Hump Day!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

I am getting pretty excited for my trip to Big D on Friday.  Jerel said he would bring my suitcase up tonight so I can start packing.  I actually have some clothes that I'm taking to Txlass and some that I need to return to her, so it looks like I'll be taking my bigger suitcase rather than the "weekender".

I wanted to let you all know that Jerel received ANOTHER 4.0 for this last semester, and will now graduate on Friday with his Masters in Finance.  His overall GPA is a 3.889.  I am SO proud of him.  It's been a long 18 months but obviously very worth it.  Little does he know that next week he's going to join a gym and start getting into shape!!  Mmmmwwwwhhhhaaaaa!!  He's put it off for too long.  Besides, I need a run buddy.

Tonight I am going to a meeting for Team in Training so I can participate in the Nike Half Marathon (or, maybe the full marathon - haven't decided yet) in October in San Francisco.  I wasn't chosen back in April from the random draw and since I really want to participate I guess I'll have to raise some money!  Besides - if I'm lucky I will get to see Shelley and RBR again.

Let's see - as far as workouts have gone this week I've done great.  Ran the 10K on Sunday, on Monday I took a Gravity training class and yesterday Tara kicked my butt (literally, and my lats) with my new program for May.  Today is a well-deserved day off.  Tomorrow I need to run and on Friday I hope to use the gym at my hotel with Txlass so I can show her what my workout is like.

I will let you all know the the TNT meeting goes.  Have a great afternoon!!

Race Report - James Joyce Ramble 10K - Dedham, MA

And I rambled!!  Even better - a new 10K PR (considering I have all of 2 under my belt)!!  I shaved about 7 minutes off of my time finishing in 1:18:45 and finally ran under a 13 min mile - all the way down to 12:41!! 

It was raining when we left home to drive to Dedham and I was really hoping it would clear up as I didn't really want to run in the rain.  Luckily as soon as we parked the rain stopped.

There was quite a large number of runners in this race - 1650 - so when it was time to line up for the start I headed toward the back.  I was very happy that there was a champion chip mat at the start as well as at the end because it took about a minute and a half to cross the start.  Overall it was a great race - there were also some pretty good hills that gave me quite a workout.  I did walk several times, but I think the recovery time actually helped me.

I do need to remember that no matter how cold it is, I should always wear a short-sleeve shirt because I get way too hot wearing long-sleeves.  I also LOVED having my Garmin.  Knowing how far I had gone and how much further I needed to go really helped me keep on moving.  I also burned 825 calories - my new favorite number!

I actually saw someone from work who was volunteering after I crossed the finish line.  He said he had seen a couple other people from my company - although I don't know any of them.

So, I'm feeling pretty good - tired, of course,  I'm going to the gym tomorrow morning for a Gravity session that's supposed to focus on upper body and arms.  Hopefully it will.  Tuesday I'm seeing Tara and Wednesday is a day off.  Thursday I need to run again and on Friday I'm off to Big D to see Txlass.

There are also a couple more races coming up that I'm going to register for.  There were 3 different flyers on the car when we got back, but that's a great way to learn about what races are happening.  I believe they are both 5K's - one is June 1st and the other is June 8th.

Hope you've all had a great weekend!!

Calories Burned - 825?!

Yep...that's what the ole Polar watch read this morning after I was finished with my workout with Jane.  All I can say is - I am BEAT - but of course, feel pretty awesome!  The drills she has me do totally kick my ass - from skipping (literally) to mountain climbers to finally getting onto the treadmill and running sprints - makes for an exhausting workout.

It's nice and quiet at the office today as my boss is out - and she's supposed to leave for London tomorrow so she'll be out all of next week - although I had a voicemail from her this morning and she sounded like hell.  She said she got sick around 6:00 pm last night so her travel plans may need to be rearranged.  Hopefully she will be feeling better after she gets some rest today.

Since it is so quiet here I finally had time to get over to the Eddie Bauer outlet and look for some shorts.  I don't have any that fit, and I know I'm going to need some when I'm in Big D next weekend.  I found a great pair that were on sale (size 10 - woot!) and also bought a couple of tank tops.  I'm saving the real shopping for my girl's weekend with Txlass!  I'm really getting excited to spend more than 10 hours with her - because she is HILARIOUS!!

Hope you all have a great Friday!!

Runner...Up!!

Thank you all for your kind words regarding the New Mom situation.  Trishkaa - I am going to get back to you soon - you have a whole lotta great information in your note!!

So far this has been an awesome week.  The scale is finally moving again after being up from my weekend in CA - I've been tracking my food faithfully at the Daily Plate - and I've made sure to have some good cardio workouts.  I did an hour on the crosstrainer on Monday night, 15 mins on Tuesday before I had my strength training with Tara and did 30 mins before I did my strength training this morning.  Tomorrow I see Jane for my running workout and on Saturday I will do strength training again and will be taking a Pilates reformer class.

I also signed up for the James Joyce Ramble 10K this Sunday in Dedham.  I'm on a email list from Community Running here in Boston and some of the runners were talking about it, so I decided why not!  I've read that it's hilly, so I'm sure I'll be getting quite a good workout.  Not sure how excited Jerel is to take me out to Dedham .  Besides...the tshirt looks cute!!

I'm also getting my hair done on Saturday.  When I was drying it this morning I saw quite a few gray hairs poking through, and I can't look bad when I'm in Dallas next weekend!

Hope you're all doing great and are enjoying some beautiful spring weather!

Longest Post - EVER!!

I would have to say my weekend was half and half – half good, half bad. 

First, the good half. On Saturday I decided I didn’t need to go to JC because I had plenty of food to get me through the week, so I remapped my planned run to make sure I got in 7 miles. I left the house around 8:00 am and headed over to the Charles River. I ran over the Longfellow Bridge to Cambridge, ran up Memorial Drive over to the BU bridge, crossed over back to Boston – when I realized I wasn’t on the Charles River side of Storrow Drive anymore, I was on the BU side. Luckily I found a footbridge that took me over Storrow Drive back to the river side. Ran to the Mass. Ave. bridge, crossed back over into Cambridge, up Memorial Drive to the Longfellow, across the Longfellow back to Arlington and made a stop at Starbucks on the way home. It was a little over 7 miles and I was beat. I ran a lot, but after I crossed the Memorial Bridge into Cambridge my left hip and knees were aching pretty badly and walked most of the rest of the way. I don’t think I should run after I’ve had a training session with Jane the day before!

After I got home I watched some tv and then got ready for my manicure. Jerel drove me up to Emerge and after I was done I went over to Legal’s for a little snack – and a drink – before we had to go to the big Sedar in Brookline. More on that later. Be prepared – it’s ugly.

Yesterday morning dawned bright and early so we could head out to watch the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. We watched the first mile from Boylston Street and then headed over to Commonwealth Avenue to watch the first couple of laps through the city. It was awesome and I got some great photos. 

I was going to head to the gym afterward, but I was still pretty achy so decided I needed a day of rest. I have BURN tonight and Tara tomorrow morning, so I’m thinking it was a good decision.

Now, for the bad.

A couple of weeks ago we were invited by Jerel’s dad Larry and his special lady friend (aka New Mom) to attend a Sedar Saturday night given by some of her friends in Brookline. I had my doubts about going – Jerel tends to be on the quiet side (unless he’s had a drink or three) and I told him after our brunch on New Year’s Day I was tired of carrying the whole conversation when we went out with Larry & New Mom. He promised he would be “on” – that he would be “Vegas Jerel”. So, we decided to go.

The first thing that annoyed me was he told me we had to be there at 4:00 pm. Holy crap – 4:00 pm?! I had to rearrange my mani/pedi that I had scheduled because I didn’t think I would be dry in time, so I moved the pedi to Friday night and still had the mani on Saturday afternoon. I was BEAT by the time Friday rolled around and didn’t get home until almost 9:00 on Friday night. So, you can imagine how friggin’ annoyed I was on Saturday when he told me at noon that we didn’t have to be there now until 4:30 pm. If I had known that I wouldn’t have had to rearrange all my appointments.

Anyway, we arrived promptly at 4:30 pm, but of course half the people didn’t start showing up until after 5. We met New Mom’s other son who lives in NY with his wife and daughter – he was very nice. We had met the older son on New Year’s Day 2007, along with his wife and their son, but hadn’t seen them since, and they were there too. We still need to meet the middle son, his wife and their kid(s?) – and the opportunity is coming – I know you’re quivering with excitement.

So…I’m sitting in a chair and New Mom comes over and sits next to me. She looks at my nail polish and says “oh look, we have the same color”. Um…no we don’t. She’s wearing OPI Red and I’m wearing OPI I’m India Mood for Love.

Anyhoo, I said I had just had my mani/pedi and she said she did her own earlier today after she weighed in at WW. I said “how is WW going?” (she’s been on WW since October and has lost 20 or so lbs). She said great…and here’s where I made my mistake. I said “hmmm…I’ve been thinking about trying WW since I haven’t really lost any weight on JC since October”. She said “well, YOU haven’t made a lifestyle change. Jenny Craig ISN’T a lifestyle change because you get your food from them. I like WW because it is a lifestyle change.” She also said something along the lines of I must not have been following the plan because I haven’t lost any weight. Then she got up and went to chase one of her grandkids.

Oh. My. God. I have never been so LIVID in my entire life (well, I probably have been, but this is the most recent in memory). What a (bad word, bad word)!!! If I had had my train pass I would have been outta there, but no, I had left it in my gym bag.

I just couldn’t believe she said that. I mean…I’m sorry that you don’t know how much weight I’ve lost – just because it’s none of your damn business – but no matter what I HAVE made a lifestyle change.

We eventually had to sit down to dinner, and she told us where to sit – that always annoys me. By then, my stomach was rolling. All I ate was some matzo ball soup – of course, in between there is reading and praying and this and that – most of which I didn’t participate in. I went to the bathroom at one point and when I came back they had put out food buffet-style. Well, I just couldn’t eat anything – not that it looked that appetizing anyway. Jerel eventually got up and got a little to eat, but I had had enough and I went out to sit in the lobby – where I texted Txlass about what New Mom had said. Jerel finally poked his head out to see where I was & said he would be right out.

When we got into the car I totally flipped out. He hadn’t heard what she said – but I’m sort of like – how clueless are you? I’ve been upset for the last 2 hours and you didn’t notice? Whatever.

Anyway, she may look better than Jerel’s mother but without a doubt she is just as selfish and self-absorbed as Brenda is. 

So – here’s the kicker. On Friday we received an invitation to the 65th birthday party Larry is throwing for her (New Mom) on the roof deck at the Taj Boston. The invitation states “cocktail attire and dancing shoes.” We said something about it to him on Saturday, and he said “there are going to be surprises she doesn’t even know about”. I am quite sure he’s going to propose.   Well, after what she said on Saturday I said we weren’t going, but you know what…there’s no reason not to go and enjoy a lovely party. Oh…and it is an excellent opportunity to get completely dressed up with professional hair and makeup!! I have about 5 weeks to continue my LIFESTYLE CHANGE so I can look super in a little black dress. What’s the saying? Looking good is the sweetest revenge? Oh yeah…I will look good!!

Recovery Mode

Yes, I am still in recovery mode from my weekend trip to CA, the 10K and most importantly, surviving the redeye. I don’t think I mentioned the guy sitting next to me was a personal space invader. He poked me in the ribs pretty much the whole flight, and then his pillow slipped out from under his head and started smothering me! So, I ended up only sleeping about 2 hours. I did make it through a full day of work on Monday – actually, a full day every day this week.

This has been and will continue to be a busy/crazy week – on Tuesday I was gone from the office for a couple of hours because I had a doctor’s appointment. Nothing major – just had some moles removed – but couldn’t work out because the doctor didn’t want me to get sweaty. Last night Jerel was inducted into a business school honorary so no gym yesterday either. 

I am planning on having a good workout tonight though, and then afterward I’m getting a facial, so I won’t be home until after 8. Tomorrow morning I’m seeing Jane, my running trainer, at 6:30 am and then tomorrow night I’m getting a pedicure at 7:00 pm, so once again I won’t be home until around 8:30.

On Saturday I need to make an appearance at JC (more on that in a few) and then I’m going to have Jerel drop me off over in Cambridge so I can run back home. Sounds hilarious – I know!! But, I want to add a mile to my long run every week, and the place I picked is about 7 miles from my house according to Map My Run. This way I don’t have to loop the Charles River a bunch of times (like the Women’s Olympic Marathon trial runners will have to do on Sunday).

This is going to be an exciting weekend. The trials are on Sunday, and of course the Boston Marathon is on Monday. In previous years I would have done anything to avoid the crowds, but not this year!! We’re getting up early on Sunday to watch the trials, but I have to go to work on Monday so I’ll be watching the marathon from work.

As far as my eating has gone this week, eh. I’ve done okay, but have indulged in a few extra calories. I’m sure I will have a gain, but it is what it is.

Hope you’re all doing great – sorry for my lack of comments. I’ve been reading but just haven’t had time to say hey. I’ll work on that too!!

I Must Be Crazy!!

After waiting to see how I felt 2 days after the 10K and much consideration of a training calendar - I have registered for the Boston Run to Remember - 1/2 Marathon!!! 

You may remember me mentioning that I was I was going to run in the 5 Mile Race - which was supposed to be my very first race - but then I decided I couldn't wait that long and signed up for the Cambridge CityRun (and the Zoo Zoom, and Heels and Hills, and Mom's Run).  Anyway, last week I started looking at the course map, and the HM course runs along the Charles River all the way out to Harvard University which is such a gorgeous run.  Oh sure...I guess I could just wog it on a weekend or something...but I'm feeling so great about my (snail's pace) running I decided - what the heck!!  I'm doing it!! 

I have 6 weeks to train.  Shelley actually helped me decide that I could get ready for it.  She said I should add 2 miles a week to my long run, so since I ran 6.2 really slow miles on Sunday, if I add 2 miles a week to my long run over that period of time I should definitely be ready.

To assist in my training, I also ordered the Garmin 305 yesterday.  (Thank you Stacey for letting me try yours on.)  It looks huge in the pictures but actually didn't feel to bad on my wrist.  So, it will help with my pacing and will be great because I won't have to go home and map my run to try and figure out far I've gone.

Okay...time to do some actual work.  Hope you're all having a great day!!

Run 10K - Check

Just wanted to stop by very quickly and let you all know that I made it through the Zoo Zoom today!!  Oh my gosh...I cannot tell you how great it was to run with Shelley and Stacey.  Do you believe they actually kept pace with me??  I cannot believe they didn't run ahead...but I appreciated it SO much!!  There is no way I would have ever run as well as I did.  I stopped to walk about 3 times, and even though my pace was slower than last week (13:44) I ran a heck of a lot more.  Most importantly...I finished (and I wasn't last!!).

Anyway, I had the BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!!  I will fill you in on the great time we had this weekend once I get home and recover from this redeye flight I'm about to get on.

Hope you're all doing great...and I am so glad I ZOOMED!!

Ready to Run!

Oh yes, I am ready for the big Sacramento Zoo Zoom on Sunday!! 

Last night it was nice and warm(ish) here in Beantown, so I zipped home, changed and went out for a nice run around the Charles River.  It felt great to be outside, and I think I ran much more than I did in the race last Sunday.  The only sadness was my sunglasses popped right out of my jacket never to be seen again.  I thought about retracing my steps but there were so many people out I decided it would be a waste of time.  So, I need to go sunglasses shopping this afternoon.  Luckily we just got a $20 off card from Sunglass Hut.

Anyway, once I got home home I mapped my run, and I ran 4.07 miles!!

I have to do some laundry tonight and pack because my flight to SFO leaves a little before 8:00 am tomorrow.  I think Shelley will have her laptop so I might be able to do a quick post, but if not I hope you all have a great weekend and I will give you a race update when I get back on Monday!!

Hump Day!!

Oh yeah...it's Wednesday - and it's actually my Thursday since I'm out on Friday!! 

Who else LOVED TBL last night?  How freakin' awesome is it that both women will be in the final?  I was SO happy - and in tears, of course.  Now, the rules at NBC.com state that one can vote 100 times per email address.  So, I did my duty this morning and voted 100 times - for Mark.  If we want a woman to win, then Mark is the best choice - not Roger, since he has more to lose.

As for myself, I'm doing great.  TOM didn't kill me as much as I thought it would, and it's about over.  Love that! 

After my run on Sunday my quads were pretty sore on Monday and a little yesterday, but I saw Tara for training yesterday morning and now I have a lot more aching areas - abs, triceps, lats - to counteract any aching in my legs.  Tonight I'm planning on running - need to get in a few miles before the race on Sunday.

I need to start packing tonight for my trip to SFO.  Of course, I'm flying American and they have been canceling flights on their MD-80's.  Hopefully everything will go according to plan on Friday.  I am so excited about meeting Shelley and RBR!

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!!