run, rock, and roll.

youre the shit and im knee deep in it

2010-03-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

hello!

my post title today is from the frightened rabbit song i have been listening to on repeat all week. seriously, LISTEN to that band. they are amazing! i am hoping to see them when they come thru sf in may.

last week i posted about my half marathon entry i have for the oakland marathon on sunday. while i completely value the comments about trying to run it and just getting the race in, i am opting out. my ankle still phantomly hurts, and to be fair....i think i just want to sleep in on sunday and not risk hurting myself. maybe its totally lame, but its my decision and im sticking to it. plus - i found someone on craigslist who wants to buy my bib, so he can use it and i can use the money. maybe for some brunch sunday morning when im NOT running!

ive got some good news and some bad news. bad news first, of course...

bad news: i havent gone to the gym this week, and will not be going until probably saturday

good news: i have had exciting social plans every day! monday and tuesday i grabbed drinks with B (yes, the boy who lets me borrow his truck and also works at a restaurant with an excellent bar 2 blocks from my apt. gooooooood arrangement if you ask me!). today im going to burma superstar for dinner. im going with a friend of a friend who i hit it off with last week on st pattys - making girlfriends is tough but exciting! its always fun for some girl talk time. and tomorrow, im supposed to meet ANOTHER newly acquainted friend for drinks...and then its friday, when i am heading to zeitgeist to do some outside drinking with a crew of people.

im not trying to be braggy or anything about my social events planned for the week. its just really exciting, because this is one of the first times since moving here that my social calendar is really happening. 24 hour fitness is always there for me, and i am sure it will be ok with me taking some time off to be a social little lady.

in other musical news....i just gave peasant's "shady retreat" album enough listens to hear how great it is. its my new fall asleep to it music.

have a good night all!

on the dock of the bay

2010-03-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

my favorite friend who was at sxsw came back this morning, so i picked him up at the airport. now, i dont have a car, but like all smart city folk, i zipcar.

but this friend (lets call him B) does have a car. a big truck, in fact. and when he went to work today, he parked in front of my apt and handed me the keys. in exchange for picking him up from the airport, i got a car to use all day! wahoo!

so i did two major things - i went to target and i went on a run. both were wonderful.

i havent been to target since june when i still lived in chicago. can you imagine 8.5 months without target? how am i alive?

i picked up a lot of stuff but most notably:

a pink clock for my kitchen for $16

mmmm how do these eggs taste so much better than any other chocolate i can find?
(please ignore how backwards/upside down/sideways this picture is. i dont feel like dealing with fixing it. lets pretend its artistic)

after target i made some yummy rice krispy treats (which im currently consuming) and headed out on a run. when someone lends you their car, i say go run somewhere good. like crissy field!

running towards the golden gate bridge at sunset made this lady pretty happy. not the best run ever (im still getting used to 4 miles being a challenge and not a piece of cake) but it was a pretty run, and a peaceful run, and that counts for something.

i stole a frightened rabbit cd out of B's truck i'm listening to right now. so far, so good. i'm especially enjoying good arms vs bad arms a lot.

oh! and just as i wrote how i liked THAT song, i heard some amazing lyrics in another song.

"these trousers seem to love your floor"

but its a mellow song, so it sounds cool, not like a sleezy pick up line like it does when i typed it out above.
ok, time for some more sophie's world reading and bed. early breakfast tomorrow morning at farmer brown's.

oh oh bring your hips to me

2010-03-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

for the last few months, i have been listening to my favorite artists and diving deep into their discographies. joe purdy, emmy the great, midlake and the avett brothers have rules my ears. yes - when im not running or at the gym, im all about the folksy soul. one dear friend with awful musical taste(which doesnt extend much beyond phish. yuck) refers to this music as rug munching music, which i dont think really nice.

anyways....i have been loving whats been in my ears, but it hasnt been anything too new or exciting. well well my friends - things have changed.

i bought the thao with the get down stay down album "know better learn faster" back in december, but i never really got into it for some reason. i finally gave it the listening it deserved, and my oh my. it is GOOD. i have been listening to "when we swam" on repeat alllll daaaaaay.

listen to it! listen!

dont you love it?

mmmm. so. good.

not only am i head over heels for that ENTIRE album, i am also reading an incredible book. "sophie's world" by Jostein Gaarder. its an introduction to philosophy, through the eyes of a 12 year girl who gets mysterious philosophical letters in the mail. i have a love/hate relationship with philosophy. i love it, but it truly does literally make my head hurt. a few years ago my life was ruined for a few months when i had a meltdown about perception and reality. if you pretend something doesnt exist, does it still exist?

people have been telling me i would like "sophie's world" for a few years but for whatever reason i havent gotten around to reading it. yesterday i passed a book store with a cart of used books outside (which i never pass without looking through), and found it for $4. SOLD. and now i cant put it down.

ok, bed time for this lady. im gonna put on some midlake and imagine im at the midlake show like my friends are at SXSW.

oh what a beautiful morning oh what a beautiful day

2010-03-16T15:52:00.003-07:00

a long, long time ago, i thought i wanted to run another marathon. and i thought signing up would make me start training.

so i signed up for the oakland marathon.

but then i realized than i would not be ready to run 26.2 by the time of the race, so i dropped down to the half marathon.

the race is in 2 weeks, and i haven't run more than 4 or 5 miles since i moved to san francisco in july.

so - what to do? i have an entry to the oakland half marathon. half of me wants to just do it - run, walk, and crawl to get myself to the finish line. it should humble me, and it will make me appreciate how awesome i was when i ran the 5 halfs i have completed.

but, i sprained my ankle about 3 weeks ago, so maybe i shouldn't push it.

what do you think? do i run it? or, if you are in the sf bay area, should i give you my entry?

let me know.

ps. its gorgeous outside and this makes me think nothing can go wrong

pps. i just made up excuses to skip a work baby shower. things like that make me so incredibly uncomfortable. am i bad at being a woman if i cant ooh and aah over baby clothes for more than 5 minutes?

i guess its spring, i didnt know, its always 75 with no melting snow...

2010-03-15T16:26:00.002-07:00

wow.

its march.

i havent blogged since july.

this is just plain embarrassing.

i noticed this while my good buddy nicole linked me in her wonderful blog.

"nicole has another friend maria? who runs? and has a blog?"

oh. thats me. and i've been incredibly remiss about blogging.

so if anyone still has the link to this blog in their google reader - my humble apologies. its been a crazy few months.

to summarize my life since july -

-i moved two more times (within SF)
-i sprained my ankle
-i started seeing a trainer
-i became obsessed with kickboxing
-i am apparently incapable of running more than 4 miles at a time
-i am eating crazy healthy (yay san francisco! yay CSA!)
-i went on an incomprehensible number of AWFUL dates
-i watched all 5 seasons of LOST in 1 month
-i started cooking. a lot. for myself. and anyone i can coerce into coming over

i think that gives you a good idea of what i have been up to.

but there is not enough running on that list. i think back to when i was running a lot, and it was awesome. i live in a gorgeous city that has a rockin running culture - and i so have not be taking advantage of it. so maybe blogging more will get me back into it? we will see.

its also incredibly likely that this will become a music blog. which is something you should consider getting really excited about. because i have really been getting into the concert scene here, and i've met some people who are really plugged into the music scene. they are lucky enough to be going to SXSW, so upon their return i am sure i will have lots to share with you.

but until then.....

listen to some midlake. they are so incredible. dont run to them - put them on when you are day dreaming about camping. or when you are doing the dishes. or when you are laying around all hungover like reading magazines. this is what i do. i saw them play a show at great american music hall two weeks ago and it was the most magical evening i have had in months.

and my oh my do they have the sexiest beards around.

help im alive

2009-07-24T10:35:00.003-07:00

heeeey blogging world.

i may have disappeared from the blogging world but im alive and well.

i don't have time to write any real updates right now, but i just wanted to let everyone know that i'm going to be volunteering at the san francisco marathon expo tomorrow, from 12.30 - 6, giving out bibs and race packets.

so, if you are there....come say hello!!!!

i have so much running, music, and exciting life news to share with you...but it will have to wait a few more days.

good luck to everyone racing SFM and anything else this weekend! everyone else, drink up and kick back ; )

just sleepy california

2009-07-03T09:54:00.003-07:00

oh heyyyy. i haven't been blogging since i have been so busy. last week i was occupied going out and doing the whole last week in chicago thing....and now....i am in san fran!!

i got here wednesday and so far so good. my apt is beautiful, the most you can ask for from a craigslist listing really. and the new roomies seem good too.

wednesday i took a nice little 3 mile run up and down mission st. awesome. felt great. san francisco has great running weather!

but yesterday it got more interesting. i got up early since im not used to the time here and i went on a run since well, what else can you do when youre up too early. i heard delores park is sweet so i ran over there and figured id loop around a few times. well, i got to the park, and whoa. the park is like on a 45 degree angle. its nuts! and i ran it! my booty was hurting a lot but it was pretty great to run in a new place.

also, there are palm trees. thats amazing.

apologies that this might not make any sense. i went out last night and had after hours at my apt til like 5. so my head hurts tons.

xoxo.

jacking the ball

2009-06-23T07:33:00.004-07:00

yesterday, as i walked past the bench in millenium park on which i collapsed after my 20 miler, i decided its time to get back in the running game. or, at a minimum, be less out of the game.

so i set my alarm for 7 am, hoping to get out and get a few solid miles in before it hit 90. i managed to get out of bed by 7.30, and out of the house by 8.15 to drive to the lake. the plan: 2 or 3 untimed miles. nothing spectacular, just a little morning run.

well, at 8.30, even at the lake, it was HOT. i love the heat if i am in a swimsuit, at the beach or a pool, and drinking cold beer. even 2 out of those 3 make me a happy camper. but i am kind of a baby when it comes to being athletic in the sun.

you can probably tell where this story is going. 1 mile in, i decided it was time to lose the shirt and be that girl that runs in her sports bra. 2 miles in, i decided to call it a day and walk back to my car. but with a half mile to go, i sprinted for that last little bit.

kind of a disorganized mess of a run, but it was a run, and it felt good. just hot.

in non running news: my smart talented creative and beautiful jen graduated from the art institute and yesterday i went to her portfolio show. now, i have had the privilege of seeing her work as she was doing it over the last 2 years, but it was really cool to see other people's work, and mostly to celebrate her being done with school.

and, since she is so inspired, she gave out sunglasses with her name and her web address on them. so clever right? i wore them on my run this morning. im her biggest fan.

if you want to check out her work (and you really should, its pretty darn cool), go here.

after her show i had some delicious dinner at blueprint with her parents. they are hilarious and the food was wonderful - i dont get to eat octopus quite enough : )

aaaaand i saw a wonderful concert last night! the dirty projectors and the sea and the cake played at millenium park for FREE. so jamie and i went over there and it was a pretty great show. both are great bands...jacking the ball and sound and vision are particularly happy songs by the sea and the cake. check it out.

sun sun sun all over our faces

2009-06-21T07:50:00.006-07:00

oh hey. im alive. i havent been blogging for a number of reasons...i'm not really running, so i am not sure i have anything of interest to blog about, im on summer break so i am too lazy to do anything remotely productive, ive been very busy being social and enjoying my last weeks in chicago, etc etc etc

but i thought i would write a quick little post today.

last week was full of wonderful things like dinners with friends, day drinking with fellow teachers for the cubs game (yikes), reading something crazy like 8 books, occasionally making it to the gym, and lots of napping.

yesterday i had a perfect chicago summer day. i finally managed to wake up and get my butt to millenium park for the saturday morning workouts. i got there a little before 8, when tai chi was going on. i wanted to get a good spot for yoga, so i just joined the class. man, tai chi is kinda weird. i don't get it. maybe i missed something, but i think i was pretending to hold an imaginary ball and turn it and spin it and something about my energy movement...i dont know. i am not passing judgement on it because i know so little about it, but i am just saying, kinda weird for me at 7:30 am on a saturday.

for the 8 am yoga class, i was right up front. sweeeet. i hadn't done good yoga in a while so i was pretty pumped. i love yoga for the workout, but i am just not into the chanting and stuff. once we got past that part yesterday, it was a great class. it was already like 85 degrees by the time the class started (seriously, it was hot) and the sun was obviously east of us, so my right cheek and arm and leg were super super hot and in the sun the whole time. actually, with the sun and heat and yoga combined, i was a hot sweaty mess the whole time. but a happy hot sweaty mess.

after yoga i went to the library to get more books (im a bookworm). and in the afternoon...i went to the beach! there was tons of leftover booze at my house from our grad party, so i mixed up some vodka lemonades for my friend jamie and i, and whisky and coke for her boyfriend matt. and we had fun fun fun laying out at the beach until it got too hot- which is the exact moment we ran out of drinks. so, we headed on a little bar crawl of day drinking.

the evening ended with matt and i discussing our hatred for coldplay. this made me really very happy because i have never met anyone who hates coldplay for all the same reasons that i do. and then! he did something awesome! he told me that the only band he hates as much as coldplay is u2! which is exactly how i feel! ive known matt for maybe 10 years and that was the best conversation we have ever had.

soooo that was my week and weekend. and today? fathers day! and by some lucky coincidence, my dad is coming to chicago today because he has a conference here all week. hoooray! so i get to see my wonderful hilarious smart and almost as good looking as me dad.

to honor my father and to remind him how lucky he is to have me as a daughter, let me dedicate this photo montage of us to him. in fact...ill dedicate this whole post to him! he's that great.

my dad and i run the detroit turkey trot every thanksgiving, and do a re-enactment when we get home:

this year, we even did a re-enactment of our stretching. this picture just makes me laugh:

and here is my all time favorite picture of my dad and i:

happy fathers day dad! and happy sunday to all : )

summertime and the living's easy

2009-06-14T18:55:00.003-07:00

friday's house party = great success (except that after the wings lost i got so upset and heart broken that i went to bed. but still, from 1 - 9 pm, it was a great party)

saturday's bachelorette party my running buddy/amazing friend colie = phenomenal.

my cumulative hangover from 2 nights out = ouch.

i made it home around 1 pm today from last night, with plenty of time to go to the library, or work out, or start packing. i layed out on the roof instead. i felt it was productive.

i managed to make it to the lake for a run this evening, but i just wasn't feeling it. whats going on with me? i think for so long running was the big event in my life, and now, its far from it. but still...if i ran a marathon less than a month ago, shouldn't a be able to churn out a 5 miler without feeling like i am going to die?

yes, this is when you can point out that my drinking, eating, and sleeping habit have been shit lately. i'm working on it. really.

in case you haven't discovered these lovely videos, enjoy, courtesy of brook's running super fans

i love their faces at the end of the story! hilarious.

barefoot, thats how the kenyans do it.

the insanity i have experienced during marathon training leads me to believe this seems about right for ultra training...

AND, i just got jenny owen young's album that came out a few months ago. i think "last person" is my new favorite song. but get the whole album, probably. she is rockin.

pump this party (don't back down)

2009-06-11T17:15:00.003-07:00

today was the kids' last day of finals, and tomorrow is awards/graduation day. and then...the big party at the volunteer house (aka, my house)!!

which means...tonight we clean, get coolers of beer set up, and make sure we have ping pong balls for beer pong.

this is exciting for a number of reasons: its summer, my 2 years of being a volunteer are over, theres a huge party, the red wings will play game 7 of the stanley cup finals during said party....all great things!

tomorrow at about 1.30 pm chicago time, the party will be starting. i hope you are all excited for me.

oh! and guess who will be in attendance at this party?? Khalid El Boumlili. yeah, the guy who just won the san diego marathon. He is dating a friend of mine who used to be in the same volunteer program i am in. so, the two of them will be over at my house partying tomorrow.

i will let you know if i pick up any wisdom on how to run a 2:11 marathon!

smiley faces

2009-06-10T17:51:00.009-07:00

i LOVE the photographers at races. okay, not necessarily the photographers themselves, but i really like that they are there, and that a few days after a race i can laugh at myself, because i inevitably look ridiculous in the pictures.

the pictures from sunday's 13.1 are up. here are some highlights:

this is clearly from my running portion of the race:

and here i am, taking a nice little walk break...

just going on a walk by the lake, its not a 13.1 mile race or anything...

dont you just hate when other people are in the way of your shot at the finish line?

you might not be impressed by these pictures. they arent that great. im pretty sure im cuter in real life than these pictures might lead you to believe. but, thats not the point. they are pretty entertaining, aren't they?

sweet home chicago

2009-06-07T17:46:00.006-07:00

my 5th half marathon is officially in the books!

here is a rundown of the hours leading up to the race, as well as the race itself.

saturday 6 pm: cook pasta dinner with patrick. we have almost no groceries to work with, but manage to throw together chicken, pasta, diced tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, onion, and a ton of garlic

6.30 pm: food is consumed. so are some coronas

7 pm: red wings begin kicking pittsburgh's ass

7:45 pm: at the end of the first period i eat some fudge brownie ice cream left over from my class's ice cream party

9.30 pm: wings game is over. final score: 5 -0 wings. i am jubilant.

9:40 pm: i set up the coffee maker, lay out my clothes, make a play list, set my alarm for 3.30 am.

10:30 pm: get in bed. watch cobert on hulu. fall asleep at some point around 11 pm

2 am: wake up to txt messages from my friend ryan "go wings!" "what are you uyp too?" "come over"

2.02 am: respond "i have a half marathon in 5 hours" feel like a big loser for being in bed when people are clearly out having fun.

2.05 am: receive message "pit stop?" not entirely sure what it means but i think its funny.

2.06 am: remind myself that though its fun to be drunk at 2 am, at 10 am tomorrow i will feel better after finishing a race than being hungover. go back to sleep

3.30 am: alarm goes off. i realize many of my friends are still at the bars from the night before. surprisingly i am not jealous yet strangely happy to start by day so damn early. still, i shower with the lights off cause it hurts my eyes

4 am: eat oatmeal, drink coffee, discuss my insanity for doing this on a regular basis with patrick

4.30 am: leave to catch the bus. wait for a long time. begin to make a plan b in case it never comes

4.45 am: bus comes! i fall asleep on the way to millenium park

5.10 am: arrive at millenium park and take the shuttle to the starting line

5. 45 am: get to the race. south shore cultural center is really nice, lots of space. we check out bags at gear check and walk around.

6:00 am: bored

6.05 am: after looking for some water to take my motrin, i realize there is none to be found. i take them without water. ew.

6.10 am: massage tent opens. i capitalize on this opportunity. i tell the guy my it band is bugging me and he goes to town on it. really digs deep in my thigh. i am a sucker for this kind of pain. loved it. and im convinced it helped a lot.

6.30 am: BORED BORED BORED

6.50 am: line up in my corral. the race utilized wave starts, and i was in wave I based on my PR in detroit last october. i knew this race would not be as speedy. while waiting, there was some blues brothers impersonators walking around and they played lots of blues brothers music...they were playing up the whole chicago theme the whole race.

7 am: race starts in waves

7.10 am: i actually start my race

mile 3: i realize that i am not up to racing this. and my knee is okay at this point but i doubt it will hold up for 10 more miles. i put a "run one song fast, walk one song" plan in place

mile 5: really pleased with my plan. i remember this is my last race in chicago before moving so i am just enjoying the scenery

mile 6: remind myself that i am not racing 13.1 miles, but i am still burning about 1300 calories and getting in a good 2.5 hr workout

mile 7: turnaround! still confident my plan is genius

mile 9: moe's "st augustine" comes on my ipod for a running song. damnit this song is like 8 minutes long! ugh

mile 10: by this point, i have seen 3 women with their shirts on inside out. this is evidence that the shuttles required everyone to be up waaaaay to early and no one was thinking right.

mile 11: rain starts sprinkling. feels GREAT. debate pushing it the last 2 miles. decide its not worth it, stick with my plan and finish whenever the hell i do

mile 12.5: very close to the finish. i sprint the rest of the way because i have so much left - well, energy wise. knee is hurting a bit but hey, i can do .6 miles without doing too much more damage!

mile 13.1: finish!! i grab water, an apple, cookies (my favorite post race snack!), and deep dish pizza (my NEW favorite post race snack). i go to wait in line for my stuff from gear check. i run into patrick, congratulate him and ask him how it went and he says "this is the stupidest thing i have ever done." we head home.

10.45 am: back at millenium. due to great bus karma, we get a CTA bus home immediately.

11.30 am: hang my new medal with the others. shower. realize that my newly dyed hair (i dyed it eggplant last monday) must still have some dye in it and the rain has bled the color onto my white shirt. the same shirt that my sports bra bled blue on during my 20 miler. awesome

11.45 am: get back in bed. nap time!

official stats:
Distance HALF MAR
Chip Time 2:30:24
Overall Place 2557 / 3002
Gender Place 1434 / 1757
Division Place 190 / 231
Split 1:16:47
Divtotal 231
Sextotal 1767
Pace 11:29

it was not a PR, and it was far from it. but i accepted my limits, and enjoyed the race as much as i could. now, i will be taking some time off to cross train and do yoga to let my body heal up fully from the marathon. i know some of you are invincible and are more or less fine after 26.2...i am realizing this is not the case for me! but, a little rest and changing up my work out routine will be good for many reasons, and soon enough, i will start training for the next marathon.

drink enough wine and you'll sing along

2009-06-06T14:46:00.007-07:00

the following is a phone conversation which took place today between my dear wonderful but not so supportive of the running friend daigs and i.

daigs: so there's a wings game on tonight
maria: i know! should be a good one
daigs: and tommy's in town. wanna watch with us?
maria: absolutely. the thing about that is, i have a half marathon tomorrow morning and i have to wake up at 3.30 am. its on nbc so why don't you come over here and we can all watch it?
daigs: OR....why don't you stop running all these damn marathons and drink some beer with us?
maria: yeah...i will...really soon...i promise. after this one.
daigs: thats not at all true

yeah, he's on to me.

does anyone else have these conversations constantly with their friends? or do you have friends who are insane and like to run too?

in other news...today i spent approximately 3 hours looking at things i want for my new life in san francisco. its smarter to just buy new things instead of ship everything out...so i get to pick out new sheets, towels, a comforter, a duvet, etc etc etc.

apartment therapy is a great site that lets you snoop around people's cool apartments and then figure out how to make yours look pretty cool too.

i want this duvet!

alright, time to tear myself from the computer and go make some pasta (and drink some beer) with patrick...even though my knee might not let me finish the race, i am so excited for him! this is his first half marathon, but he is crazy athletic and i know he will kick its ass.

speaking of ass kickin...datsyuck should be playing again tonight. fingers crossed he will make some shit happen. lets mess pittsburgh up.

here's the mail it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail....

2009-06-05T11:13:00.004-07:00

(yeah, my title is a blues clues song. i babysat a lot in college)

i just went home for lunch and had possibly the best 15 minute lunch break imaginable. (yes, living across the street from work has its perks)

first of all, my lunch was my spanakopita leftovers from dinner at pegasus last night. really tasty.

secondly, i got TWO really wonderful things in the mail: the new july runner's world, and my NFT san francisco. i plan on devouring the entire runner's world in one sitting (while icing my knee - i'm such a multi tasker). and the not for tourist's guides are really great, and i am very excited to explore my new city.

what a great lunch, right? right.

today is INSANE at school. last day of classes. teachers and students alike are in rare form.

my economics class kids are having an ice cream party outside today last period. i am very excited about this. also, their final is monday...keep your fingers crossed they study for it!

i'm going to the last cross country fun run at the lake with students today. i am making the decision to walk, not run, in an attempt to save my knee for sunday. after, my coworker angela and i will head over to packet pick up at fleet feet so i can bring my roommate his bib.

i know my knee pain is to be expected after the marathon, and really i was just lucky to get through training without any injury. but, i really can't bring myself not to attempt to run on sunday. it will not be a PR. i am not even setting goals. if i don't finish, then so be it. maybe i will listen to my smart mind (the one that thinks about long term success) and i will skip the run on sunday.

but i can't really imagine that happening. nope, i think i will take motrin before the race, and possibly even more during the race. i will run at a reasonable (aka, slow) pace until my knee inevitably hurts, and then i will walk until i can run again. if i can't run again, then i'll walk it. finishing slow is fine by me for this race.

ten toes

2009-06-04T05:08:00.004-07:00

yesterday i went out for my 8 mile run and got my roommate tara to come along with me. it started out really well...cool, sunny, breezy, yay! we decided to run south first, because i always run north first and i wanted to change it up. it was great to run on a different part of the path and get a little change of scenery.

tara and run ran the first 2 miles or so together, then she stopped and we figured i could just pick her up on my way back to the car. so i kept going to run 2 more. around the 4 mile point (my turnaround) i realized my knee was aching. oh well, i figured i could run through it as long as it didn't get too bad.

around this time, however, something else kinda funny happened. something wet and icky was in my shoe. i had run through mud - did mud get in there? or, had i blister i didn't even know i had pop and now the juices were all in my sock? when i met back up tara 2 miles later i took off my shoe to check...and find a nice bloody sock. really gross. and i just cut my nails! how did this even happen! ugh.

so, we kept on running but boy, was it windy. i remembered why i never run south first - so i can start with the wind in my face instead of finishing that way. between the wind, my knee, and my bleeding toe, we quit with about a mile to go.

when i got home, i took these lovely pictures of my toes....

please note the blood between my toes. yummy.

so this morning, my knee is achy. damnit. i think i am going to go for the 13.1 on sunday. worst thing that happens is i DNF but at least i will have gotten up at 3.30 am to go try. if i DNF, do i still get pizza at the finish?

yesterday i got a postcard from the cleveland marathon with my finish stats. what a nice touch! has anyone run another race thats done this? i thought it was pretty cute...

the only bad news is that my time on here is different than the one i had originally seen on the results page...so it looks like i was 4.53 not 4.52. hey, fine by me. just makes it even easier to PR next time : )

been up so long.

2009-06-03T06:53:00.005-07:00

since the marathon my runs have been pretty half assed - or half kneed, to more accurate. but yesterday, i went on one of the runs at the lake with students, and i finally had an awesome run. it was actually just one student who showed up (it was nasty weather, and i'm sure the other kids were studying for their finals, right?) and the other teacher who was there. the three of us ran together the first 1.5 miles, then at the turnaround, i took off. since the other teacher is actually a cross county coach, i was allowed to leave her to run with the student.

it was a great run for a few reasons.

one, my knee didn't hurt, which obviously is good.

two, it was cool and breezy and perfect running weather.

three, we were at the lake.

four, i didn't have my ipod (me? running without an ipod? whoa) but i really enjoyed just hearing my breathing and my feet on the pavement.

five, and this is mostly because of reason four, i totally zoned out. i forgot i was running.

six, i love the lakefront path and was getting all nostalgic since in less than a month, i will be gone and exploring new paths...this time, near an ocean.

and seven, i've been stressed out and it was good to get out and run. the end of the school year, plus the end of my 2 years of volunteering and living in chicago, is crazy and busy and a little emotional. it all adds up and makes a run necessary for my sanity.

i've been continuing to ice my knee and stretch like a madwoman, and i think its working. today i'm going to run 8 at the lake. i think that should mentally get me ready for sunday's half. i'll take it easy the rest of the week, maybe run 2 on friday or saturday.

its supposed to be really rainy on sunday. i dont mind for the actual running in the rain, but im really concerned about the pizza. they'd better keep it dry. after 13.1 i don't want soggy pizza.

yeah, the red wings lost last night. i am okay with this. because if game 4 had been a contention game for the cup, and it was only on versus and not nbc, that would be an unacceptable situation. this whole hockey/tv thing needs to get resolved. putting games - especially the stanley cup finals - on versus is NOT the way to get people to start watching hockey. right? right.

also...there is a new joe purdy album out. it is really good. "miss me" and "been up so long" are standouts.

sunshine go away today...

2009-06-01T12:13:00.002-07:00

post marathon, i have become an impressively lazy person. this weekend, for example, i went to bed at 1 am friday night and slept in til 1 pm saturday. i then had to work up the energy to take the train to the library...as if it was SO difficult to walk 3 blocks and get on a train. but it felt like it! so i got more books, layed around some more, read, watched the wings game, and went to bed. aaaand slept in the next day too. i do NOT sleep in. like, ever. this is nuts.

on a related note of my laziness, i am addicted to mah jong on my computer.

my mom pointed out that my staying in and laying around probably means that i am broke. she guessed it. moms are always right about those things.

sunday i did manage to find the energy to go on a run. ok, basically i went on a run because i was eating at ditka's that night and i thought a nice long run would be a good idea. my knee is not perfect but i managed to run/walk about 5 miles. its funny hoq quickly 5 miles goes from being a short run to being a long run.

this sunday i am running the 13.1 marathon in chicago . my roommate is running, too, as our coworker is hurt and can't use her bib. so, he is going to run it. he will kick my butt but it will be fun to have someone to hang out with at the finish. apparently there is chicago deep dish pizza at the finish line....sounds like a good reason to run 13.1 miles to me!

hopefully the knee will behave, and if not, well hey. i tried.

let me entertain you

2009-05-29T07:56:00.004-07:00

its friday, its beautiful out, and i have nothing to blog about. so, to keep you entertained and to keep me from boring you, today, i will share with you some youtube delights....

first up, chicago's pat tomasulo has an issue with guys running shirtless. im not sure i agree, but its still pretty funny. check out his hydration belt over his suit:

i dont really know who louis ck is, but after this video, i think i love him.

this one is so out of season, but so so funny. if its not funny the first time, watch it a few more times. eventually it should be hilarious.

back story: i used to hate lebron james. no real reason, but i really hated on him a lot. then i saw these puppet videos. now i love him, purely because of puppets...

good luck to everyone running san diego - or anything else- this weekend!

california love

2009-05-27T06:18:00.003-07:00

breaking news alert!!

this just in!!

my next marathon will be....california international marathon on december 6, 2009!!

as you may recall, my wonderful college roommate meg ran the last few miles with me of the cleveland marathon. and, after that, she decided she wanted to run a full marathon, too. she is planning on running columbus in october, now we have made plans to run CIM in december.

woo hoo!

this will be awesome because:
1. i will have a visitor in california (in case you missed it, i am moving to san francisco in a little over a month)
2. i love meg and i love running with her
3. i need another marathon to run
4. CIM is basically all downhill! how is that even possible?
5. it will keep me from running SF marathon in july so i can rest this stupid knee and get used to the hills before running 26.2 again

and its just gonna be awesome for so many reasons. woo hoo!

whats not quite as awesome as a marathon but still pretty dang awesome?

run to the finish's heart thrive energy bars giveaway!

thats all the news ive got for today. keep it real, folks.

...i think im confused...

2009-05-26T08:31:00.003-07:00

update on the knee:
we are talking again, but not on very good terms yet. we get along well enough to elliptical or bike, but not run. also, is constantly aching a little.

did not interfere with my dance moves this weekend, tho, so that was good. im a bit concerned about the 13.1 on june 7 but i will just play it by ear.

update on whats playing in my ears:
jenny owen youngs has been rockin my ears with "drinking song," "from here," and her cover of "hot in here.' ive loved those songs for a few months.

now, i am LOVING her song "coyote." love love love LOVE it.

sample lyrics:
One, two, three.
I hate me.
There's no one else who I know how to be.
Four, five, six.
Oh, your body makes me sick,
But don't take it away from me just yet.
There's no one I can think of
That I can stand less than you.
Don't you want to touch my hands before you go?
I think I'm confused.

SO GOOD. download it now. do it do it do it! ive listened to it on repeat for almost a day now.

her song "ps" is also really good. highlight lyrics: "i cant make real life as good as television"

update on my weekend:
i did a lot of laying around this weekend. i read three books - the summer of naked pool parties, the absolutely true diary of a part time indian, and fiction class. all really good. some were read on my bed, some on my couch, some at millenium park. all were read with napping every few chapters.

i also spent about 30 hours saturday thru sunday with jen on a best friend love fest. think: picnic, bars, boys, wings game watching, cavs game watching, stealing a "reserved" sign from a bar and bringing it with us to other bars...i think im slowly convincing her to move to san fran with me....

i almost managed to get myself kicked out of my favorite bar this weekend. this is impressive. of all the things ive done in that bar, wanna know what almost got me in trouble? finding detroit fans and getting everyone to scream "lets go red wings." yay me.

slow down, everyone, youre moving too fast...

2009-05-22T07:52:00.002-07:00

im sad.

remember yesterday when i was all, yay 10 mile race saturday morning! and yay im going on a 2 mile run!

well, not so fast.

i went on my "run" yesterday and about 2 minutes into my run my left knee said to me,"hey maria, remember me? i hurt like hell during the marathon. how did you forget about me?"

and i said, "oh yeah. shit. you really do hurt."

and then i decided my left knee and i are not on speaking terms.

and then i hobbled around for a mile and went back home.

now i am sad about this. i cant run the race saturday, because 1. i doubt i could get through 10 miles and 2. i have a half marathon in 2 weeks id like to be able to do so i dont want to get more hurt.

waaaaaa. waaaaaaa. (thats a crying, wailing, sound, annoyed noise)

good luck to everyone who has left knees that dont hate them and get to race this weekend.

the sun is out the sky is blue its beautiful and so are you

2009-05-21T11:35:00.003-07:00

ok, i am going to be honest. i had high hopes of posting all of my wonderful marathon pictures. however, i cant figure out how. i can get the little thumbnails, but i am having a really hard time reliably putting the bigger pictures over here. yeah yeah yeah they are copyrighted but still i think i should be able to figure it out!

somehow, i got this one picture to work. i guess it will do. luckily, its my favorite picture.

ive been trying to do a peace sign race pic forever, and this one finally worked out.

i am going to go for a 2 mile run today. its so freakin beautiful outside, so im pumped to get to run. hopefully it goes well! im still sore but i think i can swing it.

thanks to my friend kevin's bum knee, i get to run with his bib in the soldier field 10 miler on saturday. this is unfortunate for kevin, clearly. but this is good for me for a number of reasons.

1. i've heard its a really good race
2. i didnt register because i wasnt sure if i would survive the marathon, but now i want to, and its sold out and i cant register
3. i get to run with nicole! and ive never raced with her. just run, many many many wonderful times.

nicole and i have matching sparkly headbands that we bought for a half marathon last fall but it was an absolute rainstorm so nicole didnt run and we never got to wear our sparkly goodness. but now! we can! woo hoo!

now i wish i had a red wings tech shirt to run in on saturday morning...i think chicago will really love that...

hurt so good.

2009-05-20T05:39:00.004-07:00

ok, so i DONT have the post marathon blues. at all. im super happy about sunday, nothing but joyous. but....

what next???

the san francisco marathon is july 26.

im moving out there the first week of july. yeah, yeah, the hills will be tough. yeah, i havent gotten to train on them. but i could still do it, right??

or, should i go for the half marathon of the same event?

i want to do another, and i want to do it soon. am i completely nuts to do the SF marathon? has anyone out there run it before?

in other news, i am walking almost normal-ish today. still going down stairs backwards, though.

and.........GO WINGS! cleary, you are really showing chicago what they are missing. i love it.

cleveland rocks- full report : )

2009-05-18T15:15:00.004-07:00

time for the full report.....

saturday i got in to cleveland after my red eye mega bus ride. i headed to the residence inn where my cousin hooked me up with a sweet room (gratis!). somehow they managed to let me check in at 7.30 am, so i was able to shower and get some breakfast at the hotel before relaxing in the room for a while.

headed to the expo. saw a shirt that said "your pace or mine." laughed really hard. had lunch with the ex boyfriend. it was good to see him, food was great, toured my old college stomping groups with him. spent some more time at the hotel chilling out, took a bath, watched lots of tv, drank lots of water. looked at my stuff from the race expo, and saw a picture of me on the detroit marathon race flyer.

had dinner with my college roommate meg and her friend la. meg was running 10k, and la the half, so we all stuffed ourselves with pasta.

meg stayed at me at the hotel, where we obsessively planned our morning. coffee was set up, clothes set out, water for oatmeal premeasured and in the pan to cook, etc etc etc. we came up with a plan for meg to meet me at mile 22 to run til 26 with me.

luckily the hotel had 2 beds and 2 baths, so meg and i could spread out to try to relax. i managed to get quite a bit of sleep, suprisingly, and woke up only 3 or 4 times when my phone buzzed with people wishing me good luck.

got up at 5, ate oatmeal, drank coffee, took a shower. meg and i walked to the start, froze our butts off, and she left me standing near the 4.30 pace group. i decided to run my own race and not worry about the pace groups too much.

ok, so lets get to the good part....the actual race!

miles 1 -4: i kept reminding myself i was actually running the marathon and not a training run. i normally make fun of people for wearing race shirts to the race but i was glad people did cause it helped me remember i was actually running the marathon.

mile 5: someone held a funny sign that i hadnt finished reading so i turned my head. didnt notice the pothole. wiped out completely. as i fell, my race flashed in front of my eyes. scraped my knee, hip, and hand. so embarressed i sprinted away. looked at my bloody hands during the rest of the race to remind myself how hardcore i am

miles 6 -10: very impatient. i know i can run this far. i want to get to the part that is the marathon! the challenge! trying to pace myself. at mile 10, talked to a triathalete who is training for his first iron man. good luck to him!

miles 11 -12: a few hills. ran with a girl and chatted about cleveland, because she had gone to college there too and was also back visiting. once the half marathoners turned off the course, i knew i was going to finish.

miles 13 - 18: boring. boring. boring. starting to hurt kinda bad. saw my ex boy at mile 17, completely snapped at him. "dont look at me like you im going to say something. im glad youre here and thanks but im not talking to you right now. im in the middle of something." in my defense, when you see someone running a marathon, shouldnt you just yell, "go maria! youre doing great!" cause he didnt do that. he just smiled and looked at me. very annoying.

miles 16 - 21 i ran off and on with a guy. we just fell into the same pace and didnt say a word, just stuck together. when i saw bill i got behind, but then when i ran by him and he was talking, he started running with me. we ran for 2 more miles id say after that. he slowed down to walk but i kept on. this mystery man really helped me through a lot of the hard miles! also, all through this time i was just thinking, just get to meg! she will get to to 26. from this point til the end of the race, i had no control over my pace. couldnt speed up or slow down. just kept moving somehow!

mile 22- 26: found meg! cried. so much pain but happy pain. we talked a little. watched two girls fight and cry as they ran. was glad it wasnt us. i dont remember a lot about this part other than being so happy meg was there and knowing i was going to finish, and in under 5 hours. someone had oranges and salt, and i happily got a salt packet. i forgot to bring mine, and i always run with them, so i was very happy this lady had salt!

mile 26: cleveland city middle school kids were running to the finish. what you DONT want after running 25 miles is fresh energetic 14 year olds flying past you. kinda pissed me off. but once i saw the finish sign in the distance, i went for it. well, as much as i could! crossed at 4.52:37.

grabbed some food (they had weird food. chips, popcorn, chocolate milk....where are the bagels??) and collapse on the grass with meg. cried. kept saying "im so happy! i did it! im so happy!" felt like an emotional drunk.

later, meg and i stuffed our faces with buffalo wings, fries, pizza, beer, and ice cream. planned future marathons to run together.

best day i could imagine. i wore my medal to bed : )

cleveland rocks!

2009-05-18T04:38:00.002-07:00

i did it! im alive! and i had the best weekend of my life.

Clock Time	04:57:54
Chip Time	04:52:37
Overall Place	1670 / 9504
Gender Place	535 / 4964
Division Place	69 / 556
Pace	11:09.8
Split10K	1:03:17
Half	2:18:10
Split30K	3:22:24

full race report to come later today or tomorrow....i can barely walk but i couldnt be happier! unfortunately, ive got to get some major work done that i ignored this weekend...so i'll post later : )

bigger than guns, bigger than cigarrettes

2009-05-15T05:16:00.005-07:00

im at work super early so i thought i would post now. why am i at work so early? because i could not sleep, at all. i found my apartment and roommates for SF, so i was getting really excited about the move.

but mostly, i am SO PUMPED for the marathon that i just couldnt sleep. this morning, when i was in the kitchen about an hour before i normally would be, i couldnt eat anything. well, we didnt have any great cereal and we were running out of bagels, but i mostly couldnt eat because i was so excited! i felt like an 8 yr old on halloween before trick or treating who couldnt eat any food. even though i KNOW i should be eating some carbs my tummy is too excited and nervous.

ladies and gentlemen...

drum roll please.....

MY MARATHON PLAYLIST (to be played on shuffle):

tears dry on their own - amy winehouse
spread - andre 3000
hey ya! - andre 3000
my girls - animal collective
brother sport - animal collective
walking on broken glass- annie lenox
diva - beyonce
single ladies - beyonce
parenthesis - the blow
womanizer - britney spears
what up man - the cool kids
what it is - the cool kids
touch it/technologic - daft punk
cha cha slide (ghetto mix) - dj chip
get down lil mama - dj funk
no class - mickey avalon w/ existero
mushaboom - feist
i feel it all - feist
steer - the future laureates
shut the club down - girl talk
what its all about - girl talk
like this - girl talk
heres the thing - girl talk
lay it back and drop it - girl talk
thats my dj - girl talk
hold up - girl talk
big machine - goo goo dolls (the live version. the cheering gets me pumped up)
this means you - hi tek, mos def, talib kweli
i like you so much better when youre naked - ida maria
get out the map - indigo girls
be ok - ingrid michaelson
dont call me whitney, bobby - islands
upside down - jack johnson
99 problems - jay z
golddigger - kanye
the new workout plan - kanye
good life - kanye
foundations - kate nash
pumpkin soup - kate nash
day n nite - kid cudi
soft - kings of leon
happy alone - kings of leon
hombre - MIA
bamboo banga -MIA
sunshowers - MIA
URAQT- MIA
green butterfly - maria taylor
PYT - michael jackson
jane fonda - mickey avalon
my dick- mickey avalon
grace kelly - MIKA
st augustine - moe
hush hush - natalie portmans shaved head
5 years time - noah and the whale
pop lie - okkervil river
calling and not calling my ex - okkervil river
party like a rockstar remix - oobie/pitbull
jenny dont be hasty - paolo nutini
back it up - peaches
breakin up - rilo kiley
love song - sara bareilles
swing - savage
the girl you lost to cocaine - sia
fit but you know it - the streets
whatever you like - TI
vivrant thing - tribe called quest
do for love - tupac
m79- vampire weekend
i stand corrected - vampire weekend
i wanna dance with somebody - whitney houston
maria - willie nelson
bounce and break yo back
leavin - jesse mccartney
guns and cigarettes- atmosphere

there you have! 4.7 hours of energizing music.

cant wait to get through this school day so i can go home and pack up and get this show on the road! tomorrow when i get in, ill be meeting up with the ex boy to play at the expo for a bit, then get lunch, and hang out during the afternoon. in the late afternoon bill will hand me over to meg, my college roommate who i havent seen in 2 years. we are going to get some dinner, do a nostalgic stop by of the old apartment (cue barenaked ladies song...), and head to the hotel. since meg is running the 10k, she is staying with me. a sleepover! just like 3 entire years of our lives! im staying at the residence inn downtown where my awesome cousin works and scored me a cheap room. thanks ang : )

good luck to everyone racing this weekend, especially jamie who is running cleveland too!

ill probably be posting sunday afternoon.... if you want to stalk me, go to clevelandmarathon.com's live runner results link. my bib is 389.

and of course.....GO WINGS! great job on game 7 last night....cant wait for the chicago/hawks series.

green butterfly

2009-05-14T10:57:00.004-07:00

yeah, yeah, the wings lost on tuesday night, even after i stayed up til almost 1 am to watch them play. (ok, they played til like 11.30, but then i had to take the bus home...) so, last night i made up for the lost sleep. i got home from school at 5.30, made some dinner, and read. and fell asleep almost instantly. so at 8.30 om i woke up, went downstairs to eat a bowl of cereal, and got in bed to go back to sleep. it was awesome. i feel very well rested today. and if you arent well rested aftert 13 hours of sleep, there is a big problem.

tomorrow i am finally getting to go to cleveland. my bus is at midnight tomorrow night, so i am waiting to pack everything up until after school tomorrow. i might need to bring something to help me sleep on the 6.5 hour bus ride.

im getting really excited but even more nervous. i went for a 3 mile run yesterday, and i was like, oh man, this is tough. why is 3 miles feeling hard? shouldn't it be totally easy? i went back through my blog to remind myself that i really had run an 18 and a 20 miler. it feels like so long ago, and that ive lost the ability to do it! now, deep down, i know this isnt true. or at least i know that everyone who has run a marathon would tell me that if ive run 20 i can run 26.2. but being a newbie, i really find this hard to believe.

in terms of the pace groups and my debate between 4.30 and 4.45, i decided that i will start near the 4.30, but try to run my own race and not cling too tightly to a pace group at all. i like a good walk break now and then, so if the 4.45 group is running the whole time, that will be an uncomfortabley slow pace to run - im better off walking a bit when i need to, but running the rest of the time and averaging just above a 10 min/mile pace. and, the 4.30 might be too fast for me.

of course, i really just have no idea at all.

i got my bib number in an email a few days ago - 389. sounds good to me!

i hear a lot about the post marathon blues, and i have experienced the post half marathon blues before. this time, though, i don't think it will happen. i am so excited about my move to san francisco that i think i will be okay. in terms of running, i have been doing some research on running clubs in SF...there are so many that sound great! and, the SF marathon is in late july....not sure if i will be able to handle the hills, but if im desperate for a marathon, its there!

i know im should be carb-ing this week, but im lately obsessed with blue diamond bold almonds, in jalapeno smokehouse and in wasabi soy sauce.

so.
freakin.
good!

(right FRB? best walgreens purchase we've ever made.)

coming soon: my complete playlist that i will be rockin' to on sunday for the cleveland marathon

who needs sleep

2009-05-12T10:52:00.002-07:00

ive been making my final plans for the weekend, and i really couldnt be more excited for the marathon. and the whole weekend, really. i went to college in cleveland (john carroll! woot woot!) and havent been back since i graduated 2 years ago. the people i have plans to see that weekend - billy and meg - are people i have not seen since i moved away. so, i pretty pumped.

im doing a little debating between the 4.30 and 4.45 pace groups. ive been playing with some marathon time predictors, and getting mixed results. my half marathon time from last month is 2.13, but that was a crappy race. my pr is 2.09 (which i know, is not too different than 2.13...), and that puts me at 4.30. part of me thinks that running conservatively at 4.45 is a better option, but hey, isnt the whole point of a marathon is that its NOT safe and conservative? so the other half thinks i should start with 4.30 and drop out back from the pace group if need be.

there is a little bit of a problem with the timing of the marathon. i mean, this is playoff hockey season. i know i am supposed to be tapering and sleeping a lot and all that, but i just cant go to sleep when the wings are playing tonight to close the series with the ducks. and now that chicago is in the conference finals, we NEED to be there. as much as i talk a lot of shit about the blackhawks, im nothing but happy that people in chicago are loving hockey. that being said, the wings need to win tonight, and then kick chicago's ass and put them back in their place.

so, tonight, i will not be a good little marathon taperer, but instead, head up north to the shire, a red wings friendly bar where blackhawk fans wont murder me. the games at 9 chicago time, so unfortunatley, ill be out til midnight. but really, there is no other option. so go wings! lets outshoot, outplay, and have every stat in our favor, just like sunday : )

also, franzen, you need to marry me. seriously. i love you.

stripper song

2009-05-11T12:09:00.004-07:00

ive been perfecting my 26.2 playlist. i felt that i needed some new things to add to it, so yesterday i was downloading some stuff. i normally use (and adore) emusic. however, they do not have the more popular songs that i sometimes like to run to. so after playing on emusic, i had to use itunes to get songs such as "day and night" and "diva." i really wanted to buy "stripper song" by wyclef but i couldnt find it. in my search, i came across other songs called stripper song. somehow when i was clicking, i downloaded an entire album by the muckrackers. seriously? thats $9.99 i will never get back. and no, they aren't good. at all.

have i written about how much i love emmy the great yet? i know it have. but geez, she is so freakin awesome. i cant stop listening to her album "first love." especially "we almost had a baby," "the city," and "bad things are coming we are safe." oh, and "absentee." okay, all of it : )

6 days til cleveland marathon!!

one week

2009-05-10T10:18:00.004-07:00

thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. i think i will have meg run, and not billy, and there will be a strict "do not speak unless spoken to" rule.

in one week from now, i will either be a) dead (or hospitalized), b) a quitter or c) a champion.

im really hoping its the last option.

this morning i went on a 8 mile run at the lake. it went pretty well. it was a gorgeous day to run, but luckily the path wasn't too crowded. busy enough to keep me entertained people watching, but not too crowded at all.

some rather exciting news from my run is that the lakefront path is back open at solidarity drive. ever since ive been running at the lake, it had been closed, and there was a detour down through museum campus. which was ok, but kinda annoying cause then the mile markers were a little off. anyways, today i got to run on the actual full path. its a beautiful stretch of the path! i feel so left out that i hadnt gotten to run on it before! its so close to the water, and a perfect view. yaaaay.

happy mothers day to my momma! i wish i could be in detroit to celebrate how awesome you are. since im not there, i thought i would dedicate this blog post to you. so, here are some cute pictures of us!

mom and i having some drinks....yes, i am a very good influence on my mother

before my half marathon in detroit, and my mom's 5k. she rocked it! look how badass we are!

my favorite picture of us - at my brother's wedding last summer.

happy mothers day mom! i love you!

journey of the featherless

2009-05-07T10:49:00.004-07:00

when i decided i was running the cleveland marathon back in november, i told everyone. i figured, the more people i tell, the more obligated i am to follow through on this.

there were a few people who, once i told, said they would join me on my mission. or at least, part of it. my college roommate and two of my friends from high school were considering (some more seriously than others) running the half marathon. the dad of the family i used to nanny for in college was considering the full. the president of the school i work at was planning on the full. my cousin was going to the 10k. the list goes on. i was thinking that i would be running the first half with friends, then meeting a lot of people at the finish line.

this has changed. over the months, people realized they had something else that weekend, or got hurt training, or got too busy, or just decided not to. at this point, my college roommate will be running the 10k, and thats it.

this is ok. in fact, i think this is good. i train by myself normally, so i am happy to run by myself. and i did not do this as a social event; i signed up because it is something i wanted to achieve.

so race day, i will run alone. i think college roomie, as well as ex boyfriend, will be there to watch. and i have talked to both of them about the possibility of running a few miles at the end with me. i have been told this is a very good idea. but to be honest, i am not sure. i am a brat when i am tired of running (right nicole? dad?) and, i am planning on running with the 4.45 pace team. so if all goes as planned, i wont be entirely alone.

so, i am kinda torn on the issue. it could be great to know someone is at mile 22 waiting for me and there to run alongside me for 3 miles. i think my roomie is a safe bet, and my ex could be a disaster. as most ex boyfriends (and girlfriends, im assuming) can, he really has the ability to put me in a crappy mood. which would suck at the end of the run. i can picture him saying, "is this slow enough for you, hun?" thinking that he is being nice, but kinda being an ass (billy, i think i gave you the link to my blog. so sorry if that offended you. but seriously, you would say that, wouldnt you?)

my roomie, on the other hand, i think she will know what a challenge it is for me to finish, and be really supportive. she could be a good candidate.

or, bill could run some miles, then meg. maybe i wont be as crabby during the race as i am during training runs. my parents, who watched me at the detroit half, would disagree with this. at mile 11 they saw me and i yelled, "i hate running!" as i passed them.

hmm. i just dont know what i want to do. its something to think about.

opinions on friends jumping in towards the end, and pace groups, are more than welcome.

tonight is my school's big fundraiser. its in millenium park, is a huge party, with a band and an open bar. its what we like to call, "teacher prom."

things that scare me

2009-05-06T08:18:00.003-07:00

things that i am scared could happen during the marathon:

somehow my ipod will break or run out of power and i will be music-less
they will run out of the hammer gels i like and i will get stuck with banana and have to eat it so to try to avoid hitting the wall
i will be in excruciating pain
i will be mentally exhausted
i will quit
i will die
i will never want to run again

things that i am really excited about:

seeing cleveland for the first time in 2 years
seeing my college roommate and ex boyfriend for the first time in 2 years
pre-race excitement...especially at the expo when everyone is just as excited
carbs. lots of them
putting 4 months of training to the test
RUNNING 26.2 MILES
finishing
wearing my medal on the megabus home
accomplishing my goal
having bragging rights forever

i am more excited than scared, but definitely a bit of both. i keep forgetting my marathon is next weekend...with the new job, i am thinking a lot about moving and how excited i am about that. in a way, i feel like i trained to run 20 miles, and i did, and im done. but thats so not the case. this is the good part, right? the taper and then getting to actually run the race? its all just so surreal.

yesterday i ran at the lake with some students again. i normally run with my coworker/friend/marathon veteran, but her knee was bugging her so i ended up running with one of the sophomores. it was pretty fun running with him. he hadnt run in a while, and everytime we hit a mile marker he would say, wow! we ran 1.5 miles! or, that mile went fast. it was so great to see how happy he was with himself when he finished. when we were stretching and waiting for the rest to finish, we had a nice little chat about why running is so great. as much as this kid can drive me nuts at school sometimes, it was really great to get out and run.

also, he did something that made me laugh so hard. when he found out i was running a marathon, he was like, oh wow, thats great. so like are you going for first place? the thing is, he was serious. he really thought i could win. and made me smile.

i dreamed a dream

2009-05-05T04:58:00.002-07:00

the pre-marathon crazies have started.

the last few nights i have had dreams about the marathon. well, not the actual race. i never made it to the starting line in any of my races. instead, everything imaginable occurred to keep me from getting there.

some things that have haunted my dreams and kept me from the start line:

i couldn't find safety pins anywhere and had no way to attach my bib
someone said they would pick up my packet for me, but didn't
they moved the start line and no one knew where it was
i overslept

these dreams suck. they are ruining my nights of sleep. i am sure i am not the only one who gets pre-race nightmares. how can i make these stop? it would be one thing if they were funny dreams about how i screwed up my marathon, but no, these are those slow motion, terrifying dreams. its crappy.

i'm interested to see what other craziness my taper will bring.

the galaxy of the lost

2009-05-03T16:16:00.004-07:00

oh hey. after my wonderful news post last week, i headed out on a retreat for 3 days....so sorry about not posting.

a big part of my life has been basking in the post getting a job/moving to sf glory. and looking for aparatments! anyone need a roomie in sf?? : )

my 5 miler last tuesday ended up being just 3, and last wednesdays planned 8 was 5. i skipped thursday altogether. i was 1. sore still from my 20, 2. annoyed at the rain, 3. busy, and 4. unmotivated. i am 2 weeks away from the marathon. so why i am having a hard time getting excited? shouldn't i be wanting to run and excited to have all my training pay off and get to the finish line?

well, i think i should be. and i am totally not.

i feel like i have been training forever, its surreal there will actually be a race. and that the race is in 2 weeks.

saturday i ran 4.5 miles to millenium park to meet nicole for a 7.5 mile run. it went pretty well. it was a beautiful day, but neither of us were too motivated to really push it. except for the last mile or so. nicole always does this! especially when we run near her place and i dont really know the route, she kicks it into high gear the last stretch. and it drives me crazy! i mean i wish i did it too, but i dont. i pathetically drag my ass behind her, and am kinda sassy. so sorry about that colie.

after the run i finally got a chance to get my potential marathon outfit. yay! bright blue nike shorts and a grey nike tech shirt. i cant find any pictures of them online...but im sure you will see plenty in 2 weeks after i run in them and have all those race pics!

and after that little shopping trip, i went to (drum roll please)...the roller derby! great fun. i want to try out. seriously.

i spent 5 hours of my day watching the wings/ducks game. triple over time. and then the wings lost. its gonna be a hard series. a good one, but those ducks are all HUGE and they are defensive beasts. luckily, we are the red wings. and awesome.

music news: download the new maria taylor album. do it! also, i am just starting to explore the band "bat for lashes." and i am loving them. ill let you know the best tracks soon.

stay high, lie low - san francisco.

2009-04-28T11:22:00.004-07:00

ladies and gentlemen, i have an announcement to make.

it is not specifically running related. but it is my life related. and since my life involves running, i thought i should post about this.

i got a job.

in san francsisco.

woot woot!

so yes, i will be relocating across the country. i am leaving the flat running paths of chicago for the hills of san fran.

and i couldn't be more excited.

in running related news, i am continuing to recover from my 20 miler. i biked yesterday, and have a 5 mile run planned today.

not only did i get a job yesterday, i got my tax refund. which means i am now going to order myself a cute marathon outfit....

get down girl, go 'head, get down

2009-04-27T08:32:00.004-07:00

20 miles done! it was not the best it could have been, but it was far from the worst.

friday night was a beautiful night, and all my roommates were drinking wine on our roof. i wanted to hang out so badly but knew that i couldn't, so at about 8 pm i made myself stay in my room. i made my playlist, filled my fuel belt, and tried to relax. i put on an arrested development dvd to watch as i fell asleep, and i think i ended up getting to sleep by 10 pm or so.

of course, my sleep was interrupted a bit by friends calling and txting, because they were out and drunk and forgot i was being all runner-y and staying in.

at 7 am i got up to eat a bagel and drink some coffee. i was so nervous and excited! i had butterflies in my stomach. for a 20 mile run? weird, but ok.

the weather was crazy on saturday morning....some sun, then overcast, then sun, then raindrops. but perfect for a run. pretty comfortable. i had shorts, a t shirt, and a hat on. my hair was in pigtail braids - which, with the hat, is my new favorite way to wear my hair during a run. it worked really well.

i was so excited i felt myself start a bit fast. the first few miles my calves were really tight, but by mile 4 or so i loosened up. i ate some sport beans at mile 6, and miles 8 - 12 were probably my best miles. lots of people on the lake to watch, i was warmed up, and not tired yet.

i kept thinking, its a 12 mile run to start your 8 mile run. so at 12 miles, i was at nicole and kevin's house (the lovely couple who bring us jumping in with both feet). i refilled my water bottles, got laughed at for looking so disgusting, and got sweat all over their couch.

nicole and i headed out for our run, and my legs were already getting stiff. basically, i owe her big time for 1. getting my through my run and 2. still being my friend at the end of it. she is a great motivator, and put up with my slow butt as i creeped to our finish line. so thank you thank you thank you nicole, for running with me and still being my friend after seeing me at my disgustingest.

when nicole and i do anything, it is typically a comedy of errors. this run was no exception. i had on a great nike dri-fit white t shirt, and a blue sports bra from target. well, as i sweat, the blue from the bra was bleeding onto the white shirt. there was a line where the bottom band of my bra was, and two blue nipples. nicole told me it looked like a smiley face. it was ridiculous.

i wish i could write a better account of what happened, but a lot of my run was a blur. it wasn't awful but it was painful at the end. im glad i got through it, and now i am glad to finish up my training and get to cleveland for the race! just 20 days away. wow.

my advice to you with 20 mile runs coming up - after you run, take a shower. then eat a lot. then sleep a lot. then go meet your friends at the bar and drink a lot. it worked for me.

yesterday, i ordered new shoes as a reward for my 20 miles. they should get here in the middle of this week, which should give me plenty of time to test them out before the marathon. i got nike pegasus in light blue/white. woo hoo!

cartoons and forever plans.

2009-04-24T11:14:00.003-07:00

happy friday! its beautiful out today. absolutely perfect. the good thing about living in the midwest is that while we have fewer sunny and warm days, we definitely enjoy them. in fact, on a nice day, i feel obligated to spend as much time as possible outdoors. i have already managed to have a meeting outside, take a walk to the bank, and chit chat outside. im sure i will figure out more ways to be outside be the day is through.

no big plans for me tonight, just grocery shopping and eating carbs and drinking water and going to bed early in preparation for tomorrow. i have my 20 miler all planned out...most of it will be on the lake, with a detour to nicole's house to pick her up. because she is my awesome running friend she is running the last 8 miles with me. we will end up at millenium park, which leaves me in close proximity to jamba juice, hot dog vendors, and a bus i can catch to head home.

the weather should be perfect, ive got gu and gatorade for my fuel belt, ill work on a killer playlist tonight, nicole will help carry me through the last 8 miles, the lakefront path will be filled with people to watch....

what else? am i missing anything?

today i asked my friend at work whose run a few marathons for last minute advice. she gave me two pointers.
1. dont stop
2. dont drink tonight

ok, i think i got that. no stopping when im tired cause it will make it even harder to keep going, and no way am i drinking tonight at all.

anyone have any other pieces of advice to get through this 20 miler?

in music news..maria taylor's new song "cartoons and forever plans" is awesome. listen up.

add it up.

2009-04-22T17:39:00.005-07:00

for today's 9 miles i ran my same route as last wednesday's 9: through the loop. this week, however, i left my house a little later so my run was not as crazy as it was when everyone was getting out of work downtown.

about 2 miles into my run, i think THE most terrifying thing that has EVER happened to me while running occurred. keep in mind that this part of my run (blue island/roosevelt area) is pretty much running through the projects. someone grabs my shoulders while i am running and yells "grrrrarrrrr!"

turns out it was runner boy. for some reason he had found himself on that street at the same time and saw me running and decided to scare the shit out of me. it was not one of the better encounters ive ever had. in fact, i found it downright creepy. regardless, it was entertaining and gave me a boost of energy.

what else gave me energy during my run today? my kick ass playlist! today i decided to make a playlist of songs i onced loved but don't listen to anymore.

some highlights:

add it up by the violent femmes
molly by sponge
please take me home by blink-182
free at last by g. love
manifest destiny by guster
caress me down by sublime
scarlet begonias by sublime
shoebox by the barenaked ladies
follow you down by the gin blossoms

see, these are all really great songs, but not 1. new or 2. classic. so they get lost in the shuffle of my itunes library. a little effort, though, and they helped me to rock out today on my run. i reccomend digging through your older music to find some gems!

i am getting excited/nervous/pumped/terrified/intimidated/exhausted just thinking about my 20 miler on saturday. but if i can do that, then i can do the marathon, right?? isnt that how this works??

these are a few of my favorite things

2009-04-20T14:37:00.005-07:00

some (mostly running related) things i wouldnt want to live without:

1. vaseline. this stuff saves my feet from blisters by putting it all over under my socks before long runs. also, awesome for chapped lips, cuticles, any dry parts.

2. purpose face wash. super simple face wash with no scent, color, or anything exciting, but works so well. its really gentle, too, which is great when you have to wash your face extra times during the day because of runs.

3. tazo passion tea. i have loved this tea since i was 16 and started working at starbucks. its hibiscus, purple, and smells exactly how i want a perfume to smell. this winter, i always drank it when i came in from cold runs.

4. runningmap.com. my nike plus lies to me sometimes, but i have found this website to be trustworthy in mapping out my runs.

5. oatmeal. specifically: oatmeal, brown sugar, granola, craisins, cinnamin and lowfat vanilla soy milk. i think i ate this for breakfast for 4 months straight. in fact, there have been days where i have had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and ate nothing else that day. its that good (and i have that much of a compulsive/obsessive personality). go humans go!

6. emusic. i love music a lot. on this site, you can get 30 downloads for something like $12 a month. they dont have all the music itunes does, but they have pretty much everything i listen to. also, they have a free song a day and some great free sampler albums. ive found some great artists playing around on here.

7. theragesic. much like icy hot, but for some reason i am stuck on this brand. after a hard workout, i love putting this on and laying down for a nap. the mint smell isnt bad, either!

8. my ipod. this is so obvious i debated even mentioning it.

hm, thats all i can think of right now. what would you hate to live without?

please remain calm.

2009-04-19T18:23:00.004-07:00

eek! its been a while since i posted. im going to go ahead and blame the spotty internet connection at my house.

updates on training: thursday i ran 5 easy miles. fridays i usually stay in, rest up, and go to bed early to prep for my long run. well, there was a dance at school friday night which i was chaperoning, so that couldn't happen. i danced quite a bit too, so it was not really a rest day!

my 14 miles saturday morning went okay, though, even without adequate sleep. it was so nice out that i ran in shorts and a tank top. i got so excited about the idea of running without layers of clothes that i got a little carried away and decided to go without my hydration belt. i put 2 Hammer gels in my tank top pockets and headed out.

what a great morning to run! it was sunny, warm, busy but not too crowded on the lakefront path. and the water fountains were finally turned on! yay! i had a apple cinnamin hammer gel about 6 miles in and i have to say, it may have been the most agreeable gu i have had yet. i wont say i liked it, but it was not bad, at all.

after last week's 18 miles, i had told myself that 14 miles is nothing. well, its not nothing! it was still a demanding run and i was hurting at the end, but it went pretty well.

i came home to discover some very attractive tan lines: ipod arm band, racerback tank top, socks, shorts. my tank top tan line reminds me of the speedo tan line i used to have every summer when i was a kid and lived to swim.

which reminds me...

with about 2.5 miles left in my run, i really needed one last sip of water. i was near UIC, so i poked my head into a rec building to find a drinking fountain. i did, and i also saw what appeared to be a masters swim meet. the smell of the chlorine, and people with wet hair sitting in the hallways eating bagels, and team t shirts made me nostalgic. it also gave me an idea of my next athletic endeavour after i accomplish this marathon! i would love to get back into swimming.

today i biked for 45 minutes and did a yoga for runners podcast. im looking forward to a full day of rest tomorrow to get ready for my highest mileage week of training - 40. thats a lot of miles for this girl! i am nervous about my 20 miler but excited, too. hopefully i can get some people to run parts of it with me...nicole, you in? kevin?

also...GO WINGS! i was watching the game at the bar last night, and two different guys came up to me to ask what CBJ stood for. one said, "i really hate having to ask a chick, but....whos CBJ?" haha. columbus is a recent franchise and its their first playoff appearance but seriously. dont come up to me during a game to ask silly questions!

im keeping my fingers crossed san jose gets eliminated in the first round, so go ducks, i guess.

shawty got low low low

2009-04-15T16:23:00.005-07:00

thanks for the ideas on splitting up runs or moving miles around throughout the week. i managed not to split up my run today and just got back from a great 9 miler. running through the loop at 5.15 is pretty entertaining, but crowded.

when i registered for the cleveland marathon an insanely long time ago - like november or something crazy like that - i had registered so early i got an "early bird gift." i had totally forgotten about it until yesterday i got a lovely black beanie cap. it has the cleveland marathon logo and the hat itself is really nice microfiber bambo charcoal or something wacky like that. i cant imagine even wearing a beanie cap, but it was pretty fun to open my mail.

nhl playoffs start today!! woo hoo! LETS GO RED WINGS! here we grow! the beard is back!

in case you havent seen the latest youtube sensation enjoy it here. this kids dance moves are so awesome! i hope my hypothetical children are that badass.

down by the schoolyard

2009-04-14T09:39:00.002-07:00

i recovered fairly easily from saturday's 18 miler. i think that ice bath really helped! i cross trained yesterday morning, and today i am hoping to get 5 miles in.

two major running issues on my mind today...

1. my weekday mileage is getting pretty high. i am thinking about splitting up runs - like tomorrow, i need to do 9, but can't figure out a way to do the miles before school or after school because i have plans with runner boy. so, maybe 4 before school and 5 after? has anyone done this with their weekday runs?

2. today i am starting to run with our hs's cross country team. our school is in the hood so its not really cool to ask them to run outside with all the gang activity, so we are taking buses of them down to the lakefront to run twice a week. im helping chaperone on tuesdays. what fun! its crappy weather out (surprise surprise) but hopefully a good number of kids show up. it should make tuesday runs fun! because if you work with high schoolers, you know that its always entertaining.

if i did it then its nothing and i did it as well

2009-04-11T13:25:00.002-07:00

who has two thumbs and ran 18 miles this morning? THIS GIRL!

i got up this morning around 8.30 am, drank some coffee, ate some cereal and did some final route planning. since i didnt bring my fuel belt to michigan with me, i planned 3 loops around my parents house so that i could stop in twice for gu, water and HEED. i tried to keep things interesting by planning 3 slightly different routes - 7 miles, 6 miles, and 5 miles long.

it was a very sunny day out but chilly and windy, so shorts and a longsleeve shirt worked well. im trying to rock shorts as much as possible because i started getting a bit of a capri tan and thats pretty gross. a runners tan is nasty enough, id at least like my legs to be as tan as possible.

my first 7 mile loop went well. at the beginning of long runs (or any runs, really) i tend to psych myself out thinking of how far i have to run. or, i think about things i dont want to think about and stress myself out. so, i played a little game of making lists. like, how many sporting arenas have i seen professional games at? or, how many outdoor concerts have i been to? or, how many airplanes have i been on (that one was hard!)? once i got into the groove, the first loop went well.

during my first stop home i had sport beans, heed, and re-vaselined my feet. sport beans are great! way better than gu. i gave my dad the hour warning heads up, because he was planning on running my last 5 miles with me.

my next loop - miles 8 -13 - was pretty solid. the hills started to kill me and i did take some walking breaks, but i felt like i was going pretty strong. at this point in the run, i no longer had to try to think about things other than the run. in fact, i dont think i had many thoughts at all - mostly just ran. other than the hills, it felt great.

i've gotta say, when i stopped home after my 13 miles, i kinda wished i was done. drinking water and eating a raspberry clif shot (not that bad, actually), i would have been happy calling it a day. BUT, i also was thinking about how i was only 5 miles away from finishing my second longest training run. so that was my main focus heading out for the final 5.

my dad and i headed out for the final stretch (well, my final stretch. his whole stretch). the first mile or two were easy and we chatted about my marathon and my goals and if i had figured out a run/walk strategy (i havent. but ill blog about this another day). with about 2 miles left, i got in my crabby runner mode. my dad tried to make a joke and i muttered, nothing is funny right now, and told him i wasnt talking until i finished my run. i started thinking about all the shortcuts that would get me home sooner, but i just kept trying to think about what an accomplishment 18 miles is. so, i trudged on, and though my last few miles had more walk breaks than i would have hoped, i finished fairly strong.

i came home, drank more heed, ate some brussel sprouts (weird choice, i know, but they were left over from last night and tasted really good!), and headed upstairs to make myself an ice bath. this was my first ice bath experience, and i have to say, i liked it more than i would have thought! ok, i didnt like it....but it worked. when i got in my bathtub of cold water and ice cubes, i was making some weird noises - a mix of shrieking, moaning, and cursing. but i settled in and it wasn't too bad. i txt runner boy to brag that i had finished my 18 miles and to get some congrats and encourgement in return. i flipped through my may runner's world (yeah, the one with kara goucher on the cover!) and after about 12 minutes, i decided that was probably good enough and got out.

after a hot shower, i could safely say that i felt good. the ice bath really helped! im not limping nearly as much as i normally would be after a long run. plus, i feel badass, and i think that counts for a lot.

in a perfect world, my recovery today would have included a nap, but it did not. instead, i layed on my couch and watched the wings play the hawks and lose to the hawks because of a garbage call in the last minute of the game. it wasnt even a penalty, let alone a penalty shot! ugh. at least our boys looked sharp in their winter classic jerseys. see you tomorrow hawks, you were lucky today.

my brother and his family are over today to spend the night for easter. i read my niece 21 berenstein bear books. thats every berenstein bear book we own! phew.

happy easter to everyone! after 18 miles, i think i get to eat everything i want at easter brunch tomorrow.

out at the pictures

2009-04-10T09:01:00.004-07:00

as someone who does not currently own a camera (i have broken 2 digital cameras and lost 1. until i can prove to myself i am more responsible, i am not allowed to purchase valuable electronics), i really enjoy when i get pictures from others. facebook is very helpful for this, as are races with photographers.

ladies and gents, i present you....

pictures from the martian half marathon!

could i not even manage a smile at the end? geez.

pretty anticlimactic pictures, i know. but who doesn't love their race photos, even if they don't look stellar?

let it rock

2009-04-09T15:04:00.003-07:00

inspired by da 8 count's playlist post, i'm dedicating today's entire post to sharing some of my current favorite running tunes. if i've mentioned them before, it just means i really really love them!

brother sport by animal collective
the jimmy choos by chester french (yeah mtv is in love with this song but i still love it, too)
the tornado lessons by cloud cult
cha cha slide by dj chip
get down lil mama by dj funk
bad things coming, we are safe by emmy the great
steer by the future laureates
i like you so much better when you're naked by ida maria
soft by kings of leon
be somebody by kings of leon
fashion glam and coke by mickey avalon
hush hush by natalie portman's shaved head
maria by willie nelson (its a good song even if your name isnt maria!)
whatever you like by TI*
jacking the ball by the sea and cake
swing by savage (im still not over this one)
jenny don't be hasty by paolo nutini
party like a rockstar remix by pitbull
touch it/technologic by daft punk
lay it back and drop it by girl talk
like this by girl talk
play your part by girl talk
ok...ANY girl talk : )
happy alone by kings of leon
U.R.A.Q.T. by M.I.A
me and armini by emiliana torrini
keepin it real by mason jennings
cuddle fuddle by passion pit
where she was on monday by TAB the band

*i really like this song because i have decided that the lyrics are "snacks on bed, patron on ice." who wouldn't want snacks on bed??

alright, i think thats about all for now! im off to pick up my parents from the airport. they have been jamaica-ing for the last 5 days. little do they know that i am picking them up from the airport but will need to be dropped off at the bar on their way home....

poker face

2009-04-08T17:30:00.005-07:00

i got a 7 miler in today around my parents house in michigan. its so much more interesting to run hills and not just pancake flat land like i do in chicago! while the elevation was more diverse than my usual and i enjoyed it, i did remind me to start doing some hill treadmill workouts because i think cleveland has more hills that chicago. they have an elevation map on the marathon's website, but to be honest, i cant figure out how to translate that to treadmill language.

the snow we had at the beginning of the week was super crappy, but it really made me appreciate the sun today, and how everything was melty. running outside so much has made me extremely grateful for any signs of spring!

my marathon training is about to crescendo with my 18 and 20 milers coming up, and im nervous, excited, burnt out, and just about every other emotion you can think of. here's my cry for help to veteran marathoners (or anyone who has some good advice for me!) - whats the best advice you have gotten/ the best lesson you have learned about marathon training?

thanks!! happy holy week to all!!

ps...tomorrow i will be posting a big list of songs you should be listening to.

pps...i do not like the song poker face. but ive heard it like 30 times in the past week and its always stuck in my head, so i couldnt think of anything else for the title!

no one said it would be easy

2009-04-07T07:05:00.003-07:00

ive been dreading writing the race report from the martian half marathon on sunday. that should give you an idea of how it went.

did i make ANY of my goals?
NOPE! if you recall, my last goal was to have a fun race with my friends. nope, that didn't even happen.

the race started at 7 and was an hour away. andrew and i had plans to meet up with dustin at 6, which means we had to leave at 5, which meant we got up at 4. the night before, we were up til midnight. which leaves me 4 hours of sleep. not great.

anyways, we all got some coffee pre-race and i could already tell it wasn't my day. i have been fighting this cold for weeks, i haven't gotten a lot of sleep the last few days, and i just wasn't feeling it. you know that excitement you get before a race? the adrenaline that gets you going? yeah, it never happened.

before the race i gave the boys full permission to leave me if they wanted to run faster. we all started together. i think they thought they were running slow enough for me, but that was not the case. their slow running was my sprinting. so, not even 2 miles in they left me and i was already tired.

the rest of the run was uneventful. it was a small race, in sort of a boring area. during most of the race, i completely freaked out mentally. when i got to the turnaround, i thought, halfway done, actually only 1/4 done for the full. i really got nervous about the full marathon, spent a lot of time worrying about my training, etc etc.

i think i was completely delusional when i created my goals. breaking 2 hours? no where close. i ended up finishing at 2:13:36, 37 of 66 in my age group.

so it wasn't my race. the worst part was that andrew was planning on running the half in cleveland, and right after i finished he told me that he felt so great during the race he is going to push through training to run the full with me in cleveland. i tried to be happy for him, but i was mostly a very crabby runner that morning.

we came home and made an enormous mess of a breakfast - fried eggs, fried potatoes with cheese, and toast. and beer. and then a 2 hour nap. so, that part of the race day was fun!

while it wasn't a great race, it was valuable. i learned i need to really focus on my training, especially my mental game. i also realized that i am not a fast runner, and right now i am working on distance and not speed. my goals should be based on me and no one else - even if my friends are way faster than me.

race aside, it was a great weekend having andrew here. we hadn't seen each other in over 2 years, and it was so surreal to see him. but, like any good friends, it was like we had just seen each other last week. my brother and his family came over sunday and andrew and i had tons of fun playing with my niece.

so starting today - its on with my marathon training. im sticking to my schedule, im going to keep a better eye on what i eat (and drink) and i am going to take care of myself and sleep enough. because that is what is going to make me confident on may 17!

i hope everyone is having fun at work - im lovin my spring break! my spring break is probably a lot like my students - lots of time on the couch watching tv!

everybody here is a cloud

2009-04-03T15:48:00.007-07:00

this post is coming to you from the megabus! i am en route back home to michigan. megabus is great for their cheap tickets, double deckerness, comfy seats, and fast trips...but now free wireless? this is awesome. especially because i was really wanting to post yesterday, and earlier today, but things have been so busy i havent had the spare 15 minutes! hard to believe, i know, but true.

the margot concert on wednesday was out of control. it was friendship date night with one of my bests, so we got some dinner, drank some beers, and headed over to Metro in time for the openers.

good thing we did! all 3 bands that played put on amazing shows. ice palace was the first opener, and they were one of those bands where everyone plays like 3 instruments. incredibly talented, some catchy tunes.

around this time in the night runner boy made an apperance. he, too, listens to good music. he also is good to have around because he disapears and returns with 3 beers (me, friend, him) qite frequently. ok, ok, hes more than just a beer distributor, but its not a bad quality!

next up was cloud cult. i fell in love with them. i downloaded their latest album as soon as i got home -feel good ghosts (tea-partying through tornados). i really enjoy that album name, almost as much i like the name cloud cult. "pretty voice" (which is from a different album) and "everybody here is a cloud" are standouts so far.

cloud cult did something i have never seen at a concert, and something i have never heard of, or dreamed of. they had a painter on stage! he was painting throughout their set, and at the end, he had painted a painting that got sold in the lobby later. isnt that insane!? i did some band researching and it seems they are full of insane awesomeness. so, if cloud cult is coming to your town, go see them!

margot and the nuclear so and sos is who i actually went to see though, and they did not dissapoint. casey tennis, the crazy percussionist, brought his best drum banging, triangle tinging, and interpretive dancing. they played a lot of their new stuff, but of course played "skeleton key" and "vampires in blue dresses." im not sure how to accurately report the show, but let me just say it was everything id hoped it would be.

ok, on to topic number 2 of the post...

my half marathon on sunday!!!

i cannot even begin to express my excitement to race. im meeting my old roommate dustin at the expo tomorrow to pick up our packets and grab some lunch. then, my college friend andrew will be coming in from ohio to stay with me. cant wait to cook up some carbs, drink some wine, and catch up with him tomorrow night.

sunday is the big race day. as ive mentioned in previous posts, the boys have said they will run with me at whatever pace i want. they are being too nice. they should be running at their own paces. im very nervous that i will run even slower than i predict, and it will be dissapointing for everyone.

on the other hand, i really want to run this race well to give me a good predictor for my marathon time. and having 2 fast friends run with me might be just what i need to run the best i can. its a small race, so having a personal pacing team could be perfect.

i would love to break 2 hours. that means running a 10 minute PR. hmmm. just over 9 minute miles. i can do 2 or 3 9 min/miles, but can i do 13.1??

my goals...

goal a: break 2 hours
goal b: under 2:05
goal c: PR 2:09
goal d: finish after having fun with friends. (im reminding myself about the fun with friends thing cause ill be really sad if i don't PR)

this week has been crazy and busy and i havent slept as much as i normally do, but that has been good because ive been too busy to get in too many miles.....i took yesterday and today off cause i had to, so ive ended up with a nice easy running week. hopefully i can get in 2 or 3 miles tomorrow and have fresh legs sunday morning.

good luck to everyone else racing this weekend.

skeleton key

2009-04-01T10:08:00.004-07:00

i got 4 miles in this morning. my abs are super sore from monday and tuesday. im still feeling kinda sick (yes, this is week 3 of being sick)

but none of this matters!

because im going to margot and the nuclear so and so's concert tonight!

ive been obsessed with them for almost a year now. "skeleton key" was my first favorite song but now i love all of it. they are so good live - i saw them at lollapalooza and then again in november at bottom lounge. tonight they are playing the metro.

they are "chamber pop" i guess. i LOVE the percussionist, casey tennis! he is hysterical. lots of interpretive dance moves, too!

check them out. you will not regret this.

don't mug yourself

2009-03-31T10:35:00.005-07:00

perhaps you caught RWD's blurb on runners being more attractive than the general population. for the most part, i agree. i think i am a more attractive person because of me running, too! obviously it helps stay in shape and creates awesome legs, but there is something very attractive of being able to drop "im training for a marathon" in conversation. provided their response is impressed rather than intimidated. or maybe a bit of both.

but there are some things that running do to me that make me much less attractive. my feet, for example. constantly blistered and bruised.

and there are moments of complete disgustingness that have come to be part of my life that concern me. for example....

yesterday afternoon i worked out, went to a mtg at school (still sweaty and in gym clothes), went home, ate dinner, watched 24, went to bed.

this morning i woke up at 5.45, headed to the gym, and ran 3 miles. as i was running, i could smell myself. then i realized, hey, i never showered after my work out yesterday. in fact, im not even sure i washed my face.

SICK.

i took a very thorough shower this morning to make up for it. so no worries, im not smelly now. but i am concerned my lowered standards of clean.

cinco dias hasta el martian half marathon!!

(and yes, my dear colie, we do need to hang out asap. lets plan on running after spring break! and getting margaritas!)

just another manic monday

2009-03-30T17:48:00.002-07:00

pretty soon after my post yesterday i got power back. yay! i still stayed in bed for a very very long time....and never made it to the gym....

but i did some cross training today - 50 minutes on the elliptical, abs, and arms. this week is kinda crazy so i am going to do my runs in the early morning hours to make sure they happen. this shouldnt be too bad, since im tapering off for my half marathon on sunday, im only running 3 -4 miles each day. so i wont have to get up too too early!

i had a mini freak out looking at the remaining long runs i have. half this weekend, 15, 18, 20, 12, 10, marathon!!! crazy! im just worried im not going to be ready for the 18 and 20 milers. also, im thinking about switching the 18 and 15 so that i have a lighter week between the 18 and 20. but if i do that, then i will have to run an 18 6 days after my half.

i guess ill just wait and see how i feel.

i have to mention my date yesterday...im still not ready to unveil why this boy is named SB or what the interesting story behind him. BUT i will say we had a really good time. we met up downtown (since we live on opposite sides of the city) and got beers at a bar called English. he talks more than i do, so the hours flew by. i couldnt stay longer because of other commitments, but i wish i could have. not sure if i actually like him, but i did have fun.

24 is almost on!! cant wait to find out if jack bauer got infected by the bioweapon and will die!! or, i bet he will figure out a way to get more powers from it.

i hope there is a lot of tony almeida in tonights episode and not much renee walker. i think shes a little annoying, and think hes majorly hot.

covered in snow

2009-03-29T07:24:00.004-07:00

its a snowy snowy snowy day in chicago. im not going to go into how silly it is that we just got snow dumped on us.

also, i have no power, which is kind of annoying. i skipped earth hour yesterday...perhaps this is some sort of punishment?

the lack of power is really only bugging me because 1. i cant work out (im assuming my gym across the street doesnt have power either) and since its so snowy i cant run outside and 2. i have a date this afternoon i was hoping to use a hairdryer and/or straighter to get ready.

ill look on the bright side and say its a good excuse to stay in bed til noon.

yesterday morning i posted that i was going on a run while very hungover (and thanks, dad, for the sassy comments!) i wasnt even supposed to run yesterday - it was a rest day, and i was going to do my long run today. but when i woke up, i just really wanted to run. i hadnt had that feeling in a while - ive been doing more or less what my schedule says, but hadnt really wanted to go on a run in weeks. so yesterday, when i felt like a run was the only thing that would make me feel good, i did it.

and im so glad i did!

i wanted to run 15 but only got in 12 because i didnt have enough time. the first few miles didnt feel so great but they never do. i was running my first 6 miles into strong wind, which was challenging but made the run home so great - and fast.

ive been eating gu or shot blocks for runs over 8 miles, but the only kind i had left was strawberry banana gu and margarita shot blocks. you have no idea how many margaritas i drank friday night so i clearly couldnt eat those. i tried to strawberry banana gu around mile 6 and EW! it is not strawberry banana but banana. and i find banana flavored things absolutely horrible. so, not gu or shot blocks for this girl but i had gatorade so its all went well.

i was really hoping to get in another 10 or 12 miles today, but i dont think thats going to work out. good thing i ran before the snow hit!

song recommendation for lazy mornings like this one, or any morning really: "good morning" by william fitzsimmons. its charming. william fitzsimmons is awesome in general. he was born to two blind parents and grew up with sound and music and instruments of all sorts central to his life. his dad built instruments into the house. really cool. check him out.

so i mentioned i have a date today - i am really excited. this is definitely a get to know you date. but the phone conversation yesterday was promising. i enjoy people who cut me off when im talking and talk over me because i do it to everyone. its nice when people keep up. theres an interesting background story on this man, who we will refer to as SB, but ill save it for another day. im not sure youre ready.

one last thing.............ONE WEEK TIL THE MARTIAN HALF MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, back to bed for a lazy morning!

i laugh outloud, my lifes a mess

2009-03-28T08:17:00.003-07:00

woke up this morning so hungover.

last night was fun but ended badly.

wanna know the only thing i wanted to do this morning?

run.

run far.

so here i go.

im not well rested, im hungover, my head hurts, but i really want to go run. so im gonna go do 15 miles.

keep your fingers crossed for me.

ill let you know how it goes.

people got a lotta nerve

2009-03-25T17:26:00.004-07:00

this crappy weather is no good. its in the 50s, dreary, and very windy. i was fine running in the winter, but now that we had a few nice spring days, it is even harder to run on the gross days.

i am oh so happy my half marathon is next weekend. its been too long since ive raced. i do nearly all of my training runs alone, so ive missed the excitement of races and being with other runners. this weekend i am volunteering at the shamrock shuffle expo, and i think that will be fun too. its a big race in chicago, and i have a few friends running it. hopefully they will come to the expo saturday morning so i can hand them their t shirts and goody bags! either way, i think that my long draught of race-less-ness is close to over. and once i get near a race, i know i will remember why i signed up to do this silly marathon thing in the first place.

i decided to hold off on any shorter distance races next weekend. im only going to be getting into michigan late friday night, and my friend andrew is coming in to stay with me sometime saturday, so i should probably just head to packet pick up and chill around the house, awaiting andrews arrival.

i had a 7 miler today. it was WINDY. yes, so windy that i need to capitlize all of the letters. you know when you feel like you are running at a pace 2 minutes faster than you are actually moving?? yeah, it was like that. also, my calves were super tight and they never really loosened up during the run. i might take a day off of running tomorrow and do some yoga instead.

the good news is that i think i solved the problem of my blistery feet. i put vaseline all over my feet today and no problems at all. ill try it again this weekend for my long run. im still trying to decide if i want to do 15 or 18 this weekend.

i think i mentioned that i got the new neko case cd, middle cyclone. ive finally given it a few good listens and i really am diggin it. its typical neko, and i like that. she makes good folk music, but she is super sassy. my favorite track by far is "people got a lotta nerve." i just found the video, and its pretty adorable.

slow ride so long

2009-03-23T14:43:00.002-07:00

the other day i was looking at my PRs, and realized something interesting. if you add my 5k and 10k times, it is slower than my 15k. this tells me 1. i rocked that 15k but also 2. i should get some more short races under my belt. i can easily improve on my times, and would love to have nicer times staring at me when i blog.

the problem, of course, is that i am running long runs every weekend and don't have any short races on my calendar. the day before my half marathon, there is also a 10k and a 5k on the same course. there is also a Race to the Final Four through downtown Detroit. should i sign up for one just for fun? or should i save it for the half on sunday, and just wait til after my marathon and halfs are done in june to worry about conquering shorter races?

i think im just getting ansy to race. any advice is welcome.

it was supposed to be so easy

2009-03-21T12:56:00.004-07:00

ok, 18 miles was never meant to be easy. but my legs felt great, its beautiful out, i was rested, had a stellar playlist and excited to run. what could go wrong?

my shoes, apparently. my f'ing shoes.

i ran the 4 miles from my house to the lake and by the time i got to the lake, i was all warmed up and in the zone. lots of other runners (and other people who thought it was a nice day for them to go on a run) were out on the path, navy pier was full of tourists (a true sign of spring), and lots of other really distracting things were happening to keep me happy and occupied. my legs felt fresh, i had lots of energy, and i was excited to conquer 18 miles, but my stupid shoes were rubbing my ankles raw. its not even that i had blisters, my feet were just raw and sore. and gross. and this made me mad.

i got to my halfway point near fullerton, which puts me 9 miles from home. at this point, i realize i cannot finish my run. i stop and walk and trying to figure out what to do about the rest of my run (and getting home). but walking does not make my feet any less miserable or my shoes any less mean. so in an act of desperation, i took off my shoes and socks. my pride will not let me walk barefoot while wearing a fuel belt and many many many people running by me. i feel too stupid.

so i make a brilliant decision: i run anyways.

i ran barefoot, carrying shoes and socks and avoiding rocks and pieces of glass, for about 3 miles. i was pretty proud of myself for making the most of the situation. also, running helped me get home faster.

once i got back up to millenium park i put my shoes back on and walked to the bus stop. i felt really defeated getting on the bus in the middle of a long run, especially because i was not stopping because i was tired, or cramping, or mentally shutting down. it was just my damn shoes!

the fact it was shoes makes me even more annoyed because im not sure how to fix the problem. the shoes are the same as my old pair which never gave me any problem. they are about 3 weeks old so any breaking in should have already happened. maybe my ankles are just too precious and tender.

i guess i will try taping my feet up with duct tape. when i was in the backcountry this is how we solved the problem of any "hot spots" in our boots. my backcountry guide friend even taped up my feet with duct tape when i was breaking in ballet flats when he visited me. and goofy as it looked, i have to say it worked.

any other ideas on how to fix my problem of my feet getting rubbed raw?

i guess i will change next week's 12 miler to an 18 miler, then taper for a week until my half marathon april 5.

songs to download NOW: "i like you so much better when you're naked" by ida maria and "no class" by mickey avalon. both are badass running songs.

house of cards

2009-03-20T14:06:00.004-07:00

my coworker/friend/fellow blogger and i have coffee every friday to catch up on things. she sent me this ecard....

it made me laugh a lot. also, its friday, and fridays are great days for internetting and not being productive, so i spent a lot of time on someecards.com. id reccomend it if you are bored (and have run out of blogs to read).

this one also made me laugh:

good luck with long runs, races, partying, and whatever else it is you will do this weekend. i hope you all get laid.

speedway

2009-03-19T16:17:00.005-07:00

i just got back from my first track workout ever! woo hoo!

ok, it wasnt actually on a track. my friend who i did the workout with and i googled tracks near us, and someone had posted on yelp that there is one at UIC. so we ran 2 miles over to UIC athletic fields to look for the track. the person on yelp is a LIAR. there is no track. there is a path that goes around the fields, but no track at all.

we convinced ourselves that a certain portion of the path was 1/4 mile, which i really think it was. so, we decided to do 5 repeats on what (we think) was 400 m.

let me explain that i have NEVER attempted to run fast. ever. i hated running growing up, and now i focus on distance, so this whole speed thing was very very new.

speed work sucks. i feel great now, and i am glad i did it, but everytime i was halfway through a lap, i felt like i wanted to vomit. not my favorite feeling. after 3 repeats, i decided i was only doing 4, not 5. i reasoned that if i only do 4 i will come back next week; if i do 5, i will actually vomit and never come back again. so i was happy with my 4.

we were really consistent tho; coming in within 3 seconds of 1.46 each time. i have nothing to compare this to, so i will pretend it is good. consintency is good, though, right?

major lesson learned: my first lap around, i talked the whole time. big mistake. but its harder for me to shut up than to run while talking.

also, the whole ordeal was made insane by the fact that ROTC from UIC was doing whatever ROTC people do on the same portion of the fields we were on. there were compasses, fatigues, crouching, and yelling involved. so basically, i ran my 400m repeats through a war zone. during one repeat, i couldnt remember the name for batalion and kept thinking cottilion. they are very different things. but its very funny to look at army men and call them a cottilion. almost as funny as running as fast as you can many times in a row voluntarily.

i came home to a nice bloody sock. ive gotta remember to keep my toenails cut short.

18 miles this weekend. after today, ill be happy just to run them slowly : )

also, i will leave you with another st pattys day picture that i found. i love a dance party, especially at 11 am...

happy almost weekend, lets hope it warms up again!

25 days

2009-03-17T15:24:00.006-07:00

"25, 25 days. thats too much! thats too much!
25, 25 days. thats too much! thats too much!
it will soon be 24. oh!
you’re so worth waiting for"
-hello saferide, "25"

my half marathon is in 25 days! woo hoo! now that it is approaching, its becoming a bigger focus. i'm still pretty marathon centric (2 months from today exactly, but who's counting), but i am so excited to race, to race with good friends no less, and to hopefully PR.

anything under 2.09 would be a PR, but im really ambitious and hoping to break 2 hours. is that ridiculous? keep in mind, i am not doing any speed work. my main priority is to stay healthy throughout training and to finish the marathon happy. so is it silly to think that being able to run 18 miles means i can run 13.1 fast (for me?)

it is absolutely gorgeous out today. i am still kinda sick, but i just had to get outside to run in shorts and a tshirt for a quick 2.5 miles. as a midwest kid, i just cant let a nice day go to waste. im pretty sure people who live in nice weather all the time can stay inside and read on a sunny day, but i just cant do it. i feel so guilty. like if i dont take advantage of it, i wont get any more. anyone else feel this way?

musical obsessions this week:
for mellow music, download ane brun (especially treehouse and armour) and hello saferide (25, anna, i wonder who this one is like are stand outs).

as far as running tunes go, i am head over heels for "pretty young thing (p.y.t)" by michael jackson. this song is so good!!! where have i been??

oh, and "get down lil mama" and "if you seek amy" are pretty great in my ears right now, too, to run to.

i hope everyone is having a great st pats! i keep forgetting it is today because it was so saturday in my life. here are some pictures from saturday morning at my friend tiffanys.

with my girls kate and tiffany:

please notice the girl's face between tiffany and kate. creepy, or awesome??

malcom, chad, and myself

that smile was plastered on my face the whole day.

im looking forward to a motorcyle ride (yes mom, ill wear a helmet) and some beers with runner boy tonight.

in non running news (but other boy news)...im trying to get a (specific) boy to ask me on a date. how can i make this happen??? hes seen my nasty blistered runner feet and still talks to me, so i think theres hope.

sleep all day

2009-03-16T12:12:00.003-07:00

i wish i could write a super happy post to accurately convey how well my long run went on friday afternoon, but im sick in bed and not feeling well at all. i had been a little sick last week, it got worse this weekend, and i didnt sleep at all last night. so, its a sick day for this little lady. but, there are some good things to update you on...

my run really did go well on friday. i ended up running 11 miles to my friends place, and she ran the last 5 miles with me. she even talked me into doing an extra lap around wrigley, so i ran more than i needed to. it was really fun running with a destination, first to meet nicole and then to kates. im going to have to do that again for the seriously long runs.

saturday was an amazing day of sunshine, beer, whisky, and friends. highlights include:

8 am cans of sparks and a dance party
juking to "get down lil mama" at 11 am
ending up IN the parade
bottle of jager i made my friend buy and wouldnt drink more than 4 sips of (sorry kate)
introducing myself to a creeper as "im maria, i ran 16 miles yesterday"
4 bars, 3 house parties, 1 parade, approximately 11 cabs, 13 hours
golden nugget for pancakes at midnight

hopefully some pictures surface on facebook so i can share the amazingness with you.

other good news....i talked to my two friends who are running the martian half marathon with me in april. one i havent seen in over 2 years, and both are significantly better runners than i am. but, yesterday i talked to each of them about the race (in seperate conversations), and they both said that their plan for the race is to run with me at whatever pacei want. hooray! i really want to break 2 hours, and even though it is a really small race, i think andrew and dustin might be just the right support team to help me to that goal.

more updates to follow. i need to go take another nap.

fancy footwork

2009-03-12T14:55:00.004-07:00

i just checked my calendar, and today is my first day of complete rest in eleven days. ELEVEN DAYS! isn't that insane? i didn't plan on that, i just ended up throwing in some miles and cross training on what should have been rest days twice, and now its almost been two weeks since ive had a day off. no wonder my legs felt so tight yesterday during my run.

i ran 7.5 miles yesterday. i said it before and ill say it again...long runs are so much better than short runs. the first 2 miles yesterday were not that enjoyable, especially because my calves felt so tight. but once i got warmed up, i really had a great run. i explored a new route, which is always fun.

the hockey game was a good time, but some of the sloppiest hockey i've seen. with 3 minutes left and chicago up 2-1, my roommate and i left to get a cab home. i get home, check the final score, and learn it went into a shoot out. oh well, im sure the shoot out was as sloppy as the game.

ST PATTYS DAY IS SATURDAY! ok, i know its actually next tuesday, but saturday is party day. my alarm will be set for 7 am in the hopes of getting to my friends party by 8.30 or so. bar hopping from there....if im ambitious i will get downtown to see the river when its green. but its not a priority.

im sleeping at my friends house tomorrow night, and i am being super smart by packing for the weekend tonight, giving her the bag at work tomorrow so she can bring it home with her, and then i am planning my 15 miles so that my run will end at her place. i am genius, right?? yes. the answer is yes.

i have so much excitement for saturday that i think it will help me push through the 15 miles. ill be passing all the bars ill be drinking at 12 hours later, and listening to the songs i will be dancing to.....maybe im overly optimistic, but i think these 15 miles will be fun.

the good old hockey game is the best game you can play.

2009-03-11T11:26:00.006-07:00

thanks for the words of encouragement in response to my post yesterday. i ended up squeezing in 2.5 miles. better than nothing, right?

today i am running 7 miles. i get so much more excited about a 7 mile run than a 3 mile run. the first few miles are just warm up, and a 3 mile run is over before i start enjoying it. longer runs feel more substantial, like bigger accomplishments. when im running outside, i can cover more distance, and explore more areas of the city.

speaking of exploring the city, im excited to plan out my 15 mile route for friday. im nervous about running 15 miles. i have hypothetically run 14 miles, but there was a break in the middle, and sometimes my nike plus lies to me and tells me i have run farther than i really have. so, this time i am plotting it out on runningmap.com to ensure i get all the miles in.

after my run tonight, im going to the blackhawks game. lets get this clear- i do not like the blackhawks. i am from detroit, and i will die a red wings fan. but, hockey is hockey, so i am excited. wanna see some good fights and listen to the best hockey song ever?

last night i talked to my wonderful friend luke on the phone, who has loyally been reading my blog (or just really bored at dental school. this is the more likely option) luke has been my anti-running buddy since we met senior year of high school on the football team. we ran together because we both hated running so much. even though we later worked together, visited each other all through college, and were work out buddies, our friendship was really a product of shared hatred for running at practice. i am pretty sure she is scared we wont be friends now that i actually like running. and by like i mean love. but no worries luke. we are more than just running haters. also...come to chicago this weekend!

help me i think i'm falling.

2009-03-10T06:51:00.002-07:00

i'm blaming the time change and the weather.

i'm very very unmotivated. and i feel like crap.

yesterday all i had to to was a 3 mile run that i was planning to do on the treadmill to get some hills in. i did NOTHING yesterday but sleep, read, nap, and read more. i am apparently a completely lazy person. so 5 pm rolls around i realize, ok, maria, youve got to get to the gym now if you are ever going to go.

so i go to the gym, and through some complicated barter system i created with myself, i traded my 3 miles for 1.5 miles of hills, 20 minutes on the elliptical, and a 1 mile sprint. does anyone else create bizzare trades with their training schedules?

last night i realized that my day today is pretty busy, and i would have to get my 3 miles in early in the morning. so, i set my alarm for 5.45 am. i KNOW that i did this. i set out my running clothes, ipod, and shoes, too. but somehow today my alarm went off at 7 am. i don't have any recollection at all of waking up at 5.45 am and changing my alarm to 7 am. but, apparently this happened. so at 7, my shoes and running clothes were staring at me in the face as a reminder of how i have let them down.

my head hurts today too (i also blame the time change for this. maybe the dreary weather a bit too). i could concivably squeeze in 3 quick miles this afternoon. i have a 7 miler on the calendar tomorrow with thursday off to rest for my 15 miler on friday. saturday and sunday will both be off because i will be so drunk (saturday) and hungover (sunday).

so, i need advice. should i try to get my miles in today? move them to thursday, the day before my 15 mile run?

my schedule has become to rock of my life, and now that i am moving it around and skipping it, i feel really lost and upset.

help me.

cuddle fuddle

2009-03-08T19:28:00.005-07:00

the rain i ran in yesterday kept on raining all day, and night, and through this morning. no worries, though, this did not put a damper (hehe) on my plans for the night!

the pub crawl was good fun, and i discovered something amazing. there are dog friendly bars! jake's on clark lets people bring dogs! how awesome is that? i dont have a dog, but it was pretty great to get to play with other people's dogs while drinking my pbr.

the birthday dinner/bar hopping was a great success as well. for reasons still unclear to me, it was a mustache party. we all had stick on mustaches we rocked, and might i add, looked pretty great in them. of course, we brought extras to give to the new friends we made at the bars.

i was super clever and put mine on my beer.

like any night that starts with a bar crawl at 3 pm....i ended up eating at taco burrito house at 3 am. classy.

today i slept in, took a nap, and ill be going to bed early. yayyy sundays.

i did manage to do some cross training and weights today, too, as my only productive activity. im switching around my training plan for the week to move my long run from saturday morning to friday afternoon. this is crucial in freeing up my weekend to adequately celebrate st pattys day. green beer will probably be necessary after a 15 miler!

i dont like this spring forward time change nonsense. i want that hour of weekend back! my friend suggested that the time change take place on, say, a monday morning at 9 am to preserve the weekend and shorten a workday. i have such clever friends.

i just discovered an adorable song by ane brun called "the treehouse song." lyrics include "we were gonna live in a treehouse and make babies." pretty cute, eh? i heard those lyrics and listened to the song about 43 times on repeat. thats not an exageration.

as an F-Y-I i'm F-L-Y

2009-03-07T10:05:00.002-08:00

these things are making me happy today -

1. the feeling of complete bad ass-ness of running my 10 miles during a complete downpour.

2. the "she's an insane maniac" look i got from nonrunners witnessing my bad ass-ness of running in the freezing rain.

3. the "isn't this so fun!?!" smiles exchanged with runners sharing in the bad ass-ness of running in the freezing rain.

4. the last 5 miles were easier than the first 5.

5. running through millennium park. i never get sick of how fun the bean is.

6. i had enough energy towards the end of my run that i really pushed it the final 1.5 miles. i kept thinking "guts race, maria, its a guts race." (obviously inspired by steve prefontaine)

7. yesterday my runner's world came in the mail. what a perfect addition to my stay at home friday.

8. i have less than a month until the martian half marathon. i haven't gone to an expo, pinned on a bib, and crossed a finish line since this year's turkey trot. i can't wait to put my training to use!

9. "what up man" by the cool kids

10. "skeleton song" by kate nash (not her best song by any means, but ive listened to "pumpkin soup" and "merry happy" waaaay too much in the past year its time to obsess over a new song of hers)

11. the hot shower i took after my run. so good.

12. enumerated lists.

13. the pub crawl i am attending this afternoon

14. the birthday dinner and bar hopping thats happening tonight (my lenten promise of not drinking is over. i don't think its fair to my friends not to give them the best maria that could be. and that best maria likes to have a few beers)

15. i have a 3 day weekend!

i hope everyone else has a minimum of 15 things making them happy today, too.

i sleep til the point when im awake, i run until theres nowhere left to trek

2009-03-06T10:27:00.004-08:00

alright, city runners, i have a question for you-

how do you deal with running through intersections and stopping at lights?

wednesday night i went on a nice 7 mile run from my house towards lake michigan and back, during rush hour. i really like running that route, and i really like running right from my house and not having to drive to the lake, but the intersections are a huge problem. maybe it was just because i ran during rush hour and there was a lot of traffic, but it really messed up my run. i'm running 10 miles tomorrow and would prefer not to stop every 3 minutes at a light.

i am honestly considering running in whichever direction has a green light, even if this means i run back and forth across the intersection 4 times waiting for a light to change.

maybe there is no good solution to this problem, but i thought i would see if others had any ideas or at least share the same issue so we can comiserate.

this morning i actually had the thought, "i only have to run 10 miles tomorrow." a year ago 10 miles would have been an impossible amount of miles, and now i am really looking forward to a "short" long run. i find this encouraging.

for the past 24 hours i have only listened to one song - "city song" by emmy the great. enjoy the live video of it. it is a hauntingly charming song; it literally gives me chills and butterflies in my stomach at the same time. yes, i might like music too much.

i've taken the liberty of changing "walk" to "run" in the lyrics i used for this post's title. i think it works well : )

you are an animated anvil and i'm an animated duck.

2009-03-04T11:53:00.003-08:00

yesterday i had a 3 mile run on my schedule. maybe one of the least exciting runs imaginable. short distance, easy pace planned, boring, in theory. not so, my friends, not so.

i always run past this cute vintage store, knee deep, on my runs. i always want to stop in, but, being in the middle of a run, its never the most convenient. well, i really needed to go the knee deep because a certain friend's birthday is tomorrow and i thought this might be a great spot to pick up a cute present. also, my day was pretty busy, so i figured, hey, why not bring a credit card on my run and stop in?

i know, my brilliance is blinding.

to make a long story short, i ran past this during the first half of my run. sweeeeeeeeeet. the weather outside is getting better, so here come the gangs.

(note to my mom: i'm fine, i was never really in harm's way, i can run faster than a bullet or at least the average gang banger, i'll make sure i run at the lake or inside if its dark out)

i have to be honest - this scene in no way, shape, or form impacted my run. by the time i figured out what was up, there were tons of cops around, so really my run was safer than a typical run. so i kept running and looped back to knee deep to do my shopping.

i found a really cute gift which i will not reveal in case my certain friend reads this post, as well as some most adorable earrings for myself. so yayy knee deep! super cute. i'm still thinking about a little yellow cardigan and a spring dress i may have to go back to try on.

so i have the gift and my earrings and they are in a bag and i leave to run home - a bit less than a mile. ive got my hood up, im clutching a bag to my chest, and running pretty quickly. i am positive it looked like i just stole something.

well there you have it, i managed to turn a simple 3 mile run into a very eventful 30 minutes.

in music news, i just downloaded emmy the great's album, first love. she makes some great antifolk music with wacky lyrics. its keeping me so entertained that i have yet to download the new neko case album that came out yesterday. i like to be able to give albums the attention they deserve, so i need to pace myself, or else i will have an eargasm overdose.

ps...i love the lyrics i picked for this post's title because sometimes, i think my life is like a big goofy cartoon.

and everything is going to the beat

2009-03-02T09:03:00.002-08:00

i've got some treats for you to brighten up this monday!

two of itunes free songs are really great: sleepyhead by passion pit and bang bang by k'naan.

if the links don't work for some reason, you can just search and download them for free from itunes.

hope you dig them like i do.

a dreamy day day dreaming

2009-03-01T13:29:00.004-08:00

i am not sore from running my 14 miles, but i am sore from the twister tournament i won last night. the twister tournament prize was a gift card to cesars, so this makes me intensely happy.

i did not make it to my fleet feet historic run this morning because last night got out of hand.

after a well behaved dinner at sura, i found out that i am a bad influence on cody and he is a worse influence on me. long story short: we skipped the comedy show to go to a gay strip club til 3 am, i decided that its okay to drink sundays during lent, and sunday starts at midnight so i had 3 long islands. i'll spare you the rest of the story, but rest assured it is hilarious and highly inappropriate.

sample tidbit - i was at a friends house post gay strip club and saw his underarmour running shoes. i then engaged him in a lengthy conversation about his shoes. i barely know him. he might have been weirded out. its probably the appropriate response.

the assorted craziness is the reason my running the fleet feet run was physically impossible.

its snowy and awful weather right now. i have no plans to leave my bed today now that i've made it home.

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

2009-02-28T13:16:00.004-08:00

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

2009-02-26T11:21:00.007-08:00

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

2009-02-25T12:19:00.006-08:00

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.

2009-02-24T13:08:00.004-08:00

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.

2009-02-21T11:37:00.002-08:00

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!

2009-02-20T14:19:00.007-08:00

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.

2009-02-19T15:29:00.004-08:00

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

2009-02-18T15:21:00.008-08:00

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.

2009-02-16T13:23:00.005-08:00

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.

2009-02-12T14:37:00.006-08:00

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

2009-02-11T11:55:00.010-08:00

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.

2009-02-10T10:00:00.004-08:00

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.