College Flashback (a boring one)

Two weeks out...time to taper.

For tomorrow, I know I'll be running between 5-10 miles. I'd really like to run 12, but that all depends on when I wake up. Lazy, lazy.

***

In other news, I got my first Admitted Student newsletter from my law school and my first reaction to reading it was "Law school is hard already."

Apparently, some students have been hounding the dean for reading lists for the semester so they can get a "head start" on driving me crazy the required reading.

And you know all those gunners will totally be in my section.

I was an English major, so I have a tiny bit of experience with these types. A college literature classes is a true breeding ground for insufferable know-it-alls...


Now I'm having PTSD style flashbacks...the never-ending hand raising...the arguing with the professor...the frequent and incorrect use of the word "dichotomy"...the stench of pretension...




But thanks to those students (and years of practice) I can pull off a really impressive eye-roll. It can give you whiplash.

I remember sitting in my Gothic Literature class the day after the presidential election (in 2004) and listening to my professor and his minions (aka my peers) whine whine WHINE about the outcome of the election and I completely SNAPPED.

I wasn't making a political statement, I just didn't want to talk about the election in my literature class.

I don't remember my exact tirade, but I basically said that this "debate" was self-serving, inappropriate and idiotic. It was encroaching on class time. It had nothing to do with Poe or Billy Budd the Sailor. And it was making the rest of the class uncomfortable.

One girl spun around in her seat to make her appeal, saying "I just have a problem with--"

And I replied "I just have a problem with you cutting me off."

That pretty much squashed it. The professor apologized and class resumed.

Jokes on me though; he gave me B in the class.

Oh well, it was TOTALLY worth it.

Tiny Arms and the Return of Lacrosse

My upper-body strength is hilarious.

I can do four push-ups. Period. In any amount of time...45 seconds, one hour...it doesn't matter. And Hubs says I'm probably not even doing them correctly.

Thanks to years of lacrosse, I have tiny forearms and awkwardly large biceps/triceps.

Like this:

Or this:

So last week I implemented an upper-body strength training routine into my cross- training days at the gym.

I focused on exercises that will increase my push-up total:
- Tricep Press: 3 sets of 10
- Shoulder Press: 5 sets of 10
- Fly: 3 sets of 10
- Back extensions: 5 sets of 10

I know that Hubs is probably shaking his head as he reads this, because I probably did too many or too little sets with too much or too little weight...

But I didn't hurt myself or get my hair caught in a machine, so I'm marking down this workout in the WIN column.

SPEAKING of lacrosse, I signed up for summer league! I'm pretty pumped, except I can't find my cleats and they probably smell like 4 years of use + 2 years of stagnancy if they ever turn up. Maybe they are better off lost.

Also my first game is two days after my marathon.

Yup. Take that, body!

AM Runner Envy

Morning Routine:

- Wake up after Hubs
- Threaten to call in sick to work

- Shuffle into bathroom to take shower, get dressed

- Gracie Lou (aka The Destroyer) wakes up, comes into our room

- Hubs leaves for work

- Gracie steals socks from clean laundry, curls up in ball on bed to nap

- Breakfast

- Brush teeth; dog senses a threat to her comfort

- Chase Gracie around the bed as she tries to avoid going to her crate
- Dog escapes; curls up in ball on couch to nap

- Catch dog, who goes dead-weight as I try to carry her

- Crate Dog

- Go to work

"Go away, BB...I iz jus fine rite herr."

I read about people getting 4-5 miles runs in before they go to work and I really am jealous of those AM runners.

Not that my routine is especially tense or busy (it's not at all), I just can't make myself workout in the morning.

Ugh...but I really should. It's getting too hot to run in the afternoon.

4 miles yesterday at the park seriously felt like 20. I was tired the entire time.

And I would give my right leg to make my left leg stop hurting. Think about THAT for a while.

Is this training burn-out normal?

When am I supposed to get excited again?

Holiday Weekend Notes

- Rule of thumb: if you want to complete a double-digit mileage run, you must start your run before the clock gets into the double digits...

- Terminator: Salvation is pretty good and VERY loud

- Star Trek is EPIC...even for non-trekkies

- Hubs and I still have 43 hot-dogs left over in the fridge

Clean up in aisle 5

***Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers: Will the owner of the Swamp Beast wandering through the snack aisle please report to the customer service counter.***

My dinky 4 mile run yesterday was disgustingly hot...it was 80 degrees but the pavement felt SO MUCH HOTTER after baking in the sun all day.

I was a mess. Afterwards I changed out of my sweaty clothes and went to Wal-Mart to run some last minute errands.

I guess I hadn't sufficiently "cooled down" because I ended up sweating through my fresh t-shirt at Wal-Mart.

And I never thought I could embarrass myself at Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. I plan on eating my weight in hotdogs and maybe getting a double-digit run in tomorrow morning.

Have a good one!

Marathon Fuzzies

Just when a tinge of burnout begins to set in, something happens to get my excited about running again.

In this case it was an email from the Hatfield/McCoy race director.

Nothing too exciting...he was just introducing participants to the new "Rooms for Runners" program. Basically, the Reunion Festival and Marathon draw HUGE numbers (compared to the size of the surrounding towns) and hotel rooms become scarce for the runners.

This year the locals are opening their doors and allowing runners to essentially bunk-up for the race.

Now I knew that this race had a reputation of having wonderful community support, but this...this is just awesome.

This is exactly what I want for my first marathon: warm and fuzzies.

Just check out some of the reviews on Marathon Guide here. It's a love-fest!

It's also good to know that if I can't get an extended check-out at the hotel, someone may let me use their bathroom to shower.

Gotta love small towns.

This is the Hatfield Posse, fixin to stir up some trouble.

Love/Hate: Technology

aaaaaaaaa

Some e cards

Love: I work at a software development firm, so naturally I love technology. I love that I can blog. I love that I can download music on my computer. I love that I can whip out my Blackberry and google the name of the guy from "No Country for Old Men" (Javier Bardem) on a whim.


Hate: I work at a software development firm...in a non-technical capacity. So when technology goes wrong, I'm dead in the water. Take yesterday for example: it was supposed to be my peaceful work from home day...it quickly turned into telecommuting from HELL. I would lose my connection every three minutes or so, forcing me to sign BACK on over and over and over and over...

***

It took me two whole days to feel "recovered" from the 20 miler on Sunday. Monday night was dedicated to stretching only, and I think that helped quite a bit.

Leading up to my last big run I did more cross-training than actual running during the week. So it's back in the saddle for mid-week runs, I suppose...

In other news...

Some of you may know that Hubs and I are mega-Kentucky Basketball fans. Yes, the crazy ones. It's our alma mater, but during our tenure in Lexington the program suffered its biggest slump in recent memory.

But now...NOW MY FRIENDS we have the #1 recruiting class in the nation and then of course there's all the buzz about this.

It's a good day to be a Wildcat.