Know What Sucks More Than Being Sick?

Coming back to running after being sick. I have been off several days with an upper respiratory infection, which also included a lovely little set of migraines. I usually get a really bad infection about once a year, but it's usually in the spring and not in the beginning stages of marathon training.
Oh, well. It's over and done and nothing left to do now but claw my way back.

So tonight I ran 2 hard-fought miles in 35 minutes. I took my inhaler with me (just in case) and stayed close to home (also just in case). As much as it sucked fighting for breathe and energy, it was worth it. I can already feel my body making adjustments and pushing some of this junk out of my system. I am hoping that tomorrow is a much better pace and feels more along the lines of where I was before I got sick. I am officially signed up for the Route 66 Half Marathon and I have some training to do. Wish me luck!

Peace, Love, and Kicks on Route 66

Small Victories, Big Triumphs

Tonight was Training Run #1 of the fall season. I did 3/5 of my miles from all of last week in one run and I have much more left to go this week. Tonights run was hard. I didn't wait long enough after I ate dinner, so I kept cramping in my side. My ankle was tight again. I couldn't find my stride if my life depended on it and I kept catching myself scrunching up my shoulders. Part of it was just luck of the draw. Tonight just so happen to be a bad night. It happens sometimes. But the other part of the equation is that I have been dreading this. Honestly, I have been dreading the very first training run, not because running 3 miles is hard, but because running 13.1 miles is. I know what is out there waiting for me. 10 mile runs, 12 miles runs, sore knees, sore ankles, swollen fingers, and RTs. Why do I keep doing this to myself?! : ) It can be so intimidating looking ahead at what's in store for me.

However, tonight also reminded me of a little lesson that I had forgotten since my last half-marathon: Sometimes it's the little victories that lead you to the big triumphs. Training is just that training. I'm going to have steps forward, steps back, steps sideways, and maybe even some do-si-does. It's all the little victories that are going to get me across that finish line (aka My Big Triumph). Running to that pole halfway down the track, running a half a mile without stopping, running 2 miles without stopping, running 8 miles without puking, running 12 miles period.  :) I am never going to crank out 6 minute miles and I'm okay with that. I'm never going to be an Olympic marathon runner, but that doesn't stop me from standing on the ottoman while wearing my kid's baseball gold medallion with my hand over my heart while singing the National Anthem. Wait...I don't really do that. Nor do I sing in the shower and pretend that my shampoo bottle is a grammy. Really, I don't. ; )

Soooo... right now I may be having trouble finding my stride, but just making it a half-mile will turn into 2 into 10 and finally into 13.1 miles. I just have to remember that it takes all those little steps to get there. Even if some of those steps have you hunched over like Igor running from light pole to light pole. : )

Peace, love, and small victories!

Ready to Get My Glo On

Ready to get my Glo on if the monsoon that is currently drenching my city lets up long enough for us to run tonight. I have a very bright outfit, complete with neon knee highs and a rocking play list.

18 Wheeler- P!nk
Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)- Joan Jett
Run Riot -Def Leppard
Gold On the Ceiling - The Black Keys
Excuse Me Mr. -No Doubt
Places to Go- Leftover Cuties
Everybody Talks -Neon Trees
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
Bang a Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex
We Come Running - Youngblood Hawke
Float On - Modest Mouse
Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx) - Kanye West
Move in the Right Direction-Gossip
Sabotage- Beastie Boys
Orinoco Flow - 2:35 Bit By Bats
Take Me Out -Franz Ferdinand
Take Off Your Shirt - Bibio
Colour Television - Jonathon Boulet
Future Starts Slow -The Kills
Too Close -Alex Clare
Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
Firestarter - The Prodigy
Gunpowder & Lead - Miranda Lambert
Neon - John Mayer
Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
O.P.P. - Naughty By Nature
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
Secrets - OneRepublic
The Longer I Run - Peter Bradley Adams

I don't plan on needing the entire list, which lasts about an hour. The girl power trifecta of P!nk, Joan Jett, and Annie Lennox should be enough to get the job done. : ) But just in case. Wish me and everyone else luck tonight. Pictures will follow tomorrow.

Holy Ragweed, Batman!

Tonight sucked! Yeah, I said it. And it did. My partner in crime, A, and I are going to be testing out new routes for our running group and tonight's route sucked. Okay, in all fairness I'm sure it's normally a very lovely route and didn't really mean to come across so rude and hateful, bless it's little heart. But tonight it was a big ol' B. It started out okay, but then BAM! there was a giant hill. Oh, you soooo suck. We kept going, going, POW! there's another hill. My ankle was getting really tight, so I stopped and stretched it out, shook it around, and kept on going. By the time that I am halfway through the run, my butt cheek and my thighs are pissed as hell at me and are letting me know it. But I was still trucking along. We were in the last quarter stretched and I'm pretty two separate events occurred simultaneously: 1) I ran past a yard of freshly cut grass and 2) My fairly expensive, freakishly strong allergy medicine gave out. KAPOW! ZAM! Within a matter of a few minutes, my right eye had swelled, my nostrils closed off, and I had a sneezing fit that could rival the Sneezing epidemic of 1802. Have you ever tried to run with your nostrils closed off?! I wouldn't recommend it. I sounded like Vader pounding down the pavement. Every cloud has a silver lining, though. This particular route requires us to go past a beautiful firestation, not once, but twice. A assured me that should I collapse that she would sprint to the firestation and have one of our lovely fireman come out and resuscitate me. WAZAM!  Well, fortunately (or unfortunately) I did not collapse and a shower, an antihistamine, and a nettipot later, I can now breathe out of one nostril. So I'm going to slather on some vicks, lick my wounds (not the vicks covered one), and go to bed.

Peace, love, and nerds!

Warning: Following blog is full of sappy, mushy stuff.

I am SUPER sentimental lately. I'm not sure why, but I am. I've been looking at old baby pictures of the kids, reminiscing with any willing victim, and hugging everyone in sight (even a stranger in the grocery store. Don't ask me why, because even as a hugger I surprised myself as much as I did her). So tonight I am going to embrace the sappy. First of all, BIG thank you to my neighbor, my friend, my running buddy, and my follow blogger, Amanda for calling me almost every night to go run. You help me make myself run even when I don't want to. My favorite Aussie, I know how you love to be mentioned in my blog, so I just wanted to say that I love you, I miss you, and Dublin cannot come fast enough. My incredibly awesome hubby who may roll his eyes when I say I'm going running (aka leaving him by himself with two perfect angel children) and he thinks that I can't see, but NEVER, EVER discourages me from going. To my familia, I love you. Enough said. To all the other A's in my life, you move me and motivate just as much, if not more than you say that I motivate you.

That all being said, tonight was a weird running night. First of all, it was absolutely the most gorgeous night that we have had in a very long time. Secondly, I (the run-walker) ran a half a mile without stopping. I would have kept on going, but my legs were so tight that I stopped to stretch them out a little. Lastly, I kept having the same thought pop into my head the entire duration of my run.

"I am stronger than my disease. I am bigger than my obstacles. I am better than my doubts."

This has been appearing in my daily mantras more and more later. But tonight it hit my so hard that it almost knocked the air out of my lungs. I am stronger than my disease. I am bigger than my obstacles. I am better than my doubts. I'm not even having a bad day as far as all that is concerned, but it just kept repeating itself over and over tonight. So you know what, I'm going to listen. As of today, I am stronger than my disease, I am bigger than my obstacles, and I am better than my doubts. I don't even know where to go from here. So I'm going to go hug my kids, kiss my hubby, and get a good night's sleep.

Peace, love, and Blessings! 

I Think My Mojo Melted

After a multitude of 100+ degree days, it is finally starting to cool down. I never thought I'd be excited to see a 3-digit temperature with two zeros. One problem with the cooler weather is that I no longer have a built in excuse to not run if I don't want to. So I'm back to trying to run everyday and I've discovered yet another problem. It seems that my mojo is missing. I have searched high and.... over there somewhere. It could be under that pile of newspaper, but probably not. Regardless of where it is, I'm pretty sure it is a big ol' melted, unmotivated mess. This has happened before. My mojo has been known to take an unscheduled hiatus. It has even spent some time in Australia without me. Lack of motivation is nothing new when my mojo is missing. However, tonight I did something that I don't normally do. I did my run anyway.

It wasn't a long run and it was ugly (as are most of my runs). I didn't really want to do it. So I basically sprinted the first mile or so, just to get it over with. Then I had to walk-drag-crawl myself back to the house. It took a lot to even put on my running shoes tonight, but I'm glad that I did. I think that I forget sometimes just how hard I CAN push myself. I try so hard to know my limitations, especially in regard to my medical condition. Too many bad "next day"s that leave me in pain, unable to go about my business normally. But perhaps, sometimes I limit myself more than my condition does. Nights like tonight are a good reminder that while it's good to know those limits, it's also okay to break past them.  Maybe I'm tougher than even I know. If I can ever learn that permanently, the world better watch out. : )

So if you find my mojo, could you stick it in the fridge for a few and then pass it back. I'll be busy running. Thanks!

Peace, Love, & Beastie Boys!

The Case of the Melting Mexican

The last week has been extremely intense heat in the Great State of Oklahoma and beyond. I was okay with a little heat and then it got hotter...and hotter....and hotter still. I went from sweating to melting in the matter of a few days. I began to wonder, "What in the world is going on? Who severely pissed off Mother Nature?" I have been "Nancy Drew"ing it for the last couple of day and have come up with nada. All I know is that whoever did it needs to apologize ASAP, because it's seriously cramping my running style.

June 28th 104°F
June 29th 106°F
June 30th 106°F
June31st 109°F
August 1st 110°F (though news said 113)
August 2nd 110°F (thought news said 115)


Since it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon, all I can do is continue to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I have a BIG cup at my desk that I just refill constantly through out the day. The first couple of days I drank so much I spent more time in the bathroom than the pregnant lady in my office, but it's all evened out and I am still chugging away.

So everyone stay safe, stay cool, and water is good for your soul.