I'd like to thank Ronnie

Conquering the treadmill one mile at a time with the help of the Jersey Shore.

Mile 1 - 9:50
Mile 2 - 9:40 [True Life: something about acne.  Yeah, been there done that]
Mile 3 - 9:30 [Acne is hard to cure, sorry teenagers and adults alike]
Mile 4 - 9:22 [True Life: I'm Addicted to Video Games.  This is pathetic.]
Mile 5 - 9:22 [It's more sad than pathetic, they really are ruining their lives]
Mile 6 - 9:22 [How do they get any income if they are gaming all day and night?]
Mile 7 - 9:13 [Jersey Shore came on my TV Hilarity ensured.]
Mile 8 - 9:13 [I can't believe Ronnie would cheat on Sam.  Total idiot.]
Cool down 5 minutes of walking [so did Snookie's boyfriend really cheat on her or not? I'm obviously way behind on this ridiculous show.]

Oh man, thank goodness for the invention of individual TVs on treadmills.  I never Ever would have made it to mile 8 without them.  Oh was there any pain? I didn't really have any pain... I was way more concerned about bonking out due to total boredom or sweating to death because it was way too warm in there.  I felt a little bit of discomfort but it wasn't even close to enough to concern me or stop me.  The whole point of this rehabbing indoors is so I can have a controlled environment and be able to take transportation home if I feel pain instead of being stuck in the middle of nowhere.  That transportation wasn't needed today, everything went as planned except for all the food cravings that hit me when I was on the bus back home -

English muffin pizzas with pepperoni
Chewy sweet tarts - the purple ones
Gorgonzola cheese
Chicken and cashews - Chinese takeout
A toasted Italian sub, extra pickles

Seriously.  I'm craving all these thing individually, not like combined or anything, I just happen to be craving them all at the same time.  It's 10:30 and I think I might be hungry...this isn't going to work.

Time for bed.
 

Escape to the lake

We spent Saturday at the lake visiting Natasha, and we're like not lake people so we had no idea what to expect.  Apparently at this lake, everyone who lives there has a boat called a "patio boat" where you basically take a patio out at really slow speeds so everyone can drink and have a nice time all afternoon.  We got some good color out there! I'm pretty sure our hostess was trying to drown us with beers and over-stuff us with food, she did a great job.

Later, we got schooled on Silly Bands.  We're like far removed from A: kids of school going years, and B: parents who have kids of school going years so silly bands aren't something we see everyday.  I had no idea that they were banned from most schools or that some of them can even glow in the dark.  I have like 6 now thanks to our little friend Maggie. 

It was really nice to escape the city out to Lake Chaubunagungamaug that name is Real, although they call it Lake Webster which is like a short cut and a half.  The weather is hot again and will be for a couple days even when I was super close to finding my fall clothing, but New England you are tricky, and summer isn't over just yet.

Sweating out those fries

Friday night after work I grabbed a beer with some work peeps instead of going to the gym, which meant that I got to walk through a fancy bar with my sneakers on and a backpack.  I'm one classy working girl.  For some reason someone was there wearing a white bear suit head to toe, so I luckily I didn't exactly look out of place (yeah I know, wtf).  After a quick drink, my husband and I met up with some friends for dinner at the Highland Kitchen which used to be the home of the best burger that I've ever consumed... I'm pretty sure that I've had better burgers ever since that day in 2008 like Taylor's in the Ferry Building of San Francisco, but I can't always jet out to the west coast for a burger every time I have a craving.  Last night, it just wasn't that great.  I had an IBC root beer, a local fresh heirloom tomato salad, and the cheeseburger with caramelized onions.  The root beer was predictably awesome and the tomato salad was super fresh and delicious, but the burger was seriously lacking so I had like 4 sad bites before moving on to a pear flavored cider at the Burren (some Irish bar with music and seriously young Tufts students).

Also, I have to admit that my running club starts and ends at this bar on Mondays nights for a 5k group run... and it's seriously shitty on a Monday and like half as shitty on a Friday, but the music is pretty darn good.  Abe did his best Paris Hilton face, it works for him.  I was like: you stole my pose.  We didn't stay squished into a too tiny booth for long, my BFF showed up from Philly with her sister.... insert cute photo here, I forgot to take one, but this works:

So after a couple drinks, I thought the night was over.  Fridays are tough for people in their late 20s man, and it was a hard work week.  I was really looking forward to my head hitting my perfectly contoured pillow on my perfectly memory foam bed, but there was a detour.  My husband found a burrito joint right where we parked the car, so him and his friend came back to our house with giant burritos and a new love for Angry Birds on the iPhone.  When it comes to late night eating I'm all for it when it's something like pizza or lo mein but I draw the line at burritos!  The smell of it was grossing me out so badly that I just had to go to bed with the smell of burritos wafting through our apartment.

This morning after sleeping from 1am - 10am, I hit the gym for a run on the treadmill.  First of all, yeah I had some burger but many fries last night for dinner.  I swear that I was sweating French fries on that stupid machine, I couldn't understand why I was so salty... until I remembered dinner and then I was mortified.

Anyways, I did:
3 miles at 10:00 pace
1 mile at 9:40 pace
1 mile at 9:30 pace
1 mile at 10:00 pace
some walking to cool down

When I felt my injury come on both times, I was running way faster than those paces, probably closer to 8:00 or something but even though I've been coming back pretty well I'm still afraid to run fast.  I'm a mostly rational person so two things are true right now:
1. During this marathon, it being my first one, I'm not going to run faster than a 9 min. mile because I'm not Truly a distance runner so why bother push myself when I'm sort of rehabbing right now?
2. I don't enjoy speed work anyways.  Maybe I will enjoy it next year, but right now it is no fun.

After that workout I am feeling like things are really looking up, I don't care what caused all this, I only care that I'm getting better and I can try and get back into shape.  6 miles is good, but I'm going to have to start back with my schedule or at least a modified schedule just to get me to the race.  

Testing the waters

Wednesday, I hit the gym to try out the elliptical machine to see how my pelvic injury would deal with that.  Well it did just fine, I did 45 minutes at a moderate pace while watching a movie on my machine.

Thursday, I wanted to test it a little further.
Elliptical: 30 minutes
Walking on treadmill: 15 minutes
Running at a ridiculously slow 11-12 min. mile pace: 20 minutes

Now, just as a precaution I'm icing it even though it doesn't hurt, in fact none of that hurt.  I didn't want to push myself too hard, the whole time I was thinking: well I feel good now...but I bet in the next 5 minutes it will happen.  The sharp pain just never came, does that mean I'm cured?  I don't know, still weary about the situation.  I'll test it out again today and maybe try running faster than a waddle.

Update on my injury...

Osteitis Pubis is what I was diagnosed with at the ER.  Today, an orthopedic doctor told me that no I do not have that but he doesn't know what is causing my pain.... however, I did finally get an xray and nothing is broken or fractured, everything appeared normal.  What does this mean?  No freaking idea, continue with my anti-inflammatories and no running for this week.  I emailed a relative who is a doctor, although he's not an orthopedist so hopefully he can help or give a good recommendation. 

This is very frustrating because as the days slip by I can also feel my fitness leaving me.  Tomorrow I'm going to try out the elliptical and see how that fares.  One day at a time.  I'm trying to play it cool but I'm pretty devastated over the whole thing obviously, this became a life goal that became a Right Now 2010 goal.  I know, why does it have to be done right now when I have my whole life to do it?  I don't know, it just does and I really wanted it to be Chicago where I was going to stay at the W and go on an architectural boat tour and eat fantastic food.  I had such high hopes for October.  There were no plans on qualifying for Boston, no dreams of crossing the finish line in without hitting the wall, I just wanted to be there and finish.  I mean Oprah ran a marathon and she's a wonderful woman, but Really Oprah ran a marathon!  If you're not blown away by Oprah completing a marathon (4:29) then you should be blown away by Will Ferrell running a marathon (3:56!) in Boston - dudes when I was healthy my goal was between 4:00 and 4:20.  Big Funny Will Ferrell runs faster than me.  Still not impressed?  George W. Bush also runs faster than me (3:44) and that is Really scary... Anyways, it's not all about the speed, it's more about the ability.  They were physically able to cross that finish line.  Sigh. 

Anyways, more depressing shit.
I've been waiting a long time so that I could finally see Chicago on the Runner's World race countdown on their blog because I read it religiously... and here it is.  I almost burst out in tears when I came across it today.

Well, yeah, one day at a time, maybe by this time next week I'll be able to look at this and feel great about being back in the game.  Who knows?

I'm crazy with or without pain but I'm willing to get a cortisone shot to my crotch of necessary. 

What a weekend!

Get ready for a photo heavy post.
One of my very best girlfriends got married over the weekend.  She's the ultimate sweetheart, always putting others before herself, always finding the positive side of things, and I was honored to be a part of her wedding day.

The bride is on the right with the fantastic neckline - and we totally didn't mean to all super coordinate like this, it's in fact the only black and white dress that I've ever owned.  The rehearsal dinner was great, really casual with lots of fresh seafood as we were in Rhode Island (bacon wrapped scallops, scrod, baked stuffed shrimp, etc).  I'm surprised people were able to function in the morning because it was a super open bar!  I mean really, the waiters couldn't keep up with all the drink orders and I'm pretty sure we used All their wine glasses.  I was a good girl though keeping to 1 really generous glass of white wine.

In the morning we all went to the New Leaf Studio in Bristol (the cutest salon in the world I think) and got our hair done all pretty.  When it comes to hair, I'm probably the most critical woman out there, but I need to say that the ladies working here really know what they are doing, everyone was really happy.

After hair and self-application of makeup, we put on our dresses and got ready to stand up for our good friend.  The MOH is in the middle - Megan, my running buddy.  We all look so tan, hello summer!

Isn't she Gorgeous here, beautiful lines in a beautiful house.  The ceremony and reception were at Linden Place in Bristol, RI.  Everyone was asking about the history of the home and we'd just be like: oh, something about Drew Barrymore's grandmother...

After the ceremony, where the bride and groom said their own vows (ahem, brave peeps) we helped ourselves to some Del's lemonade.

After the reception, and after party at a water front bar, we jumped onto a school bus to take us back to the hotel.  It was a bumpy ride but way better than driving ourselves!  Luckily the ladies didn't mind a rowdy group of kids either.

In the morning there was a morning after brunch at the parent's of the bride's home.  It was fun, food filled of course, and raining.  It also rained the day after my wedding and I felt it was a good sign.  It's like starting fresh in a whole new life.  The happy newlyweds will be honeymooning in England and Ireland!

Then later...
I went for a run.  It was sort of a test run but sort of a long run.  I planned on going 10 at least, but because of my pain on Thursday I brought my phone in case the pain happened again and I needed to be picked up.  Well it happened again at the 10:30 mark, basically the same amount of running as last time.  I felt great and I thought to myself: wow, I feel fine today the other day must have been a fluke and maybe I can even do more mileage.  I was wrong.  Without warning the sharp searing pain in my pelvis came back and this time I wasn't about to walk all the way home again because it was somehow worse this time.  My husband rescued me from the side of the road, I cried, we ate dinner, and the headed to the ER.

This photo is like way over dramatic, but they took my stats, I was examined by a doctor and 3 hours later I was released and could barely even walk out of the ER the pain at that point was beyond my limits.  My diagnosis: Osteitis Pubis.  It kind of sounds like a STD... so I'm like totally not telling anyone at the office... I'll have to think of something that sounds better.  There is cartilage over the pubic bone where ligaments and such attach, and that cartilage area is inflamed due to over-use.  It's an injury sometimes found in runners, dancers, and ice skaters.  I have an over-usage injury when I specifically worked so hard to gradually build up... damn it.  I just have to take anti-inflammatories, rest with no running, and test it again in a week... but I am going to see another doctor tomorrow morning.  Ok, WHY can't I ever see a real doctor?  They put me in with a Physician's Assistant.  The person on the phone is all like: he can do anything the doctor can, and I'm thinking - if that's true then why is he called an Assistant?  This goes under: Things That Piss Me Off.  I don't even want to get into all the other ridiculous things that the receptionist asked me.  I can't wait to see her Face tomorrow because I bet it looks Stupid.

Frustration Nation

Gahhh, I don't even know how to explain the weird pain I felt today.
I set up for a 6 mile run... 2 warmup, 2 tempo, 2 cooldown, easy as pie right?  1 mile into it, and I'm talking my Garmin beeped and it was literally right at mile 1 that I felt some horrid pain in my pelvis.  Yes my pelvis.  It was searing sharp, shooting, and hurting.  I had no phone to call for help, so I decided to try and walk it off and maybe it would go away and I could continue on.  Nope.  So I turned around and walked super slow the mile back home.  I was able to figure out that it hurt mostly on the left side and when I stepped on my left foot.  The pain subsided to a level that I could handle, but at first I didn't think I'd be able to walk home it was so bad although there was no pain to the touch.  I was poking at my pelvis in the middle of the sidewalk during rush hour with no shame at all.  I've had this pain before, last year I remember clearly this happened on a run and I think I may have felt it yesterday when walking around but I wasn't sure....now I'm sure, it was the warning sign. 

My first guess was that I had a small tear in my lower ab muscle on the left side where it connected to the pelvis... but I don't think so anymore because I just did a sit up without pain and if I had a tear it would have killed right?  I think so.  My second guess is that I somehow tweaked a nerve in an unfortunate location.  I don't know if this is possible, but I just don't know what else it could be.

Anyways, it's probably something strange that won't appear again for a long time because it has no known cause.  This week was destined from the start to be a poor running week with low mileage, my long run is planned for Sunday, after a wedding weekend of festivities, and at least those are still going well.  I've been reading a lot about running lately and although the most important part of marathon training are the long runs, it's also important to keep your weekly mileage up to build a good base.

Thankfully, Abe cooked dinner.  I was craving raman and he was craving pho, so he put something together into a soup with just about everything we had in the house using up all our produce.  I am thankful that I have someone who can cook and who likes to cook.  If I were on my own I'd blend up a smoothie, find myself a brownie, and call it a night, but this was of course much more palate pleasing because we added siracha!

Tomorrow we're heading out for a wedding weekend in RI.  It's all very exciting, I hope I remember to bring everything!  I can't wait to try all the food : )

0 Mileage Wednesday

I was scheduled for 8 miles today and I did 0.  I thought it was just more important to get home and make dinner for my husband because it's been a rough week and it's only Wednesday.  Tomorrow though, I'm going to skip my group 4 mile tempo and try and make up for some mileage with a longer run.  If only I was a morning runner... If only I cared deeper and ran faster... if only could work 8 hours, cook dinner, eat, clean up, run 8 quality miles, make my lunch, and go to bed by 10 while getting quality time with my husband too.  Today was not the day for overachieving!

I did accomplish something worthwhile today - I finally found a suit that fits.  I initially ordered a suit from BR thinking you know whatever it would be fine.  It was the most Fug thing I've ever seen, the fit was all wrong - sleeves too tight and short, chest too big, waist too small, length too short, fabric too shitty, and that was only the jacket.  Pants: spandex, straight legged spandex that reminded me of leggings.  I love running in spandex, grocery shopping in spandex, but I'm not trying to look like I'm wearing over priced athletic-wear to a meeting.  Anyways, BR is all mixed up with their sizing these days and it's not just me, I even went back to the store to try on more sizes and the stars did not align.  Ann Taylor had a much better fitting suit: higher quality, nice lines, decent price, and the best part is that it made me look decidedly capable even if slightly boring.  Thank goodness that search is over, it was taking a lot of energy out of me and I just don't have any to spare especially for stupid things like trying outfits on.  Next up, we might go test drive some cars.  We Might need to get a second car because having one is starting to be really tough.  That is going to be way more invasive than finding the right suit, it's going to take some major carbs and budgeting....I don't like either of those things.

A short running update

Saturday and Sunday were off days due to my own laziness and need for down time.  Monday I had a 5k recovery group run, and I huuuuuuurt.  My legs were heavy, I was struggling, it was a nightmare of epic 5k proportions.  FYI: the heat is back in Boston and it's not leaving anytime soon.  Yeah, I know I should have moved a little on Sunday to loosen up and maybe I could have avoided most of the pain I felt but logic doesn't always win here.

Today, I was scheduled for 4 miles...um, I didn't do 4 miles... I did 5 because I Thought I was scheduled for 8!  I laughed in the face of 8 miles with my heavy feeling legs but figured better than half was better than none.  Also, I accidentally ran by my running team doing their Tuesday night track workout which I never do - I also laugh in the face of track workouts.  Luckily, I didn't recognize anyone and kept slugging along.  I cringed when I came home and looked at my schedule, how could I confuse the days like that?  Turns out tomorrow I am scheduled for 8... I don't know how I feel about these mid-week medium runs they are kind of the pits with the sun going down earlier I really need to get home and hit the pavement right away.  Right about now (week 11 out of 18 in Hal Higdon's novice schedule) is when I realize that marathon training has become really time consuming... not overwhelming but it's a lot.  Also I experienced sports bra chafing for the first time, I was like: what are all these lines all over my back from?...oh right...damn.  It's cool, they have stuff for that and that will get me to the fun running store.

I looked at some photos from my vacation on the cape and I decided to do some touch ups just so my mom wouldn't be like: oh I look so old/fat/stupid/ugly/horrible/unphotogenic/tired in that photo.  I erased the age from my parents faces... and now they look botoxed.  I can't wait for them to get this in the mail, it's like a gift from the youth gods.

An end to the party

This weekend was my friend's bachelorette party which we celebrated at a Boston hotel with a roof top pool.  The weather was perfect for sunbathing and chatting by the pool!  A word to the wise... when you order frozen lemonade it would be smart to ask exactly what is in it.  I was thirsty so I pounded mine along side a beer and it turns out, dun dun dun.... there was more than just lemonade in there.  I do not drink hard alcohol for a reason, that reason is that it makes me really really sick.  Thankfully I have really understanding friends who have seen me suffer through this little annoyance for years and years so they get it.  I knew it was a bad sign when I lost some feeling in my face, like I was applying eyeliner and I was like: why can't I feel my eyelid...normally I can feel the makeup going on, hmmmm.  It Never occurred to me that I was drunk because it's been a super long time since I've felt more than a buzz.  It happens.

After the party ended my running buddy Megan stayed at our place for the day and we recovered on the couch watching nature and movies.  She's a real trooper, she went on a 12 mile run after spending a late night drinking...and I sat on the couch debating a short recovery run but I just didn't have it in me.  Like yeah come on over and I'll tell you where to run and wave to you as you run out the door.  After she got back from her lovely run by the river where she averaged mid-7 minute miles (holy freaking fast! Wooo) we rewarded her with some hot pot down the street.  Hot pot is a nice healthy way to eat a lot of food without feeling guilty, you aren't really aware of how much you've eaten but you do know that it's all lean and low in fat/calories so you just keep throwing it down: thinly sliced prime rib, chicken, shrimp, fish, veggies, and noodles.  We did such a good job stuffing our faces, the ice cream shop down the street sounded like a great way to end the night.  They didn't have sherbert and I can't really eat ice cream without consequences, so I ate half and then the other half go to sit in my sink... it looks so sad!

It's probably the only responsible thing I did all weekend...

I can't believe my week of vacation is over, it was really packed and I certainly don't feel refreshed and relaxed.  It was nice to go to the beach once, go on a picnic, and see my great college girlfriends.  It will however be nice to get back into my running routine, the last couple of weeks I missed too much weekly mileage although I hit my long runs right on.  Tomorrow I have a 5k group tempo run with some bike riding planned and I'm looking forward to sweating it out.

15 tough miles and a field trip

This morning I ran 15 miles instead of doing it tomorrow morning.  I'm sure everyone is sick of my complaining so I'm going to focus on the good parts: I skipped 8 shorter miles during the week due to my ankle along with my fast group tempo runs and was still able to finish my long run without too much pain (meaning a lot of pain, but I wasn't going home till my Garmin said 15)  I forgot what running in rush hour is like, it feels so strange to think: all these people are going to work right now and I'm just running along down the sidewalk without a care in the world, this feels good.

We tried to make today count as a vacation day since we had to leave our short vacation on the cape early and went out to the DeCordova Museum for a picnic in the sculpture park.  This was nice, we never do things like this.  Don't let the expression on my face fool you, I'm having a great time, I was just hungry!  You can pack your own picnic or hit the cafe and take your lunch outside, obviously we tried out the cafe and man that food was good.  It didn't look like anything special at all, and at first I was really disappointed at the selection but when I started chowing down on a chicken salad sandwich, pasta salad, and soba noodles - it I changed my mind instantly (it was catered by Wildflour Catering).  Seriously, those soba noodles were so good: cold, cooked in sesame oil, and sprinkled with red and yellow peppers. 

It was hot though, so we didn't stay very long, just long enough to see most of the sculptures and be those ridiculous people without kids doing stupid stuff with the art.  This is a place that I hope we can go back to, it's one of those places that's really close but you just never think to visit. 

Today was a really nice day, I even had time for a brief nap.
Tomorrow I'm going to a bachelorette party in the morning so I need to rest up because my Dogs are Barking!  I think it's time for a new pair of sneakers and insoles or just feet made for running.

When it rains it freaking pours

We're home from vacation early, my nana passed away, which is sad but it's really been a long time coming so we weren't surprised.  She had been sick for 5 years living into her 80s in a home that made me too sad to visit: alzheimers is a terrible disease.  Arrangements had been made ahead of time so we came home from vacation, but it wasn't a major rush to get things done.

I ran on Monday and twisted my ankle on uneven pavement, it hurt but I was able to keep going.  Tuesday walking around Provincetown in 90 degrees, I twisted it again on uneven pavement and now it's absolutely killing me - well my lower-side calf like where stretched tendons are or something.  I was going to wear heels to church tomorrow, but I really don't think I can handle it.  I am not even sure I can join up with my Thursday night running group.  An hour ago, I walked 1 block to a corner store to buy a freaking tomato and I almost didn't make it, I was silently cursing that tomato under my breath.  I've been RICE-ing ever since the trip to the corner store but because I didn't right away, I'm thinking I actually contributed to the extra suffering.  This weekend I have a long run planned and I Think it's 15 miles but I can't get up to check my training schedule to be sure.  Last time I twisted my ankle it took weeks for it to feel strong again, this is an annoying setback that really pisses me off.  Am I missing anything to help it?  I took Aleve too.

You know what else?  Yeah what else beyond the loss and useless joints?  A really uncool canker sore sitting right on my uvula - that punching bag thingy in your throat.  I have no idea how I got one there, but its massive and makes eating or drinking really painful.  It's probably because my body's defenses were down last week when I had a bad cold - I know the bad just keeps piling up.  I went on a vacation and probably ate 50% of my normal food intake and that really was depressing.  Everything hurts it: heat, cold, acidity, spice, crunchy foods, beer, wine or you know Anything At All.  This is great since my husband and I are in a weight loss battle, but bad because eating flavorful foods makes me really happy and I seem to be missing a lot of happiness during my week of vacation.

I'm planning another vacation - the kind where you feel happy and rested when it's over.

 

We're taking the tunnel to the Cape

We're leaving for vacation tomorrow...
I was the idiot running around Target in August trying to find a beach umbrella.  They didn't have any!  My husband was the idiot running around Target looking for a swim suit.  Most people have things like this, but we're not most people, we're the people who are completely unprepared for any vacation we ever go on so the day before we're driving around all stressed out.  I'm prepared for anything in life except a vacation in my own state. 

My running sneakers are coming with me.  Cheers!

Move It or Lose It!

As I'm sure you can all tell, I've been in a really shitty mood all week long for a number of reasons: work, the awful cold I have, the effing flies everywhere.  Whatever, we're on vacation now bitches, we have all next week off!

Even with my cold I went to my Thursday night group run and slogged through the humidity with everyone else, it's Ok to run with a cold from the neck up right?  That's what I was always told it's when it gets into your lungs that you'd want to think twice about it.  I thought because I had skipped so much mileage earlier in the week that it would be really painful, but actually I think the rest helped my body and I was able to run very well during the 4.06 mile course.  I was completely dripping by the end of it - my friend gave me a ride home and I felt bad for her car.  It was one of those moments like: thank God we're friends or I would die of embarrassment.

Today was my long run, only 10 miles on the schedule and it wasn't that great.  I didn't eat dinner on Friday night so I was lacking some energy, plus my little kid runny nose, and some weird behind the knee pain but I got through it.  The most memorable part about my run was knocking a little Asian kid over in Harvard Square.  I have a love/hate relationship with Harvard Square: love it because it takes me to the river, hate it because of all the idiot tourists even early in the morning.  Today there were people everywhere and I was running on a nice clear path down the sidewalk, nobody was anywhere near me, and suddenly this little 8 year old kid walked right in front of my out of nowhere with his head down playing a video game or something.  He went flying a few feet, but it was his fault right?  I was like: Ahhhh!! and kept running.  Whatever, you know he didn't learn anything from that.  It's like when people read books and walk at the same time, why do they do that?  Don't they know people think they can do two things at once but they never can?  His parents were probably like: that Jerk.  Well parents: watch your kids or teach them to multi-task.

I had planned on putting a 3 mile tempo run in the middle of my 10 miler but because of my funny behind and side of the knee pain, I skipped that and will try again next week.  It wasn't a total loss, I got the mileage in, I didn't die and the weather was nice, and now I'm heading to a cookout.  Should I be icing that strange area that hurt...yeah probably, I'll check on it tomorrow when I hit the gym.

Gorgeous day for knocking people over.

Sometimes Wednesdays Suck

Is it only Wednesday?  W. T. F!
I've been having the craziest week, and shittiest running week ever.  
Monday night I had a meeting far away and got home later than usual missing my group run and felt crappy anyways so I took a rest day. 
Tuesday night I did make it out for a run, but it was pretty pathetic both in mileage and speed.  It was embarrassing.  I really wish I had a do-over on that one.
Tonight, I should be out there doing 7 miles but I still feel like shit and had the worst commute home so I'm just in no mood to slug through 87 degrees and massive humidity.  Getting home at 7:45 doesn't make it easy for me to pull it together especially after enduring the worst commute in history!  I waited for 15 minutes for the bus after taking the subway, and the bus never came, suddenly I realized I had sweat through my clothing and there were now 100 people waiting for the same bus.  Once that stupid bus came, there was traffic of course.  Some lady whacked me in the head, and later some old man was rubbing his crotch area on my arm.  I was ready to unleash some of my frustrations right at him, but in the end felt that he was too old and hearing challenged to even care.

I have a long list of things that I MUST remember to do or I will get fired/burned to a crisp/un-friended/yelled at.
I'm either sick or getting sick.
Did I mention that our TV is on the way to the cheap electronics depot in the sky?  It is.  Yeah, we only have one TV, imagine that.

Yes, I also had my hair colored today at the salon.  Yes, I actually allow someone to put me under something that looks like giant fast food heating lamps only for heads.
The face I'm making perfectly describes how I've felt about the entire week so far.

13.1 Miles

I didn't have a goal time when I started because after last week's run I thought my main goal should be to pace myself at a steady speed I can handle for the whole 13 miles.  Once I got 4 miles into it and I felt really good and warmed up that's when I decided to tack on the 0.1 to make it a half marathon and compare my time to last year's half marathon in San Francisco (2:10:00).  You can't truly compare a mostly flat half at home practice to a mostly hilly race but I had nothing else to work with.  As I was chugging along around mile 8 a little light went off - Oh My God I could actually run under 2 hours.  Instead of just letting myself squeak by the last few miles I kept my pace steady, unfortunately It wasn't fast enough:

These splits are really good for me for this distance.  I wanted to keep all miles as close to 9 minutes as possible, and I think I mostly did well there with three exceptions.  So I beat my last year's half marathon time by 7 minutes, but I didn't get under 2 hours.  Cool but Annoying because I know I am capable of that and more.  According to my training schedule, I won't see 13 miles again but maybe I'll finagle something. 

Later in the day after my lunches and nap we went to the Asian market (H Mart) and came home with so much stuff.  Like if you opened our fridge right now you'd think we were a Korean food re-seller.  This might be the best find ever:

Spicy Sriracha Peas.  They are super spicy and delicious, I tore into them right when we got home.

Two things that I love combined into one frozen treat: mochi and sherbert.  I haven't had one yet, but man they look good. 

Food and running.  They go hand in hand.