Rain Rain Go Away

We are at T-9 days and counting. Training can't help you now. The best you can do is hope to maintain whatever fitness level you've achieved in the last 3 months.

For those keeping track, I've lost 4 whole pounds.

Training has become more and more challenging as of late. We've had 4 winter storms in the last 2 weeks here in western washington. It's cold. It's raining. It's windy. It's dark at 4:30.

Needless to say, it's not at all conducive to helping motivate someone to 'Get out there!'

This weekend, my last long run will take place in NYC. I have my route all mapped out from my hotel through Central Park and back again. Grand total: 9 miles. Despite my best efforts to convince her otherwise, I think my mom may be planning to hire a bodyguard to run with me.
I think I am in more danger from encountering a moose on my run in Alaska than on a trek through Central Park, in the middle of the day, on a highly populated running trail?

But I digress, it's the LAST CHANCE WORKOUT before the big race. Wish me luck!

T-20 days and counting

It's a busy November.

Between work, class and training + my family arriving for the holidays and a trip to NYC for work, I am firing on all cylinders.

In training news, I ran 9 miles on Sunday and will run 10 miles this weekend. WHO AM I?!?! My lower back is currently rather unpleased about the whole thing. I've heard various advice from "yoga" to "new running shoes" to "stop running insane amounts of distance." While I like the last one best, I think I will try the first two first.

Oh, and at some point along the way, 5 miles became my favorite distance. Who knew I would ever have a 'favorite' distance? I actually started sprinting in the middle of the 9 miles last weekend around the 5 mile marker.

I am thinking I've discovered the "runners high."

In waistline news, I've lost exactly 0 pounds and am still wearing the exact same size pants. What's a girl gotta do? I RAN NINE MILES.

Sigh.

On Running and Thinking about Running

I ran 7 miles yesterday. SEVEN MILES. That's a little over 1/2 the distance of the half marathon. From my house around Greenlake and back again...7 miles. Kind of cosmic that I should do 7 miles after last week, but I digress.

Bet ya'll thought I'd have quit by now didn't you?

There is some point when you really realize that running is a mental game.

There is a point along the way, when you've hit a certain amount of miles, when you have found your stride and rhythm and breathing and if you don't think about what your body is doing, it's almost like being in a state of stasis. It's still work, don't get me wrong, but it's almost easier to keep going than it is to stop. You're not working any harder or breathing in a labored way. You're just...running.

This is when the mental debate begins.

"I'm bored"

"I should think, think, think of something to think about"

"But I already thought about all the things I had to think about"

"Well, start thinking about creative things"

"Like what?!?!"

"I dunno, don't we have something we need to be creative about for work?"

"Maybe?"

"Well, let's think about that"

"..."

"Ok, forget it, just think about running to that tree"

"Ok now just run to that lamp post"
"Ok now run to that leaf on the ground"

"Shut up. I'm walking"

And that's when you stop to push the reset button, to clear your head, to take 30 seconds to realize that your hips ache and your baby toe might be asleep and you wish you had stopped at that water fountain. But most importantly, you realize walking is really slow and running wasn't that bad, and hey, you have 3 more miles to do.

So you pick up the pace and you turn up the tunes and you think about what you are going to think about for the next 3 miles and wonder a little bit if maybe you'd be better off if you had more drama in your life.

I am sure there is some big life lesson hidden in all of this. Some romantic notion of milestones and motivation and striving to push yourself to do something you never did before.

Maybe I'll think about that on my next run.

The Perfect Running Mix

So much like Katie Holmes, Oprah, Will Ferrell* and P Diddy before me , I too have decided to become a celebrity (half) marathon runner. I even registered and everything! I recruited some of my non-celeb friends to run with me (and do double duty as body guards) and have hired Drill Sargeant Goonder to dish out weekly cross-training workouts to make sure I stay balanced. If you'd like to celeb spot, you can find me most Monday's sweating out the fatness at Greenlake steps.

I am up to about 3.5 miles on a regular basis with 13 weeks to go until half-marathon time. I am a little worried about what happens next as I've never actually run further than 3.5 miles before.

However, in a moment of optimism, I even pre-purchased my 'Finisher' shirt.

I'll keep you posted.

*yeah, I was surprised about the Will Ferrell thing too! He never mentioned that to me...

Friday's Kick Ass Clip of the Week

It's like when I first started out and they couldn't hire me a real stunt double...

So I said I was gonna be a blogger...

...and then I make a few half-ass attempts and go dark on you. So not fair! What can I say?

Famous people get really busy.

I'm now considering hiring a ghost writer to keep this thing going. I mean honestly, it's not like Britney does all her own Tweets and if that hack can have a team of peeps well, so should I!

Hmmm, maybe I can find one of those cute little iterns types. I'm thinking Clark Kent style with a bit more Superman to him. Excellent English skills are a must. He could even fetch my coffee and dry cleaning and take my car for an oil change and...

Oh, I have a lovely idea! Let's all get interns shall we?

Anyhoo. Whilst I continue to work that one out, you'll have to just put up with me and my somewhat sporadic posts. You can see from the posts below, that I DO have a good excuse. I've been a bit of a traveling fool lately. I was in Anchorage for a week to escape the paparazzi and recovery from 'fatigue' and then in NYC for a week to remind those same paparazzi why they love me and then home again home again lickety split.

It's good to be home.

What I Learned Last Week (NYC Edition)

• If you want to celeb spot in NYC, just sit in the lobby of the Bryant Park Hotel. I can't guarnatee A List, but I can guarantee you WILL spot them
• There is no guarantee of consistency in a soft boiled egg, even if you go to the same place three mornings in a row
• I love the East Village. If I lived in NYC, I would live in the East Village. It's exactly what a city should be
• The shoe departments at Saks Fifth Avenue are smaller than you think they would be, however, the 8th floor cafe is FABULOUS for ladies who lunch.
• If you are trying to fly out of JFK in the evening during the summer, chances are extremely likely that you will be delayed so just make yourself comfortable. You ain't goin' nowheres.
• Tempura fried tofu. In a word: awesome.
• I could very easily get used to a lifestyle that involves a driver and an Escalade on call.

What I Learned Last Weekend (Alaska Edition)

• I can run 3 miles!
• Despite the rumors, Flatop, just outside Anchorage, is a #$&*% HARD HIKE pretty much straight up hill.
• You can't hug a man in uniform when he's on duty...or maybe you can, but I wasn't allowed to.
• Even after several years of not living in Alaska, seeing a baby moose while running doesn't turn me into a tourist. It makes me think, "run the other way and get the dog out of the situation."
• That said, I still think baby moose are super cute.
• Good friends is always good friends. Despite time, distance, and lack of regular communication.
• It's called the "Winner Trail" not the "Winter Trail" - which somehow makes it less romantic.
• A hand tram is pretty damn cool and not at all as scary as you might think
• I know what absolute silence sounds like
• Despite never seeing a bear in the wild, I still have a very healthy fear of encountering one
• Sometimes, you SHOULD go to the right.

Friday's Kick Ass Clip of the Week