My future past Feb 10th

I asked God if I would survive Mercedes & he sent me a photo of myself to let me know that I would live to run another day....way past Feb 10th.

Testing, 1, 2, 3, phlem is still there...

Since I'm doing the Preds 5k this Sat, I decided that I'd push it on the treadmill 3.1 miles, then walk/jog the rest of the hr & 5 mins. About 1.5 miles into me "pushing it", I felt the phlem in my throat. Well, it's not like I can just spit it out on the floor. So here I am, trying to get through this & I cannot get any air down my throat. NOT FUN! I actually felt strong, felt good, & if it had not been tornado like weather outside, I would have been doing this at the track. So, the first 3.1 miles took me roughly 27.5 mins. I'm usually slower on a treadmill than I am outside but that was a bit ridiculous for me. Just goes to show you that you really do need to be able to breathe while running, duh! As I jogged/walked the rest of the time & finished off with 5.8 miles...I thought, "what am I going to do?" I took the mucinex last night before bed. I'm totally off the durahist & have only 2 more amocillian left in the bottle. I've been taking Vitamin C pills this week & drinking lots of hot liquids. I've seriously done all I can do to clear the crap out of my throat & I guess it will leave when it's done making my running miserable.

So, due to the fact that I really do need to run more than a 5k this weekend, I believe I'll just log some miles before the race. Maybe run the course, then jog/walk with Pam during the race, then add more miles on Sunday. This is probably one of the more difficult 5k courses around. I don't do 5ks & seriously hate them but this one is always a must do every year for me, Hannah, & whoever wants to join us. It's my cousin, Pam's, first 5k, first race ever. Michele H. will be running her 1st race post baby No. 2, & Hannah's fiance' will be running his 1st race. I hate not giving a race everything I have but this time it might be more beneficial to take it easy, add more miles, & enjoy it rather than push myself & still not get a decent time. So, that's the tentative plan. :)

I also did 30 mins elliptical before I ran, yoga ball crunches, free weights on the arms & stretching. I'm hoping to head to the track tonight for another 3.1 testing of my phlem. :(

Social Night @ the gym

Smart water: Never tried it but I have a t-shirt courtesy of Jody E. of Coca Cola. Ginger brought them into the gym & handed them out. Cool! I may try the water to see if it makes me smarter. Lord knows it can't hurt!

Soreness: Apparently, the harder than usual Pilates on Sat & my little trek out at Tim's Ford made me pretty sore. I woke up feeling like I had done a long, hard run yesterday morning. The fact that I sit at a desk all day didn't help. I should have got up more to run up & down our stairwell.

Cross training: I exercised my ears & my mouth last night way too much but sometimes you have to socialize. It's a part of not being a hermit, I guess... I did 1 hr 5 mins elliptical & attempted some yoga ball crunches.

Socializing: I've about decided that I'm going to start a club for single women who are childless. Apparently, there is a growing number of single women between the ages of 30 & 50 who have never been married or they're divorced & never had children. They are trying to figure out where they "fit". I'm one of them. Although, I probably don't think that much about it since I've learned that being alone is MUCH BETTER than being with the wrong man. Yes, this was the main topic of discussion. My wheels started turning to say the least. In the back of my mind, I knew this year would be a year of doing new & exciting things for myself both health wise & traveling. I find that there are a crop of women who are just like me who are open to finding out where we "fit". This is going to be fun. :)

FYI, Congrats to William for winning his age group at the Nashville Zoo 5k this past Sat. He got a cool book!

No Bongo, Tims Ford Lake in the afternoon

Sometimes the best laid plans just don't happen. I had everything laid out but when 1:10am approached & I was not asleep yet, I knew I had better run here. My molars hurt because my sinuses hurt, which in turn gave me yet another migraine. So, add Relpax to the list of drugs in my body. I did not take the durahist yesterday but I used my nasal spray & took the amoxilcillan. I have decided to detox my body over the next 24 hrs. Nothing is going in & I'm drinking the heck out of juice & H2O.

So, around noon, I went to Tims Ford park to talk to God & enjoy nature, like I've done so many times when I've chosen to run my long runs out there. That paved trail is not easy, rolling little hills one right after another. I managed to jog/walk 13.75. The pace was 11:58 but that includes shedding clothes at the 2 mile mark & talking to Kellye P. for probably 5-6 mins. That also included staring at the water a bit. It was gorgeous out there even on a sunny January day.

I think I pulled the muscle on the inside of my left leg in Pilates yesterday morning. It's certainly tender but I think it will be ok in a day or two. My left knee seems achy again, too, but that feeling comes & goes.

For the 1st time ever, I'm on the edge of NOT doing a race I've already paid for....$55. If something doesn't snap in the next week, I'm considering cancelling my room & staying home. Afterall, it's a 6 hr round trip. Then the other side of my brain kicks in...that says, "It's ok if you have to walk a lot, just finish it, get the medal, & chalk it up to a 26.2 mile training run for something else. You'll burn calories & probably enjoy the unknown course." So, I'm torn at this point. I feel like I'm running like an 85 yr old grannie. I've never felt this bad this long. I NEVER get this sick.

So, opinions on this matter are welcome......if any? What would you do?

signed,

Medicine Head

Spitting, gasping for air, & 7 miles on friday

I'm starting to get MAD! My sinusitis isn't gone yet! I decided NOT to be a wimp yesterday afternoon. I took off from the house & ran 7 miles. (Turtle slow at a 9:32 pace) Granted the cold headwinds were not too great on Hwy 55 but I heated up enough to sweat. Not to be gross, but I think I spit phlem out at every single mile. I felt like I was gasping for air trying to clear my throat. When I finished, I had a coughing & sneezing fit off & on for over an hour. If this isn't gone by next Thurs, I'm going to see if Dr. Milam will give me a shot. I'm not good with shots so this means I'm desperate. This durahist is just making me ill & tired. The amoxilcillan is making me dehydrated. I bought some mucinex but I hate to mix all these meds. Good grief, the Heath Ledger thing scared me to death, bless his heart.

I'm heading to the gym for pilates, elliptical, and some time on the bike today. I need to work off this frustration before I pull my hair out. I pray my long run tomorrow goes ok. I'm sure not expecting much.

"The Spirit of the Marathon"

Loved it! It was well worth the drive & nice meeting David again. They covered the range of emotions we all go through from the Elite runners to the back of the pack. I didn't stay for the last 15-20 mins of the question/answer thing with Ryan Sell & Deana Kastor so I was home & in bed by 10:35pm.

One day, I'd love to run Chicago but NYC is my top priority. (cross your fingers!). I highly recommend everyone who has ever run a marathon or who is thinking about it to see "Spirit". It reminded me of how I felt when I ran my 1st 1/2 in '04 at CMM. I had only done 1 - 10 miler at that time & had virtually no hill training...no expectations, except that I wanted to be as close to 2 hrs as possible. When I could hear the announcer say the 2 hr pacers name (Peter Pressman), I knew I was not far off. I got in a 2:01:? & I nearly burst into tears as I closed in on the finish line. I don't feel so foolish anymore about that. :)

Talk about sympathy pains, when one runner had issues with his knee my left knee that ached in RC started aching. Too funny! I think the most entertaining runner in the movie was the older gentleman who ran with his daughter.

Deana Kastor has been a hero of mine since I watched the Athens Olympics. The way she stayed back & then picked off the last few contenders for the bronze was so exciting. I cried when she cried as they announced her name for the bronze. I almost cried last night again. At one point when they were showing the footage of Deana's VERY close finish in Chicago, I was fighting the urge to stand up & yell, "Throw down the hammer, Deana!" I remember watching that on TV so I knew she did it but the urge to cheer was still there. (Yeah, I'm a goober!)
Also, Paula Radcliffe is just simply awesome. The come back that she's made since giving birth is so inspiring. It's amazing how both these women clean up so well when not out on a run or in a race. :P They're both beautiful people.

My planned weekend is sorta jumbled now. The Bongo to Bongo run is actually looking like a better deal than running with FF Murf. I'll probably get in some treadmill miles tonight afterall. Tomorrow is looking like Pilates & elliptical. EARLY Sunday will be 14 with the Bongo to Bongo group. (original Sat plans fell through) The weather looks better for Sunday morning anyway. I'm a wuss with the weather lately since the sinusitis kicked in. I'm hoping to be off my antibiotics by the middle of next week. :)

Happy Hump Day!

Found out that I can wear my iPod shuffle in Birmingham. (yippee!)
Bought my ticket on fandango for "The Spirit of the Marathon" movie @ the Hollywood 27 for tomorrow night. Going alone, nobody locally wants to drive the 1 hr to & 1 hr from Nashville & sit through a 2 hr movie on a work night, apparently. :( I should be back & in bed by 11:00pm so it won't be too bad.

The plan WAS for speedwork but my legs were too sore & heavy. I tried but it was NOT happening tonight. The last 2 days have been HARD training days for me & a 3rd was not going to happen. 2.5 miles & 30 mins later, I jumped on an elliptical for 45 mins, did the yoga ball crunches, & stretched. Tomorrow has to be a rest day & I'm afraid Friday also, got too much to do. Can't wait to join up with the Murf FF group run on Sat morning & join in their anniversary celebration. SALE!!!

Yawn......did I mention that I'm down to one cup of coffee a week? :P

She's a little runaway...cleansing the soul.

I ran in the cold rain tonight around the THS parking lots, 6.57 miles. I had to stop & tie a shoe before the 1st mile was up but I picked it up & kept going even though it was misting rain. I tried out the new shuffle. As soon as Bon Jovi's "Runaway" came on, I felt my pace pick up. I actually enjoyed myself even though my hair was heavy with rain when I finished.

I truly do wish we could wear our iPods in Birmingham. I haven't even checked to see if we can actually, but I feel like I would definitely run better with mine. (They checked in Rocket City for people wearing iPods) Listening to "fresh" music tonight kept me out for longer than I thought I would be... :) I headed to the gym for 35 slow mins on the elliptical, some stretching, & light leg weights. I'm thinking of running in Murfreesboro this Sat since I'm going to be there later in the afternoon & evening anyway. I'll just have to shower at April's. The Fleet Feet store is hosting a run every Sat. This Sat they celebrate their 1 yr anniversary & I believe a Brooks Rep will be there. It starts at 8am so I could always go early, run a few miles, & then take off with the group. This would mean missing pilates. :(

I made the dreaded appointment for the "you know what". Hannah had a 2nd colon cleanse and raved about it. She said it gave her such a "high". So, what the heck? I made an appt 2 days before Mercedes. If anything, it will be that I carry around less "crap" in Birmingham. :P Hannah lost about 3 lbs the first session & just over 1 lb the 2nd session. I'm not doing it to lose weight, I'm doing it because it just seems like a natural way to cleanse out the toxins. I've read & heard so much about it.

Tomorrow: I'll try to get Carla out for 6 or I'll do some speed on the treadmill
Thursday: Still up in the air about seeing, "The Spirit of the Marathon". If I don't go, I'll definitely do some cross training.
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 13 miles

Next weeks forecast looks much warmer. :)

Sinus/Migraine Pain, 15.75 treadmill miles, & football

Med-Long run:
First of all, I had every intentions on doing approximately 20 miles in Winchester this weekend. The bitter cold & my sinus pain kept me in doors. At one point yesterday (Sunday), I had an organic heating wrap on my sinuses, heating pad on my neck, amoxilcilan & relpax in me. Talk about mixing drugs! By 2pm, I seem to come out of it but decided that Sunday would be a total rest day. I had run/walked/worked out Fri & Sat at the gym so I wasn't feeling all that guilty. So, I went to the gym today, Mon. I ran, walked, jogged, & threw in hills. I jogged slowly for a mile on an incline that actually made my hips hurt. I got in a total of 15.75 miles on the dang dreadmill today. I was not about to start it up again to even out the mileage or try to get to 20. I was drenched, the power tools were getting on my nerves (renovations started), & I was starving. I took a shower & had a late lunch with my friend, Joanie. I went back later for light arm weights, yoga ball crunches, stretching, 30 SLOW mins on the elliptical, & 15 SLOW mins on the bike.

Football:
I simply believe that Brett Farve is one of the classiest guys in the NFL. I feel like I grew up with him because he's really not that much younger than me. Remember his cameo in "There's Something about Mary"? Too funny! But I cannot contain my glee over the fact that Eli has finally come out of his big brother's shadow. The Giants fought HARD for that win yesterday.
Those players & die hard fans were freezing their butts off at both games yesterday. Yeah, the Brady Bunch won again. I don't like Phillip Rivers so I was glad. I like LaDanian Tomlinson so I felt bad for him & of course Billy Volek. I actually felt sorry for the Packers but hey somebody has to lose & it just wasn't the Charger's or the Packer's to win yesterday. Yeah, on Feb 3rd, I will be for the "under dog" again. I can't help it. The odds are not in their favor in a big way but sometimes the unthinkable happens. It will be "David & Goliath" on Super Bowl Sunday.
GO GIANTS!!!

less foggy

I made it to the gym for a slow 25 mins on the elliptical before I jumped into the 45 min pilates class. Carla was sadistic today! She had us use bands on our ankles. The good news is that I'm getting stronger on the "plank". After class I jumped on a treadmill for 1 hr 10 mins. I believe I did just over 6.5 miles, walking/jogging/running/hill training. I was wringing wet when I got off. The pilates rejuvenated me enough to do it, I guess...that and the fact that I didn't take the durahist this morning. I'll have to take that stuff right before bed.

Watched Erin's (Carla's daughter) basketball game against St. Paul's school. That wore me out. Those little girls were so funny & I think Carla will be hoarse tomorrow. :P Too funny!

I also saw, "27 Dresses" this afternoon in Murf. I highly recommend it. It's not a total "chick flick". It's actually pretty cute. Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" is so appealing. I loved her in "Knocked Up".

I ended my day with dinner at "Bonefish" with Hannah & Jeff. GREAT food, GREATER martini's! I can tell Jeff is getting a little fired up about the Preds 5k. He mentioned that he would not mind driving the course. (That's when you know, they're a real runner! :P)
We're going to have so much fun, the 5k & then the game that night!

Foggy

Dr. Milam says I have a bad case of sinusitis & I don't even care if I spelled that right. :P If I had let this go on until next week, I would have been way worse so I'm glad I decided to keep the Dr's appt. I'm on Amoxicillin & durahist. I went to the gym after the dr's appt for what I thought would be a 4-6 mile run. No ENERGY! I took the antibiotics about an hour before I got there & ate so I felt ok but only energy enough to jog a little & mostly walk. I was on the treadmill an hour & a half but some of that was spent sharing yet another eye opening story with someone who had some experiences with the "natural athlete". I won't go into any great details but there's a post on here where I reference the phrase, "Thank God for unanswered prayers." I said that again to myself tonight after hearing this woman's story. ha ha! This town/area is way too small for me. This is why my social life is not spent in this town anymore. :P

Even though, I was feeling a bit "foggy", I jumped into the last 20 mins of Carla's friday night class mainly for the stretching. We worked some on arms, which will make me sore tomorrow, I'm sure. I'm planning on hitting pilates tomorrow & the treadmill again. I'm seriously hoping that I can get in a med-long run on Monday. If I don't that's ok. After reading some posts today on the Strider's message board, I realized that there are people who really have to get ALL those long runs in to do reasonably well at their marathons. Looking at my history with training, I'm beginning to believe I'm not one of those people that benefits from ALL the long runs anyway. My times seem to prove it. (Yeah, I've had way too much time to analyze!)

Oh well, tomorrow is another day & I'll do what I feel like doing.

Feels like a Monday

Mark (brother in law) & brother, David @ Disney
Guess it was "Air Force vs Navy"
(You can't kill me from San Antonio, Mark. ha!)

I didn't sleep well last night at all so I caved into the coffee this morning. (Haven't had any since last Sat at Bongo Java) You know it's going to be a "Monday" when you haven't slept well, you spray B & B Works warm vanilla sugar on your hair instead of your body, you spray your detangler on your body, you leave your grapefruit & water bottle on the kitchen table, & an engineer downstairs says as you enter the building, "Lisa, you look tired." I'm feeling a Thursday "rest day". :)

I'm going to beg Dr. Milam for some antibiotics & nasonex on friday. That's the soonest I could get an appt. Since we were actually having some winterlike weather & I didn't feel like getting soaking wet from the snowflakes, I hit the gym last night. 5.5 miles on the treadmill, walking, jogging, running, & speed, yoga ball crunches, arm weights, & stretching. I always put stretching here because it does take up a good bit of my time. It's injury prevention for me. I'm now taking about 15-20 mins to stretch, which includes some pilates/yoga moves. I did feel better last night but not 100%. I didn't have to stop & go gag or spit in the bathroom. I didn't have that drainage feeling into my stomach but I'm still not taking any chances because frankly, I just don't feel all that great. Like I said above, today will be a rest day. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may try to run outside after the dr's appt. We shall see. At least it will be daylight because I'm not going back to work after the 1pm appt that's for sure.

Going to try to do some serious research on the candidates this weekend. My gut is leaning me toward Huckabee & I don't know why. (No, it's not because he lost all that weight by training and completing a marathon. :P)

I also need to load some songs on my new shuffle. I finally decided to upgrade to the clip-on. The new computer has allowed me to finally upgrade a lot of stuff, camera, garmin, & now shuffle.

Starting to get addicted to the "Cashmere Mafia". It's a tamed down, more sophisticated version of "Sex & the City". I love the scenes of NYC. :)

Still thinking of going to see "The Spirit of the Marathon" movie next Thursday. I think nearly every runner that frequents the strider's message board is going. Maybe it will give me a little inspiration.

Happy "Monday", I mean...Thursday.

"Moon" over THS

Have you ever had the feeling that if you didn't throw up or go to the bathroom that you were just going to die? During a 6.52 run (if you call it running) last night around the parking lots of THS, I felt that way at the 3.5 mile. You locals will know exactly where I'm talking about. It was near the greenway entrance off Jackson where the little bridge is located in the wooded area. I wasn't running the greenway in the dark or the bridge but I ended up gaging over there & I tried to go to the bathroom over there where nobody could see me. I simply felt that BAD!!! I just wanted relief from the drainage that was going into my throat & into my stomach. The closest bathrooms are on the other side of the school behind the bleachers & there's never a guarantee that they are ever open. (Believe me I know this!)

From experience, I know that this is a sign of an early sinus infection. Once this junk starts going backwards, it makes me sick to my stomach & weak. This explains the weakness I felt yesterday morning. So, as soon as my Dr opens his doors, I'm calling for an appt. My nasal spray he prescribed last year about this time is about to run out anyway. I got a sinus infection last year the week before the Fall Creek Falls race & got on 2 antibiotics 2 days before the race. I did it anyway & felt like I ran in a fog the whole time. My time was ok but nothing to brag about that's for sure. I remember sleeping in the back seat of Carla's car on the way back. I'm just not taking any chances with Mercedes just over 3 wks away.

Why did I finish my run last night? Stubborn, Stupidity, & knowing that the weather will be worse tonight. Rain late afternoon & supposedly some sleet coming in overnight. Not sure how much time I lost mooning THS & gaging there in front of McDonalds, but my pace was well under 10 mins, which surprised me. I figured that with this set back, I probably lost a good 40-50 secs, maybe. I was not about to turn the light on my Garmin so I could track it! BTW, why does McDonald's french fries grease smell so strong on cold winter nights? Made me want to gag even more every time I ran that parking lot. GROSS! I went to the gym & made a bee line for the bathroom. Still feeling like I needed to throw up for relief, I tried again. Still nothing but water & a little drainage. I stretched my legs & headed home to zone out in front of the TV.

It's calling for the high to reach only 30 degrees Sat. I've started a marathon before in 18 degrees but 4-5 hrs later is was near 55. I'm going on how I feel & what I think is comfortable Sat. It's not like I have any high expectations for Mercedes anyway. Just finish, get the medal, & come home. :) I'm thinking Monday may work better for a long run or I'll break it up into 3 med-long runs with lots of hills. At least Sunday & Monday's temps look better. Birmingham could be bone chilling cold or 95% humidity & 65 degrees at the start. Like I've heard so many say, "I'll run the race that God wants me to do under the conditions he gives me." Maybe God will send that fluffy, white dog down there to pace me. :)

Depending on a lot of things, I may just try some treadmill speedwork tonight.
The rest of the week is going to be by the seat of my pants. I do know one thing, I'm going to find some time to have some fun this weekend. Seeing a movie sounds so appealing to me right now. Crawling under a comforter seems appealing. Antibiotics sound REAL appealing.

Sinus pressure, white fluffy running partner, diet, & TO

The last 24 hrs, I've been experiencing some sinus pressure & some drainage. The sinus cavities actually hurt this morning. I've also felt very drained. I ran last night in my neighborhood for a change. It was still a little light when I got home so why not... A really white, fluffy dog ran with me. Everytime I pushed my pace up the rather small hills around my neighborhood, the dog would shoot off like a jet. He/she wanted to play so bad. It startled me at first & I shoo'ed it away thinking it would take a chunk out of my legs but it was all fun & games, apparently. It would shoot ahead of me, wait, & then run some more with me. I found myself doing little spurts of speed with it but still overall my pace was slow. I stopped at the 4.39 mark simply because it just got too dark for my comfort zone.

When I got to the gym it was dead. Strange, since it's still Jan. I did a slow 30 mins on the elliptical, light leg & arm weights, & stretched. When I left there, I felt like going straight to bed & I probably should have but I read the "Skinny Bitch" book for a while. That book sure does shoot it straight to you! Apparently, we should all become vegetarians, no meat, not even fish, no dairy, just fruits, veggies, beans, & tons of water. I admit I could easily become a vegetarian if it were not for my love of chicken salads & mexican chicken dinners, but giving up my cheese & fat free chocolate milk would kill my soul. They go into the gory details of how farmers mass produce all our meats & dairy products. How all these animals get shot up with all kinds of drugs & get slaughtered is appalling. We all know those gory details & to be perfectly honest it scares me that our government doesn't have more control over what ends up on the shelves of our grocery stores. It's just disturbing at what goes on & I won't go into it here because I would hate someone to be eating while reading this goofy blog. The authors suggest giving up one thing for a few weeks & then try giving up something else after that. It's a baby steps approach to detoxing your body. They preach water, water, water, NO alcohol, only organic wine. I don't drink beer & rarely have alcohol anyway. Just the occasional martini or margarita. So, I will take a little step by giving up my diet cokes. That's an easy one since I only have maybe 3 a week anyway. (Aspertame is lethal!) I'm also slowly giving up coffee & replacing it with herbal tea. My diet isn't as bad as most people I know but it could use some work that is for sure.

I'm going to get on my soapbox regarding the media. Terrell Owens is the latest victim. It's not enough that the media has created a frenzy surrounding Jessica Simpson & Tony Romo but now they are attacking TO for defending Tony's vacation with Simpson. Geez, they had a bad day, just like the Colts did. Tony Parker (Spurs) & Eva Longoria go through the same thing every time Eva shows up at a game. Drama brings in viewers, of course, but it made me sick at the comments regarding TO speaking up for Tony & the team & he was visibly upset over the loss. Give the guy a break, please.

Today: I will decide on my drive home what I'll do. Right now, I feel like I could go to sleep on my desk.
Wed: I may try to get Carla out again.
Thurs: Not sure
Friday: Rest day
Sat: Attempting 20 miles, God willing. :)

Cross training around Football

1st, I would like give a big BLOG Hi-5 to Lana who got her sub-4 hr in AZ. She worked her butt off for it! I've always heard that the Rock n' Roll AZ marathon was a good PR course. She picked a good one from what I know from others who've done it & loved it.

2nd, congrats to my brother in law, Mark, & his brother, David, on their Disney finish. They started @ 6am in thick fog, heat, & humidity. From what my sis said, David had issues with a knee & the allergy meds Mark had to get on last week didn't help much. Mark has started on his master's degree & David is apparently working on his PhD so it will be a long time before they'll have time to train for another. Also, my nephew, Austin, scored 15 of the 31 pts on his city league basketball team. He's on 2 teams right now, Middle school & the league one. Straight A's in honors classes & a great little athlete... I'm such a prould Aunt! :P I have to admire my sis in how she balances 2 kids who are active in sports, a husband who has to travel a lot for his job, 2 dogs, & a full time job. (She's a tamed down Bre Van deCamp!)

In between the Colts loss & me screaming my head off for little Eli, I did cross train yesterday. I spent 1 hr & 5 mins on the elliptical (SLOWLY), yoga ball crunches, & stretched. Not at all sure what I'll do tonight, but I'm guessing I'll bundle up & head to the track & run around THS. It will be a 2 glove run tonight, I'm sure. Brrrrrr.......

This entire week including the upcoming weekend look to be COLD. I would like to run the 10 mile route in Winchester that Michelle H. & I used to do but do it 2x. I will just play it by ear. I'm starting to think that I should shorten the next 2 long runs, but run them on hills & faster. I've got the endurance to run/jog/walk a marathon but the hills of Mt. Mercedes look to be the biggest challenge for me. I cannot allow myself to be totally worn out early in that race because of the hills. Like I've said before, I don't expect much on finish time but I don't want to be crawling at the end especially since it's all down hill after mile 23 from what I can tell on the elevation map. Oh well, no sense obsessing about what I cannot control. After it's done, healing, speed, & shorter races are on my agenda until I know if I'm in NY. Speaking of NY, getting from a hotel near the finish line in Central Park to the starting line in Staten Island looks intimidating to me. IF I do get into this race, working out the logistics will be a challenge!

Go Giants!

Not 18 but I'll take it...HILLS (& other stuff)

I woke up immediately thinking of Lana in Arizona & my brother in law, Mark, in Orlando. She's doing RNR AZ & he's doing Disney's marathon this morning. I pray they both have positive experiences & a FUN time.

Mark flew down to run Disney with his brother, David. They've run the Marine Corp & the Baltimore Under Armour marathons together. I think their dad is driving over from Jacksonville to watch, according to my sister. She stayed in Texas with the boys. This would have made a good trip for the whole family if it not fallen so close to the holidays & the boys were not in school right now.

Even though I didn't see any of the game, Brett Farve proved once again that age is only a number yesterday. Go Packers! The Brady bunch proved once again to be unbeatable. I did watch that game with April after we threw down on some mexican in Murf. I was craving SALT. Today, I'm hoping for a Colts win & a Giants win. Actually, I'm still a little torn between the Cowboys & the Giants. We shall see...

My run in East Nashville went ok even though I felt sluggish on the hills. I felt like I was draggin my J.Lo all over the place. First of all, I started about 7:05am for what I thought would be a quick 4 miles. Uh, no, not quick....It took me just over 41 mins to run 4.06 miles. Those streets in & around Bongo Java are hilly. It was cold so I was basically just trying to get my body warmed up. It actually felt colder than last weekend so I was glad I wore the tights afterall BUT I was sweating when I finished those 4 miles. ha! Anyway, Chuck pulled up as I was moving my car to the "correct" parking lot in front of Java. His group is way faster than me as I suspected so that was no big surprise. We started out a few mins after 8am, running to the downtown area & then to Metrocenter. I fell behind on the hills but that was A-ok with me. When I got to the Metrocenter area where you go up on the greenway they were waiting. I hung with them on the greenway for a while. On the way out as we were rounding the corner where the Titans practice, I started having stomach issues. The gatorade was not setting well. So, I walked off & on for about 5 mins which put the group out of my sight but I know this area like the back of my hand so I didn't care. They apparently stopped at the McDonald's near mile marker 18 of the CMM course. (We ran a good little bit of the course) I kept going because by then my stomach was feeling ok & I knew they'd eventually catch up. They all passed me as we crossed the Woodland St. bridge. My Garmin read 13.25 as I walked to my car. (I had walked quite a bit the last 2 miles). I ended up with a total of 17.31 for the morning which was ok with me. My quads had burned a bit on the hills but I needed that. I'm glad I went but I pray I didn't mess with anyone's pace since they did wait on me at the greenway. The other runners seemed really nice. My pace is NOT important to me right now. The fact that I got in a lot of hills this morning is MORE important. The odd thing this morning (Sunday), I don't feel tired & sore. :) I feel a little stiff which says to me I need to stretch a lot today. So, I'm planning to hit the gym for some light cross training & some serious stretching.

I got a "funky monkey coffee" at Bongo Java. (Banana & chocolate syrup with whipped cream = GOOD!!). I headed to my Aunts to shower & visit with them. Cousin Pam's kids were there so it was fun. I later went to Borders on West End. I bought a book that Kathrine Switzer wrote that deals with women over 40 who run/walk, "Running & Walking for women over 40". I also bought what appears to be a hilarious book called, "Skinny Bitch". I had eyeballed it when I bought "Marathon Woman".

And FYI, my Garmin 330 that I bought to keep myself from getting lost ever again works GREAT!!!

Speed n' stuff

Major change of plans for my sanity...running 18 in E. Nashville with some other runners in the am. Should be fun!

Last night, I jumped on a treadmill for 3 miles last night, speed-walk a min, more speed-walk a min, repeat... I was drenched as usual. Did some yoga ball crunches & stretched a little. I probably socialized a bit too much so I left without doing anything else.

I'm going to get out by 6:30am at the very latest tomorrow. Noticed that it doesn't get quite light enough for my taste until about 6:45 so I'll probably jog around the parking lot of the gym as a warm up...then take off when it's light enough. Hoping to complete around 18 miles tomorrow on purpose. :) Looks like it's going to be pretty much the same temps as last Sat morning but the wind is not supposed to pick up at all while I'm out. I'm borderline on the tights versus a running skirt. (thin, long sleeve tech shirt, running skirt, gloves might be enough)

I have to admit, I'm a little upset that due to the writer's strike there may not be another episode of "Grey's Anatomy" (or anything else) until Fall. :( Maybe I'll find something more productive to do during the very few hours a week that I do watch TV.

Got this from the Predators last night via email:

Predators Fangtastic 5K
February 2, 2008 10:00am
Join David Griffin from season 4 of The Biggest Loser and the Nashville Predators for this year's 5K run/walk. Registration fee is $25 before January 28th. This fee includes a t-shirt and ticket to a Predators game. Last year's race SOLD OUT so register today at http://www.active.com/

My "vent" for the day:
People in the gym who do NOT follow the rules
My gym has a kid room. It's very visible, has a TV, & parents can easily check on their kids in there. I'm laying across a yoga ball last night in the yoga room trying to stretch & do crunches. This woman allows her daughter to come in & play with the weights which are right at my feet. I wanted to scream! I was there first & I know this lady was probably told when she signed up (probably a week ago) that all children under the age of 13 have to stay in the kids room. 1st of all, it's dangerous to have small children (she couldn't have been more than 4-5 yrs old) around weights. 2nd, it's annoying to the other paying customers who are there all the time who follow the rules. Just gets my goat. I love children but parents who think they are above the rules annoy the crap out of me.

My "happy" thought for the day:
No expectations for Mercedes
This marathon will be by far the most challenging one I've ever done. My goal is just to finish it. I suspect that I'll walk/jog that mile long hill. I suspect that my legs will be toast by mile 18-20 but I have no expectations, except to just finish. Why does this make me "happy"? It means no pressure to finish in a certain time. I have been told by someone who ran it to just make up your uphills on your downhills. I will be looking forward to the downhills that's a given. :)
This quote came from the Strider's board from someone who ran it last year.
"The climb over red mountain at mile 21.5-23 and the insuing descent are a real test."
Apparently, it brought a 3:33 marathoner down to a 10 minute pace for 1.5 miles. He said he went up at a 10 min pace & down at an 8 min pace. Like I said in a previous post, it will be an adventure race for me. :P Below is a link showing the course. I can see me "jogging slowly" around miles 5-8.5, mile 17-18, & walking a lot from mile 21-23. I have to admit, I hope I have some gas in the tank for that decent. Whew!

http://www.mercedesmarathon.com/course/profile.gif

Rest today, 18 & stretching 2morrow, Sunday.....a tinsy bit of cross training, lots of football, & relaxing.

Running in Carla's neighborhood - 7.04 miles

It had been a while since we ran in Carla's neighborhood & frankly my legs were still a little heavy from the last couple of workouts but we took off chatting the whole way. There are some long slow hills over there & frankly I had forgot about them. ha! We held a 9:39 pace for 7:04 miles. I'm not complaining simply because we talked the entire time, I stepped in mud at one point, & we didn't really focus on speed. I did the last mile by myself & I know I slowed down. It's amazing how I can push myself so much better running with other people but I can't seem to push myself alone. I hate that! It was nice to have the company & I got to see Erin's new puppy, Holly Berry, (lab/golden retriever mix). Just too cute!

Wind, Rain, & the dreaded deathmill

So much for trying to get in a "minimum 7 miles" tonight. I am not shy about running in the rain. I absolutely LOVE it but only in the late Spring, Summer, & early Fall. So, I headed into the gym. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be...got on the deathmill right away. It sure made me feel like death. It felt like 90 degrees in there! I trudged through 3.5 miles. It was not pretty. My quads reminded me that I did a lot of hills last night. My Abs also felt sore from last night's crunches. I jumped on an elliptical for a solid hour, did light leg & arm weights, & stretched. Tomorrow is another day...

Cousin Patti got her plane ticket today. (Under $200) She is all set to come down here for the CMM 1/2 at the end of April. I think I could hear her jumping up & down over the phone. :)

6.02 with 75% of it hill repeats (freaking 71 degrees today!!)

My right achilles may not be happy with me tomorrow. It's not hurting right now but at about mile 3 of my 6.02 hilly run, the right achilles was screaming. It calmed down at about mile 4 for some odd reason. I think my body loosened by then. Anyway, I think it's safe to say that I hit every MAJOR hill in downtown Tullahoma, TN tonight. ha! The humidity seemed to be down & it felt GREAT but then again, I'm coming off a serious rest day, too. I felt like I could have done another 6 on top of this 6. At first I was winded, but then something snapped & I started enjoying it. Go figure! My pace was slow but again it was hill repeats. I figure about 75-80% of my 6 miles included me going up & down the hills. By the time I went in the gym, it had calmed down. I suspect everyone went home to watch the pregame show of the BCS championship game. Go SEC!

I did 35 slow mins on the elliptical, stretched, & did Yoga ball crunches.

Depending on how hard it's raining tomorrow, I'm going to shoot for a minimum 7 miles, some stretching, & some light weights

I'm always for the underdog...

I took a complete & total rest day today. I don't really feel too guilty either but tomorrow night I hope my energy level is up because of this Rest day. :P

As I type this, the Titans -Chargers game has less than 3 mins left in the 4th qtr. We are losing but not near as bad as everyone thought we would. The disappointment on the Titan's players faces says it all. They played well the 1st 1/2 even with a few key injured players not in the game. No touchdowns but still ahead at the 1/2. Now it's about to end with a loss. I am so fond of these boys it's not even funny. Sounds insane, oh Lord if you only knew...the hanging over the fence for autographs, charity softball games, preseason, regular season, practices, & pictures taken with some of the players (Patti with Vanden Bosh). Some of us are pretty die hard fans & we've been there. They have made the Chargers fight for this win today. And as Y107 pointed out friday morning as I drove into work..."whoever wins Sunday will have to face the Colts or the undefeated Patriots the following week. If the Titans win, it will only postpone a slaughter by the "Brady Bunch".

I remember at roughly mile 15-16 of the '06 CMM when I was running well & coming out of the Metrocenter area. They had the speakers blaring on the course & it was not music. It was the draft! I remember hearing, "We got Vince Young!!" I remember hearing the runners around me cheer & remembered how he was so explosive in the Rose Bowl/BCS National Championship. We runners/football fans cheered in the middle of our marathon for this person who became Rookie of the year last year. This year has not been near as explosive & he's been injured but he's still learning. Go Titans!

Then there was the long awaited playoff victory for Peyton's little brother today. I'm so glad that the Giants put the Bucks in their place it's not even funny. Not that I've watched every Giants game but it appeared to me that Eli seemed much more focused. Even though I have a softspot for Romo, especially after his screw ups last year that made me want to cry for him. I've decided that I really want the Giants to beat the Cowboys next week. Go Giants!

As for the Colts or the "Brady Bunch", I hope they beat the living daylights out of the Chargers next weekend....sorry, but I'm still a Brady fan & will always be a Peyton fan & I'm not over the Titans loss. :P Go Pats! Go Colts! (According to the news last night they were to play the Pats but this morning it's the Colts, odd?)

Tomorrow: I'm just going to wing it tomorrow. It's going to be a relative heatwave this next week compared to last week. I'm thinking I may attempt some hill repeats, depending on the amount of lighting I have on the hill that I generally do these on, which isn't often...or I may attempt them on the dreadmill with some speedwork thrown in for good measure. I need to sneak in some crunches & stretches. I do so dread the new resolutioners coming in this week!!

Tues: I probably need a minium of 6-7 miles

I'm unsure as to how long I should run next Sat, but I may attempt 18 with some solid hills. I just need to make sure I'm hydrated through out the week. Feb 10th is not that far off. :P

Productive day

Tour of Tullahoma on foot: 15.99 miles
(horrid pace, headwinds, & lack of energy)

I got out at approximately 6:45am this morning thinking it would be colder than it actually was...I parked in front Harvey's & took off to Farrar school doing the loop in front of the school. Needless to say, I had to run back to the car to change shirts. I had on my "when it's snowing & below freezing tech shirt". Duh?! I brought my '06 RC long sleeve tech shirt with me, luckily. I wasted about 3.5 mins changing shirts simply because I had to reposition everything, (garmin, pepper spray, & shuffle). My 1st mile was about 13 mins!! So, I took off again, went up the hill between the Matheny house & the old Harton house & back down & back over for the loop at Farrar again. This time I went out on the main road, over Jackson, over the viaduct, pass DQ, & then down pass Crimm's. I headed to the East area from there. On to Tara's loop, down to Macon's loop where I suddenly had the strong urge to use a portapottie. Thank God, they are still cramming homes in there. The first pottie was piled up with card board boxes. The 2nd was totally clean. Yippee! I felt much better after that. I was over 8 miles at that time. I left Macon for the country club & the Fairways. There are a couple of challenging hills over there. When I got to mile 11, I felt like the wind went out of my sails. I had taken a hit off my gu (1/2 of it) in Macon & I had been drinking a lot (water & gatorade). I was getting so hot! Yet the headwinds were there. At one point I felt the sweat on my head blow into my eye lashes. It just felt crazy. I started taking short little walk breaks after mile 11. By mile 13, I realized that I was going to have to take a more direct route back to Harvey's in order to make the pilates class. I was only going to put in 14 with the hills today but I ended up with 15.99 with a lot of walk breaks thrown in here & there. I ran too far from the car so this was NOT planned! Not exactly what I had in mind but the miles are in & I was so thirsty!! I downed a 16 oz bottled water while in pilates class. I drank a lot yesterday but my guess is that it wasn't enough. Lesson learned.

My facial at Studio 2000:

I decided I would pamper myself, especially since I had been battling the stupid migraines on New Years & for most of the week. I got a facial today & my face looks fabulous. :) I got one for my Tullahoma sister, Stephanie, for her birthday, which is Feb 3rd.

Fleet Feet:

Pam & I got on the road to Murfreesboro around 2:30pm. She got evaluated & fitted for shoes, sports bra, & a running outfit. I bought 2 prs of the Brooks Adrenaline & the roller for my hips. I've had more than a few people with hip issues tell me to get one. For the record, my Brooks Trance did not hold up near as well as my Adrenalines. I have 50+ less miles on the Trance & they are nearly "toast".

Drove the course:

I drove my cousin, Pam, over about 75% of the 1/2 marathon course. I want her to know what she's in for at the end of April. :P

Best Buy:

We got an urgent call from Pam's husband, Tim, go to Murfreesboro's Best Buy & pick up new monitor. Their monitor went totally out today.

So, I'm tired now & heading to bed fairly early....right after I say a prayer for our Titans.
I hope tomorrow is just as productive!!

Yearning for daylight

I noticed on Wed when I got off work that it wasn't pitch dark at 5pm, but by the time I pull into the driveway it is dark. The days are getting slightly longer already. Yippee! I ran tonight at THS, around the parking lots, around Microcraft, the business center, & the track for 6.02 miles. I almost fell at one point. I'm getting real good at falling lately. I was behind the gas station right next to what used to be Schlotzsky's. My pace was only 9:18 but I'll take it for a cold, dark night by myself. I also did 30 slow mins on the elliptical while reading my Nashville striders funrunner, some light leg & arm weights, and stretched.

I'm excited that Pam, my cousin, may do the Preds 5k. She's already signed up for the CMM 1/2 so I think this would be good for her. We may go get new shoes at FF this weekend.

Brrrr....it's cold!

I pulled on the tights for the first time since EARLY last April when we had that last cold front come through. I went to the track in tights, RC thin long sleeve tech shirt, sub-freezing tech shirt, & one pr of gloves. (I should have put the 2nd pr over them!) My hands & face were the only body parts that were cold. As a matter of fact, I only stopped at the 3.22 mark because my right pointer finger felt like it was bleeding. It was almost throbbing. I could not get my right fingers totally warm in one glove. Left hand was fine, go figure? I wasn't alone out there believe it or not. There was one other gal out there. My pace was slow, only 8:49 but I plan to improve that over the next month.
I went to the gym, shed all the clothes, & jumped on the treadmill for another 1.3 miles just to finish up. I did 50 slow mins on the elliptical, some yoga ball crunches, & stretched.

Hannah & Jeff filled out their Preds Fangtastic 5k forms tonight. I need to get mine done too. It's one week before Birmingham on Feb 2nd.

Tomorrow: I hope to do at least 6 miles. It's supposed to be a little warmer.
Friday: Rest (scheduled a 30 min massage)
Saturday: Going to run 14 miles & hopefully do Carla's pilates
Sunday: Get some quick cross training in before the game in San Diego (kick off 3:30pm central)

Happy New Year!

We made friends with other people who drove from Nashville.
Only they were painted and half naked. :P

The pic the VA guy (Colts fan) took of us.

Representing, supporting, or just plain acting like a TN goofball in Indy

Kids holding up the "give away" towel commemorating the last game at the RCA Dome

2006 World Champions Super Bowl Banner

Beat Titans blow up doll outside of Dome

Colts Field

Front of RCA Dome at night

...and a year it's been for me! I managed to "clean up" a few things in my life in '07. I let go some negative "stuff"! I sold a house that I wasn't quite happy with, ran more than a few miserable races, & been on more than a few adventures traveling and/or football games. ha!

I think it was a productive year for me. I'm looking forward to '08 & all that life has to offer me. I've made some GREAT new friends this year & reunited with some special old ones. I am truly blessed in so many ways that most people don't even know about. :)

On the downside, I found out the day that I was driving to the airport to head to San Antonio, that Faye Smith died. I was never that close to my ex mother in law but what little time I spent with her, she treated me with much kindness & respect. She always seemed to make me laugh because to her, life was simple. She was very straightforward & when asked told us what she thought of things. Even though I didn't have any contact with her since 1998, when I heard the voice mail on my cell that she had passed, I cried. I sincerely hope that Gary was able to handle this loss.

The last 4 days have had me on the road to Indianpolis. On the way, we stopped for a few hours to do some power shopping in an outlet mall in Edinburgh, Indiana. I got some Aldo boots that were marked WAY down, some clinque, winter dress shorts, dress shirt, & underwear. I had not been to any Outlet malls this year so this more than made up for it. At this point we were only about 45 mins away from Hannah's sister's house in Indy. They were very nice people with a very friendly boxer named, "Harper". I wish I had taken a photo of him. :( I also met one of Hannah's brothers & her mom. We moved her mom Sunday morning so my legs got a little bit of a work out going up & down stairs. We also managed to squeak in a movie at a dollar theatre, "The Bee Movie". (very cute!) It was 50 cent day so that made it even better. After a strong margarita & too much migraine meds, I still couldn't keep my migraine away. I seriously went to bed early on New Years Eve while they all went midnight bowling. Sad, isn't it?! Of all things to happen but I was glad that I didn't get the migraine the night before at the Titans - Colts game.

Since Dungy didn't want anyone injured, he kept Peyton & other 1st stringers on the sidelines after the 1st qtr for the most part. Thanks! :P Titans won even though VY reinjured his quad in the 4th qtr. Kerry Collins pulled it off. Who knows what next Sunday will bring against the Chargers. We had a good time in what was NOT OUR HOUSE. I love the Colts. I've been watching Peyton since his helmet strap was breaking his chin out while playing at UT. So, it was easy for me to cheer when the Colts came out. I would say that it was an interesting experience being at another team's coliseum (RCA Dome). For the most part people were really nice, some were very sarcastic, & a few just down right nasty. I would never dream of acting nasty to visiting fans at LP Field. I proudly wore the #10 Texas Rose Bowl jersey that VY signed at the charity softball game this past spring. Hannah wore the signed #85 Mason jersey. We had some guy from VA (Colts Fan) take our picture. He must have already had a few beers in him because he told us that in his opinion, "ALL women from TN were hot!" He's probably right. :P

The Colts are getting a new & slightly bigger coliseum. We got a look at it from the road when leaving. It will have a retractable roof also. The current place seemed fine to me but I guess they want to host a Super Bowl one day in a bigger place. Who knows....

On the way out, I fell on one knee (the achy one) on an escalator that was not working. A woman in front of me was trying to push her son to walk up the thing & I was behind them. I remember thinking to myself, "This thing is slippery in these boots...." and then down I went on top of my Titans flag, Titans pom poms, & my Colts cheerleader bear that I bought inside the dome. So, I now have an ugly bruise just under my left knee cap. Above the knee cap on my lower quad is where it's been achy recently but I'm ok now. I think taking 4 full days off of NO running & NO gym time was a good thing even though I feel like a FAT girl right now. :(

Thanks for the pics from the Outback Bowl (Greg W.) and (Paul C.) Go Vols!!

Also, thanks for the pic from the Music City Bowl, Wayne. Who won that one?

Tomorrow: I will run but not sure how far or where & I will go to the gym for sure.

Thur: more of the same.

Friday: Rest

Sat: 14 mile training run. I'd like to get into Carla's pilates if I can be done running in time.