I think I’ll remember my own LIFE

So, I managed to run into the gym Friday afternoon to change and just kind of ducked my head as I ran in.  Unfortunately, there was one guy there that I KNOW saw me on Thursday and was totally smirking at me but whatever.  I changed into my running clothes and ran back outside. 

I was supposed to run 2.5 miles…but what a joke.  Seriously, it was embarassing.  Anyone who saw me would NEVER believe that I had managed to run 4 miles two days earlier.  Sigh.  My legs were so tired and just felt like complete dead weights.  I finally said screw it after about 1.5 miles and went home.  I figured it seemed stupid to make my legs even more tired when I had to run the 6 miles on Saturday. 

So I woke up Saturday morning around 5 and walked Oscar (geez…even on the weekends I wake up early).  I managed to fall back asleep for another two hours and then woke up and was lazy for an hour.  I went and ate and was lazy some more.

I finally went for a run in the rain around 11:30ish.  Now, I didn’t rock the 6 miles…but I did finish them, and at the super slow pace of 12:55/mile but whatever.  My legs still felt like rocks and I was actually just happy I finished the whole thing. 

I also started thinking about my goals for the half marathon.  When I signed up I put down an expected finish time of 3:30.  Which is my cop-out goal.  When I ran the last one, I finished in 3:42 and that was with me having to stop and poop every mile and feeling like CRAP for the last 7 miles.  So seriously, I should be able to shave off 12 minutes from that time barely even trying.  Right? 

So, my “secret” goal (I guess it’s not much of a secret anymore?) is a finish time around 3 hours.  If I run an average 14 min/mile, I would finish in 3:05.  I think I should actually be able to do that as well…but I don’t seem to perform well under the pressure of a clock, so I’m still keeping it as my unofficial goal.

My stretch goal is to finish in 2:50 which is an average 13 min/mile for the full 13.1 miles.  I know 13 min/miles are not fast, but 12-13 min/miles seem to be my comfort range, I’m just not sure I can maintain that the full race.

However, this race I plan to start by myself (I’m not going to try and run with K or Figgs in the beginning).  I’m just going to go at my pace and I’m content starting at the back of the pack and running at my speed.  I know I started out WAY too fast last time (trying to keep up with Figgs), and even though that had no impact whatsoever on my lovely GI issues, it still would have impacted how I ran the rest of the race, and I don’t want that to happen again. 

So there you have it.  They’re written down for everyone to mock my slowness.  :-) 

Anyways, next week’s schedule:

Monday: Weight and XT (Upper and lower body plus cardio)
Tuesday: Run 3.5 miles
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Run 2.5 miles
Friday: Weight and XT (Upper and lower body plus cardio)
Saturday: Run 7 miles
Sunday: off

So, hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  Tonight is my night to party

Yay embarassing stories about my dad (hehe…sorry dad)! 

When I was about 10, my family was in Ohio visiting my grandmother, and my dad would go to the racetrack and run every morning.  One morning, while running, he tripped on his shoe laces (I guess that’s why he tripped?) and took a diving face plant in front of everyone at the track (it was surprisingly crowded with other runners). 

Now, as if the face plant wasn’t embarassing enough, he noticed he had a huge hole in the crotch of his shorts. 

However, my dad is super cool and just stood up (with blood running down his knees…) and finished the run after flashing everyone (ok not really…he WAS wearing underwear).  

So, can anyone guess where this story is going?  

If you think I tripped and fell (in front of everyone at the gym), you’d be right.  But, if you guessed that while falling I caught my hip on a machine and managed to tear a HUGE hole in the front of my pants (in a very naughty place), you’d be COMPLETELY right. 

But, I decided to be like my dad…and I just got up and finished the workout (after pulling down my shirt in a sad attempt to cover the hole.  Luckily I was wearing black underwear that matched my black pants so it wasn’t AS noticeable). 

However, I am now completely MORTIFIED and don’t really know that I EVER want to RETURN to the gym.  Sigh. 

At least the workout itself was good.  Today I changed my schedule a bit.  I was supposed to run and do the gym tomorrow, but I decided to do the gym today (just think…if I had just gone running this would never have happened).  I did an upper and lower body workout and about 20 minutes of cardio.  I did the same lower body workout that I did on Monday (and the bosu ball was actually surprisingly easier today) and then added in a killer upper body workout.  Seriously.  HATE HATE HATE pull-ups, push-ups and dips. 

Anyways, I have an easy run tomorrow, and then my longer run on Saturday so at least I won’t need to return to the gym until Monday.  Hopefully, most people won’t remember by then (ok…they obviously will…but hopefully they can at least keep a straight face when they see me again…). 

So, yeah.  That was my fantastic day.  At least now I can laugh about it. 

Oh…and random change in topic:

Here are the pedicure socks.  I’m still torn if I like them or not.  (The red thing is just a sock blocker…the blue-ish thing is the sock haha). 

(Yes the socks are purposely made without toes.  That’s why they’re PEDICURE socks…)

So…has anyone else been ISANELY hungry this week?  Seriously.  I am almost ready to start gnawing on my freaking arm at times because I’m so freaking hungry.  But, unfortunately, everytime I eat I feel sick.  So…do I eat and get sick or do I not eat and feel crazy hungry?  Sigh. 

However, on a good note…I totally rocked my four miler last night.  I even chicked a guy while he was running.  And he only ran two miles…so he had no excuse.  And I was running at the BLISTERING pace of 11:55/mile (seriously…how slow am I?).  Actually…I guess the question is really…how slow was HE?

I guess I should probably qualify my great accomplishment by mentioning the guy was in his 60s or even possibly his 70s so it’s probably not that great of an accomplishment.  But BITE ME!  I rarely get to pass anyone while running…so don’t take away my great joy of winning.  hehe.

I celebrated by taking today off (which was totally necessary since my legs are still ridiculously sore from Monday with the trainer).  Unfortunately, tomorrow is back to the gym with the trainer…so…I’m sure I’ll be just as sore for the rest of the week.  Sigh.

So, have a lovely week!

So, I love my trainer.  She seriously KICKS my ASS.  My legs are super duper sore and seriously, walking up the stairs is a KILLER right now.  Phew.  I can’t decide if I seriously want to hug my trainer…or if I’d rather kick her. 

I also have discovered my balance is ATTROCIOUS!

I used an upside down bosu ball (evil bosu ball) for squats and these weird push-up/leg lift things.  Seriously, I felt like I was attempting to do the exercises during an earthquake or something.  My balance is seriously just not where it should be.  My friend V was laughing at how bad my legs were shaking on the squats (ok…his were almost as shaky as mine…so he had no room to laugh but whatever). 

I also did about 50 THOUSAND lunges across the floor of the gym multiple times.  Then I had to do a bunch of leg presses and other machine exercises.  Then I did about 25 minutes of cardio. 

I’m so not kidding about my legs being crazy shaky. 

Anyways, tomorrow is a running day…so hopefully my legs will recover by then.  Should be interesting if not. 

On a random side note I’m making a pair of pedicure socks as a retirement gift for a friend at work.  I can’t decide if I love the socks…or if I think they’re the dumbest looking things EVER.  I’ll try to post a picture tomorrow when they’re finished blocking and you will have to give me your opinion. 

So…when I told you to cross your fingers for me on Friday…I meant cross your fingers I DON’T get sick…(as you may have guess from that first line…I got sick…).  I actually hate this job right now.  I spend ALL day around PEOPLE (as opposed to my last job where I could go an entire week not seeing anyone if I really wanted to) so I feel constantly exposed to germs and apparently my immune system is just not up to the task.  Sigh. 

I spent all day Saturday in the bathroom (sorry if that’s TMI) and everytime I ate…I just had to run right back to the bathroom.  So that totally sucked.  Obviously there was no running going on there.  Then, I woke up this morning feeling better, so I ate a bagel and butter and still not bad results (in hindsight…I’m thinking I should have eaten A BIT more…).

So…I went to the park to go running.  I decided to stick with the one mile loop b/c there is a bathroom right around the half mile mark so if I had an “emergency” I would be at most a half-mile from the bathroom (actually from the way the loop is set up, it’s probably more like a quarter mile at most…but you get the reasoning I’m sure).

Anyways, I started out and the first mile was definitely a little rough.  I felt really shaky and my legs felt like dead weights.  Then, my stomach started making funny rumblings.  I had to stop 3 times in the first two miles. It was very reminiscent of my last half-marathon.  Then, I got even more light headed and started actually wobbling as I ran.  So I stopped at three miles.  I rock. 

I still haven’t managed to finish a freaking 5 mile run yet (and it’s not like I’ve never done it before…it shouldn’t be THIS freaking difficult!).  I’m feeling like a complete slacker.  I have to go to the trainer on Monday and I’m a little worried she’s going to be mad at my lack of miles this week.  (I was supposed to run 13…I ran 10.5). 

My schedule for next week is as follows:
Monday: trainer day (lower body and cardio at the gym)
Tuesday: Run 4 miles
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Run 2.5 miles
Friday: upper body and cardio at the gym
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: Off

So…I’m supposed to run 6 miles on Saturday next week.  All I can say is…if I couldn’t even manage the full 5 this week…am I really going to be able to do 6?  Sigh.  I guess we’ll see on Saturday.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I’m off to drink some more ginger ale and eat some more crackers.  Yummy. 

Yesterday’s run was fun.  In a crappy, cold and windy kind of way.  I need to re-route some of my runs so I’m not always running AGAINST the wind on my way back.  I started out way to fast (thanks to the fantastic tail wind I had going on) so coming back was a bit of a struggle especially with all the hills and head wind pushing me back. 

But, seriously, those three miles were great.  I finished in about 30 minutes (which is actually pretty fast for me) and even though my legs were so tired from the whole week of working out with no breaks (and the not working out the week before) it was just a really good run. 

So that was a nice redemption for my crappy workout on Wednesday.

I also don’t have to work out today which is fantastic.  Instead I’m meeting a bunch of co-workers for happy hour and I’m just going to relax and have fun…and hopefully be in bed early today so I can actually SLEEP.  I’ve been so freaking tired this week. 

Then, I run my 5 miles again tomorrow (this time for REAL 5 miles). 

On a side note…EVERYONE at work is coming down with this horrible stomach virus type thing so I’m a little scared to BREATHE around anyone right now.  I’ve been sick SO MUCH this year (well…the past 12 months…not so much the year of 2009) that I really don’t want to catch it.  No more getting sick !

So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have a fantastic weekend with lots of enjoyable activities!

So…is it weird that I got super excited my dog lifted his leg to pee yesterday? 

Anyways, I’m sick of talking about my dog…so let’s talk about the only other thing I do (besides work)…yesterday’s workout!  Yay working out!

I was supposed to have yesterday off, and then do Weights and XT on Friday, but I made plans for right after work on Friday (3:30ish) and I needed to change my schedule around so I wouldn’t be going to happy hour…and then attempting to go to the gym afterwards.  I somehow don’t think I’d make it back to the gym.  Because I’m a slacker like that.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Friday’s plans until I got to work yesterday, so I didn’t bother to bring any gym clothes with me (I need to pack an extra bag and just leave it in the car) and I refuse to wear shorts that the gym provides (um…I haven’t shaved my legs in FOREVER and I work with the people who go to my gym…they don’t need to see my excessively hairy legs.  I’m attempting to make it until the half marathon before shaving but I’m not sure how well that’s going to go…I keep telling myself it’s extra insulation while running…but I’m not really believing it anymore).  Anyways, yeah, so I had no clothes or sneakers (I accidentally took my extra pair out of the car) so I had to go home first.

At this point I had no desire to drive back to work so I decided to utilize the “gym” at my apartment complex.  Talk about worst gym ever.  It had one treadmill, one elliptical machine, and one of those weird cable lifting type machines.  So I did the most lifting I could do with the machine they had (it really only had about 3 things I could do for my legs) and then used the elliptical for 25 minutes. 

So super shitty workout. 

I’m trying not to let it bother me since my “gym” days are really supposed to be partial recovery days from my running so it doesn’t necessarily need to be the best workouts ever.  But, I also hate when I don’t feel like I got a good workout in.  It makes me feel like I need to make it up on a different day or something which totally defeats the purpose. 

Anyways, back to work I go.  Looking forward to my 3 miler tonight.  :-) 

Hopefully I can redeem myself a bit.

So…first the good news.  I took Oscar to the vet and he’s doing SO MUCH better!  It’s incredible how much he’s improved even since Monday.  He hasn’t gained full control of his back right leg, but he still has some reflex action and corrective action when poked.  Seriously, she poked him for like 20 minutes last night, and he didn’t even yelp once.  Even when she pulled his leg and tried to bend it in about 15 different directions.  The vet even said his reflex “times” were improved from last time. 

So seriously…he’s gotten exponentially better in just two days.  He’s walking almost normal now (still has ocassional problems especially on uneven ground) ..and his bodily functions are much more under control (still can’t lift his leg to pee…but the pooping is so much better).  It’s crazy!  Again…he’s still not fully better, but for right now, we’re not pursuing any further treatment yet.  We’re going to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t deteriorate before we worry about doing any scans/surgery/etc.  So that’s a complete relief.

Now, the bad news.  I was supposed to run 5 miles yesterday, but I didn’t really have enough time before my vet appt, so I suck and only managed to run 4.5.  Also, those 4.5 miles SUCKED!  I was so tired and sore at the end of the run…I just wanted to fall asleep (I was also ridiculously sore and tired ALL DAY even before the run…the run just made it worse).  I’m kind of dreading adding on another .5 mile when I actually do the FULL 5 miles on Saturday.  Sigh. 

Tell me again why I want to run a half marathon? 

Anyways, after the vet appointment I went out for dinner with K and it was so nice seeing her again.  I feel like since I’ve gotten this position all I do anymore is sleep and work and run (there is no hanging out with friends anymore).  I need a new work life that enables me to stay awake past 8PM! 

So…hope everyone is having a wonderful day!  I plan to!

So, I finally got little O back…and it’s so sad.  He seems to be in better spirits than he was when I dropped him off last weekend…but still not his normal self.  And the walking is so funny looking…but in a horribly heart breaking way.  (He seriously is walking sideways…like his butt and face go forward at the same time…can’t even begin to describe how weird it looks).  So, we go back to the vet tomorrow to see what our options are.  Sigh.  I’m kind of nervous/worried b/c I really can’t afford any of the more “aggressive” options so I’m not really sure what the vet is even going to be able to tell me.

But…moving on. 

I went to the personal trainer today for the first time and totally kicked my ass.  My arms are seriously still shaking (it’s kind of hard to type right now), but in a good way!

I looked at this week’s schedule and it’s not looking to fun (especially knowing what a slacker I was last week…sigh).  Here’s a quick look:

Monday: Weight train and cross train
Tuesday: Run 5 miles
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Run 3 miles
Friday: Weight train and cross train
Saturday: Run 5 miles
Sunday: off

I feel that my weekly miles kind of jumped there…but we’ll see how it goes. 

On a happy note, I got to hang out with my family this past weekend.  I had breakfast with my parents and L’s family on Sunday.  Then, later that night I hung out with my other sister and her fiance (and some of her friends) for dinner.  I had a really good time and it was nice to just relax and hang out and have fun.  It’s been a while since I had seen any of them, so it was nice to visit.  But made me miss living near home again.  :-) 

I also dropped off my laptop at Best Buy (the battery charger connection has been broken for a while now) but now I won’t get it back for a week.  So I’m kind of going through withdrawal right now!  I may end up bringing my work computer home with me for the week just so I can do stuff online.  It’s funny how quickly you get dependent on a computer!

Oh, and I made some tentative plans with a friend from Jersey to sell some of my knitted things.  She sells merchandise at festivals and when she found out I made my own fingerless gloves she got so excited and asked if I wanted to make some for her to try and sell.  So, we’re going to see how that works out.  It won’t be until sometime in May/June…but it’s exciting to maybe be able to sell something I make. 

Yeah, other than that not a whole lot going on.  Dreading waking up tomorrow at 5 again to go to work.  Sigh. 

Anyways, hope everyone had a fantastic week last week!  And for all you peeps like me that had off today, hope you enjoyed that as well!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

So…I’m on my fake vacation helping out at my friend’s flower store for Valentine’s Day. WTF was I thinking?

I am seriously drowning in roses right now…and I have about a million cuts on my hands from the stupid thorns. I seriously never want to see another rose for as long as I live haha. (So all you boys out there planning to buy me flowers…skip the roses!).

Anyways, I’ve been HORRIBLE with running this week.  I keep waking up at 5:30 thinking I should go outside and go running…then I get out of bed and see how DARK it is outside and how cold it looks and how tired I am (and think how LONG my day will be if I do go running) and go back to bed. 

So…sleeping in until 8ish each day has been WONDERFUL…but the lack of running is BAD considering I have less than 11 weeks until the half marathon…and my first personal trainer meeting on Monday.  She’s going to think I am the BIGGEST slacker EVER! 

So I’m trying to force myself to go tomorrow morning.  We’ll see how that goes.  Five miles.  I can totally do it right? 

Still not much improvement shown by little O…which makes me sad.  I was talking to the vet earlier and she’s recommending I take him to get a scan done on his spine to see how bad the damage really is…but that’s not really an option right now financially so more options need to be discussed.  Sigh.  Why can’t I have a normal dog?

(As an aside…I do have a normal dog for a dachshund…apparently A LOT of them have similar issues right around age 6…just like Oscar…but I want a normal dog for a non-dachshund).  Apparently that’s not an option. 

I miss him so much right now and feel like a horrible mom for abondoning him while he’s hurt. 

Sigh.

And on that sad note…back to work I go.  More roses to clean.