I'm moving!

I was going to wait until everything was unpacked and put away before sharing the news, but it's taking awhile to get settled in and I just can't contain my excitement any longer!

Come check out my pad at:
http://ratherthecouch.wordpress.com/

I'm still completing renovations so bare with me as the paint dries. I had a few reasons for switching to WordPress. Nothing huge. But I figured the sooner the better. I haven't been blogging for very long and transferring everything over has already been a bit tedious. Anyway, let's stay in touch!

Now that's impressive

I like to think I can do a thing or two. For starters, I can run. I can also do those cheerleader jumps where you stradle and touch your toes. I'm fairly good at balancing on one leg. And can even pull the other one in various directions at the same time. Can you roll your tongue in a loop? Well I can roll mine in three.

But there are some things I can't do. Like whistle. Or raise one eyebrow. Or wink. I just can't close one eye without the other one feeling left out. Also, I cannot sit up. Who knows how I manage to get out of bed each morning...

I only recently discovered my handicap and I'm still coping with it. Kelsea (my good friend and fitness hero) told me about the two hundred sit-ups program and I immediately jumped on board.

The first step of the program is the "initial test." All this test consists of is doing as many sit-ups as you can in a row. Way back when I tried out for cheerleading as a high school freshman I did 80+ sit-ups in one minute. And this test didn't even have a time limit. Piece of cake.

I did 22.

That was Friday. Come Tuesday I was ready to start Week 1.

I did 2.

Wow.

The best day ever

That was yesterday. I ran 9 miles and it was AWESOME. First off, my knee didn't hurt. And that was AWESOME. I'm finding I can eke a few more miles out of my knee if I go really slow. And let me tell you something about running slow. It's AWESOME.

I had the highest of runners' highs. I've heard people say you're running too fast if you can't talk and too slow if you can sing. Well, I could sing. I know this because I actually did a few times when a good song came on. I was just so happy! So happy I could have cried. A few tears might have even leaked out in front of the Taco Bell while I was waiting for the light to change. (Don't tell.) Endorphins and good music - that's one lethal combination.

But wait, that's not all! Jason and I celebrated one year of marriage last night. This year has flown by and I can't believe our anniversary is already here. We had such a great time eating, drinking and, of course, enjoying the best of company.

Once upon a time

The marvelously authentic Cynthia at Adventures of a Pretend Cook tagged me with this bad boy.

And since I'm not at all stylish I decided to make this post about something else. These "seven things about myself" are organized by emotion. Seven (or more) profound moments in my life. (Warning - these are personal. Please don't make fun of me or go posting them on the internet or something.)

Embarrassment
I hated my life in Junior High. Didn't everybody? I had no self confidence and a few friends that didn't have much confidence in me either. There was one girl in particular who was especially bad for me. I think she kept me around because I made her feel better about herself, and I hung around because she did things like sit at the right lunch table. In retrospect I can't believe I was friends with her. Then again, I also feel proud that I was able to recognize the situation at age 14 and make a very conscious decision to find myself a completely different set of friends. (And I did.)

Anyway, I pooped at her house one time and clogged the toilet. She kept exclaiming, "Gross! Who clogged the toilet?!" (Which was so ridiculous because she clearly knew it was not her and, therefore, me.) I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Sadness
It just goes to show how lucky I am. The fact that my only memories of overwhelming sadness have to do with a boy. Oh the drama...too much to write about on a blog. I used to say that I didn't believe in soulmates because it was too depressing to think that you had found yours and it didn't work out. But life continued on. I was blessed with another great love - my husband - and I am emphatically aware of all the reasons why he is better for me.

Surprise
Walking up to the list of girls who made the cheerleading squad my freshman year of high school and seeing my name on the list. They overlooked the pretty and popular requirement the year I tried out.

Anxiety
I have had one panic attack in my life. It was a couple years ago, and it had to do with work. I'm not going to get into the details, but my company took a big loss and I felt responsible. I thought I was having a heart attack. And then I started panicking about that. It wasn't fun. I wouldn't recommend having one.

Regret
When I was in the seventh grade I watched a boy try and talk a girl with down syndrome into eating a cookie that had fallen on the ground. Okay...but it was almost completely covered with ants. I was appalled, but I didn't say anything. Nobody said anything, but that isn't really an excuse. I still feel sick thinking about it.

Joy
I'm going to skip over the obviously joyful moments like my wedding and mention a few of the seemingly small, but quietly significant, moments in my life.

The first note of the first song, during the first All-State Women's choir practice my senior year of high school. Sitting in my car on an autumn day my junior year of college, listening to Chanticleer and watching the leaves fall from the trees. Talking and laughing with friends after high school choir concerts. Every single one of them. Driving through the Colorado Rockies, listening to my amazingly talented friend sing along with the CD player. He will be famous one day. The clank of heels against the hardwood stage floors at piano competitions. Opening night of our high school musical productions. Closing night of our high school musical productions.

Anybody notice a pattern?

Pride
Jogging two laps around the track without stopping for the first time.

I tag 5K Rae. Mostly because she has no idea who I am or that I read her blog. What do you say Rae? I totally understand if you don't want to write the post, but let's hold off on the restraining order until we get to know each other a little better.

This post is about yoga

I was all set up to tell you about our ski trip Friday. About how I was surprised with free ski rentals, and how my knee didn't start hurting until the afternoon.

That's not me. Please. I have too much fear for those shenanigans. No, I make desperate pleas like, "Let's just not go on a black for the first run," and then try to keep up when the adrenaline junkies don't listen. I'm far better at these kinds of poses.

But I didn't get around to blogging on Saturday. So then I was going to tell you about my (what turned out to be) 7.7 mile run on Sunday. I was going to tell you how I stocked my iPod full of soothing music and made myself run slow. About how I didn't feel any knee pain until mile 7.25.

I would have mentioned that my training plan (the one I put together before the reality of my limitations set in) called for 8 miles. I so badly wanted to finish! But I reminded myself of my goals and stopped when a twinge turned into something more.

I even considered blogging about breaking out my new headlamp for a fast, pain-free 3 mile run tonight. And how I SWEAR it started to snow! Ever so slightly...

But all I ever write about is running. So I've decided to make this post about yoga. Yesterday - after waiting in line 15 minutes to change into a sports bra and an itty bitty pair of shorts - I realized I left my water bottle in my car. Have you ever worked out for 90 minutes in 105 degrees without water? I have now.

Cheesy boobs

I was so busy telling you about my 2011 fitness goals, I didn't even mention we went to Hawaii over New Years!

For a wedding...

Say CHEEEESE!!!

And then one of my "cleavage" just for fun.

The weather was so BEA-U-TI-FUL and we had an amazing time! There may be a few people out there who would give me a hard time for saying I'm FREEZING back here in California!

In other news, I went for my first run since that really bad one the other week. A friend and I had been planning on starting up weekly track workouts in 2011 and today was the day. It was just what I needed! I feel so much better after running and so much more optimistic about my knee! It didn't hurt at all until the very end and then only a teeny tiny bit. It seems like I'm pretty set for 3 miles. Who knows, maybe 2011 will be the year of the 5K...

My 2011 fitness goal dissertation

Happy New Year!

Yeah, yeah. I know it's January 5th. But you have no idea the hours upon hours I have spent dreaming up, analyzing, re-working and prioritizing my 2011 fitness goals. Now I can only hope that it won't take you equally long to read this post. (Sorry!)

These goals are in a particular order.

MY MUST MEET GOALS

1) Be smart about injuries. This used to say something like "injury free." But why not set myself up for success instead? And since I believe goals should be measurable, "smart" means the following:

• No running in pain. I'll tolerate a little twinge here and there, but no aggravating an injury just to get a run in.


• Strength training. Some of my muscle groups are definitely stronger than others (i.e. I can barely fit my rockin' calves in ski boots, yet strain my hip muscles every other time I run up a hill.). I'm also aware of a few left vs. right side imbalances (besides just my lips). I'm hoping tackling some of these issues will ultimately help heal and prevent injuries.


• Vitamins. Believe it or not, I didn't even think about this until Page made the recommendation. And seeing as how she could probably run a marathon in the time it takes me to tie my shoes, I'm going to listen. Thanks Page!


• Stretch and ice. I accidentally just typed pie instead of ice. What do you suppose that means?

2) Keep running. No longer than one week without going for a run. It doesn't matter how fast or how far, I just want to keep running.

Note: I may need YOUR help next year remembering how to count (i.e. 1 comes before 2, which comes before 3, 4 and 5 etc.).

WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO DO IF MY KNEE LETS ME

3) Complete the Northern California Half Marathon Series. In order to complete the series you have to run four out of about a dozen half marathons in Northern California. I'm pretty much set on running the Oakland Running Festival, the Healdsburg Half Marathon and the Walnut Creek Half Marathon. The jury's still out on half marathon #4, but I'm leaning towards the Lake Chabot Trail Challenge.

4) Run a full marathon. My first marathon...whoa. "Wait a second!" You might say. "I've seen your sidebar and there's a marathon there!" Okay, yeah. That's true. This is the one and only marathon I have ever entered and I did, in fact, complete it. But it was far from ideal. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I was happy to cross it off my bucket list and vowed never to do one again.

Well, I've changed my mind. I need a redo. I want to wipe that race from my history and run my first marathon again. And let me be clear. My goal is to run* a full marathon. Not walk a full marathon. Not race a full marathon. Not finish a full marathon.

*Walking through aid stations is acceptable.

5) Beat some times. Before "the knee" I had the times below in mind. They felt a little intimidating, but I also felt excited for and up to the challenge. I typically set time goals I know I can achieve and purposely decided to shoot for the numbers I really wanted instead. Unfortunately, hitting these targets would require some serious training that is not currently happening due to said "knee."

• Run a half marathon in under 1:50
• Run a 10K in under 50:00
• Run a 5K in under 24:00

MY BACK UP PLAN

My stupid knee is forcing me to do something I am really bad at. I mean worse than peeing while standing up kind of bad at. And that is - drum roll please - going with the flow. But my knee isn't really into being predictable. So I'm tossing a few ideas around in case I have to throw out goals 3-5.

• Lots more yoga. I've done a 30 day challenge, but maybe I could do a 100 day challenge or something.


• Learn to swim and/or bike since I am, after all, intrigued by the concept of a traithlon.


• Join a cheerleading squad. Say what?!?! For those of you that don't know, I was a cheerleader in a former life and actually coached high school cheerleading for a couple years. I considered trying out for this squad for a couple years, but never took the plunge.


• Try something completely new. Like ballet.

One cannot go wrong with a Harry Potter reference

It's January 3rd and I still haven't posted anything about my 2011 goals. Hard to believe considering they were selected, chiseled in stone and sung by a fat lady about a month ago. So what's the hold up? My stupid ass knee. That's what.

Up until my last run I was under the delusion that a month of light running and yoga would be remedy enough. But it wasn't. So I'm rewriting my goals before I fail.

Giving up before I even started is a bummer. But that's life, right? Nothing, especially a training plan, goes as planned. What's worse is the panic that seems to have taken hold of me. Maybe there's a vagabond dementor camped out on my couch that my muggle eyes can't see. Or maybe my company's safety slogan has finally sunk in: "What's the worst that could happen?"

Because all I can seem to think is:

WHAT IF I NEVER RUN AGAIN?

Pretty please - with sugar and a cherry on top - tell me I'm being ridiculous.

The perfect man

I ran 6.7 miles today. And it hurt. In the knee. And this made me very, very sad. It kind of makes me want to cry (out of sadness, not pain). I have big plans for 2011 that may not come to fruition if this keeps up. And that's all I'm going to say about that. It's just too depressing to discuss further.

On a happier note, I signed up for the Run for the BLING of it Challenge 2011. That means 12 races in 12 months. (So unless you want to read 12 5K recaps you better start praying for my friggin' knee and praying hard!) I'm excited to race, and even more excited to meet a few (more) great running bloggers!

On an unrelated topic, how about one more Christmas picture? Truth be told, I'm mostly posting this to remind you that I don't always look like this.

On an even further and completely unrelated to running topic...

Christmas: the running

Introducing Big Green.

The world's largest watch in the entire world. Holy crap. I've never seen a bigger watch in the whole wide world.

All the more for me to love.

Christmas: the presents...er...family

Christmas: the ornaments

Alternatively titled: Take another guess as to what's filling our wall of shelves.

And while we're on the topic of ornaments...

Dreaming of a pink Christmas

Super Happy Merry Christmas to me!! My new Newton running shoes arrived in the mail the other day.

After much deliberation, I finally bit the bullet and shelled out the dough for the shoes I really wanted. Shoes that were made for me. As I write this I feel a bit like I'm confessing to my support group, "Hello. My name is Laura. And I'm a forefoot runner."

And I always have been. It just hasn't always been cool. Beginning in junior high when my dad would tease me about the funny way I ran down the basketball court. (Which is pretty remarkable considering the amount of time I spent on the bench. My dad was very considerate in never teasing me about that.) I used to try and make myself run heel-toe because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. But as soon as I got tired I would always revert back to my forefoot.

I remember discussing the topic with other runner friends and saying things like, "I don't know why I run this why." And, "It just feels a lot easier." They would always reply by suggesting I build up strength in particular muscle groups or buy different shoes. (Looks like I listened to their advice in the end!)

It wasn't until this year when a co-worker suggested I read Born to Run that the stars aligned and all became right with the world. I ran around for the next month proclaiming, "This book validated my life!" Literally. That's what I said.

Now I know I could just trot along on my forefoot in regular, old running shoes. But I'm excited to try a shoe made for forefoot running. And I was a sucker for a few of their other selling points:

• They're light and (let's hope) fast!
• The mesh top felt great when I gave them a test drive at the Malibu Half Marathon expo!
• I'll know I need to replace them when the lugs wear to the shoe. (Usually I just wait until I get bored with my old shoes and feel like a change.)
• In the product description there's a bullet under Midfoot that says, "ETC anti-friction, anti-bacterial sockliner." I'm not getting my hopes up yet, but I'm hoping (Wups! Looks like hope has been spent.) that this will help prevent blisters.

And let's not forget. THEY'RE PINK!!!

The limiting factor

Once upon a time I was a weight lifter. Nothing hardcore, just a few curls here and a few presses there. When I found a weight especially heavy I also found it especially difficult NOT to make this face. (Note that I'm lifting the left side of my upper lip in the picture below. My involuntary lips curls were always on the right side of my upper lip. This will be important later...)

But then I stopped lifting weights and Elvis Presley left my lips. Until now. For the last week or so he's crept back in every time I try and pull my leg much higher than my head in this pose. (Picture featuring random internet lady.)

The curious thing about this phenomena is that I can't actually raise the right side of my upper lip on my own accord. If I make an attempt it ends up looking like this.

I'm not sure which is more embarassing. Making an Elvis face in yoga class or posting these pictures on the internet. Seriously. I look really bad.

From the archives

I ran my very first race (well, my first race longer than 200 meters anyway) at age 23. It was a 10K and I won. I should clarify...I placed first in my age/sex group.

Okay, there's one more little bitty detail. There were a grand total of four people in that group. And the other three girls finished within seconds of each other and right around an hour and a half. If my 68 year old mother had been a part of our group she probably could have walked herself to a second place finish.

They sent me a ribbon in the mail but I threw it out because I didn't feel like it counted. That's not the best part of the story though.

I ran the race with my roommate at the time. He proudly hung his 3rd place ribbon on our balcony door handle for months. There were three people in his group.

In current events...

For those of you who correctly identified Yoda atop our tree, care to take a crack at what's filling the shelves?

The eye of the storm

I've been a little remiss in posting this week. But only because I didn't want to bore you. You need only to look to my blog title to know what I've been up to.

I did also make it to yoga once. Superwoman (That's what Kelsea and I call her.) was teaching and I barely made it out alive. The room is always unquestionably hotter when she teaches. And I laced up my tired, old pair of Adidas' once. The plan was to run one mile, but I was feeling so good I decided to go crazy and run two. How about that?

I did leave one unfortunate detail out of my Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas race report. My extreme knee pain. I started to feel it during the race but pushed through it. Which probably wasn't the best thing to do, because it only grew increasingly worse throughout the rest of the day. I was kind of bummed out about this because I've never really had knee problems before and wasn't really interested in starting.

The good news is it was completely gone by Tuesday and held up just fine during my run. And I only felt the very slightest twinge of irritation during one yoga pose. Still, I'm going to take it easy through the rest of the month. You might catch me cuddled on the couch, eating bags of Christmas cookies, watching Home Alone and enjoying this guy! (Don't worry. I have big off-the-couch plans for 2011...)

Points go to anyone who names our tree topper.

Paparazzi on the run

Good morning! The most amazing weekend started off with the most earliest Saturday morning flight to Las Vegas. Don't let those tired eyes fool you. I was giddy with excitement and anxious anticipation. And by the time we had landed and met up with my Team Challenge teammates, my non-alcoholic buzz had turned to full-fledged drunk. Maybe it was knowing I planned to put my all into this race. Maybe it was the energy wafting from my teammates running their first half. Or maybe I had finally woken up. Regardless of the reason, I was feeling good.

From there we shuttled to the hotel, checked in, peed, snacked and headed towards the expo. It was as we stood in line for shuttle #2 of the day that Jason started in with some teenage hysterics. If you're like me you'll take a look at the thuggie boys standing next to one of the buses and wonder what the big fuss was all about. If you're like Jason you'll know that one of those gentlemen is Method Man. (That's right. That there's a link to his Wikipedia page. You know, for the occasional blogging runner unfamiliar with '90s rap.)

The expo itself was an experience. There were a ton of vendors, a few great products and even more people. I walked away feeling confident in my Christmas wishlist and with a Halo headband. There's a rubber-like strip on the bottom of the headband that's supposed to redirect sweat away from your face. I was sold after one look at their snazzy demonstration model. While I don't drip sweat while I'm running, I definitely pour buckets in the yoga studio, and I'm hoping this will do the trick.

I don't really have anything to say about this other than I thought it was funny.

Unfortunately no amount of runners high or retail therapy kept me from getting grumpy and claustrophobic. There were too many people to maintain a healthy bubble of personal space. At one point some guy turned and walked straight into me. I stormed forward, eager to find some breathing room. He put his hands on my shoulders from behind and told me he was sorry, but I wasn't having it! I mumbled a sorry under my breathe in a tone that said something more like, "Watch where you're going dickwad!" and continued to charge ahead.

Jason was a few feet behind me and managed to get a picture of the back of his head.

As well as the front of his head.

Excuse me, WHAT?!?! My turn for some teenage hysterics!!! Uh, turns out random body check came from...oh...you know...Mark McGrath!!! Only the lead singer of Sugar Ray and subject of my high school celebrity crush! (I've decided not to link to his Wikipedia page because I want you to do your own Google image search on this guy.) Don't worry. I learned my lesson. Be patient. At least until you know who you're dealing with.

After the expo we grabbed some lunch and snuck in a nap. Dinner was magnificent, but I'm going to save it for my Team Challenge recap. Let's just get to the point already.

The expo was good practice for the race. There were so many people! I started in corral #13 and learned a valuable lesson. Under predict your finish time by A LOT. I was weaving in and out of people for the first four miles! (And I'm going to pretend like that had nothing to do with starting off too fast.)

I checked my watch after the first mile, and it read 8:26. I knew this was faster than I wanted to go, but didn't worry too much about it. I always let the race atmosphere get the best of me and run my first mile fast. No problem. "Just back off," I told myself. My goal was to run between a 9:00 and a 9:10 pace for the first 8 miles and then reassess.

But then I went and ran the second mile at around an 8:45 pace. "Whoa, Laura. Relax." Said my head. My legs had a different plan. Miles three and four were pretty much a repeat of mile two. That's when I got greedy. I was feeling good. I started thinking I might be able to sustain that pace for the whole race. I didn't bother doing the math because I didn't want to jinx it, but the idea of super-sub-2 was seductive.

And I did hold onto that pace until about mile 6.5 when I caught up to the 2 hour pace group. I didn't know what corral they started in but knew they must have started a few minutes before I did. I don't remember feeling especially tired, but it must have been slowly sneaking in because I told myself to pull back and run with the pace group until mile 10.

That plan lasted all of maybe a half mile. There were too many people crowded around the pace leader, and the longer I hung around the more frustrated I got. By mile seven I had had enough and sprinted ahead of the group like I was running from Mark McGrath.

It wasn't too long after that that the reality of my body's limitations started to kick in. I could feel my pace slipping. I figured as long as I stayed ahead of the pace group I was okay. And even though they stayed out of sight, I continued to slow down. By mile nine I was ready to be done.

I went into "just keep moving" mode. I tried to give myself little pep talks:

• "Just remember that no matter what pain you're feeling right now, it's nothing compared to what Stacey's had to endure with Crohn's. This one's for Stacey. Don't let her down."
• "Just pretend like these are Kelsea's legs, and she's stepping in to finish the race for you."
• "This is a choice. Your body can do this. You just have to make the choice to run in a place that's uncomfortable."

Except for my body couldn't do it. As it turns out, these races aren't completely mental. There is also a physical element and mine was breaking down. The only self-coaching I was able to respond to was, "Just don't stop running. Put one foot in front of the other, and don't stop."

Around mile 12 an angel came and saved me. It was my 6 foot 60 inch teammate (Can you pick him out in a line up?). There was his head, bobbing up and down above the sea of heads way off in the distance. It was just what I needed. I vowed to catch up to him. And even though it took me the better part of that last mile, I did. I couldn't have dreamt of a better finish.

The rest of the day followed suit. We ate the most amazing brunch - veggie omelette, potatoes, bacon, ice cream and bottomless mimosas! (Why is it that food tastes so incredibly good after burning 1300 calories?) And slept pretty much all afternoon. Once rested we celebrated our victories with margaritas and guacomole at the Northern California Team Challenge after party!

After some pizza in bed we called it a night. Pizza in bed. Does it get any better than that?

One habit I picked up in Sin City

I travelled to Las Vegas this July to celebrate a friend's bachelorette party. In August I signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon with Team Challenge. And right now, as I write this post, I feel at a loss for words. Or rather, there are so many words I pretty much don't know where to start. This weekend I realized how truly life changing the whole process of training has been.

I attribute most of my emotional surplus to Team Challenge. I've been somewhat hesitant to write too much about Team Challenge throughout training because I didn't want my 2 - 3 readers to think the purpose of my blog was to solicit donations. Now that fundraising is behind me I feel like I'm on safe ground. So be on the lookout for a Team Challenge recap.

This weekend also served as one big, colossal milestone for me personally. Last week Kelsea described me as a "yo-yo runner," and I think she pretty much hit the nail on the head. Since a mere pre-teen I have picked up and put down running about a millon and a half dozen times. And I've never held onto it long enough to make any significant progress. This is probably the reason I never have and still can't seem to call myself a runner.

But as I look back on the last six months, I can't help but feel proud of how far I've come. I was running one mile a day in July when I last visited Las Vegas. I remember saying to one of my marathoner girlfriends, "I wonder if they have any marathons or half marathons on the strip. That'd be pretty cool." And now here I am having finished one.

I remember feeling a sense of accomplishment when I started running under an 11:00 min/mile pace and under a 10:00 min/mile pace. I was thrilled to beat my 5K PR, and floored when I ran a 10K with an average pace under 9:00 min/mile. I couldn't believe how good I felt after cutting 10 minutes off my half marathon time in Malibu, and started to believe I might not be an athletic retard when I beat my 5K PR again. By more than 4 minutes.

And then there was Las Vegas. I called my mom this morning to tell her how the half marathon went. I'm going to go ahead and spoil the end of my (will be posted soon) race recap by summarizing our conversation.

Mom: And how long did it take you?
Me: 1:56:48
Mom: Oh good! I know you wanted to finish in less than 2 minutes.
Me (chuckling): I'm not quite that fast.
Mom: Well, what does 1:56 mean then? Does that mean 1 hour and 56...?
Me: Mom. Do you really think it's possible to run 13 miles in 2 minutes?

We both had a good laugh over that. My mom and her orders of magnitude...

But all of that falls in the shadow of the death grip I have on running. This race marked a turning point. I don't plan on quitting this time around.

Pick on someone your own size

I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog to, "I'd (probably) rather be Kelsea." I've already painted blog-character-Kelsea like Superwoman (here and here), and she's about to get even more kudos in this post.

You see, we've had this on-going debate about whether it's acceptable to tell someone it looks like they've lost weight. Kelsea always maintained that it's rude because it's really saying, "I recognized that you were fatter before." I always considered it a compliment on the accomplishment of losing the weight. Today I joined Kelsea's team.

Before I tell you about how I was recruited, let me start with some background info. My calves and my quads are feeling a little sore after my (maybe too?) speedy 5 mile run Wednesday. I went to yoga yesterday thinking it would help, but I think it just made it worse. And I'm kind of freaking out about it. I have this half marathon thing on Sunday, and I want my legs to be fresh.

So at 9:00 pm last night I ate an entire Chipotle burrito. I woke up this morning, shovelled my usual oatmeal into my mouth and washed it down with a donut. Before I knew it I was sitting across the lunch table from Jason. Four tacos in and I was swirling rice and beans around my American proportioned plate.

Me: "I'm stuffed."
Jason (sarcastically): "Well, you should probably keep eating then."
Me: "I have this weird and surely inaccurate notion that if I eat more my muscles will heal faster."
Jason: "I think it's probably just going to make you poop more."

Despite my better judgement and unsettled stomach, I finished my plate and went back to work. Funny that this afternoon, of all afternoons, would be the afternoon that one of my co-workers would decide to tell me that I'm losing too much weight.

What followed was a pretty awkward and unpleasant conversation, during which I tried to explain that while I have lost some weight I'm neither currently losing or trying to lose weight. He came back with a nice, little lecture on how, "losing weight can be good, but there comes a point..." blah blah blah. Argghhh!!!

I wanted to scream at him, "Look buddy! I know! That's why I'm not on a diet! That's why I always eat when I'm hungry! I just happen to run a lot, and I happen to not have fat genes. Go mind your own scale!"

I've had a number of people comment on my weight over the last several months. Today was just the last straw. Some comments have been complimentary, but some have been subtly insulting. And a couple, like this one, have been directly offensive and condescending. So now I agree with Kelsea. Please do not comment on my weight, unless you want to tell me the things I know are true. I am healthy. I am strong. My body is capable and smokin' hot.

Anyway, he must have sensed my frustration because he tried to recover by saying, "Maybe it's your hair that's different." What a ridiculous thing to say. We all know it's been ages since I did anything to my hair.

A few highlights

1) After I kicked the turkey's ass in the Walnut Creek 5K, I got to thinking that I might be underestimating myself. Really what I'm saying here is that I'm afraid to set goals there's a chance I can't reach. And that's stupid. Life's about taking risks, right?

This is what I was thinking when our Team Challenge coach gave his schpeal on how, "It's okay to run in a place that's uncomfortable." Right. It's not a question of what I can do and what I can't do. It's a question of comfort. The 5K showed me how much more I'm capable of if I let myself become "uncomfortable."

And this is what I was thinking when I opened up my Google Reader and saw this post on the Oh Healthy Day blog. I stopped thinking, and I decided. I'm shooting for a sub 2 hour half marathon in Las Vegas. I'm going for it. THIS SUNDAY.

2) Our Team Challenge coach also gave us a stern lecture on not wearing anything new on race day. I listened quietly, knowing full well that I plan on wearing a new shirt and two new pairs of socks. Yes, two. These socks are my next anti-blister plan of attack. I feel so rebellious.

3) My calves hurt for 4 days after the Walnut Creek Turkey Trot.

4) I did some speed work on the track on Saturday anyway. I was pretty excited to get out there during the daylight. Unfortunately all that meant was I was able to see all the puddles, mud, goose poop and random benches and tables really well. I had to jump back and forth between the track and football field. And, not surprisingly, managed to slide in the mud and fall down halfway through my first 800m. Beautiful.

5) I love 105 degree yoga in the winter. This is exactly where I wanted to be last night.

6) I went for a cold, dark 5 mile run tonight. I took a handheld flashlight. Pretty sure I looked like a strobe light running down the street. An elementary-school-aged boy out collecting the mail sprinted back into his house when he saw me coming. Intimidated by my beauty probably. Oh puberty.

7) My calves are sore again.

8) I'm pretty excited for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon this weekend.

9) It's been ages since I got a haircut. My color is looking a little dull too. What do you think? Brown or light red?

Dark red?
Bright red?
Or blonde highlights?