First Race of 2013

173 4498 KELLY JONES 1:09:57 2:28:47 2:26:08 11:09 33 F GREENVILLE SC 173 F-30 to 34

Official results are in for the 2013 MB Half Marathon. It's actually pretty interesting because a couple of posts down are the results from the 2009 marathon. In the past 4 years since that first half, I have fun about 5 more halfs and improved the time in this marathon 17 minutes, which is really pretty good (although still not my PR, which was in Atlanta). Thank goodness Meloney was there to pull me through those 13 miles!!

Here are the 2012 results of the same marathon:
2701 4688 KELLY JONES 1:13:01 2:35:52 2:32:51 11:40 32 F Half Greenville SC

And the 2012 results of the diva half in May:

1495

Kelly Jones

Greenville

SC

32

Female

02:26:37

The next big race is the Cooper River Bridge weekend of running and biking and then the Diva half marathon in late April. Goal is to really train between now and then and run faster than 2:15.

It's been a long time....

I began this blog back when I lived at the beach and was starting to exercise again and wanted to be able to do a triathlon. At the time, it was literally a couch to tri experience, but the triathlon part didn't really ever happen as I had hoped. Since then, I have completed multiple half marathons, finished a couple of century bike rides including a double century, and finished a couple of sprints triathlons.

So why come back here and try to do this whole thing over again. Well, I have now signed up for the half iron man triathlon in Augusta, GA in September. This distance includes a 1.2 mile swim, 56 miles on the bike, and 13.1 mile run. And, while I have completed all of the distances individually, I have never put them all together for one long event.

My newest goal then is to complete the Augusta Half Iron Man!



Craziness!!!

A Few Pics

Official Results:



Place, Div, No., Name, Age, Sex, City, State, Chiptime, Time, Pace
2196 181 1709 Kelly Jones 29 F Myrtle Beach SC 2:43:34 2:46:05 12:41



Although, we did stop to pee, so my real time on my watch excluding pee time was 2:40. They even gave me a medal.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Well, since my last write up here, I've actually been fairly lazy. I took off a week from running and working out while my ankle was resting. Then last week, I re-joined up with the boot camp Monday and Wednesday in hopes of a last minute boost for the big race. That brings us to Saturday, Feb 14... aka... the Myrtle Beach 1/2 marathon.

My goal for the race was to finish in less than 3 hours... and I finished in 2:46 official time. Although we stopped to pee along mile 6 or so, so my actual watch time was more like 2:40. I was pretty proud of the day and really not all that sore. They are supposed to be emailing me if there are any pictures of me from the race. Hopefully one will turn up. Yes, I was an idiot and forgot a camera!! That's really all I got right now. My ankle is holding up and actually feeling better than it did after the 15K, who knew.

Next goal... A triathlon! Stay posted.

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.

The Newest Start :)

So, ok. I've been a complete and utter slacker when it comes to writing lately. This is partly because I've been a little busy with working, having fun, and little working out. We had three weeks off of boot camp, but I managed to work out about 3 days a week while we were off. But... they were never with the intensity or duration (don't I sound like a PT) that our boot camp workouts were. Luckily, we started back with boot camp on Oct 13, or around there... whatever that Monday was. 

The first week... 

Monday - Ran 2 miles, lifted a bunch of weights, and caught up with some of the buds at Market Commons. 

Tuesday - I ran, get this... 4 miles!! And yes, I ran the whole four without stopping down in Surfside (5 am of course.) I was quite happy with this and it didn't even feel that hard after I got past the first two miles. This is the day I made up my mind that I am not a sprinter, but a distance athlete. This should not surprise me as I was not a sprinter in basketball, swimming, or soccer. Maybe that's why they made me goalie :) That, or because I was the only one tall enough to reach the crossbar of the goal. 

Wednesday - Ran a little less than 2 miles, lifted more weights, and then did some 100 meter sprints on the track. We were supposed to be running up the stadium steps, but my right knee was still giving me a little trouble since the Charleston Challenge. 

Thursday - Got up early and met my friend Lisa to run about 4 miles total... only this was more like run and walk along ocean blvd near my house. 

Friday - Sunday - I had all good intentions of waking up early and going for a quick run/walk before any and all festivities. But, my slacker self decided that I needed the rest. However, I had a great weekend and got to catch up with the Duke crowd. I also got to have dinner with my parents and Nana on Thursday night and with the Dobbins crowd and Nana on Sunday morning for Carrie's 19th birthday. 

That brings us to this week. Monday (yesterday) I woke up at 4:15 and we did about 3 miles running/walking, lifted some weights, and got some starbucks. You gotta have a good end to a long morning. We were running along and crossed over 17 at the light. Unfortunately the light was about to change while we were in the middle of the intersection. I sprinted ahead in attempt to avoid the oncoming traffic that could run me over like a deer in the headlights. Right after that, I had a pretty horrible cramping feeling in my left quad muscle, right along the rectus femoris, on the top half of the leg right in the middle. From that point, Jen (who's knee was hurting from Charleston as well) and I ran/walked the rest of the distance. At that time, I thought that I just had a horrible cramp in my leg. But, I tried to do some squats and lunges afterwards and wasn't really able to do them without pain. I took it easy most of yesterday and iced my leg several times, plus I took my advil. Today it feels a good bit better. I can feel it only when I stretch. And, I went up to the third floor several times today and took the stairs with no pain. I think that I strained the quad muscle a little bit. My plan is to take it easy in the morning and run/walk based on how it is feeling. No sprints for me tomorrow :) 

So, there is the update thus far, Heather. Thanks to everyone that has supported me along this journey. It's been a good road so far. 

And the bass keeps running, and running running

Go me is all that I have to say. This morning, a group was supposed to meet at the 48th trail for a run, only it wasn't really a group that actually met. You could say it was just me and Guy, and you'd be right. But run is what we did. Overall, I think that we did close to 6 miles, and that included running a bridge 2.5 times. Well, we went completely over the bridge crossing the waterway on the Bob, then we ran back over it. At the bottom of that hill is when Guy said, let's sprint up the bridge, just till it meets the water and then run back down on this side. I guess that's how I came up with the 2.5x across. I thought I was going to die running up it the second time, but then I realized that it doesn't even compare in the slightest degree to the Charleston bridge, so why was I complaining?? That's when I yelled "We are woman!!" (A very familiar quote from both our muddy bike ride and the Charleston Challenge.) We did the whole run a long ways, then walk a little bit for most it. However, the last 1.25 miles, he told me to run the whole thing without walking... telling me that it was mostly downhill and a fast run. He was right about neither. It was pretty slow (seeing as I was exhausted by my bridge runs) and it was mostly up hill. But hey, I finished it all, including the final run! Woohoo!!! What's even better, my knees didn't bother me. I did get a few blisters on the tip of my 2nd toes. I'll band-aid those tomorrow.

As for tomorrow, we are meeting at 5am at the stadium to run the bleachers. Wish me luck!

A new week begins

I'm sitting here on the couch icing the knee after working out today, the first time since last Wednesday. I'm in the middle of my 12 day working period. When I first started boot camp, it was the middle Monday of my 12 day working period. I thought it started out good that time, so why not try it again. I rode the stationary bike for 30 min on level 9 interval, then did some weight lifting for my arms and abs. Tomorrow morning we are running again, so hopefully my knee will hold up. So, four more days of work and then I get to see the whole fam!

Thought for the day:
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
Mahatma Gandhi

Rest begins

For the next three weeks, we are on a break/rest from boot camp. Luckily, we are still meeting some to run/bike. Monday, I was still so sore that I couldn't hardly work. Tuesday, I got up super early to run down in Surfside. I did about 4 miles, most of which was running, but some walking in the middle. Today I did a little bit of lifting and pushups. Ok, I'm going to back to watching tv... didn't you know that it is couch week. (AKA season premere week!)

The Big Challenge

Here's the review of the last week....

Monday... OMG... in my world that's known as Oh My Gosh, I can't believe you want me to do WHAT?!?!? So, I was quite tired from the awesome concert (thanks Heather), but it was worth it. On three hours of sleep, I headed to the five mile run. I ran about the first two miles and then did the walk/run thing for the rest of it. We finished off that morning with some lifting and such. At least I finished it 3 min faster than I did the last week.

Wednesday... The official last day of morning boot camp for this round. We ran 3 miles, and yes, I ran the whole 3 miles. The temperature decided to finally cool off a little and it felt great. And then we did some monster lifting. Guess that we had to get it all in before it was over.

Thursday... The first meeting for the big challeng on Saturday down in Charleston. We got the clue of about where to meet, which we thought was around Bagel Nation at the corner of 17 and the Isle of Palms Connector.

Friday... I sat in Wally World for 2 hours for an oil change and then decided to stay the night in MI since it was 30 min closer to Charleston.

Saturday... Here is the big day!!! We got up at 4 am, packing the two cars, loaded the bikes, and headed down to Charleston. Kitsy couldn't find her helmet, so we stopped by the Walmart to grab one on the way down. We got our next clue promptly at 7am, which told us to bike to Patriots Point. Here's the way it went. We biked down the Isle of Palms Connector, over the bridge and then turned right on the main road in Isle of Palms. We went over the little bridge to Sullivan's Island and then turned right onto the road back to Mt. Pleasant all the way to Patriot's Point. The whole ride was about 13 miles. Then we hopped off of our bikes and took off running over the Ravenel bridge, down East Bay St all the way to battery. We did a loopy thing by taking a right onto Murray, a right on King, a right on Broad, a left on Meeting, a right on Calhoun, and another left back onto East Bay St. We finished the run by going back over the big bridge. The whole run was over 10 miles. We then biked the reverse path back to bagel nation.

All I can say is over 37 miles in a little over 4 hours. I was and still am exhausted. We then went out and enjoyed some of Charleston before returning home Sunday. What a weekend!!!! There's nothing more to say. So, now I'm about to head out to the pool and enjoy some sweet tea. Tomorrow we start running again, down in Surfside. I'll keep you posted. :)

And wheels keep running

First off, I did not forget my keys again so far this week. Friday morning we met at Broadway, ran 1.5 miles and then began ~40 min of grueling sets including pushups, squats, lunges, burpees, mountain climbers, and followed up by 1/4 run after each set. One set was all ab work. In middle of this set, the rain started. I guess that it was expected since it hadn't yet rained all week, and I have yet to go through a week in which it didn't rain at least once. Initially, the rain was welcomed, seeing as it was a light drizzle that felt cooler than the surrounding air. But as our sets ended, the rain really began and it was bike time. About half the people left due to the pouring rain, but a few of us stayed and did the 3.4 mile bike ride in the downpour. At one point, I had my head down hoping that I wouldn't run into another biker (I wasn't too worried about the cars; there aren't any at 6 am at broadway). That was the start of my weekend.

It got better though! Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 and was in the car headed to the inlet with my mountain bike to meet up with a few of the other boot campers and our fearless leader, along with with wife. There were 5 of us in total and we drove down to the Palmetto Trail head which is around McClellanville (a few miles north of Mt. Pleasant). We geared up and took off for the unknown. It I had known what was ahead, I might not have been so inclined to go, but since I didn't, I was game. In the first 1.4 mile, we hit about 4 huge water holes with water up to our knees. But, we kept peddling on through the water until we hit the road with mud all over us. I thought that it couldn't get much worse, but then we hit a section of the trail known as "Mt. Killamyvagina." It was pretty much just that due to the immense number of roots that filled the trail. Just when you needed to catch some speed to go through more water and mud, you hit about 20 roots that were like mini-road bumps, only some of them weren't so mini. We stopped at the halfway point and did some jumping jacks and pushups. He tried to get us to run, but a walk was a little more my pace by that point. We then turned home and did it all over again, all the while keeping one eye on the water/the trail and one eye out for Mr. No Shoulders, aka my slithery friend known as the snake. Luckily, no snakes on this trip. :)

We then changed by the car, wiped the mud off and proceeded to go to Mt. Pleasant to the Wal-Mart. Kitsy needed some fresh clothes. Even the girl as we walked in was eyeing us and laughed. We must have looked like a homeless gang coming in the by our monthly clothes. Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and went to TrySports, where I ran into Jason, who is going to do an Ironman Triathlon in Panama City on Nov 1. Best wishes, Jason. I came home late that afternoon, washed off my bike, took a long shower, and had Betsy check my head for ticks. This was all followed by dinner and some well-deserved couch time.

Today, I couldn't sleep late... yes, I was up by 7 on my one morning off. I finished my book and pretty much have been lazy. I am trying to get a little cleaning done today, but I haven't gotten far with that just yet. But... I can't wait for tonight and Sugarland!!! Should be a great time. Perhaps I should go sweep the floor. All the sand from the bikes is killing me.

Ta-ta for now!

The Past Week

Here is the quick and dirty version of the last week...

Thursday - Prepare for Hanna day, the tropical storm not montana - With the forcast of tropical storm to hit within the next 36 hours directly to Myrtle Beach, I brought in all of the furniture, plants, etc. and got the necessary supplies of food and drinks :)

Friday - Boot camp and Hanna hits - We started off running 1.5 miles, which I was able to do at a faster pace thanks to Kitsy pushing me along. We then did the rounds on the inside of Broadway with pushups, squats, burpees, and mountain climbing. We did some sprints in the middle to keep me good and out of breath, as if the rest of it was a breeze... Speaking of breezes, I headed over to Jackie's to ride out of the storm in good company. It was a bit breezy, and intermittent times of heavy downpours, but otherwise it was not too bad. The worst part was waking up to the transformers popping, all five of them. Thank goodness the power was only out for an hour or so. Any more than that, and this sweet girl would have been melting in the lovely combination of humidity and heat.

Saturday - Cars and weddings - Woke up to breakfast of waffles and strawberries (yum) and drove to Savannah for the wedding. The best part... seeing all of the Aiken family! Short and sweet day, but a good time was had by all. I did manage to fit in a long walk along the river, which may have possibly included a sweet treat, also known as the Savannah praline.

Sunday - More cars - Had a great lunch and then drove the 4 hours back to MB, at which time I proceeded to lay on the couch and be lazy. I was sooo tired.

Monday - Back to the grind - Woke up bright and early and had absolutely no desire to wake up bright and early. But, I did anyway. We started off this morning by running/walking 5 miles. I ran the first two miles and then did a combo of running/walking. For the last mile, Kitsy and I did a sequence of walking 2 lamp posts, running 5 posts, and then sprinting 2 posts. I was about to fall over after that, but then we did some squats and other weight stuff. The rest of the day I was super lazy from being so worn out from my weekend/tropical storm/working out.

Tuesday - Carrie's gift - I worked very diligently to finish Carrie's graduation present. Hopefully you'll like it Carrie when I can finally get it to you, which will hopefully be in the next year ;)

Wednesday - Today - I woke up at 4:25 this morning, not really wanting to get up since I seem to have this sniffle gnawing on my nerves. I got dressed, grabbed some water and my phone, and headed out the door... only to realize that my keys were still inside the locked house. After 10 min of trying to break in via my hard rock park season pass, I called in the reinforcements, aka some of the sweetest people at boot camp to come and pick me up. We were about 10 min late, but we were there. We started off running 3 miles, which is a very loose term since it was about 100% humidity and I couldn't breathe. I more or less ran the first mile or so and then did the walk/run thing. We then went up/down the stadium steps for what I can only assume was a very long time, but in reality it was probably about 15 min. We then ran a lap around the football and proceeded to lift some weights and do some ab work. I figured with all of this, I deserved the pumpkin spice latte that was waiting for me at the finish line.

Quotes of the day:
"You are in a lion fight. Just because you didn't win, doesn't mean that you don't know how to roar."

"You are running your own race. Pay no attention to those in front of you and behind you."

Someone had to remind me that I'm not that super fast, crazy sprinter that so many of the others are. For me, it's about finishing the race the best that I can.

We're Half-Way There, Living on a Prayer

Well.... I've been quite lazy and not on the computer at all since Friday, so there hasn't been much of a chance to catch up on here. Let me hit you with my best shot. Here goes...

Friday... Hmmmm.... What a morning!! I woke up at 4:15, went to the car, put my bike on the rack and cranked the car. Only, the car didn't crank and my battery was dead. Being the very enthusiastic 5am girl that I am slowly becoming, I took my bike off the rack and started the 6 mile ride to Broadway for boot camp. I was about 15 min (along with one other girl), so we took off running the inside loop, which I assume is about 1 mile. We both ran the whole thing looking for the group, but they were not to be found. We then rode our bikes about 3.5 miles in search of them and finally found them... about to start their bike ride. So, I kept on going another 3 laps, which is about 5.1 miles. And that was the end of boot camp, but not the end of my ride. I had another 6 miles back home. All in all, I did a little over 20 miles that morning, just to come home to a dead battery in my car. Long story short, my "dad" here in MB took my car to get a new battery and brought it to work for me. What a HUGE lifesaver. Thank goodness for wonderful neighbors. I was then able to leave work just after lunch and head home to see Brooke sing wonderfully in "Always Patsy Cline" - amazing!!!

Saturday-Monday... I completely slept in that morning and then stayed an hour on the couch watching One Fine Day and giving Skittles (the cat) some much needed TLC. Then I participated in the Nike Human Race, in which people from all over the world were doing a 10K on the same day. Since I'm not quite up to 6 miles running, I took my side show to the trails in Hitchcock Woods and ended up walking/running/panting for 7 miles. Alls I have to say there is, make sure you take a map... most helpful. After all of the fatigue had set in, I got to see my girl Steph and wish her and Joe a happy engagement right on through Monday. I did manage to fit in a quick 2 mile walk around the neighborhood on Sunday. Monday I drove back MB and went to bed early. Even this girl needs her beauty sleep (I just happen to need about 8 hours - not the less than 8 that I got over the weekend).

Tuesday... Nothing much to say here. I didn't work out because A) I was very tired still, B) My legs were still sore from Saturday, and C) I was very tired still. Went to bed early for another day of camp.

And that brings us to today... Up at 4:15 this morning, and it felt great outside. Not as much humidity and the temp was around 68-70. Perfect. We started off running from Pepper Geddings (the local gym) and headed around some corners to get to the intersection of The Bob and 21st and then back. At first, I thought that I was going to die from needing to go to the bathroom, but that subsided and I ended up running the whole thing. We came back and did some military standing presses, bench presses, lat pulls, sit-ups and leg lifts. After it was all over I asked how far it was that we ran, and .... it was 3 miles. That was a new personal best for continuous distance running, which also just happens to be the halfway point to the 6 miles that I'll have to run in the triathlon. So, not only was Friday the end of week three, which was the halfway point of boot camp, but today was the halfway running point. I'm not necessarily betting on running 6 miles by the end of the next 3 weeks, but I'll bet that it's more than 3 miles :)

Well, I better run and finish getting ready. I'm going to see the most winningest ever MB Pelicans in the playoffs tonight. Pray that Hannah doesn't come to visit me Friday or Saturday of this weekend. I was kinda hoping to go to Savannah for a wedding if the hurricane/TS doesn't ruin it for me.

Closing of Week Three

Tomorrow closes week three of boot camp... aka the half way point!!!

I've been pretty busy here, so I haven't been super up-to-date this week. Here's the quickie version of the last few days... Tuesday was Cassie's bday, but I did manage to get in a 30 min bike ride on interval level 10. My butt was soaked, so I figure that I did something. Cassie said that once I couldn't sing anymore, then I was really working hard :) I told her that I couldn't really sing even when I'm not out of breath. We had a great dinner and made her stand on the chair to the beat of a Japanese drum. We think that the cake they brought her was a jello cheescake, but what do we American's know about Japanese desserts.

Wednesday morning I woke, and was super tired from going to bed late the night before. Luckily I checked the radar and no rain in the area, and as an extra bonus, the humidity was 91%. If I were thinking at 4 in the morning, I would have known that if the humidity is that high, it's going to rain in the near future. So, we started off running. Guy ran with me so as to make me go a little further and run a little faster, which is what I did. I ran from the pig to damon's and back to 17 business. Then I was so out of breath, and my heart rate was 170, so I started my run/walk sequence of walk 2 lamp posts and run 10 lamp posts (I had about a mile left). At about the 2nd set of 10 runs, the bottom dropped... crazy rain. But, it was kinda nice at that point because I was already soaked and it was a cool rain. I finished the run and we did some weight lifting and crunches. You know "girls just wanna have fun," or at least that's what the radio is saying right now! Then last night my grandmother, her friend, and I all went out to dinner at Ruby's and did a little shopping at the mall. I had a salad for all of those who might care.

And that brings us to today. Here goes the birthday shout outs... Happy birthday to, and in particular order, Brooke Kest, Carrie Potter, and Stephanie Meador. Also, a happy anniversary to Jocelyn and Phil Sikes (and congrats on the baptism of the little man - loved the pics). This morning I went to the all wonderful OSHA training for the yearly retest on all kinds of nasty stuff, which could have potentially been vaguely interesting but in reality was quite boring. I had all patients that started with letter B today. Not once started with a different letter... I think that may be a first. But then I had a difficult patient and my funk returned, and I didn't really snap out of it until I had some homemade pasta tonight. Yuuuummmmmmyyyyyyy!! I highly recommend it if you can make it. After that, I saw for about 30 min and listened to some tunes with my new mp3 player made for underwater. Very cool, another highly recommend it you like swimming.

So, that's been my busy couple of days. I'm sorry for those that I have not emailed back yet. I'll try to get back to you ASAP. Tomorrow I'm heading home to see Brooke in Patsy Cline; sorry that you can't be there mom. Wish NC State good luck tonight as they take on Spurrier and those chickens. It's off to bed for me... it's already 9:30 (an hour past my bedtime).

The Funk Comes and Goes

Today is all about the funk, and no, I am not talking about how I smell after an hour and half of pouring sweat in the morning. I'm talking about that mood that one gets in for no real good reason and can't seem to shake for no good reason. This morning I was funnnnnkkkky, and I can't tell you why. I woke up on the correct side of the bed, which also happened to be the right side, so no clue as to the funk this morning. And it stayed all the way through lunch to my dismay. I just could not shake the thing. But... Today is my friend Cassie's birthday and Connie made some "special" brownies for her. I was told that these brownies might could shake the curse that was over me. And... It worked, after about 2.5 more servings. There goes the diet out the door. Then I proceeded to wave it goodbye by saying that I would be at dinner tonight for birthday celebrations at Miyabi's. I guess everyone needs a day off of dieting, but I think that I not only fell off the boat, but started drowning. I'll be drowning in something completely different tomorrow... a unique combination of sweat and rain, which we are supposed to be getting for the rest of the week. Maybe the gods will spare me for just a little while as to get in that oh so important morning run, in which the big daddy says he running with me. He thinks he's making me a marthon runner. Please hold while I continue to laugh out loud. Ok, I'm back. Again, all's I want (that's for you, Pam) is a good 6 mile run after the swimming and biking. :) Here comes to bandwagon to take me to dinner. I'm jumping on..... but I'll jump back off tonight and back onto the eating good bike that'll take me to boot camp in the AM.

Breakfast of Champions

After pressing snooze twice, I finally managed to pry myself out of the covers at 4:15 this morning, got dressed, and headed to boot camp to the tunes of Sugarland. (I'm getting ready Heather!) We started this morning with a 3.something run. I really don't know how long it is, but for convience, we'll say that it was a little over 3 miles. I ran the first two miles at a little bit faster pace than I had previously been running, but then I quickly bottomed out. I'm going to blame the extreme humidity and not my lack of perseverence. To make up for the shortcoming, I decided to do sprints the last mile, which consisted of walking 2 street lamps and then sprinting 4 street lamps. I'm still not sure which is worse, the sprinting or the steady pace of running. Either way, I was wiped by the time this over (about 36 min after I started). Last, but certainly not least, we did some leg lifts, crunches, supine bicycling, standing military presses, bench presses on the ball, bicep curls, tricep extension, squats, and lastly pushups. By the end, I was in desperate need of my starbucks, and I got it.

Why breakfast of champions as my title, you may ask. Well, today I'm not sure that I had a breakfast of champions, but I did eat breakfast all day long. I wonder if eat breakfast all day can make one a champion, even in the breakfasts themselves are not the breakfasts of champions?? I'd like to think that it does, and seeing as it's probably my favorite meal, this was no challenge for me. I started off with a course of flax seed granola with yogurt for breakfast, my standard cracker barrel breakfast for lunch, and some go lean waffles with hot tea for dinner. For those that may not know, the standard cracker barrel breakfast consists of whole wheat sourdour french toast, egg beaters, and turkey sausage with sugar free syrup. Sounds gross... I know... but it's really quite good. I was going to go grocery shopping for some food to stock my pantry and fridge, but I didn't want to melt in the rain on the way. I can run in the rain, but grocery shopping in the rain is out of the question.

Oh yes, I must not forget to mention a words of sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who has sent their kindest and most inspriring words of encouragement. There can never be enough.