Off to Tahoe

I am SO excited for this trip....but also a little nervous. On the one hand, I can't wait to see my friends from grad school. There are going to be 10 of us (5 couples) and THREE kids (the youngest is 9 weeks)! Grad school was probably my favorite time in my life and these are my some of my closest friends. I can't imagine life without them and wished we all still lived in the same city. On the other hand, I'm dreading the 7 hour flight (with layover) and the time change. Nathan was JUST starting to get into a routine of sleeping from 6-7 pm until 4-5 am (with NO mid-night feedings!).

I'm also convinced that I am going to forget some VERY IMPORTANT item or that I won't have warm enough clothes/enough clothes/matching clothes packed. Inevitably, whenever I go on vacation I realize that I must have been deranged when I packed because nothing I brought matches/looks good together/etc. I actually have made a concerted effort this year to buy the basics: black shirt, white shirt, jeans, kackis, etc. because I have such an idiosyncratic wardrobe that rarely works. I'm quite pleased with some of the outfits/clothes I've aquired and actually have several mix and match options. I'll never be a fashion plate, but at least I won't look like a blind person picked out my outfits!

It will be interesting trying to fit in running between the hiking, biking, kayaking, boating, boozing, eating, talking, and chilling! Coach said not to worry about speed, but to try and run every day and get in a 14-16 miler this weekend. Everyone knows what a running nut I am so it shouldn't be too hard...plus, I'll have plenty of babysitters!

See you all next week!!

18 Miles, Baby!

I ran 18 miles today for the first time in FOUR years! It felt AWESOME! We averaged a 7:45 pace for the entire distance, but I believe we were cranking out 6:50-7:10 miles for the last 8 miles. One of my running partners brought Blueberry Pomegranate GU Chomps and let me have some. They ROCKED! What do you gals use on long runs for hydration/fueling? I HATE GU and haven't had any since 2001, but I know that I really need to eat something. I loved the GU Chomps and think I might buy some more to use on future long runs, but would love to hear about your favorites, too. I didn't have anything to eat during the last marathon I ran in 2005 and my coach thinks that's why I didn't do as well as I would have hoped. Coach is also a big fan of NUUN, but I haven't tried it yet. Let me know!

Weekly Mileage
Monday, July 20, 2009: 8.6 miles
Tuesday, July 21, 2009: Track workout: 1 mile warm-up, 4 x 1200, 2 x 400, 4.5 mile cool down (total ~10 miles), Puking my guts out that afternoon/evening :<
Wednesday, July 22, 2009: laying in bed all day clutching my stomach
Thursday, July 23, 2009: 8.6 miles in the evening VERY VERY slowly
Friday, July 24, 2009: 8.6 miles in the morning VERY VERY slowly
Saturday, July 25, 2009: 10 miles
Sunday, July 26, 2009: 18 miles @ 7:45 pace
Total Mileage: 63.8 miles

FOUR DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR LAKE TAHOE TO HANG OUT WITH ALL MY GRAD SCHOOL FRIENDS!!!!

Blog Obsessions

I love y'all, really I do...but lately I have been obsessed with a couple of new blogs. I encourage you to check them out! Also, please share your blog obsessions!!

• Eat Live Run: Lots of good eats!
• The Happiness Project: Musings on life
• Not That You Asked: Hilarious stories! Laugh out loud!
• Joie De Vivre: Beautiful pictures to escape with
• Young House Love: Ideas for decorating (they live 10 minutes from my parents house!)
• Urban Grace Interiors: Ideas for decorating (plus she's going to have a baby girl in Sept.)
• The Stamford Wife: Ideas for decorating (she also just had a baby)

PUKE GIRL

I have not thrown-up since the 2nd grade when I took syrup of ipecac because I didn't want to take a test at school the next day. A bit of a perfectionist, I hadn't studied my requisite one to two hours a night for a week and was worried that I wouldn't get an A+. Seriously. I didn't get my first B in school until I was in the 9th grade and cried my eyes out when it happened. I remember hanging on to the toilet gasping for a breath of air before my next heave wondering if I was going to survive and really hoping that my parents wouldn't make me go to school if I did survive. Throwing up and a fever over 100F were the only symptoms they felt worthy enough to miss school. None of this "needing a personal day" crap that some of my friends parents would let them have.

Throwing up was such a horrible experience that I believe I trained my body NEVER to throw-up again:


I did not throw up after the "School Girls and Dirty Old Men" party in college where I drank three bottles of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.


I did not throw up when I had the flu so badly that my mom drove up to DC to take care of me.


I did not throw up when my husband and I got food poisoning in Machu Picchu.


I did not throw up all 9 months of my pregnancy.


Yesterday, this record was broken and I threw up for the first time in 23 years. It was horrible. It was the kind of puking that has you hanging on to the toilet for dear life. Being a bit of a clean freak, I am horrified to think that there is still probably some puke next to my bed that I am too tired and too sick to clean up. Both hubby and I were sick. I am so scared that Nathan is going to get sick, too. I can't imagine having to take care of a baby in this state. All I have eaten in the past 24 hours is two pieces of toast, one vitamin water, and a pomegranite smoothie from Boston Market. Hubby's appetite returned and he dragged me there for lunch. Let's just say I left after about 2 minutes gagging. Food smells bad.

The worst part is that we lost a house that we were going to put a bid on yesterday because we were both too sick to finish up the details of our closing. Ug.

So, now I'm wondering if I should scrap plans for the tempo run on Friday and/or race on Saturday and/or long run on Sunday.

Oh, and my parents made me go to school the next day.

When Nugget Is a Bad Boy

I make him do push ups.

I should be....

1. folding laundry
2. planning out the dinner menu for the week
3. going to the grocery store
4. buying a box to send the present I got my friend two weeks ago
5. returning that really cool necklace I got that broke before I ever got to wear it
6. trying out some new recipes for Nathan
7. updating Nathan's baby book
8. calling back one of my best friends to get the latest boy update
9. doing an ab workout
10. returning my library book that is 5 days overdue.

Instead, I am going to sit in our living room, listen to the birds, read the paper, and go to bed early. NICE.

Weekly Mileage:
Monday, July 13, 2009: 9.4 miles
Tuesday, July 14, 2009: Track workout: 1 mile warm-up, 5 x 1000, 2 x 400, 2 mile cool down (total ~7 miles), Power Yoga
Wednesday, July 15, 2009: 8.6 miles
Thursday, July 16, 2009: 70 minute elliptical, Jillian Level 2 Shred (ow!)
Friday, July 17, 2009: 5 mile tempo @ 6:25 w/ 1 mile WU and 2 miles CD (8 miles)
Saturday, July 18, 2009: 16 miles@ 7:39 pace (fast!)
Sunday, July 19, 2009: 8.6 miles
Total Mileage: ~57.6 miles

Life Laws

I came across these and really liked them...just thought I'd share:

The Life Laws…and what they mean.

1. You create your own experience
Whether life treats you fairly or unfairly, you will always be in control of your reaction to it, and that determines where you come out. What you fear you create. If you decide you're going to continue the cycle, you will continue the cycle.

2. There is no reality, only perception
We all view the world through filters, many of them, distorted. Some of them may be destroying your life. If you view the world through a dark, distorted filter, your world is going to be a dark, distorted place. If you perceive yourself as weak and vulnerable, you will be.

3. You can't change what you won't acknowledge
Be truthful about what isn't working and stop making excuses. You've got to face it to replace it. Your blind spots may be the very things you most need to see.

4. Life is managed, not cured. No one "solves" life. There's no way to "fix" it permanently. nobody arrives at a place where the work is done. The best any of us can do is manage it through the ups and downs, joys and disappointments. You're a life manager, and you are your only client. Are you going to manage yourself into a place of happiness and accomplishment, or a place of sadness and disappointment?

5. We teach people how to treat us
Its meaning is simple: What you've accepted from people in the past is the clearest indicator to them of how they can treat you in the future.

6. People do what works
Even the most destructive behaviors have a pay-off, Otherwise, we wouldn't engage in them. What behaviors are dragging you down? Figure them out or you're like a puppet on a string.

7. There is power in forgiveness
Forgiveness frees you. And the person you're forgiving doesn't have to acknowledge they're wrong or apologize. Don't forgive someone to make them feel better. Do it to make yourself feel better.

8. You have to name it to claim it.
Get clear about what you want and stake your claim.

9. Life rewards action
Think of the 5-10 most important people in our lives, and tell them how we feel about them. "You shouldn't let the sun set on another day with something unsaid to the people you love."

10. You either get it or you don't
That means you either understand that YOU are your top priority or... you don't

(I'm not sure that I agree with the last rule. I tend to think we place too much emphasis on "taking care of ourself" in our society and devalue selflessness. This being said, I have never had a problem making myself a priority and this rule might appeal more to the type of person that has a tendency to be a martyr.)

I'm officially a snark

I try to be a nice person, really I do. But, sometimes I just can't help myself.

So, today, I was doing my recovery jog after yesterday's AWESOME track workout (5 x 1000 @ 3:31-36, 2 x 400 @ 81) just minding my own business cruising along probably around an 8-9:30 minute pace. My morning reverie was broken by some solid panting and slapping of tennis shoes behind me. I like to try and guess what type of person is about to pass me by the noises they make. Usually, the louder the runner,the more likely that they are some man killing himself to beat me because heaven forbid a FEMALE run faster than he does. My inner beast wanted to break free and speed up so that this chump couldn't pass me, but I reminded myself that this was a RECOVERY run and not a RACE. So, the loud panting continued and I could hear this guy huffing and puffing as he worked his way closer to me. I continued at my steady slow pace and he finally passed me and then stabilized to my pace once he got about two feet in front of me.

Grr. I hate pacing with someone almost as much as I hate old dudes that try to pass women to prove something. I decided that I would speed up for 1/2 mile and pass this dude so I didn't have to listen to his wheezing and geezing as he tried to maintain a speed that was clearly killing him just so that he could be in front of me.

As soon as he saw me passing him, he picked it up and we ended up in an all out sprint as he tried to keep up with me. For a second there, I thought he was going to beat me, but after about 100 yards the wheels started to come off. Between gasps, he said, "you. see. HUFF. PUFF. I'm. just. WHEEZE. an old. HACK. Army guy. GASP. and. I. have. HUFF. PUFF. this. thing. with. women. WHEEZE. HACK. passing. me."

Now, I could have been a nice person and just let this old dude beat me. I could have just slowed down or taken a different path and left him with his pride in tact.

But. I'm a snark.

I replied: "Well, you picked the wrong woman to pass." And, I left him in my dust.

First Long Run with the Group and Weekly Mileage

After a horrible week at the track (couldn't finish the track workout or the tempo workout), I had a great long run with the group. It was my first time running with everyone and I was really worried that they would run me into the ground, but we ran a pretty decent pace and it never felt like a race. I actually ran with some girls that I had heard about peripherally through the years, but always put them in the "really fast runner" category that I thought I didn't belong in. Turns out, they were perfect running companions. I think I have a bit of self-consciousness that I need to get over in that I never think that I look like a "hard-core" runner and have always assumed that the "fast girls" would snub me because I didn't have their lithe legs and matching running outfits. I'm trying to change my own self-perception, but I'll always feel like I am too "soft" to fit in with the "fast girls." I asked them about the mileage and one said she runs more than the coach's plan outlines (albeit, not much) and another said she tends to stick to the coach's "lower" mileage because it works better for her. I'm going to talk to the coach tomorrow about throwing in some 2nd workouts in August to get the miles up. I can't believe I only have 3 months to train! It seems like it is going to fly by!

Last Week:
Monday, June 29, 2009: 8.6 miles, Body Flow
Tuesday, June 30, 2009: Track: 1 mile WU, 8x800 w/ 400 laps, 1 mile CD (8 miles)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009: 8.6 miles
Thursday, July 2, 2009: 10 miles
Friday, July 3, 2009: off--traveling to WV
Saturday, July 4, 2009: 9 miles (3 miles STRAIGHT UP MOUNTAIN)
Sunday, July 5, 2009: 12.5 miles
Total Mileage: 55.7 miles

This Week:
Monday, July 6, 2009: 8.6 miles
Tuesday, July 7, 2009: Track workout: 1 mile WU, 1x2000, 800 jog, 1x1600, 800 jog, 1x800, 800 jog (4.75 miles total) HORRIBLE workout...couldn't finish
Wednesday, July 8, 2009: 9.4 miles
Thursday, July 9, 2009: 75 minute elliptical
Friday, July 10, 2009: 4 mile tempo @ 6:09 w/ 1 mile WU and 2 miles CD (7 miles)
Saturday, July 11, 2009: 8 miles
Sunday, July 12, 2009: 16 miles @ 7:52 pace
Total Mileage: ~53.75 miles

"May I have some more, sir?"

I finally got my marathon training plan from my coach. Yeah! Oh, by the way, I should mention that he got me a comp'd entry an October marathon, so I will now be running a half-marathon in November. (Do you think that is enough rest time?)

Here's a sample of the plan:

Week FIVE:
Mon: 6-8 miles
Tues: Track 2000, 1600, 1200, 800, 400
Wed: 5-6 miles
Thurs: Off
Fri: 6-8 miles w/3-4 miles tempo
Sat: 6-8 miles
Sun: 14-16 miles

Week NINE:
Mon: 6-8 miles
Tues: Track 2000, 1600, 1200, 800, 400
Wed: 5-6 miles
Thurs: Off
Fri: 8-10 miles w/4-5 miles tempo
Sat: 6-8 miles
Sun: 16-18 miles

Week FOURTEEN:
Mon: 6-8 miles
Tues: Track 14-16 x 400
Wed: 5-6 miles
Thurs: Off
Fri: 8-10 miles w/3-5 miles tempo
Sat: 8-10 miles
Sun: 16-18 miles

Week SEVENTEEN:
Mon: 6-8 miles
Tues: Track 5x1000, 2x400
Wed: 5-6 miles
Thurs: Off
Fri: 8-10 miles w/3-5 miles tempo
Sat: 8-10 miles
Sun: 20-22 miles

Just thought I would show you a couple of weeks. Seems like the range of miles is 47-62 miles. I thought I would be running more than this to bring down my time. I was thinking more of the 60-70 range. Any experienced runners know if it is possible to break 3 hrs on this mileage? Do you think I should ask for more miles? I had talked to him about doing double workouts and he said a second run of 4-5 miles on 4-5 days a week (not long run or track days) was a great way to get miles up. I'll ask him tomorrow, but just wondering....the little miss "how can I get an A+" in me wants to know!

Appalachian Adventures

Ever since Nathan was born, my husband has been begging me to take him to meet his great-great grandmother Virgie, who lives in south-western West Virginia. A nine hour drive. With a baby. In the same amount of time, you could drive to southern Maine. Or South Carolina. Or fly to the Azores. Heck, I'd even rather go to Las Vegas.

2 hours is my limit for car rides. My hamstring really starts to act up and it usually results in days of pain. In addition, his grandmother lives in a holler...aka NO WHERE. As I've mentioned before, to send her a letter all you have to do is write her name and Matheny, WV and it will get to her because her town is THAT SMALL. The last time we went to visit, John and his grandfather drove one hour to the closest pizza place. Can you imagine having to drive one hour to get take-out pizza? Food being another issue. They don't really eat fruit or vegetables there. Other than pizza, on our last visit we ate hot dogs and doughnuts. Yumm-o.

My husband and I have worked out a little "concession system" in our marriage that quantifies the extent to which you are making a sacrifice for "the greater good." The concession system is on a likert scale with one being "very teeny tiny inconvenience" and five being "HUGE divorce-talking, ring-throwing territory." An example of level one concession: my husband never EVER puts the toilet seat down (I'm sorry, but I don't count 1 out of 10 as "sometimes") and this irks the bejeezus out of me, but I can live with it. My husband's irritation with loud chomping (he swears everything I eat reverberates in my hollow head) is also an example of a level one. Level three ups the anty a bit because it is more than just dealing with different preferences and irritation; level three actually requires an action on the part of another. For example, going to a family function when one would rather be insert personal interest (for example, going for a run (in my case) or putzing in the yard (my husband)). Because we (I) tend to exaggerate, about once a month an issue reaches level five. In reality, we only have one level five issue that I will not concede on, but that is a topic for another post.

This trip falls in the level four category. Seriously. I am a big baby and I hate sitting in the car that long and there's a long drama behind this part of the family that I won't go into on a public blog. But, because I know this is important to hubby, off we went to West Virginia for the third time in a month (but, who's counting?). To make the trip more palatable, we broke up the drive into four days and incorporated stops in the trip so that we didn't have to drive more than 2-3 hours a clip.

Here are some favorite memories from the trip:

• Drinking wine with my aunt and uncle on Thursday night. Having long conversations about politics, religion, and chosing to make your own path in life. Learning that my uncle's favorite memory of church as a youth was that my grandfather would put his arm around him during the homily.


• Stopping for a picnic lunch at Sandstone Falls and taking in the quiet rush of water as Nathan jumped in our hiking backpack.



• Asking the locals for a short cut back to I-64 after seeing Sandstone Falls. Learning that one should never take directions that begin with "what kind of vehicle do you drive?"


• Actually taking the suggested back road and surviving despite much gnashing of teeth and screaming as we rumbled up 70 degree inclines.


• Meeting hubby's grandparents and great-grandmother for the second time and struggling to understand their lilting Appalachian accents. For the record, bear is pronounced "BARE" and a "pole cat" is a skunk.


• Admiring hubby's grandfather's prized trophies for his "coon dogs" and then introducing Nathan to the blue bloods.

• Getting to take a picture of 5 generations of my hubby's family and watching my hubby introduce his son to his great-great-grandmother.
• Picking through old pictures of my hubby and his family, including one very attractive picture of hubby in a LEOTARD and TIGHTS. Yes, folks, he loved dance class as a kid!


• Running STRAIGHT up a mountain for three miles, seriously, STRAIGHT UP (talk about a "hill" workout).


• Stopping for dinner in Lexington with Abbie and her family, talking about life and eating some delicious vegan grub...THREE vegan chocolate cupcakes disappeared in my belly that night (yes, Abbie, as promised, I made sure that hubby got at least one)


• Being surprised when Abbie's beautiful daughter raised her tiny finger to my mouth, waiting for me to kiss it, and cried when we left.


• Making an emergency stop in Luray Caverns in the early morning and getting a tourist-free tour of the caves.

Yasso's 800s

I had THE BEST track workout yesterday. I've been trying to figure out how to eat for my 7pm Tuesday night track workouts and I think I've finally mastered gastronomical preparation. I used to have a stomach of steel. I could run after eating anything. But, then something soured and I can basically only run after eating carbs, carbs, and peanut butter. Which is fine if you are running first thing in the morning. Not so great if a run is the last thing in your day. So, my new eating regimen for Tuesdays involves....all carbs, fruit, for breakfast and lunch and a PB and banana sandwich 2 hours before track. I treated myself to a Smoothie from Smoothie King after track (not smart for a mom with a lactose intolerant baby, but somehow I managed to forget this).

We almost did Yasso's 800s last night. We did 8 X 800 with 400 laps in between. I was pretty consistently knocking out 2:51, 2:52 for the 800s, so here's hoping to some truth in Yasso's theory!