Pampering...
I didn't run Thursday or Friday. I couldn't fall asleep Wednesday night because of general severe body aching. No injuries to note as of yet but I just didn't feel great. It has also been ridiculously hot and humid the past few days. Friday I headed out to run but it felt like I was running through a very hot swimming pool and just came back. Okay, it was 8:30am but Thursday and Friday were my last two days as a lady of leisure before I return to working 60+ hour weeks and I just didn't really feel like waking up early. I was instead treating myself to a little pampering JDoubleU style... that essentially involves me lounging in two oversized beanbag chairs reading and listening to the radio. Thursday I did 90 minutes straight on the elliptical to "make up for" my missing the 10 mile run this week. Friday I did 60 minutes on the elliptical and 60 minutes on the bike so hopefully I got some decent aerobic work in even if I didn't run. I am thinking my next purchase may need to be a treadmill if it continues to be this hot.
This morning it was still dreadful out but at least it was threatening to rain and so while it was 80 degrees at 6:30am with what felt like 100% humidity, it was overcast and at times there was a hint of the breeze. The guy I had committed to running with was not doing well with the heat and therefore there were a couple of short walk/water breaks involved and the pace was a bit slower than I would've wanted but we did get in 15+ miles averaging about 9:30 min/mile pace (keeping the clock running through our breaks). I have a hard time running that slow (which also was unfortunately prolonging my time on my feet and in the heat) and I was sweating like a fat guy… when we got to the end I was really lightheaded and I think I need to start taking salt tablets or something because I couldn’t stay on my feet and was worried I wouldn’t be able to drive home. I couldn’t have been dehydrated because I was still “all clear” and I had already had 50+ ounces of Propel with 20+ of them coming during the run.
In answer to a question, I am training for the Marine Corps Marathon. I am VERY loosely following the AM 55 miles schedule. Unfortunately, I will need to start getting most of my quality miles in on the weekend and I have a bunch of Fall obligations threatening to get in the way of my training schedule.
Maybe some more profound thoughts tomorrow but right now I am curled up in my two huge beanbags and I just want to veg.
Quote for the day: “I have a small problem because my mom was a little forgetful and neglected to use her brain today.” That was how I talked the Southwest Airlines lady into changing the name on my airline ticket that my mom graciously booked for me under someone else’s name.
Dead Legs
It has gotten really hot and muggy and the forecast looks horrible. My legs are absolutely dead. I decided to skip my speedwork this week because I raced last Tuesday and then did a super fast long run (considering the hills) Saturday. I should've scaled back the mileage but this is the last week I have time and I wanted to build a bit on my solid base. Mistake. I was supposed to do a 10 mile aerobic this morning but my legs were totally dead: they didn't want to move. It was later than usual (7am) but it was still ridiculously hot for that time. I ended up just doing 3.75 miles. Then I fertilized our acre yard which included quite a bit of running (patience isn't my strength and walking back and forth pushing that thing is worse than the treadmill). I followed it up tonight with some time on the elliptical/recumbent bike and am going to try for 10 miles tomorrow (getting out earlier hopefully).
Shopping
Monday: 6.5 miles
Tuesday: 7 miles
Both general aerobic and around 8:45-9 min/miles. It has gotten hot again and the air is REAL still.
I have also done quite a bit of shopping the past few days and therefore walking. I have had two objectives:
1. Catch up on birth gifts. We have a bunch of owed birth presents as I am pretty bad at keeping up... but now they are in the mail. My mom guilted me into realizing that I need to send presents whenever I get a birth announcement. Maybe it is because I don't have children but sometimes I feel like they are just an FYI--especially when it is from a couple that we have had no communication with in 1+ years. Well now all the presents are in the mail and I stocked up on gifts for the coming months (now I am really turning into my mom who had a birthday gift drawer when we were kids). SHOPPING SUCCESS.
2. Shop for work clothes. I like to just blend in at work. I wish I was a guy and could get away with dress pants and a different dress shirt everyday. I do aim for easy simple separates or even better suit dresses (ok that is probably not what they are called). Anyone seen them around lately?... they used to have them all the time at Ann Taylor Loft but now they have disappeared. My husband says I was scarred during my youth from shopping with my frugal mother... I can't spend money on myself. In case you couldn't guess SHOPPING FAILURE.
Deeper Thoughts
I ran 4 miles this morning REAL slow. Felt great. I had my day of glory yesterday and got to pretend I was fast and today I am back to feeling slow and loving it. But I wouldn't dare tell those girls how many people passed me on the trails today ;) I needed a little elliptical work to loosen up and hopefully I will get in a swim (probably not of the lap type) at some point.
My brother requested deeper thoughts so I have decided to share with Tennessee some thoughts on my first six months living here:
I will start with my top 5 lists of things I DISLIKE:
5. Lack of internet usage: come on people, it is 2006, time to get email, check it, connect with the world, and yes, shop online (it will save you money, I promise, why else would my mom have learned to use the computer?).
4. Bad aggressive drivers: you people do ridiculous things on the road here. I am honestly surprised there aren’t more accidents.
3. Smoking in bars and restaurants: totally unnecessary and after spending the past 9 years in MA and CA I have come to think of indoor spaces as free of smoke. Do you realize you are killing yourself?
2. Babies: you know what it is perfectly okay that I am 27 years old, married and don’t have one. Sure I like to play with yours but no it isn’t okay for you to ask me when I am going to have one and why I don’t already have one. No we are not trying but it wasn’t your business anyways and wouldn’t you feel bad asking such questions if we were? Honestly, in California it would have been abnormal among our peer group to have children or even think about having children at our age so this whole being looked at as an oddity for not having them is getting old.
1. Homophobics and racists: I understand we moved to the bible belt and I understand people have certain beliefs. Personally, I don’t understand how church, god, or the bible teaches people to hate others or think they are better than others but it seems to some here it does and you know what if you have to feel that way keep it to yourself. The words are so ugly and I feel much better not knowing you feel that way and not thinking I live in a place where such thoughts and words are acceptable.
I have also learned a lot from being in Tennessee. I feel like I have grown a lot more open-minded and accepting. I may have spent 3 years of high school in what I consider the deep south but I spent the entire time thinking I was better than them and that their way was just wrong. In my defense I didn’t find the south exactly friendly or accepting of me and I did go to a prep school chock full of a bunch of spoiled brats, but yes I could have been a lot more open-minded. Then I went to college and sure I responded to the question of where do you go to school with the unresponsive “in Boston” but I knew where I went to school and the response indicated a recognition of what other people thought of where I went to school. Once I moved to California, my husband and I hung out with a crowd where what you did and where you went to school could mean the difference between acceptance and scorn. In my defense, I never really agreed with this mentality, liked it, or fully participated as much as some others, but I didn’t do a whole lot to stop it. Pretty much we were nothing we just thought we were cool and we needed to keep that notion going. I remember when one of my husband’s friends married a girl from the Midwest who had gone to a school none of us had ever heard of. We were nice to her and accepted her as she had married into the crew but then she kept saying things like “I always knew I was destined for better… I always knew I would marry money…I always knew I was too good for the Midwest.” Our liberal campuses had taught us these were ugly words and we should scorn her but looking back it was the mentality of our group of friends that had led to such statements I am sure.
So onto Tennessee and what I have learned: I have learned not to judge people based upon where they went to school, I have learned not to judge people based upon whether they went to school, I have learned not to judge people based upon whether they work or don’t work or what their work may be. I have found plenty of ugly and stupid people who went to college and have great jobs and plenty of smart and incredible people who haven’t gone to college and choose not to work. I don’t like when people ask where I went to school because look it makes me no different from you that I went to a certain school and really I don’t appreciate other people judging me based upon where I went to school. Where I went to school means that I had an incredible four years full of opportunity and friends and that I have had an additional opportunities since then. What it doesn’t mean is that I feel that I am better than you, that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth (because in my family whatever spoon I had would have to have been a hand-me-down), and it certainly doesn’t mean that I am better than you. And please please do not ask me where I went to high school because I am not proud that I went to a Snot School of the South (SSS) and I hate the fact that where I went to high school leads to immediate acceptance in another Southern city. But I am getting better about making judgments about those people as well (the ones who want to be my friend because I went to the equivalent SSS to the one they went to)… I do sometimes make lots of judgments based upon first impressions but I also pride myself on the fact that I generally am very open to changing my mind.
Yesterday, I did three things I would never have done with three groups of people I would never have hung out with in my previous life and even more than my fast run I am proud of that.
Motivating Run
Someone once told me you can't dislike something until you have tried it twice. So I decided to run with the speedy starters (well just speedy runners in general) again this week. My better sense told me that this was a really bad idea because not only were they speedy but they were running out in the SUPER hilly Percy Warner Park. The only upside was that I knew my way around that park and therefore could always fall back and run my own pace. Well and the other thing that convinced me was that I knew it would be a really good training run. Unfortunately, last night I got sick and went to bed at 8pm without setting my alarm, just deciding to just see if I woke up and see what would happen. Well I woke up and decided to go for it.
When I arrived I immediately thought I made the wrong decision. They are not only speedy but also not really friendly. And there was another group of runners congregating that all of my group was stressing out about because the other group was super fast and they didn't want to be passed by them. Honestly, if I go out for a training run the last thing I worry about is getting passed by anybody else! But we set off up the hills and I felt great and was even leading the crew. My thought was my these girls must be holding back because of the hills. My garmin doesn't work really at all (even when downloaded) in the park but since the miles are marked I decided to hit the laps at each mile (well I missed one) but not to look at the watch. I will try to copy the lap times from the other computer into here later but lets just say each mile was between 8ish and 8:30ish and the fastest miles were 6 and 7 (which makes sense because they were
relatively flat). The times don't sound that amazing but look at the elevation profile! So we are running along (three of us), actually chatting, and one of the girls stops to go to the bathroom. I ask the other girl if her friend is real fast because she seems to be just jogging and taking it easy. The other girl says oh yeah, she's real fast, they ran cross county together in college and she has run a 2:53 marathon. WHAT?! (ok I didn't scream that and make myself look ridiculous but I wanted to). Later it comes out that the girl who I had asked the question was actually a faster cross country runner in high school/college but has been injured seriously a bunch since then. Anyways, it made me feel much better about falling back the week before. I let them go again on the hill around mile 9 so that I could actually get some water in and take the last few miles a little easier as I needed to go 13 (ended up around 13.5) and they were going to stop at the end of the 11.2. I was proud of myself for going that extra 2.3 miles out and back too especially since the road was all cut up (they were repaving) and the uneven surface really didn't feel good under my tiring feet. And while I felt like I was absolutely dying and hitting the wall my last full mile (gradually downhill I am guessing) was 7:40. I feel good about myself and pumped up but my body doesn't feel too good. Honestly, though it never does after those hills.
Map of the First 11.2 and Elevation (I tried to post it there but it didn't work).
Another Beautiful Day in Middle TN
Wow, I could really get used to this but that would be bad because I would have to move back to NorCal to get this on a regular basis. Ah, just a recovery run today but I sure did want to stay out there longer. I did 5.15 miles at 8:44 min/mile pace according to Garmin + MB. I am starting to think that perhaps my pace was always slower than anticipated because the Garmin undermeasures (especially in the park behind our house) but I will have to wait until it heats back up to confirm this theory (as the alternative hypothesis would just be my aerobic pace is about 30 seconds faster when I am not running in ridiculous heat).
I am slowly recovering from the houseguests. Today will involve a run-in with the title office though as my car title got mailed to our temporary address in Nashville and returned to sender... I don't do well with lines, crowds, waiting in general so I am dreading the trip.
I've found a new toy
The new computer cord for my Garmin arrived a week ago. I had to finally break down and spend $12 plus another $6 shipping and handling for a small cord but now I am sure glad I did. I initially had a traumatic and not very successful try at the MotionBased software, but today when I decided to give it another chance it had improved by leaps and bounds. I LOVE IT! And the best part is that it corrects some of the inaccuracies due to weak signal so I can get a more accurate distance reading. Well the best part could also be that you can now download straight into it and there is no need to deal with converting files or anything like that.
I ran 10.45 miles this morning. I really ran about 6 by myself (well minus a mile where I ran into a friend who I decided to run with) and then joined up with the Y group and ran another 4.5. Unfortunately, I had to wait about 6 minutes in between but I stretched and today was one of those runs where I was just trying to get miles in. It was a pretty flat run and I was surprised but after downloading the run and getting the accurate distance it turns out I ran 8:39 min/mile which is great considering I wasn't pushing it at all. I have to chalk that up to the fact that it is 15 degrees colder today than it has been. A perfectly beautiful day actually!
The Rest of the Long Weekend
With all of our houseguests,
running took a bit of a backseat this long holiday weekend.
I managed to run 6 miles in tremendous heat Monday morning (holding about
9:15 min/miles but I thought I had a bee in my pants so that created some speed).
Tuesday was the Firecracker 5K which I ran along with all of our houseguests.
We had a lot of fun and got all geared up in our matching dry-fit t-shirts before the race.
We arrived in Maryland Farms around
6:35 and had to walk all the way to the back of the Y to pick up our timing chips.
By the time we got back to the startline we thought we had only a couple of minutes left before the start.
Unfortunately, there was a 10 minute delay until the pre-race festivities began as the police cleared the field and registration finished.
Then we listened to a long motivational speech that we really could’ve gone without. By the time they sang the national anthem, did the pre-race announcements, and gave the invocation it was
7:20 and we were VERY hot all huddled together.
The race itself went well.
Mile 1 I spent trying to pass all the walkers and slow runners that started way too far towards the front (well maybe I started too far back too).
Mile 2 felt really long and hot… I was kind of hoping I missed the mile marker but then unfortunately it appeared. I was a little worried about pushing it too hard in the heat so I decided I would take it down a notch for the beginning of mile 3 until I could see the Y and the cutback to the back of the Y and the finish line.
Fortunately, mile 3 really breezed by and I felt good and continued to pass people which made me feel even better.
I don’t have any sense of splits since I don’t generally wear a watch when racing but I finished with a chip time of
22:26.
I didn’t run today because of bad rain and finally having a day alone with my friend but I think I am going to skip running with the girls tomorrow and get in a longer run.
UHG, Sister, Jamie, Friend:
Sister, Jamie:
As you can tell from the photos, I didn't get a lot of sleep this weekend (late nights and early runs = black eyes). I am hoping to catch up tonight, or maybe tomorrow, or at least soon.
The Unexpected Houseguest (the "UHG")
Sometimes you just really think you are candid camera. Here is the abbreviated version:
Arrival minus 2 weeks: Sister reports that she is thinking of coming down to visit with her friend, UHG, for the 4th of July. Reportedly, UHG’s good/best friend lives in town and UHG wants to visit her friend and thought it would be fun if they planned their visits to Nashville at the same time. The trip was UHG’s idea—remember this.
Arrival minus 2 days: Logistics of weekend are discussed via email. I send email to sister and my friend (also coming for the weekend) regarding airport pickups and plans for the weekend. I ask if UHG would like us to pick her up at the airport and if in return her friends could drop them off Tuesday night since we are having a party then. Sister forwards entire email to UHG and asks if she needs a ride (copying me). No reply that I saw but later I inferred I was simply expected to pick her up.
Arrival: Husband and I were quite a bit late to the airport. Oops. We get the girls, get in the car and head back towards our home. I ask UHG “would you like me to just drop you off at your friend’s house (about 5 mins out of our way)?” Response is that UHG will just call and meet up with her later. We arrive home. Husband asks if she would like us to take her over to her friend’s later and therefore just leave her bag in the car for now. Nope she wants to bring it in. Husband carries it up and leaves by front door and then takes my sisters up to her bedroom. UHG follows behind and carries hers upstairs. I begin to suspect something.
Trip to shop/pick up my friend at airport: My friend’s flight is delayed and diverted for gas at the last minute. I ask if she needs to be someplace at some point. No deadline according to UHG so we go shopping. We get in store and sister gets me alone and says is it okay if UHG stays with as you apparently there was a miscommunication. Doesn’t seem to be a big deal and what am I going to say? Well I said it was fine but that I should call husband to let him know so he doesn’t try to throw her bag out the door again!
Sunday Dinner: We have been gossiping about her all weekend behind her back (of course). Husband’s friend has arrived and is in disbelief at story. My friend seems annoyed by her. Husband and I get steaks and chicken to cook for dinner. I owed her money from a shopping trip which when I try to pay she says she has forgiven. She then laughingly tells my friend and husband’s friend (both who she believes don’t know the story) the story of how she is an unexpected houseguest. At the end of her story I said that I had felt bad when I heard because I thought she must have been worried that she had flown all the way here and had no where to stay and must’ve felt uncomfortable. She then replied “I wasn’t worried and didn’t feel bad or uncomfortable, I knew it would work out I just needed to tell Kerry to tell you and then it would work out. I just didn’t want to be the person to tell you. I would never think to stay with my friend because she has a baby and I can only take so much of that.” Is that presumptuous? Turns out good/best friend and UHG probably spent less than 3 hours together all weekend.
Monday: My friend, my sister and I go shopping. UHG stays home to work. I worry that as we take longer than expected and stop for lunch she is going to be starving when we get home. I don’t think I needed to worry as she helped herself to food. Sort of glad that she wasn’t starving and I think it is fine to help oneself to food within reason (I hadn’t said anything) but she also opened unopened things (keep in mind we were having a party Tuesday) and I don’t know but that just seems to cross the line. Besides she is annoying me by now.
Tuesday: Now heading out to take UHG and sister to airport. Really wish UHG’s good/best friend was driving as we are expecting a crowd in an hour and a half! My sister has done all of UHG’s laundry while she has been here. My sister is now making the bed they shared. Honestly, I feel kind of bad for my sister but to use an awful pun “she made her bed [by choosing her as a friend], now she has to sleep in it.” UHG has drank about a case of my precious propel and honestly I just don’t really like her personality.
Running report (including today’s race report) coming next time I get a chance. Today’s race was fun but I saw a guy have a heart attack when I was cheering for my friends and it was very sad and scary. Fortunately, he is reportedly in stable condition.
We are now the new DoubleU Hotel
Quick rundown as I have guests in town:
Friday: Ran 4 miles in Florida. Not the greatest.
Saturday: Thought I had found a new group to do Saturday runs with. WAY TOO FAST. Turns out while they run between 7:30 and 9 min/mile pace in the group (as advertised), they all run the first four together in about 7:45ish. It was hot at 6:30am (it has gotten brutal here) and I wasn’t about to hold that for 10 miles …and this wasn’t a flat course I think I should mention. At about 6 miles, I had to take a minute walk to get my HR under control and suck down some propel (they not only run fast but they run sans liquid). I was a bit concerned because I didn’t know the route but I managed to catch up with one of the other runners who apparently doesn’t do medium-long-runs at 7:45 min/mile pace (he was in worse shape from sprinting the beginning than I was). Running with him the last couple of miles (we cut the run a bit short) was nice and the route went through some corn fields which was fun but this is not really how I like to do my longish runs (run until you die and then struggle across the finish line). Total mileage about 9 at approximately 8:10 min/mile pace. I could go on and on about such things as the fast female runner running sans sportsbra or the neat new trails I found but it’ll have to wait. The run did inspire me to run a bit faster and not to be scared of speed on training runs so I think that is good.
Sunday: This morning I ran a recovery 3. It was supposed to be 4 but it was hot, I was tired, and yesterday’s run took a toll on my body. We then went for a 6 mile hilly hike and swam a bit so a good recovery day.
I have some great stories from the weekend that will follow in the next few days but quick preview:
(1) Sister traveling with friend from NYC who happens to not have best friend in town…turns into uninvited houseguest.
(2) Sister bringing 4 loads of laundry, including over 40 pairs of underwear (query when was the last time she did laundry). I thought it was a joke that she was bringing laundry from NYC as she used to bring her laundry to our house in Menlo Park when she lived in SF. She doesn’t do laundry often but apparently is so finicky about it that when she does do laundry she needs to do her bras separate from her other clothes and her thongs separate from her granny panties…hence four half-empty loads. Sorry Sis, it is funny.
I am going to start counting miles Mon-Sun not to cheat or anything but I want to leave the option open to run long on Sat or Sun…although the inflexibility was a bit motivating and didn’t leave room for excuses.
