HALLOWEEN! and zen running

De-stressed.  I think I’m making a conscious effort lately to enjoy life more.  At least this past week where I’ve stopped worrying about school and the future.  Sure I’m still focused on that stuff (and haven’t *completely* said “eff this”) but there’s been a definite change in my mindset where I’m able to live “in the moment” (gosh I hate that phrase!)

And it’s having a positive effect on my running.  Exciting.  Like I wrote yesterday, I had a great AM run and this morning I had a second good run.  TWO IN A ROW.  Maybe I really am dealing with some burnout issues because I’m actually pumped about that.  Maybe more so than I should be haha.

In any case, I woke up this morning to a *beautiful* day.  Seriously.  The sun was out and it was warm.  Possibly a little too warm out by the time I went for my run (maybe 68*?) but I actually can’t complain because it means that (hopefully) tonight will be mild for the end of October and celebrating Halloween will be really awesome (and yes, you’ll have to wait some more for my costume heh)

But back to the run.  I was actually kind of dreading it when I put on my running gear (short shorts and a tank — holler!) but I told myself that I could stop when I wanted, which just fueled my type-A-ness so there was no way I was going to.  I planned a route that was 11.2 miles and set off.  The first few miles were definitely on the slow side.  My body was adjusting to running in nice weather as opposed to 35* and I guess all my runs start off slow.

The nice thing about running around 1100 was that I actually got to see the foliage! It’s such a bummer that between my running at 0600 during the week, being locked away with school work during the day and it raining the past 3 weekends that I haven’t gotten to enjoy seeing the leaves turn.  Well today was just beautiful. Except for the blustery wind.  But it wasn’t the swirly wind that attacks you from all sides no matter which way you’re going.  It was overall pretty unidirectional.  The gorgeous weather also set the tone for me to enjoy my thoughts and get “zen”

I opened the post saying that I was going to de-stress my life.  Last night I had an email convo with my advisor and we both decided that it was in my best interest to drop my physiology class to an audit basis.  I don’t need the class (or the credit – technically I could graduate right now) for med school or my major.  Plus the class is so intense and stressful that it’s a major reason why I’m not sleeping and why I’m losing weight and why I’m moody.  But nevertheless, it’s a really tough decision for me and my huge ego!

This run, though, really centered me and I got such clarity.  While it’s still going to be hard to confirm this choice, I am comfortable with it.  Thank you running for helping me clear all the anxiety over this! Don’t you just love that effect of running? I don’t know if it’s the repetitive nature of putting one foot in front of the other or the endorphins or what, but my long runs lately have really been so calming these past few weeks.

The combination of my mental epiphany, the beautiful weather and my body feeling great lead me to over run and go 12.4 rather than the 11.2 planned.  I am okay with it as I still think my overall mileage will be in cutback form.  Plus the addition got me to run by Hot-Spanish-TA’s house.  And because I feel like I owe you guys an update: I facebooked him a message last night.  So the ball is in his court.  Fingers crossed!

I guess I feel I should address the fact that it’s Halloween, although I feel mean doing so because I’m not telling you (or anyone) what I’m dressing up as.  But I ❤ Halloween.  I haven’t a clue as to why.  But I love getting dressed up (and no I’m not one of those skanky girls!) in a costume and be a different persona for the night.  Festive drinks don’t hurt either hah. Everyone on my campus gets dressed up and the Programming Council sponsors a dance (with free beer maybe?) which is a blast! Going to dance the night away! Anyone have exciting plans? Parties? Trick or Treating (because we all know that the only reason I took my younger sibs out in the past was for the candy I got too haha)? Scary movies?

HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEN! Or if you’re not into it, a great Saturday 🙂

No Regrets

Helllllo there! I feel like I’m running on empty at this point in the day.  I was going strong on little sleep earlier but I’m fading. Fast haha.

Last night was pretty fun. I agonized over the decision to go out.  I mean, on one hand, I don’t want to make going out EVERY week a habit plus I had an exam this morning (which I think went well despite going out*).  And I’m in love with sleep and going out =/= sleeping well/a lot.  On the other hand, I definitely could use more fun nights in my life with all the stress I’m under.  And I’m in love worth Hot-Spanish-TA who goes there.

*So I get to the exam in the morning and just chatting with my classmates. Feeling decent and one of the kids hands me a coffee and says,”Top ‘o the morning to you, drink this”.  Yeah, nothing like a little Irish coffee to start your day, right?  And no I didn’t drink it.  Definitely NOT what I needed but I nearly peed my pants from the idea.

So in the end I’m extremely glad I went out last night.  No regrets! And yes, LARunner, I did talk to Hot-Spanish-TA. Not anything more than a “Hi, how are you” type thing. And when the lights came up and everyone was leaving we said “Bye” to each other. But progress, no? I mean it was actual communication.  Words were exchanged.  Oh how I consider myself a bamf in all aspects of life except here haha.

Since I got about 5 hours of sleep (which is actually A LOT more than I got last week) I wasn’t expecting my run this morning to be any good.  With that attitude, however, obviously the run was going to rock.  I felt so strong and good! I’ve actually noticed this frequently actually: the less sleep I get on one particular night (definitely not chronic sleep deprivation or anything) the stronger and more powerful I feel on my runs.  Weird right?

I felt so good actually that I ran an extra half mile or so to get to 6.5 miles on the morning.  The temperature wasn’t that bad either, much warmer than the overnight low of 33* that was predicted.  I would say that it was about 38-40*.  I had an underarmour-ish top on under my shortsleeve shirt and I had to run back up to my room to take it off as I knew I would totally overheat! Silly weathermen and their forecasts.  Maybe the crisp weather also had something to do with the run feeling great.

The only downside to the run was the amount of light I got.  I seriously cannot wait for this weekend and we get to turn back the clocks.  Sure, we’ll be walking around at 1600 in the pitch black but hey, I’ll take it if that means I get to run with some semblance of sunlight!

But the increased darkness that’s been going on for the past month or so has me a little worried about training for Boston. Yeah, sure I started my training for my last marathon in the winter but I didn’t have any expectations then.  I do now and want everything to be perfect.  Maybe I’m overthinking things.  I still need to find a plan!? And figure out when my actual start date is?! Yikes.  If anyone has a good plan I am soooo open to suggestions.  The last plan I used was SmartCoach from RWOL.  I peaked at 72 miles and the average was about 55-60 miles (at least towards the end).  I think I’d like to do something similar but I want something less cookie cutter than what I used last time.

A decision / project for another day I suppose.  Right now it’s all about the homework so that I can enjoy halloween weekend.  And no, Lacey, I haven’t revealed my costume yet.  You’ll have to wait until I have pictures.  Yes, I am mean 😛

And to kick off the weekend: The Facts of Life

46. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

47. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

48. When I meet a new girl/guy, I’m terrified of mentioning something (s)he hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

49. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

50. Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

Thursday = almost end of the week

So I’m going to put up a sorry excuse for a post. BUT

A) It’s a rest day today.  A little disappointing because I know I run faster the day after a speed session like yesterday’s.

B) I’ve been swamped with work and meetings all morning and afternoon

C) I’m getting ready to go out on Thirsty Thursday again and make some bad life decisions

I do have an exam tmrw morning which keeps making me waffle back and forth between going out and staying in and getting some sleep.  I already know that I’m still going to get up early and run before the exam and only having 3-4 hours of sleep? It’ll be interesting to say the least.

I think it’ll wake me up and keep me from being groggy, like I would be if I rolled out of bed and went to class.  Plus sleep is always the most important in the days leading up to the big event, right? The exam is in Spanish so I’m not terribly worried because I know the material really well. But I am worried about making these Thursday nights out a trend haha.

But if I get to see Hot-Spanish-TA tonight it will be well worth it. Send me courage vibes to dance/talk! 😉

And, so as to not create withdrawal, here is the next installment of the Facts of Life (and oh man I nearly just peed myself reading today’s!)

41. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

42. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

43. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

44. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’

45. While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

Intensity!

Just because I’m cutting back the miles doesn’t mean I have to cut back on intensity, right? Right.  That was my theory this morning as I geared up for some mile repeats.

I actually woke up 4 minutes before my alarm which actually felt really good.  I was having a really strange dream (but since when do dreams that you remember make any sense?) about running a marathon in Paris and China with a kid that I barely know.  Weird.  My bed was incredibly comfy too (the moment where your sheets and covers just smother you in amazingness) so I only got up 1 minute before the alarm just so I didn’t have to listen to it go off ha.

I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do today when I got up / when I was thinking about it last night.  I definitely didn’t want to do another easy run.  Even though I’ve been enjoying them, the reason I love training schedules is because there’s a variety to the workouts.  So my thoughts then went to speedwork.  I mulled over various possibilities and the one that made my stomach actually knot up was mile repeats.  Well, actually doing quarters or halfs were the worst, but mile repeats were a close second.  And I have a perverse love of mile repeats.

The warm up mile is always the worst. The place where my mind says, “Are you crazy? This pace is hard, how can I do anything at a faster pace?!?”  It’s also the mile that just drags.  I want so badly to just jump into the workout but my body needs it.  Luckily a mile is a mile so it was over fairly quickly and I was off to the races.

Since I’m in a cutback mode I knew I was only going to do 3 repeats.  Not the 5-6 that I’ve pulled off somehow in the past. 3 is a good number because by the last one you know if the first 2 were flukes or not.  It allows for some consistency that 2 repeats don’t.  Of course I would have loved to do more (as I tell my stats students, the more data you have going into an average, the less one particular point “counts”) but 3 worked.

Here are the splits:

1. 6:56
2. 6:54
3. 6:45

Yeah that last one just about killed me haha.  Well not really as I think I had some gas left in the tank.  I need to trust myself that I’m not going to blow up and die if I go faster.  I just get so worried that I’m not going to be able to finish a workout if I go out too fast (a valid concern I think) that I end up being a tad conservative.  Not that I’m complaining about the splits. They’re fantastic! First time ever that every. single. one has been sub-7.  A most excellent accomplishment. And they felt like my lower body was powering away while my upper body was just floating.  I definitely thought to myself that this is awesome!

My recovery for each repeat was a half mile.  I toyed with the idea of going to a quarter mile just to cut out some miles but decided against it. Recovery from the intervals is important, although in hindsight I wonder if less recovery between intervals would help me in the long run by making my muscles work harder when more tired.

My overall miles for today is 6.  Since my last interval had a recovery portion after that I included that into my warm down and only did an extra half mile after the recovery (if that train of thought makes sense).  I was mighty tempted to not do this and have a full mile in the books as a cool down, as what’s one half mile? But that thinking is dangerous, as a half mile leads to a miles leads to more than I want.  I also figured that the intensity of this workout pushed me hard enough during this recovery period.

Although, and this may be TMI, I have never experienced the laxative power of running more intensely today.  I think it was how hard I was running but after the last repeat I had to sprint to the bathroom.  I almost didn’t think I was going to make it and prolly have NEVER run so fast in my life haha.  Sheesh!

Just a quick update on that marathon I was talking about forever ago: my plans fell through.  I had a feeling this would happen as it was kind of absurd to think that I could tag along on a company marathon trip. But it was to DISNEY so I felt I had to pursue an opportunity.  It ends up being way to expensive for me to sign up, travel, lodge etc.  I’m slightly disappointed but it’s okay.  It gives me this time to rest before Boston training starts.  But having this plan in the back of my head for Disney was partly why my miles were so high because this marathon is 10(?) weeks away.

And to start of your Wednesday I give you…the Facts of Life (I don’t know what I’m going to do when I run out!)

36. Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

37. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

38. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

39. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

40. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

Stress? Got that. Stress relief? Yup, that too

Hey y’all.  Going to try to keep this quick as life is stressful at the moment.  I’ve got some stuff in the works to de-stress it, so keep your fingers crossed for me that what I want to do gets approved.  My stress level has been through the roof this semester, not sleeping, no appetite because stomach upset 24/7.  Not good.  But I think it’ll all work out.

And the stress is why I’ve been working out.  So another 6 miles in the books this morning (hey 6 is better than 8 right?).  Actually 6.2 but hey, I like being able to say 10k.  Especially to Hot-Spanish-TA who actually uses the metric system.  Because yes, today was that day, the one where he teaches our class and I like to be able to use the metric system when we talk about stuff we’ve recently done.  And class was awkward today because we kept sneaking stares at each other (today was the first time we seen each other post-bar night on Thursday). And catching each other doing it.  Way to be stealthy.  Ha!

Anyway this blog is RUNNING not how-to-be-15-again.  But it gives me stress relief.  Although my stomach-in-stress-knots is seriously replaced by other stomach knots.  But again, I digress.

THE RUN.  It actually felt pretty good, despite all but the last .2 miles being in the dark.  Because the sun didn’t rise until 0712! Gosh, I so totally need daylight savings BAD.  T-4 days. My legs felt better.  Very strong at the beginning (?) and end.  The mid 2-3 miles felt some fatigue but I was on a loop path and to turn around wouldn’t have saved me any distance.  I guess the Last Mile Party Jess talks about it real.  I mean, I’ve “experienced” it before but nothing like today.  Very pleasant and it’s welcome any time.

Although it’s very tempting with this party my legs throw to tack on more distance.  Just to quickly recap: I’m cutting back my miles because I’ve been going harder and harder each week with no target distance. I just want to give my legs a chance to be at their best when Boston training comes around.  And I’m a little worried that if I keep running and training this hard now and then (potentially) go even harder for Boston that I’m going to get hurt.  And I definitely don’t want that!

I also have been able to enjoy my runs.  This morning, while I didn’t see the sun really rise, I got to see the “cotton candy” sky.  The dawn colors that are so beautiful.  And, once I got off the main road, listening to the sounds of nature.  Plus the crisp air (~35*) was cool enough that I didn’t sweat too much but I was comfy in what I was wearing while not being all bundled up.  Just a trifecta of awesomeness! Gosh, not only am I a 15-year-old gusher, I am such a sap too! But it’s so true: my surroundings were just beautiful. Once I was able to see them that is haha.

Alright then, gotta go tackle some work and cut down on this “Things that Stress Me Out” List!

P.S. Before I do my Facts of Life for today (which I am SO GLAD you like) I just want to say / ask if my replying in the comments section is useful to you? Do you come back and check to see if I’ve replied? I’d just like some feedback 🙂

And now, the Facts of Life

31. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

32. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

33. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

34. Bad decisions make good stories

35. Whenever I’m internet stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

“Be a better stalker”

Title to be explained in a later paragraph, but too good a quote to pass up!

Well yesterday’s weather was nice enough to make me sweat hardcore but this morning? Not so much! It was a balmy 35* which was nice a crisp.  Felt good but definitely a bit of a shock to step outside!

I did 6 miles this morning.  Kind of on the long side but better than the 8-10 miles I have been doing Monday mornings.  So an improvement.  I figure that small changes will be the easiest to handle, so I’m going to slowly lower the mileage by cutting out 1-3 miles per day from my usual.  That will lead to maybe a 15 +/- 5 mile decrease over the course of the week.  I’ve also decided to cut out my lifting sessions as I’m far too tempted to include an extra 3 or 4 miles afterward, which isn’t necessary.

The miles were slow and steady.  I never felt like I was being a speedster (and my watch didn’t tell me otherwise) but I didn’t feel all lethargic and slow and dragging.  I suppose in the grand scheme of things this is what running should be: an enjoyable way to pass the time.  At least for the time being.  Once Boston training starts I’m sure I’ll change my tune 🙂

Leading me to re-ponder my paces.  I’m assuming that since there were no objections to the paces I posted that they all seem good relative to each other? As in my recovery/easy pace is okay compared to long run pace compared to tempo? I’m never sure if I’m running one pace to fast/slow given what my race paces and other training paces are.

I also really enjoyed watching a complete sunrise.  Even though I do core work before most of my runs I’m still not leaving my room until 0630 or so and the sun rises at 0706 (I think that was today’s).  I do get roughly 15-20 minutes of pre-sunrise light though (is this dawn?) so it’s not really as bad as it sounds.  Still, it’s a bit scary to look outside the window and see NO color in the sky

Well, there may have been a star or two when I was running. But still scary!

Well the colors are what I saw. I’m in the middle of Nowhere USA so it’s not quite so scenic haha

This morning the route I chose didn’t incorporate laps of my school (another surefire temptation to add miles) so I hit the actual streets immediately.  It actually made me feel a bit unsafe which hasn’t happened in a really long time. Makes me think that I actually really do need reflective gear. I suppose I could wear my Halloween costume (oh burn! Another teaser!)  Any ideas on cheap (and non-dorky) actually I am trying to embrace my inner dork (in both academics, running, all aspects of life) so I guess I’m open to anything as long as it’s cheap and not tacky.  I can handle a little nerd but definitely not tacky.

Which (non-running tangent here) reminds me of Hot-Spanish-TA.  No, he’s not tacky but he was describing something in class the other day and said “chabacano” which means tacky.  It came out of nowhere so it was hilarious.  *LeSigh*. I need to learn his schedule so I can (to quote my roomie) “be a better stalker”.  Haha. But she is right: I am failing at this.

So I’m going to be creepy and go sit in the cafe before my meeting (seeing a woman who will “fix my life”) and study a bit for some upcoming exams. I have seen him there before so maybe I’ll get lucky? I’m open to ideas.  After Thursday night’s acknowledgment at the local bar I need to do *something*. Right? Oh man, hello MM, are you 15 again? Haha

Here’s some more Facts of Life to spice up your Monday!

26. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

27. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

28. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

29. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get the fuck out of my neighborhood.

30. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

Weekly Recap: October 19 – 25 2009

Miles: 53

Time: 8 hours 5 minutes 0 seconds

Strength: 2 full body lifting

Core: 5x

53 miles is a lot.  I’m glad I’ve already made a resolve to cut back.  Especially since the average pace is much slower than I would want it to be! Not too much to say other than this past week was pretty lackluster in the energy department.  But I think the numbers speak for themselves as I was running for a long time and included 2 full body lifting sessions.  No wonder I need a cut back.

Short Run and Halloween Excitement

Wow.  Thanks for all the advice/support/kind words yesterday.  I knew posting about it would be the right thing because it seems that most of you know exactly what I’m talking about! My friends just look at me and roll their eyes because none of them run and therefore don’t “get it”.

Everyone of you who commented had valid points and were stuff that was in the back of my head already but took an outside look to really hammer it home.  I definitely DON’T want to injure myself and I totally recognize the fact that I am headed that way if I don’t relax a bit.  Both in terms of my mileage and, as LARunner mentioned, my pace, particularly the LR pace.

So here’s where I’m going to lay out actual (target) numbers for you guys (I rarely do because I hate the comparison stuff it generates) but here goes:

• Marathon pace: 8:21
• Easy / recovery pace: 900-915
• Tempo: 715-730
• Mile repeats: 650-700
• LR: 900

So this is what I’ve been doing.  And actually been pretty close to them in reality with the exception prolly being this past week. Thoughts? I honestly feel like most of them are too slow for my liking.  I definitely left some gas in the tank during my marathon (ran a 3:37:58) so I think that I am faster than numbers plugged into a calculator tell me.  I’ve gotten these baseline paces from McMillian which is considered pretty good but I’m such an overachiever that I try to hit the lowest of the range given.  Maybe as well as re-thinking miles I need to rethink pace too.

Definitely something else to ponder as I want to maximize my running “potential” (gosh I hate that word! haha)

Anyway, last night I hung out with my friend (who I still call my roomie even though it’s been two years since we lived together ha) and we eventually went to see The Hangover at the campus theater.  She had just come from a vball tourney and was exhausted and I was exhausted too (I am soooo old because I still am recovering from Thursday’s partying haha) so a movie was a good fit.  So glad I went because it was HILARIOUS.  I haven’t laughed like that in a while, definitely a spirit lifter.

I also got a great night of sleep last night and woke up to a sunny sky and clear weather without an alarm.  Amazingness! Especially considering that last night it was monsoon-ing out.  I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more soaked than I did getting around last night.

So clearly this is me we’re talking about and I ran today.  I was feeling better mentally thanks to you guys and my last night but I made sure that I did not run as far as I typically do.  I did about 5 miles which is better than nothing and better than 8+.  Progress? Maybe.  But I need to decondition myself from the thinking that more is better.  I know it’s unrealistic to just drastically cut down my miles, but if I can cut 2-3 here and there, over the course of the week it’ll make an impact, right?

This run was pretty great.  The sun was shining, the temp was an amazing 56* and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  My body felt really good too after a mile or so.  I definitely wasn’t flying (and was reminded of that when the boys XC team zoomed past me) but I didn’t feel like I was struggling the way I have been lately.  Although my legs did remind me that my brain was foolish to want to do more by the end.  And I listened by sticking to my guns (and by guns I mean plan of 5 miles).

Another highlight of the day was my shopping trip to Target.  Not only did I stick to only getting what I needed (Halloween costume stuff) I found an even better costume than what I was planning on being! I’m so excited and I’m going to be mean and make you guys wait until Halloween is closer for me to reveal it (or maybe even meaner and make you wait until I have post-Halloween pics!). But my friend was looking at stuff and she was like”WTF?” Of course I looked and was like “This is IT”.  The costume is sooo me so I’m super excited to wear it.  And it was wicked cheap too.  Double bonus!

Going to write an awkward wrap-up here (aka no wrap up at all) because I have to go work on a physiology project then get my study on.  Don’t worry though, tmrw I will do another installment of the Facts of Life.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Today is a thinking day

Since when did just running to run not be good enough?

Wow tough question to ponder on this Saturday morning but that’s what I found myself asking myself on my long run today.  I’ve just been pushing myself so hard and feel pressure (totally from me) to run a lot more miles than I need to.  Mostly for bragging points.  I mean, sure, the extra miles usually do feel good but during my run my thought process is this: Push 1 more mile so that you can say that you ran x miles when someone asks.  Ummmm hello missy but most people are impressed that I get up early to run AT ALL much less that I ran 8 vs 7 miles or what have you.

This was the case today with my long run.  For the past 3 or 4 weeks I’ve been running around 14 miles I think for the lr.  Time for some cutback so I planned out an 11 miler which I thought I was going to be okay with.  Especially when my legs felt soooo slow during the first few miles. But, even with dead legs, my mind kept working out ways that I could turn the 11 into longer.  Crazy right?

In the end I only added 1 extra mile to get 12 but I felt BAD.  And bad in two sense: 1) 12 miles =/= 14+ miles so I felt guilty (don’t know if that’s the right word) that I wasn’t doing as much as last week and 2) 12 miles =/=11 miles so I felt guilty (again not sure if that’s the right word) that I couldn’t stick to my plan. Crazy right? (Uh-oh I can feel crazy being “the word” for this post).

After eating and showering I’m accepting the 12 for what it was: a decent 12 miles.  My legs felt AWFUL during the first couple of miles (I actually debated cutting the run shorter) but they felt better as time went on and my last few miles were slightly below target pace, leading the overall pace to be slightly slower than target but I’m okay with it. My stomach was also bothering me. I know that during hard exercise blood get diverted away from the GI tract so it can do to the muscles but there really wasn’t anything in my actual stomach to feel all funny.  I honestly thought that I wasn’t going to be able to hold anything down when I finished! Even now, 2+ hours later my stomach is still feeling queasy.

I feel like I’m heading into a funk.  And I don’t like it.  I know that funks are cyclical so it will end.  I also know that the more I try to fight the funk the worse it’ll get.  So I need to buckle down and let it wash over me.  Part of the funk is due to me pushing so hard with the running so I’m going to attempt to cut down my running this week; hopefully I can get over my mentality that I MUST run a certain amount.  Because no one else cares about the exact mileage.  So why should I?

The other half of the funk in the uncertainty of next year.  For the first time in a while I don’t know what the next year or two is going to bring me. And that is slightly scary! But again, I know that it will pass eventually.  Just need to accept it for what it is.

Now, re-reading what I just typed the words feel really really heavy.  Especially for a weekend haha! Don’t worry as I’m not sitting around brooding over this.  Just some slight musing as I had ample time over the course of my run. I go from yesterday’s bubbly non-running (at all) post to a serious post 🙂

But here’s something that I’ve been listening on repeat for the past hour or so. C-mon now, you can’t NOT smile when listening to it!

Rest for the body, not for the mind

Rest day for this chica.  And good thing.  I am bloody exhausted!

I decided (very spontaneously) last night to go out with my friends to the local bar that all the seniors go to on Thursday nights.  I hadn’t been yet this semester (!) because I have three classes on Friday and always at least one of them had something important due or a big test. But today? Nada.  I mean, I had work to do but nothing major and (my exact words): “I can afford to be a little brain dead this Friday.  Who knows when it’ll happen again?”

And it was soooooo much fun.  Totally out of character for me to go but it was awesome just to cut loose and dance.  I’m definitely not a dancer — my “peeps” are Scandinavian, aka we don’t dance — but I was rockin’ out. Time just flew by and before I knew it, it was last call (which is pretty early but hey, it’s a college town in the middle of nowhere).  I ended up in bed by 0200 and asleep by 0300.  Definitely glad that I didn’t have to get up at 0600 for my run!

Another highlight of the night: Hot-Spanish-TA was there. And before anyone asks, I am too much of a middle school girl to do anything but stare.  Seriously.  I am lame.  But I know he saw and recognized me because we did smile and acknowledge each other. Eeeeeeeek! Hopefully this is progress. omgiamsolame.

Lame also because I have the feeling that I’m going to crash and burn tonight. Even though I didn’t get up to run, I still had 3 classes, the first being at 0930.  So I got about 5 hours of sleep.  My body likes 9.  Problem? Yes. So I will likely pass out wicked early unless I get a second wind, which you never know.

And lame because this is going to be a make-it-work weekend.  Lots and lots to do! But the stuff I have to do is important and interesting which makes it okay.  There’s absolutely nothing worse than busy work.

So, yeah, not much going on in my world today.  Which is fine by me.  Makes for a lame post.  (And, while bamf was the word of the day a while ago, it seems that lame is today’s.  And my favorite expression with lame? “Covered in lame sauce” which I tell my 11 year old sister that all the time, to which she just smirks and says that I am too haha!)

Just a random note (to imply that I’m not lame and because I noticed it this morning when getting dressed — although the fact that I was thinking about it may be lame haha): I am going through a period of dressing really really nicely.  I mean, I definitely do show up to class in my gym clothes (prolly more times than I’d like to admit) BUT the days where I have the time to shower in the morning and/or are not doing a second workout/jazz class in the afternoon, I’ve been wearing my super nice clothes.  Not, like, my nice professional clothes or anything but a step or two up from jeans and a t-shirt.  It may or may not have to do with the fact that I never know when I’m going to run into Hot-Spanish-TA but hey, whatever 🙂

Check out this link which I found on a thread on RWOL.  It creates anagrams of your name.  Most of them come out kind of dirty haha. Here’s mine (with my full name, first, middle & last): LL ‘N’ HORNY ‘N’ MY YANK. Heh.

And yet another installment of The Facts of Life:

21. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

22. My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.

23. Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

24. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

25. I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers! [Such a Masshole thing to do! haha]

21. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

22. My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.

23. Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

24. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

25. I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!