My official finish time was 1:18:26. The exciting thing is my pace: 12:37. If you recall, my pace for the Houston Half was 13:25 and the New Orleans Half was 13:31. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I quickened up. Not only was my pace great, but I achieved negative splits! My first half/5k time was 39:41 and the second half/5k time was 38:44 (that extra minute came from my last mile).
And yes, I had ice cream. I just finished off a chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard from DQ. It was damn tasty.
Cheers!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
It Was the Best of Runs, It Was the Worst of Runs
Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Of course, I say this now, after I'm done and after a nice long soak in the tub and now wrapped up in warm clothes.
First of all, let me contemplate on my sanity level. Through running, and mentoring through TNT, I've met many runners and athletes. I was talking to a tri friend of mine who said he's never run a full marathon and he has no desire to do so (he only does halves). This guys has done many, MANY triatholons and he never wants to do a full marathon? And one of the new guys training with us this season is only doing the half - and he's pretty toned and athletic. He looked at me as if I was insane when I asked him why isn't he training for the full.
I now have two thoughts. One, maybe I am athletic. Here are these two very athletic guys and they said they never want to go so far as to do a full marathon. Two, maybe I am crazy. Hmm.
Today's run was very interesting. Total mileage: 17.30. Average pace: 13:25. Calories burned: almost 2100 (hell yeah I'm having ice cream later).
Here we go....
The first 5 miles was from Memorial Park to downtown (Bayou Place). I took it nice and slow, averaging a 14 minute mile. I knew I was going to do the Rodeo Run, so why get all tuckered out now? No rain, nice breeze, cloudy and foggy. Basically, it was nice running weather. Ate a Hooah! bar before I left my house, by the way. I run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Not having too much fun with those intervals, since I've been running 1 mile, walking 45 seconds.
I get to downtown with an hour to kill. I stop the Garmin. I'm on one of the Rodeo Committees (the Speaker's Committee) and we are very much alive for the parade. The parade announcers and rodeo clowns are on my committee, so I started wandering around to search for friends. I found a few and then found my sister, who was announcing at the corner of Travis and McKinney. Everyone I knew thought I was insane for my mileage (they don't run), but I had a nice time waiting for the race to start. I walk the half-mile back to the start and just wait. Finally, the gun goes off and we begin! Before I get to the starting line, water sprinkles upon our heads. Ah, hell. I do not run in the rain.
Before we even get to the corner where my sister is, the sky just opens up and the wind starts roaring between those tall skyscrapers. The rain is falling so fiercely that people are running for cover (parade-watchers, not runners - we're just stupid). I am not having fun, and we haven't even hit the first mile marker yet! Of course, my sister grabs the microphone when she sees me and gives me a great big cheer as I pass her, which was nice.
Mile 1 - finally hits. 12:40. Hmm. Should slow down a bit. My legs are all warm from my warm-up 5 miler and I feel great. Rain stops.
Mile 2 - Pass Minute Maid Park and the finish line. 12:50. Now that we're off the parade route, the crowd is almost nonexistant.
Mile 3 - Up the overpass, and into some fierce wind. Argh. The resistance is maddening. Oh, look. Edwin passes me - on the other side (yes, he's almost done). 13:40. Damn.
Mile 4 - Went through the barrio, found the turnaround. Still windy, but it's not in my face. 13:30. Starts to rain again, lightly.
Mile 5 - 12:50. Wait! I look at my watch. If I speed up, I might be able to PR! I run my fastest mile. Ever. Ever ever ever.
Mile 6 - 11:22. Wow. I ran fast (for me). Where's the finish???
Mile 6.2 - 2:20. Wow. My glutes hurt. The race is over. Dizzy. Where's the food?
Final time: 1:18:27. I tied my PR. When I did the HEB Bayou Classic, I finished also in 1:18, but I don't know the miliseconds.
I walk over, find Edwin again, find Cassie and Jessica and Dave. And the food. I refill my water and gatorade bottles in the fuel belt, chow down half a bagel and say good-bye. I still have to get to my car.
I jog through downtown, find my sister, and stay with her until the parade is over and then off I go again, carrying a banana.
On my way back to my car, the sky opens up again at mile 14. By mile 15, the downpour is excrutiating. I hate running in the rain and my feet are wet and I hear/feel squishyness in my shoes. I smile, though, because if I look like an idiot, I might as well smile like one. But now the trail riders are following me and, although I've slowed to a 14:45/mile pace, I still want to get ahead of the trailriders!
Finally, I see Memorial Park. I'm dripping, I'm shuffling, but I am determined to not stop jogging. I refuse to walk!
I get to my car and collapse. At home, I discover that I have NO blisters (today I experimented with a double-layer running sock and I am impressed). My new elastic shoelaces kept my shoes on and not too tight. I didn't chafe, I'm not sunburned/windburned. All in all, I feel great. Not great enough to go a complete 18 miles (it was still raining), but still pretty good.
Time for a nap.
Cheers!
First of all, let me contemplate on my sanity level. Through running, and mentoring through TNT, I've met many runners and athletes. I was talking to a tri friend of mine who said he's never run a full marathon and he has no desire to do so (he only does halves). This guys has done many, MANY triatholons and he never wants to do a full marathon? And one of the new guys training with us this season is only doing the half - and he's pretty toned and athletic. He looked at me as if I was insane when I asked him why isn't he training for the full.
I now have two thoughts. One, maybe I am athletic. Here are these two very athletic guys and they said they never want to go so far as to do a full marathon. Two, maybe I am crazy. Hmm.
Today's run was very interesting. Total mileage: 17.30. Average pace: 13:25. Calories burned: almost 2100 (hell yeah I'm having ice cream later).
Here we go....
The first 5 miles was from Memorial Park to downtown (Bayou Place). I took it nice and slow, averaging a 14 minute mile. I knew I was going to do the Rodeo Run, so why get all tuckered out now? No rain, nice breeze, cloudy and foggy. Basically, it was nice running weather. Ate a Hooah! bar before I left my house, by the way. I run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. Not having too much fun with those intervals, since I've been running 1 mile, walking 45 seconds.
I get to downtown with an hour to kill. I stop the Garmin. I'm on one of the Rodeo Committees (the Speaker's Committee) and we are very much alive for the parade. The parade announcers and rodeo clowns are on my committee, so I started wandering around to search for friends. I found a few and then found my sister, who was announcing at the corner of Travis and McKinney. Everyone I knew thought I was insane for my mileage (they don't run), but I had a nice time waiting for the race to start. I walk the half-mile back to the start and just wait. Finally, the gun goes off and we begin! Before I get to the starting line, water sprinkles upon our heads. Ah, hell. I do not run in the rain.
Before we even get to the corner where my sister is, the sky just opens up and the wind starts roaring between those tall skyscrapers. The rain is falling so fiercely that people are running for cover (parade-watchers, not runners - we're just stupid). I am not having fun, and we haven't even hit the first mile marker yet! Of course, my sister grabs the microphone when she sees me and gives me a great big cheer as I pass her, which was nice.
Mile 1 - finally hits. 12:40. Hmm. Should slow down a bit. My legs are all warm from my warm-up 5 miler and I feel great. Rain stops.
Mile 2 - Pass Minute Maid Park and the finish line. 12:50. Now that we're off the parade route, the crowd is almost nonexistant.
Mile 3 - Up the overpass, and into some fierce wind. Argh. The resistance is maddening. Oh, look. Edwin passes me - on the other side (yes, he's almost done). 13:40. Damn.
Mile 4 - Went through the barrio, found the turnaround. Still windy, but it's not in my face. 13:30. Starts to rain again, lightly.
Mile 5 - 12:50. Wait! I look at my watch. If I speed up, I might be able to PR! I run my fastest mile. Ever. Ever ever ever.
Mile 6 - 11:22. Wow. I ran fast (for me). Where's the finish???
Mile 6.2 - 2:20. Wow. My glutes hurt. The race is over. Dizzy. Where's the food?
Final time: 1:18:27. I tied my PR. When I did the HEB Bayou Classic, I finished also in 1:18, but I don't know the miliseconds.
I walk over, find Edwin again, find Cassie and Jessica and Dave. And the food. I refill my water and gatorade bottles in the fuel belt, chow down half a bagel and say good-bye. I still have to get to my car.
I jog through downtown, find my sister, and stay with her until the parade is over and then off I go again, carrying a banana.
On my way back to my car, the sky opens up again at mile 14. By mile 15, the downpour is excrutiating. I hate running in the rain and my feet are wet and I hear/feel squishyness in my shoes. I smile, though, because if I look like an idiot, I might as well smile like one. But now the trail riders are following me and, although I've slowed to a 14:45/mile pace, I still want to get ahead of the trailriders!
Finally, I see Memorial Park. I'm dripping, I'm shuffling, but I am determined to not stop jogging. I refuse to walk!
I get to my car and collapse. At home, I discover that I have NO blisters (today I experimented with a double-layer running sock and I am impressed). My new elastic shoelaces kept my shoes on and not too tight. I didn't chafe, I'm not sunburned/windburned. All in all, I feel great. Not great enough to go a complete 18 miles (it was still raining), but still pretty good.
Time for a nap.
Cheers!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Call Me Frankenstein's Monster
Wow, I'm sore. Let's recap the past two days...
Tuesday, remember, I was victimized - I was forced to do lunges (in my speed workout). I think I would've been ok, but I went to the gym that morning and my weight training focused on my lower body. The double leg workout was not a good idea.
Yesterday, I went to the gym in the morning and was a bit sore (35 minutes on elliptical machine, 30 minutes upper body weights). It only got worse as the day progressed. I went to a TNT happy hour last night, therefore didn't run. This morning I went to the gym again, but was a bit more creaky when I woke up. 60 minutes on the eliptical machine (a tad slower than normal, but not bad) and then 20 minutes lower body weights. I was so sore by the time I got to the weights that I used very very light weights and I still hurt. All day, going up and down stairs was painful. My quads were on fire (but not bad enough that I had to go backwards on the stairs). This afternoon, I went running.
Overall, the running wasn't bad. I was sore so I went a minute slower than normal. I planned on going 3 miles, but felt so good that I went 6. Again, this was an endurance run, stopping only once per mile (and not stopping the last two miles at all). I felt great by the end and could've gone another lap around Rice, but it was getting dark and I didn't want to hurt my already pained limbs. But I felt great!
Until I stopped. Oh my God. I felt as though I just run 18 miles instead of 6. My quads are in much pain (general muscle soreness, though, nothing to be worried about). Getting in and out of my car hurt. I'm stiff and sore, so I'm going to soak in a tub really soon. Since Saturday is my 18 miler, I'm going to take it easy tomorrow. I might even take a day off from the gym.
Oof. I welcome this pain, though, because it makes me stronger.
Cheers!
Tuesday, remember, I was victimized - I was forced to do lunges (in my speed workout). I think I would've been ok, but I went to the gym that morning and my weight training focused on my lower body. The double leg workout was not a good idea.
Yesterday, I went to the gym in the morning and was a bit sore (35 minutes on elliptical machine, 30 minutes upper body weights). It only got worse as the day progressed. I went to a TNT happy hour last night, therefore didn't run. This morning I went to the gym again, but was a bit more creaky when I woke up. 60 minutes on the eliptical machine (a tad slower than normal, but not bad) and then 20 minutes lower body weights. I was so sore by the time I got to the weights that I used very very light weights and I still hurt. All day, going up and down stairs was painful. My quads were on fire (but not bad enough that I had to go backwards on the stairs). This afternoon, I went running.
Overall, the running wasn't bad. I was sore so I went a minute slower than normal. I planned on going 3 miles, but felt so good that I went 6. Again, this was an endurance run, stopping only once per mile (and not stopping the last two miles at all). I felt great by the end and could've gone another lap around Rice, but it was getting dark and I didn't want to hurt my already pained limbs. But I felt great!
Until I stopped. Oh my God. I felt as though I just run 18 miles instead of 6. My quads are in much pain (general muscle soreness, though, nothing to be worried about). Getting in and out of my car hurt. I'm stiff and sore, so I'm going to soak in a tub really soon. Since Saturday is my 18 miler, I'm going to take it easy tomorrow. I might even take a day off from the gym.
Oof. I welcome this pain, though, because it makes me stronger.
Cheers!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Good Lord
I am tired. I am kicking my own ass. But at least it's a good tired.
Today: regular 5am trip to the gym. 50 minutes elliptical machine, 20 minutes lower body weights.
Today's run was a speed day. We met at St. John's, after which I got my ass kicked. Walking lunges, leg lifts, fast steps, running fast... my quads were like jello by the time I finished.
Tomorrow: 5am trip to the gym. No running tomorrow evening - trip to Luke's Locker instead to sign up for the Rodeo Run and then on to Sherlock's for the TNT fundraising clinic.
I bought some new stuff at Runsport - double layer socks (I really don't want nasty blisters again... maybe third time's a charm), some Gus (chocolate of course), some Cliff Blocks (cran-raspberry) and these fake shoelace elastic things (LSU gold of course).
Crucial. That's my mantra. Crucial.
Cheers!
Today: regular 5am trip to the gym. 50 minutes elliptical machine, 20 minutes lower body weights.
Today's run was a speed day. We met at St. John's, after which I got my ass kicked. Walking lunges, leg lifts, fast steps, running fast... my quads were like jello by the time I finished.
Tomorrow: 5am trip to the gym. No running tomorrow evening - trip to Luke's Locker instead to sign up for the Rodeo Run and then on to Sherlock's for the TNT fundraising clinic.
I bought some new stuff at Runsport - double layer socks (I really don't want nasty blisters again... maybe third time's a charm), some Gus (chocolate of course), some Cliff Blocks (cran-raspberry) and these fake shoelace elastic things (LSU gold of course).
Crucial. That's my mantra. Crucial.
Cheers!
Monday, February 20, 2006
Crucial
My new mantra: these next 5 weeks are crucial. I kept repeating it to myself during my run today.
Today's stats...
Type of run: Endurance run (run a mile, walk a minute)
Distance: 6 miles (I love my Garmin)
Time: 1:18 (not bad at all!)
People I knew: none
Weird people: 1 (this woman was waving her arms around as she ran. She looked as though she was swatting flies).
Pain: eh. Towards the end my ankles and knees started to hurt, but it's to be expected with this new interval thing I'm doing. Nothing major.
Pain afterwards: Yikes. I'm stiff.
Nutrition: Wonderful (seriously)
Hydration: Eh. 1 liter of water, 1/2 liter Diet Coke
Pace: Overall, 13:11 (want to get it down to at least 12:30 before April 29).
Strongest miles: 2(running from weird guys) and 5 (woo-hoo! End strong)
I feel fantastic, felt great during the run and felt like a real runner (instead of a run-walker). I owe a bit of this to Andy: I started off slower than normal (trying to hold back and save some energy for later, like he's being trained to do) and also he gave me the inspiration to try to end my intervals for the shorter runs.
I told Ginny (one of my coaches) that I was doing Nashville. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Have you ever been to Nashville." Yes, I know about the hills. Help! So now she has me doing 30 minutes of hill work on my long-run days and told me to run the bleachers on Tuesday track practice and to strengthen my quads. I see a lot of lunges in my future.
Crucial. The next 5 weeks are crucial. I will train. I will train hard. I will train smart. I will knock time off my last marathon. I will have fun. I will get stronger. I will not hurt myself. I will cross-train.
Crucial.
Cheers!
Today's stats...
Type of run: Endurance run (run a mile, walk a minute)
Distance: 6 miles (I love my Garmin)
Time: 1:18 (not bad at all!)
People I knew: none
Weird people: 1 (this woman was waving her arms around as she ran. She looked as though she was swatting flies).
Pain: eh. Towards the end my ankles and knees started to hurt, but it's to be expected with this new interval thing I'm doing. Nothing major.
Pain afterwards: Yikes. I'm stiff.
Nutrition: Wonderful (seriously)
Hydration: Eh. 1 liter of water, 1/2 liter Diet Coke
Pace: Overall, 13:11 (want to get it down to at least 12:30 before April 29).
Strongest miles: 2(running from weird guys) and 5 (woo-hoo! End strong)
I feel fantastic, felt great during the run and felt like a real runner (instead of a run-walker). I owe a bit of this to Andy: I started off slower than normal (trying to hold back and save some energy for later, like he's being trained to do) and also he gave me the inspiration to try to end my intervals for the shorter runs.
I told Ginny (one of my coaches) that I was doing Nashville. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Have you ever been to Nashville." Yes, I know about the hills. Help! So now she has me doing 30 minutes of hill work on my long-run days and told me to run the bleachers on Tuesday track practice and to strengthen my quads. I see a lot of lunges in my future.
Crucial. The next 5 weeks are crucial. I will train. I will train hard. I will train smart. I will knock time off my last marathon. I will have fun. I will get stronger. I will not hurt myself. I will cross-train.
Crucial.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Almost Over
I am almost over a huge stress bump.
I took my state exam yesterday, so no more studying and anxiety.
The National Honor Society Induction was Thursday evening, so no more late evenings for that.
The Black History Program is next week, and rehearsals haven't been happening, so that's a bit of stress (although no Honor Society and no exam).
Grades are due tomorrow morning at 9am. I finished grading the essays and averaging grades (1/3 of my kids did not pass this six weeks - they're not doing homework or turning in assignments). So that huge pile of essays that has been tormenting me for three weeks is now non-existant. All I have to do is bubble in the grades, which I'm going to start on as soon as I get offline.
Running: yeah, that hasn't been happening this week. The only running I did was yesterday.
Stats: 6 miles (exactly, thanks to the Garmin).
Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes.
Intervals: I decided to switch things up. Instead of my 4-1 intervals (run 4, walk 1), I changed to run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute. This made for some nice times in the beginning and some bad times in the end, because I was getting tired. But I'm going to do this at least once a week to strengthen up my running and to learn to beat the fatigue.
In fact, I'm naming my different runs.
Speed runs: that would be my speed sessions on Tuesday. Focus on speed.
Endurance runs: my runs around Rice. I'm going to try to get farther and farther without taking a rest break. I'm relying too much on those walk breaks. So during the week I'll work on eliminating them.
Distance runs: my Saturday long runs. Since I'm focusing on distance, I'll switch to 5-1 intervals, with the last mile running straight in.
The Rodeo run is Saturday. I'm going to park my car at Memorial, jog easily to the race, run the race at a good speed (I hope) and then jog easily back to my car. That's a nice 16-17 mile day. Perfect for my training!
Gotta go. Schoolwork is still calling.
Cheers!
I took my state exam yesterday, so no more studying and anxiety.
The National Honor Society Induction was Thursday evening, so no more late evenings for that.
The Black History Program is next week, and rehearsals haven't been happening, so that's a bit of stress (although no Honor Society and no exam).
Grades are due tomorrow morning at 9am. I finished grading the essays and averaging grades (1/3 of my kids did not pass this six weeks - they're not doing homework or turning in assignments). So that huge pile of essays that has been tormenting me for three weeks is now non-existant. All I have to do is bubble in the grades, which I'm going to start on as soon as I get offline.
Running: yeah, that hasn't been happening this week. The only running I did was yesterday.
Stats: 6 miles (exactly, thanks to the Garmin).
Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes.
Intervals: I decided to switch things up. Instead of my 4-1 intervals (run 4, walk 1), I changed to run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute. This made for some nice times in the beginning and some bad times in the end, because I was getting tired. But I'm going to do this at least once a week to strengthen up my running and to learn to beat the fatigue.
In fact, I'm naming my different runs.
Speed runs: that would be my speed sessions on Tuesday. Focus on speed.
Endurance runs: my runs around Rice. I'm going to try to get farther and farther without taking a rest break. I'm relying too much on those walk breaks. So during the week I'll work on eliminating them.
Distance runs: my Saturday long runs. Since I'm focusing on distance, I'll switch to 5-1 intervals, with the last mile running straight in.
The Rodeo run is Saturday. I'm going to park my car at Memorial, jog easily to the race, run the race at a good speed (I hope) and then jog easily back to my car. That's a nice 16-17 mile day. Perfect for my training!
Gotta go. Schoolwork is still calling.
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Early
Oof. Getting up at 4:20am is starting to suck. True, I feel better afterwards, since I go to the gym, but when my alarm wakes up, my first thought is, "If I don't got to the gym, I can sleep an extra 2 hours." That thought keeps me in bed, pondering, for another few minutes. Until I drag myself out of the warmth and safety of my bed.
No running thus far this week. Work's been hectic, and I'm taking a state exam Saturday, so my stress level is way high. I might get a chance to run this afternoon. I might get a chance to run Friday. I will run Saturday (before and after my exam). I might run Sunday.
Next week looks much brighter.
Plus, next Saturday is the Rodeo Run 10K! Woo-hoo!
No running thus far this week. Work's been hectic, and I'm taking a state exam Saturday, so my stress level is way high. I might get a chance to run this afternoon. I might get a chance to run Friday. I will run Saturday (before and after my exam). I might run Sunday.
Next week looks much brighter.
Plus, next Saturday is the Rodeo Run 10K! Woo-hoo!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Memories...
After running 15 yesterday, I seriously considered not running. After waking up this morning, however, and feeling no pain I decided that I was fine enough to run. It was still cold this morning, so I waited until this afternoon.
I love my Garmin. I decided to run an old route today, one I haven't run in a year. I bypassed my comfortable Rice and Memorial and actually set out from my house.
When I first started running, I'd run from home and eventually go so far as Meyerland and back. The first time I went to Meyerland and back (which is about 7.5-8 miles), I was in pain and in tears by the time I got home. I immediately fell onto the floor and curled into the fetal position. Of course, it got better after that, but I'll never forget the muscle cramps.
I decided to start off towards Meyerland this afternoon. Bringing the Garmin, I could official figure out how far it was. After 3.1 miles, however, I decided to turn around. Why run too much too soon and hurt myself?
Today's run...
Distance: 6.2
Pain: my left knee (not the right one, which was slammed in a car door last night by my sister)
Time: too long, but I was enjoying the weather and being outside and not concentrating.
People I knew: 0
Cars that almost hit me: 0
Red lights: 5
Total distance this week: 29 miles. Next week probably won't be as much... or I'll just have to get more creative with putting some running time in. Next week will be extremely busy (grading - grades are due soon, studying for state exam and rehearsals for Black History program).
Now I have to do schoolwork...
Cheers!
I love my Garmin. I decided to run an old route today, one I haven't run in a year. I bypassed my comfortable Rice and Memorial and actually set out from my house.
When I first started running, I'd run from home and eventually go so far as Meyerland and back. The first time I went to Meyerland and back (which is about 7.5-8 miles), I was in pain and in tears by the time I got home. I immediately fell onto the floor and curled into the fetal position. Of course, it got better after that, but I'll never forget the muscle cramps.
I decided to start off towards Meyerland this afternoon. Bringing the Garmin, I could official figure out how far it was. After 3.1 miles, however, I decided to turn around. Why run too much too soon and hurt myself?
Today's run...
Distance: 6.2
Pain: my left knee (not the right one, which was slammed in a car door last night by my sister)
Time: too long, but I was enjoying the weather and being outside and not concentrating.
People I knew: 0
Cars that almost hit me: 0
Red lights: 5
Total distance this week: 29 miles. Next week probably won't be as much... or I'll just have to get more creative with putting some running time in. Next week will be extremely busy (grading - grades are due soon, studying for state exam and rehearsals for Black History program).
Now I have to do schoolwork...
Cheers!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
3 Runs in One Day
Oof. I'm tired.
I planned on running 9-12 miles today. I figured I'd run 6 miles before the group started, run 3 with the group and then a last 3 after the group left. I ended up doing 15.
I started at 5:15am and went 6 miles exactly (I love my Garmin). Then, I waited for the rest of the TNT group to show. The problem with waiting is that it was F**CKING COLD this morning. I love to run in cold weather, but today was just ridiculous - the wind was extremely harsh. I nearly froze in my own sweat waiting for the group run to start and indeed, I left early to warm up. I ran straight to the bathroom in the tennis club so that I could thaw my hands under the hand dryer. My fingers (gloved) were so cold that they were burning. I was running in two dri-fit shirts, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a jacket and I was STILL cold.
After running the 3 miles with the group (total mileage: 9), I immediately changed clothes so that my sweat wouldn't freeze anymore. I then went to breakfast with the group and went to a TNT meeting at the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society office. Afterwards, still feeling pretty good, I decided to go for another jog. I did two more laps at Memorial, ending with an exact 15 mile count for the day. By the end of my last lap, I was pretty tired but if I didn't have to be somewhere, I might've gone another 3 miles.
Where did this random motivation come from? 2 sources: my new Garmin and the "Ultramarathon Man" book that I'm reading. I did find one problem, however, with the Garmin. I run in intervals (run 4-5, walk 1). I set up my Garmin for intervals, but when it came time to walk, it was treated as a rest. Everything stopped: my pace, my time, my distance. When I started running the third time, I solved the problem by strapping the Garmin onto my right wrist and my regular running watch on my left. My left beeped when it was time to run (or walk) and my right beeped every mile I finished, plus told me my pace and time and calories.
I feel fine now, a little tired but not bad. Tomorrow I am going to wake up extremely early so that I can finally finish all of my grades and then go running around 2pm. I'm going to bring the Garmin, of course, and I'm going to just run the streets and let my Garmin tell me how far I've gone. I want to go 6 miles, so I'm going to go three and come back. I love this adventure - going new places and knowing the distance!
Andy and I were discussing our mileage, and here's mine...
Total this week: 36 miles! This is the most I've done in one non-marathon week.
Speaking of marathon... I was thinking about doing Dallas on April 2, but now I'm thinking about doing the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. It's April 29, so I have an extra month to train. Seeing how I'm already up to 15 miles, I can easily boost up my training to a 21-miler by the beginning of April. I'll get a new state, and run my first full marathon of 2006. I know I said I wasn't going to train for one until I drop 25 more pounds, but I can drop the 25 pounds in the next three months AND train. Plus, I really don't want to wait until October to do my next full. I want to do one before the weather gets really bad.
Cheers!
I planned on running 9-12 miles today. I figured I'd run 6 miles before the group started, run 3 with the group and then a last 3 after the group left. I ended up doing 15.
I started at 5:15am and went 6 miles exactly (I love my Garmin). Then, I waited for the rest of the TNT group to show. The problem with waiting is that it was F**CKING COLD this morning. I love to run in cold weather, but today was just ridiculous - the wind was extremely harsh. I nearly froze in my own sweat waiting for the group run to start and indeed, I left early to warm up. I ran straight to the bathroom in the tennis club so that I could thaw my hands under the hand dryer. My fingers (gloved) were so cold that they were burning. I was running in two dri-fit shirts, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a jacket and I was STILL cold.
After running the 3 miles with the group (total mileage: 9), I immediately changed clothes so that my sweat wouldn't freeze anymore. I then went to breakfast with the group and went to a TNT meeting at the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society office. Afterwards, still feeling pretty good, I decided to go for another jog. I did two more laps at Memorial, ending with an exact 15 mile count for the day. By the end of my last lap, I was pretty tired but if I didn't have to be somewhere, I might've gone another 3 miles.
Where did this random motivation come from? 2 sources: my new Garmin and the "Ultramarathon Man" book that I'm reading. I did find one problem, however, with the Garmin. I run in intervals (run 4-5, walk 1). I set up my Garmin for intervals, but when it came time to walk, it was treated as a rest. Everything stopped: my pace, my time, my distance. When I started running the third time, I solved the problem by strapping the Garmin onto my right wrist and my regular running watch on my left. My left beeped when it was time to run (or walk) and my right beeped every mile I finished, plus told me my pace and time and calories.
I feel fine now, a little tired but not bad. Tomorrow I am going to wake up extremely early so that I can finally finish all of my grades and then go running around 2pm. I'm going to bring the Garmin, of course, and I'm going to just run the streets and let my Garmin tell me how far I've gone. I want to go 6 miles, so I'm going to go three and come back. I love this adventure - going new places and knowing the distance!
Andy and I were discussing our mileage, and here's mine...
Total this week: 36 miles! This is the most I've done in one non-marathon week.
Speaking of marathon... I was thinking about doing Dallas on April 2, but now I'm thinking about doing the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. It's April 29, so I have an extra month to train. Seeing how I'm already up to 15 miles, I can easily boost up my training to a 21-miler by the beginning of April. I'll get a new state, and run my first full marathon of 2006. I know I said I wasn't going to train for one until I drop 25 more pounds, but I can drop the 25 pounds in the next three months AND train. Plus, I really don't want to wait until October to do my next full. I want to do one before the weather gets really bad.
Cheers!
Friday, February 10, 2006
My New Toy
Woo-hoo! After over a year of drooling, I finally bought a Garmin. I want to go out and use it now, except that it's almost 10pm and I don't want to be raped (I live four blocks away from a high school, and a stranger went onto the campus this week and raped a student in the bathroom). It's so cool!!! The only problem is that it has a serial port, not a USB port, so I cannot connect it to my computer. I'll have to wait until next pay-day to get a converter. I'm so excited because I know it'll help me keep a good pace. I am getting slightly faster, and my short-term goal is to get down to a 12 minute pace comfortably, and maintain it for at least 13 miles.
I'm slightly saddened that I can't find a full marathon to do in June. They're too far. I did find, however, Dallas' marathon in April. That's less than 2 months away, and that's a lot of pressure (never mind I'm up to 15 miles in training). The last two halves I did, I maintained a 13:25 pace, so even if I slow down after mile 16-18, I still might make it to the 6:30 cut-off. I'm going to start training for it, but I won't sign up for it until March, just in case I'm not doing as well as I'd like. Then if I'm not happy, I'll just sign up for the half. I'll be needing a new race about that time, anyway.
Tomorrow: I'm hoping to go for either 9 or 12 miles, depending on how much time I have. I can probably get away with 12. And I'll be using my new toy!!!!!
Cheers!
I'm slightly saddened that I can't find a full marathon to do in June. They're too far. I did find, however, Dallas' marathon in April. That's less than 2 months away, and that's a lot of pressure (never mind I'm up to 15 miles in training). The last two halves I did, I maintained a 13:25 pace, so even if I slow down after mile 16-18, I still might make it to the 6:30 cut-off. I'm going to start training for it, but I won't sign up for it until March, just in case I'm not doing as well as I'd like. Then if I'm not happy, I'll just sign up for the half. I'll be needing a new race about that time, anyway.
Tomorrow: I'm hoping to go for either 9 or 12 miles, depending on how much time I have. I can probably get away with 12. And I'll be using my new toy!!!!!
Cheers!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
A Good Feeling
Today I went running.
I haven't been able to since Monday, due to late nights at school and my ever-increasing unwillingness to run in complete darkness. I have, however, been logging in hours in the gym in the early morning, so my muscles haven't been completely useless.
I was at a meeting tonight, one that didn't start until 6:30, so I squeezed in a quick 5.8 miles after school. I'd been up since 4:20am, logged in 5.5 miles on the elliptical machine this morning, focused on lower-body weights, was at work all day... I didn't expect a great run. In fact, I was wishing I had time for a nap.
As I started around Rice at 4:30pm, I felt ok. Not stellar, but ok. After a half mile, I started feeling better. By mile 2 I felt as though my legs had a mind of their own and that the rest of me was just following. I gladly rounded the campus for a second lap, although the latter part of the second lap wasn't as fun, due to an extreme desire to find a bathroom. Alas, there are no port-a-potties around so I jogged slower.
Here's my stats...
Distance: 5.8 miles
Time: 1:17. First lap was 37 minutes, second was 39. I'm finally getting faster!
Hydration: Wonderful
Boredom level: low
Nutrition - eh. Not wonderful, but not terrible
People I knew: 1
People who knew me: 2 (I had no idea who this one chick was but she knew me!)
I felt really good, but I don't know why. I'm finally getting faster, the weather was beautiful, I ran two good half-marathons within the past 3 weeks, I'm dropping pounds... overall I just felt good!
Tomorrow will be better: tomorrow is Friday!! I'm meeting my co-mentors for dinner, so I'm going to squeeze in another lap or two around Rice before I meet them. Saturday is the first long run of the summer TNT season and since they're only doing 3 miles, I'm going to go in early and accumulate a total of 9 miles by the end. I'm not training for a big race, but I don't want to lose my ability.
Time to sleep!
Cheers!
I haven't been able to since Monday, due to late nights at school and my ever-increasing unwillingness to run in complete darkness. I have, however, been logging in hours in the gym in the early morning, so my muscles haven't been completely useless.
I was at a meeting tonight, one that didn't start until 6:30, so I squeezed in a quick 5.8 miles after school. I'd been up since 4:20am, logged in 5.5 miles on the elliptical machine this morning, focused on lower-body weights, was at work all day... I didn't expect a great run. In fact, I was wishing I had time for a nap.
As I started around Rice at 4:30pm, I felt ok. Not stellar, but ok. After a half mile, I started feeling better. By mile 2 I felt as though my legs had a mind of their own and that the rest of me was just following. I gladly rounded the campus for a second lap, although the latter part of the second lap wasn't as fun, due to an extreme desire to find a bathroom. Alas, there are no port-a-potties around so I jogged slower.
Here's my stats...
Distance: 5.8 miles
Time: 1:17. First lap was 37 minutes, second was 39. I'm finally getting faster!
Hydration: Wonderful
Boredom level: low
Nutrition - eh. Not wonderful, but not terrible
People I knew: 1
People who knew me: 2 (I had no idea who this one chick was but she knew me!)
I felt really good, but I don't know why. I'm finally getting faster, the weather was beautiful, I ran two good half-marathons within the past 3 weeks, I'm dropping pounds... overall I just felt good!
Tomorrow will be better: tomorrow is Friday!! I'm meeting my co-mentors for dinner, so I'm going to squeeze in another lap or two around Rice before I meet them. Saturday is the first long run of the summer TNT season and since they're only doing 3 miles, I'm going to go in early and accumulate a total of 9 miles by the end. I'm not training for a big race, but I don't want to lose my ability.
Time to sleep!
Cheers!
Monday, February 06, 2006
The Day After
I woke up and felt only a little stiff. No soreness! Woo-hoo!
Before I left, Andy and I got in a two mile easy run.
Stats: 2 miles.
Time: 28 minutes.
Boredom level: zero - ran with someone else for a change.
Now I'm home. I'm a bit sore now, but not enough to stop me from attempting a 6 mile run in the morning before work. I have to hold tutorials after school, so my running will have to be early early early (with pepper spray).
Cheers!
Before I left, Andy and I got in a two mile easy run.
Stats: 2 miles.
Time: 28 minutes.
Boredom level: zero - ran with someone else for a change.
Now I'm home. I'm a bit sore now, but not enough to stop me from attempting a 6 mile run in the morning before work. I have to hold tutorials after school, so my running will have to be early early early (with pepper spray).
Cheers!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Live from New Orleans
Today I finished the New Orleans Mardi Gras Half-marathon, which was the first major sporting event in New Orleans since Katrina. As a whole, it was... interesting. I've never run this one before (obviously), so I can't compare it to previous N.O. marathons. I was dissapointed in the lack of public support, which could be a result of two things: people in New Orleans drink Saturday night, so they sleep in on Sunday or the fact that not everyone is back in town.
But here's my mile-by-mile run-down...
Pre-race. Woke up really early. Last night Andy and I stayed awake until about midnight watching a movie. I don't function well on a lot of sleep, so last night I knew it was going to be a difficult run. But I was ok with it, because I ran such a good race in Houston three weeks ago. We left Baton Rouge around 5:25, got there about 6:30, fought for a parking space and lined up. It was fucking cold, by the way. Nice to run in, sucky to sit in. By the way, the Superdome looks normal again on the outside.
7am - the race begins! There are only 2500 people running the full, half and 5k. I left Andy since he was only doing the 5K (hee hee) and I lined up with the other runners.
Mile 0-1 --> Ran through downtown. It was amazing to see the skyscrapers with wood boards for windows.
Mile 1 - 12:45 minutes. Hmm. Need to slow down a bit.
Mile 1.5 - Cafe du Monde looks like it survived well.
Mile 1.7 - Ran in front of one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans - Port-a-Call (home of the best burgers, baked potato and the Monsoon).
Mile 2 - 13:15 minutes. Where the hell is the water station?
Mile 2.1 - There it is. I discover that the water stations are about 2 miles in between each other, not the 1.5 promised.
Mile 3 - 14 minutes. What the hell happened? That's not going to stay long.
Mile 4 - 13:10 minutes. Haven't seen shade in a while and don't realize that I won't see shade again. Passing near a park and the theme from "Rocky" is playing. My fingers are still frozen.
Mile 5 - 12:15 minutes. Ugh. An overpass. Am passed by a guy pushing a stroller, only instead of children, he is pushing gus, water, and other running supplies. He's passing out stuff to runners. He's wearing skintight running shorts and a glittery boa tied around his waist, making him seem like he's wearing a tutu. Andy texts me - he's been done with the 5k and is now drinking beer.
Mile 6 - About 12:45 minutes. I hear someone yelling, "Hey Erica!" Lo and behold, it's John Walk. I didn't realize he was running this race. Stupidly I said, "Hey, what are you doing here?" Duh. We run through a neighborhood that was damaged badly by Katrina. Water lines are incredibly high and the walls are spray-painted with red, black and yellow x's with dates and numbers on them. Although I didn't see it, Andy's friend told him that he saw one that said, "1 db - Kitchen." It was very sad nevertheless, and somewhat unsettling.
Mile 7 - About 14 minutes. Am passed by a speedwalker - an old man wearing a rainbow clown wig, bunny ears and a bunny tail. Yes, this is the same guy who passed me 3 months ago at the Marine Corps Marathon. We chat for a second - he's from New Orlean. I see Andy's friend, and not remembering his name I shout out, "Hey, Andy's friend!" He doesn't notice me. I get laughs from those around me.
See an Oompa Loompa and a Hershey Kiss running behind me.
Mile 8 - About 13:45 minutes. Hell no. Time to speed up.
Mile 9 - About 12:45. Woo-hoo! Going down an overpass. Run with two girls for a while and we start singing, "Love Shack."
Mile 10 - About 13:45. I'm getting tired. See a sign, "Hell turnaround." Hmm. But after the turn was just a bunch of neighbors having one hell of a tailgate party for the runners, offering cocktails and food. Find a great water stop. Not only did they have water and gatorade, but they had beer, donuts (of course I didn't take any), skittles, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and twinkies. I just grabbed water for my gu.
Mile 11 - About 14. Getting tired.
Mile 12 - About 14:10. Getting really tired. I'm taking more walk breaks and am just not happy. I am tired. Going by the last water stop, and they are offering gus. It's a little late for that.
Mile 13 - I think around 14:25. Towards the end of the race, (as in the last .2 miles), my right foot falls asleep, which is the first time that's ever happened in a run. It didn't hurt, but then it did, and it felt weird. I was crying by the time I got to mile 13. I was miserable. Just on the other side of the mile-marker, Andy was there. He ran me in (thanks, Andy!!!) and lept away at the end so that he wouldn't get in my picture. He then helped me find a seat and gave me the much needed water.
Mile 13.1 I hurt. My calves tightened up worse than Houston. Hell, since the Houston half I had only run 10 miles. Yes, I can be a bit of a dumbass.
My final time: 2:57:05. Despite the lack of sleep, despite the slower times at the end, I finished only 1 minute 3 seconds later than Houston. Imagine what I could've done if I felt good.
After the race, Andy and I went back to Port-A-Call, which was one of the reasons I wanted to run in New Orleans. I felt very tired and thirsty and my legs cramped up. After getting back to Baton Rouge, I soaked and felt better. Good enough to go to Lafayette to meet Andy's family and enjoy an evening with them for the Superbowl!!
Oh, and Andy and I have a new contest. We're going to log our miles until December 31 and see who has the most. We both have advantages: he might run more days in the week, but my runs are further. That'll be helpful later on when he runs longer runs (but I'll still be doing really long runs).
We shall see.
But here's my mile-by-mile run-down...
Pre-race. Woke up really early. Last night Andy and I stayed awake until about midnight watching a movie. I don't function well on a lot of sleep, so last night I knew it was going to be a difficult run. But I was ok with it, because I ran such a good race in Houston three weeks ago. We left Baton Rouge around 5:25, got there about 6:30, fought for a parking space and lined up. It was fucking cold, by the way. Nice to run in, sucky to sit in. By the way, the Superdome looks normal again on the outside.
7am - the race begins! There are only 2500 people running the full, half and 5k. I left Andy since he was only doing the 5K (hee hee) and I lined up with the other runners.
Mile 0-1 --> Ran through downtown. It was amazing to see the skyscrapers with wood boards for windows.
Mile 1 - 12:45 minutes. Hmm. Need to slow down a bit.
Mile 1.5 - Cafe du Monde looks like it survived well.
Mile 1.7 - Ran in front of one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans - Port-a-Call (home of the best burgers, baked potato and the Monsoon).
Mile 2 - 13:15 minutes. Where the hell is the water station?
Mile 2.1 - There it is. I discover that the water stations are about 2 miles in between each other, not the 1.5 promised.
Mile 3 - 14 minutes. What the hell happened? That's not going to stay long.
Mile 4 - 13:10 minutes. Haven't seen shade in a while and don't realize that I won't see shade again. Passing near a park and the theme from "Rocky" is playing. My fingers are still frozen.
Mile 5 - 12:15 minutes. Ugh. An overpass. Am passed by a guy pushing a stroller, only instead of children, he is pushing gus, water, and other running supplies. He's passing out stuff to runners. He's wearing skintight running shorts and a glittery boa tied around his waist, making him seem like he's wearing a tutu. Andy texts me - he's been done with the 5k and is now drinking beer.
Mile 6 - About 12:45 minutes. I hear someone yelling, "Hey Erica!" Lo and behold, it's John Walk. I didn't realize he was running this race. Stupidly I said, "Hey, what are you doing here?" Duh. We run through a neighborhood that was damaged badly by Katrina. Water lines are incredibly high and the walls are spray-painted with red, black and yellow x's with dates and numbers on them. Although I didn't see it, Andy's friend told him that he saw one that said, "1 db - Kitchen." It was very sad nevertheless, and somewhat unsettling.
Mile 7 - About 14 minutes. Am passed by a speedwalker - an old man wearing a rainbow clown wig, bunny ears and a bunny tail. Yes, this is the same guy who passed me 3 months ago at the Marine Corps Marathon. We chat for a second - he's from New Orlean. I see Andy's friend, and not remembering his name I shout out, "Hey, Andy's friend!" He doesn't notice me. I get laughs from those around me.
See an Oompa Loompa and a Hershey Kiss running behind me.
Mile 8 - About 13:45 minutes. Hell no. Time to speed up.
Mile 9 - About 12:45. Woo-hoo! Going down an overpass. Run with two girls for a while and we start singing, "Love Shack."
Mile 10 - About 13:45. I'm getting tired. See a sign, "Hell turnaround." Hmm. But after the turn was just a bunch of neighbors having one hell of a tailgate party for the runners, offering cocktails and food. Find a great water stop. Not only did they have water and gatorade, but they had beer, donuts (of course I didn't take any), skittles, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and twinkies. I just grabbed water for my gu.
Mile 11 - About 14. Getting tired.
Mile 12 - About 14:10. Getting really tired. I'm taking more walk breaks and am just not happy. I am tired. Going by the last water stop, and they are offering gus. It's a little late for that.
Mile 13 - I think around 14:25. Towards the end of the race, (as in the last .2 miles), my right foot falls asleep, which is the first time that's ever happened in a run. It didn't hurt, but then it did, and it felt weird. I was crying by the time I got to mile 13. I was miserable. Just on the other side of the mile-marker, Andy was there. He ran me in (thanks, Andy!!!) and lept away at the end so that he wouldn't get in my picture. He then helped me find a seat and gave me the much needed water.
Mile 13.1 I hurt. My calves tightened up worse than Houston. Hell, since the Houston half I had only run 10 miles. Yes, I can be a bit of a dumbass.
My final time: 2:57:05. Despite the lack of sleep, despite the slower times at the end, I finished only 1 minute 3 seconds later than Houston. Imagine what I could've done if I felt good.
After the race, Andy and I went back to Port-A-Call, which was one of the reasons I wanted to run in New Orleans. I felt very tired and thirsty and my legs cramped up. After getting back to Baton Rouge, I soaked and felt better. Good enough to go to Lafayette to meet Andy's family and enjoy an evening with them for the Superbowl!!
Oh, and Andy and I have a new contest. We're going to log our miles until December 31 and see who has the most. We both have advantages: he might run more days in the week, but my runs are further. That'll be helpful later on when he runs longer runs (but I'll still be doing really long runs).
We shall see.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
More Omens...
Maybe I shouldn't've come to Baton Rouge.
Ok, update on the eye. It still hurts. It doesn't hurt as much, so instead of the feeling of a knife stabbing through my eye I just feel an irritation, like constant dust. I slept with an eye patch last night (go ahead with the pirate jokes), but since I got only 5 hours of sleep, that wasn't much time to heal.
Yes, I only got 5 hours of sleep. I am exhausted. God, I hope I get at least 7 tonight before the race.
Here's another painful omen: last night, at the Chimes (great restaurant in Baton Rouge), my foot slipped on the wet floor and jammed underneath the table, causing bleeding on my big toe. Ouch.
Today's painful omen: hot coffee on my left hand. Andy and I went to Starbucks this morning and his lid wasn't working right on the 190 degree coffee he was drinking and it started to spill on him. He was driving, and since I didn't want to die in a firey car crash, I grabbed the coffee to help him, and then we hit a bump or something and the coffee spilled some more - and this time on me. Now, I'm not a stranger to Starbucks coffee burns, but it's been a while. My left index finger hurts.
Today, I am not running. Andy did, however. He ran a 5k (making me wish I was running, but I wasn't going to because of the run tomorrow), and did a damn good job. He expected to do it in 45 minutes, so I wandered around and found breakfast. Luckily I went to the finish line line after 30 minutes, because he comes charging up at 37 minutes! I wasn't expecting him then, but I grabbed my camera and got a picture (after which he told me that as soon as he saw me, he made sure he looked good).
Soon we're going to New Orleans to pick up our race packets (him the 5K and me the 1/2 marathon - why do a 5K when I can run 13.1 miles?).
Maybe I can squeeze in a quick nap. Maybe I'll sleep in the car since he's driving.
Cheers!
Ok, update on the eye. It still hurts. It doesn't hurt as much, so instead of the feeling of a knife stabbing through my eye I just feel an irritation, like constant dust. I slept with an eye patch last night (go ahead with the pirate jokes), but since I got only 5 hours of sleep, that wasn't much time to heal.
Yes, I only got 5 hours of sleep. I am exhausted. God, I hope I get at least 7 tonight before the race.
Here's another painful omen: last night, at the Chimes (great restaurant in Baton Rouge), my foot slipped on the wet floor and jammed underneath the table, causing bleeding on my big toe. Ouch.
Today's painful omen: hot coffee on my left hand. Andy and I went to Starbucks this morning and his lid wasn't working right on the 190 degree coffee he was drinking and it started to spill on him. He was driving, and since I didn't want to die in a firey car crash, I grabbed the coffee to help him, and then we hit a bump or something and the coffee spilled some more - and this time on me. Now, I'm not a stranger to Starbucks coffee burns, but it's been a while. My left index finger hurts.
Today, I am not running. Andy did, however. He ran a 5k (making me wish I was running, but I wasn't going to because of the run tomorrow), and did a damn good job. He expected to do it in 45 minutes, so I wandered around and found breakfast. Luckily I went to the finish line line after 30 minutes, because he comes charging up at 37 minutes! I wasn't expecting him then, but I grabbed my camera and got a picture (after which he told me that as soon as he saw me, he made sure he looked good).
Soon we're going to New Orleans to pick up our race packets (him the 5K and me the 1/2 marathon - why do a 5K when I can run 13.1 miles?).
Maybe I can squeeze in a quick nap. Maybe I'll sleep in the car since he's driving.
Cheers!
Friday, February 03, 2006
Cornea, part II
I just read that the cornea has more nerve endings than any other part of the body.
I can attest to that.
I can attest to that.
Omens???
Ok, so the problem with my car was a blown fuse. It cost me $80 for them to tell me that. Arghh.
So, I'm not a superstitious person, but between my car and the events that occurred today, I'm beginning to get the feeling that I should stay in Houston this weekend.
But no worries, I am leaving for Baton Rouge in an hour.
This morning, as I was applying my eyeliner, I somehow stabbed myself in the eye with my fingernail. The pain brought me to my knees for about 30 minutes. When I recovered, I painfully finished getting ready and painfully drove myself to work, stopping once to cry. I called my sister (she has a habit of tearing her corneas) and she said that I indeed tore a cornea and that I need to put a patch on it, pack it with gauze and go to a doctor.
I'm stubborn. I went to school. I saw the nurse, who put a bandage stuffed with cotton balls around my eye. Ooh, that made it worse. I lasted less than one class period (I even started crying in class). The kids were alarmed and convinced me to go home. I did the best I could to prepare a sub, but left anyways. I called my sister back and she told me that the cotton was probably making it worse. True enough, I stopped crying when the cotton came out.
I went to the doctor and he reaffirmed that I tore my left cornea, but luckily it wasn't deep. I am to have an eye patch for the day, but told him that I'm planning on driving to Baton Rouge for the New Orleans marathon. He didn't look too happy with me. Luckily, one of the other doctors came in and she is a marathon runner. She told me to keep the patch on until I leave, then be careful and buy wrap-around sunglasses for the race. I also have eye drops I have to put in 4 times a day so that I don't get an infection.
I can't express how bad this hurts. Luckily, I only went through one layer (my sister went through 3 and 5). Mine, for the most part, will be better by the morning, but I have to be EXTREMELY cautious for the next 72 hours.
Fun times. Driving to BR will be exciting.
Cheers!
So, I'm not a superstitious person, but between my car and the events that occurred today, I'm beginning to get the feeling that I should stay in Houston this weekend.
But no worries, I am leaving for Baton Rouge in an hour.
This morning, as I was applying my eyeliner, I somehow stabbed myself in the eye with my fingernail. The pain brought me to my knees for about 30 minutes. When I recovered, I painfully finished getting ready and painfully drove myself to work, stopping once to cry. I called my sister (she has a habit of tearing her corneas) and she said that I indeed tore a cornea and that I need to put a patch on it, pack it with gauze and go to a doctor.
I'm stubborn. I went to school. I saw the nurse, who put a bandage stuffed with cotton balls around my eye. Ooh, that made it worse. I lasted less than one class period (I even started crying in class). The kids were alarmed and convinced me to go home. I did the best I could to prepare a sub, but left anyways. I called my sister back and she told me that the cotton was probably making it worse. True enough, I stopped crying when the cotton came out.
I went to the doctor and he reaffirmed that I tore my left cornea, but luckily it wasn't deep. I am to have an eye patch for the day, but told him that I'm planning on driving to Baton Rouge for the New Orleans marathon. He didn't look too happy with me. Luckily, one of the other doctors came in and she is a marathon runner. She told me to keep the patch on until I leave, then be careful and buy wrap-around sunglasses for the race. I also have eye drops I have to put in 4 times a day so that I don't get an infection.
I can't express how bad this hurts. Luckily, I only went through one layer (my sister went through 3 and 5). Mine, for the most part, will be better by the morning, but I have to be EXTREMELY cautious for the next 72 hours.
Fun times. Driving to BR will be exciting.
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Murphy's Law
You know, this is the second time this has happened. I haven't run or gone to the gym lately (I suffered for 1.5 miles on the treadmill Monday... it sucked). I skipped out Tuesday because I was tired. I skipped out today because I forgot to set my alarm. I was planning on going tomorrow morning...
Until I get a short in my car. My inside lights don't work, so in darkness I can't tell how fast I'm driving. So I have to take my car in tomorrow. Last time, the mechanics took 2 days to work on my car. I don't have that luxury since I'm going to Baton Rouge Friday evening. Let's hope they're not too busy and the short won't be that difficult to fix.
I have a ton of grading to do. I'm trying to not do it when I'm in Baton Rouge (because I don't want to be rude and also I don't get to visit Andy or Louisiana much), so I'm going to be stocked up when I get back. But then my department chair asked me to have after school TAKS tutorials. And then I'm having rehearsals for the Black History program. And then I was asked to help out with the National Honor Society swearing-in. And I'm taking a state exam in two weeks.
I'm surprised I have any hair left. I'm also surprised I don't have an ulcer.
How many more weeks until Spring Break?
Cheers!
Until I get a short in my car. My inside lights don't work, so in darkness I can't tell how fast I'm driving. So I have to take my car in tomorrow. Last time, the mechanics took 2 days to work on my car. I don't have that luxury since I'm going to Baton Rouge Friday evening. Let's hope they're not too busy and the short won't be that difficult to fix.
I have a ton of grading to do. I'm trying to not do it when I'm in Baton Rouge (because I don't want to be rude and also I don't get to visit Andy or Louisiana much), so I'm going to be stocked up when I get back. But then my department chair asked me to have after school TAKS tutorials. And then I'm having rehearsals for the Black History program. And then I was asked to help out with the National Honor Society swearing-in. And I'm taking a state exam in two weeks.
I'm surprised I have any hair left. I'm also surprised I don't have an ulcer.
How many more weeks until Spring Break?
Cheers!
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