Eating Dust

OMP #1

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:17:00 +0000

So, as I said a couple posts ago, I am planning to run the Albany (Snickers Energy Bar) Marathon on March 3, 2012. Right now, it is about 17.5 weeks away which means... it's almost time to start training!

Thanks to the suggestion of SkinnyRunner, I plugged my stats into SmartCoach.com (free!), & it has me running a 3:50:31 marathon in 4 months. That is pretty unbelievable (literally - I am probably setting myself up for failure), but seeing that it could hypothetically be possible for someone with a similar speed (after lots & lots & lots of training) is exciting.

I just hope to stay this motivated over the next couple months & don't have to write a post sometime in January about how I haven't left my couch all winter (it's happened before). It would probably help to make running friends so I have someone to call me a lazy slacker if I want to sleep in instead of running in the morning or quit altogether. Anyone want to run a spring race & be my virtual training buddy? No?

So, that's about all I have. I decided against the race tomorrow since I only ran once this week. I had a presentation/paper due today that I really wanted to do well on (that's probably redundant), so I slept about 2 hours every night. Obviously, one presentation is not an excuse, but it was enough for me. I don't know what I'm going to do when (if) I have kids or a full-time job...but thankfully I'm still a single graduate student.

Also, in reviewing the post I see that it seems like I enjoy planning to run that actually running... but I promise that is only a little true.

Happy Friday!

Silver Comet Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:36:00 +0000

I did it! I ran my first half marathon in 1:57:21 (an 8:57 pace). Here's how it went (in painstaking detail):

I set my alarm for 5 am the morning of the race, but woke up at 2:24 & could not fall back to sleep. Thankfully, my social calendar has been uncharacteristically empty lately (ha), so I was in bed by 11 pm the previous night. I had a feeling that I had a migraine coming on (most likely from lack of sleep), so I had 3 excedrin + about 5 cups of water with my breakfast.

I left my house at 6am with plans to get to the race by 6:45 (it started at 7:45 & I still had to pick up my bib). Well, the line to get into the parking lot was backed up for about a mile, so the 45 minute trip ended up being about an hour and 15 minutes. Though I freaked out a bit in my car, this was fine. I was able to get my bib in about 2 min & went to stand in line for the porta potties by 7:20, thinking 25 minutes was more than enough time to get in & out.

At 7:40-ish, I was still in line, but people were saying that the race always started late & not to worry, they wouldn't start the race when 100's of people (maybe a slight exaggeration) weren't at the start. Uh, they did. I ended up being about 2 minutes late to the start (along with many others) which wasn't too bad since I had a timer on my bib & am too slow to worry about placing.

Runners were (unofficially) grouped by pace at the start, so I spent the first couple of miles passing walkers & everyone else who started in the back. It was kind of unsettling to pass so many people, as it made it seem like I was starting off too fast while they were (smartly) saving their energy. I checked my Garmin obsessively for the first few miles to make sure I wasn't going too fast or too slow, but tried to ignore it after the halfway mark.

(I forgot to stop after I finished, so laps 14/15 don't really mean anything).

The course was an out & back on the Silver Comet Trail which is flat & shaded for the most part. I took a (Gu) gel at miles 5.5 & 9-ish. I have no idea if this was necessary, but it seemed to work for me. As shown above, my pace fluctuated between 8:40's & 9:10's, & wasn't extremely consistent after the first half. Of course, I would have been happier with more 8:40's in the later miles, but was glad enough that I was able to finish without falling over.

(My thighs & I at the finish...thanks TrueSpeedPhoto for letting me hold your pics)

After crossing the finish line & getting my medal, water bottle, & lime green t-shirt (woohoo!), I got in line for the free tylenol/candy/bagels/pizza. I immediately realized I was about to have a severe migraine (it was somehow dulled while I was running), so I tried to get through everything pretty quickly (though there was no way I was passing up all the freebies). Later on as I was examining my loot, I realized that everything was about 6 months past its expiration date.

All in all, I am really happy with my performance and how things went. However, I do have a few things I would like to work on (including arriving to the race on time) before the race in January. If you look at my previous post, you can see that my pace only decreased by 1 second from my long run 2 weeks ago. I have no idea if this means that I can successfully push myself harder in a race or if I push too hard in training...but I'm going to assume the former. I'm doing a 10-mile race this weekend (another free one put on by the ATC), so will have an opportunity to test out this theory.

Almost There

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0000

This morning I ran 12.8 miles on the trail that my race is going to be on in 2 weeks. I was expecting that I would be able to fly since I do most of my running on hills, and the Silver Comet is straight and flat...but I apparently overestimated my abilities. I ended up running at an 8:58 pace which is a good bit off from what I want to do on race day, but I was happy, nonetheless. In fact, I was quite pleased since I took some prescription migraine medicine about 2 hours before beginning, and that stuff usually renders me useless. So, maybe all is well after all. Except that migraine is still bound to hit at any time. And I don't really feel like showering.

In other (running) news, my dad, my sister and I decided that we are going to do the Charleston half-marathon on January 14th! Nothing is actually set in stone, but I figure that if I pretend like it's already official then it has more of a chance of happening.

Bad Idea?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:18:00 +0000

So, though I have a take home epi modeling mid-term due tomorrow morning and a micronutrient midterm at noon, I just spent about an hour researching and signing up for this:

Hopefully I won't regret it tomorrow afternoon when I emerge from my study-fog.

Auf Weidersehen... For Now

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:20:00 +0000

So, I have been kind of a crappy blogger. I discovered Daily Mile a couple weeks ago, and have since been using it to track all of my runs, so it felt a little redundant to also talk about them here. So if you are interested, feel free to to follow me here: Daily Mile

If not, I may return if anything noteworthy happens in my non-running life...but that is not very likely.

Diez Repeat

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:28:00 +0000

This morning I ran 10 miles again. I discovered a perfect 10-mile loop through Decatur which kept things interesting. Most likely due to the fact that it was 50 degrees, I felt great the entire time - even on the hills (which is quite a feat for me). Here is what it looked like below.

The whole thing took 1:33:41 (a 9:22 pace) which is 25 sec/mile faster than I ran last week. I was very happy.

Diez

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:16:00 +0000

This morning began a very big day in the Hart-von Trapp household.

I ran double digits! I haven't run this far since June 20, 2009, so I was very excited. It was hot & hilly but I surprisingly didn't feel too horrible. However, around mile 6, I stopped to fill up my water bottle & realized I was bleeding through my (new) shoe. You can't really see it, but I promise that in person, it looks very dramatic.

Since returning home, I've been lying on my couch doing homework (kind of) & watching the TV shows I missed last week. One or two of these may have also been consumed:

I turned 26 this week so my family sent 24 mini cupcakes to soften the blow. I thought that it would be impossible to even make a dent in them by myself, but it's been surprisingly easy.

Redo & A Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:19:00 +0000

This past weekend, I did 8 miles for my "long" run again. I actually intended to do 10 (I'm getting antsy as I near the double digits), but quickly realized that was in no way possible. However, though I cut it short, I finished almost 4 minutes faster than last week! Or, to be exact, with a 28 second decrease in my pace. This made me happy.

After I got home, I realized that I have no idea what I am doing with this whole "training" thing. I only ran twice between my two 8 mile runs, & both were relatively short distances. Granted, this is mostly because I am lazy, but it is even easier to be lazy & slack off when I have no real plan. So...I found a plan!

I Googled for a novice half-marathon under 2-hour training schedule & came across the Cool Running website. The (beginner) plan I chose can be found here. Due to my race date (October 29th), I'm inserting myself at week 6, which is highlighted below.

Hopefully running more will make me faster as well since I need to speed up if I want to reach my sub-2 hour goal (a 9:09 pace). Right now, it seems like a long shot since I can barely do 3 at that pace, but maybe Google will tell me differently.

Run, Complain, Run

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Tonight's run sort of sucked.

I finally got out the door around 6:30ish after putting it off all day (I only have 1 class on Tuesdays & work hasn't started yet so I was mostly free). I was planning to do 5 good miles, even secretly hoping to get 6 in there. However, mile 1 came & I felt like crap. Mile 2 came & I felt like crap. I may have even cursed to myself & stomped my foot a couple times at this point because I was feeling SO bad. At mile 2.23 I realized that there was no way I could get 5 miles done so I took an alternate route home to finish 3.5 miles at a 9:16 pace. Now, not to make excuses (even though that is exactly what I am doing), and I do say this all the time, but tonight's hills were brutal. In fact, a couple times I got downright pissed off at the drastic changes in elevation that were at every turn. Though, in retrospect, I realize that the good thing about running hills is that with every crappy hilly run I do, I am doing myself a favor, and one day I will be able to do them with ease.

Just kidding. Hills are horrible & do not deserve to be here.

In other frivolous news, I dyed my hair this weekend & it is blonde. I was thisclose to going brown but changed my mind at the last minute when I saw a How-to guide on Bellasugar. Probably not my smartest choice.

After a couple hours of processing, showering, drying, regretting, it looked like this:

Eek.

After researching ways to de-brass, I put a protein filler type thing on it that seemed to do a good job of de-yellowing.

Though it's not perfect, the kind of awesome thing about this whole operation is that it cost less than $10. It also gave me a reason to take myspace-esque self portraits on a Saturday night:

Liesl, ever so vain, enjoyed them as well.

Caturday

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:04:00 +0000

Today started with this:

I purposely chose a flattish route which complemented the coolish weather & my new playlist nicely. I think I've decided to passively semi-train for one of these races (all half marathons):

Though, there's a chance that I will change my mind before too long, so I'm not making any sort of commitment/proclamation of intent. Last year I was planning on running a fall half & abruptly stopped once I reached 8 miles. So... I'll let you know.

After my run, I came home & picked up Liesl & we headed off to our favorite little getaway.

Once we returned home, we spent lots of time on my couch & in my bed while I watched 2 (yes, 2) movies & read a bit. I'm on the 5th book of my series & it is fantastic.

I am sad to finish, as it seems to be the last one (in the series) worth reading. But I guess there are worse hardships.

Okay, it is almost 8 o'clock & I am off to plan my evening. I need to decide whether to watch Say Yes to the Dress or to read my book. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

& Happy Caturday!

A Tuesday Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:23:00 +0000

This evening, Liesl & I went on a little adventure.

She led the way, posing all fancy-like.

I think she was trying to channel the desert & recreate this shoot.

I followed close behind & was equally fancy-like in my new shoes.

After strutting along some, we ended up somewhere unexpected & exciting.

They are extending my favorite ~~trail~~ wooded walkway!!

I was excited, though Liesl was disappointed that there were no strapping construction men to see her looking her best.

but I told her we could just practice for next time.

And practice we did.

Race for the ARK 5K

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Friday evening, as I was (half-heartedly) packing to go home, my brother-in-law called to ask me if I wanted to run a 5k Saturday morning - for FREE. I declined at first, knowing that I probably needed to get back, but immediately reconsidered & called him back. I ran as part of Atlanta Bread Company's corporate team as the only female - the team that won the corporate challenge last year. Since I replaced my 17-minute 5K brother-in-law, I was worried that I would be the weakest link. This ended up being true since one of my teammates won the entire thing, but hopefully they didn't hold that against me.

This was my second 5K (& third race). I ended up finishing three minutes faster than my first 5K, so I was VERY happy with my 26:03 PR!!!!!!!!!! (8:23 pace)

I was hoping to get under 27, & was ecstatic when I neared the finish line and saw that the clock was still in the 25's. I am disappointed I didn't get a 25 time, but happy all the same. AND, I got 3rd in my age group!!

(Yes I know it's backwards, but I am trying to make it hard to read my old lady age group)

Results aren't up yet, so I have no idea how many were actually in my group, but let's pretend that there were lots & lots. & lots. UPDATE: There were 16. booyah. No, the majority of them were not walkers for charity.

The race:

I started off WAY too fast, at a 7:40 pace. I was feeling good, but knew there was no way I could continue that fast for 3 miles (I don't know how I even did it that long). I slowed down some & tried to pace myself with a man in front of me. He soon disappeared so I tried to stay behind a grey haired woman. She was more my speed so I tried to ignore that fact that she was probably 40 years my senior. There's really not much more to say about the race, except that I dry-heaved immediately upon finishing (much to the horror of those around me) and that my team got first! So I have another fancy trophy coming my way - one which is owed entirely to my speedy teammates.

Liesl + Frodo

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:36:00 +0000

You know that book, The 5 Love Languages? You've all probably used it to evaluate your relationships with your spouse/significant other/children/parents/what have you, but I'm not sure if anyone has ever used it to evaluate their pets.

Okay, fine, supposedly it is only to be used for your mate, but I think that can be loosely interpreted. Especially if you're lacking in the mate department. Anyway, the 5 love languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

Anyone who knows me knows that 5 is not my strong suit (nor is 1 come to think of it). You want to hug me now? In public? No thank you.

Thankfully, I have Liesl to keep me in check. Even when I'm stretching out, she likes to show me how much she cares.

I love you too babe.

P.S. I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill while watching Wilfred (my new favorite show) on Hulu.

Elijah Wood can really make a run great.

HP

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Today I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. I don't have much more to say besides that I did it while watching Harry Potter in my apartment gym so it went splendidly. I've since been working on a "Send Mary to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II because she is unemployed and movies are so gd expensive these days" fund, but everyone seems disinterested.

Word.

7 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 14:43:00 +0000

This morning I ran the longest I've ever run on a treadmill. Heading out, I knew I wanted to do a long run, so I took a hint from Janae and took my iPad to keep me from dying of boredom. I rented The American President last night so I had about 50 minutes to finish since I (somehow) fell asleep at 9pm. I was a big fan, especially since the president's advisor (of some sort) was quite dashing.

Helloooo Michael.

When the movie was over, I switched to an old episode of Friends to finish it up. The treadmill automatically shuts off at 65 minutes, so I had to supplement with an extra 5. Here's Chandler Bing (who is also quite dashing) with my final stats (x2):

Don't worry, you don't need glasses. Apparently running makes my arms tired, because I couldn't seem to keep my phone straight to take a decent picture.

In a little while, I'm meeting my sister, brother, brother-in-law, and niece at a triathlon store (all3sports) in Dunwoody.... They're both into the triathlon thing, but I'm just along for the ride. Though I think they said something about buying me a bike? They're nice like that.

Listening to your body...vs. being a lazy hypochondriac

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:41:00 +0000

This morning's run was so so. The best part was seeing this cute little family in the park.

Hello Geese!

**

As I was walking Liesl earlier this morning, I noticed a weird pain in my inner hip. Upon returning to my apartment, I immediately went to Google & did some research. I concluded that it was either my hip-flexors, I pulled a groin muscle...or it was just normal soreness from being desperately out of shape.

It seems that the cure for any minor running injury (or any sport I imagine) is rest until the pain goes away... if not you will have a much larger problem on your hands. But how do you tell the difference between something real and normal wear & tear? I only ever think about this because I am just getting back into this whole running/being active business after months of being on my ass and I don't want to overdo it and have to take a break. Actual runners (i.e. not me) who run the risk of injury from overuse are a different story.

So long story short, I ended up just heading out the door & of course, there was no pain! It wasn't the greatest of runs (due only to mental laziness), but I was happy I did it. As you can see below, it was definitely better than yesterday's.

Perhaps it was because I had Mimi to keep me going.

Running Randomness

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:22:00 +0000

I took yesterday off since one of my legs was acting funky. Google tells me it was my tibialis anterior & not a broken leg, so I just iced it last night with some old frozen bananas. This morning, (after discarding the thawed out mealy bananas that were left on the counter all night), I headed out, planning to take it easy... until I got over to the Emory campus & didn't want to come home. The hills are killer, but it's quite peaceful in the early morning. This mostly means that there are minimal witnesses when I walk up the hills or when I curse the gods when I actually make myself run one.

I can't find my Garmin cord, so I've been using Nike+ on my phone to track my runs....It doesn't account for elevation, but besides that I'm loving it.

Super user friendly & syncs nicely with my music...which was quite motivating since it was full of 98 degrees & Hanson this morning.

(I used to have a thing for Jeff T. I think it was his khaki jumpsuits.)

When I got home, I got on the floor to stretch out/do some ab exercises, and Liesl was not having it. I guess it doesn't say much for the firmness of my stomach if she considers it a comfortable bed.

That is all.

Jane!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:54:00 +0000

Today, not only is it the start of my blog, the 67th anniversary of D-Day, the 157th day of the year, and a holiday for Satan worshipers to celebrate in unison... but it is the birthday of my fabulous MOM!!!

She is off on the West Coast looking at whales & doing other fabulous things, but I thought I would give her a shout out here anyway.

I love you Mama!!!!

Day 1!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Hello all. So I decided to start a blog. For the 4th time. And I think this time it is going to stick! Though probably not.

You all know me from the insanely popular Liesl-vontrapp.blogspot.com. Obviously, I have nothing to do with the creativity for that site, but I do help edit from time to time (Liesl always mixes up her you'res and yours). Anyway, I am starting Blogiologist mostly because I started a boot camp this morning and I would like to monitor my progress. It will probably consist of me griping about how sore I am, or how embarrassing it is that I could not do more than 20 sit-ups in one minute, or that I had to lay on the grass while everyone else was cooling down because I thought I was going to simultaneously throw up and pass out from heat exhaustion. In addition, I am required to record my daily eats so I may occasionally rant about how hard it is to eat 60g of protein a day or to go without any form of gummy candy for 30 days (I'm still trying to process this part).

I will also probably spend a lot of time talking about my dog, my thesis, and how ridiculous it is that no one will hire me. This will likely be done with fragmented sentences, misplaced commas, and mediocre attempts at humor. In short, you will probably be bored, occasionally frustrated, and not want to continue reading. That's okay.

As for the name of my blog, since I am a future epidemiologist, I decided to replace the epidem- with blog-. Sometimes I am just really creative.

That's it for now. Toodles!