I hope this doesn't freak them out... see below.
My first post :)
5:48 PM
I just wanted to say hello to my new teammates :) I just joined T3 for the CdA training and wanted to say Wassup!!! People from my last training group called me Foho if that rings any bells with anyone :) You're more than welcome to call me Priscilla, Foho, Lil P, P, slow azz, caboose, or anything new. Nice to meet all of y'all and I look forward to training with you :)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
171 days to go...
Is it too early to start counting down?? I went to my first spin class last night and was very pleased to see Erin and Dionn. It was nice seeing familiar faces. Clarence, who I've trained with in Rogue, Charles (I think) who I've seen running with Rogue, and a new friend Carrie.
In short, the class was, I hate to admit this, FUN. The 30 minute core class was tough, but I expected that. I have no core right now, so I knew doing any exercise would be tough. I had to do the pushups in female girly fashion, I couldn't make it through the 3 sets of 30 second planks or the second set of 30 second planks on the ball. I could only do one or two (total, not reps) of some of the exercises, but I pretended to move as everyone else did. This will take time to build up to be able to complete everything like everyone else. Erin and Dionn tried to talk me into coming in the morning for an hour core class before this one started, and two minutes into it, I told them I wouldn't be coming :) Baby steps...
The spin class started and Maurice was nice enough to help me put my bike on the trainer and tell me how it all worked. Chrissie was the coach, and she was very detailed in what we were doing which I loved. She explained exactly what gear to be in, when to switch, what cadence we should be in, and did countdowns for us so we could tell what our cadence actually was. I was doing great and my confidence was high. My cadence was either right on or slightly higher and I thought I was flying :) Until... the one legged stuff. I thought it would be easy, but the moment I unclipped one leg, the other leg seemed to fail. My circular motion was all rickety and it seemed to be using muscles that running doesn't use. My hip was burning and my thigh felt like it was going to fall off. I kept it in my easy gear as the rest of the class geared harder and I stopped ALOT. Very tough. Chrissie said this was a good exercise because it shows which motion you need to work on that way each leg is working to its full strength without having to rely on the other. I've got some work to do.
We went back to both legs and did hills and I did a good job. I kept my cadence where it was supposed to be on all of the sets except maybe 2, but I wasn't that far off. All in all, the time went by fast and I enjoyed my first spin class :)
Only gripes so far is that it seems that most of the T3 folk are pretty dog goned serious. Noone talks, noone is cracking jokes and I'm not used to that. I talked a few times during the core, or moaned actually to no avail. I tried again during the spin. Chrissie said, "Three more minutes and we're done." and I was the only one that yelled out, "Thank God!!" I only got a smile from Chrissie. I'm sure I'll be the loud mouth retard, but I've got to liven things up. I'm used to Rogue and I'm used to the useless fun banter, this is going to take some getting used to.
I did make a new friend, Carrie. And another guy named Robert. I need to make some more :)
Thanks to Erin and Dionn for making me feel welcome and making my first class not as awkward... Now, I'm going to play on their forum and make my first post.
In short, the class was, I hate to admit this, FUN. The 30 minute core class was tough, but I expected that. I have no core right now, so I knew doing any exercise would be tough. I had to do the pushups in female girly fashion, I couldn't make it through the 3 sets of 30 second planks or the second set of 30 second planks on the ball. I could only do one or two (total, not reps) of some of the exercises, but I pretended to move as everyone else did. This will take time to build up to be able to complete everything like everyone else. Erin and Dionn tried to talk me into coming in the morning for an hour core class before this one started, and two minutes into it, I told them I wouldn't be coming :) Baby steps...
The spin class started and Maurice was nice enough to help me put my bike on the trainer and tell me how it all worked. Chrissie was the coach, and she was very detailed in what we were doing which I loved. She explained exactly what gear to be in, when to switch, what cadence we should be in, and did countdowns for us so we could tell what our cadence actually was. I was doing great and my confidence was high. My cadence was either right on or slightly higher and I thought I was flying :) Until... the one legged stuff. I thought it would be easy, but the moment I unclipped one leg, the other leg seemed to fail. My circular motion was all rickety and it seemed to be using muscles that running doesn't use. My hip was burning and my thigh felt like it was going to fall off. I kept it in my easy gear as the rest of the class geared harder and I stopped ALOT. Very tough. Chrissie said this was a good exercise because it shows which motion you need to work on that way each leg is working to its full strength without having to rely on the other. I've got some work to do.
We went back to both legs and did hills and I did a good job. I kept my cadence where it was supposed to be on all of the sets except maybe 2, but I wasn't that far off. All in all, the time went by fast and I enjoyed my first spin class :)
Only gripes so far is that it seems that most of the T3 folk are pretty dog goned serious. Noone talks, noone is cracking jokes and I'm not used to that. I talked a few times during the core, or moaned actually to no avail. I tried again during the spin. Chrissie said, "Three more minutes and we're done." and I was the only one that yelled out, "Thank God!!" I only got a smile from Chrissie. I'm sure I'll be the loud mouth retard, but I've got to liven things up. I'm used to Rogue and I'm used to the useless fun banter, this is going to take some getting used to.
I did make a new friend, Carrie. And another guy named Robert. I need to make some more :)
Thanks to Erin and Dionn for making me feel welcome and making my first class not as awkward... Now, I'm going to play on their forum and make my first post.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I survived...
Well, I survived. I got home after work yesterday, tried on my bathing suit to find more rolls than a bakery :) I've gained some weight and felt like the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man. I tried to get out of going, but both Dee and Steve wouldn't let me. And they were right, if I would have waited till the class was completely full, it would have been worse. It was freaking freezing last night, but the pool was wonderful. Nice and warm. I'm definitely out of shape in the water, but I'm glad I was able to get a good workout in.
There are two different levels, T1 and T2. T1 being for the slower beginner, such as myself. T2 being for the more advanced swimmers. I hung out in the slowest lane and did the T1 workout. Chrissy was awesome in explaining the drills and everything to me. The entire T1 workout was to be 2600 meters, and I cut it short at a little over 2000. Yay for me! That's over a mile!!! I was pooped and my shoulders are sore from using the paddles, but it's all good. Looking forward to becoming a faster more efficient swimmer. I definitely need to start working on my core and upper body. I could barely use the paddles last night because my arms are so weak :)
There are two different levels, T1 and T2. T1 being for the slower beginner, such as myself. T2 being for the more advanced swimmers. I hung out in the slowest lane and did the T1 workout. Chrissy was awesome in explaining the drills and everything to me. The entire T1 workout was to be 2600 meters, and I cut it short at a little over 2000. Yay for me! That's over a mile!!! I was pooped and my shoulders are sore from using the paddles, but it's all good. Looking forward to becoming a faster more efficient swimmer. I definitely need to start working on my core and upper body. I could barely use the paddles last night because my arms are so weak :)
Monday, December 29, 2008
T3, here I come...
Well, I'm venturing out to the triathlon world tonight. I'm going to go to my first swim class and hope that I don't drown. Actually, I know I won't drown, cause fat floats :) I've gained a good 5 pounds in these last three weeks since the marathon. I've been eating and eating to my hearts content and I haven't been running as much. I'm starting to get back on track. Let's hope I can do the entire workout tonight, I'm nervous but looking forward to the challenge.
Hell Froze Over, I cooked!
I cooked!! I found a recipe that sounded good in a Martha Stewart, Mind, Body, and Soul magazine. Rustic Shrimp Stew :) It has potatoes, carrots, sausage, onions and shrimp. I made it on Friday night and we had the leftovers last night with a big salad. Not too hard and Adrian liked it. I know I can cook, just need to have all the ingredients and a recipe :)
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Lori + Garmin = LONG RUN!
This mornings long run for me started slow. I can definitely tell I've gained weight from my hiatus of eating since CIM. I've completely enjoyed every food my mouth and heart has desired.
The morning was extremely humid and I felt like we were barely trotting along, but I wasn't complaining because the slow pace was about all my Ms. Chubbers could handle. So here's how it went down.
Run started at 6:30am. And we run, and run, and run... Around mile 5.5 (according to Lori's Garmin) we stopped at a convenience store for water and Gu. And then we run and run and run and run. We stop at a water stop.
Priscilla: Lori, what mile are we at??
Lori: I don't know, 7 point something...
Priscilla to Dee: FOOL, why are you Gu'ing again, we just gu'ed at 5???
Dee: I don't know, I feel like, leave me alone!!
Lori: chuckles, but Dee and Priscilla have no idea.
So we keep running, and running, and running. We run into a ton of Karen's north group. Give a ton of high five's, lots of hugs. It was great seeing everyone out. We ran into Brian Plunkett and he was still in his Team Rogue uniform from CIM, too cute!!
And then, lo and behold.
Dee: How LONG have we been running??
Lori: Uh... huh??
Dee: How LONG have we been running??
Priscilla: I don't know, I don't have a watch on.
Lori: I don't know, 2 hours.
Dee: WHAT??
Priscilla: FOOL!
Dee: FOOL
Lori: (laughing her ass off)
We stopped running by this time. We start to do calculations. On Christmas we ran 8.4 miles in an 1:20. We've run 2 hours, so we must have been well over 10. Our objective this morning was to run 10, and Lori forgot to restart her Garmin at one of our stops, so we just kept running and running till her Garmin read 10. We finally got back to our cars, and I don't think the Garmin ever hit 10, we must have run 15-16 miles. We ended at 2:51 minutes of being on the roads. We did stop at two convenience stores and stop to look at a house being renovated, but still. We ran for a good 2:30. Never got lost, we were doing a "Let's go this way" run and it lead all over town. I love these runs... just running and running and lots of talking.
Moral of today's story: Lori can not be trusted with being in charge of the distance for runs anymore. Same goes for me and picking out jeans.
Next objective: Lori and Dee are going to pick out a SHORT hair cut for me. I'm planning to chop off my hair, COMPLETELY. New year, new year, new training.
The morning was extremely humid and I felt like we were barely trotting along, but I wasn't complaining because the slow pace was about all my Ms. Chubbers could handle. So here's how it went down.
Run started at 6:30am. And we run, and run, and run... Around mile 5.5 (according to Lori's Garmin) we stopped at a convenience store for water and Gu. And then we run and run and run and run. We stop at a water stop.
Priscilla: Lori, what mile are we at??
Lori: I don't know, 7 point something...
Priscilla to Dee: FOOL, why are you Gu'ing again, we just gu'ed at 5???
Dee: I don't know, I feel like, leave me alone!!
Lori: chuckles, but Dee and Priscilla have no idea.
So we keep running, and running, and running. We run into a ton of Karen's north group. Give a ton of high five's, lots of hugs. It was great seeing everyone out. We ran into Brian Plunkett and he was still in his Team Rogue uniform from CIM, too cute!!
And then, lo and behold.
Dee: How LONG have we been running??
Lori: Uh... huh??
Dee: How LONG have we been running??
Priscilla: I don't know, I don't have a watch on.
Lori: I don't know, 2 hours.
Dee: WHAT??
Priscilla: FOOL!
Dee: FOOL
Lori: (laughing her ass off)
We stopped running by this time. We start to do calculations. On Christmas we ran 8.4 miles in an 1:20. We've run 2 hours, so we must have been well over 10. Our objective this morning was to run 10, and Lori forgot to restart her Garmin at one of our stops, so we just kept running and running till her Garmin read 10. We finally got back to our cars, and I don't think the Garmin ever hit 10, we must have run 15-16 miles. We ended at 2:51 minutes of being on the roads. We did stop at two convenience stores and stop to look at a house being renovated, but still. We ran for a good 2:30. Never got lost, we were doing a "Let's go this way" run and it lead all over town. I love these runs... just running and running and lots of talking.
Moral of today's story: Lori can not be trusted with being in charge of the distance for runs anymore. Same goes for me and picking out jeans.
Next objective: Lori and Dee are going to pick out a SHORT hair cut for me. I'm planning to chop off my hair, COMPLETELY. New year, new year, new training.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas Day and ramblings
Woke up on Christmas morning and met the Cookies for a run. It was especially nice this time because Dee's husband Steve and my honey came with us. We started at our normal Burnet Road location and ran 8.5 miles at a nice conversational easy pace. Adrian and Steve ran up ahead and Dee, Lori, and I were able to run easy behind them.
Lots of gossip to catch up on. Dee's son AJ graduated from college, so we got to talk about the graduation, their Vegas trip, Lori's VO2 max testing, and a few other things. Definitely not long enough to talk about everything else we wanted to.
Got home, showered and headed to the movie. We went to see Marley and Me. What a freaking tear jerker. Both Adrian and I were bawling our eyes out with the rest of the theater. Came home, picked up our boys and went on a 2.5 mile walk around City Park. The boys had a good time. Came home, I took a 2 hour nap as Adrian cleaned up around the house. Ended the evening with a nice healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli, and a salad.
Today, I'm working from home. Doing little things here and there. Adrian's going for a ride later, and I might venture out on my bike as well. I found a recipe for shrimp stew that I might try and cook for dinner tonight. Here's to eating better.
Lots of gossip to catch up on. Dee's son AJ graduated from college, so we got to talk about the graduation, their Vegas trip, Lori's VO2 max testing, and a few other things. Definitely not long enough to talk about everything else we wanted to.
Got home, showered and headed to the movie. We went to see Marley and Me. What a freaking tear jerker. Both Adrian and I were bawling our eyes out with the rest of the theater. Came home, picked up our boys and went on a 2.5 mile walk around City Park. The boys had a good time. Came home, I took a 2 hour nap as Adrian cleaned up around the house. Ended the evening with a nice healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli, and a salad.
Today, I'm working from home. Doing little things here and there. Adrian's going for a ride later, and I might venture out on my bike as well. I found a recipe for shrimp stew that I might try and cook for dinner tonight. Here's to eating better.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friends :)
I few pictures from dinner at Siena for Lori's birthday last Friday night!! I love these girls :)
100 Pushup Program
I tried to do ONE, yes ONE pushup last night and couldn't. I'm not sure I can make it through Day 1.... geez.
Triathlon vs. Marathon & How I got into Marathoning
I remember it as if it were yesterday. My best friend and I decided we'd start exercising to lose weight for a trip to Arizona. We would meet every other day or so at the DPS on Lamar and walk around the track. We would walk once, twice, then three times. Then we decided to jog. Once around, then let's see if we could do twice around. This continued until we got ourselves up to a couple miles. I remember being soooo proud. Bragging to coworkers, I ran 1 mile last night :)
Then one of her coworkers talked us into running the Flamingo 5K. 3/18/01, my first race, although this was before I knew anything, and I bandited the race. My best friend registered and I was too scared, because I thought these "races" were for professional REAL athletes, so I ran it with her. Then we decided to do the Austin American Statesman, 4/1/01. My chip time was 1:21:30, 13:08 min mile. I was pretty happy too :)
Fast forward to 2004. I joined the Runtex University free classes up at Runtex Gateway. Bruno was the guy that worked there that gave us our workouts. I actually met Clarence Lucas at these workouts!! There were others, and I was the caboose. I met a girl named Leslie and she asked me if I wanted to join their running team. I immediately told her, "No way... I'm not elite, I'm new and I'm not fast." She kept on, told me to go to www.teamjustin.com and just browse the website. Leslie wanted me to do the Distance Challenge with her, she said she'd run with me on the weekends for our long runs, and I looked up to her since she had previously run a couple marathons before and I had only done 5k's and 10k's.
I completed the Distance Challenge and signed up for the San Diego marathon since that was the next marathon to raise awareness and money for Team Justin. Noone else registered!!! So I went out and did it on my own, by myself. My first vacation solo. After the Austin marathon, I got curious about triathlons and this is where I was introduced to Rogue. I joined IronChicks, but didn't realize until after I had joined that Danskin was the weekend AFTER the San Diego marathon. I completed San Diego with a huge PR of 25 minutes and came back to do Danskin.
Crossing the finish line at Danskin was BLAH. I didn't get excited, no emotions, just, "Hmm.. so that's a triathlon." Then I started on the, I wonder if I could do an Olympic distance tri... a half Ironman.. etc. I completed all of those, and now I'm signed up for CdA Ironman, my first full. I've always known that I loved running more than tri's, but it wasn't until AFTER Team Rogue that I know this is exactly where my heart lies. When I think about all the triathlon finishes, I've never shed a tear, I've never been overly excited, just content with finishing, with PR'ing a few minutes here and there, but never real fullfillment. Sooooo, I'm planning to give it my all and complete my first Ironman, but after this I'm going back to what I love... and that's running. I just wanted to document for myself how this all started :)
Then one of her coworkers talked us into running the Flamingo 5K. 3/18/01, my first race, although this was before I knew anything, and I bandited the race. My best friend registered and I was too scared, because I thought these "races" were for professional REAL athletes, so I ran it with her. Then we decided to do the Austin American Statesman, 4/1/01. My chip time was 1:21:30, 13:08 min mile. I was pretty happy too :)
Fast forward to 2004. I joined the Runtex University free classes up at Runtex Gateway. Bruno was the guy that worked there that gave us our workouts. I actually met Clarence Lucas at these workouts!! There were others, and I was the caboose. I met a girl named Leslie and she asked me if I wanted to join their running team. I immediately told her, "No way... I'm not elite, I'm new and I'm not fast." She kept on, told me to go to www.teamjustin.com and just browse the website. Leslie wanted me to do the Distance Challenge with her, she said she'd run with me on the weekends for our long runs, and I looked up to her since she had previously run a couple marathons before and I had only done 5k's and 10k's.
I completed the Distance Challenge and signed up for the San Diego marathon since that was the next marathon to raise awareness and money for Team Justin. Noone else registered!!! So I went out and did it on my own, by myself. My first vacation solo. After the Austin marathon, I got curious about triathlons and this is where I was introduced to Rogue. I joined IronChicks, but didn't realize until after I had joined that Danskin was the weekend AFTER the San Diego marathon. I completed San Diego with a huge PR of 25 minutes and came back to do Danskin.
Crossing the finish line at Danskin was BLAH. I didn't get excited, no emotions, just, "Hmm.. so that's a triathlon." Then I started on the, I wonder if I could do an Olympic distance tri... a half Ironman.. etc. I completed all of those, and now I'm signed up for CdA Ironman, my first full. I've always known that I loved running more than tri's, but it wasn't until AFTER Team Rogue that I know this is exactly where my heart lies. When I think about all the triathlon finishes, I've never shed a tear, I've never been overly excited, just content with finishing, with PR'ing a few minutes here and there, but never real fullfillment. Sooooo, I'm planning to give it my all and complete my first Ironman, but after this I'm going back to what I love... and that's running. I just wanted to document for myself how this all started :)
Lazy Sunday and Random Stuff
Sunday consisted of Adrian and I literally being on our backs the ENTIRE day. We woke up around 9am and watched some tv, then it was 10am, then I fell asleep again, then he fell asleep again, then it was 2pm. Adrian was supposed to run 20 miles and it was going to be my chance to ride next to him as his ongoing water stop and support. We finally got out of bed and realized that my bike having a flat was a good enough excuse to not venture out into the cold. We got back into bed. We only got up to use the restroom or get more food. Around 5pm, we decided we stunk and we showered, then resumed on the coach with pizza. I know, I know... Meredith would disown me if she knew how badly I've been eating. We stayed on the couch until midnight. Only got up to put more logs on the fire or get more food to stuff in my mouth. It was nice, we never do this and it was nice to rest.
Monday - I got my macro for the first couple weeks of my new training. I faxed in my membership paperwork to T3. Figured out over the weekend that Team Rogue CIM is officially over and I'm officially off the forum :( Work is dreadfully quiet. I have more then enough work to do, but with half the office gone, it's just hard to get motivated to do anything productive, hence the blog post.
To Do List for tonight -
Monday - I got my macro for the first couple weeks of my new training. I faxed in my membership paperwork to T3. Figured out over the weekend that Team Rogue CIM is officially over and I'm officially off the forum :( Work is dreadfully quiet. I have more then enough work to do, but with half the office gone, it's just hard to get motivated to do anything productive, hence the blog post.
To Do List for tonight -
- Watch the Hills :) Season Finale.
- Do some laundry.
- Motivate myself to get into tri training mode. Find goggles, find swim cap, find tri crap. Bike crap... crap, crap, crap...
- Get in 3 mile run, whoopie :) I might run longer :)
- Cuddle with cats
- Upload pics from dinner with the Cookies and post blog
- Get excited about tri stuff...
- Make Adrian old fashioned Xmas present using what I have at home...
- Repeat #6 over and over and over
Saturday, December 20, 2008
16 miles of P-lic :)
Time: 6:30am
Location: Runtex to Rogue
People: P-lic and Foho
Weather: Humid, but not cold :)
Workout: attempt 16
Comments: I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous to jump back on the bus this morning. 16 miles was the shortest option for the Runtex to Rogue run. Lori was up for it, and I was up for trying. I figured if I felt like poo, I could just hitch a ride back with one of the coaches at the water stops. I woke up early, and ended up getting to Runtex at 6:00 and noticed a TON of runners there. Looks like the run started at 6am instead of 6:30, whoops. I came prepared with $$$ and was able to small talk with Ruth as we waited for a couple late runners.
Lori and I started off and I was pretty paranoid about running too slow for her pace. It's nice to run with Lori cause we're the same type of runner. It takes us a few miles to get warmed up so I wasn't too worried about pace in the beginning. I think I might have actually been pushing it more than I had to in the beginning for fear of being too slow. The conversation flowed as it always does with Lori, Dee, Linda and I. We got to catch up on all kinds of good stuff :) The miles were clicking away and it was at a nice easy slow pace.
Here's our splits, we averaged 10:34's, I'm totally happy with that!
1) 10:32
2) 10:36
3) 10:54
4) 10:13
5) 10:16
6) 11:43
7) 10:09
8) 10:37
9) 10:28
10) 10:05
11) 10:38
12) 9:57
13) 10:08
14) 12:14 SNAP, that's slow :) This was the trail run, I'll explain later...
15) 10:44
16) 9:39 short by .03
We get to the water underneath Mopac on the trail and hydrate and Lori is the most anti-trail running fool I've ever known. Most people continue on the trail till they can turn to get to downtown. Others run the Scenic route, some go the Zilker route, but not us. Here I was, stuck with Dee's twin, "Let's go this way." Yep... Team Rogue is over for me and I still get myself in the same predicaments. We crossed the street and went up the concrete path, but then we went up this Ladera Norte trail hill and before I knew it, I was running on Mopac!! Ok, I'm exaggerating, but we went the Dee way to get to 6th street. We ran all the way down to Congress and the mileage was perfect.
Great run with one of my BFF's. Glad to have my legs back and super happy to be back up to 16 miles :) Thanks Lori, I couldn't have done that alone...
Location: Runtex to Rogue
People: P-lic and Foho
Weather: Humid, but not cold :)
Workout: attempt 16
Comments: I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous to jump back on the bus this morning. 16 miles was the shortest option for the Runtex to Rogue run. Lori was up for it, and I was up for trying. I figured if I felt like poo, I could just hitch a ride back with one of the coaches at the water stops. I woke up early, and ended up getting to Runtex at 6:00 and noticed a TON of runners there. Looks like the run started at 6am instead of 6:30, whoops. I came prepared with $$$ and was able to small talk with Ruth as we waited for a couple late runners.
Lori and I started off and I was pretty paranoid about running too slow for her pace. It's nice to run with Lori cause we're the same type of runner. It takes us a few miles to get warmed up so I wasn't too worried about pace in the beginning. I think I might have actually been pushing it more than I had to in the beginning for fear of being too slow. The conversation flowed as it always does with Lori, Dee, Linda and I. We got to catch up on all kinds of good stuff :) The miles were clicking away and it was at a nice easy slow pace.
Here's our splits, we averaged 10:34's, I'm totally happy with that!
1) 10:32
2) 10:36
3) 10:54
4) 10:13
5) 10:16
6) 11:43
7) 10:09
8) 10:37
9) 10:28
10) 10:05
11) 10:38
12) 9:57
13) 10:08
14) 12:14 SNAP, that's slow :) This was the trail run, I'll explain later...
15) 10:44
16) 9:39 short by .03
We get to the water underneath Mopac on the trail and hydrate and Lori is the most anti-trail running fool I've ever known. Most people continue on the trail till they can turn to get to downtown. Others run the Scenic route, some go the Zilker route, but not us. Here I was, stuck with Dee's twin, "Let's go this way." Yep... Team Rogue is over for me and I still get myself in the same predicaments. We crossed the street and went up the concrete path, but then we went up this Ladera Norte trail hill and before I knew it, I was running on Mopac!! Ok, I'm exaggerating, but we went the Dee way to get to 6th street. We ran all the way down to Congress and the mileage was perfect.
Great run with one of my BFF's. Glad to have my legs back and super happy to be back up to 16 miles :) Thanks Lori, I couldn't have done that alone...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Ahhh... they're baaaaack!!
Yay!! My legs are finally back. I was a little worried since I hadn't run since Sunday and it was a slow one. This was my 4th run back since the marathon.
Time: 8:00pm
Weather: Foggy, muggy, humid, icky... but not 29 degrees!
Locations: My home then out and back on Jollyville
People: Me and my iPod
Comments: Ahh... Legs finally felt ok. Ran with the Garmin so I could see where my fitness was.
1) 10:24
2) 9:53
3) 9:40
4) 9:23
5) 9:19
Nice little progressive pace, negative splits, yaya!! It definitely wasn't a walk in the park, but I'm glad I got my legs back and I wasn't in the 11's or 12's.
Perception Check: It's crazy how just two weeks ago running 9:00's or even barely sub 9:00's felt like a walk in the park, and tonight trying to get to MGP felt impossible. I remember each mile just clicking away at CIM, 9:00, 8:57, 9:05 etc... like it was nothing. Tonight, just trying to stay under 10:00 seemed like hardwork. Good stuff.
Time: 8:00pm
Weather: Foggy, muggy, humid, icky... but not 29 degrees!
Locations: My home then out and back on Jollyville
People: Me and my iPod
Comments: Ahh... Legs finally felt ok. Ran with the Garmin so I could see where my fitness was.
1) 10:24
2) 9:53
3) 9:40
4) 9:23
5) 9:19
Nice little progressive pace, negative splits, yaya!! It definitely wasn't a walk in the park, but I'm glad I got my legs back and I wasn't in the 11's or 12's.
Perception Check: It's crazy how just two weeks ago running 9:00's or even barely sub 9:00's felt like a walk in the park, and tonight trying to get to MGP felt impossible. I remember each mile just clicking away at CIM, 9:00, 8:57, 9:05 etc... like it was nothing. Tonight, just trying to stay under 10:00 seemed like hardwork. Good stuff.
I won $10,000!!!!
Well, first let me say how much I love my job. It's cliche to say that we're one big family, but the relationships we have are awesome. I really love my job. This week is Secret Santa. Yes, some people might say how quirky and retarded doing the "office holiday spirit" type things are, but coming from working in a husband/wife business for 10 years, I totally indulge and LOVE this crazy Michael Scott type stuff.
Secret Santa gift #1 - Monday....
I recieved a small wrapped box labeled, small adhesive dot rolls. First thought was, "Cool!!! Someone really put some thought into this!" We were also decorating cubes, and my plan was to cover my entire cube with wrapping bows. I thought these "adhesive dots" were to help with the bow applicating. Wrong! I open the box and there's a little red bag with embroidery on it. "You've been naughty" Inside there was coal. Great gag gift. I loved it.
Secret Santa gift #2 - Tuesday...
$10 Starbucks card... I don't drink coffee.. but I've gotten a lot of hot chocolate.
Secret Santa gift #3 - Wednesday....
Lottery tickets. Everyone in the office knows I love to gamble, I frequent poker games when my running allows it. So I'm scratching and holy shit! I won $10,000. To be brief... I immediately started screaming... "Holy shit, holy shit, come check this out, did I really win, is this a winner." And my entire, yes entire office walks over, handing the card from person to person as I sit at my desk shaking, sweating and my mind racing. I immediately thought, "I can buy a tri bike for this Ironman, I can buy our Idaho tickets, I can buy, I can buy... I need to give my Secret Santa $2,000... over and over" One of my coworkers says, "Check it on the website." So I, in all the madness, pull up the website and see my ticket. I didn't, but thought I did. This went on for about 10 legitimate FULL minutes. My boss called.. and I say, "Matt, guess what... holy shit. Shut the fuck up, guess what???" I told him and he got just as excited as I did. He told me to take the rest of the day off. I replied that we had a meeting and I still had some things to finish and he said screw it, take the day off, leave, go redeem. And this is when I turn the card over and read in detail.
To redeem, please take this to Yo Mama's House. It was fake. Merry F-ing Christmas to me :)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wow...
I met this guy on myspace years ago. He commented on my page and I had totally forgot about him. Check out his website. http://www.fiddy2.org/ He ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise money. Can you imagine?? And he had only run 6 marathons in his entire life before he started this. That's right where I am :) No way in hell would I ever do this. How in the world does his body let him run marathons, week after week, after week???? He's got impressive times too....
Check out this cut and paste from his myspace page!
Extreme Runner - Motivational Speaker
• Invited to be the Charity Chaser for the 2008 Under Armour Baltimore Marathon on October 11th, 2008. I passed all but 99 runners (both marathon and relay) of a possible 5,887 participants raising nearly $12,000 for the United Way.
• Invited as a solo runner to MBC Hangang Marathon in Seoul, Korea on April 27, 2008. I made this marathon my 4th marathon in 13 days and posted a time of 2:56 in pouring rain.
• Ran the Boston Marathon course twice in one day on April 21, 2008, joining race director Dave McGillivray in running the course mere hours after completing the fabled race in a time of 3:01.
• Selected by Metro Sports DC as its Athlete of the Month for its July 2007 issue.
• Invited to the Dalian International Marathon in Dalian, China on June 17, 2007 by the Li-Ning running shoe company as its special guest.
• Chosen as the first person ever to be featured in a Road ID advertisement (July 2007 -Runner's World.)
• Frederick Marathon’s first ever "Charity Chaser" where I passed 1572 of a possible 1600 runners.
One of four runners chosen to represent The 50 States Marathon Club at the MBC Hangang Marathon in Seoul, Korea on April 29, 2007.
• Selected co-Male Runner of the Year by the Washington Running Club for 2006.• One of MarathonGuide.com’s Outstanding USA Marathoners of the Year – 2006.
• Only male member of Team Tiara, the charity running leg of Girls on the Run International for his work at the Shamrock Marathon in 2006
Check out this cut and paste from his myspace page!
Extreme Runner - Motivational Speaker
• Invited to be the Charity Chaser for the 2008 Under Armour Baltimore Marathon on October 11th, 2008. I passed all but 99 runners (both marathon and relay) of a possible 5,887 participants raising nearly $12,000 for the United Way.
• Invited as a solo runner to MBC Hangang Marathon in Seoul, Korea on April 27, 2008. I made this marathon my 4th marathon in 13 days and posted a time of 2:56 in pouring rain.
• Ran the Boston Marathon course twice in one day on April 21, 2008, joining race director Dave McGillivray in running the course mere hours after completing the fabled race in a time of 3:01.
• Selected by Metro Sports DC as its Athlete of the Month for its July 2007 issue.
• Invited to the Dalian International Marathon in Dalian, China on June 17, 2007 by the Li-Ning running shoe company as its special guest.
• Chosen as the first person ever to be featured in a Road ID advertisement (July 2007 -Runner's World.)
• Frederick Marathon’s first ever "Charity Chaser" where I passed 1572 of a possible 1600 runners.
One of four runners chosen to represent The 50 States Marathon Club at the MBC Hangang Marathon in Seoul, Korea on April 29, 2007.
• Selected co-Male Runner of the Year by the Washington Running Club for 2006.• One of MarathonGuide.com’s Outstanding USA Marathoners of the Year – 2006.
• Only male member of Team Tiara, the charity running leg of Girls on the Run International for his work at the Shamrock Marathon in 2006
Monday, December 15, 2008
Fun race!! Great pics
What in the world was I doing?? :) I love it.. on pace, off pace, i was having the time of my life! Thanks Mr. Nedra for the great shots :)
And if you think these are goofy, you should see my race pics. www.sportphoto.com bib #4219... I wish these damn things weren't so expensive, I'd buy some.
Trail run/T3 signup
Sunday, Adrian and I took the boys to St. Edwards park to switch things up. I ran up ahead, then would back track back and so on. With MULTIPLE breaks, I timed 30 minutes of running. This was all within an hour, so I probably ran 5 minutes, rested 5 minutes type of thing. I really missed the trails, looking forward to getting back to that.
Next week, I'm going to bite the bullet and start filling out my paperwork to start T3 training. Dee and I ran into Ruth this weekend at the Jingle Bell 5k and she mentioned running Austin as a bad idea. So I think I'm going to go back to my original decision and just pace a friend in. I'm planning on getting back on my bike this week and start that up. Ugh.. I'm still dreading it, not looking forward to switching from running to tri stuff, but I need to get dedicated. Ironman, here I come.. woo hoo. BLAH! I'm going to start Meredith's weight loss program, get my nutrition where it needs to be. Hopefully, I'll lose a good 10-15 pounds to get me to where I need to be.
Here's for trying to get re-motivated... Day one.. and I already miss Team Rogue.
Next week, I'm going to bite the bullet and start filling out my paperwork to start T3 training. Dee and I ran into Ruth this weekend at the Jingle Bell 5k and she mentioned running Austin as a bad idea. So I think I'm going to go back to my original decision and just pace a friend in. I'm planning on getting back on my bike this week and start that up. Ugh.. I'm still dreading it, not looking forward to switching from running to tri stuff, but I need to get dedicated. Ironman, here I come.. woo hoo. BLAH! I'm going to start Meredith's weight loss program, get my nutrition where it needs to be. Hopefully, I'll lose a good 10-15 pounds to get me to where I need to be.
Here's for trying to get re-motivated... Day one.. and I already miss Team Rogue.
First Run Back - Yeouch!!
When: Saturday, Dec 13 - 6 days after marathon
Time: 8:30am
Where: Dr. Z's office on Anderson Lane
People: Dee and I
Comments: Wow... the entire season I have had on and off again tweaks with both of my calves and my right hip. Saturday morning, my right hamstring was super sore. I felt this directly after the marathon, the day after the marathon and so on. I just chalked it up to the marathon. I'm always sore, and I'm always that runner that is gimping around for a few days after the marathon. This time it was my fault. I got lazy and with all the commotion of having my running bud in the medical tent, by the time we got back to the hotel, I was just too cold to withstand an ice bath. I didn't do recovery either, big no no.
Anyways, we started off and my legs felt heavy, but towards the middle, I was toast. I felt wiped out, heavy legs, no energy, and my heart was racing and my breathing was erratic. Dee seemed to be feeling much better and I tried to run faster for her sake, but the wheels just weren't moving. We ran over to NW Park and saw Kristen and Sisson running. I made a mental note... she's 4 weeks out from her SA marathon, so worst case, it should take 4 weeks to get the feeling back. Half way through my right hamstring actually hurt so I stopped to stretch and slow things down. It irritated me the rest of the run.
We ended up with 6.5 miles, not too bad, and we were only out there an hour, hour and a half, so our pace wasn't toooo incredibly slow, but it was slow.
Time: 8:30am
Where: Dr. Z's office on Anderson Lane
People: Dee and I
Comments: Wow... the entire season I have had on and off again tweaks with both of my calves and my right hip. Saturday morning, my right hamstring was super sore. I felt this directly after the marathon, the day after the marathon and so on. I just chalked it up to the marathon. I'm always sore, and I'm always that runner that is gimping around for a few days after the marathon. This time it was my fault. I got lazy and with all the commotion of having my running bud in the medical tent, by the time we got back to the hotel, I was just too cold to withstand an ice bath. I didn't do recovery either, big no no.
Anyways, we started off and my legs felt heavy, but towards the middle, I was toast. I felt wiped out, heavy legs, no energy, and my heart was racing and my breathing was erratic. Dee seemed to be feeling much better and I tried to run faster for her sake, but the wheels just weren't moving. We ran over to NW Park and saw Kristen and Sisson running. I made a mental note... she's 4 weeks out from her SA marathon, so worst case, it should take 4 weeks to get the feeling back. Half way through my right hamstring actually hurt so I stopped to stretch and slow things down. It irritated me the rest of the run.
We ended up with 6.5 miles, not too bad, and we were only out there an hour, hour and a half, so our pace wasn't toooo incredibly slow, but it was slow.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Need Gu?
I keep my Gu in my running bra :) Here's proof... works well. No need to worry about pins, nothing flopping around at your waste band, no chafing on your side (although there has been chafing when only wearing one bra, two bras are necessary to prevent this), I never forget where it is, and it keeps it warm.
I should patent this idea and become a millionaire. This idea also works for triathlons. Why reach around to your back, when you can have it available up front :)
My marathon pic
Seems like this is the cool thing to do. Fellow bloggers have a picture, so I thought I'd copy. If anyone knows me, they know I'm a follower. Sisson actually told me during office hours a couple weeks ago that I have a severe case of FOMO. Fear of Missing Out. Most definitely. I've read it on Erin's blog, but never really thought of it. So here's my picture of my medal. It's next to the gynormous list of things I learned, things I need to do on my next marathon, things I did right, and my times from my Garmin, and my pace band. Now I fit in :)
Friends Forever
Well, I'm not going to lie, going into this trip, I had some doubts that we'd all still be friends when the trip was over :) HAAA!!! NOT! These two girls are by far the greatest gals in all the world. Lori's got the full blown truth factor. You don't ever have to worry about her not telling you what she thinks, whether it be my choice in men, my running, or as simple as my fashionable wardrobe. Dee on the other hand, has been the ears for me this past year. Run after run after run, she's heard me cry and miss Adrian when we were apart. She's heard all of my stories of my dysfunctional family. She's been the voice of reason when things didn't go my way when it comes to men, relationships, friendships and other random things. These two women are the best. I was at my last job for almost 10 years, and I was too scared to leave. Too scared to see what was out there, too scared that I might fail, but the moment I said I was ready, they were with pen in hand to help me with my resume, give me advice on interviewing skills, and opinions on job offerings. It's funny, I had only been with my new employer for 6 months when the producer I was working for decided to move. In the insurance industry, and with his contract, he was able to take one employee with him. Having only been there for 6 months, he chose me and I'm forever grateful to have had Lori and Dee to lean on. They were a huge part in me getting the job I love and have today. My boss and I joke around alot and one day, we discussed my hiring.. and he said the one thing that stood out and topped it off for him was the thank you card I sent. Not sure which one told me to do this, but it sealed the deal on me getting the job vs. other candidates.
It's very rare that you come across friends like this and I'm forever grateful. I know friends come and go, but in my heart I know these fools will be a part of my life forever. They've made me want to become a better person in all aspects of my life. They've taught me that settling isn't an option and I deserve more in life. More from my job, more from the man I decide to share my life with, more from my coach, more from running, more from friends, and life in general.
Thank you, fools. I can't imagine my life without you crazy crackheads. And thank you Rogue for bringing them to me :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Final Results
Chip time: 4:05:34
Bib 4219
Division: age group 171/355
Overall: 2848
Overall pace: 9:24
13.1 time: 1:59:30
Sex rank: 901
23 minute PR!!!! Hell yeah!!!!!!
Bib 4219
Division: age group 171/355
Overall: 2848
Overall pace: 9:24
13.1 time: 1:59:30
Sex rank: 901
23 minute PR!!!! Hell yeah!!!!!!
CIM Marathon Race Report - Race of my life...
I had the race of my life and I learned some valuable, valuable lessons in the meantime. The journey from when Team Rogue started to now has made me a better person in the process along with a better runner. More on this later.
Race report: We (Dee, Steve, Lori, and myself) all got into California on Friday afternoon. We made it over to the expo, to a drug/grocery store, and to a nice dinner on Friday night. Saturday, we spent it going to the start to drop off Steve, Lori, Leslie and Jimmy for their 13 mile long run as Dee and I drove the course and aided as water stops. Went to the Team meeting and it was off to relax. Dee, Lori, and I went to Macy's in search for better clothing attire. I admit I'm not fashionable in my wardrobe, but they were determined to get me in some nice jeans. Made it back to the hotel and we relaxed for the rest of the evening. Crucial mistake, but not regretting it, I switched my Garmin from four screens with Time, Pace, Avg Pace, and Distance to only two screens. Time/Avg Pace. I also planned to wear a regular stop watch on my right hand for fear of my Garmin dying, it had done this in past Soulbusters, so wanted a backup. I was planning on wearing my 3:56 pace band on my left arm, and 4:00 on my right.
Race morning: I woke up at 1:30 and it was impossible to go back asleep. I tossed and turned, trying to not to wake Lori, and then around 2:00am all I heard was, "Fool..." and I felt giggly. Dee was wide awake too. We scurried out to the hallway as I ate my muffin with peanut butter, then we decided to go back to attempt to rest. Dee went back to sleep, and I started playing an iPhone game that Lori showed me and beat her record high :) Around 3:00 I decided to try again. I fell asleep, but quickly awoke without the alarm at 3:45am. We started getting dressed and ready to go. I miraculously took a poop :) TMI, I know.. but the ones that know me, know that this is a huge issue for me. I was delighted that it happened.
Met in the lobby, got teary eyed hearing Sisson speak. I just kept repeating and going over with Dee... stay on pace till 19, effort, relax uphills, don't push on the downhills, DON'T RUN 15-19 FASTER THAN MGP, let it go at 19, charge 21 bridge, yell "is that all you've got?" take it home... count the streets down. I repeated this over and over and over and over. Stay focused. This is my race. This is my day. I've done the hardwork. This is SoulBuster 4, time to make it happen. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. The bus ride over was the same thing. Just kept repeating, checking in with Dee here and there, but for the most part the Rogue members on the bus were quiet. Katie, Jon, Brenda, Mike, Clemmie, and Andrea were all on my bus. I was so relaxed, that I think I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes. We got to the start, and the nerves kicked in. Clemmie and Andrea went to the potties. Then Dee. Then they all came back. We waited till 6:30 to venture out. It got there in no time.
6:30, we head off the bus, hit the portopotties with NO lines :) I took another small poop, yay me... and Dee and I went to the start. We found the 4:00 pacer and Dee introduced herself and we just stood there. "Can you believe we're here???" I went over the same race strategy, repeated it one last time. Gave Dee and big huge hug, told her I believed in her, this was our day and I loved her. Then I stood there... hahahaha. She said, "FOOL!" and I said, "What??" She said go get up there. I was going to run 9:00's till 19 which is a 3:56, then take it home at 19. So I thought for a millisecond, "I can stand by you if I want!!' and she gave me that look and I knew. I knew if I started with her, I wouldn't want to leave so I proceeded up further. I was no in back of the 3:50 and in front of the 4:00. Star Spangled Banner played and I teared up. I kept thinking... "this is my race, this is my race, this is my day, stay focused..." Race started...
Mile 1, Garmin clocked an 8:57. Immediate thought, holy shit, I'm doing it. Teared up, and remembered not to waste emotional energy, stay focused.
Miles 2-3, 8:54, 9:01. Garmin showed average pace of 8:57, but when I got to the mile markers, the pace was right at 9:00. I did a quick thinking and I can't go by my Garmin, chip time will be official, so I made a mental note that the Garmin was 3 seconds off per mile. Saw Ruth and Steve, got a high five from Steve and yelled out, "I'm on pace, motherf-er!!' Smiled and was on my way.
Mile 4) 8:56
5) 8:55
6) 9:05
7) 9:02
8) 9:05
9) 9:04
10) 8:49
Miles were clicking away. My 3:56 pace band was even splits, so it was easy AT FIRST to calculate how fast or how slow I was by my watch at each mile. I remember being a few seconds too fast, then slowly, 10 seconds too slow, 15 seconds, 32 seconds. The miles were going, my legs felt great. The hills I remember conscienceously saying "Effort, relaxed, it's ok." Then on the downhills, I would just relax and let it go. No intentional effort to make up time, just let gravity take it. I was on pace. I was doing it. This was my day. Over and over, I was talking to myself, outloud, I didn't care. I'm doing this. I'm doing this.
11) 8:57
12) 9:12
13) 8:56
14) 9:03
15) 9:05
I was there, up to mile 15. I just kept clicking them away. This was an advanatage to not having my pace on my Garmin... I was going by feel. My race was happening. I had a quick reminiscence of Austin 2007. I fell apart at 13 and here I was at 15 and felt on fire. Legs felt great, quads felt used, but overall I was feeling awesome!! My mistake and freak out came at mile 16. Mental note, and verbally, DON'T RUN THESE NEXT FEW MILES FAST, DON'T RUN THESE NEXT FEW MILES FAST!!! Sisson said he's not responsible if I run these fast... I saw the downhill, got tempted and just ran. Mile 16 was 9:15, but I didn't know my splits, so I kept running.
I got to mile 17 and misread my f-ing, damn watch. I was supposed to be at
2:33:01 and at the 17 mile marker I read 2:32 and FREAKED OUT. I thought I had just run an 8:00 instead of a 9:00 min mile and put on the brakes. I panicked. I didn't have my pace on my Garmin, so I had no clue. I wasted too much energy freaking out and slowing down. Instead I should have gone by my feel, because I was fine.
17) 9:33
18) 9:30
19) 9:41 (one of these miles, I yes... took a crap in someones front yard. Only a 20 second poop. It was fast, but it was necessary. Perpetuem that I had taken for the last two long runs, was messing with my stomach, so I ditched it.)
I was (now looking at my splits) 1:24 too slow for a 3:56, but in my mind, I was so discombobbled that I switched to my right arm. I started using my 4:00 paces, but forgot to switch the mentality about my 3:56. From here on, I was REALLY slower than I was mentally thinking. Every time I thought I was 1, 2, 3 minutes slower I thought I was still under 4:00, but I was slowly creeping up and it was slipping away, but i had no idea. I didn't know my paces at each mile, and i was too confused to do the math.
20) 9:18, this pickup was the start of my retarded running. I felt that I was negative splitting. In my mind, I was running 8:30's, 8:00's. I thought I was running the race Steve prescribed. In my mind, I was on fire. The pickup now that I see was my too slow miles from freaking out thinking I was running too fast from 9:41 to 9:18. In my mind, I was running 9:00 to 8:30.
I saw Steve and Ruth, and Ruth said I was still on course for 4:00 and I remember thinking, 'Yeah.. I'm WAY ahead!" She ran by me for a few seconds, gave me some hints and was on my way. I was confused on my paces, but looking back, I'm glad that I was on the reverse end of it. I'm glad that I ran these next miles happy and thinking I was flying rather than reverse. I wasn't bonking in past marathons. My legs were tired, but I wasn't dying. I didn't have the Austin 2008 shuffle. Dee did New Orleans so she ran me in from 20-26, and I was barely moving back then. My breath was short, my legs were gone, and I was shuffling. Not today. My legs were turning over and in my mind I was crusing.
Not so much, looking at my splits, but I've come a long way from past marathons where the last miles were always in the 11:00's, and 12:00's, and even 13:00's trying to hang on.
21) 9:48
22) 9:57
23) 9:39
24) 9:55
25) 9:48
Here is where I realized that I was off. My watch said 3:55:17. It's wierd how I remember the exact split, but there it was. Another mass confusion on my part. "What the fuck??" I should be at the finish, is this right?? I even looked back to make sure the mile marker said 25 and not 26. I should be crossing now??? What happened?? And it dawned on me... I was using the 4:00, not the 3:56. They saying running is mental and boy is it ever. The minute I noticed this, I literally gave up for about 10-15 seconds. I just kept going over and over, "What happened?? Did this mean I was on pace earlier, what were my paces just a minute ago, how did I let this happen?" I did the number one thing Steve said not to do. I fell asleep. I fell asleep from miles 20-25. I was dead asleep. In my mind, I THOUGHT I was running faster. I wasn't checking my times and being anal like I was in the beginning and this is where I left my race. The miles when I saw Lori's ass (thank you very much) the miles when I screamed "Is that all you've got" were all asleep. I was in my own little lala land and I fell asleep. At mile 25, I actually stopped and walked through a water stop, still just going over and over and over trying to figure out where I screwed up, then I remembered past marathons. I can't give up, I can still do this. I also thought, if I'm on pace for over a 4:00, where's Dee?? I finished my last mile, Sisson appeared out of nowhere and said, "Let's go, let's go, let's go..." and I picked it up. Two seconds later, I see this bobbling red 4:05, and I told the guy ahead of me, "Oh hell no!" We can't let him pass us, goooo, I'll follow! We can't let him pass, I can't go out like this. The moment I picked it up, I noticed... Wow. This feels good. I could have been running faster, what happened. So I surged to the end. My watch showed 4:05 something, and I was done. I sat on the curb to take my chip off, and then I started looking for Dee. She had to have been right on my ass.
There she was after the turn, but she was leaning BACKWARDS and as far right as her body would let her. Her eyes were big and she was OUT of it. I screamed, and she was moving. Her feet were going, and as she passed the finish line, she collapsed. I was there within 5 seconds. I was terrified and freaked out. She had red coming from everywhere on her mouth, teeth, tongue, lips. People were screaming for medics, and I yelled, "Help!" The medics got there and I told them she was bleeding. What's wrong, why's she bleeding?? Her eyes were as big as I don't know?? I just kept telling her, "I'm here, I love you, you're ok, I'm here." And all she kept saying was, "I tried to straighten up, I tried to straighten up." We got her from the finish to the street away from the finishers then to the grass, then to a wheelchair. Long story short, and I'm sure she'll tell her side in her blog. She was at a core temperature of 88, she was dehydrated and freaked out. Within 5 minutes, Lori was there. Then Ruth, then Trevor. 30-45 minutes and warmed up, we were all giggling and she was better. 3 cups of hot chicken broth, 5 blankets, lots of love, and she gave it her all.
Through all of this, I learned great things. I've grown as a person, I've started doing things I want to do. I started thinking for me. I switched coaches midway and did it for me, for reasons I wanted and it paid great dividends. I became closer to the friends that I always knew would be there for me and I've made several new friends I never thought I'd ever think. Before Team Rogue I had the stereo type that the fast runners were stuck up, now I know they're just like us slower runners. We all have the same issues, we are all battling the same things. We all want to better runners. I'd like to thank Karen for being the coach that got me to drink the Kool-Aid, for Ruth and Steve that made me think that nothing was too far out of my reach. For Meredith for trying to get me where I needed to be nutritionally, and boy do I have a ton of work to do. For Dee, she was my strength. We did everything together and CIM was all about us starting something together and ending something together. Lori, this race would have had a different outcome if she had not been there. Dee's husband Steve for putting up with us. For my Adrian for coming back into my life. I had gone full circle in this Team Rogue training. I've gone leaps and bounds in my life and it couldn't have been done without everyone's part. To all the fasties for all those 20 mile runs of having you guys pass me shirtless, and letting me act a fool. To Mike, to Larry, Ken, Bruce, Tausha, Kristen, Clemmie, Andrea, the Northies - Ash, Heidi, Andi, Andy, Brian, Josh, all you fools, Mae, James, etc., to Tim, Mandi... to all the people I thought before would never speak to a "slow" runner. I'm truly blessed to call you my friends.
I'm a Rogue forever.
Race report: We (Dee, Steve, Lori, and myself) all got into California on Friday afternoon. We made it over to the expo, to a drug/grocery store, and to a nice dinner on Friday night. Saturday, we spent it going to the start to drop off Steve, Lori, Leslie and Jimmy for their 13 mile long run as Dee and I drove the course and aided as water stops. Went to the Team meeting and it was off to relax. Dee, Lori, and I went to Macy's in search for better clothing attire. I admit I'm not fashionable in my wardrobe, but they were determined to get me in some nice jeans. Made it back to the hotel and we relaxed for the rest of the evening. Crucial mistake, but not regretting it, I switched my Garmin from four screens with Time, Pace, Avg Pace, and Distance to only two screens. Time/Avg Pace. I also planned to wear a regular stop watch on my right hand for fear of my Garmin dying, it had done this in past Soulbusters, so wanted a backup. I was planning on wearing my 3:56 pace band on my left arm, and 4:00 on my right.
Race morning: I woke up at 1:30 and it was impossible to go back asleep. I tossed and turned, trying to not to wake Lori, and then around 2:00am all I heard was, "Fool..." and I felt giggly. Dee was wide awake too. We scurried out to the hallway as I ate my muffin with peanut butter, then we decided to go back to attempt to rest. Dee went back to sleep, and I started playing an iPhone game that Lori showed me and beat her record high :) Around 3:00 I decided to try again. I fell asleep, but quickly awoke without the alarm at 3:45am. We started getting dressed and ready to go. I miraculously took a poop :) TMI, I know.. but the ones that know me, know that this is a huge issue for me. I was delighted that it happened.
Met in the lobby, got teary eyed hearing Sisson speak. I just kept repeating and going over with Dee... stay on pace till 19, effort, relax uphills, don't push on the downhills, DON'T RUN 15-19 FASTER THAN MGP, let it go at 19, charge 21 bridge, yell "is that all you've got?" take it home... count the streets down. I repeated this over and over and over and over. Stay focused. This is my race. This is my day. I've done the hardwork. This is SoulBuster 4, time to make it happen. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. The bus ride over was the same thing. Just kept repeating, checking in with Dee here and there, but for the most part the Rogue members on the bus were quiet. Katie, Jon, Brenda, Mike, Clemmie, and Andrea were all on my bus. I was so relaxed, that I think I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes. We got to the start, and the nerves kicked in. Clemmie and Andrea went to the potties. Then Dee. Then they all came back. We waited till 6:30 to venture out. It got there in no time.
6:30, we head off the bus, hit the portopotties with NO lines :) I took another small poop, yay me... and Dee and I went to the start. We found the 4:00 pacer and Dee introduced herself and we just stood there. "Can you believe we're here???" I went over the same race strategy, repeated it one last time. Gave Dee and big huge hug, told her I believed in her, this was our day and I loved her. Then I stood there... hahahaha. She said, "FOOL!" and I said, "What??" She said go get up there. I was going to run 9:00's till 19 which is a 3:56, then take it home at 19. So I thought for a millisecond, "I can stand by you if I want!!' and she gave me that look and I knew. I knew if I started with her, I wouldn't want to leave so I proceeded up further. I was no in back of the 3:50 and in front of the 4:00. Star Spangled Banner played and I teared up. I kept thinking... "this is my race, this is my race, this is my day, stay focused..." Race started...
Mile 1, Garmin clocked an 8:57. Immediate thought, holy shit, I'm doing it. Teared up, and remembered not to waste emotional energy, stay focused.
Miles 2-3, 8:54, 9:01. Garmin showed average pace of 8:57, but when I got to the mile markers, the pace was right at 9:00. I did a quick thinking and I can't go by my Garmin, chip time will be official, so I made a mental note that the Garmin was 3 seconds off per mile. Saw Ruth and Steve, got a high five from Steve and yelled out, "I'm on pace, motherf-er!!' Smiled and was on my way.
Mile 4) 8:56
5) 8:55
6) 9:05
7) 9:02
8) 9:05
9) 9:04
10) 8:49
Miles were clicking away. My 3:56 pace band was even splits, so it was easy AT FIRST to calculate how fast or how slow I was by my watch at each mile. I remember being a few seconds too fast, then slowly, 10 seconds too slow, 15 seconds, 32 seconds. The miles were going, my legs felt great. The hills I remember conscienceously saying "Effort, relaxed, it's ok." Then on the downhills, I would just relax and let it go. No intentional effort to make up time, just let gravity take it. I was on pace. I was doing it. This was my day. Over and over, I was talking to myself, outloud, I didn't care. I'm doing this. I'm doing this.
11) 8:57
12) 9:12
13) 8:56
14) 9:03
15) 9:05
I was there, up to mile 15. I just kept clicking them away. This was an advanatage to not having my pace on my Garmin... I was going by feel. My race was happening. I had a quick reminiscence of Austin 2007. I fell apart at 13 and here I was at 15 and felt on fire. Legs felt great, quads felt used, but overall I was feeling awesome!! My mistake and freak out came at mile 16. Mental note, and verbally, DON'T RUN THESE NEXT FEW MILES FAST, DON'T RUN THESE NEXT FEW MILES FAST!!! Sisson said he's not responsible if I run these fast... I saw the downhill, got tempted and just ran. Mile 16 was 9:15, but I didn't know my splits, so I kept running.
I got to mile 17 and misread my f-ing, damn watch. I was supposed to be at
2:33:01 and at the 17 mile marker I read 2:32 and FREAKED OUT. I thought I had just run an 8:00 instead of a 9:00 min mile and put on the brakes. I panicked. I didn't have my pace on my Garmin, so I had no clue. I wasted too much energy freaking out and slowing down. Instead I should have gone by my feel, because I was fine.
17) 9:33
18) 9:30
19) 9:41 (one of these miles, I yes... took a crap in someones front yard. Only a 20 second poop. It was fast, but it was necessary. Perpetuem that I had taken for the last two long runs, was messing with my stomach, so I ditched it.)
I was (now looking at my splits) 1:24 too slow for a 3:56, but in my mind, I was so discombobbled that I switched to my right arm. I started using my 4:00 paces, but forgot to switch the mentality about my 3:56. From here on, I was REALLY slower than I was mentally thinking. Every time I thought I was 1, 2, 3 minutes slower I thought I was still under 4:00, but I was slowly creeping up and it was slipping away, but i had no idea. I didn't know my paces at each mile, and i was too confused to do the math.
20) 9:18, this pickup was the start of my retarded running. I felt that I was negative splitting. In my mind, I was running 8:30's, 8:00's. I thought I was running the race Steve prescribed. In my mind, I was on fire. The pickup now that I see was my too slow miles from freaking out thinking I was running too fast from 9:41 to 9:18. In my mind, I was running 9:00 to 8:30.
I saw Steve and Ruth, and Ruth said I was still on course for 4:00 and I remember thinking, 'Yeah.. I'm WAY ahead!" She ran by me for a few seconds, gave me some hints and was on my way. I was confused on my paces, but looking back, I'm glad that I was on the reverse end of it. I'm glad that I ran these next miles happy and thinking I was flying rather than reverse. I wasn't bonking in past marathons. My legs were tired, but I wasn't dying. I didn't have the Austin 2008 shuffle. Dee did New Orleans so she ran me in from 20-26, and I was barely moving back then. My breath was short, my legs were gone, and I was shuffling. Not today. My legs were turning over and in my mind I was crusing.
Not so much, looking at my splits, but I've come a long way from past marathons where the last miles were always in the 11:00's, and 12:00's, and even 13:00's trying to hang on.
21) 9:48
22) 9:57
23) 9:39
24) 9:55
25) 9:48
Here is where I realized that I was off. My watch said 3:55:17. It's wierd how I remember the exact split, but there it was. Another mass confusion on my part. "What the fuck??" I should be at the finish, is this right?? I even looked back to make sure the mile marker said 25 and not 26. I should be crossing now??? What happened?? And it dawned on me... I was using the 4:00, not the 3:56. They saying running is mental and boy is it ever. The minute I noticed this, I literally gave up for about 10-15 seconds. I just kept going over and over, "What happened?? Did this mean I was on pace earlier, what were my paces just a minute ago, how did I let this happen?" I did the number one thing Steve said not to do. I fell asleep. I fell asleep from miles 20-25. I was dead asleep. In my mind, I THOUGHT I was running faster. I wasn't checking my times and being anal like I was in the beginning and this is where I left my race. The miles when I saw Lori's ass (thank you very much) the miles when I screamed "Is that all you've got" were all asleep. I was in my own little lala land and I fell asleep. At mile 25, I actually stopped and walked through a water stop, still just going over and over and over trying to figure out where I screwed up, then I remembered past marathons. I can't give up, I can still do this. I also thought, if I'm on pace for over a 4:00, where's Dee?? I finished my last mile, Sisson appeared out of nowhere and said, "Let's go, let's go, let's go..." and I picked it up. Two seconds later, I see this bobbling red 4:05, and I told the guy ahead of me, "Oh hell no!" We can't let him pass us, goooo, I'll follow! We can't let him pass, I can't go out like this. The moment I picked it up, I noticed... Wow. This feels good. I could have been running faster, what happened. So I surged to the end. My watch showed 4:05 something, and I was done. I sat on the curb to take my chip off, and then I started looking for Dee. She had to have been right on my ass.
There she was after the turn, but she was leaning BACKWARDS and as far right as her body would let her. Her eyes were big and she was OUT of it. I screamed, and she was moving. Her feet were going, and as she passed the finish line, she collapsed. I was there within 5 seconds. I was terrified and freaked out. She had red coming from everywhere on her mouth, teeth, tongue, lips. People were screaming for medics, and I yelled, "Help!" The medics got there and I told them she was bleeding. What's wrong, why's she bleeding?? Her eyes were as big as I don't know?? I just kept telling her, "I'm here, I love you, you're ok, I'm here." And all she kept saying was, "I tried to straighten up, I tried to straighten up." We got her from the finish to the street away from the finishers then to the grass, then to a wheelchair. Long story short, and I'm sure she'll tell her side in her blog. She was at a core temperature of 88, she was dehydrated and freaked out. Within 5 minutes, Lori was there. Then Ruth, then Trevor. 30-45 minutes and warmed up, we were all giggling and she was better. 3 cups of hot chicken broth, 5 blankets, lots of love, and she gave it her all.
Through all of this, I learned great things. I've grown as a person, I've started doing things I want to do. I started thinking for me. I switched coaches midway and did it for me, for reasons I wanted and it paid great dividends. I became closer to the friends that I always knew would be there for me and I've made several new friends I never thought I'd ever think. Before Team Rogue I had the stereo type that the fast runners were stuck up, now I know they're just like us slower runners. We all have the same issues, we are all battling the same things. We all want to better runners. I'd like to thank Karen for being the coach that got me to drink the Kool-Aid, for Ruth and Steve that made me think that nothing was too far out of my reach. For Meredith for trying to get me where I needed to be nutritionally, and boy do I have a ton of work to do. For Dee, she was my strength. We did everything together and CIM was all about us starting something together and ending something together. Lori, this race would have had a different outcome if she had not been there. Dee's husband Steve for putting up with us. For my Adrian for coming back into my life. I had gone full circle in this Team Rogue training. I've gone leaps and bounds in my life and it couldn't have been done without everyone's part. To all the fasties for all those 20 mile runs of having you guys pass me shirtless, and letting me act a fool. To Mike, to Larry, Ken, Bruce, Tausha, Kristen, Clemmie, Andrea, the Northies - Ash, Heidi, Andi, Andy, Brian, Josh, all you fools, Mae, James, etc., to Tim, Mandi... to all the people I thought before would never speak to a "slow" runner. I'm truly blessed to call you my friends.
I'm a Rogue forever.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A little tempo solo :)
Well, I suck. If it's not a Saturday morning long run, the chances of me getting out of bed to get to Rogue at 5:30 are slim to none. I just can't get my fat-tard butt out of bed. I told Clemmie, Dee, and Ruth that I would do the Tuesday morning workout since we were all planning on going to Sisson's office hours.
I set my alarm for 4:30, snoozed it till 5:15am. Too late to get there. I got completely dressed to run, and made the mistake of looking at my Weatherbug on the computer. 38 degrees. Hell naw!! I packed my stuff, did some things around the house and did my run after work and was late to office hours.
Workout: warm up, then run 4 miles at MGP, cool down.
I parked on the trail and did the 7 mile loop from Mopac to 35. The warm up felt good, but I automatically start freaking out at the effort level for a 10:00 min mile, wondering how running 1:00 minute per mile. Then I start getting competitive about who's passing me on the trails. Things run through my mind like, "she's fat, she shouldn't be passing me", "look at her form, she sucks, why's she passing me." AND THEN as I was getting onto the 35 bridge there was this asian chick behind me that looked like she was crawling!! I thought to myself, "I've got her beat!" then two minutes later she's passing me!! Just goes to show, I'm an idiot and all kinds of people can run fast. I would just rather assume that you have to look like our Fasties look in Team Rogue or our Mandi in Ruth's group. Super cut, slim, no body fat. Just goes to show that I can't judge the book by it's cover.
After the asian chick passed me, my Garmin beeped and it was time to go for MGP for 4 miles. Effort felt hard for the first 2 miles, but the last two felt like gold. Every time I looked at my Garmin it showed I was running faster (MGP 9:00) like 8:35, 8:47, but I ignored it thinking it was my run today solo. After checking my splits, I've realized I'm not looking at my Garmin but every 3 miles as Sisson prescribed.
1) 9:52
2) 9:44
3) 8:57
4) 8:59
5) 8:59
6) 8:55
7) 10:33
Not too shabby :) Good confidence booster. I did find myself slipping into, maybe I should just go for 3:50, but now I see that my 9:00 mile will be perfect till mile 18-20 and then I'm going balls to the wall chasing to see if I can get to under 3:55. I just can't wait. 9:00 even mile, puts me at 3:56. I know 150% positive that I can get to mile 18-20. I think I will have some ups and downs mentally, but I know in my heart if I just tell the negative thoughts to STFU, that this is MY race, then I can and will do it!!! After that, I'm going to imagine myself on the track for SoulBuster II. I thought I was dying on those last 4 miles, but with a couple cheers from Sisson, I dug and I got there. I left it on the track and I'm going to leave in out in California. This is my race. My goal and my game is going to see how much I can shave off 3:56 in the last miles. If I can dig out 8:30s for the last 6.2, that's a good 3 minutes, which puts me at 3:53. I'm going to dig. It would be a miracle to run 8:00's and hit my original, "I think this goal is too much, but I'm going to train for it, but now I'm too scared" goal of 3:50. So here are my goals on paper...
A goal: 3:56
B goal: sub 4:00
C Goal: PR from 4:28
what's before A??
Z goal: sub 3:55
Y goal: sub 3:53
X dream, holy shit, I'd crap my pants goal: 3:49:59
I set my alarm for 4:30, snoozed it till 5:15am. Too late to get there. I got completely dressed to run, and made the mistake of looking at my Weatherbug on the computer. 38 degrees. Hell naw!! I packed my stuff, did some things around the house and did my run after work and was late to office hours.
Workout: warm up, then run 4 miles at MGP, cool down.
I parked on the trail and did the 7 mile loop from Mopac to 35. The warm up felt good, but I automatically start freaking out at the effort level for a 10:00 min mile, wondering how running 1:00 minute per mile. Then I start getting competitive about who's passing me on the trails. Things run through my mind like, "she's fat, she shouldn't be passing me", "look at her form, she sucks, why's she passing me." AND THEN as I was getting onto the 35 bridge there was this asian chick behind me that looked like she was crawling!! I thought to myself, "I've got her beat!" then two minutes later she's passing me!! Just goes to show, I'm an idiot and all kinds of people can run fast. I would just rather assume that you have to look like our Fasties look in Team Rogue or our Mandi in Ruth's group. Super cut, slim, no body fat. Just goes to show that I can't judge the book by it's cover.
After the asian chick passed me, my Garmin beeped and it was time to go for MGP for 4 miles. Effort felt hard for the first 2 miles, but the last two felt like gold. Every time I looked at my Garmin it showed I was running faster (MGP 9:00) like 8:35, 8:47, but I ignored it thinking it was my run today solo. After checking my splits, I've realized I'm not looking at my Garmin but every 3 miles as Sisson prescribed.
1) 9:52
2) 9:44
3) 8:57
4) 8:59
5) 8:59
6) 8:55
7) 10:33
Not too shabby :) Good confidence booster. I did find myself slipping into, maybe I should just go for 3:50, but now I see that my 9:00 mile will be perfect till mile 18-20 and then I'm going balls to the wall chasing to see if I can get to under 3:55. I just can't wait. 9:00 even mile, puts me at 3:56. I know 150% positive that I can get to mile 18-20. I think I will have some ups and downs mentally, but I know in my heart if I just tell the negative thoughts to STFU, that this is MY race, then I can and will do it!!! After that, I'm going to imagine myself on the track for SoulBuster II. I thought I was dying on those last 4 miles, but with a couple cheers from Sisson, I dug and I got there. I left it on the track and I'm going to leave in out in California. This is my race. My goal and my game is going to see how much I can shave off 3:56 in the last miles. If I can dig out 8:30s for the last 6.2, that's a good 3 minutes, which puts me at 3:53. I'm going to dig. It would be a miracle to run 8:00's and hit my original, "I think this goal is too much, but I'm going to train for it, but now I'm too scared" goal of 3:50. So here are my goals on paper...
A goal: 3:56
B goal: sub 4:00
C Goal: PR from 4:28
what's before A??
Z goal: sub 3:55
Y goal: sub 3:53
X dream, holy shit, I'd crap my pants goal: 3:49:59
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
1.5 hours of driving to work
Just needed to vent. It took me 1.5 hours to get to work this morning. 30 minutes of was sitting on Cesar Chavez. Lights were turning green and cars weren't moving. Cars were getting stuck in the middle of intersections, people were irritated and all I could do was play with my iPhone. Imagine all the money and time we would save if all companies would just let us work from home!!!!! I'm envious of my friends that have this luxury. I've been up since 5:30am, and it's now 8:40am... think of all the work I could have done in three hours.
Still need to run, woke up too late to make it down south. Got completely dressed, shoes on and tied, but couldn't take the step outside. Instead started doing laundry, vaccumed, and did other non-running things. I'll have to run after work, and be late to Office Hours...
Still need to run, woke up too late to make it down south. Got completely dressed, shoes on and tied, but couldn't take the step outside. Instead started doing laundry, vaccumed, and did other non-running things. I'll have to run after work, and be late to Office Hours...
Monday, December 1, 2008
Weekend full of tapering
Friday, I worked half a day. Surprised Adrian with tickets to Cirque Dreams. We got all dressed up in Austin wardrobe.. jeans and comfy shirts, had a ubber fancy dinner at Souper Salads, then ventured to the show. Pretty amazing acrobats. My favorite were the two balancing guys. Have no clue how they balance on some of the things they did.
Saturday, I only ran 10. Taper madness in full effect. I've become super paranoid. Around mile 8-9, my calf felt tight and ouchy. I cut the run short and only did 10. Adrian went for a 3.5 hour bike ride with a buddy. While I was showering after my run, he doused me with a big ole cup of cold water. While he showered, I got him back. Hilarious times :) These are the moments I missed so much when we weren't together. We're big into practical jokes, and what's better than seeing the one you love covered in soap and gasping for air as you splash ice cold water. Two weeks ago, after a 20+ miler, I was doing my ice bath and he came in and turned on the jets to the bathtub!!! I thought I was going to die!!! Good stuff.
Sunday, I laid around till around 2pm. Slept in. Ate more salad, wierd craving??? Watched a ton of goofy shows.
Monday, attempted to work. Really tried to work, but instead helped coordinate the rest of the dinner reservations for Friday. Last day of work is Wednesday and it can't get here soon enough.
I've quit stressing about the race. It's gonna happen and I need to just let it happen. Being female, I tend to overanaylze... I'm going to quit overanalyzing my race. Get to California and just let it happen, have a good time while doing it, remember to smile, and be grateful to have the legs underneath me to make something as magical as another marathon happen :)
Saturday, I only ran 10. Taper madness in full effect. I've become super paranoid. Around mile 8-9, my calf felt tight and ouchy. I cut the run short and only did 10. Adrian went for a 3.5 hour bike ride with a buddy. While I was showering after my run, he doused me with a big ole cup of cold water. While he showered, I got him back. Hilarious times :) These are the moments I missed so much when we weren't together. We're big into practical jokes, and what's better than seeing the one you love covered in soap and gasping for air as you splash ice cold water. Two weeks ago, after a 20+ miler, I was doing my ice bath and he came in and turned on the jets to the bathtub!!! I thought I was going to die!!! Good stuff.
Sunday, I laid around till around 2pm. Slept in. Ate more salad, wierd craving??? Watched a ton of goofy shows.
Monday, attempted to work. Really tried to work, but instead helped coordinate the rest of the dinner reservations for Friday. Last day of work is Wednesday and it can't get here soon enough.
I've quit stressing about the race. It's gonna happen and I need to just let it happen. Being female, I tend to overanaylze... I'm going to quit overanalyzing my race. Get to California and just let it happen, have a good time while doing it, remember to smile, and be grateful to have the legs underneath me to make something as magical as another marathon happen :)
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