Runner Susan

I moved.

2006-01-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

I live here now! Come visit me!

Rowdy loves linguine & pesto . . .

2006-01-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

Squinty Pirate Poem

2006-01-26T11:39:00.000-05:00

Sent by my fellow martini-loving friend Kate, who can actually finish a martini

I like to have a Martini,
two at the very most;
three, I'm under the table,
four I'm under my host!

by: Dorothy Parker

Quail run killer hill training

2006-01-24T06:46:00.000-05:00

This morning's run was hill training . . . I think a good substitute for my long lost and dearly missed buttcamp *a moment of silence please*. 5.32 miles - here are my splits and an elevation chart. I'm not sure how these hills compare to others, but this is hilly for our area.

A super quickie post

2006-01-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

My official time for the 15k was 1:32:40. Bleh. I start speed work soon. Yay.

Here are a few pictures:

The not so sucky Too Cold to Hold 15k race report with the extra long title just for fun

2006-01-21T16:43:00.000-05:00

This report doesn't suck because I was fast, because I wasn’t. It doesn't suck because, despite the menstrual merriment, I enjoyed myself and ran for fun.* A very small revenge on Mother Nature, but I’ll take it. Aside from frozen appendages, the only other unpleasantness was that the water tasted like ass. I have serious suspicions that by the time my slow kind got around to the water stations they were siphoning from the local lake; which was a landfill in its former life.

I don’t have my official time yet, but here is what Garmina has to say:

Obviously, I haven’t figured out how to run the negative split way yet. I’ve got plans to start improving that downward spiral soon; along with some other things like speed work. It might also be beneficial if I stop cheating myself by cutting the workouts short by a mile or two. I became blatantly aware of this mistake beginning around mile six.

My friends, Linda and Kate, walked their first 5k. They did great and I'm glad they enjoyed themselves and are excited for the next race. It was a fun, fun day. I'll post official times and pictures later.

*Don't be fooled by this.

Yes, I am also aware of the trauma of semi-colon-ness.

No caveat, everything sucks

2006-01-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to do it. But, blogging is good therapy and I NEED to blog. PMS or not, I must feed my addiction in a shameless ploy to gain attention and/or sympathy.

Ok, first off - suffering from PMS on date night never ends well. It simply never does. When will I learn? It's always that bad. ALWAYS. I tried to be normal. I really, really did. Poor Michael. I really do not deserve this man.

On top of all of this, Wednesday's workout was another lame 4 miles - not 6 or 7 like scheduled. I swam a few laps and gave up for fear of drowning. I left a lot of snot in that pool. Swimming sucks rocks. Why I convince myself that I can swim is beyond any reasonable comprehension. My nutrition also sucks. I've cut my workouts short. I've gained 1.2 lbs. All of these things suck!!!

If all of that wasn't bad enough, I overslept this morning. I didn't get up until 5:45 AM. My alarm clock was in my workout bag and I didn't hear it go off. So no boot camp this morning. Speaking of which, our financial advisor says one gym membership has to go - so this is my last month at the Y. That means no more buttcamp. The F.A. does not understand my desire to remain bootylicious. There goes my Tuesday morning posting material.

Sucking in general doesn't suck, but this is just one suck too many.

I need wine. I need chocolate.

Do you feel my pain?!?!

Behavior Modification

2006-01-17T07:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a really awful day of food consumption, a blissful day of shopping and a lazy day of running. I must control myself and not let this obstinate naughtiness continue. Today's entry will be brief as I am following the 17th commandment Thou shall not blog with PMS.

I've started off the day right: a good butt camp and lf cottage cheese with coffee for breakfast. My weight is at 127 today. If I can behave myself, I know I can get into the 125 arena by the end of the end of next week, something I haven't been able to accomplish in over 2 years. Lunch will consist of some kind of chicken salad. After work I have a five-mile run scheduled.

Dinner? Sigh. Dinner will be tricky since tonight is date night. If I maintain a moderate alcohol consumption, I should have the ability to choose a healthy meal. (Translation: more salad - less wine - no fun). Tonight I will also attempt to follow the 16th commandment Thou shall not blog drunk.

Here's to a successful day!

Please, no more memes

2006-01-16T06:08:00.000-05:00

Updated:
Workout: Easy 2.5 mile run following Kenza on her motor-scooter, my battery wore out long before hers did. I'm not an evening runner - mornings are best for me.

Food: Bad, bad, bad. I must redeem myself tomorrow with an extra-hard buttcamp and 5 mile run!! I've been so good, but it was a tough day.
____________________

Struck by tragedy . . . Fifteen from Nano? Okay. Randomly selected.

Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield
Lady, Lenny Kravitz
Rich Girl, Gwen Stefani
Hung Up, Madonna
Jesus Walks, Kanye West
Pretty Vegas, INXS
You Had Me, Joss Stone
Gypsy Flame, Armik
Pump It, Black-Eyed Peas
Naughty Girl, Beyonce
Vertigo, U2
American Girl, Tom Petty
La Tortura, Shakira
Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand
Istanbul, Bruce BecVar

Exposed

2006-01-15T10:08:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what a new pair of shoes (or two) and a good decongestant will do for a girl. I had a good run today. Well, no, not really. It was more of a run/walk, but when I was running - I was running at a decent pace and it felt good. Finally. The walking was to expel phlegm and prevent me from vomiting. I vomit easily. It's a gift. 9.26 Miles in 1:38:26, 10:37/mi, 1080 calories burned, AHR 170. The heart rate was still a little high, but at least it wasn't 188.

I was tagged by Naked to do another meme. What's in your Fridge? Seems simple enough. I didn't think of it as a big deal until I posted this picture. I feel really exposed. Leftovers, beer, soda. Who put that food there? Is this how I fuel my body?

I won't spread this meme, but I would be really interested to see what's in your fridge.*

*Especially the fridges of Iron Benny & Nytro, DCG, Bolder , and soymilk Susie. Umm, that's technically not spreading meme.

Wine, Sake, Sea Bass and Shoe Shopping

2006-01-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

Okay. Call me shallow. Call me slightly inebriated. But I think it is awesome that both pairs of my new shoes sparkle.

It's better to run and be lonely than not run at all

2006-01-13T07:13:00.000-05:00

Hypochondriac Susan spent some time visiting her physician friend yesterday. Her efforts to explain impending death as a result of heart explosion due to the snot-oxygen factor and freakishly high heart rate were futile; only ending with "Here's a decongestant, now go home."

Thank goodness I love running. For what other reason would I put up with tortoise pacing, abnormally high heart rates, and freezing temperatures? Alas, winter will be ending in a few weeks; it was actually only 39 degrees this morning, a pleasant temperature for a slow, four-mile run. I shouldn't complain. We've had a really warm winter - even for Dallas. I'm disappointed in myself, but have decided it's best to just run to run until I'm feeling better. I have expectations that it will make my ten-mile run this Sunday more enjoyable, albeit lonely because my friends will be passing me right and left. Actually, on most occasions I enjoy the solitude - it's just difficult pacing oneself. Perhaps this is where Garmina will come in handy.

Desperately Seeking Susan

2006-01-12T06:33:00.000-05:00

According to site-meter, if you type in these words into a search engine you'll somehow find my blog.

sexually active dog
susan porn
girls girls girls (I feel the need to add 'gone wild' for some reason)
strawberry twizzler stops diarrhea
tampon information
girl running naked
rowdy man kit
mud wrestling
and my personal favorite - Texas whore

I'm either extremely kinky, or I spend too much time blogging intoxicated - you choose.

Upper-body boot camp this morning - and much needed - but sadly, I win the Weenie award for lack of effort. Let's hope I can fit a 5 mile run in at lunch if I'm not at the doctor again.

Sorta six, but not seven miles

2006-01-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

Today's run was a scheduled 7 miles. I'm still a little fatigued from buttcamp, speedwork and this damn cold. (Excuses, excuses) I ran 6.27 miles in 1:05:55 - 10:30/min miles. I burned 713 calories (Do I get to eat more?) and my heart rate was too high . . . 172 bpm avg/188 bpm max - I'm going to guess and say it's the snot/oxygen factor contribution from this cold. (Or maybe it's my torrid lesbian love affair with Garmin? Another excuse).

If you hang around Runner Susan or Shopper Susan long enough, you'll eventually pick up all her bad & good habits. My friends Linda and Kate went shopping last night . . . for Underarmour! Why? Because they have decided to walk the Big D half marathon in April. Go Linda. Go Kate. Stop by their blogs and wish them good luck with their training. I'm really proud of these girls.

Thou shall not tag another*

2006-01-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

Four jobs I've had:
1. Financial Manager
2. Chef
3. Housekeeper
4. Dog Trainer

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Dune
2. Catwoman
3. Dukes of Hazzard
4. Bolero

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Raven
3. Meet the Press
4. Super Tuesday

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Library of Congress
2. Several Porn Sites
3. Nick Jr
4. Meetup

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Meat
2. Whisky
3. Kiviak
4. Ice

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. Ismay, Montana
2. Jackson, Mississippi
3. Bogota, Columbia
4. Iceland

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Work
2. Fishing
3. Gynecologists Office
4. See above vacations

Four albums I can't live without:
1. Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits
2. All country music albums
3. That's all I listen to

Four vehicles I've owned:
1. 1978 Plymouth Horizon, which I'm still driving

* Thank you so much Kate, you know how much I love doing these . . . thou shall not spread meme.

Speedwork, buttcamp and a gloriously unholy alliance

2006-01-10T07:04:00.000-05:00

I love the holidays, but I am always glad when they are over so I can get back into a routine. You'll also be happy to know, that the running blahs are over and I'm excited about my marathon training beginning in February.

I'm feeling much better today, which means less whining. Last night was 2 miles of speed work, a 1/2 mile cool down followed by upper-body weights and 3 x 20 sets of devil scissor crunches (hard, hard, hard). This morning was cross-training with a killer buttcamp taught by lunge queen Karrie, followed by bosu ball abs. I'm expecting to be delightfully sore by the end of the day. My plan is to get a 5 mile run in tonight if possible.

Jennifer, from Decaf Please, mentioned that it would be great if Nano and Garmin had babies - wow, wouldn't that be the best. That got me and Kate thinking - what if Nano, Garmin and a cell phone had a threesome. Wouldn't that unholy alliance create the most amazing technological creation EVER!

So sad

2006-01-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

I cheated. Not really, but it sure felt like it. I cut my 10 mile run down to 7.74. I ran/walked at snail speed - 11:34 min miles. Even at that pace my heart rate stayed around 180. I won't let this cold beat me, however - it is doing a good job at slowing me down. Between the Wellness Formula and the Neti Pot, I should be back to 9:30's by next week's lsd.

Yesterday's workout consisted of sitting on my patio absorbing the sun and increasing my melanin level. Today will be 82 degrees and sunny; I plan on doing the same for most of the day. Until then, I'm going to google why I curl my right toes, and not my left toes, while I run.

Let's get the grossness over with

2006-01-06T06:19:00.000-05:00

Today's six-mile run was a delicate balancing act. The simple deed of dealing with the snot out-oxygen in was a little more complex than the routine hold and blow during a run. With my nose corroded completely with dried snot, the liquid snot had no choice but to form a lovely wall of mucus down the back of my throat preventing oxygen from entering my body. Portioning the intake and output was challenging, but you'll be happy to know, I managed. This persistent cold is most annoying. 6 miles at an average pace of 10:38 per mile, slow and snotty.

You wanna know something else annoying? Hail damage. Why is it that hail damage looks worse on pasty-white winter thighs than it does on tan summer thighs? Huh? Why? It's just wrong. It's the same body. Another 2006 goal: rid body of current and prevent future hail damage.

Ready for the most grossest of all? Last night I decided to swim instead of run. All the pool lanes were full of hopeful resolutionites. While I waited in the hot tub for a lane to open, I witnessed the most absurd occurrence. Senior Water Aerobics. That in itself is not grotesque (although, it does provide for a frightening locker room). The grotesqueness occurred after the instructor wheeled out a cart of water noodles and the senior ladies giddily held them in front of their bodies pretending to possess giant penises. During my voluntary lapse of blindness, I heard the lady next to me gasp "OMG, did you see that?". While I certainly hope my senior years are sexually active, I pray to god I'm mentally sound enough to spare the public any such aquatic humiliation.

Home Again

2006-01-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

Oh god, it's good to be home! I missed my husband, my house, my dogs and just my family being together. Don't get me wrong, it was great to visit with my Indiana family, but I am a homebody. Travel doesn't always suit me well (unless I'm on a beach with a book and a margarita). I'm a creature of habit and it's good to be back in a routine. Finally, I can get back to blogging. I missed you guys.

My dad is recovering very well from his heart surgery; this makes me very happy. My brother and sister's families are doing well. Their kids are growing fast - this frightens me somewhat because it means I'm growing older. I gave my mother blogging lessons, which was comical, but she's doing really well. I have my doubts to whether or not she will keep it up - but we'll see.

I have yet to do any running this year, but did have a killer workout session with my sister at her gym on the 2nd. I was very surprised at what a good class it was, especially since it was in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. I learned some really great killer ab moves and some disturbingly good rotator cuff strengthening moves. I'm actually a little puzzled with the latter, this guy was big on strengthening the rotator cuffs . . . Oh well, my sister and I had a great workout and my arms and abs are still sore. This workout was then followed by a mall workout with Amy. Susan showed great restraint and only spent $14.00. Go Susan.

My regular running workouts begin tonight. I'm so excited about this upcoming year and ready to get my training going.

Reflections & Resolutions

2006-01-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

What an interesting Blog World we live in. In July of 2005, I started blogging to document my training and consumption in order to lose weight and complete a marathon. Go figure: I weigh exactly the same that I did on Jan. 1, 2005. However, my goal to complete several marathons was sucessful, slow, but successful. I finished 2005 with 909 miles; I'm thrilled with this achievement.

Some of my goals for 2006 include:

Obsess less about my butt jiggle and overall body shape
Drink fewer martinis and less wine (before race day)
Complete the Austin Half Mara in February in 2 hours
Run the Big D Half Mara in April in 1:50
Run the San Diego Mara in June in 4:30
Run the Las Vegas Mara in December without a hangover and in 4 hours
Spare Rowdy the indignity and only play dress-up with him on the holidays
Eat less than 5,000 calories a day, document my food and fuel my body properly
and finally and seriously, lose 15 pounds.

This world has become so much more than a training and consumption log. An amazingly addictive and powerful tool of communication. A blogging world of friends where eyes don't roll nor heads nod when I begin to converse about marathons, martinis, colons, or semicolons. A world of virtual runners that support, motivate and coach me every day. A world I am thankful to be apart of and look forward to in 2006.

Many wishes for new PRs and safe runs in for all of you in 2006. Cheers.

Indiana Girls

2005-12-31T11:16:00.000-05:00

At home in Indiana visiting my family for the holidays. Kenza and I with my brother's girls. My dad is recovering from minor heart surgery. I've done little running and plan on a lot of shopping.

Sorry Sue and Paul

2005-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've got to do it. I'm bumping Gmap Pedometer to #3 on my list of world's greatest inventions. I have a new love. I got a Garmin Forerunner for Christmas. It is an amazing, wondrous invention. Today was my first run with her. She performed spectacularly. More than I can say for myself. Somedays you just gotta be glad you made it out of bed and on the road. Look at the pretty, pretty charts it makes (not my slow pace):

Now look at this one, oh so pretty:

And it does so much more, so much: maps, splits, virtual partners. Go and get one now. Sell your soul if you must. You will be glad you did. Now I will always know what my splits are . . . how did I ever live without her? I haven't figured out how to make it backlight the entire run. Can it do that?

I have a feeling Nano is jealous.

The people have spoken, and a half it is

2005-12-26T14:15:00.000-05:00

At least for now. I really am glad about this decision. My main focus is on the Austin Half in February, and The Big D Half in April. My goal is to finish the Austin Half in under 2 hours and the Big D in 1:50. Both attainable goals if I train properly and incorporate a little speedwork. My ultimate goal is to run another full marathon this fall, perhaps Las Vegas, as I understand this is a really challenging Boston qualifier.*

I ran 5 SLOW miles on Saturday and felt hints of shin splints, my sign that I need new shoes. I've only had my shoes for two months. Huh, I can't believe I'm complaining about getting new shoes. I hope all of you had a happy holiday.

*And by a really challenging race I really mean, a really challenging weekend shopping at Ceasar's Palace and playing craps and drinking martinis** until 5AM.

**And by martini's (plural) I mean one before I start admiring the fraternity boys wandering around Caesar's Palace wearing togas and being hauled off to bed by my long suffering slightly more alcoholic friends.

Oh come all ye playful

2005-12-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

My friend Kate introduced me to the concept of the Fantasy Wishlist. I could get used to a world filled with these:

A daughter who cleans her room before I actually have to take a stick in to whack the things nesting in the corners.
Super-hero running legs.
My own petting zoo - with room for a llama and baby goats.
A personal shopper at Nordstroms who would lead me to the secret stashes I KNOW they're hiding from the common folk who must look for themselves.
Real Fashion Police. Oh, come on, people! Paris Hilton? That alone is worth an arrest.
A husband who doesn't find it necessary to classify the refridgerator. And it's not just alphabatized - it's also subcatagorized by food group!
A dog that comes with her own cleaning team to trail behind the "happy pee."
Someone to kill the cheese-grating madman who makes mincemeat of my ovaries. Hell, while it's a fantasy list, a world without PMS would be nice.
A hangover-free martini. Or five.
To be a driver who doesn't scare the hell out of my passengers.
To not have to use the term "international sales meeting" to cover my blogging addiction at work.
An Ethiopian baby who runs faster than all the other babies. Or just runs, since that would be fairly impressive in a baby.
The Swordsy girl's breasts.
One day where I don't have to hear either ESPN or Hillary Duff on the television.
That the bathroom across from my office would suddenly start smelling like roses insted of like...bathroom.
Oh, and since this is a fantasy list - world peace would be nice too.

Decisions

2005-12-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

Okay people. It can’t all be poop and breasts and dogs with happy pee. Occasionally, I do obsess about my first love, running. Between the stress over Kenza’s eye, the distractions of daily life, and the shiny, shiny baubles tempting me EVERYWHERE I go, I’ve been able to ignore a decision I really must make.

To half or not to half – that is the question.

From the end of last year through this October, I’ve run three marathons. I’ve trained for these, I ran them (albeit slowly). I’m proud of this.

But I’m just not sure I have it in me to do a marathon again so soon. I really want to – now that I’ve established that I can do it, I feel I’ve set a precedent I should follow. Doing a half seems like cheating. But my body tells me every day that I am not ready for a full marathon.

The Austin Marathon is only 60 days away, and I really must make a decision soon.

A backwards run

2005-12-19T06:57:00.000-05:00

Today's run is inexplicable . . . 4.364534819908468* miles in 44:49. If my memory serves me correctly, here are my splits:

M1: 7:26 (go me)
M2: 8:30
M3:9:23
M4: 12:00
M4.364: 8:00 (no go me)

My body is not properly fueled. These holiday foods are taking their toll, and then some. Perhaps I should start documenting my consumption again. This time of year, I'm certain it would be a very ugly documentation.

I have the day off work today. I'll be at my church, finishing my shopping. Let's hope my lovely Michael won't make me repent afterwards.

*If I haven't mentioned it before, Sue & Paul's Gmap Pedometer is the world's 2nd greatest invention.

Ask a stupid question with PMS . . .

2005-12-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

Susan asks:
"WHY? WHY? Why must every TV in the house be on ESPN?"

Methodically, Michael answers:
"Because I get bored with Susan porn!"

Wednesday wishes do come true

2005-12-16T05:38:00.000-05:00

No shooting stars, maybe it was the full moon, but I ran well today. Ran the same Quail Run killer hill training loop. I improved my time. 5.5 miles - average pace: 9:17 per mile. Go me.

__________________________

Ok, so now for some non-running updates:

Kenza's eye: Doctor said she was healing well. I still catch her watching TV with one hand over her injured eye. That pupil is getting smaller, but still slightly oval. We go back to the doctor in 6 months.

Cleanse: not much to report. I stopped it for a while before the half. I'll be starting it up again soon. My intestines will thank me.

Shopping: Susan has neglected her shopping duties. This weekend will be full of bags and boxes of gifts - all for others, of course. Oh, but how those black satin pants are still seducing me - and so are those strappy gold heels. We'd be so good together. Let us add a shimmery tank while we are lusting.

Weight: UGH- 130. My ankles were sore running today. This is always a sign that I've put on a few extra pounds. I guessed 3 while I was running, but the damn bitch Tanita said 4 when I got home. My sugar addiction gets the best of me this time of year. I LOVE SUGAR. I have, however, managed to minimize the adult beverages - always a challenge at holiday parties.

Summer tan: Faded. Heliotherapy is so good for the soul. Sigh.

Ridden with disease

2005-12-15T17:46:00.000-05:00

Rob the Runner has infected me. Here are five random facts about me –

I go through obsessions constantly, picking them up and then dropping them when I’ve lost interest.
I’m an ordained minister. A long story for another day.
My occupation is not as a graphic designer – I just play one on Blog TV.
Most people think I am a sorority girl, rich bitch until they meet me. Oh, how soon they know better.
I don’t understand, and am disturbed by, the obsession men have with Rachel Ray.

I’ve had my vaccinations, so I am not contagious.*

*I'm tagging the people I know this torments the most and that are most likely not going to do "the 5 random facts": Amy, Sarah, Linda, Kate - oh, and maybe Zara the Pirate Girl.

Reason to celebrate: Beat the big ass hills and made it to 200 posts

2005-12-14T06:21:00.000-05:00

Today was hill training - 5.5 miles at 5 AM. Average pace: 9:47 per mile. It had rained the night before, providing the morning with much fog and many puddles. Fun stuff. I blister easily and don’t like to run with wet gear. My shoes were the only things to get wet today – and since I already had blisters from the half – my wet shoes only added to the festering pus. No biggie. The last 2 miles were a slow hell; they brought my average pace down considerably. Being run over and dragged by a car for 2 miles would have been more pleasant, I suspect.

I saw two shooting stars this morning. The second was bright and lasted so long, I thought for a moment its trail might touch land. My wish was for more hill training.

But the run is over, the morning young, and I’m off to irritate my co-workers by being absurdly wide-awake.

Buttcamp & the paraphernalia lowdown

2005-12-13T07:42:00.000-05:00

This morning was buttcamp - hard, of course. Lunges, lunges, lunges. Cardio, cardio, cardio. My legs are delightfully sore and stiff. I’m sure their suppleness will return and they will be ready for tomorrow’s miles.

A cell phone, a camera, a nana, and some gu. I know, I know - sounds like a lot of gear to haul around during a half. So here’s the lowdown on the half-mara accessory situation.

This is the itty-bitty keychain camera. Isn’t it cute?

I hooked it on the loop on my tights. Here are the splits it photographed miles 3-8. (Umm, not sure what happened during miles 6-8. We’ll just blame speed) Very purposeful. Don’t you think?

The cell phone? Unfortunately, work dictated its presence. The phone isn’t much bigger than the camera – it gets stuffed in my bra (with the pack of gu.) I usually carry my phone when I do runs over 7 miles. It’s dark and sometimes I’m alone – what can I say? I'm a safety girl. There may be an expectantly menacing hole waiting to swallow me. And, at 5AM, I’m not usually talking on it – I just feel better having it on the road with me.

Oh, and finally - my Nano, so slim and shiny – my one true love. Semi permanently attached in its rightful and harmonious place to my left arm.

See, all is right with the world - no pack mule required.

Dallas White Rock ½ Marathon Report

2005-12-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

First - The evening before involved eating sushi, drinking sake, and then attending Michael’s company Christmas party – which was extremely boring and involved me standing on my feet for 3 hours in heels. Stupid. Boring. Bleh. I didn’t get to bed until after 10:30PM. Irritating.

Second - thank you Kate and Linda for watching hyper-Kenza and being there with me. Your support means a lot to me and so do the free babysitting services.

While reading this post, keep in mind that White Rock is unorganized and uphill. These things suck. I also brought with me a very small digital camera to take pictures of my splits because I don’t know how to make my watch do these things yet. I got this idea from Rachel and Brent. Thanks.

Woke up at 4:30 AM and got ready, ate a banana. Kenza and I picked up my friends and we arrived at the race course at 6:30 AM. (Yes, I am compulsively early – Yes, everyone I know hates this) This is the famous busty librarian Linda. See, she’s not so scary, just very, very sleepy at the moment and somewhat irritated by the fact that we are sitting in the convention center for over an hour doing nothing but watching thousands of other people. We all moved out to the freezing cold start line at 7:45AM.

Mile 1 – It’s freezing outside, my toes are frozen.
Mile 2 – Where is the mile marker? My toes are frozen
Mile 3 – First mile marker I see – time 28:18

Mile 4 – A little hot – time 37: 54
Mile 5 – Never saw a 4 mile marker, ticked off, getting hot, why did I wear the extra underarmour shirt, I throw my gloves on the side of the road – time 47:23
Mile 5 ½ - Karrie calls “Susan, where are you?” I tell her I’m at mile 5 ½ and I don’t know where that is – she says “I’ll see you in a few minutes” Plan on handing her headband but I never did see her.

10k – Still going uphill and really ticked off about it - time 58:12. My phone rings – its Kate and she says that they are at the general area – “Kate, I don’t know where that is, just scream when you see me” WTF is the general area. Hmm, I have my suspision they were just frolicing in the leaves and were never at the race to begin with.

Why can't anyone find me!

Miles 7 – 13.1 were unmarked or marked so poorly that I didn’t see them. These miles were filled with profanity - real profanity, SEVEN more phone calls, being hot, hot, hot and a bunch of running Elvis’s (Elvi?)

Official finish: 2:04:50. I really wanted under the 2 hour mark, but I have done no hill training since the Chicago Marathon. So, I’m happy with my time. Running a half is a refreshing change to the full.

After, we all went to a delightful brunch place and ate until we popped - Kenza fell asleep while we were waiting for our table.

Oh, and I'm never racing with my cell phone again.

Uncomfortably cold

2005-12-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

Semicolons suck; and are only good for making; internet winky faces.

; ) See, just for you.

Our 5-mile run turned into a 3-mile run. Time - 27:35. Not so horrible considering I was wearing 4 layers of clothing and 2 hats.

Twelve degrees makes for a really cold, nasty run. My body was freezing in all possible respects - I swear I was being tortured by Antarctic frost. My chest slightly rattled with congestion and the cold air caused more drainage than I could swallow. If that’s not repulsive enough, my lips are now thoroughly chapped and are sure to provide me with a persistent source of annoyance all day long. Lovely.

I, Runner Susan, declare all those who run in temperatures under 25 degrees psychotic. What you people in Canada do in this weather is a mystery to me. You must be part penguin.

Texans aren't prepared to run in weather this cold; it only happens a handful of times throughout the year.* Unfortunately, the fact that this weather is an anomaly means I can’t be justified in going out and purchasing arctic weather running gear, damnit.

*Better?

Better today and spoiled too

2005-12-08T16:17:00.000-05:00

We had a wee little bit of sleet last night - so nearly the entire city of Dallas shut down. Silly Southerners. Giggle. Kenza and I slept until 6AM. Yippee, that’s 4 days of sleeping in and being lazy for Susan.

Unfortunately, that time is over.

I headed to the gym around lunch time and did 30 min on the treadmill (Yuk) and upper body weights and abs. I then headed to the pool and swam for 30 minutes, or rather; I splashed a lot and attempted to do something that resembled swimming for 30 minutes.* I then followed this with some stretching in the hot tub. The only way to stretch if you ask me. Oh, and lastly, I spent 15 minutes in the eucalyptus steam room.

Mediocre intensity, very tight hams and calves and general overall achiness - but I certainly put an end to my lazy streak - even if the putting in itself were lazy.

*Rgirl - please note my proper semicolon usage.

99.2

2005-12-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

As I was dressing to run this morning I noticed my armpits were stinky and I was sweaty - so I took my temp, 99.2. Does this constitute a fever? Yes. I think so. I don't feel sickly - although I do feel REALLY tired and cranky. I cancelled my run and went back to bed. I have been craving sleep this week, which is unusual for me. My 4 AM internal alarm has not been going off.

Today will be three days without working out. I hope this doesn't set me back too far. I'm kicking myself right now. Sunday I was telling Richard during our 10 mile run that I was coughing a little and I should get something to prevent myself from getting sick.

I hate retrospect.

So shoot me

2005-12-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I overslept and missed buttcamp. So I made this new header. I know it's annoying. It's not even the holiday legs, but we'll pretend. I'll stop the madness soon - I promise. Eventually, I know the roses will return - until then I must drive you all crazy.

Why. Why. Why?

This means I'll have to go to the gym and workout tonight. Sigh. I'm sad. I love buttcamp. I never miss buttcamp.

Okay, so it's a rest day - buttcamp post tomorrow

2005-12-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

She will hate me someday, but how can I not share this raw talent! She wants voice lessons, but I don't think she needs them.

Of course, she knows better than to jump on my bed.

It took five stinking hours of holiday joy, a little profanity and a whole lot of patience - but we finished the gingerbread house

2005-12-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

Sad part: it was a kit . . .

Some tweeny hills

2005-12-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

Today was our Sunday 10 mile run - I haven't actually put together a workout plan for the marathon yet, but I'm sure it should involve adding more miles sooner or later. February will be here before I know it. Today's average pace was 9:46 min miles - and that’s with an eight minute break after mile five. Ahhh, we do love nature. Time 1:36:42.

Yesterday it was a sunny 85 degrees and I was washing my car in flip flops and shorts. This morning it was a windy and a chilly 28 degrees. Got to love Texas weather. I froze my butt off the entire time - but, overall it was a good run. Miles three through seven did involve several tweeny* hills. Those would be the rolling hills that are not large enough to slow you down, but irritating enough to hasten the respiratory system.

Great to have you back Karrie - you ran really strong and your first 5 miles rocked, it was a striking come back from your recent illness. Richard, thanks for being tall and wearing the blinking light - you ran really well today.

*In popular culture it has been used to describe children in the age range of 8 to 12 years old - also known as the stage when children begin the slow torment of their parents with clever and often imperceptible degrees of skill. I use this term to describe things that are evil.

Seven

2005-12-02T06:25:00.000-05:00

I wish it were my favorite number, but not today. I ran seven miles this morning, average pace: 10:09 per mile. I'm a little disappointed with that time, but Mother Nature was taking her revenge on my reproductive organs and I forgot to take pain relievers. Sigh.

Miles one & two were hard. Three has always been the beginning of my favorite miles. I felt somewhat strong miles three through six. Although, I must say, seven was very, very hard - this slow mile made my average pace over ten minutes - eh. Finishing time 1 hr, 11 min and 3 seconds.

The only thing that makes this female situation marginally more bearable is the fact that I just made my designer blush by using the term "reproductive organs."

100 things about me?

2005-11-30T03:40:00.000-05:00

I'd actually rather cut off my fingers than sit down and type 100 things about me, so you'll get 28
I'm only doing this cause it's 3:36 AM and I'm wide awake - I'd much rather be sleeping
I just ordered An Autobiography of George Washington: With Edith Ellis as Scribe because I *am* really a dork
I'm a Hoosier, I moved to Texas 8 years ago
I think Bob Knight should have stayed in Indiana
I hate out and back race courses
I have a tendency to embellish
I adore my daughter
I want to always stay attractive and strong for my husband (and myself)
My grandfather, uncle and dad were in the military - and yet I feel I know very little about it
I don't like Executive Susan
I'm perpetually early and late people make me insane
I'm a horrible driver
I think the world needs more nice people
I go to bed early and wake early
I like capital letters in sentences (sarah and jeff are exceptions because they are so cool, but I draw the line when they stop using punctuation)
I think it rocks that I can run 6-7 miles *before* work
I have no ability to use profanity in real life but I blog it occasionally
I actually blog a lot of things that I would never say in my real world (sort of)
I love red wine and gin martinis, but not much else (alcohol wise)
If I like your blog I'll read the archives
My dad had a heart attack 1 year ago and it still makes me cry
Some of my friends are very strange, but I love them anyway
I have a soft-spot for writers, artists and athletes
I've wanted to run the Boston Marathon since I ran track in high school but didn't start running again until I was 33
I have never given anyone a lap dance, not even my spouse
I am almost debt free and it was *REALLY* hard for Shopper Susan
I wear a Victoria Secret push-up bra because I can - and I love it

"Where are your legs?"

2005-11-29T06:55:00.000-05:00

My sister and I pondered this question last night. She pointed out that it's a funny question. It made us laugh at least. The new header is really different, very busy, lot of motion, and sans my legs. Kind of like my life right now - well, except, I still have legs. To those who e-mailed me and asked the leg question, the answer is: "They've moved to the sidebar." Note: Holiday running legs arriving soon.

Not a lot to report today. I've put my lost odometor back up and included 05 Austin Marathon training miles. It was a nice surprise to see the Chicago and Austin training miles added together.

Buttcamp this morning was good and hard. In the holiday spirit and with much sincerity, Karrie, I'd like to thank you for contributing towards my goal of a great ass with less jiggle - that's the best holiday gift I can imagine. Other than running, there aren't many things worth waking up at 4:00 AM for - but buttcamp is definitely one of them.

No running planned today - resting only.

The Librarian Lies

2005-11-28T07:36:00.000-05:00

She does. I bypassed a career as a lap dancer to move straight into female mud-wrestling. I needed something more competitive - besides, that's where the REAL money is. I'm thinking my next career may involve something in the field of Roller Derby, I do skate just as well as I run.

I will get even with the swordsy girl. She shames librarians. Oh she does.

Today's schedule called for an easy 5 mile run . . . and let me stress the 'easy' part. It was easy and I still struggled. I think I'm due a rest day soon. I'm looking forward to an easy buttcamp tomorrow - no running for Susan.*

*I'm really hoping Karrie sees the easy I put with buttcamp.

I hate blog block

2005-11-27T09:03:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here trying to compose my post - and nothing. I’m tired. I ran ten miles - now what to say? I envy those who write beautifully descriptive paragraph after paragraph about running. I do not have this ability – too many adjectives and I end up with something that sounds like a Kotex commercial. This annoys me. A lot. So I shall stick with my bluntness and limit my colloquialisms. The world shall be a better place for it.

Today's ten mile run started off hard and finished harder. 25-35 mph winds didn't help, especially with my attitude. My entire run involved numerous conversations with myself about quitting. I didn't and I'm glad. Much thanks to Richard, he ran strong today and pulled me the last 5 miles.

We arrived at mile four around 38 minutes - right on track. By mile five my body was rebelling - legs cramping, feet blistering and breathing heavy. By mile seven my form was wretched and neck was aching - damn wind. I finished, but feeling like this was the last few miles of a marathon. Average pace was 9:59. I've had my longest mileage week ever. I had doubt that I would get all 40 miles in this week. (I must sound like a whiney baby, because I hear the complaining can only begin at 42 miles a week.)

I've consumed a seriously lethal dose of coffee and Midol this morning. That's a good thing. On that subject, I want to send a shout out to thank Sarah. She saved the blogging community from several posts involving small mice, extension cords and PMS.

That which involves the rolling of eyes

2005-11-26T07:05:00.000-05:00

Today I abide by the 11th commandment - "be ye not so stupid" as to blog certain things.

I would gladly sacrifice all my cashmere to chronicle such events, but that would most likely be the end of Runner Susan - I happen to like her, so I won't. Just keep in mind these events involve the rolling of eyes, biting of tongue and pursing of lips by Susan - as for they interfered with Susan's tasting of wines and training on hills.

Am running – exhausted though. T-day only involved only 3 miles since I could not manage to roll myself any further. So I am exchanging days and will run seven today and ten tomorrow – I will reach 40 this week.

Thankful

2005-11-26T06:52:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for so many, many, many things . . . my family, my good friends, my health, the wonderful RBF community, midol, and especially no glass eyes.

Why can't today be a race day?

2005-11-23T06:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I cheated. My time filled with errands, work and child stuffs so I split my mileage into two, 2.5 mile runs. The first was horrid and hot (78) and I was tired and cranky and I contemplated not finishing. The second was late and on the dreaded treadmill. To make those miles less mundane; I decided to shove David Sedaris into nano. That was a mistake. I was laughing so hard at one point I snorted and the person on the treadmill next to me moved . . . did they think I was laughing at them? Total mileage for the day completed, although shamefully so.

Today was a spanktacular day. Woke up at 4am and we were on the road at 5am. Perhaps it was the new tunes on nano or the 1,000 potato chips I ate yesterday, because today we moved. It was great. Unofficial 5k time just less than 27 min. Yes, run on. Six miles completed at an average pace of 9:36 per mile. Slow for some, but for six - speedy for Susan. Susan is happy. This will be my highest mileage week ever.

My friend R still has not posted. I made her a pretty new blog (even though she said I needed a semi-colon lesson) and if she doesn't post soon I will have to beat her into submission.

_________________________

Updates:

Kenza's eye: doing much better, but she still resembles the spawn of satan.

Shopping: just got some new capri running tights - love them - they hold in all the jiggly parts nice and tight, deceptive - but you know I love it! I've also been molesting a pair of Marazria black satin pants - fortunatly, no Susan size.

Cleansing: stomach remains flatter, bowels are regular, and my colon is a great place.

Weight: 127.2 today - getting there. Tanita reported 29.8% body fat - looks like I may be beating her into submission too.

This weeks mileage

2005-11-22T06:09:00.000-05:00

Here is my plan this week. Last night was 5 long, treacherous treadmill miles. I will be on the road tonight - dark or not.

I just found out an old friend of mine from Seattle has been lurking. I'm going to force her to blog - she's talented, but shy - welcome Raingirl - force her to post. Welcome to blogdom my fellow gardening friend.

Yea!

2005-11-21T05:11:00.000-05:00

I've got Coldplay tickets! Mwa! I know you're jealous.

Have yet to run today - plan on easy 5 miles tonight. I want to put in 40 miles this week. With the T-day break, I have no excuse. Kenza is spending the holiday with her father*. Michael and I are planning a little winery tour near Austin on Saturday and Sunday. That should be fun and provide me with a little hill training as well.

I'm just excited about my Coldplay tickets, even if I have to wait until February. That's really the only thing I have to blog about today.

*Approuve, je mords ma langue - mais, faire le français vraiment célèbre d'action de grâces ? Huh, vraiment ?

Oh good lord . . .

2005-11-20T12:39:00.000-05:00

This has been a mess. If I'm going to fix it - why not do it all over. It's going to take a while but I promise I'll get you all back up there. Thanks for sending that list Tryathlete - it's going to help a lot. Cliff, can you forgive me for spelling your name wrong? I think Rowdy typed your name in that day.

This morning was a beautiful 10 mile run. It seemed much colder than 41 degrees, perhaps it was the breeze. Pace 10:36 per mile. Nice and comfortable - they way running should be. This weeks total milage: 27, plus one buttcamp.

The sky was clear and for the third day in a row the shooting stars were out. I wished for hoodia. Just kidding, you know I can't tell.

_____________________________

Sorry about the three different headers I've had up today . . . none of them sing to me - for now we are stuck with the roses.

The martini cleanse

2005-11-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

Kenza was invited to an impromptu sleepover last night. This means Susan and Michael get impromptu date night. A glass of wine leads to one martini, two martinis, and three - while a really smooth gin can turn good sex into great sex - its magical power has an unfortunate adverse effect on running.

Between 4AM and 5AM Susan tried a new cleanse: the martini cleanse. AKA the involuntary cleanse. Half a gallon of water, 2 cups of coffee and a handful of ibuprofen later; Hangover Susan and Introspective Susan have a conversation and decide that an unscheduled, impromptu run might just redeem Runner Susan. 5.168 miles later Susan returns home. Pace 9:56 per mile. Acceptable, yes - redeeming, not so much.

ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR CODE JUST IN CASE YOU SCREW UP AND LOOSE YOUR SIDEBAR AND HAVE TO TYPE ALL THE LINKS AGAIN

2005-11-19T04:53:00.000-05:00

Shut up. It is so not funny. Fuck.

Easy five mile run

2005-11-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

Today was an easy five mile run at 5AM. I love, love, love the morning hours. My favorite part of running so early is the rooster that crows around 6 AM. Cold again - 34 degrees, but I think I'm liking the cold - at least while running.

I'm tired today. My friend Tukisha's baby shower got wild and crazy last night. Didn't get to bed until 11 PM - that's so late for me. I'd do anything for you Tukisha.*

Our training partner and friend Richard has started a blog - welcome to blogdom Richard.

*Tukisha, my germaphobic baby-carrying friend . . . let's see how well you read. Rowdy the metrosexual baby-shower planning dog has placed your shower pics here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and my personal favorite here. Sorry, I thought we had taken more but I think this is all of them.

I'm a Pinot Noir! What wine are you?

2005-11-18T04:27:00.000-05:00

You're a Pinot Noir!
You're a fruity red wine. Difficult to grow and
easy to screw up, you demand a lot from your
winemakers but are well worth the effort.
You're seductive but no tease--you deliver
beautiful fruits and a velvety smoothness not
found in other reds. When you're good, you're
really, really good.

What Type of Wine Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Bootcamp . . . it just gets worse

2005-11-17T05:02:00.000-05:00

It's a shame Karrie hasn't figured out a way to make Thursday's upper-body bootcamp do more for my boobs. If she could do for boobs what her Tuesday's lower-body bootcamp does for the butt, she'd be a very rich woman. Mothers who breastfed unite. Also, it's just really unfortunate that upper-body bootcamp can't be called boobcamp. Cause that's just funny. But since it's not I don't feel as guilty about not working out this morning. Karrie called at 4:40 am to let me know her car wouldn't start. I pulled back into the garage, stretched out on the couch, and went back to sleep.

I'm sure this is completely unrelated, but I'm 130.4 today and Tanita says 31.2% body fat.

Okay, so I feel a little guilty. On to the dogs.

The abrevieated Rowdy & Rikki story . . .

I received several emails from those who feel sorry for Rikki because I never have Rikki dines. Here is the story.

Rowdy came to us after my Grandmother passed away, he was only a pup and has since grown into a charming young dog. He's well-behaved, smart, gentle, affectionate and knows the meaning of "no". Rowdy won the heart of my "former cat-lover" husband.

With Michael and I both working full-time and all of Kenza's after-school activities, we figured Rowdy was lonely. He needed a girl-Rowdy.

And so along came Rikki.

Rikki, unfortunately, was a impulse buy - she was just this itty bitty one pound ball of fur with a wiggly tail. I hate to say it, but we bought the cuteness. She has a constant high-pitched chicken bark, happy pee, nervous pee, lazy pee, pee pee and her sole purpose to life is to consume all things. She is completely rotten and behaves badly all the time! I thought I'd try David's dog-training trick and sit on her - but she's a wee dog and I have a giant ass and I wouldn't wish that unfortunate demise on anyone.

As good parents, we love both of our dogs - regardless of their intelligence or lack of. Put a plate of food in front of Rowdy and say "no" and he listens. Put a plate of food in front of Rikki and it disappears before you can click the camera.*

*To answer the remaining ridiculous part of the email - No, our dogs do not drink wine. They do however eat real food - not dogfood. Lean meats, veggies and brown rice. I wish I ate as well as our dogs.

Early morning run

2005-11-16T06:42:00.000-05:00

This morning was a 6 mile run - 60 min. Nice and easy tempo. It felt really great. My butt doesn't hurt that much from buttcamp yesterday. It was freezing this morning - the coldest day I've run in this year, only 28 degrees with a slight wind. I over-dressed on the top and under-dressed on the bottom. I didn't believe the 'dress the runner' on runnersworld.com this morning. I had 4 layers on top and only tights on bottom. I'll distribute evenly next time.

I have to admit it was better than the on the hottest day I ran in this year - 105 degrees this August. It was scary, I looked like the incredible hulk when I finished. I worried about popping a much needed artery. An 86 year old woman in support hose beat me that day - good for her. I certainly hope I can do that when I'm 86. Oh well, I bet I poop better than her.

Weight is down another 1/2 pound - I'm at 128.4. Tanita says 30.4% body fat - She's easing up a little.

A wisp of a wish for volcanic fury

2005-11-16T05:23:00.000-05:00

Ever wish you lived next to an active volcano so lava could randomly flow though your house and melt things like this

and this

and this

and these are just the ones that live in the house. Four more live in the garage. The bikes make me crazy. Michael added "bike" added to my grocery list. ha ha. I know where this is going. Enough is enough. He canNOT bring home any more bikes. I'm going to ha ha with a sledgehammer soon.

Buttcamp, a tempo run and so much more

2005-11-15T06:49:00.000-05:00

It certainly is time that I get serious about my training. I've been doing a lot of fluff posting lately and the Austin M is only 95 days away. I need a plan and I need to print it off and stick it on my fridge - must have some structure. I know this about myself - If I don't do it in the morning, it won't get done. My alarm hasn't gone off before 5am in a LONG time. Today, it went off at 4:30 am for buttcamp. My butt hurts and its about time. Buttcamp was hard this morning and i'm afraid tomorrow I will pay even more. Lunchtime workout is a scheduled 2.5 tempo and a 2.5 easy run.

For only those interested - day 5 colon cleansing update - please proceed with caution.*
First off, my stomach is flatter than it's been in years. By no means supermodel flat, but for me - flatter is better than not flat at all. That makes me happy. I'm down 1.5 lbs and I'm pretty sure it's all poop. I've pooped more in the past five days than I have in the past 5 months. I'm feeling pretty good - day 4 was headaches and rumbles. Today, I have so much energy. Perhaps there is more to this organ and colon cleansing that I thought. Hmm, I so hate to admit when Michael is right. Tanita still says 31% body fat - eh.

*Some not-so-pretty things you should know about me - I use too many dashes, dots and apostrophes. Besides running and my family, I talk a lot about my weight, my diet, my dogs, my poop, and my boobs. I'm a hypochondriac, a shopaholic and a terrible speller.

Isn't she lovely?

2005-11-14T19:17:00.000-05:00

You can hardly tell now - the pupil is almost normal size.

Rowdy Dines

2005-11-13T20:14:00.000-05:00

On a lovely pinot and goat cheese. Isn't he handsome in his fall sweater?

Lets Cleanse.

2005-11-13T17:13:00.000-05:00

I woke a week or so ago to my handsome, earthy, cyclist husband watching this infomerical. I'm not sure why, Michael eats healthier and exercises more than 99% of the people I know. Well, guess what? - on Friday it came in the mail - a 60 day supply - for both of us. "Lets cleanse together - our colons are dirty" he says. Let's see if that extra 10 lbs of toxin sitting in my colon makes me 10 lbs lighter soon.

Today was a really good day. 1 mile warm up and 9 mile run at 7 am - it was nice to sleep in and really nice to run with Karrie again. I've missed Sunday lsd with Karrie. We did a lot of tempo work mixed with a few hills here and there. It's been a long time since I put any distance on the road and I was worried that the lack of training (and the martini I had last night) might set me back a little - but no so bad - I really enjoyed my run this morning.

Side notes: Kenza is doing much better, she's happy to be moving again - albeit very limited. We had a garage sale on Saturday morning and made $300. Yay garage sales. (Translation: new shoes for Susan)

Aren't colons supposed to be dirty? Michael is so good to me ; )

Anyone?

2005-11-11T06:38:00.000-05:00

OMG - back to work and back to school. I'm frightened by my email. My normal schedule is back - or at least the modified version. I think thats good - we'll see.

I've seen these during some of my races - anyone out there worn these? TRIKS? They look cute, but do they function well?

No Surgery! Yay!

2005-11-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

The doctor says no surgery. Yay Yay Yay. Kenza's eye is healing well. She can go back to school on Friday with very limited activity. She still isn't able to focus completely, that will take a few weeks - we are WAY behind on homework because of that. She still has quite a bit of bruising on the inside of the eye, but overall - she's doing GREAT. YAY.

We are going to get all the pictures developed today so Kenza can take them to school and gross her friends out on Friday.

My Thai breakdown

2005-11-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

Michael came home early today and I was able to go to the gym at a decent hour. I had a good workout, finally. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill, did lower body weights, abs and then swam for 30 min. Running felt great, a few side stitches - but not nearly as horrid as my previous post-marathon runs. I need a lot of swimming lessons. How do you keep in one lane? I follow the line and end up in the lane next to me, other swimmers don't like that. Followed this by 15 min. in the hot tub. Very nice and relaxing. Susan is missing Susan time.

After the workout I went to pick up our Thai food and they were out of tofu. I cried. A lot. I hate PMS. Hate it. Michael calls this time of the month the days I remind him over and over he once called my legs TREE STUMPS and the days I always INSIST we discuss our relationship for hours on end. He's a lucky guy. I'm sure the emergency room visit, lack of sleep, fear of glass eyes, and having to practically sit on my daughter to keep her motionless for 4 days contributed to the Thai breakdown. Michael is right - these are days of intense anguish for all. Michael being right - well, that just makes things so much worse.*

Yes, Tree Stumps - and as a compliment. And why is football on ALL the time? Isn't the season over yet.

*Sarah is the only person in the world who shares my pain. Or is it - Alvin is the only person who shares Michael's pain. Sarah and I were once a two-headed baby fathered by a 2 ton man.

Eye today

2005-11-08T09:12:00.000-05:00

Even better today I think. I promised Kenza I'd use the picture with the kitties. The blood in the eye is going away and I think the pupil is not as oval as yesterday. We go back to the eye surgeon tomorrow to see what our next steps are. Hopefully, back to school.

Back to the workouts

2005-11-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Running has been tough lately, for obvious reasons. Thursday I got 3 miles in after lunch but haven't done much since. Yesterday I went to the gym and rode the stationary bike for 30 min and did lower body weights. My goal is to get 3 miles out on the road today when Michael gets home from work. I'll update later.

Food Log: coffee and 2 eggs for breakfast. Snack, 1/2 c. strawberries. Lunch: 1 banana, salad w/ turkey & tomotoes w/ raspberry vin., Snack: cashews. Dinner: whole wheat egg noodles w/ peas & grilled chicken.

Looks better today

2005-11-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

I think it looks better today - keeping still remains a challenge.

Kenza update

2005-11-05T07:55:00.000-05:00

This is what a mother hears while in the emergency room . . .

La la la blood . . . la la trauma . . . la la la blindness . . . la la la severe . . . la la la hematosis . . . la la la hospital, etc. you get the point.

The eye doctor is evil - he said Kenza has very severe trama to her eye. She must sleep in an upright position for the next 5-6 days and remain totally still or else he will hospitalize her. She can get up to go to the bathroom but that's about all - or else she could go blind or need surgery. Her vision is still a bit blurry and a she has a small headache occasionally - but I think that is from the dilating drops. (And Dr. Ku is a very good physician, not evil at all - we're lucky to have him)

The good/bad news is, is that she's not in any pain. Good because my baby isn't huring, Bad because it makes being still nearly impossible. My 8 year old is used to doing 700 cartwheels a day and can't even sit in her chair through an entire meal. Is it wrong to duck tape your child into a chair . . . oh, did I just say that - just kidding. She was watching cartoons yesterday afternoon and I look over and she's playing air-guitar and banging her head to the music! AHHHH! I'm having a heart attack again. And, is it really necessary to play a video game with your ENTIRE body?

The sleeping situation is also fun. I have her propped up with sofa pillows on the couch in our room and I tuck her blanket in so she doesn't have a lot of wiggle room. Of course, I wake up every hour to make sure that she remains in this unnatural sleeping position.

Thanks to everyone for all well wishes for Kenza - I've read them all to her. With everyone she asks "Who's that?", "Do I know them?", "Where did you meet her?" - it's cute - she doesn't quite understand the blogging phenomenon yet.
_________________

Good Luck to Danny and Richard at the NY marathon. I'll be cheering for you.

Making this shorter than it should be . . .

2005-11-04T05:31:00.000-05:00

On my way home from work yesterday, I get a call from the babysitter. It's never good when they start off the conversation with "Kenzas ok, but. . ." and "it doesn't look bad to me."

To make this short, Kenza was goofing off with another girl and was hit in the eye by the zipper of her jacket.

Arriving at the emergency room, I was expecting a broken blood vessel or scratched cornea - but noooo. I get oval-shaped pupil, possible detached retina, sitting up and in bed for five days and must see eye surgeon first thing tomorrow. If I hadn't have just seen the movie Million Dollar Baby, I probably wouldn't be freaking out as much about the detached retina part as I am right now.

So today, we are headed to the ophthalmologist to find out the bad news they couldn't give me in the emergency room. I'll update the post later to let everyone know the diagnosis. For now, my daughter is milking this for all the attention she can get . . . and loving it. She insists everyone see her eye. See it. Do all eight year olds think it's cool to gross people out?

This seals the deal about running the half marathon. I'm not. Once I get through this, I will begin my training for Austin. When Michael gets home from his ride this afternoon, I will hit the road or go to the gym and run on the treadmill for a few miles.

I am an addict . . .

2005-11-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

It is true, I am a blogaholic. Isn't that the first step to recovery?

Thank you to everyone for the encouraging comments and suggestions yesterday. I have decided to run the half, but . . . I'm going to think of it as a training run (or at least try to.) It's hard for me, my PR in a half marathon is 1:50. But that was 15 years and 15 lbs ago. I will do my best - run, walk or crawl to the finish like - I will do it and blog it like the addict I am.

___________________

Jittery Update to post: brought all running stuffs for running during lunch break . . . get mostly dressed and realize that I forgot my jogbra . . . bad me . . . ok, so I've taken this muscle fuel stuff and now I'm not running and it seems like my heart might explode . . . hmmm, this could be a problem . . . i thinks i will head over to the sport store and grab a bra and run from there . . .

Motivation

2005-11-02T06:37:00.000-05:00

I'm finding it hard to muster up enough energy to make it out the door to run. It seems all of my excitement for running left me the day after the Chicago Marathon and all of my runs are "forced" runs.

The early morning hours are MY hours to run but gravity has been doing a special thing with my bed - I'm awake, but I just lay there. It's unfair. I want MY morning runs back.

Lately, I'm being haunted with pounding, blinding headaches. Mostly upon waking and about 2-3 miles into a run. Not sure why, but it's really putting a damper on things. A good strong dose of ibuprophen sets me straight, but it's certainly getting annoying. I didn't do speedwork this morning because of this . . . and I'm sitting here at my desk beating myself up. I got here at 6:30 AM. That really sucks. My morning runs are usually just ending at 6:30 AM.

I have a 1/2 marathon on Sunday and I'm completely not wanting to participate, especially since it will be near 90 degrees. I will run. I know. I want my good legs back.

Something New

2005-11-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

Today I tested out something new. Running during my lunch break. Now that it's not 110 degrees outside it seems like a doable thing. It was kinda fun. I'm going to do it again Thursday. Just did 2.4 miles before I broke out with a pretty bad headache. I guess when you start seeing spots and your head is throbbing, that's a sign to stop. Anyhowww, 23 min 12 sec - about 9:40 min per mile. I think I might do 5 miles on Thursday and take Friday and Saturday off to rest for the half marathon.

Sugar is gooood

2005-11-01T04:22:00.000-05:00

I have a sugar hangover.

Not long ago, my girl was a unicorn for halloween. Now, she's a rock star. A rock star with a guitar.

LAST . . . sigh

2005-10-31T04:40:00.000-05:00

I ran a 10k yesterday morning - and I totally bonked on mile 2. I walked most of the race and I'm pretty sure I came in last place. I felt worse during this race that I did the entire Chicago Marathon. I have no idea why these past few days I've been running like crap. Maybe my body needs a longer post marathon time to recover than most people. I don't know. I'm running a half marathon next weekend and I'm worried I'll bonk on that race too.

I'm really frustrated because my running was so on before the marathon. I'm not sure what training I should do this week. Here is what I have scheduled - does this seem right? Should I do more/less?

My weight today is 130.6 and Tanita tells me I'm 31% body fat. Let's all hate Tanita together.

A non-gender discriminatory WARNING: This post is about diarrhea

2005-10-28T05:04:00.000-05:00

I've spent most of my adult life constipated. Not something I'm particularly proud of, but a fact of my life it remains. I've been running now for a little over a year and am training for my 4th marathon. One of the side effects has been abnormally frequent intestinal evacuation. Don't be fooled, I'm still plagued with this illustrious constipation - all day, all the time . . . except when . . . I'm half way into a run - my intestine start that ohhh, sooo familiar cramping and spasming. Now, I know why runners get diarrhea, what I don't know is - how do you make runner's diarrhea stop? I don't love nature that much.

Oh, btw, speed work sucked this morning and my body is rebelling. 3 800's and 3 400's (i think) - slow - no no no, not speedy. Should I odometorize that distance?

And, at the risk of being bitch-slapped by my sister, I'm posting my weight again for a while: 129.6 today.

Morning

2005-10-27T05:04:00.000-05:00

Ever go run or workout and feel like it would have been more beneficial to get some extra sleep and stay in bed?

Went to bootcamp and didn't realize my shorts were on backwards until I got home. Drove to work only to realize it's not Friday - and I'm wearing jeans. Go home, change. Get back to work and realize that I forgot my security pass and was locked out of the building. Open my email and it's locked up because I have too many large files. Dribbled coffee down all the front of my new ivory sweater and remember I've used up all of Kate's Shout wipes.

This is for Karrie - Why you're a good friend:

You're always, always positive - even when you think you're not
You listen to me talk about my poop, my boobs, my hair, and my shopping addiction
You're the ONLY person in the world who will get up and run at 4AM with me
Because together - we can come up with 1001 excuses why we had a bad run - and totally believe it
You let my mentally challenged dog, Rikki, pee on you - and do not get grossed out
Between the two of us, we've had every conceiveable imaginary and non-imaginary running injury
Because we are equally bad at finding the start line of a race
You have many interests, you're not judgemental and you never ever give up

3.129 mile run

2005-10-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

27 min 12 sec - yup, yup, yup that's fast for me. 8:42 min per mile. Go me.

A little sore

2005-10-26T05:52:00.000-05:00

I'm a little sore from yesterday's buttcamp - but only on the right side. Laziness must have set in when I was working on the left. Upper body bootcamp tomorrow and speedwork on Friday! The Half is on Nov. 6th and I'm totally unprepared.

I'm in macromedia class today and the person sitting next to me is slightly amused with my blogging addiction. I'm very multi-tasky. And to answer his questions and all the email's I've received - Yes, those are my legs. No, the rose petals have nothing to do with running - they're just pretty.

Bootcamp vs. Buttcamp

2005-10-25T05:32:00.000-05:00

This morning was lower body bootcamp with Karrie & company . . . felt a little more like buttcamp to me. I'm feeling pretty good right now, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I'm excited about joining a local running group called the Flower Mound Striders. They are starting a speed workout on Wednesdays and have a group that meets on Saturday mornings for a distance run. I seriously need some speedwork, I'm unworthy of my cheetahs right now. I think I'll change my banner until I'm faster.

Slow, Slow Run

2005-10-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Set out at 5AM this morning with Richard to do a long slow run. It was cold - 52 degrees - and very windy. Our course was set for a 13 mile run, but soon into the run I knew I was tired and my joints were achy and I headed off early to cut the run short. At about mile 8.5 my left ankle and right knee were hurting, so I decided to speed things up, if it's gonna hurt - make it hurt good. It did. I'm still pretty sore - my glutes, ankles, groin and neck. I ran 10.69 miles in 1:53:03. Mediocre time - but, still so nice to be back on the road. The Dallas Half is in 2 weeks - hopefully, I'll be in a little better shape by then. (Flatman, are you running The Half?)

After the run I walked 1.25 miles back to my house - showered and then walked another 1.25 miles back to my car with Kenza cart-wheeling beside me the whole way. Then, I met up with Linda, Sarah and Kate to have breakfast at IHOP - a rarity for me. Now I know why. I swear they must give the waitresses free crack in exchange for lifetime employment. It's a scary, scary place.

Physics

2005-10-21T04:27:00.000-05:00

It was the first day my Namesless Nano and I hit the road since the Chicago marathon. Oh, oh, oh, it was wonderful - an easy 3 mile run this morning - 27:59. The weather was perfect, the stars were out, it was just fabulous.

For all you ladies interested, there is a thought-provoking article in Discover magazine this month on "The Physics of Bras." Not typical for Discover, but a nice surprise. I'm not a large-breasted woman, but am always on the look-out for a "less-chafing" bra. I found the analogies in this article intersting - here are a few excerpts:

Poor eating habits, as well as breast implants and the estrogens in birth-control pills, have led to an increase in the past 15 years of more than one bra size for the average American woman-from a 34B to a 36C. For many women, this has been a burdensome trend. A pair of D-cup breasts weighs between 15 and 23 pounds-the equivalent of carrying around two small turkeys.

The structure of breasts is still something of a mystery. Evolutionary biologists aren't sure why breasts evolved as they did-chimpanzees and other mammals develop them only when lactating-and no one knows what keeps them from sagging.

"Force equals mass times acceleration," Steele says. "That's Newton's second law. You have a large mass, and it's going quickly, and the force is going to be large. If you have breasts that are slapping down and hitting the chest and having to come back up, they accelerate very quickly." No one really knows the long-term medical consequences of "excessive breast bounce," as Steele calls it. But it can cause pain and is the most likely reason for sagging breasts.

The first sports bra was created in 1977, when two American women took a pair of jockstraps, cut them apart, and sewed them back together. They dubbed their creation the Jogbra.

I find myself perplexed as to what I should compare myself to - an extra-small turkey, or a lactating chimpanzee.

Feeling Great

2005-10-20T05:41:00.000-05:00

I feel so much better today. I didn't realize how bad I was actually feeling. I attributed it training fatigue and post-marathon exhaustion . . . I think I'll head to the doctor earlier next time. Can't wait to hit the road tomorrow morning.

Other than that, don't really have much interesting to say today . . . all the milfing comments wore my brain to pieces.

feeling better

2005-10-19T06:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, these antibiotics work fast . . . I'm feeling better already. I'm still a little weak, but much better than the past few days. I'm planning on resuming my normal workout on Friday morning with an easy 3 mile run.

On another note - went to Starbucks this morning and the cute counter boy handed me my change and said "Thanks Ma'am" - I think that's southern for "too old to be hot anymore."

Food log: coffee w/cream, antibiotic ---> 215 calories. 1/2 Chicken salad on wheat, 1/2 olive, 1/4 c potato salad ---> 607 calories.

Still feel like poop

2005-10-18T05:12:00.000-05:00

Went to be last night at 8pm - woke up at 10:40 with fever. My throat is sore, my ears are popping and I feel terrible. Must get a dr's appt today. I'm so tired. Going to dr at 1pm -.

I feel as if all of my hard work and endurance is going down the tubes - I'm on day 8 and have only done some walking and biking. How long before my muscles turn completely to jelly?

Food log: coffee, frightfully large banana, water --> 313 calories. Mongolian Beef w/ mushroons, veggies & rice, water --->753 calories so far. 5 mints ---> 778 calories. Triscuits -->978 calories

UPDATE - Just got back from the doctor - I've got a throat infection (which I've probably had since before the marathon) and got some amoxicillan . . . he said I should be ready to go by Friday for more training . . . I'm hoping by Thursday morning - we'll see.

Feel like poop.

2005-10-17T08:16:00.000-05:00

I've still exhausted from the marathon. I don't know why I'm not recovered yet. I tried to go out for an easy 5 miler yesterday and didn't get very far, my body was shakey - felt like my blood sugar was low even though I've done nothing but stuff my face lately. I did do about 4 hour's worth of yard work beforehand - but even so - I should not have been so tired.

I ended up picking up my bike - Kenza and I rode an easy 7 miles. I was completely wiped out when we were finished. I'm going to rest today - I'm still shakey this morning. I hope I'm not coming down with something.

I've been tagged

2005-10-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Hilda and Naked - Here is my 23rd post - 5th sentence:

The heat and the 2-a-day workouts are really taking their toll.

Ugh - training in July in Texas really sucks! Looks like everyone has been tagged already - so I tag anyone who has yet to be tagged and Marathena!.

Rules:1) Go into your archives. 2) Find your 23rd post. 3) Find the fifth sentence (or closest to it.) 4) Post the text of your sentence in your blog along with these rules. 5) Tag five other people.

Marathon Taper Phase

2005-10-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

Karrie, How does this look?

Ha - I wanna run in my underpants too

2005-10-14T13:15:00.000-05:00

this link is so fun - got it from boingoboing's blog - thanks for making me smile today Jeff.

Back to the real world

2005-10-14T08:21:00.000-05:00

I'm still a little foggy today - and tired - but, training must resume tomorrow with an easy 3-4 mile run.

ok, my food log for the day - since no workout today, my goal is to only consume 1,500 calories.
Breakfast - 1/4 c egg beaters w/ salsa, 1/2 avacado, coffee w/ cream - 390 calories. Snack: small hershey dark chocolate 45 calories, diet coke. ---> 435 cal so far. Lunch: veggie italian sub, diet coke --> 985 calories so far --> 1 bx snack chex, 1/2 tall pumpkin latte -->1335 cal . . . not looking good.

Poor Rikki - her best attribute is her nervous bladder

2005-10-14T06:43:00.000-05:00

Have headache - -

2005-10-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have a headache . . . but I gots a Nano too . . . she's so shiny and pretty. Not sure what to name her. I'll be patient, it must be a worthy name.

Ok, so I've got to get a grip on this calorie thing. I can't continue to consume calories like I'm a human garbage disposal. Oh, the disparities. Woe is me. I'm going to list every single thing that lands in my mouth from here until the Austin Marathon on Feb 19. If I'm eating poorly - smack me around a little.

Oh oh, headache.

Totally brunk and drogging

2005-10-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

It's my anniversary!!! and I ran a marathon!! and I got a Nano. Na na na na Nano. So Shopper Susan decided to celebrate anniversary/marathon completion with Runner Susan by taking not-so-shopper husband to the mall. Fashion Whore Susan got a little upset with Runner Susan because she's spent to much time with I-must-stuff-my-face Susan and created Giant Amorphis Butt Susan and couln't fit into these really cool black gaucho pants that Fashion Whore Susan has been eyeing for quite some time now. So I-must-stuff-my-face Susan took not-so-shopper husband to the Cheesecake factory to eat, um cheesecake and drink ummm, many martinis to console Fashion Whore Shopper Susan. Apparently, Runner Susan seems to have lost some alcohol tolerence during training season. Tomorrow, Runner Susan is going to be really ticked off at Intoxicated Shopper Susan when it is 4 am and time to run.

Well, the secretly OCD wanna-be-computer geek Susan decided to check her philosophical friend Kate's blog to see if she has posted about the promised Barbies with no Vagina yet. But, wanna-be-computer geek Susan is getting really ticked off because not-so-shopper husband is in the bedroom yelling such thing as "it's late . . . blogging too much . . . light in that room is bothering me." uh-huh. Could it be that light-bothered husband is not really bothered by the office light at all . . . but, has figured out that Intoxicated Fashion Whore Shopper Susan is a little more fun than I'm-really-tired-I'm-training-for-a-marathon Runner Susan?

Official times.

2005-10-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

I love Chicago - Trip Update - Friday and Saturday

2005-10-11T04:15:00.000-05:00

Wow, I'm still so exhausted. Like I said in my last post - the town of Chicago can sure do things right. I was impressed with everything from the Expo to the race. I'll give a "brief" play-by-play of my time in Chicago - please forgive my blatant grammatical and spelling errors - I'm still wiped out.

Friday Night
We (Kate, my good friend and personal photographer, and I) boarded our plane and headed for Chicago. We arrived at the airport around 9 pm, then took a 45 min train to the hotel. Exhausted, we went right to sleep.

Saturday
Excited, we woke up with a sore throat around 7 (pretended to not notice) and got ready and took shuttle to the Expo so I could pick up my packet and T-shirt. I was a little nervous about this because the White Rock Expo was a disaster as far as organization was concerned and it was only 20,000 people. Chicago had it down - the expo was awesome. So many sponsors and stuff to look at . . . I could have easily spent hours and hours there - I think I was only there for 1 1/2 hrs then we headed back to the hotel, where I was going to "rest". Ok, so when we got there I was too excited and decided that a brief trip down the Magnificent Mile wouldn't hurt . . . Here is a picture of us leaving the hotel:

and oh, was that mile magnificent - Tiffany's over here and Harrod's over there and Marshall Field's down the street - OH MY - I could have spent all day there, but instead I opted for just a few hours and then picked up a sandwich and headed back to the hotel while Kate meet up with a friend of hers. I sort of rested and prepared my race things for about 3 hours then decided that I did not see enough of Michigan Avenue and headed back out to meet Kate - we walked a little more and headed back to the hotel and she told me about the guy who started masterbating next to her on the train on the way to meet her friend - read about it here. I would have been terrified, but she thought it was totally funny!

It's around 5:30 or so now and I've spent most of the day on my feet.

We have dinner reservations at 7:30 at the Italian Village, the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago. After speaking with the concierge, we discovered that right across the street from the restaurant there was a mosaic by Marc Chagall - OMG - love Marc Chagall. Had to see it . . . so, we left the hotel early, walked around the mosaic, which took about 10 min but was totally worth every minute. We headed upstairs to the bar to wait the next hour for our reservations, but place was packed (as I'm sure every Italian place in Chicago was), so we went downstairs and stood and waited in the cold and windy air for an hour. By this time we were completely exhausted and my throat was killing me. Finally, we got to eat - Kevin, Karrie, Me and Kate:

Got to bed around 10:30 pm - totally wiped out!

I love Chicago - Sunday - Race Day

2005-10-11T03:17:00.000-05:00

Woke up Sunday morning at 2:30 am with a really bad sore throat - red with white spots. I really couldn't ignore it any more, I was running the marathon no matter what. Went back to bed and woke up at 5:30 AM tired and whinny about my sore throat, my achiness and my constipation (which I always get when I travel.) Kate brought me back to reality - As she put it - you delivered a child - you can totally do this. She was right, I think this was her very nice was of saying "please shut-up" . . . we've traveled 1,000 miles for this.

We took a taxi and got to the race. Wonderful weather and the spirit of the crowd was amazing. I waited in line to relieve my constipation, but the potties were full and we needed to get to the start line. We couldn't figure out how to get into the race area, so we climbed the fence. Here are some pictures of me and Karrie at the start and in the crowd of 45,000 people:

The race was packed elbow-to-elbow. Just look at all the people. I have never seen so many people so well organized and packed into such a small space in my life. It took us nearly 20 min just to cross the official start line. The first few miles were spent weaving in and out of people, dodging elbow, water and gatorade. At the 5k point I felt really strong - time: 31:43 - my lungs, legs and whole body, my throat wasn't hurting - it was awesome - on schedule for a 4:30 time.

2005-10-11T02:54:00.000-05:00

Kate met me at mile ten and handed me some gel and took my shirt. I was still feeling great, but noticed that my calves were getting tight. I was still elbow-to-elbow with about a million runners:

At mile 12.5, my calves were cramping and so were my intestine. I kept drinking gatorade and water every stop. By the half point the cramping was pretty bad and I would run until it hurt too much and would walk out the cramps. I also took a 5 min potty break - my constipation had turned into runner's diarrhea. Coming out of the potty, I ran thru the water station quickly to make up some time and slipped on a wax gatorade cup and my knee bent sideways. Half time: 2:15 - still on track for a 4:30 marathon, but that didn't last much longer.

The rest of the race was spent much the same - running until my legs cramped and walking until they went away. Slowed me down tremendously. It wasn't so bad - the rest of me felt really strong, my lungs were working just right and other than the calf cramping, my legs were really strong. I think a lot of the cramping was the lateral movement from dodging in and out of people. We just don't train that way and I was using different muscle groups.

Chicago is awesome - running through Little Italy and Chinatown was amazing! I would do it all over again in a second. I cut 52 min off my February Austin '05 time - that's not so bad. My next goal is Austin Marathon '06. Wouldn't it be cool if I could cut another 52 min off my time! Here is an after marathon picture:

After the marathon, Kate and I walked 1.5 miles back to the hotel. I had to use the fitness room to shower (wait in line) and we immediately went to the train station and to the airport. Here is a picture of me and Kate exhausted on the train:

It was 5:30 PM before we even got to O'Hare and I didn't even get a chance to sit down and rest or eat. We got to Dallas at 9:15 pm, got on the wrong parking shuttle bus - drove around for 30 min until we figured we were going in the wrong direction. Finally, we got on the right bus and met up with a man from Dallas who ran the marathon and finished in 3:15 - WOW. I ended up home at around 10:30 pm. I am so glad I took Monday off work.

I love Chicago!

2005-10-10T07:35:00.000-05:00

Chicago can certainly do a marathon. Everything from the Expo to the Race was really well organized. I'll update with a full report later after I download all my pictures. But here are my results - not the 4:15-4:30 I was looking for, but it's still 49 min faster than my Austin Marathon time. As you can see by my times, around the 20k point, my time started slowing way down. My calves started cramping and I slipped on a wax cup and bent my knee in the wrong direction - it is swollen like a log today. I'm not sure what the cramping was about because I was really well hydrated . . . perhaps it was one of my several trips to Michigan Ave on Saturday and the shopping gods were punishing me.

Thanks Kate for being there and being my personal photographer - it meant a lot to me! Now I'm off to make halloween creepy crawlys and spend the day with my daughter.

5K - 00:31:43
10K - 01:02:57
15K - n/a
20K - 02:08:11
HALF - 02:15:33
25K - 02:42:44
30K - 03:22:33
35K - 04:01:03
40K - 04:41:11
FINISH - 04:57:13

2 days to go - Leave for Chicago today . . . YAY . . . Kim, when are you going to update your blog?

2005-10-07T05:32:00.000-05:00

Race report on Monday!

Good luck DCG and Wil.

3 days to go - 4 mile run

2005-10-06T05:04:00.000-05:00

Easy 4 mile run - 39:27. Very windy today, but pleasant temperature for a change.

I think I have a sty in my eye . . . I'm not sure - but it's a hard little lump right in my tear duct area. I don't know if it's a sty or not, but it sounds cool to say you have a sty in your eye. I'm going to blame it on the pollution. I got the gu situation figured out, now I'm wondering how soon I should start hydrating . . . I'm guessing today.

My tire was low this morning, so I dropped off my car at the tire place . . .they just called to tell me that I had a drill bit in my tire. hmmm, a drill bit - not a nail, a drill bit - and they have to replace the tire. Ok - so I'm rambling again.

4 days to go - I'm being attacked by bugs

2005-10-05T04:24:00.000-05:00

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, a swarm of 8 or so, giant killer wasp-like looking things flew into my bathroom, and started swarming around me. One of them landed on me and freaked me out - I ran out of the bathroom (didn't get to spray my hair even). A couple of them must have stuck on me, because when I got into my car to go to work, I noticed a few of them flying around. EW. I don't know where the nasty things came from, but the bug people are coming tomorrow. Nothing gets in the way of me and a properly-styled doo.

No workout today - tomorrow, a 4 mile tempo run.

I decided to wear my race belt and put the gu in those elastic slots and a few under my bra strap. I'm not going to wear a hat, or at least that's what I'm saying right now. I purchased a throw away shirt and gloves, it will cover my number - I think that will be ok for the first few miles. It is really WRONG to use the words "purchase" and "throw away" in the same sentence - it defies Shopper Susan physics.