derailment.

training has taken a serious derailment.

i have a vicious head cold. i am all hopped up on bootleg meds (not really bootleg, but i feel they aren't actually accomplishing anything aside from keeping me awake forever.) and can't run.

if i move too quickly i feel like my brain is coming out of my nose. you all are very welcome for that visual...

source

 this is what i feel like. all day.

my mornings are exceptionally boring because i am up at about 515, but have nothing to do. nothing, nothing. i don't have to be at work until 8 and i don't (can't) wash my hair (it hurts to flip my head over) these mornings, so it takes me approximately 5 minutes to get ready - 7 if i shower and 5 minutes to get to work. that's a total of 10 minutes. TEN.

by time i got to work this morning i had been awake for 2 hours and 45 minutes. some people can run a marathon in that time. i did nothing. unless you count blowing my nose and sniffling uncontrollably.

maybe tomorrow i will feel better. judging by how i feel right now, it's not promising.

big weekend.

this weekend was a blast.

an absolute blast.

friday night was tacky prom.

besides being 100 million degrees in the gym where it was held, it was super fun. hunch punch and everything. and good beer. quite the arrangement. i only had one of each and then called it a night.

saturday i drove to macon for the moonlight miles 5k. the race started at 9 and we took trolleys from the finish area to the park where we started.

the biggest hitch was the potty. my friend andrew and i ran this race together. he lives in macon and is the president of bragg jam or something silly. well we got to where the race was to start (yes he actually ran and didn't bail on me) and the bathrooms were locked.  it wasn't stage 10 of potty needing, but it was still an hour and a half before the race started. so i made him (whined enough) walk with me near Mercer University campus to find an acceptable place to pee. we were successful.

most of the race was downhill or flat, and my legs are completely trashed. the humidity was like swimming while running or as i like to say chewing air. BUT it was a success and i now have a new PR 22:31.

19 place overall, 3rd girl to finish, and 2nd in my age group.

i would post a picture of my finish time, but i can't figure out how to find the race results....

follow all that up by taking my swampy self to the bar. half price drinks with our bibs. nothing like being crammed in a bar with a bunch of people you just ran the race with and drinking. instafriends.

oh and friday i got to have one of these...

mmm. my favorite

absurd.

quick post as i am headed out the door for job #3. yes #3, and it's my first day, so i don't want to be late...even though schedules should revolve around me...i'm totally joking. sort of.

today is a rest day on the schedule which is lovely. last night i followed my strength and stretching orders on my training calendar.

strength you might ask? oh yes. kettlebell workout. the greatest and quickest way to put your ass on the floor. quite literally. my favorite part about kettlebell workouts is that i can do it efficiently and with little space. oh, and i get to watch tv.

the rest of strength was a lot of core work during commercials. which meant i got to lay on the floor for most of the night. which coincidentally is one of my favorite things.

i am eating lunch and writing this, and i laughed at what i have on.

yes i am way off center. deal.

i can't be trusted to eat in a dress. mainly because i don't have a table, so i sit on my couch. i was bound to get food on my clothes and i don't want to change, so i just put on an oversized pajama tshirt. good to go.

wish me luck at the new job....

tacky.

this morning my alarm went off at it's usual ungodly hour. i proceeded to snooze for 2 hours. yes TWO. now snoozing is a normalcy in my life, but this was a bit excessive even for me. i really like my bed - well once i am there i do.

but this morning unlike most mornings i realized that i wouldn't have to skip my run because i "slept through" my alarm. i have a nasty habit of turning it off and not realizing. i think i need this guy.

back on task. i didn't have to be at work until 10. which mean i didn't have to leave my house until 9. so that meant i could go run. or swimming for how humid it was at 730 this morning.

that meant i trudged through 4 miles before i thought i was going to vomit. perhaps i should really start getting up at the first alarm bell so i can be fully awake and hydrated to run. i added a new start to my run which always helps me run a little bit further, but today was rough. too much partying, not enough running...eek

after work i drove to dillards because i had some very important shopping i needed to get done. tomorrow night my friends and are i going to this:

how can you say no to something with this tagline:

my mission while at dillards was to find the ugliest prom dress for the least amount of money. luckily, last weekend when i was at home, mom and i had run through dillards for makeup (free makeup. thanks mom!) and i noticed the prom dresses were on uber sale....check yes. this is the gem that i decided on after much texting of pictures back in forth with rachel, my SIL...

it met the requirements: hideous, cheap, sparkly, and did i mention hideous? do people really buy these things?  i would show you what else i tried on, but i deleted those...

i've got that going this weekend and my 5K saturday. i am hoping i can really drop my time under 23 minutes for that one. my last 5K was 23:01 or something silly, so fingers crossed....(yes i realize i could just go look, but that requires effort and i am working at half mast right now).

surprises.

when you skip two training sessions because you are sleepy, it may be time to reevaluate the morning  runs. ha, actual running....gross

then i re-plan my day to ensure that i can run in the afternoon. then i go to work and go to other work and before i know it all i want to do is lay back down. or it starts pouring down rain. ahem, today.

so we are back to morning running.

source

if i woke up to that every morning you can bet your ass i would be out there.

i mean i only missed a 3 mile run and a 1.5 mile track run. so in theory if i combine them tomorrow on my strength and stretch day, we are back to where we started. right? right. that's my theory and i am sticking to it.

today when i went to the post office i had a surprise in the mail.

i love surprises. especially in the mail. no one uses the mail anymore. ya know except for bills. but i love getting mail.

there was a nature box sitting waiting for me. and i must say this is the best nature box yet. who doesn't love pistachios? if you don't then you are weird. you can make it up to me though, but it will take a lot of coaxing.

it's really the little things in life that make me happy.

now i am sitting listening to the thunder and eating carrots and hummus. trader joe's may be heaven on earth. and i hate grocery stores.

they did fail me in my lunch today. i bought artichoke and cheese ravioli. it was either me or the ravioli but we just did not get along. i tried to eat them and ended up throwing them away. i never do this. i always eat what i buy, because it is stupid to buy things and not eat it, but this was just inedible. i am sad to say they failed. they also fail in the hair care department, but that is entirely another thing. not to fear, they make up for it in numerous ways. mainly the peanut butter filled chocolate covered pretzels. ones i would kill for right now....

i know i am crazy, been well aware of that for a hot minute, but i kind of want to sign up for this marathon in february. i mean i haven't even finished the one marathon i signed up for yet, but i want to go ahead and sign up for another. that's how i schedule races. by the seat of my pants. plan later, sign now.

whatever. i do have a 5k this saturday. which coincides nicely with my training plan...

it's a night run. it's pretty much all downhill. and flat. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

birthdays.

i've been m.i.a. recently because i have been all over the map.

emotionally, physically, mentally. all of it.

i took thursday through today off from everything.

running, technology, the whole nine yards. i put my phone on silent and left it that way.

there is something so gratifying about not being in touch with the world. just existing in your own little planet.

i went home for my daddio's 60th birthday. my brother mikey and i threw him a party. i would say it was a success. it was fun to hang out with my family for an occasion that wasn't christmas/thanksgiving/easter...and i was super pumped at all the people that came out to help us celebrate. i am eternally grateful to everyone who came and helped us wish the best dad in the entire world a very happy birthday.

i was pot committed to my finger up his nose.

the rest of the weekend was spent playing tourist. eating in local restaurants, watching an iron pour, gawking at the most amazing tourist attractions memphis has to offer:

the world out reach dome: the word. a church. yes that is lady liberty with a cross and the ten commandments.

and the best part was the sno-cones.

sno-cones are the epitome of summer to me. well that and swings and the smell of the ocean and fresh cut grass (okay, okay, lots of things make me think of summer). i get really bummed out because there is no where in atlanta to get real sno-cones. none of that shaved hawaiian ice crap.

mmm. naner sno-cone.

all in all it was just what i needed to refresh. well that and mom and i playing about 40 bajillion games of yahtzee.

on my drizzly drive back to atlanta i saw a rainbow. i love rainbows. to me they mean the storm has passed and you have weathered it quite well.

this morning was first day of training for my half in october. and it called for a rest day. who am i to say no to that?

challenges.

i ran this morning and decided half way through my run that i was done running. i needed stretching asap.

so i walked home...again...and stretched...again.

this time i looked up specific stretches for things that were bothering me. i.e. my hips.

some fun little exercises from livestrong. actually stretches for runners. and for people who are idiots like me and need picture books to follow along with exercises.

i could really feel the stretch which i really liked. that's two reallys in that one sentence for those keeping track.

since this in now two runs in a row that i have cut short, i decided that maybe it was high time i did something about it.

here is my list of things i am going to start doing:

1. stretching.

not stop short stretching. actual make it burn, feel it stretching...maybe invest in yoga. money is tight, so that will be on the back burner

2. sign up for more races

i almost signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15K in january - quite a ways a way, but i realized the price is the same as the half that i am running in october...and i am not sure how i feel about that

3. answer the phone

if you know me, you know i don't answer my phone...ever. i am a horrible call screener. but i promise to practice better phone answering skills. and by better i mean maybe answer 75% of the time instead of 25% of the time...better yet, just text me. i will get around to answering those.

4. follow my training plan(s)

i have a new training plan that starts monday - conveniently with a rest day - i am actually going to follow it. i want to see how good i can get at running and there is no time like the present right? so here's to challenging myself.

5. eat healthier.

i eat pretty healthy, but my staples are mainly carbs. always have been. i want to incorporate more protein. problem lies in that i don't eat much meat, so i've got to find it elsewhere.

6. grow this blog.

write more. write often.

that's it for now. which makes this a terribly long and no photo worthy post. well except for this one.

nothing like a little personal embarrassment photo op, right?

photo is after i finished my first half marathon in 2010. woah. 2 years ago. well in december. but 2 years ago. that's a long time ago.

yoga.

sunday morning i woke up bright and early and went running.

i felt good. tried to keep my pace slower so i could run further.

well my hips just weren't having it.

i've been getting better about stretching when i noticed that everything felt tight. but sunday my hips were uncomfortably tight.

after walking home i did some basic stretches and could feel how tight my entire body was.

stress + running = incredibly tight.

my aunt called me and asked if i wanted to go to yoga. it's like she read my mind or something.

normally i am not a huge fan of yoga. i get bored easily. you can't talk. i want to giggle at inappropriate times. but when knowing i needed to stretch i decided to give it a whirl. when i go to yoga i am constantly confused and this is the image filtering through my mind.

after sweating completely through my clothes, oh did i mention this was hot yoga, i felt vaguely relaxed. somewhat stretched, but mainly ridiculously sweaty.

that made for round 2 of sweating through my clothes. you better believe i didn't change out of my running clothes for yoga.

i have been taking a bit of a breather from running until my training program starts officially on monday. i want to go run, but i also want to go back to sleep. sleep in my book wins about 3 out of 5 times

sunday was also pops 60th birthday! wooo birthdays. mikey (my brother) and i are throwing him a party this friday. should be a good time.

yesterday i went to tjmaxx to get a notebook and i stumbled across this lovely:

source

i literally ran out of peanut butter that morning. and gave the jar to this sweet face:

i love this peanut butter, but it is super expensive. but when you buy it at tjmaxx it is regular peanut butter priced. win.

i ran in my new balance shorts last week - yes i am slow on the review delivery - and i am not sold on them. i like them enough to keep them, but i don't know if they will make the top 5. they need a few more runs before my verdict is completely in.

i also read about this new garmin watch in an article today.

source

it's called the fenix and it will cost you about $400. i like that it looks like a watch. not a gadget. but i am sticking with old trusty. because it tells me absolutely nothing useful except the time and how long i have been doing something...

besides i am not sure i can maneuver all the functions on that bad boy.

i'm a rock?

i just finished taking one of those aptitude, this is what type of person you are, tests.

here are my results. as i sort of predicted. like i don't know me....

thanks oprah.com...

it's actually kind of creepy how accurate these things are.

the biggest problem that i find with taking them is that i get bored with them. i have another one sitting open in a different window that has 485 questions. i am about 25 questions in. i predict that one won't be getting finished.

my favorite part about this test is this: "what to watch out for: rapidly changing environments (like a shaky economy) are very hard for you. as a result of such instability, you can spiral into a state where everything seems catastrophic and you're sure life will only get worse."

now, i must say i do tend to this. i don't really know about the "sure life will only get worse" part. but i do seriously panic when things change very quickly. being in the specialty lumber business during an economic meltdown seems to be the thing to look out for. ha. well i love the specialty lumber business, the economy does not. conundrum.

but enough of that for now.

happy belated 4th of july.

i had a bunch of friends that "ran" the peachtree road race. i did not get a bib. it's a bit of a sore spot for me and i am sure my friends are ridiculously tired of hearing about it. but hey, if you have 2 different qualifying times, you should probably get a spot. what do i know...

well 3 of my friends that i would have "run" with all bailed. for different reasons. i also say "run" with because we all run at different paces, so we would have showed up together and left together. one is taking the summer off from running. one left his bib in a different city and the third slept through the morning........

i ran on the great american holiday, but i bailed about 20 minutes in. my IT band still hurts occasionally and when it hurts, i stop running. i also couldn't figure out my shoes. did i tie them to tight, not tight enough? one tighter than the other? it was a disaster.

we spent the day at the pool (after i annoyed them long enough...) and drank some good old fashion beer and ate some watermelon and the usual poolside grilled accessories. delicious.  we watched fireworks and dominated some flip cup. all in all a good day.

and how can it not be when it starts like this:

that is one of my very best friends (who took the summer off from running), eating pastrami out of the box and wearing america, proudly.

this morning i also ran. yesterday morning i did not. my official half marathon seguey into marathon training plan starts in a two weeks. in the meantime, i am going to be running, taking these weirdo aptitude tests, and going home for my dad's 60th.

should be an eventful week before training really begins.

big.BIG.big.

i currently am laying in bed multi-tasking.

i can't shut my brain off. it's been a big day of big decisions.

so in turn i am writing this, watching center stage, and reading. multi-tasking.

today was a big day other than the decisions.

1. new shorts. they will be tested tomorrow.

look at the cute directions for the ICE in the pocket. however i am not sure many people would think to look in the pocket. i'll stick to my road i.d. bracelet...and the grand finale:

back pocket. for.the.win.

2. my naturebox. ya know in a timely fashion for june....

apple rings, sun-ripened white peaches, citrus kick almonds, organic mighty mix, and harvest fruit granola. i liked the last box, so hopefully this box is good as well.

when i am not running, i am trying to get as close to water as possible. and if i can combine running and water, then i am golden. so the third thing that came in mail was:

international surfing day was June 20th and i donated for the second year in a row to surfrider. got to support the causes you believe in right? check them out here. Surfrider

i pre-apologize for any and all grammar/spelling mistakes. i have had a rough few days. hopefully they are over now. fingers crossed. with a little bit of luck i think they are.

oh and if you want a naturebox let me know, i have a 25% coupon....

friday, sunday, someday.

this post started on friday and was going to be about the funeral. well i edited it about 4 times and finally deleted it.

so now i am starting over on a sunday. two days of writing and editing gone. i just couldn't write it. i'm not quite ready.

i thought perhaps i would just go back to what i do best and that's talking about the anticipation of things that i have bought and making (finally) a training plan.

new balance shorts are probably sitting at my post office box awaiting my retrieval of them as well as my nature box for june. timely i know.

i am excited to see what is in the nature box as the last one didn't disappoint. well the trail mix was a bit bizarre, but that's mainly because i don't like coconut.

the shorts. well the shorts i am really excited about. i could now be up to 4 pairs of shorts that i cannot live without. 5 if we count the one pair of nike tempo shorts i wear regularly. i don't buy nike apparel anymore since they resigned michael vick to a new contract. but that is a story for a different place and an entirely different time.

shorts in ranking order:

4. nike tempo

similar to these but mine are approximately 6 years old....i'm not going to talk about them, because odds are good to excellent that everyone already knows the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding these.

3. patagonia trail runner

these. they are amazingly comfortable. the only reason they are in the 3 spot is because of having no back pocket. i love them. i wear them unabashedly everywhere. 

2. brooks something or another that i have completely forgotten

these, but way prettier. double back pockets and very comfortable. i wore them for 3 days straight and 4 out of 5 days. that's a lot of wear. 

1. tnf better than naked

these, but blue instead of pink. super sale. back pocket. literally feel like you are wearing nothing. flattering too. you know as much as running shorts can be and all...

if we are being quite frank 1 - 3 are interchangeable depending on how i am feeling about my butt in the shorts. my butt sometime disagrees with how tight it would like for fabric to be stretched across it. on really bad days, i wear the nike tempo because they are too big, but that's the way that i like them. baggy parachutes if you will. it's an attractive look i am sure.

when i flew home i missed my flight. by a mere 5 minutes. an audible son of a bitch came out of my mouth and i then sat in the airport for the next FOUR hours.

and if you think i just sat like a normal person and read a book, you would be quite mistaken. i mean i did do that, but i also decided that i needed a beer (or 3). so off in search of a bar i went. i posted up at the nearest one to ensure that i didn't miss flight number 2, and started doing this:

beer and training plans. if you see my instagram (dotspiot) you would already know all of this. but i made a decision on my half marathon training plan and am still working out the kinks to making this flow into my full marathon training.

this is going to be an interesting summer and fall to say the least...