The 5K I Want to Hate, but Can't

So Saturday was the Polar Bear 5K. It is in a 'burb of Atlanta, so I always grumble about this (having to drive so far). But I PR'd at this race in 2010, so we do it.

Friday, D and I went to bed early. Just really tired from the week.

A picked us up at 7 for an 8:30 race. We got there at 745. Amazingly we all knew how to get there, but yet none of us could remember all the directions. Luckily with 3 minds, we each knew a part (I knew how to get out of our neighborhood... I'm good like that). As always, we commented that this section of the 'burb looks like every other 'burb, except for the church.
Moes-check, garage-check
Strip mall that is half empty-check.

We got to the church...or should I say MegaGod facility. While checking in, we looked at the gym. It is bigger than it was last year. It has an indoor track and 3 basketball courts. D informed us the gym is bigger than Oglethorpe University's gym. So we got our T-shirts (3rd year in a row it doesn't fit...doesn't account for my breasts) and walked back to the car and then went back into the church to wait. We found the coffee shop (Starbuck's wannabe), book store and library in the church. My God! We found the course was the same as 2 years ago on one of the many megatrons. So it is a loop and a half around the church. I'm not a fan of the more than 1 loop race, so yet another ding to the race. D however likes loops.

We saw our friends DS and L. We talked to them prior to the race. At 820 we went out to the start. Like all prior Polar Bear 5Ks, it is chipped, but with no starting mat. So I fail to see the point of chip timing. DS started laughing that A, D and I all plugged in. He didn't realize none of us ran together, which made me laugh because he and L don't run together either.

So after a prayer which we all talked through (I didn't hear the prayer, except for an Amen), the race started. About 1500 people...they did close off the road so I ran on the outside lane. Lots of people. Weirdness ensued because I passed a lot of people (it was 28 degrees outside...what slow person shows up for these things)? Oh! I see A. I'm staying with her. I really need to take Liz Phair off my play list. And Foo Fighters. I'm tired of them. A...where did she go? Holy cow, I'm already on the first turn. Here is the "hill." Wait? I think this is a hill? Am I smoking? This is an incline. I believe that is L. How did she get behind me? She is faster. That's probably not her. Got to the top and turned. Saw a restaurant someone was talking about a few weeks ago...it looked closed. Of course it might be closed since it is not even 9AM.

There's the 1 mile marker. My Garmin is on target. He calls out 12 something. My watch says 11:58. My watch must be broken. I don't run miles under 13 minutes, let alone under 12. I'm still passing people. Passing the church's playing fields...no, the church doesn't house a school in it. What is that noise? A cop is telling me I have to run in the other lane? Why? The cones are on both sides. OMG, the first person is coming in. Well I guess it is nice that I get to see the winner.

Up the next "hill." This is more of the incline on the road when you turn on one road from another. Still passing people. Wondering how fast some of the walkers went out, because I'm passing a lot. I pass a lady in red, and then we went down an incline. I guess she didn't want to be passed by a fat chick, because she started running, until she got to an incline. We passed the church. Back to the playing fields, and 2 miles. 24:30. OK, I'm getting faster (note: math isn't my strong suit at this point). Red is still playing games with me. We turn. Oh I didn't see the Longhorn on the first lap. I see a cop stop the runners to let a car out of a parking lot. Oh! I'm going to be run over, if he does that while I'm there. I'm not stopping. Already to the next turn.

Al, you are really running slowly. You should pick it up. God damn it, Red! You are annoying me. I'm really feeling tired. Maybe I should walk. Al, walk? You didn't walk on the tread mill. Pass the 1 mile marker again. I need to get my car emissionized. Why, Al, are you thinking about your car and emissions? Less than .4 to run. The biggest hill to go up. Catch up to Red, Al. With as much energy as I could muster, I ran and passed Red. I saw D. He looked confused. Down the hill, and Red passes me. Are you going to let her do that, Al? No. At the final turn, I cut the corner cutting her off. I decided to finish this race and ran all I could to the finish. I crossed the mats and hit stop. That's when I saw it. 37:52. 37, people. 37!!!! A new PR.

I was so excited. I found D and DS. D had been confused, because A had just passed about 2 minutes prior to me, so D wasn't expecting me. He PR'd too. He had passed DS right at the end. I don't know how L did in terms of PR'ing, and A was happy with her race. Because of the cold, L and DS left. A, D and I went and got another banana, and another water. Then we went home.

Guess where I'll be next year...still bitching. But going for another PR.

Mile 1: 11:58
Mile 2: 12:31
Mile 3: 12:30
Total 5K: 37:52

I Really Don't Want to Run Today...

So yesterday was that day that you just don't feel like dealing with. Wednesday night, I sighed when I set the alarm for 430AM to go to the gym.

At 330AM Guinness got up and we could hear her tube making noises...her plug fell out. Despite it being an easy fix, waking from a sleep in a panic mode is never fun. Then at 4AM Scuttlebutt decided he was a cat and coughed up a hair ball. So at 430AM, I got up and got my clothes on. My stomach was mad. I wasn't sure if it was gassy or if there was going to be a Fail-Fart. So I looked back at the bed and got in.

At 545, I got up and got ready for work/funeral. I was feeling guilty about the run. I went to work. Still feeling guilty. Went to the funeral. Cried. Came back to work. Guilty. More work. Guilty. I have my training schedule on my cube wall. Thursday hadn't been crossed out.

At 4PM I decided when I got home and ate and digested I would go to the gym. I estimated that on a Thursday this would be about 10PM. I talked to D on the phone. He was in a good mood. Gdog had gained a pound from last week. Hooray! He was going for a run. I mentioned I was going later. He said he would wait. At 615, I left work, got home and talked to him while he made dinner. Played with the pups and then ate dinner.

At 815 we got dressed and off to the gym. 3 miles. Remember when 3 miles was easy. Remember when I wasn't so tired. Remember when I didn't have a job to interfere with my running. Get over yourself Al, and run.

So I ran my 3 miles. 40 minutes. There was nothing exciting about the run. Although there is a couple in the gym that I constantly sneer at and don't like (never met them). I couldn't figure out why. I finally did figure out that one. The woman looks like someone I cannot stand. D thought this was funny. I tried my best not to look at them and think awful thoughts about them (fail). The guy next to me was classy and turned on TNA on Spike. I guess I can now answer, "Who watches that?" He also smelled like baby shit. Luckily he only stayed on for about 15 minutes. The show stayed on for the entire time I was there.

D answered his own question of why the gym smelled like glue. It was painted. So we ran to TNA, ugly and smelly people, and paint fumes.

But we ran.

Half Marathon Training has begun...

So we were finally able to move throughout northern Georgia by Thursday due to the ice storm and GDOT not knowing their ass from their elbow and wondering why 10 trucks was not sufficient (Atlanta hired sub contractors to help them...GDOT on the other hand, didn't think of that).

So Thursday and Friday were no run days due to the 2:36 and 3:01 hour commutes home (due to traffic and ice).

On Friday night, D looked at me as if I was nuts when I set my alarm for 645 to run Saturday morning. It went off, I got up and off to the gym I went.

The .5 mile walking warmup...my legs were stiff and heavy. Perhaps I could walk my 3 miles. As the .5 mile ticked down, walking the 3 miles seemed like a good idea. Anyway 3 miles started and I ran. I ran 15 minutes and then did the 9 minute run/1 walk. My legs just couldn't function. The .5 mile cooldown...I looked up at .1 miles. The trainer at the gym is jumping up and down and yelling. I yanked off my headphones and he is yelling 911. Apparently one of his trainees has passed out and is vomiting in her passed-out-ness. I jumped off the TM along with another woman (she was on her own treadmill). She grabbed the iPhone and didn't know how to use it. Trainer yells at her to use the land line phone which she can't find. I'm holding the passed out woman on the weight bench so she won't fall, wondering what I'm supposed to do. Trainer is taking her pulse and and telling her to stay with us. It really was a scary time. Trainee comes too and tells TM lady to cancel 911. She does. Trainer and I sit with her until trainer says it is ok for her to stand up (Water and Gatorade have been fetched). Finally she is ok, and I go back to my now .4 mile cool down, which I need, because my HR just flew through the roof. Anyway I finish that and my stretches.

I meet D in the parking lot, and then go run errands and go home.

Monday started the official day of Half-Marathon Training. Monday started off with me praying to a porcelain God and to a trash can. I couldn't have gone to a doctor if I wanted, I was so sick. Between being sick I slept. I woke up around 3 to find out my co-worker was killed in an auto accident. The details are still fuzzy what happened (what the paper is speculating vs. the guy's personality don't play out) but our entire work is stunned. I didn't do any workouts.

Tuesday, I felt like I had been repeatedly beaten, but I could keep down Advil. So I slept about 20 hours. Again no workouts.

Today, I got up and went to the gym. It was 80 degrees in there. I ran 2 miles. The trainer came in while I was running. I must have been sweating more than usual. He checked my HR and he checked the thermostat. He turned down the thermostat. I finished my run. (No, I don't pay the trainer, he is always there when I am). I did my stretches and said goodbye.

I finally made it to work. My head hurts. But 4 Advil have stayed down.

Run with the Dogs 5K Photos

SnOMG 2011 has hit us, so no going to the gym since the cars are stuck and the roads are under a sheet of ice.

So here are the pics!

D and Me- Pre-Race

Standing around right before the race (photo from Decatur Patch). I'm in the center in capris and the blue sweatshirt

And we are off, finally (from Decatur Patch)

Scuttlebutt in his new scarf (yes, that is snow in Atlanta!)

Me and Guinness in her new scarf

Guinness outside in the snow

Run with the Dogs 5K, 2011

So today was Run with the Dogs 5K, benefitting the Decatur HS Bulldogs Boosters (I think).
A and I have run this 2 years in a row, and D ran it last year. The course has never been the same. This year was no different...new course.

D and I got up at 7 and did the whole dog thing. Actually he did the dog thing while I struggled but ever so gracefully got my new compression capris on (CW-X insulated capris). After finding my shirts (it was 34 degrees) on the guest bed (I'm redoing my closet rods to get more room so the closet is destroyed at the moment), we were ready. Scuttlebutt was coming along for the ride so he could go to daycare which is about 1 mile away from the run. At 745 we picked up A.

At 830, SB was dropped off and we picked up our registration packets at the school. From 830-850, I debated taking off my top layer. Every time I thought of running back to the car a gust of wind would come. So I kept it on. At 855 they announced they had run out of T-shirts and what you could do (you could have pre-registered and not gotten there at 855.) At 857, I turned on my iPod and put in my pocket that was getting zippered because it had my keys in it. At 858 we walked to the start line. There were 6 whole people there. Even the race director was a little like, "Will they STFU about T-shirts and get their asses up here." Well, I think I said that outloud and everyone agreed.

Finally they got everyone up to the start and we were off. Started up a hill and a quick turn. Immediately passed a 1 mile marker. Uh oh...we are looping. We looped up a hill and back down to the HS, and then back up that hill. I hope it wasn't 3 loops. It wasn't. Dogs were everywhere, and most people were picking up after them, but of course some were not, so there was a lot of looking down. Although I run looking down anyway. So I got to mile 1 at 13 minutes. Ok not fast but this course is up down up down and not flat.

So now I was starting to pick off walkers/runners/dogs. There was one couple that only ran on the downhills, and so they were constantly catching up to me. We looped through an unremarkable neighborhood, and back out onto Dekalb Ave. Now to a more established neighborhood on Adair (2 miles was 26:30). Still up down.

My throat was dry. Those people with the dog were still with me. Park...wow lots of cheaters cutting through the park. Seriously? At 26+ on 2 miles, you are going to cheat. Not like you will place. Turned onto Ponce and then onto Trinity. Downhill finally. God, it is hot. I should take off my gloves. Oh shade, glad I didn't take off my gloves.

There's the final turn. Damn, no, not even close. I have to run up that hill. Is my hip hurting? Are these pants working? Damn sun. Police Station. Waved to the cops, and thanked them for being out (there were a lot). Damn that couple. Steeper part of the hill. There is the turn, really. I see D! I'm going to vomit. Don't vomit, don't vomit. Ok...now turn. Don't let those people pass you on the down hill. You can see the finish, Al. Long strides. Keep swallowing. Long strides. Shut up, inner voice! I want to go to slow down. Al, don't let that clock flip to 41 minutes. Al, you hear those people behind you. PICK.IT.UP! Crossed finally. 40:52!

I crossed, I felt pretty good. Run was faster than all my recent TM runs which are flat.. I didn't feel that sore and walking, I had no soreness. We grabbed some bananas and water. D didn't PR. Said his shoes came untied twice. Else, I think he would have. A came in at 36:10. She seemed happy with that.

And we scored the puppies new scarves! (pics will be coming of course!)

Update: This was also my virtual race for Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K, that I forgot I signed up until reading all the blogs I follow.

Are you a Rockette?

So apparently, I am the only person who didn't know who Jim Cantore was. Well, I watched NBC for the annual time this year (unless Stanley Cup is on NBC). So back to all my reruns of Law and Order from 20 years ago.

Went to the gym last night. Hooray, all the Resolutioners have quit already! There were 5 people there when we got there (D and I took separate cars). There were 3 left (including me) when I left. So what did we do at the gym? Run.

I ran 3 miles while watching Ohio State beat up on Arkansas. No dead birds came out of the sky on the field. I knew I have more running on the agenda this week, so I did a SLOW 4.3 mph. This was fine because when I moved my arms, I could feel where strength training had occurred. So at 2.3 miles I noticed my butt was hurting. At 2.5 miles I couldn't deny it anymore, and slowed (even more) to 4.0 mph. 2.6-2.9 were somewhere between 3.8 and 4.2 mph. I did finish at 4.3 mph. Then I walked another .5 miles at 2.7 mph. The butt felt fine.

Afterward I did my piriformis stretches. My favorite of all my stretches is kicks. Front, back, side. So I do these on the top of the stairs, so if I fall, I have 4 concrete stairs to catch me. Anyway, I'm doing them, when one of the 2 guys there asks me something. Of course I have to take off my headphones. "Excuse me?" I say. He goes, "I noticed you are always doing kicks, and they get higher each week. Are you practicing to be a Rockette?" This made me giggle.

I should probably be weirded out, because before January, I was hitting the gym regularly once a week. So that means he was there, and he noticed me. But it just made me giggle, because I didn't notice my kicks were getting higher. I was focused on the form of keeping my back straight and not slouching. And if he was hitting on me, it is obvious I'm married. If he was looking to do other things, there are security cameras at every angle of the gym. So eh.

In other news, Guinness is still our Little Shit. She got sick on Sunday and got her food all over the floor. After cleaning it all up, we really didn't give it much thought. It happens once a week because the tube plunger comes out, and she gets excessive gas and has to get it out. On Sunday night, her food tube got stuck and no amount of shoving water through it was going to move the blockage. So Monday morning, I found a little piece of tubing in the bed that had a really gnarly side. After sticking a hanger in the tube to no avail, she went to Vet #1. They used Coke and KY to move the food blockage down the tube. No issues except when D fed her we noticed she seemed to be chewing her food, which shouldn't happen since the tube is past her throat. Tuesday, I was giving her water, and the water went into the tube and onto the floor. So to Vet #2 she is today. They think she got the tube up when she was sick on Sunday, that the tube was bugging her so she chewed off that part, and that there is a kink in the tube. New tube today. Shaking my head at how crazy that girl is.

Anyone want to donate to the Guinness Food Tube Fund?

WTF is Jim Cantore?

So with the new year comes new goals. I'm going to floss my teeth more often (4 times a week).
There, that is my goal.

And once again, a rambling all over the place post.

In running news, I have run a 5K (on the TM) and 1 mile sprint (on the TM). The 5K was ok. I put a few hills in it. I ran it all. I was slow, but I know I can Run with the Dogs on Saturday. D and I decided that in order for my hip to stay healthy and my butt to hurt less (insert sarcasm), to do some strength training. So off to the gym yesterday at 730. We were in viewing distance when I reminded D that I would be happy when February came so all the gym newbs had left.

It wasn't that crowded and we each scored a treadmill. I started at 4.5 and increased every 2 minutes. I got my sprint run in 12:33. I need to remind myself this is good considering I could barely walk in September. Stop comparing pre-injury when you aren't at the level you were.
I could have sat on the abductor machine all night. It was a nice piriformis stretch.

In other news, we had a nice New Year's. This year we decided to forgo the Rib Eyes or the Veal Chops (damn you WeWa) and had Shrimp Stuffed Poblanos. Very tasty. And beer. Moohoo and Guinness. Saturday prior to the Winter Classic we had Avocado Buttermilk Soup. Both were hits. And the Caps won. We re-watched the game on Sunday. Can I just say how much better the Canadian Broadcast was over NBC's. They actually talked hockey and interviewed players and didn't slob all over Sidney Crosby's knob. Seriously, NBC...I don't know who Jim Cantore is (I had to google), and like every other weather man in America, he can't call the weather. So get him off the air. And there was more than SC out on the ice. (Can you tell what team I was rooting for?)

D asked to go to the last Thrashers/Caps game. I scored some good tickets on the "Caps Shoot Twice" side. So we will go to that.

I hope everyone had a good New Year's Day. Now let's all not get injured and stay healthy!