Overdoing It

So, between running all those hills and hiking and biking in Tahoe....then running 10 miles the day before a hard race....and I'm left with what I believe to be a hip flexor strain. Awesome. It wasn't bugging me during the race, so it kind of came out of no-where. I got a massage on Sunday and took yesterday off. This morning I felt a little "creaky" at the beginning of track practice like my old bones were just waking up. After my 3rd 800, it was definitely bugging me, so coach kicked me out and I did 2 really slow miles. And, now it hurts when I walk. I'm so brilliant. I was so wrapped up in getting in my mileage because I really think I ought to be putting in 70 mile weeks that I screwed up my race and now I have to take a couple of days off to let this bugger heal. I traded the short-term instant gratification of higher mileage at the expense of good training in the long-term. Ug.

Sometimes I forget that discipline is not just about getting out there and putting in the mileage when you would rather be sleeping in bed and cuddling with your hubby and baby, but more about having the discipline to listen to your body rather than your mind.

Needless to say, coach thoroughly chastised me for my foolish running last week and pushing it this morning.

Oh well. Hopefully with ice and foam roller it will go away.

What I Forgot

Remember how I was worried that I would forget something REALLY important on our trip?

Guess who forgot to pack food and formula for the 8 HOUR FLIGHT to Tahoe (including layover) and only realized it after passing through security with 5 minutes to take-off?

That's right, yours truly!!

I know I have the boob buffet, but on the last flight Nathan refused to eat and I was scared to death that he wouldn't eat again this time. Luckily, he was in a boob love mood, but man...I was worried that he was going to be cranky and starving!

A picture narrative of our trip because I am too tired to write....
A picture from one of our hikes
Lake Tahoe
Nathan on a bike ride...they didn't have a helmet small enough for his wee head.

The View from Our Back Porch

Daddy and Nathan in the lake

Last Week's Weekly Mileage:

Monday, July 27, 2009: 8.6 miles

Tuesday, July 28, 2009: Track workout: 1 mile warm-up, 8 x 800 w/ 400 jogs (3:03, 2:53, 2:51, 2:49, 2:48, 2:51, 2:51, 2:51), 1.75 mile cool-down (~8-9 miles)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009: 9.4 miles

Thursday, July 30, 2009: off (travel to Lake Tahoe!)

Friday, July 31, 2009: 9.5 miles @ 6500 ft elevation HARD!! (ran 8:49 pace!)

Saturday, August 1, 2009: 10.2 miles @ 8:39 pace (and 6 mile hike)

Sunday, August 2, 2009: 16 miles @ 8:45 pace (and 1.5 hour bike ride)

Total Mileage: 62.7 miles

This Week's Weekly Mileage:

Monday, August 3, 2009: 8 miles (and one hour hike)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009: Nada...travel back home...legs were feeling pooped
Wednesday, August 5, 2009: 9.4 miles
Thursday, August 6, 2009: 9.4 miles

Friday, August 7, 2009: 10 miles

Saturday, August 8, 2009: 10 miles

Sunday, August 9, 2009: 3 miles warm up, 20 K (12.2 miles), 2.5 cool down
Total Mileage: 64.5 miles

I don't want to talk about my 20K. Maybe I'll write a race report later, but I sucked @ss. Of course, I don't know what the hell I was thinking running 10 miles the day before the race when my legs were already feeling wrecked from running, hiking, biking, etc. in Tahoe. Smart move on my part. Let's just say I didn't even run as fast as my 1/2 marathon time. :<>

Nathan News!

• Nathan started crawling two weeks ago and he is INTO EVERYTHING! We totally need to baby proof, but I kind of want to wait until we move.
• Nathan said "mama" today when I left the room for the first time!!! Not sure if he knows what mama means, but I'll take anything to brighten my day after my crappy race.
• Nathan went to his 9 month appointment on Friday....he's in the FOURTH percentile for weight and SIXTIETH for height? Guess I grew a string bean baby! He's still wearing some 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes....
• Nathan figured out how to pull himself up in the crib and now wakes me up by screaming when he can't figure out how to get down 2-3 times a night. Awesome.

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.