Weight I have lost

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Did I quit running?

No.  Well, sort of.

After the 12 miler I stopped running.  Tuesday I was sick and went to bed early.  Wednesday, D and I went to see Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance.  Thursday, it took me over 2 hours to get home from work.

And thus my 7 miler on Saturday.  I already knew I wasn't going to do it.  Between headache, sore throat, yet another 12PM start for Georgia Tech, I just wanted to sleep in.  That didn't happen either.  The dogs started barking incessantly.  And being that it was early, and we weren't fully awake, we opened the front door to find a big ass dog.  So thinking clearly, we let him in. McM and SB immediately expressed their displeasure.  SB did so by stabbing my foot with one of his claws (think Wolverine).  We got them to the back deck and examined this mammoth beat (an American Bulldog).  Collar, no tags.  In all our running, we have never seen him.

So we took him up the street and no one was out looking for him.  We rode around in the car, and no one was out looking for him.  We brought him back in and he showered us with kisses.  I called a local vet (ours was closed) and took him in to get a micro-chip scan.  Of course, he was not microchipped and of course he was not neutered.  He was a big loveable kisser.  The vet and I weighed him, 70lbs.  So back in the car and home.  D had cleaned out the basement.  My friends texted what time we would be at Georgia Tech.  A discussion ensued and we decided to go to the game (yay, GT won!). 

We got home and decided to walk the dog through the basement to outside.  However coming up from the basement/garage, McM got downstairs.  I managed to get SB on the back deck and downstairs to pour water on McM to get him to unhinge his jaw from Yuengling (a dog/beer we don't want)'s neck and to get Yuengling to do the same.  D said his hands were ok.  I held Yuengling and D took McM upstairs and took him and SB for a walk.  Being ever so smart, perhaps they would do better in the public common area.  Again, no go. McM wanted NOTHING to do with this dog.  So Yuengling went back in the basement. 

After watching TV and having a few beers we put SB and McM out on the deck again and brought Yuengling inside.  McM tried to go though the plate glass door to get to him.  That's when we knew there would be no Craig's List, no Oliver Alert, no rescue, no signs on phone poles, etc.  This dog had to go to the pound. Our hands were cut up.  It wasn't safe for anyone.  So back to the basement.  Sunday D took Yuengling to the pound. I was supposed to go, but I burst into tears at what we were doing, so I stayed home.

His owner has 7 days (since Sunday) to claim him...the pound named him Sergio.  Sunday was spent crying. And because I didn't feel shitty enough, I had a neighbor email me what a complete inhumane person I was (our 'hood has a google group and a FB group and I put photos and updates out there). Another neighbor is looking into adopting the dog. I hope he does.

Monday, I heard scratches at the door.  The dogs went insane.  I didn't open the door.  I don't know why our house is a dog magnet. The dogs don't go on the front porch.  It is so weird.  2 weeks ago, we had another dog, but he was chipped.  I'm avoiding all dogs at the moment.

So Tuesday, was a 4 miler (I'm in taper week).  D's knee is hurting and he has no shoes (not happy with Zappos).  I park my car and get all my stuff together.  I have my iPod in my hand (unplugged from the charger).  The parking lot is totally full, there are some people in it and there are a lot of people at the bus stop.  I go in the gym and get ready to run, and the iPod is nowhere to be found.  I knew if I looked for it, I wouldn't run. I knew the sucker is old.  I knew it was gone.  Oh well.  I ran a boring 4 miles with no music, but thanks to the guy on the phone next to me, I know all the people who entered the airport bid for restaurants in the new terminal (another reason not to talk on the phone in public...I'm sure I'm not supposed to know this information).  I finished my run and asked the gym manager about the iPod (if someone turned one in).  He was as hopeful as I was on finding it.  I wished him a good night, and walked back to the lot.  I got in the car, and saw some blue thing on the windshield.  I looked at it again.  IT WAS MY iPOD!!!!!
Someone must have seen me drop it and put it there. And no one else stole it.  Thank you good people!!!!

Tonight is my 3 miler.  Tomorrow is my 2 miler.  Then off to the Smuttynose Half-Marathon.  I get 2 free (good) beers afterwards!

(And Doug will hopefully have shoes).

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Running Blind

So D and I had a very busy Saturday since Georgia Tech games are scheduled at Noon or 12:30 again.

After figuring out what time I had to be at Tech to get my drink on, I concluded that I had to be at the Silver Comet Trail at 6am.  I told D this plan, and he just looked at his phone (I texted it to him of course).  I told him he could sleep an hour and start, but he said, "No, we're a team. We do this together."  So another Friday asleep by 9PM, and we woke up at 515.  He walked the dogs while I ate breakfast and we left.

Got to the park and there was something I didn't think of.  It was pitch black out. There were 2 other cars in the lot.  Considering I go by my watch to see when to run/walk, I was kind of wondering.  D said to listen to 3 songs, and then light my watch and walk that minute.  I could do that.  I was adjusting my phone, my iPod, and my granola bar thins in my pants (again no pockets).  We got to MM0 and started running.  Immediately the Granola bugged me.  I had to shift stuff around.  Then the iPod volume changed (it is on its last legs and has no lock anymore).  So I had to fix that 3 times.  Finally, I got all that situated.  And yes, I did it all while running.

Running while not being able to see is very strange.  I used the white stripes on the path and the moon to help see.  But the stripes were about all I could see.  I ran on the stripe and hoped no biker was up this early.  I tried not to think of strange men jumping out, snakes falling on my head, or dead tree limbs for me to trip over.  I wondered if when I got to mile 2 if I would fall in the hole in the bridge.  Anyway Mile 1 came and it was 15 minutes.  I chalked up the poor time to all the fidgeting at the beginning.

During the next mile, a lot of people passed me (like 8). Both ways.  Some had head lamps, some were solo. All said, "Good morning."  I focused on the breeze (it was 58 degrees), and how I was feeling.  I wondered how D was doing.  I finished Mile 2, and then crossed the bridge. The moon lit up the hole in the bridge (where the wood is separated from the asphalt) and I got over it.  Mile 3 continued to be in the middle of the path.  The slant of the road is big right here.   I thought I was running a decent pace. Unfortunately I hit Mile 2.97 before a tunnel, and mile 3.01 on the other side.  No clue to speed it up or slow it down.

I got up to the Bike Depot.  There was a lot of traffic (car) and you could see groups getting ready to to go out.  It was now light out.  I began wondering when I should take a granola bar.  I felt fine, although I felt my pace was slower than normal.  At mile 4.6, I ran over a spray painted mark, "Love is Forever."  Then, I passed D (who was returning) at mile 4.7, so I knew either we were the same pace as we were last time we ran 12 (we passed each other at this point) and we either both sped up or were the same.  I decided we were the same pace.  I forgot about Mile 5 and forgot to look at my watch.  Another not knowing to speed up or slow down.  I felt ok.  Mile 6, I could finally see my watch.  The pace was crazy.  It was 4:58, 10:17. 9:28.  I KNOW I can't run at any of those paces, so it was just the GPS bouncing off the trees (you are in a deep crevice in this area).  I just kept running.  I looked down at 6.1 and realized I had to turn around.

I ran until the watch got a 9 on it, and then walked, and ate my granola bar.  It was crumbly, the chocolate was melted, and it was hard to eat.  There was nothing else exciting about it.  As I ran back through the crevice, the pace times were still all wonky.   Ran back and saw "Love is Forever" sign and smiled.

By now, I was bored.  There were a lot of bikers out.  And a lot of running groups.  I seemed to run out of things to think about.  Then I passed a woman in a Get Fit Atlanta shirt.  I thought about my friend Jen, and how she epitomizes class.  She participated in IMWisconsin last week.  Due to a bike equipment failure, she didn't finish.  Yet, she stayed out on the course and cheered all her teammates/friends on.  She was angry because she said she was hydrated fine, she had energy, and she was trained.  And the bike messed her up.  She is already an Iron Man, but all that training for an equipment failure?  Even when she said it on FB, I wanted to reach through the screen and give her a hug.  If I were there, I would have taken her for a beer.  But no. What did she do?  She got cleaned up, and helped her teammates and rallied them on.  She is the same woman who when I did my tri, stood in the rain and took pictures of me finishing even though her husband had finished 45 minutes before I did (he ran the 5K with me).  I hope she continues TRI-ing.  I know right now, she is focusing on ultra marathons. 

And with that contemplation I was at 9.5 miles.  I decided to have my other granola bar. I had now stopped paying attention to my pace, just the 9:1.  I got back to the bridge, and notices a ton of people out.  I decided I liked running in the dark.  I felt much stronger in the last 2 miles.  I wondered if I should have picking up the pace earlier.  Again, I missed the 10 mile pace.  I was down to less than 2 miles, and focused on keeping my legs up.  Which made me think that my butt hurt. I needed to think about something else.  I passed a woman with a Great Pyrenees who only had 3 legs.  And they were running. I decided if the dog could run on 3 legs, I certainly could on the 2 I had.  Then I decided I was delirious comparing his 3 legs with my 2.  Then I got sad that my dogs couldn't come to the football game with us.  And Mile 11 was done.  Delirium and all.

The last mile I seemed to pass people who passed me previously. I wasn't going fast (to me). Was there something I didn't know that they all did?  Well, I decided if I ran, I would find out sooner.  I wondered if D was walking the path to meet me (no).  I wondered if the people standing in the path in front of me tossing a football in the air (multiple footballs) were going to move (no).  I wondered if they were mad, that I assumed they would've moved and ran into one of them (I don't know).  I saw another running group going out.  Haha! I'm almost done.  I got passed by a guy wearing an All3Sports biking shirt on a bike without a helmet.  I wondered if he knew he was a dipshit.  Finally, I could stop wondering all things.  12 miles was done!

I walked a little ways and saw D.  I didn't realize he was hurt, and was a little irritated he was just standing there with a Gatorade. It seemed like a cruel joke.  He started limping over to me, and I grabbed the Gatorade.  I asked him how his run was, and he said, "Shitty." That's when I noticed he was limping.  He thinks his shoes aren't padded right. Off to New Balance tomorrow to get an insert. If that doesn't work, he will return his shoes.  He said the ones with 400+miles are more comfortable (they are worn, and he does need new shoes). So hopefully he can get that settled.  He said he was on pace to beat the 2 hour time limit until the last 3 miles.  His last mile was 16+minutes.

I'm worried about him.

So we got home at 10.  We walked the pups and showered.  No time for makeup (or SPF protection).  Sunglasses, beer, tickets, and we were off.  Got to Tech at 1045.  Not bad.

And Tech smacked the shit out of Kansas.  So yay!

I looked at my times this morning.  I need to speed it up!

12 Mile Comparison: 2010 and 2011
                2010                          April2011                    September2011
Mile 1:    13:48                           14:14                           15:00
Mile 2:    14:19                           14:19                           14:32
Mile 3:    14:31                           14:02                           14:08
Mile 4:    14:36                           13:35                           14:07
Mile 5:    14:21                           12:54                           13:44
Mile 6:    15:28                           14:22                           14:02
Mile 7:    16:05                           13:52                           15:07
Mile 8:    15:17                           13:59                           14:15
Mile 9:    16:09                           13:37                           14:16
Mile 10:  16:17                           13:20                           14:02
Mile 11:  18:04                           13:52                           13:39
Mile 12:  18:03                           14:05                           13:55
Total:      3:07:03 (15:35/mi)    2:46:14 (13:51/mi)      2:50:55(14:14/mi)

Friday, September 16, 2011

12 Miler Coming Up

I have my 12 Miler tomorrow. I'm not really looking forward to it.  The run...oh that will be fine.  I'm not looking forward to getting up so that I can take 3+ hours out of my morning (getting to the trail, running, and getting home) and be walking out the door at 1015 to get my drink on before the GT game.  It makes me tired thinking about it.  By the time game time rolls around (seriously, I hate 12 or 1230 game times, and the ACC never fares any better), I should be sound asleep in the stands.  I know, I could not drink, but that would be like the Pope suddenly becoming Buddhist.

So anyway,  I'm going to try some nutrition for this run.  Nature Valley Granola Thins.  These things are the biggest waste on the planet.  So I bought a box last week, because Kroger was having buy a select 10 things and get $5 off your bill. This was in the select things, and at the end with my coupon and the $.50 from the get $5 off, they came to something stupid like $.30 (I think they are regularly $2.79).  My palm is bigger than this 80 calorie square.  I ate one when I got home, and texted D to tell him of the ridiculousness of these things.  (Now you understand why I text D while sitting next to him...it is the way we communicate, and he gets every fleeting thought that comes into my brain).  When he got home, he agreed they were dumb.  You have to eat at least 3 of them (240 calories) to get any type of "fullness" so I tried to figure out what I was going to do with them.  I decided I would take 1 or 2 on my 12 mile run and see how they do.  So I'll let you know.

And Nature Valley didn't in any way, shape or form, contribute to me thinking their product was stupid.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Weekend Update on a Tuesday

So the new shoes... LOVE THEM!

The last few weeks of running have been barely existent.  It is hard when your feet hurt to run, and you know you have to do things afterward that require you to use your feet.  It doesn't help it gets no cooler than 75 at night and is usually hotter than that by the time you get out the door.

So, Saturday, at 7 I got up and checked weather.com.  "D, I need new eyes. My phone says it is 58."  We got dressed and walked the dogs.  D goes, "I can see my breath."  Got back home and put the dogs in their crates and off I went.  I went up to Stolen Car hill and out to the prison. Down a hill and said hi to a pup, and back to the prison. Into the prison parking lot.  It was shift change. Prison guards all seem to have shiny new cars.  Or Harleys.  Back out of there, down to the roadside memorial for someone that has been there for 5 years.  I was very careful with the cars, as I knew they couldn't see me with the sun glaring in their faces.  I could see them, so not hard to step on the sidewalk when I had to.  Ran past the guys who sleep at the church (I can't figure the church out since no one is ever there on Sundays).  Down the side of the prison.  Another car aimed for me.  This time, I KNOW I was in the grass. 

Thought about my feet.  They were feeling good.  Thought about my speed.  Knew it was slow.  Came back to the church and down the "new to me" neighborhood.  Ran all the way to the hill. I didn't go down it because I would have to come back up. Plus I couldn't see what was down the hill and it isn't the most pleasant of 'hoods.  Came back to the street and to the Mosque.  Yes, because I passed the Mosque, I thought about Muslims in our neighborhood.  When I first moved, this one wasn't very welcome (I believe it is a converted Taco Bell).  However, it holds the monthly neighborhood meetings for the "new to me" 'hood.  I'm glad everyone can be neighbors here.  I went over to Bell South Hill, and all the way to German Shepherd Pass. She doesn't have her GSP anymore. I wonder what happened to him.  Did the usual stretch.

Thought about my foot again.  Still no pain.  Got back to GSP and still had a mile to go, so I ran back to the prison again, and turned around.  Got home.

5 minutes faster than my last 7 miles.

Later we sat on the front lawn drinking Guinness.  We met our new neighbor.  She seems nice.  She likes guns.  She managed to say she had at least 4 of them in the 20 minutes we talked.  She watches our house, a lot.  She shooed away the lawn guy (she didn't see his truck and thought some random dude was edging our bushes), and asked for the bug guy's card.  She knew when UPS delivered a package and what the UPS driver looked like.  Somehow, I think I will sleep better knowing someone has my back.

Friday, September 9, 2011

New Shoes!!!

So, again after that 10 miler, I had no desire to kill my feet. Tuesday and Wednesday passed.  D complained about his everyday shoes. I looked to see where our food scale was in the ordering process (guess who ate that?!).  So yesterday, I bought D some work shoes on line, cancelled the food scale order from one company and ordered it from another (really, 3 times I called and gave you my CC, and 3 times you couldn't charge me...are you American? Do you like making a profit?).

So with this half-marathon less than a month away, it isn't a good time to suddenly despise running.  But I could tell D and I are breaking down. Our bodies hurt.  We are finding excuses. So still not finding my shoes online (and how is it EVERY online shoe store has the exact same sizes in stock), we decided to go to the New Balance Running Store (the one in Buckhead...the one in Norcross could care less about what you put on your feet, from my experience).  So first we stood on their little computer.  I am an awesome over-pronator.  He told me I had to correct my arches too. The guy spout out a number running shoe, and guess what? It was the one I use.  D stepped up and his arches do something else. The guy spout out a number running shoe and it was the newer version of the one he has.

So he came back with the shoes.  Except I wear a 10.5 D.  He brought EE.  My foot could swim.  What to do. They aren't making the shoe, and the new version isn't ready to roll out.  GAH! I need shoes.  So he got another shoe.  OMG! It was like heaven on my foot.  And he put these arches in (and forgot to tell me how much the arches cost).  He did the whole thing with D, and D liked his shoes too.  I asked him about my hotspot.  He goes, "On the ball of your foot? Not a blister, but almost like a burn? That is your foot trying to compensate for your lack of arch."  I don't understand how it works, but I'll take it.

So D decided not to get arch support in his shoes. We know where the store is if he needs it (the corner of Ptree and Piedmont in the Container Store Shopping Center).  The guy gave us 10% off.  So our bill was  $325.  I practically fell on the floor.  After dinner, I was adding in my head, and couldn't figure out how it was $325.  Those arch thingys...$60.  But I think it is worth it.  I'm more excited for tomorrow's 7 miler than I have been about running for some time.  For $60, I'll take it! (And yes, next pair I will scour the web for better bargains).

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

No New/Old Shoes

So August finished up with me not wanting to get out of bed. (See my SAD post...August is just a crappy month since it is too freaking hot to ever be outside).

(Lesson:  There are 2 questions never to ask a woman. They are, "Are you pregnant?" and "Are you PMSing or having your period?" Nothing good can come from these, if the answer you get is, "No.")

There was no running until Saturday's 10 miler.  Once again, the lovely Georgia weather went down to a humid-filled sweat inducing 75 degrees.  I already didn't want to do this run.

I had analyzed everyone's suggestions about my foot.  I love socks, so all my socks are relatively new (the oldest being  a year old).  I think D had the best answer...since SAD hits me every August, I don't run.  This August I did, and to top it off I hit the hottest one we've had in quite some time. He thinks the hotspot is from my foot sweating.  He can't explain the lack of blisters.

Anyway, I Body Glided everything.  I put Band-Aids on important body parts and off I went.  I decided to go past TI's new residence for the next ~30 days (he is in the USP because he took a fancy bus to a halfway house, so back to the big house he went).  I ran around the jail's parking lot, down the side of the jail and then up into a new 'hood.  I skipped the major hills.  By the time I got to BellSouth Hill, I was already at 3 miles.  I did my little route through my hood, and back home for water.  I was at 6 miles.  My back was bleeding from the rub of the HRM to my bra. My foot hurt.  Back up to the penitentary.  I stopped and talked to a woman from Baltimore.  I ran over some drug paraphenalia.  Got to the side of the jail and had to run in the grass.  Someone didn't like me running in the street, and came directly at me.  (Truth: I might have been a little more in the street than I should have; I really don't know.  But the road is 2 lanes each way.)  I turned around and shuffled back.  Mile 7 was 17 minutes long.  My thighs and my foot hurt. Mile 8 was worse (18 minutes). I had to tuck my shirt into my bra so my back didn't bleed anymore.  I did pass the homeless woman who I buy coffee and Doritos for.  She asked me where the pups were.  And how much weight I had lost.  I eyed her friend's IceHouse.  But I didn't have $1 to offer, so I kept going.  The last bit of shuffling got me to 9.95 miles infront of the house (16 minutes). I ran in a circle until I hit 10 miles.

Came inside and whipped those shoes off. 

So later I realized I have 365 miles on the shoes.  My last pair have 375.  So it is time for a new pair.  Off to the web I went. D needed shoes too.  We both have gotten the same pair of shoes for 3 years (4-5 pairs each).  Guess what they don't make in 13EEEE and 10.5D any more?  GAH!  We actually have to go to the store and try out new models.  Well, D does.  Apparently, they just stopped making my shoe. No newer model.  So I'm not sure what I'm going to do.