Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Crazy fucks!

There is a category 5 hurricane headed our way & yet several people at TNT were trying to schedule an 8 mile run in the morning & trying to find TNT locations in Austin, San Antonio & Dallas so they can still get their runs in.

These people are crazy.

I'm getting my happy ass out of dodge & am gonna hunker down & hope my apartment & all my belongings, as well as my parents' house don't blow away this weekend.

In case I don't make it... it's been nice knowing you! :)

To think I used to love 'Ritas

Hurricanes suck.

Mother nature sucks.

Why can't she leave us the fuck alone?

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Another one bites the dust

Well, I lost another one. Same toe-nail... different foot... only this time, there was blood. Fun!

At least I'm symmetrical now.

Monday, September 19, 2005

One small step for man, several giant leaps for the boobies!

A big fat CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to my friends Megan & Alice who just completed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Los Angeles this weekend. Megan walked a total of 26.2 miles & Alice walked a total of 39. 3 miles over 2 days, & they both raised over $1800 each for breast cancer research. I cannot properly express how incredibly proud I am of these women.... so proud I could cry (& did after hearing Megan's account of it). I know what it's like to train & complete an event such as this, so I know all the hard work & determination they have put in & how hard it was to complete everything. I wish I could have been there to cheer them on & to give them HUGE hugs & foot rubs when they crossed the finish line.

You women ROCK! Thank you for helping to "Save the Boobies!!"

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Best. Run. EVER!

Yesterday I had the best run ever. I have no idea how it happened. The night before I was in a MAJOR funk over things that had been going on in my personal life & I was so upset that I eventually cried myself to sleep. I kept waking up, tossing & turning, never finding that comfortable spot on the bed. I think I maybe slept about 3-4 hours total.

When my alarm went off at 4:45, I had such dread. I did NOT want to get up & I most certain did NOT want to run. But I knew I'd promised certain people I would be at the park, "bright" & early & I knew I couldn't let them down, so I forced myself out of bed. I could barely think straight & was very glad I'd laid out all my stuff the night before. (I finally learned that my brain doesn't function early in the morning!) I tried to eat, but every bite tasted like cardboard to me & I just couldn't do it. I only had a few bites of a power bar before I thought I would barf. The only thing I could stomach was water.

I slowly got dressed, grabbed my gear & a change of clothes (we were having breakfast w/ one of our honored patients after practice), got in my car & began my drive to Memorial Park.

Looking back, I think the drive over to the park was a sign.

As I turned onto Memorial Dr., I looked up & saw the biggest, most gorgeous full moon ever. It was low in the sky & pale yellow in color. It actually took my breath away & instantly I felt a bit of a surge run through my body. (You see, I have this major love affair with the moon. It mesmerizes me. I can sit for hours just looking up at the moon in the sky & I will be the most content person you ever met.) When I got to the park, the coaches were setting everything up & a few of the walkers were getting ready to start (we start earlier than the runners because we're out there so much longer & the heat is MURDER). I quickly signed in & as I ran back to my car to put my new TNT Mentor jersey in my car, I heard my coach yelling for me to tell me the other walkers were leaving & I ran to catch up to them. I could see the moon glowing through the trees in the park & it gave me a sense of calm. I looked up & smiled.

We started out slow, w/ my friend Lydia & a newbie taking the lead ahead of me & another newbie. She was asking me questions about the marathon I ran & fundraising ideas, etc. I was fine with it for a while because I was still warming up, but after about 1/2 mile, I felt the need to speed up my pace & just be on my own. Lydia & the other girl were pretty far ahead of us & for whatever reason, it bugged me. For once, I wanted to be the one in the lead. The girl I was with could tell I needed to go faster, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up with me, so she said for me to go on, that she'd be fine. With that, I took off.

I didn't run at first, I just sped up my walking pace, really pumping my arms & taking short, fast steps. Before I knew it, I'd caught up to Lydia & the other girl, then I was passing them. I kept up my pace, trying to get away from them & their chatter. I just needed quiet. As soon the trail turned onto Memorial, the chatter was fading & I decided it was time to run. I went along at a nice steady pace... not too fast, really concentrating on my breathing. It was great! I ran only for about a minute or 2, but even when I stopped, it wasn't because I had to. I just felt it was better for me to pace myself. Every couple minutes, I'd run again for a minute or 2, then walk. Before I knew it I was out of the park & on the streets. And the other girls were nowhere in sight. I was on such a high.

I am NEVER the leader. I am always the one in the very back, struggling to keep up. What was going on? Who was this person that had taken over my body? When I got to the water station (around mile 4) the girl manning the station was surprised that I was the 1st one there. I think she actually did a double-take. LOL! I grabbed a quick drink & didn't stop to chat. I just plugged right along. It wasn't until about mile 5 that the runners started to catch up with me, & even then, it was only a few. It just made me want to run even more.

I got the rose garden, turned around & made my way back to the water station. I ran into one of my coaches who seemed very surprised to see me so early on & doing so well. He asked me how I was doing. He said "you look like you're actually having fun!" I thought for a second, smiled really big & said "Actually, I am doing great! I feel great!" And for the 1st time, I actually meant it!!!

I got back to the water station & again I didn't dilly-dally. I grabbed some water, said a quick "hello" to the other runners there & was on my merry way again. When I turned the corner, I ran into a big pack of my teammates running in the opposite direction. They, too seemed surprised to see me already on my way back to the park & doing so well. Me! A walker! It was a big rush seeing the looks on everyone's faces.

The only thing that slowed me down was the sun & the heat. By the time I was back on Memorial, the sun was over the trees & was beating down my back, but because of how well I was doing, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I got back to the park before the heat got really bad.

I still couldn't believe how well I did. I have never run that much in my life! I was doing pretty much a 60/40 walk/run (as opposed to my usual 80/20 or 90/10). We'll see if this continues. I sure hope it does.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

What's happened to me???

Tonight we had our monthly Happy Hour at BW3's for Team in Training. Not long after people began to show up, one of the coaches was saying how he was looking for people to be on his team for the 197 mile Hood To Coast Relay Race in August 2006. Each team has 12 members, with each member running 3-6 mile segments of the race. The race has a 31 hour time limit, which means each person would have to run an average mile of 9:45. There was a big part of me that really wished I could participate, however, I know there's no way in hell I can run in that kinda time. Not yet anyway.

So now I've made a new goal for myself.... to be on that team for the 2007 race.




I keep looking around for the pod where the alien that apparently has taken over my body came from. ;-)

Saturday, September 10, 2005

One more thing...

My friend, Lydia had a great solution to my missing 26.2 sock... put it in a collage! I already ordered some 5x7 prints of the team photos from Alaska so what I'm going to do is make a shadow memory box. I'll put the team photos, my 26.2 sock, my medal, the pic I had of Dave, an Anchorage pin I got at the pasta party, my tickets, my bib #, my hospital wrist band w/ John's name on it, & an Alaska keychain in the shape of a moose all in the box & mount it on the wall. It'll be great! :)

PS

I am becoming appalled by the number of people that find this blog about running by doing searches for girls peeing.

The latest one was a search for "pee girl under 16".

What.

the.

fuck???

SICKOS!!!!!!! Does your mother know you do this????

Not enough?

It's weird... I haven't been training as much lately but today I actually got out there & went to practice with the team. I got an early start with a friend & we did 6 miles. When we finished & got back to the park, I was barely winded. 6 miles didn't feel like enough. I felt like I'd simply been out for a little stroll. Part of it may have been because my friend's boyfriend was hurt & didn't want to run, so we all just walked the whole time (although it was a pretty fast walk). I know I could've done at least 3 more & was tempted to do a quick run around the loop, but then it started to pour down rain, so instead I grabbed a quick bagel (I was starving), ran to my car, & drove home.

I still can't believe how easily I do 6 miles now. Me. ME!!

That's just crazy!

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

WTF????

OK. I know I made a small post here the other day. I remember typing it. I remember posting it. I remember going to this here blog & seeing it. But now it's gone.

WTF???

I know it wasn't the most exciting post in the world, but still, it was MY post & I want to know what the hell happened to it?

Anyhoo... basically it said that there was not much new to report. Instead of my usual training this past weekend, I took a road trip with some friends & saw 3 concerts in 3 different cities in 4 days. I got my exercise in the form of dancing my friggin' ass off for at least 3 hours each night listening to one of the best damn bands in the land play some of the best damn music in the land. It was fabulous.

This weekend I'll be back to running, but now, thanks to tapers & the power of the internet, I'll have these concerts to keep me company on my iPod & I can pretend I'm back there under the stars with my band. It's sure to put a little extra bounce in my step. :)