Cow.

Remember from the movie Twister?

I don't even know where I left off or where to begin.

Its been a whirlwind (or more like a tornado) of a weekend?  I use the question mark because honestly I didn't have a 'weekend' let alone a long weekend that everyone enjoyed.  I scoff at those on Facebook this morning complaining about having to go back to work today.  Really?  Whatev.  :O)

Sure I had Thursday 'off' if you want to call it that, but at least it started out on the right foot!  But it wasn't our normal Thanksgiving and with having to work Friday, well...anyway.

So I work Friday, but I did leave at 2 as previously posted, but instead of going to the movie I opted to hit up Target to get 2 gifts I needed.  Surprisingly it wasnt packed or anything even for it being Black Friday.

Saturday of course was long run day and I had planned on doing 13miles and I had to get them done early because I then had to hightail it out to take care of mom while my sister is out of town and she was expecting me by like 9am or so.  I didnt feel like getting up early to do 3 (or more) miles before the group start, so I opted to cut off a mile on the route and do 12.  It was also the first really cold run of the season, with it being 33deg at the start!  Woohoo!  I dont have my Garmin here with me at work while typing this, but I did download and from what I remember, it was only slightly slower than the previous week (just wanted to go easier), but the last 3 miles were something like (9:45-9:50 with the last mile coming in at 9:01).  The 9:01 I remember vividly :O)

The rest of Saturday was spent caring for mom which is a full time job.  To get her fed, changed, meds, take her vitals and her breathing treatment is about a 3 hour process.  You get a bit of break and then its time to do it for the late afternoon/evening session.  Sunday morning I get up, walk my sisters dog, start mixing the meds for mom's morning routine and get in a quick run out there before driving back into Houston where I was on the schedule to work at the Locker on Sunday.

At least my 'weekend' ended on a fantastic note, as I finally got to see Unstoppable (which I thought was awesome.  Predictable for the most part but awesome and from the opening to the ending it was non-stop heart pounding edge of your seat kinda of action)  and spend some much needed downtime with a friend.

I have to say that my eating the past 4 days have been awful.  Not so much in what I've eaten but how little I've eaten, because even if I have to resort to fast food I can still get pretty good choices.  There just really hasn't been much time to eat. 

Judge for yourself.

I think I covered what I ate on Thanksgiving.

Friday: Cheerios/milk for breakfast, 4 grilled chicken strips for lunch, 4 egg whites for 'dinner'

Saturday: Brown Sugar pop tart before my long run, piece of ham, slice of left over apple pie from my sisters fridge, then around 3pm I went and got a kids meal at Sonic.  Dinner was some guacamole, chips and a beer.

Sunday: 2 al fresco chicken tacos from Taco Bell for lunch and popcorn at the movies for dinner.

See?  Looking at that its sorta mindboggling that I am even able to function and think clearly.

When I woke up this morning, so tired I know its because of my lack of food, so I opted not to run this morning but to get some food in me today and do my 5-6 miles after work instead.

I am looking forward to heading to Dallas this coming weekend, and am only minor stalking the weather up there for Dallas/White Rock Marathon/Half Marathon that I will be running in on Sunday.

I will just run normal this week, still do my speed work on Wednesday as scheduled.  Might alter it some.  I wont run Friday or Saturday and hope that I can get Mother Nature AND my legs to cooperate on Sunday so I can come back to Houston with a good feeling about how I ran.

I cannot WAIT to get home this evening....CAN.NOT.WAIT. 

At least today is a slooooooooooow day for me at work.  I did partake in Cyber Monday as I have been needing to replace my black 'riding' boot style of boots so I waited until today as I knew I would be able to save a lot of money by using free shipping and discount codes. 

What is awesome is that DSW allows you to stack up to 3 coupon codes and not only did I get free shipping and 25% already discounted boots, but I also got another $10 off for 2 or more.  I found another coupon for 30% off but for some reason it wouldnt take even if I took the 25% coupon code out.  Sad face.

Are you shopping at work today for Cyber Monday?  For Christmas gifts or are you self-gifting like I did???

They say its the least productive day reported by companies as a whole.

NO! I Don't Want Seconds...Honestly I Could Do without the Firsts!

Thanksgiving is likely not the most stress-free day of the year for anyone, especially for those with eating issues and an aversion to excess.. 

While I realize over-consumption is “normal” for a holiday centered around gluttony and relative sloth (pun intended), I end up trying to defy the “normal” behavior of everyone else.

Let me explain.

I have an issue with people making such a big deal about food—ironic and hypocritical, I know. I’m not proud, but I get quite annoyed with the gorging and emphasis placed on the food this time of year, and tend to harbor a general disgust towards the overconsumption that I would rather not admit to (and don’t even get me started on overconsumption of consumer goods this time of year.)

Anyway, this makes me sound shallow, but I wonder where the self-restraint is at times (and often feel the need to be extra “controlled” as a result.) There are constant articles (and I posted only a few) and commercials about “surviving the holidays” like it’s a nuclear war we’re fighting instead of a gathering of friends and family. There are more features about weight gain and diet tricks than feel-good stories that exemplify the true meaning of the season.

No, I’m not on some high horse, but come on—it’s food, people.

I’m guilty of the “food is love” mentality as well, so I completely understand that side of it. It’s something to be enjoyed and celebrated, no doubt, but it’s also not the last time you will ever get to eat. The holidays are a great time to enjoy a variety of delicious offerings, but there comes a point when as delicious as it is, food is just food. Turkeys are not an endangered species as of yet and green bean casserole and pie can actually be recreated in months that don’t end in “er.”

OK, rant over.  Courtesy of I Have Issues.

Even though yesterday after dinner (we ate around 1:30pm) I was indeed stuffed its only because I ate a few things I dont normally eat.  However, I will say that there were no appetizers this year (YAY!), not even raw veggies, and I had one plate of food, mostly ham.  The remainder of my plate contained one tbsp (not level but not heaping either) of au gratin potates, green beans, butter beans and then rice dressing.  About 2 hours later I took a about 1/16th of the apple pie and 1/16th of the pecan pie.   Minimal.

I did eat again until 7:00am this morning.  Not because I am restricting myself but because I wasn't hungry...intuitive eating people, intuitive eating.  :o)

In other news I am at work today.  Blech.  And blech again.  Even the security guards aren't here.  But the NYSE is open, therefore we are open.  But there are only a handful of peeps here, most opting for taking a discretionary or vacation day.  Since I only had a couple of days left for the year, I am saving them for Christmas so I can have 5 days off instead :O)  Thankfully I am out of here at 2pm today; plans are to go see Unstoppable!!  Love Denzel!  AND we got that cold front!! 

Gonna be a brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-chilly run in the morning!  They say 32deg!  Guess I have to pull out the capri's to run in!!

Get In There and Wash That Face!

ahhhh...words I use to hear my momma say more often than not!  I was always getting yelled at for being all dirty and showing up to eat lunch or dinner with a face full of smudge.  Hey I grew up in the country with more animals as friends than there were other kids and instead of fishing in a lake I fished for crawdads with a string and a strip of raw bacon in ditches...I just liked gettin' down and dirty.

This changed somewhere along the way (I became a girl I guess), and makeup instead of dirt would be on my face for many many years...And yes up until a point I do vaguely remember even putting on makeup to go to the pool.  Let us not forget that in addition to my body image issues I was also very self conscious about a serious skin problem I had in those early teen years and I use to use make up to try and cover everything up and I just stuck with that right on through my 20's.

However that all changed and slowly but surely I would go more and more often without makeup.  In that respect I started feeling more comfortable with the face that God gave me. 

Are you trying to figure out why the hell I am talking about this?  :O)

Well yesterday as I was in the bathroom at the yoga studio, like any other time, there I am in the bathroom washing the work day make up off my face before class.  One of the instructors came in and said to me "I find it so funny that there are SO many women that do the class in full make up."  She is the 2nd instructor to say something like this to me.  And of course I belt out "Riiiight?" 

I mean COME ON...its flippin' HOT ASS in there and sweat is flying off everywhere and running up your nose at times...and to have make up on is just gross.  Sorry but it is. 

I am, now, and for the past ummm...for certain 5 years, completely comfortable without any make up on.  Its rare on weekends you are going to see any on me unless I am going out out ... like not just running around town.  Its the first thing I do when I get home from work...

And so we continued to talk and I mentioned to her how it completely blows my mind when I am at a race, whether its a 5K or a marathon, how many women I see in full makeup AND hair done...and there is even those that are like that on training runs (at 6am!!), at the park, whereever.  I dont just dont get it...for example...at the Houston Half just a few weeks back, it was hotter than hell that day here...and humid.  There is this one lady (who is on my running club and shall remain nameless, but shes older..like older than me :O)) and there she was, as always, with full on make up and her hair done...and not just a little make up but she wears a LOT of makeup.  Like thick foundation kinda stuff...And I saw her after her portion of the relay (yep I beat her) and honestly she looked like a clown where someone had thrown water on her face...it was just gross.

I dont know...never never NEVER since I started running have I ever ran one single run or race with any make up on my face.  No way, no how.  I just don't get it.

Anyone know why?  Do you wear make up (of any degree) and do your hair for training runs and/or races?  If so, why?  Do you know someone that does if not you?  Did they ever say why they do it?

Inquiring minds (OK well maybe just me) want to know!  Huh?  Huh?

3 mile run in the a.m. before worky work work..I gotta tell ya when that alarm went off at 4:50am I sure as heck didnt want to get up...

aaaaaaaaaaaaand then the best part of my Tuesday????

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT YOGA!!!!

90 min and 26 (x2) poses to take me to my happy place!
I was a little disappointed today as when I walked into the studio it wasnt hot.  I mean it was hot, like maybe 90 deg but nothing like it normally is and the fans werent going.  I was like SOMEONE TURN ON THE HEAT AND THE FANS!  Its not hot enough in here yet!  This was about 20 min before class time.  Someone finally went and got someone but it was too late.  About 1/2 way through the class, Gayle checked it and it was only at 102deg.  NOT.  HOT.  ENOUGH.  I almost stayed for a 2nd 90 min session that starts right after ours, but decided against it.  Eh.

Practicing yoga in the park...now I practice in a studio for the benefits of hot, but I enjoyed outdoors as well



I am also redo-ing my run/workout schedule for the week (I had altered it for the race) because I highly doubt I am going to do the TT5K on Thursday morning.  Its just not the right conditions for me to go through all that trouble of driving there, finding a spot to park and fighting all the walkers and families that come out for this one race every year.  Its a clusterf**k.  Not to mention the weather is gonna suck; rain and hot.  Remember I dont do any race just to be doing it.  I can run 6 miles from my front door in the same conditions with no stress.  :)



Simplicity

20 min warm up at easy pace.

5/4/3/2/1 workout:  This means 5 min hard/5 min moderate, 4 min hard/4 min moderate...etc.  Sometimes the schedule calls for mod/easy but not today.  Therefore I did the 'hard' at 5K pace and the 'moderate' at 10K pace.  Once I got to the 2's and the 1's I just put the pedal to the metal and went as hard as I could without flying off the back of the treadmill.  I always do this workout on the treadmill since its much easier to stay at a consistent pace for the minutes.  I don't know what the exact mileage was but it was easily over 5 miles.

Then I hit the weights for 40 minutes doing 2 different exercises (8 reps each) in succession then 20 jacks before resting.  This makes it much easier to get more in, in a shorter time frame.

I sure didn't want to do this workout today but once I was in the thick of it, I felt much differently about it, welcoming the challenge since my legs were still 'sore' from being on my feet all day yesterday at the Locker.

Because You Aren't Already Bombarded Enough!!!

Here...all in one place...ideas and tips on how to avoid holiday weight gain!!!!!!!!!!  Remember I am of the thought that 'holiday weight gain' starts as early as Halloween and doesnt end until Valentines Day!  Remember there is SuperBowl Sunday late January/early Feb!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Big Three D's of Holiday Food!

Woman's Day even gets in on the holiday food feast/you're gonna get fat bandwagon...

and here is one that I just saw this morning and I was SHOCKED at the total of all those little bites along the way of preparation ... I will NOT be that person!  While its a sad thing indeed, I am a little thankful that our family get together this Thanksgiving is only going to be 4 people... :O(  There certainly wont be a ton of food around. 

Well the video won't embed, but here is the link:

Snack while you cook?  Think again...

Here's my tip.  Don't overeat and get out and exercise.  In other words, make sure your calories OUT are more than your calories IN.   
I know..I know...I'm a freakin' genius. 

DM me and I will give you my address to send all your money to because I solved something more exciting than the cure for the common cold and you feel like you owe me your first born.  Which I don't want by the way... $$$ will be sufficient :O)

I have the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning (If I still do it) but I plan on possibly running 2 times on Thursday.  If I dont do the TT5K, I will be doing a longer run later on in the day.  Plus I normally take Fridays off, but yeah...changed my calendar to run a short run on Friday morning before work). I made that decision this morning when I woke up feeling lethargic (not to mention completely fat and bloaty) because I ate some bad carbs yesterday working at the Locker.  No way am I going to be feeling like crap because I overate on Thursday.

Honestly, Thanksgiving, and with all the food, it really just stresses me out.

Decisions, Decisions and a GREAT KW Run

Even with a great week of running, throwing some speed work back in and feeling pretty good, my heart still weighed heavy with the situations going on so honestly, it wasnt until the drive over to KW base this morning that I decided I indeed was going to change my 'strategy' for Houston at the end of January.  I went to the website this week to see what the date was to finalize a switch and then I saw that I also had the option of deferring my entry entirely until January 2012.  I took a day or so mulling that over...but like I said this morning I opted to NOT defer mainly because I knew I would regret that decision come marathon weekend.

So I am indeed switching to the half.  I felt like I needed to make that decision before embarking on the route this morning because why do 17 miles when my heart really was no longer in it.  As I have stated before with my mom day to day, and the fact that I just lost my desire after Chicago to keep going for another one without feeling like I had that big PR in the bag, I just couldnt see going through with it.  I am not the type to just go out to do it just to be doing it.  I would rather go out there and hopefully smash my half marathon PR and be ecstatic over that instead.

And after my run this morning I knew I had made the right decision.  Maybe it was BECAUSE I had FINALLY made the decision that made my run so great today.  I would instead be running the 13 mile route instead of the full route the marathoner's were running.

I will let my splits speak for themselves:

Mile 1:  10:52 (started with the 4:30 group and also the first 1/2 of that mile was on trail = ick and try not to fall down in the dark
Mile 2: 9:59 (left the 4:30 group in my dust)
Mile 3: 9:54
Mile 4: 10:10 (potty break)
Mile 5: 9:56
Mile 6: 9:48
Mile 7: 10:02 
Mile 8: 9:58
Mile 9: 9:50
Mile 10: 9:50
Mile 11: 9:40 
Mile 12: 9:43
Mile 13: 9:15

Um...where did THAT come from?  I ran the first 7 miles with Erin and we met up with Kelly who was going to run the last part with Erin and I ran the rest all by my lonesome, picking off one runner at a time. 

aaaaaaaaand...because I was chatty cathy at base before we started, I totally ran off without my gels and my patella band.  I just left them hanging on one of the posts and didnt realize it until after we were about 1/2 mile away.  So I chugged down 2 cups of Gatorade at each stop.  Although around mile 6 or so I found a Gu on the ground more than likely dropped by one of the Houston Fitters who were running the reverse River Oaks route and I just picked that baby up and oh yes I did...I totally gobbled that thing up at the 2nd water stop :)

So looking at that I feel pretty darn good about Dallas White Rock half marathon 2 weeks from tomorrow.  I know that course is a bit hilly, but I hope I can still get a PR even if its minimal.  Of course I am going to hope and pray for some cold ass weather up there in D town...

Best Dressed!!!! (Weekly Favorite Posts)

Bobbi – Thanksgiving Challenge!

• I am doing this!  One thing not on there is that you can allow for eating out for one meal (per week).  Any other eating outside of what you bought goes towards the $50.  I am glad that I am only having to make a portion of one thing for Thankgsiving; otherwise $50 for 13 days of eats would have been tough! 

Heather - FAVORITE ONE OF THE WEEK!!!

• I would have to add two more:
• They don't tell you NOT to practice UNDER the fan.  Seriously the room will go from 110deg to about 150deg. 
• Bring TWO bottles of water.  One should be frozen solid.  The one that is not frozen?  It will be hot and by hot I mean like hot water coming out of the faucet when you have it turned to H by the end of class.  By the time you get to the 1st water 'break' its going to be mildly warm already.  The frozen one will already be about 1/2 unfrozen 30 min into the class :)

Caitlin

• I did this...mmmmm...I guess it was last December, December 31st to be exact...only instead of balloons, I wrote what I needed to write on pieces of notebook paper.  Situations, name(s), etc...and then went out onto my porch and set fire to them.  Stood there and watched the bad things of the year (and then some) go up in flames and then I swept them up and put the ashs in the trash.  Did it again this past Sunday.  Works I tell you.  It WORKS.

Charlotte - Healthy Dinners in Minutes!?!?!?  It CAN be done!

• Because I can't STAND it when people say they don't have 'time' to cook/be healthy etc... CANNOT STAND IT!

Class is Dismissed? Why is everyone so rude?

• What happened to class?  What happened to the Golden Rule?  What happened to people actually caring about the repercussions of just being plain rude and mean?  It saddens me to no end I tell you.  And what 'maddens' me to no end is that honestly these people don't think they've done or are doing anything wrong?  Society looks up to those that get away with just treating people like crap (e.g. that Williams sister who plays tennis to name one).  Hey yeah...I had my stint as a 'mean girl' for a couple of years but I was .. and no not an excuse ... drunk and high most of that time and trying to be someone I wasnt...makes no damn sense but its true.  Part of it was the people I was hanging out with were (for most of their lives) 'mean girls'.

Save YOU Money!

• Posting this one because a) SR answered my question personally...and shes like you know...awesome...but also because I admire her for being so 'frugal' when clearly she probably doesnt have to...plus she just gives great links to great stuff for cheap a lot of the time!  I was pretty darn good at saving $$, but now I am even better at it thanks to her ... I can sniff out coupons and deals like nobodys business with a little internet searchy search...AND shes married to a man who doesnt like to pay retail either?  and is more frugal than her?  Sign. Me. Up.

Monday:  a.m. alarm went off at 4:45am and I decided I didnt want to run that morning.  hmmm...wonder why?  ;)
                 p.m. 6 miles with 6 x 2/2's (med/slow) in the middle

Tuesday:  hot yoga - 90 minutes.  I moved to the very front of the room directly in front of the mirror where i could focus on my practice (i find people in front/to the side of me too distracting and I fall out of poses) and under the fan.  OUCH!  I was sweating so much by the time that we were done with the balancing poses and we were into our first tree pose that I literally couldnt keep my foot anywhere on my other leg; it would just slide off, I then just went into 3rd position even though it was harder and I didnt feel like it :O), but at least my foot was resting in the crease of hip and thigh and my shorts helped me from slipping.  This was also the first time that on numerous poses I was seeing my sweat literally drip-dropping everywhere.  I'm telling you do NOT get under a fan at hot yoga until you are ready for the repercussion of that; it is completely the opposite effect of what one might think; the 110 deg just feels like 150deg.  I worked my way to it by doing a couple of classes CLOSE to the fan, like 1/2 and 1/2...that was bad enough until last night I finally went 'all the way'.

I was a different woman than when I went in, that's for sure.  In a good way.  :O)

Wednesday: 6 miles.  3 miles easy; 2 x 1mi at 5K pace (8:51/8:46) (3mr in between), 1 mile easy.  Very pleased with the workout.  I am just now back to doing speed workouts and it felt fantastic.

Thursday: 4 miles easy.  Taking the day off from hot yoga.  Saving everything for Saturday (17 miles).  Hopefully everything will work out the way it needs to or there will an adjustment made for January 30th.  

Friday:  SRD



Temporary blogging hiatus due to life stuff



...and the winner of the Sweaty Bands giveaway is....

True Random Number Generator

Result: 16 

I used random.org to generate the winning number which is #16...


There were 28 comments and 3 people got extra numbers 29, 30 and 31 who put their 2 entries in their one comment.


The lucky winner is: Karen from Lake Charles, Louisiana!!!! 
My daddy was from Lake Charles!!!  Well from Mamou but afterwards everyone ended up in Lake Charles!  A fellow cajun!!!


Way to go Karen!!!!    Karen email me your address at junevidrine@msn.com and I will send your Sweaty Bands out this week!

**************************************************

Did a short 35 minute run this morning before heading out to do my Christmas shopping, which is now about 90% done!  Did most of it at the crazy mall, and the rest online after I got home.  Just a couple more things to pick up here and there and its all done!!!  And I ended up with about $400 left over from my Christmas cash savings!!!  Everyone got nice things so its not like I cheapskated out either!  For now that money will just sit in its safe place and I will keep adding to it every payday as normal.  I am sure something will end up having to be bought between now and Christmas.  I always either forget something or see something else I want to get for someone.

It made me sad though...the first year I havent had to worry about what to get momma for Christmas...

Just was able to get some good deals with a little effort on my part and saving more $$$ this year helped too!  

And I may or may not have even gotten myself a pair of black jeggings and a cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute white faux fur vest that was just calling my name!!!

Kenyan Way - Long Run

Was a cut back week.  10 miles on the schedule.

And FINALLY I get some of my speed back!!!  10:13 pace with little effort on my part.  I gotta say I was starting to get a bit frustrated.  I know its only been a month since Chicago but still...At least now I feel better going into Dallas/White Rock in 3 weeks for the half marathon there.

It helped also that it was cool (53ish) and even though it was raining and windy (at the start) I still thought it was perfect weather with the very cloudy skies. It stopped raining by mile 2 and it actually felt warm (even though I know that was just the humidity) and I left my shirt at the water stop and just ran the rest in my jog bra and shorts.  By the time I was finished the wind had kicked up again and I was thankful for my warm hoodie waiting for me in the car :)

I am still not going to fully commit to going through with the full at Houston until after next weeks 17 miler.  If I can nail the 17 miler with my usual training pace without having to work at it, then I will more than likely still go through with the full and not drop to the half.

No ankle or back pain today.

A New Segment! Favorites Friday! Best Dressed! VIP List!

I read A LOT of blogs...and I mean A LOT...and on those blogs I always seem to find several posts through out the week that really resonate with me for one reason or another and I think those bloggers should be 'rewarded'!!!

So I figure I am going to make note of those posts and post my weekly conglomerate of "Things That Make You Go Hmmmm"....

I don't have a lot this week since I just made it up :O)... but here are a few from this week that make 'the list' or get access beyond the 'velvet rope'.  Order of appearance in the list means nothing.  :O)

Each item is linked in its entireity so you don't have to figure out which word has the link to the post associated with it.

1. Jamoosh on the snarkiness of the dumb-dumb that wrote that assinine article on NYCM and/or the participants. 
2. SkinnyRunner for her overview of her experience in the NYCM last Sunday.  She pretty much summed it all up and as close to being my same experience (with a few minor details that were off from when I ran it in 2008 to her in 2010).
1. She also just added a grrreat giveaway!!!!
3. Charlotte, dear Charlotte...almost every post of hers is beyond the velvet rope worthy, so I just picked one from the week that I loved more than the others.  I was especially drawn to this one because of the 'thermometer' clothes reference.
4. Holiday gifts from the heart and they won't break the bank!  Being the frugalista that I have become I was really excited to see this list because while I can be frugal, I am NOT creative.  This list is going to save me AND my Christmas money stash a lot of angst.
1. Here's a tip for next year:  I have done this now for 2 years and its a life saver.  Every payday I go to the bank and withdraw $40-$50 and then I take that money and I come home and put it in a safe place.  My mom use to call this 'mad money'.  Money she would have stashed away to spend whenever she got mad at my dad.  :o).  To me its Christmas gift money.  It adds up and you can alter it to fit your budget and your pay day schedule.  I am lucky to get paid every other Friday, and sometimes two paychecks if I worked my part time job.  And yes I take an additional $20 out of THAT paycheck to stash away.  Thanks to Bobbie I am going to have a lot left over!!!  One has to be very stoic in not dipping into this money!  If you don't have it in the bank for whatever, then well, you wait.  The first year is the hardest, but once you see that wad of cash in December it becomes much easier the 2nd year!
5. Adrienne.  Because we should all be thankful for non-injury running times, but gives a perspective on how to overcome the 'I can't run right now' blues.
6. And of course THIS one since you can win Sweaty Bands!

And I have to add my most favorite (read: astonished and appalled) example of Photoshopping skills of the week!  If I were Kim Kardashian I would feel so horrible about myself if someone made me look that skinny in the ad to promote my line of swimwear... I would go into a serious episode of body angst and probably would go on 'restriction' like nobodys business....I mean REALLY? I wish Brightroom and Raceshots, etc. offered this service to my race pictures... 

Slam slam ... oh hot damn..what Part of Party Don't You Understand?

OMG.  AWESOME.  

Oh and go submit comments for the giveaway...you know you want to...and remember you HAVE to comment to be entered...just being a follower wont cut it :O)

More Hot Yoga Luuurrrrve!!!!

As mentioned after a short run yesterday morning, Tuesdays after work (and Thursdays) are now reserved for some serious sweatiness.  I wish I could express how muuuuuch I am in love with hot yoga!
It was a great session, with me actually doing a couple of poses in the 2nd degree of difficultness..thats not a word but whatevz. 
Today I was doing some 'research' online about the effects on running, at least in the beginning.  I am feeling better about why my running since Chicago Marathon hasnt always been the bestest (meaning speed).  It takes a bit of time when beginning yoga to not have the soreness, especially in the hamstrings, which isnt always noticeable but does in fact have some impact.  Good to know.  Knowing this now, I might put this to the 'test' next week if I can stand it.  This would entail me not going to yoga next Tuesday and Thursday the week of my next long run in my quest to still do the full marathon at Houston.
I dont know if I can actually commit to not doing yoga next week though!  I think I will wait to make that decision AFTER this Satudays shorter long run which is only 10 miles.  What I am looking forward to is a mini-goal I have for right after Houston, whether its the full or the half.  You'll read more about that later!

One of my most favorite poses...the tough part is wrapping your hand from the INSIDE instead of grabbing the outside as so many people will tend to do...I couldnt kick my leg up very high at first, but every time I go I am getting it higher and higher!

This one I am getting better at as well...I still cant straighten my legs all the way out, it really tends to hurt some days more than others in the area where my lower back issue lies (and my left knee from previous running injury)...but at least the 'sweat runs up my nose' which means you are doing it right; which I take means I am upside down enough for that to happen.

Wednesdays are currently the only day where I run in the afternoon once I am out of work.  So with the time change, I looked to see what time 'sunset' was today and it was 5:28 so I started shortly before 5 and altered my route to exclude Rice since its terrain is littered with roots and hard enough to manuever even in the daylight.  Plus we had rain today and I didnt feel like dodging all the mud and puddles.  Today was a good run!  I actually like the fact that I am running as the sun is setting and also that its not 146deg with 200% humidity!  A wonderful 6 miles where at times I was so lost in thought I would 'snap out of it' and think how the hell did I get here?

Tomorrow is a short run in the morning before work (3-4 miles) and then HOT YOGA AFTER WORK!! SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!  I will make some of the suggested 'adjustments' to some of the poses to minimize the effect on the hamstrings to see if it makes a difference on Saturday.

Now have you entered the Sweaty Bands giveaway???? 



Ready....Set....Go!

OK, so as mentioned yesterday I have Sweaty Bands for a give away! (see below for pretty picture!  Don't you just think they are pretty?  I'm partial to the animal print one myself...

Lets make the rules simple...

1. Leave a comment as to how you tame that crazy hair of yours today when running, yoga, gym, biking and yes, Nicole even during roller derby!  What do you use?  Anything?  Or do you just wet your hair down with the sweat :O) and hope for the best?
2. Become a follower of my blog and you get an extra entry into the hat (and yes I really mean a hat because I dont have one of those fancy schmancy picker outer things to go through and randomly select one, so I will be numbering and drawing from a hat!)  Your comment will be assigned a number as they appear in the comments list. 
3. Link this post/giveaway on your own blog (or go on top of your house and shout it from the roof top) and you'll get one more entry.  Put the link to your blog in your comment as well so I can make sure you aren't lying ;o)  If you do the roof thing, you'll need to post a video ;o)

So thats up to 3 entries you can get!

Winner will be drawn on Sunday night!

Happy Happy Sweaty Sweaty!

First things first...humidity was back in full force this morning so I had a sweaty run before work...and there will be more sweat this afternoon with 90 min of hot yoga!  I looooooooooooove my hot yoga days!  I might even be brave and place my mat under a fan today which one would think would make it 'cooler'.  It does not!  Its actually hotter!!  I dont know if I can actually make it through under one but I think today is as good a day as any to try!

Now....a couple of weeks back after I posted the product review for Sweaty Bands, I wrote the company asking for a sample to do a giveaway on my blog.  I have done this once or twice before with other brands but never heard back from them.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut this morning when I checked my mail, in the mailbox were Sweaty Bands for a giveaway!!!!!!!!  And a handwritten note thanking me for my awesome product review (I had sent a link to the post when I wrote them)!!!

So I will doing my first giveaway on my blog in the VERY near future!  So stay tuned for the 'requirements' to be entered to win 2 really cuuuuute Sweaty Bands that they sent me!!!  One is a wide (1.5in) and one is of normal size (1in).  They didnt send any sparkly skinny ones...good thing too because I might have had to keep it for myself!  Jokes!  OK...

So you can get a head start by becoming a follower of this blog (and sucking up to me in the comments; more jokes!)...tell your readers to come on over!

Will post a picture and the 'rules' later on (probably tonight; more likely tomorrow :O)

I actually came back on to blogger to delete the previous post...then I remembered how many times I have done that before and you know what?  So some people get offended or their feelings hurt...it may or may not be warranted...but at the end of the day, every day is not rainbows and unicorns...some days its piles of shit, bad hair cuts and road side bombs...

Right now I am sad...I am bitter...I am angry...My mom, my last remaining parental unit is dying and I will be damned if I apologize or recant anything that I may or may not say...so ...

Thats that...

Oh and I ran 4 miles this morning before work...didnt want to but I did it.

This Might Not Go Over So Well...

But I am just going to get it out....I dont mean any disrespect even though thats generally what I tend to get...

If you ask me questions about...oh I dont know...about the NYC marathon...the course, the lodging, the subway, the logistical nightmare before and after...and I tell you everything I know...and still you disregard my thoughts as 'eh it cant be that tough, she's just a middle of the pack kinda runner; I'm better than that,so I dont have to worry about any of that'...and just to be clear, this was not everyone I know that ran NYC yesterday, but applying to some, not all.

Well all I can say is...now you wish you would have listened to me right?  I am seeing FB posts out there from some people that I KNOW did exactly that.  And to be also followed with 'my first and last time running the NYC marathon' (on their FB status').

There has ALWAYS been the debate on whether NYC or Boston is tougher...I dont know since I havent done Boston, but I can tell you one thing...AGAIN...that NYC is not easy; its fun (after you get past the 5hours of waiting in the cold to start, and the 1.5 miles walk OUT of Central Park after you finish).  

If you dont train right and you dont do hill training, unless you are just THAT good (skinnyrunner :)), you're gonna be wishing you were back on flat land down here in the Texas heat.  From what I am reading outside of SR and my friend Cyndy (also a midpack girl like me  YAY CYNDY!!!  you did everything right girl !!!  so happy you got that PR and that first sub 5!!!), everyone else hated it.  Why?  Various reasons that I can see.  Things that they might not have taken me seriously on...because you know...I'm slow(er) so what could I possibly know?  Did you think I was just making things up to make myself look crazy?

I know a lot of people are whining and crying today over their time, over the logistics of it all, being cold waiting, etc...I think mine went so well is because I knew everything about that course and the experience MONTHS before I got there.  I was ready for anything it could throw at me.  I did my research and my homework.  Too much to do for a marathon?  I think not. 

It just irritates the crap out of me when people ask, but dont listen, and who go into a situation thinking they are the bees knees and then cry and whine over the things they had control over but just decided to do things as they always do.  By the seat of their pants and their 'I know everything about everything' attitude.

We were trying to look up some times on the computer yesterday at the Locker, when one 'person' who works there also who...and I dont know if this is true because I really dont believe most of what comes out of her mouth...but something was said about NYC is tough...and she whipped around and scoffed "New York isnt hard.  I did it back in my prime and it was a piece of cake."... Really?  I hear a lot about this race or that race but I sure dont see any proof of any of that...and the fact that SHE called it "piece of cake" makes it even more suspect.  I just responded with "oh wait...i'm sorry...tough for SOME people.  Apparently not you".  If there is one thing that gets me is when someone is flippant about something as tough as a marathon...any marathon.  Especially this person...like I said..I hear a lot of 'stories' but things just don't add up...

So...the next time one of these people ask me something about whatever, guess what?

Yep.  You got it.

And while we're at it...because I am on a roll today, and because recently I tried to say this but was quickly and rudely I might add, cut off/interuptted...and again this doesnt apply to skinnyrunner, but heres a thought...maybe running less or training CORRECTLY might give a lot of people different end results...I'm just sayin'.  You know what they call doing the same thing over and over again with the same results right...?

And also...now where has all your great and knowing knowledge gotten you?  That's what you get for being rude to me like I am some idiot that doesnt have good sense about her when it comes to running and training. 

Sorry about your race....not.

Yes, I'm still Alive...

Did 15 miles on Saturday.  It wasnt great, but it was better than the previous week in terms of how the legs felt.  The route was a full 16 miles, but I cut a mile off at the end opting to run straight back to base instead of going all the way around the park.

The main reason for this was after about mile 9 my mind turned to other things and all I could think about was getting back to my car.  And here is why.

I know I havent talked much about my mom lately, but heres the low down.  We've had hospice now for almost 6 weeks.  Her room at home is nothing but a hospital room complete with everything you would see in any hospital room in a normal hospital.

On Friday, early evening I get a message from my sister.  Things have gone over the weeks from some good days some bad.  The past week its been mostly bad.  The hospice people and the infectious disease doc told her on Friday that its almost time and there is nothing more that they can do.  At this point there is no time frame, its day to day and she could go at any moment without some of the usual outward signs.  On Friday when I got the message, there wasnt any indication that she would make it through the night.

My plan, was to run early, and get it out of the way and get out there as fast as I could.  This is why I was anxious to be done.  The closer I got to base, the more I just wanted it to be done.  Obvious I would think.  And I suppose some might question my decision to run in the first place, and believe me I fought with that decision, but I did what I thought was ok to do.  What she would have wanted.  And deep down I knew that she was going to hold on for a bit longer..

I did indeed make it out there in time, getting there right about 10am, and thanks to an IV for hydration she was at least opening her eyes.  And when she saw me, she definitely knew who I was.

We are reduced to feeding her and giving her juice through syringes.  When she'll let us.

I ended up staying all day and all night and just thankful that she made it through another day.  At the writing of this, she is still with us.

The question is:  How much longer?

Its heartbreaking I tell you.  Just unbelievably heartbreaking. 

In regards to going through with doing the full marathon at Houston, I am still on the fence.  During the run yesterday I had issues with my back and my ankles both.  Not to mention right now, I dont have my speed back that I had when I was training for Chicago.  I am at the point where I have to decide whether I go through with it and deal with a not so good time at the end; not to mention all the stress of more long runs between now and January 8th...or do I just switch to the half and relax, give the legs the rest that they clearly need and go for a huge PR.  I dont think the big PR for the half distance will come at White Rock, but you never know.  I suspect with things the way they are with my mom, there will be some training time lost here in the near future.  At this point I will be waiting until my next long run which is 2 Saturdays from now before making my final decision.

Thats all for now...its all I've got...

Monday:  5 miles - before work run
Tuesday:  no morning run due to pouring down rain...90 min hot yoga after work
Wednesday: 6 miles (in the cold, rain and wind I might add)...fought with myself on whether to wuss out and do it on the treadmill, but then I remembered I am not that girl ;)  EDIT:  so glad I did that...best/fastest/strongest run since Chicago!

Thursday (to do):  4 mile run (treadmill); 40 min weights work, then head to yoga studio for 90 min of hot yoga
Friday:  SRD
Saturday: 16/17 miles
Sunday: SRD

Sittin' in the parkin' lot...Got my finger on the 'Trigger'...

...thats the 'hook' from one of my still all time favorite songs by BJenkins...

Recently I wrote about my 'situation' with long term effects of mom/middle school 'abuse' to my never-ending hatred of my body/poor body image/distorted body image...whatever you want to call it..  Well never-ending might be too strong of a word, but if I had to guess, its like 5 out of 7 days of the week...and the 'level' of 'hatred' varies as well.

If you missed that little gem I wrote...go here...Price of Admission; This Ain't No Fairy Tale

Since writing that, nothing has changed really...in all honesty I would have to say it may, depending on the day and who you ask...have gotten worse?  Some days are definitely worse...

There are so many different triggers it is not even funny.  It could be something as simple as phone calls that never come, from anyone...not one person in particular.  Generally it is...but not always.

It could be something like a photo of another person you can't fucking stand for various reasons, and they look incredible (and you know they are because of their OWN eating disorder...shhh...its a 'secret')... Gag me; everyone knows little miss perfect that you portray yourself to be...well not EVERYONE...anyway, I digress...

It could be something like catching a reflection of myself in the theatre doors at the River Oaks theatre as I run past and seeing something 'move'...that shouldnt 'move'...

It could be something like just looking at your hot yoga teacher who is 50 and looks freaking amazing...and you KNOW you dont look like that...

It can be that your HS reunion came a year early and you didnt want to go because who cares they are all fat now and you arent and now YOU have a leg up and yeah...maybe you forgave them in HS and were all buddy buddy, but you hate them for what they did to you in middle school...when YOU were the fat one...because now...older...wiser...you realize the damage it REALLY did to you...you overlooked it in HS to be popular and fit in...I could have went and had them oooh and aaah like they do on Facebook about how great I look and how they let themselves go...but like I said...why bother for a bunch of people that I don't even like...and who, for lack of a better word, bullied me for 3 years...

It could be because you read this and found out a new word "thinspo" and googled it and then you thought..hmmm..why didnt I know about this before?  Did I follow links once I googled?  Yes.  Link after link after link...this is not good people...not good at all...

Or maybe its all the damn shows I DVR from What's Eating You to the Portia deRossi interview on Oprah about the gut wretching illness she had with an eating disorder (and being a lesbian)...Even though I sat there so in shock and awe at her truths, and thinking how God awful she looked at her thinnest (82lbs at 5'7), I felt fat when it was over...

This morning...before I was getting dressed for work, I pulled out 2 pairs of shorts...my 'skinny' shorts I call them.  Putting these on...when I do this...is the gauge of how my day will go.  Usually.  They both fit as I like them too (although looser would be better obviously), and I got dressed with a bit of relief knowing that today was going to be an OK day thanks to those shorts.

It hasn't been.  Googling 'thinspo' was the worst thing I could have done.  I knew better, yet I did it.

There are days...not many... but more and more recently where I think "if I quit running, I wouldnt have to eat as much, then I could finally get skinny"...

I know ... at the deepest level ... that this is indeed all in my head and because of my past ... but if any of you have had any sort of 'disorder' you know as well as I do, how real it all feels and seems...no matter what anyone says...

Not such a sunshiney post now is it...Sorry...Nobodys perfect...even though they may look like it...

Product Review - Sweaty Bands!!!!

Random pic of packaging for Sweaty Bands stolen from skinnyrunner :O)

You can (kinda) see the sparkly purple one I got in Chicago here in this pic;
you can see the silver sparkly one in my Houston Half pics as well

I have tried just about every single kind of 'band' known to woman.

I have the Adidas ones, the Nike ones, the wide Nike ones, Bondi Bands, every day common drug store ones...you name it and I either tried it and sorta like it, or tried it and was handed a big FAIL!

I had heard of Sweaty Bands somewhere on the radar (probably on some blog), but never really gave it much thought to be honest.  Of all the ones I had tried the Nike wider bands and the Bondi Bands (which are wide as well) were the only things that really helped keep the hair and sweat in check while running.  All the others just were hanging like discarded rubbish on a clip in the bathroom.  Such pretty colors too.. what a waste.

Anyway fast forward to Chicago Marathon expo...we are walking around and lo and behold there was a huge booth with sooooooooooo many beeeeeeeeeeeeuteefull headbands, I was mesmerized...ESPECIALLY because there were SPARKLY ones!!!!  and they were skinny ones too!!!  As we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing, I was sad because I knew they were just that.  Pretty.  And sparkly.  They would be just like all the others and either pop off my head within minutes or at the very least, make the slow gradual descent to the back of my head before falling off the back of it.

After hearing many around me saying how FANTASTIC they were, and there was nothing like them, I had to give one a try on at the very least right?  I picked up the sparkly purple one and a wider one that was like purple bandana.  Hey, I like purple.  :O)

OMG.

It was tight.  It was flat against my head and no matter how much (or how hard) I shook my head up and down, side to side and jumping up and down, IT.DID.NOT.MOVE.

OMG.

must. have.

At $15 (for the skinny ones) and $18 (for the wider ones) they are not cheap :O( 

But I just couldnt pick ONE!  I splurged for 2, which really not knowing how they would hold up on a run, let alone a hot/sweaty marathon, I should have only bought the one.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I bought 2!! 

Everyone knows how hot and sweaty the Chicago marathon was by now, but let me tell you, that purple sparkly head band NEVER moved an inch.  It was fantastic I tell you!  I have now worn them in hot yoga (are you kidding me it still doesnt move!!??)..and on training runs and in the gym.

I have since bought 2 more online here ; thats the skinny metallic (sparkly) ones that I love, and NOW I just saw that where I work sometimes on the weekends (Lukes Locker) now carries them!!!  So I got 2 more sparkly ones (1 pink, 1 gold) this weekend (much better deal for me w no shipping and my discount too!!)

If you ever have had issues with headbands for either working out, running or just to be cute, these are your savior headbands I do believe!  I have since thrown out all those others that I had ('cept I did keep the Bondi Bands and the Nike wide ones, because a)they're expensive and b) they do work)...I just like the prettier ones..the Bondi Bands are good because they will also cover your ears if need be in cooler temps.

Sweaty Bands rock the hizzle fo shizzle yo!

Baby Got Back (Issues...again)

I have reinjured my left lower back again...I dont know how really, but its been slowly hurting more and more and this morning it was full on pain (I hope the hot yoga is not the culprit but I may take off from that this week; we'll see how I feel tomorrow as I have a class tomorrow night).  Thankfully, if you remember, this does not affect my running, so I was out the door in the once again HOT and HUMID weather that has blasted upon us yet again...Seriously?  Its November 1 and its 72deg and 90+humidity?  Gah!  Oh well, cold front is coming and looks to be stellar weather for at least the next 7 days with much cooler temps and even some rain!  We havent had rain since September 19th they said on the news this morning.  

When I first started this morning I ran about 100m and almost turned around.  Everything was just not feeling right.  But I figured that I would run to the one corner where I have the option of making it 2 miles if I was still feeling crappy or keep going and it would be my normal 4.5-5 miles.

I kept going.  :O)

Yesterday I was going to do just a quick 3 miler but opted to sleep in instead and I had to get ready to work at the Locker and we were dressing up so that was going to take more time since I didnt know about this until Saturday and needed to try on a few things to see what I liked better.  I used the wig, fishnets and glasses I had used for the Lady Gaga concert and then made myself into Marathon Gaga.  :O)  Everyone loved it and I was told I was by far the best outfitted :O)  A reason to wear a bunch of medals?  Sure thing!  I used my short black Nike running skirt and a see through body suit that had fringe all down the arms and across the bust line.  Very Gaga-esque.  Ish.  It was fun working at the store with everyone dressed up and we had the RnR peeps there for sign ups for regional RnR half and full marathons which gave $10 off, a CUTE tshirt (for the girls) and a PF Changs gift card.  We also had the Brooks double decker mobile bus there for gait analysis...twas a lot of fun.

Saturday:  I had wanted to do 15miles.  Not quite at 3 weeks since Chicago marathon and with my longest being 10miles (last weekend) and that was sliced up around the half marathon relay, coach had told me to see how I felt after 10.  I started early with the KreW and pretty much ran way too fast so early on (easy to do with the nice 50+deg weather) and this got me late in the run.  I had done 4+ miles before starting with the group, and even on the group start I found myself running too fast.  When I got to 4 miles and saw Kelly going back the other way, I turned also.  I slowed down quite a bit, made it back to base, got some fluid and started the Snover/Jackson Hill loops.  Ended up with just shy of 14 miles.  Good enough.  Having to work at Lukes later probably didnt help much with my tired factor come Sunday morning, but I am happy with the long run. 

This coming Saturday trying for 16...I am, about every other day, considering dropping to the half for Houston.  Won't make that decision until November 20 when my next 20 miler is scheduled for, to see how that goes.

I've been in various stages of marathon training since August 2009.  I am just really tired.