Still Basking in the Glow of Accomplishment

I put my half-marathon race report up on Metroblogging Atlanta. Not sure what to do with myself, now that i have no noveling and no race to train for. . . Todd would say that I have plenty of laundry to do.

I prefer bon-bons and Oprah.

Dogwood Girl Runs, Writes, Congratulates, Coughs

I know i have been missing in action during most of November. I attribute this to a)NanoWriMO b)Half-marathon training and c) family sickness.

So, i have about 2000 words left on NaNo today. I finished the half on Thursday. This may not seem like much until you drive to Chamblee Marta station (the approximate starting line) and then drive down Ptree Industrial until it turns into Peachtree, and then follow that all the way to downtown Atlanta and then over to Turner Field. Yes, I ran from Chamblee to Turner Field and people, that is a long-ass way.

I am proud of myself for finishing what I started out to do. Sometimes I am not that great with follow-through.

So, writing Nano today and driving back from Auburn to Atlanta. It will be nice to be home.

p.s. Congratulations to all you Tech and Bama fuckers.

Help me out, Runner Folks

My latest Metroblogging Atlanta post is up as of today. Check it out and give me all your sage advice on running the Thanksgiving Half Marathon. Because I am a little nervous. I admit it.

Although the calories I can conceivably take in afterwards without guilt do give me a little courage. Three words: "Mama's Mashed Potatoes."

And as an update: Nano is going well, although I am going to be driving right down to the wire.

I Never Win Anything!

But this morning, right there in my inbox, was a notification that I won a copy of this pre-release book. I love the site Goodreads and they have this nifty FirstReads give-away. Basically, you sign up to win pre-release copies from publishers. If you win, they send you a copy of the book and they request that you post a review on Goodreads. How cool is that?

So, NaNoWriMo is going well. I am at over 22,000 words. Almost halfway there and right on schedule. It has almost worked out well that I have been sick for over three weeks. More reason to sit around and write. The impact on my running has not been that great. Think wheezing on hills and coughing up massive amounts of green phlegm, but I'm still running on Thanksgiving, even if I am not at a hundred percent. I missed over a week of workouts, so i doubt it will make that much of a difference in my physical ability to run the half, but it definitely has affected my mental game. Confidence level is not high.

New Running Playlist - Special Guest Star Todd!

Since my Ipod died, I have been using Todd's dinosaur (about four pounds!) Ipod on my runs. I haven't quite gotten around to convincing him that I should control what music he puts on his own Ipod (yet), so I have been using his Running mix. Lots of the same stuff I have, plus some I haven't used that worked out well. The only thing we definitely don't agree on? I just can't run to The Shins or Vampire Weekend. I don't even like Vampire Weekend, actually. And I think The Shins are boring.*

There. I said it.
*Except for "New Slang," which is, of course, brilliant.

Todd's Running Playlist:

1. There There Radiohead Hail to the Thief
2. Feel Good Inc (Single Edit) Gorillaz Feel Good Inc - Single
3. Ch-Check It Out The Beastie Boys To The 5 Boroughs
4. Obstacle 1 Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights
5. Blue Orchid The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan
6. Hopeless The Wrens The Meadowlands
7. What Ever Happened The Strokes Room On Fire
8. Banquet Bloc Party Silent Alarm
9. Harnessed in Slums Archers Of Loaf Vee Vee
10. Helicopter Bloc Party Silent Alarm
11. Favours In The Beetroot Fields British Sea Power The Decline Of British Sea Power
12. 7/4 (Shoreline) Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene
13. Sister Jack Spoon Gimme Fiction
14. Smack My Bitch Up The Prodigy The Fat Of The Land
15. Vertigo U2 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
16. Where's Your Head At Basement Jaxx Rooty
17. B.O.B. OutKast Stankonia
18. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) Arcade Fire Funeral
19. Richard III Supergrass In It For the Money
20. Alec Eiffel Pixies Trompe le Monde
21. Alison Pixies Bossanova
22. Wolf Like Me TV On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain
23. Handful Of Billions Sound Team Movie Monster
24. Anti-Anti Snowden Anti-Anti
25. Now That You're Home Manchester Orchestra I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child
26. Wolves at Night Manchester Orchestra I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child
27. Cowbell Tapes 'n Tapes The Loon
28. Pitfalls Film School Film School
29. Australia The Shins Wincing the Night Away
30. Wasted Time Kings Of Leon Youth and Young Manhood
31. Common Reactor Silversun Pickups Carnavas
32. No Cars Go Arcade Fire Neon Bible
33. Keep The Car Running Arcade Fire Neon Bible
34. Bone Broke The White Stripes Icky Thump
35. Icky Thump The White Stripes Icky Thump
36. Finer Feelings Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
37. d is for dangerous Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare
38. teddy picker Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare
39. Red Alert Basement Jaxx The Singles
40. Under Pressure David Bowie & Queen
41. Bump Spank Rock Yoyoyoyoyo (Record-Play)
42. Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats Los Campesinos! Hold On Now, Youngster...
43. Liferz Blood on the Wall Liferz
44. Rize Blood on the Wall Liferz
45. Go Go Go Blood on the Wall Liferz
46. Hibernation Blood on the Wall Liferz
47. Living Well Is The Best Revenge R.E.M. Accelerate
48. Time to Pretend MGMT Oracular Spectacular
49. Sissy Blues The Deadly Snakes Porcella -Or- A Bird In The Hand Is Worthless [Vinyl]
50. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You Black Kids Wizard of Ahhhs
51. Boston Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
52. A-Punk Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
53. Mansard Roof Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
54. O Katrina! The Black Lips Good Bad Not Evil

Grief and Guilt

Grief is a funny thing. You think you have a handle on it, then it washes anew over you, catching you at the moment you least expect it. I finished up my breakfast, then brushed my teeth. Ready for my run, I headed for the hooks in the kitchen where we hang everything: Totes, my Grandma Palmer's aprons, keys, hats, hoodies, visor, Ipod.

Ipod.

I don't have an Ipod anymore. How the hell can i run without my Ipod, and how could I have forgotten her so easily? And of course, Todd took his with him to vote, so I am left here to drink coffee, atrophy, and mourn my Ipod once again.

And now I feel guilty for using my dead Ipod to get out of a run.

Yes, I think I Am. Or at Least I Want to Be.

Plenty of running going on here at Dogwood Girl. Okay, jogging, if you want to be really accurate. I'm certainly not hauling ass. I just set myself some distances and then my goal is to finish them, no matter how long it takes. I go as fast as my old knees will allow me to go.

And my knees are feeling the longer distances, the constant beating they take when I am out for more than an hour. Mentally, I feel great. Cardiovascularly, awesome. But those poor knees are taking a hit because of my weight. I have been trying to lose the weight for . . .well, years. I don't have unrealistic expectations that I will be my 16-year old self, but I would like to get faster. And that is what it comes down to - I will lose this weight. Interestingly, what has pushed me over the edge is not what drives most women I know to lose weight. It will not be vanity, or the desire to look better in my clothes. It will not even be that I want to be healthier, although all of those things would be nice. It will be that I do not like to lose, and God damn it, I want to be faster.

I know everyone is sitting there saying, well, why are you such a fat ass? Why don't you just cut back on what you are eating? Well, I am doing that, but it is harder for me than other people, because I've pretty much fucked my metabolism all to hell with my PCOS. But I am going to do it. And then I am going to be faster. I'm not giving up. I am tired of running, farther and longer, and not getting any faster. I'm tired of not seeing results.

I had a little reward yesterday, though. I had my blood pressure taken at my annual Gynecological exam. The nurse looked surprised after taking it.

I said, "What? Was it bad?" and she said, "No, 80 over 50 is really good. Are you an athlete?" "No," i said, "but I run pretty often."

But in my head, I said Yes. Yes, I am.

My Running Playlist

I've been running a lot lately, and getting bored with my current running playlists. Here's what's on them, in case you're bored with yours:

Living Well Is The Best Revenge R.E.M.
Shellshock New Order
The Grey Estates Wolf Parade
Blank Generation Richard Hell & The Voidoids
Power Doesn't Run On Nothing The Thermals
A Ghost To Most Drive-By Truckers
Breathe Me Sia
No Pause Girl Talk
Hands In The Air Girl Talk
Here's The Thing Girl Talk
Don't Stop Girl Talk
Konichiwa Bitches (Album Version) Robyn
Destroyer Kinks
Weightless Nada Surf
I'mAlright Kenny Loggins (bite me)
Digital Love Miracle Fortress
Long Division Death Cab For Cutie
Shut Up and Let Me Go The Ting Tings
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You Black Kids
That's Not My Name The Ting Tings
Could You Be The One Husker Du
Great DJ The Ting Tings
List of Demands (Reparations) Saul Williams
Stay Positive The Hold Steady
Right Hand On My Heart The Whigs
5 Years Time Noah & The Whale
Hold Up Girl Talk
Knife (Girl Talk Remix) Grizzly Bear
What's Golden Jurassic 5 Power In Numbers
Pavilion Velcro Stars
Secret Identity How I Became The Bomb
No Cars Go Arcade Fire
Common Reactor Silversun Pickups
Keep The Car Running Arcade Fire
I Still Remember Bloc Party
Tom Courtnenay Yo La Tengo
Beautiful Day U2
Head On Pixies
Thieves Ministry
50ft Queenie PJ Harvey
Song 2 Blur
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
Sister Surround The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
Feel Good Inc (Single Edit) Gorillaz
Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta Geto Boys (Kinda like to cool down to this one.)

What do you run to? For the love of god, give me some suggestions. I am bored silly with most of these.

Dogwood Girl Recipes: Bowl of Shame

Bowl of Shame is my favorite snack when I crave something sweet, which is really only when I am . . . let's see, how shall i put this so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of Natalie's husband? Let's try, "Being visited." Just like little aliens came down and possessed my body and made me eat it, which of course absolves me of the shame. But the shame, oh the shame! That is the part that tastes so good. I am sure of it.

Bowl of Shame

Ingredients

• One child-size individual vanilla chocolate swirl ice cream cup
• Two Pop-Tarts (I prefer iced brown sugar and cinnamon, but I know this could create much dissension in the ranks, so you could totally substitute cherry or strawberry, both of which would go great with the vanilla strawberry swirl ice cream cup, if you feel like you need more fruits in your diet.)
• Peanut Butter (Crunchy is more fun)
• Lite Cool Whip (Because you are, like, totally diet-conscious)
• Honey

Directions

1. Open indy ice cream, turn over upside down and squeeze gently out of plastic cup into soup or salad bowl. (Presentation is everything, people! Extra points if you have a sundae dish!)
2. Break each Pop Tart in half and stick all four halves at an angle, so that they lean against the sides of the bowl, creating awesome ramps of brown sugar icing goodness sloping down to ice cream love.
3. Take one heaping scoop of peanut butter (i use a big-ass serving spoon to measure out the correct amount) and dump it onto the ice cream. Lick spoon clean, or let dog do it for you.
4. Heap one spoon of Cool Whip on top of that, so that you create a swaying, leaning tower of diabetic coma proportions.
5. Squeeze a ton of honey all over it (lady-like drizzling is for pussies), making sure honey is running down pop-tart sides to form a golden pool around the peanut butter and ice cream.
6. Sit in front of tv while watching The Hills, ANTM, or Real World Road Rules Challenge.
   
7. Sink into a physically-satisfying, but mentally degrading heap of self loathing.
8. Feed the children the remaining two Pop Tarts the following morning, despite your usual rule of "no junk," just to get the rest of them out of the house, and then run 3.5 miles in futile attempt to keep mountains of sugary love off of your thighs.
   

Note to Self

Do not, under any circumstances, run with the partner shown below, ever, ever again.


This is Emily. Emily is a Jack Russell Terror. Er, Terrier. She belongs to my sister, Lisa, who is pregnant and sciatic, and didn't seem to mind trading the spaz dog for my two-year old for an hour while Emily took me for a run.

Emily is scared of cars, I think, or at least loud ones, so she veers widely away from the road when one comes towards her. This puts her right in the path of me, her walker. I am sure that the folks on Briarcliff road who witnessed the gymnastics involved in me navigating the sidewalks, crosswalks, fire hydrants and street signs with the Terror in tow were howling in laughter. The best part was when I got off the main roads and onto the side streets. There? There they have huge trees. Trees have squirrels. Emily LOVES her some squirrels. Enough that she will literally launch herself four feet in the air, on a diagonal, straight across my path, in hopes of snagging a squirrel; She continues to do this, even when the short, short lead i have her on snaps taught, gives her whiplash, and she gets that panicky look as she plunges to the ground, where she inevitably lands on her four freakish paws.

She then starts looking for the next victim. And the whole scenario repeats all over again.

What I didn't realize, in my frustration at running with the equivalent of a pissed off cat in a hatbox, is that my run would result in sore forearms. My arms got seriously tired.*

I can just see it now: The latest fitness craze in LA and NYC - Terrier Leading!

*Disclaimer: yes, there were moments when I thought the whole run would be a lot easier if I just let her run into traffic. I didn't. But I thought about it.

Okay, It Wasn't All Bad

Okay, so the bad news is, I was kind of a slacker about working out yesterday, which was made worse by Tiller taking a monumental 2-hour plus nap, and at trivia on Tuesday I had more than a nibble off the fruit and cheese plate. (Brie! For the love of God!)

The good news is that other than trivia cheese and beer and the slacker workout, I was pretty good. Also, I haven't run in more than a month and I hadn't completely lost it. I did 4.4 miles Wed. and 4.54 today. So, I feel confident about being able to get back in the saddle without too much pain and suffering. That being said, I am sore as hell.

Yay me!

Resolution

I hate New Year's Resolutions. I never keep them. Ever. Okay, I did make a NY resolution to quit smoking and it stuck. Twice. The first time I quit for two years and then I decided I could have one when I was drinking and then suddenly I was smoking again. A couple of years later, though, i decided enough was enough. I quit in January of 2002, and this January makes six years I've gone without one, which is more than I can say for a certain Creeker who would have had me beat by years if he hadn't given in to drunken nostalgia one fateful night in December of 2006. That is surely bad karma catching up with him for teaching me to smoke in the first place.

Blame others. That's what my family does.

Anyway, in the spirit of New Year's Resolve, here is my plan for things I'd like to do this year.

Open-Ended Nebulous Stuff:

Watch Less TV, Write More
Be more Patient, especially with the children
Not raise my voice as much with the children
Be more consistent with children's discipline, (in particular, Timeouts.)
Go Out More
Be more positive

Measurable Goals:
Lose the stupid weight already!!!!
Run at least 1 10k
Run a Half.
Do my first tri.
Complete three short stories that I am happy with and make sure other people read them, rather than hording them and telling myself I am not good enough.

The hard one here is the tri, because of the need to have real time on the bike, and that requires TIME. Time is definitely my difficulty, management-wise. I am amazed that people with children ever become serious athletes. (Steph and Nat amaze me, pretty much daily, with their dedication and time management skills.)

Okay, the letting people read what I write part is hard, too, because I am pretty self-conscious about it, and the first go-round did not go very well. I am going to bite the bullet, though.

Anyway, that's what's up for me this year. Make sure to ask me how I'm doing, so that I am embarrassed into action every once in a while. I have a funny feeling that this is going to turn into a "Todd picking his hangnails" situation. When Todd and I first started dating, I noticed he wore band-aids on his fingers a lot. I did not like that. Band aids are gross. So, he admitted that picking at his hangnails was a bad habit he would like to quit and for me to tell him if he was doing it in front of me, because sometimes he didn't even realize he was doing it. I don't think he realized back in '99 that he would still be sitting next to me on the couch in 2008, and I would still be telling him to stop picking at his hangnails.

Let's Put This Into Perspective

To think that not that many years ago, women regularly wondered where their next meal would come from, as they waded down towards the river to wash their clothes by hand. They knew that after a long day, they were expected to service their husbands. They were in constant fear that their beloved family members were going to die from some terrible disease for which there was no cure, no antibiotic.

I am sitting around today worrying about my slow internet, the fact that I didn't get a chance to write once last week, and that I couldn't fit my long run in this weekend, so I ended up doing it today. I was kind of disappointed that I only finished 7.5 miles in the time between dropping off and picking up my son from preschool, when I wanted to finish 9.5 miles.

Life is hard. Real hard.

The Strut

That's the name of the festival in my neighborhood. I miss the days when we lived within walking distance of the village, where we could come and go throughout the day, drink as we please, and not worry about it. I also miss my nanny. Oh, wait. We've never had a nanny.

Todd and I woke up at 6 a.m., in time to grab a snack and a coffee, get the kids going, and break up a cat and dog fight, before leaving for the 5k. We thought we were running late, and we were so early that they gave us numbers 10 and 11 - Gotta love my slacker neighborhood. It was nice to be in a small race, with neighbors and people I know. It was Todd's first race, and we were both pleased with the weather, and the fact that we both beat the Dachsund running the race. It's the small things. Also, the shirt is the coolest!

I wasn't happy that we had to head over to Grant Park to get brunch, but we hit Ria's for a brunch without kids. Awesome. Love me some kid-free meals.

Afterwards, we headed back home to start the grill, put on the beans and hit the showers. My sister and Mom were around after watching the kids for the morning. (Best sister EVER for coming over at 6:15 a.m. to watch the kids.) Matt, Ned, Nessie, and Scarlett showed up, and we started the margaritas at about noon, then watched the Auburn game. (Yikes.) I listened to Larry on the radio while the kids ran around. Afterwards, mom and Lisa went home and we all went up to check out the Strut. I got an supercool, ultra cheap creepy shrinkydink necklace for 3$! And a handmade bib for my niece Luci. V. pretty.

Amazingly, i had two margaritas and one beer all day until after bringing the kids home and putting them to bed (they were pooped.) I'll be honest. I could have really tied one on. But these days, I am more likely to drive my kids safely around (okay, except for the mailman roadie incident!) and then pound some beers on the couch.

I know. Totally glamorous.

Seriously. It was a good day.

9.5 Miles of Torture

Didn't really have time to post about this over the weekend, as I was too consumed by the N-word incident, but I ran my longest distance yet: 9.5 miles.

The other reason I haven't posted about it is that it kinda sucked ass. I felt terrible afterwards. I ran it on the treadmill at the gym (the heat is killing me!), which sucked because I am not that fast a runner, and the treadmill is BO-RING. So, basically, i ran on a treadmill for just over two hours (yes, I am that slow), and watched teenagers attempting to play basketball with their pants down around their knees and their boxers hanging out. (Note to the Hoop Dreamers - I think Barkley etal dismissed with worrying about showing off their boxers to the girls on the bleachers and actually practiced playing basketball.) I digress.

So, yeah, the run sucked. I had plenty of water, but I definitely felt horrible after about 7 miles. And then, I am also am dealing with this new poop thing. I mean, if I run over 6.5 miles, my bowels betray me, and I have to stop to go to the bathroom. It is really not fun to run 6 miles and then go take a shit (public restroom, Jason B., public restroom!) and then get back on the treadmill and run another 3 miles. It's like the running high gets sucked right out of you. It was just horrible. And then there was like a point at about 8.5 miles, where I actually felt ill, which i haven't really run into before. I felt a little dizzy, slowed to a walk, and then had some cramps. I walked out about a quarter mile, then finished the rest of my last mile at a really slow jog. I did finish, though.

Usually, I kind of recover after I cool off and get a shower, but Saturday after that run, I was complete toast. Tired, sore, muscles aching. I was supposed to go out with girlfriends, but bailed (with many apologies! I am so sorry!) and I was in bed before ten.

So, my question for the running experts who are reading this. What am i doing wrong? I am not dehydrated. The last two times I have had to do my longer runs in the afternoon. Am i having the bowel betrayal because I have too much in my stomach? Should i be running on an empty stomach? At what point in distance does one start needing to eat something during the run? Is that what caused the awful dizzy, sick feeling?

Help me out here. I want to keep this up, because it is making me feel good, but this run was not good. A couple more like this, and I could be persuaded to Saturdays doing something else.

Insidious Infiltration

So, I have been listening to the Girl Talk album, Night Ripper. Total and complete fun, in a Paul's Boutique kind of way. Lots of recognizable samples, but used in a really creative way. The song, "Hold Up" is probably my favorite running mix song of the year - How can you go wrong with a song that samples James Taylor and The Pixies? "You still want to hate? Be my guest." Totally fun album.

Anyway, I am listening to it, and the kids are playing, and I hear a sample I hadn't heard before. It was familiar to me. "I'm on it," the voice said. Where had I heard that voice before? Why could I not place it?

Shrek. It was fucking Shrek. The damn Shrek figure from McDonald's.

The insidious ways that the children infiltrate every corner of my life. . . .

8 Mile

I did it. I ran eight miles. That is the farthest I have ever run in my life. I planned to do it outside, but the weather was threatening thunderstorms, so I relented and agreed to do it on the treadmill at the gym. I get so fucking bored on the treadmill that I want to die, but I just told myself that I had to do it and if I didn't, i would be disappointed in myself. Somehow, either the self-induced guilt trip worked, or I just had one of those "magic" running days where it just isn't that hard, and anything seems possible. I was really tired, and it was hard, but I just took two miles at a time, and it wasn't that bad.

Sure, the no hills and lots of AC probably made it easier, but the thing that I am starting to realize is that the most important element to this running thing is the mental element. I just had to tell myself that I could do it, and that, to borrow from that sage poet Eminem, "you can do anything you set your mind to."

Total time for the 8 miles: 1 hr 34 mins 44 secs. (11:51 pace)

Oh, and according to my little calculator I use to map my routes, running 8 miles at a 12 minute pace adds up to about 1000 cals burned. That's, like, ten light beers.

Taking Me Down a Notch

A funny thing about kids is how they take you down a notch, at just the right time, usually when you are feeling really good about yourself.

Yesterday, rather than do my usual run, I decided to do a little test of myself. My friends Natalie and Steph are both running the Hansgrohe Triathlon in a couple of weeks, and I had thought about doing it, but decided that I was taking on too much too soon and declined. I have always wanted to do one, because I love swimming and because I get bored easily, and I think training for three sports sounds a lot more fun than training for only one. In fact, before Nat and Steph decided to do this one a couple of months ago, I was already eyeing one for either May or June of next year (there are a couple that time of year just for beginners). In preparation for that, I had already starting swimming and biking on my cross-training days in my run schedule.

When I found out they were doing this one in August, I was so tempted to try it with them, but I am pretty glad that I decided to wait until next year. Travel, knee pain, and a host of other engagements between that time and early August would have made me a basket case. That being said, I have been following their training and getting very excited for them. Their last couple of posts have been about estimating their times in the race, based on trials they did in the last few weeks.

Well, I have many flaws, and one of them is a highly competitive nature; I haven't met many games, matches, fights, or challenges that I didn't like. Obviously, this can be a good thing at times, and it is not to say that I am not a graceful loser, because I am. One of the many lessons learned by playing sports as a kid is that there is always someone better. (I wonder at those professional athletes who are so good that they never had to learn this very valuable lesson.) But I really don't like to lose, and I love the act of playing, racing, and meeting in competition. (By the way: One thing I do not like is to be chased, as in a game of Hide and seek or Kick the Can. It scares the bejeesus out of me, even if it is just a game. It is right up there with snakes, flying, and wet paper.)

An interesting thing about running was that I first took it up to a) lose weight and b) to give myself some competitive goals to shoot for, because I so miss the competition that I was constantly experiencing growing up. I am mentally a better person when my body is physically worn out. Odd but true. As I ran more and more, though, I realized that I was slowly morphing into a more competitive runner. I am not a good runner when compared with those who have been doing it for years, or people who are in tip-top shape, but I am slowly and surely beating my expectations for myself; I am improving.

Anyway, the point is that I saw that they were testing how well they were going to do in this triathlon, and I immediately felt the need to know a) if I could even finish the distance and b) what my time might actually be. So, when I got to the gym, I did the distances required to finish the sprint triathlon that they are running in August.

I didn't push myself as hard as I could have, because I didn't know how my legs would react to it on the run. I definitely could have done the swim faster. By the bike, i was worried about the run, so I put it on random hills, level 8 (because I remembered that is what Nat had done, I believe) and took it pretty easy, not remotely doing it at top speed. Also, riding a stationary bike is, frankly, fucking boring. I got distracted from my mission, watched a little Oprah, and forgot to push it very much. It didn't matter that I took it slowly, because either way, my legs felt like i was wearing concrete fucking ski boots by the time I got to the run. That first half mile was sucky beyond belief, but after that, the legs seemed to come back to me and I actually ran pretty well.

My results:
Swim - 400 yds - 7 mins 49 secs
Bike - 13 mi - 39 mins 50 secsRun - 3.1 mi - 35 mins 02 secs

Steph posted a link to a site that calculates your estimated triathlon time based on time trials and your weekly training mileage. I could barely figure out how to use the thing (what the hell is a 20 minute time trial, and are they even talking about the bike?), and I haven't really been training or keeping up with my biking or swimming mileage, but this is what I came up with. I plugged in my above times, except that for the bike, I had to figure out at what speed I could do 20 minutes of biking, based on how fast I did the 13 miles. (Why don't they just have you bike the 13 miles and put that time in?) I put in the minimal allowed training mileages.

I came out with a final time of: 1:37:15. Not exactly on par with Nat's or Steph's estimated times, but then I didn't expect to be on par with them - they run ridiculously fast compared to me. Evidently, the calculator also adds time in for the transitions, or something.

I really wasn't shooting for a particular time. I really just wanted to do the distances and see how it felt, if it was harder or easier than I thought it would be. Mostly, I wanted to know that I could finish it. I learned both that I could pretty easily finish, that I have a lot of room for improvement through just giving it more, especially on the bike, and that my ability to improve on the run would vastly improve my finish time. Running is definitely my weak link - there are people who run 7 and 8 minute miles and I am still doing more than ten minute miles. And then there is the weight. I need to lose at least a good 30 pounds. All in all, though, I kind of like the idea of having plenty of room for major improvement. I also looked at the 2006 results for the triathlon they are doing, and I was a little stunned to see that I was right around in the middle of the times. I could do this, and not come in last. I could do well. So, of course, I am a little bummed now that I'm not doing it, but I'm just telling myself "think how much better I could be in another eight to ten months."

I was pretty elated when I got to the restaurant for dinner afterwards. Todd had an after-work drinks thing, and I decided I was too tired to go home. We headed over to La Casita, where i ordered a modest, weight-watcher's friendly meal, and a beer (not so WW-friendly, but light!) The kids ate their weight in beans and rice. I was feeling good, full of endorphins and accomplishment. I knew that if I wanted to do the triathlon, I could do it, and that I even had a base time to work from and strive to beat. I looked forward to taking the kids home, giving them baths and putting them to bed, and then showering and lounging on the couch, making love to Tivo and a couple more beers.

I paid the check, stood up, downed the last of my beer, and took Tiller's hand to help her down the step on the patio where we were eating. As we came down to the lower level of the patio, she pulled up, stopping in her tracks. Then she projectile-puked all over the patio floor, with about six patrons looking on and in smelling distance. Like I said, just when you are feeling good, kids know how to take you down a notch. Fucking awesome.

Peachtree Race Report

For anyone who is interested in how my first Peachtree Road Race went, I blogged all about it over at Metroblogging Atlanta. (I blog about Atlanta over there a few times a week.) You can always see my last five posts there by clicking on the links over on the bottom right. Check it out, because they have some great writers blogging about the city in interesting ways.

I Did It

I ran the Peachtree. I am too pooped for words, so will have to update later on the details. It was pretty uneventful, but fun, and I am glad I did it.

Thanks to Nat and Steph for pointers/moral support, and congrats to Camille and Tara, who also finished their first one today.

Must sleep now.

Update-O-Rama

Phew! I am worn out. I never thought running 6.2 miles would take this much pre-planning. That planning is still in the works (coordinating transportation, childcare/husband, pre and post-race meetups, etc.)

Ran an easy 4 miles yesterday. I was way slow, but the knee seems to have healed nicely with the week-plus time off. I think cardio-wise, the 6.2 will be harder than it should have been for me, but with the conservative use of the knee, my body is going to thank me. Today I'm just resting up and thinking about a guilt-free big pasta dinner. I am also kind of excited about seeing the spectacle of it all. Should be a fun morning, once i get past that wakeup. I am not remotely human before sunup.

Still trying to work out networking issues. Having a complete bitch of a time uploading any pictures to Flickr.

Kids on a hike at Bill's Mountain. They are all holding rocks. They evidently made a game of throwing rocks at a fallen tree. I don't really know, because I was back at the cabin drinking beer on the porch.

More Lake Lure pics here.

Life as Competition

I've been really slack about the blogging of late. We went to the beach, and for some reason, summer in general makes me want to be doing stuff, instead of writing about doing stuff. Which then makes me feel guilty because I'm not being the blogger I want to be.

I'm not being the runner I want to be, either. On the running front, I have been a total slacker the last week. To be fair, the workout after my 7 miles was yucky, and then ever since then, I have been having both knee and ankle pain. So, I felt guilt and more guilt about not running while I was at the beach, but then ran 4.02 miles today in my normal 45 minute workout. That is the fastest pace I have finished it in, so interesting that I could take almost a week off and come out and do better than I thought I would. The other weird part was that I walked parts of it because it was so sucky, and then I ran faster than normal on the running parts. Also, no knee or ankle pain, so maybe the days off were for the best.

Other stuff going on: I meant to blog about it, but didn't. I finally read Life of Pi, which came out years ago, but has been on my to read pile for ever. Holy shit was that a great book. Instant classic, and a book that really sticks with me. I think about it probably once a day, in some way or another. If you haven't read it, i highly recommend it.

Also on my rec list: The Shadow of the Wind. Amazingly fun read and the most enjoyable book I've read in a long while. It is like a love letter to literature, a little fantastic, but in that space of fantasy that is real enough to seem plausible and tangible. Daniel, the protagonist, is lovable and endearing. His foibles (damn it, Sarah Silverman!!) are so everyman that you feel like they happened to you while you are reading. Maybe they did happen to you. Or will. Very difficult to describe what i mean by that, but the line between the novel itself, The Shadow of the Wind, the characters in the novel, the book by the same name that is its own character in the novel, and you the reader is all very blurry; While reading it, you feel as if you are a character in the novel, and in a way, you are. It is a fun and smart book with memorable, personable characters, not the least of which is the City of Barcelona. (Must. go. there. now.) Thanks to Mike for mentioning it. Now I am in that state where i wonder if it will become a movie, then realize what foolishness that would be to hope for, and then start thinking to myself who the cast should be.

Now I'm reading The Crossing, by Cormac McCarthy, because I was the one who loved All The Pretty Horses first, Todd. I told you and told you to read it, and you wouldn't, until McCarthy pulled the old apocalypse novel card, and only then was it considered cool enough for you to give it a whirl. Of course, for you and your ilk, that coolness has now been canceled out by virtue of McCarthy being an Oprah pick. Ha! The cruel hands of fate. . . Anyway, point being, Todd finally picked up All the Pretty Horses, and I can't let him get ahead of me in the race.

Yes, everything is a competition with me.

Holy Crap. I Ran Seven Miles.

Wrote this up yesterday and forgot to click Publish:

Long day. Got up with kiddos at 7 am. Fixed breakfast and changed diapers. Waited till Todd got up and then went for my run at 9 a.m. Would have liked to go earlier, but Todd had only had a few hours of sleep the night before, so I didn't want to wake him.

Anyway, did my 7 miler today. I am kind of amazed that I did it. If you had told me six months ago that I would be able to run from my house in East Atlanta, all the way to Grant Park, and back, I would have told you that was crazy talk. I walked parts (hill up Ormewood to Boulevard? Riiiiighht.. . sure, I'm gonna run up that thing. No problem.) But for the most part, I ran it. I conquered some smaller hills that would have beaten me a month or so ago, so that was good. Also, my pace was faster than last week's six miler, although not as fast as the 6 mile run of a couple weeks ago. I brought water this time, and didn't wait until noon. I am smart like that.

In other exciting parts of my run, I was allowed to refill my water at the lovely home of Carrie and Charlotte in Ormewood (many thanks to them - I miscalculated my water stops this time around), and I witnessed the Start of a race at the Brownwood Bike Rally, which probably messed up part of my time, but was kind of cool to see. There was a kid on a tricycle, and a guy on a unicycle. Pretty awesome.

I was back in time to just about kill myself getting myself and kids dressed for Scarlett's birthday party, and to clean house in case random buyers wanted to purchase said house, which - let's be honest - ain't ever gonna happen.

All in all, a lovely day. Proud of me, proud of my ability to skip cupcakes after the 7 miles. Maybe I will lose a freakin' pound one of these days.

Below, the resisted cupcakes, being consumed by husband and kids.

Deep Thoughts from Middle Georgia

Mostly, I'm thinking: So, the United States is making it their business to police the world, but they can't even keep Paris Hilton in prison for 72 hours. . . .

In other ultra-exciting news: This has been my worst exercise week ever. Between the in-laws and parents and the number of sweets they have lying around, and the being on the road, and the heat of central Alabama and Georgia, and the wine drinking required to weather all of this, I am surprised I managed to get any exercise in. I did seek out the YMCA in fabulous Warner Robins, GA today. It is vastly different from the one I use in Atlanta. Gravel driveway. No air conditioning. Old machines that wobble. No pool. All in one big sheet metal, barn-like building. But hey, i did today's run.

I was supposed to do it yesterday and x-train today, but that didn't happen. Just like Saturday's run didn't happen until Monday, which knocked off both Monday and Wednesday schedules. It would have been easier to catch up if I had been at home, instead of a town that is all four-lane highways with no sidewalks. Okay, actually, when I was leaving the Y today, I took a back way home and found a good long place to run where I won't be roadkill. But jesus. There are no trees out there.

Anyway, today's run was not the best, but I did four miles and then checked out the new Starbucks here in town. I should say, the first and only Starbucks. It was funny to see old Ford pickup trucks with gun racks in the drive-thru.

Will be home tomorrow, as will Todd, so I can stop living on the charity of family.

Worst. Run. Ever.

You can't even call it a run, because i was so freakin' slow. I ran at my in-laws, in eastern middle Alabama, which is usually awesome, because they live in the middle of the woods, basically, in a huge neighborhood. Not a lot of cars, lots of wildlife, lake views, etc.

Yesterday, though, I had to go at almost noon. It was hot and muggy, and I didn't bring water. They didn't have any water bottles lying around, and so I figured I would stop and get water at the fire station, the golf clubhouse, and/or the driving range. Turns out they don't have spigots on buildings around golf courses. I guess it is all on a sprinkler system. My first three miles were fine, maybe even faster than normal pace, but man, when I figured out there was no water to be had, and I still had three miles to go, with no chance of finding water between there and home, I was just not feeling it. Oh, and I got lost. Again.

I finished, with much walking, much cramping, and a fuckload of cussing at myself.

Lesson learned.

6.2 Miles = 1hr 28 min 31secs (14 minutes 17 seconds pace)
Catcalls from construction workers: 2 (What were they thinking? I must have looked like death eatin' a ham sandwich.)

Morose: Marked by or expressive of gloom

One of those days where everything just seems so hard. Even using complete sentences. Getting out of bed. Going for a run. Getting house cleaned for showing, even though no one is ever going to fucking buy it anyway. Taking kids to sister's, where Rollie craps in his pants, and we have to put women's shorts on him for lunch at Fellini's. Fall asleep on couch thinking husband is sick in bed upstairs and miss out on opportunity for nap time sex. Go to dinner with kids and husband and baby throws food everywhere. (Silver lining: Both of my kids are pieces of gold compared to brats in restaurant at same time, and whose parents seem immune to their screams. Take the cotton out of your ears, y'all, your kids are a fucking nuisance. Please remove them from the establishment.) Get home and realize no time to get in run before dark, so get bike out for a 30-minute ride and find tires need inflating and will not have time for ride either. Wonder why physically incapable of getting out of bed before seven. Water garden (illegally? Too morose to check watering restrictions) while thinking that for being this tired, you should have accomplished something. Anything.

Go drink beer and watch t.v. Not even energy to write or blog. Okay. Always energy to blog.

I like the word gloom. Feeling gloom? Not so much.

Saturday Run

I cannot believe i am not more tired after running six miles and then helping my sister move all day. Also? Ikea is affordable for a reason: You have to put a LOT of shit together. Like, seriously, hundreds of small pieces.

I usually run outside on weekends, but today was a definite no-go. There was smoke everywhere, so I headed to the gym. Running on the treadmill for six miles is just plain boring, but I knocked it out.

Saturday run: 6 miles - 70 minutes, 20 seconds. (11:43 pace, which is pretty fast for me at this distance.) Um, also, I have never run that far before.

I'm Pooped and Negligent

I have been exercising a lot lately. I wish I could do all the things in my life that I just don't have time to do. Exercise more? Blog less. If I could just figure out how to get, like, 48 hours into one day. In the meantime, I guess I will combine the two.

My week so far:
Fixed chain on bike and pumped up tires to make sure the thing still works.
Monday: Ran two miles (2o minutes,) then ran up and down a hill for fifteen minutes to overcome fear of "The Hill." Did not work. Am still frightened of the hill.
Tuesday: X Train - Swam .5 miles = 19 minutes, 18 seconds.
Biked 13 miles (stationary) = 36.03. Also ran 11:54 mile to see what legs felt like. Answer: Jelly.
Wednesday: Ran 3.91 miles in 45 mins = 11 min 31 sec pace.
Thursday: Swam 1 mile. (Timed second .5 mile at 19:26:29)
Tomorrow: Off
Saturday: 6 miles, plus Lisa's move, minus kids, then drive to lake.

Tonight - Helping Leelee pack for the big move this weekend. There better be pizza.

Sign My Fat Ass Up

I wrote here about my workouts, and obviously, if you read Dogwood Girl, you know about my battle with my weight (which is really just a battle with my love for food and drink). Well, I read the most interesting article in The New York Times this morning about the fat-burning effects of interval training. Basically, that means that you alternate spurts of all out exertion with periods of moderate exertion in whatever activity you are doing.

I am so not a professional athlete; The workout for me is putting down the beer and getting my ass off the couch. Then, once I'm there, I just go (run or swim) for at least thirty minutes, but usually for an hour.

Not now! I am convinced that I need a day of interval training during my week. Because, according to the article:

After interval training, the amount of fat burned in an hour of continuous moderate cycling [for example] increased by 36 percent.

Thirty Six Percent. That's a pretty big increase. Sign my fat ass up.

Now I just have to figure out whether I should add the intervals to my runs or my swims. And then i can eat more, right?

Woohoo

So, I am still running, although I have had difficulty running as regularly as I want to with the crazy stuff going on with my Mom, and being out of town, etc. I am really trying to stick with it, though, because I feel so much better when I get enough exercise, that it is almost like I am a different person. Just ask the people who live with me.

So, on Saturday, I ran the farthest I have run yet: 4 miles. This doesn't include a few times that I have alternated walking and running for over an hour. I have done more distance, I guess in the past. I have definitely done longer hikes, but there is something so mentally challenging about making oneself primarily run a distance like that. It probably doesn't seem like a lot to people who run a lot, and it probably sounds like an insurmountable distance to those who don't run. (I know. I thought it was insurmountable a year ago.) But for me, it was big. I am at least 40 pounds overweight, and I did it. I ran at my in-laws in Dadeville, AL. They live in a golf community on a lake. It is huge and much of it is undeveloped woods. Lots of deer and buzzards. When I mapped it online, i just figured out how to do 4 miles in their neighborhood, and I didn't know all of the roads I included in the route. Big mistake. Actually, if I had known what part of it was like, I never would have attempted it. I walked a couple portions. One was the hill from hell. It was fairly steep and went. on. for. ever. When I got back to the house, I gave my father-in-law the evil eye, because I had asked him if my route made sense, and when I mentioned that road, he didn't even bat any eye or mention anything about the hill. Anyway, I did it, and it felt great.

The crazy thing, though, is how much easier it made my short run last night! I was just doing a 35 minute run, and I ran farther than i ever have before in that amount of time. Now, to be fair, part of the speed can be attributed to the fact that I live in the hood, and I ran from my house to the village, which requires running through what my cousin and I affectionately call "Little Afghanistan." I am not sure the origin of this name, but it seems to fit, and what it comes down to is that if you are out running after 8pm, you do not want the sun to set on you in Little Afghanistan. Anyway, the 5K I ran back in October (I know! I need to run another!) was my first and I ran it in 35:06. Granted, the hills were from hell, and the weather was windy, whereas last night's weather was awesome, and the route was pretty flat. But I still ran it in 33:24, even when sucking Marta bus fumes, and stopping for a little traffic at crosswalks, so I am happy that I am getting my time down closer to the 11 minute/mile pace.

Oh, and I started swimming about a month ago for my cross-training, to give my poor knees a break. I swam a mile this morning. It wasn't fast, but it was easy as hell; Time permitting, i could have kept going forever. Which makes me feel pretty good.

Yay me!

For a Monday

Things are a vast improvement over last week. Rollie only got one timeout at school today and is being pretty agreeable today. He is very excited because he had a personal phone call, just for him, from his Uncle Lyle. I ran four miles, then walked another .9. I think I easily could have run farther, but I got a blister, which was okay until it opened up, and then not so much. Also, no one so far today has thought that I look pregnant.

But it's only 2:21 p.m.

Go Me

I haven't been running much lately. Up until last week, one or both of the kids had been sick every week since Thanksgiving, which has been fucking awesome, thanks for asking. Anyway, I didn't make it to the gym much, because it pisses me off when other people bring their sick kids to the gym and to school, (and don't even get me started on assholes bringing their sick kids into the well-visit waiting room at the Pediatrician's office) so why should I stoop to their level?

Anyway, that just meant that I didn't quite get much exercise in the last three months. Pretty pitiful, actually, but I made a promise to myself that since we are all better, we will be making it back to the gym regularly. So, today, I only ran 2.5 miles and it sucked. Why does it have to be so sucky to get back into the swing of exercise?

That being said, I have felt great today mentally, and I know it is the exercise. I know it is good for me, that it is good for my mind, and that it makes me a much better parent, wife, and all-around person.

So, i am back on the wagon. Go me.

Give it Up, JL.

This morning as I ate my cereal, I flipped on the t.v. I was going to check the weather, because Todd and I are leaving for Orlando on Sunday, and I had seen a snippet of news that said there was a chance of snow Saturday or Sunday night. (I did not see anything about snow.) When I turned on the t.v., it was still on MTV from my fix of Road Rules last night before bed. I left it on, though, because there was a Silversun Pickups video on, and I really like them. (They were #3 on my Best of 2006 list.) I was also a little in shock that MTV still plays videos. Who knew?

Anyway, the video ended and before I changed the channel another came on. It was Jared Leto's band, 30 Seconds to Mars. Now, I had never heard them before, but all of us who were My So-Called Life fans love him to death simply for the fact that he was Jordan Catalano, Angela's crush/makeout partner. I knew he had a band, but frankly, every time I see him outside of the MSCL environment, I am struck by how completely stupid he seems, so I also assumed that the band would suck, too.

I was right. They suck. Their video (some kind of Japanese sword-fighting drama thing) seemed like it would never end, and purty Leto just couldn't pull off the rock star voice, or the ridiculous punk rock, jet-black-hair-with-eyeliner-and-black-leather look.

This got me to thinking: Poor Jared. No matter what he does, he will never be anything but Jordan to us. He was okay in Requiem for a Dream, I guess, but I don't want to see him rock, and I don't want to see him date actresses even more stupid than he is. I want him to lean against the Mustang in his flannel shirt and look sullen. I want him to make out with Angela in the basement while she is supposed to be in Biology. I know for a fact that there are a large number of men out there who enjoy watching the shit get kicked out of him in Fight Club over and over again, or to see him die, die, die in The Thin Red Line. Me? I just want to see what happened after Angela left Brian Krakow and got in the Mustang with Jordan.

I know. Random.

Ran 5.08 miles today. Yes, I have to put the .08, because I ran it, didn't I?

Will Run More. Or At Least Blog About Running More.

So, the new year is all about resolutions and that damned sticking to them. So, one of my resolutions was to run more. Haven't been so good at that - the kids and I have been sick for over two months, off and on, and we have been busy, blahblahblah. Enough with the excuses. I am going to try and be better. One way that I find to make myself better adhere to any resolution is to tell others what I want to do. It keeps me honest if everyone knows I am Eating Less, Drinking Less, Running More, Writing More. I wrote recently about overcoming my writing fear - part of that was saying on here, to lots of people who know me (and a few who don't) that I want to write more. Scary, but effective. I will now do the same with my running. I am going to start logging my runs, and my weekly mileage. Just to try and keep myself honest.

Today: 4.7 miles. Unfortunately, that is all i have done this week. Hope to do more before the yard sale on Saturday and my trip to Orlando on Sunday. (Looking forward to getting some running in while in Florida, though.)

Okay, now you know. There. I've said it. Help hold me to it. Guilt and embarrassment works.

Resolve is Made

To be broken. My new year's resolution was: Drink less. Eat less. Run more. Write more. I've done pretty well with the eating less, writing more. Drinking less and running more? Not so much.