together is much better, so lets run lets run lets run

remember how i was supposed to run with abby last week, but it snowed too much? well, we finally got to run together today! i had a 14 miler planned but abby just wanted to do 10, so i ran 4 before she came over. we ate some gu together and went on our way.

the first few miles we were busy catching up since i haven't seen her since december, and its easy to run fast when distracted. i am also aware that abby runs much faster than i do, so every few minutes i was yelling at her that we were running waaaaay too fast. not too fast that i couldn't keep up, but definitely too fast to run 10 miles at that pace. i mean, our first mile was under 9 minutes. yeah, way too fast for me for a long run.

but after a few miles we settled into a compromise pace - about 9.45/ mile. to be honest i don't remember most of the run because we were talking about some serious shit (God, relationships, food, etc etc). at the 5 mile point we shared a bag of lemon lime shot blocks. i felt like such a mom breaking out snacks from a fanny pack (or fuel belt, in my case). but it was great, and the 5 miles home went by quickly.

after the run we went to cafe jumping bean and ate soup and sandwiches. normally i wait a while to eat so i felt a little iffy in my stomach to eat so much right after a run, but it was nice to be able to finish up our conversation and talk about all the fun that will happen tonight.

all in all, it was a great run. i had never run 14 miles before! so i am feeling victorious now. i am also feeling very sleepy. im writing this post from bed, and i'm about to take a little nap before heading out for tonight's (sober) activities - fundraiser at a bar, dinner with a friend, friends party, and a midnight showing of skinprov (nearly naked men doing improv comedy).

tomorrow i'm planning on doing a historic run with fleet feet...hopefully i get enough sleep tonight to rest from todays run and get ready for that!

we'll taste victory, i'm sure

i bounced back from my day of doubting on tuesday. yesterday, i went for a nice 6 mile run at the lake. the running gods must have been smiling down on me, because it was exactly what i needed.

it was dusk, about 55 degrees, and the breeze off the lake was amazing. it reminded me of the weather when i ran the nike human race on the lake back in august, except its february now. when i was thinking about all the places i may move to next year, and i realized that i have to live somewhere near water. growing up in michigan, going to school in cleveland (which everyone forgets is on a lake, but it really is), and living in chicago now, i am really used to having a big lake around, and i am not willing to give it up.

one of the many other runners who was out last night provided me with such good entertainment that i am still laughing about it today. near the field museum, you have the cross a little road and there are always cones and other such craziness for the parking lots. this doesn't phase runners who are used to it- you just run right through the madness. so i am running towards this guy, and he runs through the cones like anyone would have done, only he starts running really funny. like he was running through quicksand. which he basically was. after he got past the coned off part of the road, he and i both noticed his foot prints left in the wet cement he had just run through. about 8 or 9 big foot prints messing up the new cement. we looked at each other, kinda shrugged a "well what can we do now?" shrug and went back to our runs.

only i couldn't get over how funny it was and kept laughing for the next few miles over it. i feel bad for that guy though, that must really mess up your shoes.

speaking of shoes....mine are kaput. this makes me feel sad. i was thinking this pair would last me until my half in april and i could get a new pair for the last month and a half of training before the marathon. there are only about 200 miles on this pair, but the heel of the right shoe has busted open and there is fabric that rubs on my ankle and exposed plastic that doesn't feel very cushy to run in.

i called fleet feet to tell them my shoes fell apart before they should have, and the woman told me it might be that my ankle rubs against the shoe too much. what? my ankle hurt the shoe? take one look at my blisters and you will know the shoe hurt my foot!

its also sad because my current shoes are these really cute ones:

pretty cute, right?

oh well, i'm heading to fleet feet after i teach today to get some new ones. i am excited about shoes, i'm just sad to realize how often i will need to buy shoes. basically because its so expensive. but hey, anything that is going to help me get through my 14 mile run on saturday!

i ran 3 miles this morning on the lake. i haven't run on a weekday morning since the fall, and its nice to know its warming up a bit and get light out earlier so that it is possible again.

my morning and evening runs have a different soundtrack than daytime runs. good tunes for a morning or late night run have a steady beat but are kinda mellow, with some quirk to them.

mellow running tunes:

• the monster song by psapp
• drinking song by jenny owen youngs
• salt and foam by the dimes
  

funny story today - i was playing minesweeper today during homeroom, and my sophomores were asking if they could "click it." after a few minutes of confused conversation, it turns out that they didn't know there were mines you were trying to discover - they thought it was a game where you click until you click something bad. which sounds like a shitty game. nevertheless, i taught them some of the finer points of minesweeper strategy. i have never seen them so attentive at school before. i can't make them do their homework, but i can help them play time wasting games. sweeeeeeeeet.

oh! and i bought these running capris last night at target after my run. SO CUTE! i can't wait to wear them. hopefully it will be nice to enough to try them out for my long run on saturday.

tgit, everyone!

what a lovely day to have a slice of humble pie

uh oh.

the first doubts have set in.

i'm feeling very humbled by the marathon.

i ate so much crap yesterday i couldn't run much (yeah, this was probably mostly a mental block, but oh well) so i ended up doing 2 miles of hills programmed on the treadmill, and an hour on the elliptical.

and while ellipticalling (which is a verb, of course) the bad thoughts started creeping in.

i don't think i'll be ready.

hal higdon is wrong, this plan won't get me prepared.

i'm not meant to run a marathon.

20 miles can't possibly prepare me for 26.2

etc, etc, etc...

it was ugly. very ugly.

i am generally the queen of optimism, and when these bad thoughts creep in, it freaks me out.

there was nothing really i could do but look over my training schedule, remind myself i haven't missed a run yet, and that i am doing everything i should. that i can do this. that i will do this.

the best cure for everything is sleeping it off, so i managed to distract myself with bad tv shows until i went to sleep. today is a new day (bonus question: which drug is that the slogan for?) and i am looking forward to 6 miles after school, hopefully outside.

i'm optimistic once more and excited to keep training, but yes, my first freak out did occur. one more reason to reward my 6 miles today with some new running clothes once i get paid friday, right?

in other news, its ash wednesday, and that means its my first day off the sauce. now that i think about it, i'm not sure which is more impressive- me running a marathon, or me sober for 40 days. this is gonna be a good combo.

exodus honey by honeycut just came on my ipod...which isn't what i would normally choose to run to, but its a pretty great song.

"Blink, I don't want to wink, I just want to take siestas all day..."

you and me both, honeycut.

fast as you can.

happy fat tuesday! i'm having one of the fattest tuesdays i can recall. when you come downstairs at 6.30 am and your roommate is frying up beignets, there is clearly no hope for a non-fat tuesday. i had never eaten a beignet before, they are one of the delicious varities of fried dough that exist. so think of a funnel cake, elephant ear, churro, doughnut...yeah, you get the picture. dip that shit in some coffee and oh my goodness. heaven in my mouth.

so. freaking. good.

i then ate some mini cadburry eggs that my lovely bff k-dizzle got for me. how are those things so much better than regular chocolate? i don't understand it. i love it, but i don't understand it.

and i ate a huge slice of leftover pizza from last night, when runner boy and i made a pizza with feta, black olives, tons of fresh garlic, onions, and tomatoes. seriously yummy.

aaaaand tonight, my housemates and i will be eating a surf and turf meal. this is not our usual volunteer community dinner. but hey, its fat tuesday! which also means that tonight is my last night to drink anything alcoholic til easter. this could get ugly. but i'm always up for a challenge.

today i'm going to run 4 miles on the treadmill with some hills programmed in. i'm realizing its kinda tough to train for a race with some hills (cleveland) in a city with no hills (chicago). so hellloooo treadmill! i'm also going to spend some quality time on the elliptical to try to undo some of the damage i've done with my fried dough, cadburry eggs, pizza, and surf and turf eating...hopefully i can get through my miles without yakking.

due to the chic runner's obscenely cute running capris, i have been coveting running clothes online all day at school. i've gotta wait til pay day but hey, now that i won't be drinking my paycheck at the bar, looks like i'll have some money to buy some running clothes.

recommended songs to rock out to:

• fast as you can by fiona apple
• obessions by marina and the diamonds

also, special shout out to all my real life friends i finally told i started a blog! i've gotten over how nerdy i thought it was. you should appreciate this, dear friends, because now that i can blabber on about running online, i bug you less about it! i'm trying to, at least.

happy fat tuesday!

let me see you shake your tail feather.

it did snow quite a bit last night and into this morning, so abby and i called off our run. which is a big bummer, because the only other time i have had to do a long run for my training on the treadmill is the other time abby and i planned to run together, only to be hit with a snowstorm.

i still had 12 miles to get in though, so i headed over to school to get on a treadmill. i brought some black cherry clif shot blocks, my sigg of orange gatorade, and a dvd of blues brothers to put on the tv.

my run was really like 2 seperate runs - the first 9 miles and the last 3.

the first 9 were pretty much awesome. blues brothers might be the best movie to watch while running, because of all the great music. it always blows my mind when the guy leaves aretha after she sings think (the second half of the video is the song). how can you leave that? shake a tail feather is all a bad ass number, too. i got so excited during both of those songs i ran at a 9.40 pace instead of my usual 10 - 10.20 long run pace. i was also digging the cherry shot blocks. pretty tasty. all in all, first 9 miles went very smoothly and i have to say, they were really enjoyable.

and then it got ugly really quickly. i've only ever run 12 miles during a half marathon, but its not that much longer than 10 so i wasn't thinking i would feel so awful. but during the last 3 miles, my stomach was all cramped up, my feet hurt, and i was getting lightheaded. i had to stop and put my head between my knees once because i was worried i would pass out. but i had a stern talk with myself and i said, maria, man up, this is less than half of a marathon, stop complaining and run. so i finished it up and got my 12 miles in, stretched, took off my shoes to discover some fresh blisters, headed home and showered.

after, i was making some lunch and i felt seriously ill. really lightheaded and stomach not feeling okay. i laid down, drank a ton more water, and i'm feeling better now, but it was a rough go.

i think i am going to start experimenting with eating salt during my runs. i have vasovagal syncope and though i am cleared by my doctor to run, i don't want to run distance anymore if it felt like the last 3 miles and the aftermath today! i'm optimisitic, though, because this is what training is for - figuring out how i can run 26.2 in a row without dying (or passing out, or quitting).

hopefully i get back to feeling normal soon, because i have big plans today/tonight - yes, obviously lots of beers will be involved. i'll be trying my best not to drink rumple minze, but we will just see how the night goes. you'd better believe i'll be playing "think" and "shake a tail feather" on the jukebox at the bar tonight!

it's friday, i'm in love!

two major discoveries i've made in the past 24 hours...

1. mixing cottage cheese, shredded cheddar, and cooked pasta makes a really good, easy, not too unhealthy macaroni and cheese.

seriously, putting cottage cheese in pasta is incredible. if you haven't tried it, you probably don't believe me. but if you have tried it, you know the gooey and awesomeness that happen when cottage cheese gets melty.

2. a runner boy i'm pseudo dating revealed that his mother was an olympic track and field runner.

um WHAT?

yeah, seriously. we were talking about our favorite runners (steve prefontaine and kara goucher), and i started going on and on about how cool it would be if i were a naturally gifted runner and could be a professional so all i would have to do is eat, sleep, run, and cross train.

i said "can you imagine how awesome that would be?"

to which he replies, "yeah, like my mom"

what? like your mom?

"she was in the olympics"

holy crap. i about peed myself and freaked out. i tried to play it cool and not ask too many questions, but there you have it, ladies and gents - his mother is a serious runner.

and now i for sure want to have his babies.

we then proceeded to eat 30 bbq hot wings with excessive amounts of blue cheese and many pitchers of beer. not bad for a school night. not bad at all. unfortunately, both his and my students had slightly hungover teachers today. sorry kids.

tonight i am laying low in anticipation of my 12 mile run tomorrow. my friend abby is going to run it with me, and then we will eat many many pancakes back at my house. abby is absolutely hilarious and i'm really pumped to laugh for at least 9 out of the 12 miles.

however, a snowstorm is supposed to hit chicago tonight and tomorrow morning, so i am very worried it may change my plans. if i have to do 12 miles on a treadmill, i will die. i may have to do it in two 6 mile shifts with a break in between. i'll be trying my best to do the run outside, so keep your fingers crossed.

also, i signed up for another race today - the 13.1 marathon on june 7th in chicago. woot woot!

congrats to everyone on making it through the work week!

said you let your hair down.

runner boys have it so easy. with few exceptions, they can throw their shorts, shirts, and shoes on, strap on their ipod, turn on their nike plus, and head out the door.

not so for runner girls!

we have the added step(s) of pony tailing, bobby pining, head banding, braiding and/or pig tailing before we can leave. and even after that, i stop a few times each run to adjust my hair. not because i'm vain - my standards for my hair are significantly lowered when i'm running - but because my hair drives me absolutely crazy when i'm running!

i have yet to find the right running hairstyle (style is a generous word for the mess my hair is in when im running, but hairmess isn't a word...yet). i've got pretty long hair, so a ponytail is good except when my sweaty back and shoulders get sticky and well...you can imagine the hairmess we've got.

i try to messy bun thing, but my bouncy running always makes it flop around and loosen up to the point where it is not a functional bun and its getting sweaty and sticky anyways.

braided pig tails have always been a favorite of mine for athletic endeavors since i was a child. these cause no real problems when running except...

i got bangs a few months ago, and it takes me 4 bobby pins and a nonslip headband to keep them undercontrol. this works with the ponytail and bun options, but is awkward with the braids.

today i ran with a regular braid along with my pinned and headbanded bangs, and it went pretty well. it was only 3 miles today, but im going to test it out with my 12 mile run on saturday.

any suggestions on how to control your hair when running is much appreciated! oh, the things runner boys don't have to deal with!!

if you've got a long run this weekend you'd like a new album to listen to during, check out "a grand don't come for free" album from the streets.

its a few years old, but i feel as though there are not enough people who love this album yet. it is a story told through all the songs. the streets is a british rapper who is telling the story of a guy who meets a girl, falls in love, loses $1000, starts dealing drugs to get the money back....and thats all i'm telling. maybe the suspense will help you get through the last few miles of your run this weekend! good beats to run to, too.

in case you still aren't sold, check out this song from the album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr4TpXqlPhI

kids don't know shit

this post is not going to be a rant about my students not knowing things - the title is deceiving (the title is a song by islands...an excellent band, excellent song)
this will be a post about lessons i've learned about running/marathon training thus far...

1. you can't fake a long run.
just as you cannot fake a marathon, its pretty damn hard to fake a long run. i learned this one pretty early on, after dinner with my favorite couple turned into me drinking way too much red wine. i tried to go on my 7 mile run the next day, the longest of the week. you can guess how that one went - 3 miles, me puking, then 4 more miles.
ouch.

do not drink this in large quantities the night before your long run! don't do it!

no more trying to fake long runs for me- i now give my long runs the respect they deserve, and lay low the night before to rest up.

2. your feet are precious.
let me first mention that i am not a girl to worry about her shoes. i've been wearing birkenstocks, uggs, ballet flats, and flip flops for as long as i can recall whenever i can get away with it.
BUT...
i do own heels. and i do wear these heels when the occasion comes up...basically, when i have a date i deem worthy of the agony of heels. and a few weeks ago when i had a date with one of my favorite boys (yes, of course he is a runner boy!), i wore heels. the shoes were new, we walked from bar to bar (er, bar to cab to bar to cab, but still), and i danced my booty off on the dance floor of dive bars. needless to say, my feet were covered in blisters after this for a week. blisters hurt when you run. so i learned a little lesson about taking care of my feet, and not just when i'm running.

3. orange gatorade is superior to lemon lime.
it just is. its more like tang, and this is a good thing. a very, very, very good thing.


4. cotton really is the devil to run in.
no matter how many times i read this, i thought this was a lie. it is not. i'm never going back to running in cotton. which gives me an excuse to buy new running clothes. which leads us to...

5. new running clothes and/or shoes are good motivators.
having cute clothes to run in makes running more fun. this sound shallow, but i'm fairly sure that there is a scientifically proven direct relationship between cute clothes and miles run. also, its fun to bribe yourself with the reward of new things. i'm sure this has also been proven scientifically, too.

6. my face turns purple and i sweat like crazy when i run anything over two miles.
i'm learning to accept this.

thats what i've learned so far....what lessons have you learned?

songs to rock out to...

• dont call me whitney, bobby by the islands
• bonafide lovin by chromeo
• cappuccino by the knux

my fellow midwesterners....good luck getting through the final weeks of winter. we can do this.

ready set go, i'll race you to the wall.

this weekend my housemates and i went on retreat to michigan (my home state!! woot woot!!). i think we all appreciated the rest, the quiet, and all the food we ate. highlights of the weekend include:

• chocolate stout cake
• gigantic chocolate chip/m&m cookies
• kicking my roommate's ass at egyptian rat screw (yeah, remember that game? its as intense and glorious as i remembered it being in 8th grade)
• running 7 miles around-ish the like with another roommate
• sleeping approximate 14 hours a day
  
• reading the sparrow

seriously, i cannot even begin to describe all the good food i ate this weekend. it was glorious. and lets hear it for marathon training because i don't feel an ounce of guilt about it.

sunday morning my roommate and i got up to run. we had been given directions on how to run around the lake, which is apparently pretty close to 7 miles. well, the direction giver was extremely confusing, and we immediately got lost. we spent most of our run talking about where to turn and creating emergency plans if we got seriously lost. luckily, that didn't happen, but our navigation kept us busy on the run, and before we knew it we were back at the house with 7 miles in 1:08 done.

i LOVE running with people, especially people who don't really consider themselves runners. i love conversations while running, too. im not sure why the conversations are better than talking standing still, but they reliably are.

the book i read this weekend - the sparrow by mary doria russell - is so freakin good. go read it! its basically about jesuits in space. which sounds insane. but its a clever book about religion, faith, human relationships, linguistics, and culture. it also gives a big shout out to my alma mater, john carroll university. and, once of the characters in the book is training for the cleveland marathon, just like yours truly!

you will not want to put it down once you start, so clear 6 hours of your schedule, get the sparrow, and go to it!

thanks, mom, for letting me borrow it before you even read it.

music recommendation of the post:
i'm thinking spring early, and i'm recommending the self titled album "the pains of being pure at heart" as a sunny weather soundtrack.

im off to run my freakishly flexible 5k in honor of non runner nancy. can i count a virtual race as a PR?

i dont wanna grow up, bring me all the toys you can find.

runners world recently ran an article on waving. i think the article sought to clear up confusion, but i have to say, it has induced nothing but absolute paranoia on my runs. prior to the article, i was pretty much set on my nod. i'm aware i probably look pretty akward nodding while running, but i think its better than the alternatives. waving would definately throw off my balance. i tried smiling but i always feel like a dog thats showing its teeth and trying to scare the poor other runner. and unless i'm really running hard, i'm not apt to ignore the other runner. so i like my nod.

but now that there has been a whole article on it, whenever i'm running and see another runner i always think about the article, and wonder if they've read it, and wonder if they are going to wave, smile, nod, or say something. i still nod, but the article has done nothing but increased my awareness of people who ignore me, or make me wonder if i should be responding to a wave with a wave, etc.

your thoughts on the matter are valued.

i'm becoming more and more obsessed with the daily plate. its a great way to keep track of how much you've eaten, and how many calories you've burned, and how much more you should eat. i'm a fan of eating when you are hungry, but i've been getting soooo hungry now that i've been running more, and its a good way to make sure i'm not eating too much, and also that i'm eating enough.

hey! the suns out! looks like a perfect time to get today's miles in...

songs for today's run:

• calling and not calling my ex by okkervil river
• happy alone by kings of leon
• collection of stamps by i'm from barcelona

did you check out girl talk yet?? if not, do it now! you will thank me later. seriously.

side note: only the 3rd day of the whole blogging thing and i'm realizing - my titles can be song lyrics and have nothing to do with my posts, or they can accurately describe my post. i'm leaning towards option one. sorry if that makes my blog confusing. but its my blog, and i like the song lyrics. : )

you can't steal happiness

yesterday i had an amazing run! i ran at the lakefront in shorts, which i've been daydreaming about but didn't think i would really be able to do for another month at the very least. it was great to see so many other people out there running, too. especially runner boys...i have a tendency to fall in love (possibly literally) with every boy that i see running. so, it made my run pretty great to see so many runners (read: runner boys) when i was out.

also, i was pretty psyched because i was just doing some very unfocused fartlek running, and ended up running a few 8 minute miles - which is unheard of for me.

my triumphant return to the lakefront yesterday was noteworthy because this saturday morning i had a less than stellar run at the lake. don't worry, my 10 miles went better than i'd guessed (9.50 average pace). but, when i came back to my car, i was confused. had i left the window down? but no. no that. some meanie had smashed my window and stole my purse! my purse was a huge leather awesome bag, with my phone, clutch wallet, keys, CTA card, planner, books, makeup, and tons of other stuff i am realizing i am missing. the thief not only took my purse, but my fleece i got for running the inaugural hot chocolate 15k this november. i loved that fleece!

jokes on him, though. i didn't have any cash.

anyways, i would like to consider my run yesterday my statement of fearlessness! you can't scare me! the lakefront path is MINE! and, the lyrics from the weepies' song happiness keep running through my head (see the title of this post for details).

today i'm looking forward to a 5 or 6 mile run. its been raining all day, but i have to say, i kind of enjoy puddle jumping when i'm running. its a mini challenge to add to the run. wet socks do suck though.

i've been really wanting to do some yoga lately, so i think i'll be doing a super long stretching/yoga session after my run. anyone have any good runner's yoga moves?

on today's running playlist:

• playground by sia
• like this by girl talk
• i'm a flirt by r. kelly

on today's yoga playlist:

• woods by bon iver
  
• hearstopper by emiliana torrini
• pages written on a wall by margot and the nuclear so and so's
  

i'm limiting my lists to 3 songs, because if i didn't we would be here all day. or at least, i would be here all day.

also...if you haven't listened to girl talk yet, do so immediately! greg gillis is the man behind girl talk, and he is a mash up artist who blends all sorts of songs into one amazing track. you can download his latest album for free here

i've seen girl talk live 3 times, and they may have been the most awesome 3 nights of my life! its just him and his laptop, and he puts on a rocking dance party....he always end ups shirtless and sweaty like this: he even covers his laptop in saran wrap to keep the sweat off:

this is how sweaty, gross, and happy my friend mimi and i were at our first girl talk show:


please note, i appear to be doing a fist pump move.

if girl talk doesn't rock you next run, you must not have a musical soul. enjoy!

this is how it always starts.

welcome!

after racking my brain for a week or so on whether to start a blog, and what i'd say, and (most importantly) what i'd call it...i decided to take the plunge. so welcome to the first post of my blog!

in the past year i have really become smitten with running. i trained for a half marathon last summer, and ended up running three - the chicago distance classic, the banco popular chicago half marathon, and the detroit half marathon. i've since signed up for the rite aid cleveland marathon in may, and am loving training! i'm realizing i have to make a lot of sacrifices (especially with my social life - i quickly learned you CANT do a long run hungover!) but i'm willing, able, and happy to give up a few nights of drinking to be able to run 26.2.

i do have a few fearless friends who run with me, but for the most part, my endless babbling about running has, i fear, been boring those around me. i've really enjoyed reading running blogs like the chic runner, twenty six point two and brand new life as a runnner. its great to know other people eat, sleep, and breath running - even if everyone around them doesn't! i figured i should share my thoughts and experiences, too, and not just stalk their blogs.

another obsession of mine is music - and if you run, you know that music is to running what gin is to tonic. it makes it so much more fun! so, i will not only be sharing tales of my runs but also my top tracks to run to. i spend way too much time on emusic.com and last.fm finding artists and songs that make my ears smile. hopefully i can pass on some tunes you will enjoy. while i love discovering new-ish bands, i also shamelessly love less pretentious music - and i don't think i will ever find a better song to run to than "i wanna dance with somebody" by whitney houston.

today i'll be doing a speed workout of 3 miles. its 65 and sunny - rare for february in chicago! i think i'm going to be ridiculous and wear shorts, just because i can. and, because i bought a pair of pale yellow nike tempo shorts, and i can't wait to wear them!

recommended running songs of the day:

• the girl that you lost to cocaine by sia
• always where i need to be by the kooks
• noni's field by anathallo

happy running, rocking, and rolling!

ps...i'm aiming to make my blog titles song lyrics. today's selection is the title of a trance enducing track by grandaddy.