Run Til I'm Fun

And then my half marathon got cancelled.

2010-09-13T08:46:00.001-04:00

I've been in search of motivation lately. Maybe not motivation per se, but perhaps some extra time to do the workouts I'm craving. It's been two weeks since my last long run (and by long, I mean 8 miles), I can't remember the last time I made it to hot yoga and I just feel like I've been so busy rushing from one place to another that I haven't been able to spend as much time training for the half as I should be. I know. White girl problems.

But the half was what kept me going. The promise of a race that I loved last year, one that was well organized, had a great course and required the smallest amount of travel I will ever have for an event (a walk of 10 blocks to the start/finish line). Something that would remind me why I liked running, and would keep me motivated through a long winter of running through the snow (and more often than not, on the treadmill).

Fast forward to Friday morning, when my alarm turned out to be a text message from my mom: "Your half marathon is cancelled." Uhhh what? Sure enough, I checked out the website and there was nothing but a "We're sorry, we'll be in touch regarding refunds, etc". Beyond frustrating.

I've tried looking for another race at a similar time, or just a longer race that I can squeeze in before the end of the year, but no such luck. So I'm back at square one. In search of motivation, and trying to re-commit to training, even though there's nothing at the end of the training tunnel.

Under Armour season is coming!

2010-08-24T08:47:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe, but it was just a few months ago that I was whining about running over snow covered sidewalks. If only I knew the heat and humidity that weather karma would throw at me this summer...

Flash forward three months and I've literally run out of layers to strip off while running. I've been down to running shorts and a racerback crop top for weeks now. And I have a limited amount of those, so I then am on a three day wash cycle, which really makes life enjoyable. Also, not to be completely disgusting (eh i'm halfway there), but I'm not a gal that glows when I work out. Nope. I'm dripping in sweat and wiping my face off while I'm waiting to cross at stoplights. Gone are the days (in the dead of winter) when I could just run and go to the gym afterwards. If I want to do that now I require a quick shower and an outfit change.

So you can only imagine my excitement when I walked out of work today in a cardigan and skirt and felt....chilly. I practically skipped home in excitement. The possibilities for running attire were endless. I have never been so happy to dig a long sleeved technical tee out of the bottom of my drawer.

I haven't had a run this good in a while...the humidity was low, I had plenty of fabric to wipe my face with and I even had a breeze going over the river as I ran across the bridges. Just when I thought life couldn't get any better, it had cooled off so much by the time I ran home that I was able to wear a hoodie to run errands. A. HOODIE. This is huge, people. The days of running tights, reflective zip ups and a hat and gloves are not far away. I couldn't be more excited.

Namaste

2010-08-05T08:51:00.001-04:00

I am the definition of a type-A personality. Oldest child, was president of my (well our, co-blogger Ange was also on exec board...fun fact du jour) sorority, took on two majors and a minor in college because "hey i'm already here dropping $40 grand a year why not make the most of it?", LOVE being busy and rushing from one thing to another.

While this is all well and good, I fully realize the downside of my crazed, overly involved, probably too competitive self. I'm impatient. I'm easily frustrated, by myself and others. I hate not having anything to do for more than an hour. I always need to be doing something productive and I despise situations where I'm not in control.

Where does this all tie into running?

I'm way frustrated with my current running state. I feel slow, out of shape and just blah. I'm sick of the heat, humidity and thunderstorms messing with my ability to get a quality run in after work. I find myself getting more and more agitated when other people pass me while running (granted these people are wearing tanks proclaiming their status on a local college's cross country team, but nonetheless). I focus on stupid work problems (which aren't even problems, I just blow them out of proportion in my head and then replay situations over and over) and end up carrying a lot of tension in my back and shoulders and running too fast too soon and tuckering out early.

It's bad.

In the hot yoga class I took on Monday the instructor mentioned something that stuck with me...you never want to get to the point with your workout where you feel like it's a chore. You HAVE to go to yoga. Or you HAVE to run, just to cross it off the day's checklist and move on to the next task on the to-do list. You should look at it as an opportunity to continue improving. (Sidenote, I just re-read that and good God do I sound like a white liberal yuppie. Sheesh.)

So today I tried a more relaxed approach. I accepted that my legs felt like jello 2 miles in. And that my ipod was stuck and refused to a) increase in volume and b) wouldn't skip songs. Ok, running to Van Morrison at a soft volume it is. Even though that makes me want to nap, not run fast. Totally fine. Keep on going. Also accepted the humidity reaching thick oppressive levels. Can't do anything about that. Keep on trucking. Before I knew it, my run was over. It didn't feel like a chore. It was one part of my training program. And tomorrow is another.

Someone tell me how to get this on my ipod...

2010-08-03T10:33:00.003-04:00

Original here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-OqYZC1DA&feature=player_embedded

Last week I admitted to running to songs about unintended pregnancies, now I want to run to autotune songs about attempted rape.

It is 1998 on my ipod.

2010-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Week 2 of the corporate challenge is already off to a solid start for me. I'm doing much better with fitting my runs in, remembering to hydrate throughout the day and perhaps most importantly, 82 degrees feels like a cool fall night compared to last week's consecutive 90+ degree days. In short, life is good and I'm crusing along according to the training plan (first six weeks here).

So since I haven't dry heaved while running for a few days (totally just jinxed myself), let's move on to more important matters. Running music and playlists. I'm always curious as to what other people listen to while running and more often than not I'm surprised by the answers. I for one cannot run to a slow song. I need a quick pace, it needs to be loud and bonus points if it's a song I can easily lip synch to while running (a habit I am completely unable to break). Also, gangsta rap more often than not finds its way onto the playlists...something about bitches and hos just really gets me moving.

However, the most recent playlist I've been listening to for most of the summer has very few current songs [except for Drake, who is my new music obsession] and instead is taking me back in time to middle school. Here is a sampling:

-Semisonic - Singing in My Sleep, Never You Mind, Completely Pleased, This Will be My Year
-Everclear - So Much for the Afterglow, Amphetamine, Heroin Girl, Santa Monica, Nehalem, Sunflowers
-Third Eye Blind - Losing a Whole Year, 10 Days Late, 1000 Julys, Graduate, Burning Man
-Counting Crows - Mr. Jones, Angels of the Silences
-Hootie and the Blowfish - I Go Blind, Only Wanna Be With You
-Will Smith - Gettin' Jiggy With it
-LFO - Every Other Time

After seeing all these hanging out together, some thoughts:

*Everclear/Third Eye Blind were the angsty teen phase...I still remember driving my first car and blasting the cassette tapes in fits of MOM DOESN'T GET IT rage. Now they're great for taking my frustrations out by pounding out a few miles on the pavement. Old age.
*I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I honestly never put two and two together of what 10 Days Late was about until googling the song lyrics just now...uh awkward. Go on everyone, download songs about unintended pregnancies! Makes for great running music! Seriously though, it is a good song, all possible schsmortions aside.
*Semisonic was so much more than just Closing Time.
*Counting Crows will never leave my ipod.
*Will Smith...don't pretend like you don't want to do the gettin jiggy with it dance right now.
*LFO...better known for Summer Girls, but this song has the classic lyric "keep it up homegirl don't you quit you know the way you scream is the ultimate."

So now that I've divulged all my guilty pleasure running songs...spill. What are yours? Are you able to run to just about anything? Or do you need an upbeat tempo to keep you going?

Heat and Humidity Disgusts Me

2010-07-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

I don't know what changed in the last year, but I am convinced my body's core temperature has changed. I am now permanently overheated. This creates problems (as you can imagine) when running in the extreme heat and humidity we've been dealing with as of late. During the winter I would tag my posts with "I can't wait to run in a wifebeater and shorts again." Hell no. I would run 16 miles right now (I'm trying to summon the energy to shower, to give you an idea of my current lack of motivation state) if it meant I could do so in weather requiring gloves, a hat and enough Under Armour to outfit a third world country.

This has made my runs...interesting. I've been trying to run slower to let my body deal with the heat, but sometimes that's not even enough. I end up having to take walk breaks and occasionally spitting out phlegm (gross, I know) just to be a be able to breathe enough. And then there are days like Tuesday, when I end up just completely wanting to curl up in a ball and die rather than finish my run. After 3 miles of dry heaving and spitting I nearly had a stomach disaster in the last mile, coming thisclose to puking outside of a Dairy Queen. The only thing that stopped me was seeing the family of four hanging out in their four door sedan, enjoying what they thought was going to be a lovely after dinner treat. The poor kids' eyes got as big as saucers when I dodged into the side street and bent over. So I didn't. But the result didn't make my stomach much happier.

The biggest frustration is that I know what I need to do...hydrate more, further in advance. I need to spread my extreme water consumption over the course of the day, not chug a gallon when I get home from work and hope for the best. So after three days of the corporate challenge, that's where I stand...trying to remember how to prepare for running in the heat. Is it fall yet?

Run Til I'm Fun

2010-07-21T22:40:00.004-04:00

Remember how this thing all started. Running til I'm fun. Getting rid of my frustrations. That's kinda how today's run went. Day three of the corporate challenge and I'm finally remembering why I love this so much. Because some how, some way, running calms me down.

It's not always long lasting, but at least for a few moments I really feel at piece. My runs are like venting. They start out strong and I'm essentially sprinting and fuming, running to angry rap songs and cursing along with them. Then I hit a point where I stop caring, things come into perspective and I start to feel better. I'm either getting tired and start focusing on running, or my inner rant ends and something else grabs my attention. Some days its other runners or cute apartments. Somehow I find myself playing the "I could totally live in this neighborhood" game. Or I should come back here with so and so, they would love this park. Everything just calms down and I finally understand what it's all about. Essentially it's all about me (god isn't that the slogan for one of those weird tshirts that everyone rocked in junior high).

Anyway, one of the things I'm known for is "Ange time." It drives everyone I know crazy, but essentially I cut myself off from the outside world. I shut off my phone and stop checking email. I seclude myself and just do whatever I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I watch crappy tv, sometimes I go shopping by myself, sometimes I cook, sometimes I just sit in my bed and zone out. It's weird, it's frustrating for others, but I love it. You see I'm constantly talking to people. I email and text and talk on the phone and bbm and tweet and facebook and blog and well you get the point. I'm in a constant state of communication and sometimes I just love to stop everything.

But I've noticed that whenever I'm running, my desire for Ange time slips away. I'm content. I get my peaceful state of being alone. I get lost in my thoughts. And today I finally starting feeling all of that. And while the run itself was slow and sloppy, the "Ange-time" was amazing.

I'm probably taking a rest day tomorrow, but I'll get my last run of the week in over the weekend and of course I'll keep you all updated.

Also, in case you all don't already know. Co-blogger sarah turns 24 tomorrow (Thursday). So feel free to shower her in happy birthday comments :)

Training Plan - November Half Marathon

2010-07-20T09:12:00.001-04:00

First off, I would like to state that Day 1 of the Corporate Challenge kicked me in the ass. Not because I couldn't complete my run, but because I was caught in a monsoon (rain whipping my face, blowing sideways, the whole nine yards) and was 2 miles away from home. And was wearing a hanes white t-shirt. And running shorts. And a yellow sports bra. And had to stop back at the gym to grab my keys and water bottle out of the locker room. I literally wrung out my shirt before entering the gym, and then continued to sprint home to minimize my appearance as a wet tshirt contest entrant. And then threw my 1.99 hanes tee into the garbage can before even entering my house. Not even worth trying to salvage.

Moving on to the training plan....I had high hopes of having a fancy excel sheet set up, but sorry, no time for that, you're getting links. As of today I have 16 weeks to train for the half, which is the same length of time that I trained for the full last year (oh how the mighty have fallen). I'll be taking the first six weeks of an intermediate training plan to try and get myself back into shape, and then I'm going to segway into a 10 week advanced training plan (I will break 2:00 hours this time around. Or puke three times instead. Either/or).

A disclaimer: I am going to be adjusting these schedules as I see fit, but this is the general overview. For example, no way in hell I am going to a) find a grassy area to run in, or b) run hard five days a week. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I will also let you know the conversion for meters to miles, because I have already spent far too much time doing that and wouldn't want any other victims of the American school system to suffer the same math related trauma.

First six weeks here: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/rws-10-week-150-plus-half-marathon-schedules/99.html

Next 10 weeks here: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/rws-10-week-sub-150-half-marathon-schedules/97.html

This week (so far): Monday: 3 miles, Tuesday: 4 miles. Yep, already flip flopped those days. That's how its going to be.

Day One

2010-07-19T22:05:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day of the corporate challenge and I'll admit that I was a little intimidated. The run was only 3 miles, but based on my running as of late, I wasn't too confident. Luckily everything worked out alright, but it definitely was not my best run.

The weird thing about the whole "corporate challenge" is my mindset. When I was training for Newport running was my first priority. Seriously, I'd turn down Sox tickets, skip out on drinks with friends, and wake up at the crack of dawn. Now its something that I think of as a perk. Like omg my day was great I actually fit in a run. I guess before running was like eating and now it's more like having the time to watch a show on tv.

What I want desperately is for the challenge to fix my running mindset. I want to plan my runs like I plan my meals, think of them as essential again and drop everything for the run, not the other way around.

But hopefully I'm on my way. For now it's off to bed. One step closer to getting my "umba" back.

Yea I'll have to explain that tomorrow

July

2010-07-19T09:05:00.002-04:00

Dear God. I have no words for how insane the last month has been. Pretty much the minute I hit "post" on the last entry, I completely fell out of the running groove again. For the most part I blame that on the schedule of events taking place in my life for the past several weeks...I've just been in a permanent state of busyness (is that a word? I almost spelled it with an "i" and then realized that is BUSINESS, a very different word than what I'm looking for, and then started hearing ludacris singing BIZNASS in my mind.....this is why I shouldn't drink coffee at 9 pm) and have been letting little things get in the way and/or telling myself I'll run the treadmill but in reality not really letting that pan out.

July is normally a crazy month for me thanks to the stork having delivered myself and both of my sisters within three weeks of one another. Throw in my dad's birthday and you have four family birthdays in July, resulting in GIANT meals every 7-10 days, followed with copious amounts of cake and ice cream and booze. Toss in visits from friends, family, a 21st birthday celebration, a 36 hour weekend trip to DC, and you have my current state of permanent fullness and a complete lack of running stamina. It's been so hot and humid, so I've been trying to run on the treadmill. Always a bad idea, I hate the treadmill more than anything, and get so bored that I crank it up to 7.8 at a 2.0 incline and tell myself that .80 miles at that completely unmanageable pace is equivalent to the six mile runs I was cranking out several weeks ago. Uh, not quite.

So! After talking with Ange, we agreed we were on the same page with needing to re-commit to our illegitimate love child, aka long-distance running. I am signed up for a half marathon in November, and am attempting to peer pressure Ange to do it with me...at the bare minimum she's doing the training with me. We have deemed this the "Corporate Challenge." No particular reason (although we both are employed by corporations of some sort, so that part seemed fitting), but we do better when we have plans that have names. It makes it seem more legit. So here we go...back at it and attempting to regain where we once were. G2 and ice baths, here I come.

Tomorrow: the training program. Get excited, people. Get excited.

I guess I fell off the wagon

2010-07-18T22:43:00.002-04:00

So I haven't blogged in a while. Probably because I haven't ran in a while. A year ago I was banging out 10 milers and feeling great. Today I ate a gluten-free bagel with bacon and cream cheese, a vat of gluten free pasta salad and hot wings, which I "burned" off with a 1.75 mile run and 20 minutes of pilates. So as you can probably guess, my fitness goals have been at a fast decline.

To top it all off last week I was hit-and-run-style fat attacked. Walking home from a networking event in Cambridge with a rather thin co-worker, we stopped so she could to switch into flip flops and I could take off my cardigan and some random man out of no where said "keep your clothes on - you're both fat." Now the girl I was with was very small, and I am by no means "get called out on the street" fat, so I know it shouldn't phase me. But seriously? A girl skips a few weeks of running a now gets fat-assaulted on the street. WTF?!?

But we're getting back on track - at least I hope. Sarah will share the details, I'm just along for the ride, but don't worry I'll be logging my journey here.

More on this tomorrow. It's good to be back!

Trying to get back in the swing of things...

2010-06-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

Yea. Unplanned hiatus. You've heard it all before. Not going to try and pretend it won't happen again.

The truth is, after the Pittsburgh half I felt burnt out on running. Normally after big races I feel more inspired to run. I'm motivated by my performance and a constant need to be better next time, to be able to pick off one more runner at the end of the next race. Hell, two days after the marathon I ran four miles and did it with a smile on my face.

This time was different. I didn't run for almost a week. When I did run it felt like a chore, and I was sluggish the whole way through. I did it because I had to, because otherwise I would be losing everything I've worked so hard for, and would be starting back at square one with running long distances.

Not to get all New-Agey on the blog, but it really took me taking a step back and looking at the big picture to get over this hump. A year before, when the Pittsburgh marathon happened I laughed at everyone running it....why would anyone ever want to run that far? And less than six months later I was doing a full with co-blogger Ange. Two years before, I was graduating college in the worst shape of my life. Running any more than a mile would have been a struggle (I say would have because I was in no shape or form running at this time...aside from maybe chasing after Ange when she would run home from the bar drunk to make sure she made it inside safely.)

I stopped worrying about how far I was running and what days I was running. I wasn't training for anything for the first time in a year, and I took the opportunity to just RUN. I ran when I felt like it, and for as long as I wanted to. If some days that was only 2.5 miles, well, so be it. Other days I wanted to run six. I knew it would all even itself out in the end.

It's been a month now, and I'm finally starting to feel good about running again. I'm excited to come home from work, change into my workout gear and hit my usual running path. In the words of George Costanza, "I'M BACK BABY!"

That Time I Wanted to Die During a Race

2010-05-06T08:41:00.007-04:00

Ugh. Three (well four by the time you're reading this, thank you auto-post feature) days later and all I can still say is Ugh. Sunday was the Pittsburgh half-marathon, which I'd been training for for months. This was the first race that I had a time goal in mind for (ideally, 2:00; secondary goal was 2:10) and I was feeling pretty confident about my ability to run 9 minute miles. I'd done a lot more speed work than I ever had before, and managed to get all my long runs in according to schedule. My bum knee wasn't bothering me, and I just felt strong.

Friday I went to the expo to pick up my bib number and race swag and also signed up for the 2:00 pace team. Sidenote, I thought signing up for the pace team would be a lot more official, but it consisted of a man writing "2:00" on a bib that I was supposed to put on my back and instructing me "You'll look for Andy on Sunday morning. He's ruggedly handsome." Super, thanks for the instructions.

Saturday consisted of a lot of hydration and pasta eating. Before I knew it, 4:45 a.m. Sunday rolled around and it was time to start getting ready. Now all week long there were weather warnings that Sunday was going to bring thunderstorms, and on Friday afternoon the marathon sent out an email instructing us what to do in the event of lightening (spoiler alert: look for shelter). So I was estactic to wake up and see no precipitation. Until I opened the front door. And was hit with a wall of humidity. At this point I figured some showers would be nice to bring the relative temps down, and kept my fingers crossed that a nice mist would be coming our way.

My friend Katrina walked over to my apartment and then we set out on our walk to the start line (about 1.5 miles away). Along the way we met up with my parents and sister, who had ventured out for moral support (and held all our gear during the race...gracias!). One quick stop at the Porta-Potties and it was time to line up...I found the 2:00 pace group and Katrina set up with the 2:10 pace group, and we made plans to meet up at the finish line.

The first three to four miles were AMAZING. I was running right alongside the pace group, I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too much, and I got to see the fam, who high-fived me as I ran by. Around mile three it started to POUR (I swear to God, I will never have "ideal" conditions for a distance run...it will always be horrific, ark-inducing weather conditions), which really wasn't worth complaining over, because I don't mind running in the rain, and it was helping to cool things down.

Then mile four(ish) came. I don't know what the hell happened. I've never had stomach issues during a race or a long training run, and out of nowhere I started to feel queasy. The minute I saw porta-potties I knew I was going to throw up. So I hopped on over to the porta-potties, puked, and emerged to fall back in with the 16,000 other runners. As luck would have it, I managed to see Katrina and fell in time with her. At this point, I wasn't really that worried about puking, I figured it was nerves and I would be able to run just fine from then on. I ran with Katrina for about a mile and a half (during which we passed the first medical aid station on the course, where they were handing out what appeared to be popsicle sticks of treats....um, no they were handing out Vaseline that was swabbed onto tongue depressors. I don't want to talk about how close I came to grabbing one and eating it. I'm sure that really would have settled my stomach.).

At roughly the halfway point my whole body started to cramp up. Again, never happened to me during a race or long run before, and I knew it was going to be a long day. I felt like I had no energy and was running soo slow. I had been walking through all the water stops and sipping water, but I could tell my body was just already done. At mile 8 we were running over a bridge and I started to get dizzy, at which point I seriously contemplated laying down and just letting the medical team cart me to the finish line. I was so over the pouring rain, the humidity, and my body's complete revolt of any physical activity I was attempting. I've never wanted to quit a race before, not even when I was at mile 22 of the marathon and my knee locked out and I realized I was going to half to walk/half jog the last 4 miles in hurricane force winds. Instead I started trying to play the mind games of "ok just over this bridge and then you're fine" and "just a little further down the road and then you can turn left and you're almost done."

After I made it over the bridge in one piece, my stomach revolted again. This time, there were no porta-potties around and I dodged off the course to stealthily puke in a bush where the medical team wouldn't see me and pull me off the course for dehydration (they were on high alert all day due to the crappy conditions). This was mile 9. I still had four miles to go and had already puked twice and was down to a jog thanks to the full body cramps taking over.

I honestly don't remember a lot of the last four miles...I was just trying to get to the finish line without puking again. Nothing was allowing me to run hard, not the crowd support, not the playlist on my ipod, not the thought of "ooo you get to be out of the rain when you cross the finish line!", NOTHING. I have never felt so physically and mentally drained in my life. By the time I crossed the finish line I couldn't even bring myself to look at the clock...I just wanted to grab my medal and a tin foil sheet and find my parents.

I eventually did look up my time (2:19) and considering that includes two puking stops and a dizzy spell, it's really not bad. But I know I could have run harder and had a legitimate shot at breaking 2 hours. This race (in addition to being all around god awful) also has convinced me to put the kibosh on training for longer distances for a bit. I was seriously considering signing up for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in the fall, but now I think I want to just go back to running for pure enjoyment, not "ok I have to run seven miles today and I need to leave work at this time, practice extreme hydration all day, charge the ipod and change and stretch as soon as I get home to ensure it happens." I just feel burnt out from training and I think this summer I'm going to do a few 5ks and maybe a 10k or two. In short, I need to get back to running til I'm fun. That hasn't happened for a long while and I'm excited to get back to that place.

I'm a ruiner

2010-04-28T13:25:00.003-04:00

I have this weird habit of overdoing things. I find something I like and do it over and over and over again. Let me put this into perspective, you know how radio stations play the same songs over and over and then people get all "ugh that is sooo overplayed." I always agree outwardly while inwardly I'm super excited.

I do this on my own too. One of my guilty pleasures is downloading a new song, and playing it on repeat for an entire run (yup 30-40 min of one song, and lets be honest its usually something retarded like Tic Tok or Party in the USA). Then the next day, embarrassed by the fact that I've done this, I make a "playlist", with the current download at least twice. Eventually I find a new song I love and start the cycle again. Only to rediscover the old song a few months later in an "embarrassment playlist" until finally it reaches the point where I skip it on my ipod. AKA after a long, long time of over doing, I ruin it.

And it's not just music, I do it with running routes, socks and underwear (I dont wear them everyday but I get new "favs" that I wear to make me happy and decide what laundry I am doing for the week based on which load I can throw them into) and even food.

One of my favorite diet plans was when I ate the same thing everyday. That's right the SAME, EXACT THING day in and day out. And I know all of you are thinking omg that's so boring/weird/gross, and I used to lie and be like its not easy but I'm dropping pounds, but in reality, I got so excited for every meal, each day. I'd count down the minutes for my soup, apple or half a cup of brown rice, 3 oz of chicken and steamed veggie. It was absurd. After about 4 months of this I swore off brown rice for 6 months and had it for the first time last night. It's still delicious.

For running I find one little street that i LOVE and incorporate it into all of my runs for a month or so until I'm like omg I CANNOT go there anymore and banish it from running routes for a while. The problem is sometimes I get sick of key parts of a run, like the area to my house of from my house and I have to play on mapmyrun for hours before I can finally suck it up and go down one of these streets.

And that's what I'm on my way to doing now. For the past few weeks I've been obsessed with 3 songs and have run the same route. I even forced the photog to go on a walk with me last weekend so I could show him my newly discovered run. He agreed that it was fab but didn't seem to share my enthusiasm.

So with that, I'm off to ruin more things in my life. Hmm is it crazy to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner?

My Tombstone Will Read "Passionate Advocate for Pedestrians"

2010-04-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

So I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I am a hardcore walker. This sounds inappropriate. Let me explain.

When the weather is nice, I walk pretty much everywhere. To work, from work, to the grocery store, gym, walks on my lunch break, etc. This is in addition to my running schedule, so I spend a good deal of time each day on sidewalks.

Since I spend so much time walking about, I have developed a certain degree of shall we say, posessiveness about crosswalks and the "ok to cross" symbol.
The minute I see this little guy, my feet hit the street. I give no consideration to drivers. I don't care if you are trying to make a right hand turn, I am walking. And sometimes, I *might* try and beat the very end of the crosswalk, when the red hand is blinking. I first realized this wasn't normal to have so much of a free wheeling crosswalk attitude last year, when I was walking with my supervisor on a midday errand (read: Starbucks trip). I crossed the street at the very end of a crosswalk and the light turned green as we were almost to the opposite side. A car was so close to hitting me that the brakes screeched. My supervisor yelled, I kept walking and didn't bat an eyelash.

"Sarah how are you not freaked out right now?"
"I was in a crosswalk - they had to stop."

It was brought to my attention after this incident that most people don't react so strongly. To each his own. Since that day, there have been many other times where I have yelled at drivers "THIS IS A CROSSWALK" [hand gesture towards glowing white man walking] and one particular morning where I banged on the hood of a van full of school children who attempted to strike me in the hip. Not my finest hour, but the driver was an ass. Thanks to all these occurences, my coworkers have determined that a crosswalk catastrophe will most likely be my demise.

After what happened yesterday during my run, I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

I was running near my house at a busy intersection. The light had JUST turned green, so my crosswalk time was just beginning. I started to run across the street, and then saw a cab pull a "Pittsburgh left" as I was mid-crosswalk. The driver had no intention of stopping when he saw me, so I was yelling my normal THIS IS A CROSSWALK and gesticulating wildly, I was forced to take a step to the outside to avoid his back tire. In doing so, my left foot hit a pothole, my ankle twisted and I came within an inch of biting it in the middle of the street. Fortunately I was able to walk it off within a block, but my crosswalk passion has only become stronger.

Fingers crossed I can make it to the half marathon (10 days eek) without being struck by a car.

The Boston Marathon – Binge Drinking for Binge Runners

2010-04-20T11:10:00.002-04:00

As pretty much everyone in America knows yesterday was the Boston Marathon. But what you may not know is the effect this “little” race day has on our lovely city. Boston is a very sports fanatical city, Sox, Pats, Celts, Bruins (ok probs not so much for Bruins, but let’s try to be nice here), regardless we love our sports teams. I often describe the average Boston boy as loud, drunk, and in a Sox hat. That’s what we do. We watch sports, yell about sports, and let sports run our wardrobe. Ask five girls who grew up in Massachusetts if they do now or have ever owned a sox hat, shirt or jersey and all five will say yes, four of them will tell you that they owned something red sox in the color pink.

I always told co-blogger Sarah that I’d be afraid to move to D.C. because I wouldn’t know how to talk to boys in bars. In D.C. to impress people you pretend to understand politics, in Boston, you repeat something one of your male friends/family members said about sports and proclaim yourself a “haahd cooah spots fan.” Works every time.

But sorry we aren’t talking about baseball, we’re talking about running. (Although I totally think the Sox can go all the way this year, hands down, no factual evidence necessary.) So yes, running. As a runner I love to watch people run. I find it so inspiring to see them push through pain and sprint at the end of 26.2 miles. Apparently Boston agrees. You see on “Patriots Day” colloquially known as “Marathon Monday” the city shuts down. You can’t drive down major streets, the T pretty much stops running (or at least it feels that way when you’re stuck on it for over an hr try to go 2 stops), T stations close, kids have no school, and grown ups have the day off. That’s right, in Suffolk County, Marathon Monday is a holiday,and why not, sports and alcohol are things that just about every Bostonian can get behind, Marathon Monday just makes it more official.

But for me there is something about the marathon that I love more than other sports. When you go to Fenway Park, you can yell, scream and swear all you want, but players don’t know it. They can’t look you in the eye and say thank you, or “my, my missy you’ve been “cheering” for a while haven’t you.” You don't get the reaction. But at the marathon you see them running by and scream the name they have written on their shirt or call them out by their outfit. As in “Blue shirt man! Blue Shirt man! You’ve got this, yo. You’ve got this!” Last year, my roommate jumped over the rope and ran 2 blocks with a runner. This year a man stopped and asked us for a sip of our beer (oh yea that’s the other thing, not only does the city shut down, but the city also gets really drunk). Every year you see a nervous boyfriend clutching flowers and a back pack of goodies for his running girlfriend, or little kids waiting for their mom or dad to finish. You see people running next to their friends with signs saying “cheer for jenny!” or a lovely old man with a shirt saying 26.2 at 66. For weeks leading up to the marathon the news covers inspiring stories about people running, which bored working Bostonians then send to friends and family members so that everyone they know is sobbing at their desk. The marathon just seems more real, more personal.

This is why to me, marathon in Boston is the ultimate. People spend their lives trying to qualify, and it's totally obvious why. The city loves it, the runners love it, and every packie on Beacon Street rejoices. Honestly, the marathon is one of my favorite things about living in Boston. And that’s why next year, when the marathon falls on my 25th birthday I want to run it and be part of the amazing, inspiring, and sometime downright crazy group of runners that can proudly say that “I’ve run Boston.”

Coming out of hibernation

2010-04-16T10:12:00.000-04:00

Well I’ve been meaning to blog for weeks now. I had a post about St. Patricks Day when it was so gorgeous and a drunk boy raced me for ½ a block. I had a few posts about running outside and my love of warm sunlight on my skin. I had more posts about how my sneakers (yup the same ones since September ie the ones I wore for my marathon in Oct and my ½ marathon in February and the months of training surrounding those days) totally shit the bed and knocked me out of commission for 2 weeks with a horrible knee injury that made walking a bit of a struggle. I even had a cute little post about how the photog in all of his amazingness got me new running shoes last weekend as an early bday present (yup I turn 24 on Sunday, scary). But I just haven’t been able to post.

The problem is not the running (although it hasn’t been all that productive or frequent), and it’s not the actual blogging (you know I love word vomiting all over you guys), it’s just that life has be a bit volatile for me lately. As Sarah mentioned there have been a lot of life changes going on. I’m not sure I’m ready to disclose just yet, but let’s just say that the treadmill broke - it’s done, gone and over. And although in real people life I should be upset (the treadmill helped me maintain my standard of living), I’m kinda relieved. Although, now I have no idea where to go.

It’s not just about my life either, I seriously can’t decide where I want to run ever (its weird how workouts reflect other parts of live). I have been unable to pick a run and stick to it. I map about 4 different versions and get run ADD and mix em all together. In life I come up with new “plans” daily. I’m now obsessed with finding what makes me happy and when push comes to shove it’s wandering without a plan or direction that makes me feel most at ease. I guess I’m now just obsessed about going places after so much time of standing still that now I’m just going anywhere and everywhere and finding it amazing.

But things will change as they always do. Hopefully if I start structuring my running, my life will follow. Although this morning I woke up with yet another sore knee so perhaps we’ll have to put this all on hold til Tuesday (Monday is a holiday in Boston for the MARATHON). So yes, after I reemerge from my drunken birthday weekend/Marathon Monday, I plan to get more serious about life, as a strong, confident 24 year old with a purpose. Until then, I plan to sit in the yellow chair in my living room and watch daytime TV.

PEACE OUT HOMESLICES AND HAPPY MARATHON MONDAY!!

Do Not Read if Easily Offended

2010-04-15T09:30:00.002-04:00

So as previously mentioned, training has not been coming easily as of late. Or rather, it really hasn't been going well at all for this half. The weather through February was just plain miserable, meaning if I made it outside for a 4 mile run twice a week, I really thought I deserved a gold medal. Then towards the end of March the weather gods sent a string of high 70s/low 80 degree days. Which, after a winter of this:

was a gift from above.

However.

I really try not to complain about the weather. I mean, we can't control it, and it's there whether we like it or not, and I went to Syracuse so I should be approve reproach when it comes to snow, blah blah blah.

BUT. Pittsburgh decided for a solid 3 weeks that spring wasn't necessary. We would move straight from 50 to 80.

Gut instinct: fantastic! I love happy hours on patios! Yay sunshine, here to cure my seasonal depression!

Reality: OH MY GOD IT'S 83 DEGREES THE SUN IS BEATING DOWN ON ME AND I NEED TO RUN 5 MILES TODAY.

I am not kidding when I say I think my pace dropped a solid 3 minutes/mile when the heatwave swept in. I probably could have walked faster up certain hills. Also, totally forgot about my strategy of bringing a dollar in my running shorts to get water halfway through, and was panting like a dog left in the car all afternoon by the time I arrived home.

Also. To touch on a, shall we say, sensitive topic. There are these gorgeous trees in my neighborhood. They're white, flowery, and just all around a great enhancement to the 'hood. But the heatwave took them from dormant to blooming in 36 hours flat. And the blooming? Smells like something that I can't mention here. I mean, we try to keep it PG-13 here people. But imagine a very *cough* private *cough* occurrence that men have. And you'll have a good sense of the smell I'm dealing with while trying to run. In through the nose, out through the mouth....not a good breathing technique during this time of the year.

In addition to this raunchy smell that I'm trying to tolerate, my allergies have come out of NOWHERE (seriously, dormant since 1997) and smacked me in the ass. This has resulted in severe phlegm issues while running, causing me to stop every six blocks or so and hack up mucus.

If you're still reading this after the last two paragraphs - in the words of the Golden Girls, thank you for being a friend.

So needless to say running has been a challenge as of late. One I'm trying conquer one step and one dose of Claritin at a time.

Anyone else dealing with allergies or spunky trees? (Yes, I just took this into R-rated territory because I couldn't resist the rhyme).

Nodding My Head Like Yeah

2010-04-14T09:30:00.001-04:00

So we've been MIA for weeks. Again. Story of our lives. What are ya gonna do.

In our defense, things have been happening. Exciting things, memorable things, things which we can't discuss entirely right now. But overall, prognosis for the immediate future: good. We may reflect more on this at a later date and time.

The running photo shoot at Syracuse, where we were going to reunite and pose in Under Armour? Yea, that didn't happen. But we do have these fun shots, featuring Ange in the bed of a pick-up and yours truly posing by the sign for quite possibly my favorite street of all time.

As for running ---- wellll let's just say that the 2 hour goal for the Pittsburgh half (coming up on May 2nd eeekkk) is looking a little lofty now. And 5 days in Syracuse solved the mystery of "how did I gain so much weight in college?" by day 3, when I was struggling to pull my jeans up. And really, it shouldn't be a mystery when you eat two dinners at happy hour along with 5-7 pitchers of beer. Or so I've heard. So I'm trying valiantly to get back on track and not eat like a college kid. Key word: trying. More on this tomorrow.

Co-Blogger Ange is Going to Kill Me

2010-03-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I know, I know I've been MIA for weeks. But it's time to let you guys know. I'm in a relationship. With the Sun.

At first it was just a fling. He would come hang out for a few hours, I would soak it up for a bit, start to get comfortable, maybe take my coat off and then he would disappear for days. No calls, no texts, nothing. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up. I'd been burned all winter long. But the past two weeks - they've been different. He's sticking around this time. And I have seriously never been more content with such an excess of Vitamin D.

In all seriousness, I literally have done nothing but spend as much time outside as possible. Whereas a few weeks ago I was patting myself on the back if I could make it outside for 2 runs a week, now I'm devastated if I can't squeeze in a 2 mile jog at least every other day. Walk every day at lunch? Of course! Walk home from work? Don't mind if I do! Create excuses to walk around the neighborhood after work? And how!

I'm still training for the Pittsburgh half (May 2nd eek) and the official goal is 2:00 or under. I can hit the necessary pace (9:10) for 4-5 miles, so I'm hoping as I up my mileage I can maintain this and keep building.

Ok now the reason for the title of this post. Yesterday I went on my longest weekday run in months - 6.5 miles. Thanks to daylight saving's time (which is kicking my ass, but that's another post for another time), I decided it was more than safe to add my additional loop around the stadiums...which I had avoided for months since it's not as heavily populated as other areas, and add in nightfall, and you've got a recipe for RFYL.

Necessary background information: since I had put my left contact lens in that morning, it had felt a little funny, but not worth messing with. Once I started running, it started to acquire dust and felt downright miserable. Oh and co-blogger Ange hates eyes. Everything about them, everything related to them - Ange: scroll to the bottom.

So I start to make my loop around the stadiums, and my left eye is tearing up so badly I'm forced to stop at a crosswalk and try to rub it out in an effort to fix it (TWSS). No luck. Whatever, the light changes, I figure it will be fine if I leave it alone. No such luck. By the time I make it to the home plate entrance of PNC Park I'm ready to rip it out and discard it on a commerative brick. So I did what any sensible person would do and took it out, which is when I realized it had been in my eye inside out all day. No wonder I was practically crying for the first half of my run. Once that problem was fixed, the rest of the run was much smoother.

Ange - it's safe to read.

So that's my life. Running, celebrating my newfound love with Mr. Sun and preparing to journey to Syracuse next week for the East regionals of the NCAA tournament. Ange and I will be reunited, and there mayyyyy be a running photoshoot in the works. It depends on a number of factors, particularly our level of intoxication/hungoverness the whole weekend. Which might make for a far more entertaining series of photographs.

My Fun Fact

2010-03-05T09:33:00.005-05:00

Now you may not know this, but Sarah and I are both in the same sorority, that's how we met. The bonds of sisterhood brought us together (awww). But when we first started pledging Sarah thought I was a little weird, 1. because I rocked an English Braid (which is now uber cool -- in ya face, Sarsh)2. because my "fun fact" was that I love free t-shirts. Seriously, freshman year of college I lived my life based on t-shirts.

The funny part is, I think that my life based on t-shirts was actually the best idea I ever had, because that is why I rushed - free tshirts. Everyone was like "so tell me why are you rushing" expecting to hear "networking, friends, sisterhood, blah blah blah"I looked them square in the eye and said, "well, I hear that sorority girls get free tshirts and beer." Seriously, I did it.

So it totally rocked my world when my friend Katie gchatted me yesterday and was like umm there are Gamma Phi Running T-Shirts. OM-MF-G. Not free, but totally worth it. Check it:

Two amazing Gamma Phis decided to run a half marathon together and made this shirt. And let me be the first to say, Thank you! I was so excited that I gchatted Sarsh and told her we were getting this shirt and messaged the girl about it right away. So just in time for our spring debut Sarsh and I will be rocking this amazing T-shirt. I guess this is what they mean when they say you are "life long members" haha.

Ok sorry about the Legally Blondeness of this post, I haven't ran all week in recovery from my half marathon/ because I need new running shoes and haven't got any. But hey, since we are all cracked out here on a Friday, leave us a comment and let us know about your favorite t-shirt!

So yeah, the 1/2 Marathon

2010-03-03T23:13:00.007-05:00

So as promised here is my complete recap of the Hyannis Half Marathon I ran on Sunday.

The half was my third real race as a "runner." Sure I ran some track in high school and played "chase" in 3rd grade, but I've really only had three real big girl races and I'm starting to figure out the good, the bad and the ugly about racing.

One thing I really noticed is that no matter what you are always going to be nervous. Whether you're prepared, unprepared, going for a PR, focusing on just finishing, running alone or running with a friend, pre-race jitters just cannot be avoided. So as you can imagine Sunday morning started just like my other two races, I woke up early on a weekend and started begging the photog to let me skip the race. I "wasn't ready," "didn't train enough," "felt like I was gonna vom," but in the end he and I both knew that this had to be done.

First stop was to collect my number and check out the race expo - which was amazing FYI. It was INSIDE (SOOO GREAT) at a huge convention center and they had a ton of vendors, running clubs etc. I check out some shoes and running clothes and the photog grabbed some free donuts and cheese (he later got an O-water at the finish, so I think he would give the Hyannis 1/2 good marks as well).

Then I did the ritual "ok now I gotta pee" right after we got there. Being a female, peeing of course became a social event so I started chatting with two other girls in line. One had run this half marathon 3 years in a row, another had run a half before, and I was the weirdo who ran a full, but never a half. We gabbed, talked about being nervous, not wanting to be cold and started checking out the hat of another girl in line "I run so I can drink" seriously so amazing. If I wasn't so nervous I totally would have asked her where I could get one, but alas my jitters kept me admiring from afar.

Before I knew it, it was time to line up. This is when the freak out started. I to distract started playing with my ipod and made the photog take pictures for the blog. (I put some of my faves at the end of this post). This is also when I started my favorite pre-race ritual, eaves dropping. Seriously so amazing, lined up right by me was a group of friends 3 girls and their guy friend who were running their first race together, 3 high school kids, a really cute couple and various others. All very fun to stalk.

When the race started, I did my best to keep my own pace and focus on me. On my first race I really tried to run to fast and got really sick (probably not from the fast running, but I'm not ready to test that). Anyway, I started as slow as possible and tried to let go of the "omg that guy is passing me thoughts" I tend to have when running around others. Before I knew it I eased into a pace and took off.

I don't remember much about the course, it was pretty, kinda uneventful, and I spent most of my time looking at other runners or people cheering, but I definitely had a nice run. By mile 8 I started to get a little tired and by mile 10 my feet started to seriously blister. Luckily I pushed through and even sprinted the last .1 miles to the finish line which was pretty awesome.

There was a full marathon as well as a 10k at the race, and surprisingly I didn't get runners envy too badly when I saw the marathoners go on their second loop of the course. In fact, it was so inspirational to see them all, and I realized one of my favorite things about runners in general is the support they give to one another - no matter how tired we are we always cheer on those around us.

Ok it's getting late so I might as well wrap this up with some photos. I'm taking some time off for a few days to heal my feet and maybe buy some new shoes, but I'll be back in action soon!

Pictures!!
Crossing the finish

Post Race

Pre Race -- clearly I was ignoring the photog

Confessions of an overpacker

2010-03-01T22:08:00.012-05:00

Sunday I ran my first solo race – the Hyannis Half Marathon. 13.1 miles all to myself. And the race was actually fantastic.

The photog and I went up to the cape Saturday night to stay at his parent’s beach house. It was perfect, just 30 min away from the starting line, but of course I had to “crazy” up the whole situation with my obsessive packing. Now I left out this fun fact when recapping the Newport Marathon, but my nerves tend to manifest themselves as over packing and over preparing. On our trip to Newport I not only packed extra clothes an towels for me, Sarsh and the photog, but I packed bagels, bread, water, G2 and a Toaster. Yup, I threw my toaster in a bag and took it to the Travelodge.

Anyway, when preparing for our trip to Eastham I packed every single ingredient for dinner and breakfast including gluten free bread, butter, apples, g2, broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, pasta sauce, gluten free pasta, regular pasta, garlic, spices, chicken, and olive oil. When we started loading up the car I actually thought the photog was gonna dump me, because as I soon learned the house was completely stocked with all of the essentials (although I don’t think they had the gluten free carbs and fresh veggies). And that doesnt even touch upon the many an option for race day apparel and my snuggie, of which I have detailed in photos.

Mom don’t kill me but here are my “you are a goddess” undies, they are special dry fit undies that I wear on every long run, plus they come with a fun little ego boost every time you put them on.

Two other undie/sports bra options:

Running tights – cold and heat gear

My second layer pants – hardtails and yoga/dryfit pants

Multiple dryfit shirt options

Windbreaker, gloves, earmuffs hat

Anyway that’s just a little taste of all the crap I brought with me, yup one day, one run and way too many options. But it all worked out great, I ended up wearing my cold gear tights, dry-fit yoga pants, my nike short sleeve dry-fit, my Pittsburgh half marathon dry-fit long sleeve that sarah gave me as a gift (in the words of the photog this was the perfect option because it was like I was brining Sarsh with me every step of the way), and then all of my outerwear gloves, hat ear muffs ect. I may have been the only person out of the close to 6,000 there that was wearing 2 pairs of pants, but I’m totally ok with that.

Anyway the day was great, not a drop of rain (despite the scary forecast) and I finished in 2:22:31 not horrible considering I didn’t train much and usually avoid cold like the plague. Plus, the photog was there right at the finish to see me cross, hand me one of the many g2s I brought and the extra towel I packed.

The race itself was also amazingly well done, but I’ll do a “real” recap tomorrow. For now bedtime!

Here’s one last photo of me in all my layers plus the photog’s sweatshirt (now mine) before the race.

To Run or Not To Run

2010-02-25T10:32:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I mentioned that I may not run the half I’m signed up for on Sunday, which will definitely be a hard decision. On one hand I paid $50, “trained,” and made a big to-do about getting down to the Cape for Sunday. One the other hand there is 13.1 miles of cold and rain. Big decisions.

As most you know (If you don’t check out this) Sarsh and I ran a marathon in a Nor’easter in October - 40mph winds, heavy rain and sleet – yea we are lucky to have all of our toes. So in that aspect I should be able to do this. But the thing that makes me feel like I should do it is a little more than that. (And again sorry for making this blog so serious – the crack will return I promise.)
But the reason I feel like I should run, is because I need it. I need it really badly.

The thing that is so great about running is that it can change you, in a way you will never imagine. Sure you will get in better shape, have more endurance, stronger leg muscles and may drop a pound or two. But if that is all you get from running, then I am sorry, but you are missing out.

Running teaches you something about you. They say running is 90% mental, but I disagree, running is 90% self esteem. It shows you that you are capable of just about anything, that you can put your mind towards a goal and accomplish it. I am by no means a “serious” runner. My marathon time was embarrassingly over 5 hrs, my fastest mile is a little over 8. I am never going to win a race, but lord help me I will finish it. No matter what it takes, or what it does to my body, I will finish it. My first race landed me in the hospital, my second race left me wind burned and permanently cold for at least a week. And my third race…who knows? But the point is, I feel like there has to be a third race, I need to see it to the end to believe in myself again.

The training for this race has been really lazy. I’ve skipped runs, shortened runs and haven’t really paid attention to my training. I’m too poor to buy new running sneakers, so I’m getting by with dr. scholls inserts in my very worn out, but beloved, Asics. I’ve done most of my training inside. And the “treadmill running” and treadmill running have really attacked my spirit.

Mostly I stopped caring. I’ve become complacent. I really just don’t give a damn. And that’s the problem. It’s the drive to the finish that makes us stronger, it’s that feeling inside that you will give anything to finish, anything to accomplish your goal. “Go Big or Go Home” pretty much covers it. But I’ve seem to have lost that fight.

So I guess this race is my shot to regain my “edge.” To get rid of my mopeyness and regain that self confident runner (and person) I once was. Because regardless of the rain, the snow, the physical and mental stress, it’s finishing that gets you going. That proves to you that you can do anything, the sky is the limit. You are capable of anything you set your mind to. And that thought is sooo powerful, it changes people, circumstances and situations. It does just about everything.
I remember when we ran the marathon at the ½ way point the photographer yelled “you are doing something 90% of the world can only dream about.” sweet , adorable, but inaccurate.

1.It’s a made up statistic – I know this bc 94% of his statistics are made up (as was that one I just threw out)
2.Anyone can finish a marathon – Anyone. As long as they believe that they can.

Now don’t get me wrong it takes a lot of hard work, but anyone can finish, whether they walk, run, skip, or crawl, whether they finish in under 3 or over 6, it can be done if you believe it can.

So I guess after all this I pretty much have to run on Sunday, wish me luck and I’ll let you know how it goes. And hopefully I’ll be back with a whole new perspective. Worst case scenario, I will blog from my hospital bed as I dictate to the photographer on his Droid.

Treadmill running is a metaphor for my life.

2010-02-24T10:57:00.002-05:00

Lately I’ve really been struggling with running. I cringe at the sight of a treadmill and it’s freaking me out for the ½ I’m supposed to run on Sunday (I may be swayed not to run it if the weather is awful…idk).

Last weekend I skipped my long run to sit on my bum and eat. Monday I was going to make up for it with a 6miler that ended up being just 3. But yesterday things changed a bit.

I ran outside. Just 4 miles, but it changed everything. Mostly, I had fun and remembered why I loved running. Plus I realized a few things about my life and the treadmill. Now I’m really trying to be more positive about my life, and I really don’t want this to come off all Debbie-Downer, but I just have to explain where I’m coming from with this. So while I won’t specifically say what is the “treadmill running of my life” I will explain what it has done to me through this metaphor.

At first the treadmill wasn’t bad. I was just happy to be in a warm place running. It was safe, secure. Sure, I was bored, but I knew that this was the best I could get at the time. I settled and tried to convince myself that it wasn’t that bad.

Then I got frustrated. I was “just bored” I thought. But then I realized that treadmill running just wasn’t doing anything for me. Namely, it wasn’t making me happy. And the whole reason I run is to be happier. To be fun. You see treadmill running was just helping me maintain the status quo. I was staying still, I wasn’t really going anywhere (literally I was staying in place). There was no where to move and grow, no where to take bigger strides and new challenges.

As humans I think we like to go places. Think of all of the great explorers and space travelers. Think of Forrest Gump. We just aren’t satisfied unless we are moving and checking out new things. I think we just need to constantly be on the go. During my fabulous run last night I realized the connection with “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.” This is one of the ACA’s biggest fundraisers, and its all focused on moving forward and going places – good change can not happen when you are staying in the same place.

In addition to the whole issue of staying still on the treadmill, I also realized that on the treadmill when I ran faster, it wasn’t because I was inspired to do so. It was because a button was pressed and I was forced to work harder or fall off and be hurt. I ran faster not because it was fun, or because I wanted to, but because I was scared of the consequences if I didn’t.

Running like life, isn’t always easy. But it can be rewarding, it can be fun. But I think, at least for me, the fun comes from working towards something you believe in, moving, going places, trying new things. Being inspired by yourself and not acting out of fear, spite, or anger.

There are things in my life that I LOVE. I have amazing friends, photographers (or I guess photographer – I’m no floozy) and family members, a roof over my head, a car to drive, food to eat (even if it’s all gluten-free), and a passion for something that challenges me and inspires me (that would be running).

But then there are things in my life that are less than great, like treadmill running, they aren’t doing anything to contribute to my success, to take me places, or to make me happy. I’m not motivated to work harder, I’m just working out of fear. And while on a whole I am very, very blessed I think its time to make strides to surround myself in things that make me happy.

But it’s scary. Treadmill running is safe. It’s inside, well lit and defiantly reliable. Right now I need treadmill running (and “treadmill running”)to support the life I love. So for now I will continue to treadmill run when I have to, but my new goal is to find ways to eliminate it all together, and eliminate its metaphorical counterpart in the other aspects of my life.

How about you, are you ready to get ride of the “treadmill running” in your life? And how do you prepare yourself to make that big scary leap?

Challenges

2010-02-17T20:28:00.005-05:00

So today marks the beginning of Lent, and instead of trying to give something up, I've decided to take something on. [huge sidenote: I am in no way a very religious person, and I'm well aware that my Lenten promise reads like a Someecard.]

You'll have that. In an effort to get back on track with training for the half marathon and my somewhat healthy lifestyle that flew out the window once the snow hit the ground, I've decided I'm going to make a conscious effort to break a sweat everyday. Forty days. Totally doable.

I already nearly broke it tonight. Yes. Day 1 of Lent.

I was pretty excited to start this plan today, and was looking forward to a solid cold weather run all day. Once I left work and walked six blocks to the parking garage, feeling extreme winds hit my face, I realized an outdoor run would not be happening. So instead I prepared for a trip to the gym for some quality time with my archenemy, the treadmill.

I was a block away from the gym and realized my ipod was still at home. I sat at a stoplight and had an internal debate for the entire length of the redlight, changing the direction of my turn signal four times.

I should go home. Workouts suck without my ipod. [left turn signal]

Ugh once I go home and feel the warmth again I'll never leave. [right turn signal]

There is NO way I can go on the treadmill without an ipod. I'll go insane. [left turn signal]

SUCK IT UP. It is day one of Lent, you can do this. [right turn signal]

So I ended up at the gym, sans ipod. I honestly can't remember the last time I was at the gym without it. Even if it dies halfway through a workout, I usually keep the earbuds in to avoid personal interaction. And wow. The gym is a completely different place without the "don't bother me" message that the ipod sends.

First, I stripped off my layers in the locker room and changed my shoes. As I was exiting, a woman who also had ashes on her forehead high-fived me and said "Ooooo yea girl you got it too!" I had no idea this was so high-five worthy. In my 23 years of being ashed, this has never happened.

I then went to the treadmill area, only to be met with a completely full lineup. And look, I get that we're all just trying to "better ourselves" but seriously? WALKING at a 2.0? Go pace your living room. You will burn the same amount of calories. And make me far less annoyed. After a solid 10 minute wait, I finally got my chance on a treadmill, and faced one of my greatest fears: running on a treadmill with no entertainment. The open treadmill was of course in a tv dead zone, I had no ipod and there weren't even people having a conversation I could eavesdrop on. I literally stared at my reflection in the mirror. Needless to say, I didn't last very long (1.7 miles), but I was pretty pleased with myself for even making it to the gym without an ipod, let alone proving my worth on the treadmill. And let's be honest, on a GOOD day I can do *maybe* 2 miles on the treadmill.

I must say, in a twisted way, this run was a pretty big boost to my confidence level. Even though it was 1/3 of the run I did over the weekend, just knowing that if things go wrong, I can still pull out a decent run was comforting. I think a big reason the marathon was so fricking long was that once my ipod shorted out, I was just ready to count down to the end. I need to be able to run without relying on the Blueprint 3 blasting in my ears (although it definitely helps). I think this is an experiment I might try to continue once a week, just to see how far I can push myself.

Now I remember...

2010-02-16T10:52:00.006-05:00

Well it's been a while. The last time I ran double-digit miles was on Marathon day in Newport. I forgot that running makes me tired...like wicked freaking tired.

I've gotten through the majority of my half marathon training with 8mile long runs. Clearly I am not as into the training for this race as I was my marathon. Blame the snow, blame the cold, blame the little voice in my head that says "you ran 26.2, 13.1 is a breeze." Whatever it is, I'm a little concerned about my slacking.

Yesterday I did 11.4 miles. And I was freaking tired. I forgot that I used to get tired on runs. I got home, collapsed on the floor and wondered, is this normal? Am I just severely out of shape? Yes, and probably yes again. I used to always lay on the floor after long runs, my legs and body were always tired, and yes, I'm probably not in as good of shape as I was for Newport. Whatever. The goal of this race is to finish and not die. Finish, collapse on the ground and let the photog carry me to the car while I complain about how cold I am.

But despite my tweet about my 3lb weight loss (which was actually kinda fun, god I am so much thinner when I'm dehydrated), my near-faint in the shower, and my tiredness, I bounced back. I drank a little, ate a little and then was pretty proud of my double digit run. Sure not as proud as my first time, but still pretty happy.

And despite my post-run exhaustion it actually was a pretty decent run - mid 30s, sunny and amazing. Plus I got to wear my new running gloves that the photog got me for Valentines day (I know adorable, he knows the way to my heart is through running, just like i know alcohol is the way to his).

But that's it for now, tons of snow today so I'm deciding between a treadmill 2-3 recovery run or some xt. Time will tell.

Digging Out

2010-02-15T09:47:00.001-05:00

I apologize because all I'm going to say for half this post is everything that every single person on the East Coast has been bitching about for the last week and a half. Snow. Ice. Shoveling. Salt. Fall down your stairs. Ice skate and snowshoe to the grocery store, find out it's closed because no one can get to work. Put off digging your car out. Drink to forget that you have to dig your car out. Realize that digging your car out is wayyy more enjoyable after you drink. Feel such sheer exhaustion after spending the whole day shoveling that you decide eating and drinking your way out of the snowstorm is a valid plan.

So yea. If I didn't have co-blogger Ange, this blog would have changed titles in the last week. Most likely to "Drink til I'm Fun." Because Praise Jesus, I live in a neighborhood where the grocery store can't be counted on to be open during a blizzard, but you can bet your ass that at least 10 bars are. And they will be packed.

My workouts in the last week have been few and far between. Last Saturday I walked to an ice skating rink downtown with one of my good friends, where they were having free skating all day thanks to the weather conditions. I say this with no sense of hubris whatsoever, but I must be hilarious to watch when ice skating. This was the third time I've ever been IN MY LIFE, with the most recent taking place when I was 19 and went with the clothing store co-worker I was dating at the time. Hellloooo memory lane. So I of course clung to the edge of the rink and asked if there was any chance they had a traffic cone so I could scoot around the ice like a small child. Alas, no. After 20 minutes of skating we decided we had our share of fun for the day and walked back home, but not before stopping for refreshments in the 'hood. And following up with shoveling.

And then I did no physical activity for seven days. I mean, unless you count the bicep curls that took place when I lifted my wine glass from the table to my mouth.

This past Saturday I decided it was time to get my ass in gear. I noted that most of the sidewalks were cleared enough to run, and snow or not, I was going to run. Of course the first 20 min of my run the snowflakes were fluffy and sticking, meaning I had to wipe my eyelashes every 35 seconds or be one step closer to becoming a walking, talking Abominable Snowman. The sidewalks were clear for the most part, but when I got to about the halfway point, I found out what Shel Silverstein meant when he said "Where the Sidewalk Ends." It ends at Station Square. Where there is no sidewalk to speak of, and trees are down, blocking where I imagine a sidewalk might appear in May. So I was forced to run in traffic, and hope that no one was feeling particularly in the mood to commit vehicular homicide. And I'm still here! Small victories.

I managed to crank out a solid 5 miles, despite the sidewalk conditions. I'd be lying if I said it was great. It was hard and my lungs and my legs were screaming in pain by mile 2. By mile 4 I was starting to get pissed at all the business owners and residents that haven't cleared their walkways, or worse, have cleared them once a week ago, and ignored them since, creating a lovely skating rink for pedestrians to glide around on. But today I was reminded of how much better I feel when I run. And barring any further blizzards, I'm getting back on track.

What's the plan, man?

2010-02-09T09:10:00.003-05:00

So as you all know life does not always go as planned. I was never a big planner - in fact I often did everything I could to avoid planning. In college people would be like "so Ange, happy hour this friday?" and I'd freak out. Sure, I went to happy hour every Friday, but the thought of committing to this so early in the week (aka Mon-Thurs) made me die inside. What if something came up? What if I forgot and did something else (this happened often)? What if, what if, what if ahhhh it was too much to handle.

Then I became a runner.

(I know that usually someone would be like, but then I became a mom and everything changed - but f no I am not a mom and don't even get me started on all of the what ifs that would make me freak out if that happened anytime in the next idk 10-50 years. I'm twenty three damnitt!) Ps I love moms, I thing babies are pretty badass, and I read more mommy blogs than I care to admit, but if you have read this blog ever you can probably tell that I can barely take care of myself - let alone a child.

PANIC ATTACK over let's get back on track.

So yea, I became a runner. And then planning took over my life. To the point that someone could last minute offer me the chance to meet Lady Gaga and I would stress over it and cry before deciding to skip a 2-3 miler. Not healthy at all I know. Really not healthy.

So that brings us to last week. So I was really sick on a 3-4 mile day, I think it was Wednesday. So I skipped my run. I figured I could make up the miles and decided to just lay and moan about how my tummy hurts and how the world has scorned me. Then long run day came - aka my planned longest run before the 1/2 - 11 miles. It was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 8. I'm sorry peeps but I just don't run that fast and my body doesnt produce enough heat as it is. So I settled for a 7miler on the treadmill (after frantically texting, calling and agonizing, with 4 people). The goal was to get a treadmill with a tv, but kick me when I'm down, I went to every single open treadmill at the gym and tried the tvs and they didnt work. I just need something to focus on that moves around and distracts me from my indoorness. But nothing.

So now I have to rework the training plan, long run this upcoming Monday (hopefully) and trying to run with a crazy cold this week. Oh and we're getting snow tomorrow? This is why a girl just should never plan. Life doesnt like it. Life wants you to float around, go to happy hour when you're in the mood, run when its fun, and just love life.

I want to throw my google calendar against the wall!

I have no shame

2010-02-03T13:24:00.004-05:00

The Biggest Loser made me cry. Sob actually. One of those loud, gaspy, ugly cries. When you are just so happy no one is there to see how pathetic you are.

I don't know if you all watch so here's a quick synopsis: Last night they brought back the blue and yellow teams - one would stay, one would go. It all came down to the weigh in.

Then it happened. They stepped on the scale and I lost my mind.

The blue team was first (a mom and daughter duo) - Cherita(mom): -24 pounds. Vicky(daughter): -39 pounds. Apparently the average weight loss on the "ranch" is 45lbs. Vicky was basically spot on. Her mom said she was so proud of her, she was so proud of herself, Jillian seemed pretty impressed and I became a slobbering mess. Seriously so amazing, touching and dare I say heart wrenching. So at that point I had my mind name up. Team Blue. These broads are going all the way. Then commerical break is over and the yellow team is up. This time you've got a father-daughter team and they are equally adorable. Sunshine: -25 pounds. O'Neal: -51 pounds. And at first I was upset, then O'Neal changed my life forever. He said, in the most sincere way ever, "I wish I could give my spot to Vicky, because she's a young kid and she deserves this more than me, she deserves a chance." OMG I lost it, seriously, you could take away my coffee for a year and I don't think I would cry like I did just then. Here is a quick clip here . Also at the end you can see how they were kinda mean to Melissa on the red team - aka my irrational tv hatred.

I have this thing where I irrationally hate someone on almost every show I watch. Like LOATHE. My roommates find it hillarious because I seriously just can't stand these people. Last week I actually @replied Jillian Michaels to tell her how much I hate Red-Team Melissa. No response from my girl Jillian, but I know she feels the same. Another inappropriate tv hate is Vanessa on Gossip Girl...don't even get me started.

Anyway I know this has NOTHING to do with running, but I was just so touched by the support that these people give each other (other than bitch-face Melissa) and it reminds me a lot about the running community. I mean sure race day we are technically competing (OK I'm not, but people do hahah) but really you just want everyone to do well. Marathon day, runners were cheering on each other more than fans, people faster, my pace and slower were all giving me support and I was doing my best to give it right back. We were all in on this journey together and we could feel the love.

OK so I'm done for now, go out and watch Biggest Loser and cry your little heart out.

I'm on Team everyone but Red.

Why I need to start wearing Under Armour to bars

2010-02-01T19:02:00.006-05:00

So some of the most popular search terms over here at RTIF are "Pittsburgh dating scene" and "what is the dating scene in Pittsburgh like?". First off, let me state that if you are directed here for that, I am truly sorry. Because I am the furthest thing from having figured that out. [I mean, if you want to help a sistah out, shoot a tweet to @runtilimfun.] Although I suppose it might have something to do with this post. Or this. So, ok, fair, Google Analytics.

But let's get into the nitty gritty of this post. I am here to tell you I am never hit on more often than when I am running. I've never in my life experienced this phenomenon until the two above posts (an update on that situation: after the wave pool invite, I adjusted my route so as to avoid his sidewalk hangout. No signs of him until a few weeks ago, when I was running past the Starbucks and he saw me from his window seat [sidenote, I know you're curious, and yes, he put on a shirt for this coffeshop outing] and raised a paper cup my way. Solidified my decision to adjust my normal running path). And since that encounter, I get hit on even more. And the real doozy: the amount of come-ons I face is directly proportional to the number of layers I have on. Here, I've made a chart, Marshall Eriksen-style:

This is simply MIND BOGGLING to me. Here are some of my recent encounters:

Scene: Christmas Eve morning, squeezing in a quick run around town before heading to my parents' house. My attire: everything described here. Running with earbuds in. Still able to hear the man leaning out of his pickup truck, saying in a perfect Pittsburghese accent, "hey 'der baby, wanna come dahn to my has and have some supper tahnight?" This was so brazen I actually stopped and burst out laughing. Sir, this is a bold attempt on any day, but Christmas eve? Sure, I don't have any plans. Let me hop in the bed of your truck and we can head "dahn to your has" right now. Put on the pierogies for me.
Scene: Walking back from the gym (roughly six blocks away from my apartment). My attire: everything from the previous scene PLUS ugg boots, a winter coat and a scarf. In short, all that was visible was about 14 inches of under armour-clad leg. There is a four-way, four lane stop that I have to cross on the way home, which often results in me being waved on by a sympathetic driver. Like any polite human being, I give the courtesy hand up, slight smile, mouthing "thank you." As I walked by this 1987 station wagon with wood paneling on the side, performing my normal "trying to be a polite human being" routine, the passenger leaned out of the window and whistled, followed by "oh yea baby you can cross my walk anytime." Oh yeaaaaa, nothing gets me going like a good crosswalk double entendre. Whisper it in my ear next time.
And of course, there's the run of the mill, beep your horn and just yell "OH YEA" out the window. Again, the more layers I have on, the more beeps. It's just science.

In short, I think people might be on to something with arriving here looking for dating advice in western PA. The key is clad yourself in spandex and run around. It's foolproof.

Joy and Running

2010-02-01T16:00:00.005-05:00

That’s right this post is all about Joy and running…more specifically, my mom, Joy, and her very first 10k.

As some of you may know my parents live in Arizona and ever since their move my mom has been an avid gym goer. When I lived there for the summer she and I went to the gym together everyday. The trainers loved us because she could out lift me and my heart rate was never over 70 no matter how hard i tried (I have a resting heart rate of like 46…aka I’m basically dead, but whatever it works). They used to tell me to “work it like my momma” and then would laugh at their own jokes. I was of course bitter about this bc I was a 20 year old living in Arizona with no friends, but now its kinda funny to look back on. Anyway although Joy could out lift me (which I attribute to the weak arms her poor genes have forsaken me with) I could always kick her butt in cardio – especially running.

I remember one day about 2-3 years ago Joy bet my father a breakfast burrito that she could run the whole 1 or 2 miles to the club house at the golf course in our neighborhood. She walked some, lied to him and took the burrito as her prize. I found it so funny that she cheated him out on that and still didn’t really take her running all that seriously. Then one day she started telling me about her runs to “Jenna’s house and back.” “Jenna” is porn star Jenna Jameson, who happens to live in their neighborhood.

Well the “Jenna” runs obviously paid off because before I knew it Joy was running a 5k. The crazy part was at the point of my marathon when I only had 5k left I remember thinking, “OK if Joy can run a 5K I can totally handle this.” When I later told her this she’s like “OMG, when I was running my 5K I though ‘if Ange can run a marathon, I can totally handle this.’” Yup, like mother, like daughter.

But anyway all of her hard work has finally paid off because Joy ran her first 10K on Saturday. And although she assured me she will “never run again” about 10 times throughout her training, I think she still has some good miles left to run.

So here’s the recap according to Joy.

Race: London’s Run http://www.londonsrun.org/

Weather: The morning started out cold (ha!) and then warmed up by the finish. She was totally sweating her butt off by the time she talked to me on the phone.

Her number: 2121 (21 is a very big number in our family as it was the baseball number for a close friend who passed away in a car accident)

Her time and overview: 1:04:03..."However, there was a bit of a controversy with the 10K. Apparently it wasn't marked right and some runners ran 7.1 miles and others ran 5.5 miles, now they are saying some actually ran the correct amount. I am sure I didn't run 7.1... I just followed the crowd... I hope a ran a true 10K but if not it was a beautiful day and a good cause. The half marathon was only 12.6 or something so they were saying that was not accurate either. It was the first year they went to chip timing and it looks like the company they used screwed up a little. There was a lot of rain the week before so it had to be re-routed because of mud I guess. Some serious runners were complaining on the London's Run survey, and I see their point but it was for a good cause and at least we "had fun" so whatever!!"
(god I love that she basically had a runtilimfun moment...aww Jooyy)

She was supposed to send me race photos, but apparently the only picture my father took was horrible and she doesn’t want it on the blog, "You don't have pictures on all of your blogs so why put up an ugly one of your mom." FINE Joy, Fine.

SNOW SQUALL!!!

2010-01-29T09:08:00.005-05:00

OK so normally I hate snow, cold and anything associated with it. But yesterday the snow made my life. We actually had a squall. A SQUALL!?!?

Let me explain. I left my house (about .3-.4 miles away from my gym) and started walking to do my lovely 4 miler on the treadmill. When I left there was no snow, chilly, a little wind, but no snow. Then by the time I was like halfway to the gym....SNOW SQUAL!! I was giddy and giggling like 5yr old Ange did anytime she got to play in the mud (great stuff). Anyway I was so excited I hung up on the photog - seriously was like "umm hey so like, snow squall, playa I gots ta go" - then I started snapping pics on my camera phone rapid fire. I walked by my favorite convenience store and there were guys outside being like "OMFG snow" and I'm like "yup, its a squall" hahaha then they offered to take my photo in the squall!!!!!!!!

Check it out!!!

Also thanks to my roommate Christine and her droid because I couldn't figure out how to get this photo from my LG Dare (awful, awful phone) to the comp. so i pic messaged it to her and she emailed it back...F yea the droid does (hey verizon wanna send one my way?...DM @RunTilimFun or leave me a comment and I'll send you my address).

OK well that does it for today. No squalls in the forecast, but I am so thankful that I got to experience that last night!!

Now it's Legit, We're on the Twit

2010-01-28T09:20:00.003-05:00

Twitter that is.

Yup Co-blogger Sarsh and I finally took our little baby blog by the hand and helped it cross over to micro blogging. BIG STEP. Now I think it's fair to explain why...after you all go log on to Twitter, Type in @RunTilimFun and hit Follow. Did you do it yet, great! Now you're ready.

1. We really have a lot of faith in this little blog of ours and a few of you have been reaching out to us for tips and stuff. I tweet running blogs, tips, quotes, facts, jokes, etc all the time. So there clear, concise info for you to read in a much less wordy manner (but please don't forget about us on the blogspot)

2. Remember that post...yup that one, the first one, when I said that this blog was so I can stop obsessing over running on a daily basis, well my twitter doesn't reflect that goal...although I'm not sure I'll stop tweeting about running even on my personal handle @ammaglione. (oh why not hype myself twice)

3. Sometimes I get bored at work and this gives me something else to do.

4. I'm now in the habit of tweeting when I post, which I will still do, both on @ammaglione and @runtilimfun, and Sarsh is trying to do it too, but sometimes it's easier for her to do it from her non personal handle. [Edit from Sarsh: you can also follow me at @sarsh722, don't be shy, as long as you're not porn I will accept your follow.]

5. It just seemed like a good idea.

6. I feel weird quoting people in our blog, but sometimes people have really good quotes that I think everyone should hear...so why not tweet it?

7. RT haha its just so much fun

and the most important reason

8. Now we get to stalk all of you!!!!! Ok you are creeped out, fair. I get it, but we love our readers, followers, friends and fellow runners, so let's all get to be real friends and everyone knows that the true test of friendship is the number of social media that you interact on. So let's get Tweet crazy, blog crazy, heck when we are totally cool I'll throw RTIF on Facebook. Then we can all be bffls for ever and ever.

So morale of the story we are going to Tweet this (our first tweet ever!) on @RunTilimFun and then we are gonna go follow crazy on your asses and make this friendship legit.

Comments, @replies and everything else is encouraged!! YAYYYY Internet!

I'm Here, I'm Here, I'm Here I promise

2010-01-27T09:04:00.002-05:00

Oh beautiful blog, I promise I haven't forgotten thee. I've just been really distracted with some of my own issues. I know, no excuse, if we want to make this work we need to try hard, everyday, I can't take you for granted. And I promise it wasn't you, it was me, but I know better now. RTIF, you are a hott little piece of ass and I don't want you running away from me. I promise I'll do better this time. I'll never let go.

ANYWAYY I have so much to tell you I'm bursting...

1. Today I did my first morning work out since the summer -- 3 miles and weights (god I'm gonna be jacked, my new plan is to be the heterosexual 20-something version of Jillian Michaels).

2. Last night I went on an amazing 6 miler in the dark and made a very serious decision. Once in my life i need to live in one of the pretty buildings on Beacon Street closer to the city like past Harvard Ave. Why? because they have wicked cool rot iron window designy things and doors...I'm in love.

3. So far I have run 69 miles in 2010 (haha 69)

4. On Friday night I went to the gym (I know I'm a loser) and there was a boy with a very large heavy chain - like link chain - that he was carrying around with him...so weird

5. On Sunday I did my 8 mile run, it was fabulous and made me really excited for the half marathon in February. I figure I only have to run 5.1 miles further - for the marathon my LONGEST run was 6.2 miles shorter than the race - and I still have a whole month to train!

Umm I guess that's all I can think of for the moment. I burnt a bagel at work so to make up for it I have to be extra diligent today.

XOXOXOXO

Making Nice with the Dreadmill

2010-01-20T09:13:00.005-05:00

Over the past few weeks I have been at war. Co-blogger Ange v. the treadmill. For a while the treadmill with it's stagnant air and mind numbing repetition were leading the score. But I think I'm slowly coming from behind for the win.

The roommate and I joined our gym as a couple - we got such a sweet deal from Boston Sports Club - I like to think of it as the liberal Massachusetts "we don't care who you are or what you do at home we will call you a couple if you want us to and we'll even cut you a deal for it" promotion. Anyway since we were now technically life partners at least in the forum of the gym, we did what every new couple should do, we shared are dreams, hopes, goals and desires. At this time I flat out told roomz that I would only be running on the treadmill in distances of 4 or less miles. I made it very clear to her that I was basically just there to do weights, some cross training and every so often hide from the cold for a short 2-3miler. But then, as life often does, things happened to change my mind. Basically it got really cold and snowed. That's why I am happy to report back that I ran 5 miles on the treadmill last night, and I didn't lose my mind in the process.

So what's my secret? Honestly, I don't know. I tried to challenge myself, by upping the speed and then going really slow, by playing the see how long you can go without looking down at the time and/or distance, by trying to out run the other people next to me, by trying to impress the fast people with some pretty sweet sprints, by playing the "when this song is over or when i finish out this quarter mile I will change speeds, inclines, etc" game. But mostly I think it's because I knew I had to do it. I knew I needed to get the miles in so I just pushed through.

This brings me to the topic of motivation - something a lot of people have been asking me about lately - but I think I'll hold off on that until tomorrow.

*****PS Sarsh and I have a big announcement coming this week so please stay tuned*****

I got that 7 mile smile

2010-01-18T12:28:00.003-05:00

Running this week was actually kind of hard. Tuesday and Wednesday were fine, but then Thursday I got really sick. So sick that I actually skipped my run. Now if you are a long time follower of RTIF you know that I have a lot of tummy sickness, but I rarely ever skip. I dont know if its the cold or the dark or the fact that I had been tummy ache free for so long, but I just decided to just sit on my couch and enjoy a lovely dinner of dry cereal.

Thankfully, I make up for it and even banged out an AMAZING 7miler yesterday. I forgot how fun long runs to could be. It was warmer (high 30s) and lighter (I ran around 4:30 so I snagged the last couple minutes of sun). So I really just took it all in. I admired the frozen reservoir, checked out the cute brick houses and even cruised by Boston College just when all the lights went on.

Now lately I have been very down on Boston. Its too cold, too snowy, too blah. All I wanted was to move to a nice warm climate, LA, DC, hell I even considered Texas. But yesterday I saw Boston for the first time in a while. I started remembering all of the great things about this city and I'm now excited for spring.

Anyway, time to go for now. Just wanted to check in.

Happy running!

How to Dress to Run....in the Arctic Chill

2010-01-14T23:18:00.008-05:00

I know you all have been waiting for nearly a week for this exciting post filled with recommendations. My apologies, mousehunt 2010 took over my life. On to the excitement!

First: running tights are ESSENTIAL.

These are the Under Armour compression pants (similar item found here) apparently compression pants are out of season. But if I would do it all over again I would get those tights. Target (as much as I love you) your running tights do not cut it.

Here's where things venture off my carefully planned photographic path. Normally, in severe cold weather conditions, I would say your first layer on top (after your sports bra) should be a performance fabric, something that can wick away the sweat. However, today was an unseasonably warm 40 degrees, so I did away with that layer. Pretend it's pictured here.

Moving on.

I personally like to wear a longer tshirt when I'm wearing running tights, the reason being twofold. A) I prefer that people not see my camel toe while running and B) as silly as it sounds, a long tshirt can keep your butt warmer when its brisk out. Behold, my high school gym uniform tee.

Wrinkles optional.

Next: Another thin layer of sweat wicking fabric. This is a lovely little number I picked up from T.J. Maxx, and I love it for several reasons. It was less than $20, it has thumbholes, and its not a full zip. Fantastic all around.

I top this lovely outfit with my bright pink zip-up, with serves to function as a jacket in these cold winter months. The pink has the added benefit of serving as a reflective shield while I'm trying to hopscotch sidewalk walkers that sometimes push me into the street.

Put it all together and it looks like this:

My apologies, my room is dark and this is the only full length mirror in our house.

Not pictured in the step by step tutorial: the wool hat, an H&M purchase last year in a "ohmygodthistailgateisgoingtobewaycolderthananticipated" frenzy. It serves its purpose. And yes, I'm wearing pigtails in this pic because a) they make me look adorable when I wear hats and b) it just feels appropriate. Not pictured: my gloves. Now I'm sure I could pay $30 and get a fantastic pair of sweat wicking gloves. But I'm cheap and refuse to do so. I purchased a 2/2.50 pair of black Target cotton gloves in November and they have been working out just fine, even in the frigid temps that western PA has been facing.

So that's what I look like while I'm running around like a lunatic in the cold. questions? suggestions for additions to my attire? Lemme know!

Bringing It Back Old School

2010-01-12T13:41:00.002-05:00

The other day I was trying to remember when I first started running. Sure I would go for runs in high school, often with my best friend Courtney. We’d come up with funny little gimmicks to keep us going and have cracked out conversations (these were the days before the iPod…wow I feel old just typing that). It was a grand old time. And me and Court ran away from a lot of problems – you know like when her boyfriend was a douche or my boy interest of the month was a jerk, or when our field hockey coach was pmsing, or when our high school selves just needed a get away. But my runs with Court were definitely not my first big step into running. So now I’d like you all to take a little run down memory lane to me…waay back to the 90s (and you know we all love the 90s).

When I was just a little girl with wild hair and a little too much personality, my brother and I had a New Years Tradition. Every New Years Eve we took on the biggest challenge of our lives – running around our cellar as many times as the last two numbers of the New Year. So in 1990 we ran 90 laps around our basement, 1995 we ran the loop 95 times, and although it’s slightly embarrassing to admit, I think I made it to 1999 (yup, I was still doing this at 13). This all started long before I could remember, but it was one of my fondest memories of childhood. And we were pretty damn serious about it. I would train for it, Tony didn’t, but I refused to let lack of preparation slow me down. My mom used to bring us water and snacks so we could refuel. I used to wear special running clothes. And heaven forbid my parents wanted us to go somewhere other than my basement for NYE, a tantrum broke out (yup, I was still doing those at 13, too, and well I guess 23 ).

But the funny part was, as much as this was like the highlight of my life as a kid, it all started out as a dare from one of my parents friends. Essentially, Tony and I were a little too hyper one NYE so one of my parent’s friends dared us to run around our basement, knowing full well we would accept and conquer the challenge (we were soo badass) and then pass out soon there after. Genius, and a bit cruel, but seriously I can’t imagine my childhood without it.

So there you have it, my first big running debut. And come to think of it, it all started in the winter. So maybe I am made for winter running after all. :)

Trying to be More Like My Tea

2010-01-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Zen, that is. I realized in the midst of mousehunt 2010 that I have a tendency to let small things push me over the edge from "calm, normal Sarsh" to "batsh*t crazy, ready to attack Sarsh." Not that I'm downgrading the significance of the mouse sighting. I'm not...I'm still quite freaked out. But after a weekend at home, my mom (a nurse who is eager to perform medical procedures at all times) pointed out that my blood pressure had skyrocketed from its normal healthy range.

Mom: "You need to calm down or you're going to make yourself sick."

Me: "Calm down? You want me to calm down while Mickey and his friends are running rampant through my apartment, unattended?"

Not to get into the details of the steps we've taken since (I mean, the blog is Run Til I'm Fun, not Pest Control Til I'm Fun), but I'm trying to be calmer about this situation and stressful situations in general as a sort of belated resolution. A little more deep breathing, a little less resigned sighing.

Today's workout didn't contain any running, but I think it was just what I needed. After a half hour of weights, I settled in for some deep stretching and an hourlong yoga class. By the time I was finished, I felt refreshed and (slightly) less stressed about the prospect of returning to the scene of the rodent sighting. Fingers crossed I can channel this positive energy into productive running tomorrow.

I made the snow my ho

2010-01-10T20:00:00.003-05:00

So Friday I did the unthinkable - I ran...in the snow. It actually wasn't all that bad either. I obviously wore a lot of clothes (I have now started wearing 2 pairs of socks in addition to all of my other layers) and I incorporated one of my new favorite running habits. I now run til my errands are done.

It all started a month or so ago when I desperately needed to go Christmas shopping, but hadn't ran in weeks. So on that fateful day I threw a credit card into my pocket and ran downtown to do some shopping. It was brilliant. Sure, I was a sweaty, over dressed mess and and I was panting and holding a reflective vest while I tried to pick out presents, but I felt so accomplished.

So Friday, before the photog arrived in Boston, I ran to Whole Foods for some ingredients for the fabulous dinner I was making (don't be fooled into thinking I'm domestic, this is only the second dinner I have made for him since we met - although I have ordered some pretty fab take out). And although I scared a few WF workers and probs digusted some of the other patrons, the run was great, and I was pretty impressed with myself for slipping my way around the city for 2 miles.

Then after taking a day off to "rest" I did my first "long" run today. A measly 6 miles that would have been great had I not drank myself silly last night, and binge ate my weight in greasy breakfast foods today. But regardless I am one week closer to my insanity-fueled 13.1 half marathon in the end of February. Today I kinda doubted why I even signed up for it due to the cold and my hatred of being in less than 68 degree weather, but I am proud of myself for not letting all of my alcohol-induced negativity steer me off track. It's just a matter of time before the weather turns around, my runs require less clothing, and all is right in the world.

For now I'm just gonna run with my frozen ipod and hum Ke$ha and Lady Gaga to keep me from giving up - that and my favorite motivator, the fear of "god" (and by "god" I mean the marathon miles that will be here in a few weeks).

What helps you get through these cold winter months? Any sources of inspiration to keep you going through all the cold and snow?

Leave a comment and let me know! I could use a tip or two

involuntary hiatus

2010-01-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

I know I promised a tutorial on how to run in the Arctic chill several days ago, but due to unforseen circumstances I'm currently in hiding. Namely, a mouse has been found in my house. I have decided to do the mature, adult thing and have fled to my parents' house for the weekend. Now I can handle bugs with the best of them (I even had a cockroach crawl up my pants at work before...that's another story for another time), but critters with tails? No thank you.

I talked to co-blogger Ange last night and she said "you sound so defeated." And that's how I feel at this point. Defeated. Violated. Discouraged.

So alas, you will have to wait til Monday to learn how to bundle up. The one good thing about this rodent situation (is it just me or can you not use/read/hear the word "situation" without bursting into giggles thanks to Jersey Shore? Ps you should follow him on twitter...@mikesituation) is that I will be running far more often in an effort to escape my problems. Running til I'm fun is going to require a lot more mileage and distance to make my mouse worries disappear.

Finish up my run feelin' like P. Diddy

2010-01-07T21:16:00.006-05:00

OOOh running. Just like my fav song say you really do build me up, you break me down. My heart, it pounds. Yea, you got me.

Nothing makes me feel better than a quality run. Nothing breaks my heart more than a bad one. And of course my heart pounds, I mean, duh, it's cardio. But enough about my similarities to Ke$ha, let's get down to business.

I gave treadmill running another go yesterday and after 2 painstaking miles I decided it's time to get back on the road. I really did try too. Sarah and I brainstormed a treadmill game to keep me occupied and everything(its kinda evil so don't judge).

TREADMILL BINGO
1. pick out everyone who is there bc it's their new years resolution
2. pick out the one who will break that resolution first
3. find your fav workout outfit of the day
4. find your least favorite
5. find everyone with Syracuse apparel on
6. find the hottest male cardio worker outer
7. find the sweatiest person
8. find the person who isn't even attempting to break a sweat

OK that's enough, I'm sure you get the gist. Fun right? Not when you have a crazy fear of falling off the treadmill and flying across the gym and dying. Forgive me if I don't want my obit to read "Co-blogger Angela, 23, of Boston recently passed after a horrifying treadmill accident that ripped off her face (seriously, when she expired she looked more horrifying that the woman who was attacked by that gorilla). She is survived by her parents who live in sunny Arizona and can run everyday, her brother whose math skills ruined her relationship with her Calc. teacher, and Co-blogger Sarah who will now have to run for fun by herself. In lieu of flowers please send running clothes to Sarah C. Blogger in Pittsburg, PA" So that is my long winded explanation. I was too scared to actually move my head to the side and look for person 1-8 in treadmill bingo. Fail.

But today I took a different approach, in full out snow gear (no, it's not snowing in Boston) I banged out a pretty little 3.5 miles on my way to the gym(I wanted to do 4 but along the way I was compelled to rework my route and totally undercaculated). Regardless, AMAZING. And thanks to my ear warmers, running hat, gloves, wife beater, tshirt, two longsleeves, a running coat, cold weather under armor tights, hardtails, burberry scarf and my reflective vest I wasnt even cold. In fact i held the scarf for the majority of the run (I really need to get a less expensive one to run in - it's just kinda my go to). Anyway I'm including pictures of my crazy outfit as my very special 2010 gift to you all.

check, check, check itt (aww I love when running makes me happy and cracked out!!)

People see this

Cars see this

Hopping on the Bandwagon

2010-01-06T21:18:00.002-05:00

Ange and I actually had a conversation over the past week about what we were going to do with the blog: keep it going or kill it (I mean, let's be honest, poor ol' RTIF has been on life support since November). We were going about 50/50 either way, but I couldn't have been happier when Ange gchatted me this morning and told me she had blogged. And so now I'm back on the blogging path. I'm a sucker for peer pressure, what can I say.

Unlike Ange, I am not running a half marathon in seven weeks....I have my eye set on the Pittsburgh half marathon in May, though nothing is set in stone yet. I am trying to get back on track in terms of running in general, as the cold, dark, winter nights have put a serious cramp in my after work paths. I mean, when given the choice between sweatpants and wine and whipping wind and single digit windchills, my immediate instinct is to go with the sweatpants and wine. But I am starting to miss the defined abs that I was showing off towards the end of marathon training (they have since given way to Christmas cookies, kielbasa, red wine, beer, vodka, tequila, Andre, bagels, copious amounts of cheese, and well, I think you get the idea).

However! This blogging break has given me the opportunity to brainstorm for new posts, including how to dress for running when it's collddddd. Although if you're co-blogger Ange, you will probably add a sweatsuit over what I suggest. The girl has a body temperature that is a permanent 18 degrees colder than mine. It's just science.

Up tomorrow: how to run in the Arctic chill.

For realz, for realz...I promise

2010-01-06T11:43:00.001-05:00

I always do things the wrong way. I skip ahead to the end and then backtrack and figure out the in between. When I was younger, I would read the last paragraph of a book before the first. When I was in high school, I used to get in trouble because I would have my WPI (Worcester Polytechnical Institute) educated brother teach me the shortcuts for Calculus before I figured out the in between steps that teacher always want you to learn before you get to the advanced shortcuts. Then I’d have to back track and learn all the nitty gritty.

Apparently that’s what I do with running as well. As you know I started out with a marathon. (ok that’s a lie I ran a 12K before that). But regardless, I’ve never in my life run a 5K, a 10K or a half marathon. So now I’m attempting to learn the nitty gritty – I’m training for my first half marathon, which is less than 2 months away.

So why? Why is the girl whose last post (which was several months ago, I’m so sorry) was about how much I hate being cold and running now training for a Feb 28^th half marathon in the peak of winter. Honestly, I don’t know. I kinda got an email from B.A. Athletics that said spaces were running out and something in my mind said, stop pretending to do work and grab your credit card, woman, we have a half marathon to sign up for. Also, and those of you who have known me for a while know I loveee free stuff - specifically tshirts. And this half is the first of 3 Cape Cod half marathons that are called “the Cape Cod Half Marathon Trilogy” how cool is that? Best part, those individuals that run all three get a special jacket! A fucking JACKET! Race tees look out, Imma get me a freakin’ coat.

So with visions of windbreakers dancing in my head, I’m back. Yesterday I did my first 4-mile. On the treadmill :/ but still I’m pretty pumped. Although I did realize a few things. 1. Road runs are like two hundred thousand times more fun than treadmill runs and 2. I absolutely cannot watch the Biggest Loser while working out. Something about the combo freaks me out – I don’t know what it is but I almost got physically sick watching it. Everyone else I know LOVES the two. But for me I feel wrong, I feel exposed, I feel sick, I feel REALLY REALLY uncomfortable. I don’t know why and I’m sure in some way this make me a bad person, but it’s true. And the thing that’s so crazy is, after I got home the show was still on so I watched the ending and was like really into it. I guess it’s like how I’m allergic to Tylenol with codeine, but not Tylenol or codeine.

Anyway, I am back to running (THANK GOD) and back to blogging. So Happy New Year, happy running and have a great and amazing day!

Ange

Where did we run off to?

2009-11-17T20:50:00.002-05:00

Honestly, I don't know.

For some reason I lost all motivation to blog after the marathon. Perhaps it was a way to try to keep all my motivation for actually running, perhaps it was my shame for not running like I used to. Whatever it was, blogging didn't make it on my to-do list for a while, and running took the back seat as well.

But I have been running, kinda. Three miles here, four miles here, I even pulled out a seven miler a few weeks ago. I'm trying to get back on a schedule, but the early darkness, cooler weather and busy life have made things a little hard.

Mostly it's the weather. There is nothing I hate more than being cold. As I think I mentioned, all I could say during/after the marathon was how cold I was. I've even been considering moving to a warmer climate (mom, if you're reading this I don't mean that I plan to move back to AZ) just to escape the cold. So to combat the weather I have begun running in an absurd amount of clothes. Think "A Christmas Story" kid in the snowsuit and that's me. And it's not even all that cold yet. Yesterday it was 50 (any runners dream) and I was out in legging underneath yoga pants, a wife beater, a thermal, a short sleeve tee and a performance long sleeve. Not to mention the gloves and ear warmers. It's kinda ridiculous, but I seriously see no alternative. I like to LOVE my runs and I just don't see that happening if I'm event slightly chilly. So until I save up the money and courage to move cross country, I'll be wearing more, moving less and going through a lot of laundry detergent.

Any other suggestions to stay warm when it actually starts getting cold? I'm pretty nervous...I am on the verge of running in a knee length down jacket and snow pants!!

Comments and advice please!

Pittsburgh Half-Marathon Recap

2009-11-09T19:42:00.002-05:00

So a few days after the marathon I was feeling pretty cocky and decided to register for the half marathon taking place in my neighborhood 10 days later. I blame the post-marathon brain, which should seriously be considered an actual neurological disorder, as I was mixing up words and unable to form coherent sentences for a good 48 hours afterwards.

I also wanted another opportunity to avenge the marathon in a way - I knew I was capable of running better than I did at Newport, despite the ridiculous weather conditions. I also was familiar with the course, as it began and ended a few blocks away from my house, and one of my good friends was registered, so I would have a companion. [Sidenote: I felt like I was cheating on Ange by running with Katrina....I talked to her the next day and said "It was just this one time I swear...I was thinking of you the whole time."]

Yesterday I described my less than stellar training plan, which basically consisted of overeating and binge drinking. Two thumbs up. But race day came along and I was feeling pretty good. The weather was a little colder when we started out than I would have like (low 30s), but honestly, after Newport I was just giddy that I didn't have freezing rain stinging my face.

This half was SO well-organized. It was night and day compared to Newport. The expo was better, we got more/better swag, there were pace groups (I didn't do one but it was nice to know they were there and it was a good way to gauge my pace along the way), and the aid stations and all around organization was fantastic. There were clearly marked areas to drop off and pick up belongings (perfect considering the freezing temps, we wouldn't have made it without wearing sweatsuits beforehand), the aid stations were well-stocked (including orange slices at mile 8.....I wanted to kiss the man who placed one in my hand...seriously never so happy to see an orange in my life) and there was so much great crowd support along the way.

As for the race itself, it went well...except for one small part. Around mile 7 or 8, my left knee started acting up. Prior to this, it had been twinging during uphills and downhills, but ok on flat ground. After the halfway point, it was acting up regardless of elevation, so I started having to take stretch breaks and eventually waved Katrina on (sound familiar?). After a few walk breaks and some intense stretching, I decided to just run and ignore the pain as best as I could. Then I hit the 15k marker and decided that was close enough to the finish to pick up the pace. So I started running HARD. There were timers every 5k along the course, and at the 20k mark I realized I had just managed to run a 28 min 5k between 15 and 20. To illustrate how huge this is, that is only a minute slower than my fastest ever 5k. Which was not done after running 9 miles previously. Insanity.

Long story short, I ended up finishing at 2:16, which is not at all bad considering the full I ran two weeks before and the knee pain.

For your daily laughs: go here and enter bib number 2385. Seriously, some of the worst pics I've ever taken. But in my defense, I think the truly horrid one was taken at the height of "oh dammit my knee really hurts." And sadly the knee pain has not left.....more on that tomorrow.

Adjustments

2009-11-08T10:30:00.002-05:00

So we kinda dropped off the whole "blogging" thing post-marathon. Oops. Speaking for myself, the week after the marathon I was in a permanent state of coldness and sleepiness. And hunger. No one tells you that the week after the marathon you want to eat everything in sight. Or maybe that's just me, who knows.

The weekend after the marathon I had a friend in town, and I proceeded to relive my college days [read: drink, eat, drink, eat, repeat] for 36 hours. And wow. There are two reasons I weighed a lot more in college. And I think they're called beer and drunk eating. After that bender, I remembered that I had in fact registered for a half marathon that was in a few days. That's when I set out on my one semi-decent run in between the marathon and the half. Yup, you read that correctly, here's Sarsh's plan for running a full and a half with two weeks in between:

Day 1: Run marathon in nor'easter.

Day 2: Fly home, struggle to get your luggage and yourself home in one piece. Moan.

Days 3-6: Use marathon as a justification for everything you eat, including but not limited to, bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream.

Days 7-8: Live like a college kid.

Day 9: Remember why you were physically unable to run more than .5 miles in college.

Day 10: Run 4 miles.

Days 11 -13: Eat. Sleep. Contemplate going to the gym.

Day 14: Run half marathon.

There you have it folks. That's what I've been up to. It's still a little tricky getting back on track and adjusting back to running for kicks rather than having a set mileage in my head that I need to achieve. I'm not going to lie, adjusting to normal eating habits for a 20something woman is not so easy either. I was so used to eating whatever I wanted (sometimes enough for a family of four, don't judge), and it wasn't really an issue because I was running between 30-40 miles a week. This week my jeans informed me that these reckless eating habits are no longer acceptable, especially considering my weekly mileage is more around 15. Blah. I'm determined to get back in the swing of things this week and hopefully be running like a normal human being. We'll see how this goes.

Life A.M.

2009-10-26T21:19:00.002-04:00

So life after the marathon. Monday I was pretty much immobilized, but I blame much of that on the fact that we were so cold that we couldn't bring ourselves to do ice baths on Sunday. I did one Monday after I returned home and there was a noticeable improvement almost immediately. By Tuesday my legs were feeling strong enough to walk to and from work, and I decided to go for a run. I had this great burst of energy and I was determined to take advantage of a perfect fall day.

So I set out and I was like eh I'll go run a mile or two and see how my legs feel. I ended up running four miles. Two days after a marathon. When I told my mom about this she said "I'm tired thinking about this, Sarah." Which, ok, fair. But I took off running and it just felt so good. It was how I wanted the marathon to feel, but due to the weather I couldn't really even focus on enjoying the run. So I took full advantage of this happy feeling and just went as far as my legs could take me. Wednesday morning, my knees weren't quite pleased with this decision. Oh and the same day I signed up for a half-marathon that's taking place this coming Sunday. As in exactly 14 days after our marathon. So you know I've officially lost my mind.

So after the knee soreness, I decided to take a few days off and ice my knee for a few days in an effort to stem any injury potential. And to ya know, rest up slightly for the half. Sooo that's what I'm up to now. I'm trying to crank out an 8 or 9 miler in advance of the half, and other than that I'm not really preparing, I'm just going to run. And let's be honest, the weather cannot be *that* bad on Sunday. There's nowhere to go but up with race day weather.

OK FINE - Let's talk 26.2

2009-10-25T23:43:00.008-04:00

Sometimes I swear running gets me drunk bc I remember my runs the same way I remember blackout wasted nights. So here is my shady, disjointed memories of the 26.2 miles in Newport...

I remember been cold, being tired, thinking "just get me to 15, just get me to 21, just get me to 23, just get me to my warm car." I remember when Sarah's ipod died and I thought, that really sucks I should sing to her and then 3 miles later mine also stopped working. I remember running by the photographer at 13.1 (this is about the point that the wind and rain and ice were beginning to hurt) and saying "I'm so cold" and then running by my friend Jeff and screaming "I love you." I remember my two best friends from high school grabbing me at the finish throwing me in a tent and wrapping me up in the tinfoil blanket I got at the finish. I remember just saying that I need to find Sarah and that I need to hold her hand across the finish. All I wanted was to hold her hand across the finish. I remember dancing in the rain while we lined up, joking, laughing and having people around us laughing with us bc we were seriously that crazy. I remember the first few miles just loving it. Soaking (literally) it all in. I remember the people on the sidelines cheering and I remember the other runners giving reassuring smiles. In fact there was one woman who was so great Sarah turned to me and said "I want her to follow us" I immediately though follow our blog so I yelled "runtilimfun.blogspot.com" Later I realized that Sarah meant that she literally wanted this adorable little woman to follow us around saying "you're doing so good, keep going." as we ran.

But despite the fragmented memories there is one thing that really stuck out during the race. I had fun. All I wanted was to have fun. My first race I was such a nervous wreck I actually got sick, like miss 3 days of work and see the doctor sick. The photog saw my bat shit crazy side for the first time in our relationship and I just hated every minute of the day. All I kept saying after the races is how I prefer to run by myself and on my own terms - I hated racing. But the marathon was different and I think a lot of that had to do with Sarah. We were in it together, and we seriously just wanted to have fun. I woke up giggling and smiling (at 5:30am mind you) and danced before the race, the photog even "How I metted" Sarah to some attractive male half-marathoner (this is a How I Met Your Mother inspired phrase where you go up to someone say "havveeeee you met (insert friends name) and then walk away to let them flirt and hit on each other). Any time I started to get nervous I looked at Sarah and she made me giggle or smile. There was no nervous feeling, no pre-race get-me-the-f-out-of-here jitters. I kept thinking "this is it, this is what it's all about." And we actually joked - in a freaking nor'easter we joked about semen churches and hot dog stands at fancy mansions (long story short when we were driving the course I thought one of the ticket booths at the mansion was a hot dog stand and Sarah and the Photog made fun of me endlessly). So despite the fact that I was so cold, I was also happy to be out there doing what I love with someone I love (wow Sarah, I hope this doesn't creep you out). But seriously, I think one of the reasons running is so great for me is because I have someone so great to share it with. Yes, running is essentially my love-child with Sarah.

OK I'm a creep so I'm just gonna throw out some photos and let you all contemplate why you waste your time reading my posts that are just creepy in an uncomfortable kind of way. But for the record I just want to thank everyone for their support - it meant so much to me that I have so many amazing people in my life :)

Pre run dry and warm Dancing in the rain

EDIT from Sarsh: I would like to clarify the "semen church" that Ange references in this post is actually this. Still funny, but didn't want anyone to think we're worshipping at some sort of sperm bank moument.

Oh Jesus.

2009-10-22T19:39:00.004-04:00

It seems as though there should be so much to say, here on the other side of the marathon. Tips for people just starting out in their training, or words of wisdom for those tackling 26.2. But somehow I'm at a loss...it all just seems as though it came and went, quickly down the path.

We both finished. That's what we set out to do. And I posted about the weather. Ugh theweather. Here's my first piece of advice: do not go north for your first marathon. Go south. Go as far south as the globe will take you. Do not run in a nor'easter. You will be cold and wet and the course that seemed lovely against the coast of the Eastern seaboard will seem miserable when it's freezing rain and borderline hail and 25 mph wind gusts.

But anyways. Here's a race recap.

FRIDAY

I arrived in Boston around 7:00 p.m., and by the time my gate-checked bag (ahem thank you fellow Jet Blue passengers for taking all the overhead compartments) was retrieved, Ange had already been circling the parking lot 20 times. Bless her heart. I took a mental picture, got in the car, and we were on our way......to the grocery store, where we shopped for our "day before the day before the marathon" meal. And we were set to feed a family of four, what with our rotisserie chicken, two (2) orders of garlic mashed potatoes (Dear Shaws, I'm in love with your mashed potatoes. Love, Sarsh) , green beans (and more! including cranberries....found in your freezer section) and crescent rolls along with some brownies. So to say the least, we had a feast. muahahha I rhymed.

After a few episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" (which I'm convinced can be transferred into anyone's life), we passed out.

SATURDAY

For the first time EVER, Ange woke up before me. Yea. Let me repeat that. Ange voluntarily woke up before me. I didn't wake up until 11 a.m., and Ange had been hopping about beforehand. We needed to be ready to leave her apartment and head down to Rhode Island by 2:00 p.m., including errands, so we had to move quickly.

So we went to Dunkin Donuts, where I showed my love for all coffee and pumpkin products with my pants and my happy smiling face.

Then we went to the Boston running store to get Ange some chomps, and we were ready to tackle showering and packing. Before long, we were ready to meet the photographer and begin our road trip to Newport, RI.

We headed to the race expo, where we were greeted by 12 year old volunteers who looked at us like we had 6 heads when we inquired about pace groups (hahahha why would we think they would have them?) and then checked into our hotel (this was lovely for our purposes, but if you're creeped out by costumed characters like I am, watch out for Sleepy the Bear). After a great carbo loading dinner and driving the marathon course, we came back to the hotel, enjoyed some tv and fell asleep.

SUNDAY

We were up and at 'em by 5:40 a.m., ready to tackle the day. Ange, always thinking, had brought a toaster so we could enjoy our carbohydrates of choice (bagel for her, toast for me) before kicking things off. We woke up to rain, but we knew that was the forecast, so we were as prepared as possible, and headed to the starting line about an hour before anything kicked off.

After waiting in a holding cell, aka Dunkin Donuts at the Newport bus station, for about an hour, we were ready to get the show on the road.

We set off and it was pouring. Buckets of rain were falling from the sky. This didn't let up throughout the entire marathon. It was 26.2 miles of Noah's Ark. The first few miles were great, I think we were so happy to just be running that we didn't notice anything else. Around mile 7 we hit the part of the course where we were running along the coastline, and running directly into headwinds. This is when things started to get not so great. You could see all the runners literally bending at the waist to try and fight the wind. Not fun. Then around mile 8 my ipod shorted out due to the rain. Around mile 10 Ange's ipod shorted out. So were left with no music and fighting Mother Nature, before we even reached the halfway point.

At the halfway point, the course split into two sections, one part for the half marathon finishers, and the other part for the marathoners. I'm not going to lie, the half marathon finish line looked pretty tempting, especially after running in horrible conditions for 2 1/2 hours. But we pressed on, and continued with the marathon course.

The rest of the course consisted of two turnarounds, which again, I'm sure are lovely in normal weather, but are absolutely miserable in what Sunday's weather consisted of. We were again running along the coastline, and it felt like the temperature dropped 15 degrees by the time we got to mile 17. I honestly don't remember much between this point and mile 22, I just know that I wanted to finish and be dry. Around mile 20-21ish, Ange started to pull ahead of me, and I encouraged her to not wait for me - I knew I was lagging and that something wasn't right, and that I would just hold her back if I insisted on her staying with me. At mile 22, my left knee completely locked out, and I made the decision to briskly walk the rest of the way. I could have run more, but I knew I wasn't feeling great, and rather than risk an injury, I decided walking was less painful. Again, I don't even remember much, I just remember being freezing cold, and being pissed that I had to walk, and just wanting it all to be over.

At the very end, Ange's friend Jeff spotted me from a sand dune and walked with me for a bit.....God bless you Jeff, it was such an encouragement to see a familiar face at mile 25.9, and to keep me going even though all I wanted to do was curl in a ball on the side of the road. Or flag down an oncoming vehicle and curl up in their backseat. And Ange, who had finished ahead of me, came back around (After finishing!) and walked through the finish line hand-in-hand with me.

By the time I crossed the finish line, I could have cared less what my time was (5:50) or what Ange's time was, or how many people had finished ahead of us. We had finished a marathon in a nor'easter. Not many people can say that. Over 700 people had registered for the marathon, and around 450 finished. I'm proud to say we were 2 of those people. It certainly wasn't an ideal first marathon experience, but I'm so happy we did it, and let's be honest, we finished and that's what matters.

As for my thoughts on running post-marathon and whether I'll do another one...well that's going to come tomorrow :)

Done

2009-10-19T20:49:00.002-04:00

We finished.

This was the weather.

We're still regrouping.

Full race report tomorrow.

That Run Was Pretty God Damn Fun

2009-10-14T09:07:00.002-04:00

I can't blog for too long, but I just need to share the story of my amazing run last night. Now all of you long time followers of RTIF remember why I started running - to be more fun. I tend to get really stressed in life, at my job, etc. It's not always pretty, but the run brings me back to reality and makes me happy. Now lately the run has also been a source of stress, it's been harder to fit in, it's colder, longer, makes me sore and is legit cutting up my body (I have full out battle scars). But yesterday changed everything.

I had THE WORST DAY. Bad work day, bad life day, too little time, too many bills, and every little thing was just pissing me off (as I said life does not always bring out my most attractive side). Then I went on a run. In the cold, in the dark, rushing out the door to fit it in. All of a sudden I was smiling like a crazy person, giggling, singing and just so happy. During the last 20 ft I actually put one hand out and squeezed my fist - literally miming holding Sarah's hand. Then I said "omg Sarah we are there - 26.2." I'd be lying (but slightly less embarrassed) if I said I didn't cry a little.

Then I got home had great dinner with the roommates and was just SOOOOOOOOOO happy. Happier than I've been in so long.

OMG I LOVE THAT RUN. AND 26.2 YOU WILL BE SO GOD DAMN FUN!

...I'm gonna regret this post, huh?

Love and Shout-Outs

2009-10-13T20:56:00.002-04:00

We're coming down to the home stretch now, and I'm realizing just how huge this is. I may have had a minor mental breakdown on Sunday when I decided to google search "tips for running the Newport, Rhode Island marathon." NEVER do this before running a race. EVER. Even if it is the greatest course of all time, guaranteed someone has a terrible opinion of it and has written "well it was great until mile 14, where man-eating dinosaurs roam free and the course isn't marked so if you're not equipped with an internal compass and GPS system, sucks to be you. good luck getting to 26!" Yea. Worst idea ever.

Fortunately, co-blogger Ange called me as I was in the midst of this suicide mission and convinced me to close out the browser. She reminded me that our main goal is to a) have fun and b) finish. As long as we do A, B will be fine. And then we read this today. If you are a runner and aren't reading Chic Runner you need to. Right now. Then come back here. This convinced us even more that this is all about having fun. I'm pretty sure we'll be incorporating jazz hands into our marathon routine.

Another inspiration: Pam and Jim's wedding last Thursday. We'll be taking mental pictures the whole time. Everyone has been advising us that there's only one first marathon, and there's nothing like your first time (that's what she said heyooo) and you should soak everything in while it's happening. So that's what we're determined to do. Oh and we'll be holding hands when we cross the finish line. It just feels right.

Finally, the best part of this last week has been everyone wishing us well, whether it's via twitter, emails or phone calls. It's a huge boost and also reminds me that it will be all the more embarrassing if I don't finish (this is how I operate...sick, yes). Possibly the biggest shout-out that RTIF has ever received happened today. The one, the only, Miss Techyness gave us a huge shout out over on her site today. Alana has been keeping me in touch with technology since 2004, when she convinced me to join this weird new site called "Facebook." Since then, she's continued to keep me ahead of the curve with Gmail [back when you needed an invite, she was your gal], skype, blogs, you name it, she's filled me in and calmly explained things in easy-to-understand terms. Oh yea, and her blog is pretty amazing too. As she explained on her site today, she's volunteered her services to help give RTIF a fresh coat of paint, so keep your eyes peeled for new features post-marathon! Really, just a banner. But that's pretty fancy for these two PR gals.

To everyone who has read about our ridiculous encounters, our love for G2 and our services as tourist attractions, thank you. This started as a way for us to get all of our running dribble out in one place so our friends and family members wouldn't have to suffer through it. And now it's growing into a place that is getting linked to from legit websites...aka the Techyness.

I probably won't post until after the marathon because I'll be mentally preparing for two flights in 3.5 days [flying terrifies me], but we'll see what Ange can come up with. And check back Monday to make sure we're alive! Kidding.

But seriously, if nothing else, there will be a Duncan Sheik-style post. [Get it? Mid-90s pop tune "Barely Breathing"?] God I'm cracked out.

Loving the Run

2009-10-08T22:08:00.002-04:00

Today was another great six miles. I was able to squeeze it in before work, which also afforded me the opportunity to break out my new Under Armour purchase. Now Ange has been raving about her UA compression pants, so when I went on the hunt for cold weather running gear last weekend I figured I'd try some out. Unfortunately my limbs are not as lanky as Ange's, so full length tights look terrible. Also, I never feel as cold on my legs as I do on my arms....all of last winter I walked to the gym in capris...snow, ice, whatever Mother Nature could throw at me. Whereas Ange has a core body temperature that I would estimate is 20 degrees cooler than mine. No joke, she outlined what she's planning on wearing for the marathon to me the other day and I broke out in a sweat hearing about it.

So anyways, these are what I purchased. And ohmygod am I in love. Seriously, I don't know that I'll ever feel so strongly about a boy the way I do about these running tights. There aren't words to describe. And I didn't wear underwear (tmi? sorry....I'm a little behind on laundry) and it didn't even matter...the tights are that great. They could adapt. Love. Love. Love.

And I had a great "people of Pittsburgh" moment on my run too. I was still in the early stages, just after the first mile was completed, and I was cruising along kinda fast. A security guard standing outside of a building applauded me, stuck out his hand for a high-five and yelled out "keep it going, gorgeous!" This man single-handedly made my day. A standing ovation, a high-five and a compliment when I have no makeup on and my hair is in a sweaty bun? God, these tights are magical.

Running Less, Baking More

2009-10-07T21:50:00.002-04:00

Ohhhh life with new running shoes and fewer miles to run. It's glorious. My joints have never been happier. My waistline? Different story. I have somehow developed this addiction to homemade baked goods (I blame it on the colder weather and the thinking that turning on the oven will help warm up the house). My roommate can testify, in the year and a half we've lived together, I have never baked. Cooked, yes. Baked, no. In the last three weeks I have baked no fewer than five things, including blueberry pancakes (from scratch) and a triple chocolate layer cake (also from scratch). This, combined with fewer miles, is resulting in slightly tighter clothing. For now, we will refer to this as "carbing up".

But back to the running. Sunday I did a GREAT 13 plus miles. I haven't felt this good on a run in I don't know how long. I hit the zone where I felt like I could do anything, and nothing ached or hurt or was cramping up. I was in such a good mood I even started lip synching and semi-dancing while running (the thought being "if Ange gets down during the marathon, what will I do to cheer her up?" The answer: rap every word of the Blueprint 3 and do a run/dance complete with jazz hands). In short, an all time high in my running career.

Monday I did a yoga class, which was the perfect complement to my aching legs. I followed that up with a 6 mile run yesterday, which also felt great. I even sprinted the last half mile, just for the hell of it, to see how fast my legs can go. Let me clarify: I have never in my life felt the need to sprint. For anything. Not even in some kind of forced activity when seven other girls in catholic school uniforms were depending on me to chase down a loose wiffle puck in fourth period gym class (excuse me, physical education). So to have not only the ability to sprint, but the desire to do so, was shocking.

And that's kind of how I'm feeling as time winds down to the marathon. I'm absolutely in awe of what I've accomplished in the last few months and what we're about to do. I've gone from being completely terrified, to overconfident, to downtrodden and now back to plain old satisfaction. I don't care what the time on the clock says, as long as we cross the finish line, this whole damn thing is a rousing success.

Excuse Me Miss

2009-10-04T21:53:00.001-04:00

Today I did my first "taper" long run. 14 miles. Let's just say I was not happy to run. I was so tired and all I wanted to do after my 2.5 hr drive home from CT this morning was curl up on my couch and eat cereal and watch tv. But I pulled myself together and went for the run. It went fine. I was slow and tired, my legs burned afterwards and I had to take the signature Ange "chilly bath." Sarah takes ice baths but I'm a wimp so I just take slightly chilly baths. It helped a little, but I am seriously just ready for this marathon to be over so I can start running for me and not for the marathon. I love running, but some days I feel like I'm just going through the motions and I kinda resent the fact that I'm out there when I dont want to be. I guess that's the whole point though, to get out there even when you don't want to.

Anyway, I did have one really weird/awkward "run-in." I was running down Com near BU around the end of my run and a woman who was holding some odd plant and walking with her daughter stopped me and asked me if I was jewish. I've never had someone just come up to me off the street and ask me about my religious affiliation. I just said no and kept running, but afterwards I was like WTF, who does that? It made me think of the time my Spanish Senora sat me and Liz down and asked "catolica?" But Tata was pushing 90 and Spanish. This was just strange. I wonder what would have happened if I was in fact jewish. Would she have invited me to temple after running 13 miles? I feel like I did not look appropriate to attend any sort of celebration or Sabbath. hmm

OK well it's been real, but now it's time for my date with the Dash sisters.

Peace out!

Be Careful What You Blog For

2009-10-01T19:54:00.003-04:00

Today, not 10 hours after my blog on safety in the city, I got robbed. Seriously, who does that? Thankfully, this was not a run attack (probs my biggest fear ever, because it would ruin the amazingness of my runs). Someone just smashed in my car window and stole my Garmin GPS. Then while I went upstairs to make calls the the police and insurance company, the parking metermaid gave me a ticket because I was in a street sweeping zone. Clearly, I wanted to move my car, woman, but I couldn't because it was covered in shards of glass. Some people just have no heart.

Anyway, the good part of my experience is that for the first time in weeks I had an 'OMG I'M SO EXCITED TO RUN AWAY MY FRUSTRATION TODAY' moment. It's nice to know that I can still fine joy in my runs and I did feel better after my short little 3 miler tonight. Yay.

So there you go - Runs make you fun, robbers make you lost, and parking metermaids are horrible, awful people.

Crossing Lights...who knew?

2009-09-30T21:37:00.002-04:00

Today I almost died. Seriously. I know I often get dramatic, but this is legit.

I was on Mass Ave near Boylston and ran across the street. At the same time a car came flying toward me. Breaks squealed, horns blared and f bombs were flying. Luckily I am still here and alive to blog for all of you. But this whole situation made me question yet another safety concern(this has been on my mind for a while) . Cars have horn, so do bikes. Some bikes even have the little bells, but runners only have profanity. That's right I protect myself and alert others of dangerous situations through my curse words. Luckily, this little runner girl can swear with the best of them.

But as I was saying, lately I have been thinking a lot about my safety when I run. This all began last week when I ran without my ipod. Actually I was holding my ipod but it was dead so I had to entertain myself. Now the photographer told me that I can entertain myself by "singing songs in my head." As I told him, that doesn't work when you are running more than 3 miles. So I decided to obsess during my 6 miler. During all this, I realized that if I were to be attacked I have no identification on me, and the only numbers I know by heart are my mom's cell in Arizona and my two bosses. Let's be honest, the bosses are not exactly who I'd like to see if I were just jumped. Not that I don't think they'd show up to claim my battered body (if for no other reason than to make sure I was in the office the next morning to do their bidding), but really you want to see your friends, your Boston family. So that's when I decided that if anyone got scarily close to me I should scream out my roommate's parents' address (hoping to God that they are listed in the phone book) tell them to instruct their daughter to save her friend. Or that I should start writing my I.C.E. contacts in my underwear. I've yet to do either, but I do feel safer now that I have 2 pretty awful plans in place.

But since I haven't blogged in a while, I feel that I should discuss one more thing - the 20 miler. This weekend I did my longest run ever (at least until the marathon) and it was kind of a wake up call. Now all my other long runs have been challenging, but this was hard. I was sooooo tired, and just waiting for it to be over. I got no euphoric "omg I'm almost done" high, and I just felt like death. I finished in exactly 4 hours (this includes 3 drink stops and two chomps) so I am pretty much on schedule to finish the marathon in 5 hours. But really it was just so hard. I was so tired, so dead and I'm concerned to add another 6.2 miles. At first it sounds like nothing. 6 miles psshh, but if you think about it, that is another HOUR of running. I just hope that I am distracted by the new city, the whole racing aspect and of course co-blogger Sarsh to get through it as painlessly as possible.

2 weeks 3 day and 10 hours. Let the craziness begin.

Orange Sauconys

2009-09-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

Good news first! I purchased new running shoes tonight at the specialty running store, where there are people specially trained to fit for running shoes. Now, up to this point my typical routine for purchasing running shoes was to head to Famous Footwear and see what felt decent and/or was part of a "Buy One, Get One Half Off" promotion. But after Ange's life-changing trip to Marathon Sports, I decided to see what a proper fitting could do for me.

And whaddya know? I needed a shoe with some more support due to slightly overpronating on my left when I run. So here are my new babies. They're orange. I'm convinced it's a sign that Ange and I will rock this marathon.

Now on to actual training. Yesterday was the day of my 20 miler. I started off by running from my house to the shuttle point for the 10k I was running. So I had 2 miles in before I even began the race. I ran the 10k, and did respectably. I didn't want to go too fast because I knew I had more to run, and if I pushed myself too hard there was no way I could finish later on. I finished in 1:00:13, which was SO frustrating, because my only goal was to finish in under an hour. I think after the marathon my goal is going to be to improve my 5k/10k times. I know my times aren't embarrassing by any means, but I am a complete Type A personality and constantly feel the need to be good at whatever project I'm working on at any point in time. Even if I'm in yoga class at the gym, I have to be the person holding the pose the longest or stretching the deepest. And yes, I know that yoga is supposed to be the complete opposite of that. Whatever.

So after the 10k, of which the last 5k was in the POURING rain, I crossed the finish line and looked for my friend Michelle, who did amazing and finished almost 7 minutes faster than me. I couldn't see her anywhere, and they were herding everyone in the direction that was opposite of where we had planned to meet. All of a sudden, a volunteer with a bullhorn behind me booms, "SARAH SARAH SARAH YOUR GIRL IS CALLING FOR YOU SHE'S GOT WATER." Sure enough, Michelle was to my left with a cup of water for me (god bless). As we're walking away towards the fruit, I shoved my ipod in the pocket of my zip-up. And then once again the volunteer with the bullhorn saved the day: "SARAH SARAH SARAH YOU DROPPED YOUR IPOD." Thank you man withe bullhorn --- part of me wants you to follow me around all the time.

So after the race, we went back to my house, I dried off/changed clothes, ate some chomps, hydrated and mentally prepared for the rest of my run (still had 12 to do). I had to stop at 8, for a total of 16 for the day. Needless to say, I was frustrated and disappointed. If you've been reading my posts, you can guess the culprits (shoes, butt, knee). And I'm sure getting completely cold after the race and then trying to start back up didn't help the cause. I'm hoping the shoes will save the day, along with Fabolous' "Make Me Better" on the ipod and Ange running by my side.

I've Got 99 Problems and My Butt is One

2009-09-25T18:39:00.002-04:00

Yea I know you're probably sick of reading about my right buttock at this point. I'm sick of talking about it. But let's discuss this last week in running.

-Saturday: went out for my long run, my butt and knee and shins were bothering me so badly that I decided it wasn't worth possibly injuring myself...only got in 12 miles.

-Monday: great run, did a morning 7 mile run.

-Wednesday: I have never had a run where I am physically unable to run. Until Wednesday. My butt flared up, and I think I overcompensated in my stride and started hitting my left side too hard. This resulted in my knee completely locking out. And me wanting to cry.

So since Wednesday I have been taking it easy, putting Dr. Scholl's inserts into my running shoes (yea I need new ones and don't get paid until early next week so welcome to the poor man's solution) and riding the bike at the gym. BUT. Sunday = 20 miles. And part of that is the 10k race I'm running. So fingers crossed this works out. Because otherwise you may be reading about my nervous breakdown on Monday.

How Sarah Got Her Groove Back

2009-09-17T21:04:00.002-04:00

In the words of George Costanza, "I'M BACK BABY!"

I was starting to forget what it felt like for a run to feel good. For it not to be all about huffing and puffing, counting down the miles until I arrived home, or rubbing my butt as it cramped up a mile into my run. And damn was this run good.

It's starting to get cool by the time I get home from work, which is my absolute favorite weather to run in. I started off in a long sleeved t-shirt and running shorts and early on I knew it was going to be great. I had the Blueprint 3 on my ipod, and Jay-Z was definitely doing his part to keep me motivated. Toss in a little RFYL and you have the recipe for a great time. By the time I was almost home, I was running fast (I would estimate a 9 min mile....which sadly is fast for me) and wasn't even out of breath...I probably could have done an additional mile or two at that pace if necessary.

I'm so glad that this kicked in at the right time...I was really starting to worry that I was losing my running mojo and that I wouldn't get it back before the marathon. Now I'm so excited for the Great Race next weekend [which will also be the weekend of my 20 miler eek] and even more excited for the marathon.

Blah

2009-09-15T20:28:00.003-04:00

There are days that no matter how hard I try, I cannot motivate myself to go faster or push out the negative thoughts. My legs felt like lead at the beginning of my run thanks to my brilliant idea to add some extra weight to my normal pre-run weight training (what the hell is wrong with me?). I was just not feeling my run. Passing my house was painful, because all I wanted to do was go inside and lay on the couch and drink wine.

Then I was about halfway through, and I was outrun by a person of indeterminate gender who was a foot shorter than me. And I was not just passed. Oh no. This possible hermaphrodite KICKED my ass. And then the butt cramp flared up again. I've stopped having any shame in this. I now rub my ass on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, no matter how many people are around. And it's normally so painful that I'm making awkward facial expressions. So my apologies to anyone who has seen me and thinks I'm enjoying this process and that I should do it in private.

After four miles of misery, it just seemed like one thing after another was making me annoyed. My music mix just wasn't doing it for me anymore, not even "Getting Jiggy Wit It" could make me motivated. I finished my six miles. But I was frustrated. I desperately need a really good run so that I can get back on track. I'm getting into "screw it" mode, and that's the last thing I need five weeks out. Here's hoping that putting the Blueprint 3 on the music mix will help turn things around.

My Secret Fantasy

2009-09-14T12:06:00.000-04:00

For the past six months or so my life has revolved around the marathon. I have been preparing for the marathon, trying to figure out my plans for the marathon, imagining what it will be like to run the marathon, what I want waiting for me seconds after the marathon (these items include but are not limited to G2 in at least 2-3 different flavors, muscle milk, water and a place I can wash off, a towel, a new outfit, and in an effort to not be completely sappy - Sarah and the photographer). But the thing is my mind kind of goes blank from there. I haven’t quite figured out what comes next. What will my life be like A.D. - after [marathon induced] death?

Will I still run, or will excuses take the place of my die-hard attitude? Will I still challenge myself or start slacking? Will I still do long runs every week or will I be happy with 6-7 milers? Will there be a next race? That’s when it came to me. A.D. begins a life of running for fun. A.D. marks the beginning of my lifelong journey as a runner. I will no longer just be “training for a marathon.” I will be running because that’s what I do, that’s what makes me happy. And with that a fantasy was born.

The weekend of Ange (or even the weekend after) I will do what I have been dreaming about, pining away for. I will run without mapping before, without preplanning my mileage, without an agenda. I will run for fun. Wherever it takes me, whatever I want to see. I will go to the places that I’m not sure exist (like the part of the river that comes after the Longfellow Bridge or random bodies of water in Newton and J.P.). I will run until I feel like going home, until I feel satisfied. I will stop for water when I am thirsty (not when I feel I have run the appropriate length to require hydration). I will change directions when I get bored, run faster when my favorite songs come on and slower when emo h.s. jams shuffle into my headphones. I’ll run when I want and how I want. It will be amazing.

And with the thoughts of this perfect run on my mind I will return to work. Happy and slightly more motivated.

Hugs, kisses, and beautiful runs for all!

Wetter is Better

2009-09-13T18:46:00.003-04:00

OK maybe that's a lie. Wetter didn't actually feel "better" yesterday, but F it because I splashed my way along for 18 miles. And while things weren't exactly "better" they weren't all that bad either. I walked into my door dripping wet with wrinkled old-man toes, but I felt great. Tired and amazing.

I started the run an hour later than I had originally planned because of the torrential downpours. By the time I left my house, I had given up on on the idea of being dry, which was probably a good call considering the forecast. It started out with a steady drizzle, then things dried up a bit. I actually thought I was going to have a good dry run from there on out, then the downpours began. Puddles became unavoidable and my clothes started dripping. Thankfully I had made a quick City Sports run the day before and got some sweet running tights that wick away moisture, leaving me pretty comfortable, or at least as much as one can expect.

All and all the run was amazing. I was tired, and pretty damn slow, but who cares- ran 18 miles. I often refuse to drive somewhere that is 18 miles away(although in defense of the distance I hate driving because of the lack of parking that usually awaits my return, plus my less-than-stellar driving skills). But regardless I am pretty pumped about my accomplishment. Only 8 miles away from a full marathon and guess what - I didn't die - I didn't even get sick. I just banged it out in the rain and collapsed in my living room when I got home. If the worst part of the marathon is me collapsing on the ground, I'll be pretty pumped. (sidenote: Photographer, can you please make sure I collapse somewhere cushy and not on like a rock or in the middle of the highway? Thanks babe. Oh and do the same for Sarah too).

Anyway, I only have one more super long run (a 20 miler in 2 weeks) then it's downhill til the marathon. It's kinda crazy, very scary, but sort of exciting too. I can't wait to have it all be over and behind me, although I will probably miss this. The training, the nervousness, the new challenges, the feeling I get after running an absurdly long distance, the feeling I get when I only realize the absurdity of the distance when others point it out to me, the "let's eat the world, I just ran 18 miles" feeling, the text messages to Sarah post-run, the search for new pre-run foods and drinks, the feeling I get when I run through all parts of the city, everything.

It's crazy how much of my life revolves around running. I "feed the run," "rest the run," "drink for the run," I actually say the words "the run wants ___." The other day I was commenting how I have personified the run to my roommate and she replied "oh yes, the run is our fourth roommate, and she is a whiny bitch." Fortunately, I adore the run, the run is my baby and although she gets slightly demanding, so is everyone in my life. The list of things I do for others is shocking, at least doing things for the run is essentially doing things for me. I realized this the other day at about mile 15. I was so close, almost done and then it hit me. This is the biggest thing I've ever done in my life, and I've done it entirely for me. I run alone, I motivate myself, and I do this for no other reason than my happiness. Then I went all after school special on myself and started self talking "you are almost there, Ange, so close." By mile 16 I was actually chanting "I love me, I love me, I love my body for this, I love my legs, I love my everything, I love me." By 17 I was thinking "omfg I ran 17, don't give up there is only 1 mile left, seriously you ran 17 miles." At this point I was kinda delusional so I think the words "17 fuck yeah!" were actually mumbled aloud. O well. At 18 I was in giddy, or at least as giddy as one can be when they are completely exhausted and dripping wet.

Anywayy, this is kinda weird of me to share/overshare. So I'm gonna wrap this up. Morale of the story - I love me, I love you. I'm knocked up with a run. I registered at City Sports for my running shower (haha shower as in party AND as in the rain storm I ran in - god I'm witty!).

Race Recap: Virginia Beach Half-Marathon

2009-09-13T13:29:00.003-04:00

I know what you're thinking, avid readers of Run Til I'm Fun: "I had no idea you guys were running a half marathon." Well, we didn't. But my younger sister Kara did. Here's her full report, with no pics (ahem, I made a comment and was told "people have lives, you know." pardon me. ) Although, if you want to see her cross the finish line, she's in the second row of pics here in the white tanktop and blue shorts: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45791&BIB=20625&LNSEARCH=1

And her actual finish time was 2:14, not 2:48....damn corrals. And now, without further adieu, Kara's race report (warning: a bit long, but worth the read).

So the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon is apparently considered one of the most fun half marathons in this country of ours. Well, let me tell you, I would highly recommend it. However, if you’re a married mother of 3, I would probably leave the little ones at home.

Being the procrastinators that we are, we booked the room about 12 days beforehand, and what a surprise, we ended up 15 minutes away from the actual sand and water. My friend Meredith and I decided to look up a few reviews for this lovely establishment (La Quinta) on tripadvisor.com the night before departure. Let’s just say the “highlights” were the 7-11 across the street and the Denny’s next door. But whatever, we’re college kids. Right? Right.

Upon arrival, we picked up the others in La Quinta parking lot (yes, we had low blood sugars and were slightly dehydrated and rather cranky…perfect pre-race day conditions) and headed to the convention center to pick up our goodie bags and registration information. While picking up my number, the employee said to me, “Okay, now see this medical information on the back of this number? Fill it out before you arrive tomorrow. Before you pass out.” As if I’m not freaking out enough as it is, my friend, go on and throw in a medical emergency. Whatever, I’m a big girl. I brush it off. We proceed to the t-shirt area, where we all should have a size Small awaiting us. Oh wait, they’re out of smalls. Now this is a phenomenon I simply do not understand. Registration is closed. We all put our t-shirt sizes when we registered weeks ago. We all have our aforementioned requested t-shirt sizes plastered on our race numbers. Now explain to me how you are out of smalls? Meredith and I are rapidly headed toward a comatose state, so we accept the size Medium and proceed to a Subway that her iPhone kindly found for us. After paying the ridiculous fee of $20 to park in a lot, we head in the path of eating fresh. A block into the journey I spot a sign for Henna Tatoos. Okay, yes, it’s a boardwalk area, henna tattoos are expected. However, this sign advertised a Family Discount. Yep, a family discount on a henna tattoo. We later found out this also applies to “friends and lovers.”

After playing in the sand for a little and Liz assisting me in overcoming my porta-potty fear before race day, we headed home to La Qunita. At first look, not too bad. However, after one shower, we realized that the drain in the shower didn’t really work. Not to be gross, but you were constantly shin-deep in your friend’s grime. That was fabulous after the race. Oh and when someone was in the shower, the water in the sink backed up as well. Oh and one of the reviews we read stated that “the shower was made for someone no more than five feet tall.” What does that mean? Well I, standing at a mere 64 inches on a good day, had to do a backbend to dampen my hair.

Race day came quickly with a 5 am wake-up call. We all got dressed, ate, and headed off! We arrived by 6:25 and the race was scheduled to begin at 7. However, there were corrals, so none of us would actually start until after 7:30. So four of us had registered for this “little Sunday morning run” as Liz referred to it, but hadn’t planned on running together. Liz and I were supposed to be in different corrals, but decided to run it together at the last second. Let me tell you, best decision of my life as of late. We stuck together for the first eight miles (until we got separated at a water station). Those last 5 miles seemed like an eternity without having to make sure I was keeping pace with her bright yellow tank. Strangely enough, I do not remember much from the race except for a few key elements, which I will list for you now:

1. A woman running in a tank that had “I thought this was a good idea until I found out I was pregnant” imprinted on the back. Should you really be running 13.1 miles right now? I think not.

2. One of the local “bands” on the way was a group of 12 women with the average age of 65 wearing pink flannel shirts, tied up in a knot (yes, you could see midriff) , cowboy hats, and singing “Footloose.”

3. We were supposed to receive Energy Goo at mile 6.5. The day before I jokingly said, “Haha what if they run out of goo like they ran out of tshirts!” Hahaha such a joke. Until it actually happened. Liz and Carly packed their energy gummies in their sports bras, but I thought I was too cool for that. Needless to say, I was a tad short on the energy for the last half.

4. At the 11 mile mark, I spotted this woman running in her bare feet. Yep, she took off her shoes and socks and was trotting along with those items in hand. The man beside me felt the need to begin discussing this with me. Now, I do not talk and run at the same time, much less with strangers. It’s one or the other. When Liz and I were running, we didn’t say a word to each other. After he was done commenting on the lack of shoes, he wanted to make small talk. Thank god I lost him at the last water station.

5. I really think I slept through a main part of the race because I was informed that we ran through Army Bases, which I do not recall. But I’m kinda glad.

6. The last mile was on the boardwalk, which I was pumped for. Until I got there and realized it was 100% humidity and sunny and 90 degrees. And everyone who began walking at mile six decides to run the last mile. Actually had to remind myself how to breathe.

7. Upon finishing, we were given water and an ICE TOWEL. Oh my god best thing ever. Oh and we got popsicles. Oh and I guess a medal too.

8. I finished in 2:14:22, which I was more than happy with.

A few things I learned from the experience:

1. Do not drink too much during the race. I took a sip or two of water at each station, which looking back I probably should have had a tad more. However, Carly took Cytomax at every station and ended up rather ill at the end. However, I would have enjoyed a little more water at the end of the race. We each got one bottle, which I chugged. I had to go to a medical station to get more water, which they reluctantly gave me due to fear that I was “over-hydrated.”

2. Make sure your shorts do not cause severe chafing.

3. If your goal is simply to finish (which was the case), I recommend running with a friend. Even if you’re not talking, it gives you something else to think about and keeps you from slowing down or running too quickly.

4. Look up the course before signing up. It got to a point where it was a “out and back” course, which bores me.

5. I really enjoyed the people cheering us on. It makes you feel all good inside.

6. Whenever I began hating my life during the race, I reminded myself that I was doing this for FUN. Also, at mile 11, I thought about walking for a tad. But then I thought of how mad I would be at myself for giving up so close to the end. It’s all about the big picture.

And her last piece of advice is exactly what we aim to do over here at Run Til I'm Fun. Amen, Kara, amen.

FMR

2009-09-13T13:11:00.002-04:00

With the way my training has been going, I could start an offshoot website of FML, titled "F*@! My Run." Here's what my entries for the past week would look like:

"Today, I wanted to wake up at 4:30 am to run before work, but I was too hungover/exhausted from the holiday weekend that I couldn't get out of bed before 7. FMR."

"Today, I wanted to run after work, but I had a professional group meeting after work and then realized I had no groceries and then by the time I got home it was pitch black. FMR."

"Today, I literally had no time before or after work to run. FMR."

"Today, I didn't have a chance in hell of running before work because I woke up hungover and after work was the Steelers game. Clearly, FMR."

Ok. Now you're all caught up on why I haven't posted in over a week. Now this weekend I was looking forward to a great long run that would be between 16-17 miles. Yesterday was supposed to be cooler, so I was all psyched up for perfect running weather. Unfortunately, during my preparation, I made a crucial error in judgment. I drank G2 before my run, which I never do, and to add insult to injury, I switched flavors from my usual. I felt great for the first mile of my run, but by mile 2 I had to stop to dry heave on the side of the road. I managed to cough some stuff up (TMI? my apologies) and was determined to continue on my merry way.

Re-read that last sentence. That's what continued to happen for the next mile and a half. Four times I had to stop, I wasn't even out of my neighborhood, people were roaming around getting brunch (sorry to anyone who completely lost their appetites after seeing me lunge for the nearest shrubery) and the chance of someone I knew seeing me actually vomit on the side of the road was nearing 100%.

So I cut my losses, considered myself fortunate I had only run 3.5 miles and there was another day left in the weekend, so I could attempt again today.

For my long runs (over 12) I have implemented a double loop plan, which allows me to stop home, rehydrate, change my shirt, and use the bathroom. It has worked wonders. Not today my friends, not today.

I ran my first 8 mile loop, was feeling great, swung by my house, got a water from the convenience store across the street and continued on. I got maybe 4 miles down the road and my legs started cramping up. BAD. I have never had this happen before. And until yesterday, I've never had to dry heave on the side of the road before. [At least, not while participating in physical activity.....after a long night in college, maybe.] They were cramping so badly I could barely walk. I was so ashamed of my performance I cut down an alley way, put on Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City" and walked/limped the rest of the way home. If there is anything more emo than walking down an alleyway that reeks of urine and broken dreams while listening to a song about a man that is so desperate he's taking a job as a hitman, I'd like to know about it.

And I get it. Last weekend's bender certainly did my body no favors, and I haven't exactly been a picture of healthy living this week either. These runs were proof I can't half-ass my training, and expect great results. So I'm off to the grocery store in a bit, determined to stock up on fresh produce and whole grains. Hopefully this week brings on some better runs and a bit less of an emo attitude.

In Ya Faaccee

2009-09-04T21:12:00.002-04:00

Now, I feel slightly bad making reference to an inside joke via the blog, so I will try to explain. When I was in Pittsburgh visiting co-blogger Sarah with our friend Liz we had a little moment on the street when Liz wanted to punch some girl "in the face." Thanks to cake and cocktails my level of giddiness was elevated to the point where I made up a weird voice to go along with the saying "in ya face." At the time hilarious, everything was "in ya face," looking back, not so much but whatever it still puts a smile "on mah facceee." (This will all come full circle shortly).

Ok so today I did my 16 mile run. I was a little nervous, 1. because it was my longest run to date and 2. because I kinda twisted my ankle .5 miles into my 8miler on Wednesday. I still finished the full run, but since then it has been a little tender. Luckily the everything went well today. I got a little lost, but made up for it in the end and still finished the full 16 with no sickness afterward.

But there was one glitch. I fell...On Mah Face.

Seriously, feet from my apartment I tripped on a hanger (damn you shitty moving remnants) and almost got hit by the pizza guy who was backing out of the pizza place. Mind you this was no graceful fall. I flew in the air and landed flat on my face, I'm kinda scrapped up now, I hit my head on the pavement, and of course I swore the whole way down "$$$hhh&*&*&*ttt." Yup, fill in the blanks. Not nice. But the pizza delivery man was a complete gentleman. Got out of his car, helped pick me up off the ground, and kept asking how I was. He also tried to give me water or something, but I ensured him that I was a mere 20 ft. from my apartment so I would be just fine. The roommate and I later went to the pizza place to get grinders for dinner, and my delivery man and I exchanged some friendly words. Now the roommate keeps saying how it would be soo funny if me and pizza man fell in love, got married and then I realized he had some sort of erectile dysfunction disorder a la Charlotte and Trey in Sex and the City. Who knows, for now I'm content with just being his pizza-loving friend who he once picked up off the ground.

OK I am exhausted. I have a fun dream/nightmare about the marathon that Sarah wants me to blog about, but I'll have to save that for another day.

I'm a movement by myself, but I'm a force when we're together

2009-09-01T20:11:00.002-04:00

With all due respect to the photographer, this is going to essentially be a love note to co-blogger Ange. Now I realize when Ne-Yo wrote this classic song in the title of this post, it was more likely he was referencing his girlfriend, not his sorority sister. But seriously. This song isn't even fast, but it gets my ass in gear. Because prepping for the whole marathon isn't just about me. If it was, I probably would have dropped out a while back and been looking forward to spending a weekend in Boston boozing it up, not road-tripping to Rhode Island to run 26.2.

As the marathon is coming up pretty quickly (Oct. 18 eek) Ange and I have started to discuss our game plan. So far we have:

#1. Don't die.

#2. Finish.

#3. Make the other person finish.

#4. What happens during the marathon, stays with the marathon.

Number three is sometimes my sole motivation during my runs. There are times that I'm out running and I just can't get lost in my run, all I'm able to think about is how much further I have to go and how much laundry I have to do at home, and a million other things that have raced through my head that day. Today was one of those days. I wanted to cut it short at mile 3 and just go home. My butt is still acting up, my side was cramping up and no matter what I did it just felt HARD. And then Ne-Yo came on the ipod. Lyrics in gray, my thoughts in italics.

1st things 1st I does what I do first off I'm runningggggg still runningggg
But everything I am she’s my influ God why did I let Ange peer pressure me into this
I’m already boss I’m already fly life was good when I wasn't running 10 hours a week
But if I’m a star she is the sky she's so much faster than me. when did i get so slow?
(I, I, I) And when I feel like I’m on top I mean I guess I ran decent 5ks this summer
(She, she, she) She give me reason to not stop Ange is totally going to yell at me to go faster
(And, and, and, and, and..) And though I’m hot It's actually rather cool temp wise today
(To, to, to) Together we burn it up Thank god she's running this alongside me.

In short, Ange totally peer pressured me into running this marathon. But I'm so happy she did. I never would have dreamt of doing this before, and I can't imagine doing it with anyone else. And when Ne-Yo comes on the ipod during the run, I might sing it to her.

Gettin Jiggy With It

2009-08-29T17:31:00.002-04:00

Mother of God. [Speaking of, RIP Ted Kennedy. I watched the ceremony, Ted Jr's eulogy was beautiful.] Fif.Teen. Miles. Ughhhhhh. That was roughly my reaction at approx 13 miles. To be quite frank, I don't really remember the last three miles. I just know I somehow managed to find my way home. Where the G2 and carbohydrates are plentiful.

I did yoga this morning at the gym, which I haven't had the opportunity to do in weeks. It was glorious, I was feeling fabulously stretched. I came home, hydrated and had a hearty breakfast. [During this time I watched Teddy's service. Beautiful. Although, G Dubs, could you wipe the smirk off your face for I don't know, 34 seconds? It's a funeral for God's sake.]

Then I set off on my run. The plan was to do two loops, an 8 mile, pause at home, then a 7 mile. It worked out fabulously. The eight mile was fantastic, I once again had the opportunity to run around the stadiums, which always makes me happy, even though there weren't any tailgaters for the Steelers game yet. As I was at mile ohhhh 7.2., right around the Allegheny County Jail, I felt a twinge in my ass. All of a sudden, my right buttock just gave out on me. Just no more. Sorry Sarah, you wanted to run more today? Nope, not happening. I knew exactly what I needed to do to stretch it out, but it wasn't really feasible IN FRONT OF INMATES. So I just rubbed my butt (again, not an ideal situation) and just kinda did a shorter stride the rest of the way home.

I came home, paced the kitchen (gotta keep moving!) as I ate a banana and drank some G2. Then I did some yoga poses (God help me if I have to do this along the side of the marathon), went to the bathroom, changed (yes I sweat through outfit #1 and had to go to outfit #2. gross) and set out for loop #2.

Loop #2 wanted to kill me. It sought me out and tried to physically murder me. It was hotter, it was more humid, my buttock was still not pleased and I started to wish that I had a bottle of water maybe 2 miles in. But I perservered. I kept on going, and yes, I may have had to take a few 30 second speed walking breaks, but I'll probably need to do that during the marathon in order to stop at the aid stations. And I finished. That's all that matters.

Oh and I did an ice bath afterwards. My initial reaction was oh sweet jesus I can't decide what was worse the run, or the ice bath. After 2 minutes, it was heaven. If I could turn my bed into an ice bath, I probably would. Minus the whole issue of a lower pulse. That could be a potential problem.

The title of the post references my newfound love of 90s pop music while running. Will Smith -- today you may be a serious actor, but damn you were also so good at cheesy rap back in the day. 'N Sync - Pop -- oh to be young and naive again. Back in the days before 9/11 and when Lance was still dating women. Spice Girls - Wannabe -- I'll tell whatcha want what I really really want --- it's to finish this damn marathon.

I am a tourist attraction

2009-08-28T19:43:00.003-04:00

Now as I was typing this title I immediately thought of the Sex and the City Episode when Samantha sleeps with Charlotte's brother Wesley. Charlotte freaks out (as any girl would if her bff fucked her brother) and says "Is your vagina in the New York City guidebooks? Because it should be - it's the hottest spot in town, it's always open!" (sorry I tried to find a clip but I am technologically challenged and don't care enough to google around).

Anyway, as I'm sure you (and the photographer) will be happy to hear I am not a tourist attraction for my promiscuity. Although co-blogger Sarsh and I have been toying with the idea of opening our own prostitution business to earn some extra cash. I actually want to get paid to lay in bed, cuddle and maybe let someone feed me some fruit or something, but I mean times are tough so if I have to put out I guess that could be arranged. Anyway this is a pipe dream that would allow me to actually pay my bills, so clearly it just isn't in the cards for now. No worries I will stay un-hookerish and underpaid for the the forseeable future.

But again, I digress.

So here is the story that is so not worth reading through all of the ramblings above. Today on my run I got a shout out from a duck tour. hahah I was running near the Common between Beacon and Com Ave. and the tour guide screams "Look it's the last runner finishing up the marathon" haha I was so thrilled for being mistaken for a marathon runner that I soaked it all in smiled, waved and pos had my photo taken (at least I hope). Yes I realize that he was probs poking fun at my slow pace by suggesting it has taken me 4 months to finish the race, but f it. I was on an 11 mile run and got the ultimate shout out from an amphibious tour vehicle and I was on cloud nine.

The rest of the run went OK. I saw the BU kids moving in. God, I was jealous of their shining faces, slightly awkward exchanges, "I'm-trying-to-impress-you-while-showing-my-individuality"outfits and of course the landyard. I felt the urge to scream "freshman" but I figured that would just be answered with, "sweaty, old broad" so I kept my comments to myself.

My tummy did hurt at the end and I think I am slowly learning that I can't eat hard-to-digest food before a long run, plus I think I need to stop popping pain pills. It's fine though because I have 7 weeks 1 day 10 hours and 13 mins to figure it out before I throw up all over Newport.

OK this local Boston celeb is out for now...

....oooI wonder if a photo of me running could land in the Inside Track next to Tom and Gisele. Something like "check out Gi's baby bump, sweet, now let's compare it to this runner chick's fat rolls"

Maybe I should start pitching myself. :)

Runs and Run-Ins

2009-08-25T21:39:00.003-04:00

Pittsburgh is essentially a small town spread out over three rivers. This is good when plotting out runs, because you're never really that far away from home, should disaster strike. This is a negative when seeing everyone you went to middle school with along the way, as you're wiping up your sweat with your wifebeater.

On a positive note, I would like to thank the low pressure system that has moved into the area, turning this week's 85 degree temps into PURE JOY compared to last week's 90 degrees/97 % humidity. This was the first run I've had in a while that I haven't felt like I'm breathing through a straw, and it definitely showed, as I was able to run 7.5 miles without struggling.

I also had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things, which is run around the stadiums during baseball games. The college kids are back in town, and they were out in full force tonight, throwing up high fives as I ran by and even running alongside me for a moment or two. God I love drunk college kids.

Here's hoping the rest of the runs for the week go as well, if not better. I need a good, strong, long run this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Dear Boston, I love you.

2009-08-21T23:40:00.007-04:00

Everyone knows Syracuse is my one true love, but today, dear city, Boston gave you a "run" for your money.

Fourteen miles. It takes you pretty far. It's longer than my commute for a whole week. And these 14 glorious miles gave me a sneak peak of some of Boston's best. I ran down by all the colleges: Northeastern, Simmons, Wentworth, Mass Art, MIT, Harvard. My path was lit by the lights of the Pru. I crossed the river (twice). I ran all along the Common. I picked out the Brownstones on Beacon that I hope to live in one day. I saw tourists, homeless people, policemen, movers and residents alike. Zoomed by the State House and even got to run by the bars all abuzz on a Friday night.

It felt amazing. I felt amazing. I've never been so proud (or sore) in my entire life. Plus the city of Boston provided me with my own little cheering section. The guy in his car on the corner of Tremont and Beacon, "hey, you're hott." The man on Columbus "Good running girl." The man on the MIT bridge "keep running, your doing great." Group of boys on Com Ave number one "hey, you're really cute". Group of boys on Com Ave number two "hey, you're a great runner". My favorite convenience store man who knows I'm training "looks like you ran through a shower how you doing?" Man behind me in line at said convenience store "hey how long did you run" Me "14 miles" Man "omg you ran 14 miles TONIGHT. Wow, Woah."

So this is what it feels like to do more than half of a marathon. I am giddy - smiling despite the fact that I legitimately cannot move my legs (they actually burned when I got home and now are just full of lead). Plus I have hardcore chafing on my chest from my sports bra - damn you 70% humidity. But all in all it was amazing. I fell in love with my city, saw the peaceful side of a busy city at night and am finally starting to feel a little confident in my running.

Yay! Now off to listen to party in the USA on repeat - that Miley gets me every time!

This is War

2009-08-20T21:25:00.002-04:00

On humidity. I am trying my best to avoid the mugginess, but it is following me everywhere I go. In my last post I discussed my plan to wake up before the sun and squeeze in a run before work. Let's discuss that. I was up and at 'em at 4:30 a.m., ate a banana, packed everything for work and was out the door by 4:55. Did my weights/abs at the gym, things are going great.

I step outside at 5:25, so motivated to have a good run. I was sweating before my legs moved. Fact: 73 with 97 percent humidity is miserable. Which was the actual temperature/humidity level. I don't pull these figures from my ass, kids. So whatever, I take off down the street, still pretty excited that I'm going to have a workout in before work. Only it was trash day for the street I was running down, so thanks to the 24/7 humidity we have going on, I was not only running through the ozone layer, I was running through a giant garbage can. I was forced to adopt a "in through the mouth, out through the mouth" [I feel like there's a TWSS in there somewhere] breathing technique, which my lungs were not pleased with. Long story short, I was drenched in sweat and rather disgusting by the time I made it back to the gym to shower. Oh and don't worry, the sun still wasn't up by that point.

Then, Mother Nature played a cruel trick on me. It rained in the late afternoon, and by the time I was walking home at 5:30 p.m., it was a cool and delightful 70 degrees. I seriously considered going for a second run, but decided that would cross into the exercise bulimia category.

Today I was determined to tackle this problem head on. [sidenote: Head-On, as in "apply directly to the forehead" is a product that co-blogger Ange had senior year. She was convinced it would cure her various ailments, but really, it just left a...let's say, inappropriate looking film on her forehead.] I was ready and willing to do a pre-work workout, but if the Channel 4 weather team said it was going to mimic yesterday's weather pattern, I would wait for the afternoon showers to cool everything off.

So I wake up, eagerly awaiting the forecast, Erin Kienzle says "well it is muggy out," and that's all I needed to hear for my head to hit the pillow again. Things were looking up, afternoon showers weren't as persistent as yesterday, but hey there was still time. Cut to 7:30 p.m.

The cool down rain I was hoping for never happened, but 7:30 is the absolute latest I can start a run before I'm forced to play a game called "Run for Your Life." But the skies were dark and gloomy, so I was hopeful that I would get caught in the cool down rain, which would be a win-win situation. I set off on my run through the ozone, and with every step I thought to myself "please rain please rain please rain please rain just a little c'mon please rain please rain." And then it did. For roughly 50 seconds. Just enough to cause a steam to form on the hot sidewalk. So now in addition to the previously established humidity, I have steam rising up and hitting my calves, it's actually hard to breathe because the air is so thick, and the rain never returned, despite the clouds that forced darkness to hit the city 30 minutes early. I'm fairly confident I was propositioned to establish a new career by the jail, but thanks to RFYL I made it out A-OK.

So please Mother Nature, I beg of you, send a low pressure zone our way.

Schizo

2009-08-18T20:57:00.002-04:00

Oh heyyyy. My apologies, I have completely dropped off the face of the earth. I blame it on my lack of exciting running news, or rather lack of running news that makes me look good. Allow me to explain.

The weather in Pittsburgh this summer could best be described as schizophrenic. It has been so chilly that when Ange and Liz visited, I could have worn a peacoat to dinner and been quite content with my life. Then there have been the last two weeks. In the words of Elaine Benes, "the heat..my God the heat."

[I spent 20 minutes trying to embed the video for everyone's convenience. Clearly it didn't pan out. And my tech support is in China. Lo siento.]

So the heat. Pittsburgh does not do dry heat. When we do heat, we do 60 percent humidity with a touch of air pollution, turning a 2 block walk to the bus stop at 7 a.m. into a deodorant testing experiment. Needless to say, my evening runs haven't even been possible the last week.

Hence, I'm trying something new for the next week and a half, thanks to the 10 day forecast predicting no end in sight. Working out in the morning. I've done it a few times in the past, but normally just if I have evening activities planned that would prevent me from working out at night. I think the reason I associate the morning workouts with such annoyance is because I wouldn't do consistent morning workouts. I would do them once a week, be so annoyed and go back to the evening workouts, where I go to bed much later and wake up later, never allowing my sleep schedule to recover.

So here's the plan: wake up: 430 am. Be at the gym at 5 am. Weights/abs for 20-30 min. Run for an hour. Catch the 7:30 bus. I'll keep you posted on how this goes. But at this point, I'm willing to try pretty much anything to avoid the misery of being outside in the heat of the day. And wow. It's already my bedtime.