Tomorrow I will be….headin south….home. I can’t wait.

So yeah, kind of late….or early depending on how you look at it! But let’s get started!

The Work Week:

Well I spent the weekend in bed last week….trying to get better, and it worked!!!!!!!!! I made it through a whole week of work without getting too terribly sick!!!!!

This week is a TWO DAY WEEK so I am PUMPED!!!!! Tomorrow is our last day…so I can’t wait. I’m also being that really horrible awful mean teacher who gives a QUIZ the day before break.

MUAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

Also, I may or may not have made all the True/False questions all one or the other.

Yeah. That’s how I roll.

But enough school-talk! On to better things!!

The Workout Week:

I RAN!!!!!!!!! I DID I DID I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ran last Tuesday with my neighbor downstairs so that was awesome. I think I may have talked her in to running a half in the spring! Super excited about that.

Then I ran Saturday about 2 or 3 miles. It was a REALLY good run, I wanted to do more, but I’m still worried about pushing it. Plus my ankle was kind of acting up.

Sadly, now for some bizzare reason, my hip is KILLING me. Left hip, right at hip level, toward the outer side, almost rear area. It’s one very specific spot. It’s not bruised…it doesn’t hurt if I push on it, but the more I walk, the more it hurts. Just started today/yesterday.

Sperly? Any thoughts? IT band???

So…I want to do a Thanksgiving race here but we’ll see. Maybe Carly and I will walk it with her family. We’ll see.

But moving on…

The Knitting Week:

Got a lot done on my aunt’s hat. I should have it done this weekend! Didn’t really work on much else. I have packed several projects to take home tomorrow though! The plan for the week off is to maximize ME stuff and minimize work stuff!!! WHOOO!!!!!!

And now it’s time for this week’s

Favorite:

Mmmm what to choose….so hard….

I think, in honor of the special weekend it was for me, I’ll pick my favorite song. The title of this week’s blog is actually from that song.

The song is Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show.

<3

I love that band, and that song so very much. So take a listen!

I know it’s not for everyone, but for me…I can’t get enough. I want to learn to play it….which leads me to…

Other Junk:

SO much junk this week!!!!

First, this weekend was my one year anniversary with Tracy and Wagon Wheel is “our song” so….yay for that. It’s been one awesome year and I can’t wait for more.

So this weekend I made one of my very favorite dishes, Chicken Tetrazzini. Mmmmmmm.

So good!

See? Doesn’t it look AMAZING?!?! It is. I promise. And if you want the recipe, I’ll share.

I also baked cookies, put up the Christmas tree, the Christmas lights, cleaned, started packing, and oh yeah, BROKE MY WASHING MACHINE!!!!!

Ok, well…I didn’t do it, persay, it broke it’s self. It has always been loud on the spin cycle, and normally I have to go adjust the load distribution…and when I went to do it this time…it got worse and I definetly heard something metal fall off the back.

So Sears needs to come deal with this because I’ve only had it since August and they never properly installed my dryer either…ugh.

In other news, after cleaning…I decided it would be a good idea to dress up the dog.

And yes, Sperl, I was SO thinking of you when I took this picture.

It's Uri Potter!!!

I’m proud.

Not much else to talk about, just SUPER excited to be going home. I am trying to finish packing tonight so I can sprint out of town tomorrow. I’m leaving the cat here, because it’s only 5 days and he’s pretty self sufficent.

However, he doesn’t like it when I leave…so when I was setting out excessive amounts of food and water tonight…I got this look….

Ok, either you're leaving me, or fattening me up for Thanksgiving. Either way, EVIL!!!

I’m pretty sure by morning he will have manifested some sort of evil in or on something I love.

Oh, almost forgot! Dear OldCrowFans….your website hates me and won’t let me register. Please resolve before I get cranky.

I need to get on that site so I can ask all my 5 million questions about learning to fiddle. I’m on a mission. I want a fiddle, and I want one now.

I also want a voice recorder. Dang. I gotta call mom for the Christmas Wish List.

Anyway.

Shoutout:

This week I’ve got to say hey to Miss Kris and her brand new baby, Lyla!!!!!!! LOVE YOU BOTH and CONGRATS Jason and Kris!!!!!!!!! She’s adorable!!!

See everyone in a week!!!!!

If only I could stop getting sick!!!!!!

Sorry the blog is a touch late. I was sick all weekend, and got sick yet again yesterday. I REALLY would like to move on with my life, my running, and STOP BEING SICK!!!!!! Ugh.

That being said, I did have a decent weekend/last week….so let’s get started!

The Work Week:

Well I was sick a lot, so there wasn’t much of a work week. Last week I had to take Friday off because I was sick, and this week I made it to work Wednesday but ended up going to the hospital…and am home today. Sick.

For those of you who don’t know, I have Crohn’s disease…and so I get sick pretty easy. Good times.

Anyway…haven’t been at work a whole lot, so not much to say here.

I am thinking about several things I can do for my kids. For one, right now I have a give-a-way going. Whoever gets a good grade on our benchmark test will go in to a drawing for one of 15 college t-shirts I have acquired. I may have mentioned those in an earlier post.

I’m trying to motivate the kids to study…so I’m going to try and get donations of cool stuff for each benchmark. There are only 4 left for the entire school year, so hopefully that won’t be too hard.

The Workout Week:

Yeah. So I was sick.

I was supposed to go run last night with my neighbor’s girlfriend, but the whole trip to the ER thing, plus the mild hurricane in the area kind of spoiled those plans.

I managed a little light yoga this week. Other than that I’m praying to be able to run the local Thanksgiving day race in a few weeks. We shall see how that goes.

The Knitting Week:

Now here’s where it gets good!!!!!! I’ve cast on 3 new projects and finished one!!! WHOOO!!!!!!!!

Finished Project: Mom’s Socks!!!! I finished them over the weekend and they are pretty good for my very first pair of socks! There were a few minor issues, a little hole near the heel and whatnot, but I stitched it up and you can’t even tell.

Mom's socks, all done!

I cast on for 2 other pairs of socks this week as well. One for ME in our school colors, and one for my aunt for Christmas *As long as we get a miracle and I can finish them in time*. So far…my socks are much further along than hers. I’m doing hers from the toe up and on DPN’s. Both of which are firsts for me so…I’m shying away from that project when it SHOULD be my focus.

My socks...going pretty fast!

I did learn to crochet this week though!! Taught myself!!! For the cast on of my aunt’s socks, I needed a provisional cast on…so I had to learn to crochet a chain. Not too shabby!

There's a cast-on in that picture, I swear.

Then the third cast on project this week occured today! Even if you feel like crap, you can still wind a ball of yarn and knit!!!

I wound. I knitted. Go me!!

I started a beret for another aunt for Christmas! According to the pattern that I got off Ravelry, it should be pretty quick and easy. It’s good so far. Just straight stockinette.

Also, the stash migrated this week. It keeps expanding. I swear I don’t know how!!!!! It now is located in a large metal bucket, in a drawer, in 2 pink baskets on a shelf, and all hibernating/frogged projects are in a woven basket in the living room.

The Ever-Expanding Stash

Yeah. I need to purge. But…not now.

Favorite:

This week’s favorite is yet another food. Imgaine that.

My favorite of the week is bagels with cream cheese and sprinkles!! Mmmm. Mom used to make this for me when I was little, and I’ve introduced it to several people over the years.

Mmmm sprinkles.

For one, it’s fun to look at! What kid wouldn’t love a rainbow bagel instead of plain white on white? I mean come on!!!

And plus, the sugary crunch of the sprinkles just puts a smile on your face.

So go get your bagel, get your philly spread, and get out those rainbow sprinkles and go at it!!!!

Other Junk:

This weekend while I was laying on the couch, two of my very favorite people came to visit and take care of me!!! Kim and Carly took turns entertaining me.

Friday night Carly came down and baked cookies for me! I made my pumpkin bisque for her. Then Saturday morning I started to feel better and made blueberry muffins. We also ventured out to one of the most bizzare stores I’ve ever been to. It’s a local gas station…and I can’t put in to words how odd it is inside. I am now on a mission to show this place to everyone who comes to visit me.

After Carly left on Saturday, Kim made her way down to see me. I made eggplant parmesan for the first time, and it was pretty darn good!!! I also started a scrap bucket of which I am very proud. No more smelly trash, I’m feeding local wildlife, and helping the soil gain nutrients for when I plant in the spring!!! YAY!!!!!

So, Kim is a huge fan of my nutty, nutty cat.

Who you callin nutty??

Except at 3am when my cat crawls on the couch where Kim is sleeping…and puts his nose to her ear…and meows with all his might.

Poor Kim.

So then on Sunday Kim and I went up to town to get groceries and also did a little geocaching.

Caching through the woods...

We found the coolest slide EVER and had a blast. We didn’t, however, find many caches. Some roads were non-accessable, some caches had crappy GPS signal, and some were just nowhere to be found. But we enjoyed our time out and about!!!

Go Kim Go! Slide Kim Slide!!

Aaaand We're OFF!!!!!

So, that’s really all I’ve gotten done in the last week or so. Hopefully Carly is coming down yet again this weekend and MAYBE if I feel better we’ll go for a walk. She’s off running for the next 3 weeks or so.

I think I’ll try and move the blog update to Sunday nights so…there may be a “weekender” version of the blog this Sunday. Whoo!

And now it’s time for…..

The Shoutout:

This week’s shoutout goes to Miss Kim. No one can ever make me laugh near as much as she does. I miss her SO much now that I’m all moved away and stuff. I’m so glad she came down for the weekend!!! I can’t wait till next time, and for Christmas so I can move in to her basement and have nightly pool tournaments!!!

So YAY Kim for being pretty much one of the most awesome people in the known universe.

Not so much a new soul, but a new format….so….welcome to the new and improved blog!!!!!! Methinks I shall change the banner title….Anyway. Let’s get started, shall we? (Totally stole that from Meghan)

So first up in new-blog-land we have….

The Work Week:

This week my some of my kids announced to me that I should wear makeup. My response? “I am.” Apparently my version of makeup is not…enough for them.

Here’s what I looked like after getting home from work the day they told me this…

After 10 hours of work...

So yeah, I have oily skin…but I really don’t think it’s that bad. But apparently the kids do, so whatever.

Also this week in the world of work…our gradebook website went down. All. Weekend. Talk about wanting to pull your hair out…AND with parent/teacher conferences coming up….not awesome.

Parent/Teacher conferences were Monday. It went ok. Some upset parents but I calmed them down by showing them why their child’s grades are the way they are. Most parents were supportive and nice though. It was a busy day though!!

Not much else going on work-wise. Or rather, I don’t wanna talk about work. Ha! So we’ll continue on.

The Workout Week

WHOOO my Runners World for Dec came!!!!!!! Aaaaand I haven’t even read November’s yet. Haha.

This week I did some kickboxing and yoga…when I went home this weekend I meant to grab my P90X DVD’s so I could re-start that again but alas, I forgot them.

I did do a 5K this weekend!!! Carly, Mom and I did the Phi Kappa Tau Phive K. It was decent. They really could use some tips from runners who have done other 5K’s. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll be doing that race next year. Here’s why…

Pro’s:
Costume contest. Fun to see other people out in their festive gear.
Small crowd.
Nice color t-shirt
Raffle prizes from local running store
Gift Certificate prizes for winners
Reasonably fast on results

Cons:
Took forever to start
Started AND finished 1mile run before 5K could line up.
HILLY
Only water at finish to drink
Limited food-age at finish
Only 1st place in each AG got a prize/mention
Parking/bathrooms were a hike from race start

So…even though the list is about even…I weight things like food/drink and time consumption heavily…and the hills. I knew it would be hilly because I’d done the course before but…UGH. That really…sucked. No 2 ways about it.

But hey, I did another 5K this year, and got some rockin pictures. Here ya go.

Carly and me, pre-race.

I'm lovin "Banana Man"

I TOTALLY WON....and she totally let me.

Now on to the….

Knitting Week

Oh my gosh, I want to go to Rhinebeck next year. Listening to all my favorite podcasters talk about it…..man, I want to go. Plus I have friends that live near there!!! Free lodging!!!!!!

Also, I’ve requested a drop spindle from Grafton Fibers for Christmas. Apparently now they are DyakCraft. Anyway. I want a spindle. I have already bought wool….so….now I need a spindle. Hehe.

So hopefully SOMEONE will be getting me that for Christmas. They know who they are…but they probably won’t read this.

The spindle desire led me to want more wool….which led me to Etsy. *sigh* Thankfully I convinced myself NOT to buy anything. I have enough to do already.

All purchases and desires aside, I do have a lot of stuff that needs to get knit, and fast. I’m trying HARD to finish mom’s socks this week. I’m on the second sock, on the foot. I CAN FINISH, I CAN!!!!!!! Then once those are finished, I need to start/finish the ones for my aunt by….Christmas. Ha.

Ha.

Hahahaahaha. Yeah this probably won’t happen, but not for lack of trying.

So I have the yarn for the socks, but they were still in a hank….and I do not own a ball winder.

So I made one.

Out of a CD, a pen, and duct tape. Yeah.

I made Tracy help...hehe.

Ta-da!!! Ghetto fab, but functional!!!

I….am so proud of my ghetto-fab ball winder. SO PROUD!!!!!!! Yeah, so it doesn’t make perfect little yarn cakes, but it’s still center pull so HA! Moving on.

Favorites

This week’s favorite is Harry and David pears.

Mmmmm. If you haven’t had one, GET ONE!!!!!!!! They are Royal Rivera pears….apparently very rare….and somewhat pricey….but it’s worth it. Once they ripen, they practically melt in your mouth! They are SO flavorful, juicy, and amazing. I got one when I was in DC and I devoured it this week. It was PERFECT! Mmmm. I heart Harry and David’s.

Other Junk

In other junk….my super-fab-awesome-new ipod player….crapped out. Apparently there’s a recall on it…so I’m going to have to figure that out and take care of it soon. I miss having my ipod keep me company on the way to work!!!

Yeah….I want my ipod back.

I’ve also realized I’m out of town WAY too much this month. Baby showers, weddings, holidays….ugh. My house is going to look like a disaster area. Oh wait!! It already does!!!!!!!!

In other fun news, since I was home this weekend, I got to go geocaching with Miss Kim. It was super fun, although…the weather was super-gross, as it always is when we go a’caching.

There were random bricks in the woods. We don't know why.

It helps to be short when geocaching.

So this week was my biopsy/coloposcopy or however that’s spelled. Last month my Dr told me they thought I might have cervical cancer. NOT what you want to hear at 25 years old. Not at all.

So….after 3 attempts to get my work schedule to mesh with my Drs schedule, I had the procedure today. Thankfully I didn’t have to have an actual biopsy. Everything um….looks good and….I should have the results from the tests they DID do by next week.

And I also passed out.

AFTER the doctor had finished.

So proud. SO very proud. But I’m good now. I’m resting at home…blogging…and getting ready to do a little bit of school work and then call it a night. Because really, Biggest Loser is on tonight.

So that’s where we’ll end. Hope this was entertaining. Feel free to leave suggestions/questions/comments/complaints *that I will ignore*/love/hugs in the comment section!!!!

Stellar Shoutout:

This week’s shoutout goes to Caaaaaaaarly. I am SO proud of you. You’re going to be fine, I’m always here for you, and you need to pack your bags and come visit ASAP!!!!!!!!!!

*cough*Shamrock*cough*

Omg first post ever without song references….*gasp*

Ok. I need to either get with this blog, or drop this blog.

And honestly, I can’t drop it. Almost my entire running history is on here. I love this blog. I just don’t take CARE of this blog. I keep abandoning it. I’m a horrible blog-mommy.

I’m trying to think of how to organize this better, attract more readers…make it more….interesting and fun?  I don’t know. Just something.

For one, I want to do weekly posts, at a minimum. For another I am thinking about adding categories to the blog…like maybe my favorite thing of the week….my complaint of the week….my sucess of the week….?

I also want to add my knitting to the blog. I would really like to change the name entirely, to reflect that….but eh.

I’ve promised myself that if I can keep up with the blog, then I can start a podcast. I REALLY want to start a podcast. And that would involve a new blog….

Can I change my blog name on here? Can I keep all the same stuff but change the title maybe? Or does it have to stay pinkcowgirl.wordpress.com?

Well, enough with the housekeeping….let me review what’s been going on since July.

I started my new job. My first REAL person job. And I’m going to try and not mention that job on here at all. What I will tell you is that I am now a teacher. Being a teacher…I don’t want to talk about my school or students on here and possibly get in trouble. Also…I want this blog to be my happy place.

I kind of want it to be family-friendly enough to be ok if my kids or parents find it…but…I don’t know if that’s possible.

Anyway. So I am now a full time teacher. My first real job.

I moved….about an hour away from home. I miss my family and frieds tons. If any of you people are reading this….I MISS YOU!!!! Note me!!!!

I’ve been REALLY busy at work so….that’s why everything else has slacked off.

I didn’t get to run the MCM because I’ve been really stressed out and sick because of work. Very sad. I cried. But…it was the right decision.

So….because I can’t think right now….I’m going to post pictures of my life since July!!!!

Beth’s Baby Blanket. I finally finished it!!! I blocked it and everything! Yay me!!!

I have an awesome new friend at work, Whiteny. This is her playing with Uri right before we carved pumpkins!!!!

My pumpkin is the T for University of Tennessee and hers is the breast cancer ribbon.

Uri for Sperly

 Cute picture of the dog, just for Sperly. Hope you see this!!!!

Tracy took me to my first college football game EVER!! GO VOLS!!!!

Peyton Manning was there!!!!

Aaand I'm almost done with mom's socks. One down....half of one to go!

Tracy and I carved pumpkins too!

Our pumpkins rock.

So…other than that, I’m trying to get back on the workout wagon. I tried biking on my trainer today…but um…I have a flat tire. I pumped it up, and the air came right back out. You can hear it leaking so…I guess this means I’m going to have to learn to change a bike tire!!!!

This weekend Carly and I are going to run a 5K, yay us!!!

Then in November we’re trying for a half marathon that’s local. I’m hoping we can make it!!! She’s been sick with the flu of some sort.

Ok, I’m going to go work on school stuff and try to format a more….organized blogging method.

Any suggestions?!?!?!?

MISSED YOU GUYS!!!!

OH!!!!!!!! And you can follow me on Twitter now!!!! RunnerInPink. But you have to send a request. Let me know that you are from wordpress and I’ll add you.

I need a bar.

Reason A) I have 2 weeks of summer left. Reason B) I can’t run. Reason C) Half my laptop screen is messed up and permanetly darker than the other half.

And my warranty is expired.

Dude. You’re not getting a new screen.

ANYWAY. Quick shoutout to one of the best podcasters out there. MEGHAN DO THE 5K!!!!!!!!!!!!

And sorry about the pictures. I’m away at a conference and do not have my camera cord with me. So sorry.

But I can update on…well did I update on the speedwork? I did speedwork!!!! Yeeeah. It wasn’t quite as painful as expected so that was good. We did a mile warmup, 4 400’s, and then a half mile cool down. As soon as I’m runable again I need to do more. THANKS CARLY!!!!!!!

Then Saturday I did 8 miles for my LR. It went pretty well even though I got a later than usual start. Mom ran 6 of it with me and I finished the last 2 alone. It was a little painful and I was a little stiff afterwards but not too bad. However later that afternoon…I kind of got a little injured and it was totally my own fault. So…the person out there who may THINK it was her fault should NOT FEEL BAD. Seriously. That’s why I haven’t told you anything…cause I don’t want you to feel bad cause then I’ll feel bad….but anway. I got stepped on by a horse. It caught my ankle at a really awesome angle…and it hurt like hell.

And it swelled up. And I went to the hospital after my friend that’s an EMT looked at it and made me go. GOOD NEWS is it’s not broken. Or at least it does not have a visable break at this time. It is possible that there is a fracture and it will just take a week or two to show up on an x-ray…but for now it doesn’t appear to be broken in any way but I’m not supposed to run.

It still hurts quite a bit…and I tried to wear “real” (aka non-flipflop) shoes last night and that was a no-go. It doesn’t so much hurt to walk as it hurts to put pressure on the point below my ankle where the hoof hit. THAT’S what really hurts. So…shoes put pressure on that so…no shoes and no running for me.

However I’m totally going to try tomorrow morning and see how far I can make it. Or IF I can make it. My initial plan was to go to the pool that’s located near where my conference is at but the pool doesn’t open until 11am. That…does not work for me.

So. Running shall be attempted tomorrow.

But for now, I’m going to glare at the dark portion of my computer screen.

Well it’s been too many Sundays since I took the time to laugh
And I’d take a small vacation if I could save up the cash…

                                                              ~Bonepony

Well I took a small vacation!!! Because I couldn’t save up the cash for a real one….but that’s ok.

But first we’ll go over the “long” run of the weekend. I say “long” run because it REALLY didn’t feel like it was that long and I felt like it should have been longer. I guess I have the idea in my head that if I’m doing a LR, it should FEEL like a LR. It should hurt. And this all goes against what I preach at mom about not overdoing it and being careful…so yeah.

Carly and I did 6 miles. Ok Carly did 9.5, I did the last 6 with her because it’s been a long time since I’ve ran more than 4. And apparently I should have tried for 7 or 8. I felt fine. Granted it’s partially because it was a SLOW long run. But…that’s how I plan to run my marathon so that’s fine. We did really well. The only issue I had was some small blisters that appeared in their usual places. I blame the new socks I tried.

They were DeFeet Speede socks. And I don’t so much blame them as I do my own stupidity. I bought a size small because they didn’t have any extra small’s. And I KNOW I have small feet. I am a small-ish type person. My running shoes are around a 7 or 7.5 and my regular shoes are a 6. Little feet.

So the morning of the run when I put on my new socks…I knew RIGHT AWAY that they were too loose. But I continued and ran with them anyway. AND didn’t use body glide on my notorious blister spots.

And guess what!

I GOT BLISTERS!!!!!!!!!! Duh, Courtney.

But other than the last .5 miles of running it was awesome!!! I’m going to try to do 8 this weekend and get back on track for my marathon plan. I’m behind right now, did I mention that? BEHIND. Not good. Very concerning for my first full. Part of me thinks “HOLY CRAP I’M OFF SCHEDULE I AM GOING TO DIE!!!”. The other part says “Hey, you’ve done 2 halfs. You’ve done a tri. You have been undertrained before and you still pulled through. You can walk parts. You don’t have to go fast. It’ll be ok”.

I don’t listen to that last part as much…maybe I should…but I’m still really concerned. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a set in stone marathon plan. I’m still kind of flitting between two or three. Because I am behind. This was my FIRST long run, ok? The marathon is Oct 25. FIRST LONG RUN!!! First LR should have been in JUNE. I’m about 4-5 weeks behind. 14 weeks till the race.

But…I can’t turn back time so we’ll go on.

So the first long run went well. And my goal today is to get my marathon plan recorded. So I should feel better. Oh, and here’s my FAAAAVORITE post-run snack. I’ve probably posted this before but pshh, you’ll deal.

Ok the camera battery is dead so I can’t get the picture on here. I’ll do that later. But it’s a strawberry and orange protein shake (my recipe!) and a graham cracker with peanut butter. Mmmm. SO good.

Other than the LR, I did take a mini-vacation this weekend. The boyfriend and I went berry picking and I managed not to die climbing down the mini-mountain the berries were on! Why berries have to grow on the freaking face of a mountain I do not know but it is quite frustrating. I want to eat them, but do I have to risk my life to do so?!?! Apparently so. And Carly and I are going to go pick more later this week.

Also, the boyfriend and I played golf!! Ok, he played, I rode in the cart and took pictures. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, perfect for golf!!! I love golf, but…I am just NO GOOD. So I love watching and riding in the cart. And no, I do not drive the cart. I do not like to and I do not want to and if I can avoid it, I will not drive it at all. Not even 2 feet. No. I like to RIDE. I am driven. I do not do the work.

So once the camera battery gets over itself, some of my awesome pictures shall be uploaded below!

Oh, one more thing!!! Does anyone else find short runs harder than long runs sometimes? All the time? Any time? I SWEAR my long runs are ALWAYS more enjoyable and easier than my 3 mile morning runs!! Maybe I go faster on the 3 milers, but I swear it’s not that much. My 5K PR is around 27:00 and that’s not even that fast. Maybe it’s the mindset, maybe I’m going absurdly slow on the 6 mile run…but I LOVE my long runs usually. Short runs…3 or 4 miles….BLAH. Not fun at all. Anyone else have this issue??

Ok, that’s it for now. Have a good week, kids!!!

Yeah, I know, I know.

First, a quick photo update…. (I say quick, but adding these pictures takes forever.)

I graduated.

I hiked.

My sister had a party.

My sister got married.

Carly and I went to the beach.

I hiked again.

I ran a 5K with mom. She won her age group.

I ran another 5K with mom. She won the Masters category and I got 2nd in my age group.

And I ran one more 5K with mom and Carly. Carly won our age group, mom won hers, and I came closer to my PR than I have in 3 years. 35 seconds away. Screw the age group, that rocks.

I rode Carly’s ponay.

I also moved twice (Don’t Ask.), went to 2 other weddings, celebrated my dad’s birthday, and did a lot of other crap that has kept me absurdly busy.

SO. That is where I have been for the last 2 months.

I have been ignoring my computer a lot so that makes it hard to keep up with the blog. Also, since I’m going to be working soon…my first real job…and let’s just say it involves a high school…I’m not sure what to do about the blog. It’s not really professional or that nice…and I’m pretty sure I don’t want my students to find me…Or their parents.

But I doubt they could. I’ve never posted my full name…I just talk about my life and my running. And I don’t know that I really want to transition to making this a cut and dry professional blog. If I’m going to write in a proper format and about specifictopics, that will probably be for the Striders newsletter.

Sooo….I think…I’m going to try and keep up with the blog, and keep this personal, and keep my professional life out of it. Granted I’m going to want to complain and talk about it, for sure…but I’m going to try and do that elsewhere. It’s not appropriate for a public forum such as this.

What do you guys think? Yes? No? Maybe? Get rid of the blog? Keep the blog? Actually write in the blog regularly??? Haha.

Mind you, I don’t write much about my personal life in here, but still, my weekend runs and my friendships…I’d really like to keep those away from my work. And the pictures. Pictures of people running…are not flattering. Since I’m still young I feel like I need to put in even more effort to appear professional than someone 10 or 15 years my senior. So I’d really like to keep my work relations away from this blog. We’ll see how it goes.

Well, in running news, training for the MCM has not been going so well. With everything else, I have not had a lot of time. I have been running regularly, as you can see, for the last month or two, but no real long runs. I’m going to try for 6 miles on Saturday but I think I should be closer do doing 9. Ugh. I am mildly worried. I’m going to have to talk to some people who have done a full before and see if I’m going to be in trouble.

MCM isn’t until October so I do have a few months, but still. I need to be further ahead right now. I also need to figure out how much pain I can expect the day after. I need to know if I should go ahead and take that day off work, or if I’m going to be in pain, but able to sit at work for the day. OH, good. Just looked and I’ve got a half day of work that day anyway. Excellent. So hopefully I can tough it out. After my 2 half’s, I was fine. But…I’m doing double that.

Yes, I need to consult some experts.

Well, speaking of work, I need to go get some done. Enjoy the update!!!!!! Hopefully another will soon follow! Maybe after the long run on Saturday!

I do apologize for being lax with blogging but I have been rather sick. I thought it was just allergies but apparently it was a rather nasty cold and I barely felt like getting out of bed most days.

But I’m on the mend, so on to other news!!

Well there’s not a lot in the way of actual running due to the sickness.  I basically haven’t done much of anything since the tri…but I did pick out some other triathlons I REALLY want to do. I think I’ll do another pool swim but we’ll see.

I did get out and do a decent run this morning. It was only about two miles but for as awful as I’ve been feeling, I’m somewhat pleased. I’m hoping to make a repeat effort tomorrow. According to an article in Runners World (I have no idea which issue, I’m several months behind and reading in whichever one is closest at hand) running while sick can sometimes help you get better, or at least it can’t hurt. Sometimes. If it’s the pig flu, I’m guessing you shouldn’t run. Or interact with other human beings. Or something.

My theory was I’ve been sick and feeling like crap for over a week, so if I’m going to feel like crap, I may as well accomplish something and run while I’m feeling like crap. It turned out well in my opinion.

I do have a small announcement to make…there’s a chance I will be writing an article for my local run club’s newsletter. I’ve been a member of the Star City Striders for over a year now. Since grad school is winding down I can finally be more active in the club! I submitted a piece to the editor and it appears as though it may be usable. I’m mildly excited.

And by mildly I mean I’m about to bounce off the walls.

In case you haven’t noticed, I like writing. And I like running. Therefore I like writing about running. This has been kind of a small dream of mine for awhile and I’m SUPER excited that even one article I write may get published. I don’t want anything big…I’m not trying to be famous or write a running book…I just enjoy writing small tidbits about my running life. So we’ll see what happens, but there is a possibility that if THIS article works out, I could contribute in the next issues as well. Cross your fingers!!

So that’s all I have for now. Sorry it was short and picture free, but if you haven’t already read it, the triathlon report is below so feel free to go amuse yourself there!

Yeah. That’s right. I did my first triathlon!!!!!!!!!!

Angel’s Triathlon!!! J I was sooo nervous but I did pretty well!!! I met my 2 goals which were to FINISH and to do so in under 2 hours!!! YAY!!!!!!!

So we’ll start on Saturday.

First off, on an un-tri-related note…my cat decided to be a holy terror. I was sitting in the living room having lunch and from my bedroom I hear a massive crash that sounds as though he may have set a bomb off somewhere in my closet. I fully expected to walk in my bedroom and be able to see through to the neighbor’s apartment. Thankfully that was not the case…but somehow…SOMEHOW my cat had managed to JUMP to the very tip top of the closet…a good 8 feet from the ground…and then had proceeded to shove everything off the closet shelf. Everything.

When I got in there, this is the scene I saw.

And then…from above…lept my cat. He jumped down…walked out of the room…then came back in, sniffed the wrecked pile of stuff in the floor as if to say “I heard a crash, I came as quickly as I could. What happened???” and then once he saw that none of his belongings were involved in the crash, he went to rest behind the door.

Yeah. That’s the face of evil. But it’s cute evil.

So after I cleaned up his mess, and cleaned my apartment, and packed, I left for mom’s at around 1pm. Mom and dad then drove me to where the Tri Club was meeting to go to the race. And let me just say, I only freaked out about what I was packing about 3 times…which is good for me.

Oh, and before I left, Tracy wrote some good luck messages on me. One from the dog…and one from him.

We loaded all the gear in to the vans and we were off! And I proceeded to mildly freak out about the reality of the impending race day.

The race was about 2 hours away and we were staying with one of the club member’s parents. They were making dinner for us and had some wonderful snacks ready when we got there. While we waited we chatted and I got to play a pretty decent game of chess! Woot for chess!!!

Dinner was amazing and then we went over bikes and checked the gear. (Read as: Everyone who knew what they were doing checked their gear and bikes. I pestered people with questions and said about 40341 prayers. However the Tri Club is amazing and dealt with my questions VERY well. You guys rock.)

So…then we had a small meeting and then it was time for bed. And…I woke up around 3:30am or 4. Because let’s face it. I worry. A lot. And I freak out on a regular basis…and…there was plenty for me to worry over. Or at least I thought.

By 5:15 when the alarm went off I’d given myself an awesome upset stomach. Thankfully I didn’t have time to freak out too much because we had to be out the door by 5:45. So…I packed and ran!

We got to the race site around 6am and set up our transition areas and get body marked. Since this was my first time one of the other more experienced members helped me set up. Actually almost all of the other members helped me a GREAT deal. They ALL wished me good luck and they were all amazingly supportive. Not once did they make me feel like an outsider in their club/sport nor did they treat me like I had no clue what I was doing…which…well that was the reality of it. I am so grateful to the entire club for being so overwhelmingly helpful, friendly, and supportive.

For this race they ask you who you’re running for, meaning someone that currently has an illness or has passed away due to an illness. I chose 3 people to run my race for; my friend’s cousin who had passed away, Matt; My former art teacher who died of cancer, Sally; and my friend’s mom who is currently fighting cancer, Shirley. The names of these 3 people were written on me in permanent marker and are still on me right now.

So once I had everything set up…and had re-checked it umpteen times I began to go over my game plan. By this time I was trying to figure out what part of the tri to worry about most. I knew I could deal with the run…because I’m a runner. I know how to do that. I’ve got plenty of experience. So that leaves the swim and bike to fret over. Well….I’d swam almost double the distance of this swim earlier in the week so I knew I was capable of it…and I’d tried biking this week and…well…you know that story. So…my logical deduction was that I should worry about the bike. Ok. 15 miles of biking. If I can get through that…I can do this.

Right.

Well the event started at 8:00am. My start time wasn’t until 9:19am. So…I had some extra worry time. But thankfully, MOM APPEARED!!! YAY MOM AND DAD!!!!!!!!!!!

They set to work taking pictures and around 8:45 I got in the warm-up pool and did a few laps and before I knew it, it was time for me to line up.

THEN I WAS DOING A TRIATHLON!!!!!!!!!!

Nice pic, mom.

I PASSED SOMEONE SWIMMING!!! Yeeeah me. Go me. I was one of the two people with the VT Tri Club that was doing their first tri. She and I decided that our goal was to pass someone at some point in the race…and I SO TOTALLY DID!!! So did she, so congrats to her!

Anyway, then I was off and running to my first transition. I spent a little extra time here because I wanted to make sure I got everything right and also since I FAIL at drinking water while biking…I made sure and drank before I got on the bike. So…then I was off. And I biked.

And I kinda rocked it.

I did stop twice to drink and take a Gu because everyone had told me hydration was key…so I went with it. And really, the bike part was kinda nice. I enjoyed it. I did go slower than I would have liked but I am still kind of scared of going fast down hills so I stayed within my comfort zone and just enjoyed it. I got a little sore but not too bad. Before I knew it, I was biking back towards the transition area. I only had to get off the bike and push it one time because there was one very evil hill. Actually, there were two evil hills, but the second one had AMAZING crowd support and I’d like to give a huge shoutout to the Angel’s Volunteers…without their cheering I never would have made it. I still can hear their voices in my head. I think they knew how hard that hill was so they positioned themselves there for a reason. I can honestly say I wouldn’t have made it up that hill still biking if it hadn’t been for them. So…if you were volunteering for this race, thank you. You have no idea how much your support meant. You are the ONLY reason I got up that hill.

And then it was time for my second transition. Time to run. Running. I got this. I’ve done this. I know I can do this.

I got part of a Gu…got a lot of water…and ran.

And mom met me and ran with me!!! YAY MOM!!!

But dang. I was exhausted. Just…spent. I ran. And I ran as much as I could. But eventually I had to walk. It was hot, pushing 80 degrees, and I was TIRED.

So I walked some and ran some…and WAS able to finish the race running!!! And actually my run time wasn’t terrible. I’ve had worse run times!!!

Looking back…you know what part I liked the best? The bike.

Remember what I decided to worry about? The bike.

Yeah.

So my times were as follows: Swim – 8:08. T1 – 2:31. Bike – 1:08:23. T2 – 1:19. Run – 35:34.

Total time: 1:55:52. Under 2 hours. I did it.

I TRI’d my best. And I’m now a triathlete. And the USAT sticker is now proudly on my car.

And when I got home from the tri, there was a surprise in my freezer. The worlds most amazing boyfriend left ice cream cupcakes and some…instructions for how to arrange them depending on if I finished or not (He was exposed to my excessive worry…I think I damaged him) which was awesome. He had to leave for a business trip so that’s why he wasn’t there to support me.

And I’m already picking out my next triathlon. I’ve found some awesome ones in Tennessee later this summer… J

And Shoutouts:

Heather: For being the best trainer ever. For always making me feel better. For picking me up when I fall. For pushing me. For telling me I could do this. For never giving up on me. For being a BAMF. Thanks.

Jan: Thanks for getting me through the half. And thanks for checking in to see if I’m doing ok. J Your support means a lot and I promise to continue to keep you updated about my progress!!! MCM is coming up and I plan to bug you plenty about it!!!! I can’t wait to start back with TNT again soon!!!!

Dad: Thanks for driving. And you’re a great pack mule. LOVE YOU!!!!

 Back it up, back it up
You got it, you got it
Put your hands up, put your hands up
You got it, you got it
Drive back baby to me fast in your car
I’m here waiting, crash into me real hard

Well. I crashed. Hard. Like…in to a very solid object kind of hard. I didn’t have it. I kind of already had my hands up…and there was a car involved.

What was I attempting to do, you ask? Oh…just attempting to balance like any normal 12 year old is fully capable of doing.

I was trying to get my water bottle, drink it, and put it back while biking.

I failed. Miserably.

Did I mention I haven’t been biking that long? And um…I’m NOT very good at it…

OH!!!!!! And did I also mention I have a triathlon this Sunday that involves 15 miles of biking!?!??!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

So…I tried to drink…and…well I managed to get the bottle out, take a sip, but replacing it was where things went awry. I had to choose between pavement and a parked car…and I was in no way capable of hitting the breaks. And I was going downhill…so…I toppled over. And skidded along the ground. Twas awesome.

The rest of the damage is in the form of some awesome road rash on my elbow…

Also, I realized I forgot to update you on my birthday festivities. I turned the big 2-5 on Easter. Here are some of the highlights real quick.

The evil, evil boyfriend thought giving me a present and putting a note on it that said DO NOT TOUCH would be fun. You have no idea how hard things like that are for me…and probably for most girls….and 4 year olds. :) I mean…PRESENT….leave alone!?!?! NEVER!!!!!!!!!!

I was a wee bit excited when I discovered what was inside. Tickets to UT’s season opener. The football game of my dreams with my favorite team ever…my very first college football game. Yeah. I’m 25. I go to a major football school…but it’s not MY team. MY team is UT. And I refused to have my first college game anywhere but Neyland. Labor Day weekend. Yeah buddy.

The other best present ever. From my daddy. This is the grill off his tractor. The tractor…well…it crashed too. So before we parted it out, I told dad I wanted the grill. That tractor is the very first thing I learned to drive. I sat on dad’s lap. That tractor has always been a symbol of my dad…and that grill meant everything to me. And now the tractor is gone…but I’ve got what matters. My memories. And my grill.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Back on track now.

Tuesday night at the tri meeting…I got to be close to a dream of mine.

That. Is a Boston Marathon medal. I got to TOUCH a Boston medal. I know someone who RAN BOSTON. If you run…then you KNOW what I’m talking about. I mean…BOSTON. It’s the Holy Grail. It’s the Big Dance. It’s the Superbowl. It’s BOSTON. And I touched it. Mmmmmmm Boston.

And speaking of Boston…TiVo missed tivoing it. If I could punish a box of electronic components and computer chips…I so would. But alas…TiVo doesn’t understand why I’m mad…and unplugging it will only make things worse and cause me to reset the entire system…but still. I’m very upset about this matter.

But life goes on. And bikes will crash, tivo’s will fail, and Boston will still be Boston.

Tomorrow…I’m getting back on the bike. Oh, and for the record, after crashing and cleaning up, I went back out for another 25 minutes and stayed upright! YAY!!! I’m going to try for 8 miles tomorrow…get some good hills in because I hear the tri course is HILLY. Then…hold on tight and wait for Sunday. I talked to my trainer after my crash as well and she REALLY helped. She said she’s seen plenty of people get off the bike, and PUSH it up a hill. That really helped. So if I need a drink, gosh darnit I’m pulling over!!! Time doesn’t matter to me. Keeping my blood in my body does.

I’m assuming it’s going to be rough. I’m hoping for some adreniline…and I’m going to give it my best. There will be pictures. Lots.

So in Knitting News…I tried to recycle a sweater…Went to Goodwill…grabbed a good sweater with the proper seaming for unravling…

And set about trying to properly cut it and unravel…

Fail. Big fail. Good news is that I bought more than one sweater and next week I’ll be wandering to knitting group for recycling help!!!

Now let’s throw some shoutouts in….

One for Trainer…seriously, you made EVERYTHING better today. You have no idea how much you helped.

One for Kim…thanks for making my kid’s day better by making fun of me. Seriously, that rocks.

And one for Dr. Physics!!! I hear you saw my momma today and it appears as though you may occasionally stop by my blog…which ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!! HI DR PHYSICS!!!!!!!!! If you read this, I STILL MISS PHYSICS CLASS!!!!! Best. Professor. EVER!!!!!!!

Well, let’s all give three cheers for me updating when I said I would!!! The next time you’ll hear from me will be after the tri!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!!!!!

Oh. And after the tri….the REAL training starts!!!!!!!!!!!