If Only

November 12, 2009 at 2:13 pm | In Yoga | 1 Comment
Tags: Beret, Crochet, Food, Friends, Geocaching, Knitting, Sick, Socks, Stash, Yoga

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.

I’m a New Soul

November 3, 2009 at 6:38 pm | In 5k | 3 Comments
Tags: 5k, Ball Winder, Doctors, Favorites, Geocaching, Knitting, Phive K, Race Review, running, Shoutout, StitchItPodcast, Work, Yarn

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*

Insert Catchy Song Tune Title Here

October 27, 2009 at 7:12 pm | In Cross Training, Half-Marathon, Training | Leave a Comment
Tags: Carly, Dog, Football, Friends and Family, Knitting, Peyton Manning, running, School, Socks, Sperly, Stress, Thoughts, Twitter, University of Tennessee, Vols, Work

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.

Crash

April 23, 2009 at 10:04 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Tags: Bike, Biking, Birthday, Boston, Friends, Hurt, Knitting, Pain, Pictures, Recycling, Run, running, Shoutouts, Triathlon

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!!!!!!!!!!!

Letter To Me

April 20, 2009 at 9:40 pm | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Tags: Boyfriend, Dogs, Friends, Happy, Knitting, Pictures, Run, running, Shoutouts, Socks

Dear Self. COMMIT TO THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Administrative stuff out of the way…I’m going to now work on blogging on Sunday or Monday and then again on Thursday or Friday. We are going to commit. End of discussion.

Another note, shoutout to someone that I can tell is going to be one of my favorite running buddies!!!! Hi Carly!!!

She’s super-awesome. I met her at the River Race 5K I did a few weeks ago. She has a really cool dog that is going to make friends with Uri. I can tell Uri is very excited about having a friend to play with. Plus Carly is a much faster runner than I am…but apparently I’m a better distance runner than she is…so we’re going to help each other out!!! Yay for team work!

So. Let’s play catch up. Last time I announced my MCM sign up…I’m still a touch in shock but that’s fine. My triathlon is…um…THIS Sunday…so I’m a bit concerned about that…but…I’ll get through it. I hope.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I GOT A JOB!!!! REAL JOB!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!! I signed my letter of intent last Friday and mailed it off!!! WHOO!!! I start August 10th.

Here’s a picture from Easter and my 25th birthday. Fun times.

I got a new 8G ipod which was awesome. Aaaaand the boyfriend got me tickets to a UT football game!!!!!!!!! My FAVORITE team and my dream come true!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!! Seriously I can’t put in to words how excited I am. However…the football tickets…to the season opener….which are like AMAZING tickets ON THE FREAKING FIELD….yeah. Same day as the Jimmy Buffett concert I have tickets for.

Who’s fault is that? MINE…because SuperAmazingBoyfriend checked the dates…but my brain shut off and I told him I wasn’t busy that day. DUH!!!!!!!!

Oh well. I’m selling the JB tickets and heading to the football game. MY FIRST COLLEGE GAME!!!!!! AT MY DREAM SCHOOL!!!!!

Now on to knitting news!!!! I’m working on Christmas presents…socks so far.

I actually have a lot more done than that…but haven’t taken pictures. Also, the baby blanket is coming along nicely. Aaand…I want to learn to spin. NO MORE NEW HOBBIES!!! FOCUS, WOMAN!!! FOCUS!!!!!!!!

Well, that’s really all I have for now. I’m going to work on improving the blogging in both quantity and quality.

Last few shoutouts….

CONGRATS CHRISSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO COME HELP PLAN!!!!!!!!!!

Sis….Cat sweaters. Cat. Sweaters. (And like 33 days????? SWEEEEEEET)

Lesley. You’re amazing. You’re strong. You’ve been through a lot and you deserve to be happy. I love you…because you’re just like me. And we’ll survive. We’ll be happy. We’ll be ok. And we’ll make it through this together. <3

Operator Won’t Ya Put Me On Through?

March 28, 2009 at 10:56 pm | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: Bicycle, Biking, Fun, Hat, Knitting, MCM, Run, running, Scarf, Shamrock, Training, Yoga

Gotta send my scarf down to Baton Rouge.

Yep. Finished the LSU scarf today.

And just so you kids know…this blog is now going to include knitting AND running. I’m thinking of renaming it “Knit, Run, Repeat”. What do you think?

Anyway. FINISHED THE LSU SCARF TODAY!!!!!!!! WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some pictures of the LSU scarf.

I’m going to mail it off soon, to my friend that went to LSU.

Then this week I also finished Beth’s OSU scarf. Here’s Beth opening it when I brought it by work.

And here’s Miss Beth and her rockin new scarf!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND…..I finished my pink hat today!!!! My first hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah. I finished 3 projects this week. 3. That has got to be some kind of knitting record!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here’s the hat….

Yeah. I got a little goofy with it.

Anyway, in Running News…I ran today for the first time since the half!!! Mom and I did 3 miles in the park. Pretty easy pace. I felt pretty good but now my ankle is bothering me. Not like I hurt it…but like it needs to pop…and I can’t for the life of me get it to pop. Oh well.

I have been working out this week as well, in other ways, just not running. I did some biking on my trainer and did some kickboxing and weights…and yoga. Lots of yoga to stretch those muscles out!! So I’ve rested, but not totally.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to train for the MCM. I got a guarenteed entry code at the Shamrock and…I’m thinking…it’s time for a full. I’m going to try at least. Maybe start looking at training plans next week. I’ve got over 6 months though. Plenty of time.

Back to knitting real quick…here’s the yarn for the newest project…and the reason I busted my butt to get everything else done.

This is yarn for a baby blanket for a friend of mine. As much as I don’t enjoy babies (Yes. I do not like babies. So sue me.) I love this friend…so I’m making her baby gifts. I figure I can get it done in 7 months before the little one is born…and maybe do a hat too. We’ll see. So…that’s the next big project in my knitting world.

Baby blankets and marathons.

Now if only grad school was this easy. LOL!!!!

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

March 24, 2009 at 7:25 am | In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Tags: Fun, Happy, Knitting, Pictures, Race, Run, running, Shamrock Half Marathon, Virginia Beach

2:15:42. I did it. I really didn’t think I could…I didn’t think I would even finish because of the severe lack of training I’ve had this year so far…but not only did I run the entire half marathon, but I took 10 minutes off my previous time. 2:25:31…ok 9 minutes and 49 seconds…but still. With less training and being almost 2 years older…it’s pretty awesome. My age grade went up 3% as well. Whooo!!!

So. About the race.

Saturday the boyfriend and I picked up my friend, Lesley, who was running with me and headed for Virginia Beach. Lesley and I were both beyond nervous. We both have had our training programs shot to heck because of grad school so it’s been a real struggle. I knitted…and un-knotted yarn during the ride to keep myself entertained and to keep from totally freaking out.

We got to the hotel and checked in, then went out to the grocery store and wal-mart to pick up some last minute supplies.

We went to bed pretty early because we had to be up at 5 for the race.

5am…and I was SO nervous. I took some stomach medication as a preventative…because I do have that intestinal issue…and that ended up being a good idea. I wasn’t QUITE as nervous as I was for my first half, but I was a little jittery. Breakfast was a banana and a powerbar. Mmmm good. :)

The amazing boyfriend got out of bed at 5:30 and drove us the 1.5ish miles from the hotel to the race finish…he parked the car there and WALKED BACK to the hotel so we could have a ride home without too much pain. How amazing is he?!!?

Oh, forgot to mention, at the race expo on Saturday he bought me YET ANOTHER running gift. He got me an expandable running belt…packed that puppy full of shot blocks, gu’s, and my camera, of course!

Anyway. Lesley and I walked the 10 or so blocks from the finish to the start…found our corral…and tried to calm our nerves. We also did the port-a-potty deal. Good times. NOT!

We didn’t have to wait very long, we timed our arrival pretty well I guess which was good because it was 34 degrees. 34. NOT FUN. Thankfully the race started right on time and it only took us about 5 minutes to make it from our corral to the start line.

And then we were off!!!! I have pictures from during the race…but they are on a disposable camera. I carried one with me for my first half and for this one. The first time the pictures turned out pretty well. We’ll see how it goes this time.

Lesley and I held a pretty darn good pace for the first 2 miles. Right around 10 minutes which is great for us. The sun started to come up around mile 2 so that was nice. It was pretty cold so I was happy to see some sign of warmth.

Around mile 3 there was a tent with people handing out beer instead of water. A lot of people took it but I decided that it probably wasn’t a great plan. :) It was really funny though.

The crowd support wasn’t exactly the same as it was for the last one…but that’s ok. It was still a nice run. The Rock n Roll is bigger so that’s why. There were still a decent amount of bands, radio stations, and just regular people out with radios or music so that we could be amused for a short distance. There were also little signs along the course to read that kept me entertained for awhile. Some had trivia like what’s the highest point in VA Beach (68 ft, Mt. Trashmore) and some just had jokes like “What color does a smurf turn if you choke it?”

So anyway…around mile 4 I had a gu…I was still feeling pretty decent. Lesley and I were still hitting around a 10 minute pace. Around mile 7 I started to feel it a little but kept going. I had some shot blocks around mile 8 I think…and Lesley was starting to drop back a little I tried to stay with her but around 8.5 I finally went on my own.

I kept running. At about mile 10 I wanted to quit…but convinced myself that I could do a 5K…I mean that’s all I had left. I could do it…

Mile 11, I ran for Kim and her mom, Shirley who has breast cancer. I chanted their names for the entire mile.

Mile 12 was for Tracy…because he has done SO much for me…it just amazes me.

Right around 12.5 I found myself running alongside some girls who were probably in about as much pain as I was…but they were literally cheering THEMSELVES across the finish. They would let out a whoop every few feet or some words of encouragement. I joined in and one of them yelled she was going to PR. I checked my watch and I yelled the same!! We kept yelling “WHOOO!!!” or “LET’S PR!!!” or “ALMOST DONE!!!” around the final turn and the final stretch down the boardwalk to the Neptune Statue.

However let me just say that we were told the finish was at the Neptune statue…it was actually just past that and I was SOOO irritated to find I had to KEEP RUNNING after the statue. I hauled ass. Pardon the expression but I did. The last 20 yards or so…I HAULED.

And then it was over.

And then Tracy was there. He apparently got a picture of me crossing the finish!!!!

Behind a palm tree. :)

Oh well. I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!

Then it was time for the 5 hour ride home. Which turned in to 8 hours because of traffic…awesome. Just awesome. So I knitted. And Tracy Drove. And I took pictures…

But hey. I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2:15:42.

C’mon Girl

March 15, 2009 at 5:14 pm | In Cross Training, Half-Marathon | 2 Comments
Tags: Bicycle, Bike, Boyfriend, Cats, Half-Marathon, Knitting, Pictures, Ravelry

It’s time that I get with the program.

So I bought a trainer for my bike…so there are NO more excuses to not get my cardio in. YAY TRAINER!!!!!!!! I got it out, set it up…well, ok the boyfriend set it up because let’s face it…if I can get him to do it, I’d much rather blame him for any malfunctions than know it was my fault for sure. Hehe.

I did 60 minutes on the trainer…and I am really not used to the seat on this bike. Mmm yeah. Gonna be hard to sit tomorrow. Lol. Here’s my sweet setup. FYI, coffee tables with wheels are God’s gift to apartment living.

So in superfunawesome news…my boyfriend got me a Good Luck on your half marathon package!!!! Lookie!!!

It has Gu’s, shot blocks, super awesome socks, lip gloss, and some body glide!!!! How amazing is that?? And did I mention my boyfriend is a non-runner?!?!! He got all that stuff and he doesn’t run!!! HE’S SO FREAKING GREAT!!!!!!!!

Ok, sorry for all the mush.

Oh, so some of my knitting friends are now reading my blog because it’s linked on Ravelry. In knitting news…I was working on a hat today, and my boyfriend looks at me and goes “HONEY!!! Finish a project before you start another one!!!” Lol. He’s noticed the abundance of un-finished things in baskets and bags around the house. I about died laughing.

One more thing, when I went to take the picture of my marathon package, it was on the table beside my gym bag. And my gym bag moved….on it’s own…

Yeah. Apparently my cat decided this is the ideal hiding spot. So…I left him alone. There’s nothing in there he can mess with. I usually just carry my post-run shoes, wallet, and body glide in it and some band-aids. Apparently now it carries cats too.

Ok, well I’m going to go get some homework done, wander Ravelry, and try and stop by all my favorite bloggers!!! More later!

God, What Am I Doing Here?

March 13, 2009 at 8:58 pm | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: 5k, Dog, Family, Geocaching, Half-Marathon, Knitting, Mom, Pictures, Ravelry, Run, running, Shamrock, Sisters, Spark, Sparkpeople, Tennessee, Training, Travel, Weight loss

The cold wind from space
Is blowing in my face
God, what am I doing here?
I wish I was a cat,
Then I’d know where it’s at
Sure has been a funny year

~Holy Modal Rounders

Well. It’s been a funny last month or so. I’ve been missing in action, in case you didn’t notice. A lot has been going on…grad school and all that madness, but the good news is I’ve been semi-keeping up with the running and will be doing my second half-marathon in 10 days!!!!!!!!!

I feel a little under-prepared but with the pressures of grad school and the turmoil of winter, it’s the best I can do right now. The good news is that I’m running with my good friend and…well…she’s stuck in the same boat. We’re in the same grad program so we’re both maxed out and pressed for time and our running is suffering.

I’ve wandered to a few new websites so if anyone that reads this is on one of them, please add me as a friend!!! I’m on SparkPeople (sn is PinkCowgirl) and Ravelry (sn is also PinkCowgirl). I’m loving them both and I can get on them from school whereas wordpress is blocked. Stupid school.

Anyway, other exciting things that have happened: Ran 2 5K’s…went to see my sister (http://imamarinesgirl.wordpress.com/) and had an AWESOME time!!!!!!!! I miss her already and she needs to get her little butt up here!!!!!!!

Not much else to report, but plenty of pictures to share!!!!!!!!!

Mom, Uri, and me before the Classic! Mom came in 2nd in her age group in this race!!!

Jo found a cache!!!! She was a cache finding machine this weekend. AND IT WAS HER FIRST TIME GEOCACHING!!!!!!! Love ya, sissy.

OMG OMG OMG NEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me and my beautiful sister!!!

Me and mom before the Explore Park 5K. Mom’s first trail run!!!!

After the race! Mom got 1st in her age group and I got 2nd in mine. Mom also managed to come in a full minute under my time from 3 years ago in this race. And she’s about 30 years older than I was. Yeah. Mom is scary-good. And I’m super proud.

Well, mom and I have another 5K tomorrow, so I’ll try and be a better blogger and update then!!!