April 29th, 2006
You know, this is really hard to report. My mind is STILL jumping all over the place.
I just don't know where to start and I know I'm going to leave out some very good stuff.
I debated whether I wanted to just start with my race day report or with Thursday morning
at 9:15 a.m. when Marty picked me up. Looks like I'm gonna opt for the latter.
First of all, I can't even express to all of you my feelings about Marty's help during the race.
Marty is the KING of pacers and deserves a medal just for being so AWESOME! A big one! A special thanks
to you my friend. The whole time he was paying attention to my breathing and when he could
tell I was giving it too much too soon, he told me to back off. It was constant, constant feedback.
We talked the night before the race about my game plan and it was to set out at an 8:30/mile pace
at first and then maybe increase as time wore on. Dan was also right there throughout and was wonderful
but his main goal was to stay ahead of me about 5-10 yds. He said something about that being his plan
all along for a mental thing for me, but I still think he had ants in his pants from day one and you just
couldn't hold him back. ;-) But I digress! Let me get back to my "story".
Thursday morning dawned clear and sunny as I waited for Marty to find my house....or get lost. I figured if
it was the latter, I would have received a cell call. His plan was to pick me up somewhere between 9-9:30 and
he was right smack in the middle at 9:15. I loaded up(with WAYYYY too much stuff) and we were off.
Marty, Dan and I had talked about bringing music for our road trip. Funny thing, I think between the drive down
and the drive back home, we might have listened to a handful of songs. We would listen for a while, but
just couldn't get into....too many things to talk about. Marty had packed a big cooler of "good, healthy" food
and warned me about his penchant for eating on the hour. Well....maybe not ON the hour....but pretty darn
close! I think that man has not one but two tapeworms. He and Dan both were bringing food and told me
not to worry about a thing. They would handle it all. Well, they both did just that. Not only with the food on
the way down but back home. Even going so far as to covering Jen and my tab which was a real blessing
for me as they well know. Yeah, and I told Marty "the check's in the mail". lol Just kidding.
So we made it to Dan's and found a note on his door about putting the garbage out. Marty was getting
ready to look for the garbage when Dan opened the door. We loaded up and headed on down to Nashville.
We arrived around 7ish, checked in and then scoured the main drag. We found a GREAT brewery
with AWESOME food! I'm still craving their spring rolls. We had a sampler platter of some of their brew
which probably wasn't a smart thing to do on an empty stomach, but the food came fast, thankfully.
We headed back to the hotel to hang out and talk before heading to bed. For some reason, Thursday
night started some weird exchange between Marty and Dan. I couldn't figure out what they were doing
for the longest time. Something about lines from a movie called "The Jerk"??? Or something like that.
We talked for quite a while and then hit the sack. In our own rooms, I might add ,lest some people get
the wrong idea. ;-)
In the morning I hear a rap at the door and Marty and Dan saunter in all chipper and
dressed in their running best, ready to face the world and conquer Nashville
with a nice, easy fun run. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's illegal to have that much energy
so early in the morning. But it was a sign of things to come. Too dang early for this girl.
I groan, throw my covers over my head and say, "Have Fun". I hadn't really planned
on running at all before the 1/2 considering I had just raced a 10K the week before
and knew I needed all the rest I could get. Finally got up, took a shower and was ready to
go to pick up Jen at the airport when they got back.
Uh, Jen, did Dan not ever see a pic of you before CMM because as we were waiting for you to come down the
escalator, there was a gal that I guess sorta looked like you, but I know it wasn't. Dan didn't believe me so I quietly
said, "Hey Jen", but she didn't turn around. Besides, she just wasn't as cute as the "real" Jen anyway.
So we went back to our hiding places to wait for Jen. I guess we did a pretty poor job of hiding. Hugs were
exchanged. I had never "met" Jen before, but I felt as if I had known her for years. She is one sweet lady.
Took Jen back to the hotel, got her checked in and set off for the expo. Now I had heard from Jen that she
didn't like crowds but I felt she was a real trooper with the expo. As we made our way down the escalator,
we were told from some loud barking where to go. These people were so rude and curt that Marty says to us,
"They sound like Soup Nazi's,'No soup for you!'" Whereupon, one of the ladies turned around and said, "that's
right, no soup for you!" I don't think Marty said it that loud but we got a good laugh out of it. Then as we entered
the expo area, lest we get lost....lo and behold, they had little shoe prints to walk on just so we wouldn't get lost
in such a BIG expo(insert tongue in cheek here). I couldn't resist!! I started to follow the "yellow brick road" and
stopped to see if my counterparts were obeying the rules and following suit. Then I heard, let's go ladies, there
are people behind you! Geez! Give me a break. And that was about the last time things were strict much to
our surprise.
At some point we met up with Leslie and her hubby and Letty and her gang. We opted to eat eary, which was a
very good decision. We had a 10 min wait at 4:30. When we left the restaurant, I think the line went around the
corner. I was afraid to ask their waiting time! We found a great ice cream place. Yes, Jen, I agree, birthday cake
ice cream ROCKS!
We headed back to the hotel to once again sit around and talk and talk and talk........
With Jen, Dan and marty it just felt like being around family.
Jen and I proceeded to lay out our race clothes and go through our goody bag. A little later I look over
and Jen is lying on her stomach on her bed looking at her pile of race things with this look of
adoration on her face. I just couldn't resist that and had to take a picture. You'd think she was looking
at a feather pillow after lying on a bed of nails for a week!
Race day begins!!!! I way up to the sound of rain....no wait....that's Jen in the shower. But then I hear a crash
and a scream. I run to the bathroom door and ask, "Are you okay?" She's laughing hysterically, as I'm looking
at the palms of my hands with globs of hair clenched between my fists. I told her in so many words to, "KNOCK
IT OFF!" I think she pretty much covered it.
Not one for having ANY pre-race rituals of ANY sort, I proceed to eat a couple of ch.chip muffins made by none
other than our eat-every-hour food guru, Marty. Not bad! What? No oj? That's okay....Gatorade will do.
I think we're all pretty calm, especially our marathon virgin. But the goofiness begins from either being nervous,
excited or just plain up too early. We wait a bit for Letty and her gang, but they didn't show. We head out the front doors to pretty balmy weather considering Jen and I have just spent the last couple of months training in sub 40's weather. To wear short sleeved shirts at 5:00 a.m. is not a good sign of things too come. I still had to wear my garbage bag....of which came in handy at the starting line(right Dan?)
For some reason our little group was wound up. Everybody else on the shuttle to the start was half asleep. We
started getting some pretty strange looks. Got to the start at around 6 a.m. where there was lots of pre race food.
Everything even down to Starbucks coffee. We sat on the grass chatting while Marty continued to stretch. I wanted
to start calling him Gumby. I don't know what he did more....eating or stretching.
We looked over at these blue boxes all in a row and figured something in them must be worth seeing because the lines
to get in them were very long. So we decided to get in those lines too. We walked Leslie and Jen to there start and then Marty, Dan and I lined up in my corral #6. There were so many people out of the corral they were supposed to be in. Marty wondered where the soup Nazis were now. They played the National Anthem(dang, can't ever get through that without tears coming to my eyes) and we were off.
Marty was very good at holding me back the first couple of miles. He knew that I was worried about that and decided that was his main job. The course started pretty flat at first and I thought, "Hmmm, not bad!" Boy, did I regret that thought. From mile 2 on it was one rolling hill after the other. I was either going downhill or uphill. Amazingly, our splits stayed between 8:20/mile and 8:40/mile the entire race even with the hills. Like I said earlier in my first post, Marty did a great job listening to my breathing. He knew when to tell me to slow down and I think he literally saved my
butt.
After looking at the course map in the morning, Jen and I figured we'd probably pass each other while I was going up the long incline around mile 6-7 and she was coming down around mile 4 for her. Dan, being the one continually a little in the front saw Jen first. I guess I never realized how many women runners run in aqua running shirts. There were hundreds. The look on Jen's face was great as we high-fived each other. She looked happy and full of energy.
I took my first and only gu at mile 8. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken one earlier and then another one later. Around mile 8 Marty told me whenever I felt like it I could increase my tempo a hair. I told him it was too early. I was thinking realistically, "I wanna know how many more freakin' hills we have first!" But I knew with the hills I was better off waiting until around mile 9-10 to increase.
Mile 10 arrived and I knew I had to start kicking it into gear. I THOUGHT I was, but it seems my pace stayed the same. But that was okay too. We ran into Dan's wife's friend, Liz and she stayed with us until the finish. At one point, I believe it was around mile 11-12, Marty and Dan were continually trying to talk me up and encourage me. I had to tell them that this is the part where I dig down deep and their distracting voices were driving me crazy. Well, maybe
not in those words, but at least I didn't tell them to "shut the f**k up" like Dan said I should have.
Mile 12 my legs and lungs were telling me to quit and I told them they could both go to hell. I was feeling really weird, like I may pass out or that my legs were going to cramp up. I figured the pain would only be temporary and the finish line was near. I could see the stadium and hear the music. As I approached the last turn to the finish, Liz sprinted past me. And as most of you know, that's all it took for me. It looked as if someone lit a fire under my butt as I sprinted past her towards the finish. She threw out a challenge that I was more than ready to take. I didn't see Marty until later. It seems he was doing tricks to get the crowd roaring behind my back. What a ham. Dan and Marty both could get that crowd yelling and screaming so easily the whole race.
As I crossed the finish line, my chip time was 1:52:19. I couldn't believe it! My goal from the start was to get under 2 hrs, but during my training I figured that was a given. So my next goal was 1:55. Little did I know I would run such a good race. Even splits and a PR by 10 minutes. But I don't think my race would have been as good had Marty and Dan had not been there for me. Marty at my side and Dan just ahead enough to make me want to stay within visual contact. A psychological twist, or so Dan said.
Thanks so much you two! You're the best! I can't thank you enough!
After getting our goodies, of which there were tons. Nashville actually puts Chicago to shame on the spread of food at the finish. But the sandals they gave out to us. What was that? I think they were made for elephant feet. They were grotesquely wide. As I found out later when I tried to wear them while trying to walk to a place where we could see Jen.
Dan went to mile 20 to run Jen in and Marty and I went back to the hotel to shower and change. The walk back was just right to keep the legs loosened up. As Marty and I were crossing the foot bridge, we both noticed how much the
wind had come up. It seems it becames very gusty and we worried about that for Jen. High winds and heat do not a good combination make, especially for a marathon.
Marty and I made it back to mile 21 later but no Jen. Dan didn't have a phone so we didn't have any idea whether we missed her or she was behind her goal time. So I proceeded to go to the finish to wait for her as Marty jogged to mile 20. Marty caught up with Dan and Jen later and reported back to me as Jen made her turn to head out of town. I wasn't real happy hearing that Jen was hurting already. Not a good sign. But I knew she was tough and wasn't going to let that stop her. I can just hear her cursing at her legs.
It was so exciting seeing her come in. I had goosebumps and had to fight back tears(yeah, Jen, I didn't tell you that). It was even more special knowing what she had to go through to achieve her goal.
Jen, you rock! You are and will be an inspiration to many for what you overcame out there on the CMM course. You are up there in my book.
You are not only a great runner but I consider you a great friend too. Until we meet again I have just two words for you! ROCK ON!!! lol Yeah I just had to say it one last time.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
OSF Heritage 10K
This particular race brings out alot of the good runners. Last year I didn't even place in the top 5 of my age group. Sixth to be exact with a time of 52:40.
So on this day my goal was to just set a new PR. My goal was to get under 50 minutes. I knew it was possible because I was in another 10K in January with slippery roads and near white out conditions. Plus there were more hills. This course was completely flat and the temps were good....mid 60's.
The only thing that I could see stopping me was the extreme wind. But last year it was the same so the conditions were equal.
Going out my first split was 7:35 and I knew I needed to slow down. But it was on a slight decline so I figured that was it. Little did I realize that the wind was to my back.
I felt really good during the whole race. Even when I had to dip my head like a horse coming back against that headwind. But it seemed to help.
The turnaround point was 23:38 which wasn't much slower than a recent 5K for 3.1 miles.
At this point is where I slowly picked person after person off. There were plenty of distractions along this bike path because it was such a nice day. I almost ran over a little girl on her bike with training wheels. I don't think she saw me coming and she cut in front of me.
As I got closer to the finish there was one man that I just couldn't catch. He stayed about 20 feet in front of me and the more I sped up, the more he did too.
As I turned the corner before the finish line I had two blocks to go. My friend that came with me yelled,"It's 49 and change, if you kick it in you can still make it under 50." So I gave it all I had even though I was hurting. I figured there was NO WAY I was getting this close to my PR and not get it. As I got closer I could see the clock ticking....49:35, 49:36, 49:37. I didn't even realize I flew by the man that I couldn't pass earlier I was so intent on beating that clock.
Finishing time was 49:51!!! A new PR and UNDER 50. I reached my goal! What a great feeling.
I was surprised to find out that they were giving medals out to 5 places and since I got fifth in my age group, I received one. It looked like all the good runners, men and women, were within the 35-45 age bracket. Figures!!
On to CMM 1/2!
So on this day my goal was to just set a new PR. My goal was to get under 50 minutes. I knew it was possible because I was in another 10K in January with slippery roads and near white out conditions. Plus there were more hills. This course was completely flat and the temps were good....mid 60's.
The only thing that I could see stopping me was the extreme wind. But last year it was the same so the conditions were equal.
Going out my first split was 7:35 and I knew I needed to slow down. But it was on a slight decline so I figured that was it. Little did I realize that the wind was to my back.
I felt really good during the whole race. Even when I had to dip my head like a horse coming back against that headwind. But it seemed to help.
The turnaround point was 23:38 which wasn't much slower than a recent 5K for 3.1 miles.
At this point is where I slowly picked person after person off. There were plenty of distractions along this bike path because it was such a nice day. I almost ran over a little girl on her bike with training wheels. I don't think she saw me coming and she cut in front of me.
As I got closer to the finish there was one man that I just couldn't catch. He stayed about 20 feet in front of me and the more I sped up, the more he did too.
As I turned the corner before the finish line I had two blocks to go. My friend that came with me yelled,"It's 49 and change, if you kick it in you can still make it under 50." So I gave it all I had even though I was hurting. I figured there was NO WAY I was getting this close to my PR and not get it. As I got closer I could see the clock ticking....49:35, 49:36, 49:37. I didn't even realize I flew by the man that I couldn't pass earlier I was so intent on beating that clock.
Finishing time was 49:51!!! A new PR and UNDER 50. I reached my goal! What a great feeling.
I was surprised to find out that they were giving medals out to 5 places and since I got fifth in my age group, I received one. It looked like all the good runners, men and women, were within the 35-45 age bracket. Figures!!
On to CMM 1/2!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Here I am!
Okay, so I've been a little nonexistent lately. I can't help it. Things have been very crazy for me lately. I'm still doing little things here and there to the house when I can afford them. I should have the house ready to sell by the end of May. Now if I can only get my husband to sign those divorce papers. Oh, that's right....I have to be able to FIND him first! JERK! And to make matters worse, he not only has dropped off the face of the earth, the last child support payment I received was 3 wks. ago and was postmarked Las Vegas, NV!!! Alright, I'm done venting now about that.
It's a good thing that I've never minded change because that's all my life has been about lately....change. I seem to be able to take it in stride. Maybe it has something to do with my personal life and loving the job I have now. Things in those two areas couldn't be better.
Running is still going well. I have begun my two week taper prior to CMM 1/2. I have a 10K race on Sunday on a flat, fast course that I ran last year in 52something. My goal this year is under 50. I know I can do it....I KNOW IT!!!!
I'm pretty excited about it. I don't feel as if I'm ready for CMM yet. I'm ready as far as running it...just not as far as packing and getting there. Have you seen the frickin' price of gas here? $2.95?????!!!!! What's up with that? What, did the oil rigs all shut down? If I could only find a way to use my garbage for fuel. Now THAT would be nice!
I'll try to be more consistent with my blogging, but what with working more hours and having busy nights and weekends....well...let's just say it's probably not going to change soon.
Ciao for now!!
It's a good thing that I've never minded change because that's all my life has been about lately....change. I seem to be able to take it in stride. Maybe it has something to do with my personal life and loving the job I have now. Things in those two areas couldn't be better.
Running is still going well. I have begun my two week taper prior to CMM 1/2. I have a 10K race on Sunday on a flat, fast course that I ran last year in 52something. My goal this year is under 50. I know I can do it....I KNOW IT!!!!
I'm pretty excited about it. I don't feel as if I'm ready for CMM yet. I'm ready as far as running it...just not as far as packing and getting there. Have you seen the frickin' price of gas here? $2.95?????!!!!! What's up with that? What, did the oil rigs all shut down? If I could only find a way to use my garbage for fuel. Now THAT would be nice!
I'll try to be more consistent with my blogging, but what with working more hours and having busy nights and weekends....well...let's just say it's probably not going to change soon.
Ciao for now!!
Friday, April 14, 2006
HOT HOT HOT!
Whew! What's with the unusually hot weather? Did we even have a spring or have we gone to summer already?
I had my last midweek long run of 8 miles Wednesday of this week and I can tell that this body needs a taper. I ran a 4 mile recovery Thursday and it felt like I was crawling, but the HR was up there.
My last long run of 15 miles before I taper for the CMM 1/2 is tomorrow. I'm probably not going to get out until around 9 a.m. I suppose it will be unseasonably hot then too, but I guess that's good training for warmer temps in Nashville. My thick-blooded body is rebelling
Since my mileage is up in the 40's, I'm not really sure how much to taper. I've basically been going by my own schedule.
I can't wait until two weeks from this weekend. Trigal, are you ready?
I had my last midweek long run of 8 miles Wednesday of this week and I can tell that this body needs a taper. I ran a 4 mile recovery Thursday and it felt like I was crawling, but the HR was up there.
My last long run of 15 miles before I taper for the CMM 1/2 is tomorrow. I'm probably not going to get out until around 9 a.m. I suppose it will be unseasonably hot then too, but I guess that's good training for warmer temps in Nashville. My thick-blooded body is rebelling
Since my mileage is up in the 40's, I'm not really sure how much to taper. I've basically been going by my own schedule.
I can't wait until two weeks from this weekend. Trigal, are you ready?
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Here comes the storm!
Today I woke up early to beat the storms that are gonna be hitting us soon. I didn't want to be caught out in a lightning storm during my run. Can you imagine? Out minding my own business trying to do my business of running and getting struck by lightning? Not the way I wanta go that's for sure.
I'm getting a handle on a few of the TO DO list. Bathroom ceiling is almost done. Just another coat of fresh white paint on it. Leaves in the ditch are all raked up and ready to burn. Stain on the new base in living room is on. Trim around garage door is replaced. Next up is transplanting some perennials and mulching. Doesn't look like I'm gonna get to that in the next couple of days.
Hey, some good news! A while back I posted about a neighbors dog that was harrassing me on one of my runs. As luck would have it, they filed bankruptcy, got a divorce and moved out....dog and all! Woohoo! I still think I'll carry my mace with me though. Some of those upright, two legged animals are more than I can handle.
Today is Thursday and my last day of work for the week. Three day weekend....alright! No houses to clean tomorrow...except maybe mine, but mine doesn't take very long.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Arny Johnson 10 Mile Classic
Okay, so I've postponed this report long enough.
Some minor changes though. I looked at the updated list of names from the race on the website and saw that my time was 1:23:48, not 1:24. Also, even though they gave me a second place finisher in AG medal, it looks like I was third. I wonder what happened to the woman that took first. I didn't see or hear her complaining at the awards ceremony that she didn't get anything. Maybe she was disqualified for some reason? I hope not.
I was a little concerned at the start of this race because as some of you know I was approaching burnout all week. I toned my running down to taper for this race(hadn't planned on it prior to last week, but knew I needed it), so I only ran Tuesday and Wednesday. I stayed up late again the night before and was very tired. Slept on the way over to the race which was an hour away. I REALLY didn't feel like running this race let alone racing it. But I knew once I started I'd be fine. I just didn't know how much energy I'd have.
The night before the race was very, very windy and I was hoping it would die down before the race but I don't think it would have made too much difference since most of the race was through the woods. It was overcast and mid 30's. Perfect day for a race. Donned my baseball cap, gloves, long-sleeved wicking shirt and shorts and I was good to go.
The first 3 miles were pretty uneventful and fairly flat. Eighty percent of the race was on a paved running/biking path. We were told to stay to the left of the path and watch out for bikers which I thought was rather strange. Why the left side? This race wasn't in Europe!
Since the race was through the woods, my Garmin wouldn't register at all. I'm sure the cloudy day didn't help in that dept. either. I do know my first mile was 8:08(whoa, slow down Nellie). Not what I wanted to hear. But after a couple more miles I settled into a groove. I knew last year my pace was around 8:30/mile so this year I wanted to do a little better than that and ended up with a 8:21/mile pace.
After mile 3 the course started to get interesting. I knew by the elevation chart that we would be steadily going up and down hills. A gal pulled up beside me and we talked for a few minutes. Seems she had just started racing for the first time after her son was born.....four years ago! I guess her hands have been full? She was keeping a pretty good pace so I told her good luck and have fun. My goal was to try to keep her in my sights if I could. After she passed me her pace must have slowed a bit because she stayed ahead of me by only about 10 yds. I ended up catching up to her at about mile 7 but she could really fly down the hills and I ended up getting way behind her again. She said after the race that she slowed way down the last two miles. She finished approx. 1 minute ahead of me.
I really didn't mind the hills because this is where I caught up to most people. I guess it pays to train on hills. The only time it really bothered me was towards the end of the race when I was tired. One of the last hills I had to run on my tiptoes it was so steep. I can't say I'm used to THAT steep of hills.
At the one mile marker there was a fellow runner that is in my running group. I noticed him and said hi. He has recently been coming back from an injury so he wasn't running the race. Towards the end of the race around mile 7 I saw somebody running towards me in jeans. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it was him. I told him he was going to get so chaffed but he didn't seem to care. He told me at mile 9 marker that he would let me finish by myself since he could tell how I was breathing that I still had alot in me. I didn't feel like it....but maybe I wasn't working as hard as I could. I had pointed out to him that I wanted to keep this other woman ahead of me in my sights and that I had spoken to her for a while. He asked me if I had asked her if she's in my age group. I said no, that didn't concern me. He laughed and said, it may later! Well, he was right. The woman I let stay in my sights but didn't make a move on was in my age group. Grrrr! Oh well, I really don't feel like I could have run it any faster anyway.
I was very happy with my race and my 10 mile time. It was a nice surprise when I finished.
I know there was probably more, but I guess I should have written this report after the race and not several days later.
Some minor changes though. I looked at the updated list of names from the race on the website and saw that my time was 1:23:48, not 1:24. Also, even though they gave me a second place finisher in AG medal, it looks like I was third. I wonder what happened to the woman that took first. I didn't see or hear her complaining at the awards ceremony that she didn't get anything. Maybe she was disqualified for some reason? I hope not.
I was a little concerned at the start of this race because as some of you know I was approaching burnout all week. I toned my running down to taper for this race(hadn't planned on it prior to last week, but knew I needed it), so I only ran Tuesday and Wednesday. I stayed up late again the night before and was very tired. Slept on the way over to the race which was an hour away. I REALLY didn't feel like running this race let alone racing it. But I knew once I started I'd be fine. I just didn't know how much energy I'd have.
The night before the race was very, very windy and I was hoping it would die down before the race but I don't think it would have made too much difference since most of the race was through the woods. It was overcast and mid 30's. Perfect day for a race. Donned my baseball cap, gloves, long-sleeved wicking shirt and shorts and I was good to go.
The first 3 miles were pretty uneventful and fairly flat. Eighty percent of the race was on a paved running/biking path. We were told to stay to the left of the path and watch out for bikers which I thought was rather strange. Why the left side? This race wasn't in Europe!
Since the race was through the woods, my Garmin wouldn't register at all. I'm sure the cloudy day didn't help in that dept. either. I do know my first mile was 8:08(whoa, slow down Nellie). Not what I wanted to hear. But after a couple more miles I settled into a groove. I knew last year my pace was around 8:30/mile so this year I wanted to do a little better than that and ended up with a 8:21/mile pace.
After mile 3 the course started to get interesting. I knew by the elevation chart that we would be steadily going up and down hills. A gal pulled up beside me and we talked for a few minutes. Seems she had just started racing for the first time after her son was born.....four years ago! I guess her hands have been full? She was keeping a pretty good pace so I told her good luck and have fun. My goal was to try to keep her in my sights if I could. After she passed me her pace must have slowed a bit because she stayed ahead of me by only about 10 yds. I ended up catching up to her at about mile 7 but she could really fly down the hills and I ended up getting way behind her again. She said after the race that she slowed way down the last two miles. She finished approx. 1 minute ahead of me.
I really didn't mind the hills because this is where I caught up to most people. I guess it pays to train on hills. The only time it really bothered me was towards the end of the race when I was tired. One of the last hills I had to run on my tiptoes it was so steep. I can't say I'm used to THAT steep of hills.
At the one mile marker there was a fellow runner that is in my running group. I noticed him and said hi. He has recently been coming back from an injury so he wasn't running the race. Towards the end of the race around mile 7 I saw somebody running towards me in jeans. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it was him. I told him he was going to get so chaffed but he didn't seem to care. He told me at mile 9 marker that he would let me finish by myself since he could tell how I was breathing that I still had alot in me. I didn't feel like it....but maybe I wasn't working as hard as I could. I had pointed out to him that I wanted to keep this other woman ahead of me in my sights and that I had spoken to her for a while. He asked me if I had asked her if she's in my age group. I said no, that didn't concern me. He laughed and said, it may later! Well, he was right. The woman I let stay in my sights but didn't make a move on was in my age group. Grrrr! Oh well, I really don't feel like I could have run it any faster anyway.
I was very happy with my race and my 10 mile time. It was a nice surprise when I finished.
I know there was probably more, but I guess I should have written this report after the race and not several days later.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Sleep....I need sleep!
Okay, so I've totally screwed up my sleep schedule. This week has been so messed up.
It all started last week when I inadvertently ran all 7 days. I hadn't really noticed this until a fellow runner friend(Kelley) pointed it out to me in a post on a running board we are both a member of, WeLoveToRun. It was all downhill from there.
I haven't been getting much sleep on the weekends....week DAYS for that matter. All a choice on my part, but nonetheless. Something has got to change or I won't last until CMM without getting injured.
So I've toned my training week down this week to almost no running.....at least it feels that way....so I can recuperate for my 10 mile race this weekend. Why, oh why, would someone schedule a race at 8:00 a.m. when it's still cool out? It's not like we are trying to beat the heat for God's sake!! At least my 10K in 3 wks. won't start until 1 p.m. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Then this week went from bad to worse when I stupidly had WAYYYY too much caffeine yesterday. I guess it was my chance to catch up on the many emails I was behind in replying on. Up until 2 a.m. and STILL laid there in bed waiting for sleep to overtake me.
Luckily after getting up at 9:00 a.m.(yeah, I slept in because I took the planned day off of running) I was refreshed and ready to go.
Now, I have to get to work.....if I can only last until 5:30. Oh crap, I still won't get to relax...I have a banquet to go to. Hmmmm! When will it end?
It all started last week when I inadvertently ran all 7 days. I hadn't really noticed this until a fellow runner friend(Kelley) pointed it out to me in a post on a running board we are both a member of, WeLoveToRun. It was all downhill from there.
I haven't been getting much sleep on the weekends....week DAYS for that matter. All a choice on my part, but nonetheless. Something has got to change or I won't last until CMM without getting injured.
So I've toned my training week down this week to almost no running.....at least it feels that way....so I can recuperate for my 10 mile race this weekend. Why, oh why, would someone schedule a race at 8:00 a.m. when it's still cool out? It's not like we are trying to beat the heat for God's sake!! At least my 10K in 3 wks. won't start until 1 p.m. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Then this week went from bad to worse when I stupidly had WAYYYY too much caffeine yesterday. I guess it was my chance to catch up on the many emails I was behind in replying on. Up until 2 a.m. and STILL laid there in bed waiting for sleep to overtake me.
Luckily after getting up at 9:00 a.m.(yeah, I slept in because I took the planned day off of running) I was refreshed and ready to go.
Now, I have to get to work.....if I can only last until 5:30. Oh crap, I still won't get to relax...I have a banquet to go to. Hmmmm! When will it end?
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Holy Crap!
Okay, so I KNOW the 10 mile race will be tough this Saturday. I am just BEAT! I took yesterday off from running due to a 7 day(40 mile) week last week(spaced that one out) and went out for an easy 6 miler. If I wasn't so stubborn I would have turned around after .1 miles and called it quits.
I have another easy day tomorrow with low mileage and then I'm definitely taking Thursday and Friday off before the race Saturday. I know I probably shouldn't taper this much because I'm still in training for CMM, but this body is trying to tell me something.
Alot of good it will do me if I don't even get to run CMM because of an injury.
Is anybody else getting burnout, or is it just me? I seem to go through this towards the end of a training session right before a big race.
On a side note, I've been getting alot done around the house getting it ready to possibly sell. I made a list and checked it twice. And now half of it is crossed off. Woohoo! The biggest project is yet to come....painting it! Ugh! I have alot of volunteers that said they would help me though.
I have another easy day tomorrow with low mileage and then I'm definitely taking Thursday and Friday off before the race Saturday. I know I probably shouldn't taper this much because I'm still in training for CMM, but this body is trying to tell me something.
Alot of good it will do me if I don't even get to run CMM because of an injury.
Is anybody else getting burnout, or is it just me? I seem to go through this towards the end of a training session right before a big race.
On a side note, I've been getting alot done around the house getting it ready to possibly sell. I made a list and checked it twice. And now half of it is crossed off. Woohoo! The biggest project is yet to come....painting it! Ugh! I have alot of volunteers that said they would help me though.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Exfoliating run!
Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I heard that we were to get 5-8 inches of snow. I wasn't sure when it was supposed to start, but when I woke up at 8 a.m. there wasn't anything on the ground but RAIN. Ewwww! I wanted the white stuff. I had an 8 mile midweek run and I so wanted to run it in snow.
So I bundled up(too much because I had to ditch a layer after the first 2 mile loop)and headed out the door. It was misting a little at first but then it turned into sleet. Owwww! Talk about major facial exfoliation. I felt like someone was doing acupuncture on my face.
Now I know what it's like running blind, because some of the time I had to turn my face away from the wind and sometimes close my eyes. Thankfully, not much traffic out here around my neighborhood.
By the time I got to mile 6 the sleet turned into heavy, heavy snow. I was completely white by the time I was finished.
It was actually a pretty good tempo run despite the weather. I was hoping to run in a couple of inches of the white stuff at least, but I got it done anyway.
So now tomorrow everything that accumulates on the ground today will be melted. Ahhhh, that's spring for you.
So I bundled up(too much because I had to ditch a layer after the first 2 mile loop)and headed out the door. It was misting a little at first but then it turned into sleet. Owwww! Talk about major facial exfoliation. I felt like someone was doing acupuncture on my face.
Now I know what it's like running blind, because some of the time I had to turn my face away from the wind and sometimes close my eyes. Thankfully, not much traffic out here around my neighborhood.
By the time I got to mile 6 the sleet turned into heavy, heavy snow. I was completely white by the time I was finished.
It was actually a pretty good tempo run despite the weather. I was hoping to run in a couple of inches of the white stuff at least, but I got it done anyway.
So now tomorrow everything that accumulates on the ground today will be melted. Ahhhh, that's spring for you.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Running on empty
Well, this week has been rough. I went out for my tempo run on Monday after eating out with some friends for Chinese. (Note to self: Never run a tempo run an hour after eating a huge plate of Chinese food.) Of course, I was too stubborn to quit or slow down and there were a couple of times where I thought I was going to lose my lunch, but I got it done.
After my run I had to lie down on the floor. I just didn't feel very well. Luckily, I had the day off from work and didn't have to go in. I had plenty of things to do, so I never got a nap in of which probably would have made me feel better.
The next day I still felt bad. I almost felt like I was coming down with the flu. I ran a recovery run Tuesday, but decided to take the day off from running on Wed. I just didn't have it in me.
Back to normal(whatever that is) on Thursday for a 7 mile run around the neighborhood. Halfway through my run I ran into Richard, one of my neighbors who runs(he usually runs in the afternoon when I'm working) and finished with him. It was nice having someone to talk to while running. It doesn't happen very often.
Well, gotta go. Leaving in a few to watch "Failure To Launch" along with about a million other people. Matthew McConaughy, here I come! :D I think I may need to take some napkins along! (drool)
After my run I had to lie down on the floor. I just didn't feel very well. Luckily, I had the day off from work and didn't have to go in. I had plenty of things to do, so I never got a nap in of which probably would have made me feel better.
The next day I still felt bad. I almost felt like I was coming down with the flu. I ran a recovery run Tuesday, but decided to take the day off from running on Wed. I just didn't have it in me.
Back to normal(whatever that is) on Thursday for a 7 mile run around the neighborhood. Halfway through my run I ran into Richard, one of my neighbors who runs(he usually runs in the afternoon when I'm working) and finished with him. It was nice having someone to talk to while running. It doesn't happen very often.
Well, gotta go. Leaving in a few to watch "Failure To Launch" along with about a million other people. Matthew McConaughy, here I come! :D I think I may need to take some napkins along! (drool)
Monday, March 06, 2006
Another week of training for the CMM half
Target race: CMM 1/2
Weekly mileage: 37
Monthly mileage: 118
Yearly mileage: 281
Legs felt really good this week after taking a cutback week in the 20's with my 5K race. I kept all of my runs easy so my legs were raring to go on Saturday.
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wed: 6 miles
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Long run of 11 miles. Legs felt great and the weather was nice and sunny. Couldn't ask for anything better than that. I could have gone more miles but decided to take it easy. I will bump it up a hair next week.
Sunday: 4 miles recovery. I wasn't sure whether I'd feel like running today but once I saw the snow coming down I was like a kid in a candy store. What could be more awesome than running in freshly fallen snow. Oh, that would be downhill skiing in freshly fallen snow. I even ditched my music for the quiet of the snow.
Very good week for me. Legs feel good and I'm still ahead of my training schedule. I need to get my butt over to the track for my speed work this week though. It will be a while before I get another 5K in.
My next race is April 1st. A 10 miler that I ran for the first time last year. Time was 1:27, so I'm hoping to beat that, but the course is totally different and more challenging so I'm not sure.
Weekly mileage: 37
Monthly mileage: 118
Yearly mileage: 281
Legs felt really good this week after taking a cutback week in the 20's with my 5K race. I kept all of my runs easy so my legs were raring to go on Saturday.
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wed: 6 miles
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Long run of 11 miles. Legs felt great and the weather was nice and sunny. Couldn't ask for anything better than that. I could have gone more miles but decided to take it easy. I will bump it up a hair next week.
Sunday: 4 miles recovery. I wasn't sure whether I'd feel like running today but once I saw the snow coming down I was like a kid in a candy store. What could be more awesome than running in freshly fallen snow. Oh, that would be downhill skiing in freshly fallen snow. I even ditched my music for the quiet of the snow.
Very good week for me. Legs feel good and I'm still ahead of my training schedule. I need to get my butt over to the track for my speed work this week though. It will be a while before I get another 5K in.
My next race is April 1st. A 10 miler that I ran for the first time last year. Time was 1:27, so I'm hoping to beat that, but the course is totally different and more challenging so I'm not sure.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Say No To Snow 5K
So the first bad thing I did before this race was to stay up until the early hours of the morning talking with friends. I think I got about a total of 4 hours of sleep because I couldn't sleep in due to family responsibilities. But it was all worth it.
The second bad thing was something I couldn't control....cold and that WIND! Geez! I could hear the gusts upon awakening and seriously considered not running this race. But the director had sent me a personal invitation to this race because I fail to hear about it every year. So I thought I'd better show up. Besides everybody else was going to have to suffer the windiness too.
So I picked my daughter up from her slumber party with limited sleep and took her to my mom's which was on the way to this race. I arrived at the registration table about 10 a.m. The race didn't start until 11 so I thought I chat a while with some people I knew from past races that I hadn't seen in a while. One of them being this 46 yr. old that I know that ended up winning the race with a time of 18:41. The whole race he was only ahead of the 2nd place finisher by about 2 ft. Very close!!
I decided to cut my warmup short due to the cold so I didn't head out until 15 minutes before race time. There weren't any chips being used due to the small race stature(100).
The course was very flat. The first mile felt good, felt like I was in a breathing groove. I heard them yell out 7:15. Right before the turnaround, there were a couple of little hills. I wouldn't really call them hills, but I think some people must have felt them because I passed quite a few on them. I don't know what my other splits were because they didn't have any.
At one point about mile 2 I had just passed some man and I could hear him behind me. Then all of a sudden I could hear him behind me picking up the pace but not passing me. I'll be damned if anybody is going to draft off me, so I started moving towards the left of the road(the wind was at the face and side). I did this for a while until he passed me and much to my embarrassment, it wasn't the same guy. He had to think I was a drunk runner. lol
After I finished the race and grabbed my numbered popsicle stick that marks my placement, I went back to the registration table to give it to them to chart and went to a friend's house for a quick shower before the party in one hour. So I had no idea what my placement was at all.
I was pleasantly surprised at the finishing party where I got 1st place in my age group. Woo hoo! I heard later it pissed the second place finisher off who wins her age group every year(her hometown). I don't think she likes me showing up at the races anymore. :-) I see her quite frequently.
I found out later that my age group had the most participants in them (12). What is it with women my age running so much?
To my embarrassment, they had official podiums just like the Olympics and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners had their pictures taken on them.
Today, my mom told me to look at the paper and there was an article about the race. It seems I was also 3rd overall women's. First place women was 20:12 and second place was 20:54. I wasn't even close to that.
Official time: 23:15
17/100 overall
3/56 women
1/12 age group
Not bad for a race with lack of sleep I guess!
I like the 1st place medal, but I'm still waiting for money! lol
The second bad thing was something I couldn't control....cold and that WIND! Geez! I could hear the gusts upon awakening and seriously considered not running this race. But the director had sent me a personal invitation to this race because I fail to hear about it every year. So I thought I'd better show up. Besides everybody else was going to have to suffer the windiness too.
So I picked my daughter up from her slumber party with limited sleep and took her to my mom's which was on the way to this race. I arrived at the registration table about 10 a.m. The race didn't start until 11 so I thought I chat a while with some people I knew from past races that I hadn't seen in a while. One of them being this 46 yr. old that I know that ended up winning the race with a time of 18:41. The whole race he was only ahead of the 2nd place finisher by about 2 ft. Very close!!
I decided to cut my warmup short due to the cold so I didn't head out until 15 minutes before race time. There weren't any chips being used due to the small race stature(100).
The course was very flat. The first mile felt good, felt like I was in a breathing groove. I heard them yell out 7:15. Right before the turnaround, there were a couple of little hills. I wouldn't really call them hills, but I think some people must have felt them because I passed quite a few on them. I don't know what my other splits were because they didn't have any.
At one point about mile 2 I had just passed some man and I could hear him behind me. Then all of a sudden I could hear him behind me picking up the pace but not passing me. I'll be damned if anybody is going to draft off me, so I started moving towards the left of the road(the wind was at the face and side). I did this for a while until he passed me and much to my embarrassment, it wasn't the same guy. He had to think I was a drunk runner. lol
After I finished the race and grabbed my numbered popsicle stick that marks my placement, I went back to the registration table to give it to them to chart and went to a friend's house for a quick shower before the party in one hour. So I had no idea what my placement was at all.
I was pleasantly surprised at the finishing party where I got 1st place in my age group. Woo hoo! I heard later it pissed the second place finisher off who wins her age group every year(her hometown). I don't think she likes me showing up at the races anymore. :-) I see her quite frequently.
I found out later that my age group had the most participants in them (12). What is it with women my age running so much?
To my embarrassment, they had official podiums just like the Olympics and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners had their pictures taken on them.
Today, my mom told me to look at the paper and there was an article about the race. It seems I was also 3rd overall women's. First place women was 20:12 and second place was 20:54. I wasn't even close to that.
Official time: 23:15
17/100 overall
3/56 women
1/12 age group
Not bad for a race with lack of sleep I guess!
I like the 1st place medal, but I'm still waiting for money! lol
Friday, February 24, 2006
I just can't help it!
Okay, so I'm beginning to get fixated on one singer in particular, just like Bolder. Only my choice is MUCH cuter and sexier!
I just had to change my video back to Keith Urban.
Anybody have any problems with that? Ladies?
I just had to change my video back to Keith Urban.
Anybody have any problems with that? Ladies?
Woohoo...Friday is here!
After an endlessly long and tiring week, Friday is here! Even better I was able to catch up on my housecleaning today since I didn't "work" at the dental office. Now my house is spankin' clean and smells sooooo nice. I ran all my errands for the day/week, kids are gone for the night and I am planning on some takeout food and sitting back to vegging in front of a couple of movies. It's not something I normally do, but for some reason I'm really looking forward to it. Much needed I guess.
I'll be snuggling with my little "Chloe"(above, my mini-dachshund). She deserves that at the very least. Her poor owner forgot to get her more dog food yesterday and I had to feed her stuff from the fridge. I fed her eggs this morning and it just wasn't cutting it. As I walked out the door to run my errands, she was sitting at her food bowl giving me this look like, "Hey beeeotch, give me my frickin' food already." Now she is one happy camper with a fat tummy(but not as fat of a tummy as Jen's cat).
No running today due to a 5K tomorrow morning. Gotta rest these legs!
Now, what to eat tonight! Hmmmm!
Monday, February 20, 2006
I'm ready for spring!
This weekend was a tough one running-wise, but I got it all done anyway. Which was great because it was a very busy weekend.
Going out Saturday was tough. Wind chill was 6 below. I was supposed to run my 10 mile long run, but decided to keep it short at 4 miles. So in turn I ventured out Sunday for my 10. It went very well and it actually ended up being a balmy 17 degrees. Woohooo!!
How many days until spring?
Although I'd rather run in very cold weather than very hot, humid weather. At least with cold weather one can bundle up more. There are just so many clothes you can take off without calling attention to yourself. Although I'm sure my neighbors would really appreciate a streaker running through their neighborhood. :-)
Going out Saturday was tough. Wind chill was 6 below. I was supposed to run my 10 mile long run, but decided to keep it short at 4 miles. So in turn I ventured out Sunday for my 10. It went very well and it actually ended up being a balmy 17 degrees. Woohooo!!
How many days until spring?
Although I'd rather run in very cold weather than very hot, humid weather. At least with cold weather one can bundle up more. There are just so many clothes you can take off without calling attention to yourself. Although I'm sure my neighbors would really appreciate a streaker running through their neighborhood. :-)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Ice Ice Baby
No, not a Vanilla Ice song. I woke up this morning and decided I'd better not run. The ground was covered with ice and it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. Such a weird sound on Feb. 16th in the midwest.
To top it all off, the ice covered my antenna, so I had no internet connection all day. No matter, I was going to work anyway.
Trouble is.....after I got to work, all my patients started calling in and cancelling. So I ended up going shopping instead for some odds and ends.
Hopefully, it won't get any worse. Nothing worse than sleet and ice.
To top it all off, the ice covered my antenna, so I had no internet connection all day. No matter, I was going to work anyway.
Trouble is.....after I got to work, all my patients started calling in and cancelling. So I ended up going shopping instead for some odds and ends.
Hopefully, it won't get any worse. Nothing worse than sleet and ice.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Valentine 5K
Valentine 5K
Goal time: Beat 23 minutes. Best 5K time so far was 23:12, but that was on a course that was measured short. So actual 5K PR was 23:23.
Well, bad news when I woke up. We had about 3-4 inches of snow overnight. I can't say I was happy about that, but thought, if I can get there, I'm running it anyway.
So I went out and shoveled the driveway and got dressed and ready. I grabbed a banana and drove into town to buy some coffee. I was on my way for a 1 hr. and 15 minute drive to Madison.
As I travelled further north, I noticed less and less snow on the ground. First good sign....I liked that! By the time I got to Madison, there wasn't even any snow on the grass. Go figure!
I arrived fairly early(10ish) and since the registration didn't start until 9:30 the day of the race, I was one of the first ones because the race didn't start until 11. Another good sign for this race? My number was 23. For any of you basketball fans out there, you know who's number that was. I thought it was retired, but they gave it to ME!! heehee Michael Jordan, eat your heart out.....or run with me in spirit! :-)
I affixed my number on my shirt, used the restroom and climbed back into my van to listen to music until about 20 minutes before the start. Hopped out and ran a very slow one mile for a warm up and then stretched out. We all started to walk towards the finish which started on the running/bike path behind the university dorms. A little crowded for a start of a race, to say the least. I'm not sure how many people ran it but it couldn't have been much more than 100, if that.
My goal was to use doc's advice(even though I haven't incorporated his doctervals yet) and go out hard and just hang on for life.
First mile was on a slight decline, which meant an incline at the finish for this out and around course. After juggling around some people I settled into what I felt a pretty good clip, and hopefully a pace that I could keep up.
First mile split time was 7:04. Okay, alot faster than normal, but to be expected.
Started to really feel it between miles 1 and 2 and then another long hill right before the 2 mile point. Who said this was a flat, fast course? It wasn't that bad, but enough to slow me down a little. I was just trying to concentrate on form and pushup. Get those arms pumping!
Second mile split time was 7:44. Oops....starting to lose it...get it together Weebs! Think about that frickin' PR you want so bad. At this point I was playing a constant game of cat and mouse with a 20something guy messing with his headphones. He would fiddle with his headphones and slow down and I would pass him. He would look up and notice me passing him and speed up.
I was still passing a few but was actually sticking with a small group of people. I could see one young gal dressed in red ahead of me and we were running the same pace. I just couldn't reel her in.
At the 2.5 mile marker I decided to just let it hurt. I knew the hurt wouldn't last long. I had no idea what my time was at this point even though I had my Garmin on. I just didn't have the energy or want to use the energy to bother looking. By this time I had finished playing games with "headset man" and finished him off. Next up was the gal in red. I was gaining on her ever so slowly. Could I catch her within a half mile?
Coming up on her my third mile split was 7:35. Not as bad as the 7:44, but I guess I was still hanging on. With .1 miles to go and the finish line near, I gave it all I got....lungs were on fire...almost upon her. With about 25 yds to go....she gave it one last sprint...my legs just wouldn't go any faster than they already were. She just barely beat me. Last .1 split was 26 seconds.
Total time: 22:50!!!! I did it! I beat 23 minutes. Wooohoooo! I walked around trying to catch my breath...wanting to hurl so bad. I congratulated the "red" girl and told her she had a target on her back that I just couldn't catch. She told me this was her first race in a while. She looked like she could have kept going....damn young kids! heehee
Oh and "headset man"? He must have been right on my tail because right after we crossed the line, I slowed down and he happened to pass me before the chute narrowed and he got yelled at to stay in order. lol Priceless!
Jogged a slow mile after and back to the place where the food and drink was. I'm never hungry for anything after a 5K(except maybe a couple of orange slices) but would have liked some cold water...received warm water...blech!
I went back to my van to call a few people that wanted an update postrace and made my way home.
So now I'm just basking in my glory. This is the first time my lungs were so sore that I kept coughing afterwards to clear them. Very weird feeling. It was in the 30's and a beautiful day for a run, so it wasn't the cold that did it.
And now to take a little nap. I'm beat! Plus I gotta get ready to go dancin' tonight with my girlfriends!
Friday, February 10, 2006
New State Mottos
Disclaimer: These were not made up by me, but by other people. These are fictitious state mottos, but some really hit home.
Alabama: Keeping it in the family since 1819.
Alaska: We get to kill whales and you don't.
Arizona: Dehyrd-rific.
Arkansas: Literasy ain't everything!
California: Caution: Large Fake Breasts On Board!
Colorado: Too wimpy to cross the mountains, so we stopped here.
Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only the Kennedys Don't Own It Yet.
Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.
Florida: Senior Citizen Discounts Available.
Georgia: Confederate Money Welcome.
Hawaii: Come, Get Lai-ed.
Idaho: We Don't Care If You Spell Potato With an "E".
Illinois: Stop Pronoucing The "S", Or We're Gonna Kick Your Ass!
Indiana: Dan Quayle's Favorite Country!
Iowa: Our Trees Bend North Because Minnesota Sucks.
Kansas: Don't Blame Us, We Voted For Dole.
Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names.
Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign.
Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster.
Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It.
Massachusetts: Now with 30% fewer Kennedys!
Michigan: It's not just cold. It's ass-biting cold.
Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes...and 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes.
Mississippi: Come and Feel Better About Your Own State.
Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars Hard at Work.
Montana: It's Where You're Wanted.
Nebraska: You're Not in Kansas Anymore!
Nevada: Hookers and Poker!
New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone!
New Jersey: You Want a ##$%## Motto? I Got Yer ##$%## Motto Right Here.
New Mexico: We Really Are One of the 50 States!
New York: You Have the Right to Remain Silent, You Have the Right to an Attorney...
North Carolina: Sure, we've got weird, blue-skinned, inbred mountain dwellers, but at least we don't still fly the confederate flag!
North Dakota: Um, We've Got, Um...Dinosaur Bones? Yeah, Dinosaur Bones!
Ohio: Home of Lake Erie and the Mistake by the Lake.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma: Named After an Indian Tribe We Slaughtered.
Oregon: Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner.
Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal.
Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY an Island.
South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender.
South Dakota: Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hey! Over here!
Tennessee: The Ejucashun State.
Texas: We Kill 'em So YOU Don't Have To.
Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus.
Vermont: We don't care who you marry, as long as we get the license fee.
Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?
Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds and Slackers!
West Virginia: Got Teeth?
Wisconsin: Cutting the Cheese Since 1848.
Wyoming: Why Are You Here?
Alabama: Keeping it in the family since 1819.
Alaska: We get to kill whales and you don't.
Arizona: Dehyrd-rific.
Arkansas: Literasy ain't everything!
California: Caution: Large Fake Breasts On Board!
Colorado: Too wimpy to cross the mountains, so we stopped here.
Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only the Kennedys Don't Own It Yet.
Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.
Florida: Senior Citizen Discounts Available.
Georgia: Confederate Money Welcome.
Hawaii: Come, Get Lai-ed.
Idaho: We Don't Care If You Spell Potato With an "E".
Illinois: Stop Pronoucing The "S", Or We're Gonna Kick Your Ass!
Indiana: Dan Quayle's Favorite Country!
Iowa: Our Trees Bend North Because Minnesota Sucks.
Kansas: Don't Blame Us, We Voted For Dole.
Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names.
Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign.
Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster.
Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It.
Massachusetts: Now with 30% fewer Kennedys!
Michigan: It's not just cold. It's ass-biting cold.
Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes...and 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes.
Mississippi: Come and Feel Better About Your Own State.
Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars Hard at Work.
Montana: It's Where You're Wanted.
Nebraska: You're Not in Kansas Anymore!
Nevada: Hookers and Poker!
New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone!
New Jersey: You Want a ##$%## Motto? I Got Yer ##$%## Motto Right Here.
New Mexico: We Really Are One of the 50 States!
New York: You Have the Right to Remain Silent, You Have the Right to an Attorney...
North Carolina: Sure, we've got weird, blue-skinned, inbred mountain dwellers, but at least we don't still fly the confederate flag!
North Dakota: Um, We've Got, Um...Dinosaur Bones? Yeah, Dinosaur Bones!
Ohio: Home of Lake Erie and the Mistake by the Lake.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma: Named After an Indian Tribe We Slaughtered.
Oregon: Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner.
Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal.
Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY an Island.
South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender.
South Dakota: Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hey! Over here!
Tennessee: The Ejucashun State.
Texas: We Kill 'em So YOU Don't Have To.
Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus.
Vermont: We don't care who you marry, as long as we get the license fee.
Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?
Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds and Slackers!
West Virginia: Got Teeth?
Wisconsin: Cutting the Cheese Since 1848.
Wyoming: Why Are You Here?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
If they only knew!
Another interesting day at work today. If these people only knew I really didn't know what I was doing half the time and just faking it.
The dentist was busy with another patient so he wanted me to work on this girl's new appliance. I know how to check the bite, but I had never actually fixed the problem on the appliance if it was off. So he points out that I needed to file down any high spots and he would come back if I needed any help. I thought, you poor, poor girl. You have no idea who is working on you. I was chuckling inside and thought, this could be interesting, since the doc knows that sharp appliances do not like me. Those sharp evil tools always seem to find a way of taking slices and chunks off my fingers and hands and I have the scars to prove it. But not this time.
I ended up getting the job done and sent the patient off with her none the wiser. I do have fun with some of these patients though. I can get them to talk and laugh, but I think they are a little intimidated by the dentist.
I think I'm getting too comfortable there though. Today I brought my new Keith Urban cd in to show the other assistant. Actually, I just brought it in so we could both drool while catching small, short glimpses of the cover. Good thing we wear masks, so the drool is caught right away! :-)
The dentist and wife/secretary have this thing about playing classical music without words(We have lots of Amish patients). At lunch, the hygienist will switch it over to some hoppin music and our game is to guess how long it will take the dentist's wife to change it. Too bad I'm not a gambling person, because I've been pretty darn close. So, nasty person that I am, I asked "Betty" if she wanted to listen to a little of it...if I dared. Her eyes got big and said sure...go for it. Well, I'm not that nasty, so I asked the wife if I could put it in just for a little bit and she actually said YES!! So I played it and the dentist actually knew one of his songs. Not bad!
Betty actually told me today that I am catching on quick to the quirks of both the dentist AND his wife. She can't believe it and said I remind her of her starting out. I guess I just feel comfortable enough and I just observe alot. I've had to...it's how I've picked things up.
Oh and yesterday we had an interesting case. For those of you who are squeamish....don't read this paragraph. We were extracting two teeth from this man who doesn't take care of his teeth. If they go bad he just gets them extracted. Ewww! After the teeth were extracted(those teeth sure do come out WAY too easy), the dentist saw that part of his jaw bone protrudes too much for a partial to fit so he proceeded to slice open the gums, flip the skin back and clipped and file the bone away. Now, mind you, the first time I was observing something such as this, I had to leave the room because I was about to pass out. I think it makes a difference being in the chair and assisting, because NONE of it bothered me. I thought for sure the clipping and crunching of the bone would have sent me into dreamland. I was very proud of myself.
It sure does remind me to take good care of my teeth anyway.
The dentist was busy with another patient so he wanted me to work on this girl's new appliance. I know how to check the bite, but I had never actually fixed the problem on the appliance if it was off. So he points out that I needed to file down any high spots and he would come back if I needed any help. I thought, you poor, poor girl. You have no idea who is working on you. I was chuckling inside and thought, this could be interesting, since the doc knows that sharp appliances do not like me. Those sharp evil tools always seem to find a way of taking slices and chunks off my fingers and hands and I have the scars to prove it. But not this time.
I ended up getting the job done and sent the patient off with her none the wiser. I do have fun with some of these patients though. I can get them to talk and laugh, but I think they are a little intimidated by the dentist.
I think I'm getting too comfortable there though. Today I brought my new Keith Urban cd in to show the other assistant. Actually, I just brought it in so we could both drool while catching small, short glimpses of the cover. Good thing we wear masks, so the drool is caught right away! :-)
The dentist and wife/secretary have this thing about playing classical music without words(We have lots of Amish patients). At lunch, the hygienist will switch it over to some hoppin music and our game is to guess how long it will take the dentist's wife to change it. Too bad I'm not a gambling person, because I've been pretty darn close. So, nasty person that I am, I asked "Betty" if she wanted to listen to a little of it...if I dared. Her eyes got big and said sure...go for it. Well, I'm not that nasty, so I asked the wife if I could put it in just for a little bit and she actually said YES!! So I played it and the dentist actually knew one of his songs. Not bad!
Betty actually told me today that I am catching on quick to the quirks of both the dentist AND his wife. She can't believe it and said I remind her of her starting out. I guess I just feel comfortable enough and I just observe alot. I've had to...it's how I've picked things up.
Oh and yesterday we had an interesting case. For those of you who are squeamish....don't read this paragraph. We were extracting two teeth from this man who doesn't take care of his teeth. If they go bad he just gets them extracted. Ewww! After the teeth were extracted(those teeth sure do come out WAY too easy), the dentist saw that part of his jaw bone protrudes too much for a partial to fit so he proceeded to slice open the gums, flip the skin back and clipped and file the bone away. Now, mind you, the first time I was observing something such as this, I had to leave the room because I was about to pass out. I think it makes a difference being in the chair and assisting, because NONE of it bothered me. I thought for sure the clipping and crunching of the bone would have sent me into dreamland. I was very proud of myself.
It sure does remind me to take good care of my teeth anyway.
New favorite
Okay, so it's country but my new hottie is Keith Urban. I've liked some of his music recently, but when I bought his new cd and saw the cover...and the pictures inside....woohooo!
Basically, I like all kinds of music so you'll never know what type of music you'll find here.
I still haven't quite figured out how to organize my blog, but as long as I have him here, that's all that matters right now. heehee
Basically, I like all kinds of music so you'll never know what type of music you'll find here.
I still haven't quite figured out how to organize my blog, but as long as I have him here, that's all that matters right now. heehee
Monday, February 06, 2006
Today's day
I have to share today's day at work. As some of you know, I've only been doing this dental assisting job for 5 weeks. There is so much to learn yet and get a handle on since I'm inexperienced and being trained on the job, that when I walked in and found the other assistant not there due to sickness I got a little nervous. Plus, on top of that because of personal issues here at home, I didn't get much sleep the night before. So I had brain fog to top it all off.
I panicked for nothing. EVERYTHING just clicked. I was even surprising the dentist with some of the things I was doing. I think I scared him! hehe I was even offering to help with things I hadn't done before and being successful to boot.
What a way to end a work day. My confidence was soaring!! I'm just so glad that I'm really catching on and able to help.
I was really dreading the day with the other assistant gone with her 16 yrs. experience, but it ended up being a great day!
I panicked for nothing. EVERYTHING just clicked. I was even surprising the dentist with some of the things I was doing. I think I scared him! hehe I was even offering to help with things I hadn't done before and being successful to boot.
What a way to end a work day. My confidence was soaring!! I'm just so glad that I'm really catching on and able to help.
I was really dreading the day with the other assistant gone with her 16 yrs. experience, but it ended up being a great day!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
First 4 mile race
This was the first 4 mile race I've ever done, so of course it was a guaranteed PR. But that didn't stop me from doing my best.
I wasn't all that sure what pace to try for, but I figured I would start out at a pace that I thought I could hold for a bit and then maybe pick up a bit at the end.
The temps were 25 degrees with the wind blowing like mad. The wind didn't really affect us too much on the course except for when we got out by the dam along the Mississippi River.
I passed quite a few people in the last 2 miles and not one passed me, so that was a nice surprise. There was this one real tiny gal wearing a pink hat and pink top and I kept getting closer and closer and I was about 5 feet behind her with about .1 miles to go and she had a kick to die for. I congratulated her at the finish. She beat me by 2 seconds. Grrrrr, next time!
My overall time was 30:30. I placed 3rd in my AG(got some hardware) out of 40. I place 12th out of 308 females and 94th out of a total of 572. At the 2 mile turnaround I only counted about 10 women ahead of me so I thought I may have a slight chance at placing in my age group.
Great food and party after. Especially the FREE golden beverages.
I wasn't all that sure what pace to try for, but I figured I would start out at a pace that I thought I could hold for a bit and then maybe pick up a bit at the end.
The temps were 25 degrees with the wind blowing like mad. The wind didn't really affect us too much on the course except for when we got out by the dam along the Mississippi River.
I passed quite a few people in the last 2 miles and not one passed me, so that was a nice surprise. There was this one real tiny gal wearing a pink hat and pink top and I kept getting closer and closer and I was about 5 feet behind her with about .1 miles to go and she had a kick to die for. I congratulated her at the finish. She beat me by 2 seconds. Grrrrr, next time!
My overall time was 30:30. I placed 3rd in my AG(got some hardware) out of 40. I place 12th out of 308 females and 94th out of a total of 572. At the 2 mile turnaround I only counted about 10 women ahead of me so I thought I may have a slight chance at placing in my age group.
Great food and party after. Especially the FREE golden beverages.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
What a shitty, shitty week!
Among other events, I got a call from my lawyer on Wednesday that I needed to call him. It seems that my crackhead soon-to-be ex-husband is wanting to file bankruptcy...jointly!! I think not! I'm not the one carving up a boatload of debt since our separation. Our divorce was supposed to be final next Friday and NOW he brings this up.
After many phone calls later, and talking to the bankruptcy lawyer to find out what is going on, the lawyer said that it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point and he would advise not to just because of the situation. Long story short, my lawyer says that bankruptcy is not in the cards. I told him that I would rather go down in a sinking ship than file bankruptcy.
Btw, how does one incur a $7000 cc debt in 4 months without having any living expenses? Seems rather odd to me.
Thankfully, I still have my running to keep me sane! Grrrr!
I know tomorrow is another day and things will work out. I just wish I was rid of him already.
After many phone calls later, and talking to the bankruptcy lawyer to find out what is going on, the lawyer said that it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point and he would advise not to just because of the situation. Long story short, my lawyer says that bankruptcy is not in the cards. I told him that I would rather go down in a sinking ship than file bankruptcy.
Btw, how does one incur a $7000 cc debt in 4 months without having any living expenses? Seems rather odd to me.
Thankfully, I still have my running to keep me sane! Grrrr!
I know tomorrow is another day and things will work out. I just wish I was rid of him already.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
First 4 miler coming up!
Saturday I have a 4 mile race titled "The Brrrrry Scurry". I'm not really sure what my goal time should be since I've never run a 4 mile race before? If my goal 5K is under 24 minutes, then should my 4 mile goal be 31:30 or something close?
It should be very interesting. I have no idea what the course is like, but I'm hoping since it's in Iowa, it will be relatively flat.
It should be very interesting. I have no idea what the course is like, but I'm hoping since it's in Iowa, it will be relatively flat.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Damn dog!
I was out minding my own business today, running along doing my recovery jog and this stupid, HUGE German Shepherd came running at me and barking. Scared the bejeezes out of me. Usually, I'll stop and turn to face them as I back away from them slowly and if they are small dogs I'll start chasing them and yelling at them. But this one was a little different. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. I was beginning to wonder which part of my body should I sacrifice first? Definitely, anything but the legs.
I usually carry some Mace with me for some kind of protection, but I didn't have much on, no pockets because it was so nice outside. I ended up flagging a car down and the teenager inside knew the dog and it's owner. So he took the dog back.
Tomorrow I call animal control. We have a leash law in our neighborhood and he just pushed my limits.
I usually carry some Mace with me for some kind of protection, but I didn't have much on, no pockets because it was so nice outside. I ended up flagging a car down and the teenager inside knew the dog and it's owner. So he took the dog back.
Tomorrow I call animal control. We have a leash law in our neighborhood and he just pushed my limits.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
One hour?
As you all may have read from my earlier posts, I took a stepback week last week due to tapering for a race that never happened. So I guess I am coming back to running this week with a vengeance.
I set out this morning to run 6-8 miles depending on the legs. Yesterday's run was a recovery of 3 easy. I turned my Garmin on and just took off not paying attention to splits but just trying to run a sort of tempo run. If I felt like running faster(but not too fast) I'd pick up speed a bit. If I felt like the body needed to slow down, I did that too.
I decided to stop running when my watch signaled 1 hr. My total mileage for that hour was 7.3 miles!!!! I couldn't believe it! The legs felt great and I didn't feel like I was breathing THAT hard. I noticed that one of my mile splits was actually 7:45/mile. My old splits for my last 5K were in the 7:30ish range.
And this was on one of the later miles that this happened. I am SOOOO ready to race! Let me at it!
Now I just need to be smart and make sure I'm training properly to ward off injury.
I set out this morning to run 6-8 miles depending on the legs. Yesterday's run was a recovery of 3 easy. I turned my Garmin on and just took off not paying attention to splits but just trying to run a sort of tempo run. If I felt like running faster(but not too fast) I'd pick up speed a bit. If I felt like the body needed to slow down, I did that too.
I decided to stop running when my watch signaled 1 hr. My total mileage for that hour was 7.3 miles!!!! I couldn't believe it! The legs felt great and I didn't feel like I was breathing THAT hard. I noticed that one of my mile splits was actually 7:45/mile. My old splits for my last 5K were in the 7:30ish range.
And this was on one of the later miles that this happened. I am SOOOO ready to race! Let me at it!
Now I just need to be smart and make sure I'm training properly to ward off injury.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
No race!
Well, my worst fear came true. We got pounded with snow. Therefore, no race for me today. I didn't get to bed until late and then didn't sleep well anyway. I was so tired today that it probably wouldn't have been a good race anyway. I was a little sluggish all day until I did a 6 mile tempo run in 50 min. with a warmup and cooldown mile. Heck, I may as well have put my taper to good use for something. Tomorrow I may attempt another 8. I'll use this lower weekly mileage for injury prevention I guess.
Yesterday I received an invitation to a local 5K race at the beginning of February. Just in time to get me out of this snowy slump.
Yesterday I received an invitation to a local 5K race at the beginning of February. Just in time to get me out of this snowy slump.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Ready to race?
This week has been a little odd. I'm preparing for a 5K this Saturday so have taken my mileage way down because I want to try for a new personal best. I'm gonna try my darndest even if it kills me. So Monday I ran 6, Tuesday 3 and today(Wed.) 3. I'm already feeling weird with so low of mileage. I never thought I'd say that. But tomorrow will be a sluggish day off and Friday will be 2 easy with some strides.
Saturday the race is not until noon and I'm meeting up with Marty and Steve from my online running group WELOVETORUN. They are doing the 5K AND 10K, I'm only doing the 5K. I will still probably run just a little more but not quite 6.2.
I haven't run a 5K race since June 2005 and it was 98 degrees at 6 p.m. I'm hoping to do great. Wish me luck!
Saturday the race is not until noon and I'm meeting up with Marty and Steve from my online running group WELOVETORUN. They are doing the 5K AND 10K, I'm only doing the 5K. I will still probably run just a little more but not quite 6.2.
I haven't run a 5K race since June 2005 and it was 98 degrees at 6 p.m. I'm hoping to do great. Wish me luck!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Killer long run!
I had a killer long run today. It made up for the lame one last weekend. I set out to run 12 miles and ended up feeling so good I tacked on another mile for 13 total. I noticed that my easy, long run pace is now averaging 9:30/mile when last year I was at 10:30/mile. I see some progress and it makes me very happy.
Don't you just love those runs where you feel like you could keep running forever? This run makes up for the lousy one last week.
Don't you just love those runs where you feel like you could keep running forever? This run makes up for the lousy one last week.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Heart trouble during intervals
After my poor attempt at 12 miles on Saturday, I had a great SLLOOOWWW recovery jog on Sunday of 3 miles. So I get up on Monday morning and decide, heck, today sounds like a good day to do some speedwork.
I haven't done any intervals for a few weeks so I thought I'd start back at the beginning doing only 5X400's.
I started out running a mile for a warmup. This is usually all it takes for me to be warmed up. I proceed to do the first 400 trying to concentrate on my leg turnover. Time 1:46(recovery walking for 2 min.), a little slower than usual, but I haven't done these for a bit. Next interval, 1:40, a little better and closer to normal. Next, 1:34, that's more like it. I'm getting into the groove now. Remember, after each interval I take a 2 minute walk break. Next interval, 1:42. Okay after almost using up the whole 2 minute walk break and I felt like my heart had slowed down significantly....what?...what's that? What is my heart doing? All of a sudden it is pounding very fast and hard and fluttering all over. It only lasted about 10 seconds, but felt like a minute. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I was a little nervous to continue my intervals. Thus the 1:47 last interval. I only ran .5 miles for my cooldown and decided to call it a day.
I have had something like this happen off and on, but usually upon first lying down, but this was a different feeling and it's never happened while running. It was a little unnerving.
As much as I hate going to the doctor's, I think I just need to bite the bullet and go.
I haven't done any intervals for a few weeks so I thought I'd start back at the beginning doing only 5X400's.
I started out running a mile for a warmup. This is usually all it takes for me to be warmed up. I proceed to do the first 400 trying to concentrate on my leg turnover. Time 1:46(recovery walking for 2 min.), a little slower than usual, but I haven't done these for a bit. Next interval, 1:40, a little better and closer to normal. Next, 1:34, that's more like it. I'm getting into the groove now. Remember, after each interval I take a 2 minute walk break. Next interval, 1:42. Okay after almost using up the whole 2 minute walk break and I felt like my heart had slowed down significantly....what?...what's that? What is my heart doing? All of a sudden it is pounding very fast and hard and fluttering all over. It only lasted about 10 seconds, but felt like a minute. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I was a little nervous to continue my intervals. Thus the 1:47 last interval. I only ran .5 miles for my cooldown and decided to call it a day.
I have had something like this happen off and on, but usually upon first lying down, but this was a different feeling and it's never happened while running. It was a little unnerving.
As much as I hate going to the doctor's, I think I just need to bite the bullet and go.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Tough long run
Today I set out to run 12 miles and only made 10. It's all I could do to finish the 10. I had stopped at a friend's house to chat for a bit and when I started back out I hadn't realized how late it was and how chilled I had become until I started up running again. By mile 8 I almost had to call my friend to pick me up and take me home. But I suffered through the 2 mile low glycemic crash and chowed when I got home. Next time I'll eat more carbs before setting out.
Friday, January 06, 2006
My first post
It seems that the blog is the way to go, so here is my attempt at starting my own. My blog will mostly be about running since it's what I love. I started running March 2004 because I was too impatient to walk and have been hooked ever since. Through the course of almost 2 years, I have run several 5K's, 10K's, my first 10 miler, 1/2 marathon and finally a full marathon last year. I love to race, if only they were all free!
I'm currently making my schedule to run my second 1/2 marathon April 29, 2006 and it's the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN. I will officially start training for it in February, but for now am establishing my base mileage which is between 30-35 miles/week.
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