I'm Still Alive

I promise.

You know the old saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."?  Well, the same goes for if you don't have anything interesting to say, then don't.  It's been a rough time but I'm trucking along.  I'm still reading your blogs, I promise, but I haven't been a diligent commenter.  Sorry y'all. 

Here is what I've been up to, in no particular order.  Snapshot style.

We've had a lot of storms.  So I've spent copious amounts of time hunkered down in the "safe" closet waiting for the sirens to quit.  But we've been very lucky.  Nothing like Joplin or Oklahoma.  Praying for them - such tragedy in the blink of an eye.

Every so often, the rain lets up and we are actually able to play softball. My section of the dugout looks like Hello Kitty threw up.

I forget how short I am until I see pic of me with regular height folks.  Here I am with Brandon and sweet Nat.  I think we might have actually won this game.  Yea Decepticons!

While on a run, Lucy and I found a dog.  She was running ahead of us and had NO interest in being "found."  We saw her run into a back yard.  Mine.  Her name was, appropriately, Lucy.  She's home safe now!

I got a chair stuck in the hallway.  That was fun.  I eventually managed to free it as it was quite the fire escape hazard.

I made a huuuumongous batch of guacamole and froze it in ice cube trays.  Mmmm, healthy fat!

I checked out my guns.  (I have a lot of free time y'all)

I ran 14 miles with Jill and loved her "One bad Mother Runner" sticker so much that I had to snap a pic.  She said that she chose a pink 26.2 sticker so that other drivers would know that "the chick" ran the marathon!   

I nearly fell over laughing at this sign. 

Went fabric shopping with Nat.  She helped me select the perfect fabric to recover the chair that I got stuck in the hallway.  Here she is in a wing chair at the store - with interior arm rests.  We thought that was soooo cool.

Spent an inordinate amount of time on the iPad.  I'm so in love with this toy it's ridiculous.  I take it to bed with me and watch educational shows like Pawn Stars on Netflix. It is also my constant "safe" closet companion during storms so that I can fixate on the radar and tweet things like "It's coming right at you!" to Anna.  I'm helpful like that.

I discovered and disposed of a snake.  One of the thoughtful stray cats left this "gift" for me on the front porch. Wasn't that sweet of her?  She always knows just what I like.

I finally found and tried Chobani yogurt.  Y'all are right; it's delicious.  But so expensive.  So I'll stick to adding fruit to my plain Fage.  (I buy the big tub; it's cheaper that way)

Had my first spa massage experience with Lucy.  It was fun to be pampered but I left with bruises on my hamstrings.  Ouch.

Did a lot of cuddling with my cats.  Perry is a skilled snuggler.  I am a skilled napper.  We're like peanut butter and honey that way. 

Received the sweetest, most perfect gift from Coach Swimmifer.  She left it for me on my back porch. I opened it and just cried and cried. 

Every time I look beside me, there you are.  All of you.  Thank you for the e-mails, texts, tweets and calls.  I'm still here and you are so sweet to check on me.  I just haven't felt up to blogging.  But I know that you are indeed beside me.  And I'm grateful for that.

Till I Collapse - White Rock Centennial Half Race Recap

It's warm in Texas.

So obviously the best thing to do is run a half marathon in the heat.  Right? And yes, just last weekend I was braggin' about our sweater weather. Sheesh. 

I signed up for this race back in December.  Knowing full well how warm it was sure to be and never planning on racing it.  My thought was, "How often does the lake turn 100?"  Clearly only once.  And I wanted to be a part of the celebration.  My plan all along was to run it for fun.  (Lucy had the right idea - she didn't even wear her timing chip!)  But I started thinking last week that I might just race it after all.  My training runs have, for the most part, been going very well.  My legs feel strong. And fast. (for me) The course looked flat and familiar.  As long as I could hold it together mentally, I thought this might be a good race. 

Knowing it would be hot, not just warm, I hydrated all week like it was my job.  I even gave up CHEESE to clean up my diet for the race.  Cheese, this pink girl gave up cheese!  I painted my nails Strawberry Fields, courtesy of Kimpossible.  Pulled on my lucky Hello Kitty silly band, courtesy of Jen.  Picked up my crew of amazing women and set out for the lake.  (side note, when did my hands get so dang veiny?)

This was a smaller race, limited to 2011 participants.  I love a smaller course.  Don't get me wrong, big races are fun, but a smaller field usually means less weaving.  I'm a very big fan of less weaving.  Big fan.  We got there very early so we had plenty of time to just hang out.  And feel it getting warmer and warmer.  Oh Texas.

Sleepy me, Jill, Kara, Boy Mom and Rachael.  It's Rachael's first half!

We found Adriana, or maybe she found us.  She and Boy Mom always look so cute and stylish in their running skirts!

As we sang the National Anthem and I caught a glimpse of the flag waving in the distance.  I couldn't help but think about the week's events.  A smile crossed my face and a lump formed in my throat as I pumped my first in the air while the words "Home of the Brave" still hung in the air. 

Popping in my earbuds, I mosied a few steps away from my friends.  Trying to get in my head for the race, I closed my eyes, concentrated on the music and said a prayer.  My verse for distance has often been Isaiah 40:31.  Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.     

This passage isn't really about a marathon.  I know this.  I've always tried to draw my strength from my faith.  Lately, I've been so weary.  I'm tired of trying to be strong.  But I hope in the Lord and He continues to renew my strength.  I know that no matter how tired I get, tired of being strong, He'll give me what I need.  He will help me to soar on wings like eagles.

Katie generously make me a sick playlist.  (thank you girl!) Full of fun and upbeat songs to keep me motivated.  She included one of the songs that I often have on repeat. Till I Collapse by Eminem.  Far be it from me to compare Em to Holy Scripture, but yeah, I'm a complicated Pink Girl.  I draw strength where I can.  Now we all run to Till I Collapse.  I know this. 

Cause sometimes you just feel tired. 

You feel weak, and when you feel weak you feel like you just wanna give up.

But you gotta search within you. 

You gotta find your inner strength and just pull that sh!t out of you.

And get that motivation to not give up.

And not be a quitter.

No matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

The gun went off and so did we.  I ended up weaving in and out of all those people. It got warmer and warmer. The sun beat fiercely down.  When I'd see a patch of shade provided by trees, I'd sprint towards the relief.  We'll call it a fartlek.  I'd like to give you a play by play. Some of y'all are so good at that.  

Not me.

Here's how it went down.  I ran hard.  And I didn't stop running hard.  I never once checked my Garmin for time.  I'd take a peek at my pace, but that's it.  I had it in my mind that I wanted to PR this race and I knew with the flat course that if I stayed focused, it was a real possibility.  I didn't want to play the mind games with my time so I just ignored it. Till I Collapse.

My friend Joy was out at the lake, not racing, but just getting her fitness on.  She found me at mile 12.5 or so and ran me in.  You have to know this girl is fast.  She qualified for Boston recently.  I thought my heart might explode as I tried to keep up with her 8 minute pace.  But that is just what I needed to drag my self over the finish line.  Thank you Joy!

The announcer commented that he "liked my pink tape" as I crossed, stopped my watch and finally allowed myself to look at the time.  2:04.  A new PR.  80 degrees and a new PR.  Till I Collapse.

I collected my giant medal, my commemorative glass (cool gift!) and posed for a photo I won't buy.  Jill finished just seconds behind me and we soon found our friends.

Boy Mom and Jill.  Sisters in law!

Lucy and Heather. Sisters.

That Pink Girl, furiously shoving pizza in her face.  Ah, cheesy goodness.

Here is what I know.  No matter how badly I want to give up, to find someplace to hide, to go away where it doesn't hurt so much...I'm not a quitter.  In life as in racing, I won't fall flat on my face.  It's not gonna happen.  I'll keep going till I collapse.  And because I put my hope in the Lord, that won't ever happen.  Instead of giving up, I'm going to soar on wings like eagles.  This I promise you. 

Till I Collapse.


And along with all that cheese, I can absolutely TASTE a sub 2 half.  Looking forward to cooler temps this Fall to see what I can do!

Change of Pace

Softball game was cancelled.

It's been raining cats and dogs so the fields are too wet.  Lucy and I had planned on running after our game so I text her to see if she was game to move it up.  She was and suggested we run somewhere new.  New?  Uh, yes please!

So she drove us to a trail we've seen and we set out to explore.  Not knowing where it led or how far it went we just set out running. 

Wildflowers on the trail head.

Love Spring time in Texas!

It's not too hot so the creek wasn't stinky yet. 

The trail was shady, completely covered by trees.  We took the pace nice and easy since we are racing this weekend.  Just took it all in.  What a nice change of scenery!  I'm thinking this will be a great place to ride my bike this Summer.   I tend to run the same routes over and over - no imagination.  It was great to see new things, appreciate new sights and not really even know where we were headed.  We even saw a salamander with an orange head!  Okay, truth, I had no idea what kind of lizard we saw, but Lucy says salamander and she's the one with a zoology degree, so salamander it is!

Shaking it up. That's us.

What have you done lately to shake up your run?

Wordless Wednesday

Driving down the highway Saturday I spotted a pickup with a large dog crate in the back.  Not so unusual for Texas.  Second glance and I noticed it was not a dog but  HORSE in the dog crate!  A miniature horse.  Being a responsibly blogger, I wanted to capture this on film for y'all to also enjoy. 

Um, do you know how hard it is to take a picture with your phone? While you're driving?  On the highway?

To quote Ke$ha, "hard."

Take One.  The iPhone makes it look like I'm a football field away, even though I'm practically on his bumper.

Take Two.  Um, do you believe me? Can you see the teeny horse?

Take Three, um, yeah.

Take Four.  If you look closely you can see his tail. 

You'll just have to trust me.  There really was a horse in the back of this truck.  I tried my best y'all! 

Run!

It's no secret,

I have a huge crush on Dean Karnzes.  Huuuuuuuuge.  I mean, the man is a running rockstar.  And  love how down to Earth he seems.  (but what ultrarunner isn't down to Earth?)

I first read his book, 50/50 a few years ago when it was going around in the blog circles.  I don't remember who started it, but I "won" the book with the understanding that I would then host a giveaway and pass on the book.  Side note, Danica at Chic Runner won it! 

Instantly, I was hooked on his stories and his writing style.  I followed that with Ultramarathon Man and loved it just as much.  So when I saw that he has a new book out, Run!, my hands flew to the computer and it was on order faster than you can say Western States. 

Each chapter (26.2 of them!) Dean entertains you with a tale from his running.  He's a very good story teller.  Seriously, he made running Badwater sound like a good idea.  He loves running and it comes through in the pages of this tome.  Every time I'd finish a chapter, I'd have the urge to go out for a run - just because I can!  He doesn't take for granted the beauty in locomotion.  It's easy to get mired down in training plans, mile times, splits, stats...but we all really run for one reason ultimately, because we love it.  And he never forgets that. 

I've needed some inspritation lately; this book provided some.

I bought this book.  No one paid me to brag about it - I'd encourage you to get a copy too!  (or check your library!)  It was an easy and enjoyable read.  I doggeared several pages to with inspirational material.

"Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up!"  Dean Karnazes, aka Karno

Now I'm moving on to Between a Rock and Hard Place, the Aron Ralston Story.  Even though I know how it turns out, I can't wait to hear his story in his words.  (and I'm pretty sure I'll end up wanting to hike Blue John Canyon, ha!)

What running book inspires you?

Sweater Weather

Saturday I set out for 12 miles.

And it was plenty warm.  I thought this "shorter" long run was the perfect opportunity to give my Camelbak pack a try.  Usually, I carry a Nathan handheld water bottle. But I know as I train for my upcoming 50K, I'll be doing most of my long runs on my own.  And in the Texas heat, I don't want to take any chances of running low or out of water.  Enter the Camelbak.  This particular model, Annadel, holds 50oz of water.  I filled it up the night before and put the whole pack in the fridge so I'd have cold water. 

Saturday morning, I put my phone, my key and my pb&j sam in the copious pockets (plenty of storage!) and strapped it on. 

You know what?  I didn't mind it at all!  Yes, I could hear the water sloshing around.  Kinda sounded like footsteps behind me.  Yes, I could feel the weight, but it wasn't too heavy.  The straps were very comfortable and thus far, no chafing.  Yes, it made me sweaty, but hey, a pink girl's gonna get sweaty running in the Texas Summer.  It's just gonna happen.  Thumbs up!

Once I got cleaned up, I headed to the local garden center to look for some fencing to keep the rabbits out of my garden. Those wascaly wabbits are eating my pepper plants to the ground!  (they are thankfully leaving my tomatoes and potatoes alone so far)

Check out these gorgeous tomato cages!  And yes, I got one of the pink ones - perfect for my new Big Boy tomato plant.

The helpful lady at the garden center said a fence was really useless.  Rabbits can go under fencing, duh. She suggested making my own Cayenne pepper spray.  She apparently couldn't tell that I'm pretty much useless in the kitchen unless the bunnies want a Jay Robb protein shake.  So I left without fencing.   I've read that if you put out dog or cat fur, the rabbits will smell the animal and stay away.  Well, I have plenty of cat fur!  So I gave the cats a good brushing and headed out with a pocket full of fur.  Weirdo garden girl. 

Today, a cool front blew in with all the storms and it was a brisk 49 (9.4 C) degrees this afternoon. Um, hello, this is TEXAS.  In May.  What a nice surprise!  I actually wore jeans and a sweater when I left the house.  So of course, I also had to head out for a quick run, even though it's my rest day.  Look at me wearing capris and long sleeves!  (admitedly a tad overdressed, I just couldn't help myself)

 It was glorious!  I just got in a 5K but it was a nice treat to run in the cooler weather.  Since I had broken my rest day, I also busted out 100 squats, 100 dips and 100 bicep curls.  I'm really trying to work on my triceps.  Hoping those dips help!

Hope you had a good run this weekend!