End of a Long Week

It was only 4 days, but I had a hard week. So maybe I had one too many alcoholic beverages and stayed up too late gettin caught up on my Real Housewives. Hence Saturday was a sleep-in day, not a running day. Except no one told Eddie. He was up at 7, dragging himself around the bed, laying on top of my face and generally just being a butthead. He's so darn cute that it is hard to get mad. 

He was more than happy to sleep in on Sunday when I had to get up and go for a run. I think today may have been the last mild day before the summer heat begins. So I tried to enjoy being outside as much as possible. Surprisingly there were only a few people out doing the same. Though I was stopped by a young girl who was out with her dad and brother. She wanted to show me what she had caught. She had a snake and a large strange lizard in Tupperware. I'm sure their mother was so pleased when they arrived home with those treasures!

Miles logged: 10.0

Music Monday: Kill Your Heroes

Artist: AWOLNATION
Song: Kill Your Heroes
Favorite Line: "One thing, before I graduate, Never let your fear decide your fate"

Fast forward to about the 1 minute mark...

Miles logged: 0.0

Running in Pittsburgh

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my affinity for early morning runs in cities that I travel to. They are a great way to get to know a place and I usually happen upon some gem. Today was no exception.

I started out in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Highland Park with no idea where I was and very little idea of where I was going. I made it to Highland Park park, which had a lovely fountain and beautiful flowers, but the running lane was slanted for road drainage. So after one loop, I was ready for something different. 

Since Pittsburgh holds the world record for the city with the most bridges(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridges_of_Pittsburgh), I wanted to run across one of them. So I ran in the direction that I though would get me to a river, that direction was downhill. If you've never been to Pittsburgh, it is very hilly, which is great for training, but something I'm completely unprepared for since Dallas is very flat. I enjoyed my very long downhill run of at least a mile, and kept trying to forget the fact that I was going to have to run back up it... But look what I found at the bottom!

A river! I had no idea which one, since 3 rivers cross in this city, but I was so pleased with my find! Next step in my journey, run across a bridge. I had to run for several miles down a fairly busy road. Normally this wouldn't matter much, but I had to run most of the way in the street. The suburbs of Pittsburgh have really crummy sidewalks. They were uneven, littered with debris and broken glass and overgrown with weeds. Definitely not barefoot friendly. But it was all worth it when I found the Robert D. Fleming bridge. I ran across it and discovered that I also was able to see the Pittsburgh skyline from the other shore! What a gem!

Miles logged: 7.75

Pilgrimage to Aqua Sox Heaven

Today I traveled to the most sacred place in my quest for aqua sox. I flew all the way to Pittsburgh, PA, to visit a friend for the long Memorial Day weekend. And guess what store happens to be here... The Mecca of aqua sox, Five Below.

I've never been to this store before. I only know of its greatness from a friend who has sent me aqua sox from it for the last 2 years. This place is the epitome of dollar stores. Maybe I haven't been in one in a long time, maybe I've never been in one that has had such great stuff before, but this store had all kinds of crap I didn't need, but ended up taking home with me. 

That's pure joy on my face!

Look at all this loot, and for only $36!! I snagged 5 pairs of aqua sox (every single one they had in a women's small), glow sticks for our night of partying (not sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time), and sunscreen! 

Miles logged: 0.0

Music Monday: Take a Walk

Artist: Passion Pit
Song: Take a Walk
Fave Line: "But see I'm no criminal, I'm down on both bad knees. I'm just to much a coward to admit when I'm in need."

Miles logged: 0.0

Upping the Miles?

If I think I might actually run the Malibu Marathon again this fall, I feel like I need to get my running in check now (no decisions have been made yet, but it's on the table). I run between 15-20 miles a week and my long runs are from 8 to 10 miles. But that is only half marathon levels, not marathon. With the weather heating up, every step is about to get harder.

Today has been the hottest run this year. It was hot, muggy, and I must have sweat out at least a gallon! Pretty disgusting. But I killed 2 birds with one stone and deep conditioned my hair at the same time. Several months ago, I discovered all of the amazing uses of coconut oil on Pinterest. I've been using it as a moisturizer in place of body lotion during the winter months and once tried to put it in my hair as a deep conditioner on a long run. I guess the temperature was too cold outside because when I got home, my hair was like crunchy sticks, not the flowing locks I had envisioned. Much better results in the boiling heat and humidity. I'll definitely keep this up during the summer months. The bigger question is, can I keep the miles up?

Miles logged: 10.75

Eff You, Foam Roller

I don't think I've been complaining very much lately about my hip pain, but I still have it, I always have it. I've just learned to live with it at this point. But I got a wild hair about a week ago. I determined that my hip pain is being caused by a tight IT band and that I can cure myself by working it out.

I've dealt with debilitating IT band syndrome already. When I first started running (long before I started blogging), I had it so bad in one of my legs that I could hardly walk. After a few months off (recuperating from a stress fracture in my foot-I was a mess!) and a new pair of shoes, I was as good as new. During this time though, I bought a foam roller at the recommendation of my doctor. After I used it once and it literally made me cry, I tossed it into a dark corner, never to be used again.

In moments of weakness (such as this one), I've dug the roller out, used it once and tossed it away... But not this time. I'm committed this time. I've given myself 2 weeks of daily foam roller usage before I determine if it is working. One week so far and the only progress I've made is to have sore legs in the morning. Seriously. I woke up today and it felt like I had bruised the sides of my legs. Eff you, foam roller. Eff you.

Mikes logged: 3.5

Treadmill Dance

Sometimes we need a pick-me-up to break from our routines. Check out this guy working it on a treadmill! No plateau blues for him!

Miles logged: 3.0

Music Monday: Aberdeen

Artist: Cage the Elephant
Song: Aberdeen
Fave Line: "Saw the flame, tasted sin. You burned me once again."

Performing my Civic Duty

Today was Election Day in my little town of Richardson. And it was a historic day for us. We elected our mayor for the very first time. Normally I would skip a small local election, but I couldn't miss this one! So I ran down to the polling location as part of my run today, was the 15th voter to cast a ballot, and continued running around town!

Miles logged: 10.0

Daily Mile

Have you noticed a new widget (I think this is a fancy schmancy techie term for an app) to the right side of my blog posts lately? It is my Dailymile tracker. Don't know what Dailymile is? Check out the website: www.dailymile.com. It is a social media website for active people to share their accomplishments with their friends. This type of activity would get you permanently banned from my Facebook page, but I see Dailymile a bit differently.

After every workout, I log my miles (and time and it will calculate your pace) and a short sentence about my run and post It to the website. It keeps a running log of your activity and totals up your mileage. Your friends see your posts and can comment with words of encouragement. It's pretty cool. I like to check out the site (they also have an iPhone app) to see what others are running for some motivation.

If you join, make sure to link up with me as your friend!

Miles logged: 4.0

Music Monday: Thrift Shop

Artist: Macklemore (feat Wanz)
Song: Thrift Shop
Fave Line: If you've only ever heard the radio edit version of this song, go out and download the explicit version, STAT! Once you hear this, it will be stuck in your head for days!

"This is fucking awesome"

Miles logged: 0.0

Cinco de Miler Race Report

I made it to the starting line decked out in my sarape, sombrero, and mustache (note that I did not take the train in this get up, too embarrassing!). I was not the only one with this idea though! There were plenty of other people in costume at the race today. And most of them had also shopped at Party City!

Mustaches for everyone!

Who doesn't love a giant Corona first thing in the morning?

It was a chilly morning with a blustery wind (why is it windy for EVERY race I run?). I wasn't too worried about the wind for a 5 mile race, but I neglected to think about how wearing a giant sail on my head would affect me. Wind resistance=good training, right? The stupid sombrero wouldn't stay on my head when running directly into the wind, instead it blew off my head and acted like a noose around my neck. Yeah, it was awesome. I'm pretty sure I have rope burn on my neck--it will be easy to explain that at work tomorrow! But I didn't let the wind derail my costume, I was committed and wore it throughout the race.

A very somber reminder of the Boston tragedy

This guy didn't win. He was therefore last.

The race organizers weren't lying when they said that the course was flat and fast. I don't recall running up a single hill. It was definitely not barefoot friendly. It also ran through some crappy parts of Dallas. I'm pretty sure there were drug deals being made along the course. Also, I got beat by an 8-year old. The burn still kind of stings. I saw her running ahead of me around mile 4 and when I caught up, I asked her dad how old she was. I said "I can't get beaten by an 8-year old!" and zoomed ahead. That kid was a pint sized sprinter and caught me and passed me in no time at all!

The finish line was well organized, but was lacking one thing--bananas. I got my picture taken and my sweet bottle opener medal. When I finally met up with my crew, we hopped in the very long beer line for post race refreshments. The beer maids were efficient, but extremely cranky. The food was OK, chips and salsa, 2 breakfast burritos made from some kind of mystery egg mixture (doused with enough salsa made it edible), and a soggy churro. We had a picnic of these treats while listening to a Mariachi band play and for the first time ever, I saw the race winners winning ceremony. I've never finished a race quickly enough to see this! They each received an elaborate sombrero, much much much nicer than my Party City buy. Very cool!

Me, taking a little siesta!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Miles logged: 5.0

Getting Ready for the Cinco de Miler

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, an epic drink-fest for us Americans. I'm sure Mexicans are probably offended by the way we've taken a day of historical significance in their country and use it as a reason to drink margaritas by the gallon (we've also done this to St. Patrick's Day, but I doubt the Irish are offended by our drinking). In keeping with the American tradition of debasing other country's holidays, I'm going to be running the Cinco de Miler race tomorrow. It is a 5 mile race that celebrate with Coronas, breakfast burritos, churros, Mariachi bands, and piñatas at the finish line. Oh, and the race medal, it's a bottle opener!

Here's my race packet--YES, that is a pint glass!

I'm so excited! I've even gone one step further for this race than I have for any others. No, not extra training...I bought a costume! I'm going to be so embarrassed wearing this on the train that I might actually drive myself to the starting line.

Moustaches for everyone!!

Miles logged: 8.25

Always Wear Sunscreen

I don't think I've ever blogged about my skin issues. No, not acne. As you have probably noticed in pictures of me, I am extremely fair skinned. As a child, I spent my fair share of time in the sun and can remember more than one blistering burn. Stupid, I know, but who cares when you are 10?

About 5 years ago, I noticed a mole on my back that was different than all the others. It took me a while to finally get set up with a dermatologist to look at it, but I'll be honest, I was more concerned about finding a solution to the sun spots I had on my face than I was about the mole. Well, it turned out the mole was bad news bears. Not cancerous, but level 3 Dysplastic Nevi, the worst level for a non cancerous mole. Oh, and I had 2 of them that had to be surgically removed, not just one (google punch mole removal if you are feeling adventurous). Did you read that, surgically removed. This was not a simple freeze job (of which I've had many). This was cutting and pain and stitches and scars. And regular visits to the Dermatologist. I've been going to see my Derm every 3-6 months for the last several years.

Today was my very first appointment with a span of a year. While I got stellar marks on the lack of new moles and minimal changes to existing ones, I cannot forget the importance of protecting my skin. Always wear sunscreen. Wear a hat. Cover up and stay in the shade as much as possible. Take a Vitamin D supplement and get a spray tan to make up for it. Not only does too much sun cause cancer, it also causes you to age quicker, and no one wants that.

Miles logged: 0.0