Behold the Turtle

A Bieber birthday and a run

2012-03-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, Biebs! Yes, I am a 30-something woman that likes Justin Bieber. I’ve got issues. This may not be the biggest of my issues, sadly.

Oops. This already happened.

Aside from a Bieber birthday party (I kid, I kid), I had my last training group run before my half marathon on Sunday. It was 40 minutes of pure sweat. It was hot and humid and disgusting. Aside from that, the run was fabulous.

I really don’t have a particular time goal for this race. Well, I kind of do. I’d love to get the same time as my half marathon three weeks ago. So, a 2:33 finish is fine by me.

Looking like a complete tool, but I was happy with my time.

The forecast concerns me a bit. I’m trying not to worry about it, but a 40% chance of rain and windy conditions are worrisome. Also worrisome is this race’s start time: 6 a.m. I’m not a morning person. I can handle waking up by 6 a.m., but being somewhere and being functional by 6 a.m. is another story. I apologize in advance to anyone I run into there. I will most likely be out of it and perhaps grumpy. Sorry.

I will recover when I get this sweet piece of metal in my hand.

That, friends, is why I chose to do this race. Believe me; it wasn’t that pesky 6 a.m. start time.

Wacky Wednesday

2012-02-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

Every day is random for me, but Wednesday in particular:

I'm thinking my bangs need to be cut. I'd cut them myself but I always screw them up. Then when I do go to a professional, I get the accusing: "You cut your bangs, didn't you? You used scissors you use to cut paper, didn't you?" Why, yes. Yes, I did. Please just fix them. Thanks.

I'm a lip balm and lip gloss fiend. Love the stuff. So, when I read all the hype, I had to try the Maybelline's Baby Lips. I even had to grab the last remaining tube at Target. And, my opinion: it's not that great. My lips felt drier than normal, and I had to reapply frequently.

I love everything celebrity. I devour celebrity gossip magazines, I watch celeb-reality shows, and I watch celebrity news shows (even butt-kissy ones like "Entertainment Tonight"). But one thing I won't watch: the Academy Awards. Why? That show is 3.5 hours of boring. I'm fine with a written recap and a look at the fashion.

Random running stuff

2012-02-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

I have random running thoughts running through my brain, which is a fairly normal occurrence.

I have a half marathon on Sunday. I'm not that excited about it. I'm not sure why.
I am excited about the medal and shirt, though. That's really the reason I signed up for this race. Darn you, sweet medal and equally sweet shirt.

I am also excited about my 5K on March 18. I feel like I'm getting faster (slowly). I'm not confident enough to push it on longer distances yet, but I want to see how fast I can run this bad boy.
I ran a 10K on Saturday. I didn't do my usual long run on Sunday (mainly because I wanted to sleep in, but also because I wanted to rest my legs a bit after the race). I thought I'd do a long run on Monday night, but due to laundry and other pesky household chores, I didn't. Now, I'm going to try to fit in one last long run (about 9 miles) on Tuesday night before a half marathon on Sunday. Hopefully, that still allows enough time for recovery and tapering.
I joined dailymile. Run with me there. You can find my info in the right column of this blog.
Also, I joined Twitter. Yes, I did this at turtle speed. Follow me there. You can find my info in the right column of this blog.

Suncoast Classic 10K, St. Petersburg, Florida, Feb. 25, 2012: race review

2012-02-26T15:08:00.002-05:00

I had to do this race. It was my first-ever race of any distance (I did the 5K), and I have fond memories. It's kind of cool to look back and see my progression from that February day in 2011. But enough of that sappy stuff.

This year, I graduated to the 10K: my first ever. I had a time in my head, but no real goal besides having fun.

This is a smaller local race benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. It made me remember that I like smaller local races. Everything is so much easier with fewer people (about 1,000 people total for the race): packet pickup, parking, spectating, post-race goodies pickup. Everything. I need to remember this.

I arrived at 7:40 a.m. (I was dropped off near the start line) for the 8 a.m. start. This allowed time for a restroom stop, a short walk to the start line, and an on-time start on a cool morning. The 5K started at 8:15 a.m. and followed the same course (well, half of it anyway).

The first mile wasn't great. I didn't really feel into the race. Maybe a little sluggish. But, by mile 2, I was feeling better and getting in a groove. It was also about mile 2 that the leaders of the 5K started passing me. Yes, those people that started 15 minutes after I did. More proof that I run at turtle speed.

After the reality check of my speed, I kept inching along. I felt pretty good until I got to the point that the 5Kers made the turn for the finish line. I was a little bitter that they were done, and I still had half of a race left.

That made for a bad attitude for the remaining portion of the race. I don't know why. It wasn't a bad race by any means. I was actually having fun and enjoying the course along Tampa Bay. I just wanted to be done.

Miles 3-5 felt painfully long. I wondered if the course was off, and I was actually running a half marathon. I kept checking my watch, and it assured me that I was at mile 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.9, 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.9 and 5. And yes, I did check it that many times.

By mile 5, I was ready to push it, in true turtle fashion. So, I took off, and I actually had a mile that started with a 10! That is progress for this slow girl!

My time for my first-ever 10K: 1:10:37. Remember I mentioned that I had a time in my head? It was 1:10. Pretty much nailed that.

After the race, I grabbed the post-race snacks: orange slices, banana, mini donuts, rice and beans, cheese and a mini packet of chocolate chip cookies. Note: I did not want or eat all of this. I have a bad habit of taking things just because they are free. I ate the orange slice and a mini chocolate donut. Pretty darn delicious.

I took a bite of the rice and beans, and then I tried to pawn them off on my boyfriend. He took a bite and tried to pawn them off on the dog. She smelled them and looked away. She finally ate a few bites, but she wasn't happy about it. As you can probably guess, they weren't good. At all.

Aside from the rice and beans, I really loved everything about this race: the nostalgia, ease of everything, the beautiful course along Tampa Bay and the post-race goodies and giveaways. Especially the mini banana.

I thought this was the cutest thing ever. The discovery of this fruit has now changed my goal in life: I must have a mini banana tree.

I rocked for a few days

2012-02-24T18:11:00.001-05:00

Well, I've gotten a little cocky. After my mind-blowing half marathon (see? I told you I got cocky), I thought: "I've got this running thing down. I'm awesome." So, I had no big worries about a little 10K on Saturday. "Only 6.2 miles? Sheesh! This will be easy." (Again, you can probably pick up on the cockiness).

Then, along came this week's runs. And, they were not awesome and not easy (and they weren't anywhere close to 13.1 miles or even 6.2 miles). And, my cockiness came to a screeching halt. I snapped back to reality (oh! There goes gravity) and realized that just because I had one decent race doesn’t mean that running is a piece of cake (although it makes me hungry for one). Now I’m back to doubting myself, and I’m a little worried about a 10K.

I’ve never run a 10K race. I went right from 5Ks to half marathons and skipped everything in between. So, with my doubts and dashed cockiness, I’m kind of glad this is my first 10K. No pressure. No time to beat because I have no previous time. That leads me to my goal for this race: have fun. I think I can handle that.

Wacky Wednesday: the next random 11

2012-02-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

As a continuation from last week, I'm now answering the 11 random questions that Maggie asked me.

1. What’s your favorite TV show? "Two and Half Men" – reruns only, though. I love Charlie Sheen.

2. If you could have lunch with an actor/actress of any era, who would it be and why? I'm going to consider Elvis an actor (he did appear in 31 movies) and choose him. I'm fascinated with Elvis. I'll read any book written about him, so I'd love to hear things directly from him. And maybe he could give me some fashion tips.

3. If you could tightrope walk across anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I love-love-love Hawaii, so that's my choice. The varying, beautiful landscape would be awesome to see from above.

4. What do you do for a living? I'm a proofreader at an accounting firm. It's better than it sounds. Really.

5. Do you crave sweet or salty foods? Um, both. Unfortunately.

6. Can you remember your last dream? What was it? I can't remember my last dream. I don't remember many .. except the one that included LL Cool J. That one, I remember!

7. How big is your bed? It is queen-sized. I'd love to have a king-sized bed, though.

8. What was the last thing you ate? A pickle. I love pickles. Definitely one of my favorite foods.

9. Who was your last phone call or text from? I just talked to my boyfriend.

10. If you could have any super power, what would it be? I think I'd like to fly, mainly for the convenience factor (and to save money on gas and airfare).

11. What are three things you can't live without? Lip balm, cell phone and rubber bands for my hair.

Missing the music

2012-02-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

When I first started running, I loved going out late at night with my iPod. I’d run my three miles to Michael Jackson, Notorious BIG, Puff Daddy, MC Hammer, countless other rappers, boy bands and other poppy goodness. It was sweet. I saved my iPod solely for running, and I looked forward to it every other night.

One of those "countless other rappers," LL Cool J

Then, I started realizing that I was dancing while running (yes, it’s possible), doing the hand motions to “2 Legit 2 Quit,” and rapping or singing along to each song. All of that extra motion took its toll on my attempts at running. So, I quit the music. And, I got better at running.

Now, after months and months of running (and getting better) with no tunes (so I could listen to my coach and chat with running group members), I want to hear the music again. Not on training group days, but maybe just one day a week when I run on my own … or a day when I should be running on my own.

The progressive run has been a bit elusive. It’s on my training schedule; I’m just not good about following my schedule on that particular day. So, maybe the incentive of some old favorites, as well as some new additions (hello, Bruno Mars), can sway my legs to get in that progressive run.

I can't wait to run to that ditty. I heart Bruno in a serious way.

I'm a winner ... not of a race

2012-02-17T15:39:00.000-05:00

I like to win. Unfortunately, I won’t be winning any races anytime soon (or ever). But, I did win something pretty sweet.

This came in the mail this week (along with all the bills, coupons and junk mail, but those are not nearly as fun), thanks to Corey and Christy.

I like the darker color of the metal, the bling on the pendant, and the contrasting gold. Plus, it came packaged with a compliment. I think everything should come packaged like this. It made me happy.

Wacky Wednesday: the random 11

2012-02-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Maggie at Run Happy for tagging me and giving me some of my favorite blogging material: random stuff.

But, I'm going to break some rules because that's how I roll. Well, and I think every blog I read has already done the 11 random things.

The Rules

Post these rules. **I followed this rule.

You must post 11 random things about yourself. ** I followed this rule.

Answer the questions set for you in their post. ** I will do this next Wednesday.

Tag 11 people (can't be the person who tagged you). ** I broke this rule.

Create 11 new questions for the people you tag. ** I broke this rule.

Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them! ** I broke this rule, too.

Three out of six isn't bad! Anyway, on to randomness.

The 11 Random Things About Me

1. I'm addicted to lip balm. I gotta have it. Multiple times per day.

2. I think Elvis rocks. He died before I was born, but I love him (and I love dressing up like him).

3. I love diet pop, particularly Diet Dr. Pepper (Yes, I call it pop. I'm from the Midwest. And calling it all Coke is just silly to me. I can deal with soda or soda pop, but not Coke for everything.).

4. I hate whipped cream. Most people think I'm crazy, but I think they're crazy for liking that nasty stuff.

5. I love watching sports. Baseball is my favorite, but I also love football and basketball. I watch sports and sports shows more than my boyfriend.

Watching my favorite sport with my dad

6. Anything below 70 degrees feels cold to me.

7. Purple is my favorite color.

8. I'm a sucker for celeb-reality shows. I'll even watch "Kourtney & Kim Take New York" (as painful as it may be).

9. I can't imagine my life without animals. I have a dog, turtles and fish.

10. Jessica Simpson is my favorite celebrity.

11. I bite my nails when I'm nervous.

A lovely run

2012-02-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

Tuesdays are running days – even if it is Valentine’s Day. But, it wasn’t an ordinary run.

Everyone had to wear one of these.

Taken

Some of the single people really drew attention to their “single” status by underlining, circling or putting arrows to it. I’m not sure if any hookups resulted, but I loved the idea.

After the 40-minute run, all of the women got flowers.

Flowers make me happy.

And, there were sandwiches, smoothies, beer, wine and a raffle after the run. A pretty sweet Valentine’s Day.

Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon, Feb. 12: race review (Part 2)

2012-02-15T00:42:00.000-05:00

Race day morning was a disaster. Here’s why:

I woke up 15 minutes late (at 5:45 a.m.). Because I’m not a morning person, and I dread waking up early on a weekend, I didn’t allow any extra time in my schedule. So, I left the house 15 minutes later than I wanted.
On the way to my friend’s house (her husband was dropping us off at the start line – only a few miles from their house), I realized I couldn’t find my timing chip. I didn’t put in on my shoe before I left because I wasn’t sure what shoes I was wearing (old or new – both Brooks Adrenaline GTS). I still held out hope I’d find it, though. I have a gigantic purse – it was a possibility it was buried.
I arrived at Caroline’s house 10 minutes late (about 6:55 a.m.). As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I was dumping out my purse. I still couldn’t find the stupid timing chip. Caroline dumped out my backpack of post-race stuff to see if the stupid timing chip was in there. I started looking under seats and in between seats. No luck.
Finally, we decided to get to the race and deal with it there. Surely, I could get a replacement stupid timing chip. We left her house around 7:05 a.m., and I continued panicking on the way there.
After arriving at the race, we ran to the first tent we saw: hospitality tent. Darn. Next tent: information. Darn. Next tent: lost bibs and stupid timing chips. Whew!
At the correct tent, I asked for a new stupid timing chip. The reply: “OK, that’s $5. Cash only.” I would have paid almost anything at the point. Problem: I had no cash. Who carries cash to a race? Caroline had no cash either because, again, who carries cash to a race? The woman wasn’t happy, but she reluctantly gave me a stupid timing chip. I also had to change my bib to match the number on my stupid timing chip.

The stupid timing chip

At this point, the disaster ended. We still had 10 minutes before the race started. I had my new bib pinned on and my stupid timing chip on my shoe. We made it to our corral (number 10) with plenty of time to spare. Whew!

Even with all of this running around, I wasn’t hot. Why? It was the coldest day of the winter (high in the low 50s). Normally, I hate the cold. On a running morning, I love it. Living in Florida, I don’t experience this often. Because of this, I didn’t really dress properly for the race. Usually I just wear what shows the least sweat. This wasn’t the best plan on this day. I wore Capri pants, a tech short-sleeve shirt and a jacket I planned on ditching at the start (to donate to charity). Turns out, I needed the jacket the entire race.

The race started right on time at 7:30 a.m. With a staggered start, we didn’t cross the start until about 7:40 a.m. Even with the staggered start, the first ½ mile of the race was a little crowded, but it thinned out after that.

The first three miles flew by. There were bands, a flat course, and I was enjoying every bit of this race. If I’m going to struggle in a long run, it’s usually those first three miles. The fact that these miles were easy was a great sign for me.

I kept flying along at turtle speed and enjoying every minute of this race. It was cold; it was sunny; it was beautiful. The bands along the route were actually pretty awesome, and the route was wonderfully flat and beautiful.

This race is what running is supposed to feel like: enjoyable. I had a smile on my face the majority of this race. I didn’t struggle. I didn’t repeat over and over that I hated running. I loved running on this day.

Even though I look like a tool, I'm having fun

I kept running and kept enjoying the scenery: downtown St. Petersburg and the bay. I never took water from a water stop, but there seemed to be plenty and they looked well-stocked.

It felt like an eternity between miles 11 and 12, but not painful or hateful. Even though that mile took forever, the next 1.1 miles went quickly. Soon, I was turtle speeding across the finish line to Flo Rida’s “Low” (he was the post-race concert). My time on this glorious running day: 2:33:39. This is 15 (yes, 15) minutes faster than my previous half marathon time.

Still looking like a tool at the finish

With my training severely comprised through the entire month of December and the recent five-day headache and resulting burns, I really didn’t think this time was possible. I’m ecstatic!

I loved-loved-loved this race. The bands were great. It was well-organized. It was such a fun atmosphere.

This is the only photo I could find of Caroline and me. Apparently,
I needed to keep my eyes on Chloe. Crazy dog.

My only complaint: the post-race concert started before I finished. By being slow, I missed Flo. I heard “Low” as I headed toward the finish line. As I got closer to the finish line, the finish line announcer and music they were playing drowned out Flo Rida. By the time I got my post-race snacks (bagel, banana, frozen fruit) and found everyone at the race, Flo Rida was done. I heard he put on an amazing show, but I have no idea. Kind of bummer. But, it really didn’t put a damper on my day.

Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon, Feb. 12: race review (Part 1)

2012-02-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

Well, because I’m being extremely wordy, I decided to break this review in two. Part 1 chronicles the day before the race (race expo, preparation) and Part 2 will chronicle the actual race and aftermath.

Going into the Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon, I was scared. I'd heard the horror stories of other Rock ‘n’ Roll races, and I questioned why I signed up for this race in the first place. Oh, yeah. It was local, convenient, a flat course and my training group had a plan for it. So, I went for it.

I was still a little nervous when I heard they were charging $15 to park for the free expo that you had to attend to pick up your race packet. It took place at Tropicana Field, my summer home and home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Technically, I think it was Tropicana Field charging for the parking (their policy is to charge for any nonprofit event taking place there), not the Rock ‘n’ Roll series, but come on. This had to be disclosed in the contract Rock ‘n’ Roll had with Tropicana Field. And, they should have nixed discussions there or agreed to pay for the parking, in my opinion.

With my dad at my summer home

Thankfully, as I mentioned, this is my summer home and I’m very familiar with the area, so I had my boyfriend drop me off outside the parking lot so I could walk in and pick up my packet. I noticed many others doing this same thing.

Once inside, the packet pickup was easy, organized and quick. And, it happened in the outfield of a Major League Baseball field (major bonus in my book).

Once I grabbed my race bib, I moved easily on to grab my T-shirt and swag bag. I like the T-shirt (and it fits — a bonus). The swag bag was OK — nothing too exciting.

Since I didn’t really need anything (and with my boyfriend and my dog waiting patiently outside), I kind of sped through the expo. I grabbed a few freebies: a 5-Hour Energy (love this stuff), soy ice cream products (a fudge bar and an ice cream sandwich that I split with my boyfriend — we both thought they tasted a little funky) and the major score: a carton of almond milk. Yes, a full-sized carton.

Since the entire expo was on a baseball field, it was spread out nicely. And, even though I went on Saturday afternoon, it wasn’t crowded (or didn’t feel crowded due to the large space).

After the expo, we hit Starbucks, the dog park and had dim sum for dinner. Even with plans for an early bedtime, I didn’t make it to bed until 11:30 p.m. for a 5:30 a.m. alarm … or so I thought.

Half marathon #2: rocked out

2012-02-12T15:05:00.000-05:00

I rocked through 13.1 miles in turtle fashion at the Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon today.

I'll write a full recap later, but a hint: while cold weather slows most turtles, it didn't slow this one.

Wacky Wednesday

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Weekly wackiness comin' at ya:

I was one of the estimated 111.3 million people who watched the Super Bowl. I love sports, so I'm going to watch it no matter what. The commercials are a nice bonus ... usually. Are the commercials just not as funny or as clever as they used to be? Maybe, like with most things, they're better when you're younger? I love dogs, so I'm a sucker for the dog commercials. This was my favorite:

Speaking (typing?) of dogs, my dog doesn't like (or isn't allowed) to chase cars. But, Chloe loves riding in them. I love looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing this (Note: although I was driving, I just held my phone and snapped. I did not linger and cause a dangerous situation.)

Every time I try to type "marathon," I type "marathong." It always makes me giggle. And, it makes me miss Sisqo (Oops. Did I just type that?).

Ashton Kutcher irritates me. I don't find him that attractive, and I find him highly annoying. The fact that he is ruining my favorite show (Two and a Half Men) doesn't help things. The fact that he replaced one of my favorite actors of all time (yes, Charlie Sheen) could be working against him as well.

Things I've learned since my first half marathon

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

With my second half marathon fast approaching (this Sunday ... eek!), I started thinking about things I learned from my first half marathon. And, here's the list:

Don't sweat the things you can't control. Well, let's get one thing straight: I sweat. A lot. Not sweating is not an option for me. But, in this case, I use "sweat" in place of "worry about." (Probably a poor word choice now that I think about it.)

Hot mess

I can't control the weather. If it is hot and nasty, I will be too. I can't change it. I just have to deal with it. Before my last half marathon (in November 2011), I started looking at the weather forecast 10 days out, and I kept obsessively checking it. This was not productive in the least bit. Even if I was worried about the weather, I couldn't change it.

The race isn't over if you have to stop to walk. I put a ton of pressure on myself to run the entire race. When I stopped for a walk break at mile 6, I thought I was a failure. I kept going and finished the race, but in a way, I kind of gave up at that point, unfortunately. So, this time around, thanks to some brilliant advice from Corey, I've tried to add a stop or a short walk into my long runs. I used to really fear stopping. But now, I know I can stop if needed (to drink some water, tie a shoe, whatever) and restart. Or even add a short walk break in. And, even with a stop or a walk, I can still have a decent (turtle) time.
It's supposed to be (mostly) fun. During my last half marathon, I focused on the misery. "Wah! It's hot. Wah! I'm sweaty! Wah! I'm miserable." Yes, I acted like a big baby. I did not enjoy the experience. Now, looking back on it, there were so many things to enjoy. But, if you're acting like a big baby, you miss out. You're paying for the race; get some enjoyment out of it.

WAH!

Prepared? No. No, I'm not.

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's race month (St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll Half on Feb. 12), and I don't feel prepared.

How did this happen, you ask. Good question. I asked myself the same thing. My answer: taking a break from running, being a long run loser and a a recent run-in with a massive headache and resulting burns on my legs probably had something to do with it. Or almost everything to do with it.

Then there's the fact that after pretty strict training for my first half marathon, I feel like it ended in a big puddle of disappointment. Yeah, I finished the race. But nowhere near the time I wanted, and I was pretty miserable the majority of the race. What if heat and humidity rear their ugly heads during this race, too?

Sweating through my shirt before mile 5. Not a good sign, folks.

Really, though, these are all just excuses. I should be better trained. I'm kind of disgusted at myself (some things I obviously can't control, like illness, but I should be able to work around the other things).

But, there's nothing I can do about it now (besides doing my best with my remaining runs before the race). And, train better for my next race.

Wacky Wednesday

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

You want randomness? This post's for you:

When I write "This post's for you," it makes me think of "This Bud's for you," which makes me think of Budweiser (obviously), which makes me think of commercials, which makes me think of Super Bowl commercials (timely topic), which makes me think of the frogs. I loved these guys.

Celebrity breakups don't usually bother me (aside from Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey ... I love her. I love them together. Sigh.), but the Heidi Klum-Seal breakup kind of shocked me. I don't know why. I guess I probably shouldn't trust any celebrity pairing, but they seemed solid. And, I liked them together (not as much as Jessica and Nick, but I still liked them).

And because I mentioned Jessica Simpson, I must include a photo of her. She's gorgeous. Funny. Generous. Great singer. Smart businesswoman (yes, I wrote "smart"). Just all-over awesome. And, I was fortunate enough to see her in concert. She rocked (of course).

And, she runs. Well, I'm not sure if she's been running lately (due to being extremely pregnant), but she used to run. In "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica," she'd go out for a run fairly often (in between "dropping kids off at the pool" and eating chicken ... or was it fish?).

I wish I looked this good running. Not even close, unfortunately.

From headache to burns to misery

2012-01-30T20:49:00.000-05:00

I had the worst headache ever. From Wednesday-Sunday. Five long, tortuous, miserable, dreadful, awful days.

I tried Advil. I tried a massage. I tried cold compresses. I tried steam. I decided to try spicy food (thinking if it were a sinus issue, spicy food could eliminate the problem). This is where things really started to go downhill (not that they weren't already bad enough).

On Saturday (day four of major head pain), I decided to make some Korean noodle soup (extremely spicy and delicious). I cooked it, poured it in a bowl, and brought it to the table to eat. I took one bite. Then, I proceeded to spill the entire bowl on my legs. Yes, a bowl of boiling, spicy water on my legs. As you can imagine, "YOWEE!"

Spicy and dangerous

I flew out of my seat, threw my pajama pants off (don't judge; I wasn't feeling well and the PJ pants are comfortable) and ran into the shower to start running cold water over my poor legs. After 15 minutes, my legs finally felt somewhat back to normal.

So, I still had a headache and now had red patches and the beginnings of blisters on my legs (I'll spare you the photos. You're welcome.). I spent the rest of the night in a dark, unhappy, poor-me place. A majority of the reason for this feeling: I couldn't do a long run on Sunday with burn wounds on my legs. This after missing my Thursday run due to my pounding head. Boo!

My half marathon is Feb. 12. Just when I was getting in a groove, I get a massive, long-standing headache and burn my legs with spicy boiling Korean noodle soup. Gah!

On the upside, the headache is gone and the burns are healing (aloe vera is my best friend right now), and I think I'll be able to run again soon.

Wacky Wednesday

2012-01-25T20:22:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. Time for randomness:

I want to go back to Hawaii. Like, really, really want to go back.

Can you understand why I want to go back?

Although, I live in a pretty darn nice place. With a beach. And tropical weather.

Nancy Grace irritates to me to no end, yet I find myself watching her show quite often. Why do I do this? Why do I watch someone so annoying? Darn you, Nancy Grace.
Lately, I keep rapping these lines non-stop, all day, over and over and over again: "Psycho, I’m liable to go Michael; Take your pick, Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game 6." It's from Jay-Z and Kayne's "Paris" (the nice way to say it, trust me), and I can't stop. I'm not even sure I actually like the song, but I do love all Michaels mentioned. Maybe that's why?

I love running; I hate running

2012-01-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

Tempo runs aren’t my thing. I’m terrible at picking a sustainable pace that is faster than my usual comfortable training pace. What is this pace? I have no idea. I think this is why tempo runs aren’t my thing (On a side note, whenever I hear tempo, I think of music. This makes me think of band. I played the trumpet and wore a terrible outfit with a funny hat).

Not my finest fashion moment.

But Thursday, after months of training, I finally rocked a tempo run. I picked a faster pace, and I ran that faster pace for 45 minutes (for a 60-minute total run). My average pace, including the warm up and cool down, was 11:04. For me, this is downright speedy. And, I felt awesome.

After this rockin’ tempo run, I was ready for my 9-mile long run on Sunday to be a breeze. I may have been ready for it, but there was no breeze. I felt some kind of strange calf pain for the first half of the run. Then, my left foot went numb. Strange.

During this time, my thoughts were:

“Why does my calf hurt? Running sucks.”

“My foot is numb now. Awesome. Running sucks.”

“I’m never running another half marathon. Running sucks.”

You may notice a theme here.

But, I just kept running (which is what I’m sure you’re supposed to do if you think you’re injured) and eventually it went away.

I stopped once to retie my shoe. I tried to put it off as long as possible because I hate stopping. I’m always afraid I won’t start again or I will want to keep stopping. But after retying, I restarted and didn’t stop until I hit the 9-mile mark.

From about the 5-mile point on, my thoughts were:

“This is awesome. Running rocks!”

“I love running, and it loves me. Running rocks!”

“I can’t wait for my next half marathon. Running rocks.”

Wide range of emotion, folks.

Race days

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

I picked up the January/February edition of "Florida Race Place," which lists running events in the area. Holy crapola! There are a ton of races. And, I want to run them all (well, all of them except marathons and ultras ... I'm not ready for that high mileage stuff yet).

I've never had this problem. I just started running last year, and I kind of needed prodding-encouragement-pressure to sign up for any race last year. But, this year is a different story. I'm trained. I'm motivated. I want to push myself. I want to get faster. To be completely honest, I want some cool shirts and medals, too.

So, I started registering. And this is my schedule (so far):

Feb. 12: Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon St. Petersburg
Feb. 25: Suncoast Classic 10K (my first)
March 4: Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon
March 18: Florida Beach 5K
April 14: Turtle Trot 5K (I HAD to sign up for this. HAD to.)

I'm slightly tempted to do another half on April 22. But, it's bound to be hot and it involves a big, scary bridge (as in a major hill). I'd kind of hate to end my race season on a bad race. I probably shouldn't think so negatively ... but, I think that's a wait-and-see race.

So, my question: is this normal (I know I'm not normal, but is planning races in advance normal)? How far ahead do you plan?

Wacky Wednesday

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Time for the weekly dose of randomness:

The boyfriend and I went to see “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” this weekend. We’re still talking about it. SO good. I didn’t read the book; I just watched the movie and enjoyed it tremendously. Go see it!

I love celeb-reality shows in a serious way. Love them. But, I didn’t think I’d watch “T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle.” Well, I thought wrong. I watched it once and was mesmerized. I think mainly because I love listening to T.I. talk. His voice has a soothing quality to it.

Speaking of celeb-reality shows, “Ice Loves Coco” is back on Feb. 19. Yeah, didn’t think I’d like this one either. Turns out, I don’t like it, I love it! They are the sweetest couple, and I can’t stop watching.

Does anyone else like almond milk? I randomly decided to give it a try, and wow! Deliciousness.

Long run love ... we're back together

2012-01-16T23:54:00.000-05:00

After some recent long-run struggles and avoidance, I'm finally back in the groove. And, back in love.

My weekday runs (50-minute run on Tuesday (intervals) and a 60-minute run (40 minutes tempo) on Thursday) were kind of rough this week. When I write "kind of rough," I mean they sucked. When I write "they sucked," I mean I struggled the entire way and wanted to walk more during those runs than almost any runs prior. Yeah, they were bad. Not really sure what's going on there. So, since they were so miserable, I was a little nervous about my long run this week: an 8-mile trek.

But, it was glorious. This run was extremely enjoyable, which is what I've been missing on long runs. We're reunited, and it feels so good.

A reason to run

2012-01-12T15:23:00.001-05:00

My next half marathon is the Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon on Feb. 12. I didn't decide to run this race because there is live music every mile. It was more due to the timing, the location and my running group having a training program for it.

After being a long run loser lately (and hearing horror stories about other Rock 'n' Roll events), I haven't really been all that excited about this race ... until now. Now, it's all about the music.

I mean, wouldn't everyone be excited to hear this performed live at a post-race concert?

Or is that just me?

Wacky Wednesday

2012-01-11T13:30:00.038-05:00

I wanted a post where I can be completely random and not necessarily write about running, so the weekly feature, Wacky Wednesday, was born. Look for it here each Wednesday.

Now, onto the randomness:

I finally saw "Bad Teacher." I LOVE Cameron Diaz, so I've wanted to see this movie forever. My boyfriend doesn't necessarily like her, so when I told him I wanted to see this movie I knew he probably wouldn't want to see it in the theater. Imagine my surprise when he said he saw this movie with a friend and liked it! Hmph! So, last week I finally got around to renting it (thanks, Blockbuster Express with your $1 rentals). And, I found it quite humorous. Cameron is funny stuff, and I love the fact that Justin Timberlake's character can't dance.

I can't get enough of Bruno Mars. The majority of his songs are cheesy, sappy and totally unlike something I'd normally like. But, I don't like them, I love them. Seriously, this guy can sing anything, and I'd be enthralled.

I'm sad the "American Horror Story" season is over. There aren't many (any?) shows I look forward to watching each week (well, since Charlie Sheen got fired from "Two and a Half Men" anyway), but this is one I anxiously awaited. Each episode was suspenseful and explained part of a mystery. And, it was superbly acted (Jessica Lange is just awesome). And, now it's gone. Boo!

If you don't watch, I bet this makes you want to start.