My Texas-Sized Hangover

So radio silence occured becuase I was in...
TEXAS!
For 5 days. Left Wednesday at like 6am and got back Sunday night...more like 12am Monday morning and then had work yesterday and today. Crazy! I've been very very tired/worn down. It was the longest car ride I've ever taken and the first time ever traveling in Mississippi and Texas. Louisiana I've been to...for Bourban street.
Another time, a good story, or two.

Anyway it was awesome. The drive out was to Dallas and then stayed the night there, then from Dallas we drove down to Texas Station. That's right folk's Giggem'/Saw The Horns Off/Texas A&M Aggie town.  I'll post more about why I was there later, with pictures and all.

I would like to however cover my excitement about Texas.
This is how I pictured Texas: desert-y, armadillos, long horns, salloons, maybe tumbleweeds?

Clearly I'm an idiot.
No there was no desert. I did see some long horns while driving, Holy crap they're huge. I saw a few dead armadillos, which made me sad.  (Fun mini story: my dad ripped the muffler off him and my  mom's little red MG by driving over a dead armadillo. My dad thought it would smush...nope.)
Tumbleweeds were a negative HOWEVER Salloons? I'm gonna say where I partied Saturday night was close enough in my book.

Picture in your head if you could, a college town bar. These are foreign to me. Atlanta doesn't have many since it is a City in it's own right and College Station...well is College Station.
Cruddy engraved tables that wobbled, stuff ALL over the wall, lots of Aggie things/memorabilia AND 6$ PBR pitchers and 7$ New Castle pitchers.

'Scuse me how much?
Done.
It was 9 of us all out together so we started with 3 pitchers. As we're looking around the bar we find, I shit you not, LIFE SIZE connect four. The pieces were wooden circles of 8ish inches in diameter.  It. Was. Amazing. And then we found Jenga made out of 2x4's. I was amazed. We were all amazed actually. Like big kids in a big kid toy store.

I had 2 beers, The BF brought me a gin and tonic and while playing connect four (reigning  champ what up!) I met a very nice A&M girl named Jackie who played with me a few times.  I decided that clearly, as I was drunk enough and from out of town, that Jackie and I needed a shot. Here's how the bartender and I's convo went.

ME: "Hey umm how much forrrrr your Patron shots?"
Bartender: "4.50$"
ME:"...."...serious pause going on..."How much for Jose Silver?"
Bartender: "3.25$"
ME: "HOLY SHIT I'll take four."

So me, Jackie, Jackie's friend and BF and I took a shot. and it cost me total what 1 and a half shots of patron would cost me in ATL. All the drinks actually were super, super cheap.

AMAZING.
This is why my hangover was huge.
Hey, everything is bigger in texas, I figured my hangoer should be as well.

Great fun, I have great pictures, I can't wait to post more later. The epicness of how cheap drinks were had to go up here because I think I'm still reeling from it.

I'm currently in my lab slaving away. Put in a solid 6+ hours yesterday, I'm on hour 5 right now. Makin MONIES!

After this it's gym time to bike/lift/abs since my hip flexors are still killing me, which the long car ride did not help. Then headed to the Roomie's swim meet for the kids she coaches and dinner at Felinis!

This is such a nice day.
Everyone, go be happy, go enjoy the day.

Go listen to some country!

Shopping!!

As a Bday present to myself since I've been so good training thus far AND because I got paid a nice paycheck this week I splurged and bought...all of this :

I just do not own enough running gear. I only have 2 pairs of shorts! and I workout 6 days a week!!! SO MUCH LAUNDRY.  So, I finally decided it was time to drop some big bucks and gear up like a proper Brooks ID runner. I will probably be building my wardrobe like this every other paycheck (once a month) just so I have enough clothes on a week to week basis. I ALSO paid 5 whole extra dollars (oh my!) to get it 'expedited' here. I have no idea when they're going to ship it but pinkies crossed for today so I can get it by next Friday. I am SO excited!!! Mmmm clothes. In other, more upsetting news, I was planning on going to ABC (brewery) tonight with a bunch of friends for my birthday (I know it was Tuesday but I'm a college girl, I can't take time out of my classes to party on a Tuesday!) however I needed to get out of work from 4-8 to be able to do this.  Of course, none of my coworkers will cover it. 2 semesters I've been working the dreaded Friday Close shift and yet, no one will throw me a bone for my birthday. Such is life. On to study. Happy Friday everyone!

HeavyWeight

This week I have been put through pseudo hell and back. 

My training goes light week, medium week, heavy week. This week was heavy week. The past 2 weeks have felt you know, hard, but nothing like this week. I am sore EVERYWHERE. My back hurts, my arms hurt, my legs, my ass, my abs. Everything hurts.

Today I ran 8.6 miles and it was probably the longest 8.6 miles of my training yet. It took all of my energy to get through it. I got a second wind around 4.5 miles at my turn around point in the Highlands. Seriously though my legs felt like lead. Lead jelly. 

Needless to say it took a very long hot shower of stretching to get all the kinks out of my body and I'll still be asking for a massage from Christopher later. 

This long run also brings my total mileage this week to 20 miles!!!! 

Epic. I feel epic. 

In other amazing news, I had my first Atlanta Track Club Kilometer Kids meeting Thursday! 

I'm so excited to get to work with kids. I really need to get my head out of the Engineering cloud I live in every day. 

Tomorrow is rest + super bowl day and I will be vegging on a couch and probably enjoying a whiskey coke or two. 

I hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday and enjoys it as much as I hopefully will.

Run Happy!

Bad Poster

Man, I am just AWFUL at keeping up sometimes. I vow this week I will stop posting only once a week.

Vow, promise, swear etc. 

I'm currently sitting at work, sipping my coffee, prepping for a long day in this office which I just opened at 8am. And I will be closing at 8pm.

Tricky right?

Anyway as I sip my coffee and peruse the running world websites I frequent I find myself wondering if sometimes, even though I fail to write on here, I peruse too much and don't do enough school work. 

Goodness, there, I said it. I'm preoccupied with my training. School is getting more and more difficult to focus on.  I'm stuck in this mode where I don't want to graduate, but I really want to graduate, so I'm at a standstill.  Kind of stuck in limbo honestly. I'm always/generally more than willing to get up and go for a run or go to the gym...but try and get me up early to do a lab? No thanks.  I like school, I really do, I'm just a little...well tired of it. 

Enough about that blah blah. 

My 5k last weekend was wonderful, I got a PR by 2 mins and was first in my age group! With a 26:47. Not the best time in the whole wide world, but I was very happy with it. I started off at a 9 min/mile pace because I was pacing someone else and then progressively got faster. It felt good, and smart, and like I could definitely run one faster.

Good news, I have that opportunity in a few weekends! Another free 5k! 

I'm very happy I'm an Atlanta Track Club member. 

I have a 7 mile run planned tomorrow and I am legitimately excited for it. The weather in Atlanta is supposed to be beautiful!

Look at THAT!

That's all for now. Later I will be posting everything I will be/want to order from the Brooks website.

I may-or-may-not have a very long list.

I need an overhall on my running apparel!

Doing it all

Last semester was the first semester I really felt like everything CLICKED. Well, at least in the past few months it's felt like that.

I had a rough spot from about last New Years till August/September. 

Wow that's a long rough spot looking back.

Anyway, I had a bad relationship, I lost my car before I even saw it, I had lots of health problems and friend drama all thrown in.  By July/August I'd started to get my feet back underneath me. By October I was sprinting. My grades were out of this world good, was working 20 hours a week and was training for my first Half Marathon. I was happy. 

Very happy.

I was also very organized. I knew what I wanted, when I needed things done by, how every day would go.  I had plans for just about everything. It seems kind of cyclic/boring to most but for me it worked. And the busier I was the better. Nothing could get in my way! Half marathon? So ready. Finals? Breezy. (comparitively) Yes I had a few  panic moments but otherwise, I did great! This was my best semester grade wise. I applied, and GOT, an internship with Atlanta Track Club working with kids AND now this sweet Brooks deal.  I have a wonderful boyfriend who supports me all the time and the best friends anyone could ask for. I really am doing it all right now.

I've found, after having some of the worst luck possible, that a positive outlook and a set plan really works. Yes some luck is involved, but when I set a goal I'm positive, I'm calculative and I'm persistent.  I know my limits but I also know when they should be pushed. I make sure that I wake up every morning with a positive outlook and knowing what I have planned for the day.  Maybe that's not everyone's cup of tea, but so far it's worked wonders for me!

Here's a nice little article by Active about setting goals. It's short and to the point, and if you can master all of these aspects of goal setting for running you can set goals for just about anything else in life.

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Defining_Your_Goal.htm

I think today is a rest day for me. My butt is still in quite a bit of pain.

I hope this ice/snow goes away soon. I need to run long this weekend!

The Biggest Muscle

Today shall be remembered in all of history.

Ok maybe just the history of my school career. 

It is monday, the first day of finals week, and today I had 2 finals, in the first two time slots offered. 8am. 

I woke up to take a final at 8am. It was like 10 degrees here. 

10.

And snowing. 

"It snows in Atlanta?" you might ask.

Yes. yes it does. 

So after a total of about 4 hours of testing, one final in Mechanics of Materials and the other in Heat Transfer (yes, it is all as hard as it sounds), I am at work. Vegging.  My brain feels like mush and I have 2 more finals to look forward to.

I haven't ran since Thursday. For one its been so cold here I can barely feel my face outisde and two I've been so stressed out and crammed for time I just couldn't do it. I had a few (my first!) panic attacks yesterday and knew I just couldn't sacrifice the hour or so it would take me to get a run in. I know, it sounds lame, but being an engineering student is really busting my ass. This weekend was either sleep and study, or run and study, but I couldn't do both. And my one rule for finals is, always sleep.

Ok, time to start the gauntlet for the next test.

Hopefully I'll get a run in tomorrow. 

Till then, stay warm everyone!

I'm on a plane!

I'm on a plane right now, flying back to Atlanta from Arlington after a much needed Thanksgiving "break". I really studied/did homework or helped my mom with stuff the whole time, but it was worth it. I love seeing my family (including my doggies). I took the time off and didn't run at all post Half-Marathon. 

Yes I ran it, yes I know I haven't updated in...20 days. 

New Years resolution will be to keep up this blog I think. Clearly staying in shape will not be one of my worries/resolutions. 

When I get home and get a chance to take a picture of my medal (AWESOME) I'll post how the race went. 

I was going to show y'all goofy picture of me running but marathonfoto is not the best site I've ever used. It's currently down.

Again.

Hope everyone is ready to bounce back from thanksgiving stuffage and hit the roads! (I sure as hell am)

Happy Running!

Day 4: Running Crashers

Today was a 3-4 mile run as marked out by my lovely little planning calender. 

The BF decided last night he wanted to stay over and crash my run in the morning. More affectionately he just wanted to run with me. Which is always entertaining. 

I've finally stolen for extended use one of my friend's Garmin watch's so now I can actually track my pace on my own! I told the BF we were going to the park and back, which is right over 4 miles. 4.2 to be exact. 

Well it's all hills, and I have never ran it without stopping on purpose. There's stopping for stop lights in the middle of Atlanta and then there's me just giving up on some of those hills.  Well this morning the BF didn't give me that option. We finished with a 10:24 min/mile pace and with the sun coming up in Atlanta. It was a gorgeous morning and a very good run. I can't wait for my 5 mile run on Saturday morning. 

Today all I did was study heat transfer. Besides the feeling of impending doom of exams I've been a sore mess.  I lifted last night for the first time in a very long time and I am feeling it in every muscle above my abs. It makes me want a beer.

Mmmm Beer.

My Pro/Con list

First, discussion of my run this morning. I woke up at 6:30 with my BF trying to shoo him off to work after which I prepped for a nice early morning pre-atlanta-heat-humidity-run. I discovered my ipod was dead and WAS starving so I didn't actually get out the door till 7:45. I knew the time addition was going to make it HOT on my way back.

As punishment for not running this weekend, and also pigging out most of the time in-between, I challenged myself to a long run on my own.  Meaning sans my favorite running partner: the BF.  The toughest route I have in my arsenal goes to Piedmont park via 10th street. 10th is hilly and traffic heavy. And when I say hilly I mean really hilly, and long hills nonetheless.  It's 2 miles to the park exactly and I had decided to run around and then run back. At first I thought I might be able to get a 10k in..but that just wasn't happenin.

Let's just run the totals:

Miles: 5.53

Time: 51:24.22

Avg Pace: 9:17 (UH? was I being chased??)

Avg BPM: 159

Max BPM: 194 (Near Death)

The 2 miles there were nice and easy, surprisingly. I also almost got lost in the park..failure. The heartrate strap of the BFs Garmin popped off my body (er?) which gave me a much needed little break to put it back on. I got extremely lucky on the way back as well with stoplights and traffic. It was like Atlanta was saying "no wait, take a break here!".  That was the only reason I probably held that absolutely ABSURD pace listed above.  I was on the way to crushin my 10k time.  The breaks make that null and void though.   Either way, I'm very happy with the run. My knees are a tad achy today but nothing a fantastic dinner of waffles and some IB profin cannot fix. 

Now time for my Pro/Con list of running. 

I grew up a swimmer. Recruited for Fort Belvior's Swim Team (FBST) when I was 7 I immediately immersed myself in the swimming world.  Even after moving off the military base I continued to swim till I was 13.  I then took a 3 year hiatus and restarted on my high school swim team my junior year.  Junior year, senior year, summer after...I just swam all the time. I loved it, I loved training for it, and I love the people.  I continued to swim in college on GT's swim club for two years.  Intense training lead me to even faster times than in high school and drove me deeper into my obsession with it.  After a horrible championship meet I had had enough though.  I had trained for months and months and suddenly none of it was worth it. No PRs, not even swims that felt good. I was extremely discouraged.  I decided to shy away from swimming.  Running was my next route. 

It has taken a long time to get used to it. It's completely different than swimming and is even worse for my asthma.  I don't know why, but I'd always wanted to be able to run.  Now I have been running on and off long enough (on now, off before this summer) that I can compile my proper Pro/Con List...

First the CONS

1. Sweat. Holy crap do I sweat a LOT. Even with proper running clothes and non-coton shirts...and men's deodorant.  In the pool, I don't sweat. And if I do I sure as hell can't tell. 
2. Atlanta is not flat. Anywhere. That's more of a location problem then a running problem, but it's going in here because it's true.
3. When I first started, I was hungry all the time. I mean ALL the time. I now carry about 100 calories of snacks per hour I'm away from my apt if it's going to be a long day. Otherwise I go into heinous bitch mode.  No one likes that mode.
4. This will sound strange, but my swim club nickname is muffins. It's for my boobs. I'll just say it outright, I've always had big boobs. Now that I run? Well my body fat percentage has gone down a lot. So have those. Only I would be so whiney.  
5. Seriously, last whiney thing. My clothes don't fit. They're too big. I need belts. I need pins. I need a personal tailor. It's annoying. It's expensive. Sounds like a great problem. It's not. 

 Ok That's done. Not too long, but true. I now understand why all the runners I know are so skinny. You literally have to try to keep body fat on yourself. I think about eating fatty food. And I pray it goes all to my boobs and ass. Instead I continue to turn into the runner-stick-figure. Ballin. 

PROS

1. I can eat whatever I want. Almost whenever I want. When you're running 15+ miles a week, that hunger every few hours may be annoying, but it's fantastic for food lovers. I happen to be a food lover. 
2. I have finally lost the weight I've always wanted to. I am currently smaller and fitter than I've ever been in my life, even at peak of swimming. The lack of clothing choices I have right now (One pair of shorts, almost no skirts.) is worth how much healthier I am now compared to high school.
3. The runners high is everything and more of what people see. There is nothing like getting up at 5:00, running, being showered and to work before 8:00AM and feel amazing.  It's better than coffee, it's better than chocolate (...maybe..) and It's worth having to go to bed early for. 
4. I get to think, or not think. To organize my life, or not. My brain kind of floats wherever it wants when I'm going at a pace where I'm not dying up hills. It's think time. 
5. It's something I can do with the BF. The love of my life, who coincidentally actually got me into running as well, is my favorite running partner.  I love getting up at 7 and running with him.  He may be a lot faster, and can run a lot further, but knowing he's there to help me and train me is the best support I've ever had. I may have yelled at him a few times during some training runs in the beginning but he obviously knew more than I did how far I could push myself. I'm glad someone knew. 
6. Not-so-free-T-shirts. Unlike college where you really do get free T-shirts, there's an entry fee..but races are amazing and the T-shirt is a bonus. I love races because everyone is so happy. No matter how early the start, runners are some of the happiest people I've ever seen. 
7. I'm out of my party phase. I hate feeling sluggish in the morning or on a day where I want to run. And I definitely hate ruining a day of a good run with too much beer. Consequentially I'm a lightweight and don't go out as much. Instead I cuddle up with the BF, watch a movie, cook some pasta, and get up with the sun to run around the trails. It's worth it.

So despite the fact that none of my clothes fit and I'm constantly hungry. Despite that I go to bed early to get up early for no apparent reason to outsides. Despite that I'm not the most social and party 21 year old college student, I'm absolutely in love and stuck on running.  And can't wait to keep going and get better. It's worth every con because every pro counts twice.  

Speaking of run, I'm thinking 4 miles tomorrow?