.....

It has been an all around CRAPTASTIC week of commuting, there are not even Cubs games and cars are showing up out of no where and getting in my way! Also, since when did everyone forget how to drive in the rain......we've been driving in snow and ice and crap for 4 months, a little rain never hurt no one!

Anywho....

Got 8 miles in yesterday on the treadmill and with the success of my Monday run I did 4 miles at my normal 8:30 pace and then continually upped it until I ran my last half at mile around a 7 min pace. Felt ok, the calfs were burnin' a bit, but the good burn. I planned on a 5 tonight, but since I didn't get home until 7.....see above.....I canned it. It can wait until tomorrow.

I am not however excited for the weather this weekend. I have my 20, which I totally am ready to tackle.....just not in 40 degrees and snowing. MOTHER NATURE WHY DO YOU HATE ME!? I'm heading up to WI on Sat for wedding stuff with the Mama and I think the forecast in WI is better on Sun than it's going to be in Chi-town, perhaps I'll get crazy and run it in A-town. The thing is I really don't want to carry water on my 20, it's such a pain and Chicago wouldn't require that, we'll see what happens.

Hurray for the new Office tonight, Friday tomorrow and my first whole box packed for the move!

I didn't know I had it in me....

It was a crappy Monday.....it was a long day, traffic was a nightmare, I fed a parking meter that didn't need to be fed, I wanted to watch the game but I knew I had to get a run in. I was all around miserable to talk to - no really, just ask Dave. In an angry rage I threw on my running shoes and slipped out the door for my FIRST after-work OUTDOOR run this year.

Got the the trail and hit the ground running (haha so funny)

Glanced at my Garmin, 7:00/mile pace, yea right like I can keep that up......a mile in 7:30/mile......2 miles in 7:30/mile and I'm thinking, this has got to stop, I can't run this fast, it's not going to happen.

Low and behold I apparently have reserves I didn't even know about, I kept somewhere between a 7:30 and 7:40 min pace the whole 5 miles, it's been years since I've run 5 miles under 40 min. I felt like one hell of a BAMF

The season of shorts!

Spring has sprung!!! (And now because I've said that, it's likely we'll get 5 inches of snow this week)

The rest of my week included 2 5 milers on the treadmill and I added in some quarter mile hill intervals, nothing crazy, but enough to get me winded.

Saturday however was a dream...a gift...just what I needed to keep pushing forward! I had to get up at the break of dawn, 7am, to move my car - I CANNOT wait to live in a permit area! This did however provide a sneak peek at what the weather would be like for my run - b-e-a-utiful! So I knew I could wear shorts, I grappled with the t-shirt idea and opted for long sleeves that were easily pulls up. Within a mile I yanked those sleeves up, it was just gorgeous out. And it also appears Sat was the last run I'll be carrying my camelbak on, the bubblers are working again!!!!!! This was such great news, I practically turned around and dropped the camelbak at home...well not really but you get my drift.

Although the weather was stellar the run wasn't my best, I ran pretty much on pace for sub-4 but I just wasn't feeling great. Then when I was cruising around the Shedd a biker gave me a nasty comment and shook his head at me. I wanted to put a foot out on his wheel but instead I opted for just saying whatever. Hate to break it to ya, but this is a running/biking/walking/general whateverness trail and we all have to share. Even though it wasn't my best run the weather totally made up for it - running outside in gorgeous weather has officially begun!

This week is my final week of big miles, ending with a 20 on the weekend. And I'm going to WI for wedding stuff and apparently it might only be 35 in WI.....I might save the run for when I come back home.....I'm getting more and more excited for the race - 4 weeks to go!

Enjoy the weather everyone!

What happens in Vegas.........

Doesn't stay there when you fry up like it's your part time job, and yes A-train it's happened before, but I'm going to keep on blaming Dooner.....mainly because that's just fun! HA!

So between a trip to Vegas (did I mention it was like 75 the whole time), work, planning wedding stuff, and thinking about moving I'm fairly proud of the runs I've gotten in. I've been one busy bee! I won't bore you with the gory details of my 15 or so runs but I will say I'm boycotting running outside until it gets warm here. I'm tired of my under armor, mittens, hat, gloves, 80 million other layers. I even opted to do a 13 miler, by choice mind you, on the treadmill rather than run in the cold! WHO AM I!? Lucky for me it might climb all the way to the 40s this weekend, hurray for small miracles!

Vegas week however cramped my training style (although really I'm not complaining) I got in 2 of my week runs before I left on Wed and planned to do the 3rd in Vegas, hahahahahaha silly Heidi, people don't exercise in Vegas! I even packed running clothes which is amusing, such good intentions. We got back with plenty of time to get a run in on Sunday, but the run I was supposed to do was 20. Again, laughter ensues here, 20 miles....really....after I've just partied in Vegas for about 4 days straight??? I have 2 20s worked into this training so I'm not concerned I skipped it, I got 11 in and frankly that's amazing all on it's own.

But I'm back in the saddle this week! The marathon is about 4.5 weeks away, YIKES! I wanted to make up a little mileage, yes yes, I know that's not necessary but honestly I added one extra mile. So instead of 5 tonight I upped it to 6, I'm such a rebel. I got a good treadmill in the back and everything was butterflies and sunshine until about 5.25 miles. That's when what I can only refer to as "stinkman" showed up on the treadmill next to me. Let's be honest, no one smells great at the gym, but I don't walk into the place smelly already, I have the courtesy to throw some deodorant on so as not to kill the people in my general area. I seriously wanted to die, if there had been more than a mile left I don't think I would have made it. What I don't get is.......seriously........I know when I smell bad......how does this guy not know!? YIKES. Perhaps the only good that came out of "stinkman" is he forced me to finish faster.......ew

I'm an F-word!!! And I'm happy about it!

It's not the naughty f-word you're thinking of either.........I'm a fiancee!!!!!!(I spelled that correctly for you mom) Last night Dave proposed by Lake Michigan and of course I said yes! Just a Cheeseheadrunner on cloud 9! Haven't really been able to stop smiling - have that stupid your cheeks hurt you've smiled so much thing going on - but I'm not going to complain! We didn't get to properly celebrate as I has an 18-miler this morning, but we'll make it up today with all our friends!!!!

So back to running.....although who can run when they have such a beautiful sparkly thing distracting them!

I had an 8 on Wed which I was sort of dreading. I knew before I even stepped on the treadmill that my legs would be heavy. And I was right. I somehow managed to fight through and finished all 8. Days like that make me feel good that I can push myself that far, but I certainly wish it wasn't so tough sometimes!

Thursday brought a late night at work so I raced home and only had time to put in 3 before Lost came on. Yes I completely realize I could have skipped Lost and watched it online. But I'd had a long day, I deserved some quality couch time with my favorite tv show. I figured 3 is better than nothing, right!?

Today I hauled out of bed at 6:50 am (this is starting to feel like summer runs) threw some yogurt in my system and hit the road. I wanted to be done and still have time to celebrate St. Patricks day! The first half I was fast, too fast, approx 7:40 miles, for me that's a little too fast, I just can't maintain that....yet. But the adrenaline of last night and wanting to get home soon fueled me. When I turned around that was another story, the wind was my enemy, my face was cold, my sweat all got cold, I was an unhappy camper to say the least.

I ended up running with a guy for about a mile and a half, we were just the same pace. When he broke off to take a different route he gave me the little runner salute. I LOVE that about running, I don't know you, good chance I never will, but I know what you endure, I know what keeps you going, and I respect you for that.

The last 2 miles were unpleasant, I was just ready to be done, then I had to pass a stupid (sorry CARA runners) CARA group of about 20 people and it just irked me that I had to go out of my way to pass them. I understand the appeal of running like that, and it's great for some, it just wasn't what I needed at 17.5. But I made it. Only 4 min off BQ pace, now I don't think I could have kept it up, BUT this still makes me feel like my Flying Pig time won't be so bad after all.

I'm off to be "that" girl all day, sorry it's my weekend, I'm going to live it up. And hopefully I'll drink a few green beers too!!

Just another week

It's been a pretty solid week so far. My legs were talking to me all day Monday, practically begged me not to crosstrain, so what did I do, broke out the Gliding video. Now, I'm not a huge fan of workout videos but this particular video was recommended when I was in therapy for my ACL so I figure it has to be good right?? Also, a day later I can't even get out of a chair from all the squats you do during it so that's probably a good indication.

As a side note, I would never say I've been so confused by daylight savings time in my life. On my drive home Monday night I actually asked my mom what time it was, I thought I left work too early (I had not changed the clock in my car yet) It's funktified my whole week and I can't imagine why, it's never happened before...

Today was beautiful. I didn't wear a hat or mittens at lunch, there were runners on the trail as I flew down LSD, signs that perhaps spring is ready to make an appearance here and there. I was looking forward to perhaps my first outdoor weeknight run, but alas it wasn't meant to be....

I hold a pretty strict "you can't start a run in the dark" policy in Chicago. I'm ok if I'm ending a run around dusk but I just don't think it's safe for me and my headphones to chance it. I don't particularly want to be headline news, unless of course I've done something superbly awesome :) I had to take care of some apt papers after work so that meant hitting the gym, bugger!

Stretching today felt like a gift from God, my muscles were thrilled with me. I ran a pretty easy paced 5 miles, but still managed to stay strong in the end.

Ooooo new running song of the week - I like this song so much I even lip-synced while I was running - I'm positive I looked insane, but when you've spent as much time as me on a treadmill lately you'll do anything to make yourself smile - I Don't Wanna be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) - Good Charlotte, check it out, love a good tune!

I Finally Saw Him!

I've read about him, seen pictures of him, I was starting to believe he was actually a myth....but then it happened........as I rounded the corner on North Ave beach the JOGGLER!!!! For those who don't know about the joggler check him out here. It was very inspiring to see him today, I have a hard enough time just running, adding juggling (which is something I can do, quite well if I do say so myself) to the mix sounds just insane to me. I caught him about mile 15 and it certainly helped me on my last 2 miles!

So, as you may have gleamed from above I had a 17 miler this weekend. Due to apartment shopping, and for those who care we found and secured an awesome place :), I decided to skip runnning Sat and instead tackle the beast on Sun. This proved a good idea for quite a few reason, but mainly because it was cold as HELL on Sat. Walking around to apts I thought my face would freeze off, running would have been just brutal! But having found a place, and a good friend and fellow runners birthday on Sat night I wanted to have a few drinks. I wasn't sure how this would affect me, granted I watched myself and was my no means cashed. I sucked down a big glass of water when I got home, slept till 10 and really I was fine.

It was still pretty cold out today, and the longest I've run on the trail lately has not exceeded 12 miles. Most of my long runs for Chicago this year were done while we were travelling whereever we were at. So long story short I ran pretty far south, farther south than I've ever gone, infact I would venture to guess most people avoid that part of the trail. There were considerably less runners, I saw less than 10, and it's just not as pretty. I also used 2 gels this time which I think really helped. I was hesitant to use the second but when I thought about how it would help me finish strong that was all I needed to get it out. Although I will say that it was so cold today that my gels were more gummy than gel-like, not a big fan of that. Then I saw the joggler at North Ave Beach, highlight of my run, and I was almost home. Finished in 2:26:43, which I'm VERY happy with, I was ready to be done today, but that kink of time for 17 miles indicates that a sub 4 is in reach. Maybe not the Flying Pig with all the hills, but soon, heck that sort of time makes me feel Boston qualifying is not so crazy either!

After my run I actaully had a productive day too. I have a tendency to be uber-lazy following a run like that, not today, ran errands got groceries, I haven't even napped! Looks like we might get up into the 40s this week, I'm so happy I could cry, peace out old man winter!

My excuse......I'm in mourning

Now that would be a fantastic excuse, I'm mourning the retirement of my all time favorite sports GOD Brett Favre, but unfortunately since this just happened yesterday that doesn't really explain all those other days I missed! opps!

So last week in a sick haze I dragged my butt to the gym for 2 week runs, it was a light week, since I missed Tuesday being sick, I did my 5 on Wed and another 4 on Thursday. Both nights I started on craptastic treadmills, on Thursday I literally switched machines 3 times. I started, and the stupid pace wouldn't keep up, that's BS, I pay good money to work out here (ok my boyfriend actually pays but that's a technicality) the machines should work. So then I moved to a second craptastic treadmill, this machines decrease speed button malfunctioned, sweet, just what I need, get going too fast and then I can't slow down, nice. Then a decent treadmill opened up and I hopped on it, the other treadmillers must have thought I was crazy, but I could care less, not my issue if you want to deal with running on rogue equipment, I don't!

This weekend was a lighter run, only 11 miles. Due to the apt search, Dave and I are moving in and seeking out an uber-cool 2 bedroom, I had zero time to get a run in outdoors on Sat and I CANNOT handle another ridiculously long treadmill run. So I waited until Sunday morning and I'm so glad I did, it was GORGEOUS out. But let's clarify shall we. By gorgeous I mean for March it was very nice and the sun was shining, I don't mean whip out your skanky running tank tops. Listen I'm all for showing off the great body you get running, but it was maybe, maybe 40, there's no reason to be showing skin, even in the Midwest where we are a little crazy. Anyhow it was very nice out, and tons of people on the trail, and it was Polar Plunge at North beach so I thought it was great that they got such a perfect day! There was a small ice age around the Oak Street curve but other than that pretty smooth sailing. I didn't have a gel, which was less than desirable, but I was ill-prepared. I made it though, although I don't think I want to do it again, it's nice to get that little boost to kick me home.

Mileage starts to ramp up again this week. I made it to the gym for cross training this Monday....sorta skipped that for like 3 weeks....I biked and pulled out some old weight exercises from physical therapy after my knee surgery. I totally felt the weights in my arms, I should do that stuff more really, also it would probably help my knee too.

I wanted nothing to do with my 4 miler on Tue, I was tired, there were no treadmills and when I was done the stupid decrease didn't work so I had to pull like the emergency stop, I'm sorry but I think that's a little dangerous. Where is daylight savings time when I need it! My midweek mileage has ramped up to 8, that's as high as I get during the week, but I have to plan to get that in, that's more than just a quick run. Thankfully the traffic gods watched over me tonight and I was on the treadmill by 6:30, I even snagged a good one this time! Roughly an hour 10 min for 8 miles, a little slower than I wanted but I've been insanely tired all week so I will take it. I'm skipping tomorrow nights run due to an apt showing, it's feast or famine so I'm making a sacrifice.

I have to do 17 this weekend YIKES!!! I'm really sure I will be fine, I just haven't had that kind of mileage in awhile and it sounds very daunting at the moment. We already have several apts to see Sat morning so it's looking like it will probably be Sunday by the time I fit it in. It's been the longest week EVER. I don't know what the deal is but every min at work literally feels like 2 min. not cool. Maybe that means the next 2 days will go in hyper-speed, here's the hoping!

Sickie McSickerton

Once again I've slacked off on keeping up, good thing I'm not getting graded! My 7 and 4 miler last week were pretty standard, ran at the gym, wished I was outside. I could feel myself getting sick on Thursday, but if I wanted to go to Mad-town I had to do my 15 INSIDE Friday night. Last week 14 was a pain in the butt, 15 this week was just plain brutal.

When I got to the gym all good treadmills were taken up - you've got to be kidding me, it's Friday night, why are you here!?! By the time I stretched and warmed up though there was a treadmill in the back with my name on it. I made my way through the captions of 1 vs 100 and then on to that new show Amnesia, which I'm sure would be great, but there was waaaaaaaaaay too much talking for it to be entertaining reading the captions. This 15 was grueling, when I stopped the treadmill at the halfway to start it back up again I honestly did not know if I could go the whole way. While I was running Dave came and ran next to me, then he left, because he was finished.......that's right, he came after I came, then left before I was even off the treadmill, that's just sick. I managed to make it home without feeling ill, but that did not last long. I downed a gatorade and Dave brought over veggie burritos. Perhaps this wasn't the best choice but at least it would be a lot of calories to fill me up right?? Well, while Dave watched Mr. Brooks, which by the way is super gory, ew, I writhed in pain on the couch.

I debated whether or not to go to Madison, but in the end my sense of a good time won out. And if I do say so, Bockfest 2008, SUCCESS!!! Great seeing the crew, not so great feeling crazy sick Monday morning. Missed work Monday, felt like poo Tuesday = no running. So, not a huge fan of this at all, I'm hoping I'm miraculously cured tomorrow morning so I can run tomorrow night, we'll see. Did I mention this morning my windshield wiper broke off and it was snowing....awesome....then my yogurt and apple exploded in a lunch dropping escapade...double awesome. So I figure it's not possible that tomorrow could be worse than today.

For now I'm going to dip oreos in milk,and try not to eat through the whole pack because frankly, they're delicious. Think happy healthy running thoughts for me!

Slacker to the MAX

So I'm pretty terrible, missed a whole week although there wasn't much to report, my week runs can be summed up like this:

4 miles - craptacular treadmill
7 miles - didn't know it was possible but the crappiest craptacular screwed a water bottle on the side treadmill
4 miles - craptacular treadmill

Man did I have some BAD luck last week in the treadmill dept, and what makes me so angry is those girls that are there and then leave after they have walked on the treadmill for 10 min. I have NOTHING against walking, nothing, walk all you want, but these were girls that were chatting and using quality treadmills that people who are actually there to USE the machines and then poof 10 min in gone. I could swap but that requires stopping mid-workout and I hate that.

Then with my Mom coming in for the weekend I was faced with a dilemma. 14 miles inside on a treadmill (are you serious?) or wake up at the butt crack of dawn on Sat, we are talking like 5.30 AM and brave the fridgid temps. Normally I have no problem getting up early on a Sat for a run, but in the summer its actually warm at that time, in the winter its gotta be at least like 9 for it to be bearable outside, at least in my humble opinion. So inside it was. Being that it was a Friday night I had my pick of the treadmills. I chose one in the back so I could at least glance at the show they had on the tvs mounted in the corners (yea yea I know I said I can run without watching tv, but 14 miles inside called for drastic action) The treadmill can't even go all the way to 14 miles, or rather it takes me too long to get there, so halfway thru, I stopped, took my gel and started again. Overall it was ok, the last 4 miles it was just like "all right already", I think I watched about 20 people come and go too, which makes you feel awesome and really nerdy all at the same time. I definitely did not have enough in me though for this run, I felt sick and weak after, luckily Dave was nice enough to make me some grub. I could have used a better pre-run snack or possibly a 2nd gel, I will have to re-evaluate before next weekend.

The sick part about all of this is I think there will be a repeat performance for 15 this Friday. We are heading to Madison early Sat morning to see some friends so I think the only option will be Friday night indoors. So I'm either really dedicated or crazy, you can decide.......

Last night was another 4 miles, once again craptacular treadmill, stupid new years resolutions! I felt good though and forced myself to run a tad faster than normal. I started out the same but kicked it up much early than I normally do. This leads me to wonder if I could actually be pushing myself further? Or perhaps it's just easier on a treadmill, who knows, I finished 4 miles in about 33:40 though, I was pretty pleased. It also didn't feel like much, I finished and thought, huh could have kept going I don't feel like I really worked out. It's been interesting training this close to a past marathon (Chicago) I have never "stayed" in shape, and I think this time it's pretty evident I have, haven't lost my stamina. Also on a yuck note, my toes are back to "runner" status, good thing it's winter and I can wear socks all the time!

The barker is back.....

What a week of training it was!! Monday had me skipping crosstraining to get all my runs in as I knew I would need a night off for an appt. I ran an easy 4 miles but found I was in extreme pain on Tuesday. My right arch has major issues, it was so painful it was even bothering me in ugly flat work shoes, who knew! I have never had problems with my arches and really this was only one as it just hurt on my right foot. Troublesome let me tell you.

Not wanting to skip my run Tuesday night I ventured to the orthotics aisle in Walgreens and purchased arch supports, which by the way are not cheap. I figured I should wear them in both as it might be weird if they were only in one shoe. They helped tremendously, leaps and bounds, it was still a little painful but I could tell they helped. This is an interesting dilemma to me though. In the past I have NEVER run this much on the treadmill, could that be the source of this? I've never had arch issues before?? Or is it really all downhill once you hit 25.....just kidding.

Thursday was a quick 3 miles so I could get home for lost, and low and behold the barker is back at the gym. This guy's grunts and noises could rival Sharapova, no lie. He lifts weights, and I haven't seen him at the gym in months but he made his reappearance on Thursday and boy did I hear about it heh heh. I suppose I understand that perhaps that makes him get the extra umph to get the weights up, but c'mon aren't you mildly embarassed that the whole gym is listening to your barking/grunting/you name it weird noises? And if I was your wife, I don't think I'd be caught dead at the gym with you making all those animalesque noises....

I only had 9 miles to do for the weekend and thankfully I did on Sat as it is arctic temps out today! I ran a little earlier and it felt like there were a million people on the trail, which was nice to see. I fought for the first 1.5 miles to get my Camelback to cooperate, it was extremely obnoxious stopping to adjust every like 3 min, but eventually I showed it who was boss! On my last half mile back I passed a guy who gave me the biggest goofiest grin ever. He must have known me, I however had no clue who he was, and if he didn't know me perhaps he was smiling at my ridiculous get-up. The weekend miles pretty much steadily increase from here on out, so there's not much to look forward to in that department - although maybe if I just grunted every half mile or so that would give me the motivation to go the extra mile.......

Sore, tired, you name it

It's been a draining weekend, in a good way I suppose. I really needed to get my 12 miles in, wanted to prove to myself that although I'm missing runs here and there I'm still going to be fine for this race.

Sat was actually a pretty nice day to run, all things considering. The trail was well....slushy, I very often watched my step and somehow miraculously managed to keep my feet dry! There was really only one crappy portion where I was running on slanted slush....thank god I didn't fall. Quite a few other runners on the lakefront and it was sort of calming to look out on the partially frozen lake. 12 miles took me just past the Shedd, which always seems so far from where I started. I ran about 8:45/mile, which I'm pretty happy with considering the conditions. It also cracks me up, so many people have black cold gear, I on the otherhand....I was in black tights, green shorts, teal thermal, white/orange t-shirt with a hot pink turtle. Seriously I'm like a color nightmare.

I don't think I hydrated enough though following the run, especially considering we went out to celebrate Eric's b-day last night. I'm tired and pretty sore, ahhhhh lactic acid, you are no friend of mine. I think mid-week mileage this week is only 5, that's something to look forward too!

It's Official!

Yesterday, the last "cheap" day to do it, I registered for the Flying Pig! So now it's official and I have to do it! There's no turning back now! I also registered Dave for the half marathon. Poor guy gets roped into these races with me. I listed him as one of my emergency contacts as he will be there that day. He then pointed out that if I fall off a bridge during the race and he falls off the same bridge I'm going to be in trouble. So if everyone could please pray that I don't fall off the bridges in this race that would be great!

I ran my 6 on Wed, but it was pretty miserable. I got a crap dreadmill, one of the old ones, that I swear to you DO NOT function properly. But it was the only one availiable so I had to take it. My legs just felt heavy too, I know part of this was mental due to me being so angry about being on a dreadmill from 1985. But in the end I pounded it out, which is really all that matters.

Last night it took me over 2 hours to get home, a big thank you goes out to the LSD parking lot....NOT. However I probably wouldn't have run anyhow since my highly anticipated show is back on the air.....LOST!!!!!! I love it, I don't care if you think it's stupid and don't understand the plot, it is my all time favorite show. So I kicked back with a bottle of beer and enjoyed the premiere.

The weather is still crap outside, 12 this weekend might be a little snowy....we shall see, it's supposed to be 30 though which will be nice. Tonight Dave and I celebrate 4 years! CRAZY!!! I have yet to pick our dinner destination, but I'm sure it will be a great time, how lucky am I that he's stuck by me for all this time!!

Going the extra mile

It's a freakin' blizzard out, actually it's more like a blizzurcane, which would be ridiculous snow paired with crazy wind. Amen for the gym! Snagged myself a treadmill in front and got truckin. Only 3 miles today, but I felt so good I went to 4, there's a chance I might be a superstar this week. Mile 2 I upped, yea I know it's not a word, the incline for a mile, my "pretend" hill. All in all it was a great work out, and there was a guy handing out free Silk, that Soy milk, he looked like an uber creep, but it was free so I took one!

It should also be noted that a new gym has sprung up across the street from mine. The LVAC, poo on your acronym, you're so cool with your tvs attached to every workout machine. I take pleasure in the fact that I don't need a tv to keep me on a workout machine, I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice, but I feel like I could kick those tv-watching asses if I had the chance! Although I'm not going to lie, I think the gym is a little less crowded now that they are there and I love that I can always get a machine!

Re-runs of The Office and my couch are calling my name!

Back at it!

Soooooooooo I took a little break, and by little I mean I just didn't do three of my runs!!! (insert shocked face here) First it was work, then broomball, then I got home on Sunday and frankly I just didn't want to leave the apt.....so I didn't.

I did run on Saturday at home in Appleton though and boy was it interesting......I woke up to snow, and not just a little snow, like inches of accumulation. At 7am they had plowed. When I woke again at 10 to actaully go out and run there was another inch of accumulation on the ground....gee thanks. After an extremely draining day on Friday and having skipped runs I knew I had to go out there no matter what. I had planned to do my long 11 miles, BUT given the ridiculous conditions I opted for 6 instead. Although it was weird, it was one of the more enjoyable runs I've had. There was snow everywhere, drivers were looking at my like I had gotten a good dose of crazy for breakfast and the occasional snowblower would nod and smile. I'm not going to lie, I was grateful to the people who actually shoveled their walks. I almost took a spill once ever 10 min, but I think it was worth it, and frankly it made me feel pretty bad ass, I literally saw NO ONE ELSE running, walking a dog, playing in the snow....nothing.....I rule!

So this week I need to get back on the horse if I'm really serious about doing the flying pig (which I'm still not signed up for) opps! Smoothstephy has graciously offered her residence in Oxford for a crash pad for Dave and I, so if I can get back on track this week I think I will be fine.

After a frustrating day at work I thought I'd work it out at spinning. I'm always amazed at how utterly out of shape I am when it comes to anything but running. Spin class is an hour, 10 min in I was ready to get off the bike and feign an injury, or maybe even asthma. I somehow made it through, although I don't think I'll be back to this instructor, I need someone literally yelling at me for an hour to make spinning worthwhile, half the time this guy was just allowing us to "do what you want", well if I was doing what I wanted it would involve a huge bag of chips and an indentation in my couch cushions, so please yell at me so I can be minorly motivated to pedal on this bike going no where for an hour.

Another long week lies ahead.....

Bad Mood Bears

Oooooooooo I'm cranky, ugly ugly mood I'm in. I worked ridiculously all day, stayed late, took work home, am going in early, UGH! I got home so late there was no chance for a workout unless I wanted to skip dinner and get to bed at an insane hour considering I'm getting up so early. So that means I missed 6 miles, and I'm unhappy and bitter. And I'll miss my 3 miles tomorrow night due to broomball. Bah, it's bad mood bears all over the place. I'm just a big blah party right now, but it's ending as I'm heading to bed hoping this bad mood will dissolve into dreamland. Maybe if I dream about running 6 miles that will count??

Smile - We're both idiots

So after racing through the morning at work, I raced back to the city for a doctor appt in the afternoon. I originally wanted to run outside today, and I got home with just enough daylight left (sidenote: I hate running in the dark, and I don't think it's safe, I don't need Johnny Hiding in the Bush to grab me while I'm on a 5 miler and don't have the stamina to out run him) So when I got back I contemplated, oh it would be so nice to go to the heated gym for a quick 3 miles. BUT, I told myself I would run outside if I could......since I hate not doing what I say I will, even if it's only something I said in my head I opted for outside.

I have no clue how cold it was but it was FREEZING. Thankfully on my way out the door I thought to grab a scarf, this was a godsend! I was warm for the most part, although I could have used a few scarves wrapped around my legs. I've run outside in the cold, just not this cold, and snow, and BLACK ICE!?! Who knew right.....I guess it makes sense, I'm just happy I managed to stay on my feet! I will give you one thing though, I saw 10 people, only 10, but we all smiled and nodded at eachother. Gave the obligatory, huh, you're as stupid as me, run on my friend. This sustained me, you don't get that in the summer, there's just too many of us, knowing there were other crazies like me on the trail kept me going...........that is.........until my ipod died It's a good thing this happened when I was only a half mile from home and not close enough to the lake - I probably would have thrown it in, this thing keeps me going, unless it's a race day (I have a strong no music policy for races) I need music, if it hadn't been so cold I perhaps would have started singing to myself.

So in the end I made it, a little over 3 miles, outside though, so that counts for more - right?!

I should have worked for a bank...

Seriously, people who work for banks and schools around here, they get EVERY day off. Oh, it's the former president's wife's second cousins birthday, lets take the day off! I however do not get these little gems off, I sat in a cubicle all day cursing half the city. It took me 25 min to get home - and it was snowing - WHAT? At a minimum it is normally 40 min, but half the traffic was home enjoying MLK day - bogus I tell you!

However, since I got home so fast I had plenty of time for a crosstraining work out. I haven't had enough time to read lately so I grabbed the book and headed to the gym. I went sans music, which is weird for me but I wanted to concentrate on the book. I looked at the time like every 5 min, I wished I was running, alas 30 min on the bike, I suppose it was good for me. I also did some more weight work on my arms. This is such a joke, I mean I'm miserably weak, 10 lbs and I barely made it through 2 sets, apparently I need to keep this up! Also the girl on the mat next to me had on the shortest shorts imaginable, I mean running shorts are short, but she might as well have had on bikini bottoms, ew, put that away!

I do love protein

Sooooo I took Thursday and Friday off - technically I was only supposed to take Friday but I'm on an undefeated broomball team on Thursday nights and I'm the goalie who yells the whole time - they couldn't possibly survive without me. If you're curious we did win, one more game until we are the coveted season winners - BOO YA! Then of course in celebration we hit of Uberstein, always a good - er bad choice. Needless to say I was a tad tired on Friday......

Last night Dave took me to Brazzaz for my birthday (yea me)! It was very nice and I honestly think I may have eaten the eqivalent of a small horse. I'm not joking, the meat just kept coming, and it looked so good.....if you know me, you know the one thing I'm not, is shy about eating ridiculous amounts of food. But I may have taken the cake last night - I would be willing to bet it's the most I ever ate in one sitting, and I'm not sorry, infact, I think I'm awesome :)

Remember how I said maybe I would be as sweet as the Packers and run outside on Sat, hahahahaha what a jokester I am! It's not cold, it's effing cold, and since I value all 10 fingers and toes I wisely opted for the gym. I even made it there before lunch. I did my long run today instead of Sunday because let's face it, after tonights bar party celebrating my birthday, I just might not be able to run tomorrow. But lucky for me, this week went back down to only 6 miles. I felt ok for the treadmill, but I do wish it had been about 20 degrees warmer so I could have hit the pavement.

I hit up itunes this morning for some new running grooves and I'm disappointed, furiated infact, couldn't find "Murder on the Dancefloor" anywhere. This tune ROCKS, itunes is missing out, and I'm annoyed - boo on you itunes!

So tonight's my party, I wisely picked a bar right across the street from La Bamba, becuase let's face it, who doesn't want a birthday burrito.........told you I could eat!

Hmmm I don't get it....

So when I viewed the blog at work half of it was in a different font and the other half was in the right font, now, at home it's all the same........I think blogger is playing tricks on me because I'm a newbie! I'll get you yet blogger just you wait!

So it was 5 tonight, and I didn't know if I should go to the gym or not. My lower back has been giving me a lot of problems all day when I'm just sitting thanks to "the man" but I sacked up and headed to the gym. The even weirder thing is it doesn't hurt while I'm running, is this good, bad, who knows.

So back up to just getting to the gym and I'm in the locker room, let me explain something, I don't talk to people at the gym, I think most people don't talk to anyone, I'm here to work out and leave, not to make friends. So this girl looks at me and goes "look at you all matchy matchy." Ummmmm is this a compliment, are you making fun of me, are you checking me out??? Also, she said this while my ass was up in the air and I was tying my shoes, WHAT? I gave her a goofy grin and simply said "uh yea", I don't think I was mean, but what should I say, "Yea don't you like to match when you go the the gym, I just got my nails done too" then giggle or some crap. Whatever, truth of the matter is I wear actual running clothes and some of them happen to match, I wear what's clean and doesn't smell, that's it, end of story. WEIRD

So then I proceeded to 5 miles, which really went ok all things considering. But I got to mile 4.5 and a new guy showed up on my left. Normally whatever, I will admit I check how fast the people next to me are going but that's just my competitive nature. But this dude walks up and I swear to you he had dipped himself in spearmint minutes before walking on the treadmill. EW, it was intoxicating. Bravo to you buddy for having fresh breath but seriously did you need to rub it on your body??

These are the sort of things that make me think I should just sack up and run in the dark and the cold. I also have a kick ass running song of the week: Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disco If you haven't heard this song you should, I could be ready to crawl and this song picks me up like I just slept for 24 hours - STELLAR! Off to ice the back - Cheesehead OUT!

Pain free!

Finally, I actually felt great running tonight! Only 3 miles, but I felt so stellar I kicked it up to 3.5! (and considering I think the treadmill is a liar that was probably a wise choice) No back, knee or arch pain to speak of, perhaps my body is finally settling in to training again! I do however need to do a better job of hydrating, I barely drank one bottle today, yikes, no good! I also did one mile with the treadmill elevated......this is hilarious to me because I'm trying to convince myself that if I do that it will be like I'm training on hills...............deep inside I know this is a HUGE lie, but I'm going to keep believin'

So this weekend it's supposed to be like 2, maybe even colder than 2 - I can't decide if I should try to brave the cold or not. I think running outside is best for training and good for my head (also I get to use my awesome Garmin, thank-you Santa *wink*), and I don't want to miss it if I don't have to, but that's pretty darn cold.....at least I have a few days to mull it over.

On the other hand the Packers won't have an option to play indoors on Sunday, perhaps this is a sign........

It's like Christmas all over again!

What the crap!!!!!!! Last night posting I was so sad, blogger wouldn't let me use exclamation points....and I said to myself, I'm not sure this relationship will work out, exclamation points are my life! So tonight I said screw you blogger I'm trying again and now they show up! Hurray it's a Pre-Birthday miracle!

Let this be a lesson to all - Never give up on your hopes of overly excited writing!!!!!

I'd be ok with the 50s....

I was so close to not going to the gym. It's cold again, go figure, it is January after all, and it was snowing! (But it was like 50 last week, we were so spoiled!) So after arriving home, later than normal no less, the thought of venturing outside to walk down the street, yes it is that close, to the gym was unmentionable. BUT I accidently left my cell in the parked car, CRAP, now I had to go out to save it from the fridgid Chicago night, and since I'm heading out CRAP again I might as well go to the gym.

Mondays are crosstraining, and if history proves anything I'm not so great at crosstraining, unless of course watching Friends reruns counts somehow.....no? Why not? I hit up the bike for 10 miles, THANK GOD they had a recent People I could read. I need celebrity gossip to distract me from all that sweating and the fact that I'd like to quit after 5 min. Then, feeling especially daring I thought I'd try weights. I don't even remember the last time I thought about weights. I picked up 8 lbers which may have been a mistake, but I didn't want to seem uber-puny! After doing 2 sets of 12 reps of 3 types of exercises my arms felt like jello, I'm lucky the weights made it back to thier home....Cross training session numero uno DONZO, only like 17 more to go.......

I took the Christmas decor down finally - yea yea save your reminders that we are halfway through January, the thing is though I have no where to put my "baby" tree! So now it's standing naked in the corner all sad with no ornaments.....if I don't find some space soon I'm just going to dress it for Valentines day so it's not so dang depressing!

Ready, set, go!

Hmmm that seemed a bit too easy, I think I created the blog in less than a min......hopefully that means I did it correctly. Since most people reading this, ie: friends and family, know what I'm doing I'll make this explanation quick....after running 3 marathons I've decided to rule the world...er I mean make my way to Boston. It's likely this could take years, but hopefully this blog will highlight my triumphs and pitfalls and I'm sure every so often you'll get a rant from me as well :)

So currently I'm in training for the Flying Pig. For those that don't know, it's a "rolling hills" marathon, so I'm not expecting a PR or a BQ, just a good time and hopefully some runners in pig costumes, ha. Training started Jan 1 and frankly I've been pretty terrible only 2 weeks in. The cold and back pain have done nothing for my motivation.

Today was my long run, 9 miles, with relatively decent weather I donned my winter gear and hit the trail. Today was the first run I carried my Camelback on, and either I am the biggest water snot in Chicago or no one else is running as far as me, and I'm not so stupid as to assume that.....but NO ONE else had water. WHAT? Anything over an hour requires a water supply for this chica and since the city rips out the bubblers in the winter I will continue to be the sole chick stopping for the occassional water break. And not that they would, but if someone ever asked for a swig, no way, carry your own water, look as super cool as I do. With all the back pain I had last week I was scared for this run, but it went surprisingly well. The wind was a bit biting on the way back but then again it is January. I think I jumped into a hot shower within minutes of being home, I don't know how people do this all week long and in the dark....I'll be hiding out at the gym for the rest of the week, hurray for treadmills.

Phew my first official blog down, I feel so grown up....or nerdy....whatever. An ugly Monday tomorrow, let's hope it flies by.