Goal Race Training Recap Weeks 1 + 2

Week 1 (again?) Goal Race Training Week 1? Week 14? I dunno.
March 31-April 6

Monday: Super easy 3 mile shake out run before teaching, before my regular work shift. Somehow that day flew by. I'm guessing the run helped.

Friday: 6.25 miles with 5x800 m hill repeats.

I thought it was warm enough for shorts, but my bright red legs will tell you otherwise. The repeats were pretty decent, but I thought my legs were going to fall off during #4. I had the crazy leg lock thing going on. Uff da. Run felt great and I was on cloud nine.

Until.....

Sunday: Jillian Michaels workout video. I had planned to do my long run before I left for Vegas, but my hip had been bothering me since my speed work session. Like, hurt to walk on, pain. So instead, I did a strength video and just modified the one cardio move that simulated running and aggravated my hip.

April 7-13

Monday through Wednesday I was in Vegas. I probably walked ~5 miles each day, but those aren't running miles. Dominique and I optimistically brought along running clothes and as the days in Vegas went on, we laughed at the idea that we thought we'd get in some runs. Now I'm kicking myself because we always say how much we wish we lived closer because we'd be ideal running buddies. Whoops.

Thursday and Friday I was on catch up mode. Catch up on sleep, catch up on work (I worked extra long hours to lessen the amount of vacation time I had to take for my Vegas trip, meaning Ollie was left all by her lonesome even longer since Kyle was also out of town), by the time I got home from work, the last thing I wanted to do was put Ollie back in the kennel so I could get in a run. Is this mommy guilt? I'm not sure.

Saturday after a regular ol' 8 hour work shift, I came home, took Ollie on a nice long walk because it was gorgeous out. The vet said Ollie needed to lose even more weight, so we've cut down her meal sizes, and we're working on her endurance levels again. She hit her spring 2014 distance PR on this walk. Whoop Ollie girl! Instead of the Hal Higdom walk/run program, she has implemented the "shuffle really fast and then stop for a minute to huff/puff/catch breath." It seems to be working for her. Look out Hal!

Since she was somewhat wore out after the walk, I didn't feel bad about getting out and enjoying the gorgeous weather. I flirted with the idea of just tackling my long run right then and there, but I hadn't eaten since lunch and spent more time guzzling coffee than water during my work shift. Spoiler alert: I should've just done my long run!

I had the most amazing run ever. I took a rolling hill route and it was beautiful out, and the pace felt effortless. I was shooting for a recovery paced run as I was planning on 13 miles on Sunday, and it was quite a bit faster than my recovery runs typically are. So yayzies I guess for a gorg day.

Sunday I woke up to what seemed to be a tsunami outside. I was actually somewhat concerned for what the wind was going to do to our poorly constructed apartment (have I mentioned we're moving? I hate this place). The winds were in the 30-45 mph range. It was 20 some degrees out and rainy. Eew. Maybe it'll be nice after work, I thought positively to myself.

Nope. Just as bad. Worse probably.

I decided to buck up and run long on the treadmill. Armed with the last two copies of Runners World, a bottle of Nuun, two GUs, my iPod mini with BJ Novak's audiobook on it, my regular iPod with tunes on it, should I get bored of the audiobook, my iPhone for texting enjoyment, and Shalane Flanagan's 60 minutes special coming on the tv before too long. 

All necessities for a successful long run right? I started out and felt great. Like I could run forever. Which is good because I assumed this would take forever. I had planned on easy paces for the first 9 and then trying to speed up to hit GHMP for the last 3. Well I didn't get that far. I started to have pain in my left hip again shortly before the end of mile 3. Ugh. I know my form isn't great on a treadmill, so I figured there was no sense in pushing it and risk not being able to race at all in less than two weeks. Eeeps! Two weeks! So I called it quits and did core work and my hip exercises. Womp.

But then Kyle came home, whom I hadn't seen for over a week, so I quickly forgot about my failed run. Except for now when I'm having to bring it up and obsess over it all over again. Thanks a lot Jerky Blog.

Gym Rant

In my "fallen off the running bandwagon" phase, I have also lost a bit of my tough ass runner girl schtick as well.  Meaning that when it's below zero temps and/or wind chill, I will be a-runnin' on the treadmill.  Luckily I'm not running *that* many miles yet, so the treadmill won't kill me.  And I am alternating with outdoor running when the temps/road conditions allow.  I am also lucky in that my apartment has a small gym with a couple of treadmills, a stationary bike, an elliptical and a small little weight set.

I'm also lucky that there is rarely anyone in there, so I can crack open the window to let in the freezing air.  Ahhhhhhhh.

But one night I wasn't so lucky.  Shortly after the new year, I was running away on the "good" treadmill (every small gym has this.... a treadmill that is awesome, and a treadmill that just blows) when a teeny tiny barely clad in workout clothes gal came in and hopped on the treadmill next to me.

Let me point out, that I am hardly the person to be silently snickering about someone's workout habits.  I have a total cheerleader approach to working out no matter what it is you enjoy doing, how you do it, what you look like while doing it, etc.  But... BUT.... BUT!!! this girl drove me up a wall.

It started out innocently enough.  She started the treadmill, bringing the pace to a speed faster than mine.  I was running a 3 mile recovery run the day after my first speed session in eons, so I was running SLOW.  I resisted the urge to race her like a good runner girl.  Also?  If I had tried my legs wouldn't have allowed me too.  This information, not annoying.

Moving on.

The gym set up is as follows, left wall--floor to ceiling mirror, treadmill to its immediate right--crappy TM and the one this chick is on, I'm on the TM next to her.  Ahead of us is a tiny pool and windows.  You can't really see yourself in the reflection.  I tried one day when my knee was smarting a bit while running to see if my form was being wonky.

In the 20 odd minutes that I was running next to her, this gal spent 85% of it staring at herself in the mirror to her left.  Like head craned at a completely unnaturally, uncomfortable 90 degree angle.  Not only is this incredibly narcissistic, but it's also totally unsafe.  I totally get that sometimes it's nice to check your reflection and think "dang, this body looks good, yo!"  Or at least that's what I assume your jock homie inner dialogue sounds like, but to do it almost the entire time you're running?  Seems... weird.

In addition to this, she would also hold herself up on the railings of the treadmill (while checking herself out in the mirror, sooooooooo talented!) every 20 or so seconds, presumably to give herself a rest?  I dunno.  I've seen people do this before, and I don't get it.  It's not like she had anything to prove.  I was essentially crawling on the TM next to her.  Makes so much more sense to me to just run at a manageable pace and to take walk breaks if necessary, right?

Drove me up a wall.

I guess that's the perk of running outdoors.  If someone annoys you, you can just speed up or slow down to get away.

A New Love + Marathon Pace Run

I've recently gotten in to audiobooks.  This is kind of a big deal for me.  I've always thought audiobooks were kind of... [whispers] cheating.  Don't get me wrong, an audiobook is so.much.better than no book at all, but since I'm a pretty crazy fast reader, there was never really a reason to pick up an audiobook instead of a book.

I remember back when I was in college and my brother called me asking for some book recommendations.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I rattled off some titles I thought he'd enjoy, likely The DaVinci Code as I'd just recently devoured it.  You see, my brother, six years my senior, was the awesome athlete of the family.  I was the brain.  We both dabbled in each other's specialty, he'd destroy some Jeopardy! categories, and I'd make All-Conference honors for volleyball, but for the most part we knew our rolls.  So when he asked me this question I got super excited!

ZOMGICANDISCUSSBOOKSWITHMYBROTHERTHISISTHEGREATESTDAYOFMYLIFE!


Turns out, with his new job, he was on the road a lot, and he found that audiobooks helped him pass the time.  Yay brother.

Fast forward to me, or rather just bring the attention back to me [me me me!].  I picked up an audiobook from the library a couple of weeks back just to see if it'd be possible to listen to it at work.  Outside of the attrocious acting in the audiobook, it was kind of awesome.  I liked it so much that I continued to listen on my short commute home.  And then kept listening while I was cleaning my apartment when I got home.  And even loaded it to my iPod shuffle for my long run.  By then the annoying accents and ooooemmmmmgeeeeeeee-ness of the book were more tolerable and I was really enjoying myself!

Since then I've finished two other books and have a few more on hold at the library.  If you're interested in trying, I would recommend a pretty "light and/or fluffy" read because I find it hard to be stopped in the middle of something I'm intently concentrating on.  Also, for running, I think it'd be better for easy runs/general aerobic runs/parts of long runs.  When you're really concentrating on your pace/form/whatevs it's pretty hard to follow the book too.

Look at me combining all my loves in to one thing.  Last year I discovered reading books on the treadmill.  This year I take my books in my ears on my long runs.  Next year I'll probably have a chip implanted in my head so I can read the book in front of my face but still view the running paths beyond that.

Crap. That's an amazing idea!!  BRB, heading to the patent office asap!
________

This weekend I tackled my first long run with miles at marathon pace.  Naturally we got dumped on with snow, and were under a wind advisory, so gym it was.  I hate running on the treadmill.  But I also know that attempting to run fast on loose slow would've equated to about 10:30 minute miles.  Not exactly MP.  I had 13 miles to do with 8 at marathon pace.

Essentially I convinced my brain I had a 5 mile GA run and then an 8 mile MP run so I didn't lose my sanity.  Jeopardy came on shortly after my MP miles got going, and while I can't do math while I run, I can still run some Jeopardy categories.  Good to know.

Finished 13.1 miles in 2:00:21.  Marathon pace miles were:

6. 9:04 7. 9:05 8. 9:05 9. 8:56 10. 8:57 11. 8:56 12. 8:51 13. 8:42 .1 :50 Averaging 8:57 pace.  Whoot! And of course my IT bands are pissy now. :)

Hair Decisions

In keeping up with my 2012 goals, I did ab work yesterday en route to Operation: Alba Abs (even in the off season) or OAAeitos for short, and my core is still crying so I'd say that's a success.  I also successfully avoided my 8 miler all the live long day, so I was forced to hit the treadmill today because apparently winter has decided to come (see temps now below zero, barf).

Luckily the 8 miles didn't take too terribly long.  They were supposed to be general aerobic miles (meaning:  slow down let's get this heart super efficient, eh? Apparently my training program is a Canadian).  I read a book (one of the Pretty Little Liars, so trashy but so good!) and when I got bored with that, I listened to the new Bush CD.  I kind of really like it, fyi.  The last 2 miles of the run had 10x100 m strides in it, so that spiced things up a bit.  Managed to rock those little suckers in 6:58-7:03.  And now I'm slightly dreading my ten miler scheduled for tomorrow, because *shockingly* it's supposed to be -10* before I go to work.  While 8 wasn't too terrible, another 10 about 12 hours later might suckkkkk.

And in non-running news, I need your advice!  I'm getting my hairs did on Thursday and I'm torn about what to do.  I always do the same hair style, so I like to change the color up a bit.  But usually I don't.  Because I'm a wuss like that.  Here are my current thoughts:
A)

(source)

Top pic only.  I know it's just different lighting for the bottom pic, but I'm trying to get away from the blonde.  Being a curly haired gal, your hair is already dry, no sense making it dryer (you hear that Jeri from 3 months ago that decided "ZOMG I SHOULD PUT A BUNCH OF BLONDE HIGHLIGHTS IN MY HAIR!" Uh... no.  You shouldn't.... jk)


Or B)

I've had this pic saved on my computer forever.  Just looooooove it.  Doesn't hurt that her hair is super shiny/healthy/fabo.

Some things to consider:

• Red tends to fade like crazy and this girl cannot afford to go in as often as she should (read: usually 3 months, 4 on occasion....).
• It's winter so I'm pretty pale.  Even when I'm tan I tend to be a pinky-tan.  So I'd prefer that the color doesn't make me MORE pink, ya know?

Ok please weigh in, and then send over some monies to cover the bill.  Wait!? Who wrote that?!?! ;)  No worries, I'm sure I'll have found my long sought sugar daddy by then, ya know.... Thursday....  Phew.

Professional Treadmiller

Naturally last night while I was laying in bed I remembered dream #2 that I completely spaced when writing up the Dream post from yesterday.  No no.... I couldn't possibly wait to see if I could recall it, I had to post that blog ASAP.  Strike while the iron is hot! Get it while the gettin's good. Etc.

Anyway, since I know you were all on the edge of your seat in anticipation for secret dream #2, here it is.  It was May 2012.  I know this because I was arriving to take my second crack at the Green Bay Marathon.  For some reason they had swapped out the course, and it was now a point to point marathon.  We had to take school busses to the starting line.  No big deal, except that my bus was late.  As in we were all sitting on the bus begging the bus driver to leave and take us to the start.  It was raining and he was afraid to drive.

By the time we did get to the start, it was noon.  Roughly the time I'd like to be finishing up an 8am start marathon.  Swell.  I got to the starting line and realized that the race had started 10 minutes ago, so I was left all by my lonesome to run.  The rain was coming down in torrential sheets (I'm guessing similar to LA this year).  I was running with a legit stuffed backpack, because I didn't have time to check my bag.  All along the first few miles there were vendors selling items to the runnrs.  But not running related items,  persay.  Like craft fair-esque goods.  People were stopping their race to barter for goods!

When I made it to mile 3, I stopped to call Kyle and tell him what horse $#!T this race had turned in to, to realize that all the essential items I thought were packed in my backpack, were not actually there.   No GUs, no hand held water bottle.  Instead I had a never ending supply of random nicknacks and chotchkes.

So yeah, I'm already having nightmares about my marathon.... 10 months out.
[This post would've been way cooler with a J. Rose illustration of this insanity... :D]

Wednesday night I hit the treadmill for my 4th consecutive treadmill run (egads, I know!) for a tempo run.  FYI tempo runs still terrify me, however, they terrify me less since I've ran a 10k.  Since they're usually near my 10k pace, and typically not longer than 4-5 miles (as of right now anyway) I know they're doable.

I had 6 miles to do with 4 at a tempo pace of 8:01.

Helpful treadmill running tip #4 (sure, yeah, #4, we'll go with #4):
Watch the food channel.  Don't ask me why but time just FLYS when you have a good food network show on.  I'm thinking about food 99% of my runs normally anyway (really 99% of my life, who am I kidding?) so I see nothing wrong with some visual aids to assist in my food fantasies.

I did my warm up mile nice and slow and then I was off.  One thing I've learned about tempo runs is that starting mile #1 at pace causes me to lose my mind.  That immediate upswing of the HR causes me to think that I'm going to D-I-E before I make it to .75.  I've started taking my tempo runs just slightly slower than my goal pace for the first 1/2-1 mile.... only by a few seconds, and then making up the difference over the next few miles.  Helps TREMEDONSOULY.

The tempo miles actually felt really good.  During the 3rd one I almost convinced myself to stop for a breather and to take a drink of water (random fun fact:  I can read novels on the treadmill, but I can't drink water while running), until I looked at my heart rate monitor and realized my heart rate was where it typically is mid-long run (mid 150s).  the last tempo run I did I was consistently at 180 for the last mile and a half.  That helped to tell me to suck it up and keep going.

I finished 6 miles in 51:14 for an average pace of 8:34.
My tempo miles were 7:58, 8:02, 7:59, and 7:59, for an average pace of 7:59.  (I think I must've hit the autolap wrong on miles 1 & 2, because 1 was definitely slower.)

I left the gym on cloud 9!  For some reason I feel like treadmill runs are more bearable when you have a purpose to your run, specifically speedwork.  It's so hard for me to take on an easy "get in the miles" sort of run, but interval for my runs or a tempo run aren't the worst thing in the world.  Am I alone?

Finally get a break from the treadmill and the scary heat tonight. 85 degrees has never felt so cool.

P.S.  I totally stole the battered copy of Runner's World with Kara Goucher on the front.  Don't tell on me.

My Dream World

If you know me at all in real life, you may know that I’m a bit of a worrier. Little do you know I’m actually an INSANELY LARGE WORRIER. In college I had terrible insomnia all the time because I could never shut off my brain from worrying about something. It’s obnoxious. Oftentimes my dreams will reflect my brain’s erratic sense of reasoning. This weekend I had some great ones I deemed worthy of sharing. Enjoy.


In dream #1 I was on the University of Alabama’s campus for orientation. Not surprisingly the campus looked somewhat similar to my undergrad campus (I’ve never seen Alabama’s campus FYI). I had arrived at orientation crazy early and decided to do a little exploring. I made my way in to this gorgeous old library and was looking around for approximately 5 minutes when I heard over the loud speaker, “Will Jeri _______ please report to orientation, you are severely late!” I looked at my watch to realize that the couple of hours I had to spare had whittled away and I was now 8, (8!) minutes late. Naturally I panicked and started running towards the building orientation was held in. “I can’t believe she’s late for this. She was late yesterday too!” I hear the orientation organizer say under her breath, not realizing the speaker was still on. My heart dropped.

Out of nowhere, this building is now housed on top of an extremely large hill. Roughly a straight 90 degree angle. And covering the hill is parachute fabric. I try to sprint as hard as I can and resort to clawing my hands in on my knees to pull myself up the parachute covered grassy knoll. Upon my arrival there is a hot air balloon waiting to take me. There is one other student in there but the basket is so tight of a fit that we all have to ride up with one leg dangling out of the basket. Safety first, I guess.

Once I finally get to my class, I learn that Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) is in my cohort. And I think, sweet! I’m going to make him dress up for Halloween with me and we’re going to win sooooooooo many contests (I occasionally like to think I can pull off a good Hermione with my crazy wavy hair). And then I woke up.

Dream #2..... Uh.

Well stupid me started writing this post when I had some free time, and got distracted.  So much so that I didn't bother to leave myself any "clues" as to what dream #2 entails.  I asked Kyle because I know I told him, but apparently he doesn't keep a dream journal for me.  WTH?

Most recently I dreamt that I was living in a post apocalyptic world.  Somehow I had managed to survive (probably because of my extensive knowledge of zombie attack survival; don't ask how this relates to non-zombie attack end of the world circumstances.... ).  My biggest concern in this dream scenario was getting in my training runs.  Oy.  Running on the brain.  Always.

Tuesday night I hit up the treadmill yet again to get through some miles.  The heat index up in here has been around 115 which is enough to actually melt my flesh off, so yeah... TM, I'm all over you.  I always save up my magazines for treadmill workouts, because reading while running makes the miles fly by.  I grabbed a recent fitness mag, and then scored 3 dirty/juicy gossip mags at my gym.  Who needs some celebrity gossip, I haz it!

Prior to the run, Renee, Krista and I made a treadmill survival pact.  We all had to hit the TM because of the heat, and I didn't want to be the one to wuss out, and that really helped me get through the miles.  Also the fact that I surely would've died if I ran 6 miles outside. 

I did 6 miles 57 minutes-ish.  I think the pace was 9:36. I'm too lazy to look.

Good news:  The heat is going to break overnight!  I don't think the temps have dipped below 80 since last Thursday.  We'll have a low of 67!!!! tonight.  Yes I will be up early to do my recovery run. YAYZIES!

How To Do a Long Run on a Treadmill

.....watch hot chicks running around the whole run.

But let me back up.
Leading up to this weekend, I knew we were going to be hit by some heat. Being the good little runner that I am, I decided I would sacrifice my precious sleep on Saturday morning to provide me some reprieve from the heat and humidity. I set my alarm for 5am, hoping for a 5:30-5:45 start for my 11 miler. I rolled out of bed and jumped on the computer to check the hourly report for my run. It was already 80 degrees with 95% humidity. Back in to my bed I went.
Extreme heat can only be enjoyed in two ways:
a) In a bikini in water trying not to sweat to death
b) In a heavily air conditioned building, lounging, trying not to sweat to death.

I chose to spend Saturday doing a good mix of both. Megan and I hit the local waterpark to catch some rays and catch up on life. I haven’t seen her since Fargooooooooo and couldn’t believe that was already 2 months ago. Wth? After failing at the “trying not to sweat to death part” we decided to enjoy some A/C and food. Two of my favorite things.

Best part of the meal: Naturally both Megan and I opted to get some dessert to enjoy after our meal. I placed my order for the cheesecake chimichangas (yes just as delicious as they sound) and the waitress started walking away…… Oh no… we’re not sharing lady…. Then Megan proceeded to order the giant chocolate cake. When our desserts came out, we realized why she thought we were sharing. Haha oops.



Sunday I finally decided I could be bothered to get in my long run. I was a genius and timed my run to coincide with the Women’s World Cup championship match to keep me entertained. Damn ESPN failed to tell me that the match wasn’t actually going to start at 1pm, and I would have to run through 45 minutes of pre-match coverage, but whatevs.

Let me tell you, watching hot chicks run around on a soccer field for an hour or so will make your run flyyyyyyyyyy by. I have a minor major crush on Abby Wambach, and not just because she sweats on my level. Seriously. Hot chick. And I had my day made by Kim saying that I reminded her of Alex Morgan (or vice versa)…. Uh… I’ll take that comparison!

I had 11 miles on the schedule with a 3/1 approach. I decided to do the first 8 at my long run pace and then kick up the last 3 to a progression run from slow-end tempo pace to half marathon race pace. It felt…. Really good. Naturally it was much cooler in the gym then what I’ve been dealing with, so my heart rate was crazy low, and the run was pretty effortless.

I did 11 miles in 1:40:56 for a pace of 9:10. Last 3 miles averaged 8:19.

My average heart rate was 149. My heart rate for the 8 miles was actually a bit lower than this, as my last few miles skewed it higher.

To put this in to comparison, last weekend I did 10 miles in 1:41:18. AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE OF HEAT STROKE. Eff you summah.

But anyway, on to important things…….. Abby… call me!

Irish(wo)man Challenge

The VP of my company is an ex-runner, so whenever he's down on the minion's floor (aka my part of the agency's floor) he always stops by my office to see how my training is going and to see what's next.  Last Thursday morning he stopped by, and to my sheer terror when I looked at the calendar realized that I'm racing.... this weekend.  Holy guacamole.  After the VP left I went in to my ex-office hubby, Tom's office to freak out.

Me:  Holy crap.  I'm racing next weekend.  And not just racing.... 3 races!  AAAAAAAAH!
Tom:  What are you going to, a track meet?
Me:  I wish.....

I have a special affinity for St. Patrick's day.  Yes I'm Irish.  Yes I heart green.  Yes I heart beer.  What's not to love, no?  I've participated in the 5k twice (read 2009 here) and the 5 mile once (2010).  It's terribly organized, and every year I say I won't be back.  But here I am participating in the Irish(wo)man Challenge:  5 mile in the morning, 5k later morning, and one mile dash! (heh, did anyone else FREAK OUT in high school track when they listed the 800 m. as a dash.... ::shudders::) to start off the St. Patty's Day parade.

Since I'm in the process of reigning in marathon shape, my fast twitch muscles are probably non-existant.  Also the route has changed and it's hilly.  Ick.  I've decided my tentative game plan will be to do a tempo run for the 5 mile.  Race-ish the 5k.  And then run my little hiney off for the one mile.  I know I won't PR in the 5 mile (last year's short course) or 5k, and I haven't raced a one mile since 2008, so might as well focus my efforts on that, right?  Plus it's slightly downhill.  Yay!  Haha.  Plus I will be decked out in all my green glory.  EEEEEEEEEEE!

Monday night I hit the treadmill for an easy 7 miler.  I'm back to wearing my stupid knee strap after all this running on ice and snow.  Turns out I REALLY heel strike when I'm unsure of my footing.  Ugh.  After how many months of trying to break this habit.....  Anywho, the first mile felt like garbage.  And then it was a really really good run.  Other than the whole 4th mile where I thought my internal organs were going to erupt out of me (def TMI heh).  Turns out 8 handfulls of Starburst jelly beans are not the best pre-run snack.  Starburst jelly beans ≠ sport beans.  Who knew?!?!? :)

New shoes...new shoes.... Jerbear's got some new shoes...

Did you guys ever sing the new shoes song in grade school?  Apparently my classmates did in kindergarten (I didn't move to the town I graduated from until 4th grade) but we still would jokingly sing the song every.single.time someone was sporting some new kicks to school/gym/games/etc.

While I was out sick with the ninja death star flu, I had a package delivered to work.  Because I live in an apartment, I tend to have everything shipped there.  The receptionist who received the package is from a different part of my agency, so I don't work very close with her so she doesn't know me very well, yet when I walked in the office after being sick, she handed me the package and said, "I didn't bother calling you because I figured it was just more running shoes."  Hahah.  Awesome.  And she was right.

Not only that but they are the exact same running shoes I'm currently sporting.  After Vegas, I had a minor running shoe snafu.  I had a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 14s (I'm currently wearing the 13s) sent to me with a pretty swell discount (Thanks LC!) except that the shoes felt like bricks on my feet and were huge!  Of course we didn't have the shoes yet in our town, so I couldn't try another pair on to see if I just had a wonky pair or what.  Finally weeks later we got the shoes in and I realized that the shoe I had was normal and it just ran big.  And the next half size down was too small.  And both shoes felt like bricks.

No biggie, thinks my brain, I'll just find some of the 13s to tide me over.  Except..... THERE WEREN'T ANY!!!!  SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS!!!!!!!  Panic attack grand freak out would be an understatement.  First I was being picky about the color selection.  Purple and gold?  Eew.  I'd rather run on glass shards barefoot (sorry Vikings fans.... wait.... no I'm not! :p)  Blue?  Already had those.  Red... meh.  But then I quickly realized that there were zero size 8s left on the entire planet.

Luckily since I'm a super internet sleuth, I did manage to track some down from a company I had never heard of.  They were super cheap, and I got free shipping on them.  Score!  They still feel a bit rock like compared to my nice broken in pair, but they'll get the (long run) job done.  I feel a little sad retiring the blood soaked pair because they make me feel like a super b.a. so I'm still wearing them for muddy runs. :)

I was really trying to show off how much of the tread I had worn down over the last 400+ miles, but my photography skills leave something to be desired.  Ho hum.

__________
Saturday I had a 16 mile LR on deck for training for Fargooooooooo.  Based on the current weather 1 degree, wind chill 10-15 below, I opted for the treadmill.  Not to mention that our city has been a solid sheet of ice all week long and it's snowed Friday and Saturday to hide the slippery ice.  Sooooo not cool, weather.  ::shaking my fist in disgust and outrage::

Let's just say I had zero motivation to head out for my long run.  Someone woke me up by tearing my sleepmask off my face (someone else = Jerbear was furious about this FYI).  Then someone was kicked out and told to come back after I had garnered the rest of my beauty sleep.  So procrastination #1 of the day:  naptime immediately following wake up time.  From there I ate 1/3 of a bag of soft batch cookies, watched Real Housewives of Miami, Top Chef, gave myself a manicure, and created a new long run playlist.  Finally I had nothing left to procrastinate with other than cleaning (and you know that isn't happening) so I got crack-a-lackin' for my run.  "Oooh!  I want to measure how long my hair is!!"  Guess I wasn't out of things to procrastinate with.... (16 inches in case you were curious.)

Don't act like you're not impressed.  That's WITH my haircut from last week.  P.S.  Check out my manicure.  :)

Upon arriving to the gym, I was stoked to see that Tom was knocking down some mileage on the treadmill.  Yayzies!  Tom is one of my running buddies (we've only really ran together once on accident, but he runs, and he's my buddy soooooo running buddy... yup).  I plopped down on the treadmill with him and chatted away 3 miles.  As soon as he was done (after knocking out a monster 14 miles on the treadmill, heck ya!) I realized my stomach was feeling.... wonky.  I preceded to stop the run about every mile from there.  I drank some water, thinking that might help (I was sweating buckets).  I ate some sharkies thinking that might help.  I decreased the incline on the treadmill.  Finally after 6 miles I called it good.

I got in my car and I was pretty defeated.  There's a sense of pride in finishing a super long long run, and I was bummed that I had given up on it (although not without multiple attempts).  When I glanced down at my dashboard at a stop sign I perked up a bit.  This is super cheesy, but it reminded me that a botched long run is not the end of the world and to focus on the big picture:  26.2.  [cue cheesy inspirational music a la Full House]

Check out the Studly Runner Marcia's Zensah bra giveaway here!

Nook v. Kindle + Mankato Pacing Pictures

Some extreme weather the last few days has me at the gym logging my miles on the treadmill.  I can do cold (mid-30s) I can do wind (40+ mph), I can not do cold+wind.  Those of you that did....well....I bow down to you with my un-wind burnt face.

Tuesday I had an easy 6 miler today.  And I actually enjoyed running on the treadmill.  It was the darndest thing really.  I read a few trashy gossip magazines while flying through some miles, and before I knew it, I was done.  And drenched in sweat.  But that's beside the point. 

I did 6 miles in 56:50 for a pace of 9:29.

Wednesday I had originally had a 10 mile run w/8 miles at tempo pace, but knew I'd want to catapult myself through the window in front of the treadmill if I had to do it indoors, so I did my 7 miler from Thursday instead.  Again, I was really digging on the run.  Until mile 5.  Then I was o-v-e-r it.  And I had this really weird pain in my foot that I think resulted from tying my shoe tight, but also teetered on the possibility of being a seriously painful muscle/bone/something or other.  I'm going to go with bruise for now.  The good thing (or not so good thing, I guess technically) is that I bruise like a peach, so I'll know for sure before too long.

I did 7 miles in 1:06:00 for a pace of 9:26.

All of this treadmill running (and I know it's only the tip of the iceburg) has me thinking that I really want a Nook or a Kindle.  Now hear me out on this, I am a die hard book lover.  My greatest dream for my future home is to have an actual library inside of it (I plan on marrying a prince apparently).  We're talking floor to ceiling bookshelves with that sliding ladder that I will siiiiiiiiiiiiiing on whilst floating across my library gazing upon all my books.  But for the sake of running, it would be super/fabulous/amazingly awesome to have an electronic reading device so I can READ BOOKS WHILE I RUN.  I love to read.  I love to run.  To read while running might actually cause my world to spin out of orbit (don't worry this shouldn't effect you.  you may think that we're living in the same world, but I can assure you that I am very much so in my own), and that's a good thing.  I saw a gentleman walking on the treadmill last winter with the font at 48 and realized that I too could devour some books if I could crank up the font a bit (and not have to worry about holding a book and physically turning some pages.

Do any of you do this?  I am seriously thinking it may be my Christmas/Birthday present to myself.

And now some super fabulous photos from the Mankato race.

I'd like to say we're talking race/pace strategy, but more than likely we're discussing our dance moves.  Raaaaaaaaaage.

This is my stoic runner look.

Was unaware that there was an official photog ahead as I was fishing a GU out of my sports bra/GU holding receptacle.

Weeeeee........... downhill.

Excellent bug catching opportunities.

Being sweaty is neat-o.

Jeri the MASTER

I knew early in the week, that today's run was going to get stuck on the treadmill.  Thunderstorms etc. are just not ideal for Jerbear to run in.  When I checked the weather report this afternoon to find 30-45 mph winds, that further solidified the deal.  Gym bound am I.  I had 6 easy miles to take care of and thought I would get some good magazine reading in.

Unfortunately, the magazines were the type with super stiff bindings to them that would not lay flat on the monitor for my reading pleasure.  That coupled with the fact that I was dying of heat stroke (aka sweating like a banchee) made for a not so fun run.  It could've been much much worse, but give me the great outdoors (in great weather conditions, mind you) over the treadmill any day (except when the conditions are not great, as previously mentioned :p).  To keep myself from going completely looney tunes, I bumped up the speed on the final mile to help the time pass.  Seriously, it is such a good thing that I'm not trying to be that cutesy girl picking up guys at the gym, because I looked rugged after a run.  No one should sweat that much during an "easy paced" run.  Also, can we discuss how super painful sweat in the eyeball is?  Um...yeouch.

I did 6 miles in 56:51 for a pace of 9:29.  Last mile clocked in at 9:01.

So in somewhat exciting news, I'm contemplating going back to school to get my masters.  Whoot whoot!  For as long as I can remember I've been obsessed with being a librarian.  Growing up, going to the library was the equivalent of getting a "treat" for being good.  I love books.  I love children's books.  To this day if I'm in a crummy mood, I know that a visit to the library will cheer me right up.  I've always had it in the back of my mind that I would work after college at paying down my undergrad debt (oy!) and shoot for 30 to go back to school.

Now I'm concerned that I have no idea where I'll be at in my life at 30, and why wait?  Why not be finishing up at 30?  Right now I have the most free time that I will ever have.  Potentially down the road, I could have a sexy hubby and adorable little bambinos (b/c cute me + sexy hubby would = adorable bambinos, obv).  Other than running and working, I don't have a whole lot on my plate.  Thus the researching started.

Originally I was convinced I should move to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and get my Masters in Library Science at St. Kate's.  The fact that I kept putting that idea to the back of my mind had me thinking that maybe wasn't the best solution.  Rent is sooooooo much more expensive there, and I don't want the added stress of finding a new job, getting a new job, training at a new job, moving, blaaaaaaaaaaah on top of a heavy school load.  Then I started looking into online programs that are part-time, and I think we have a winner.  I have a massive spreadsheet with a ridiculous amount of details that I've filled out about every school in the US that has the program online (yes, seriously), and have the search narrowed down to about 5-6 schools.

The schools that I have narrowed it down to are as follows: University of Alabama, Wayne State University (Detroit, MI), North Carolina Central University, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, University of South Carolina, and University of Washington.  Any insight on any of these programs (hear that lib lads and ladisses?) is greatly appreciated.  Also, any insight on online programs in general would be great.  I've never taken online classes, so I'm a bit nervous.  Advice would be appreciated.

So now it's time for me to put my nose in the books to study up for the GRE and spend the next 6 months narrowing down my choices for applications due in the spring for Fall 2011.  Um...heck yes?  And just like that my dream is closer and closer. :)

Check out Beth's sweet giveaway at Shut up and Run.

Gym? Treadmill? What are those?

As I was getting ready to leave work on Tuesday, I checked the weather report. 85, 17 mph winds, 90% humidity. Thanks but no thanks. My runs are supposed to be easy peasy this week not sweat induced and hellacious.

I texted my running buddy, who's also conveniently the manager at my gym.

Me: You working today?

Running Buddy: Frickin' right I am!

Me: Sweet. I might use my membership. Whoa!

Running Buddy: No sh!t? You need directions to get here?

Funny funny guy. Apparently SOMEONE is monitoring my gym usage. To be honest, it's been pretty much nil the past few months. Who wants to run when it's amazing outdoors? And lifting? Eew. What's that? jk. I really need to start lifting. I think yoga is sufficing for now.

ANYWAY, I headed to the gym. I swear it wasn't much cooler than it was outside. After staring at the monitor for the first .4 miles I finally hopped off to grab some magazines to cover it up. Thought it might be a looooooong 4 miles otherwise. I even resorted to reading some of the RW that was blocking the monitor. GENIUS IDEA ALERT! They should make a treadmill-friendly issue for all gyms that subscribe. One that's as big as the ESPN mag is with ginormo font that you can read while running. Holy crap, I'm smart. End Rant. Otherwise running buddy provided some good distraction while we discussed our plan/neurosis about the race on Sunday, but then he had to go back to work--lame!

Talk about boring. Wow. After 2 1/2 miles of slogging along at a 9:22 pace, I finally had to bump up the speed. I was over this lame-o run (and was currently covering the treadmill, and possibly the two individuals on either side of me in run-off sweat). When I was done and stretching, I re-remembered why I only wear black shorts to the gym. "Hi everyone, no I didn't pee my pants. I just sweat that much. What? That's just as gross...erm...sorry."

I did 4 miles in 37:00 for a pace of 9:15. No idea what my splits were because a Runners World and Town & Country mags were covering up the monitor. :)

Tonight I did the most amazing yoga series from the Yoga Today podcast: Balancing and Backbends. Kicked my butt but in SUCH a good way.

Ok, on to the fun stuff. I'm currently creating the ever-important race playlist for Sunday, YES SUNDAY, Haven't you been paying attention!?!?!? jk. I would love, LOVE, l-o-v-e to hear what songs you're currently getting pumped up to. You know, that song that comes on that you immediately crank up and can't help but quicken your leg turnover. In turn I will share a few of my current jamz with you kids. See how that works. I call this a musical relationship. :)

Jay-Z--Run This Town (I've contemplated just listening to this on repeat for the whole race. Gotta love the running references)

The Veronicas--I Can't Stay Away (current love affair with the Veronicas)

Yellowcard--Fighting

Boys Like Girls--Punch Drunk Love

Black Eyed Peas--I Gotta Feeling

Ida Maria--I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

Marz--Do What You Do

Pink--Ave Mary A

Kelly Clarkson--Long Shot

The All-American Rejects--I Wanna

Buckcherry--Everything

Jimmy Eat World--Feeling Lucky

The Veronicas--Untouched

Clearly I need some more sweet music. Think booty shaking, ridiculous pop, whatever is going to get me across the finish line the fastest. :)

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like....Spring??

There have been blizzard warnings across South Dakota for the past week. Fortunately they've all missed my area, except for this weekend. I thought I would snap some pictures as the snow was falling. Since I'm a horrible photographer, you're unable to see the ginormous snowflakes, but that's what I was trying to capture.

Here are some post-snow fall, pre-meltiness. It's the perfect snow to make snowpeople in, so maybe I'll have to convince Taylor to make some with me when he gets bank from the gym.

Because I'm a huge wuss, I went to the gym to get my run in. I did 4 somewhat speedy miles at 34:47. It was an amazing run, and I felt like I could run forever at that pace, which was nice. Afterwards, I biked for 6 miles to keep my legs loose.

Today I was supposed to get in 6, but I've been hacking up a lung since I got out of bed, so I'll be moving my run to tomorrow.

When I moved into my new apartment, my mom gave me my old fish bowl from back home. Yesterday I decided I needed a pet. After deciding between 3 different fish for at least 20 minutes, I decided on this lil guy. I named him Iliza Fishinger, after my favorite comedian. I'm super clever, I know. You don't have to tell me that.

Here he is posing for a picture.