Thanksgiving and a PR!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends near and far!  I won't keep you long today, as there are many more important things to do today besides blogging. We've already had round 1 of food here and I'm so grateful that my dress is a wrap around, nice and adjustable for all the goodies I just ate. Let's cut right to the good news, shall we? My family and I ran a Turkey Trot 5k this morning, benefiting the local YMCA. As I was wondering in my previous post, I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach the race. I still feel some post-marathon awkwardness, I really wasn't sure what my body would be capable of. Turns out, a heck of a lot!

I had no clue how fast I was going, I felt pretty out of touch with my body for the first mile. Turns out it was 7:47. Oops. I started to think this was going to get really ugly, really quickly. I'd never run a first mile that fast in a race.  I slowed down for mile 2, not on purpose so much as my body forcing itself to regain control. There was no way I could safely sustain that pace, and after some of the race reports I'd been reading lately I was concerned that I'd be joining the league of pukers. I reached the turn around, still plugging away.  Either there was no marker for mile 2 or I totally missed it because the watch had gotten all the way to 10:00 and I knew I hadn't slowed down that much.

The course was a flat out and back that I'd run once before so I knew what I had left in front of me.  I didn't focus on trying to speed up on the last mile, rather just told myself over and over again to maintain. Just maintain, you've found your edge, now finish.  I honestly could not believe my eyes when I crossed the line. 24:33.  A PR by just over 2 minutes. Once the urge to puke passed, I caught my breath and had a celebratory fist pump. Everyone else in the family had yet to finish so I turned right around to cheer them on at the line.  I just checked the race results online and was also shocked to see that I'd done well in my age group for the first time ever.  Usually I'm mid-pack, but today I was 9th out of 89. 9th!  I can't believe it!  I'm really happy and still not convinced that it was me who ran that fast. I'm so glad that I was able to add a PR to my list of running accomplishments this year.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday today. Enjoy your fun runs or well-deserved days off, I'm looking forward to reading all your updates.  I think the faux turkey and all the trimmings has sat long enough, I am now going in search of pie........

Ouchy Tuesday and a gift exchange

Happy Tuesday, kittens. I woke this morning to find most of my muscles moaning and groaning at the slightest movement. I'll spare you some of the details on how they got that way, but most of it involved an slightly ambitious run on the treadmill last night. It was only four miles but I pushed the pace a bit with each mile and finished the last mile trucking along at an 8 minute pace. I'm not sure why I decided to push and see what happened but I'm glad I did.  I have this turkey trot on Thursday and I've been on the fence about how I want to run it. Should I just go and trot along, having fun or should I see what I can do? I've only got 2 runs under my belt since the marathon, so I really have no clue what my body is willing to do at this point.

Liz and the rest of the CAR lot, I'd appreciate any advice you have. If you were me, what would you do? God knows I should fear the answer to that question, having read your recent training and race reports. Crazy people. I won't be getting much sleep the night before the race, I'm working most of Wednesday and then hitting the road late in the afternoon for the 6 hour drive to NY. Race morning we need to get up early and drive about 45 minutes or so to the race start. Dear lord I'm already looking forward to the post-race stop at Dunkin Donuts. Anyone else out there doing some sort of holiday-related race? Alexandria puts on a good 5 miler, minus the mess of strollers and dogs that happened last yet. I heard they made some changes this year to better accommodate those runners.

On a fun-related note, if you are a fellow blogger and looking to get into the holiday spirit, head on over to the Blogger gift exchange. A lot of people have signed up already and who doesn't love getting presents in the mail? I really love giving gifts, so I'm looking forward to "meeting" the blogger for whom I'll be gifting. I think it is a great way to meet more awesome people in the blogosphere and spread some holiday cheer at the same time. Has anyone started their holiday shopping yet? I have a friend who is done. Seriously? Shutthefrontdoor. I don't do Black Friday anymore, thank goodness, so I'll probably start some time next week and hope to knock it out in time. Aside from a few random items, I'm generally able to do most of it on Amazon.

This year Santa probably hates my ass because everything I want is boring and expensive. For example, a new rug for my living room. The matching couch for my chaise lounge. A Garmin. A Dyson pet vacuum. You get the picture. Nothing you can put in a bag or box with a pretty ribbon. Except maybe the Garmin. If I get through the rest of this year of work unscathed I might have to spoil myself with one of the aforementioned. Have you made your list and checked it twice? Do you have big ticket items on there as well? Are they as boring as mine?  I remember the lists I made when I was a kid. What a difference a couple decades makes.

Ok, impending rant, feel free to skip right over it! Is anyone else already feeling bombarded with holiday advertising? Those silly car commercials for the 1% of America with money to blow on things other than food and shelter just kill me. I will say that I'm already done with the holiday diamond commercials. Granted, it only took about two to really tick me off, for any number of reasons. I'm just not a diamond girl. It comes with so much baggage related to consumerism, not to mention the ethical minefield. And if it is an engagement ring we're talking about, hello Wedding Industrial Complex. I can't run from that fast enough. That was a bit of a tangent, wasn't it? Blame it on the bitter shrew inside me. She's crocheting "Old Spinster" onto a tea cozy for me as we speak. Rant over.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday this week, with lots of food, family, and friends. I'm going to try and post a race report on Thursday but I make no promises. I'm easily distracted by the copious amounts of food, wine, and football that make up Thanksgiving in my house. I can practically guarantee that I'll be zonked out on the living floor by 8 pm. That is just how I roll.

Running and Resolutions

Yeah, I finally went for a run. I really can't believe it took me nearly three weeks to get back out there. I thought I'd take a week off, tops. So much for best laid plans, huh? And honestly, the longer it took me to go, the more nervous I got.  I was legitimately afraid to go. I have a Thanksgiving Day 5k turkey trot in a few days and even that has me scared.  What has gotten into me?  I wish I could put a finger on it. It doesn't make any sense at all. I don't know what I was so worried about. Would it be too hard? Painful? I'm not sure. I did 4 miles and I'm pleased that I got through it.  I didn't bother, as usual, to warm up or stretch in any capacity so everything was tight and sore for the duration of the run.  When I got home I was so relieved to have it over with.  I'm not sure when my next run will be, maybe after work tomorrow night at the gym. I'm still equally nervous and disinterested. Who sucked the fun out of the run?

On a somewhat happier note, I had a sports massage this morning and I'm hoping that will loosen up some of my problem areas.  For anyone in the VA area, I went to Pure Aesthetica in Del Ray.  I mention them specifically because they offer a one hour massage to first time clients for only $55.  Not a bad deal, right?  I had a gift certificate to go, and thanks to that deal I still have money left to spend on a future appointment.  If you need further motivation, it is only a block from the best frozen custard money can buy. It took all the will power I had to go straight home afterwards and not grab myself a treat.

I'm struggling with something else related to running, but I'm hesitant to talk about it here. I know some of you would certainly be able to understand what I'm talking about, having read some of your own words on the topic. But I'm not sure how personal I want to get on here. I don't want to worry any of my friends or family that read this but I'm sure you all might have some good advice for me as well. I guess I need to sleep on it a bit more and decide.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and I can't help but reflect on the past year's running and wonder what next year has in store. Once my last two races of 2011 are over I plan to sit down and sketch out some goals for 2012 along with a plan on how to achieve them. I would love to hear what your own goals are for next year and what you plan to do to reach them.  I'd also really welcome your input once I pull my list together. You all bring something special to running and I really value your opinions.

I'm not a big resolution fan at all, in fact I really dislike them. But setting goals feels different. Not just in running, but in general. Do you make resolutions for the new year? Are they remotely realistic?  Personally, I believe that you can change your life any day of the year if you want something badly enough. The new year is not only a crutch but it is added pressure to succeed on something that might not be that reasonable in the first place. Plus, it can really impinge on your holiday experience. Spending the "most wonderful time of the year" dreading January 1st and considering that time your last hurrah is no way to embrace the season.

I think goals are different than resolutions in that they are usually more specific, measurable, and achievable. They are something you can cross off a list as the year goes on and feel a sense of accomplishment. "I'm going to clean the house more, volunteer more, eat out less, lose ten pounds" etc etc just doesn't work for me.  Not that those aren't good ideas, trust me. I could stand to work on all of those. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that you need to frame your goals (or resolutions, if you think I'm just splitting hairs) in a way that doesn't make it seem like there is something inherently wrong with you that needs to be fixed. 

The upside of eschewing the resolution business is that I don't feel that pressure to change something about me as a person, nor the sense of failure when, inevitably, the resolution falls by the wayside. My goals are something that I'm actually excited about and feel will empower me as a person. To me, that is a huge difference. I'm not focusing on any perceived flaws. There is no self-loathing involved. I am not subtracting things from my life or attempting to go without. I'm enhancing. Maybe it is just semantics, but something clicked for me when I switched from resolutions to goals. There was a lot less self-judgment, which is a big deal in my life. I'm usually not the kindest person when it comes to the self but I'm working on it. Letting resolutions fall by the wayside is small step towards correcting that.

Kudos to everyone out there who trained, raced, and otherwise worked their butt off this week. I hope you did something kind for yourself too. You deserve it.

SURPRISE!

Guess what?!  I didn't run this weekend. Again. I know, shocking. But I did get a bit of advice in a training newsletter this week stating that marathoners should spend around three weeks not running or doing light cross training. So...I don't feel as guilty. Although I do have a 5k on Thanksgiving morning that I'd like to actually do well in. If I can get in a couple runs between now and then just to shake my legs out I'll be a happy camper.

Since running didn't fill up my weekend, I decided I might as well take my life into my hands. Yup, I went skydiving.  And it was AMAZING.  I wasn't willing to spend the extra $80 to get a video of the experience, but I won't be forgetting it any time soon. Obviously couldn't take a camera up into the plane with me, so my friend and I just took a few pictures on the ground in our harnesses before joining our tandem partners and hopping into the plane.

 There really wasn't much to the plane at all and I wouldn't exactly say were were trained either. It took about five minutes for them to tell us what to do before, during, and after the dive.  Not that they did a crap job, just that the tandem partner handles a lot of the important stuff. The plane itself seemed like an empty shell compared to what most of us are used to flying in. Then again, most people also don't intentionally jump out of a perfectly good aircraft. We cruised up to about 13,000 feet before it was go time.

The plastic door rolls open and the wind comes rushing in. I was the last of the group to jump, so I had a few harrowing moments of watching people jump into nothing and disappear. When it was my turn we sat on the edge of the plane door, legs dangling into the air. The next thing I knew I was falling 120 mph towards the ground. It was a huge rush! I didn't exactly look around to take in my surroundings, the air really pushes hard against your face. If you don't breath through your noise it feels like you're suffocating.

After the cord was pulled, we had several minutes to coast to the ground. I got to steer the parachute for a bit, sending it left and right into this fast corkscrew turns. The air temperature was crisp to say the least but the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Lovely views of the land around us, up towards DC and out to the mountains. After all the waiting we did on the ground the experience itself seem to go by so fast. One by one each of us reached solid ground and I crossed my fingers for a graceful landing.  I didn't want to be the one that landed on their ass, (and we'd seen several people do just that on the jumps before ours) and sure enough I managed to keep my feet under me.

All in all it was an incredible experience.  I made sure not to tell my family until afterwards, for which they were quite grateful.  I didn't have any intent behind going (working on the bucket list, etc) other than to be brave and try something new. I'm not in a hurry to do it again but I also wouldn't say no to it either. The cost can be prohibitive, but I can thank LivingSocial for hooking us up with a deal. Between skydiving, rainforest canopy ziplining, and waterfall rapelling, I think I'm pretty set in the adventure arena for the time being.

How was your weekend?  Do anything wild and crazy? Have you ever skydived before?

Random Friday Facts

Yes, after a long hiatus, these are back. And boring as ever.

1. Coldstone is a perfectly valid lunch choice.
2. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder, it just pisses it off.
3. I haven't run in 12 days and it feels like forever.
4. I still sleep with a stuffed animal.
5. I think have more followers here than friends saved in my cell phone.
6. I wish I had a dog. Just for the extra unconditional love. Cats are so damn fickle.
7. I miss having a dishwasher.
8. Everything I want for Christmas this year is really expensive. Sorry, Mom.
9. Getting paid on the 15th and last day of every month blows.
10. My car makes the turn signal noise when the turn signal isn't on.
11. I'm thinking about doing a destination race in 2012. Ideas?
12. I don't love my new job yet.
13. I have not started my Christmas shopping yet. No plans to either.
14. I'm spending the Christmas holiday alone this year. Me and the cats. PAR-TAY.
15. I really want to beat my Dad in the annual football pool this year. I could use the $50.
16. I can't remember the last time I ate a real vegetable. Worst vegetarian ever.
17. There are usually more beverages than food in my refrigerator.
18. Health insurance companies suck.
19. I'm going to see the Foo Fighters tonight after work. I hope they don't suck.

Leave a random fact or two of your own in the comments, I want to get to know you all better!

Happy Friday!

Giveaway Winner!

After a highly sophisicated review process aka random number generator, the winner is.......

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:7Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations, cheryloo!!

cheryloo said...

I totally would want some Nuun!

Shoot me an email at PamsKnickers to claim your prize!

On a completely unrelated note, I still haven't run. But I have plans to do so on Saturday. So don't worry kids, everything is going to be ok.

Best of luck to all the runners in Richmond this weekend, you're going to kill it!

Tuesdays and a Giveaway reminder

First off, if you haven't entered my giveaway yet, go HERE and do so! It ends tomorrow! I'm really excited to see who wins and because of your awesomeness I am now up to 40 followers! Woo!  That might not seem like much to some of you more popular bloggers out there, but I am so psyched!

So, it is only Tuesday. It has been 9 days since MCM and I can tell you that all the post-marathon hype is true. You get depressed. You don't know what to do with your free time. And you eat like you're still training. Yesterday it felt like all my clothes were a size too small. I pulled on last year's grey cords this morning and barely got them on. Of all the misconceptions I had going into the marathon, losing weight was the biggest one. I wasn't actively trying to lose weight but I naively assumed that all the mileage would either cause me to drop a few pounds or at least maintain where I was. Ha. What folly. I might be the heaviest I've been in several years. Sigh. I was definitely eating like I was training, a combination of good stuff and total crap, which probably explains the weight gain.

Now that I don't have a specific goal race in mind, I definitely need to get organized again. Yes, I have a few races coming up in the next few months but nothing like a full marathon. I'm open to doing another full next year but I'm not actively researching it yet. Honestly, I don't even know where to begin, there are so many choices. Once school ends for the year and my final 2011 races are over, I am going to sit down and try to set some goals for 2012. I have several in mind but I'm not sure whether they will conflict and if having multiple goals for one training season is a reasonable idea. The one thing I'm pretty sure of is that whatever I choose to go for next year, going full time with CAR is going to be a part of it. I've lurked on my fair share of track workouts and its about time I either go all in or go home.

I'm sure the best thing I could do for my post-race blues is to go out for a run but I haven't been able to get myself out the door. I have any number of perfectly valid excuses, but in reality I'm just a bit nervous. You wouldn't think I'd be intimidated by a 3-5 mile test run, but I am. I feel like I wasn't that banged up after the race but maybe my body is just waiting to surprise me with something once I try to run again. Or I'm just being silly and paranoid. At any rate, unless I want to hit the gym at 6 am or midnight, my next chance to run is Saturday morning. I'd have some company, though, which will be nice. In fact, I am going to shoot that running buddy an email right now to lock that down. I can't tell you what a difference it makes to be accountable to someone else for a run.

Congrats to all the NYC finishers, I'm really proud of you and have enjoyed your race reports. Those are some killer times! I know some of you are still training for that big race, and I'm pulling for you. Just keep hanging in there and try not to let the taper make you too crazy. Once again, don't forget the giveaway!  One entry for being a follower, an additional entry to tell me what you'd like to win, and one more entry if you post my giveaway on your blog. Good luck!