Twenty Six Point Two

NY, NY

2012-02-09T12:01:00.000-06:00

In pictures...

The High Line, of course, was the highlight of the trip. God, I can never get enough of that space. And on early Sunday morning it was so peaceful and yet simultaneously invigorating. Also, finally made it to the Empire State Building! It's cool, but my god, the crowds!

Other highlights... trips to my other favorite parks Madison Square Park, Union Square Park, Central Park, Washington Square Park. Went over to Herald's Square for the first time (uhhh... that's it?). Meandering through neighborhoods... The West Village, Soho, Chelsea, Murray Hill, Lower East Side, Tribeca, Fashion District, Meatpacking District... Eating delicious food... Franchia, Blossom, Bareburger, and Babycakes. Some shopping, some yogi-ing, some football watching...

NYC, when can I see you again?

By the way, HIGHLY recommend The Strand Hotel in Midtown. Perfect spot for me.

9 Weeks (no 1/2)

2012-02-08T14:49:00.000-06:00

I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually read 9 1/2 Weeks last year. Interesting, but not as interesting as one would hope. sigh.

Anyway... running last week, was good. Although, I was pretty freaking tired at the beginning of the week. But by thursday, I was feeling better.

I had to do a little switcheroo with my runs since I went to NYC last weekend. I ran my long run before work on Thursday (oh my god, is it blasphemous to say that I don't miss the 20 mile long runs?). And I saved my 1600m repeats for the hotel treadmill. And let me just say... running on a treadmill is the WORST. Good god.

I'm still desperately flirting with the 40mpw marker. This week it's happening though, dag nambit! It's an easy week, and even though I've taken two off days already (oops). I'm getting over the 40 mpw hump.

4 1/2 weeks to go, people... I've already started to put on my cocky britches and think about what might be next...

(Not to be confused with THESE cocky britches. $105? Sheesh. Even I'm not that hardcore).

8 Weeks in.

2012-02-02T09:18:00.002-06:00

So, yeah... nothing to see here. Everything is unicorns and rainbows (except for that long run on Saturday, good god the wind!). I had a girls night last Friday night with some of my favorite runners (wassup, Coach?) and while I'd like to blame the beer that night for my poor performance on my long run the next morning... I know I can't, because the week before, the night before my long run I had like 1-2 MORE beers than I had last week. Weird. Whatev. I got it done and that's all that matters.

In other news... I'm going to NYC tomorrow to celebrate my birthday with a trip to the empire state building, some art stalking at the Met, a walk along the high line, meandering through neighborhoods, a yoga class or two, and of course... no trip to NYC is complete without a reflexology massage!

Also... to make this post even more random.. I'm going to throw out my birthday resolutions... (last year I said that I would make my bed every single day and I did! Woo hoo!)... this year, I'm going to diligently keep a daily gratitude journal and buy fresh flowers for my house every week.

How were your runs last week... do you run better when you've drunk MORE beers the night before?

Happy Birthday to Me.

2012-02-01T17:52:00.000-06:00

Ten years ago today, I awoke on my 22nd birthday with a fog behind my eyes. Not for the normal reasons a 22 year old wakes up foggy headed, but because I was smack dab in the middle of falling into a depression. A depression that started a few years prior to that as moodiness, lethargy, and anti-socialness. Then by the time of my 22nd birthday I was full-on in it. Sinking, but not quite drowning, yet. I was still functioning, mostly... making it to most of my classes. But, after another 3 weeks or so I was barely able to pull myself out of bed a lot of days.

I went to a school counselor shortly after my 22nd birthday. She had shiny, short hair, glasses, and a warm voice. Her walls were mauve (I had imagined mint green), but she didn't have a couch. I guess that would have just been overkill. After some brief small talk, she asked me how I felt.

"I feel nothing."

And we sat there for a second. She looked at me like I had just told her the most normal thing in the world.

"...and feeling nothing makes me feel weird. And guilty. And scared."

She took the reins from there and told me that with no prior history of depression, that I was just essentially suffering from a case of "senioritis" which tauts "the blues" as a symptom. The "fear of the unknown," she had said.

She gave me a card with a 24 hour hotline on it. "Just in case." And I left her office and went home and went to bed.

After that... I graduated, I moved, I looked for work, I took the GRE and some classes. Another couple of birthdays would eventually pass, each one worse than the previous. It's a hard thing to describe... depression, and I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me it was like an enormous vaccuum that hovered over me constantly. I felt like I had this tremendous pressure sucking at me, chasing me, pulling at me, literally sucking the joy and the life out of me.

Here's the thing. I had spent the first 18 years of my life carefully planning the rest of my life. And then I spent 4 years in college honing those plans and guess what. NOTHING came out the way I had planned. I mean, not even remotely. So, when the depression started, it was so easy to just throw some more baggage on there... disappointment? Sure! Self-Loathing? Why not?!

Finally, after a few years of this, I kinda started to get sick of feeling like shit. And you know what... somedays, I just had no choice. But other days, I did. Occasionally, I'd wake up and the fog would be lighter and it was on one of those days that I did the one thing that ended up saving my life...

Running.

Running saved my life. Not just emotionally, but physically, too. I started running one day on a whim. I could only make it a few yards, so I would walk/run but, I kept it up. At first, it was more of a distraction than anything else. But it became a source of pride... something that I was doing for myself. A week after my 26th birthday I ran my first 5k. I finished in 41:24 and ran the entire way. I'll never forget that day or that race. I went to the race alone, I ran it alone, and I finished it alone. It was my proudest moment. From then on, the fog lessened more and more everyday. I started to see the other side through the fog and I started living my life.

I'll say it again, running saved my life. It made me "feel" again.

If I could go back in time today and talk to my 22 year old self, I'd probably say...

Listen, it gets harder before it gets easier. There are a lot of bad days. But on one of those not so awful days, you tell yourself that happiness doesnt fall off trees and rain down over you. It's something that you have to wake up every single day of your life and decide that you want it. You have decide that you're going to work for it, because it's worth it. And you know what, it might not work. I don't know how clinical, medical, or fucked up you really are right now. Telling yourself to be happy isn't going to work everyday... but it might work one of those days. And all it takes is one day... one day to start the cycle back to living.

P.S. Your 30s kick ass.

So, on this... my 32nd birthday, I am grateful to be where I am today. I don't think about that 22 year old girl very often, but lately, I have been. And to be honest, I don't feel sorry for her or wish things were any easier for her. I am where I am today because of everything in my past. Were there easier paths to here? I'm sure. But, now, I know that I can handle the hard way.

"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Week 7 Review

2012-01-24T10:54:00.000-06:00

Listen, I know. I thought this was going to be wayyyy more interesting for you, too. I mean... when I decided to try and actually TRAIN for speed instead of distance I thought there was gonna be DRAMA FOR DAYS for you people (bitching, whining, self-doubt, tears, giving up, etc)... and instead you're stuck with these weekly recaps of just how effing awesome it turns out that I am. SNOOZEFEST.

If it makes you feel any better... we're still only like half-way through this shit and there's plenty of time for me to royally fuck this up.

That's the spirit!

Anyway... so, last week was another awesome week. Yay! A few things to note... For whatever reason I just cannot force myself to slow down for a cool down after a tempo run. (I know! THE HORROR! Seriously, I just made myself kinda want to vomit after typing that).

Also... I had one of the worst work weeks I've ever had (anxiety attacks? check! crying at work? check!) but... I think it set me up for some good runs. I vented the hell out of some runs this week. My running partners were bored all week long with my rants (lucky Steve got it for 10 miles!). All that anguish (and the 5 beers on Friday night with friends) helped fuel a kick ass long run on Saturday!

Jam of the week: Uhhh.. I didn't run alone once this week... so, no Jams. Just lots of angry yelling and fist shaking about work.

Dinner, bitches!

2012-01-19T16:26:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: I am not a cook/chef/recipe writer or even a foodie.

I admit it. I'm one of those boring ass people who happily eats the same thing day in and day out. Seriously. Since July, I've had the same breakfast, lunch and dinner (although the TYPES of veggies rotate) every week day and usually one day on the weekend, too. I know. I'm fucking weird. Strangely enough, I'm still excited to go home for lunch everyday and eat that same lunch and I'm always craving my dinner every night even though its the same thing I've had for a bazillion days in a row.

Anyway... for whatever reason, I've decided that I'd like to dabble in trying out a few recipes that I see online. Ya know... just to throw a wrench in my OCD'd life and see if I survive. Hopefully this will turn into a weekly thing... but, it could also turn into a one time thing, because I kinda suck at cooking and generally am too lazy to make myself something that requires things like "ingredients."

I'm proud to report that my first attempt at this was a HUGE SUCCESS...

Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas WITH Confetti Quinoa

Hells yeah, people, I took pictures!

Although, I suck at food photography, so please refer to the recipe

in the link above for GOOD pictures.

This was seriously delicious! One of the best things I've had in a long time and probably one of the best things I've ever made. If you're looking for something tasty and cheap to whip up, I recommend making it. Plus, it lasted me for 4 days. I will definitely be making this at least once a month or so and I would definitely force this recipe onto any friends that I might have over for dinner.

Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas.

For the legit recipe please go here. For my piece O' shit directions read on...

Number of servings: 4

First off, you need to know that the cashews need to be soaked for at least an hour, so start that shit before you actually want to eat.

Ingredients (I know it looks like a long list, but 2 of them are water!):

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 hot water

3/4 cup of water

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon or broth power

1 large onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or one 15 ounce can, rinsed and drained).

1 bunch kale, central stems removed and leaves thinly sliced (I actually used 2 bunches)

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

Instructions:

1. Soak the cashews for an hour in hot water or overnight in room-temperature water (yes, they sometimes turn a little purple-y on you. They're fine). Drain. Place them in your magic bullet that is totally awesome (or your blender) and add 3/4 cup of water, 1 clove of garlic, and the veggie bouillon or broth powder. Blend at highest speed until completely smooth. Set aside until needed.

2. Open your can of chickpeas and if you're as anal as I am, start to shell them. If you're not anal like me, then proceed directly onto the next task. I forgot that I hate those freaky skins on chickpeas and that I pop them out of their shells before I eat them, and so I waited till I was supposed to use the chickpeas in the recipe and ended up having to put the whole dish on hold while I painstakingly removed all those sonsabitches. Set aside.

2. Grab the largest/deepest non-stick skillet you have (and if you're me... it still won't be big enough and you'll be cursing your tiny ass skillet everytime you try to stir your shit), cook the onion until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the chickpeas, kale and two tablespoons of water (I actually had to add more water, even though my tiny ass skillet barely held more). Cover immediately and reduce heat to Medium. Realize that you don't actually have a cover for your tiny ass skillet, so grab a sheet pan to cover the skillet. Cook, stirring often and cussing everytime half of the damn recipe sloshes out of the tiny ass skillet when you start to stir. Cook and stir (and cuss) until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Add water as necessary to get that shit to steam and cook down.

3. Once your kale is sufficiently not raw anymore, add the reserved cashew sauce, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir (CUSS!) until sauce thickens. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to thin. Serve over Confetti Quinoa (recipe follows). And because I eat it on EVERYTHING, add Braggs Liquid Aminos and Tapatio hot sauce on top, to taste. Also, serve on a bed of raw spinach, cause that's how I eat everything.

And, if you're at the bottom of your spinach container, just use it as your

bowl/plate, cause you're a classy broad.

Confetti Quinoa...

Again, see the above referenced recipe, or...

Make some quinoa and add some red bell peppers and green onions. DONE.

On Work and Life

2012-01-18T11:46:00.003-06:00

I'm about to get all philosophical on your asses... so, get ready (or not).

In the life of an accountant... January SUCKS MAJOR ASS. Especially when you work for a small accounting firm with your family's name on it, where you USED to take on more than you could chew, but after 7 years have finally gotten to the point where you don't eagerly volunteer for new projects and unfortunately, you have a hard time finding a way to shove off some of your piddly/administrative/whythefuckamIdoingthis work to other employees (mainly because you are either too busy or too frustrated to teach someone else).

So, yeah... January is a busy time for me. There are a few times like this during the year... March, April, September, October and January. Times where I have to work late, work weekends, and stumble around the rest of the time feeling guilty that I'm not at work, because there's so much to be done! But to be honest... I don't mind it. I have a great job, with great people (errr.. mostly), and when you work in the family business, being insanely busy is a GOOD THING.

But, over the course of the years, I've learned some things about myself... some things that I used to kinda feel guilty about, but as I get older, I am proud that I've turned out this way.

For one... when people ask me what I do...I know they're looking to small talk me and asking me about my job is one of the easiest things to do. They don't technically mean.. "what do you DO?" they mean... "how do you pay your bills?" And I always happily tell them. But, I'm always tempted to answer them truthfully.... because my job isn't what I do. It will never be what I do. It will never be the definition of my life. But, I'm afraid of the conversation turning into this:

New person: "So... what do you do?"
Me (enthusiastically): "Well, I travel as much as much as I can, I run, I practice yoga and meditation, I read and watch terrible non-cable television more than I should, and I try to spend as much time in nature as possible... ya know... typical WASPy/hippie bullshit. What about you?"
New person: ..... slowly backs away

Also, I am not a workaholic and never will be. I have friends who constantly work 60 hour weeks and I'm always in awe of them. How do they actually do that? After about 11 hours of work in one day I become a nervous WRECK. Tell me that the copier is jammed at 9pm and one of two things is liable to happen #1 to burst into tears and run flailing out the back door or #2 rip your head off with foul language and kick the shit out of the copier (or both). It used to make me feel like I loved my job less than them, or that I was less successful than I could be. But, as lazy and/or unAmerican as this sounds... I don't care. I work late when I need to, I pull 60 hour weeks when I need to (uhhhh RARELY ever more than that), but I don't and won't do that on a consistent basis. I am too interested in the rest of my life.

All this to say... January Sucks! And I'm thankful to have this Half Marathon Training Plan going on that I'm obsessed with to get me up and out the door at 5am. In the past, it was too easy to hit the snooze some mornings, because I wasn't technically training for anything. And in the evenings, I'm working later so I've had to cut back on my yoga classes this month, but, I know that this is just a phase of a few weeks and soon enough I'll be back to my regular 40 hour work weeks and the rest of my life will catch up.

I will not feel guilty about not being a workaholic and I will not feel guilty about my life taking a back seat occasionally to my work. It's a fine balance that we're all just trying to meet.

(Thanks. I needed that).

Week 6 Review

2012-01-16T13:50:00.002-06:00

So, my jammed packed weekend of speedwork and a long run didn't kill me! I actually kinda killed it...

Overall, it was a great week. I started the week feeling kinda lazy and bored and ended the week on a high note of feeling fast, strong, and confident.

I'm about 8 weeks to my goal race date and while I realize that 14 weeks sounds like a LONG ASS time to train for a half marathon PR (I mean, are you bored with these weekly reviews yet, or what?), I think it's just what I need. I've spent the last 6 weeks slowly base building and getting used to speedwork and staying healthy. And now we're getting into the meat of the training and I'm used to the schedule, I'm used to the speedwork, I'm getting better at nailing my times and best of all... I'm LOVING it.

Also, a little note on the schedule... My off day was supposed to be Friday, which is why my coach instructed me to GET DRUNK. How awesome is that? I opted to sleep in on Wednesday instead... but I did end up having a couple of beers on Friday night anyway...

Jam of the week: Thank You by Estelle

Ummm. Oops.

2012-01-12T09:56:00.001-06:00

So, my coach sends me my workouts for the upcoming week every Sunday. It's awesome. It keeps me excited to find out what I'm going to be doing, as opposed to having my entire life planned out in advance for 16 weeks or whatever.

And usually, because I'm a bit of a control freak, I tweak the days around a bit to fit my schedule a little better. And luckily Coach is totally fine with that... but she's always telling me to make sure that I don't do two speedwork days in a row. Easy.

So, this week... somehow, it's Thursday and the 3 runs left on my schedule are a long run and two speed workouts. CRIKEY.

Excuses include... just being an overall dumbass and running an easy-ish run on Monday (even though I took Sunday off... WTF?), also it was POURING rain yesterday morning when I woke up and the idea of doing speedwork in the afternoon on my own seemed like the absolute worst ever.

So, the plan is this... to do my Race Pace run tomorrow... that shouldn't exhaust me too much. And then Saturday morning I'll do my long run and Sunday I'll do my intervals*. On paper it looks pretty bad... in theory it sounds pretty dumb... but in practice I think it will be okay.

And in a strange, sickening, and frightening way... I'm kinda/sorta/littlebit looking forward to it all.

WHO AM I?

And the lesson learned here is... don't put your shit off for later in the week cause you might get all jammed up for the weekend.

*Now before you all ~~(all 2 of you)~~ start yelling at me in the comments about this... clearly... If I feel AWFUL I'll cut the intervals or run slower or hurl myself onto the pavement and start crying or whatever. But, I'm anticipating feeling just peachy for them. And I will be rocking the compression socks all weekend long, baby.

Race Report: Hill and Dale 8 miler

2012-01-10T11:31:00.001-06:00

Wayyyy back in 2008, April and I ran this race together (and I think she's ran it every year since then). You can read our race reports from that year here and here.

This year, I decided to head down to Memphis to visit my BFF for the weekend and as luck would have it... the race was the same weekend! $6 bucks for an 8 mile race on a CERTIFIED course? Ummm... Yes.

To be completely honest, I didn't remember much about this race except for some crazy ass switchbacks (and as a trail runner, I've learned that the word switchback is not something you want to read in a course description. Ugh), turns out... there's another nasty hill and a few other minor hills that makes you realize... ohhhhh... that's why it's called HILL and Dale. Duh.

My strategy was simple. I really didn't give a shit about getting a PR... I mean, it's an 8 mile race. But, I wanted to use the race as a tempo run. So, I told myself that I was going to take it easy for the first 4 miles and then start to pick it up and try to average 8:15s (my goal Half Marathon pace) for the last 3-4 miles.

April and I started out with a little warm up jog. It felt good to get the legs warmed up and by the time we ditched some extra layers and made a bathroom stop, it was time for the race to start.

The weather was perfect for January. Overcast, 50 degrees. I mean, it was perfect. We started off rather speedy (of course) but then settled into a smoother, slower pace...

Me in the red cap and the white Chicago Marathon tee.

For good luck, ya know? Ape's hamming it up in the white cap.

Mile 1: 8:47
Mile 2: 9:23
Mile 3: 9:22
Mile 4: 9:48 (ummm... stopped and walked up part of a hill).

When I was done with mile 4, I started watching my Garmin like a hawk. Trying to get my pace down to 8:15s.

Mile 5: 8:44
Mile 6: 8:30

I started having a hard time sticking with 8:15. I'd either be at 8:45 or 7:45. I couldn't get the feel. One thing I did notice though... was that I was feeling pretty damn good. Usually with 2-3 miles left to go in a race I feel like the wheels are falling off.

Mile 7: 8:17
Mile 8: 8:48 (this mile included the UPHILL switchbacks to which I walked for I'd say anywhere from 45 seconds to a minute and a half).

Once the switchbacks were done, I kicked it into HIGH GEAR and started picking off people as best I could. I felt good... like I was actually racing (uhhh.duh). I was starting to think... maybe I could finish sub 1:10! But then quickly realized that I didn't have enough time for that in the last mile. So my goal became to finish in under 1:11.

The last quarter of mile seemed to last FOREVER, but I just kept cranking it up and passed a couple of people right before the finish line.

Eat my dust, bitches.

I came in at 1:11:18. Which is an 8:55 overall pace. I was pretty pleased. I ended up PRing by like 4 minutes (my previous PR was 1:15:xx). So... yeah, I pretty much PRed the SHIT out of that race. BOOM!

Post Race.

Overall, I am happy with my race performance. I kept it easy in the first few miles and though I had a hard time getting to 8:15 and staying there... I still felt really good and had enough to kick at the end. It's good because in the end it makes me confident that I'm on the right track, but it also let's me know that I have some work to do in the next 9 weeks.

Of course... post race called for some good eats, some champagne drinking out of a can with a straw (I had no idea this even existed!) and dance party while we got dressed and ready (April's got those pics) and then a night out full of pizza, pirate bars, and pissing and moaning about cover charges!

At the Pirate Bar.

Besties.

Week 5 Review

2012-01-09T13:13:00.000-06:00

YAY! I finally hit my intervals! Also, I raced on Saturday (race report to come) and took two rest days. Oops.

Overall, it was a good week, it was nice to get back to some speedwork and I was thrilled to finally hit my intervals and feel GOOD during and after them! Yay! Speedwork doesn't have to feel like one of Dante's circles of hell!

I'm finally in the groove. I'm feeling good, I'm used to the schedule, and I can feel my fitness level start to inch it's way back up (errr.. or up for the first time ever).

All good in the 'hood. Yo.

Week 4 Review

2012-01-05T10:59:00.000-06:00

Damnnnnn. 4 weeks, already??

Here's what it looked like:

Week 4: The EASY Week.

So, last week was an easy week. No speedwork, just lots of easy, slow, easy miles. I have to say... this is another one of Coach's brilliant ideas! Sure, it was an easy week, there were no intervals or tempo runs, BUT, instead of cutting back on my mileage (which I totally would have done if I were planning my own shit), I cut back on my pace... ran easy and ran MORE miles. It's genius, really. Why didn't I ever think of that?

Anyway, by the end of the week, not only was I feeling rested and sane, I was itching to get back out there and do some faster running.

A month in the books and I'm still loving it!

Hello 2012...

2012-01-03T15:52:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years holiday! I sure did. There was plenty of beer, champagne, friends, football, and sparkles!

Sometime around 3am I believe. I was up for 23 hours between Saturday and Sunday.

Sparkles! And Feathers! (Totally LOVE the feathers!!!).

Shitty photo, but I couldn't believe how many people were downtown for the "musical note drop." It was unlike any crowd I've ever seen in Nashville (or possibly anywhere).

Cheering on the Cocks at the bar on Monday! Goooooooo Cocks!

It was the perfect way for 2011 to go out. With friends, with a bang, and with sparkles and champagne. A good year deserves a proper celebration. And proper it was.

So, now with 2011 gone... it's time to move forward into a new year. And I'm not really one to make big resolutions, but I do like to set some new goals or paths for myself.

*Running goals... I basically just want to PR the shit out of 2012.

Aside from running I have a bunch of other things that I want to work on...

*One of my main goals is to be a better listener. I am a good listener already. But, I'm not what I'd refer to as a "full attention" listener. I mean, I'm listening... but I'm probably also thinking about what I need to pick up at the store or I'm watching the couple behind you with their ridiculously cute baby. Or I could even be just waiting for you to shut up so that I can finally tell you what I think. So, this is something that I really want to work on. I want to be better at disengaging from distractions and engaging in conversations fully.

*I also want to continue to work on detachment. To not have emotional attachments to things and people. This is something I worked on a lot in 2011 and had success with, so I'm on the right path, so far.

"The correct attitude of our 'possessions' is gratitude, not ownership." B.K.S. Iyengar.

*And as cheesy at is sounds, I just want to be a better person in 2012. I'm in a great place mentally, physically and spiritually right now and I need to figure out ways to spread that wealth.

"... we believe we are not making a difference. But making a difference is really about the way you show up in the world every day. In fact, know it or not, like it or not, you're already making a difference by your presence. It may be a good difference or a bad difference, a large difference or a small difference, but you had an effect on everyone who saw you, felt you, or heard you today. So the question is not whether you can make a difference, but what kind of difference are you making?" Barbara De Angelis

*And... I also want to read more books this year than I read last year!

What are you going to do in 2012?

Download This... Now!

2011-12-30T11:16:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of weeks I've had a lot of solo runs (one of my running partners has been out of town a lot! Arg!)... So, last week, fed up with the same playlist I've had since like 2004, I finally decided to upload some new tunes for my running playlist.

I realize that all of you are far hipper than I am and are probably tired of these songs, but they are new to me and new to my playlist and I think they kick ass...

Countdown by Beyonce
I'll be Waiting by Adele (I KNOW!?! Even those of us who are emotionally unavailable can like Adele songs!)
For What it's Worth by Stevie Nicks (It's not super upbeat, but still a good running song).
Sweet by Common
______ in Paris by JAY Z and Kanye West
Otis by JAY Z and Kanye West
I Might by Wilco
Lost in My Mind by The Head and the Heart

Also... Happy New Year! I'll be spending my weekend probably doing all of the following (in no particular order):

*Bossing cab drivers around
*Picking up my bestie Jeff from the airport
*Cussing I RUN FOR THE PARTY because their race routes ALWAYS GO THROUGH MY FUCKING NEIGHBORHOOD AND FUCK UP MY SATURDAY MORNING ERRANDS.
*Rooting for Vandy in their bowl game
*Nursing a god awful hangover on Sunday and swearing off drinking
*Drinking on Monday morning while watching the Gamecocks kick some cornhusker ASS (the kicking ass part is pending, obviously)
*Having a 3some with Jimmy and Woody (what? you really thought I could quit him?).
*Hiking/Nature Trail Walking, depending on how hungover I am
*Sleeping on my couch. (good hostess).
*Freezing my ass off in my dress on Saturday
*Eating Frozen Yogurt
*Running 10 miles on Saturday morning
*Drinking beer and eating Fritos
*Swearing at the Television while watching bowl games
*Taking Jeff to Taco Mamacita for GUACAMOLE!
*Carrying sparkling wine and Miller High Life's in my purse
*Karaoke-ing at Lonnie's
*Wearing false eyelashes
*Dragging Jeff to somewhere I found on hmdb.org

Adios 2011...

Week 3 Review

2011-12-27T15:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays!

Whoa. 3 weeks down. Unbelievable.

So this week something interesting happened... I woke up at my parents house on Saturday morning and started to get ready for a run through the neighborhood with my mom. I got dressed and put my running shoes on and the first step I took with my left foot after putting my shoes on, I felt a pain. A severe, scary pain. It started at the top of my left butt cheek (almost lower back territory) and then the sharp pain radiated down the entire length of my left leg.

Uhhhh.. WTF?

It wouldn't happen with every step, but it did happen occasionally... Enough to make me consider bailing on the run entirely, but I figured I might as well TRY and see what happens. So we ran 3 miles and only had to stop once, when I felt the pain again. By mid-morning the pain was gone.

On Sunday, I decided it would be smart to skip the intervals and just run nice and easy. And... it worked. No issues! Yay!

My number one priority in this whole PR attempt isn't to actually PR, it's to train smart and not get injured. Most people that I know who have had injuries from running, got them from speedwork. Which is why I'm taking an unbelieveably long amount of time to train for a Half Marathon. This way I can hopefully ease my body into this whole running faster thing.

In other news from the week... My long run was spectacular! It flew by and I loved it!

Full Disclosure: I was originally going to take Sunday off instead of Wednesday, but I woke up with a bit of a hangover on Wednesday morning and rearranged my schedule.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Mine was awesome! Lots of good family time and food and... I got to introduce my family to my new boyfriend...

Meet Jimmy. I was originally set up with his cousin, Bulleit Rye.

But, once you add some ginger ale, I can't tell a damn difference between the two.

Week 2 Review

2011-12-19T13:57:00.000-06:00

Well, week two is in the books. Here's how it shook out...

Total miles for the week: 34.3

Good week. But damn, it's an adjustment. I didn't realize just how EASY I had been running before and how used to that I was. The effort required for some of these workouts is not something I'm used to. But, I feel like this coming week is going to get me over the hump.

High of the week: Saturday's Tempo Run. I loved it! My legs felt good after the day off on Friday and I loved the feeling of getting progressively faster and then just running at a tough, but manageable pace for a couple of miles.

Low of the week: Doing my track intervals too fast AGAIN. And feeling like DEATH. Definitely going to work on hitting my splits. No need to be running too damn fast with 3 months till race day!

I have to say... I wake up looking forward to each of the workouts... on easy days, I look forward to just a nice, easy run and on speed days I look forward to seeing what the hell my body is going to do that day. Somedays, it just doesn't come (Monday) and other days I feel like a million bucks (Saturday).

My Favorite Things 2011

2011-12-16T11:34:00.000-06:00

I realize no one's going to be going batshit crazy over this list because for one, I'm not Oprah, so I'm not giving you any of this shit, and two, who am I and why do you care what I like? But, I think it would be kinda fun to have some posts to review the year. So, here we go.

My Favorite Road Race
Indianapolis OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

Sure, I had an awful, awful race that day. But, it didn't take away from the fact of how cool of a race this is! It was well organized, the course is super easy, about a zillion people run this race and all of them are super psyched and happy and amazingly aren't too much in your way. (The race course is built for crowds). I don't really like traveling for half marathons, so I won't do this one again, but man... I'm really glad I did it once!

That's Carolyn and I during the race... ON THE FREAKING INDY 500 RACE TRACK!!!

I mean, how cool is it that you actually get to run on the track? So rad. I loved it!

My Favorite Gear

This was a big ~~expensive~~ year for me and fitness gear. I took the leap and bought some Lululemon yoga tights and some new, supportive sports bras. By the way, I wore the sports bra during the rainy Monkey Marathon and it was the first time I've ever ran a marathon and not had any chafing from my sports bra! I'm in love and have ordered another one and also asked for some for Christmas!

I also hopped onto the compression sock bandwagon (albeit very late).

I actually kinda forget that I have these! But, I do like them and think that they work (even if it's a placebo effect). I even wore them during my interval workout this week. So, yeah, I blame them for running my intervals too fast again!

My Favorite Trail Race

I feel like 2011 was the year of the trail races for me. I ran 100 miles in trail races this year! But my favorite was definitely the 3 Stages Race in Chattanooga, TN.

This was one of the hardest, most rewarding, and most fun things I've ever done. Running 60 miles in 3 days on some of the best trails around and spending 3 days with two really awesome friends made for a great weekend. I've never been so proud of myself after a race and also never been as sore. Oh my god was I sore on Monday.

My Favorite Cross-Training

Yoga. Admittedly, I don't think of Yoga as exercise anymore, but as a bonus it has done some amazing things for my body this year. Last year I got fully addicted to Hot Yoga and then at the end of last year I went on a life-changing Yoga Retreat in Mexico and discovered a whole new yoga path for myself.

I haven't taken a hot yoga class since February and instead go 3-5 times a week to a couple of other studios in town. Nothing against Hot Yoga, I will always have a soft spot for Bikram Style Yoga, as it's what got me into yoga in the first place, but I've just moved onto something else.

When I wasn't sweating my ass off and ruining yoga clothes in Hot Yoga anymore is when I sprang for the Lululemon gear. I also bought a nice new Jade Yoga Mat and threw my old, nasty one out.

My Favorite New Gadget

A Magic Bullet blender thingy.

So, I'm planning on doing a whole other post on health, but I had to throw this out there.

My brother got me one of these for Christmas last year and I was like... okay, yeah, cool. I used it a couple of times, but I already had a blender, so I just kept using my blender. Until I broke the glass pitcher on my blender... I pulled this out (expecting it not to blend the things in my smoothie very well) and it worked brilliantly!

Blending up the smoothie I make everyday for lunch!

It's so much easier to clean than my blender, it works just as well (if not better), and it keeps me from accidentally making a GINORMOUS serving because it's like a single serving blender. I'm in LOVE with this thing!

My Favorite Out of Town Runs

Okay, this is hard... I travelled a TON this year, but my favorite out of town runs were in Scotland and Ireland with my mom.

Seriously. GET YOUR ASS TO SCOTLAND. And IRELAND.

Or ya know, just look at my pictures here...

International Run

Scotland in Pictures Part 1

Scotland in Pictures Part 2

Ireland in Pictures

My Favorite Band to Listen to While I Run:

Cold War Kids.

Few specific tracks I like to run to...

Louder than Ever

Audience

Saint John

We Used to Vacation.

Well, I'm sure there are some totally awesome things that I'm forgetting (maybe this becomes a series of posts?)... but this is a good random round-up.

What were some of your favorite things of 2011?

Race Report: Snowflake 5k

2011-12-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

I'm not 100% sure and I'm kinda RunningAhead illiterate, but I think the last time I ran a 5k was the Mule Day 5k back in 2009 (oops, I'm wrong, I ran one in May of 2010). My PR is a 24:32 and was set in 2008.

Needless to say the horrific pain that you suffer during a 5k had finally escaped my memory and so that's how I found myself at the start line of a 5k on Saturday morning.

Luckily, I had part of my Team (Team CAST, as we've affectionately started calling ourselves) there to support me (and pull me through). My coach, Tanya, was there along with our honorary "C" for the day: Cheryl and thankfully, Steve was there to kick my ass.

Coach had suggested that I do a few warm-up miles which turned out to be the best idea ever. Steve and I jogged around for about 2 miles to get the blood flowing and honestly, it helped keep the nerves down, too.

We stopped warming up and lined up with about 2 minutes before the race start. I told Steve to just lay the hammer down on me... and see what I could do. The gun went off and so did we.

I gotta be honest, the first mile felt pretty damn good! But almost immediately after passing the 1st mile marker I started to feel like shit. Steve was keeping a good distance ahead of me and I was just trying to keep up. The next mile felt like the absolute longest mile I've ever ran. I tried not to look at my watch, but I couldn't help it. It was at this point that Steve started to turn around and yell encouraging lies to me. "Doing Great!" "Keep it up!" "Let's go Amy!"

By the time I saw the second mile marker, I was ready to slow down and mosey on into the finish. I knew that we had significantly slowed down since the beginning of the race, but I tried not to do any math in my head and just keep running. With about 3/4 of a mile to go Cheryl passed us. I tried to exchange pleasantries, but I honestly felt like I might vomit all over her if I tried to talk too much.

I was struggling to keep it together, and when Steve turned around to yell at me that we just had a quarter of mile to go ("Just like Wednesday!" he encouraged), I told him not to lie to me. Haha. God, I'm such a bitch.

I tried to kick at the end, I really did, but I just couldn't. I was running at my maximum capacity and had been for the last 3 miles.

The pain and torture was worth it in the end though...

Official Time: 23:05.

Ummm... yeah... I PRed the SHIT out of that race.

Mile Stats:
Mile 1: 7:06
Mile 2: 7:24
Mile 3: 7:36
.16: 6:43

By the time I caught my breath after crossing finish line and realized that I had PRed by almost a minute and a half, I was THRILLED and utterly surprised. Whoa. I had no idea where that came from. (Actually, I do, I just followed Steve the whole entire time, without him, I would have never ran that fast).

To top it off, not only did I record a PR for the day, but I also got 3rd in my age group and got a sweet snowflake medal! Tanya and Cheryl (who had a big time PR, too!!!) also schooled some bitches and they both won first in their age groups. Show-offs.

Now, I'm already thinking about trying to go sub 23 in a couple of months. (OHMYGOD, it's one fucking race and I'm already turning into a speed-greedy monster!).

Team CAST 1-0!

Week 1 Training Review

2011-12-12T11:22:00.000-06:00

So, week one is over. Here's what the week looked like.

Planned. And what I actually did.
Monday: Warm up 1 mile, 2.5 miles at 9:00 pace, 1 mile cool down.
Warm up 1 mile. 2.5 miles at about 8:45ish pace, and then 1 mile cool down(which was actually fastest mile of the day, oops).
Tuesday: 5 miles easy.
5 miles easy.
Wednesday: Warm up 1 mile, 5x400s at 2:00 each. 400 recoverys in between and a 1 mile cool down.
Yeah, you all know how this one went.
Thursday: 3 miles easy.
3 miles easy.
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 3 miles progressive to half marathon pace.
Ran a race instead! More to come, but ran some extra warm up and cool down miles, instead.
Sunday: 8 miles easy.
All I could muster was 7.5. Arg!

So, yeah, I can definitely tell that the faster runs are a lot more tiring than just running my easy miles everyday. I slept better this week than I have in awhile.

My coach suggested that I run a 5k to see where I'm at so that she could build the training plan from my current level of fitness, so that's where Saturday came from. I'll have a full race report on that coming up.

So far so good. The newness hasn't worn off yet and I'm still strangely excited about this whole thing.

In my first week, I've also already said... "thank god I have a coach" at least 3 times.
1. When I got my weekly training plan emailed to me... yay! I dont have to think!
2. When I got reprimanded for running too fast on Wednesday. Yay! Someone to actually enforce the training plan!
3. Sunday, when I would have TOTALLY bailed on my run, but knowing that my coach was going to be looking at my log, I KNEW I had to get out there and get it done... even if it was at 6pm. Ugh.

Week one down... only a bajillion more to go!

Intervals Suck.

2011-12-07T09:26:00.001-06:00

Ohhhhhh shit. What the hell was I thinking?

I haven't done an interval workout since wayyyy back in 2009. That was back when the Vandy track which is 1.5 miles from my house was open to the public and once a week or so, I'd run over there and bust out a few 800s around the track.

Time has a way of erasing painful memories, doesn't it?

So, this morning, I met up with Steve for my first interval workout in like 2 years. The training plan called for this:

1 mile warm up
5x400m @ 2:00 (with 400m rests in between)
1 mile cool down

Easy, right? Heh. Heh. The annoying thing is I was actually EXCITED to get started this morning. Like, what the hell is wrong with me? Anyway... I realized that the 1 mile warm up goes by very quickly when you know you've gotta run fast after it.

The first interval was decent. I felt good, it went by fast and I was like... okay, yeah, I can still run fast (granted, only occasionally and only for 400 meters at a time). We clocked our first 400 at 1:42.

First of all, let me say... It's dark outside and 400s are kinda short to be watching your watch constantly to figure out my pace. Plus, I was lazy and just kinda let Steve run ahead of me and I tried to keep up, instead of trying to figure out if I was running the right pace or not.

The second interval was when I realized... oh my god, running fast STILL sucks. We clocked 1:43 and my legs felt like lead.

The third interval I used a yoga mental technique...One of my teachers says a lot... think of the one thing you want most in your life and then reach for it, like you can touch it if you reach hard enough. And uhhh.. it kinda makes you feel like a worthless piece of shit if you just phone it in after that. So, I ran like I was trying to reach the one thing I want most in my life. And it actually kinda worked. 1:43.

The fourth interval, Steve had warned me would feel the hardest. He wasn't kidding. I think I must have started out a little slower and then picked it up at the very end, because I felt a little vomit-y for the last 50-75 meters. Ugh. 1:42 .

The fifth and final interval I was thrilled that it was the last, because I'm not used to HEAVING so much while I'm running. I mean, I've gotten so used to just puttering around with my regular pace and not pushing myself, that I forgot what that feels like. Anyway, we ran it in 1:45.

Overall... it was tough. But not tough enough that I broke. So, I guess that's a good sign. We also ran a little faster than we were supposed to. Ooops. Sorry, Coach. But, never fear! I don't overachieve for long.

First Interval Session done. God, I hope they start to feel easier at some point.

Number of times I said the F word in today's workout: 0 !!!!
(So far so good!)

Introducing my TEAM

2011-12-05T14:01:00.001-06:00

So... I'm serious this time. I'm actually going to have a training plan (it started today!) and stick to it and wind up with a kick ass PR in a few months. And thankfully, I'm not alone in this pursuit. Because I am known for doing anything and everything that you AREN'T supposed to do when training (e.g. crashing and burning, spending days on a pretty excel spreadsheet for the training plan only to stop using it after a week, only paying attention to my long runs, running a 50k the weekend before a race) I need some help. Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a fucking team to make me run fast for 13.1 miles. Allow me to introduce you to my team.

TEAM AMY (still trying to come up with a better team name. Creativity makes my brain hurt. Open to suggestions).

COACH:
First of all... I have a coach this time. I mean... seriously, how legit is that? Someone else to come up with the training plans and the speed workouts, someone else to tell me what to do and make me feel guilty when I don't do them, and most importantly someone to blame when I fail (I kid, I kid).

Clearly, I'm in good hands.

My coach is the fantastic and hilarious TANYA from 37,000 miles later. She has no idea what she's gotten herself into and as I look at the above photo, I guess neither do I. Crap.

TEAMMATES:

So, I've got my super fast running partner STEVE who is probably so freaking excited that I have finally decided to do something other than run 4 miles at 10:00 pace 3x a week. He will be the one that pulls me through the speed workouts and pushes me to keep going. He's good at this. We've had a couple of experiences where I've thrown expletives at him and tried to give up and he just pretends he doesn't hear me and pulls me through. I never run as fast on my own as I do when I'm with him.

CAROLYN is my other teammate and she will be making appearances 2-3 times a week to listen to me bitch and moan (lucky her) about all the wretched things that my coach wants me to do and then also listen to me bitch and moan about how Steve doesn't let me ease up at all or peter out on my runs. She will remind me that running CAN be fun and easy and that I'm an idiot for trying to do this.

There will also eventually be another teammate... Teammate TREADMILL. (But, per usual, I haven't gotten around to joining the YMCA yet). Treadmill will be around on an as needed basis when it's raining or icy outside. And while he's a total bore, if this winter is anything like last winter, he will be a vital member of the team. Ugh.

So there you have it. Team Amy. I'm sure the rest of the team could care less... but, I know I'm ready to get out there and kick some ass! (Unfortunately for me... I'm the one that has to actually do ALL the training and run the race and PR).

I'll post updates at the beginning of the week every week as a recap of my training.

GOOOOOOO Team!

Wet Monkey

2011-12-02T10:07:00.001-06:00

The year it rained...

Yeah, this is like mile 2... a downhill... BEFORE the rain.

It looks like Melanie and I are schooling a whole pack of bitches, but alas, they schooled us. I felt like we RARELY had anyone around us after mile 6 or so. (Uhhh.. slightly different than Chicago).

Ahh... our little 3some. We don't look too wet either, so this may have been early as well.

Also, how freaking unbelievably beautiful does the park look in these photos?? Wow.

And here we go. Miserably, soaking, clinging wet. But still managing half a smile.

The Lady in the Pink told us that she likes to chase advil with red bull before and during races.

I don't think I'll try that. But she did have quite a kick at the end.

At the finish, feeling like I'm going to throw up after running up and down the last hill.

Coming up on the blog I'm going to start a little series of my favorite things from 2011 and I'm also officially starting my training with my COACH! So... yeah, that should be fun. Expect the F bombs to occur a little more frequently in the months to come...

Have a great weekend you guys!

DANGER! not really. well, maybe...

2011-11-30T14:24:00.001-06:00

Back in the summer, Carolyn and I were running along our usual route (West End) at our usual time (5:15am) and we came to a bus bench with someone sitting at it.

To be honest, I didn't even really notice that someone was sitting there... because we were deep in conversation about god knows what ~~(probably sex or gossip or both).~~ So, when I heard someone talking nay... screaming at us, I was startled. So startled in fact that I had thought I had misheard them.

"Did that lady just call one of us a mexican whore?" I asked. Ummm.. apparently, I had heard correctly, and she was still yelling obscenities at us as we continued down the sidewalk. At the time, I never thought I'd forget her shrill, loud bark and the verocity with which she screamed. It was like one of us really was a Mexican Whore and not only that.. that we had done something very terrible to her and she was very angry.

Despite being initially alarmed, after we sped up to get away from her, we had a good laugh about it... trying to decide just who in fact she was referring to. (Carolyn, obvs).

And just like that... after a few more miles, I had completely forgotten about the incident. Until a couple of Saturdays ago, I was out running along the same route by myself, at a later time (7:00ish), enjoying the beautiful fall weather and the hustle and bustle of people getting their Vandy Tailgates ready when I heard some familiar screaming coming from across the road.

A couple of blocks away from the first incident, but across the street this time was the same lady. Again, she was at a bus bench screaming at the top of her lungs to me... "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BITCH." Over and over again.

I'm not going to lie.. it kinda FREAKED me the FREAK out. It's the first time someone ever yelled at me that they were going to kill me and uhhhh... it's a bit unsettling. Granted, I know... she's just yelling crazy obscenities at anyone and everyone she sees. But, I was glad that she was on the opposite side of the street this time...

Makes me a bit wary of bus benches from now on...

Has anyone ever told you that you were a Mexican Whore? Or threatened to kill you? What's the craziest thing someone has yelled at you while running?

Race Report: Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon

2011-11-22T10:02:00.001-06:00

The race swag this year: long sleeve tech tee (with my two monkey kills on the sleeve),

short sleeve cotton tshirt, various stickers, magnets, etc).

The forecast called for rain (who cares) and for temps in the 60s (OMG freaking out) and when I woke up, it was already 61 degrees.

Well, thank god it's cloudy!

Luckily, it was a cooler, damp 61, so I wasn't too worried at the start.

My strategy was simple: Don't DIE. More specifically that means to start slow and steady and stay that way.

Things started off fine. I felt pretty good and I was with two friends, Matt and Melanie, so that made things go by much quicker. There was one problem though... I HAD TO PEE. I rarely have to pee during a race. But luckily, Melanie had to pee, too. So we hopped off the road and took care of business behind a tree stump (uhhh not together) and after that (around mile 6) I was golden.

It started raining around mile 3 and didn't quit until we hit mile 25 or so. And most of the time it was raining pretty hard.

First half in 2:27. Looks like a 5 hour marathon!!!

Overall, I was feeling pretty good. My head felt great, my body felt great. We ran a lot of parts that I think we walked last year. We just took it slower overall, which I think was smart.

I was also fueling pretty regularly. I was carrying a baggie full of dried cranberries and apricots and I had also brought along a Hammer Gel (I don't think I've done a gel in 2-3 years). And I had some gatorade at every aid station (although, I think that's why I had to pee in the beginning). I ate the Hammer Gel around mile 17 and guess what! It was the best tasting gel I've ever had! I'm actually going to stock up... Apple Cinnamon. I just concentrated on how the gel tasted and felt like (consistency-wise) the filling of an apple pie (without the apples, obviously) and I had no problems slurping that stuff down. Hooray!

I felt pretty good the entire rest of the race. Sure, there were times when I was starting to get a little annoyed by being in wet clothes and my legs were a little cranky during some of the last hills. But overall, I can't really complain. (<---- I know, this makes for a BORING race report).

How's that for even halves? BOO-YA.

As we started down the grassy hill to the finish line, I noticed my parents car sitting out there and then I saw my mom standing next to it. I gave her a little wave and proceeded down to the finish line with Matt and Melanie...

You can barely see us, but that's the three of us between the two clocks.

Yay!!! A Sub 5:00 Monkey!

I finished, felt like I was going to puke from running up the hill and then down for that last .2 and didn't even realize that my dad was standing right behind me at the finish line! He had been taking pictures at the finish line.

Overall, I'm very happy. I ran smart, I had fun, and finally got to finish a marathon with two of my friends (strangely enough the 3 of us had never crossed a finish line together) and my parents were there at the finish line to congratulate me! It was a great day.

Marathon #15 is in the books and what a great way to cap off the 2011 race calendar!

The Problem...

2011-11-18T09:06:00.001-06:00

So, I've just realized that there's a problem with setting a new goal before your race calendar is clear...

You see, for the past few weeks, I've been going over my training log with a critical eye. And that's good. It's making me realize how much work I'm going to have to do in the upcoming months to achieve my goals... But, ummm.. it's also bad. Because I have to run a marathon on Sunday. And, it's not exactly a cake walk of a course. And if I now know that I was undertrained for the Chicago Marathon... well then.. I'm DEFINITELY undertrained for the Monkey (particularly since I haven't really been running much since Chicago).

Chicago Marathon

The Monkey

So, let's just say that my confidence is completely shot to hell at this point. Back when I originally signed up for this race, I wanted to have a Course PR. Last year I ran a 4:39 (which I was thrilled with) and this year, I'd love to run about the same time... but, I also feel like realistically... it's just not there for me right now.

And... that's okay, right? Because I've got big things coming up and I'm very excited about pushing my body and seeing where it can take me in the upcoming months. So, Sunday is just going to become a fun run in the park.

Hopefully I won't die.

Gear Review: Moving Comfort Rebound Racer Sports Bra

2011-11-17T09:35:00.001-06:00

Thanks for all the suggestions y'all!

A lot of you suggested the Moving Comfort brand, which I had been looking into anyway... and I ended up trying out the Rebound Racer:

Muscles, not included.

It had all the things I was looking for... support, racerback, adjustable straps... I ended up ordering it from Zappos.com (because I LOVE zappos.com, #1 no sales tax for TN residents and #2 free shipping and with their distribution center in KY, I get my stuff the VERY NEXT DAY and #3 Awesome customer service).

Anyway, back to the sports bra. So, I received it last week and inspected it...

Ummm... upon first inspection. Not convinced. It looks kinda puny, eh?

I think I expected it to be made out of thick ass spandex and to have titanium rods in it or something. Ya know... like a NASA sports bra.

I put it on (no pictures, YOU'RE WELCOME) and was immediately like... okay... this feels too good to be supportive. It was tight, but light, and besides having to adjust the straps to the maximum tightness, it fit perfectly!

I kinda jumped around a little in it... wondering if it was going to be good enough on it's own to wear it out for a run. I was still skeptical, there was that part of my brain teasing me "put another bra on underneath it... you know you want to!!!..." but, I decided to give it a real chance.

So, I went outside and ran. And you guys, it was awesome!! Who knew that some flimsy, lightweight, comfortable sports bra can be supportive? I'm a total convert and am now going to order a whole bunch more (and ask for some for Christmas). Wayyyy more supportive than my double bra system (even with my old favorite bra).

The ONLY issue I see is that with the lightweight fabric... there's definitely going to be some umm... Nip moments. But, that's not enough of an issue with me to stop wearing this bra. Can't wait to wear it Sunday!

Moving Comfort Rebound Racer Sports Bra perfect for girls with medium sized boobs who are active and shit and are tired of wearing crappy, cheap, old, mangy sports bras.

Challenge Accepted!

2011-11-14T11:32:00.001-06:00

The Race: The Tom King Half Marathon in Nashville, TN.

The Date: March 10, 2012.

The Goal: TO PR. Which means to run faster than a 1:49:54.

The Method: Umm.. to do whatever my Coach tells me to do!

Training Start Date: November 28.

I'm so stinking excited to get started that I can't hardly wait! (Too bad I have to wait and run this pesky little marathon this weekend before I can actually get started)!

So, be ready for 16 weeks worth of bitching and moaning about how much I hate running fast!!!

Yay!

Time to Re-Evaluate

2011-11-11T10:12:00.001-06:00

First of all.. thanks for all the sports bra recommendations... I ordered one to try out and should get it today! I'll review it once I get a chance to test it out!

So... since the Chicago Marathon and since deciding NOT to attempt the 50 mile race in December... I've been doing some reflecting and some planning.

First of all, upon further inspection of my training... I was not in as good of running shape as I thought I was for the Chicago Marathon. I was making an old mistake (see Eugene Marathon training and we know how that turned out)... I was mistaking the fact that I had gotten in all my long runs as proof that I was good to go for the marathon. Which.. yeah, to finish... I was fine. But even putting the stomach issues, the overheating issues, etc.. aside... there was no way I was prepared to bust out a sub 4:30 marathon. And that's fine. Because I wasn't training for time. I was training to help a friend cross the finish line.

But, after realizing that I was going to be on my own in the race when my friend got injured late in the training.. I started to think... hmmm maybe I can do better than just finish. And then I was all.. yeah.. I got in all my long runs. I'm good to go.

Such a fool I am. How did I forget that the long runs are only 50% of your training. The rest of it... is actually putting in the work the rest of the week. I KNOW this. I've LIVED this. And yet sometimes I still forget.

So, with that in mind.. it's my goal to getting back to that place where I do the long runs and I do the mileage the rest of the week, too. Running 3-5 mile runs 4-5 times the rest of the week, is fine for me if I want to finish marathons... but to actually think that I might could do more than finish... I gotta do more than that.

And you know what? I've actually got the itch to do something. I know! I'm shocked, too! I've gone over a year not having that itch... of just being happy to run the miles. So, I'm going to scratch the itch and see what happens...

Let's Talk...

2011-11-09T10:59:00.000-06:00

...Sports Bras.

I have a confession to make. I've basically been wearing the same sports bras since I started running ~~ohhhhh wayyy back in 2005.~~ My justification has always been that I'm a two bra-wearer... so, it's okay that the sports bras might be a little "loose."

To clarify... when I say I wear two bras... I mean I literally wear two bras... I wear one ACTUAL bra (I have a bunch of racerback bras without any sport of padding, but they do have underwire) and then I pull on a sports bra on over top.

All the sports bras I own are too big Target C9 bras (with the exception of my race bra... which is some sort of super tight and super awesome bra from Wal-Mart that I can no longer find. And even now... it's not as super tight or super awesome as it once was... 3 years ago).

This was all working just fine.. but lately, I've noticed that the bras (even with my two-bra system) are not doing a good job. When I start running, I feel like I'm flopping around all the over the place. This worries me... I'm 31 years old and my girls are already saggier than I'd like... They need some support!

Furthermore, I wear the same bras for yoga sometimes (alone, not with the real bra) and they're even a little loose for Yoga. TOO LOOSE FOR YOGA.

This is where I'm hoping you come in. I'm willing to finally invest in some GOOD sports bras. At first I was just going to go buy a bunch of the C9 bras from target (in the right size, for chrissakes) and continue on with wearing another bra underneath...

But the thing is.. I don't have that big of a chest. I mean, honestly.. I shouldn't really have to wear two bras. I would call my chest a medium, and I know that there are plenty of women with bigger chests than me running around in just one really awesome sports bra! But, my girls are big enough that I can't get away with just wearing one of the C9 bras on their own. I need a little more support than that!

So... HELP ME. Shout out your favorite sports bras! I realize I could just go out and try on a bunch of bras, but let's be honest.. just because you try one on in a store and kinda jump around and run in place in the dressing room in it... you have no idea how well it's going to perform when you're really out there running. So, I want some REAL life reviews and suggestions!!

My girls and I thank you in advance...

Long Run...

2011-11-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I woke up and rolled out of bed and over to Percy Warner Park for a rendezvous with the 11.2 + Luke Lea add-on.

It was nice. If you're not familiar with the 11.2, it's a loop. So, when you start you can choose to start going towards the right (the way most people start, I think. At least, with me and my peeps!) or you can go the the opposite direction towards the left. Which is what I did. For multiple reasons:

1. I'm much more likely to add the Luke Lea add on when it comes to me at mile 1.5ish instead of mile 9.5ish.
2. If you run it backwards (or starting towards the left), the first 6 miles are pretty much the last 6ish miles of the Monkey Marathon. So, I wanted to get a little more familiar with knowing where I am, how far to go, etc... from that perspective.
3. I knew that I'd have much better views of the sunrise from that side.

All in all, the run was pretty good. I took it easy with my pace and just enjoyed the run. The park is GORGEOUS right now and it was bustling with life as it got later in the morning. However, I did not layer enough for the run. It was in the 30s, and I assumed I'd warm up enough on the hills to just start out with a short sleeve with a long sleeve over and then tights and shorts. But, ummm... that was not enough. I wasn't really warm until the last mile or so of the run. It kinda sucked, actually. But, I survived and will be used to the cooler temps soon enough, I'm afraid.

This was likely my last shot at the 11.2 before the Monkey Marathon in a couple of weeks and it was the perfect weekend to tackle it.

Decisions

2011-10-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

So... during miles 13-19 of the Chicago Marathon, I pretty much swore off marathon running. I mean, I think we've all done that in a race where we're struggling. But the thing is... I haven't really gotten the drive back yet, either.

I realize that it was just a bad day and that it's cool... I had no expectations so I wasn't upset or anything with my time. But... I guess I had just forgotten how awful running can actually be sometimes... ya know?

Anyway, I've got the Monkey Marathon coming up in November that I am VERY excited about. Just because it's so small and local. But, I think I've decided to NOT sign up for the 50 miler in December.

Experiencing a terrible race for almost 6 hours was enough to make me question my ability to handle 14 hours in December with multiple creek crossings to run a 50 mile trail race... I just don't think I'm mentally tough enough for that just yet.

Race Report: Chicago Marathon

2011-10-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

I know! I'm sorry. But the past week at work has been BRUTAL. But anyway... I'm back now and ready to tell the story of my Chicago Marathon...

Everything was perfect. The flight in, Seeing Matt and Maureen on the train, the city, traipsing around on Saturday, meeting up with Liz and heading to the expo, taking a nice evening stroll to Whole Foods to grab dinner and settling back into the hotel around 7pm. Perfect day before a marathon.

On my way back to the hotel Saturday night.

The morning started off perfect, too! Liz and I had no problems getting up and getting ready before the race.

Let's do this!

We headed out of our hotel early, met up with Matt and Melanie, made a stop at the porta potties and then made our way into the corral (which was already closing. Ugh. Kind of a pain).

So... Liz had a time goal for the race and I knew it was going to be hot, so my strategy was Classic Amy: Start off fast with Liz and try to bank some time before it gets hot and miserable. 

And you guys... I was totally psyched up for this race. Like... I don't think I've been that excited about a race in a LONG time. I had no idea what was going to happen. Would I PR? Would I not? I was so giddy and ready to run 26.2 miles in a town that I truly love.

And then the race started. And all my excitement flew out the window.

Yeah. I should have known better. I KNOW that I hate running in crowds. Why did I think that it was going to be any different in Chicago? Ugh. I tried to stay upbeat, but trying to keep up with Liz and dodging people and trying to pass people and going from sprinting around people to almost stopping when you get behind more people... STRESSES ME THE FUCK OUT.

So, around mile 2, I told Liz good luck and tried to just settle down and zone out on my own. Which was a good plan... but OMG the people! Do you have any idea how many people 45,000 is?? I didn't. That's a lot of freaking people. I kept telling myself to let it go. There's nothing to do now but enjoy the run and take it all in.

So, I tried that. And I will say this... if you like crowds... this is your Marathon. Not only the crowds that were running.. but the crowds along the streets. It is truly amazing and even that wasn't lost on me (while I suffered through my own OCD neuroses. Seriously... how could I not being enjoying that marathon? EVERYONE else around me was having the time of their lives and all pumped up and having fun... and I was struggling to get my head into the game and I was barely 3 miles in!).

Finally, at mile 5, I turned my headphones on. And I have to say that quieted my head down a little. But, I was just way too overstimulated. My body felt fine, but my head was just not in the game. It sucked.

Also... umm.. it was kinda warm. I started pouring water on my head at the 2nd water stop. Yeah... that's kinda early to start doing that. I also drank gatorade at every water stop.

Seriously though... you have no idea how amazing the spectators are at this race. THERE ARE SO MANY. And they all have cute signs about Chuck Norris not running a marathon, and signs about how impressive our stamina is, etc. It was really awesome.

Despite how awesome it was.. I still felt like shit. I started slowing down and trying to just enjoy the race. But, it wasn't working.

My first half wasn't too awful by the numbers... But it was mainly just my head giving me problems. Which, sucks.. but I can deal with. Until mile 11.. when I had to use the bathroom. I started feeling it around mile 10, but by mile 11, it was GO time. At that point, I was like.. okay.. I'll feel better after this and things will pick up. I haven't had to stop to use the bathroom in a race in a LONG time. It sucked. But, my stomach did feel a little better and in general, I felt a little better. For like a mile.

And then my stomach started jacking up again. I hit the half-way point right around 2:20. Which, I'm not going to lie... if you had told me that in the morning before the race, I would have been disappointed, but by this point.. with the sun and the crowds and my head.. I was totally fine with it.

As soon as I crossed the half-way point, I started noticing that I just wasn't feel good in general. My stomach was cramping, I was getting cranky, I was hot and couldn't keep the sweat off my face... it was not pretty.

At mile 16, I saw Melanie and I was so happy to see her, so that I could tell her... "DON'T WAIT FOR ME AT THE FINISH. I feel awful!" She looked good, but said she wasn't feeling too great either... I tried, but there was no way I could keep up with her and so we parted ways about 1 minute after we first saw each other. Haha.

And I hit up the porta potty again. Again, hoping that okay.. I'll use the bathroom and feel better.

No such luck.

At this point, I was stopping to walk. I had stopped sweating and I was starting to feel light headed. Like I couldn't focus.

At mile 18, I took another potty break and I couldn't run after that at all. As soon as I passed the aid station at that mile marker, I regretted my decision. I felt awful. I felt like I was going to puke and/or pass out at any moment.

I started to tell myself that this was going to be my first DNF. And you know what? I didn't even give a shit. All I cared about was getting to the next aid station and quitting.

Finally I got to the aid station that was around mile 19.5. I walked up and stood there (this was my first time to ever stop at an aid tent). Someone approached me and told me to sit down. I sat. I was afraid I was going to puke, right there in front of everyone. I sat there for a few minutes and someone came up to me and started asking me questions. They asked me the date. I didn't know (to be fair... who knows the date on the weekends?). They asked me the who the president was... I couldn't tell him and I started to tear up. The guy didn't have the best bedside manner and he made me feel like I was disappointing him with my answers (or lack thereof). Finally he asked me where I was... CHICAGO MARATHON I was able to muster through tears.

Then he starts asking me how I'm feeling and once he finds out that I hadn't thrown up.. he leaves.

About a minute later he comes back over and hands me a gatorade while announcing to everyone that the shuttle to take people back to the finish line is there and is leaving ASAP. So if you are going to get on the shuttle, you better go now.

I wanted on that shuttle. But honestly, at that point.. I couldnt even get up and walk over there, so I just decided to wait for the next one.

Meanwhile.. everyone else who came into aid station area that has some kind of physical problem got IMMEDIATE attention. They got their own personal PT who stretched them out, they got a thing of ice, etc... and here I am sitting in a chair all by myself. Someone else hands me another cup of gatorade (that was intended for someone who had already left).

Finally another guy comes over to me and starts asking me the same questions... I still don't know the date (it's the weekend PEOPLE), but I do remember the president this time. This guys name was George and he was SUPER awesome. He was attentive and caring and didn't call me "honey" in a condescending snappy tone like the other guy did. He starts filling out some paperwork on me and I'm like... "the first guy already did that" and he asks the guy (the condescending prick guy) and he huffs around and starts looking on a table.. "what's your number, honey?" and he finds it.. CRUMPLED UP. (Seriously? WTF. Way to give up on me asshole).

George is like.. that's okay, I'll just fill out a new one. So he tells me... I want you to see a nurse. So, wait here.

I wait... and wait.. George keeps coming over.. "has a nurse seen you yet?" No.

Finally, he comes back and brings a nurse with him. A lovely woman who is very respectful and asks me how I'm feeling. And honestly.. by this point, I'm feeling much better. My stomach has settled. My head felt better. I'd had 2-3 cups of gatorade and a cup of ice. I'd started plotting what I'd say to that douche bag if he came back over to me again (of course he didn't). And I asked her.. is it okay if I try to keep going? She tells me to stand up and see how I feel. So, I did... and I didn't feel as well as I thought I would... but I definitely felt better than I did. She tells me to go, but that if I start feeling nauseous again to stop at the next aid station.**

So, I told myself to walk till the next water station and see how I feel... I started feeling better and better. I started sweating a little. And finally by the time I got to the water station, I was feeling good. so I started running... Every step I took, I thought... well, this is one more step than I thought I'd have...

Yeah, I got the half-eye closed thing going there.. but that's a smile! A REAL smile!

And I just kept feeling better and better... By the time I got to Chinatown (my favorite part of the race), I was starting to get excited again. I realized.. holy shit.. I'm actually going to finish this thing.

I'm sweating again! Hooray!

I knew my race time was going to be AWFUL. But I didn't care. All I cared about was crossing the finish line. And I knew, that I was going to do that.

I was having fun for the first time in the race. I was enjoying the spectators and I was just enjoying running.

By the last few miles, I was blowing by people... and then finally I could see the finish line...

And after 5:47:31 of running.. I crossed the finish lines and for the first time ever in a race, threw my arms up in glee!!!!

And... I didn't let Father Mike smoke me at the finish. Haha. Sucka!

I was beyond thrilled. I was so sure that I was quitting in the middle of the race.. so the fact that I actually crossed the finish line of my 14th marathon that day was a miracle! And I was stoked!

Final thoughts...

Okay, so... I realize, I had a shitty day. It happens. I also realize that I'm in the minority and I don't like running in crowds... so, if you take these two personal things out of the equation... then I have nothing to say but GREAT things about this marathon. There are ample aid stations and water stations, they had hoses out there and wet sponges to keep us cool. The spectators were the most enthusiastic I've ever seen. Everything was first rate. Really. I can't recommend it highly enough...

But, I will also say.. this is the first and last Chicago Marathon for me. I went in expecting to enjoy the city and the spectators.. but, I can honestly say I've never felt such a disconnect with other runners in a race. Like, there were so many people... that it was like we were all out there on our own. Very strange indeed. I also was so distracted by the crowds (both runners and spectators) that I didn't get to enjoy the city at all. I was bummed about that. I have very few memories of any parts of the city.

Regardless. It's over and I finished! And I have no bitter feelings towards the race at all. (And I'm so thankful that I didn't get into NYC now. I don't think I could handle two big city marathons that close together).

**I also want to say that the people at the aid station were great. I realize it's a tough job and it's super chaotic and I was just thankful to get any medical attention at all! It's a thankless job and dealing with cranky, hurt, and hot runners can't be easy. I'm sure the one guy that was a total asshole to me (and to others I heard him with) was just having a bad day.. it happens to us all.

It's coming...

2011-10-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

I swear.

I have just been utterly SWAMPED at work since I got back into town. Damn October deadlines and super late clients. Arg!

Anyway.... race report will have to wait till next week. When I will hopefully be maintaining more regular work hours (which means, that after yoga, I won't be heading back to the office at 8pm to work for another few hours).

Well, that sucked.

2011-10-11T14:13:00.004-05:00

Chicago Marathon Finish time: 5:47:31.

My worst marathon time yet! But... one of my most excited (and proudest) finishes!

Stay tuned for the details...

Coming up: Chicago Marathon

2011-10-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

So... yeah... The Chicago Marathon is Sunday. And.. I'm super PUMPED. I've been excited about it all week... mostly just because Chicago is one of my favorite cities... but the last couple of days, I've started to get excited about the race, too...

So, to catch you up... unfortunately this will not be my friend/running buddy's first marathon. She has been struggling with an injury and is not running the race... Which totally bums me out. Especially since she basically did all the hard parts of training (next time you get injured... get injured after like the 10 mile long run... not the 18 or 20, for chrissakes!).

But... now... that leaves me kinda wide open...

Yes, my legs are probably still going to be a bit fatigued from last weekend...

No, I haven't trained to run fast...

Yes, it's probably going to get a little warm at the race...

But, I think I've decided to give it a try. Like.. a REAL try. I mean, the way I see it.. WHAT THE HELL DO I HAVE TO LOSE? I didn't spend months training my ass off to meet a certain goal (besides finishing), so I don't have that emotional attachment to any specific time. So, I'm just going to go out there and bust it up. And maybe I'll crash and burn (per usual) and end up finishing with a mediocre time or maybe I'll go out there and tear it up! Who knows? Who cares? Either way, I think Sunday is going to be a lot of fun!

See you on the otherside....

(And good luck to everyone racing this weekend, whether it's Chicago or another race!).

P.S.

2011-10-05T12:04:00.000-05:00

Thoughts, comments, rants... Post Stumpjump.

-- I'm a little disappointed in the race shirt... it's the same EXACT color (different fabric) as last years. I guess this is the universe telling me that I don't need both of them anyway...

Umm.. Yeah, not kidding.

--You know what my favorite thing about trail racing is? No, not the feeding stations with Peanut M&Ms, Pringles, Fig Newtons, and flat Mountain Dew. No, not the trails. Not the nature or the scenery. Not the shade or even the peace and serenity. Hands down, without a doubt, it's the people. I've ran a bunch of road races in my life... and had a blast. But, the people in trail races are amazing. They are the most non-judgemental, most encouraging, most AMAZING people you'll ever meet. Think I'm a dumbass for running a marathon after a 50k? Yeah, well... that's being a pansy to these people. They are the baddest asses you'll ever meet. And most of them (at least in my back of the pack group) are at least 20 years older than me. And they run these ultras like it's their job... weekend after weekend. You'd think it'd be all Lord of the Flies out there...but there is an unflappable bond of respect and camaraderie out there.

--Plus, the guys are hot as hell. Bonus.

--I'm not going to lie. I'm still a little peeved about the grilled cheese fiasco.

-- Today I ran. For the first time this week. And while my legs felt surprisingly decent, my lungs felt like I was running a 5k. Um. And now my quads feel sore again. Not a good sign for Sunday.

--My finger. So, yeah, I fell on it and bent it in some funky ass way and it swelled up a bit and it's still a tad swollen and I still can't really grip anything (opening stuff is a real pain), but it's getting better.

--Last year, the Monday after the race, I threw up. I think it was from all the junk food during the race, all the drinking after the race, and all the junk food the whole next day. This year, I played it smart. I lightly fueled during the race, I ate a fairly decent dinner Saturday night (no booze! can you believe it?!) and went right back to my regular eating on Sunday. Monday, I woke up feeling great!

--I still haven't signed up for the Lookout Mountain 50 miler in December. I wanna do it. But, I'm scared of the 34 kazillion creek crossings. IN DECEMBER. Ugh. Such a pansy. I'm pretty sure I'll do it, though.

--The race packet this year was kinda interesting...

Goldbond??? Who told them I'm a sweaty beast???

So, yeah, shirt and a hat this year instead of socks (pretty sure I would prefer smartwool socks... but, whatev), a stumpjump sticker, a hammer gel, some cortizone-10 (really?), goldbond (really?), a sample of Nuun, and a Trailrunner magazine. Also as a finisher I got another medal (exactly like last years, except the ribbon is a different color).

--Had kind of an awkward moment when I realized that one of the guys from NIPPLEGATE (the one I had just met for the first time that day) was AT the race.. and recognized me (my face, guys. I wasn't showing my nipples again, I promise). Thankfully, the nips were not discussed and I was able to gush over his recent awesome race finishes (he's kinda awesome and hardcore... which makes the whole thing more awkward, cause here I am gushing over him and asking him for his autograph, and he's all... "remember I told you about XYZ at the beer mile?" And I'm all... "I was trashed out of mind, hell no, I don't remember," but, instead of saying that, I nodded and said.. yes, yes, I totally remember.) Sigh.

Race Report: Stumpjump 50k

2011-10-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

So, I'm not really sure what to say about this race. Another year... another beautiful day and another fantastic race.

I guess I'll start at the beginning...

FIRST of all... I want to apologize to anyone that was following me on raceday morning. YES, that was my Silver SUV with the 26.2 sticker on it. And YES, that was me who somehow ended up leading a pack of 94 cars up signal mountain and YES that was me who missed two turns and had to turn around and backtrack. But, I hope that taught you a lesson... never just follow the car with the 26.2 sticker to a race. Cause, I can't read directions in the dark any better than you can! But.. anyway... sorry!

Despite that, I got to the race, saw and said hello to a friend and picked up my race packet, took care of my business in the porta potties and went back to my car (we had to park KINDA far away this year. Oh well). When I got to my car I got pinned up with my bib and took my time getting things situated, I had plenty of time. With about 15 minutes till the race start, I started making my way to the Start line.

The weather was a cool but dry mid 40s/low 50s. It was perfect, I was chilly standing around in short sleeves and shorts, but not freezing my ass off. I wasn't nervous at all. I knew I was trained well and prepared and I'd not only raced this exact race last year, but I'd seen parts of the course other times this year in other races. So, when the gun went off... I was just settling in for a long, fun, beautiful day.

I didn't discuss this with anyone... but I did have a goal. Last year, I ran it in 9:11 and this year, I just wanted to be around that time. I didn't want to go over 9:30. That was my real goal. But anything in the 9:00/9:15 range was perfect for me.

As usual, there was lots of jockeying going on in the first few miles.. people started too slow or too fast and so there was a lot of passing going on. But, ya know.. it's a trail race... and for a lot of people I met that day, it was their FIRST trail race (I cannot even imagine running the stumpjump 50k as your first trail race! But, I love the insanity!!!). The first 6 miles are the longest without a feeding station. And I knew what I had to go through to get there.. lots of downhill.

I felt good, I kept watching my watch, checking my time.. making sure I wasn't going out too fast and I got to the first feeding station in under an hour and a half. I was pleased. I ate one fig newton, had my water bottle refilled with Heed, grabbed another fig newton for the road and headed out.. and UP.

I wanted to get to the next feeding station, which was a little over 3 miles away and try to run as much as I could, knowing that there were some hilly spots in there that weren't going to be runnable.

At one point, I got into a train and we were chatting and I started to lose my balance and I tried to catch myself, but failed and fell down hard, lightly scraping my knee, but landing on my finger that was holding my handheld water bottle and I bent it forward as I landed and for a brief moment was sure that I had just broken my finger. I got up, looked at my hand, expecting my finger to be dangling from my hand or something, but to my relief it was still attached and I was able to bend my finger (with extreme pain), so I called the fall a success.. no broken bones! And kept going. My finger throbbed the rest of the day, but in the grand scheme of things, it was bearable.

We got into the 2nd feeding station and some guy came over to me immediately and was like.. "whoa... are you okay?" and I was like.. "yeah, why?" (as I munched on peanut m&ms) and he pointed down at my left knee and I looked down and I had a trail of blood that went all the way from my knee to my sock. "Oh," I said, "I didn't even realize." And then he took a picture of my bleeding knee. Awesome.

I left that aid station and knew that now was my chance... the next 10 miles were some of the easiest trails on the course. I got into another train.. towards the end... and no one was eager to let anyone pass (I later found out that it was their first trail race for a lot of them) and when the girl in the front wasn't taking advantage of the trail like I wanted to, I eventually told everyone that I was passing them... and I did and I took off.

A girl that was behind me followed me and we started chit-chatting. Turns out, it was her first 50k, her first trail race AND she lives like 2 miles from me!!! I kept telling her that if she wanted to pass me, then by all means to do so, but she said she was content...

Being familiar with the course is awesome... but it's also kinda crappy, too.. many times, I would think... ohhh the next aid station is just at the top of this hill! I remember! Only to realize that ummm.. no... it's not, I've still got another mile of hills that look just like that to go.

Last year I was obsessed with the Rock Garden. I was scared of it, scared of the stories of people busting their shins, having to crawl over rocks, getting lost and going the wrong way...This year, I knew it wasn't that bad, and even took the lead during the Rock Garden, this year.

It was about mile 20 when I realized that I was doing really well on time. But, I just considered it a buffer for my 9:00/9:15 finish. The last 6 miles of the course are brutal.

Yeah, that's right. Going from 1300 feet to 1950 feet in 1.5 miles at mile 26. FUN TIMES!

My new friend was still with me! And still pushing me along. It was great! She was very worried about the those miles 24-26. And rightly so. But me? I was kinda more worried about the last 4 miles, because I remembered that last year, they felt like they were about 10 miles.

By the time we made it up the steep incline and to the last aid station of the race, I was teasing some of the aid station workers about their Stroh beer (we had the same exact conversation last year) and I saw that my new friend had taken off. She was wanting to finish under 8 hours and I knew she was going to make it! Me? I was starting to adjust my goal time and figured if I can finish in 8:30 that that would be fantastic.

At this point, with 4 miles to go, I was at a little over 7 hours. I felt good, mentally... but my body was getting stiff and I knew that these last 4 miles weren't going to come easy. I left the aid station and started to make my way to the finish though...

Again, those last 4 miles were the worst. They aren't bad trails... fairly wide, mostly gravel or dirt... but, just knowing you're SO close to the finish. Knowing that you've been out there for 7+ hours... I pushed myself and made myself run as much as I possibly could. And with about 2 miles left, I realized... Hey.. I might can finish a whole hour better than last year. And then I was like.. FUCK! Why did I realize that? Now, I REALLY have to run more. Ugh!!!!!

The last half mile was on pavement (and includes a nasty uphill) and I was starting to think I wasn't going to make it in 8:11. I kept running though, I kept trying. Not giving up and even when I could see the clock and could see that I still had a minute or two to get there, I was still unsure if my legs would actually get me there in time.

But, as you know.. they did! I finished in 8:10! And my new friend, she came in at 7:59!!!! I talked to her and some other friends after the race and then hobbled over to try and get my free grilled cheese from the hamburger truck (which an email during the week said that there would be grilled cheeses offered for those who didnt want a hamburger). And OF COURSE... the guy told me.. "No, we don't have any grilled cheese today." WTF? All you need is cheese and bun!!! Just skip the hamburger! But, he walked away from me and I was too tired to argue or get bitchy and decided to just head back to my car and eat an energy bar that I had (yeah, because I hadn't had enough sugar during the course of the day. ugh).

Anyway, it was the perfect day, the perfect training, the perfect fueling (light breakfast, a cookie/M&Ms or chips at each aid station, lots of Heed, and a couple of endurolyte pills during the course of the day) and the perfect race result!

I was thrilled.. and still am! (Although my quads are still very, very angry at me. They don't call the race a meatgrinder for nothing!)

Umm... Yeah...

2011-10-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

So, I kinda killed it on Saturday...

2011 Finish time: 8:10:08 (average pace: 15:49!!!)
2010 Finish time: 9:11:05

Race Report to come...

Getting Ready...

2011-09-29T14:27:00.000-05:00

What I packed for a 50k race...

Gear/Race Stuffs:
1. Garmin: It's not going to be 100% accurate (or remotely close in some cases), but its still to sort of keep track of my mileage and my total time. Plus, I always have the display showing the elevation, so I know when I've finally reached the top of a climb or when I've still got a long way to go. Ugh.
2. Food/Chapstick/Fitness Belt: I'm packing a couple of energy bars, some dried apricots (that I'll put into a separate little baggie), and some shot blox (that I'm hoping to not use).
3. Vasoline: I'm not a big Body Glide fan. Give me Vasoline any day.
4. Gallon Sized Ziploc Bag/Sharpie: This is for my drop bag. I went ahead and put a piece of blue tape on the bag so that I can easily write my bib number on the bag and also it will help distinguish the bag a bit. I haven't fully decided if I'm going to use a drop bag this year. Last year, I didn't use a fitness belt, so I'm hoping that this year I can just carry all my stuff on me from the get-go. We'll see. Better to be prepared just in case.
5. Handheld Water Bottle: This is mandatory for my race. The Race Director won't let you run unless you carry water (I would carry regardless of whether or not it was mandatory). Bonus, it's got a good sized pocket on it, I usually keep my chapstick in that pocket, along with some kinda fuel stuff.
6. Ibuprofen: I'm only going to take this if I have a drop bag, otherwise it will go into my AFTER THE RACE bag.
7. Hair stuff: holders, clips, etc.

Race Morning Stuff: Clothing, etc..

1. Sports Bra: Duh. Although, I do admit... that's another bra peeking out from underneath the sports bra. Yes, folks. I'm a double bra wearer.

2. Shorts/Undies: A pair of shorts with a big ass pocket in the back and one in the front inside, too. And YES underwear. I always, always, always wear underwear when I run... Why? Because sometimes nature calls and my socks are more expensive than my underwear.

3. Shoes: Obviously. I ALWAYS keep my trail shoes (and when I travel any running shoes) in a huge ziploc bag. Cause, they're dirty and they're dirty after the run, too. So it's nice to have something to put them in.

4. Socks/Sunglasses: The chances of me actually wearing sunglasses are about 5%, but I bring them just in case. Honestly, on the trail... it's shady enough. Sunglasses would just drive me crazy. Socks, my cushiest, smartwool socks.

5. Running Top: So, I packed two options. One sleeveless long bra top and one short sleeve top. The high is a perfect 64 degrees, and considering it will be shady for 75% (or more) of the run... I'm sure I'll end up wearing the short sleeve. But it's TN for chrissakes, you never know when you're going to wake up to 104 degrees.

6. Hat: Again, only a 5% chance that I'll actually wear it, because there isn't any rain in the forecast.And I dont' think I'll be sweating enough to need it for my forehead. But, I like to be prepared just in case (see #5).

7. Sweatshirt: Because the expo ends at 5:00PM EASTERN time, I won't make it to packet pickup before the race. Which means getting to the race extra early and with lows in the 40s, I'm going to need something to wear while standing around in the morning.

8. Race Details: This has all information on the race, the time, the directions, etc. It also has the listing of all the aid stations which I plan on writing (with the sharpie) on my arm for the race. In an Ultra, it's all about getting to the next aid station.

Post Race Stuff:

1. Full change of clothes: I am going to be a sweaty, dirty mess when I finish this race and I will want to immediately change into a completely clean and dry set of clothes: sweatpants, tshirt (sweatshirt from the morning, possibly), bra, undies... the whole deal.

2. Flip Flops: Yes.

3. Plastic Bags: For my wet, nasty, stinky race clothes.

4. Towel

5. Water Bottle

6. Wet Wipes: Because my legs (and possibly other body parts depending on how many times I fall) are going to be nasty dirty and I'm going to want to wipe them off before I put clean clothes on.

7. Glasses/Contacts holder/Contact solution/Eye Drops/Purell/Anti-bacterial ointment: After races, my contacts get all funky (combination of being dehydrated and all the salty sweat), so I like to have anything and everything I might possibly need after the race. Also, I like to have some Purell to clean my hands with and ointment to apply to any cuts that have.

8. Compression Socks: So, my dear friends... I appreciate all the feedback about the socks I bought. Unfortunately, because I didn't pre-plan this... I don't have time to go somewhere else to buy the CEP socks. So, I'm going to hope that my non-medical grade socks will be better than NO socks. And they are tight... they're just not like cutting my circulation off tight. I'm hoping for the best with them!

Because I'm anal, I like to pack these things separately as well.

So, I've got all the stuff that I need after the race in one bag (which will just stay in the car), and my gear stuffs in another bag (which will fit inside my regular bag with all my race day clothes, etc.

And there ya go! Now all I gotta do is throw in my toothbrush and I'm good to go!

Also.. as a side note tip... I always turn my cell phone OFF before the race starts. A lot of times wherever you've parked your car may or may not have constant service and your phone could be looking for service for hours and you come back to your car ready to tell people you're still alive and your phone is DEAD. Not that that's happened to me or anything...

Now, I'm ready!!! Sooooooo excited to do this on Saturday morning!

On the Bandwagon

2011-09-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, thanks you guys!!! Seems like I'm behind the curve here... WHY DIDNT ANY OF YOU TELL ME ABOUT COMPRESSION SOCKS BEFORE? Jeez. Some friends you are...

Anyway... after you all so thoughtfully commented how much you love your socks, I ran over to my local running store (well, not literally) and picked out a pair.

Now.. first of all, I went to my fave local running store to pick them up. And though it's SUPER convenient, with that convenience you lose a little with selection... so, I basically had to choose between CW-X, Swiftwick, and ASICS brands. I asked the dude, who asked another employee and she was like... well.. CW-X is a popular brand. (Ummm.. duh). And then I picked up the Swiftwick ones and looked at them.. and the dude piped up.. Swiftwick is a good company, too (Umm...duh). I know these companies are good! I want to know if their compression socks are good!

So, in the end, I did what any one does when they have no idea which brand is better over another brand... I bought the most expensive (which, frankly, wasn't all that expensive.. only 40 bucks).

Ta Da! CW-X Compression Socks.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to take a picture of me wearing the socks... Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of your legs? On your own?

Yeah, that clearly didn't work...

Umm... No.

Okay good enough.

And then I was like... WTF? Why am I trying to take a picture of me wearing compression socks??? Everyone knows what compression socks are and what they look like. OMG, I've turned into one of THOSE bloggers.

Watch yourself, folks.. I'll be posting photos of oatmeal and iced coffee any day now...

By the way... the socks don't really feel all that tight... I assumed they were going to feel like SUPER tight. So, I hope they're good enough... I'll review them next week after I give them a real test.

On Compression Socks for Recovery.

2011-09-27T11:19:00.002-05:00

So, just to bring you up to speed here... Saturday I'm running a 50k. And then the next weekend, I'm running the Chicago Marathon. This shouldn't really come as much of a surprise to most of you... ~~because I'm an idiot.~~

I honestly feel like I'm in good shape to do this (No, I'm not in denial... I'm being legit, yo). But, I did get a brilliant idea yesterday... COMPRESSION SOCKS.

I've always shied away from things that I feel are mostly for "fast" runners or "serious" runners (I mean, it took me like 4 years of running to buy a Garmin for chrissakes), so, I've stayed away from the socks. But, I'm thinking that they might help with my recovery between the two races.

So, I need your help folks... Should I jump onto the sock wagon and shell out the dough for a pair of recovery compression socks? Do you have a pair? Are they worth it? What brand did you buy?

Rain-1, Amy-1

2011-09-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

Even though I've been totally in love with running lately... I still don't wake up and jump out of bed excited to go out for a run (not sure that will ever happen). So, Tuesday morning when I woke up and thought that I heard the VERY gentle and faint sound of raindrops on my metal balcony railing I was kinda excited. I got up, peeked out the window and found a puddle to stare at... the thing was... there was barely any movement going on in that puddle. I mean, it was lightly drizzling outside... but I was tired and immediately texted Steve:

Me: Sorry... I'm not feeling the rainy run. I'll see ya tomorrow morning!

And then I rolled over and went back to sleep hoping that some huge thunderstorm would roll through and validate my decision. It didn't. The rain was over. So, all day I kinda felt like a wimp. And was pissed that I gave up the opportunity to sleep in on Saturday morning.

So, when I woke up this morning, I got up and peeped out the window and all was clear. Whew.

I got up started getting ready and as I was getting dressed I thought heard rain. So I ran over to the window and sure enough it was raining. And not just drizzling... but a steady rain. SHIT. I checked my phone... no message from Steve bailing, so I thought... well maybe it's not raining over there.

So I headed over there... as I got closer, the rain did slow down and I'll be damned if it didnt all but stop by the time I rolled into the park. Yes! Success!

And then at the turnaround point for our run, it started raining harder... Don't get me wrong, it wasn't pouring... but it was raining. Ugh.

The lesson here is... when its just drizzling.. get your ass out of bed and run, because you never know what the hell's going to be going on tomorrow.

Last Long Run

2011-09-19T10:56:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for a way to speed up time? Ummm... train for a race. 16 weeks is gone in a flash. Crazy.

So, this weekend was my last LONG run before my big races on October 1 and October 9th. There was a group training run on the schedule and I was ready and out the door at 5:15 to meet up with the group.

I was hoping for a cooler morning, because I wanted to test out a pair of capris (that I've never ran a long distance in), but of course it was 64 degrees at 5am (what happened to the 50 temps in the mornings???), so I wore shorts and a short sleeve (and was wishing I had worn sleeveless, it got hot and sunny).

We started the run and about 2 miles in a group of girls came up behind me and one girl leaned into me a little and said "Amy?" I looked over and it was my friend Mary who was on my relay team both years. It was great to see her and we ended up sticking together for the rest of the run.

It was great to run with her... we had a ton to talk about... and even though neither of us cared about our time (so there was no pressure there), we ended up running sub 10 minute miles until mile 18 when I got a side stitch (WTF?) and had to walk for a couple of minutes.

I'm not going to lie... this run wasn't all rainbows and unicorns. It was tough... when we hit mile 20 all I wanted to do was quit... but we kept on and we got it done.

In a way, I feel like this is some of the best training I've done for a race in a long time. Training with someone else who is running their first marathon has been good for me. I know I can do the distance. So, long runs aren't that vital to me and occasionally I'll skip one or two (or all). But this time around I've done them all and I feel good about where I am and where I'll go the rest of this fall.

This upcoming weekend I should probably hit the trails (ummm... yeah, haven't done any of that since June... oops!) and then just start to get psyched up for my two big races coming up!

Two months ago October seemed so far away...

Busting out the Headphones

2011-09-16T12:40:00.002-05:00

I couldn't tell you the last time I ran with music... it's probably been over a year or so. When I do have the rare occasion that I'm running solo, it either doesn't occur to me to grab my ipod, or it does, yet I assume that my ipod is dead or that my music is old (it is).

But this morning, I was presented with the opportunity to run alone (thank you running partner for bailing AFTER I had already gotten dressed... otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a run in) and I thought.. HEY! I should run with music!

So I went to check and see if the battery was charged (it was) and I set off on my run... and despite the fact that the playlist I listened to hasn't been updated in about 9 years (well.. probably more like over 1 year) and despite the fact that it's the playlist that I listen to most of the time so I'm VERY familiar with all the songs... I was shocked at how awesome some of them were for running... So, I'm going to share...

My Awesome Running Playlist from this Morning (with commentary and lyrics, of course):
disclaimer: these songs didn't all come up magically in a row, there was some skipping involved.

Gold Dust Woman, Fleetwood Mac
Is it over now/do you know how/pick up the pieces and go home...
I chose this song to start with. Because, who doesn't love a little Stevie Nicks in the morning? Also, I had never ran to this song before and I thought to myself... hmmm.. this will be a good slow song to start out with. Normally, I listen to this song while I'm getting ready, so I thought it would be chill. Uh. Wrong. This song is a kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall kind of running song. Seriously, I felt like I was being chased. Although, let's be honest... who would run from Stevie Nicks?

I almost hit repeat and just listened to Gold Dust Woman over and over again (or at least once more), but I let my ipod pick the next song...

Hospital Beds, Cold War Kids
Bring the buckets by the dozens/ bring your nieces and your cousins/ come put out the fire on us...
Great. I'm on my way to having a heart attack. Another "being chased" song. Except, you're in a race and there's some bitch in your age group right on your heels. And you can hear every one of her footfalls in the beat of the song. So good. So exhausting. (I decided when the song was over, though, that I schooled that bitch at the finish).

Ode to LRC, Band of Horses
The world is such a wonderful place...
Cheesy lyric to choose, I realize... but for chrissakes, this song's lyrics are jacked up. Anyway, so... Band of Horses. I LOVED this band back in the early 90s when they were called BUILT TO SPILL. I actually spent like 2 hours one morning trying to find a song that I had heard in a hot yoga class (which is precisely why I hate music in yoga) by like two words that I remembered from the song. I even roped my Music Sensai (yes, I have a music sensai, you should too) into the search. I was CERTAIN that it was a Built to Spill song. Uh. No. It was a Band of Horses song. Oops. Anyway... this is a good running song. Good and upbeat... but not so much that you feel like you're running a 5k. Plus you wind up spending the entire 4 minutes thinking to yourself... WTF are they singing about and what is an LRC?

Don't You Evah, Spoon
Bet you got it all planned right/ bet you never worry, never even feel a fright...
OMG. I love me some Spoon. I've ran to this song (uh. make that all their songs) about a zillion times and it never gets old. Spoon is a band that I never get tired of. And this song is a real gem. It's kinda angry, without being like... I'M GOING TO CUT A BITCH angry. It almost has a like a... nah nah nah nah I'm calling you out subtle anger. Which, let's face it.. is fun to run to.

Under my Thumb, Rolling Stones
Under my thumb/a siamese cat of a girl/under my thumb/she's the sweetest, ooo, pet in the world.
I'm a little late to the Rolling Stones bandwagon. Like... I just hopped on last year. But, I can't get enough and this is one of my favorite songs and I was happy to find out that it was a good song to run to, too. It's got a great, smooth, consistent beat and the lyrics are fun (under my thumb/is a squirming dog who just had her day).

Soolaimon, Neil Diamond
Soooo, soolaimon/ soolai soolai soolaimon... (your guess is as good as mine).
Yes, I grew up in the 80s, but I grew up listening to late 60s/70s music and that's where my musical tastes are still rooted. I only know like one Prince song, but give me some Neil Diamond, James Taylor or Gordon Lightfoot and I'm in paradise. Now, as for Neil Diamond, he is one of my favorites (thanks Mom and Dad)... but half of his songs I have no freaking clue what the hell he is singing about (what kind of crazy ass drugs were they doing back then, anyway?). But the beauty is... who gives a shit? This song is fun and makes me want to sing the jibberjabber lyrics while dancing around like a crazy (high) person. I have always wanted this song as my ringtone, but have never been able to find it offered. :( Anyway... the driving beats of this song are fun to run to. I mean, you can't listen to this song and sit still, so, you might as well run your ass off.

Business Time, Flight of the Conchords
You know when I'm down to my socks it's time for business/that's why they call them business socks...
I almost just hit skip when I heard this song come up, but I decided... ehhh.. let's give it a whirl. I usually only listen to this song up until the sock part anyway. But, again, it was a fun song to run to... I mean the song is hilarious... and it reminds me a lot of my best friend and running partner, April... So, yeah, if you need some comic relief while running (who doesnt?) this is a good one with a good beat.

Lake Michigan, Rogue Wave
Go and run yourself a million miles/hoping that the colors run out...
If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm really into percussion. And this song starts off perfectly for a percussion junkie like myself. Also, it has that perfect ebb and flow of build ups and slow downs that can help drive you. Highly recommend for your running playlist.

We Used to Vacation, Cold War Kids
It sounds so soothing/to mix a gin and sink into oblivion...
Lots of drums here and a nice slower chorus that has a build up to the next verses. Everytime I hear the intro to this song I'm like... what Spoon song is this? And then I realize it's Cold War Kids and it's one of my favorite songs! They sing lyrics in such an interesting way... makes for fun singing (and running).

Gloria, Van Morrison
G-L-O-R-IIIIIIIIIIII-A/G-L-O-R-IIIIIIIII-A
I always avoided putting older songs on my running playlists in the past, I was too busy trying to find a new hip hop song or whatever... but, what I learned this morning was this: If I like dancing around to the song in my living room while singing it at the top of my lungs.. then, yeah, I'm going to like running to it. Good lesson.

Glass, Concrete, and Stone, David Byrne
Where the city's blowin' in and out/ this is what it's all about, delightfully...
Lots of Talking Heads, David Byrne stuff is great to run to... but I was surprised about this one. Again, I almost hit skip when I realized what song it was... it's funny how when you listen to songs you think of them as "slower" but then when you try to do something like run to them...you notice the upbeat, faster notes. I found myself trying to sing along to parts, actually.. which I think is a good sign that you've totally forgotten your surroundings (ummm that you're running, in public, with people around you, and you're tone deaf!).

Reckoner, Radiohead
It's not about the lyrics...I don't give a shit what the lyrics are...
So, this song came on when I was like 15 seconds from my house. And to preface, this song is one of my favorite songs. I listen to it on repeat a LOT. Like more than is reasonable. But... this is a song that makes me feel high without actually being high (and bonus... no paranoia!). It's great, I put it on and zone out and feel awesome. Plus... cymbals GALORE in this song. Who doesn't love cymbals? So, anyway... since it's such a "zone out/chillax" song for me, I assumed it would be an awful running song. Well, I was wrong, because I ran past my house and down around the block till the song finished and then I was like.. "whoa, did I really just run past my house and not realize it?" It's almost like it puts you in this trancelike state. This song is not a 5k song, or a 10k song, this is a mile 19 when you want to give up song. For whatever reason the song just lures you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And here I thought the song was just an awesome subsitute for booze, xanax, or pot!

Ok, well hopefully amidst all this useless drivel you picked up a song or two to add to your playlist. I mean, there are only so many Kanye, Mariah, and Beyonce songs out there...

Business hours are over, baby...

Athens, GA

2011-09-15T12:42:00.000-05:00

So, this post has NOTHING to do with running. NOTHING. Absolutely zero. So, if you came here looking to see what race I've floundered in lately, or what crazy ass thing I've signed up for, or just to feel better about yourself and your training by comparing yourself to me... then... stay tuned for next week.

Last weekend was two very important things...
1. My best friend Jeff's 31st birthday (Friday).
2. University of South Carolina's SEC opener (Saturday).

Neither of these things I had ever witnessed personally. (Shitty friend? Shitty Fan? Indeed).

So, last Friday I found myself rolling into Athens, GA ready to celebrate Jeff's birthday and tailgate my ass off. In that order.

The crew all met up in downtown Athens for dinner. And then drinks.

I missed the... COME DECKED OUT IN CAROLINA GEAR memo.

I was the driver. So, I had 1 beer at dinner and then 1 beer afterwards... which meant I wasn't able to partake in my favorite shot...

Irish Car Bombs, bitches!

(Seriously, there had to be a memo... jesus).

After a couple of those and a couple of quickly pounded beers... Birthday Boy was having a grand ole time...

I don't think I'd ever seen him dance. Until then.

Despite our 20 minute drive back to the hotel and despite the fact that we wanted to be at the tailgate at 9am sharp the next morning... the night led us to another place to hook up with some other Carolina friends.

Yes, that's his suitcase he's carrying around and no, we don't know the people in the background laughing at him. Although, please note... they are Carolina fans and they got the memo.

After getting him sufficiently drunk, we made our way through the streets of Athens back to our car, where he yelled GO COCKS over and over and over so obnoxiously loud, that even I was ready for him to pass out in the car. Which, he did. But only after yelling GO COCKS out the window about 15 more times to any person (college student, homeless person, etc) he saw on the street.

The next morning we overslept, scrambled to get the car packed and pick up our tailgating food, but we finally got our spot all set up...

7 people, 2 tents, 3 coolers, 4 pounds of BBQ for 6 meat eaters, and 1 cornhole set. Ummm.. yeah, that's pretty standard.

Our set-up included the crown jewel of our tailgate, The CockMaster 3000:

No, not him. The FLAGPOLE.

The Cockmaster 3000 is kind of a big deal...

Beautiful, eh?

And, an engineering marvel. This is the base of the Cockmaster 3000.

Once everything was set up, it was time to get down to business...

But just as our business was under way... we were interrupted by a fight. Between an older female Carolina fan and a younger (drunker) UGA fan. This was a serious fight and our tailgate was right in between the two. No fisticuffs, but there was an unfortunate chair that got thrown down on the ground multiple times in anger and a shirt that always got ripped off (why do dudes pop their shirts off before a fight?). Finally, after the cops came and left, it seemed like things were well.

So, I jumped in on a game of cornhole...

Ohhh yes, check out that form.

And just as I sinked my first bag and was jumping up and down, I heard a commotion behind me... the UGA guys from the fight were now fighting amongst themselves and one of them threw a hot grill down on the ground... and again, the cops were RIGHT THERE...

See the cop car in the center background and the cops to the top left?

There was a cop car, an SUV cop, a motorcycle cop, AND an ATV cop. Seriously.

Eventually, the guy that knocked over the grill ended up getting arrested (after initially resisting and then getting throw onto the cop car first and the the ground into submission). Good times.

We went back to the cornhole game...

And back to the tailgating...

After gorging myself on Fritos Scoops (my one true love) and Double Stuffed Golden Oreos (omg), it was time to wallow into the stadium...

Gooooo Cocks!

Our view. Facing the sun and sweating our asses off.

The game was horrible. Seriously... I havent cussed that much during a football game in a LONG time (and that's saying a lot... gamecock fan for the last 13 years and a vandy fan my whole life? Ummm.. I know a thing or two about dropping F bombs during games) (it wasn't helped by the fact that there wasn't a kid anywhere in sight of our seats!).

Also, I purchased a leaky cupped drink, it was literally dripping out of the cup:

(not my hand). By the time I realized it was leaking and not just wet on the bottom of the cup, it was too late to get back into the MASSIVE concession line.

Not sure when this was taken, but I assure you, I was yelling... ##**@!*&!!!

Somehow (sheer luck) we ended up winning the game. But, it was such a disgusting win, that it didn't even really feel like a win. But we stuck around for the alma mater, and to get some pics after the game...

Go Cocks! (whew). That game took 3.7 years off my life.

We got back to the car, chilled for a little while and then it was time to start loading up...

Taking the Cockmaster 3000 down until next year...

But not before having some fun with it...

Obviously.

PDX Love

2011-09-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

Clearly, Portland, Oregon is heaven on earth:

DUDE, I TOOK THIS PICTURE. THIS IS NOT A POSTCARD.

I know, I can't believe it, either. We hiked out to this lake.. Mirror Lake... Gorgeous.

Mt. Hood is amazing.

My trip over the weekend was just amazing. More than I even anticipated.

Columbia River Gorge.

I hiked a total of 10ish miles...

Umm.. yeah, so we have waterfalls, too.. but not waterfalls you can WALK BEHIND. When Steph mentioned something about being able to walk behind the falls, I was like... you've got to be shitting me? I've only done that at Opryland Hotel! Holy Shit!

Walking behind the falls... BOO-YA, bitches!

Yes, Mirror Lake again. Obviously, Oregon is God's favorite State.

A 5 mile hike on the coast? Umm.. yes, please!

The fog started rolling in, just as we reached the end of the trail...

5 minutes later? Foggy as hell.

See... I told you... the hike was on the coast. Not on the beach. Glorious.

We checked out Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. Where the outside shots of The Shining were filmed. (which neither of us had seen. Scary Movie=Not Interested).

Inside Timberline Lodge

From the back deck of the Timberline Lodge.

I ran a total of 20 miles, including an 11 miler that involved running 3 miles to LAUREN's* hotel downtown (yay!!!), 5 miles with her and then another 3 miles back to my friends house. It was awesome meeting her and catching up in real life. She is just as funny, sweet, and cute in person as she is on her blog. Thanks for helping me get in a good longish run on vacation, Lauren!

Yay! New BFFs! Ummm... right?

We ate some amazing food... Places like Produce Row Cafe, Full Sail Brewery, Lucca (oh my god their pizzas!), and VooDoo Doughnuts...

Umm.. So, yeah... those aren't the only doughnuts consumed. Hey, we shared!

One of my favorite things was the FREE Rose Garden and Test Rose Garden.

Obviously... if there's a tour. I'm there. This tour guide was awesome.

Acres and acres of roses.

There was also lots of catching up, TONS of laughs (I haven't laughed that much in ages), meeting new friends, shopping, some amazing desserts from Petunia's at the Farmer's Market, Cookouts, and just a general sense of feeling at home even though I was thousands of miles away.

Most importantly, was the time was spent with one of my best friends... Heed this, folks... when you're best friend lives close to you.. SEE THEM, HUG THEM, SPEND TIME WITH THEM, SHOP WITH THEM, SHARE DESSERTS WITH THEM, AND LAUGH WITH THEM as much as you can, because you never know when they are going to leave your sorry ass in Middle Tennessee for the glorious lands of Oregon. (Of course, bonus for you... instant excuse to go to Oregon!).

This weekend's adventure... Athens, GA. Pray for the Cocks**.

*I swear, I know what "failed muffins" refers to... but I always think of it as a euphemism for something really dirty. (I'm sure that doesn't surprise most of you).

** When I first typed this, I thought... that's gotta be the first time I've ever said that phrase... but on second thought.. I doubt it.

Random Shit

2011-08-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

I. I went to the doctor on Monday morning.
    a. The nurse (who ALWAYS riles me up before she takes my blood pressure. bitch.) took my blood pressure and said... "Ohhhh.. your blood pressure is lower." And I was like... hells yeah, bitch. (In reality, I smugly sat there and said, "oh really?" like I didnt know and didn't care).
    b. The doctor was all... "ohhhh your blood pressure is finally down!" and before he could even finish the sentence, I was interrupting him... I was all.. "HELLS YES. I am a medical genius, because I pegged it as my birth control and also... because I am a medical genius, I stopped taking that blood pressure med months ago, so this BP reading is legit!" Boo-YA.

II. I'm going to Portland, OR tomorrow! Where I will be
   a. Visiting and hanging out with my bestie, Steph!!
   b. Dropping some coin (Helllloooo no sales tax! Momma needs a new pair of shoes. Trail shoes).
   c. Hiking along the coast and Mt. Hood and the Gorge.
   d. Eating doughnuts (nevermind that I dont even like doughnuts).
   e. Running some and hopefully taking a yoga class.
   f. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Meeting up with my virtual twin (except, she's younger, cooler, has red hair and wayyyy better style than me) Lauren for a run around Portland on Saturday morning.

III. Ummm.. I got my haircut today...
    a. So, I started the day looking like this...

long, stringy, locks that I was CRAZY attached to.

b. Showed the stylist this...

which we both agreed was TOO SHORT for me.

And that she'd only cut 2 inches off my length.

c. And now I look like this...

Where the fuck did my hair go? Jesus Christ.

d. And now I'm trying to get used to this short hair. Ummm... I can barely pull it into a ponytail... Did you read that??? I can barely pull it into a ponytail!!!! Ugh. (This is why it's been 5 years since I've gotten a haircut).

Things to Consider...

2011-08-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

Things to consider before planning a 20 mile long run.

1. The time of the run.
2. The route.

Consider these two items carefully... Because, I didn't. Which is why at 5am on Saturday morning, Carolyn and I found ourselves running in pitch black darkness on rural-ish back roads with no street lights, no shoulders, and a frightening 45 mph speed limit.

Ummm.. Awesome.

The first hour or so was a little... interesting. We were constantly running back and forth to opposite sides of the road when we saw headlights. It was annoying. Where the hell were all those people going at 5am on a SATURDAY morning, anyway?? Ugh.

Once the sun was up, we found an enormous neighborhood to run through (with some enormous hills) and were back at our cars with 11ish miles. We refueled, Carolyn peed on my car (don't ask), and we took off for the last 9 miles. Where did we go for those last 9 miles??? Percy Warner Park, of course. Amazingly, those nasty hills felt kinda good on my legs. And before I knew it we were done with the run and heading home.

So, yeah... our 20 miler went really well. Almost TOO well. I mean, Carolyn's battling a bit of an injury, so she might not have been able to walk the rest of the weekend... but, I felt fantastic! No soreness, no stiffness, I didn't even take a nap on Saturday! (Clearly, I am jinxing the shit out of myself right now and in return will have a helluva next long run).

Unfortunately, it went so well that I don't think that Carolyn will have a very good FIRST timer story. But, in the long run (hardy har har)... I'm sure she's happy about that. She'll just be one of those annoying bitches who's all... "yeah, I really didn't have any problems getting my first 20 in." And people will hate her. (Actually just typing that, I kinda hate her already).

Your First...

2011-08-26T12:35:00.000-05:00

Everyone remembers their first...

For me, it was the spring of 2007. I wasn't that nervous, initially. I felt like I was pretty prepared (well, as prepared as you can possibly be for your first). I was pretty confident and cocky about the whole thing... but then when it was actually upon me and staring me in the face, I uhhh... got a little overwhelmed. Once I realized that I just had to take it step by step, I settled down and I started to get into the groove. Slowly, the confidence started coming back... And I felt like.. hell yes! This is awesome! I am awesome!

And then as it went on... I started falling apart. At first, I just started feeling a little tired. And then the crankiness set in, and by the end of it all, I was an awkward, sweaty mess that was yelling obscenities... WILL THIS EVER F*CKING END? MAKE IT STOP! WHY THE HELL DID I EVER AGREE TO DO THIS? THIS IS A NIGHTMARE.

And then it was over.

And I was thrilled! I had finally done it! I had finally knocked out my first 20 mile training run!

Ahhh... the memories... April and I ran that 20 miler together. It was St. Patrick's Day and the luck of the Irish was with us...

See! We even tattooed our calves with shamrocks and leprechauns!

It was a great run and it was an awful run. I distinctly remember getting angry at April around mile 18 when she informed me that we still had to run AROUND A GODDAMN LAKE, instead of just running straight to our car to get the full 20. I also remember telling her that I was putting my earphones in, because I had to "dig deep." The ending was awful. My mental wheels fell off around mile 17 and I don't know how April didn't keep from throwing me into that piece of shit lake.

But she was a trooper and put up with all my bitchiness and we celebrated the run as soon as we got home... with... pizza! And tequila shots! And then... an Irish bar... where our Irish luck started running out. Let's just say that was the first (and thankfully the last) time I've ever had to open the door of a car to puke while riding. Good times. Good times indeed.

In all actuality that was one of my favorite runs. Sure, the last 8 miles of that run sucked hard and I was a real bitch... it's a memory that I'll always have. My first 20 (with my best friend, no less!)! The training runs mean more than the races... the training runs are where you spill your blood, sweat, tears and you drop lots of F bombs. There are no encouraging spectators, no family members out to support you, no live bands or water stops. It's just you and the road... and if you're lucky.. a great running partner (or if you're like April... a shitty training partner. Sorry dude, I know I suck).

Tomorrow is another first... not for me, but for my friend/running partner Carolyn... it's her first 20 miler. And while I'm fairly certain there won't be any tequila shots afterwards... I'm not ruling anything else out. I'm really hoping that bitchy Amy doesn't rear her ugly head around mile 16 or so... but, I can't make any promises.

Hopefully we'll live to tell the tale next week...

How was your first 20 miler training run? Did you shout obscenities for no good reason at your running partner? Did you get as drunk and unruly as April and I did afterwards? Do tell.

How to...

2011-08-25T10:15:00.002-05:00

Figure out if you're an awful running partner:

Review your text messages for the week...

Doh! I suck.

A Letter

2011-08-24T08:59:00.004-05:00

Dear Woody,

It’s been awhile, I know. How have you been?

I’m sorry I haven’t visited or asked you over in awhile. And part of me feels that maybe instinctively you knew this was coming, which is why you’ve kept your distance lately.

Woody, I think it’s officially over between us.

It’s not you, I swear… it’s me.

I know, when we had that big talk about 6 months ago, when I tried to end things then, you promised to give me my space… You wanted to remain together to see if we could make this work, and I was grateful that you were willing to do that… but, it’s just not working anymore, while I love you as a booze and a friend… I’m not IN love with you anymore.

I’ll always remember the good times and I hope you will too… that fateful October night in Kentucky when we met… the nights you comforted me (after MANY football losses), the nights we celebrated (after football wins. Okay, you’re right… that only happened like twice. That’s what you get for dating a gamecock fan). You were never jealous when I flirted with other booze… you were the one that even suggested that we try an open relationship, so that I could enjoy wine and beer on occasion. Hell, you didn’t even care that I’d come home to you after being out drinking wine all night. You were just happy to be with me. Always wanting to please me. I never doubted your affection or your devotion to me. I always knew that you were just a pour away.

You were the perfect booze boyfriend. For awhile, I thought we’d be together forever. I imagined us… a wedding… an embarrassing, but delightfully drunken toast… But, I’ve just been following a different path lately. Gone are the days when I’d spend a Saturday afternoon texting every local friend I have asking… “hey… wanna meet me at the bar to get day drunk, I’m bored?” (in which case you were there when I couldn’t find anyone willing (ummm… mostly the case) and you were there when I got home after finally convincing someone to meet me and I just needed one last taste of you… a nightcap before ~~throwing up and passing out in~~ bed.

I loved you, Woody, I really did. I know at times, it probably felt like you were just a late night booty call. But, you were more than that to me. You are so smooth and warm, dark, rugged and manly, with a scent of vanilla oak that kept me wanting more and more of you. And you always made me feel confident, sexy, and smart… what girl wouldn’t fall in love with you?

Which is why I have to let you go. You deserve better. I’ve held you back for far too long. But don’t you worry about me… For the most part, it’s been good. I’ll still drink occasionally… (ya know… wine tastings, weddings, beach trips, beer miles, beer pub runs, etc). But none of that warrants enough of your time to stay with me.

Some of my friends are even upset with me about breaking up with you. A lot of them say that they miss Amy under the influence of Woody. They miss me stumbling around holding a glass of you, sloshing you about as I ramble on about existentialism, buddhism, or some other “ism” that I’ve read a few books about and therefore feel like I’m an expert after I’ve spent about an hour with you. It’s tough, ya know? It makes me feel like some of my friends were really only my friends because of you. And because of how fun you made me. (apparently Sober Amy can be a real drag. Who wants to listen to a sober person drone on about existentialism? gag).

So, it’s with a heavy heart (and a healthier liver) that I bid you adieu. I’ll never forget you Woody. Thank you for all the good times. And I wish you nothing but the best with whatever new drunk girl you find next.

Love,
Amy

Reset

2011-08-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes... I guess I just need to hit the reset button.

If I wasn't actually doing something this weekend... running a couple of errands, taking a yoga class, spending time with my family, having lunch with a new friend, and running 18 miles.. I was sleeping. Seriously. I slept more this weekend than I think I ever have.

Friday... I left work and went to a 5:30 yoga class... came home, made dinner, and was in bed by 9:30 (pretty average).

Saturday... I slept in... till about 8:30am. I ran some errands, and did a little reading before I met up with new friends for lunch. We lunched for a couple of hours, and I headed back home to do some reading (I'm desperately trying to finish a couple of books I've had ALL SUMMER LONG from the library. Everytime I hit the renew button, I feel like such a failure. sigh). Around 4pm, I started to get REALLY sleepy.. so I thought, well I'll just lie down for a little hour nap or so...

I woke up at 1am!!!!!! I slept from 4pm to 1am straight... and I swear it was like the best sleep of my life. But, then I was like... CRAP. I have to get up in 3 1/2 hours to get ready for my long run. And I didn't have dinner. So, I downed an energy bar and went back to bed...

Sunday, I woke up at 4:30am... and ran 18 miles, and after showering headed directly to my parents house. Where I hung out with them all day and then got home around 5pm. I started reading again... and I was like... damn, I'm a little sleepy. Maybe I'll just lay down for an hour nap.

At 6pm I laid down and didn't wake up this time till midnight! To which I just rolled over and went back to bed... And I cancelled my morning run and slept in till 7 this morning.

WHAT THE HELL? The good news? I feel well-rested and ready to tackle the week. But damn.. I feel like I kinda missed out on getting some reading done and cleaning/straightening my place up. I'm hoping that I was still tired from last weekend's beach trip and that I don't have mono or something... sheesh.

Drinkfest 2011...

2011-08-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

In pictures...

9 years and counting!

Runner Road Rage

2011-08-09T10:44:00.001-05:00

This morning Carolyn and I headed to Percy Warner Park to run the 5.8 (+ the Luke Lea add-on). It was good. All was well... until towards the end of the run... I heard someone behind me... and it sounded like they said... "BIKE!" So... I hightailed it to the right side of the road... and while doing so, I heard the same person say... "RIGHT! RIGHT!" in an annoyed voice and so I moved rather sheepishly over to the left side of the road.

And as the bike whizzed by, I decided to tell him why the confusion... (because, I love cyclists! I've got some good friends who are cyclists and I like to think that I'm a runner who is cycler-friendly. PLEASE CYCLISTS LIKE ME!).

"Aren't bikes supposed to pass on the left? I'm used to hearing.. on your left!"

no response, so I continued...

"I thought you said BIKE, which is an honest mistake, because BIKE sounds a lot like RIGHT."

still no response, so I got a little annoyed and continued...

"And you know what doesn't sound like anything else? LEFT."

And by the that point he was pretty far ahead of us, yet I was still giving him the finger.

How to...

2011-08-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

How to properly celebrate your running buddy's wedding...

1. Opt out of the Striders group 16 mile training run that is on a Sunday, to run with a smaller group of friends on Saturday morning.

2. Take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon before the party.

3. Drink their booze...

It's Bourbon time, bitches!

4. Eat some of the delicious cupcakes, but stay away from the taco truck... because honestly... going downstairs and outside to the taco truck takes away time that could be spent at the bar...

5. And on the dance floor...

Hey... I only know about 15% of these people... I'll bust a move, no problem...

6. Drink some more.

7. Call a cab and head downtown to a honky tonk!

8. Watch your running buddy climb up on stage with the band and sing his "karaoke song" for the second time of the night.

9. Eventually get kicked out of the bar at closing time and grab a cab...

10. Wake up late on Sunday morning and nurse a wicked hangover all day long. ohmygodI'msooldnow.

Awesome party. Awesome couple. Awesome time. Yay! Congrats!

(and if you need any help getting rid of some of the leftover booze... you know how to get in touch with me).

Housekeeping

2011-08-04T10:22:00.001-05:00

*So, I am getting the haircut, I'm just waiting for a groupon, because spending $60+ on a haircut is just RIDICULOUS.

*A week from today I will be at the beach. And so I have one week to get up the courage to sport this bikini. (Yes, I lusted after it for over a year before I finally took the plunge last fall and BOUGHT it. I thought I'd wear it in Mexico... except... I didn't ~~chicken~~). Ugh.

*I finally feel like I'm getting into training shape. My runs are feeling pretty easy lately. 'bout damn time.

*This is a conversation that I had last night with a girl I'm friendly with after yoga...

She asked... "Did I hear you mention you're running Chicago?" (a friend of mine is in the class and was asking me about my upcoming races. I mean, not that I'm not the type to drop my bad-ass race names all over the place like little bombs...)

"Yeah, I am."

"How do you do it? I mean, how do come to yoga while marathon training?"

"Ummm... I dont know, I mean, I just have a lot of free time on my hands, I guess..." ~~Lame ass Loser?~~

"No, I mean, you are so flexible in class."

WhatTHEfuck? I feel like I am the most inflexible person to ever take a yoga class (runners... I think we all feel that way... and there's a reason.. BECAUSE WE ARE). So anyway... it blew me away. That someone else thought that I was flexible! Proof that doing yoga 4-6 times a week really can make a difference, I suppose. Yay! ~~That or she is getting me confused with the other brunette in the class who musta been a freaking cirque de soleil dancer in a former life. bitch~~.

*Is it just me, or has this week flown by?? Tomorrow is friday!

Crisis(es) Averted

2011-08-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning thinking... okay, so far so good... I'm awake and up at the right time.

And then I went downstairs to my car, where all 4 of my tires were properly inflated.

Wednesday is going to be a good day!

You see Monday... I woke up to my alarm and I uhhh.. must-a just rolled over and fell back asleep... and woke up at the precise time (5:19) that I need to be getting in my car to meet my running buddy... So, I texted him and asked him if it was okay if I got there 10 minutes later... he agreed. Crisis averted and I got my run in.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I woke up (on time), got ready and headed down to my car only to discover a flat tire. With a big ass screw peeping out of the tread. So, I texted my running buddy, asking her if she could meet me at my house today, instead of the half-way point we usually meet at and she agreed. Crisis averted and I got my run in.

Hump day never looked so good...

Lessons Learned...

2011-08-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

From a weekend away...

1. Getting Greenville, SC and Spartanburg, SC mixed up in your head... doesn't seem like a big deal when planning a meeting spot with a friend... except for the fact that I thought that once I got off the interstate... Bam! I'm here. When in fact... Greenville is not off of I-26. And so... hello highways, construction and a zillion red lights.

2. Babies are even more adorable in person than they are in photos. Particularly babies that look EXACTLY like one of your best friends from college.

3. Seated photos are the LEAST flattering of all types of poses.

4. Getting a good photo of 2 adults and one 18 month old is nearly impossible.

5. I look amazingly awkward sitting next to an 18 month old. (Umm... and why didn't we move the freaking watering can? Seriously?).

6. If you want to get a good run in while out of town... say yes to whatever your friend's sister says...

"Yes, I'd like to get a run in this weekend."

"Sure, I'll get up at 4:00am MY time and drive to downtown Greenville to meet your running friends..."

"Ummm... okay, 10 miles sounds okay."

"9:00 minute miles? Suuuuure. Oh wait... you're serious? CRAP."

(Thank god her friends didn't mind running slower, because she took off and left me).

7. Red Robin serves veggie burgers. And their french fry orders are bottomless. HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?

8. Whole Foods doesn't have a juice bar. Is this ALL Whole Foods? Because, I coulda sworn that my Whole Foods has a juice bar. But, I've never bought one there... so, it could just be a smoothie bar or something.

9. Greenville, SC is a super cute, friendly town.

10. They have a marathon coming up on October 29th... Hmmm...

Recovery

2011-07-28T15:03:00.001-05:00

Sunday... 14 mile group training run... fun times.

After the run, (which went by amazingly smooth and was... dare I say... FUN?!?!?) I got home, took a shower and crawled into bed for a little cat nap. I tossed and turned and dosed off and on for 2 hours (rather fitfully). I got up, made some lunch and was in such a daze. Whenever I got up off the couch (which was truthfully, only a couple of times), I would start to black out... (a sure fire sign of dehydration for me... used to happen a lot when I was taking water pills for my blood pressure). So, I started to drink some water... but the blackouts kept coming... Ugh. Not fun. Luckily, they only last for a few seconds at a time...

I decided that the only way to really re-hydrate and start feeling better, was to get up off my lazy ass, throw a dress on and head to a wine tasting in a penthouse unit at a swank condominium building...

Nothing like WINE as a recovery drink. A couple of hours later feeling fresh and sweet, I was all... dehydration? What dehydration??... let's go to the Patterson House! Where I had two bourbon and gingery drinks and called it a night at 8:30.

Don't you love Sundays? (Particularly Sundays where literally all you do is run 14 miles and then get drunk at 4pm?) God bless marathon training.

Be Careful What You Wish For?

2011-07-22T12:34:00.003-05:00

People use this phrase a lot. And I hate it. It's like... can't I just wish for one goddamn thing without you getting all existential/cutesy cliched/annoying on my ass??

And in true Amy style... I went all contradictory on myself this morning and found myself saying... "Careful what you wish for." ::shudder::

It all started this morning... when my alarm clock went off at 5:05am and I was like... awwww... man. Fridays are hard for me and for a few reasons... Number one... Fridays were my rest day for like the first 3 years of my running career. It's hard to teach a runner new habits. And also... I'm just freaking tired on Fridays. By Friday, I've woken up early every morning, ran, worked, went to yoga in the evenings... (and my Thursday night yoga class is tough) and by Friday I'm just ready to sleep in till 8:30 and roll into work around 9:00am.

But, I got up. And I started getting ready and I stared at my phone for a full minute. Willing it beep and vibrate with a message from Steve. A message that would tell me that he was bailing on our run this morning. I literally did that... I literally tried to will him to text me. Because, obviously we're all familiar with Rule 4-23 of the Running Partner Code:

When your running partner/s cancel a run due to sheer laziness, it is okay for you to skip the run as well, and go back to bed... all the while feeling superior in knowing that you were not the weak one.

See also... Rule 4-23.2... when your running partner cancels due to illness or injury, or gives you some kinda of legitimate excuse, then you must soldier on and run on your own... otherwise, you will feel guilty when you realize that you didn't run when you physically could... essentially spitting in the eye of your ailing running partner.

See also... Rule 4-23.3... whoever cancels first in inclement weather is the pansy. The other running partner can go back to bed and can then poke fun/name call/trash talk at the next run.

But, because I'm not really a witch, my phone stayed silent.

So when I got to the park and met up with him... I told him...

"So, I guess you didn't get my psychic vibes this morning..."

To which he looked at me like I had just asked him something in Japanese.

"I tried to psychically, telepathic-ly tell you to bail on the run this morning."

And you know what he said?????????????

"Ya know, I actually did type out a message saying I was going to bail... but I didn't send it."

W.T.F.? Y'all... I am a witch, after all!!!! A shitty one, obviously, because he never pushed send and I ended up having to run 4 miles while constantly wiping sweat from my brow.

But afterwards... I was all... "well, I guess I'm glad my telepathic powers haven't fully matured yet."

And Steve was all... "heh. heh. Yeah." (aka... why the hell do I run with this crazy and slow bitch 3 times a week?)

So... yeah... I didn't want to run this morning... but I'm so glad I did.. or I would have been wracked with guilt all day... careful what you wish for...

Barf.

Fall Races

2011-07-21T15:19:00.000-05:00

I was thinking the other day... it's amazing (and simultaneously sad and refreshing) that I haven't run a marathon this year. It feels weird. And very un-Amy-like. I mean, WTF have I been doing for the past 7 almost 8 months now?????

I guess I've been busy... (though that's never stopped me before). But, mostly, I think I've just been putting everything off till the fall.. like... ohhh.. yeah, I'll just run a marathon in the fall.. and I'll just run/walk/climb that 50k in October.. and ohhhh... a 50 miler?? Ehh.. I'll put that off till December. Thanks.

So, officially (and unofficially) this is on my schedule
Stumpjump 50k-- October 1
Chicago Marathon-- October 9
Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon-- Nov 20
Lookout Mountain 50 miler-- Dec 17

(Nevermind the fact that I'm currently only signed up for ONE of those races. heh.).
And in a way... it's fine. Racing in the fall is fun! ~~Training in the summer is not, however~~. But, part of me is itching to sign up for like 3 other Marathons this fall just to make up for my laziness this spring. And plus... I could just say that the races are "Training Runs" for my 50 miler. And obviously, I'd announce that as many times as I could while running these races, so that people would think I was a badass ~~when really, I'm just a dumbass with an ego who looks for any excuse to not feel bad that she's not PRing... ever... seriously... it's never happening again.~~

But, I think I'm going to try to keep things simple and just focus on those races. The 50k and Chicago are just for fun. The Monkey will be a training run (aka there is no way in hell I'd have a chance to PR there) and the 50 miler is just going to happen to see if I can do it without dying.

In any case... I'm looking forward to them... Strangely enough.. particularly the ultras...

What races are you doing this fall? And don't tell me your doing NYC, because I didn't get in and I'm still very bitter.

The Most Productive 3.5 Hours of the Day.

2011-07-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I was thinking about everything that I do in the mornings before I even get into work at 8:30 every day. It kinda seemed like a lot, so I decided to make a blog post chronicling everything that I do in the mornings from the moment I wake up until I get into work.

Riveting, no?

Anyway... here goes... with PICTURES! ~~That are going to be shitty because of the flash and because I'm a shitty photographer.~~ Also, it should be mentioned that when I originally thought of this idea... it seemed fun! and brilliant! And so I took an assload of pictures... and then I started typing this bitch of a post out and I realized... oh my god, this is such a lame idea for a blog post, nobody gives a shit that you brush your teeth in the morning... but whatever, I took all these goddamn pictures, so I'm posting them. I apologize in advance. Feel free to skip and go about your day...

Wednesday July 20, 2011 (and this same exact schedule pretty much exists for every other day of the week, too).

Wake up to my alarm clock:

5:05 punk! Better get your ass up... you've got 14 minutes to head out...

My goal is to be in my car by 5:19/5:20. So, I take 14/15 minutes to pee, put my contacts in, do my brushing...

Teeth first!

Then body!

And get my running clothes and shoes on. And then its time to head down to the car...

Right on time. And yes, sometimes I listen to Bob and Tom in the morning.

I meet up with my running buddy Steve at a local park and we crank out 4 miles...

Then I drive back home..

When I get home... I immediately shower.

And then I dry off, lotion up, throw my hair in a towel, and put on some bum-around clothes. Then I go into my hallway and throw down my yoga mat and meditate for 20 minutes...

Some of the best 20 minutes I'll spend all day.

After I meditate, I actually get back into bed and take a nap for 15-20 minutes (depending on how much time I have)...

Some of the best 15-20 minutes I'll spend all day, again.

After my nap, it's time to get up and get ready. I put make up on, blow dry and straighten my hair.. which takes a total of about 15-20 minutes.

Helen of Troy=Fewer Bad Hair Days=Happy Amy

Then I make up the bed...

And get dressed for work...

And if I'm lucky (about 2 times out of 10) I'll actually end up wearing what I had picked out the night before! Today was one of those days...

Now it's time to grab my stuff and head back down to the car...

Purse, keys, sunglasses!

I drive to get my breakfast...

And apparently I drive in the middle of the road. Awesome.

And wind up at my local grocery store/health food store...

Yay for the Turnip Truck!

I go inside, and say hello to the people that I see there everyday and they start to prepare my juice...

While it's getting made, I browse the aisles...

And when it's done, I pay and head back out to my car to drive back home...

One Ninja Turtle Juice... Cucumber, Celery, Broccoli, Parsley, and Spinach. YUM!

I get home and park my car and then immediately head outside to walk to work...

And then... I get into work and at my desk at 8:30...

Ready to start the day, bitches!

I am a 2 year old, I swear. I LOVE having a routine. Same thing everyday... Whats your routine in the morning look like?

The Great Purge of 2011

2011-07-19T15:07:00.002-05:00

At some point over the course of the last couple of months, I came to the conclusion that I have way too much stuff. Not that I'm ready for an episode of Hoarders or anything... but, I've been making an attempt in my life to not be attached... not attached to things, people, ideas, etc... And when you think about it... it's RIDICULOUS to have an attachment to a t-shirt that I didn't even remember that I had. Right?

So, I've been spending a lot of free time purging myself of stuff. And, I'm actually loving it! Which is weird, because I am a total sap when it comes to nostalgia-y stuff. Emotionalattachment is my middle name.

I've cleaned out my closet (and almost everyday I'm still giving up one or two more things), I've cleaned out my chest of drawers (which went from overflowing... lots of race tees... to now having two completely empty drawers!), I've even cleaned off my bookshelf...

This is actually the second round of stuff going to goodwill. Yikes. (And yes that's a Flannery O'Connor book on top there... why was I keeping books from authors I HATE??? It makes no sense!)

You'd be surprised the amount of crap that I have accumulated over the years... particularly books. I am a book lover and so of course I wanted to be surrounded by all the books I've read or want to read, right?

See how smart I am because of ALL the books I have? And see how much I run by ALL my race medals? Gag. (The before of the bookshelves).

It's such a nice feeling to be surrounded by books you LOVE and books you might actually read again, or loan to a friend... and all the hanging straps of the medals were just getting on my nerves. Enough is enough.

The after. OMG, so much better!

I know, who gives a shit, right? What does this have to do with running? Well... like everything else... I was accumulating way too many running clothes.

This is where I keep all my running clothes. One side is for Shirts/Tops and the other side is for Shorts, bras, yoga tops, and yoga pants and then one of the drawers is for running socks.

Yes, I keep my running clothes in a china cabinet.

And, it's overflowing.

And there is NO way I wear that much stuff. I wear the same running tops and running shorts all the time. I probably have a total of 10 tops that I rotate between and 6 pairs of shorts. The rest are just around for when I haven't done laundry in forever.

So, it was time to tackle the beast... and tackle it, I did... I went from this mess of tops:

Down to this...

Still have some further sifting to do with regarding those bra tops..

And now everything fits nicely inside...

Folded, even!

Now for the other side. Lots of things going on in there... yoga pants, shorts and tops. And running shorts. Also, sports bras. It's a weird method... I know.

Before

Making the cut.

And it all fits. Although not very neatly. Needs to be re-organized a bit.

There is another bonus to doing this... now I won't be sorting through a bunch of crap in the mornings trying to find my fave pair of running shorts or bra. It feels good. And I'm pretty sure I'll never miss all those disgustingly designed race tech tees (especially the non gender sized ones!).

Next up in the great purge... my hair. Ugh. This is where I need your help. This is how I wear my hair every single day...

Me! Today! With Crazy eyes!

It's plain. It's boring and I always dream of doing something else to it. I've had this picture in my possession for about 6 months now...

So cute! Short Bangs!

I've sent this pic to 3 friends along with a hilariously awful cut and paste pic where I tried to paste my face in where hers is. It wasn't pretty folks. And they all said.. yeah, sure... ~~why should we give a shit~~ go for it!

And... I haven't. I'm worried about the bangs... and how they will be with running and yoga and just existing in general in Middle Tennessee during the summer ~~since I sweat more than any person I know~~.

So, my questions are.. #1. In your opinion, would the cut be flattering on me and #2 . Am I going to curse short bangs everyday?

This post has been completely gratuitous just to get your opinion on this freaking haircut. I know, I could have saved you a lot of time... Sorry.

The Long Runs of Summer

2011-07-18T15:19:00.000-05:00

So... yeah... dumbass me signed up for a Marathon in early October (oh yes, and there's a 50k the weekend before that I guess bears mentioning as well)... which means.. training in JULY. Booo..

Anyway... last week running buddy Carolyn and I eeked out 10 miles together (and by eeked out, I mean, I asked if we could stop because I was feeling like a total pansy and she said no and I pouted for the next 4 miles) in the heat. The temperature wasn't unbearable... but my head just wasnt in it. I was bored, I didn't want to run 10 miles, I wanted to give up running and become a powerwalker. But, we pushed through.

This past weekend... the schedule called for 12. So, we met again on Saturday to bang it out. And I'm happy to report... this past weekend was like 10x better for me. We kept an easy pace (between 10-10:30 miles) and we stopped just a couple of times for water breaks (less than 2 minute stops) and when we started back up, I actually felt a little refreshed instead of feeling like the walk break beat me into a total sissy (like I feel a lot of the time). As we finished, we actually picked up the pace a little... to sub 10 minute miles... without realizing it! (I was ready to be done, methinks... and thirsty).

But, it felt good. I felt good.

Definitely helps that I'm officially off my blood pressure meds!!!! Wooooo hooooo! Turns out... switching to a non-estrogen birth control made my blood pressure drop and I was still taking the blood pressure meds (as instructed)... and that combo was making my blood pressure super low. No wonder I felt like I was going to die in the Indy Mini Marathon... I ACTUALLY WAS/POSSIBLY/COULD HAVE/POTENTIALLY DIED. So, anyway... now I'm all healthy and normal again! Hooray for non-estrogen birth control!

Although... now I no longer have a legitimate excuse...

The Heat is On.

2011-07-14T09:17:00.000-05:00

I know. I mean, really, I know. I complain about the weather... always. But this is less of a complaint and more like an observation...

Is anyone else out there taking like 12 naps a day, lately? I feel like this heat is just zapping the life force out of me. I drag my ass out of bed every morning at 5am to get my run in before the heat of the day really gets going (I swear it's muggier in the morning, though), but if I'm at home for more than like an hour... I'm crawling into bed and taking a nap. It's ridiculous.

I keep telling myself... I'll get adjusted to it... This is just typical summer/heat wave lethargy. But, I'm starting to think that that may not happen till September. Ugh.

This is how I do (did)...

2011-07-08T12:59:00.000-05:00

inside joke there on the title..

Anyway. This was my Thursday-Tuesday (not in chronological order)...

Ran along the East River...

Some kind of film crew had all their crap (see the light in the middle of the pic) everywhere along the greenway, including lots of old cars lined up.

Ran past the Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridges.

See?

Checked out The High Line... both at night and during the day. My new FAVORITE thing in NYC!

Seriously, I'm ready to permanently move to one of those benches.

Ate a ridiculous amount of Indian food at Vatan. (3 courses! All you can eat! Belly happy!)

Checked out the coolest art performance I've ever seen. Sleep No More. If you live in NYC or are visiting there this summer.. you HAVE to get tickets and go. It will blow your mind. I can't even describe the experience! Just go... and then we can talk about it and compare notes and I won't have to annoy everyone else with TRYING to explain it... cause, I just kinda end up making it sound like a haunted house.

Ate at Tom's Diner...

I was totally geeking out. Such a Seinfeld nerd.

After lunch at Tom's... strolled through Columbia University's campus. And then made our way over to Riverside Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela have spoken.

I stole this picture from their website (probably going to hell now). It's shitty (definitely going to hell now). It doesn't do it justice AT ALL. I felt like I was sitting in Westminster Abbey or something. I mean this church is UNBELIEVEABLE.

Crossed the street and checked out Grant's Tomb.

Had a 1 hour Reflexology Massage that I'm still reeling from. Also. Chinatown cracks me up!

Took a walking tour of Union Square. So interesting.

Shopped... picked up a dress at H&M (I mean, clearly you can't go into an H&M without carrying a bag out). And went to Moo Shoes, Zara, Anthropologie, and Madewell. Twice. The second time to buy two shirts, only to not find my size in one and then two girls fawning over the rack (where the other shirt was) in such a way that I could not get around those bitches to squeeze in and pick up the shirt.... sigh. Thank god for online ordering... although CRIKEY. The color is sold out in one of the shirts. Arg!

Read on a park bench in Madison Square Park...

Madison Square Park has the BEST art installations. How freaking cool?!?!?

This was a part of last years art installation at Madison Square Park. They had these statues placed all over... on the tops of buildings, etc. Was so cool to figure out where they all were. It was like a little army of ~~big brother~~ bronze men watching you! Loved it!

Took a Dharma Level 3 yoga class ~~and didn't feel like I was going to die like I did the last time in that class~~. Also took my friend's Deep Healing and Relaxation class there. Definitely seeing progress in my meditation and relaxation practice! No Dharma, because he was doing a retreat... but you always feel him there.

Took the subway up to 125th Street, walked through Harlem and made our way 99+ blocks throughout the course of the day... walked all through central park, stopping for moments... to pop into the Guggenheim's gift shop (such a sucker for gift shops), sat on various park benches (one in particular for almost an hour!), had lunch and then dinner...

Slurped down the most expensive and one of the tastiest milkshakes I've ever had at Cafe Reggio.

Popped into the Lower East Side Tenement Museum gift shop... VERY cool gift shop. Also checked out the Essex Street Market while we were down there.

Had lunch (and browsed the gift shop!) at the amazing Jivamukti Cafe (no class there this time, though).

Swore that I saw Carolina Herrera on the Upper East Side one afternoon. I was stuffing my pie hole at a diner, she was gracefully crossing the street. If not her (had her signature hair, red lips, and the starched white collared shirt. Collar was totally popped, of course)... then her doppelganger.

Enjoyed strolling the streets of NYC... no matter where we were or what we we doing. Finally feel like I'm starting to get a good lay of the land, there. But always feel like there's so much more to explore. Was a great holiday weekend! How was yours?

Teaser

2011-06-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

So, last Saturday was the 3rd annual Nashville Beer Mile.

A post will be coming (but not until next week, as I'm heading to NYC this afternoon!!!)... but until then, you can read my interview over at the hilarious 37,000 Miles Later Blog.

Happy 4th!!

And also... GOOOOOOO Cocks!!!

The Aftermath.

2011-06-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

You can read the recaps of each 3 stages here...
Stage one: Raccoons suck ass.
Stage two: Lookout Mountain is pretty dang cool.
Stage three: For the love of God, who picks a trail that you can't run for a trail race??

So, going into the 3 stages race I kept wondering what I would be able to compare it to...

Would it be harder/easier than a 50k?

Would it be harder/easier than 2 marathons in 2 days?

And as it turns out... it's really uncomparable... in effort. I mean, It's not as hard as running 30+ miles in one day... but I wouldn't exactly call it easier to run 60 miles in 3 days. Does that make sense? Of course not. It's definitely more FUN I think than running 30+ miles in one day. I mean... we still had a half a day to bum around, eat a LOT, drink boxed wine, and make fart, sex, and bowel movement jokes (typical runners). Which was nice. After my 50ks... I'm usually spent and it's usually 8+ hours later(although that hasn't kept me from going out and getting drunk afterwards). But going to bed and knowing that you have to get up the next day and run a shit ton of miles... is... kinda depressing.

One thing I can say... is that I was the most sore after those 3 days than I have been in my entire life. I mean, I thought P90X could bring the hurt.. hahahahah. ha! Puhlease. Tony Horton's got nothing on 60 miles in 3 days. I mean, we're talking... CAN BARELY WALK on Monday sore. It was sad. Once I got up and started moving I was okay-ish.. but those initial few steps were brutal.

For example, Sunday, after I got home from the race, showered, and unpacked... I went over to my parents house and when I got there, they were in the basement...

"Hello...." I hollered down...

"Hey!!!! Come on down."

"Umm... really? Down the steps?"

"Yeah, come on down. We're watching golf." And in the background I heard my dad say... "tell her to drive around back and come in through the garage."

So, that's what I did. Seriously. I went outside, drove around to the back of the house and went in through the basement. All to avoid going down the steps.

But by Tuesday, I was feeling a lot better and by Wednesday... no more soreness!

I do still have some battle scars though...

Random Bruise. (Ugh. my paint tools weren't working well, today).

And my knees are still a little banged up.. but the Neosporin is working wonders.

Overall, though... I'd say that this was one of the most rewarding and challenging things I've ever done. I'm so happy that I signed up and did the race and I had a blast running/walking/falling/sliding down the trails and I really enjoyed the company that I was with, too. My friends Phil and Theresa were great throughout the trip... we had plenty of laughs, and though I always finished hours behind them... they never made me feel rushed or bad for making them wait around on me. They were the perfect weekend mates!

And the people I met.. my running buddy.. Drew (sooo inspirational and motivating) and the countless others that I met both on the trails and off were amazing. The vibe is so different at these races... it's so chill and fun. Definitely more my style.
The best news? I think that weekend really got me excited about running again! I'm re-energized and ready to tackle some new obstacles and distances! And the trails... there's just something magical about them. It's a battle with yourself, instead of a battle with other people and I LOVE that.

To be completely honest.. I have little interest these days in running road races... I'm signed up for the Chicago marathon and I'm excited to run with my friend for her first marathon and in one of my favorite cities!!!!!, but I'm more excited about the weekend before when I'll be running the Stumpjump 50k again!

Oh yeah... and you know how I was trying to decide about whether or not to do the Lookout Mountain 50 miler in December? Umm... yeah, I decided. I'm doing it! (although, I guess technically I shouldn't announce that, because I'm not officially signed up yet, but that will be happening in a couple of weeks... along with signing up for the stumpjump).

Lookout Chattanooga, you're going to be seeing a lot of me in the next few months...

3 Stages Race: Day 3: 20 Miles on Signal Mountain.

2011-06-23T11:46:00.001-05:00

After running 22 miles on Lookout Mountain and then running 18 miles the day before on Raccoon Mountain, I decided that an ice bath would be in order. So, on the way back to the hotel, I picked up a huge bag of ice and had as much of a soak as I could stand. Yikes. Ice baths suck.

That afternoon, I lounged around... took a brief nap... watched some Vandy baseball... and decided to blow dry my hair, straighten it, put makeup on and get dressed in something other than pjs because we were hitting the town... for dinner. Yeah, not quite that exciting.. but hey.. after running 40 miles in two days going out for dinner is kind of a big deal. And when we got to the restaurant... they had to seat us... UPSTAIRS. Of course. Anyway, dinner was delicious and it was nice to actually feel like a normal person with makeup and a belt on.

That night I went to bed thinking... heh. 20 miles on Signal Mountain and 6 hours to do it?? No problemo. I could do 20 miles on Signal Mountain in my sleep, yo.

And then I woke up Sunday morning with calf muscles so tight that I could barely walk. Touche, stages race, touche.

I attempted to foam roll my calves... and experienced pain that I can only imagine is similiar to child birth or kidney stones: excrutiating. Still.. I wasn't too worried about the race. Sure, my legs felt like shit, but this was 2 miles less than yesterday!!!!! And not the type of elevation we had on Lookout... and... I had 6 hours to do it in!

We made our way to signal mountain and when we got out of the car and started walking around.. I started to get a little nervous... ummm.. my legs felt like total shit. Like.. the slightest bit of incline (I mean SLIGHTEST) made my calves and quads hurt. It was not good.

Still... only 20 miles, right???!!!??

We lined up and got ready for the start and as soon as we started and I started running.. I almost started crying at the prospect of enduring this leg soreness/stiffness for another 20 miles. I linked up with my running buddy and the first mile or so.. SUCKED. But, you know what??? After that.. my legs loosened up and while they felt tired... they weren't nearly as sore as they had started out. Boo-ya.

Everything was going along well... the first 6ish miles were all apart of the Stumpjump 50k race. A steep downhill to an aid station and then we got to turn around and go right back up (yay. ugh). Except after climbing for a few minutes we realized... umm... I dont think this is the trail.

That's right folks.. we were lost.

We started looking for shoe tracks. We started yelling. We knew we were roughly headed in the right direction because we were going up.. finally we heard some voices and went in that direction and found mushroom rock (a landmark on the trail) and some volunteers who directed us back to the trail. Sheesh.

The next few miles were kinda tough. We were starting to get into a more technical part of the trail and my shoes were SLICK (oh. did I forget to mention that it stormed Saturday night.. making the trail extra slippery on Sunday morning?) and I was sliding all over the place. I even jacked up my left shoulder trying to brace myself on one particular slide.

Finally we made it up to a ridge where there were TONS of downed trees on the trail. It was clear that a huge storm had ripped through recently and it was kind of eery being up there (not knowing if you were on the right trail didnt help.. the trail was not marked well at all that day). Finally we made it to the 2nd aid station. And it was at this point that I started noticing my time.. it was not good. I still had 11ish miles and I didn't have a huge time cushion.

From the 2nd aid station to the 3rd there was only 2.5ish miles. No problem, right?

OH.MY.GOD. This was the longest 2.5 miles of my life.. Seriously.. it must have taken me an hour or more to go through this section. Essentially no running was happening in there. I mean, VERY LITTLE. It was awful. We were down in the gully of the trail. It was sticky, it was rocky. It was a time suck. I also lost my running buddy in this part of the trail, so for much of it.. I was on my own and it was like I was constantly looking for the next trail flag to let me know I was on the right path. It was awful.

Finally in one part where I could actually run a bit, I came upon a photographer and another guy... Oooooo the aid station must be close, I was thinking!!!!

"I'm not going to look up at you, cause I might fall..."

This smile is fake. VERY fake.

So, I asked him... "how far till the aid station?" Casually, of course.

"Umm... at least a mile. We've been walking a long time." And his little friend added... "yeah, AT LEAST."

OH MY GOD, if I had had a knife on me, I would have cut them both.. LIES!!! I thought to myself.. PURE LIES. There is no way I've only gone 1.5 miles since the aid station.

I was ~~in the fifth circle of Dante's Inferno~~ deep in the bowels of Signal Mountain... but all I could do was keep going. So I plodded along... trying to tell myself that those guys didn't know what they were talking about. I was looking at my watch and realizing that I might not make the cut-off. This middle section was taking WAYYYYY too long.

Finally, I met a guy on the trail who cheerfully told me... "you've only got about a .25 of a mile till the aid station." SWEET JESUS THANK YOU. But, the closer I got.. I realized I had to climb up these crazy steep stairs to get there. But I didn't care.. I would have climbed up a rope if I had to... anything to get myself out of the bowels of Signal Mountain.

Once I saw the aid station, I hobbled over and the aid station workers were all like.. "ohhhhh look at the view behind you... " and I was all.... "hey, is that an otter pop you're holding? I need that."

I stuck around at this aid station for a couple more minutes than I would have liked... mainly to finish my otter pop, but also to give a pack of my endurolytes to a runner that I had met briefly on friday and had talked to that day.. he wasn't feeling too well and needed them way more than me.

And then it was time to get back on the trail...

This next stretch wasn't too bad... we ran on the road for a little bit and hopped back onto a trail, that wasn't too technical.. but still had it moments. I was freaking out. Worried that I wasn't going to make the cut off.

To be completely honest.. I don't really even remember this part of the trail. So, let's fast forward.

By the time I got to the last aid station I was told that I had 3.6 miles to the finish and I looked at my watch and it said I had been running for 5:07. Which meant.. I only had 53 minutes to run 3.6 miles.

Now, fair reader.. this may sound like a LOT of time to you... and while.. yes, under normal circumstances it should be plenty of time...but let me remind you... I'm going on 57 miles in 3 days at this point... these are trail miles... not road miles... and the net elevation for those 3.6 miles was a GAIN. Arg!

So, I booked it. Lucky for me, the trail was not technical at all... so I ran my heart out... when I got to an uphill.. I kept going.. when I got to a downhill... I accelerated... I was watching my watch like a hawk... counting down the minutes and hoping that I was going fast enough (again.. garmin was not accurate because of the elevation, so I had no idea where I was mileage-wise).

I started recognizing part of the trail as the beginning/end of Stumpjump and I knew that the technical stuff was all behind me.. all I had to do was run and fast! I was passing people left and right.. I'd ask them.. "arent you scared of the cut off time?" and they'd reply... "oh, we'll make it!"

I wasn't going to take their word for it.. I was stressed out... finally, I met a girl on the trail who told me I had less than a quarter of a mile to go.. and then I saw my friends at the end of the trail and they were yelling for me... I started running faster (how is that even possible? I have no idea)... finally I could see the finish line and I ran it in.. finishing in 5:48. Only 12 minutes to spare.

I ran through the finish line to people cheering me (which was awesome) and I kept going to get out of the crowd and burst into tears.

Now, before you think I'm an emotional trainwreck because of the accomplishment, etc.. let me set you straight... I was an emotional trainwreck, because I had just ran my ass off for fear of not making the cut off time. And that shit is STRESS-FUL. It happened in my first 50k, too. You have no idea how stressful it is to know that you've spent 3 days...and lots of time and pain to try and do this thing.. and on the last day the trails are too effing technical to run and you're not sure you'll make the cut off. It was awful.

But... the good news is.. I had made it! With 12 minutes to spare! And even though I knew lots of people were behind me.. and that they would be allowed to finish.. I didn't want that "6" in my time. I wanted to finish under the cut-off... and I did it!!!!

I waited around to see my running buddy finish, too! And I hugged him and thanked him and congratulated him!

I picked up my finisher's award (a nice wood bock engraved with race details) and a pair of smartwool socks! and got ready for the ride home...

I did it! I ran 60 miles in 3 days on some of the toughest trails I've seen.

3 Stages Race: Stage 2: 22 miles on Lookout Mountain.

2011-06-22T14:33:00.000-05:00

You know what one of the best things about running a stage race is? You can eat whatever the hell you want in between races. I mean... think about this.. Friday after the 18 miles... I was not only making up for that, but also trying to load up for the next day! It was a brilliant day filled with tacos and chips at Taco Mamacita and lots and lots of pizza (and some beer and wine)! swoon.

After eating a lot on Friday night we settled in and studied the elevation profile for Lookout Mountain's Race.

Umm... yeah. This doesn't look like much fun.

When I woke up Saturday morning... I was pretty nervous. I had never been on these particular trails and 22 miles on unknown trails with that elevation profile... scared me.

I fueled up. I ate a banana, an orange, half an apple and half a bagel before we left the hotel. I also packed salt tabs on myself along with an energy bar (just in case) and some shotblox. There were only going to be 3 aid stations and we were going to have to go 6.5 miles at the end of the race with no aid stations.

When we got to lookout mountain we picked up our bibs (you have to get your bibs every morning to make sure they knew who was out on the course) and I hopped in the long porta potty line. At first I noticed that there was just one porta potty and I just figured there were more somewhere else, but I was talking to someone in line, so I just stayed there...

Until I glanced at the porta potty and notice it had a sign on it that said.. POOP ONLY.

Umm... what? Turns out... the porta potties didn't get delivered, so this lone porta potty was all there was.. and it was designated as a poop only one. Yeah.. so I hopped out of line and did my business in the woods. Twice. Do you know how long it's been since I took a crap in the woods?? I mean, even when I'm camping I find a back woods bathroom. Sheesh.

Another thing I forgot to mention in the last race report... ummm... the EYE CANDY at these races. Hellllloooo trail runners. I always forget that trail races are like the mecca for my type of guys... thin, lean, but super muscular guys... usually some facial hair (or a lot, if you're lucky and you're into the grizzly adams look)... I mean.. Yowza! Just picture a whole bunch of these guys....

Why, hello, Dreamboat.

Tony Krupicka (aka my soulmate) photo most likely taken by

Rob O'Dea, but the website I stole it from didn't say... so...

Digressing...We lined up at the start and I found the guy who offered me the salt tabs the day before and introduced myself to him. We talked a little and I decided right then, that I was going to stick with him as much as possible that day. The best decision I made all day.

Notice the POOP ONLY porta potty...

We started off down a gravel/dirt road and all was well, I chatted with my running partner, Drew and before I knew it we were all clogged up and going up. We came to a cliff-side so steep that there were ROPES there for you to hold onto to climb up and down. Ummm... gulp. After we went up though.. we ran along a ridge for a good couple of miles, I was able to just kinda plod along and keep a decent 11:00 pace through this section. Wide trails... few rocks and roots... I did lose my running partner for a little bit here.. but I didn't worry too much about it.. I could still see him most of the time...

Then we started descending.. DOWN. Steeply down for a long time.. Hello, there quads. Finally we got to our first aid station.. which was... also where the start/finish line is. Uhhh.. yeah, not the most fun to have to LEAVE the the finish area again and go out for 17-18 more miles. Awesome.

The good news is that my running buddy and I got together again and we made our way to the next aid station, which included that part of the elevation map where it goes wayyy up to 2000 ft. This was a dirt road that went straight up. We hiked up and I could tell that my running buddy was a little disappointed in the time that it took us to get there.

On the descend down this mountain we chatted a lot.. I got to know a lot about his history, his family, how he'd ran 11 100 milers and this was his 3rd time tackling the 3 stages race. Oh yeah.. and did I forget to mention that he was the oldest runner? 63!!!! How awesome is that??

We were watching our watches and he had certain time goals that he wanted to meet at each aid station and we weren't likely going to hit the last one. He also prepared me that we would be running past the start/finish line AGAIN to the aid station and to be prepared for it to be HARD to keep going for another 6.5 miles when a lot of people were already finished!

I have no idea where or when this was taken.

I was doing well with the salt tabs, taking one or two every hour or so. So I was actually feeling really good and I was really enjoying this run. Sure, it was hot and my legs were tired... but the trails weren't technical and I had an inspiring running buddy with me.

When we stopped at the final aid station, I looked around a little for my friends as I munched on some fig newtons and filled up my water bottle... no such luck, but as I ran away and crossed the bridge, I heard the name of one of my friends being called out over the microphone as he finished! Yay! That would be me... in another 2 hours, I thought to myself.

6.5 miles is a long way on trails. And after that last aid station we had a good climb to endure. Although, surprisingly.. my running buddy and I ended up kinda shuffle jogging up a good portion of it. We hung with each other... wondering how far we had gone (garmins dont really work that accurately when you've got so much change in elevation). Once we got to the top of the ridge again, we picked it up and tried to make up some time. We were clocking sub 12:00s for a good bit of that ridge. And then we started to go down again... down the ropes...

Not me, obviously, but to give you an idea about the ropes...

We were speculating on how much we actually had to go.. when suddenly... like a mirage we came upon a huge creek crossing... to which my running buddy start hooting and hollering in excitement! I had no idea what his deal was until someone on the other side told us..."only a little more than a .25 of a mile to go!"

WTF????? Seriously???? I couldn't believe it! And I started hooting and hollering and stomping my way through the creek crossing, too!

The female overall winner making her way through the creek.

This put a little pep in our step and we started hurling ourselves down the road... and up ahead I saw two ladies standing on either side of the road... one of them yelled out.. DAD! and started running towards us... it was my running buddies daughter and wife who had driven up to surprise him at the finish! I almost started crying, myself! They ran with us, and as they talked I started to see the clock and the finish line and I noticed that I could possibly finish UNDER 5:00 hours (the cut off time was 6 hours) and so I kicked it up and ran as fast as I could at that moment and crossed the finish line right at 4:59!

I was ecstatic! I had ran so much faster than I had anticipated and though it was super tough, I had fun doing it! And suprisingly.. I actually felt like I could have kept going if I had to.

Running buddy and I hugged and thanked each other (he got me in with over an hour to spare and he got in with his best time for that stage, ever!) and we knew we'd see each other tomorrow... so I let him spend time with his wife and daughter...

Stage 2 was done and I was honestly feeling on top of the world. It was a grind... going up and down those hills... but I had done it and done it so well. Now, just one more day left... and only 20 miles and on my favorite mountain!

40 miles down...

3 Stages Race: Stage One 18 Miles on Raccoon Mountain

2011-06-21T10:30:00.002-05:00

I know. Everyone loves Raccoon Mountain. Everyone loves how fast and flat it is (ummm... flat for East Tennessee, that is). Except me. I freaking hate it. It probably has something to do with the fact that the first time I ran there I fell 4 times. And the second time I ran there, I felt like death for half of the race. So, to say I wasn't looking forward to this first day is a bit of an understatement.

The good news was that it was the first day of the race and it was the shortest day... 18 miles.

I felt prepared when I got to the race on Friday morning. My gameplan was to go nice and easy. I had 3 days of this trail running bullshit, no need to go all out on Day 1.

Ready to get this shit over with.

The morning was cool and overcast and I was hoping it would stay that way for the next... ohhh.. 5 hours or so .

Our Nashville Posse

Before we knew it (and after fashioning a regular water bottle into a handheld water bottle with electrical tape and ingenuity, because someone left their handheld water bottle in the hotel room (not me, by the way, and I had no part in the engineering of the new handheld))... it was time to line up at the start.

The start line. (Photo by Jeff Bartlett)

My goal was to try and maintain a 12:30 pace for most of the race. Of course I'd walk up the steep uphills (although there aren't too many on this course), but I'd try to make up for it on the downhills. So, I figured maintaining 12:30s on a fairly technical, but flat trail would be perfect. And my goal was to finish under the cut-off time of 5 hours (although, with the weather starting out so nice, I was hoping for a sub 4:30).

When we started... I realized why I truly hated Raccoon Mountain. Because I've never been able to run MY race for the first few miles. The course isn't full of crazy elevations, and because of that... people go out super fast and even though I started out in the back of the pack, I got caught up with a crowd barreling through the trail like I was only running a 5 mile race. My first few miles were all under 12 minute miles. My breathing was heavy. Sweat was pouring out of me... It was not pretty.

I tried slowing down a bit after the first aid station. But, I somehow got stuck in the lead of a pack of about 5 runners.. none of which were eager to pass (I know, because I offered). As we flew through the trail, chit chatting along the way... the inevitable happened... I fell. Flat on my face with a group of 5 runners behind me to witness it all. I picked myself off, slunked off to the side of the trail, told everyone I was okay and hopped in at the back of the line. I slowed down and started feeling a lot better.

Honestly, though the fall hurt and scuffed up my knees pretty bad... it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, because it forced me to finally slow down and run my own race. The next few miles were the best miles I had all day. I settled into a nice, even pace... my breath settled down and I started enjoying the run.

By around mile 13 or so, though... I could tell that the faster pace in the beginning and the stupid nutrition plan I was using (I was just drinking water at aid stations and filling my handheld with water only) was starting to upset my stomach.

Typical aid station fare: peanut m&ms, fig netwons, gels, peanut butter stuffed pretzels,

sliced apples, oranges and bananas. (Photo by Jeff Bartlett).

For the next 5 miles I struggled. I ran when I could, I stopped and felt like I was going to throw up a number of times. I even ventured off the trail in search of some big ass leaves to use in case I needed to take a crap.

With about 2 miles left I let a gentleman pass by and he asked how I was doing. I told him fine, except my stomach was really upset. He offered me salt tabs which I refused (clearly, I'm an idiot... I thought to myself... well, I'm not cramping, I don't need salt tabs) and he tried to have me keep up with him, but I couldn't. And then, as soon as he got out of sight... my right calf started cramping... to be followed my left calf. Oh my god, welcome to my life...

The one saving grace was that my garmin was wayyyy off, so when I thought I had many more miles to go, I only had a few, and before I knew it... I was hitting the pavement and nearing the finish line where I tried to kick a bit in the end... I ended up finishing in 4:02. Plenty of time to spare the cut off.

Afterwards I felt like shit and I was told that the salt tabs would have helped my stomach, that if I'm only drinking water on the course, that I need to be taking salt tabs to keep it from souring on my stomach. A lesson that I would take with me on the following days...

Day one FINISHED! 18 miles on Raccoon Mountain done... and only a little blood to show for it...

Doh!

2011-06-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Ummm.. maybe I shoulda made a list...

Yes, that's 3 bags, a rather large purse and my yoga mat. Ummm.. That green bag, was the only bag I took to Scotland and Ireland for 10 days! So, clearly road trips are an open invitation to PACK EVERYTHING YOU'LL EVER NEED.Arg!!! And yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that the flowery navy bag is carrying my blender. Because, who doesn't go away for a race for 4 days and 3 nights and NOT take their full sized blender?

Packing

2011-06-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

So, I've packed for destination marathons, 50ks, pacing a friend for 18 miles of a 50 miler, 2 relays (as an OCD captain..which in my case, means that I make sure that I have anything and everything under the sun that someone might need. Oy)... and all of these required extensive lists... lists of what to buy, what to pack, etc...

But this weekend, I'm running what I think will be the most challenging race I've ever done and requires travel. And strangely enough.. THERE IS NO LIST. WTF?

It kinda happened casually... I got home from a trip to Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday morning and as I unpacked from that, I started throwing other stuff into a pile for this weekend. 3 sports bras, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of running shorts... and then I started going through my various drawers and grabbing packages of gu and my handheld water bottle to pack, too. And before I knew it... my bag was pretty much packed. Yesterday I threw in some tshirts and things to wear around after the races, something to sleep in, swimsuits, towels, my shoes... and now all that's left is my toiletries!

I'm taking this as a good omen for the upcoming weekend... no need to stress and make lists and get all OCD all over the place... right??? No big deal... I'm just running 60 miles in 3 days on some wicked trails...

Now, of course, I'm running the risk that if I forget something I will become even more OCD about packing lists...

In a strange way... I'm actually REALLY looking forward to this weekend... I love the trails in Chattanooga and I'm excited to cross this race off the list... and see how challenging it can be to push my body like this... I leave tomorrow and the races start Friday...

Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race: 3 Tough Days of Trail Running from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.

Identity Crisis

2011-06-09T10:48:00.000-05:00

Oh god.. this post just turned into a therapy session... proceed with caution.

So, I took some time last night to reflect on my post from yesterday. And I think I've pinpointed the REAL problem. And be forewarned... I drop some F bombs. Sorry, mom.

The thing is... I keep comparing myself to how I used to be... I used to run a shit ton more. I used to do crazy things like run two marathons in 2 days. And it was awesome! I loved spending the summer of 2009 getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get in miles. I loved logging 12 miles during the week BEFORE work. I did, I really did.

And... somehow.. that's who I became. I kinda became... crazy runner Amy, instead of just crazy Amy.

I'm going to be honest here and get a little more personal that I usually do on this blog... when I was running that much, I didn't really have much else going on in my life. And I was completely happy that way.. but I didn't really have a big social network here, I didn't have activities planned for nights during the week (that would keep me from going to bed at 9:00pm every night like I was then). Running at that time was therapeutic for me.. I had just given up dating (happily) and having something like running that took up a shit ton of time and made me feel like a strong, confident bitch ~~and also exhausted me in the process~~ was perfect for detoxing my mind and soul from years of pent up nervousness, anxiety, sadness, and just general craziness that years of dating had caused. Dating fucked me up and running cured me.

And, who knows if it was solely the running or what.. but... it happened. I finally rid my soul of all that fucking toxic waste and poison and filled in the holes that it left with unicorns, rainbows, and other awesome shit.

Yay for remedies!

So, now... I'm whole again... and I've made a lot of great, awesome friends here... and ummm.. I'm running less.

Part of me starts to freak out.. OH MY GOD... people aren't going to identify me as CRAZY RUNNER AMY. Who will I be now? The girl that USED to be kick ass and crazy, but now is just kinda like everyone else out there who occasionally runs a marathon for fun? The HAS BEEN, if you will???

But you know what? Fuck it. We all evolve.. running less makes me no less of a runner (whoa, I kinda just blew my own mind there)!!! Maybe it's a good thing that I'm not running as much as I did... maybe it just means I'm slightly more balanced emotionally than I was then. ~~Oh my god, why must I try and justify these things... clearly, I'm still not completely on the bandwagon yet.. but I'll get here. hopefully.~~

Anyway... the point is... instead of resisting this slightly less dedicated and motivated towards running Amy, I'm going to embrace her. It's who I am now and I should be as happy about my running as I am about my life in general. Running isn't my life or who I am... it's merely a piece of me.

Identity crisis... averted?

Fuck yes! (Sorry, totally gratuitous)

Bah Hambug.

2011-06-08T12:38:00.000-05:00

Well, just as I should have expected.. setting myself a crazy/dumb ass goal has not made me excited to go out and run more... in fact... it has made me want to run less.
You'd think, being a 31 year old fairly self-aware individual I'd have known better...

Digressing...

UGH. What can I do to get excited about running long distances again???? TELL ME PEOPLE, I NEED HELP.

** This message brought to you by... Amy's OCD tendencies and her thighs... who both need running more than you can imagine...

Well, crap.

2011-06-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

So, I signed up for a 3 stages race in Chattanooga on June 17-19th. I signed up for many reasons...

1. I LOVE signal mountain and like the idea of getting to run another 20 miles on it, before the Stumpjump 50k in October.
2. I LOVE chattanooga and the races put on by Rock/Creek.
3. My friend Theresa twisted my arm to sign up.. (and then AFTER I signed up, I learned she hadn't signed up, so in the end I had to twist her arm).
4. A chance to get to run 22 miles on Lookout mountain (a little preview for the 50 miler there in December, possibly?).
5. But, mainly I signed up because I'm a delusional dumbass who thinks I'm a MUCH better, stronger runner than I really am.

So... yeah... race fees paid, hotel room booked.. it's all happening folks. And I was feeling pretty chill about it. I mean it's a race in the middle of JUNE in the beautiful, rolling hills of ~~HADES~~ Tenneseee. There will be allowances made for the heat... right? Plus it's 60 miles in 3 days!! They can't expect much from us, right?

And then last week, I found this in my inbox:

Time Cut-Offs:

Since we'd like this to be a "run" and not a walk, we would like to see people running more than 50% of the event each day. This equates to about 16 minutes per mile. So here are the cutoff times each day based on 16min/mile:

Day 1 (Raccoon Mountain) - 18 miles in 5 hours
Day 2 (Lookout Mountain) - 22 miles in 6 hours
Day 3 (Signal Mountain) - 20 miles in 6 hours (we will give a little more time here based on the toughest and last day)

If you feel that you are not able to meet these times, please let me know and I will give you a full refund, or transfer your entry to another Rock/Creek race. We would also like to hear from you if you think this is too generous.

Ummm... SERIOUSLY? W.T.F? You're putting time constraints on me now??? You get my money, the hotel gets my money, plans are made with friends and THEN less than a month away you drop this bombshell on me. Arg!!!!

I'm stressing out about this. There is NOTHING enjoyable about running a race when you've got a sweeper on your ass. Trust me, I just found this out for about 30 minutes back in February.

I didn't know I was going to have race this sonofabitch. So, in effort to stay positive.. let's take this one step at a time and review what I do know...

Day 1: Raccoon Mountain (my least favorite of the three trails). I've ran on this trail twice. I ran the half marathon there in 2009 and the full marathon in 2010. Now, my times were as follows:

Half Marathon: 2:19-- 10:41 pace.
Marathon: 5:41-- 13:03 pace.

Both these races felt awful for me. But... based on those times.. it looks like I should be able to finish the first day without getting swept up by the sweeper.

Yay!

Day 2: Lookout Mountain. Now, I've never ran a race here... I have ran about 10 miles of a trail there (although I'm not sure if I was on part of the trail that the race is on). But.. 22 miles in 6 hours. EEK! That freaks the shit out of me.

Day 3: Signal Mountain. How do I love thee, signal mountain??? Let me count the ways...

Stumpjump 50k in 2010: 9:11-- pace around 17:50.

So, that's a little scary. But, luckily.. I wore my Garmin for that race!!! And looking back at the data it looks like I ran the first 20 miles in 5:35. (Obviously that was on legs that hadn't just ran 40 miles the past two days, so there is that... ugh).

Rivergorge 10.2 miler in 2011-- 2:37.

The was more like a duathlon. Swimming and running. I mean the trails were WET and sloppy.

Anyway, so the point is.. after further research.. I'm not QUITE as scared as I was. It looks doable (on fresh legs and with decent weather, at least).

I'll find out in a couple of weeks, I guess...

Updates...

2011-06-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

I realize I'm really bad about posting something awesome that I'm going to do.. and then you never hear about it again.... So, I thought I'd give you an update on my stand-up workstation post.

Ummm... the results have been AMAZING! I really had very little discomfort transitioning over. I sit probably 2-3 times during the day for 5-15 minutes, and sit for lunch, etc.. but other than that, I stand and I absolutely love it.

A few points...

--I always slip my shoes off and stand barefoot (much more comfortable) and then just slide my shoes on when I leave the confines of my carpeted office.
--I find myself standing with my legs in a variation of tree pose, A LOT.

Obviously not an artist rendition of me...

--I find myself more on task throughout the day, much more productive, etc.

--Also, I think I have slightly more energy at the end of the day, instead of coming home and wanting to collapse on the couch with a box of cheez-its, I actually feel like DOING something.. like cleaning or meeting friends.

--For vanity purposes, I am deathly afraid of varicose veins, so I make sure to do Shoulderstand everyday either in yoga class or at home in the evenings.

Now, imagine the stick figure's boobs all up in the stick figure's face..

and then you'd have me, doing shoulderstand.

--I have much less tension in my neck and shoulders and I feel like my chest is also opening up a bit... This is a HUGE relief. I was on my way to becoming quasimodo...

Amy, SWF, enjoys running, yoga, has a mild obsession with salsa, oh and loves pina coladas!

All in all, it's been amazing! I highly recommend it if your desk and desk chair are killing you... A client walked in yesterday and was like... before you know it, you'll have a treadmill in here, too. Hmmm... not a bad idea, sir!

Let's do this.

2011-05-31T11:39:00.000-05:00

So, it's not much of a secret that I'm kinda sorta not feeling the running lately... with the fatigue and the general laziness and the fact that I didn't run a spring marathon this year, I'm kinda feeling like my running mojo went down the shitter.

So, in an effort to mix things up... I'm deeming June the Month O' 200 Miles.

Which means that I will log 200 miles of running this month. Which, isn't a lot compared to my former glory days (ummm... nevermind that that was wayyy back in like 2009), but it is a helluva lot considering my last few months of running have looked like this:

Ummm... so far 2011 has been a BIG, FAT, FAIL.

But, that's cool. I wasn't feeling it, I wasn't training for anything, so who gives a shit, right? Right.

But, now... I'm getting the itch. I WANT to get back to running and running a lot, and with no real race super soon to motivate me, I had to make something else up.. so I came up with this dumb idea to run 200 miles in June.

Which.. may or may not sound like a lot to you, but honestly, it's kind of a pansy goal, because I'll be getting 60 of those miles in 3 days for a race June 17-19. So, really it only translates to 140 miles in 27 days, which is barely more than 5 miles a day.

This is either going to be a brilliant idea or a massive failure that leads to even more burnout!

So... starting tomorrow... it's time to kick it up a notch.