Half Marathon #5- check!

Happy Sunday everyone!

I am in a wonderful mood because I completed the Ann Arbor half marathon this morning and earned a new PR- 1:51:35

Now for all you speed demons, obviously my time may not be super impressive but considering my first half ever was a 2:30 (trail run through waist deep mud, no joke), my second and third were at 2:01, and my last was a 1:55:31, I’m excited about the slow but steady progress. The plan is to eventually drop down to 1:45 and maybe even 1:40. Hey, I can dream!

So a quick recap of the race. Initially, I expected warm temperatures so the plan was to run in shorts and compression socks. However, I must have forgotten that this is Michigan, and Mother Nature  put a Kibosh on my outfit. Last minute, I decided on Under Armour capris and my cold gear long sleeve UA top. I debated about the shirt for a few days because I tend to overheat in it but considering the 20 degree temps this morning, I figured it was okay. I chose to forgo the gloves and headband which I really regretted at the start line.

Anywho, I ran the two miles from my apartment to the starting line, and it actually didn’t feel too bad… that is until I had to wait in line for the port-a-potty. Holy cow was I cold. I was talking to a woman who was lucky enough to have her husband drop her off (THANKS BOYFRIEND!) so she didn’t have my problem of trying to keep warm while mildly sweaty from the warm-up. Plus she was smart enough to wear gloves. My bad.

The first two miles were through downtown Ann Arbor, and I was cold and cursing myself for not wearing gloves. I scrunched my fists under my long sleeves to prevent frostbite and carried on. This really helped and by mile 3, the sun was out and my hands regained feeling. Happy I didn’t have to carry a pair of gloves for the next 10 miles, I trekked on, positioned with the 8:24 min/mile or 1:50 finish group. I initially started with the 1:55 group but felt confident enough to go faster so I moved on ahead. By mile 5, I thought about speeding up again but decided against it.

I listened to this song from the Divergent soundtrack at least 5 times.

 

The dubsteppy beat encouraged me to to push faster, especially toward the finish.

The run actually went by pretty fast. At mile 10, my peeps Kyle and Vanessa were cheering me on so I felt a burst of energy and picked up the pace. I was forced to slow down pretty quickly during the climb around the hospital. I expected hills because that’s pretty typical of Ann Arbor but mile 10 caught me off guard. Holy hell did I want to die. That climb slowed down a lot of people, and I was a little worried about whether I had enough energy to get all the way up it. Somehow, I didn’t die.

Usually during races, I drink water or gatorade at every other mile starting at mile 4 but because it was so cold, I didn’t take water until mid mile 9 and even then, I only had a sip. No gatorade this time because I wasn’t sure how my stomach would feel about it.

Once I made it up the hill and to campus, I picked up the pace because I knew the finish line was close. I passed the mile 12 marker and then eventually made it to William Street which is where the finish line was. When Ellie Goulding came on for the fifth time, I knew it was time to push.

 

Me passing random dude. Thanks for the photography Kyle!

Half marathon #5 complete. Kyle and Vanessa greeted me at the finish line and bless their hearts, they gave me a ride home because I’m not sure my legs could have carried me after those 15 miles.

The plan is to chill in my compressions socks and stretch until boyfriend comes by to foam roll my legs. Overall, I had a great run. Would I have liked to break 1:50? Yes. Am I happy with my time? Very much yes.

A big thank you again to my cheering section. You guys are the best!

 

That’s not my name

I never thought this day would come

 

It finally feels like spring in Michigan! Hallelujah. Obviously I had to greet today’s warm weather with a 6 mile run, aka my final run before Sunday’s Half Marathon. My legs felt good this morning actually, strong, which is a change from what I’ve been feeling these past few weeks. I think the yoga Wednesday and cutting back on the two-a-days really helped. Skipping Beth’s spinning class of death yesterday was also a wise choice.

Instead, I met up with a friend at Ironwood Grill for dinner and enjoyed a delicious Cajun burger. Spicy mayo, tons of jalapenos, quality Angus beef, melted cheese, and bacon for the win. For once, I did not order french fries, and it was refreshing to leave a restaurant without the food baby that usually accompanies going out to dinner.

In other news, I’ve decided to re-start my routine of mid-day exercise breaks at work. I saw this chart on Runner Girl Eats and felt the need to repost.

Sitting and staring at a screen for 8 hours a day is not only bad for your eyes, it’s also bad for our overall well-being. Luckily, I drink 50 gallons of water and coffee every day and my bladder is the size of a nickel so I get up to go to the bathroom quite often. Hence, although my co-workers probably think I’m a diabetic or have some serious bladder issues, I am able to squeeze in three to four walking breaks to the bathroom every hour. That and my 10 push ups every hour during the afternoon adds some physical activity to my sedentary work day.

Last thing, this guy gets my pain. 21 Things People with Ethnic Names will Totally Understand

 And

All the damn time.

And to the Starbucks barista who thought my name was Gita after I SPELLED it out, you are an idiot.

 

On that positive note, happy Friday everyone!  It’s almost the weekend!

 

 

 

My Perfect Marathon

In a moment of regrettable perhaps haste, I registered for my first full marathon. I have exactly 7 months to mentally, emotionally, and physically prepare myself. Let’s be real though, this whole thing will probably be a complete disaster.

Inspired by this hilarious woman and Kyle because let’s be real, he’s the brains behind any operation, here is the hypothetical line-up of TV/movie characters that I need to join me if I’m going to survive this 26.2 mile journey.

Mile 1: Phoebe Buffay

Slow and steady wins the race but Phoebe’s arm swinging would get me closer to the front of the pack, as opposed to getting sandwiched in with all the walkers who thought they belong in the front corrals… FYI people, I’m angrily swearing at all of you in my head in every race I run. If you plan on walking, GET IN THE BACK.

Miles 2-4: Fat Amy- Pitch Perfect

This girl is the best. From “Don’t put me down for cardio” to “I’m going to finish him like a cheesecake.” Pure genius. I’m not sure how this horizontal running business would fare during a marathon but I’m pretty much up for anything early in the race.

Mile 5: Mindy Kaling

This girl is the best. Her musings in “Is everyone hanging out without me” pretty much mirror my daily thought process.

Mile 6: Jesse Pinkman

Time for hydration. Who better than our favorite meth-making junkie? Only 20 miles to go, BITCH!

Miles 7-9: Scott Disick-Kardashians

The guy is a complete asshat but listening to his one liners could keep me entertained for a couple miles. He is the only person on this show whom I find entertainingly annoying, as opposed to just annoying

 

Mile 10-12: Liz Lemon

Mile 10 is usually when my upper body starts to ache, and I curse myself for ignoring strength training. Sometimes I do push ups at work. Sometimes I pick up heavy things. Is that not enough? Is consistency really that important? Apparently so.

Miles 13-15: George Gergenblatt- Wanderlust 

This is the part of the race where I’m going to pee myself because my bladder is the size of a nickel but I’m too lazy to stop at a port-a-potty. If I have this guy running with me, at least I’d have an excuse for any loss of bladder control. There is a back story to this Paul Rudd-Wanderlust business, but it’s something that probably shouldn’t be shared on the internet. Moral of the story though, don’t let a drunk ginger med student get cray cray in your apartment.

Miles 16-18: Eric Matthews- Boy Meets World

Bringing in the big guns for the rest of the race. Inspired by Kristen, hot guys to the finish line.

And I’m pretty sure this man is his long lost twin.

Miles 19-21: Stefan Salvatore- TVD

100 percent Polish. I will follow his shirtless self anywhere at this point.

Mile 22-24: Damon Salvatore- TVD

If Elena doesn’t have to choose, why should I?

Mile 25: Leslie Knope- Parks and Recreation

At this point, I will realize that I’m still not done. I’ll be dehydrated from crying but I’m hoping the tears turn from pain to joy.

Mile 26(.2)- R.I.P. Agata. Death by Running

JK. If all goes well, I’ve have my army of characters leading me to the finish line. Obviously I’ll finish in some crazy time 3.5 hours because that is completely realistic for my first one 😉

 

But for reals, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m hoping all the half marathons I plan to do this summer help me to sufficiently prepare for this marathoning business. With Boyfriend gone for the duration of July, I’m thinking that month will be key to my training. Then come October, I can join this bunch

Writing vacation

So I realize it’s been about a week since my last post which in the blogging world is forever but with work stuff and life stuff, I just haven’t really felt like writing an entry. However, the motivation to write is back so here we go.

Workout recap last week: 42 miles

Sunday: 9 miles, (2.8 mile warm-up + 10K)

Monday: easy 6

Tuesday: easy 5.5 in am, 3.5 afternoon + abs

Wednesday: 6

Thursday: weights am + afternoon spin

Friday: 6 miles in the beautiful sunshine

Saturday: 6 miles

My run last Saturday was really special. In an attempt to omit an ice patch, I tripped on an uneven piece of pavement before even completing mile 1. I scraped up my hand pretty badly in an attempt to save my iPhone. Phone was safe, but my body was not. Because 6 miles was on the agenda, I hopped right back up and continued to run when I noticed my hand gushing blood. Running down the streets of Ann Arbor covered in mud and blood, I’m sure I looked like I just killed somebody. The blood/pain was inconvenient but runnable so off I went. When I got back to my apartment and undressed myself, I noticed the real damage.

This is my left knee. My right knee also had some bleeding (now a giant bruise), and my left ankle and hip were also scraped up but I won’t expose you to anymore horrifying pictures. Two falls in one week. Maybe I should start watching where I’m going…

After this lovely start to my Saturday morning, I showered, picked up Boyfriend from work, and then drove myself to the office to get some work done. Afterwards, Boyfriend, Boyfriend’s younger sister, and I went to go see Divergent. I really liked it, probably because of Theo-what’s-his-face aka Four. I did notice the movie strayed a bit from the book, and I think having read the book provided some much needed background info but all in all, I enjoyed it. I mean, how can you not enjoy all of this?

Anywho, after the movies, we ventured to the Jolly pumpkin for dinner, and I got  a delicious Cobb salad with avocado, bacon, and blue cheese. Locally grown ingredients + good company= fantastic Saturday night.

Sunday morning began with a 10 mile run in 15 degree weather but the sun was shining so how could I not take advantage. I caught up on some work, and then “I thought this was speed dating” proceeded to NOT dominate at trivia. I blame this on the fact that Boyfriend and the boys insisted on playing Wizards, a card game, during Trivia. Sure guys, let’s not pay attention to the man reading the questions. Fail. I refused to participate in this game because Sunday nights, I’m all about the trivia. Also, I hate Wizards ( the game, not the people).

Monday: 4 mile run + abs

Tuesday: AM bicep/tricep circuit + afternoon treadmill quick 5-miler followed by babysitting

This morning I chose to forgo my morning workout partly in favor of rest (cray right?), but mainly because I had to be at work extra early. Boyfriend and I got some p90x yoga planned for this evening so I’m looking forward to that. I’m trying to scale back on the mileage this week with a half marathon on Sunday morning. I’m really bad at resting/tapering/doing nothing but maybe my body recognizes my effort and won’t punish me by giving out midway through the race.

That’s all I got for now. We’re halfway to Friday!

MySpace flashback

So technically, I never really got into the MySpace thing, and I managed to go through all of high school without one. *Pat on the back* I’m such a rebel. However, a summer of boredom and unemployment resulted in me caving and making a MySpace account for like 3 months. Fifty creeper messages later, I decided to delete my page in favor of Facebook because it was what all the college kids did. I’m not really sure where this story is going but I decided to do one of those weird MySpace surveys that were oh-so-cool back in the day. I found this one on Jessie Loves to Run and thought, what the heck? I’m sure you’re all dying to know these random facts about me.

1.Were you named after anyone? Nope. I was going to be a “Barbara” or “Joanna” after my grandmothers but instead, my parents decided to give me a very, very Polish name that gets butchered on a daily basis.

2. When was the last time you cried? Probably the last time I watched “One Tree Hill”

3. Do you like your handwriting? For the most part

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey? I don’t love lunch meat to be honest. When I was a kid, my mom would make me lettuce sandwiches (aka a piece of lettuce sandwiched between two pieces of buttered bread). That stuff was and probably still is my jam.

5. Do you have kids? God no.

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Obviiii

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Absolutely. 

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Nope. I got them removed when I was 4. 

9. Would you bungee jump? Probably, but I’d have to be drunk

10 What is your favorite cereal? Frosted Miniwheats, especially all the residual sugar at the bottom of the box. When I’m feeling really ambitious, I take out all the miniwheats, pour out the sugar/crumbs into a bowl, put the miniwheats back in the box, and eat the sugar/crumbs with milk. THE BEST.

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

12. Do you think you are strong? Yup

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Cookie dough, moose tracks, peanut butter cup. Really anything with chocolate and/or peanut butter makes the cut

14. What is the first thing you notice about other people? Whether or not they’re smiling

15. Red or pink? Red

16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I tend to be pretty introverted

17. Any tattoos? Nope

18. Do you love sports? Does tailgating count?

19. What color shoes are you wearing? Gray flats

20. What was the last thing you ate? A salad from Busch’s. Delish

21. What are you listening to right now? Country music

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? The brightest crayon in the box, duh

23. Favorite smells? Baked goods, vanilla, amber blossom from Bath & Body Works, Burberry Brit

24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom. God bless her heart for listening to my complaints.

25. Mountain hideaway or beach house? Beach house. I NEED warmth.

26. Sport to watch? Hockey for sure, although with enough alcohol, I can be persuaded to watch anything

27. Hair color? Brown

28. Eye color? Blue

29. Do you wear contacts? I used to, and they were the devil. I got lasik in 2009, and I highly recommend it.

30. Scary movies or happy endings? I LOVE scary movies. Happy endings are better left for books.

31. Last movie you watched? I’m not sure about movie but TV show was American Horror Story

32. What color shirt are you wearing? Coral, with a gray sweater

33. Summer or winter? Fall

34. Hugs or kisses? Depends on the person. I’m not much of a hugger unless alcohol is involved.

35. Computer or television? Computer

36. What book are you reading right now? “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn

37. What’s on your mouse pad? Don’t have one. How old is this survey? People still have mousepads?

38. What color is your house? I live in a brick apartment that I oh-so cleverly nicknamed Island Dump

39. What color is your car? Silver Saturn

40. What’s one motto you live by? I don’t know if I actually live by this, but I’m a fan of “Be happy with what you have while working for what you want”

 

THE END

Sorry for Partying

Boyfriend says this is how I sleep. I would be offended but it’s actually pretty hilarious. Poor guy

Apparently I also run in my sleep. #Dedication. Speaking of running, my mileage hasn’t been too shabby. I’m running consistently which is good, but I need to remember to incorporate strength and flexibility stuff too.

Workout Recap:

Thursday: 2.5 hours of spin class. I almost died, at least my lady parts wanted to

Friday: 5 mile run, easy

Saturday: 5 mile run, easy and lots of foam rolling

Sunday: 2.8 mile warm-up plus St Patty’s 10K (51:01)

Monday: 6 miles, 7:54 average pace

Tuesday: 5.5 mile morning run

Friday after the bar, Boyfriend decided he wanted to help me foam roll, mainly because he likes to revel in my pain and misery. Thank God I was pretty drunk because my quads were screaming. Boyfriend does this weird massaging of my quads and hamstrings and despite the pain, it feels so much better afterwards. I don’t know why he wants to be a pharmacist when he can just be my personal foam roller…

Besides Friday night, the rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Saturday I did laundry and watched American Horror Story with Boyfriend. That show just keeps getting weirder and weirder, and I’m not sure we’ll ever get through season 1. Sunday morning was my race. It was 5 degrees out so that was pretty fun. Also during my warm up run, I managed to fall into a pothole and scrape my knee against the concrete. Obviously I run with a lot of grace. My race time was nothing to write home about but in my defense, my quads were still super sore from Thursday’s spinning sesh, it was freezing cold, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I took a rest day.

Yesterday I didn’t run until after work but I ended up doing a tempo run at 7:54 for 6 miles. After stretching and showering, I met up with a friend for some St. Patty’s Day fun.

Somehow one drink turned into three and before I knew it, we had spent four hours at the bar.  We had to call our trusty male companions to drive us home. Of course Boyfriend felt the need to point out that I reek of booze.

Surprisingly I felt pretty good this morning. I did wake up at 4:30 am but no hangover so that’s a win. I contemplated skipping my run but boyfriend practically pushed me out of bed. He knew I’d spend the next 15 hours complaining about skipping a run so off I went.

Happy Tuesday all!

 

Friday is my second favorite F word

Finally

Breakfast of Champions

Don’t worry, I plan on balancing all this sugar and caffeine out with a salad for lunch. My body is begging me for some carbs this morning. Last night, a friend and I signed up for back-to-back spin classes because we are masochists, and I obviously have a death wish. The posted schedule led me to believe  that the first class would be 45 minutes and the second 60 minutes. Hard but doable. Beth the instructor had other ideas. The first class went to the full hour, and the second class went almost an hour and half. That is two and a half hours of spinning folks. Spinning accompanied by push ups and arm work. By the time I got home, I was too tired/nauseous to even eat anything so I had a couple pieces of candy provided by boyfriend. We watched an episode of AHS and then passed out.

This morning, by body woke up me up at 5 am out of habit. Since I was already wide awake, I embarked on a 5 mile run before work. Surprisingly, despite the sore quads, the run felt pretty easy, and I could have kept going, but I have a 10 K on Sunday so I decided not to push it. I’m trying this new thing called “Listening to my body.”

After work, I plan on checking out new housing for next year since my lease will be up in August.  Then tonight, boyfriend and I are hitting the town with this sister and her boyfriend. I’m going to try and not be a grandma. Maybe I’ll even make it to midnight, although that might be pushing it.

Happy Friday Folks!

WTF Wednesday

I really enjoyed waking up to another blizzard this morning… NOT.

After embarking on yet another treacherous journey to work, I was obviously really pleased to discover that everybody and their mother chose to work from home today. Seems wise, but I wish I would have been informed of the snow day consensus. After 6 hours, I realized there was really nothing left for me to do, so I decided I would join the others and work from home. My car obviously had other ideas. Not only did I have to dig my way out of my parking spot with my window scraper, I also got stuck in the snow once exiting onto the main road.

Dear city employees, I realize that Domino Farms and the East Ann Arbor Medical Center may seem like their own community but considering that several thousand people are employed at those two locations, it would make sense that the city plow Earhart Rd. But alas, you do not and so today, my car got stuck.

Realizing I’m not getting myself out, I called State Farm road assistance only to speak with a completely incompetent operator. First of all dear operator, MI stands for Michigan, not Missouri, and second of all, you could at least pretend to be sympathetic about my situation. This lady was less than helpful and in typical me-fashion, I was on the verge of tears and hysteria and ready to let her have it. Luckily, a nice man and his wife stopped to help while I was on the phone, and the guy got my car out. Thank you good samaritan and screw you State Farm.

Interestingly enough, Plymouth Rd was beautifully plowed once I got past the freeway, so I stopped at the gym on my way home to run off some rage. I was going to do mile repeats but then decided on a progression run, sort of.

7 miles

8:00

7:53

7:47

7:41

got lazy and back up to 7:53

2 min recovery

7:47

2 min recovery

7:47

And in spirit of the WTF theme, nice job Tar-jay Photoshopper. I do take comfort in someone being even less artistically/technologically skilled than I am.

Dear Mother Nature part 757393050

Mother nature, why you so meannnnnnnnn? Forecast for tomorrow

Emphasis on the HEAVY SNOW aka 6 to 10 inches. I don’t mean to be a negative Nancy here. After all, we had a beautiful day yesterday with the sun and temperatures in the low 50s but come on. Why tease us with beautiful weather if you’re just going to dump a shit ton of snow on us… AGAIN.

On a happier note, back to yesterday. I did get to go on a post-work run in SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT. I never thought the day would come. I cut my run short at 6 miles due to a throbbing hip which I then stretched out at home. Later in the evening, I met a friend for Happy Hour and then we stayed for a meeting of Young Catholic Professionals organized by St. Mary’s church. Went to bed at 9:30 because I’m super cool.

Woke up at 5 am this morning and went for a run in the warm weather. I didn’t really feel like getting up again today, but because I babysit right after work on Tuesdays, this really was my only chance. Another 6 miles down.

Breakfast. Parfait from Espresso Royale. 

Kind of a calorie (and $) splurge but since I only had a Two-Hearted for dinner yesterday and ran 12 miles in the last 18 hours, I figured it was acceptable.

Enjoy the warm weather my fellow Michiganders. Looks like we’ll be snowed in tomorrow…

Back to Bed

My body knew it was Monday today because I could not for the life of me wake up this morning. I thought I would go for a run before work but my legs were screaming “hell no girl, get back in bed” so back to bed I went.

I can understand why my body was tired. I ran 11 miles Saturday and then 11 yesterday, albeit not consecutively yesterday. I did an easy 6.5 in the morning pre-brunch date, and then a ran my own 5 K up through North Campus (holy hills!) at a 7:50 pace for a finish of 24:16. Then I did a 1.4 mile cool down jog at 8:20 bringing my total for the day to 11 miles.

Aside from running, I read a good chunk of Divergent which I’m loving B T W, cleaned, went to trivia, and watched the Amazing Race. Our team did not do as well as usual yesterday, but geography was not our downfall for once. Boyfriend played an integral role by providing the popcorn for our team keeping Michael, Ediri, and myself nourished. JK, Robert actually does know a lot of random facts about techie stuff so he ends up being pretty clutch in our moments of need. So proud to be dating a smarty pants who spends hours trying to convince me why we need cars that drive themselves. That and his endless theories about the universe never get old. I imagine this is how he feels listening to me ramble about running and Pretty Little Liars.

Happy Monday Folks!