Stir it Up

Since we did that 15K last weekend, my achilles has been really hurting, but I've been mildly behaved and taken some rest days. I say mildly because although I didn't run but twice this week, I ate really bad for two days as well. Oh well, shit happens. So, I took Sunday and Monday off to rest my ankle, then Tuesday Mel and I ran/walked 4 miles on Ocean Blvd. Then I took Wed and Thursday off to rest my ankle again (along with lots of ice and biofreeze). Today, we ran about 4 miles total at Broadway at boot camp. Seemed kinda wierd to not go Mon and Wed, but I was really tired and hurting. Hopefully next week will be an improvement in both areas.

Tonight, Heather and Chris are coming up to go to the Wailers concert at House of Blues. Should be an interesting night :) Tomorrow, I'm heading up to Durham to see Carrie, Andrea, and my Nana. Gotta get in some good times too.

So, only two weeks left till the Myrtle Beach half marathon. Say some prayers that my achilles starts to cooperate and that I'm able to do it all. I'm not trying to be superwoman, but runner-up would be nice. Feel free to come to the beach on Valentine's day (also known as St. Hallmark's Day) to cheer me on for the run. The more the merrier.

What a Week

Here is the week's update...


Last weekend we didn't run over the weekend because it was supposed to 17 that morning with who knows what kind of wind chill, so Heather and drove up to Durham to wish my Nana a happy birthday. It was a good weekend. Then Monday, I was so tired that I staying in my warm bed and skipped the workout. Yes, I was lazy and I know it. Then Tuesday was supposed to be cold and rainy/snowy, so I again stayed in my warm bed. Little did I know that Wednesday would be the coldest day yet. And as the crazy idiot that I can be, I went to boot camp in the freezing cold. I think that it was colder than last Friday, but thank goodness there was no wind. Thursday I again stayed in bed and slept but Friday I got up and we did the workout at broadway. Thought that you all might enjoy a picture from Friday morning of me and Guy.

Looks like that flat tire around my waist has moved right on down to my butt and now I have some junk in the trunk. Not sure where that ghetto-booty came from! :)

That brings us to Saturday! Three of us ran the North Myrtle Beach 15k at 9am in the rain. At least it was a little warmer... in 50's. Our goal was to finish the 9.3 miles in less than 2 hours, which we figured was a good mix of mostly running and some running. We ended up finishing in 1 hour and 49 minutes, which was a good bit faster than we hoped for, especially considering the rain. We ran the first two miles and then started a walk ~.15 mi and run the rest of the mile for the rest. Plus we walked through the water stations and had a snack on mile 5. I'm a little sore today but it was a good run. My achilles is bothering me today, which I was expecting. Hopefully it'll feel better tomorrow. Below is race # to prove that we did it! I was really hoping for #44 but 43 was pretty close :)

Today, I've been doing laundry all morning. I made some whole grain waffles this morning and now I have some homemade protein granola in the oven. Next I have the stuff ready to make some protein bread. This trying to watch what you eat takes some planning. Feeling like Suzy homemaker today! Till next time...

Alls I have to say is burrrrrr

This morning, I was laying in bed... snuggled under 2 blankets and a sheet, plus a quilt... almost spooning my cat... and definitely NOT WANTING TO GET UP TO RUN!!!! I heard that alarm radio playing some dance beat and all I could think of was, "Am I really this crazy that I am even contemplating getting out of this warm cozy bed?" Whether it was fortunately or unfortunately for me, I got up and went to boot camp like a crazy person. Usually those around in the morning call me smart ass, or the shortened version of sah-sah. Come to think of it, more than just those in the moring call me that, must have some truth to it ;) Anyway, as we were running, I said, "Y'all, I am trading in my sah-sah for da... dumb ass." Running at the beach when it is 25 deg out with 11 mph winds and a wind chill of 13 deg is dumb for this southern girl. We are most definitely crazy. With that said, we did dress for the temps and were pretty warm with the exception of our eyes and finger tips. Furthermore, none of us are running tomorrow morning when the actual temp is around 14 and the wind chill is 4. Single digits. Now that's crazy for Myrtle Beach. Hello. That's why I stayed in the south and live at the beach. Bring me back my 60 deg mornings and 75 deg afternoons. No warmer, no colder. Just 75. Such a small request. So we did tons of lunges and squats and pushups, ran ~2 miles total, and avoided frost bite and other cold weather hazzards. I just wish it would snow if it is going to be this cold. I guess that's for another day. So, for all of you other people that may or may not be reading this and are thinking of what I wimp I am for being cold in the 25 degrees, I say yes. I am a wimp, but I did get out of bed at 4:30 in the morning to run.

One last bit of info that I must pass along is that at this current moment, Clemson is #1 in the ACC and Duke is right behind with Wake. Hmmmm... where is that all powerful, can't be defeated, all-hailed UNC team that features Tyra H as their center???? Oh, it's not Tyra, it's Tyler. My mistake. He just reminds me so much a prissy girl with pink cargyle socks and a look on his face that says, "Oops, I did it again."

The Return of American Idol

Not that I have watched it yet, as I have been going to bed so early, but AI started Tuesday night. Just thought I'd through that fun little fact your way. This morning, the weather was a balmy 35 with calm winds and 70ish% humidity.... aka it was pretty cold for this southern girl's thin orange/duke blue blood. I had four tops on, one of which was a fleece, and two pairs of pants on, not to mention the ear muffs, gloves, and tobagan. I have no idea how to spell that word, but it is a hat, not a sled. We ran about 3 miles then did some weight lifting, went up/down the stadium 5 times, lifted some more weights, and then went to star bucks to try to thaw out the fingers. That was really the only really cold part of me. I even shed the fleece when we were running because I was that warmed up. Now, Friday morning is another story that I will have to catch up on. I hear that it is supposed to be atleast 10 degrees colder than today, if not more. Someone even said 19. Now, for all y'all that exist in these colder temps, I'm sorry. Move down to the south. Too bad I've been watching what I eat and not having the normal Paula Dean "butter on a stick" that adds fat to your tire to keep you warm on these cold mornings. I guess I'll suffer through it with another shirt and maybe two pairs of gloves :) So, pray for the warm weather to return to this beach girl, for the cold is for those above the dixie line. I mean, if it is going to be this cold, the least it could do is snow for us. I'm sure that it would be quite unsafe for me to drive that really long mile to work in the snow... I'm a safe driver, but all those other loonies aren't! Till next time, warm thoughts.

Time flies by and so do most resolutions

Ah, the new year... a time for reflecting back on the past year and looking forward to the new year. We all dream of the many things we are going to accomplish this year, as opposed to the same many things that we said we'd accomplish last year, yet didn't. Why is that, that we seldom do the things we say we will around new years?? In my mind, it's because it's a time when are forced by society to take measure of our lives and hope for a change for the better. The key word in there is hope. How can we possibly achieve something that we only hope for? I think that it takes a lot more than just hope to accomplish our new year's resolutions. This is the last year that we can wear those 2000-something glasses that have the zero's where our eyes are. Maybe next year they will put the one over the bridge of our nose and have the two zero's on either side for our eyes. Who knows? Some kid trying to make his/her big break in NYC will come up with something clever for Ryan Seacrest and Dave Clark to wear.

In truest fashion, here is my reflection on the last year and the hopes of this new year, of course there are always my twists... This past year was my first total year to be a working, tax-paying citizen. Who knew that I'd actually work a solid year and get paid to do it? There is always a first for everything. The other big thing was to start this blog and start training for a triathlon. Obviously, I did good on the blog thing till Oct 21, but I did even better with the running, which I am still doing today. Well, maybe not actually today because it is raining and feels like 36 degrees outside. I maybe crazy but not that crazy. I have my limits. Since my last writing on here, I have continued with my boot camp 3 mornings a week and have even added in a run or bike ride on some of the off days. I even got a picture of the last mountain biking trip we did down near Charleston when it was under water. Next time I'm going to take my snorkel. It might do me more good than my bike. The whole 13 miles I kept saying, "Are we there yet?" and "How in the world did you talk me into this?" I wasn't even worried about the roots under the 3-4 ft of water as much as I worried about the possibility of actually seeing some wildlife. Thank goodness the snakes were more afraid of me that day than I was of them. And so ends my days of that trail, at least until drier days and I can see the roots. 2008 ended with the end of a year long bet with my mom and my aunt, as to see who could lose the most weight from one Christmas to the next. Without going into the details, let's just say that I won, thanks to all of those early mornings and maybe a little to the swamp swim/bike rides.

This brings us to the part where I am supposed to resolve to do some great and new thing to change me for the better... aka, I'm supposed to hope that something great happens to me this year. So, instead of making a new year's resolution and hope for the best, I am going to make new goals for the new year. Goals are totally different from resolutions because one can actually meet and/or surpass a goal, where as people typically fail at their resolutions after the first three months. Resolutions are too big usually in nature, hence the high probability of quitting before you even start. Goals can be small in nature, and can be met much more easily. So, here are my goals for the next few months...

Goal #1: (This is the lofty one) - Stay healthy.

Goal #2: Go to boot camp 3 days a week, rain or shine, hot or cold.

Goal #3: Finish the Myrtle Beach half marathon on Feb. 14, 2009.

My other perceived difference between resolutions and goals is that there is a plan behind a goal, and that there may not be a plan behind a resolution. It is the difference between planning and hoping for the best. Here is my plan...

Goal #1 - Stay healthy

Since this is the lofty goal, the plan is a bit broad, but do-able. The first part of becoming more healthy is to watch what I eat. I am not using the d-word or following any crazy eating scheme. My plan is to just watch, and I mean watch, what I eat. By really looking at how much of some things I eat (pure volume of food) and how little I eat of other things (like vegis), I can start to make changes for a healthier lifestyle. Another part of staying healthy is the mental health of my psyche, aka my happiness. This part is naturally like a rollercoaster in that I have good days and bad days. The key for me is to have the good days way out-number the not-so-good days. Currently, this is good for me. The last part of my stay healthy goal is to exercise, and that is accomplished by goal #2.

Goal #2 - Go to boot camp

Aside from the physical difficulties of boot camp, the hardest thing is getting up between 4:15 and 4:30 AM to go exercise. For those of y'all who really know me, you know that I love my sleep and don't really function all that well without it. To accomplish this goal, I need to get my sleep so that the early hours really don't seem that early. My plan is get my 8 hours of sleep. This will really help my mental-ness as well. Also, by going to boot camp at least three mornings a week, I will be working towards my goal of being healthy by exercising.

Goal #3 - Finish the half marathon

By working towards the first two goals, I will be training for this day. I have roughly a month left until the marathon. I consider this half marathon a stepping stone to the triathlon that I want to do later this spring... the original goal of all of this.

So there it all is for all those who have been asking for the updated blog. Maybe it'll inspire me to keep up-to-date on this and continue as I originally planned. A week ago, we "re-started" boot camp, made goals, and weighed in. My goals were the same there as they are here. Yesterday we ran ~4 miles and then did weights concentrating on the chest area, lots of push-ups, bench presses, and military presses. As I said earlier, no running today due to the weather. Tomorrow we are the football field for a fun filled, very cold morning. I hear the wind chill is 27, but I'll be there... hot or cold.

May the new year bring success to all of our goals.