Monday, October 25, 2010

It's Taper Time!

Less than 2 weeks until the big race!!!  And it's official - Stomp the Grapes 1/2 Marathon is sold out!  750 registered runners and 100 relay teams - with odds like that I shouldn't be last.  Yay!  My goal (and I think Alyssa's too) is to finish in 3 hours, which would mean a keeping up the pace of about a 13:30 mile - completely do-able.  Our practice runs have been averaging between a 12:30 and a 13 mile, closer to 13, and with the adrenaline of the race we should be fine. 

I finally got new shoes this weekend:

Aren't they pretty?  They are a half size too small though so I'll be exchanging them either tonight or tomorrow - boo. 

PS: I took that photo with my new iPhone - about a thousand time better picture quality than my old phone!

Aside from the fact that my toes went numb, they felt great!  Alyssa got new Sauconys (a birthday gift from her mother-in-law) and she loves them. 



Here is the tapering plan - we ran 3 miles this morning (was supposed to be yesterday but oh well), cross train tomorrow, 3 miles Thursday, cross training Friday, 5 miles Saturday, a 5K race on Saturday (Costumes for a Cause), 2 miles on Tuesday, 20 minutes on Wednesday, 20 minutes Friday and then the race on Saturday!!!  Also on the tapering plan is eating better for the next couple weeks - after all the junk I ate watching the game yesterday (go Steelers!) I felt absolutely miserable during my run this morning (tummy-wise) - blech.

So my next blog will be my 100th... I'll have to think of several clever things to say, so as not to waste the momentous occasion!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

When Work Constitutes a Workout

Back in the day, eons ago, in my previous life, I would watch as other people would pretty much get paid for working out.  First when I was desk staff at the gym, and there were all the trainers and instructors and things, and then on tour watching performers dance for their paycheck.  Today I felt like one of them.  Well not entirely, but a little bit.  For about the first 5 hours of the workday, I spent maybe a grand total of 10 minutes at my desk.  First I had to drive to the home of an architect to drop off some files (I got horribly lost and almost ran out of gas), then I walked to PPG, then I walked to the Recorder of Deeds (where I had to play the part of a dumb blonde since I had no clue what to do there).  It was a busy, busy morning. 

PS the Recorder of Deeds office is about a thousand times friendlier than the Arbitration office!!! 

PPS I work for a law firm (if you didn't know)

PPS I went to Primanti Bros for lunch and had a cap(icola)and cheese, pretty much negating any calories I may have burned this morning ;o)

Monday, October 18, 2010

Maybe Not As Planned

I am not going to refer to it as an epic fail...  No - it was more as a slight change in plans.  We did not run 11 miles Friday night, but we did run 5 and a half!  Which I must say is awesome.  It was cold and dark and drizzling, but we overcame it enough to do more mileage than we were able to do mere months ago.  Pardon me for sounding like a broken record - but wow! really I am impressed with the fact that I can run that far.  Well run/ walk - but mainly run!!!  We ran 2 miles straight, stopping after 2 for a brief walk break and so I could shed my coat.  We finished up 3 miles, I had some yummy gummy Stingers (so much better than GU) for energy, Alyssa shed her coat, all the while walking a little ways.  After 4 miles, Alyssa had some Bloks while we walked, after 5 miles we just walked - Alyssa may have had some gummy Stingers (?), and after 5.5 we were done.  So, all in all, of the 5.5 miles done we ran 5 miles and only walked a 1/2 mile - tops.

Saturday although I had to work I still got a little more than 3 miles in that morning.  I ran from work to the Heinz Field parking lot where the tents were set up for the Making Strides For Breast Cancer 5K which was taking place that morning.  I stopped by, said hi to a few people from work, and jogged back to the office.  Round trip it was 3.11 miles according to Map My Run (an awesome website, which tells you the mileage no matter how convoluted the route).

Yesterday I got maybe a 1/2 mile in tops... I jogged to McDonald's for breakfast, and then strolled home - I figure the jogging there justifies the McGriddle consumed.  AND THEN... my Steelers beat those silly Brownies... YAY!!!!!!!  A good weekend all around.

An Evaluation of Mid-Workout Energy Products

events
GU
GU is disgusting and I never want to try it again; about the consistency of honey it caused me to gag just trying to finish one.

Honey Stingers
Honey Stingers are awesome, organic, and taste super yummy!  Available in flavors such as orange, cherry and pomegranate, they are my favorite by far.  AND to top it off they hail from Steamboat Springs, CO!


Bloks
I have personally not tried Bloks yet, after the warning one of the guys at REI gave Alyssa it made me a bit weary (if you don't drink lots of water with your Bloks then they will literally block you up!).  Alyssa has tried them and quite enjoys them - especially the Margarita flavor.

(I buy all my energy products at REI, not just because I'm a member there, but also because they have an awesome selection.  Not that they're paying me to say that, I just like them that much!)

Friday, October 15, 2010

11 Miles (GULP!)

So Alyssa and I are running 11 miles tonight.  This is because she is going to a wedding and will be out of town this weekend and there is (shockingly) nothing going on at the track tonight.

Yes, you guessed right.  We will be running 11 miles on a quarter mile track.  That's 44 laps.  Plus warm-up and cool-down it's actually 46 laps.  We will start running around 7 and most likely be done sometime between 9:30 and 10pm.  This'll stink. 

No, no it won't!!!  I must use the Power of Positive Thinking!!!  (and the Power of Triple Exclamation Points!!!) 

It's been strange not to have races on the weekends. Those two weeks in a row missed with me.  People at work keep asking, "So do you have a race this weekend?"  Nope, my next one is not for two more weeks, but then it's two weekends in a row again (5K on October 31st and a 1/2M on November 6th).  Oh, and we're going to register for World Run Day, which is pretty cool, you pay $17 and then you get a t-shirt, and your name printed on the website saying that you took part in World Run Day, and all you have to do is run that day.  It doesn't need to be a formal event; just run for the act of running.

It's strange - that 1/2 marathon is sneaking up fast!  I still surprise myself daily with the fact that I am physically capable of running that far.  Over 500 people are registered for Stomp the Grapes too, so hopefully I won't be last.  However, this will be one race where my only goal instead of not being last, will be to simply finish, to prove to myself that I am able.  After that the three 1/2 marathons we have planned for next year I can work on my speed. 

Wish me luck tonight!!!

Sweater From Hell Reference for Manda


It's the grey sweater

Comfort - 9758

In this color

And it's machine washable!

What you can't see in the picture, which was a rude awakening the first time I made it, is that the back of the sweater is smocked.  I have a bad habit of just barrelling into a pattern without reading it through beforehand.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

I Love Grover



Just because I love Grover, and I have nothing else exciting to report.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Monday Blahs...

I do not like green eggs and ham.  I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.


It's just that kinda day...

Friday, October 8, 2010

10 Mile Weekend - Ugghh...

Well Alyssa is out of town this weekend, so that means 2 things... 1) I have to run alone and 2) I have to feed the cats.  It's her first wedding anniversary so I guess I'll forgive her this once. (I kid, I kid.... I know I was the one who backed out Thursday morning...)

It looks as though my friend Angelina and Jonnie from work are going to join us for the Costumes for a Cause race on Halloween - I'm excited.  That weekend is going to be awesome anyways because Boo will be in town - yay!!!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A Whole Lot of Nothing

So no running yesterday (I know, I know - epic fail).  Today is a cross training day - Alyssa plans to spend it playing tennis with her hubby and I plan on spending it speed shopping.  The proper way to speed shop is to take an impatient basset hound with you and leave her in the car while you try to get through the store as fast as possible.  On the agenda for tonight's speed shopping is Michael's (for yarn), and Dick's Sporting Goods (for new shoes - hopefully), oh yeah and Giant Eagle (for lunch stuff for me and dog treats for the aforementioned basset hound).

Alyssa emailed me asking for a current list of races we have been planning for, here it is:
Oct 31, 2010 - costumes for a cause 5k

Nov 6, 2010 - stomp the grapes 1/2
Nov 7, 2010 - world run day 1mile
Nov 25, 2010 - turkey trot 5k
Dec 11, 2010 - jingle bell 5k
Feb 12, 2011 - uniontown 5k
Feb 27, 2011 - last chance for boston 10k
Mar 19, 2011 - shamrock 8k
Mar 20, 2011 - shamrock 1/2
Apr 30, 2011 - urban dare OR flying pig 10k
May 8, 2011 - race for the cure 5k
June ?, 2011 - va wine country 1/2
Sept ?, 2011 - luke hadley 5k
Sept 17, 2011 - air force 1/2
Sept 25, 2011 - great race 10k
Jan ??, 2012 - Disney M

The one I'm most excited about is Urban Dare - it's kinda like the Amazing Race, except it's just for one day and you have to answer trivia and do dares all across your city.
 
The reason I need to buy yarn tonight is for this:
 

 
Ain't it cute?!?  Michael's is having a sale on the yarn I decided to use for it.  I'm gonna make it for myself, and am quite excited - it's been a couple years since I've knit a sweater.  I got the pattern from Ravelry, it's called the Fireside Sweater by Amber Allison.  Which is based off of the off-white one worn by Cameron Diaz in The Holiday.
 
Speaking of sweaters... I'm going to knit another incarnation of the "sweater from hell" for Kaida Hagy, but luckily the smallest size in the pattern is 1 year and since she's a teeny little thing anyways I figure I've got at least a year to finish it.  RFA east coast may remember the original "sweater from hell" - it was hot pink and as adorable as could be, just hell to knit. 
 
Tomorrow morning, bright and early at 5am Alyssa and I will be back at the track.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

An Amazing Morning

OK, so no running today, BUT I did have an amazing morning! 

First of all the weather is freezing and it's grey and drizzling outside, so that's not fun.  But my furnace now works, which after a weekend of my house being in the 50's is an amazing thing.  That and I felt like such a handy-woman making it work all by myself. 

But now back to my amazing morning news.  Yesterday I noticed that the skirt I was wearing was sitting noticeably lower on my hips (ie almost falling down), this made me think... "Don't I have a couple of skirts that I don't fit?"  Which I totally do - I am one of those people who spontaneously buy clothes without trying them on and when they don't fit hold onto them "just in case."  This morning I put on one of those skirts - a cute olive green pencil skirt which when I bought it back in May I couldn't even zip up - and it zipped right up!!!  It may be just a smidgen snug, but who cares!?!?!  It fit well enough for me to wear it to work, and tomorrow I'll try on another one of those too small skirts and maybe I'll have another amazing morning!

Yay :o)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Watch Out For The Peacock!!!

Of that, I wish I had a picture.  Yes, during the race yesterday there was a peacock strolling along the course.  Granted, the course did run through the zoo, so some animal viewing was to be expected - just not close enough to trip over! 

The Timing Chip

So this was our first race with timing chips - not too bad.  It's just a little plastic disc that you attach to your shoe with a zip-tie.  In retrospect, I would've used 2 zip-ties though, since as I ran the disc would flop around a bit on my foot.  Not as bad as Jonnie's issue though - her shoe broke and was clopping for at least the last mile if not more.

This is Jonnie, pointing to her nasty energy bar.

The race had a lot of down sides, let's recap them shall we?
  • It was cold and drizzling
  • It was all uphill - you may think I exaggerate, but I'm pretty sure that there were exponentially more uphills then downhills
  • There were no bibs!  So that meant no race number to put on the side of my fridge with the other ones
  • The course was gravelly and pot-hole ridden in the parts not through the zoo-proper
  • The results were not posted on-line, so luckily we checked the list before leaving
  • There were no goodie bags
  • The T-shirt didn't say the date on it, so it could be used interchangeably between years
On the plus side:
  • Panera was a sponsor so we got yummy bagels
  • We got to see: seals, lions, elephants, painted dogs, and the aforementioned peacock
  • There was a volunteer at the top of the last hill cheering us on, telling us it was the last hill (super nice lady)
  • We weren't last
  • The medals they gave to the fastest people were around the necks of stuffed gorillas (really cute)
  • We went to Starbucks after
Also notable was that it was Jonnie's first race, Alyssa kept cramping up, and I jacked up my leg on the 9 mile run the day before and so was limping about half the race.

All told, I'm glad we did it, but now I never have to do it again.

Alyssa freezing pre-race.

PS... I won the first 3 quarters in the football pool, and now that I am $100 richer, will be able to get new running shoes!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Friday

Today is Friday (obviously).  Today marks the end of an exceptionally unproductive week on my part.  Not work-wise, in that aspect I feel as if I'm drowning in activity, no instead I mean running-wise.  I have used both the weather and a sore hip as excuses not to run this week.  Bad Jenny, bad!  I am shockingly looking forward to tomorrow's 9 mile run though.  I am sure it will hurt but it is my own fault.

On Sunday

Race #3 is coming up!!!  The ZooZilla 5K starts in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo and winds it's way through the zoo before ending where it began.  Not so bad, right?  Well, the Pittsburgh Zoo is in Shadyside.  Shadyside is all hills.  Ughh.  Oh yes, and Saturday Alyssa and I will have run 9 miles.  That's 2 miles farther than I have ever run.  And 9 miles more than I have ever run prior to June of this year.  It still amazes me as to how far I've progressed.  Truthfully.

I asked Becky (my sister) if she and her husband would like to do a 5K run/walk with me on Thanksgiving.  The answer was a resounding no.  I had thought that if I had a race to look forward to then maybe I would more eagerly anticipate the holiday and be more willing to travel to Indiana.  Her response has made me more inclined to stay in Pittsburgh, do the Turkey Trot 5K here, and just relax over my long holiday weekend.  And by relax I mean, clean my house from top to bottom, and start on Christmas presents.  My goal this year is to give handmade gifts to at least 75% of the people on my list.  As poor Alyssa found out the hard way, I have serious issues with the commercialism currently afflicting the holiday season.

It looks like my Christmas party will be on December 11th this year - the same day as the Jingle Bell 5K.  Because of that though, I will need to be sure that I am well enough prepared so that I can lose the morning of preparations to the run.

That's all for now, more later I'm sure!