Volunteering, Running and Drinking

Kind of like last weekend but in a different order.

Friday, I had a lot of fires at work. At 2pm, most of them seemed to be out, mostly because the office cleared out.  By 3, after a chat with Wells Fargo who has lost my mortgage but has a record of all my payments and the declining principle, I gave up.  I decided to go see some pups.  My favorite of course is someone else's.  I think she is already adopted (her 7 days for her owner to find her wasn't up).  Anyway, she reminded me of Guinness.  Went immediately to the gate to leave, carried on like I was torturing her for not letting her run away, and really enjoyed running up and down the parking lot.  Perfect dog for a runner.

Cindy...Someone has applied to adopt her

Saturday, I got up and decided to go for a run. At 7AM it was 70 degrees and humid.  I went out to the prison.  I was drenched. Crossed over the train tracks and climbed up the big hill.  Then I did some rolling hills, and turned around and came back.  I went down the really big hill.  There is a huge hill after going down. How did I never see this?  I will own this hill. God I hope the train doesn't come while climbing (the top of the hill is the train track).  I got up the hill.  Slowed slightly as I crossed the tracks.  All of the sudden, "Ding, ding, ding"  Red blinking lights.  Train horn. I look to the right and the train is barreling down from behind the prison and coming at me with me in the middle of the tracks.  Let's just say, I did pick up my pace, and my heart rate flew up. I got over the tracks safely. I was happy that the train decided to come when it did and not while I was on the hill. The trains right there are usually long (like when you are in the car, you turn around and go another way).

I finished up that street and turned onto the main street.  A young man was walking.  Right as I turned, 9 minutes was up so I started walking.   The young man informed me I was cheating. I started laughing. I told him I had cheated 5 other times before that.  It was a steady 5 miles.  It was hot.  But my legs felt good.

While tooling around at home, my friend IM from Seattle texted to let me know he had a few hours to spare (he was in town seeing his family). Since I rarely get to see him, D and I met him at the local pub.  Another friend who I hadn't seen in about 15 years came to see us as well. Unfortunately we only got to see them for about 45 minutes.  We had plans with M to go to Brew at the Zoo.  That was fun.  We saw animals, I danced (not a pretty sight), we had beer and listened to Arrested Development.

D, Panda, Me and M

Yesterday D and I didn't do much because he didn't feel well.  Today, I'm the one who is sick...sore throat.

Overall good weekend.

Happy Memorial Day, and thanks to all who have served.

Drinking, Volunteering and Running

So remember how I said my ankle hurt after playing tag in 3-inch platforms?  Well yeah, that caused me not to run for the rest of the week. I was pretty sure I was going to run on Saturday. But D suggested with the amount of walking we were going to do (we were going to a beer fest), it might not be a great idea.  So I took him up on that. 

Me and the Beer Bear...he is reaching for my beer...I thought he was reaching for my breast

 Sunday we went to Volunteer Orientation at the County Pound.  I wasn't sure about it, but the Coordinators were really great.  D and I ended up walking and playing some with some dogs.  Just so cute. The Coordinators want the volunteers to take pictures of the dogs, and walk them.  You can also do other things like clean out cages, and stuff, but really, they just want the dogs to get some play time.  They have a yard for them to run in (one at a time...and a lot of rules of which dogs can go in there).

Giving Daisy a Belly-Rub

I don't think Kay is 2 years old

 
 I was going to go back on Monday and give one a bath.  D and I discussed this on Monday at 4pm as I drove home from work.  At 430, the skies opened up and it poured.  At 445, I called him.  Since the place closes at 6, we decided to do our grocery shopping that we didn't get done on Sunday.

Later in the night, I was looking on the Pound's web page.  The precious babies were no longer listed.  They weren't on the adopted page on FB either.  I cried for about 2 hours.  I can't bring myself to call and ask about them (and I purposely didn't give you all their Animal IDs so you can't ask either).  My friend did point out that they probably got the best hours of their life with us, and that was ultimately what was important.  And there are more there that need our help.  So our plan is to go back on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. 

I made it back to the gym yesterday.  I am really hoping Dish TV messed up and the gym didn't go to the most basic channels of Local News and QVC and MLB Network.  I will die.  I ran 2 miles at a steady slow pace, but no pain in the leg/ankle.  Back to the gym today.

Wrapping up Wednesday

I've run twice since the HM. It is shocking.  I still felt crappy on Saturday but I told D I was going to do it. After all I've run 10 miles sick before. What's 3? 

So Friday night I started playing with my new Ipod Nano that I won from Mycokerewards (I won a $125 giftcard). Did you know they are the size of a quarter now?  Not long. And they have a clip, so that if you don't have pockets you can clip them to your pants?  And they are touch screen, not that circular knobby thing? And there is no lock?  And you can shuffle a playlist?  I did not know any of this until Friday night. It's pretty cool.

So Saturday I ran my 3 miles which turned into 3.5 miles on the road WITH MUSIC.  I kept it low so I could hear the cars (except those stupid hybrids).  It rained a little but it was a decent run. 

Later in the day our friend J came over and we ate (homemade spaghetti, homemade meatballs, homemade sauce, homemade compound garlic-basil butter and store-bought bread) and drank way too much ( Ah, our life.  And somehow at 330am on Sunday J and I were taking a tour (running) of the neighborhood looking for McMenamin.  He was on the porch watching us.  Ah, us...

Tuesday came and I wore these to work.

Can I just say, don't play tag with your coworkers in these.  I don't know why we thought it would be a good idea to play tag. But we did (we weren't drinking).  I turned my foot in these twice.  Neither time did my ankle hurt.  Finally a Director came into the lab, so we thought he might not think it was  a good idea to play tag around 5kV equipment (you think?).  So later in the day, I went home.  D and I had dinner.  Then off to the gym.

We went in the same car which you know means D dies of boredom while I die trying to run fast so he doesn't die of boredom.  I finished 2 miles in 23 minutes.  Still no issues.

This morning, my ankle hurts anytime I use it.  Of course it does.  So I'm going to go to the gym.

After I turn in 6 more codes to MyCokeRewards.

So Where Was I?

When I got back from my half marathon, 7 of 9 of my group (including me) were all sick.  We have the same symptoms of runny nose, hacking cough, general malaise and a "just get through the day" attitude.  Our boss is just so proud of our little group...that is, as he calls us on the phone as to not pick up what we all have.

As the week went on, we all got sicker together.  2 people did go to the doctor to find out we all have a cold, so we all are just riding it out on Claritin.  To give you an idea of how bad it is, I missed a Kentucky Derby Party and Cinco de Mayo.  (And thank you, Georgia for no OTB, since for the 3rd time I have picked 1 and 2 in almost 9 years of marriage). 

Somehow this cold makes me feel even better about my half-marathon.  I have accepted my training was not where it should have been.  I also accepted it just wasn't my day.  Shit happens. 

26.2 is back in my thoughts.  Weight loss is in my thoughts (more of it).

My brother lost 65 pounds this year.  He did it through this miracle diet.  You know. The one you don't hear on TV or on the popups on the internet.  He watched his calorie intake, cooked better, and started walking (he is up to 7 miles a day).  He is a big inspiration to me when I feel like I could find an easier way to do everything.  There is no substitute for hard work. 

I need to remember that for training.  That and what Tammy and Delane have told me in the past.  You can fake 13.1 miles. You can't fake 26.2. 

My 3rd Kentucky Derby Half Marathon

So D and I headed up to Louisville, KY on Friday morning.  Unlike past trips, this one was uneventful. The most eventful thing was that women in Smyrna, TN seem to like to show plumber’s crack.  I don’t mean Coin Slot. I mean Credit Card Swipe.  Purposely on the way home, we didn’t stop in Smyrna, TN.

Right when you cross the line from Tennessee into Kentucky, Verizon 3G and 1X service goes away. My friend J got to hear all about First World Problems for 90 miles (texting still worked).  I guess I could have talked to D, but yeah, I didn’t.   We listened to his playlist and looked at a lot of tree covered mountains.  I really am not a nature person.

We finally arrived to Louisville.  We went to the Expo twice.  We got our numbers and got out and then realized we forgot our posters.  We had to re-loop which made me re-look at a T-shirt, so I bought that (just like their evil plan wanted me too).  Then we went down to 4^th Street Live.  We went to Red Star only to find it was now an Italian Restaurant.  So we went to The Pub.  I asked for a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter.  D asked for a Belhaven Scottish Stout. Out of both, on a Friday.  We got Old Reliable… Guinness.

We finished up there and decided since Red Star was closed, tradition had been thwarted and went to a new pizza place.  Bearno’s under the bridge.  More Guinness and Bacon and Sausage Pizza.  I was concerned about the race.  Besides not having run for a week and a half, I had a cold and a sore throat.  D had a cold and a runny nose.  I decided my plan was to try my best and if my time was off, to relax and have fun.  D said that was a good plan.  We got back to the room and went to bed around 9pm.

Guinness at The Pub

Me and D at The Pub

At 11pm I woke up.  My left shoulder hurt.  I thought I was having a heart attack. I wondered if I should put on my heart rate monitor to see what it was reading.  I remembered I had carried in all my bags on that shoulder and that’s why it hurt.  What if it hurt during the race? Maybe I should put on the HRM.  I played on my phone. I went to the bathroom 3 times.  At 1am I finally decided to try sleeping again.  At 2am, I decided I wasn’t sleeping.  I wondered if I didn’t cross the finish line how D would know to go look for me in a hospital. That thought must have relaxed me because it was 615am with the alarm going off.

Having a good hair day pre-race

We got up and had breakfast of Clif Bars and Water (well, I don’t really know what D had, that’s what I had).  At 650 we walked to the race. D wondered if I put his time down wrong because he was in Corral B.  I was in F.  We walked to E and stood (no one was in E).  Then D said he wanted to go.  I looked at the Green Lantern for awhile.  The 13:10 pace group lined up ahead of me.  We listened to the National Anthem and then we stood for awhile. Then we moved and stood, moved and stood, finally moved.  About 20 minutes later we crossed the Start Line. 

Scared shitless like at every race!

I  ran not really thinking about much.  I think the course was slightly different than last year because we seemed to run on Main Street forever.  The 13:10 pace team was going at 12:30 and kept having to walk.  I stayed with them for awhile.  They passed me.  At 1.5 miles I was completely dehydrated.  My head hurt and my lips were stuck. I drank 3 glasses of water at the water stop.  We turned and ran on 18^th (I think) for awhile.  Then onto the road with the McDonald’s.

I had some Powerade and some more water.  I was thinking I was going way too fast.  I was also thinking my nose was running way too much for any good snot rockets. My sleeve was my Kleenex.  It was massively used.

Mile 1: 12:48

Mile 2: 13:07

Mile 3: 12:45

Mile 4:13:06

The 13:10 pacers had long passed me.  I turned and went up towards Mile 5.  Again, I just spaced out.  I got to Mile 6 and found 2 women to pace because I was getting tired.  Somehow I ended up passing them.

Mile 5:13:16

Mile 6: 13:48

10K: 82:03 (PR by 5 seconds)

After I crossed the 10K mat I walked for 2 minutes. I had some oranges and was so happy that I was either running faster so I got food or they supplied more food for the slower people (I think this was the case).  I started running again, but now was insanely tired.  And my 4^th toe on my left foot started hurting.  At Mile 7 I had some almonds that I had in my pants (nuts in my pants…lol).  I decided that wasn’t a good idea so I put them back.  I turned and was running next to Churchill Downs.  I don’t know if it was psychosomatic or what, but my hip started hurting because we had turned off asphalt and turned onto cement (or is it concrete?).  Mile 8 was into Churchill Downs. We ran under the stands and then right as we were about to run under the field, horses came flying over the field. That was an awesome sight.  Then I ran down the hill, and I thought my hip was going to come off.  I decided I would have to walk because the pain was excruciating.  I got to the infield and it was all asphalt.  I decided to run 30 seconds.  I felt fine so I ran the rest of the way through the infield, looking at the horses.  Back to the cement to go under the field and Mother of God!  More walking.  Came out and all concrete (I’ll just use them interchangeably).  I tried to run and my toe and my hip…Again, let’s just walk to the Marathon Split.

Mile 7: 13:44

Mile 8:14:11

Mile 9: 15:23

Ok, I decided I didn’t know what was up so to have fun and look at T-shirts.  The Marathoners rejoined us.  KDF did a good job (to me) this year and had cones up to keep the HM and Full separate.  It looked like they really listened to people and took advice.  I ran next to a pirate for awhile.

This was the Pirate I ran next to. I don't know who the woman is.

My butt/hip felt fine, but my toe was killing with every bend.  Still I tried not to notice it (with ever  flinch of pain).  I came across the College Beer Drinking Team and had some Busch Light with them.  Then I had some Powerade at the table ahead. 

Mile 10: 15:32. 

The idea of having fun left my head.  The thought that I even entertained running 26.2 seemed shattered.  I tried to keep going.  I wanted to cut off my toe.  A song I routinely hear in Mile 11 came on.  I got upset.  I was stupid to keep this up.  I had to switch arm sleeves because the right one was full of snot.  You have less than a 5K. Keep moving.

Mile 11: 16:10

I realized I wasn’t making it under 3 hours. I was a complete and utter failure.  People qualify for Boston in less time than it takes me to run 13.1 miles.  Who runs a mile in 16 minutes?  What is wrong with you?  You suck.  Keep moving.  You get a beer when you are done.  People who suck don’t even run 13.1 miles.  You are doing it with something wrong with your foot.  Keep moving.

Mile 12: 15:15.

I came out from under the tunnel and turned back on Main.  Lots of people. I had realized I had tuned out a lot of people and didn’t know if there was good fan support or not.  So selfish of you not to realize people want to see you succeed.  I was watching a man ahead of me struggle. He had a Christopher Reeves Foundation Shirt on.  He had 2 canes, and he was clearly struggling.  His arms were wavering and his legs were buckling with every step. He was crying.  2 men who had finished and had their medals jumped the race gates and became human crutches.  I was still behind him, and it was powerful to watch.  Just then the Green Lantern passed me.  I decided I couldn’t let him beat me (the Green Lantern).  I actually don’t know if I caught up to him, but I got to the final turn without it being Mile 13.

Mile 13: 15:22

I ran down the last part of the race. This man is running next to me with a video camera in my face. I was so confused. Then I realized he is taping his wife on the other side of me.  I decided to run as hard as I could and if I puked oh well.  They called my name as I was finishing.  I crossed the line.

Mile .18: 1:58

Total: 3:06:20

I got across and they gave me a foil blanket.  And then I got a medal.  Then I heard my name and saw D.  He had Powerade for me.   

Flying!

I wanted to kill my feet.  I was so mad about my time.  I asked him how his time was.  He had PR’d one minute faster than his last one.  It sounds wrong and weird. This made me happy.  He had been training so much faster.  I knew he has been sick too. So I could blame being sick. (I know the complete lack of training probably had something to do with it as well).  We got our pics taken.  We went and got a free beer and sat for awhile so I could relax my foot.  The people by us were nice.  I think the guy was ill, as he left the table looking quite pale and came back even paler.

I drank about half

My Medal

The Sheer Look of Disappointment

Back to the room for a nap.  Then we went drinking and watched Hockey.  

The Maturity of Us and the Future of Education

Dark Star Porter at BBC

I was making fun of people who pose like this, because I hate this pose. But Damn! Look at that calf muscle!

D and the Colonel

Love this place

Blink and you might miss it! Another fun place