cilla0219

I've moved!!!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:48:38 GMT

I created a Blogspot blog instead of using Live Journal.

Continue reading at http://runningcauseican.blogspot.com/

Adios!

Tuesday - Hills have begun...

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:01:18 GMT

Time: 6:15pm
Location: Far West HEB
Workout: 2 mile easy warm up to hill loop, 5 x's hill loop, 1 mile cool down
People: Team Rogue, Andrea, Mary, and cool down with Josh
Weather: Hot, but not bad
Comments: The warm up was brutal as it always is when I don't roll my calves out, and the workout was hills, bad idea. I got stuck at work till 5:30, so I barely got there in time. I ran with Andrea and Mary and overheard that Mary was having a bad day and didn't feel like talking so kept to talking to Andrea only. My calves felt like rocks, but there was nothing I could do about it now, just gut it out. We ran by a port o potty and I decided to stop and went potty. The few seconds of break let my calves relax and they were fine. I was to do 5 of the loop repeats and needed to stay consistent with my pace for all 5.

1) 7:52
2) 7:59
3) 8:15 (stopped to talk to Karen about what I was doing wrong on the hill - I was leaning too much, no need to lean going uphill)
4) 8:44 - struggled, they seemed to get harder and I couldn't catch my breath as I hit the middle of the climb - also had to stop because Mae and James almost got hit by a car backing out of the driveway, and I didn't trust the driver...
5) 8:22

So I guess I need to work on my hills and my breathing. I haven't had a chnace to charge my Ipod in awhile and have been running without it. Trying to ween myself off and so far so good.

Came home, ate a bowl of super, bunch of baked Cheetos and two big ole pickles!! YUMMY!

iPhone pics :)

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:31:36 GMT

Just some pics I took of my girls and a pic of a pic of me and my cousin when we were growing up. We were pretty darn cute. I love her to death...

Why is that I pay much dinero to get my girls the best and the finest in cat beds... and they love the Office Depot box. Just like kids, I tell ya...

Sassy laid out during our nap together. Did I tell you she weighs 20 pounds :)

Big fat black cat, with a cute white belly :)

Me and my cuz, weren't we cute??

When's the next three day weekend??

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:09:55 GMT

I had a very enjoyable three day weekend. Started off with a bang with the Zilker Relays and ended with spectating at the Austin Tri. Sunday entailed a ME day... Here's what I got accomplished.

I slept in till 10:30am :) Record time. I initially woke up at 8:00, but closed my eyes and went back to sleep... ahhh.
After waking up, I laid in bed and watched The Hills on my Tivo, I love reality shows... shhh.
I did all my laundry.
I crushed my girls with the $35 cat brush I got from Petsmart. It works really well, and pulls all the underneath hair out.
Trimmed Sassy.. yes, I cut my cats hair... I'm not that great of a cat barber, but she doesn't seem to mind and I think it's fun :)
Vacummed all rooms with my Dyson.. I still love that vacuum. It's like a special treat when I know it's time to vacuum!
Went to Target and spent $150 on CRAP! Why is it that you think you need a $10 this and a $10 that and then you get to the checkout line and it's $150 on crap you didn't really need. I got shampoo and conditioner because it was on sale, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, toilet paper holder, two hooks, two container plastic drawer thingys, tool box, two bras, cardboard cat scratcher thing, gynormous bag of cat food, cat nip, and two packs of gum.
Went to THREE stores looking for AC filters. I had to replace my AC a couple months ago, and needed to replace the air filter. Did you know that both Lowe's and Home Depot don't carry a 18x20x1?? I had to special order and buy a case, that was a fast $50, stupid AC!
Went grocery shopping and loaded up on fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and enough food to last me a good two weeks :)
Came home and wished I didn't live on the 2nd story. I had to make 7 trips to unload my car.
Installed my new toilet paper holder all by myself :) I love it when I do manly projects. I can even switch out the dryer plug on my dryer, that was a major undertaking and super proud I did it all by myself.
Transferred all my tools from my Brooks running shoes box to a real tool box :)
Made a yummy sandwich
Watched a movie, Blood Diamond, good movie, but sad... makes me thankful to live where I live.
Played on the internet
Went to bed without the stress of knowing work was the next day...

Good day...

Sunday. I woke up early, made it down to the Austin Tri with just enough time to see Amber off in her swim wave. She did an amazing job and I'm super proud of her in completing her first Olympic. She had two flats on the bike course and made it through. I ran the last 5k loop with her and she kicked it in at the end and had an amazing finish. She's gonna be a great little athlete :) Ran into fellow Rogue's. Saw my new tri coach as of January 2010, Maurice with T3. Saw Karen and her family cheering. Saw Wiley and chit chatted. Saw several other friends. It's nice to cheer for people that have cheered me on in races, brings a good feeling.

Followed that up with falling asleep in Sabrina and Sam's bed, watching their mega new TV, then we all went to Chuy's and pigged out. Priscilla and chips/queso go together like peanut butter and jelly. Oooo, how I love me some queso! I think we ate 4 things of chips :) I ordered fajitas, and had enough to last me through dinner and left the damn leftovers there!! I hate it when I do that...

Came home, took a nice HOT LONG shower.. cranked up the fan, called the girls to bed.. and took a siesta at 3pm. Ahhh... I even shaved my legs just so I could get the full effect of having clean sheets and a clean home.

I think I'm going to watch another movie, call it a night and get ready for the short work week and the harder workouts. I need to look up my Half Marathon Goal Pace.. I'm a little nervous to see what it is. I hit my MGP 2 out the 3 workouts and that was tough.. I can't imagine going faster. Speed work, here I come.

Life is good...

Today is my day...

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:04:24 GMT

All I have to say is, "Ahhh...."

After Saturday's run, I was exhausted. Mentally and physically beat up. The mental demons were already at work having me think my goal was out of reach, stirring thoughts of "I'm not ready for a running program like this", "How could I possibly get faster" and "Can I make it for another 3 months?". So I made the decision yesterday to take back control, starting today, Sunday.

After the run, I came home, showered and laid down as I normally do, but I needed to meet my grandmother at noon, which left me only having an hour to nap before I had to get back up. I could feel my body sink into my bed, but it wasn't enough time for me to get all the rest I needed. I met my grandma, spent a little time with her, then met Sabrina and Dee for some girly time. We went and got pedicures together. That's my splurge every two weeks. Sabrina got me into them and I would get them all the time now, I'm hooked. I used to be self conscious about having anyone rub and feel and disect my feet filled with blisters, callouses, and funky short nails. It's just like running without a shirt. You only have to do it once and it's smooth sailing after that :) We all cracked up in there, we always do. Dee and myself can have giggles no matter where we are. Those crazy asians (yes, I know I'm one of them) are good little saleswomen. "Wud you ike lux??" translates to "Would you like deluxe" pedicure" meaning they'll charge you extra which includes putting some menthol creme all of your feet and ankles, then wrapping them in hot towel and rubbing them, it's bliss. Yesterday they asked if we wanted decoration on our toe nails, extra $5. Good stuff, happy times. When I get back from California, from PR'ing (positive thinking) I'm going to splurge and get myself a day at a nice spa.

After the mani/pedi time, Sabrina and I went to the domain. I bought a new jog bra at Bettysport and Sabrina got a new outfit at Banana Republic, on sale!! I met her, Steph, Amber, Sam, and two of Amber's friends from out of town for dinner. Fun times, but I was exhausted. I splurged and got a big ole steak, mashed potatoes and I think we ordered 5 desserts and shared them. Yummy. I came home, showered, put fresh sheets on the bed, and was OUT. I turned my phone off, turned down the AC to 72 and passed out. It's now almost 11:00am. I have a ton of laundry to do, vacuuming (with my awesome Dyson!), a short 4 miles to run later when it cools down, grocery shopping, errands to run, bills to pay, and I might go into the office. I haven't slept in this late in forever, so I know my body needed it. Tonight, I plan on cuddling up to my kitty's and watching some movies. I'm already thinking about getting all the fixings for a good homemade salad. I'm back on track. Eating healthy, getting what I need done, done, and giving my body the rest it's been dying for.

Here's some pics of my girls... this is what I wake up to in the mornings :) How can you not wake up in a good mood when you turn over and see this...

Ugh...

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:31:36 GMT

Time: 5:30am
Where: Rogue Equipment
Weather: Warm, but not too bad
Distance: 10 eeeeeeeeaassy
People: Team Rogue, Andrea, Dee, and alone for most of it.
Comments: Ugh... I woke up this morning wanting to skip the run. I was really very tired. My legs just from getting out of bed felt heavy, sore, and needed more rest. I got up anyways, noticed I've neglected doing laundry and had one pair of shorts left, an unmatched jog bra, none of the running socks I like and headed out the door. I underestimated the distance and the tiredness of my legs and forgot to take Gu, BodyGlide or my iPod. Run started off slow. I asked Andrea what are pace was at one point and she said 10:40 and I swear we were running sub 10:00's. So I mentally gave up. I was tired and slowed it down. I even walked a few times on the out portion. I turned around about 100 yards before the turn around so I could run with Andrea and Dee and realized within about 10 seconds that they're pace was too fast for me. I gave Dee her Gu and said see ya later! I later caught them at a water stop, but only because they stayed there for too long and I took one of Andrea's Gu's, thanks!! I ran with Andrea for a short bit, before I had to stop and walk. I know my body is ka-put when my breathing gets shallow and it was shallow. Not labored, but I couldn't get my breathing going and my legs literally burned.

Sooo, my conclusion is that I need to re-focus. I'm going to take this three day holiday and REST!! I'm going to sleep in, eat better, and concentrate on running and work. My job, dating, my mom having major surgery have all really taken a toll on me personally and physically, and since we are about to go into another phase (hills and speed, holy shit!) I think it's time I take back control. My diet has been awful these last couple of weeks and I need to start going back to the grocery store and eating fresh foods. NO MORE TAKE OUT OR DINING OUT!!! I felt like Ms. Chubbers today not wearing a shirt. I could feel the flab jiggling...

Looking forward to a nice relaxing quiet night at home tonight with my girls.

Holy SHIT and Woo hoo!!

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:25:53 GMT

Time: 6:30pm
Where: Zilker Relays
Workout: 2.5 all out with 2.5 mile warm up
People: Team Rogue, Team #11, Geezer, Angie, myself and Keith!
Comments: Holy shit! I did the Fila Relays back in 2006 with Dee, Lori, Linda and myself. My time was 23:01, 9:12 pace, and back then that was freakishly fast for myself and I remember being very proud of myself for running in the low 9:00's. Tonight, I was nervous as heck. Rogue made all the teams fairly equal and I ended up being the slow person assigned to Team 11. Geezer = freak, Angie = tri freak, Keith = freak. All of my teammates were freakishly fast, in my eyes and I had big shoes to fill so I wouldn't let them down. My stomach was in knots and I realized it's been since the Austin Marathon since I've run a race. No matter what the distance, my stomach and nerves are unsettled. I was to run the second leg of the race and Geezer started things off. Geez, he's fast. I grabbed the baton, and Karen was right in front of me. I had high expectations to try and keep her in my sight, but knew that would only be for the first stretch where you can see about a half mile ahead. I started and it was hard to tell what my pace was without being able to glance at my Garmin, or have anyone around me. Usually I can gauge my speed by the people around me, but today there was noone, just people passing me left and right. I felt strained for the first mile and couldn't get my rhythm down. People passing me was mentally hard, and the fact that I couldn't figure out if I was running too fast or too slow. I saw the turnaround and Clemmie passed with a shout out. I made it to the out and back part and yelled for Karen, for Roger, and Clemmie as they headed out. I yelled to Shea too. I remember thinking that she ran effortless. I grabbed water at all the stops, but couldn't drink very much of it. I made it into the turny, slightly hilly part and started to feel better. I was able to control my breathing and push the pace. My one mile mark was 8:02, which I was delirious about. I knew there were a couple hilly (not really, but not flat) parts coming up and decided to try and hold the pace I was going as long as I could and fly down the downhill sections at the end. I rounded the corner to come on to Barton Springs and climbed the hill with upper cuts and long slow breaths. I swear the short trail running class I did and the three Rogue trail races helped my hill climbing tremendously!!! I passed a couple people on that slight incline on Barton Springs and let it open. There was a lady in front of me and we kept going back and forth. She was breathing SUPER heavy and a little irritating. She had the most horrible form and her arms and legs were both flailing all over the place, yet she was ahead of me!! I took longer, deeper, breaths and caught her. Then passed her, then concentrated on staying ahead. I saw Wiley and Kamran with about 100 yards to go and tried to kick it in since the finish was near. I finished in 19:46, 3 minutes and 15 seconds faster than 2 years ago!!!

I'm super excited!! I originally thought I ran a sub 8:00, but it looks like the course was short and I ran 8:06's. I felt like I ran a good race. I think if I could have gotten a longer warmup, and ran the first leg I could have gone faster, but I'm super happy with my time. Just when you think you can't get any faster and the next per minute mile seems impossible to run, days like today happen :)

I'll write more later, it's 11:30 and need to be running in T minus 6 hours... time to go to bed!

Good ending to what turned out to be a semi-crappy day :)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:11:42 GMT

Workout info...
Time: 6:15pm
Location: Anderson High
Workout: 8 miles easy
People: Team Rogue, Andrea and dvasquez09
Comments: Legs felt like massive weights. I felt like I was struggling the entire way, which makes me a little nervous that the Zilker Relays are tomorrow and I not only have the stress that I'm the slowest leg, but that my legs aren't even feeling normal!! Oh well, it's just for fun and I'm really looking forward to it. Andrea, Dee, and I took off and around mile 5, Dee and I decided to cut it short. Our plans never go as they're supposed to. Dee had her Garmin, but by the time we ran out what we thought was .5 miles to make a total run of 6, she noticed she forgot to start her Garmin!!! Stupid Garmins! We ran close to 8, probably did 10, knowing us.. hahaha. Good run. Lots of catching up, lots of running gossip, personal gossip, the usual female yip yapping on easy runs. Having a bad day seemed to be the thing we all had in common.

And to my day... started off ok. I was planning to run in the morning, but I always plan to run in the morning and it NEVER happens. I got to work a little early and had a crazy busy day. It's been like that since our transfer and it's just non-stop. I've been working on a project the last two days and I found out at 4pm that the client needed everything electronically, which meant I had just spent the past two days running in circles. Ugh... but that's work, and I still love it.

On my way to my run, i got a ticket. The last ticket I got before this year was when I was 19. In the last 4 months, I've been stopped THREE times, and given tickets twice. This time I was at the Congress and 6th intersection. The light was green... then the green arrow and I proceeded to turn left. Two bicycle cops pulled me over. I literally had no clue why I was being stopped. He said that I ran a red light and I really had no clue what he was talking about, then he told me the intersection and I precisely remember having not only the green light, but the green ARROW light and I told him I swear I didn't run it. He then went to the back, wrote my ticket up and by then I was pissed cause he wouldn't listen to me. He came back up the window and asked for my employer... I gave it to him... he asked for my cell phone.. and I gave it to him. He was hard of hearing cause he asked multiple times or it could have been my mumbled pissed off voice. Then he asked for my social and I said, "Are you serious??" and he didn't need it. He asked me to sign the ticket and I drew a line. He asked me to sign again.. so I drew swirls.. and he pointed out my signature on my license and asked for the 3rd time to sign and I scribbled more nonsense. What a jerk. Not sure what I have against cops, but they've had something going for me these last few months. I swear I'm a safe driver. ESPECIALLY since I work downtown, I am always very cautious about not turning on yellow because of all the pedestrians. I have a co-worker that almost got hit from a bad driver when we were walking somewhere for lunch. Oh well.. court here I come, I'm fighting it. They're going to have to pull out their red light cameras, cause I'm innocent!!!

Then I had the run which semi-sucked, but oh well. On my way home, I decided to stop by the AT&T store and bite the bullet and pre-order an iPhone. I was on a mission a few weeks ago and didnt have any luck after going to both Apple stores and two AT&T stores. I went in and asked to pre-order, and they actually had them in stock!!! They set me up in about 10 minutes, and I'm know a new iPhone owner :) I'm still getting used to it and need to figure out all the in's and out's. If you rec'd a text, I mass texted everyone i knew that either already had an iPhone or uses blackberry's :) Text me, I now have unlimited texting!!!

So all in all... after what I thought was turning out to be a bad day... I like to reflect on the things I'm grateful and blessed to have.. and that's healthy enough to have bad runs, lucky enough to have a job I love and with all the work comes job security, friends that I adore and couldn't imagine living life without, and I guess.. a car to be able to get tickets in :)

Life is good... I just need to remember to breath and be grateful for the wonderful life I have, it's mine and I love it. :)

Wednesday, August 27 - Priscilla OFF day

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:17:31 GMT

I needed a break and this is my week to splurge. I had planned to run in the morning, but I'm just not the morning person.. so I slept in. I could have slept alot longer, but made it into work early. I brought all my stuff to run after work, then decided what the heck, take another day off :)

Instead, I played poker with the guys. I miss them. I used to be a regular player, every week, sometimes twice a week. I'm known as the Black Widow :) When we first started playing, I got the nickname cause I'd take guys out and got to be pretty darn good. I love it. I haven't made a trip to the casinos in a while, but when training is over, I'm going!! I didnt' win last night, but I got a ton of crap from the guys for missing so much. It was nice to play and it was nice to be missed. They all think I'm crazy for training for marathons and triathlons the way I do, and they're also illiterate to what training is all about. Marathon/Triathlon, to them it's just crazy exercise that takes me away from them potentially getting to take my money. I'm going to try and make it a point to start doing my Wednesday on my own runs in the morning so I can spend some time with the guys.

If only we had an extra day in the week... or a few hours in the day, I could fit in everything I'd like to do.

Looking forward to seeing my dvasquez09tonight, we missed each other on Tuesday.. it's been since Saturday since I've seen her!! i have so much gossip to catch up on!! I sure miss my other Cookies too. P-lic, nemolucas, and Blondie...

Hey Leslie, I know you're reading... why don't you start your own blog so Amy and I can harrass you!!! (Sorry, I couldn't type after I stuck in the hyperlink...)

Tuesday, August 26 - 1st day of recovery week!!

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:14:23 GMT

Time: 6:00pm
Where: Karen's house
Distance: 7 miles easy
People: Team Rogue, Andrea.
Weather: hot, but not bad
Comments: I'M FREAKING TIRED! Not sure how many times I can stress that, but I'm pooped! I was able to sleep in today. I took a half day off from work and didn't need to be in the office till 1pm. I slept like a baby till 10:35am and could have laid in bed all day. I finally got up, got to work and was back in the swing of things. Work is about the same as my running, it just won't end. I had gotten my emails down to about 45 in my Inbox with things that i needed to do, and I returned to 122, what the freak is up with that??? I spent all day trying to sort through the masses of To Do Lists and prioritize how crazy the rest of the week was going to be. Vacation over.

I was already feeling rushed with not enough time to get crap done. I forgot there was a surprise baby shower party mixed in with tonight's run, so after getting stuck at work till 5:15pm, I had to race up north to Baby's R Us, get a GC and make it to Anderson Mill area by 6pm. I was late. Run was ok, I'm just tired and took it nice and easy. Thankfully Andrea wasn't feeling it either so I was able to have a run buddy. Karen had pizza, beer, and snacks and handed out the MVP, and I snuck out early. I'm glad it's a recovery week. I'm going to try and get my runs in, in the morning, so I can have my evenings to get caught up. I have laundry to do, grocery shopping, and I need to spend some time with my poker guys. They're feeling neglected, so since tomorrow's run is only 4 miles, I'm going to run in the morning and go play poker with them tomorrow night. Maybe I'll win some money :) Looking forward to the much needed rest this week...

Monday, August 25

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:04:32 GMT

OFF day... plane got delayed so we didnt' get home till 11pm.

Sunday, August 24

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:58:18 GMT

Time: 9:00am
Place: New Orleans
Where: part of the Half Ironman run course
Weather: COOL and breezy and RAINY!
People: atx_tiger
Comments: I found out early into the trip that atx_tiger is a morning person. I'm a night person and all I have to say to that is ugh. He woke me up to what I consider early for a vacation day and we were out running by 9am. I was still pretty tired from Friday and Saturday's run and Saturday's drinks. I never drink, but had a couple the night before to celebrate Travis's birthday. We started the run and I was nervous about our paces not matching. He's a much faster runner than I am, but I was hoping his legs would be tired from his 75 mile ride he did the day before. I knew mine were going to be from the 19 mile run I did. We started off and I felt pushed from the beginning, but didn't want to slow his pace down. This run was for him, because I had already planned on ditching the entire run anyways.. I was on vacation!

We ran for what I think was a little over 2:30 hours and I swear we did at least 14 if not more. I felt ok, after about an hour, and that's just me. It takes a good 4-5 miles before I feel like I'm in a rhythm. The pace felt ok after that, and there were moments, but they were brief where I felt tired, but kept going. It rained 99% of the time, but I enjoyed it. It was the nice heavy drizzle rain. It was the nice, "I'm already drenched, why not run in the puddles" run, and with every cool breeze it reminded me that my California goal might not be that far fetched because it did feel better to run in cooler weather. All of this 100+ degree running might actually benefit me when the weather is cooler.

Shoe pair #1: 213 (yes, I know I need to switch out the shoes!)
Shoe pair #2: 84

Weekly run total
Mon:OFF
Tues: 10 miles
Wed: supposed to be 5, short by 5
Thurs:8, supposed to be 12, short by 4
Fri: OFF
Sat: 19 - supposed to be 20, short by 1
Sun - 6, but ran 14 +8
Total 51, should have been 53

Saturday, August 23

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:50:29 GMT

Time: too freaking early, 5:30am
Where: Rogue Equipment
People: Team Rogue, Dee, Andrea, and Steph
Distance: 20, 21 if you're feeling it.
Weather: Humid and yucky
Comments: I'm tired. I almost didn't go to the long run, but knew I would regret not trying. I set my alarm for 4:40, and made it there on time, but my stomach was already completely empty and I was exhausted from Friday. We started out the run, and I already was mentally drained and was just waiting to hit the wall and figure out how to get back. Of course I was in good company. I got to see my shirtless fasties a couple of times, got to yip yap with the girls and overall was feeling pretty ok.

Dee needed a rest on Shoal Creek and it was much needed. I was feeling crappy and knew why but also was just waiting for someone else to not feel good so I could cut my miles. Travis and I were planning on running on Sunday in New Orleans, so I figured what ever I cut off Saturday, I could make up on Sunday. Dee wasn't feeling it, but we managed to only cut off 1 mile. So much for cutting the run short. We walked a bunch on the way back, but it was needed. I was tired.

I remember my only motivation to even get out of bed after not eating dinner or getting enough sleep was Leslie telling me at the weekends breakfast prior about what an accomplishment it was to have said "I ran 20 miles for the last 5 Saturday's." I thought that was cool and wanted to say I did 6 weeks in a row, but with I finally had enough. The increased miles for 5 straight weeks has taken it's toll. I can't seem to get enough sleep, I'm always tired. Cutting runs short doesn't bother me, whereas before it was like life or death to make sure I got every mile that was planned in. I'm pooped and looking forward to next weeks down week.

I still had to go home, shower, pack, and get ready for a weekend trip.

Shoe pair #1: 199
Shoe pair #2: 84

Friday, August 22

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:43:28 GMT

Long, long... long day! Got to work by 7am in order to get things wrapped up. I was getting my desk in order to leave on vacation for a few days. Long story short, my mom was also in the hospital so between work, trying to get enough time to pack for a short trip, and fitting in visting my mom at the hospital, it was a long... long... long... day.

Worked till 7pm, with no lunch. Ended up going to get a burrito around 2pm from that burrito place, can't remember the name. I left work at 7pm to go visit my mother, and relieve my grandmother to go to dinner with aunts. Left hospital at 10:15 to go back to work. Worked till 1am, left the office and managed to get stopped by the police for going 47 in a 35 down 1st street. Thankfully, I only got a warning, but I was exhausted, didn't get a chance to eat dinner and by the time I laid down, it was 2am. Not good for a 20-21 mile long run...

Thursday, August 21

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:39:20 GMT

Another hectic day at the office meant that I missed meeting with the group. Instead I went out on the trail after work around 7pm and attempted to do my 12 miles, but it got dark early, so only ended up doing maybe 8-9 miles. I'm tired and feel like I need a break.

Shoe pair #1: 180
Shoe pair #2: 84

Wednesday, August 20

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:37:27 GMT

I can't seem to keep up with the blogging, so here's my attempt to remember everything from a week ago.

Time: ??
Ok, I don't remember much of anything... ah. It's because I skipped Wednesday's run!! Extra off day because of work being hectic. I know I'm getting tired, because I didnt' get worried about missing a run. I just missed it.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:52:19 GMT

Not sure what BFDee's looking at, but here's a pic from dinner the other night :) Sabrina to the far left, shublog , Linda, me, and BFDee. Good times!

And a first pic of Travis and I :)

Tuesday, August 19

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:41:12 GMT

Time: 6:15pm
Location: Northwest Pool
Workout: 10 miles, 2 easy, 3 at MGP, then repeat
Weather: Muggy and hot, the rain never came during the workout as hoped.
People: Team Rogue, ran with stephwoodruff, Andrea, and Dee
Comments: We started off pretty slow and for my 3 miles at MGP, I wasn't planning to run at MGP. The mental aspect of running has been a hinderance in the last couple weeks and I'm not sure why. The tired feeling maybe?? Steph is returning from an injury and was running a slower pace so at mile 3 when we were supposed to pick it up, I did. Steph pushed the pace and I decided to just stay on her butt for as long as I could. I felt like we were running in the 8:00's, but didn't look at my Garmin. We hit Great Northern for a whole mile, and while most people hate it, I actually welcome it. It's nice and flat and long, and it's not a freaking hill!!! Killer has us doing so many dang hills that it's made me appreciate the non-hills, even if it is Great Northern. I thought we were trucking down Great Northern and I just knew that when our Garmin's went off it was going to be faster than my MGP. Karen's MGP for me 8:47, my MGP for me just a flat 9:00. We hit our 2nd MGP mile and Steph's Garmin showed 8:57, mine showed a 9:03. Ugh... it was muggy, but I swear we were running faster. Our last mile, I felt like I was pushing it, but when I came in, my stupid Garmin died. I had a 205 and it just stopped working. It won't turn back on. I purchased a brand new 305, and it's starting to do the same things so I need to put some electrical tape over the sensors, cause I'm not spending another $200 on another Garmin!!

I did my 2nd loop with Dee, we took it nice and easy for the first two miles as prescribed, then picked it up for the last three. Felt good, finally felt a rhythm. I swear it takes me a good 5-7 miles to warm up before I feel comfortable.

Good run, no splits cause my stupid Garmin piece of $hit won't turn on...

Monday, August 18 - OFF

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:33:07 GMT

I've been feeling tired alot lately so decided to take today completely off. I also decided to quit Bikram yoga, at least for now until my energy comes back. Working out 6 days a week is alot and I'm not quite sure how other team members have managed to do this and more. I worked late, went and got fit on my bike after getting it tuned up at Jack and Adams and was in bed semi-early. Not alot to report, other than I'm tired and can't seem to get enough rest.

Sunday, August 17th

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:25:08 GMT

Time: 7:00??
Location: ART office
People: Dee :)
Workout: 5 miles easy
Weather: Ok
Comments: We met at the last minute to run, which was nice because I didn't want to run on my own and had a busy weekend. We started at ART and ran to Woodrow up 2.5 miles then ran back.  No Garmin, no music, just us running.

I have the best time running with Dee aka BFDee. We giggle and laugh for about 90% of our runs. And it's just nice to know each other so well. We can do runs where we turn on the iPods and run with no talking, we do runs where we can't keep a faster pace than an 11:00 min mile because laughing and running just don't go together. It's impossible to keep a pace when my buddy is tooting or when I have to stop and toot cause I can't do the two simultaneously. Over the years, we know all about each others in's and out's, each other's families, each other's good times and bad. She's been an awesome friend throughout the years, she's seen me through multiple broken hearts, through me giving up on running, me coming back to running, me losing some weight, me starting new jobs, and a multitude of other life changing events. Our run together on Sunday was the same as all the other runs. Laughs and giggles and catching up. You'd think because we run together so much that we wouldn't have anything to talk about, but we find out more new stories, more running gossip, and more fun things to get us through run after run. Our pace was slow, but it was in good company and we giggled the whole way.   It was a nice run, and despite pace, this is why I love running. I love running for days like this when it doesn't matter how far, what pace or any goals. Just to run to have fun.

Shoes #1 - 162 miles
Shoes #2 - 84 miles
(my tracking of miles on shoes isn't the best.  I need to figure out a method, because I don't think I'm benefitting from having two pairs of shoes, because I forget to switch them out!!!)

Saturday, August 16

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:16:28 GMT

Time: 5:30am
Location: Northwest Pook
Workout: 20 miles easy run
People: Team Rogue
Weather: Surprisingly cool, till the last few miles, the sun came out and it was kinda toasty.
Comments: I stayed up too late, no comment :) But I got to the run on time and found that my Garmin was completely dead, which worries me because I had it on the charger for the entire night so it shouldn't have been. I met up with Dee, and then we found Andrea, Mary, and Stephanie. Stephanie is coming back from an injury and decided to run with us. With no Garmin in hand, I was off to have a stress free run without having to worry about pace. I couldn't resist leaving my iPod though. Run was okay. Stephanie, Andrea, and Mary started off a little too fast for me and Dee, so we held back and chit chatted for the first few miles. We eventually ended up running the rest together and at a couple points during the run, I found myself cold. I also noticed that getting dressed so early in the morning can cause some stress later in the run. I had a new job bra and found out it was a little more translucent than I'd like so the girls and I had some giggles with the orange colored pieces of cardboard that I inserted to help the "problem". The last few miles seemed to drag on and I stressed myself out trying to push through tired legs and letting the mental demons get to me thinking, "we're only running 20, 20 flat today, I didn't run fast, and how in the heck am I supposed to pull off 8:47's when I can't even do it now." Dee reminded me that we're in August and the marathon isn't till December. I need to get that through my head. I keep setting myself up for failure because I keep expecting my body to be ready and I need to realize I have plenty of time to get faster. The hills and the speed are yet to come...

Good run, no paces, lots of giggles and I love my Dee.

Heading out to dinner with nemolucas shublogatx_tiger . I can't wait to hear the Ironman stories!!!

Thursday, August 14 - My Best WORST run of training so far...

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:57:16 GMT

Time: 6:15pm
Location: Anderson High School
Workout: 12 miles easy, 2 new 6 mile loops
Weather: Hot at first but by the time I finished, nice and cool and DARK!
People: Team Rogue
Comments: Well, I had the Best Worst run of my training by far tonight. My calves never loosened up in the entire 12 miles. I had to walk several times in the last mile cause I was just depleted. My Garmin died before I even started, which was a good thing because it didn't clock my extremely slow paces, and I was dehydrated. While running I always try to figure out what the heck. I realized that after the past few weeks of having really awesome runs, I got comfortable. I thought about my day, and it was caos at work. I switched jobs back in November, and then we all moved to another agency downtown in April. Mass caos, and I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel until the end of the year. With work being crazy, I didn't hydrate today. I actually forgot. I realized this at 4pm and tried to slam as much water as I could, but that just left me feeling bloated and full. I quit rolling my calves, and that's just stupid. So even though, I had an awful run tonight and it took me so long that a few of my team members actually wanted to go search for me, it was a great run. It was humbling and brought me back to reality, that this isn't going to be an easy process of reaching the insane goal that Killer has set for me. I'm going to have to work at it the entire way and I need to remember to not get comfortable and I need to continue doing what works and not think I can get away with not rolling or not hydrating.

No paces, but it was slow, but I'm happy that I got the 12 miles in that was scheduled. I'm exhausted. Too tired to figure out how many miles are on shoe pair #1, but whatever it is I need to add 12 :)

Looking forward to the OFF day tomorrow. Looking forward to getting into the Injury Clinic (my butt hurts). Looking forward to the Rogue sale. Looking forward to Saturday's 20 miler. It's flat, and it will be my 5th weekend to run 20 miles, an all time record for me :) Looking forward to hydrating tomorrow. Looking forward to eating carbs for lunch tomorrow. And most importantly, looking forward to the weekend. I get to spend some time with

atx_tiger

Wednesday, August 13

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:34:55 GMT

Time: 9:00pm
Location: My neighborhood
Distance: 5 miles
Workout: Easy
Weather: Nice and cool, probably 90's isn't that funny, felt like winter!!
People: Me, me, and me
Comments: I was catching some major slack from my poker guys for skipping the past three weeks of poker games. I was even told I'd be removed indefinately as a joke from the invitations because I had backed out so many times and declined to play. So today I made it a point to go to the game. I had a plan. Either stay late, skip my run and win some money.. or get aggresive, go all in early and get my run in. The second ended up happening. I was able to make them all happy by showing up, had a bad beat, then made it home in time to run.

Legs felt a little heavy, but was the weather was nice. The running Gods are trying to tell me something and I'm finally starting to figure it out. Several of my running friends are telling me that running without music is the way to go and I think they may be right. It's just hard letting go. I walked down my stairs and remembered I forgot my Ipod... turned around, walked all the way back up then thought, it'd probably be smarter to run without, because it was already dark and I was wearing dark blue shorts and my red Rogue top. Not the best outfit to wear when it's dark. I thought about getting my blinky, but decided against and headed out. No Ipod, just my thoughts, ugh! Started off slow. I didn't roll my calves so they were tight. Long story short, I had a nice EASY run. I thought about pushing the pace, but decided against it. I've got 12 to do tomorrow, and I'd rather have a good run tomorrow rather than a good short run tonight.

Here are my paces:

10:50
10:40
9:59
10:05
9:57

Followed one walker, passed two cyclists, got scared shitless by two things in the grass, had to close my eyes and run for about 5 seconds cause there was a dead kitty in the road, and got to smell the deliciousness of running by Krispy Kreme. All in all a good run and I was able to wrap up the evening talking to atx_tiger

Tuesday, August 12th

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:24:22 GMT

Time: 6:15pm
Location: Anderson High School
Workout: 3 mile hilly loop easy, 2 mile (supposed to be flat) loop MGP, then repeat for 10 miles + 5 strides
Temp: Cooler, but humid
People: Team Rogue
Comments: I felt chubby today. Must be having a fat day. Got to workout early, changed in the car, plucked some eye brows to make the time pass. I was too lazy to roll and I think the lack of sleep this week was catching up. The first three mile loop seemed like forever. My legs still felt heavy and I just couldn't get going. I tried to stay with Dee for about 2 seconds and realized I was tired and pulled back. I ran with Andrea for a few, then let her go. I was the back of the pack :) I made it back to the cooler and did the whole, "It's mental, I can do this" talk in my head. I seem to always underestimate myself and my running this year. I went out with a semi-negative attitude and lower my goal to just running faster than the first hilly loop.

1) 10:23
2) 10:53
3) 11:37

2 miles of MGP. Supposed to be flat so I took off and tried to hold it as long as I could. I try not to look at my Garmin so I won't' become fixated, but glanced down and it showed 8:23, which is WAY too fast, so I slowed it down, but was too much. I was happy that sped up and realized while I was running that maybe if I push the pace a little it wouldn't feel as bad as running too slow.

4) 9:09 goal - 8:47
5) 9:25

Three mile loop felt a ton better the second way around and was able to keep up with Dee and do some chit chatting.

6) 11:04
7) 10:42
8) 11:23

Last MGP miles, I went too fast on the first one, but wasn't sure where to pull back because the last mile was uphill the entire way. I was about to slow it down cause I was tired, but Dee came flying by and told me to hurry up. So I stared at her ass for the last mile and it brought me in under MGP. Thanks to Dee's fine booty for getting me through mile 10!!

9) 8:30
10) 8:40

Shoes 1 - 120

Monday, August 11

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:20:24 GMT

OFF day, but wanted to make note that work was hectic. I worked from 8:30 to 5pm, through my lunch, then managed to get lost going to the City Council Task Force meeting. Went back to work and stayed till midnight. Blogging till 1:20am. I might be a little tired for tomorrow's 10 mile run. I wonder why??