Long Runs and Nesting

I ran: 18.09 miles in 3 hours and 37 minutes.

This morning was my very last (Thank you Jesus!) long run of this training season for my October 9th, 2011 Portland Marathon. I was NOT looking forward to this run one bit.

5:00am - Mother BEAR! - hit the snooze - TWICE!
Forced down a PB&J
Whined a bit to myself
Told myself to just shut up and do it

And out the door I went. My consolation prize was that this was my long last run of the year and my training season and I wouldn't see these views or my special friends for almost another year. In all the brilliance that I possess at 5:30am, I told myself in an almost audible whisper, "YOU CAN TAKE PEEEKKKKSHHHURRREESSS of all of these things and share them on your blog!! Whoooppeeeee!" It sounded great at the time. I did snap a few on my rather crappy IamthankfulIhaveacellphonewithagreatinternetplanbutcan'twaittogetmynewphoneformybirthday Blackberry and so without further ado:



My minivan taunts me. No?

I drove out and placed an extra water bottle...marveling at the eerie looking and weird mist that was floating over the land. As I drove by this one field, I checked to see if Cow in the Corner was there. Yup! I could make out the shadow of his head. I would snap his picture at around mile six. Cow in the Corner, you ask?



Why hellllooooo Cow in the Corner. Nice to make your acquaintance!

CitC was in his corner every time last year and this year that I ran by. I tried not to dwell on this too much because I got depressed for CitC when I started wondering if he ever left his corner. I thought about knocking on the farmhouse door to ask the question. Honestly? I don't think I want to know the answer.



New runners!

In a petite size eleven. A full stinkin' shoe size up so no, they really aren't that huge, and no, I'm not sensitive about my big feet. Kinda. These puppies should have been a little more motivating along the lines of, "Hey new shoes! Run like the weeeendd." But. No. They are Asics Gel-Nimbus 12 in case you were curious. I don't pronate or supinate. (Did I spell those right?) My running feet are very Swiss-like. Neutral.

And lastly, what is contained inside the blue portal of umm...well what's inside kindof sums up my run. And to boot? When I walked inside, the thing SHOOK! It nearly scared the crap out of me. Had it literally, I was at least in the right place.



The opposite of Disneyland, happiest place on earth.

This foul commode has seriously not been emptied or serviced since last year. And it's in one of the weirdest locations...out in the middle of nowhere, well obviously somewhere because power walking girl's car is parked next to it...it's out by this swamping little fishing hole. I seriously wonder who the heck fishes out there?! Judging by the broken beer bottles and the used condom that I discovered inside one time, I don't think a lot of fishing goes on there. But ewwww!! How romantically nasty is that! "Hey babe, your crapper or mine?"

Parts of this long run were ok. Very few, if any, were great. It's done, that's great! There was crying and hobbling and more walking at the end than planned on. The good part was that I told myself and actually BELIEVED myself that I know I'm ready and can run the marathon. This was by far the worst yet ONLY run that was overall DISMAL. And looking back at it now? It really wasn't that bad.

More deets on the run since I'm a numbers gal: I did have to stop a few times to stretch...and cry. Calve cramps something fierce. I know I won't be able to stop my Garmin for the marathon. Cool if I could! At one point, for about 7 minutes, I had forgotten to start my G back up. Sucky! So my distance is not accurate, nor is my time. Mile 18 was a combo of run/walk/hobble/run/walk. The hobbling was from a blister on my left foot, ring toe. (Don't wear toe rings but if my feet were hands...you get the idea.) The blister? DO NOT moisturize your feet the night before a long run! I've been using this fabulous emu oil stuff (thanks Danielle) due to my awesome moisture wicking running socks that caused me to get a crack in my heel. Well this stuff is great so I put it on other tootsie spots. Bad idea for the run. I knew better than that. It was really cool in the grossest of ways when I popped the blister though. And COME ON! I know I'm not the only Grossy Josie that thinks that way! (Please no offense if your name is Josie.)

Oh and the nesting part? It could be because I just got a new carpet shampooer, but the last two weekends in a row, I've ran 17/18 miles and then I've come home and gone on a huge cleaning spree. The naps that I've promised to myself never happened. I seriously don't know what my problem is. Does anyone else do that? Of course, this last hour I've been more than content to sit on my butt, be on my computer, and munch away on Sweet Maui Onion chips. I will miss my long runs for the simple fact of not really feeling an ounce of guilt for eating those things.

First Double Digit Run (this training season)

This is from my Daily Mile entry. (I like tracking my running there since I can attach my shoes to know better when to replace them.) So for my Sparkies that are my friends there...or Facebook...or twitter...haha! AVERT your eyes! Or just know you've already seen this and it's not deja-vu.

I hallucinated horses...and that was just in the first 15 minutes. I got so excited to be running up on some horses that I clapped my hands and squealed. The closer we got, the more my husband laughed harder as my horses morphed into a group of walkers. Sad. This week compared to last week...we only made it out about 30 minutes earlier. The heat was there. More of a breeze this week. Last week I had straight G2 in my one bottle and halfG/water in the other. This week, Nuun in one and water in the other. Not sure about the Nuun - Kona Cola flave. (Ok flavor, like very watered down soda. Which is fine since I don't like it not watered down either.) I also tried out my Shot Bloks - Margarita flave for the 3x salt!! (Nice flavor but man those things are tricky to get down.) Shouldn't have tried them in the same run cuz now I'm not sure which of the two almost made me throw up twice.

PLUS, I had a lot of factors not in my favor. Shorter week, shark week (worst day), dropped a filing drawer on my foot week, still catching up to current training plan week, stressful-busy work week, had some fits with insomnia week....I think that pretty much sums up my week.

HowEVER, we added 1.68 miles ANDour pace was one second faster this week. Shabby? Not too.

I refused to wear a bra.

It's been a rather blah day and I even refused to wear a bra. I haven't left the house, so no worries there as that is something I would NEVER do. Never under all completely normal circumstances that is. I imagine in emergency situations, adrenaline would kick in, and I would do what was necessary if the need would be to venture out in public sans brassiere. Now, enough of that as I certainly don't want any mental images popping up in your heads. Too late? I apologize.

Today was a rest day so no exercise. Although an easy bike ride sounded nice before I settled in to my two cups of black coffee. It was all downhill, in a good way, from there. Good= I really didn't do a darn thing. Including putting on said item of lingerie.

I DID do my nails as I supervised my hubs as he put together a new entertainment console and coffee table. Oh and I made pancakes!! So I guess I lied. I did some stuff and none of it involved lifting a dumbbell or leaving the house. Makeup was sparse and that was just some under-eye concealer for my genetically dark dark circles. Complete selfish move and not for the benefit of others in my household. It was done merely so Iwouldn't freak myself out when passing by mirrors. There really is something to be said about working out in the morning, showering, and getting dressed head-to-toe first thing. Had I done that, I honestly feel I would have kicked butt today. Being that I can't travel back in time, there is plenty of butt kicking days ahead. Starting with tomorrow.

So why the sudden urge to blog after all these days of nothing you ask? Umm, I honestly don't know. I miss it. Plain and simple?

Let's talk running now. I took a break after my marathon back in October 2010. I tried running on the treadmill...I refused running outside in the winter. I repeat myself a lot and I'll do it again. I will run in the dark, I will run in the cold, I will run in the snow, (I sound like Dr Suess!) and I will run in the rain. All of those combined? I WILL NOT RUN! By choice. Like with the bra, I suppose there are circumstances that would lead to...

I suppose this next winter, I will need to come to terms with a treadmill, or perhaps convince the hubs to buy me one. Since moving, the trek to the gym has become longer. And driving to the gym in the above weather conditions is also not fun. Warmer, but not fun. Especially at 4:30am.

Back to the break, I took a break and that break lead to too long of a break. I questioned myself and wondered if I was even a "runner." So far, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not one who uses running for therapy (although it does help) and I'm not one that after a day or two goes by without running that I think to myself, "I have GOT to get out there and RUN!" Maybe I'll turn into one of those people some day? For now I'm content with the fact that I love to race, that I love to train with a race as my goal, and that I love to be doing something that I, and others, formerly said that I couldn't do.

With that being said...and the clock ticking down to my bedtime, I'm currently using the Couch to 5k training program (yeah I know, I know) in conjunction with my marathon training. Running pros might say I didn't have enough mileage under my belt to run my first marathon, and the "rules" say I don't have enough of a mileage base to be running my second, but I do feel that my training plan is conservative enough to get me through the training AND the marathon, injury free. So that's where I'm at with the whole "running thing."

Now the weight lifting thing...I've consistently been lifting weights three times a week using my ChaLean Extreme DVDs. I'm proud of myself for the consistency and for finally sticking with something that is working for me at this time. And by that I mean, what worked for me back in 2008 when I was at my goal weight is not going to work for me now. It took me two solid plus years to come to grips with that and move on.

Now quickly, I have to share a couple of pictures. I'm totally motivated by treats. If only I had been born a dog. ha! So my hubs told me if I stuck with the first month of CLX (ChaLean Extreme) that he would buy me an eyeshadow palette I had been coveting for months but just never thought I "deserved." Voila!




It's the umm...maybe I shouldn't say it in case creepers might bring it up in a search? It's by Urban Decay and the colors are soooo amazing!

Lastly, I was going to treat myself to something new, around $25 for a week of calorie counting. Now I'm not going to have treats like this all the time. I've gone two weeks now without a "treat" per se and maybe it's not always a good idea to have to "earn" a treat, but ....well how about we save that all for another day? We happened to go into the big city of Medford and I found some heels that I had been dreaming of. Thick strapped, leather sandals, platforms with wood heels. I didn't set out that day to find these but they were in the back of my little wish list mind.



I LOVE these! The are super comfy, for not being a pair of runners, and did I mention that I LOVE them?! Nine West, on sale from $89 something and I got them for $28. Thank you Amee for calorie tracking!

Time for me to round up this post. I promise it won't be as long until the next one. Not that I'm vain enough to think that you would protest. Ok, maybe Jen would. ha!

My first Marathon! Portland 10-10-10

It’s two days after my first marathon and I’m still struggling to write about my experience. Maybe if I write about it, that chapter is closed? It’s true that I’m already excited about my next one. I’m planning on running the Portland Marathon again next year to beat my time. Now that I know for sure I can do it, it’s time to kick some butt. My official time was something like 6:03 something. Mheh…not what I was hoping for but I really didn’t go into it with a huge goal time in mind. “Just to finish and enjoy it” was my goal. So let’s go back to the days before…

Friday and Saturday, before the marathon, it really started to sink in that I was indeed going to run a marathon. I would have thought that the four months of training would have clued me in to that fact but it seems like I was living in a pretty state of denial. Saturday night, after laying everything out, I had my first “Oh crud! I don’t think I want to do this!” moment. Which was quickly replaced with, “I can’t go back home having not done this.”
Saturday morning we drove up to Portland with a quick stop at Lululemon for arm warmers. (I read AFTERwords that bare arms in rain are best because they drip dry, but I don’t care. I wasn’t too cold with them on and I was glad to have had them. And yeah, I broke the rule about wearing something I hadn’t trained in. I’m such a rebel I guess.) PS It was my first time in a Lululemon store and I wish I could have spent more time and money there. BUT, I had a bib and race packet to pick up.

We got into Portland and the traffic wasn’t pretty the closer we got to the Hilton so Hubs dropped me off and circled the block while I raced down into the depths of the Hilton to get my stuff. Such an awesome excitement in the air! I would have stayed longer except A. it was stinkin’ hot in there and B. Hubs was not going to be successful in finding a parking spot. So up into the cooler air I escaped. We drove to my Aunt V’s home in amazing time and decided that we would risk it in the morning and not use the train to get us to and from. We had a great visit with the extended family that came to see us and Aunt V made me a special spaghetti dinner. She had a good laugh when I told her they were serving the same thing at the Hilton but it was $25 a head.

I think I got maybe 5-6 hours of sleep but I knew little to no sleep would be the case and having banked 10 hours the night before, I wasn’t stressed about it like I normally am. My alarm went off at 4:50 am and I nearly jumped out of bed and into my running gear. Out of the house and on our way at 5:30 we got into downtown just as it started to rain. Really rain! Oh FUN! This is where I wished that I had brought a plastic garbage bag. We sat in the van for awhile and I finished my PB sandwich. We were able to park pretty darn close to my corral entrance so we waited, hoping the rain would subside more. It didn’t. Hubs and I hammered out last minute changes to where I’d look for him along the way. He walked me to my corral entrance and we said our goodbyes.


So very nervous! I got into line for the porta potties and should have gotten right back in line. When I came out the lines had quadrupled! I chatted with the others in my wave and one running mom helped me re-pin my bib to my leg since I wasn’t going to ditch my “throw-away” shirt just yet. Did I mention it was raining? I remember looking around at all of us huddled under whatever overhang we could find and thinking it felt funny that we were all standing in the rain on purpose getting ready to torture ourselves. The excitement and anticipation felt kind of ironic. I remember someone singing the Star Spangled Banner. There were cheers and horns…more cheers and horns, and then right when I decided to hop in the line for the potties one last time, our wave started moving. Oh well! I chatted with a guy named Skip up until we about crossed the starting line and I think I muttered to him something like, “Good luck to you I forgot to turn my Garmin on.” Or something like that. I had indeed forgotten to turn mine on so instead of starting when I crossed the line, all I got was “searching for satellite.” I started to panic a little then I pulled over to the side to wait, it didn’t connect, then I ran some more and then my Garmin started asking me questions. Was I inside? NO you stupid thing! Have I traveled over 100 miles since I last turned it on? Oh crap! It was somewhere around mile two that I think it found the satellite and started working. Lesson learned. Still raining.

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My left foot was sloshing in my shoe and I remember thinking, Boy these blisters are going to be fun. I’d say the first 6 miles I completely forgot about my run/walk ratio….and fuel. I went out slow enough though and I caught myself running TOO slow so I sped up a little. Saw my hubs and gave him my shirt around mile 4 or so. Next time I would see him would be at mile 7. The half marathoners started running by and I felt a little sorry for them. Sorry that they couldn’t run another 13.1 miles? Lol! Mile 7 came and no hubby but I figured he just had a hard time getting there with traffic and since this was part of an out and back, I’d catch him at mile 10. I entertained myself by watching the other runners go by…watching their feet, their faces, reading the names on their bibs. I wasn’t practicing my normal run/walk ratio but thought it was ok that I was walking through all of the water stations.

Mile 10 and I’m still feeling great and starting to wonder where my hubs is but still ok with the thought that I would for sure see him around mile 19. And then there he was at mile 11.

I was so happy to see my number 1 cheerleader! He said I looked great and asked me how I felt. That’s when I realized my calves were starting to cramp. I had come 11 miles and it was easy…now cramps? So soon? Uh oh! I had some salt packets that had turned to mush but I squeezed a couple of horrible crystals into my mouth and set out for miles 12-17 which I knew would end with a huge hill. (For the record, I don’t think salt packets helped. I had hoped when I read that a runner does this at first sign of cramps and voila!...voila my a$$) I think I stopped to stretch maybe once or twice but it wasn’t helping. I found one more salt packet and put the whole thing in my mouth. Getting up the St John’s Bridge hill and crossing that darned thing was amazing. I lied to myself and told myself the hard part was over. I was now running in mileage territory that had not been crossed before by my legs. There were some blessed downhills and other than cramping calves and a feeling of exhaustion, I was pain free. Even though I was walking a lot more at this point, I was praising the fact that I was not injured. I watched my time goal of 5:30 slip further and further away but I knew I was finishing so it really didn’t matter much to me anymore. It stopped raining for me around mile something…was it 19? I don’t really remember. I saw my hubs at mile 20 and got one more hug and kiss. Much of this is blurry now. I think I’m walking now more than I’m running. I was playing little games with myself and running between lamp posts and signs, and then walking again.
Miles 23-26.2 were hard. The miles ticked off slowly and the finish line seemed to keep moving on me. I can say for sure that the last .2 seemed horrendously long. All of a sudden I rounded a corner and there it was. I think I remember hearing the music Flight of the Valkyries playing and a fat opera pig on a poster singing. I did happen to glance over and see my hubs one last time. Once over the finish line the emotions were crazy…partly crying from relief and exhaustion…it was all a blur. Blanket gets draped over me, I felt a pat on my back, I was handed a medal, I get handed a rose, a nice volunteer ties my blanket for me and puts my medal I was clutching around my neck…food, shirts, I must have looked dazed because a nice volunteer asked me if I was meeting a loved one, I think I shook my head yes, and I rounded the corner and burst into tears as soon as I saw my hubby.





He kept telling me how proud he was of me. We walked to the van which wasn’t too far away and he helped me get into some warm dry clothes. After that it was pretty smooth sailing. I got the first look at my feet which looked like what I imagine they call jungle rot. Two blood blisters, one regular blister, and legs that felt a hundred years old…not too shabby! We went back to Aunt V’s and I took a shower…more dry clothes…and then we hit the road for the outlet malls? Lol! Hubby rewarded me with a new Coach wallet for a job well done.

The car ride home was loooong and I got out and stretched every chance I could. Monday I had off and I slept most of the day. I took of Tuesday as well to catch up with everything that didn’t get done over the weekend and today I can honestly say that I have had some of those marathon blues. It’s over…what next? My body isn’t ready to hit it hard yet, but soon. I’ve never been really good at being patient. A big huge thank you to you, my spark friends, for supporting me along the way with your advice and encouraging words!! Whose going to run their first marathon next?!?!

PS Just noticed the dates are wrong on my camera but then it looks like hubs fixed them at one point. loL!

How I did with the 2011 Portland Marathon!

Shakeology - OMG!

This stuff tastes so ah-MAZING so I was a little blown away with this video. I was kind of grossed out at the thought of eating all those veggies at once, but in a shake that tastes like chocolate? Or berries? No problem!

Monday's Focus - Week 3

Monday, yesterday...did not go as planned or expected. I'm still dealing with a tweaked neck that was brought about by having two glasses of wine on Saturday night, sleeping on my stomach with my head turned, and not moving once the whole night. Owie! I have more mobility today but I'm still very sore from the massage and adjustment my hubs semi-chiropractor friend did for me last night.

In response to the great responses I got on my failed Shakeology cleanse...yeah, I'm definitely thinking it was from the lower calories. Still a little miffed how everyone that does this cleanse gets through it so fine. I'm a weenie-tot? Oh well, over it. I'm really loving the shakes in my meal plan and I'll share more interesting finds as I have more time to spend with it. In the mean time, if you click on the Shakeology link to the left....you will find lots of good stuff there.

Has it been three weeks already? Yep! Kinda pressed for time so I'll just go with the three new ones for this week.

Body - take my multivitamin. Yep, I have one and used to faithfully take it everyday. I know the importance of taking it so why I don't is beyond me.

Mind - Spend 5 minutes a day in my closest...cull old clothes...move the seasonal clothes...help hubby with his side...etc. (The closest isn't in bad shape but it has been something that has been bugging me. I figure if I fix that, my mind will be filled up with greater things!)

Soul - pick a verse from my reading in the morning to use to combat any negative thoughts or worries later on in the day.

Do any of you have Body/Mind/Soul goals going on? I'd love if you'd share them with me!

Psychotic Much?

So I was all excited to start this Shakeology Cleanse...to see what it was all about. The cleanse was pretty low calorie, only three days, three shakes a day, two fruit snacks, a big salad and four oz of lean white meat protein. Rid your body of toxins, jumpt start a new fitness program, bust through a plateau, etc etc. I'm not knocking the cleanse although I haven't been a fan of other cleanses. The only cleanse that I've been a fan of is Lacy Lebeau's Diet Cleanse tea which is all natural senna based. And it uh, works. (Edited to add that the Shakeology cleanse is not designed so much to lose weight, but that is an attractive side effect.)

So back to the Shakeology Cleanse. Sunday is my rest day, I'm tapering...I'll give it a try! Half a day is all it took for me to say, screw the cleanse! I swear, deplete me of carbs and I'm likely to murder someone. I just do not, lemme repeat I just DO NOT get how people can go carbless. What's it called...ketosis? And that's a good thing for those on Atkins? I think it's more like kepunchyouinthethroatis. I actually growled at my husband that I was going to eat carbs and there was no way he was going to stop me. Who am I kidding though and why the heck WOULD he have even tried?! I got every green light and thumbs up possible. Such a happier camper now. Both of us. loL! So I guess I'm saying that the cleanse would be great for anyone but me. I mean, for someone not sensitive to carb depletion? I don't know...I'd be interested to hear from others that have done the cleanse. Everything I found on the web was very positive about it so either I'm the only one being honest or I'm an anomoly. ha!

My nutrition plan for the week is still going to include my Shakeology...but just one shake a day for lunch. I'm already pleased with how great it tastes and how much healthier it is for me than the muscle milk I was drinking. In a nutshell, Shakeology GREAT, Shakeology cleanse for Amee, NOT GREAT! I have it coming on home direct which means free shipping and I don't have to remember to order it. Which is cool since when my Muscle Milk would get low, and when I'd remember to order it, I would get all panicky as the tub would get low and my order hadn't arrived. Greenberry is next month since chose to alternate the flavors.

I'm excited for Monday...bring it on! Look for Monday's focus tomorrow. I will be adding on. It's hard to believe in two short weeks, I've come this far in all three areas of my life. Trippin to the beat of my own sunshine....

Click here to learn more about Shakeology!