Friday, April 30, 2010

One more day to Eugene!

By the way, in case you're wondering about my counting on all of this, "one more day" in this instance is Saturday as we're already in Friday and then Sunday is the race.  If it doesn't make sense, I blame it all on the stats counter and my liberal arts degree.

Got the carpet carnage all cleaned up, bills all paid, dishes all done, rugs all washed.  CilleyMom will be arriving in a couple of hours and then we're going to get pre-race pedicures (I'm thinking some sort of green polish in honor of Eugene), hit the grocery store and the running store, then off for some sort of pasta for me and CilleyMom wants garlic shrimp. 

Tomorrow will be planning and packing and then driving on down to Eugene so you probably won't hear from me until after the race.  From my hospital bed.  Thanks again to everyone for their well wishes (and their concern for my probable drug problem -- I actually rarely keep strong meds in the house because of a family history of addiction and because I will take them if they are here), I owe some of you a personal response and I will get to it!  Know that I've answered you very eloquently in my head; it's just that pesky typing it out part that is slowing me down.  Where are the Tommyknockers when you need them?

I'm off to either mow the yard or clean the bathroom.  Or both.  And there's still a shower in my future.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend :)

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Two days and counting until Eugene!

I had some successful abusing at the chiropractor yesterday afternoon.  Afterwards I felt like a pretzel made of wet noodles that had been smashed with a rubber mallet.  Four advil, two tylenol, two tylenol PM and two freaking vicodin later (and sadly, I am not making this up), I drugged my aches and pains into enough submission that I could sleep somewhat soundly for about three hours. 

Why did I decide to try for my first marathon six months before my 40th birthday?  Without any tequila in the house whatsoever??

I must have been on drugs then too.

I have started to put together my to-do list for this weekend.  It goes something like this:
  1. Clean the bathroom.
  2. Clean out the den so Mom has somewhere to sleep.
  3. Charge up air pump for the aero bed so Mom has something to sleep on.
  4. Shampoo all the dog fur and various dog carnage out of the living room carpet.
  5. Hide all contraband in the house from Mom.
  6. Get Gu and Hammergels.
  7. Get Endurolytes.
  8. Check iPod.
  9. Complete pre-race sushi ritual.
  10. Check stockpile of sports drink and granola bars and replenish if necessary.
  11. Teach Mom how to use smartphone.
  12. Remind Mom how to use smartphone.
  13. Write out instructions for Mom on how to use smartphone.
  14. Write out explicit instructions for Mom on how to use smartphone.
  15. Write out explicit instructions with diagrams and pictures for Mom on how to use smartphone.
Yes, a good time will be had by all!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Three days and counting to Eugene!

The weather is apparently much nicer in Eugene than it is in CilleyLand right now.  Thankfully.  All this rain up here and I was starting to make race outfit adjustments.  I don't want rain :(  So far, the forecast for Sunday is holding steady at partly cloudy with a high of 66, a low of 44, and a 20% chance of rain. 

And in case you're wondering, if you are from the Pacific Northwest your skills at reciting weather forecasts are excellent, particularly when precipitation is involved.  I imagine it is similar to those folks from tornado-prone areas.

I am having a much better bad day today, by which I mean it is much less about my personal crap and more about other crap like discovering I've perpetuated the same stupid typo throughout the five complaints I drafted yesterday plus the spellcheck got turned back on for words in all caps and it is supposed to be OFF.  Otherwise, you get new and interesting typos in your complaint captions. 

I'm off to the chiro shortly to fix my John Wayne leg so I should probably eat a sandwich first or something.  And I got nothing much else to say at the moment.  I'll let you know if any inspiration strikes later on.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Four days and counting to Eugene!

Thanks so much for all of the comments and support!  I'm really not a very sappy kind of a CilleyGirl, but this all means so much to me, words can not say.  Some of my friends I keep in touch with via Facebook -- many of whom I've known since junior high or high school -- are planning their flower orders now to have something on Sunday to drape over my corpse, directions to which I have conveniently provided them a link.  ;)  Actually, the conversation at first was, I've ordered your flowers but I won't be able to find your corpse.  Then another friend pointed out that they'd know exactly where I was thanks to my timing chip.  I love my friends.

Welcome new followers!  Oh, and Louise -- I still owe you a response to your e-mail :)  With this back/hip thing, my kitchen chairs (where my computer is) hurt my ass so I do most of my typing at work lately (with the comfy chair) and your e-mail is on the home computer and I keep forgetting I need to answer it, yadda yadda yadda, you get the picture. 

Well, the physicality of my back/hip thing continues, but the musculature of it all feels much better today -- less pain, less stiffness, less swelling.  That first step when I get up (onto the left leg, with the worse quad pain) isn't so bad at the moment.  I'm wondering if the big gatorade I had this morning had anything to do with that.  I have no idea how much potassium I get on a regular basis, but I know I don't add salt to foods; combined with the fact that I tend to drink a lot of water regularly (we're talking five or six 32 oz cups at least each day) I might tend to be overhydrated and under-electrolyted.  Or however you would say that.  For the remainder of the week, I plan to take in plenty of potassium and sodium in my beverages. 

On to other marathon notes.  I came across this quote on the site of my good bloggy friend the Radioactive Girl (who is SO not a heifer -- don't make me come over there and kick your skinny bum):
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
It's by Theodore Roosevelt, with whom I share a birth date (give or take 112 years).  Together with the comments from her and other posters, I'm a lot less nervous about all the spectators on the course. 

It's also now my "screw you!" to those fasthole types who do get out there but then wonder why I even bother trying to race when I'm not much faster than a basic walking stride.  I don't think I've been giving myself enough credit for planning to do this marathon.  I know I'm slow.  I know I'm in shit shape.  I know I'm really not kidding when I say my goal is to finish before the course closes -- and that it may be a near thing.  I know I am not the better athlete in terms of physical ability, but can they stick through it as long as I have to?  Marathon training is supposed to train you to get through the physical and mental aspects of being out there -- for them, that's only about three hours.  Three hours?  Piece of cake! 

In case you can't tell, I've been somewhat bothered by a few things lately.  I don't want to hurt any feelings so I won't get into it.  I can say that I have some really, truly great friends.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl 

Monday, April 26, 2010

Latest update from NW Running League...

.... has me leading (by quite a few points) my league group!  Slow people rock!!

I got my bib number (155) this morning for Eugene.  I have added a widget to post real time updates to my Facebook page, so if you want to follow along e-mail me at cilleygirl (at) comcast (dot) net and I will send you my actual name to friend me (shameless plug for friends here too).  You can also follow along at the Eugene Marathon site or there is an iPhone app as well. 

Tentative weather forecast for Sunday is partly cloudy and a 20% chance of rain with a high of 65 and a low of 40.  Here's hoping the chance of rain goes to zero!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

From Saturday's PR to Sunday's DNF

Quite an eventful weekend for the CilleyGirl. 

Saturday I ran the Earth Day Advantage 5K, and I PRd!!  An official race recap is here.  My take on the race was that it was a good course.  There was one hill right at the two mile marker, which sucked the life out of a lot of runners but not me!  Except for walking through the aid station, I ran the whole damn thing.  My legs felt great throughout and I think I even picked up the pace towards the end.  Official time:  0:37:08, for an average pace of 11:57 per mile.  That was what I was hoping for as the race progressed, to have my time be under twelve minutes per mile.  That put me 16/26 in my age group (which may be the best I've ever done -- so far!) and 124/188 for all women.  Being Earth Day and all, they had veggies burgers afterwards (not too bad, needed some cheese IMHO as they were a little dry given the burger to bun ratio), organic beer (I passed, too early in the morning for me to drink solo), plus lots of other healthy giveaways. 

Unfortunately, the apparent trade off for a PR was yet another headache threatening to develop into a migraine.  I stuffed myself full of advil and headed off to the bellydance showcase.  It was great to see several of my former classmates and my instructor dance.  I hadn't realized how much I'd missed dancing, and they were all asking when I'd be back.  So I think a return to dance may be in my future.  I took some pics but with the stage lighting they didn't seem to turn out very well.  I'll see if any of them are decent enough to post.

I also went red this weekend as I planned.  Picture on that to come too.

Sunday I woke up sans headache but with familiar twinges in my back and legs.  I didn't want to go do another race but off I went, with grand ideas of how well I was going to do at this 10K.  Where I had to drop out at the 2K marker because out went the back and the hip yet again.  Tough to run when you feel like one leg will not hold your weight.  Of course, since I am slow anyways, I realized that soon the pack leaders would be heading back to finish.  I ended up chatting with the race volunteers on the way back so that I could stay out of the runners' way; I even pinned my bib on backwards (so it was just white) so that there was no chance they'd log me in as finishing.  My first DNF.  Ah well, it just wasn't worth trying to run through it so close to Eugene.  So a trip to the chiro is in my near future.

In case anyone (like me) is wondering if I'm just a whiny wuss, here's what is happening.  My low back pops out of place and sticks to the right.  It's like cocking your hip slightly to the side and then keeping it there.  At the same time, my pelvis becomes like a Rubik's Cube, with the left half of my pelvis torquing forward, which stretches that quad muscle oddly as my leg swings back and forth (i.e., when I'm walking), while the right half of my pelvis rotates backward and makes my right leg noticeably shorter.  This presses on a nerve in my right leg, making it feel like my leg will collapse when I put weight on it.  I naturally tend towards being swaybacked because of years of back problems which gets worse as I get tired, so that too pulls oddly on both quad muscles.  I also have this nifty impression of John Wayne going on. 

I can alleviate a lot of the issues from this when I'm just walking around if I keep my abs pulled in tightly.  I'm thinking this means I should have done any more ab work during training.  Guess what I will be working on after the marathon?  Unfortunately, it doesn't really work when I'm running, there is too much pressure on the nerve. 

This is what happens when you take a chubby, out of shape moose of a CilleyGirl and put the idea in her head to go do a marathon.  Hindsight and all that. 

But I am not discouraged!  Chiro will torque it all back in place, and I will be very well rested -- as I was for Saturday's PR -- for Sunday's marathon.  I bought nice, healthy food to eat this week, and I plan to eat it:  chicken caesar salad wraps for a couple of days, chicken tetrazzini, and then chicken and mashed potatoes.  I love that a marathon gives me an excuse to indulge in my mashed potato fetish.  (Nice visual I gave you there, yeah?)  I LOVE mashed potatoes with gravy.  We usually mash up about five pounds of potatoes for Thanksgiving.  For three of us. 

Well, I am off to a birthday celebration lunch.  Happy Monday! 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Eugene Marathon Preview

The people at Run Oregon posted a great mile-by-mile preview of the Eugene course this week, so for those who don't read their blog or who aren't local I thought I'd share:

Miles 1 to 6.
Miles 7 to 12.
Miles 13 to 18.
Mile 19 to the finish.

What really got me on reading this was I guess I hadn't really thought about all of the people.  The other runners, sure, although I don't think I've yet comprehended just how large this race will be.  But it's the spectators I hadn't considered.  I've only run before a large group of people once before, for the Starlight Run that goes on before Portland's Starlight Parade.  I only vaguely remember being aware of the crowds when I was running (the fact that it was about 98 degrees with 98% humidity for that race helped) so I don't think they'll factor in to my race on Sunday, but it's the only thing so far that has made me jittery about the marathon. 

Hope to see a few folks there on Sunday! 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Friday, April 23, 2010

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

Suddenly, the light is shot out.  The rebel forces have found me!  I give them a valiant chase through the jungle but eventually I am caught and brought before the rebel commander.  He is tall and lean and his biceps glisten in the moonlight.  I am helpless to resist as he insists I be taken away, to be outfitted more appropriately in his rebel commander presence.  I know he means to break my spirit as I see what I am to be dressed in:  that outfit Princess Leia had to wear on the slave ship with Jabba the Hutt.  Although my situation is dire, I can not help but notice that it looks amazing on me.  As they take me to their leader's tent in the steamy, steamy jungle, I know I will do what I must to complete my mission, even if it means

Oops, sorry.  Wrong blog.  My horoscope today said I should be ready for the romance -- serious romance -- that is coming my way soon.  So I -- and Brian, maybe you shouldn't read this -- cut four inches off the length of my hair this morning. 

As I've said many, many times before, my stylist Brian is amazing.  I love him.  I can't imagine my life without him.  So this was no reflection whatsoever on him.  In fact, it was the fact that I loved how the front of my hair falls (to just below my ears, if that makes sense) that I decided to cut off most of my hair in the back.   Every time I pulled it back in a ponytail to run, I would think how cute it looked, so I cut off the rest to match.  Luckily with naturally curly hair, it is very forgiving whenever I cut my hair (I haven't done it in years, Brian!!) so you can't tell that it is uneven.  And after I did it, for the first time in a long time (long, long time) I felt like I should maybe put on some makeup.  Without all that hair, you could see my face.

And next, I go red.

I really like my natural hair color.  It has a lot of different colors in it, from the silver that is coming in at my temples (looks like nifty blonde highlights) to a very dark brown, so that the overall effect is (as I like to think of it) a neat kind of caramel color.  I let it lighten naturally in the summer -- well, I help it a little bit with a diluted peroxide mixture during the week I spent at my mom's on vacation -- and so haven't colored it in ages.  As you may have noticed, I have extremely pale skin with lots of freckles and eyebrows that are darker than my natural hair color, plus eyes that seem to be leaning more towards green these days.  So I look good -- i.e., natural -- as a redhead or with a darker hair color.  This time I'm going copper. 

Gosh, I really may have to wear makeup. 

I'll do pictures!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Running Excuse No. 102: Rampaging beaver

"That sort of behavior is atypical for beavers.  'Most beavers are pretty docile,' Sallinger said."

(Gee, wonder if this will generate any sort of web traffic for me?  Normally I just get hits about running with big breasts.)

I had a fabulous run last night.  It didn't feel so fabulous when I was doing it, but it turned out I was doing a lot better than I felt.  I was also highly entertained by the extremely cute guy running with his wiener dog (not a euphemism).  Then I got home, where I had several voicemails waiting for me; long story short, I had to make a late night run out to the airport post office for work.  So I used a variant of Running Excuse No. 15 together with Running Excuse No. 20 to not run this morning.  I'll just save my legs for the weekend. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Good day, and welcome to Day 101!

After waking up on the third day of a killer headache that threatened to descend into migrainedom at any minute, I took a couple of extra hours this morning to sleep in and finally, finally have managed to make it go away.  I literally felt this huge ball of tension in my shoulder melt away, and that seems to have been the source of the problem.  Now I no longer want to cut off my own head (or anybody else's) with a dull hatchet.

Which means I also finally tracked down my training schedule so I could see, um, what I'm supposed to be doing that I'm actually not.  Ah well.  I have 100 excuses (and now, 101!) as to why not.  The past two days I really have had this weird clicking in my knee.  At least, I think it's my knee; I can't feel anything, I only hear it.  I've narrowed it down to my left leg.  Maybe I'm going to hatch alien cricket babies out of my leg.  They will be something for Amy's alien spider babies to eat when hers finally hatch.

This is Week 15 of my training.  Only 11 more days to go until the marathon.  Only 12 more days until I die.  Because of headachezilla, I didn't do the scheduled three miles yesterday.  I hope to do them tonight, and then if miracles occur and angels sing and I um get up early I will do five miles tomorrow.  Ha!  Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Sorry, I'm back.

What I do know I will be doing is switching Friday's three miles to Saturday as I am doing a 5K race as part of my running league.  Oooh, guess what?  I am currently in second place in my group!  I could get cash and stuff!  Sunday has eight miles scheduled, but instead I am doing another race, a 10K that is sponsored by one of the best -- how you say?  -- peoples around here who put these things on.  Good shirts, good schwag, good food, good organization.  Plus if I've remembered correctly, a 10K is the only race I am missing in my quest to race all the distances in 2010. 

It may be a busy weekend, what with the race doubleheader, plus I may or may not be shampooing my carpents in anticipation of my mom's visit next week for the marathon, and I want to go to the bellydance showcase going on this weekend as my old classmates and instructor are performing Saturday night.  I need a nap just thinking about all of this. 

For Week 16, I am supposed to run three miles, run three miles, walk three miles -- all on different days, in case you were wondering -- and then Sunday is the marathon.  I think I'll be booking my hospital room ahead of time. 

I feel like a schlub for petering out in the hardest weeks of marathon training, but I feel like a gigantic schlub for not managing to complete the last two, easiest weeks of marathon training.  Well, easiest except for that whole marathon thing.  I think I've already decided to do another half in July, the Lacamas Lake 1/2 marathon.  It's the one with the killer, seriously killer hill at the four mile mark (I did the four mile race part of this event last year).  I think you have to do that hill twice for the half marathon.  I may be insane.

Oh well, at least I'm a somewhat cheerful insane.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

For when you just can't make it out the door....

... here are 100 excuses as to why you didn't run today.
  1. I have a migraine.
  2. My hip hurts.
  3. My leg hurts.
  4. My ankle hurts.
  5. My foot hurts.
  6. I need new running shoes.
  7. Ferrets ate my shoes.
  8. My running clothes are all in the wash.
  9. It's raining.
  10. It's too hot out.
  11. It's too cold out.
  12. I didn't sleep well last night.
  13. I have moths.  Mutant, junkie moths.
  14. I have to go to work.
  15. I had to stay late at work.
  16. I forgot my iPod.
  17. I'm sick of all the songs on my iPod.
  18. My iPod won't work.
  19. Rabid gerbils have taken over the streets.
  20. It's that time of the month.
  21. It's my wife/girlfriend/sister/mom/grandmother's time of the month.
  22. My legs are too tired.
  23. My legs are nice and rested and I don't want to ruin that.
  24. They won't let me run with a gun.
  25. My gun flops around when I run and it's annoying.
  26. I need to catch up on my TiVo.
  27. My tummy hurts.
  28. My allergies are acting up.
  29. The snakes got off the monkey flying plane.
  30. I can't run in heels.
  31. The CIA called and I had to jet off to Rome.
  32. I was mugged by a chimpanzee.
  33. I tawt I taw a puddytat.
  34. The mother of all paper cuts.
  35. Freak stapler accident.
  36. My bib number was 666 and by the time I found a goat to sacrifice the race was already over.
  37. Octomom.
  38. I broke my tweeter.
  39. I refuse to run until I figure out who the hell Justin Bieber is and why I should care.
  40. Crocodiles.  Everywhere.
  41. I had to clean the litter box.
  42. Someone shaved my cat (Radioactive Girls only).
  43. Alien spider babies are hatching from my foot (Gazelles only).
  44. Cirque du Soleil called and they need me.
  45. Some kid asked me to stick my finger in a dike and I'm still here.
  46. I can't run in wooden shoes.
  47. The Village People were in town and they needed someone to fill in for the Cowboy.
  48. I can't run in assless chaps.
  49. I can't find vegan shoes.
  50. I just got a pedicure and I don't want to ruin it.
  51. My knee was making this weird clicking noise.
  52. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
  53. My giddyup got up and went.
  54. I overdosed on Gatorade.
  55. It's wabbit season.
  56. I'm the one who put the ram in the ram-a-lama-ding-dong and now I can't show my face on the street.
  57. Toga!  Toga!  Toga!
  58. I can't run in a toga.
  59. I gave up hills for Lent.
  60. It looked like muskrat love but it really wasn't and now I can't get it off my shoe.
  61. I forgot to charge my Garmin.
  62. I already did my 5,000 steps for the day.
  63. The treadmill won't work when the power goes out.
  64. I've developed an allergy to sweat.
  65. I forgot how to tie my shoelaces.
  66. I'm out of Gu.
  67. I can't find anyone to run with.
  68. I just found out I'm pregnant and it's never too early to worry about shaken baby syndrome.
  69. There's a sale at Macy's.
  70. I don't want to mess up my makeup.
  71. Chafing.
  72. I'm afraid of concrete.
  73. The track makes me dizzy.
  74. Batman called and he needs my help.
  75. I can't run in a codpiece.
  76. There were these donuts, see...
  77. My toe hurts.
  78. I wanted to get a head start on that letter to Santa.
  79. I can't run on days that end with a "y".
  80. Those dishes aren't going to do themselves.
  81. Couch monster.
  82. Groundhog Day is sacred to my people.
  83. I'm allergic to asphalt.
  84. I needed to find a bigger boat.
  85. Someone had to save the princess.
  86. My lightsaber needed batteries.
  87. I can never remember that it's "Beer before liquor, never sicker" and "Liquor before beer, never fear."
  88. I have a hangover.
  89. I was updating my Wikipedia entry and lost track of time.
  90. The Boston Marathon was on and I had to see how it ended.
  91. I'm behind on my blogging.
  92. That floor isn't going to vacuum itself.  It would be kind of creepy if it did.
  93. I pulled a groin muscle during the nude Jell-o wrestling championships last week.
  94. My sports bra blew a gasket.
  95. I shook my groove thing a little too hard last night.
  96. I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy and there's some sort of paperwork involved in all that.
  97. I'm a lover, not a runner.
  98. Apollo 13 was on and I had to see how it ended.
  99. The Masters tournament was on and I had to find a spork to gouge out my eyes with.
  100. I had to come up with 100 excuses not to run.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, April 19, 2010

Eighteen miles down, here I come Eugene!

I told you I would do 18 miles, and I did.  They were fairly slow miles, but they are now behind me.  I am ready to take on Eugene!

Where luckily they will have water and stuff.  I slept in LATE on Sunday.  Like, noon late.  So I started my run just as the day's temperature was really started to warm up.  It was around 75 degrees the whole time.  I am sunburned in odd spots, where I didn't think to put sunscreen.  It took me nearly five hours to complete 18 miles.  As I was heading home, I thought about my day:  Sleep in late, do 18 miles.  Is this the life, or hell?  It was a hard call.

I was glad to find out that my leg muscles were finally working properly again.  The chiropractor on Friday confirmed that yes, my pelvis was all torqued up.  My right leg was a full inch shorter than my left, it was so off-kilter.  I had some hip pain at the beginning of the run that worked itself out pretty quickly, and then didn't appear again until nearer the end of the run, when my hips always get tired and sore. 

I did a few things differently for this run, and I am glad I did although I did so many different things it's tough to narrow down what worked and what worked really really well. 

On the water issue, my fuel belt holds two ten ounce bottles, and I as I mentioned on my last long run that just wasn't enough.  This time I carried along a 33 ounce water bottle as well, and with the warmth of the day I am so glad I did.  It was one of those long, skinny bottles and very annoying to carry, but I ended up being so thirsty I drank most of it by the four mile mark and then stashed it away on the side of the trail with about 8 ounces left in it to pick up on the way back. 

That still left me drinking a lot of water during the run.  Close to the nine mile turnaround point, it turns out there is a trailhead station with water.  Yay!  I drank 20 or so ounces there and refilled both my bottles.  Sooooo happy there will be water stops about every two miles on the marathon course.  I chugged another 20 ounces as soon as I finished my run. 

After the half marathon left me all screwed up electrolyte-wise, I bought a small thing of Endurolyte capsules to try for this run.  They worked out fabulous.  The packet had about six or eight capsules.  I took two capsules shortly after starting my run, then about one capsule every hour or so thereafter.  I had no problems with leg cramps during the run, and only the typical soreness after the run and today.  Usually I am so stiff I can barely walk when I get home, but I really only had a "you've gone 18 miles" feeling and that was it.  So I am definitely getting more of those for Eugene. 

I tried Hammer Gels for the first time on this run.  The taste was fine and my stomach was okay with them.  I wish the package was smaller, though, so I may or may not use these at Eugene. 

Usually pre-run I have only a granola bar or maybe two.  This time I had a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and a glass of V8 Splash (for the potassium and sodium).  It sat well on my stomach, but didn't necessarily combat the mid-run hunger any better than anything else.  So mid-run I had decided to have a mini-Lara bar, one of the ones I got at the Roses finish line.  It also sat well on my stomach and more importantly satisfied my mid-race hunger. 

I did not have any caffeine before my run, and I really should have.  I had a caffeine headache by the end.  I was very happy I had a cold diet soda in the car waiting for me. 

I took three Advil mid-run and that helped keep the hip fatigue manageable.  I had a bit of a blisterish feeling on one of my toes, and other than the usual "I've been on my feet a damn long time" soreness that was the only nagging issue. 

I had picked up a package of Endurox recovery drink at some race a while back, and never tried it.  I decided this run would be perfect to test that out.  I chugged it as soon as I got back to the car, and I think it helped too as usually I don't have anything but water or soda for up to an hour after I run (this time I took a small ice chest with me).  The taste was interesting.  Have you ever had one of those punches made out of fruit punch, 7-up and sherbet?  This tasted like that after the sherbet has melted.  The slight carbonation helped to cut the sweetness of the drink.  I'd definitely use it in the future.

On the whole, I think it was a good run.  My time came in in the 15 minute miles, but that may be overstated.  There are a lot of crossings on this trail, and while most you can just slow down a bit for there are a few where you have to stop and wait for the traffic lights.  Plus at that trailhead station at the turnaround point I was so focused on getting something out of my fuel belt that I forgot I still had my iPod running -- until Chip said something like "period of inactivity is too long, shutting down."  So I was standing absolutely still for at least three minutes, if not closer to five (I lose all manual dexterity when I'm running).  Overall, I'd say my time was more in the 14s, but this still has me finishing the marathon before the course closes which is my goal!

I did wear my "Dances with Cows" hat and it worked out well.  Much less stinky than my other hat.  As I ran, I kept saying "I am Runs with Cows" but alas, I never saw a single cow on my run.  I saw sheep, horses, a bunny (it gave me much disapproval), cats (including one walking down a country dirt road with a mouse in its mouth), dogs, and birds (including a red-winged blackbird, I love those), but no cows.  I guess they were all out running too.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Saturday's beach loop

My trip to the beach is complete!  I'm so glad I went, although the weather could have been just a TAD more cooperative :(

I got up early and was on the road shortly after 9:00 a.m.  I had been debating about what wear; I really wanted to wear capris for the first time this year, plus sandals so that I could go barefoot on the beach.  It was overcast in Portland that morning, but I had lots and lots of faith that the weather would be spectacular at the beach.   I didn't even pack a rain jacket, just a fleece for the car (which I bought on a previous trip to the beach when I hadn't dressed for the weather) and my Pearl Izumi jacket for the windproof factor.


Here I am right after the turnoff to Tillamook.  (By the way, I don't recommend pictures and driving.)  I don't know if you can tell, but like any good CilleyGirl my sunglassess are heart shaped. 

I fully intended to ditch the fleece jacket once I got there.  So of course it started to rain when I got to the Tillamook Forest/mountain range.  However, it always rains through that part, so my faith held strong.


And this is what greeted me at Tillamook.  Rain, rain, and more rain.  (Again, don't take pictures and drive.  No cows were harmed in the taking of this photograph.)


I got Tillamook a little before 11 and headed straight for the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I've never been there so early before on a day trip, and was pleasantly surprised to find out they have some really fantastic breakfasts for fairly cheap.  I had a great scramble with minced ham and Tillamook cheese plus hashbrowns and a homemade cinnamon roll that was about as big as my head.  Okay, I have a really big head so maybe half that size.  But still huge.  Having a full tummy helped me to resist the food part of the gift shop; I didn't even buy any of their fudge (and it's very tasty).  I did buy a hat, though, because the rain was coming down harder.  Plus it's really cute:


This hat fits very well.  I had originally thought that I'd end up giving it to my mom, but it fit so well I ended up wearing it on my run today and I think it will be my hat now for Eugene.   With the weather that started at Rockaway Beach, I'm so glad I got it even if I never wore it again.  Here's what it was like:







It's tough to see on the last picture, but the sand in the upper part of the picture is blowing down the beach.  It made for some cool patterns in the wetter part of the sand:




With the wind and the horizontal rain, I wasn't able to take my digital SLR with me like I had wanted to.  It would have made a big difference in the picture quality -- in fact, if you look up above, the first picture of the ocean is taken with my little Cannon while the second one (with the big rocks in the distance) is taken with my digital SLR.  The second one is so much clearer, but it was easier to pop the Cannon in my pocket to keep it dry.



This seagull was pacing me along the beach for the longest time.  He was a great subject, but after a while they're all just seagull pictures ;)  I liked this one in particular because between the wind and the waves even he was struggling to stay up right.

After Rockaway, I headed up to Cannon Beach and had slumgullion at Mo's in Tolovanna Beach.  Very tasty!  Then I did some browsing in Cannon Beach but I didn't buy anything.  The only thing I really wanted were these sculptures of frogs and lizards in these beautiful bright colors -- and they turned out to be bronze, so not only did they weigh a ton but they were about $400 a piece (when I thought they'd be more like $40 - before I realized they were bronze).  So if I win the lottery I'll go back and buy one. 

All in all it was a good trip but I really wish the weather had been at least dry.  Walking on the beach, on the way out I was walking into a headwind, which on the way back soaked my entire backside.  Not just my bum -- the back of my head, my jacket through to my t-shirt (water resistant, not waterproof), my jeans.  I thought my pants were going to fall down, they were so heavy with water.  But I had a great time, falling down jeans notwithstanding.  (I was smiling more, but the wind blew the expression right off my face!)


Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Beach trip successful

Weather, not so much.



More to come!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Friday, April 16, 2010

So sorry to see you go; and wooden penguin legs part deux

*sniff*

I lost my first follower today.  Not my first follower, she's still here (and I'm very grateful!), but my follower who was the first to leave.  Not sure who it was, but I will miss her (odds are it was a her).  She'll also miss out on the upcoming exciting posts about my feet, and my elbow.  Actually, I'm thinking of doing a whole body parts series.  Mostly to practice with self-portraiture, but also because the body amuses and amazes me. 

Although at the moment, my own body frustrates me.  I tried to run last night and literally could not do so for more than a few steps at a time before the pain and the limping (mostly the limping) made me stop.  My legs were still weirdly stiff and then I had that hip problem again.  The one with the radiating pain down my leg and the feeling that my leg was going to collapse every time I put weight on it, much less tried to run.  Like when you popped the legs off your Barbie and then couldn't get her hip back into the socket properly.  (Or was that just me?)  On the stiffness, I did a lot of stretching later in the evening which seemed to help that but the hip is just mooched up.  I'm seeing the chiropractor this afternoon.  It's 15 days to Eugene, and I WILL run 18 miles this Sunday and I WILL complete this marathon.  Even if I have to cover my body in a paste made of vicodin and tequila to do it. 

In other news, I am now on Twitter.  It seemed like it was time.  Follow me at @CilleyGirlPDX if you dare. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

P.S.  Don't leave me!  All the plants will die!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

To sleep, perchance to dream

From my favorite bard:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
I love to sleep.  There is little I will not choose over sleep.  When I first started running, my friend S was not so much shocked by that as she was by me getting up at o'dark thirty to go run.  (She's still amazed by it.) 

Sleep has been one of my biggest obstacles to marathon training.  Waking up to go run, I can talk myself out of running in favor of going back to bed in record time.  As I sit here in my office (um, working.  Working very very very hard.), I can think of nothing better than heading out for a run.  The run I missed this morning in favor of going back to bed.  Granted, there was an excuse of a weirdly swollen and sore right foot when I woke up this morning -- no idea what happened, it's still somewhat swollen.  Like I'd been stung by a bee (heh, I typed "beer" the first time) or something. 

I don't know how to be a morning person.  I like my sleep.  Did you ever see the episode of Ally McBeal where her mentor was dying and wanted to be put into a coma for the remainder of her life so that she would be with the family she had created in her dreams?  I thought that sounded pretty spiffy.  I mean, if you're dying already. 

I've never run into any dream people more than once, but I do dream about the same dream locations.  I dream a lot about houses.  They have all these hidden passageways that lead to cool rooms, or I open a door I'd forgotten was there and find a room I didn't realize I had with all this old stuff in it.  I always think this is about parts of myself that I've lost or been cut off from.  When I started getting out more and doing more things about a year or so ago, and when I started blogging, I stopped dreaming so much about houses. 

So, I need to whip sleep into shape.  Keep it in its place so that it doesn't prevent me from doing the things I really want to do.  My question to you is, How do you win the battle of sleep versus exercise? 

Dreaming minds want to know.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

More happy thoughts

I am diligently working myself out of this bad mood.  Which reminds me -- I've left a few notes with other bloggers who are racing Eugene about meeting up.  Don't be afraid!!  I fully expect to be past all homicidal impulses by Eugene.  Plus I actually like you people.  Makes your mortality rate just skyrocket around me ;) 

I would like to get a chance to meet some more of the blogging community.  I thought a great place to do that would be at the pasta dinner the night before the race, so if anyone reading this plans to do that (or wants to do that), let me know and we'll make some plans!  (After the race, I plan to be in traction, but if you plan to be in traction too then we can meet then instead.)

I was thinking this morning about something I could do to help germinate a happy mood.  The zoo came to mind, but right after that came the thought of all that humanity (it's supposed to be very nice weather this weekend) so the zoo is out.  Then I thought:  the beach.  I haven't been to the ocean in close to a year.  So I checked the tide tables and yay!  Even the tides coincide with a happy beach day, with low tide around 9:00 a.m. and high tide around 4:00 p.m.  Perfect!!  Usually I would take my dogs along with me, as watching them joyfully play and run on the beach is one of my favorite things ever.  However, dealing with them the entire rest of the trip is not.  Plus Schmart Dog can't really run and play anymore and she would be sad if I made her stay leashed the whole time on the beach so I think I will go solo.  Lots of beachcombing at Rockaway Beach, a scrumptious lunch of slumgullion at Mo's at Tolovanna Beach, some browsing at the Cannon Beach shops, maybe a turn up and down the prom at Seaside.  That should clear out the cobwebs in my Cilley Bwain.

I can't wait!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Come on, get happy! (now with extra added tampony goodness!

(and now you, too, will have that song stuck in your head)

I didn't feel like packing my lunch today, so I decided to consult with the Oracle of Google to see what I was in the mood for.  And I found this.  It's a little tough to get the hang of spinning the wheel -- I managed it once, otherwise I just hit "Refresh". 

I'm still not sure what to have for lunch though. 

Edited to bring you the followingThis too.  I am rolling.  Or I would be.  You know, if I wasn't all bloated and stuff.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Apparently it's not just me....

....but all the world's Scorpios that are angry these days.  To wit, today's horoscope:
You're not exactly happy with the way recent events have turned out, and you're not in the mood to pretend that you are. Fortunately, you won't have to for very long. Almost everyone can see you're aggravated, and those responsible know exactly how angry you are -- and don't bother you any further. Your only problem now will be what to do about the folks who aren't bright enough to figure it out.
Heh.  Maybe Mercury is up Uranus or something.  (thank you!  try the veal!)

Thanks to everyone who listened to my little rant yesterday, and who has been putting up with me recently.  My mom votes for upping my meds, but I think it's just a bad case of a version of senioritis. 

I did go for a run after work last night, but I only made it three miles thanks to some serious leg cramps.  As I was running (or waddling, since my legs were like tree trunks with no bendy spots), it occurred to me that my swollen hands during and post-race, aching calves, and now major leg cramps might all be related.  I had previously consulted world-renowned sports medicine guru Dr. Google as well as his close associate Coach Google and had come to the conclusion that my swollen hands were a result of overhydrating during the race but not taking in enough electrolytes, resulting in an electrolyte imbalance.  What didn't occur to me until yesterday evening as I was trying to distract myself from the screaming pain in my legs is that I might still have an electrolyte imbalance, hence the tight calves that wouldn't stretch out and, of course, the screaming pain in my legs as I tried to run. 

I was seriously like a wooden penguin.  My calves distracted me from the extreme tightness in my quads, which I discovered as I walked to the track last night.  I could barely bend my knees, they were so tight. 

So now I'm mainlining powerade and bananas.  My legs feel a lot better, and they more or less bend like they should.  More or less.  I'm still kind of puffy all over, I'll be sticking with powerade for a bit longer (or until I drink it all).

I am proud of the fact that I did run the entire three miles, wooden penguin legs or no.  Very, very slowly, even for me, but I did run.  This weekend's long run should be interesting.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Beating back the monster

I am so angry lately, and I don't know why.  I have a horrible case of the I don't cares, except when I do care.  I get angry either way.  At people, at pets, at things. 

I wonder if the marathon in my mind is like vacation.  You know how you can get kind of impatient in the weeks leading up to an event because mentally you're already there?  You just want everything to go according to plan and you get really angry when it doesn't, when someone dares to muck up your plan. 

This all starts to translate into anger at myself.  I'm lazy, I'm stupid, I'm slow, I'm a bitch, I'm fat, no one wants to be my friend and I can't blame them.  I saw a picture of myself today from a couple of weeks ago and rather than thinking about how happy I looked to be out having a great time with new friends, all I could think was at least I only brought one extra chin along with me that day and no wonder I can't get a date when I have this flat, fat face.  Even if I lost weight, I'd still be ugly so what is the point of any of it?

I hate feeling like this. 

I didn't run this morning.  I don't know how my calves can be so sore and stiff when I certainly didn't exert myself in the half marathon.  I'd even discussed with myself about how my legs were going to be stiff and sore in the morning so that I wouldn't want to run but that I was going to get up and go run anyway.  I did get up.  To set my alarm clock ahead so I could go back to bed. 

I'm going to run tonight.  I want to be healthy.  I want to be happy.  I don't want to be angry and pissy and not follow through on goals that mean so much to me.  At least if I run and it hurts and it sucks, then I have a reason to be angry.  Not just this amorphous monster inside of me, wanting to pummel something, anything.

Bah.

the CilleyGirl

Monday, April 12, 2010

Weekly goal recap

As much as I'd like to forget, I did have some training goals last week.  Actually, it's not the goals themselves I'd like to forget, it's how lousy I did with them.   Here is what I planned and how I did (or didn't):

Monday - Rest.  This I did.  One out of seven.

Tuesday - Five miles.  This I did not.  I'm sure I thought I had a good excuse.  I'm sure I really didn't.  Still one out of seven.

Wednesday - Rest again.  Did this.  Two out of seven.

Thursday - At least six miles, aim for eight.  Did not do.  Again, no good excuse.  Two out of seven.

Friday - Rest yet again. Try to get it right.  Did this too.  Three out of seven.

Saturday - Spring Burst 5K. Aiming for 35 minutes, but this course is my nemesis. And it's highly likely there will be the lady with a cane.   I did the race but did not make my time goal.  I still think I could have gotten closer (38 minutes at least) if they hadn't had that backup at the big mud pit.  No lady with a cane.  Three and a half out of seven.

Sunday - Race for the Roses Half Marathon. Aiming for under three hours.  Did the race but again missed the time goal by five minutes.  Should've ran the straight aways more.  I did check into more detail on my iPod stats and at one point I was running 7:45.  No idea where I did that.  Must have been downhill.  While being chased by talkative lions.  And a lady with a cane.  Four out of seven.

This week I want to do better. 

Monday - Rest.
Tuesday - Five miles.
Wednesday - Rest again.
Thursday - At least six miles, aim for eight.
Friday - Five miles.
Saturday - Rest one more time.  And no going into work.
Sunday - the last big training run, 18 miles.  With no talky people.  Just me and my mace (in case I do see any talky people).

I also need to work on my diet.  Quality, not necessarily quantity.  I was reading some marathon training stuff and it said "you're running well and eating right and--"  That's where I stopped.  I kind of forgot about the healthy eating part.  I got on the scale this morning and was very sad; 192.5 or so.  It was kind of surprising, until I thought about what I'd eaten just that weekend alone.  Friday, McDonald's breakfast, and mostly crab dip for dinner.  Saturday, Jack in the Box for breakfast.  Sunday, gigantic Arby's for post-race and then a large pizza and an order of wings for dinner.  I'm guessing there is five pounds of junk food sitting in my colon (sorry!) from Sunday alone. 

I need to get back into cooking for myself again.  You know you've been eating too much fast food when you need to grab something for lunch and nothing sounds good because you've already had it that week.  I pulled some recipes on Friday to make; one I already did, an italian ravioli casserole which constituted my pre-race carb loading Saturday night.  Tomorrow I will make chicken tetrazzini.  After, I don't know, a zillion years of eating mostly chicken, I just hadn't been in a chicken mood lately.  I need to get back to it -- some baked or grilled chicken, some veggies.  My muffin top today is like one from a jumbo sized muffin. 

Now I'm off to continue with healthy eating and have my morning banana snack!  Tonight, I clean out the fridge.  And maybe lock up all my cash and credit cards so I can't buy any more food and have to eat the healthy stuff I have at home.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Follow up on the weekend race recaps

I had just a few notes to add to the weekend race recaps.

First -- and foremost -- the lady with the cane was not at Saturday's race like I had expected she would be.  She was, however, at the half-marathon!  I saw her shortly after we started and was "Dammit!  Lady with a cane!!"  I am happy to say that she was behind me the entire time.  Actually, that could be why she didn't recognize me when I saw her face to face; she's using to seeing my backside ;) 

Reason to Run continues to put on some of the best after-race spreads of any of the races I've been in.  It's more than enough to compensate for the prayer they do before each race and the lack of experience in the other areas of the race (the awards are always goofed up).  There is always a ton of food -- too much, really, they always end up trying to get us to all take more food with us -- and it's good stuff too, bagels, peanut butter, bananas.  In fact, the Race for the Roses people this year could have taken lessons.  I was less than impressed with the Roses this year.  Their food was almost all sit down stuff you needed utensils for:  cereal, coffee cake, yogurt.  Literally a couple of cups of water on the table.  I want stuff I can grab and shove in my mouth. 

There was also very little going on after the race.  No swag; last year they had some awesome chapstick and running socks.  I was standing next to the people giving out roses for several minutes before I finally asked if I could please have my rose.  No medals this year, which is fine, but instead they did after-race photos.  I looked like I'd been dragged several miles across pavement after the race; I really didn't need to immortalize that.  A before-race picture would have been better.  Or even a free race pic. 

They had pace leaders this year for the half and when I saw the 12:00 minute mile pace leader I had to laugh.  At least 70, hunched over form, white hair, ambiguous gender (I think it was a woman, but I wouldn't swear to it).  Yeah, but I wasn't laughing towards the end of the race when I saw that granny/gramps had somehow snuck past me -- way past me. 

Lastly, I wanted to give a big thanks to Radioactive Girl for her fabulous comment on my pre-race post.  Her words (with an Aussie accent, natch) definitely came to mind several times during the race and did much to inspire me when I was feeling my lowest (and slowest).  Now I just wish I'd seen her post about her kitty before the race as well; I'm still laughing.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Brief recap on the weekend races

I was up early early early this morning for the half marathon so this will be brief, before I pass out.

Saturday:  Spring Burst 5k.

The Curse of Cook Park remains unbroken.  I just never have a good race on this course (this was attempt number four).  It was sunny and dry but a bit chilly.  I started out way too fast (like, eight minute mile too fast) and then could not catch my breath, cue the asthma panic and the nausea.  I spent the rest of the race trying not to throw up my stomach lining or hack up a lung.  But I think I was on pace for a decent time (for me, at least) until the entire race bottlenecked up shortly after the start at a big mud pit/lake.  That slowed everyone down for at least three minutes, maybe longer.  My official time was 41:09 -- more than four minutes faster than this same race last year, but I would have been happier without the lost time in the mud pit (I ran through the sucker the second time around).  Also, my low back/hip was out of place and I had that pinched nerve/radiating pain all down my right leg.....

Sunday:  Race for the Roses Half Marathon.

....which continued through Sunday's entire race.  Bah.  I'd learned my lesson yesterday with starting too fast in a chilly so I had taken my inhaler with me and took an extra hit before starting, hit it again in the middle of the race when my chest started feeling tight again.  But the hip.  Grrr.  Ironically, the pain would fade almost entirely away when I was running.  Which worked out great until the elevation gain between, oh I don't know, miles two through five?  I also got packed up with all the walkers -- which, fine, I think whatever speed you do is fine -- but that meant a lot of dodging and weaving, and then.  AND THEN. 

Those people do not freaking shut up.  Chat chat chat chat chat.  The entire half marathon.  I started slowing down just to get away from these people.  And it wasn't just one set of people.  There were multiple sets of them.  Yak yak yak.  Plus there was this guy who was stalking the course on his bike and taking pictures of the two women next to me.  I'm guessing he got at least one picture with me in the background flipping him the bird.  He would circle us on his bike, like he was a shark.  For three hours.  I was dying to go, "Dude.  Which one do you want to be fucking?"   Argh.

I may have been a little grumpy due to the persistent pain in my hip.  And just the meandering nature of the course.  At one point, I couldn't even figure out where the hell we were.  And there were plenty of water stations, except they spaced them oddly.  You had several really close, then none for a while.  I was ready for the race to end about four miles before it did. 

My iPod registered 3.7 miles; I'm guessing that's due to all the weaving I had to do.  Or we did get lost and no one told us.  My chip time was 3:05:07.  I was a little disappointed with that since I knew I had intentionally gone slow to get away FROM THOSE PEOPLE.  Even at the end, they were STILL TALKING.  Next time, I'm bringing Advil with me.

Oh, and check out how swollen my hands got from the race:





The top one is more than an hour after the race.  The bottom one is seven hours later.  I've never had them swell up so bad for so long.  I could barely flex the fingers on my right hand and I even had a hard time bending my wrist.  Anyone know what I should be doing to prevent this?  Salt tablets?  I mean, I have pudgy hands as it is, but this was ridiculous. 

Off to hunt and gather some dinner!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Friday, April 9, 2010

Day 88 and pre-race jitters

We pre-empt your previously scheduled post (today's body part:  the elbow!) to bring you the following.

As I've mentioned before, I don't really get pre-race jitters.  I need to know beforehand where I'm going, what time I need to be there, ideally where I'm going to be parking -- but the race itself doesn't faze me. 

Except for when I get an e-mail like this:
Our course will stay open for a pace of 12 to 15 minutes per mile.  The City of Cilleyland restricts ALL running/walking events to this pace.  If you go slower, you are a LOSER and we will force you to the sidewalk, you LOSER.  So go FAST GO FAST GO FASTER WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU WHY DID YOU SIGN UP FOR THIS RACE ANYWAY SUCK SUCK LOSER SLOW ASS LOSER.
I may be making some of that up.  At least, the actual text of the message.  The feeling it gives me, that's pretty much dead on. 

And it annoys me.  I know I'm a slower runner.  People do walk faster than I run, at some points.  Even ladies with canes.  But I know I will finish the course in plenty of time, and probably not DFL, and I don't think about this thing at all.  Until I read something in the race FAQs about it.  Then I start to panic, thinking maybe I should drop out of the race, or switch distances, or JUST GIVE UP RUNNING YOU'RE TOO SLOW WHAT ARE YOU THINKING GIVE IT UP YOU SLOW LOSER.

You get the point.

I've said before, I like to think I inspire those who aren't natural runners.  Running is both really easy and really hard, both physically and mentally.  I recently read an article about Kara Goucher, discussing how she has exactly the same feelings I have.  Kara Goucher.  Freakin' speedy, world class runner Kara Goucher worries all the time if she can even finish a race.  Not whether she can finish with a 6:00 minute mile.  If she can finish AT ALL.  

You can learn to run.  There's bouncing and jiggling and it hurts.  Up until very recently in my training, running hurt all the time.  It had gotten better when I wasn't running; I wasn't so sore and achy all the time.  I recovered pretty quickly.  But the actual during the running?  Screaming pain.  Leg cramps, aching hip, low back spasms, can't feel my toes, wish I couldn't feel my toes.  Not pain into the run, where you've run ten miles and yeah it hurts.  But the I've taken two steps and my god what is wrong with me pain.  I just kept running (mostly) through it, hoping -- but not really believing -- that some day it just wouldn't hurt so much.  And finally, it doesn't.  Being fatigued seems kind of a wussy pain in comparison.

Hmm, I think my point has meandered off the tracks.  Where was I?  Running races, pre-race jitters, I'm a slow runner, if I sign up for a race it's because I'm going to run so get off my back about time already, inspiring the slow folks like me, pain will pass.  Yeah, still don't know where I was going with this. 

Anyhow, I'm not going to worry about the course/pace thing for Sunday.  Except to say that it would have been more helpful if they had translated that into a "the course is open until ________" warning.  If my math is right, the course is open for roughly three hours and 15 minutes.  I hope to finish in under three hours, and am aiming for somewhere around 2:30 - 2:45.  Since there will be water (there better be water), I think it's all doable.  Work obligations blew up my running schedule for this week, so I am extremely well rested.  Let 'em try to relegate me to the sidewalks!

Viva la slowpokes!!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Day 87 and the postage of the beast

It's been a busy busy week at work.  As of Thursday, I've already put in 39 hours.  Wednesday was the longest day; I dashed home for an hour in the evening to tend to the pups and eat a quick dinner then came back to work.  I ended up having to make a run out to the airport post office at 10 o'clock at night.

Thankfully traffic was light despite the rain that had just started.  It's kind of fun to drive fast when you have a reason to do it; I usually don't really speed because I'm rarely in that much of a hurry to get anywhere.  It was late evening, though, by the time I got there so my head was already in dreamland.

The nice clerk rang up my postage and then, as he showed me the amount due, suggested that I might want to buy something else.  I thought he meant because it was a small amount and since I was using a credit card, I wouldn't want to charge a small purchase.  I told him it was my office card and that it didn't matter.  He went on about how some people are superstitious and get bothered by that kind of thing so he wanted to ask. 

It finally dawned on me what he was talking about.  The amount of the postage?  $6.66. 

I had the postage of the beast.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Day 86, and games you can play with your colon*

You learned all kinds of things about my vagina yesterday, so today's topic is:  Do you play games with your colon?  You could, you know.  Let me help you!

Some times I like to play the game of, let's see how long I can sit here before I really, really, really need to use the facilities.  I like to think of it as training my colon for times when circumstances render me unable to attend to business in a timely fashion.  Like during a meeting.  Or a race.  Or when Chuck and Sarah are finally about to reveal their true feelings to each other but then the bad guys burst in through the open window and here comes Casey! to save the day and...

You get the picture.

There is also the game where you try to estimate how long it took for something to pass through your colon.  "Hmm, I don't remember eating corn."  And then you remember lunch, three days ago.  And now you're getting ready to play the regurgitation game.  Bonus!

Speaking of vomit, have you ever successfully repressed the urge to be sick simply because the bathroom floor looks kind of iffy?  This is much more likely to occur in public restrooms, I think.  I hope.  I know I've changed my mind about being ill many times due to a need for clean.

Which begs another question:  Has anyone ever yakked in a porta-potty?  I know porta-potties tend to trigger the gag reflex in many just as it is, but I would think that being a porta-potty would in turn suppress the urge.

Truly a mystery for our times.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl


*I may have made up some or all of the foregoing.  You'll never know.  Muwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Day 85, and I have a happy tushie

My horribly foul, I'd like to beat things to death with sticks mood continues.  I do not like this mood.  I do not know why I am in this mood.  I want it to be gone.  So, instead of dwelling I'm making a conscious effort to think good thoughts.

Like about how happy my tushie is.  This is because I have new undies.  You might not think that new undies would make your tushie happy, but they do.  Trust me. 

All this running has dropped me down a size clothes-wise, but not in the undergarment area.  The gazongas remain as gigantic as ever, although my bras do fit better.  But I want the ta-tas to go down-down.  So far, no go.  The undies were another area.  I don't wear thong underwear.  I believe thongs to be an evil conspiracy among men and the makers of Vagisil.  Seriously.  Women get all these yeast infections and urinary tract infections, all the time.  Pick up any chick mag and you will see.  The cures are big business.  I never have these problems.  Because I do not wear thong underwear.  Or use tampons.  And I shower every day.  (Any chick mag tells you not to shampoo your hair every day.  I believe that translates into boatloads of women who do not shower daily.  And then they have feminine hygiene issues.  Gosh, go figure.) 

Yes, this is my idea of happy thoughts!

Anyhow, back to my happy tushie.  While I didn't really need new undies size-wise, I needed new undies.  My current ones just wouldn't die.  Usually the elastic blows or they get holes from so many washings, etc.  Which is great for the most part, but after a while my psyche needed new undies.  It's a girl thing.  I now have them.  Cue the party in my pants.  Woo hoo!

Let's move on to penises.  I don't want them to feel left out or anything.  (Ba-dump-bump.  Thank you!  Try the veal!)

I work in the middle of suburbia.  As in, its pretty much our business, on its own, surrounded by hundreds of condos, apartments, and single family residences.  It's kind of weird, kind of nice.  But there is a lot of humanity around here.  It brings with it odd problems.  Like the penis cars.

Penis cars are a fancyish or tricked out car -- usually one of the new Mustangs, a Corvette, Porsche, what have you -- driven by men up and down the street outside our office.  Loudly.  Mufflers rumbling, tires squealing.  I guess they think they're cool, and that everyone who sees (or more typically hears) them thinks they are cool too.  I have news for them.  We do not think you are cool.  All we can think is:  Sorry about your penis.  Your teeny tiny penis.  Your teeny tiny perpetually shriveled penis.  Because if you had any sort of manhood whatsoever, you would understand that you are screaming up a residential street in your rumbly penis car, that everyone knows it is a penis car, that everyone knows why you have it, and you would stop. 

As I've been writing this, one penis car has gone screaming up the block, and there is another one (a canary yellow Porsche) parked up the street.  I await its penis car owner.

Oh, and one of these penis cars?  The license plate is "SUP COP."  I kid you not.  I'm dying to take a bottle of shoe polish and write on the windshield "SUP DUMBASS?"

I think I'm feeling better.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, April 5, 2010

Week No. {mumble mumble} goals

I think it's Week 12.  Not a clue. 

Anyhow, forgot to post these earlier.  Here's what I have on schedule for this week.

Monday - Rest.

Tuesday - Five miles.

Wednesday - Rest again.

Thursday - At least six miles, aim for eight.

Friday - Rest yet again.  Try to get it right.

Saturday - Spring Burst 5K.  Aiming for 35 minutes, but this course is my nemesis.  And it's highly likely there will be the lady with a cane.

Sunday - Race for the Roses Half Marathon.  Aiming for under three hours.

Now I need a nap!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Day 84, I think.

I left my training schedule at home so I'm not entirely positive what day I am on.  I think it's Day 84.  I do know it's less than four weeks until Eugene.  Yikes!

There hasn't been much exciting to write about lately, just the same old:  rehabbing the leg, bemoaning the sinuses, work is busy, trying not to kill coworkers, yadda yadda yadda.  Oh, and rain.  Neverending, the urge to end it all, rain.  But still better than Seattle. 

The verdict at the allergist was no sinus infection yet, just some serious inflammation.  Which is good, um, maybe?  Back on prednisone for about ten days, then in for a CT scan once I'm better to see if there really are brains in this head.  And not sinus tumors or polyps or, I don't know, a Hot Wheels car or something.  That would actually be kind of amusing, finding out that all these years of sinus infections are due to some little toy my infant self shoved up my nose. 

Also amusing is that prednisone is the one with the bizarre side effect of spontaneously exploding your Achilles tendon.  I kid you not. 

Speaking of tendons, I did a successful long run yesterday, first time running in about ten days.  I felt very well rested as a consequence, and the run went very well.  My miles were consistently in the low 12s, but since I stopped to stretch a lot (plus there are lots of crossings where you have to wait for the lights to change) overall the run was in the mid-14s.  Oh, and I was running into a freaking strong headwind for the first eight miles.  It was strong enough that several times I felt like I was doing mime.  Although I gladly took the headwind in favor of no rain; I had a few sprinkles right in the last mile and made it back to the car before the skies opened up again. 

I had planned to do at least 12 miles, then was toying with 14, maybe 15, and decided once I got there to set my iPod for 16 miles and just evaluate how I felt at each mile.  I felt pretty good, although four hours is a long time to be running.  It didn't seem quite that long, though; it was only once I got back to the car that I realized how long I'd been out for.  The only downer on the run was I ran out of water, with only a few teeny sips left for the last three miles.  Being thirsty rapidly becomes your only thought in that case.  I know this shouldn't be a problem on a race course, but when I do the 18-mile long run in two weeks I am going to have to carry a third throwaway bottle with me.  (Don't worry, I'll throw it away in the trash.)  It is even harder to run while thirsty AND you're running next to a nice big creek.  Even the thought of lemons (my go-to visualization when I'm thirsty) didn't help.  Not only did it not work, I kept thinking of onions instead of lemons. 

This morning I feel good, a little soreness in my quads but nothing unusual.  Still something going on with that one leg, I can feel it lurking, but I'll just keep watching it.  Which reminds me; I had the oddest sore spot during my run -- the inside of my right thigh, up high.  Anyone ever had this?  I'm guessing that means those muscles are weak, but it felt just like I'd been trying to do the splits.  Or Carlos the Hot Pool Boy.  It's fine now, but I was running through it thinking "what the heck??"

Back to the fuel/hydration issue, I tweaked a few things that worked out well.  My fuel belt carries two 10 oz. bottles, which I had changed to be one water, one powerade.  I felt better hydrated, but starting getting nauseous from too much sugar.  This time I carried both water, and instead of Gu took Gu Chomps.  I liked the Gu Chomps a lot; they were a little less sweet than Gu and Shot Bloks, and less sticky than Shot Bloks.  I was burping blueberry pomegranate for a while after I took them, but I think if I'd had more water that wouldn't have been an issue.  I'd have to carry a lot of them for the marathon, though, so I think I can stick with Gu as long as I have plenty of water with them. 

While I'm not the speediest runner, I'm feeling fairly confident that six hours is doable for Eugene.  This Sunday is my first half marathon, and I am aiming to finish in under three hours.  I know this is SOOOOO SLOOOOWWW for most of you, but I like to think I inspire the non-runners, those like me for whom this process is not natural.  I am not a sprinter.  I never have been, even when I was a skinny minnie as a kid.  Distance I can do.  Just not real fast.  I am planning to do a 5K race on Saturday as well (one of the qualifying runs for my running league) and I think I will try to speed up a bit for it.  I've been feeling as though I can go faster now, longer, at least on the shorter distances; for the longer ones, I always worry about going out too fast.  I still have that ultimate goal of getting under 30 minutes for a 5K. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful bunny day!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl