Yay! I Love Race Bags!

Last night Bill and I went to Bob Roncker's to pick up our race bags and numbers. The race bags were sooooooo good.

Now, I don't run races to get bags or t-shirts, but they are definitely a bonus. I love them! They are like those bags that stars get for showing up for awards ceremonies, but a lot less cool. But don't get me wrong, I am super happy with just a coupon or a PowerBar. I wasn't expecting a ton out of these bags. Last year we got a Nike Gear Bag (cool), a Snicker's Marathon Bar (which I ate before the race and felt TERRIBLE...now I can never eat one again!) and a candy jar (???). But the shirts were super cool so I didn't care.

THIS YEAR we got so much cool stuff I can't remember it all (but I will try):
1. A really cute shirt that says "BUST a hump up the hills" (the boys' say SHUT UP and run, the kids' say ZOOM past my slow parents and the volunteers' say WET yourself here).
2. A really cute hat that goes with the shirt
3. John Frieda color glaze full-sized (sorry, John Frieda, not all runners are BLONDE, though)
4. Goody grippy hair bands
5. Another Snickers Marathon Bar (Bill can have mine)
6. Laundry detergent samples
7. A green piggy bank from National City that is half of a pig that you hang on your refrigerator
8. A Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
9. A coupon for $25 to Bob Roncker's if you test drive a Toyota
10. A coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase at Bob Roncker's
11. A Propel powder supplement to put in your bottled water
12. A bunch of reminders for other races
13. A flyer for Fleet Feet which I thought was funny since we were at Bob Roncker's
14. A super cool Nike water bottle...not one of those cheap ones made out of plastic, but the expensive ones that you can put in the dishwasher made out of that like really techy plastic (I can't think of what it's called)
15. Some other stuff that I can't remember because I was driving and Bill was looking through the bag.

I think this by far is my favorite race bag!
(What all have you ever gotten in a race bag that is cool?)

I can't wait! It is going to be so much fun!

Hyde Park Hills!

We did it! By we I mean my husband and our motley crew of five friends who decided to brave the heat and humidity to run the course last night.

It is funny running with a group that is not a running group because we all just kind of stood at the start looking at each other for awhile until someone was like "uh, so are we going to like, do this?"

And I think that Bill's natural ability with running actually helped me out! My pacing is usually like I blow it all on the first mile and take a steady decline through the rest of the miles. Coach Joe and the Roncker's group HAVE helped me a bit with this by training me with negative splits, but I just can't help it sometimes.

So the first mile I look at my watch 7:16. I YELL to Bill who is injured by-the-way and who is also in front of me by about 30 yards "SLOW DOWN!! 7:13! ONE MILE! SLOW DOWN!" Then we run together. I am thinking 'Great. The rest will be 11 minute miles for me now.' Nope. Mile 2: 10:20. Mile 3: 9:36 (mind you, we had to stop for traffic for at least a minute and a half to not get run over AND this is the one with the big hill). Mile 4 plus whatever the remainder is if you go all the way to Edwards: 10:39. Pretty good.

And all of our friends who do NOT run were AWESOME!!! They finished the entire course doing about a 10 minute mile pace.

I was so happy. Now I am ready.

Afterwards we made shirts for the race. They are wifebeaters and say "LANDORKS" on them in puffy paint. (We work at Landor, and a lot of us are running since our company is one of the founding sponsors). Oh yeah. And they also have bedazzles.

UPDATED 6/6/07: Photo of our lovely shirts

Hyde Park Course

Tonight training for the Hyde Park Blast. It should be fun because I've recruited some friends who are running it to join me and Bill tonight. Unfortunately I think it just may be the muggiest day of the year. So it may help to wait until later.

I will be interested to see how I think the hills are in the course this year. I'm sure I will still think they are bad, but maybe they will not be AS bad, since I have trained so many hills for the pig, and I had been doing hill drills while I was in London. I don't know. I remember Menlo (I think that is the name) being absolutely horrible and I think it was at the end of the race.

Last night I hit the gym for some more weight training. I tried to not overdo it this time. I know I said last week that I didn't overdo it, but it was about two hours after I posted that I could barely walk because I was so sore. I was smart this time and when I got to the quad machine and did one rep and felt pain in my knee I hopped right off! No need to tear up my knees just so I can do reps on those machines. If I make it past noon without a ton of soreness I will be golden. I'll welcome some soreness since that just means my muscles are tearing and rebuilding themselves, but I do need to play in Landor's softball game tomorrow! (and more importantly, run injury-free this weekend in the Blast!)

Closet Catastrophe!

So, I FINALLY started switching my winter clothes with my summer clothes and this is a HUGE deal and usually takes an entire weekend to do. Why am I writing about this in my running blog? Because of this. Yeah. I have no trouble praising myself or noticing how great I look and how muscular I am. I guess I never thought this would translate into me having to buy new clothes. NONE of my jeans FIT...and not in a good way, like "oh I lost two sizes!" No, like I can't pull my jeans all the way up. Bill attributes this to thigh muscles. My shirts that I can't pull down he attributes to back muscles. This one I couldn't buy. I don't really have back muscles. He then moves his arms back and forth like he's running and tells me that all the training has GOT to give me back muscles even if I don't notice them.

So we went to the mall and now I understand the whole 'oh ha ha ha, it takes women 30 years to find a pair of jeans'. I didn't even go to the juniors department where I usually go, because I have come to the conclusion that although I am thin, I also have things like hips. I tried on pair after pair of "mom jeans". Ugh.

I came to the conclusion that this is my problem (which is probably the problem of a gazillion other women athletes) long legs but not a lot of width, slender hips, tiny butt, muscular thighs (well, and for me, a little pooch that I cannot get rid of...so, no low rise for me...but no "mom jeans" either!)I told Bill there needs to be an "athletic" fit. If I were a fashion designer, I would make them.

I finally ended up at Lucky Jeans, paying more than I wanted to, but at least they look ok. Running is getting to be expensive.

Clean Bill of Health

Yay! I got my toenails checked out (finally) and I DON'T have a fungal infection. But what I do have is traumatic onycholysis (I was going to put a link here, but the photos on the pages I found are so gross that I decided not to). Basically all that means is that the top of my nail has seperated from the nail bed. She said if I clip them very short and make sure I dry them with a hair dryer after I get out of the shower, they should grow back fine and I won't lose anything. She also gave me this great article called Nail Disorders in the Elderly Woman (I provided the link for download...it is a really really good article). She said that I would have to promise not to get mad about the elderly part because it was really for all women and she didn't know why they put elderly there and all of her patients complain to her that they are not elderly when she gives them the article. (Then she whited out the "Elderly" before giving me a copy, which made me laugh). I also have to put a vinegar solution under my toenails at night. Gross. That gives a whole new meaning to stinky feet. BUT at least I will be able to paint my toenails and wear sandles again! Hurrah! I just might redeem the manicure/pedicure gift certificate I got for my birthday this week!

Sooooooo Excited!

Hurrah! I WILL be running the Chicago Marathon! I got accepted onto Team CdLS and will be raising money for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. I have heard from a lot of people that running for a charity actually enhances the whole marathon experience, so I am looking forward to it.

It will be a lot of work though, so I have to start thinking creatively (you would think this would be easy for a graphic designer, but not so much!)

I also have the best friends in the world. When I told my friend Anne (one of the members of Team Emily)she asked when it was and then said "we'll have to go up and cheer you on". Susie was disappointed when she found out the date because she has a wedding to go to. And Bill was like "we'll have to call your sister so she can figure out a route for us to see you" (she lives in Chicago).

I am so excited! And I can't believe training already starts on the 7th!

Oh yes, and I can't believe the Hyde Park Blast is already next weekend! I almost forgot to sign up!

NB: Could this post have more exclamation points? I am lame.

Waited Too Long

GRRRRRR!
So I think I jumped on the bandwagon way too late. I honestly feel like I JUST got back and had time to think about running for a charity for the Chicago Marathon. I think ALL of them are CLOSED OUT! I have one email in to the one charity that is remaining that doesn't have big red letters on their website saying their team is filled. But I am not holding any high hopes.

I mean, I even asked myself 'do I REALLY want to do this again?..do I really want to put my body through this more than once a year? Maybe just a 10k in the fall and then a marathon in the spring.' But the more I thought about it, the more I had to answer with a resounding YES. I really really want to do this.

And I really really want to run a BIG marathon. But I have a bunch of other things in my life to worry about right now, whereas, I don't know how easy it will be to get to some of these other cities in October or November. Chicago would have been a good option. STRESS.
Otherwise, I would not be such a brat about where the marathon would be. I guess I should seek out other options. Maybe DC. Who knows. All I know is that I can't wait forever, and apparantly charities fill their spots up super fast too. :)

Lifting. Yay!

It is nice to be back at a gym that has weights!
And I don't know if there was some 20/20 episode about the benefits of lifting weights or something like that on or what, but the weight room was packed. Usually there are just the "regulars" which include about 3 people, but there were a LOT of people there last night, including a lot of women.

I did the whole body routine...arms, legs, back and chest. My arms are soooooo weak. I was doing 15 reps 3 times of light weights so that I could work on building lean muscle. My weight on my arms was pitiful...but my weight on my legs was DOUBLE what I started with before marathon training. Crazy. (And NO I was NOT overdoing it).

It felt really good to do some weight training. It made me not want to run tonight. It made me want to stay in the cool confines of the gym. But alas! I have to get used to this heat and mugginess.

I'm Back

So I decided to sliiiiide back into my training. Easy.
Last night, Bill and I hit Lunken airport's bike trail with our dog, Benvy, with the intent of doing 2 miles. It was HOT. And it was MUGGY.

I know, I know, every other runner in Cincinnati thinks I am crazy. They all think last night was pleasant for a run.

Let me tell you, the whole thing zapped me. 2 miles felt like way more. My dog and Bill both beat me. But it wasn't like 'oh I was sweaty' or 'oh I was too hot'. No, my legs actually fatigued out. And I was even drinking a lot of water yesterday (although the trip to Skyline at lunch where I pigged out on cheese fries, a chedderwurst coney, and a chilli cheese sandwich probably didn't help).

This heat is crazy.
I told Bill it is psycho that I was like "oh, 12 miles in sub-zero temperatures...it was kind of sort of enjoyable." Yet I can't do a lousy 2 miles in heat.

Pttt.
Tonight is weight training.

Healthy Habits

So, as my time in London draws to a close I am wondering if I can keep up my healthy habits. I don't know what it is about home, but it seems so much easier to be unhealthy. And here's the weird thing: Bill has been eating healthily at home. I have been eating healthily here. But when he came to visit I can't count the number of meals that we had with fries (ok, "chips"), plus all kinds of other unhealthy things. I guess we are a bad influence on each other. I always thought it was me making him unhealthy. :)

One thing I really really like that I've adopted is that I drink a ton of water every day. This kind of started when I gave up pop for Lent. Now I can't even drink the stuff. It is so super sugary it doesn't even taste good to me. I think the trick for me is to keep a bottle of water at my desk that I keep refilling. It is also nice because the kitchen is literally 20 feet from my desk (in Cincinnati I have to walk across the entire office...which is BIG). So I will have to figure something out about that.

Also, I have been working out six days a week. I would really really love to keep that habit up. It makes me feel so much better. I guess it is also a lot easier to do this when you are tackling 2-3 miles a night instead of 12-14. I think the key is probably to mix it up.

Like last night I just didn't feel like running last night, so I hit the erg machine instead. This was probably good because it was a HARD workout (I was mentally finished after 15 minutes). In my mind, if a workout is hard, that means it was a workout that was needed.

Anyway, I am going to try really really hard to keep being healthy when I get home. I hope history is not an indicator of this all going downhill eventually. We'll see.

Losing Weight (or Not)

So, I run to run. I mean, I like running just because. I am not trying to lose weight, I am not trying to prevent heart disease, I am not running to lower my blood pressure etc. etc. I am not saying that these are not good things. It's just that since I have been a very active person all my life (year-round swimteam, cross-country team, rowing team, ballet, tap, jazzercise...all at different stages of my life, of course) my blood pressure and cholesterol are low, I have a good BMI, and am on the low end of "healthy" weight for my height.

HOWEVER, I can't help looking at all of those great calculators on-line. I guess in a way, that is good. It's good to check up on yourself every once in awhile to make sure that you are still healthy. Anyway, I was checking out some of the calculators yesterday and found out that at the rate that I train (6 mph: a 10-minute mile) it would take me 326 minutes to lose one pound!!! Now, they stress that you should obviously not try to do this all in one workout (which I never would, well except maybe in marathon training). That's 5 hours and 26 minutes! I don't run that much in a week! I do 30 minutes a day! So basically I get in about 3 hours a week.

That is depressing. No wonder it takes people millions of years to lose weight.
I know, I know, I am gaining muscle too. I can see it. And muscle weighs more than fat. And diet is a factor too (ok, but really, even though I am the fast food queen, I have been eating well here). And exercising lowers your blood pressure, and wards off alzheimer's and keeps heart disease and diabetes at bay, and on and on and on. I know. But you have to admit that it is depressing that it takes so long to lose a POUND.

Finding My Way Around

I think one of the most fun things about running is discovering new routes. I get sooooo bored doing the same route all the time. Unfortunately for me, I get hopelessly lost because I have no sense of direction. Seriously, I can have a map right in front of me and still turn the wrong way (ask my husband, my sister and my friend Valerie). So I have been very very wary of "finding new routes" while I am here in London. Which is sort of a shame, because it is a great city to explore.

So yesterday I said "forget it". I have seen almost all of the bits and pieces of London, so I figured that if I got lost I would at least know where I was.

I headed to Covent Garden which is amazingly close to where I am staying (Bill and I figured that out one night when we were looking for a place to eat). Bad idea. It was still around 5, and being the shopping/theatre district it was super crowded. Detour, and up Holborn High Street. For someone with no sense of direction, and armed only with an A-Z most of the time (which has maps of EVERY street in London, but breaks it down so that you only see a small section on each page) it is FASCINATING to see how all of the boroughs connect. I mean, I have been taking the tube a lot when it would have been faster to walk. I love this about big cities. And now that I know how everything connects, I am getting ready to leave. :)

Oh, and by the way, in answer to my query 'should I run with upper respiratory stuffiness?' the answer is "well, if you can take the headache." My massive headache which started with my run did not end all night. Oh well, it was great to run again after a 5 day hiatis!

Duffy Dose

No running.

Just drinking. Water, of course. And orange juice. Being sick away from home is the pits. Somehow crawling under the crisp hotel sheets is not the same as passing out from exhaustion on the couch under a warm homemade quilt.

My appetite is also insane. Last night for dinner I had a four pieces of garlic bread, a steak, a jacket potato, broccoli and carrots, onion rings and two Cokes. And then I was hungry when I got home.

I guess that's why they say "feed a cold".

Argh. Well, off to Hamburg tonight. So no chance to run until Sunday.

To Run or Not to Run

So for the past few days I have had this horrible horrible cold. Unfortunately, this has curtailed my plan to run in the mornings. And when I get home I am so exhausted that I just basically poop out. All of this kind of stinks, because I know how I get when I skip too many days of running (I don't want to run anymore). The issue is complicated by the fact that tomorrow night I fly out to Hamburg (flights are so cheap from here, how could you not visit another country!!!). I get to play tourist for a day and a half, so there will be no running there. But anyway, back to my original point. I have been confused on whether I should be trying to run or not. I consulted a bunch of websites, which said if you are sick from the neck up, you are okay to work out moderately. I read this as "shorter runs" and "moderate pace". No repeats. No sprint work. WebMD said that working out might actually HELP you feel better.

My issue is actually making myself do it.

I am incredibly stuffed up and weepy. Plus I had a bit of insomnia last night, so I am super tired on top of that. I hate being sick! Don't you think it's funny how when you are well you don't really appreciate the greatness of an unstuffy head? I always think, 'wow, I should really appreciate being well. When I get unstuffed it is going to feel sooooo great!' And then when I actually get unstuffed I don't notice it. And then, I'm like 'oh wait. I'm not stuffy anymore.'

ANYWAY, I have been listening to my body more than my head, and NOT running. Which is probably good. Hopefully this cold will all be gone soon.

Marathons, Marathons

So because of reasons that I don't want to go into because it would take millions of paragraphs, I was not able to put my name in the drawing for the New York Marathon. I guess its all right, because I probably wouldn't have made the lottery anyway.

So I was like, oh, I'll just register for the Chicago marathon.
Nope. Closed out.

I really really wanted to do a BIG marathon this fall. OK, I REALLY wanted to do the New York Marathon. (But doesn't everyone?)

I guess there's always next year.

On a cursory search of fall marathons I found a ton. But here's the thing...which ones are the most fun? I feel like I really need an enthusiastic crowd to help me along. It was really helpful at the Pig. Also, I am NOT the fastest runner (although I guess lots of marathons have people running at my speed).

It just makes me anxious that I haven't signed up for one yet, because I will probably have to start my training in July, and I am so anal-retentive about signing up for things on time, getting my paperwork in order, etc. etc.

Does anyone know of any good ones in the fall?

GROSS

Ok. Yes. I am talking about my toenails again. So stop reading if you are squeamish.

So after removing my nail polish and looking at my toenails again I started to worry. And I started to think that maybe wearing nail polish on my toenails was sort of exacerbating the problem. So I went to Superdrug to check out solutions. There is this one topical medication that is like nail polish but I cannot find it ANYWHERE. The only reason I know about it is that I got a pamphlet on it at the London marathon. It has these gross illustrations of toenails on it and I kept reading the brochure over and over this weekend (Bill was like "you are obsessed with that brochure aren't you?") So I didn't find that. But I found this other lacquer that looked the same. It was expensive! 16.99 GBP which translates roughly to $34!!! I didn't get it after I read that it was for "preventative treatment for healthy nails". That is not me.

So then I came back and started searching online. This is all very gross.. I think I have either distal subungual onychomycosis or proximal subungual onychomycosis or both, if possible.

I say this because my big toenails are brownish yellow and on closer inspection they have a bunch of white dots by the cuticle. So according to IntelliHealtheven if I do get this thing treated, it will most likely fall off, wwhich is I guess what you all have been telling me from the very beginning even when I was bragging that I had solved the problem with my stupid Sally Hansen Miracle Nail. And even if they don't treatment takes 12 weeks of therapy with an oral medication...which I won't even be able to get until I get home, which is 2 weeks from now!

No cute peep toed high heels all summer :(

Not a Morning Person

Maybe I will have to revise this?

I made the decision to get up early this morning (ok, early for me...6:50) and get my workout in. I have been really bad about working out since Bill was visiting last week. (Which actually is funny. I worked out 3 times last week. Usually that is a lot for me, but since I moved here for the last few weeks I have been working out 5-6 times a week). So I figured I needed to work out today. BUT the problem was that I have been trying to pamper my feet since they are still gross. Well, wearing a pair of cheap high heels that cut into my toes all day at work on Friday did not help. I have never done this before, but I think I am going to try to return them. I mean they REALLY messed up my feet!!! The stores close early here, and I have to eat dinner sometime, so I decided the only time I could work out would be this morning.

It wasn't a huge deal, because there is construction outside of my hotel room every morning which starts around 6, so I usually just lie in bed cursing them for 2 hours.

I made my way to the gym, looking like hell, to use the erg machine.

I had a pretty decent workout!

And afterwards I had a lot of energy!!!

And I could take my time getting ready for work, because I now had an hour, not 15 minutes to half an hour, so I actually had time to fix my hair correctly and worry about what I was wearing and my makeup. In other words, I don't look like the typical slob designer...which makes ME feel better.

OK, the hard thing will be to keep this up when I get home. Its all well and good to get up when you are already having trouble sleeping and walk across the street to the gym. But what about a nice comfy bed in a quiet neighborhood where you have to drive to the gym? We'll see. I'm really really really going to try.

Be-yoo-ti-ful!

Wow! It was so nice out yesterday! Perfect running weather! I always feel like a tool when I mention weather in my blog, but it has seriously been terrible here. It rains every day and has been pretty cold too. So when its nice out, it is SUCH a rare thing.

Bill and I did a nice easy 2.68 miles (I thought we had done more, but checking afterwards on mapmyrun.com, found out the real distance. Whoops). I felt pretty good too. Which is good, because the day before felt really really hard, even though it was only 2 miles. Maybe the lesson is to not take days off. When I take a day off, it seems really hard to get back into it. Well, maybe I can take a DAY off, but not three days off.

I don't even run with my ipod. It seems pointless when you are only out there for twenty something minutes. I just sing songs in my head. Yesterday it was the song from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (I think it is called "March of the Swivelheads"), you know, in the end where he is running through people's lawns to beat his parents home? (Hmmm, sorry for the Ferris Bueller spoiler, for anyone who has not seen the movie :) Anyway, I was singing that I think because I was weaving in and out of all the people on the sidewalk to run. Maybe with all of the weaving I really did do 3 miles yesterday!