The Lazy Butt Gets Going

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Okay. So I went for a short run today -- the first I have done since Saturday. Now, some of you can say that's bad but, honestly, I'm not convinced it has been such a bad thing. Of course today's run was short -- I just ran a mile total. I felt a little discomfort all over my left leg. There was some in the side of my left hamstring, a little in my calf, I've even been feeling it a bit in my ankle. But it was pretty good today. No limping!

And I have actually been hydrating, and I'm about to drink the first Cytomax I've had in a looong while. I'm going to stretch in a second, too!

Christmas was kind to me this year! Last night my sister, my parents, my grandparents, my aunt, uncle, and cousins all went to Church together. I was wearing my "Elisabeth is looking nice!" shirt and was told -- mostly by my family -- that I looked nice. (The shirt worked!) I had to help pass out the wine at communion time and this fellow I have marginally had my eye on for a while was serving also. I wanted to say something to him so I could have at least spoken with him before, but I didn't know what to say. Finally, when all the wine servers were back in the corner and after we had each imbibed what remained of the communion wine left in each of our cups, I turned to him and asked, "Do I have a grape moustache?" He laughed and said, "No. You're fine!" How's that for a little suaveness?

Actually, I did a little research later on and discovered that he's only 22 or something. Oh well. At least he's not likely to forget me for a couple of days.

Then, today, my parents, sister, grandmother, and I opened presents. My parents and my sister purchased my sister's old work laptop from her employer and got it all set up for me! Isn't that cool?! I guess it has a wicked amount of memory. The only thing is that it doesn't have any programs at this point. I'm going to have to spring for Microsoft Office at some point in the future when I have the spare change.

My mom also presented me with an art deco style chandelier for my apartment. We had both noticed it at the consignment store when we were there last, and we both liked it. I had expressed the concern, however, that it hung too low for the not-high ceilings in my apartment. My mom still thought it would look nice in my living room so she came back later and bought it for me. So once it's up, Dave Ross, you're going to have to duck. The rest of you should be alright. Monica is safe for sure. My mom likes the chandelier so, gosh darnit, it will be up in my apartment!

Other than that my family spent the afternoon playing the Harry Potter version of "Clue." My sister won and then got really grumpy with me when I didn't want to chase it with a wollopping round of "Pictionary." I was tired and I needed to go outside and exert myself, I said. Doing so was showing my disdain for "family time" she said. I went running anyway. And I shoveled the sidewalks at my apartment building and at my parents' house.

Could this post be any more chatty? I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I do expect to hear a full report from at least one out of three of my coaches. (You know who you are!) Have a wonderful evening and we'll speak with you soon!

P.S. Scotty, I still have a gift for you.

Gotta go stretch!
Liz

Today's 10 Miler and Team Apex's Own Christmas Elf

Hello, All!

Okay . . .I started out this morning attending the YMCA Christmas run to cheer on Dave and Monica. Monica dressed as a cute little elf with peppermint-striped leggings.

Mike and I saw our fearless coaches off at the starting line and proceeded to people watch as we waited for them to return. To my surprise, Dave came flying in within 10-15 minutes. I had thought he was running the 10K, but found out after that he had only ever intended to run the 2.5 mile.

Monica was undoubtedly the cutest elf there. (For there were many, many elves. Santa must have been lonely up north today.) She came running in after several minutes. I said, "Congrats" to her and then went to think about running my 10 miles.

I met up with Scotty later in the day and we ran the 10 together. Man, it was a lot rougher than it should have been! My left calf hurt during the first half, it was cold, I was low on energy, and my head and stomach were definitely not up to snuff, either. On the way back, the discomfort moved up into my hamstring, and two of my toes really started to hurt. (I had just gotten new, thicker running socks to fit the cold weather. Could this have been why?) And I was WAY TOO TIRED to only be running 10 miles. I sincerely hoped this was as a result of not much sleep last night.

We finally made it back to Julia Davis and all I wanted to do was drink some tea, take a shower, and warm up. Now I'm home and I think I'll be resting this evening!

NOW: because I like to share my favorite songs, feel free to listen to this. If I were to get married tomorrow and I had 100% control over my wedding, I would choose this song for the first dance. It's my song of the week. It's "Si Volvieras A Mi" I think that means "If you fly to me." I have yet to look up what it means to find out if I'm right. It's very romantic. If you like this sort of thing, feel free to give it a listen! (Only pay attention to the video if you like it.)



Liz

To Those of Little Faith :)

I am sitting in a coffee shop right now and I have 9 minutes left to write this in. There is a guitarist and a guy playing a harmonica. They're raising money so the guitarist's mom can have a transplant. I'm totally donating!

Anyway, tonight's run kind of sucked. I ran-limped the first mile-and-a-half, did a little stretching, and then turned around and did the same back to the store. It almost felt like my foot was a little lop-sided and like I was twisting my calf muscle as I ran. When I returned, it didn't feel better. Instead, it felt worse.

Of course, I wasn't back 5 minutes before Mikey was at my side finding out how I was. Love that man!

Monica is supposed to work on my calf tomorrow. Thanks, Monica!

The eating is going awesome! And, y'know? Keep yourself occupied, watch the snacking impulses, and eating a little healthier isn't that hard!! It's pretty cool actually. Plus, I'm totally motivated, which is cool.

I'm back on socks. It's too cold for my sandals. I'll have to try boycotting socks not during winter next time.

Got new running shoes today, and in my favorite color. I love half-price sales!

Have a good night, All!

Quickie Post

Hello, All!

I have a headache so this will be quick.

Well, my calf is still bugging me, so I had to take the run quite a bit slower tonight. I really think it's time to replace my shoes. I'll be heading out tomorrow to get new ones.

Well, I have decided to try for Boston in 2010 with the Chicago, 2009, marathon!

I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was doable. Here's my plan:

Dan Shirilla let me in on a little bit of info tonight. According to him, every ten pounds you have extra on your frame adds 20 minutes to your marathon.

Well, let's think about this. I know for sure that I could lose 25 pounds and still be in the healthy weight range. Actually, I think I could probably lose closer to 35 before I started pushing it. But, to be conservative, let's suppose 25.

So, my first marathon time was 4:54 and it included 20 miles of hills.

With 25 pounds lost, that time comes down to about 4:14. Subtract the time for the hills and I have no idea would come down to, but I'm sure that that time minus the time I'll be able to shave off during the next year in speedwork, etc., will be enough to put me below 3:40. And, if 35 pounds of weight loss is a healthy option, then that could further cut the time. (I figure I can deal with that after I lose the first 25.)

Eating going well. All recorded. I can't figure out why there's so much fat in the pie chart. I have some cheese with lunch and I added some cheese to my omelet for dinner, but, other than that, everything I eat is pretty much fat free. Weird.

Anyway, here's a song that inspires me and livens me up. Warning: it's Latin, and it's Ricky Martin. If you can't stand that stuff, beware!

The video, as usual, is nonexistent. Just listen to the song.



Liz

Sunday Run and Babyfest

Hello, all!

Well, I did what I was told today: 75 minutes. I decided to run to Hubert and Petra's house so I could see my kids, but I had to take an extra long route since it only usually takes about an hour to get there.

My calf hurt but not too bad. This did slow my pace down quite a bit, though, and it screwed with my form. I'm sure I would have gotten several corrective shouts from Dave had he been there to see. Thank goodness I was alone.

Nutrition has been pretty good, except Petra gave me a little piece of her almond pastry she made this week. It was scrumptious!! I asked Hubert if Petra had always been a good cook, and he just said,

"Well, it isn't hard to be a good cook by American standards." (Hubert and Petra are German.)

"How come?" I asked.

"Because you guys don't cook anything that takes over 1/2 hour."

He's right. We have a society based on convenience, and it really is too bad.

So, I spent the evening giving the little boys zerberts, feeding Helena, and then getting her ready for bed. I'm still at their house. The boys are in their crazy frenzied phase of fatigue and need to go to bed as soon as possible so the grown ups in the house don't go crazy.

Soon, I will go to an advent concert at church. Looking forward to it.

:) Liz

Got Those Low Down Not-Running Blues

Hey, Friends and Compadres!

Well, as some of you know, my bod has been keeping me from fulfilling all my training runs. (Last week it was my attitude; this week it's actually my body.) I didn't get to run my eleven miles today. I hope that can change come tomorrow.

As some of you also know, my nutrition has suffered quite a bit over the last 1 1/2 weeks or so. Today hasn't been too bad, however!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Mike's drunken stories last night at the St. Al's Neuro Floor Party. I also enjoyed singing bubblegum songs on the barely-functioning karaoke machine!

Tonight I'm laundrying, cleaning, and thinking about doing something about how full-of-my-crap my car is. There's a bunch of stuff to be taken to school but, of course, I still don't know the code to disengage the alarm.

I have decided that I'm sick of socks. Not only do they make your feet too hot, but they have to kept in pairs, they can only be worn once before they start to stink, and they confine the feet in unfair ways (i.e., they bind.) I am wearing my sandals today in protest. Down with socks!

So, I hope all you runner-types have a good evening, and I'll post again when I have more to say.

Liz

Today's Run

This will be just a snippet commentary on today's running experience.

I ran an easy forty minutes just as I was told. I ran pretty well though my left calf and ankle were kind of sore. I ran right through and made it back home without too much pain.

Now I'm waiting for my pants to dry so that I might not be so cold. I will then go to the library and get the book I have been putting off obtaining. Finally, I will make sweet potato fries as a compliment to this evening's Thanksgiving leftovers.

I know that I would get so many more activities done if I slept more and wasted less time. At least I have enough room to do activities.

Thanks, Dave, for the edgy book. I will read it with aplomb and will be sure to share my opinion on any social issues it addresses. I will especially rant about the gory bits.

Tootles!
Liz

Once in a Blue Moon, I DO Actually Blog

Hello, My Dearest Fans!

This morning's run was 11 miles long. For the first time, I had brought my watch and was actually able to keep track of how fast I was covering the miles.

For the first two or three miles, my feet felt heavy and my legs felt stiff, but I managed to keep the miles under 10 minutes each. Over time, my legs kind of loosened up and it was easier to run. So much so that somewhere in miles 7-9 or so I did a 9-minute mile but slowed down for the last couple to a 10-minute mile.

My body is displaying the normal "Wow! I didn't expect you to run that far!" symptoms. Soreness in my left calf, a bit of tummy upset, but nothing I haven't experienced before. It's not particularly worrisome.

I much prefer the once-a-mile pace check to the minute-by-minute update that Mari's garman was giving us last week. That way, you don't have to worry about "Now we're doing a 9-minute pace" "Eeek! We've slowed down to 12!" all within the same mile. Investing in a Garman always seemed like a good idea until today.

I look forward to the brouhaha tonight chez Mikey and Monica. I am currently baking cornbread for the event, and hope that it comes in handy tonight and goes well with Scotty's chili. I also hope that Dave doesn't forget to the bring his book I'm supposed to borrow!

Liz

A Little Navel Gazing: Liz's Nickname Story

It was recently brought up on somebody's facebook wall that I need a nickname and would I, perhaps, mind being called "Lizard"? Well, considering that I never intend to think of myself as a slow, scaly creature with a flicky tongue, I would prefer not to be referred to as such. So, for the benefit of Newt and anyone else who wants to know, I will here relate my nickname story.

I have been called many things throughout my life. Mostly, I have been called Elisabeth. I had a very short period in third grade where I wanted to called "Lisa", and another one between fifth and sixth grade where I wanted to be called "Libby." (I hate that name now!) And when I was sixteen and I worked at Wendy's, one of the managers christened me "Pokey" because I was so freaking slow. (I'm waaayyyy to ADD for fast food work!) To make this summary much shorter, I will just provide a list of stuff I like to be called and stuff I don't like to be called below.

Stuff I Have Been Called That I Like

1. Liz
2. Elisabeth
3. Beautiful Girl (Unfortunately, the person who called me this was female and very weird!)
4. Lizziebelle
5. Sweet Pea
6. Punkin'
7. Honey
8. Sweetheart
9. Miss Liz

Stuff I Have Been Called That I Don't Like

1. Lizabitch
2. Hey, You!
3. Zabeth
4. Pokey
5. Libby
6. Lizard
7. Stephen
8. Libby Lou and Tigger, Too!
9. Daughter of Chuck

Actually, no one ever called me Stephen but I wouldn't like it if they had!

So, now let me explain what people usually call me nowadays and who has the right to call me what:

The vast majority of people, including co-workers, acquaintances, my parents' friends, people who haven't seen me in a while, etc., know me as "Elisabeth." Why? Because this is what I have gone by since the sixth grade. It was at that point that I decided that my parents wouldn't have given me a perfectly good name if they didn't intend for me to use it.

So, for you who are visual learners, here is part of a graph showing how many people in my life call me "Elisabeth."

I call this area the "Elisabeth Zone." It is clearly the biggest since the majority of people I know dwell in this zone.

Then there is a smaller group of people including friends, running mates, close co-workers, and those who have seen me naked. These folks call me "Liz." This reality is depicted below. I call it the "Liz Area."

This section of the graph is smaller because there are fewer people who dwell in this area. But, for those who read this blog, fear not. By virtue of the fact that you guys run with me, you automatically qualify as my "peeps." "Peeps" clearly dwell in the Liz Area, so "Liz" is the proper nickname to use if we are running buddies.

Now we come to the smallest, and most exclusive group. I call this group the "Lizziebelle Society" because they are so few that they hardly count. The "Lizziebelle Society" consists mostly of my parents, my aunts and uncles, and my grandparents. Lizziebelle was what my family called me when I was little, and only those who have known me since then are really even aware of it.

Beware: If you wish to call me "Lizziebelle" atleast one of the two following things must be true about you

a) You have known me since I was a baby and you're older than I am,
b) You love me. I mean really love me, like Tristan loved Isolde, like meat loves salt, like I love buttercream frosting, or like Monica loves her laptop. We're talking serious love here, and I have to feel the same way about you. If b) isn't absolutely true, then you're better off staying in the Liz area where you belong. :)

So, to put it all together here's what we have:

BUT, if you are wanting to create a new nickname for me that has not been tried before, following are a few suggestions. (Please don't let Scott spearhead any of these. That would just irritate me.)

Stuff I Might Like

1. I can't think of anything. Damn!

But I'm always open to suggestions.

Thanks for listening!
Liz

Prison Break Tempo Run

Hello, All!

After realizing that no one besides us was going to show up, Monica, Scott, and I decided to do our training runs at the Prison Break Half-Marathon, 10K, and 5K site yesterday. I had a 3-mile tempo run to do and was pretty nervous about it, since I had never really done a tempo run. I was so nervous, in fact, that I seriously avoided even starting for an hour after the race started. When I finally did start, Scott was long gone for his 8-mile tempo, and Mike and Kevin were off somewhere giving the impression that they were actually doing a workout that day. After a brief pep talk from Dave (who was at work watching music videos and drinking coffee), I got myself off my lazy butt and did a one-mile warmup. After my warm up, I stretched briefly, then started for the three-mile tempo. I used the pre-set race mile markers.

The first mile went rather well, and I felt okay. I ran the first mile in about 8:15. I started getting tired at that point, though, and did the second mile a bit slower (in spite of my attempts to keep up speed) and I made it in about 8:30. The last mile I guesstimate would have been about 8:40 or 8:45, but I really don't know, since I actually stopped at the wrong mile marker! Because the three races shared parts of the course, the Prison Break people had staggered the mile markers, and I stopped at the wrong one, which was, maybe 1/4 of a mile before the correct mile marker. Oh well.

After the tempo, I jogged back to the starting line, gave Dave an "Okay! I did it!" call, and welcomed Maricella and her crowd of admirers as they ran across the finish line. It was so cute! Kevin, Scott, AND Monica all went to find her and run her in. It looked like a celebrity with her entourage and body guards were crossing the finish line. Maricella did awesome, with a time of about 2:10! (Great Job!)

I then spent the rest of the day vegging at home, spending way too much time on facebook, and being bored. This was true at least until I went upstairs to watch episodes of "Forensic Files", all of which told true stories of women living alone getting sexually molested and murdered. Needless to say, I was nervous when I finally went to bed, but I slept well anyway.

The End of the Weekend: My Honest Idiocy

This is written on Friday, as I'm sitting at my friends', Petra and Hubert's, house waiting for Hubert's birthday party to start. I arrived early because their children are my favorite humans under 6 and I wanted to say, "Good Night" to them before they went to sleep. Before I begin the story, I will include a couple of pictures I took of their baby, Helena, with my cell phone as she was trying to climb me.




Now, I'm playing on the internet trying to stay out of my hosts' hair until the party starts.

SO! The fun started last Sunday at 5:26, Portland Time. I was sitting in the airport -- past the security checkpoint -- with Monica, Scott, and Mike. We were shooting the breeze and I was cool as a cucumber. I had a whole hour until my flight left. (I had judged this from the time I would be arriving in Boise, 7:30. If I arrive at 7:30, and its a one-hour flight, then my flight should leave at 6:3o, right? Wrong. I forgot all about Pacific Time.) At 5:26, for fun, I decided to look at my plane ticket just to verify that I was, indeed, scheduled to fly out at 6:30. I was wrong. Indeed, the plane was schedule to fly out at 5:30. Grabbing my stuff and not really saying good bye, I got up and sprinted to my gate. (I think I PRd on that run!) When I got there, the plane hadn't left, but it was about to, and they didn't end up letting me on. My only alternative was to a) take Mike and Monica's flight with them an hour later, or b) hang out in Portland one more night and take the first flight out at 6 am the next day.

I tried first for option A, but quickly discovered that it was a no go, since Mike and Monica's flight was overbooked by 5 people. So, I called my cousin, Pat, who, thank goodness, lives in Portland, and asked if I could crash at his place for evening. He quickly said "Yes" but added that he wouldn't get off work until 10 pm, and that I would have to wait at the airport until then.

I saw Mike, Monica, and Scott off on their overbooked flight, and then set out to find a crossword puzzle book. The book wasn't hard to find, but a pencil was! The store at the airport wanted nearly as much for the pencil as they had wanted for the book! As a result, I searched until I found a store that would cell me a pencil for 35 cents, sat down, and waited for my cousin. After a little while, my cousin arrived in his little blue sports car with the white tire tracks painted all up and down it. Just about that time, I received a text message from Dave, announcing that Monica and Scott had just thrown up in his car.

To be continued

Portland Marathon: A Slacker's Perspective

Saturday Afternoon:

I'm sitting here in the hotel room all by my lonesome right now. Mike and Scott are out looking at tug boats or revisiting the edible panties they saw in the Victoria's Secret window today or taking pictures of one of the oldest strip clubs in Oregon. I don't remember which they said they were going to do. Monica is at her coach class.

I had an enlightening morning taking the Max to Ikea, where I proceeded to discover that Ikea is great if you enjoy one-stop shopping and/or if you already have all your major pieces of furniture, but not so much for folks like me who are still searching to find traditional pieces at a reasonable price (and who will doggedly search high and low for as long as it takes to find exactly what I want at a price I can afford), although there were some bed linens I really loved.

I then went and picked up my luggage from the airport. On the way back, my aunt called with my cousin's number and I gave him a call. Pat lives in Portland and seems enthusiastic about getting together today. I also have to fit a run in. We'll see what happens. Right now, I'm waiting for him to return my call and let me know what he has in mind.

Note to the ladies-- the YOUNG ladies -- Pat is the cousin I refer to as my hot cousin. I'm just proud to share 1/16 of my gene pool with him (is the ratio right?). I'll post a picture to prove it to you as soon as I have one.

Pat just called and we're going to hang out. Hopefully, walking around will be able to be my run today, because I think it's going to get dark soon.

Saturday Night: Not much to report. The boys are out getting Quiznos for dinner. Monica and I are ready to watch a movie and turn in for the night. Ciao!





Written on Saturday morning: Last night was uneventful, except that the airport left my luggage in Boise, I found out I had to share a bed with Scott, and we had a rude waitress at the Italian restaurant where we ate. I'm tired today, without clean clothing, congested, and wishing I could change my clothes. Here are some notable quotes from the weekend so far:

Scenario One: Team Apex decides to give Dave a friendly call at 9:40 pm on the first night he's seen his girlfriend in, like, two months.

Dave: (unimpressed) Anything else you want to tell me?

Liz: (To the room)Anything else I'm supposed to tell Dave?

Scott: Yeah! Tell him you got some nookie!

Liz : (to Dave) Yeah. I ate some Italian pasta called "gnocchi" for dinner and Scott can't pronounce it so he calls it "nookie". So I'm supposed to tell you that I got some nookie.

Dave: Uh . . .Thanks. Well, we're gonna crash because we've got to get up early.

Liz:Okay. And don't worry. We won't call you again until tomorrow night at this time!


Scenario 2: Everyone is ready to go to sleep Friday night.


Liz: Hey, Scott. Could you close the second curtain? There's too much light coming through the first and I need dark to sleep.

Scott: Geez, Liz! How much dark do you need? There's hardly any light coming through that window!

Mike: Scotty, this is a lesson you need to learn. Close the curtain. It's a small price to pay to make her shut up!

Liz's Note: Excellent advice, I think!

Scenario: Saturday morning right after everyone gets up.

Mike: We're all awake and the TV's not on? This is just wrong. (Turns the TV on) (Happily) Oh, Shit! Mr. Rogers! (Proceeds to watch Mr. Rogers teach his neighbors to bowl)

More Serious Stuff:

Well, eating-wise yesterday was no prize. That gnocchi for dinner probably took care of the nutrition goals for the day.

A. Eat light!
B. Four liters of water

Liz

Wednesday

Well, it was bad news when I went in for weigh-in today. . .according to the official Apex scale, I have gained two pounds. SO, as an extra motivator, I am going to start logging my progress on this goal here for the whole world to see.

The rest of the day went quite well! I made dinner for my folks -- marinated steak stir fry and couscous -- and I did the 30 easy minutes I was supposed to run. It's all been recorded, been drinking water. Pretty soon I'll have my clean laundry ready and then I'll be sleepy and satisfied!

I found a song this week that accurately describes the sort of "finding my place" search I'm doing right now. For those of you who have already been inundated with mention of this song, please feel free to ignore the following. For those you who are interested, go ahead and push play and you'll see what I mean.



Quote (teachers know this better than anyone!):

"A child's face can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."

Jack Handey

A Gem of A Song

I don't know what's been going on this weekend but, for some reason, I found the need for a good cry yesterday. Thanks to my favorite sad song, I got it!

This song is by Christian artist Bebo Norman and it's the most candid, simple, and sincere song about death I have ever heard. Bebo wrote it when one of his friend's sisters died of an unfortunate disease. He wrote this song for her.

It's a beautiful song, but it's sad.



Night!
Liz

This Just In: Liz Declares End of "this staying up until 3 am bullshit."

So, actually this supposed to be a blog to log the Women's Fitness Celebration, but that race has since been overtaken by more recent events.

As I'm sure you'll read in everyone's blog, the celebration itself was rainy and gloomy and awful. We runners stood in the rain for several minutes waiting for them to let us run, hardly even pysched by the female-inspired, peppy music they were playing. Finally, they moved the gates and let us run.

The race was a mental challenge. I didn't have the best of attitudes. Even so, I tried to focus on form and reducing tension and found that I wasn't exerting nearly as much energy as usual for the first 1 1/2 miles or so and was actually having fun! (Yes. This is sort of a first.) This lasted until the base of the hill. I got up the hill just telling myself to continue. Physically, it didn't take nearly the energy it did mentally to keep chugging along. The second 1 1/2 miles were mentally much more challenging. I find that I'm afraid of pushing my body past a certain point of exertion -- where it starts to be really uncomfortable to run -- because I really don't know how long I can continue doing it without crying or freaking out. So, as usual, I kept pushing myself to just under the "Aaah. Too scary!" level and focused on keeping myself at that pace.

I made it down the hill and started on that long stretch to the turn-around. About half-way to the turn around, I saw Dave on the side and he started screaming directions at me. I sort of tried to do what he was asking, but was already carrying a mental load, so I only tried to a point. Glad Dave was finally out of earshot, I turned the corner and just focused on getting to that finish line, remaining just at that stress/exertion equilibrium. Finally, I crossed the finish line and the girl took my timing chip.

I have come to know my body. And one way I know I have exerted myself is when I desperately have to pee after a race. (This happens every time I do dots or pick it up at all. It's my body's way of responding to exertion.) Well, the brilliant designers of the women's fitness challenge thought to put bathrooms only a football field distance away from the finish line. By the time I had managed to find a free port-a-potty, I didn't need it anymore. Gross? Yeah. But a good sign. (Don't worry, Dave! Your car is safe. I was wearing Monica's pants at that point in the game so your car seats are well-protected!)

All in all, the race was really fun. I actually really enjoyed running in the rain because it kept the temperature down and it made me feel like a die-hard.

After the race, I went home, did some cleaning, accepted three huge crates of my old grad school crap from my parents' house, and, eventually, made it over to Mike and Monica's. We had a lovely dinner and, upon finishing our food, had a frat-boy movie party extravaganza. We started by watching, "Animal House". Pretty funny. Then we watched "Eurotrip". Also somewhat funny. Finally, we got to "Beerfest" which, in spite of myself, I found myself giggling at.

Hanging out exclusively with men (and Monica) is a pretty new thing for me. I think this testosterone-inspired evening has taught me a couple new things and reaffirmed a couple of old understandings of how men work.

Man Stereotypes I feel were Reaffirmed Last Night

1. Men are just like teenage boys, only with a lot more responsibility.
2. Men like to see boobs, lots of boobs, tons of them, even though (in my opinion) they mostly all look the same and they have no function at least 90% of the time.
3. Drinking is funny!
4. Drinking a lot is funnier.
5. Men like to see movies about their relationships with their buddies because that's important to them.
6. Burping with buddies is a bonding experience.

Don't get me wrong: I love these guys. But every now and then I am led to wonder why and whether that's really such a good idea. :)

After a long night without much sleep, I looked on my training schedule and noticed a 6-8 mile "hilly" run scheduled for today. I called Mike and he suggested I do a 4-6 flat run instead and Monica will work it out. Now that I have new, fangle runs on my schedule, I definitely want to get together with Monica and go over routes and whys and wherefores. Can we do that, Mon?

I will have pictures of the 5K as soon as Dave e-mails th em to me. (Please, Dave?)

Liz

Run With the Animals 5K

This race theme reminds me of this picture.

The 5K went well, in a way. I pushed it all the way through and made a time of about 25:30. This is 1:15 slower than my last 5K, which was 24:15. To this day, I don't know if the problem is that this course was a bit long and the last was a bit short (both possibilities) or if it's because I'm not exactly in a fast stage of training right now. What I do know is that I pushed it all the way through so this time is a pretty good representation of where I am right now. I'm satisfied with it. Monica told me today that if I was still 29 I would have placed in my age group! Oh well. There will be many many more opportunities to place, and I will!

Last Saturday night we went to do a bit of karaoke at Club 44 and a good time was had by many! I will post pictures of that event here as soon as I can. The only one I can provide now is this one which everyone was keen on having taken but no one else wanted to join me in:



Of course, that was supposed to be an upside-down can of spaghettios on my head (put there by one of my bratty welfare children) and a bowl of Ramen in front of me, but Trailer Park Cuisine closed early because business was slow. As a result, we had to eat Mexican. The disappointment still haunts me.

Here are the only two other pictures that exist of the evening's festivities. Dave wanted a picture of himself on the big horse in front of P.F. Chang's. I think he's listing his favorite songs or movies in the second one.




The rest of the evening was fun, though! The following not-entirely-appropriate video, courtesy of youtube, is here to remind us of a moment that will forever hold a place deep in my funny bone. Enjoy!



In any case, it's time to do something besides stare at the computer screen.

Liz

I need sports psycho-therapy

I do! The mental blocks abound right now. But, frankly, I think some of them will melt once I see that I really am being successful. :) Give it a few weeks.

My nutrition goal for the next few days is to cut back on the carbs I eat in favor of some protein. For example, eggs instead of oatmeal and raisins for breakfast. (Maybe oatmeal and raisins for lunch? I don't have anything for lunch tomorrow. :)

I'm in "Thomas Hammer" typing this on their free internet and the song, "Dust in the Wind" just came on. I love this song. It makes me feel peaceful.

The run today was good. It was a bit frustrating, as they all have been lately, but we've been over that.

I have to skedaddle on home. I have to get early to work tomorrow to prepare for some classes. Students have even started coming in before school to hang out and take up my prep time, so I have to pre-empt them and get there even earlier!

Night all!


Liz

Frumpy Grumpy Running

I had an enlightening hour with Monica today going over stats, setting nutrition goals, and discussing a plan. I was surprised to discover that achieving my target BMI of 21-22% would require 30 pounds off my frame. That's like running with Helena plus a sack of flour strapped to my back. Dropping that weight would certainly make me run faster!!

I ran from my apartment today down to the reserve, did the one mile loop, and then came home. Running has felt frumpy and grumpy lately. It's weird. I feel like I'm going slow, and my legs don't want to go. Actually, my first mile or two feel kind of like the last few miles of a marathon, minus some of the exhaustion and soreness. The frustration and the sense of dragging is there. Even so, we got 'er done.

One of the big goals this week is portions. Today went well. I can't log much of what I ate today on fit day because it wouldn't be there. Even so, I can say that portions mostly went well. I'll be starting bright and early tomorrow logging on fitday.

To my coaches: Thanks for your help, Monica!! Hey, Mikey! And Dave, I have reviewed the necessary tuneage and, you're on!

Liz

Speed Work -- A New Thing

Hello!

I'm sitting in a semi-freezing basement typing this, so this entry will be short.

The workout tonight was fine. I think I went fast enough, though I can't say I'm exactly sure how to tell. I felt good afterwards and really wasn't sore at all. I hope that doesn't mean anything.

I went by and bought vitamins today. The Vitamin Shoppe is having a sale.

After the run we went to dinner. Scott tried to convince me that the jalapenos weren't hot and that the hot salsa wasn't spicy, and Mike backed him up, but I know those two tricksters.

Now I'm home and freezing and just about ready to nod off! Night!

Liz

September 8, 2008

I have very little to report today. It's Monday. My schedule says "0-4" today so I did a very short run basically from my apartment to my parents' house. (I couldn't drive anyway because my key was -- I hope -- locked in my apartment.) Monica and I definitely need to go over some kind of energy-boosting food plan because I will tell you, I am dragging. My legs are fine, but my energy is sapped every day by about 3 and I don't seem able to get it back. How 'bout it, Monica? Can we discuss some ways I might get and keep more energy? I stopped taking my vitamin like two months ago or longer, so that could be it.

Eating is going well for the most part. Portions are good. I need to adjust nutrient intakes, though. I still gravitate towards my favorite carby, sweet stuff. Though I am getting plenty of fruit in that way.

On Sunday, I met up with my friends Petra and Hubert and their children Abraham, Noah, and Helena and the six of us went to Art in the Park. I got to carry Helena in the snuggli backpack. (Helena is the one I identify as "my" baby.)You should have seen Hubert and Petra putting me in that harness, clipping all the clips, and adjusting Helena, the 25-pound baby. I felt like they were saddling me up. Even so, it was tons of fun. I have absolutely fallen in love with some of the pictures we took. At the risk of being an attention hog, I'm going to share some of these. I took the last three while Helena was on my lap.







So far, being 30 has been mostly awesome. See you later!

Liz

Birthday Celebration (#1)

We met for lunch at Trailer Park Cuisine, and I opened my presents.

I got two new sports bras, and a Team Apex Singlet with built-in support from Mike and Monica! Scott gave me winter running gloves (excellent choice!!), and Kevin bought me lunch! Thanks, Guys!

Here I am modeling my new sports bras

And this is what I look like not modeling my new sports bras.

Scott and I tried to take one of those you-hold-the-camera-out-and-snap-the-picture-yourself photos, but this one really didn't work out.

After Scott saw how good he looked in this one, he refused to try for a third time, thus revealing his conviction that the left side of my face really isn't necessary.

After lunch, we posed on the big, dumpy couch outside. This is as close as Mike and I got to one those take-it-yourself pictures.

And here's all the partiers besides Monica (who is taking the photo)


The day was fun and the food was excellent! So far, being 30 is awesome!

We had a most excellent running experience last night in the Mountain Home 5 mile race. Monica, Dave, Brittney, Jenny, and Scott all placed!! That was really exciting. I was the only one who didn't, which isn't particularly surprising but also doesn't really bother me that much. Even so, I will describe my physical and mental processes here.

I arrived at the race lacking confidence, feeling tired and grumpy, experiencing the tail end of a sinus headache and still mad because the race was more expensive than I had anticipated. This attitude extended through the first couple of miles of the race: I was stressing it, which never helps, and I was feeling really tired and angry that I even had to be doing this. Finally, at about mile 2.25 or so, I decided that I had found a good pace. It wasn't killing me. Instead, my speed hovered just below my frustration threshold, which, I think, has been particularly low lately. I stayed at the same tempo until the beginning of mile 5, where I started to struggle a bit with pacing. I wanted to go faster but had emotional issues. I think I really haven't figured how far I can push it and still sustain a speed for any length of time. I need to figure this out, because it's a huge source of frustration for me.

I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up several times and had to drag myself to running group this morning. I didn't eat anything before the run. I was supposed to do an easy 40 minutes but even found Melissa's 10-mile pace someone difficult to keep up with at first. The way back was fine until I was about 1.2 miles out: my stomach started feeling a bit sour. Even so, I made it in, but left early to go find something to eat, to take a shower, and (I was dreaming when I thought I would have time to do this) go see my baby before our lunch at noon.

This is my official 30th birthday. The Alzheimer's Walk was at the park where we start and finish our Saturday runs, and the DJ for the event was Maclean Flood, a guy who I know because he has dated two of my friends at different times. (That's so creepy!) I spoke with him after the run, told him it was my birthday, and he played a song for me about turning 30! It's a fabulous song and has officially become my theme for the day. See below and listen, if you like.

Moody Lower Legs

Hello!

Life has truly been an enigma lately.

I have found that I have been feeling great at the beginning of the day, very tired by the end and very moody and emotional in between. One minute I'm grumpy and stressed, then I just want a hug, then I just want to run but when I finally get on the road I don't have any get up and go. It's weird.

That's exactly how I felt today. I had way too much energy all day and I was very moody but when I got on the road for a run, my lower legs felt heavy, my breathing was heavy, and I was going pretty slow. The only two things I can think would be affecting this is the amount of coffee I've been ingesting since school started. (It's free, y'know.) and a serious lack of water, and, perhaps, that I'm not as recovered from the marathon as I think I should be. But I felt great on Sunday. What gives?

So, I'm going to drink more water. (I've been a water-guzzling champion since the run tonight). I'm also going to sleep a full night, though that really hasn't been an issue lately.

I'm also noticing a little pain in my lower back and my core muscles feel really week. As much as I hate core exercises, I may have to give in and do some fifty-fifties.

My folks and I had a most excellent dinner at the French cafe' tonight. They're pretty darn awesome!

And, just so you know, what follows is about the best version of "Hotel California" I have ever heard. It may just earn the title of "Liz's favorite song this week."

I love "Hotel California" all the time, but this version is especially good, I think. I never realized how many guitars you need to play that song right!



A+
Liz

So, I'm not as chubby as I thought I was

SO . . .today I had a weigh-in and, contrary to my prior beliefs, I haven't gained a pound since the marathon. Instead, I've actually lost a tiny bit of weight. (WEIRD!) Nonetheless, I am launching my new campaign to achieve a few weight-loss goals. They are as follows:

An 80% reduction in incidents of running wedgies -- I hate wedgies, and they seem to be more numerous during recent runs. I think a few pounds off my posterior could really reduce these, which would be great, because they're really annoying.

Callibration of my body with my new work pants -- The teacher next to me gave me these great black pants out of her closet in a size I have only recently been able to wear. Right now, they're a bit tight. I think 8 or 10 pounds could really take care of this.

Dream Goal: A 50-80% reduction in the need for thigh burn care -- I HATE thigh burn.

Dream Goal: A 50-80% reduction in running shorts bunch-up -- It's real annoying. Smaller thighs might make a difference.

Dream Goal: Monica's Hamstrings -- My body's version, of course. They're sweet!

So, those are the goals. As you can tell, I don't care much about how much I weigh. I just want to slim down and tone up.

Liz

Today's Post

It was a good run tonight, but my ass is sure dragging.

The Payette Lake Run

Greetings, Runners!

This weekend's Payette Lake Run was most spectacular. The view was pretty and the group did a FABULOUS job at the race. (Monica, Murali, Jenny, Brittney, Dave, and maybe somebody I can't remember all placed!) The biggest perks for me were a) I seemed to be the only member of the group not particularly bothered by the hills in the run, and b) I learned so much great stuff! Below is what I learned, both about my teammates and about myself:

1. Team Apex kicks ass!


2. Monica is really funny when she's drunk! She's really cuddly, too, and it's really sweet.


3. Kevin is going to kind of miss getting stalked when all this scariness is over.


4. Put together on a team, Dave and I can kick anybody's butt at any game requiring knowledge of trivia or of the English language or music, writing, or just about anything else.


5. Jenny Josephson needs to be around more.


6. Scott's a very loyal and devoted friend.


7. I have actually grown past the point where I freak out if left in the constant presence of lots of people without opportunity to leave.


8. Murali is freakin' competitive.


9. Jory makes great Costco carrot cake, too!


10. Melissa didn't have the runs like I thought she did at the end of the race.


11. Mikey's still my favorite!


12. Beth is a great teammate, even if she can't tell when I have sped up!


13. Kevin only likes people who are to his left.


14. Brittney is solid muscle.


15. Nobody snores!


16. I don't get much sleep when I'm trying to sleep on the floor.
17. Everybody likes pie.

Here are some photos from the event

As for me, I think the race went rather well. My lungs hurt just a tad at the end. But I ran through it, I was constant, I found a friend to run with, and she kept me going. My time was around 1:18, so I think I did around 9 1/2 minute miles. I think that's okay.

Also, I have gained my post-marathon poundage! I can tell from the pictures I took (which I will post here shortly) because my face is bigger and pants are tighter, etc. SO! I'm on a new mission. I can't exactly record what I ate today, since it consists of coffee, a breakfast burrito from that Pancake place, and a bowl of granola with fruit. (The granola is mostly nuts. It's homemade. My dad makes it with Splenda and it's TO DIE for!)

But I'll be drinking lots of water to the end of the day and start bright and early tomorrow, too!

Love you all! Write later!

Liz

Today's Run and Today's Sweets

Hello!

I got the pleasure tonight to run with a certain member of our running group. Considering the sensitive information I am about to reveal about him, I shall not call him by his real name. For our purposes here, I shall call him "Union Jack Shoes", since that will definitely keep anyone from knowing his real identity.

Anyone Union Jack and I just happened to both be late to running group. Me, because I had to go by the vet before they closed to get cat food before my cat drove my mom insane, and him because of traffic. Let me say now: this is the last time I will be arriving late and, consequently, running one-on-one with Union Jack Shoes.

My schedule said, "2-3 miles easy." But "easy" for Union Jack is my dot pace. Actually, he was really great. He tried soo hard to slow it down for me and he tried to be pleasant for my sake. I can empathize with the pain one must go through to pull back for a slower runner, so, not only did I feel guilty as we raced down state street in the heat, I also felt tired, grumpy, and out of breath. As a result, our conversation was stilted, one-sided, and it switched topics a lot. Here is my version of how our conversation went. Union Jack was really trying to get me involved, but I was working a little hard and was a little too grumpy to respond the way he wanted:

UJ: You know, I haven't run a marathon for twelve years.
Me: Uhuh
UJ: I've run halves and stuff but no marathon.
Me: Yup
UJ: So, you teach high school?
Me: Yeah. ELL.
UJ: Oh. And school starts on Monday?
Me: Last Monday
UJ: Oh, Richland Washington schools start this Monday.
Me: Okay
UJ: My ex-wife is borderline psychotic.
Me: Really? Huh.
UJ: I hope the t-shirts and the singlets and the rest of our gear is in.
Me: Yeah.
UJ: You know? My girlfriend and I have been together for three years.
Me: Uhuh
UJ: She lives in Missouri.
Me: Oh.
Union: My girlfriend wants to run a marathon.
Me: Oh. Okay.
Union: There's another girl who wants me to help train for a marathon, too. But she lives in Seattle. And we only really dated for like two weeks.
Me: How 'bout that.

That's pretty much how it went. He really did try, and it was really sweet, but it was still rough.

My body is feeling good though. I think I'm back to 100% and having a tough time admitting it because we have so many fast runners in the group now that I'm feeling really slow.

Then, I went to the foreign language teachers beginning-of-the-year party and loaded up on excellent food and delectable sweets. Loved it.

:) Night!
Liz

Welcome Liz!

You've come a long way Liz! Mile to Marathon in a year.... Don't ever forget where you've been and where you're going! Your journey has just begun!

Feel free to utilize this personal profile blog as your "training journal". Journals are important because they tell us where we were as we look back on them. They also help us to learn what we did right and what we can improve on. It may seem unimportant at the time you are journaling a race or a workout, but down the road it'll be useful! Also, we all learn from each other, so getting your thoughts out there will give you and others more opportunities to learn and grow from your experiences.

Have fun with it!

Monica