One Last Comment...

For those of you who have been worried/concerned or noticed that my stress level has been high and that I've seemed tired lately... do not worry. My M.O. is to get extremely wound up and stressed before something big, and then I'll be fine once it's over (example - my teaching certification exams, this marathon, the play, etc.). Sometimes I feel that if I don't stress over something, I won't do well.

It makes no sense, I know, but that's how I learn to approach things.

But hell, I feel wonderful now!!!!

SUCCESS!!!!!!!

Ok, here is my race weekend recap..

Friday: Boring plane ride, only half full. I get to Nashville, and as we descend to the runway I look out the window and uttered one word: "shit." There are some large hills in that city, made even larger via airplane. We landed and I went straight to my hotel. The reason I stayed at my hotel Saturday evening (instead of flying out after the race) was so that I could soak in the tub and be a bum. Much to my chagrin, my room didn't have a tub - only a shower. No problem, there's a pool and I brought some extra running clothes so I could just sit in the pool in running clothes. Off I go to the expo where I bought my traditional marathon socks and lapel pin, plus two new running shirts - one from John Bingham that has a penguin on the front and the words, "I'm slow, I know, get over it" on the back and then a running tank that says, "Running is cheaper than therapy." I'm happy with both of my purchases. I wandered around, listened to Bingham speak (which is always fun) and then wandered around Nashville. I met up with Bill and Beverly at the Wildhorse Saloon where we had a late lunch. I went back to my hotel room, rested and watched bad tv movies. I was asleep by 8pm, which was perfect since I had to wake up at 4:30am on race day.

RACE DAY!!!!!!!!! I woke up early, dressed, "named by biceps" (writing my name on both arms so people can cheer me on) as my friend Ed said once, hopped aboard the shuttle and off I went. I met a girl from Arkansas and hung out with her and her running group "The Hot Legs" before the gun went off.

7am. The gun goes off. We're on a wave start, and since I'm in corral 14 (of 24), it takes a while for me to leave. Finally, we're off! I set my Garmin and tell myself to start slow and be stronger in the middle - and try to last to mile 20 before giving up running completely.

Before I tell you of my splits, let me tell you of my time. My two previous marathon races were sad times (but at least I finished safely, so I was happy). My finishing time in San Diego was 6:53. After a summer of poor training, my Marine Corps finishing time was 7:02. For this one, when I signed up, I said my estimated finishing time was 6:15, but secretly I figured I'd finish in 6:30.

I finished in 6:21:12!!!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a PR of 32 minutes, and it's 41 minutes better than my last marathon!!!

Here are my splits:
Mile 1 - 11:48. Oops. Too fast. But there were some downhills.
Mile 2 - 12 minutes. Still too fast.
Mile 3 - 12:30. That's more like it. These hills are annoying. Took a gu.
Mile 4 - 12:05.
Mile 5 - 11:36.
Mile 6 - 12:07
Mile 7 - 12:44. Saw Bill and Beverly on the other side.
Mile 8 - 12:36. Gu time.
Mile 9 - 12:54. Oof. Uphills-a-plenty.
Mile 10 - 11:59.
Mile 11 - 12:53.
Mile 12 - 14:30. I have no clue what happened here. Uphills maybe?
Mile 13 - 13:20. I reached the half-way point at 2:47. I took a gu. It turned out to be my last - I just forgot to take any more. See mile 21.
Mile 14 - 15:56. I decided to walk a mile or two before running again, since I pushed myself so hard in the beginning. Big mistake. My desire to run after that faded quickly and I ended up walking more than running.
Mile 15 - 14:59. Jogged a bit.
Mile 16 - 17:40. Got bored. Started calling friends and family.
Mile 17 - 14:36. Jogged some more.
Mile 18 - 16:21. Getting bored and my desire to jog is gone.
Mile 19 - 15:53. Ran downhills. Walked the rest.
Mile 20 - 15:01. Ran downhills fast. Walked the rest.
Mile 21 - 17:34. I was in tears. I was hurting, I was lonely, I was bored. I called my mom and Andy and just cried. After hanging up with them, I realized it had been a while since I took any source of sugar, so I ate a bag of M&Ms and felt instantly better (I learned about M&Ms in a marathon from the MCM).
Mile 22 - 18:01. Hmm. I have no idea why I'm this slow, but at least I was in a better mood.
Mile 23 - 19:24. I stopped because I ran into an ex-boss from Louisiana (small world) who was running the race with her brother and her brother was hurt, so they were painfully trying to get to the finish line. I stopped and chatted with her for a second.
Mile 24 - 13:49. I started jogging again.
Mile 25 - 16:15. The end is near. Why go so fast? I know I'll PR.
Mile 26 - 15:23. Tried to jog/shuffle to pass up walkers (how sad am I?)
last .51 - 7:32. My Garmin totaled out at 26.51 miles, but that's probably because I weaved in and out occasionally, as well as didn't cut the matrices right. But once I hit the shute, I sprinted towards the end, practically crying from happiness with my time.

I am very happy with the results. I cut off 32 minutes in less than a year, felt much better about this training, and am not hurt. My Achilles tendon didn't flare up AT ALL, I have NO blisters on my feet, did NOT chafe at all and didn't lose a toenail. My glutes and quads hurt, as do my ankles and the bottom of my feet, but overall I am very happy. Unfortunately, I sat weird at the airport and pulled my back, but that usually happens after a marathon (for me), but I know I'll be back to normal within a week.

After MCM, I decided to not do a full again until I dropped 30 pounds. I didn't drop the pounds, but still knocked off 32 minutes. I have decided, again, to not train for another full until the 30 pounds really DO come off. I am not signing up for MCM but will do the Virginia Beach half over Labor Day and the Nike Women's half in October. I can handle halves, no problem, and I'd rather work on speed with distances of no greater than 13 miles for now.

Overall, the race was fun. I enjoyed the first half more so than the second half, mainly because there were more half runners and once they split from us full, the roads were lonely. The first half is MUCH more hilly than the second half, but the hills made it fun after a while - I felt so free running down the hills without a care in the world. I didn't see many "fun runners", those doing tricks or dressed up, but the bands were good and the energy level was high.

If I do this race again, it'll be only the half, because the first half is the most fun.

After the race, I went back to my hotel. I had a king-size bed, so to minimize my movements, I put all of my belongings on my bed. How sad am I? Yes, I slept with my suitcase on my bed. I left my room only once, to go hunting for food (which was two blocks and a hill away by foot) and then watched more bad television.

Now I'm back to reality and have to go to a double dose of rehearsals today. I told my director that I will be in pain and don't expect me to wear my heels for a few days.

Cheers!

2 More Days

I haven't run since Monday. I'm afraid to.

I leave tomorrow! I have to pack! I haven't been getting much sleep (due to rehearsals)! I don't want to go to work today!

I woke up this morning from a running nightmare. I laugh at it now, but I was so angry in my dream! The dream began at the Houston marathon. Right when we were about to start, one of my running coaches called a meeting - and it lasted one hour. After we finished, my friend Adrienne and I began to run the marathon - and she zoomed past me.

I remember feeling great while running, until I reached mile 18.5. My running was going well (and I was sucking down chocolate Power Gel), until I looked at my watch and realized that I wasn't going to make the 6-hour cut-off because of the meeting! I got pissed off. I was so angry at my coach because I wouldn't be allowed to finish.

Then, all of a sudden, the marathon changed and I was actually running the Marine Corps Marathon again and, after looking at my watch, I realized that I was supposed to be at the famous bridge 15 minutes ago and that I still had 1.5 miles to go to get there! All of a sudden, I grew more angry because now I'd have to face the humiliation of having to get bussed to the finish line and handed a medal I didn't deserve and I was also angry because I wouldn't be allowed to run the entire 26.2 miles.

Then I woke up.

Weird.

I'll post again Sunday afternoon, when I get home. Oh, and I found out yesterday that on Sunday, the day after the marathon, we're having DOUBLE tech rehearsals.

Ouch.

Leavin' on a jet plane....

4 More Days

Deep anxiety is settling in. I have too much going on at once.

4 more days until the marathon.
5 more days until our first tech rehearsal (and thus the beginning of "Hell Week")
9 more days until we open.
1 more week until progress reports are due.
3 more weeks of the six weeks until finals.

I have way too much going on at once and I am not handling it well.

Not well at all.

To Quote Polonius

"Since brevity is the soul of wit, I'll be brief."

Actually, I just don't have a lot of time to spend on today's entry.

Run today:
Total distance: 3 miles
Total time: 37:27
Average pace: 12:28
Temperature: Too humid for my taste
Pain: None until I stopped, and then my left calf tightened up
Days left until the marathon: 5 (yikes!)

I was bored during a professional development lecture, so I played with my Garmin. To run a 6-hour marathon, I have to average 13:43 minute miles. I'm going to aim for that. Actually, I'm going to sign up with the 5:45 hour pace group, because I know I can stick with them for at least the first half of the race (I can probably stick with them until mile 16). Then I'll slow down.

I checked the weather for this weekend in Nashville. As of today, 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms. Low 58, high 72. Nice temperature, crap about the rain.

Cheers!

First Time's a Charm

I did the unthinkable - I found a bridesmaid dress that I actually like! Not only did I find one that I like and that I can wear it again, but it was at the first shop and was the only dress I tried on!

It's tea-length, lilac (I might dye it wine red after the wedding, if it's possible with that kind of fabric) flouncy chiffon with a low-cut, halter neckline. I look great in it, although the tan line from my running singlet and sports bra shows (I'll be tanning in early June to get rid of the lines) it is a fabulous dress. I have an hour-glass figure, which is accentuated, and it makes my cleavage look great. It's pretty damned sexy. Now I need to find other formal events I can wear it to!

Oh, and I was NOT subjected to another lecture on my single status by Yvonne. Instead, she merely told me that she is not participating in the bouquet toss because it would be pointless because I am the only single woman coming to her wedding. Ouch. I've seen the invite list. She's right.

Whatever. I'll still look damn hot in that dress.

Cheers!

Cross-Training

I thought I was pretty much in shape. I run quite a bit, I go to the gym a bit(less frequently this past month due to rehearsals) to lift weights, I'm pretty flexible...

Until I hopped on the stationary bike. I had more fun than I thought, but it was harder than I remember (I haven't been on a bicycle in a LONG time). I put it on a medium-level intensity, optioned for the huge hills and rode for 30 minutes. My speed is pretty good - I went 11 mile in that half-hour and felt great! After getting off, my quads groaned. Maybe I should ride the bike more as cross-training when I get back from my marathon. I can simply add a half-hour in the late evening (in addition to my jogging). The bike's going to be my friend this week, to counter-act the lack of running.

Time to go dress-shopping.

One Mile at a Time

Sorry I haven't posted... (I feel I must apologize because there's one person in particular who gives me a hard time if I don't post at least every other day)...

So, what's going on with me? Many things (but nothing too huge).

1) I've converted another one!!! Two people have told me that I was the reason they started training/ran a marathon. (a) Christine (who ran San Francisco) and (b) Andy - who has began training for the MCM again this year. I can now add a third person to my list. (c) April! She's running her first 10k in July and I've convinced her to train for a half-marathon! So she and I will be doing the Rock-n-Roll half marathon in Virginia Beach over Labor Day Weekend (woo-hoo! Another state!) We've already got our hotel, now I just need to sign up. I'll do that this afternoon.

2) I ran 1 mile this morning. I want to run more, but at the same time I'm scared for my calf. Yesterday, just standing around, it was sending tiny impulses up and down my leg. That alone deemed it wise to not run 6 miles today. I enjoy running, but I forget how much I feel unhappy when I don't run - I haven't run since Thursday (actually, haven't worked out at all since I was resting my calf) and I feel like a slob! I just don't feel good about myself. So today I ran a mile (to test myself) and later (after breakfast) I'll go to the gym and hit the very boring stationary bicycle and lift light weights. My mile this morning was FANTASTIC!!!!!!! Not only did I feel no pain, but I ran hard (my weird logic was to run as hard as I could to see what it would take to hurt) and I ran my fastest mile EVER!!! I ran a 10:22 mile!!! I'm so excited - I've never run a mile under 11:08 before! Now, I don't think I could run 2 miles at that speed, but whenever I feel slow I can remember that I have the ability to run a 10:22 minute mile. This summer I'm going to work on my speed, so by this time next year, I hope that 10:22 minute miles will be average (instead of 12:20).

3) My running for the rest of the week. 3 tomorrow. At least 1 on Tuesday, maybe 3 (depending on afternoon plans). 3 on Wednesday. 1 Thursday morning. That's it. Then the race on Saturday.

4) Rehearsals. Wow, we open in less than two weeks. We spent yesterday working on building the set (I got to play with power tools!) and then painting the set. I think rehearsals will go smoothly now that we have a set and will be working with props. This is a very prop-heavy/set-heavy show so acting on an empty stage was hard. Starting next week, we have tech/dress rehearsals and then we open next Friday. I'm telling my friends to not come opening weekend - just in case. We run 6 weeks, so wait.

5) Today. I get to spend the day wedding planning with Yvonne. If you'll remember, she's getting married in June and I'm a bridesmaid. Today, she, my mom and myself will be shopping for a veil for her and a dress for me. I know she's going to give me a hard time about finding a date for her wedding (she even will lecture me infront of my own mother!) because she wants me to be married soon so that we can have kids at the same time and our kids will be best friends. I adore her, but I tell her that it might take a while - I don't want to rush things just to get married and have kids and end up divorced a few years later. Plus it's fun to see her frustrated. :)

6) School. TAKS is over, there are 4 weeks of class left before finals. We're reading novels, so this will be a relatively easy 4 weeks - reading, reading, reading. Quizzes, maybe a test or two. Then almost three months off! Yea!!

I Hate to Say This

Ok, so I'm in agony, argueing with myself (which is a funny sight to see).

Side 1: Do I heal up for next Saturday and not run until Sunday and not do a long run this weekend?
Side 2: Do I continue small runs and try a long run on Sunday?

Argument for side 1: I need to heal. I don't want to hurt myself completely during the marathon, especially since I have a play that starts 5 days later and I'll be wearing heels and don't need to be on crutches while on stage.

Argument against side 1: What if my muscles forget how to run long distances? (I know, I know, it's only a week and my legs won't forget that quickly). This may seem like a silly thing to say, but remember: I overanalyze.

Argument for side 2: Keep my legs active, keep my legs active! Besides, my tendon/calf problem usually disappears suddenly.

Argument against side 2: It's been hurting more lately than it has before. I want to finish the marathon on my own two feet (instead of with the help of a wheelchair or bloody knees and palms).

Sigh. I know what I have to do. I have to lay off of it until at least Sunday. Then on Sunday I'll do a short run (no more than 6 miles) and run tiny runs (3 miles) every other day until the marathon. I've been training harder for this marathon than the others, so I want to do much better, but my tendon has cost me two long runs within the past three weeks. I'm frustrated. I don't want to win records, but I want some sort of recognition that I'm getting better.

:(

Cheers!

3 Miles

Nothing interesting. One lap around Rice. My left calf started bugging me again after mile 1, but I kept at it, determined to finish at least one lap. And man, was it hot outside! During the first two miles, I said "Fuck the heat" and decided to ignore the humidity and the sun beating down upon my already red shoulders.

Mile 1 - 11:53
Mile 2 - 12:12
Milw 3 - 14:33 - I ended walking the last half mile because of my calf - I didn't want to risk seriously hurting it again.

Average 12:53/mile - better than yesterday.

Tomorrow I'm going to powerwalk a lap around Rice. I know I'm going to be walking some part of the marathon, but I'm a dawdler, so I'm going to work on walking a little faster than my normal slow pace.

Time for rehearsal. The show opens in 16 days!!!!!

Cheers!

TAKS and Heat!

Today was day 1 of the TAKS test. 3 more to go...

After school, I went on a jog. Since I didn't go yesterday (as hoped), I wanted to make sure I went today and I was thinking I wanted to go 8. My usual daily runs are 6 (when I'm not hurting) and I want to start boosting it up to 8, so I decided to start today.

It was 92 degrees outside. Remember that I'm not a hot-weather jogger? Nevertheless, I stuck it out and felt pretty damn good. Slow, but good. With my marathon coming up next week (gulp!) I wanted to focus on mileage.

Average pace was 14:07, which I'm completely fine with. Damn, it was hot.

After mile 3, I reminded myself to go another lap around Rice at least. After mile 4, I took a Gu (need to buy more). By mile 5, my left calf was cramping up again, so I took it very slowly (out of fear). At the end of mile 6, I realized I could do another mile, so I went to 7 miles. The problem/good thing about that is that I still had to return the mile to my car, so I ended up with 8 miles. And my calf tighteness worked itself out, but I took it very easy.

Woo-hoo! I felt great, despite the nasty heat and looking like crap.

Time to soak!

Cheers!

The Results Are In

Chip time: 1:16:29 - a PR by exactly 2 minutes! (average 12:18 officially)

Oh, and I had to get a new phone. I was upset because my "Star Wars" ringtone didn't make it over, so I went to purchase it again.

It doesn't work with my new phone.

But, I did find "Phantom of the Opera" to buy - and it has Michael Crawford singing (it's not just a polyphonic tone)! So whenever someone calls, I am serenaded by Michael Crawford!

I'm such a geek.

But I also downloaded the LSU fight song. :)

Cheers!

Old Route... New Run

Well, I wanted to get a long run in today, of around 12 miles. Due to staying out too late the night before, we woke up at 6 instead of 5, shrinking the time alotted for me to run. Sigh. But, whatever, I had fun last night.

As per my request, we went to the lakes in Baton Rouge. Andy went clockwise and I went counterclockwise and through the campus to do the steep inclines/hills.

This was a very familiar route. I remember walking and biking the lakes when I was a student. Now, I was running the route. I had a blast during the campus leg - I was slower than I wanted to, but I got to see the changes being made to my school and the neighborhood around it (my theatre building is being remodeled! They tore down a shopping center and replaced it with apartments! Where's McDonald's?). And I had such a fun time running through campus! I got some good hill training in - plus Baton Rouge is slightly less flat than Houston, which was a bit of a perk. One thing I miss about Baton Rouge is definitely the campus. It's so lovely that I think I'd enjoy being a college professor there one day. I just have to get my master's and PhD first.

I only got in 7.71 miles, however, because I was in a very bad mood. I was angry at myself for not being more diligent with the fact that I'm training for a marathon (i.e. staying up late and drinking). I was angry with myself because I couldn't pick up speed (at least I wasn't hurting, just slow). I was angry for not getting in the miles I wanted recently (even though I was healing). I was angry with myself for being angry with myself! And I was angry because my phone broke again, but this time I think it's dead for good. I discovered that at mile 7.5, and add all my irritations together and you get a cranky Erica. I was fine until my phone broke, and that was like the straw that broke the camel's back. Now I really am going to have to get a new cell phone, which isn't in my budget. Grumble. I stayed angry for a while, quietly so that I wouldn't lash out at Andy and scare him. When I get mad, just leave me alone for a while! Poor him. :) But I was back to my old self within an hour or two. Now I'm fine (thanks to a "slap in the face" conversation with his dad about how I overanalyze and think too much about my running).

In retrospect, I blame my crankiness on the possibility of PMS.

Here's my splits:
Mile 1 - 13:21
Mile 2 - 13:42
Mile 3 - 13:55
Mile 4 - 13:40
Mile 5 - 14
Mile 6 - 14:07
Mile 7 - 14:46
Last .71 - 10:05
I wanted to keep 13 minute miles, but my body said, "Hell no!" I'm over it. I ate crap, stayed out too late for the past two nights, had alcohol in my system (a virtual rarity) and ran a race the day before. I'm too hard on myself, so this is a learning opportunity. :)

The results haven't been posted, but somehow Andy found our gun times. The odd thing about the timing of this race was that they only gave out champion chips to those expected to finish in 45 minutes or less. The rest of us had to rent our chips (I didn't have mine with me). So hopefully, since I was wearing a chip, they'll put my chip time up there because my gun time was over 81 minutes (thanks to a long line to the starting mat).

Tomorrow, I hope to run 7 miles. I'm looking forward to the marathon being over because I want to get more steady with my runs and increase my weekly mileage (and not have to fear hurting myself because I won't be training for a big race).

Ugh. Time for bed. Cheers!

Back in the Big Easy - A Race Report

Prologue: Today was the Crescent City Classic 10k. I arrived in Baton Rouge yesterday and I am pleased to note that I had no painful situations occur before that would serve as bad omens. I arrived yesterday morning, went to a friend of mine's new house (he just bought it and proudly showed it off) and then I went over to Andy's. We went to New Orleans, picked up the race info, headed back and went to a movie. I was exhausted when we were done and was looking foward to an early night (because I need sleep the night before a race, and I had been up since 4:30 that morning). Nope. Some of his friends called and invited us to the Daiquiri Cafe, so we went. I was quietly grumpy because I needed sleep (although we went out for sushi before the Daiquiri Cafe, which made me happy for thirty minute). After appearing to be the most anti-social person in the world (I'm extremely quiet when exhausted) we finally went back to his apartment. I fell asleep as soon as we got home (as in I immediately went to the couch and pulled the blanket over my eye while he finished doing whatever he was doing in the living room), which was after 11. This morning, his alarm went off at 5am (actually, three times prior, and I could hear him hitting the snooze button each time - and I was downstairs! That's a f*****g loud alarm) and we were gone by 6am. I was groggy, and not altogether pleased at the lack of sleep, but whatever.

We get to New Orleans in good time and make our way to the start at Jackson Square. This is the biggest 10k I have ever seen. When I did the New Orleans half marathon in February, there were only 1000 runners. There were 13,000 runners for this one. The crowds were more fun, there were randon jazz bands along the route, etc. I would definitely run this race again.

I came with one major goal and two minor goals. The major goal was to PR. My best 10k prior to today was the Conoco Philips Rodeo Run, in which I finished in 1:18:26, average mil of 12:37. I wanted to PR. Segueing to my second goal, I wanted to average 12 minute miles. My third goal was to beat Andy, but the sneaky son-of-a-bitch averaged at 11:30 miles, instead of the 12:00 he was originally planning.

The Run:
Mile 1: 11:58. I kinda hoped for a faster first mile, but it was difficult. The race started with a cannon going off. Then all 13,000 pushed forward to begin. This was a mess. The walkers got too far ahead, so that when the runners started running (at least, my pace of runners), we had to dodge walkers EVERYWHERE. When I walk, if there's a lot of people, I use courtesy and stick to the right side of the street. Not these folks! I wasted .13 mile waving in and out of people and running sideways. My total mileage for the race was 6.33. I was irritated. I managed to get ahead of Andy when I was darting around big groups of walkers.

Mile 2: 11:51. Still hoped for a faster mile, but I'm ok with this. Nothing extremely interesting in this mile. Still trying to get around walkers.

Mile 3: 12:22. Oops. Why did I slow down? I took an espresso gu for extra energy.
Andy caught up with me as we approached the 4-mile marker. I kept up with him briefly, and then just let him go.

Mile 4: 12:08. Darn. Oh, well. It's getting extremely hot - the sun is beating down (and I am sunburned).

Mile 5: 12:05. Whatever. Towards the end of mile 5, my left toes begin cramping up. I guess I was pushing off with them too much.

Mile 6: 12:40. I was getting tired and knew I was going to PR.

.33 - 3:22 - yes, I held a 10:20/mile pace for three minutes! I hauled ass at the end.

Total mileage: 6.33. Time: 1:16:29. Pace: 12:05 (I'm ok with this).
I know that the official results will be 6.2 miles at close to the same time, which will mean my official pace would be around 12:15 or so, which I'm still happy with. I managed to cut 2 minute off my time, so my goal for the next 10K is to cut another 2 minute off at least. I will be running this 10k next year and my goal is for an 11 minute/mile pace, which is so do-able!

If I had the proper amount of sleep, I probably would've been able to stick to the 12-minute goal pace, but I'm not complaining. I'm damn proud of myself. And then we went to Port-Of-Call, which has the best burgers in the world. Yumm...

My left calf/tendon didn't hurt at all. I bought "The Stick" yesterday, finally. It's a neat roller-massager stick that gets the kinks out of muscles. I've been wanting one forever because they feel wonderful, so I'm happy a vendor was selling it at the expo.

I still need to get a nice, easy long run in, so I'm going to strive for 12 miles tomorrow. I've never run around the lakes of Baton Rouge, so I'm looking forward to the run. I also plan on running through LSU's campus because there are some nasty hills near the Stadium and I want to get some easy hills in.

I feel wonderful. I could've kept running. I might be back to normal.

Cheers!

Back to Normal... Almost

Sorry that my postings have been sporadic - rehearsals have been keeping me busy (plus running lines with Lonnie in addition to rehearsal schedule).

So, after the run on Tuesday, I was in a great deal of pain all throughout rehearsals. I was limping and gritting my teeth when I had to run on stage. I didn't run at all yesterday and decided to try it again today.

The first mile passed with no pain.
The second mile passed with no pain.
The third mile passed with no pain.
I stopped while I was ahead and as I stretched lightly, that's when the twinges began; I stopped at just the right time.

The stats:
Mile 1: 11:38 (no walk break)
Mile 2: 11:54 (took one walk break)
Mile 3: 12:39 (took one walk break)
Mile .1: 1:11
Total time: 37:32
Average pace: 12:03
Calories burned: 351 (which was erradicated with the fried chicken I had for dinner)
Temperature: warm and f*****g humid.

I hadn't eaten in a while and I felt my blood sugar drop during mile three, but I didn't want to take a gu, so I just allowed the slowing to happen.

I'm going to go 3 miles again tomorrow, and gingerly because I want to do well at the Crescent City Classic. Considering on my 15-mile training run that I didn't rise above 12:30 for 8-9 miles (and actually the first 6 miles were all under 12:06), I really think I can PR. I want to average out at a 11:45-12 mile pace. I'm excited. I've got my fuel belt (because I've stopped stopping for water on 10ks) and a Gu to take (just to ensure blood sugar happiness) and the rest will be packed tomorrow after rehearsals.

Time for bed!

Back on (the) Track...

I haven't run since Thursday, to allow healing time, so I figured I'd run today.

Here we go... 3 miles around Rice University...
Mile 1 - 12:33
Mile 2 - 12:33 (amazing, I've never had two miles exactly the same)
Mile 3 - 12:48

After .65 of the first mile, my lower right calf/upper Achilles tendon started hurting. I stopped, dropped the f-bomb (and quite loudly, I'm sorry to say) and then started up again. I wanted originally to do 6, but after I started getting sore I switched to 3 to see if I could run it out.

Nope. Not really. In fact, I limp-ran the last mile, which is why I was surprised that my time was only 15 seconds slower. Tomorrow I'm going to bow out of speed/track practice and try another 3 miles. Sometimes when my calf/tendon acts up, if I run it out it gets better. But we'll see how it is tomorrow.

Whatever happens, I'm doing it with the Crescent City Classic in mind. I'm driving all the way to run the damn race, I better finish with a smile on my face. I wanted to hold a consistent 12-minute mile, but we'll see what happens.

Almost time for rehearsal. We're going to be off book tonight! I'm kinda nervous.

Cheers!

PS - I'd like to give a "shout out" to Clay, who's stationed in Iraq. :) They're having a half-marathon in Iraq the same day as mine where he's stationed.

Will I Ever Play the Violin Again?

(That's a joke).

Fingers update: bruised and sore but they're no broken and I didn't lose a fingernail!

Nothing of interest happened today. Today was actually kind of boring. But this week is a 4-day week and then off to Baton Rouge for three days and a 10K!

Adventures of a Clutz

So we all know I am accident-prone (hello - I tore my cornea while applying eye makeup, hurt my toe that night and then had my hand burned by two hundred degree coffee the next morning). I have, however, been attempting to be more careful (never mind the fact that I slammed my head into a low ceiling backstage two weeks ago). This morning I was in the garage, searching for a folding chair to take with me while I man a water station. Finding the chair, I walked out and lifted my arms to close the garage door. I don't know what I was thinking about, because it obviously wasn't safety, because I stuck my left hand into a crack in the garage door to drag it down, not realizing that the crack/fold straightens up. Yep, my fingertips were still in the fold when the door straigthened up as it fell down. And it took me a few seconds to realize what happened. I heaved the door back up, removed my fingers from the offending door and had to hold back tears. I am honestly surprised my fingers didn't break; they hurt so bad I was naseaus and light-headed. I iced them for about an hour and now they're just extremely sensitive. I am so thankful they're not broken - I'm left-handed. Plus I wouldn't be able to update my blog as much because typing with one hand is very time-consuming.

Then I went shopping after the run (which I couldn't participate...sniff) and found a great pair of jeans, so I'm happy as a lark. I love the Gap.

I spent two hours going over my lines today, so between that and tomorrow's line-running with Lonnie, I'm feeling a lot more confident. As soon as we memorize the lines (this week), we are going to work on blocking for the three fight scenes I'm in (they're such fun!).

Cheers!

Friday Night Fun

Not.

6 more weeks, thankfully. Some of my kids are just getting on my last nerves and they're hyper, waiting for summer to begin. On that first day of no school, I plan on sleeping in and not changing out of my pajamas until the show that night (since I can't wear pajamas on stage).

My left ankle's been braced all day, to restrict the movement of my tendon. I took the brace off - and realized I'll be wearing it again tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to lay in bed, prop up my foot and catch up on my school-related reading. Nothing exciting, nothing fabulous. Maybe I'll enjoy a glass of red wine with my book.

Tomorrow, I will NOT be running with the group (sniff) but will instead be tormented by the inability to run as I man a water station. Sigh. Oh, well, I need to get better. Besides, the temperature is supposed to be lower on Sunday, anyway. Plus, with daylight savings, I can sleep afford to go out tomorrow night because I can sleep until 7 or 8 instead of 6 or 7. My castmates and I are going to bond over dinner and then catch the currently running show at Company OnStage to support Lonnie, the man who plays my husband in the play that's opening in 4 weeks. Yes, I will be participating in a social activity. Wow. I haven't had one of those in a while.

Darn it. I have a portfolio project due Tuesday. Hmm. Maybe I should work on that now. That'll give me something productive to do while I wait for a friend to wake up and get online.

Cheers!

On the Sidelines

Well, I'm on the sideslines for a few days.

My Achilles tendon isn't getting better. I went to the gym yesterday morning and it bothered me towards the end of my elliptical machine workout and when I got to work I iced it for about an hour.

Usually, I'm ok after a day, but it's starting to feel like it did after the Marine Corps Marathon, which means it'll take a few more days.

I was feeling fine this afternoon, so I went to Rice for a jog. After 3/4 of a mile, it started flaring up again. At mile 1, it got much worse, the twinges being accompanied by all-out pain spasms when I took a step. I had to walk the mile back to my car, which was painful in itself. I tried to run again once, but took two steps and started grimacing too much.

I am home now, and braced up. I need not move it for a while, so I have put my trusty brace on and will keep it on for 24 hours to try to fix it. I was supposed to go 14 miles on Saturday, but that's out of the question. I'm not going to run again until Sunday, and then I'm going to go extra slow and not put a specific mileage goal - if I can make 14, great! If I can't.... fine.

The Crescent City Classic is a week away and if I can run that one, I'll be fine for the marathon. So I will be resting and taking extra special care of my tendon for the weekend and next week.

Rehearsals are going fine. We have to be off book by Monday, which means I'll be studying my lines ALL weekend. Only 4 more weeks of rehearsal before we open! Yep, we open 6 days after my marathon... we have our first tech rehearsal the day after the marathon. That'll be fun. I might be crying backstage, especially after Act 1, scene 2 (I litterly run around a lot on stage in that scene).

1 week until the Crescent City Classic.
3 weeks until the Country Music Marathon.
4 weeks until we open.
6 weeks of class left, the 1 week of finals.
7 weeks until school is officially over for the summer.
8 weeks until my 10-year high school reunion.
9 weeks until Yvonne's wedding.

11 weeks until I go to New York.

Cheers!

Insert Clever Title Here

Speed practice rundown: lunges, gallops, butt-kicks. Then we did the ladder (run a minute, walk a minute, run 90 seconds, walk a minute, run 2 minutes, etc.). I copped out after a mile because my left Achilles tendon started acting up again and I have no desire to injure it. So I stretched it out a bit and walked it out. I tried to run every once in a while, but it started acting up quickly, so I just gave up.

I'm feeling better about my disappointment. I'm just going to go to NY and DC for a few weeks in the summer and just relax. I'll just apply again next year, and again and again until they get tired of me and just accept me to shut me up. :)

Cheers!

I'm Sad

:(

My chances for the Washington DC summer program is extremely miniscule. I received a letter saying that I was chosen as an alternate and would only be offered a place if one of the chosen rejected the offer (but who knows how many alternates there are and what number alternate I am). They have until April 15th. But seriously, who in their right mind would not accept the offer? The application process was time-consuming and this is an excellent opportunity. April perked me up a bit by pointing out that maybe some of those who applied also applied for other summer things and maybe they'll take another offer. That perked me up for 5 minutes. Then not so much.

I know, there's always next year, but I wanted to do it this year!

I am so depressed that I don't even want to go running.

I want chocolate. Sigh.

No Running Today

Nope. No running, so I will not be talking about running (for the most part).

I also did not grade any exams. Which means I did not grade any research papers. I might take Friday off so that I can catch up on my grading. Plus I have my last portfolio project due soon.

What did I do? Not a lot. I went to bed at midnight (I was stuck on the couch watching a cheesy chick flick) and then woke up at 5:45. I could not sleep whatsoever. I lounged around for a couple of hours (reading, watching tv, eating breakfast) and finally left my place at 10am. I took a short trip to the airport and bought my ticket to Nashville. Close friends, expect one of my usual flight e-mails within the next three weeks.

I came home, read some more, and went to the movies. I've been wanting to see "Inside Man" since I saw the trailers and it didn't disappoint me. I highly recommend it, but it did leave some lingering questions at the end. If one can forget the questions, then one will enjoy the film.

I'm back home, doing laundry, packing my gym bag, packing my running bag. My file of tests to-be-graded sits next to my laptop and I will have to open it to grade some of them. I also need to work on memorizing my lines! We have to be off book in 9 days. Yikes!

Oh, and I'm still relatively painless. I'm still exhausted and a little dehydrated, but my body still doesn't feel like I jogged 20 miles yesterday. I feel normal. This is a good sign for the 29th.

Cheers!

Pain Update

It's 9:41pm. I still feel great. Let me rephrase this: my muscles and joints still feel great. I have chafed in a new spot, and it does not make me happy (on my back with the help of my sports bra - now it hurts to wear a regular bra) but it's nothing a little neosporin won't cure. But how the hell am I supposed to put body glide back there?

There was no ice cream today; there was chocolate cake! Erin's birthday was today and a bunch of us helped her celebrate with lots of good food and a cake that Carissa made (with homemade icing) and decorated herself. My, it was tasty.

But my legs feel fine. The room at the bar we were at was on the second floor and the stairs posed NO problems whatsoever. Also, I felt good enough to wear heels (but don't tell any of my coaches!).

Tomorrow morning, if I feel alright, I might put in a very easy, very slow 3 mile maintenence run. That'll put me at 30 miles this week.

Now I get to taper!!!! I don't have to wake up at 4:15am to get in 4-6 miles before the group run. In fact, I get to go less than the group! They're going 16 next Saturday. I think I'll do only 14. Ahh.... tapering is my favorite part of marathon training.

Time for bed. I am utterly exhausted! And I must lose an hour of sleep. Darn it, daylight savings time!

Cheers!

20 Miles Later

Today was my big 21-miler, but I stopped at 20. I was feeling way too sickly and one more mile doesn't make a difference.

My average pace was 14:03, which makes me happy. I wanted to average out 13:30, so the extra 30 seconds is ok with me, especially since it was a bad run.

First of all, it was extremely humid when I started and hot when I stopped (in the 80s). Second of all, I got WAY too hot. Let's do a mile breakdown, shall we?

Mile 1 - 12:43 Nice first mile. The humidity made it feel worse.
Mile 2 - 12:51
Mile 3 - 13:20 Whoops. Too slow. Took a salt packet.
Mile 4 - 13:15 Screw it.
Mile 5 - 12:38 Woo-hoo!
Mile 6 - 17:16 I crashed hard. I was borderline tears, frustrated, etc. I ended up walking most of this mile. I almost turned back to my car to leave, but didn't want to do this again tomorrow. Towards the end, I realized my blood sugar was probably too low and that I needed a gu. So I took an espresso gu.
Mile 7 - 12:30 I was feeling MUCH better psychologically. I was singing to myself, feeling great.
Mile 8 - 13:04
Mile 9 - 13:20
Mile 10 - 13:40 (took another gu and the end)
Mile 11 - Approx. 12:00
Mile 12 - Approx 12:00 (having problems with my Garmin - I hit the lap button at odd times.
Mile 13 - 11:50. I have no idea where this energy came from.
Mile 14 - Approx 15 minutes. I forgot to stop my watch - I chatted at a water station too long. Oops.
Mile 15 - 13:33
Mile 16 - 16:15 (I started getting tired and walked a bit more)
Mile 17 - 14:28 (Still tired)
Mile 18 - 15:46 (still tired)
Mile 19 - 16:37 (still tired... back in the Park and felt crappy)
Mile 20 - 19:03 (I gave up and walked slowly)

Notice that the last gu was consumed at mile 10. At mile 11, I started feeling sick to my stomach - I thought it was too much water.

By mile 15, which is when I wanted to take another gu, my tummy still felt sloshy, but I was extremely thirsty. I knew taking a gu would make me barf.

By mile 17, I was at Starbucks so I went to to make myself throw up because I knew I'd feel better. I couldn't throw anything up (not even water). Then I began to think I drank too much on my run. Plus, I was STARVING by this point. I usually take food on my 20-21 milers but forgot and didn't stop to buy any (stupid, stupid, stupid).

By mile 20, I was running on empty (beyond empty). So I gave up running. Notice how my times took a nosedive after mile 15 - when I should've had another gu.

I got to the end and Coach Anne was still waiting for me (bless her!). The others already left for breakfast - since I was doing an extra 6 miles beyond the group, I didn't expect anyone to wait for me and I told them to go on. But Anne waited for me.

I went to breakfast. Those who know me know that I can put away some food. My usual breakfast after a run is an egg white omlette with green peppers and feta cheese, grits with 2 tsp of butter and either wheat toast or 2 biscuits with strawberry jam. And I eat it all. Today, I had the same (with biscuits) and some bacon. I ate half of it. Now, I'm sick to my stomach. I'm going to shower, buy a new cell phone (mine finally bit it on the run) and take a nap. Maybe my GI tract will stop rebelling by that point.

As for running pain, the only way I can tell I went 20 miles is my left calf that keeps seizing on me. I feel wonderful besides that. I feel like I only went 10 miles. I'm not stiff, not sore. My pinky toes hurt, but that's usual. No knee pain, no quad pain, no feet pain, no ankle pain.

But man am I exhausted. I deserve a nap.

Cheers!