1000 miles

I logged my 1000th mile with my Nike+ iPod and got a cool certificate and the opportunity to order this fabulous t-shirt!  Who doesn't need a pink cotton t-shirt for 30 some dollars once you add in shipping?

This is even with the year or more between sensors where I didn't log any miles at all.  

I worked many hours last week - too many to count.  I work at a hospital.  The Joint Commission came for our triennial survey... if you don't know what this means, I will never be able to tell you, but if you have ever worked in a hospital, you know.  This is my job.  This is the reason for the existence of my job.  So, I love to do this, but man, am I tired!

Now I can get back to a regular schedule and get some running done.  And the snow will eventually melt and the sun will shine and the flowers will blossom.  

How great is that?

I'm Alive!!!

The lovely POM Blogger sent me a case of this tang-tastic beverage.  I love it!  I poured it over a stemmed glass full of ice, and it was a yummy little snack.  The fact that it is chock full of antioxidants and other health benefits is a big bonus!  I am really looking forward to seeing erectile improvement!  Just kidding - I am a girl... a single girl... oh well.  :(

And I am back to running.  And just in case you thought I wasn't really a runner, I posted a picture of my feet.  I have lost 2 toenails (the second toes) since January.  Do you see the blackness at the base of the right big toe?  That means I am going to lose that one too, just in time for sandal season.   I know, I know, I need a pedicure... but I wanted to take the picture before I disguise the damage.  

Oh!  And see that lovely floor beneath my feet?  My new bamboo flooring.  It is nice, and I really like it.  

I ran a 5 mile race in February.  It was really a good experience for me.  I hadn't trained at all, and was not at all injured, so I was able to really run for 5 miles.  Now I know that 13 minute miles would not be considered "running" for most people, but for me, it is running.  It was really a great experience.  

I threw in the towel on ever getting outside and running.  Just when I thought it might happen again, some brilliant person decided to make it daylight saving time in the middle of the damn winter!  I am getting to work when it is still dark.  So - I have made the trek to the gym to get on the treadmill.  Now, I don't really love running on the treadmill, but when you haven't done it for a while, it isn't so bad.  I can really crank up the music and just zone out on it - without looking for cars, potholes, dogs, and weirdos.  

I am hopeful for spring to arrive and excitement to build about my triathlon and other races.  

Snowman Stampede

I took a picture of the chip from the race I ran this morning.

I RAN 5 frosty miles at the Snowman Stampede race.  It was fun.  

I registered on Wednesday when the weather forecast said it would be 60º today.  I got up this morning and it was 2º.  By race time, it was in the 20s, so I could bear that.  It was a good race, and I feel really happy about how I did.  For one thing, I did not come in last!  

This race had the cutest shirt.  I am too lazy to take a picture of it now, maybe I will do that later this weekend.

I am feeling encouraged and happy about running again.

Ix-Nay the awaii-Hay ip-Tray

Yes, I am indeed bilingual... I speak pig latin.  

I have been going over and over in my head this idea of a trip to Hawaii.  This morning I woke up in my bedroom (well, of course I did) and looked at my crappy drapes and thought - I really need to replace those things.  Then I thought about the drapes in the other bedroom upstairs, and they really need to match.  Then I thought about the new bookcases I need when I get my new floors installed.

And then I thought about things like credit card balances...

And then I thought - I am not going to Hawaii.  That is just the height of craziness.

So I will keep my  original race goals.  Two triathlons and one half marathon.  All local.  

I am going to plan a trip to the beautiful mountains in Colorado later this summer.  I have a friend (wink wink) in a mountain town who would love for me to come and visit him.  He is on the way to one of my dearest friends who moved to western Colorado three years ago.  I will go visit them.

So, I went to Pottery Barn this afternoon and got new drapes, rods, and sheers for two windows.  Holy Crap!  That was expensive!

Oh, and I actually RAN 3.1 MILES yesterday!  The first run in the entire month of February.  It felt good.  

Dreaming Again...

Yesterday at work in a hospital-wide meeting, three representatives from HR dropped in to tell us about potential lay-offs and our rights should that occur.  They said it was unlikely, but I am thinking the two top people in the department would not have come to the meeting if it were really and truly unlikely.  Only time will tell...

So, as everyone went back to their work areas and offices to ponder life without a job, I went back to my office and started planning a trip to Hawaii.  And why go somewhere without a race being involved?

I have been to 49 states.  The only one I have not visited is Hawaii.  I really want to go there.

The Kona Marathon is on June 28.  The headquarter hotel's rate is $130 per night.  It looks awesome.  The race starts and ends at the hotel.  

The race is apparently hard,  hilly and hot.  I had considered trying to run the full 26.2, but probably this isn't the good choice for a first and probably only in my lifetime marathon.  

But I could still do a half.

Has anyone done this race?

Is there any hope for me?  I hardly even trained for P.F. Chang's and swore it would be my last long distance event... but I had so much fun, it really left me wanting to do more races.  

My cold is about 80% gone, and I can go out and run tomorrow (if we don't get too much snow).  I am totally uninjured at this point since I have run only once since January 18.  

I want to go to Hawaii!    Any thoughts?

OK, I lied...

On Monday my chest started hurting, by Tuesday my head, throat and sinuses hurt.  By Wednesday, it was a full blown cold.  By Thursday I was in bed all day.  By Friday I thought I was on the mend.  Yesterday I thought by today I would be fully recovered.  

However, I am heading back to bed.

I hope to God that I will get back to feeling like a human being and get back to training soon.

Last night at a social event, I spoke for a long time to a man who is training for Boston.  Wow.  It made me want to go out and run!  By next week?  I hope.

I am so excited about my tris.  They will be my 6th and 7th triathlons.  I really need to try more than a sprint sometime...

But first, I must get rid of this cold.

Commitment

I am going to make several commitments here.  I am just putting them here because I feel accountable for doing what I say I am going to do if I post it here.  So here goes:

• I started training today for my first triathlon of the year (June 28)
• I am going to actually do what is recommended as far as training...
• like, doing what I HATE - weight training
• And strengthening my core
• I am going to follow a plan that was posted on the Tri for the Cure website
• Today I started a new food plan
• I have been eating like the last days of Rome ever since I finished P.F. Chang's.
• That has to end, and it has to end now.
• I am planning on 2 triathlons this summer - the Danskin and the Tri for the Cure.
• I am tentatively planning on a half-marathon in September (Boulder Backroads)
• I am going to post here at least 2 times a week because you guys motivate and entertain me!

OK.  That is my commitment.  Today I got my bike out for the first  time since August.  I forgot what it was like to pedal a bike up a big honkin hill - against the wind - in 35 degree weather.  It was cold.  And more of a work out than I remember.  

But it was beautiful to be outdoors on a sunny (albeit cold) Sunday morning.