Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!!!!!

I HATE MY NEIGHBORS! Yes, I said HATE. I've already told Nathan when he gets backs that he has to say something to them. (I'm too much of a wimp!) It used to be just a girl and her small dog. The boyfriend would come to visit on weekends sometimes and bring his gigantic boxer with him. The dog ran around like crazy for a few days and drove me nuts but it was over soon enough and wasn't TOO bothersome. Now, he's moved in! The dogs run around like crazy all day, he walks around like a cow and between the two, my entire apartment shakes (including my floor) and it even makes my lightbulbs in ceiling blow out! OMG! It's not only during the day but super late at night as well. It gets better though... last night I was trying to go to sleep when I began to hear, well, rhythmic squeaking. Um, NO NO NO NO NO! I think she was faking it! And yes, I heard her. GROSS GROSS GROSS! It is time to move! Can I call the cops or something? I have to move, NOW!

Snooze

I fell asleep at 6:15 tonight. Not a little nap kind of sleep either. Eyes burning, tears rolling down my face because I was so tired, passed out kind of sleep. The only reason I'm awake now is because Nathan called from the boat. He had to call a few times before I even heard the phone. Poor guy. I'm very cranky when I wake up, no matter how many miles away he is. Oops. Anyway, he won't be home for another week. 8 weeks! OMG! WAY TOO LONG!

I have a new running buddy! WHOOP! I convinced another second grade teacher, Holly, to sign up for a 10k in Feb. and she's been running with Krissy and I after school. Sweet! Apparently people at school think that I'm some kind of exercise pusher. Ha. It's better than known for being the 'fat, lazy, complaining chick' I guess. I'll be hitting the treadmill tomorrow due to the rain. Lame. Eating has gotten back under control though. Thank goodness too, I ordered another bathing suit from VS and it's in the mail as we speak. Scary!

YTD: 58.6

Left: 461.4

Post-half

Last week was a mixed bag. I worked out a few times and ate healthy a few times. The other times were filled with extreme laziness and tonight was (still is) filled with over-eating. Back to normal running schedule and eating habits begin again tomorrow. Right now, I've got more biscuts in the oven and they need butter and honey. Later! :)

Update: I ate like crap again today. What's a girl to do when your interim principal bakes DELICIOUS goodies from scrach! Eat them of course. I ate many of them. :) Here's to eating well tomorrow. I did go to the grocery store and buy my normal healthy things. And I ate everything bad.

I made it!

I finished my first half-marathon! My time was 2:14:16. WHOOP! And it was slightly faster than my goal time of 2:15. I'll have an update with pictures later! :)

YTD: 49.4
Left: 470.6

Update: So I'm a little sore today but in the same spots that I was on my longest run so I was expecting it. No other aches and pains though! Here are a few pictures. The rest will be on my Facebook later.

The Wilder girls about to run 13.1 miles!

Somewhere around mile 4.

Around mile 9. Mom didn't have her camera out yet because I showed up faster than they expected. I was jumping up and down to get their attention and told her to take a picture of me! I felt great!

GET IT! Coming across the finish line! 2:14:16

Krissy and I after the finish. I'm so proud of us. I can't wait to do it again!

Free Goodies! My Fav!

Today was packet pick-up and Expo day for the Marathon and Half-Marathon. I was just as excited about trying to snag free goodies as I was about getting my race bib. I was also very excited about Meb Keflezighi was going to be there signed autographs and taking pictures. (If you don't know who he is: NYC Marathon winner 2009, Houston Half-Marathon winner 2009, Olympic Marathon silver medalist in 2004, and the list goes on) I remember him flying past me last year as I ran the 5k. Now I got to meet him. I love that kind of thing! Runners and other athletes seem much more normal than "celebreties". I got him to sign something for my classroom too by asking nicely! (Score! Being a teacher does have it's perks every once and a while!) Anyway, goodies included lots of samples of foods and drinks, numerous calendars, Clif shots and bars, Lara bars, Cascadian Farms granola bars, washcloths, gloves, iPod/cell phone holder things, and the list goes on. Here are some pics of the day and some daily motivation. I'll post after the race tomorrow sometime between my nap and eating chocolate cake! Thanks for the cake mom! :)

It's official! SO EXCITED!

Look ma! I'm running in space!

He was so nice! I thought he would be taller though. It would've helped me justify how much faster he is if his legs were up to my neck or something!

My free autographed hat! They were selling them for $15 a the merch. table- suckers!

Wish me luck!

~

17. PLAY IN THE STREET. Skip a dreaded track workout for a fartlek (Swedish for "speed play") session. After 10 minutes of easy jogging, run hard between two telephone poles, then slow down until you pass three. Then see if you can get to the traffic light before it changes, followed by a jog to the next mailbox. There are no set rules, so make it up as you go along.

18. THE PILE OF DISHES in the sink can wait till the sun goes down. Your tempo run can't.

19. RUN AT LUNCH. Daniel Sheil, a marathon coach in Portland, Oregon, recommends lunchtime runs for two reasons: (1) You get your workout in before the day gets away from you; (2) You get a midday break from work stress.

20. RUNNING COMMENTARY "The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am." --George Sheehan, M.D., beloved former RW columnist

Last Tempo Run!

For a while at least! :) Krissy and I knocked it out at a 9:03/mile pace. I feel good about Sunday. There is no way I'm not making it across that line and getting that "Finisher" shirt and medal. Oh, I plan on wearing the shirt to school on Tuesday! I may even have to wear the medal too! Ha! I know everyone from Wilder will do awesome and I'm glad to have a group of ladies at school who understand running and give me other people to share accomplishments and complain to. Only other runners understand the true meaning of 'good days' and 'bad days'. Today was a good day! I hope Sunday is the same. If not, oh well. Life will move on. But I will finish, that's for darn sure! More motivation...

13. RUNNING COMMENTARY "No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." --Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile

14. THE BOSTON MARATHON is a year away. Think you can get there? (Go to www.baa.org for qualifying times.) YEAH RIGHT!

15. RACE ODD DISTANCES FOR AN INSTANT PR.

16. READ THIS The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, a short story by Alan Sillitoe, tells the tale of a rebellious youth in a reformatory who runs in solitude and makes a stand against a system he doesn't believe in. You'll have new appreciation for the power of solo runs.

YTD: 31.1

Left: 488.9

One Week Left!!!

This time next week I will be done running my first half-marathon! Well, hopefully done at least! I'm really excited about it. I was placed in the first start group (YAY!) but my running buddy from school was put in the second group. Boo! I'm going to move back and start with her though. I wouldn't want to stand around by myself before and start my first half-marathon by myself either! (Laura- I wanted to start off with you guys but my buddy needs me! :( Oh well! We can do the marathon together next year!) I'm hoping that the weather will be great and that I make it through in one, happy piece!

Oh, do any of my other running friends get as annoyed as I do when a non-runner calls every freakin' race a marathon?! "I'm watching _____ run her marathon today! Go _____!" Um, no. She's not running a marathon. She running a 5k, 10k, or half-marathon! And trust me a half-marathon is a very different beast than a marathon!

I thought I would share a few pictures from going out with the Wilder girls on Friday night for Mindy's birthday! We went to Christian's Tailgate for Karaoke. Tons of fun! :)

My eyes look a little crazy. Oh well! My running buddy, Krissy looks cute though!

The birthday girl, Mindy!

Um, do I have to take this free shot from the owner? YES!

Crazy Wilder ladies!

"Like a Virgin!" Suzy was the only one brave enough to do the MTV awards roll-on-the-floor dance moves!

11. FILL THE TUB with hot water, then head out for a three-miler on a frigid morning. The sooner you get back, the hotter your bath is.

12. EVERY MILE YOU RUN burns roughly 100 calories. Think of that next six-miler as two slices of pizza.

YTD: 23.9
Left: 496.1

So tired!

I forgot how tired I could be after a day's work. I also gave in and put the electric blanket on the bed. No more cold sheets!

Today: 3.9
YTD: 12.5
Left: 507.5

9. GOOD-TO-GO PLAYLISTClassic Rock"Don't Stop Me Now," Queen"Break on Through," The Doors"Gimme Shelter," Rolling Stones"Come Together" the Beatles"What Do You Do for Money Honey," AC/DC

10. BLAZE A NEW PATH. "If you do the same runs all the time, it can beat you down," says Olympian Alan Culpepper. GPS systems work great for mapping new routes. Or check out favoriterun.com or usatf.org/routes, which use Google Maps to let you plan and save routes.

Nap time

I have become the nap queen over the break. I have adopted Blanca's leisurely lifestyle and was just starting to enjoy it when I remembered that nap time is over. It's back to work tomorrow and I unfortunately don't have nap time in second grade. Boo. Anyway, here's a pic of Blanca getting her nap on and some more motivation!

Her favorite spot over the break has been my basket of blankets in between my couch and chair.

6. FORGET TIME. Shane Bogan, who coaches distance runners in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area, advises leaving your watch at home once in a while. "It's liberating not to be worried about pace," Bogan says.

7. SIGN UP NOW for a winter marathon in a warm state. Every training mile you log takes you closer to that winter getaway in toasty Phoenix, Florida, or Las Vegas.

8. THINK FAST. The runners Christy Coughlin coaches in Wilmette, Illinois, always get a boost from this simple negative-splits workout: Run for 20 minutes as slowly as you want, then turn around and run home faster. "The long warmup helps you feel great and run faster on the way back," says Coughlin.

More motivation

3. RUNNING COMMENTARY "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'" --Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada

4. GO SOFT. It's hard to stay motivated with shinsplints, so get off the pavement for a few days and run on a cross-country course or unpaved bike paths.
5. LOOK TO THE PAST Emil Zatopek, who won four Olympic golds in his career, was a tough-as-nails athlete known for his intense training methods, such as running in work boots. Competing with a gland infection and against his doctor's orders, the Czech won three distance events--including the marathon--at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. That stuffy nose doesn't seem quite so bad now, does it?

YTD: 4.7

Left: 511.4

I also figured that I would share my New Year's Eve festivities with you...

I think I hate New Year's Eve more than any other holiday. Everywhere in Houston thought they were special and were charging people a fortune to get in. No thank you. I also hate that Nathan was gone... again.

A New Year!

I got my daily e-mail from Runner's World last Wednesday and I decided to share. It's 101 ways to stay motivated to run. It was written in 07 by Calvin Hennick and I figured I would share them with you a few at a time during my posts. Here's to staying motivated in 2010!

1. CREATE A BLOG where you post your daily mileage, then give out the Web address to your friends and family. Do you really want Aunt Ellen to ask why you skipped your four-miler on Wednesday?

2. MAMA, GET A NEW PAIR OF SHOES. Two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper puts new gear she receives as an elite athlete to good use. "It's fun to break in a new pair of shoes," she says. "Sometimes that's enough to get me excited."

So to follow #1:

YTD: 3.9

Left: 516.1