Turning 36….
Everyone who knows me knows that I celebrate my 21st birthday every May, spending Memorial Day weekend partying like I can drink for the first time. It’s not because I’m embarrassed by my age, or I don’t want people to know how old I am, but because 21 is he last year you get anything in the United States. It’s the last birthday that’s special not because you’re just old! It’s the last just crazy special and fun birthday. (16 you can drive, 18 you are an “adult” and gain a range of new allowances, and 21 you can drink).
This year, I didn’t do that. I got Chewie when I was 20, just a couple weeks before my 21st birthday, and he celebrated every single 21st birthday with me. Someone sent me a card signed by my remaining two dogs, and it hit me hard. Where was Chewie? I miss him.
I aged 15 years at that moment.
Seattle’s Best Dressed 10k
I have no doubt I was the best dressed with my pink Sparkle Skirt that matched my pink hair perfectly….I was by far not the best runner. Woke up early after a late night (Race Walking workshop the prior evening) and headed out to Gas Works park praying it didn’t rain. It didn’t. We ran into a few friends who were all running the 15k. Not there was much of a difference, we were all just standing around. At some point, a horn sounded and we figured that was the start. Off we headed, sticking together until my shoe came untied. As I moved off the course, my shoelace got stuck in a grate and I had to yank it lose before tying it and getting back into it. Off we went. We were in the back of the pack thanks to my shoelace, but that’s fine. At the 15k split point, everyone turned left. We went right. We were basically last. Seems everyone was running the 15k. We made it a point to pass as many people as possible so we wouldn’t be dead last. I stopped to pee at about the halfway point and walked in on a clown. Yes a clown. There was a tall clown in a portajohn, adjusting her clown shorts. After waiting, peeing, and getting back on the course, we weren’t last, but we had some catching up to do. We ran, we walked, I did my imitation of race walking, we basically crawled up hills, and we went and went and went. We worked a 3/1 fast/slow interval all the way to the end. We weren’t fast. We weren’t last. Only one of our friends running the 15k passed us. So not too bad. In the end there were 21 people behind us and 80 ahead of us. Not bad for the first race of the season. Hopefully next time we can get closer to that 10 minute mile mark!
ghosts
I don’t write here as much as I should. It’s almost oppressive to put down on this little blog that my training is not going as planned. I have been sidelined by medical issues. Unexplainable medical issues or just an extension of the good ol’ endometriosis crawling into other parts of my body and life.
I’ve spent the last few weeks being poked and prodded and generally treated like an alien abductee. Everything came back normal. My GI doctor suggested that I take probiotics as if I haven’t been taking them for months, if not a year. As if that is going to stop this crazy intense pain that leaves me sitting in a chair dazed and confused. This pain is different from the pain I’ve lived with basically my whole life. I’m back to yet another doctor today.
Meanwhile, I’ve been running as much as I can. Trying to run at least a mile every day. Some days are fine. Some days suck. My long runs aren’t going so well. So instead of suffering through another long run, I run hills and try to run one really, really fast mile. Then I can just walk home. Not that I’m not doing my long runs, I’m just not adding extra mileage each week as I should be. I spend a good portion of the run in pain. Or I walk half of it. But I’m out there….
I’ll be out there today……after that doctor’s appointment.
So it begins…
I declared May 1 the official start of my training season, but I’m going to do a core workout and a couple mile run today to get ready for tomorrow. I would have started early but I caught a pesty cold in Coachella. Let me tell you that it sucks to be sick in 100 degree heat while sleeping in a tent. Even a fancy tent like ours.
Sick at Coachella
My first run is a 10k on May 18 and then a 1/2 on June 1. What?!? Train for a 1/2 in 4 weeks? Yup, I’m just that crazy. I’m treating the 1/2 as just another long run and not pushing myself. The race is flat and has a 3 hour time limit and I plan to take it easy. The following day is a 10k that basically goes straight up hill! That will be a nightmare of an amazingly fun proportion.
What’s the plan? I’m doing a low mileage runyourBQ plan mixed with a little Dumbo training. Really what matters is kicking up those long runs again. I have 6-7 miles this week, then 8, then 9, then 11-12, and then the 1/2. I haven’t been running much but I’ve been keeping at a 3-6 mile outseason runs with some Insanity workouts thrown in, and lots of intervals. I really like intervals on the treadmill, although just running on the treadmill is dreadful!
So I’m off. Wish me luck!
More about me than about Boston
I’m a runner, although I am not a RUNNER. You’ve read a million times about how I don’t even like running.
Late last year, I read a guide for training for a marathon with a meat-free diet. At that moment, I was more obsessed with losing this damn 30 pounds of surgery fat that seems to be stubbornly clinging to my thighs and my neck. After re-reading those three intro e-books a million times, I slowly got obsessed with running a BQ. Not necessarily with running Boston itself, just qualifying. If I wanted to run Boston, I’d just do a charity run; it’s easier. (Of course, if I qualify and get in, I’d run the damn race).
How’s that Offseason going?
Today’s Weight: 148.4 pounds
Optimal Race Weight: 120 pounds (or less)
Happy Weight: 130 pounds
Six pounds in two months isn’t much of a weight loss, is it? Well, to be fair, I gained another 10 pounds somehow before I started my offseason dieting! How did that happen? I blame Carthay Circle at Disneyland, or the Blue Bayou, or Uva Bar (five times), or ummm yeah I ate a few boxes of thin mints. This was during my training. My offseason pales in comparison! So it’s Actually a 14 pound weight loss since January 22. That’s not so bad.
I’m running here and there. I’m working on Insanity. I’m enjoying myself. Next week I go to Maui and then to Coachella the following week. When I return, I begin the next phase of my training: Run Your BQ!
Yikes.
BQ.
Yikes.
YIKES!
Running in Norway
My tickets are purchased, my hotels are booked (well for New Years and the Race, not the whole trip), and my bags are packed (okay not really). I’m really going to go to Norway and run in the arctic air. My biggest worry isn’t the running or the weather, it’s my shoes. I run barefoot. I wear minimalist shoes in most races if not barefoot. I hate socks. I don’t own socks. Well, maybe I have one or two pairs of smart wools from when I used to hike before i deiscovered minimalist that got swept under the bed and are collecting furballs, but I’m not wearing them. Did I mention I hate socks? And heavy shoes? Strappy six-inch heels or nothing, baby!
So, what am I going to wear in the probably blizzard (with my luck) conditions?
That’s what’s on my mind, nine months from the run! I only have nine months to figure this out.
Italian Dreams
A couple years ago, I enjoyed a wonderful journey to Italy for one of my best friend’s weddings. It was a Neapolitan wonder of musicians and food. People napped between courses and enjoyed an all-day feast of epic proportions, while the beautiful bride held court.
Since Artboy and I were already going to spend a week or so in Italy, we decided to extend our trip and visit areas outside Napoli and Pozzuoli. Three extra weeks in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, and many points in between.
Over 28 days in Italy, we experienced the sights and sounds of the city and the countryside, tasted the local food, and enjoyed wine at every turn, even happening upon a wine tasting in a public square in Florence. The country lived up to its fabled charm and eloquence in every exceptional moment.
Where in the world is…
I should admit I’m not writing a recap for the Tink Meetup or the Tink Half…I was in the middle of a lot then and although the horizon has cleared, it is still hazy with other tasks. Maybe I will someday get around to sharing my Tink experience, but maybe I will leave that behind to focus on the future.
Oh, the future!
Who am I?
EnergyBits
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