oh, hi there!

Yeah, so, um I haven't been the best blogger lately, I KNOW. But, I have a good excuse - I've been SO busy with my marathon training!

The countdown is on and the training program is so far, so good. Amy and I are training for and running the marathon together (as long as I can keep up with her!) We are using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training schedule, but we aren't actually following the plan until next week. For now, it's been the regular 5-3-5 mile runs during the week and then a 10 mile run on the weekends. Next week (week 4 of the plan) is the first long run with increased mileage - 11. I should not be worried about it because I've run 13 in a half marathon before, but something about pushing past that nice round number 10 gets to me. I need to get over that shit because pretty soon 11 will look like nothing (hopefully.)

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need yet another pair of shoes before this is all said and done. And that's another pair *in addition* to the brand new pair that is in reserve in my closet right now. I thought I could put a few (or 70) more miles on my current shoes, but they just didn't feel right on last night's run. A lot of people ask how you can tell if you need new shoes, and it's different for everyone, BUT for me - it starts off with not being able to tie my shoes in a way that doesn't make me want to scream. They are either too tight or too loose and I just can't quite get it right. From there, my knees and ankles start to ache, randomly and on either leg. That being said, I'm still planning on wearing my old shoes today because I'm only running 3 miles. I may break out the new ones tomorrow. And don't worry - if you've seen my shoes before, you know how incredibly obnoxious looking they are - my new ones are exactly the same :)

that was fun?

Today was my first attempt at running in the early AM before work. I tried to start on Tuesday, but I woke up to a DOWNPOUR. It was going to be miserable enough running at 6am, so I skipped it. I did do 45 minutes on the elliptical and a short arms & ab workout. Take that, rain.

Anyway, I headed out this morning right before 6am. And aside from the fact that it was 6am, it was not that bad. It was a welcome change to be running on the asphalt BEFORE the sun had cooked it for 12+ hours. It was still uber-humid though, even that early in the morning. I wore a short sleeved wicking shirt thinking that I might need the extra coverage of sleeves. Ha! It will be tank tops from now on.

All in all, it was a good run. I even had some company. I saw one walker and another runner out there with me! I run in a pretty small neighborhood and I've never seen anyone else out "exercising" so that was good to see. I'm not the only crazy person out there :-) In fact, the other runner was crazier than me because she kept going through the brief, but heavy, rainshower that hit me around mile 4. I hid out in my car for a couple of minutes until it passed and then I got back out there again for the last mile. I don't mind getting wet, but my Garmin and iPod do. Weak sauces.

I worried that when I got home this evening, I wouldn't know what to do with all the extra time I had. Never fear, I found plenty to do. I rounded out my long day with shopping for running shorts (more on that later), doing a new Jillian Michaels workout DVD (that was almost an hour long), cleaning the living room (dog hair galore), doing a couple nights' worth of dishes (with no help from D), and writing this blog entry (superb, isn't it?) And now I'm drinking some wine. I think I deserve it.

i'm not a purse snob

So why is it that the purses I like are the ones that are $99 ON CLEARANCE at TJ Maxx?? Seriously, I will carry no-name, faux-name, ho-name (whatever, it rhymes) purses, but the ones I like the best always turn out to be some fancy schmancy brand name that I've usually never even heard of. Sigh. It's tough being a girl.

picture from the race!

There's only one picture, but it's cute! This was taken at a Fuze beverage (whatever that is, although I hear it's good with alcohol!) booth. For each picture downloaded, they will donate $1 to your local Komen foundation. Thanks Fuze!

Race for the Cure 5K

This past Saturday I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K. The event is so large that there were 4 separate run/walks that people could choose to participate in. I ran with A & J in the competitive 5K at 7:00am! The early start time meant that I had to leave my house at 5:15am in order to meet them at the shuttle buses at 6. Ah, reminiscent of early days at horse shows :-)

The race and the race day activities were great. An estimated 24K people came out and close to $2M was raised in the fight against breast cancer. There were tons of vendors giving away free stuff and I think we're all set on granola bars for quite a while! The atmosphere was jovial, but so very bittersweet. Many of the runners and walkers wore signs on their backs in memory of a loved one who had lost the fight. There was a father-daughter pair wearing signs in memory of their wife and mother, respectively. I cried on the phone telling my mom about it and I am holding back tears as I type.......

In spite of the sad, sad stories, there is so much hope. Hope that we will find a cure in the fight against breast cancer. I saw so many survivors at the race, identified by their special pink shirts. I was struck by how young many of them were. It serves as an important reminder of how important breast self-exams and early detection are. I've done my exam this month, have you?

summer runnin'

Is gross. I did not "have me a blast." I waited until around 8pm to run last night in hopes that it would be a little cooler. Cooler is not really the right word to describe it, so let's just say that the temperature was lower. I think that part of the problem is that I run on unshaded asphalt that has baked in the sun all.day.long. When I run, I can feel the heat radiating up in waves towards me. So it was hot - that part was bearable. This part, however, is just disgusting:

That's me after my run last night. And those black spots on my chest and neck are bugs. Gross little irritating bugs that BITE. That get inside your sports bra and BITE. That fly into your eye and BITE. Well ok none of them actually bit my eye, but I'm sure they would've if they could.

Also gross (seriously, I'm warning you): my hair. I have fairly long hair these days and I typically wear it in a ponytail when I run. The problem is that it's so long that the end of the ponytail rests against the top of my back. My very, very sweaty back. Gross is running along with your wet with sweat ponytail hitting your back with each stride. I need a new running hairstyle. The easy solution would be to cut my hair, I know. But I don't wanna. I could french braid it and then pin it up, but that takes so freaking long to do. I could try to loop it up in a bun type deal, but my hair is so thick (woe is me) that most hair elastics aren't strong enough to keep it doubled up. Any long-haired runners out there with any suggestions??

4-4-2

Four months, four weeks, and two days until my first marathon. Never in a million years did I think I'd be saying that.