Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow....

Whoa!  The feedback I had on my hair post was intense!  I was partially posting as a joke, but you guys took your jobs very seriously.  Some of my favorite comments:

Seriously you guys had me snort-laughing in an insane way.  I think I'll bookmark the comments from this page for a rainy day when I hate life.  TOO FUNNY!

I should clarify, I regularly refer to my hair as crazy hippie hair, because it is, in fact, crazy hippie hair.  I love that it's long, I love that it's unruly, but don't expect me to bathe in patchouli any time soon.  I've had long hair forever.  I cut it off my junior year of high school, wanting it to look like this.  It didn't.  And it made me look even younger (if at all possible).

Oh hai! Told you I'm an ageless wonder... Real cool to still look like you're 16 at 27...

(Source)

I mean, who didn't want to look like britney!??!?

Then when I was 22 I decided I wanted to cut my hair again.  Because history has taught me nothing, clearly.  I had wanted to donate my hair, and figured that even if the hair looked terrible it'd be ok because at least somone benefitted from the hack job.  Well the stylist talked me out of donating it, don't ask me why.  And shocker, she did a terrible job and I hated it.  Plus I was a bit on the chubby side, so the haircut only accentuated that fact.  :/

Since this terrible haircut I've found a stylist that I love.  Every time I come in to see her she tells me my hair is too long, but that it's still healthy enough to keep it this long.  Really I think she's just afraid I'll cry a thousand tears if I ever let her cut it off.  But after your guys' comments, I'm contemplating the whole donation thing again.  I'm not sure if I can because I've put blonde highlights in my hair, so I'm not sure if she had bleached it to do so, but we may have a short haired jerbear this spring.  :/  My inspiration (and what I had originally wanted with the terrible cut of age 22:

(Source)

I think May would be the perfect time of year to take off the horse mane.  I'd probably drop a few pounds in the process and snag that marathon PR.  Thoughts??  :)

_________________

Thursday night I had my 24509384059834095 sucktastic run through the snow and ice.  Excuse me for a moment while I turn all "Angry Runner" on you.  This winter... has sucked.  I ran outside way more than I have in the past, trying to be less of a sissy lala throwing down miles on the treadmill.  However, in the past two weeks, I have twisted a knee, rolled an ankle twice (same one, previously broken in basketball back in the day), tweaked both knees, and have intense shin splints.  Running outside... is NOT making me a better runner.  If anything it's effing up my joints and potentially my muscles from modifying my stride so much to keep from FACE-PLANTING THE ENTIRE RUN.  

I did 8 miles tonight, and at the 4 mile turn around, I almost let myself walk the 4 remaining miles home. Because, to be honest, my walking pace isn't that much slower than what I am capable of running in these crap.  And the risk of seriously injurying myself while walking has gotta be dramatically lower, right?

And the worst part of it all, is I was talking about next weeks weather with Kyle today, and it's supposed to be in the 50s next week.  Dudes... the 50s!!  AKA the best running weather EVER (=shorts and long sleeve.... love.)  He made the comment that everything will melt away by then so my pretty trails will be clear.  And I was excited, for all of 2 seconds.  Until I realized that with EVERYTHING melting, that just meant that the river that is... oh.... right next to the trails, is going to flood my g.d. running path!!!!!!  Which means that I'll be incapable of running on it YET AGAIN.  

BRB off mapping out long run routes around town, since my beloved trail will be out of commish until at least mid-June.  Oh, and they'll probably start up with the construction then.  GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

OH!  And I'm 98% certain that the part of the trail that the 5 mile and 5k of this weekend's race is on will be ice and frozen snow packed down.  Should make for a delightful racing conditions.  Ever wore yaktrax in a race?  I'm thinking I might have to.  Or do that whole face plant thing again.  YAYZIES.

I took pics of the crap I've been stuck running on, but I'm so ranty now that I don't even want to get my camera to upload them.  Perhaps another day. 

End rant. 

:)

Weekly Wishlist + I'm Over Winter

It's high time for everyone's favorite (ok just mine) weekly installment of all the stuff I would buy if I had lots and lots of monies!

Buy it here.

I would love it even if the cupcake: tea ratio was the reversed.  Just sayin'.

ohhhhhh.  emmmmmmm. geeeeeeeeeee.

Want the pug.

Want the Shamrock hat.

And go.

I emailed KK this pic.  The next day before work he called me and said, "No sending me any cute pug pictures today!"  To which I replied, "That's a promise that I'm just not willing to make...."

Buy it here.

Buy it here.

Gotta love a good St. Patty's day shirt.  True story:  I made one in college that said "My Lucky Charms" across the chest.  Funny since I was a very flat chested chica (well still am, who am I kidding??)

I heart lockets.  And this one is just too unique and fab to pass up.
Buy It Here.

Buy it Here.
Told you I loved a good bookend.  How fun are these???

Buy them here.

I wear heels approx. 2x per year because they hurt my shinny ninnies oh so much.  So clearly I adore some cutesy flats.  Plus they sparkle.  Like my soooooooooul. (previous sentence said in Angry Runner's hipster voice... FYI)

Wednesday night I had 9 miles to run, 7 were maybe possibly supposed to be at marathon pace, but I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do that or just run 9 miles, as I need to save the leggies a bit for Saturday.  I headed outside and made it approx. .8 miles before I realized that I was chilled to the bone, and the wind was at my back.  Uh.... that's not good.  So I hightailed it home, got in my car and headed to the gym.

At the gym I finished up my 2 mile warm up, stretched, and took off at marathon pace.  Apparently my legs decided the workout for me, because marathon pace FELT like 100 m. dash pace.  Awesome sauce.  Oh well, they'll get enough speed work this weekend.  I read some trashy gossip mags and finished up the 9 miles.  I then proceeded to eat every dairy product in my household for dinner.  mmmmmmmmm.  I heart dairy.

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?!?!? :)

18 Miles.... You Win Again.

For both rounds of marathon training I have struggled with my 18 milers.  20 miles?  Great.  22 miles?  Awesome.  18 miles?  100% shit show.  When I woke up Saturday morning, I had wanted to wait until the wind chill was in the double digits.  Finally at 2pm, I said screw it and headed out in the balmy 9 degree temps.  Luckily for me, there was a sheet of ice covering my entire running path.  Yay!

After mile 1, I resigned to the fact that this would be a slow run, and opted to not pay attention to my garmin for much of the run.  I was wearing my yaktrax, which helped with my footing, but still gave the impression of two steps forward, and one step back while running.  Gah.  Through the first GU break (4.5 miles) I was having a jolly good time.  I had planned to run a nine mile out and back to get my mileage for the day.  Unfortunately at 7.5 miles I realized that the rest of the trail was under construction, so I'd have to tack miles on to the end of the run.

Since I'm 100% loco runner, this messed with my brain big time.  When you run the same trail over and over and over and over again, you get used to knowing exactly how far you are from being done.  Having to add 3 miles to this automatic total suckkkkkked.  At mile 9 I went to take GU #2 only to realize that some dumb dumb hadn't zipper her coat pocket and had lost her favorite blueberry pomegranite roctane.  I continued to pout and scour the trail for it's shiny blue wrapper.

I was approximately 100 yards from my initial GU point when I saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye.  Praise Jesus alleluiah!  I am saved!!  Seriously... I don't know if I've ever been this happy on a run.  I kept on with my run going an alternate route to tack on the remaining 3 miles, only to realize the trail was closed THAT WAY TOO.  alskfjalsjdflajslkfjlkajsdlfkjlkasdjflasdflakjdsflkajsdf

Fine.  I'll do a mile lap around my apartment.  Whatever.  Just get this run d-o-n-e!  I ditched my yaktrax on the apartment lawn (ie:  snow mountain) and continued around the block.  Foreshadowing:  big mistake.  At approximately 17.3 miles, I ran by a pet shop with some huge dog bellowing out a barking rant.  When I moved to get off of the sheet of ice that sprung up on me and on to a mound of snow, I completely lost my footing and flew through the air landing really hard on my elbow and right hip.  Immediately upon hitting the ground I stopped my garmin (tell me that isn't a reflexive action....) and cursed at the dog to shut the eff up.  Oops.

I hobbled the remaining .7 miles home, pouting.  When I got home I felt sicky sick.  Oftentimes after a long run I feel really pukey and this time was bad.  I curled up in the fetal position on the couch in my still sweaty and stinky clothes and called KK.  And of course he didn't answer so I pouted 100x harder.  Moments away from crying he called me back and said he had a gift for me.   Well technically 2 gifts.  Well actually thousands of gifts...... and I perked right up.  Someone had replenished my starburst jelly bean stash!!!!!!!!!!  :) :) :)  Eventually the promise of candy was enough for me to pry myself off the couch and in to the shower.

Oh and for the record, I can run at least 21 miles in the time it took me to run 18.  If it's not spring by the time my 20 miler rolls around, I'm going to kill winter.  Seriously.  I hope they let me blog from prison.

And in lighter news, check out my haul from the library this weekend.  Yes I am a homebody, why do you ask?  ;)  Quick poll:  How many of these will get read/watched before their impending deadline?  Answer to come.

Super Important Question

We're all friends here right?  So... like... if I wanted your honest opinion about something you'd give it to me straight up, right???

How close am I to having creepy religious fenetic hair????

I'm legitimately concerned.

I kept getting hair stuck in my arm pit at dinner the other night.

And I just got a hair cut 2 weeks ago..... :/

Please advise.

(My cardigan is super long, so where my fingers are is where my pants sit.  Which means my hair is approx. 4 inches from being in my butt crack when I shower....oy.  Wow....let that visual marinate, won't you?!?!?  Barf.)

When did I go past crazy hippie hair????  HALP!

Weekly Wish List + Hill Repeats = EEP!

Time for this week's installment of my Wish List.  As predicted, knowing I can't spend any money has wanted me to spend sooooo much money.  Luckily a lot of this stuff I found on modcloth for the mondo sale they're having, and the items were already sold out.  Phew!

Buy it here.

I've held out on buying a pair of boots.  These ones would've almost made the cut. Just not a fan of the heel.  Adore the excessive buckles though.

Buy it here.

Future librarian Jeri has an un-healthy obsession with cardigans.

Buy it here.

I'm slightly obsessed with this coat.  And then I realized there are approximately 12 days of the year that aren't too hot or too cold to don it, and I talked myself out of it.  Phew.

Buy it Here

I love books.  I love bookshelves.  I love bookends.  The end.  Bahahahah punny, get it?

Buy it here.

I don't even like gold jewelery, but this reminds me of the children's book that I have brewing in the back of my head that I need.to.write at some point.

Buy it here.

If I wasn't on a self-imposed spending freeze, I'd totes get this.

Buy it here.

It's sad that I still can't afford anthropologie stuff even when it's on sale.  No surprise I love this green dress.  Do you know how hard it is to find that perfect color of green in a dress?  Because I do....

Alright, I hope you guys don't hate this weekly segment, because I'm kind of loving doing it.  Usually when I'm feeling the itch to shop I'll go to a bunch of my favorite online stores and put a bunch of stuff in my shopping cart and not buy any of them, and that is sufficient for me.  But this?  This is oh so much better to get to share everything.  Plus if you hate it you can just scroll through it.  Plus if you love me, you can buy them all for me since I'm on a spending freeze.  YAYZIES!!!!

Wednesday night I had my first real hill workout in... technically ever.  While training for the Wild West Relay, I made an effort to run hillier routes, but never have I done hill repeats.  Ohhhhhh crap.  I take that back.  In high school we had this TERRIBLE workout we had to do once per track season.  First we'd have to run 2 miles (or so) out to this GIANT HILL (clay hill; actually made out of clay and what our county is named for, dontcha know?!?) (correction:  the distance kids would have to run all the way out there, us lazy sprinters would have to run half the way and then we got to hop in the truck of the hurdle coach and ride the rest of the way)... uh... yeah.

Anyway.  Once we got there we had to do all these hill repeats up this lower incline hill.  And then we thought we'd be done.  But nooooo then we'd have to do repeats up this crazy steep hill, which again I should mention, is made out of CLAY.  In case you had forgotten.  And THEN when we thought we were done we had to run back in to town.  Or at least we had to run halfway back in to town because we're lazy sprinters.  :)

Ok, so Wednesday night I took on my first hill repeats since high school (phew glad we got that cleared up).  According to good ol' Hal, I was to find a hill approximately a quarter of a mile long to fly up 5 times.  Well Hal, it's pretty dog gone cold here, and since things had thawed slightly they're now a solid sheet of ice.  I can only imagine the comedy that would ensue if I tried to run up a steep ass hill covered in solid ice.  (This would be an excellent place to include one of my delightful drawings.  Too bad I'm lazy and tired.  Also, I'm out of Starburst jelly beans and it's causing me major anxiety.)

So I went to the gym.  After consulting twitter, most of my super smart runner friends suggested an incline of 4.  So I went with that.  I did a 2 mile warm up then 5 x 400 m (with 400 jogs in between) and a half mile cool down.  I wasn't sure how fast to do the repeats, so I did 8:00 pace for the first 3 and 7:52 pace for the last 2.  I definitely could've done them faster (for the record I was still sucking wind and wanting my life to be over at the end of each one), but I'm already very very scared as to the pain my legs will be in tomorrow since they haven't done a workout like this for 9 years.... eep!  I can always speed up on the next ones! :)

No Spend March

When I was a little tyke I was very very very good with my money.  I saved every penny that I ever earned or was given for Christmas/Birthday (=birthmas).  Upon opening my checking account before going off to college, I was surprised to find that I had $70 in a savings account.  Apparently I had told my mother to "put this in the bank for safe keeping" as a spritely 8 year old. 

It should come as no surprise then, that I am a credit counselor for a non-profit agency.  Luckily for me I am very good at budgeting very little money, because unluckily for me, I make very little money.  :)  While I definitely make enough money to get by, I tend to splurge when it comes to anything running related, because that's what brings me joy.  I have a separate savings account for races/travel for races/etc. (and my profits from my scarves go directly in to this account).  Lately I've been noticing this account dribble lower and lower.  And my spending habits have been a lot less on point (uh... hello there online shopping..... let's make googly eyes at each other in the quad....).

Enter: No Spend March!  For the month of March, I will be putting a spending freeze on myself.  Eep!  Outside of my normal monthly financial obligations (ie:  car payment, rent, electricity... feel free to insert Glee's version of Bills Bills Bills here...) I hope to spend zero monies!  Full disclosure:  Back in January, I registered for all races through May, so this is usually something I budget for and would normally have come out this month, but I planned ahead.  Maybe it's cheating.... but whatever.  There are definitely some things I want-want-want right now:  a desk, for example.  But there are zero things I need, so I'll be sticking to that.

As far as food and beverage items, I will be curbing my starbucks consumption for the month (I typically limit myself to one latte a week) and for food I tend to go 100% nut-so during marathon training because as Kyle would say in a growly voice when I get crabby, "Jerbear is hungry!!!"  I will allow myself to go out for food once per week, but will really try to do it on the cheap/utilize gift cards (except for my 20 miler day, because I'm already craving Redrossa margherita pizza and cheese bread.... mmmmmmmmmm!).

Anything extra I save for the month will go directly to my running savings account to help fatten 'er up again.  Who's with me?  (And by who's with me... I actually mean.... who's taking me out for foooooooooood this month?!?!?  jk.....)

My Weekly Wish List/Weekly I Want posts may be out of control this month.  You've been warned!!

Tuesday before work I did 3.5 easy miles, which were not so easy due to the slick snow and ice.  I forget that when you run in the morning, everything that was nice and thawed from the warmer day before is now iced over again due to the freezing night time temps.  Drat.  I did 4 x 100 m striders during the last mile ~mile pace per speedy Jason's suggestion.  I kind of love striders.... definitely make an easy (=boring) run more enjoyable.