A Running Update

Wow, it has been awhile since I have blogged. Since I started this mainly for "triathlon" purposes, I thought I'd give a running update first. I have a marathon coming up on December 13. I'm pacing Maureen, my HUD BFF, to break 5 hours at White Rock. Then I have my first "ultra," the Cowtown 50K (31 miles) on February 27.

I wanted to run 20 miles on Saturday, but I knew that was a lofty goal considering I hadn't run long the weekend before, and I did 10 miles two previous weekends ago. Shawna and I met on the Trinity and ran 10 miles together (I averaged 9:53, which I was happy with) and ended up stopping at Panera and getting coffee. So the next morning I did the same route by myself. I negative split (out in 10:04 average, back in 9:33 average) and ran almost a minute faster than Saturday. So I was very pleased with that. On Monday I ran 5 miles with Kit at lunch. That route has some hills since we have to go a mile on 7th Street each way to hit the Trinity Trail. We were aiming for an easy run, and we averaged 9:19 (and it actually did feel pretty easy). I ran 6 miles by myself at lunch yesterday and averaged 9:27 pace. So I am very pleased with the mileage I have put in over the past 4 days, and my feet seem to be holding up well. Now I am going under 10's with relative ease, so I think my fitness is improving.

My goal this weekend is to do a longer run (like 16 miles or so) on Saturday morning. I will probably slow it down a bit (maybe 10:15-10:30 pace). I know most people get up to 20 before a marathon, but that tends to make my feet angry. I learned a lot training for Surf City last year (and injuring myself while getting up to 20 miles and not getting to race), so I am trying to play it smarter this season. Also, I have been trying to do Bikram Yoga twice a week, and the stretching seems to play a big role in injury prevention.

Thursday Thirteen on Friday

1. I am finally getting back into a good workout routine after a few weeks. Once things calmed down a bit after my midterm last Thursday night, I lifted for 50 minutes on Friday, ran 5.25 miles on Saturday, did yoga on Sunday, ran 5 miles and swam 4500 yards on Monday, and swam 4000 yards on Tuesday. On Wednesday I did 30 minutes of weights, 15 minutes on the stair climber, and yoga. Yesterday my HUD friend, Maureen, and I ran 6 miles during our lunch break. Gorgeous weather!

2. After my lovely 6-mile run with Maureen, I made the impulsive decision to sign up for the White Rock marathon in December and pace Maureen to break 5 hours!

3. I had a bunch of stuff to tell Cliff, so we decided to hit up Railhead after work for some beers and barbeque. We got 4 tickets for Budweiser beers. Too bad I had class and we wasted three of the free beers :(

4. I'm not a huge fan of dark beers, but the Budweiser Ziegenbach was pretty tasty. Why is it that I like all of the Bud varieties like Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Golden Wheat, and Ziegenbach, but I don't like Bud Light? Hmmmm....

5. Somehow I still convinced myself to go to class after three scooners of ice cold beer. I am still patting myself on the back for that.

6. Yesterday I got on Ticketmaster the minute the presale started and purchased Lady Gaga tickets for my brother and I. I am going home to California December 20-27, and the concert is on December 21 in Los Angeles. I had a hard time finding available tickets. I couldn't get the orchestra pit (standing room only, $79) or the orchestra seating ($59), but I got center seats in the first main level. They were only $29 + fees... like $84 total for 2 tickets. Heck yeah!

7. I had gone 2.5 weeks without lifting. After some good workouts on Friday and Wednesday, I am hurting in a good way. Usually I do 2 sets of 25 reps (I try to lift light since I’m not supposed to be lifting at all with my leaky heart valves), but I did 3 sets of 15 reps a little heavier yesterday and I am really feeling it.

8. My plan today is to swim during my lunch break and do yoga at 5:00.

9. I have a nice, relaxing evening planned. I hope to get to bed early tonight so I can dominate on my long run tomorrow. My friend Jill is running 20 miles, so I am meeting her after she runs 6 and we are going to run 14 together.

10. My orthodics make my feet smile. It will be interesting to see how my feet hold up after 14 miles since I've only been running 5-6 max in the new orthodics. But I have high hopes.

11. I'm heading to Ardmore on Saturday with GusGus to go camping with Cliff's family. I'm not a huge fan of camping, but at least the weather will be nice.

12. Cliff bought us a 9 x 9 tent, so we can fit our queen-sized air mattress and GusGus's bed. Camping fun for the whole family!

13. I'm still waiting to hear about the supervisory position I applied for at work. Our Director received the applications from HR this week, so hopefully I will have an interview soon. So cross your fingers and toes for me!

Last Weekend

After a busy weekend with my parents (Friday night - Tuesday morning) and a midterm* on Thursday night, it was nice to have a relaxing weekend with Cliff. I coached Water Works 2 on Friday and then Cliff and I vegged and watched Dexter and had Subway for dinner. It was a chill (and cheap!) night. I coached masters practice on Saturday morning and then did a 5-mile run in Benbrook and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Cliff and I watched the Texas/OU game on TV and then took a nice, long nap. In the evening we went to my friend Brandon's wedding reception. We didn't know what to expect on 820 (since the traffic is normally bad), so we got there early and stopped at Cantina Laredo for a drink. Then we went to the party at their house, and their house was absolutely amazing. We didn't know anyone (until we saw Mikey and LeeAnn), so it was fun to just kick back and enjoy after all of our wedding stuff where we were more stressed out. The food and wine were incredible. If we didn't have the drive home to deal with, we definitely would have stayed longer.

We slept in until 10 on Sunday, which I totally needed. Then we met Stacy, Kona, and Molly at the dog park. Cliff hadn't been before, and I don't think he'll be going back. Gus is a little difficult because all he wants to do is lick the ladies, so he is kind of annoying to the other dogs. Also, we get scared that he'll escape because he likes to chase cars. There are two sets of gates (in case a dog gets out the first one), and Gus snuck out the first one a couple times when other owners and their dogs were leaving. It is nice for Gus to be able to run around without his leash on though. I have to keep him on the leash at bulldog play date since it's so close to University Drive (with lots of cars) and the space is not confined. It will be a lot easier once he gets fixed though, because he is like a dirty teenaged boy right now. We are thinking about breeding him, and I think we have to wait about 6 more months. He's coming up on his first birthday (November 4)! Sunday afternoon was productive. I did the grocery shopping, wrote a few thank you notes, and did yoga at 5:00. I threw together some lowfat turkey chili dogs for dinner and we watched some TV (hooray Desperate Housewives).

*I left my house in Fort Worth at 5:45 and my class at UT Arlington started at 7:00. I figured that would allow me about 20-30 minutes to pick up my Scantron from Amy and do a bit of last minute cramming. Well there was a huge accident on I-20, and the electronic sign said that the 3 right lanes were closed at Bowman. No cars were moving, so I made the quick decision to exit on 287 North and take that to 30 East. So I was freaking out a bit, but there was no traffic on 287. However, I didn't realize that there is only a 30 West (and not a 30 East) exit from 287, so I ended up on the side streets downtown. I called Cliff (pretty hysterical) and he told me to get back on 30 the same way I used to get on 35 North to get to our apartment. I figured that out pretty quickly and bolted down I-30. When I exited Cooper, I sent Amy another text and let her know that I should be arriving in the parking lot (where she had a spot saved for me and my Scantron) at 7:00. Then the arms for the train came down, and I got stuck waiting for the train. At that point I just had to laugh. I ended up getting to class at 7:10. I felt really rude disrupting everyone, but I tried my best to get there on time. Fortunately I still had plenty of time to take the exam, and I apologized to my professor when I turned in my test and explained what had happened. Yesterday I looked at the course web site, and I got the highest score (92) on the exam. The class (about 60 people) average was 71, and the low was 44. So maybe I should be late more often!

Mom and Dad's Trip to Tejas

My parents visited the weekend before last (and, yes, I am a little behind on my blogging). I think they really just wanted to spend time with GusGus though. I picked them up at the airport on Friday night and the three of us stopped at Rio Mambo in Colleyville. I love seafood with my Mexican dishes, and Rio Mambo has some stellar seafood enchiladas. We also indulged in two grande margaritas (which my brother managed to consume all by himself when he visited!). It was nice to have a little time alone with my parents to catch up.

On Saturday we took GusGus for a walk (his normal 0.7-mile loop) and then walked my 5K run course. My mom was in heaven with all of the “for sale” flyers. After burning a couple hundred calories, we went to Cracker Barrel with Cliff and Jordan to pack on the pounds. I got my new favorite, chicken and dumplings. It’s a huge carb fest when I eat there. I had biscuits, cornbread, hash brown casserole, corn, and macaroni and cheese in addition to my main course. YIKES! It was so yummy though, and I rarely eat “comfort food” like that. I squeezed in a short nap, and then we left for Jamie’s surprise 30th birthday party. Dana, the Kizers, and the MacCurdys did a great job putting everything together. It was a feast, and it was great to catch up with Jamie’s family. Jamie was surprised too, so it was a success!

Our Family and Roy and Linda Kizer (Dana's Parents)


On Sunday my parents and I took GusGus to Fort Woof and met up with Shawna, Stacy, and Aaron Patel (and their respective dogs). It was nice to let Gus off the leash (at Bulldog Play Date I have to keep him on the leash so he doesn’t chase cars on University), and he ran around like crazy (and, of course, licked the ladies!). His favorite was a 1 year-old beagle named Lady. After wearing Gus out, we went to Kincaids for a burger and fries with Cliff and Jordan. The day was filled with even more food adventures. We opened the 3L bottle of Syrah that I won at the Team in Training silent auction. I think the wine was bad, but my Dad rose to the occasion and drank it (but the rest of us switched over to the trusty Macaroni Grill Chianti and Chardonnay). Cliff, Leslie, my parents, and I went to dinner at Sardine’s. Usually it is one of our favorite restaurants, but we had some of the worst service ever. At least the food was good and we were able to laugh about the horrible waitress.

Dog Madness (if you look closely, you can see GusGus following Lady)


My Dad and His New Best Friend


We were thinking about going to the Fair on Monday, but the weather was pretty cruddy all weekend. So Monday was low-key, and we grabbed sandwiches at Which Wich and saw the movie “The Informant” with Matt Damon. I coached Water Works 2 in the evening and missed family happy hour, but we grabbed our last meal together at Railhead so my parents could have some quality Texas barbeque before they left on Tuesday morning.

Thursday Thirteen

1. My week has been thrown out of whack. Normally I go into the office on Mondays and Thursdays, but this week I'm going in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

2. Wednesday was our year-end (the federal government's fiscal year in October 1 - September 30), so I needed to close out some of my old referrals (and I went 4 for 5 on that!).

3. Cliff and I are leaving for Shreveport on Friday after his dentist appointment. We got a fairly decent deal on a hotel through Priceline, and we wanted to do a weekend away together (and play blackjack).

4. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to be "studying basic strategy." Cliff reminds me of this, repeatedly.

5. I get an hour of admin leave this week, so I'm using that on Friday. Another thing to look forward to!

6. I ran 5 miles outside (7th Street - Trinity - 7th Street) after work yesterday. For some reason it was so incredibly hard and I was 3 minutes slower than last week. I think running after lunch is a no-no for me. I wanted to vomit.

7. But lunch was really good. Cliff and I went to Corner Bakery and I did the combo with a tomato and mozzarella sandwich and lentil soup.

8. Before we went to Cantina Laredo for dinner, we grabbed a few beers (and free peanuts!) at Billy Miner's. It's funny how that used to be the place to go downtown. They have great drink specials, and the draft beers were $2.

9. The Team in Training dinner was definitely a success. I looked at their tally sheet, and it said 101. Coincidentally, they needed 100 people to show up to receive 10% of the total sales for the night.

10. Cliff and I sat with my friend Maureen (my friend from work... pretty much my only friend from work!) and her husband Jessie. It was a lot of fun, and it was good to find another couple to hangout with.

11. Maybe it was the run/beer/wine combo, but I decided to bid on a 3-L bottle of 1999 Shiraz. I did the minimum bid of $50 and won. Also, I Cliff bid $70 on a toaster oven. Someone else bid $75, so I stepped in and bid $80 and crushed someone's toaster oven dreams (I talked to them later, and they did seem a little sad about losing the bid. I even told them they could buy it!). I bid $30 on a gift basket that included a $50 Academy gift card, but apparently someone outbid me on that.

12. I'm saving the wine for the weekend after next (when my parents are here). I'm hoping it's still good, because I noticed later that the wax on the top (covering the cork) had peeled open. Hmmmm... Well, if it's not good, at least it will be a cute decoration in our bar.

13. I have had some major Hobby Lobby frustration. Leslie and I went there last Friday and picked out a whole set-up for the mantel. We wanted two big glass hurricane candle holders, and the only two they had were chipped. They said they had more in the back and they would call me. It turns out that is not a normal shipped item, and they can't order more. I tried a different store, and they didn't have them either. Then we picked out three big frames, and the guy told us to come back this week because they were 50% off. Well it turns out they were really 50% off the week we were there (not this week), so now I have to wait until next week when they are back on sale. So now we just have a few random things (like the fillers for the glass candle holders) and none of the major things that we need. My parents gave Cliff and I money as a housewarming present last year, and I've barely used it. My mom is going to be disappointed if I can't pull something together before they get here next weekend!

Running Progress

I got my orthodics last week, and I have done several 2-mile runs with them as well as some walks with GusGus and a little time at the gym. So I am slowly getting used to them. It feels weird having so much support under my arches, but they should really help me long-term.

On Sunday morning I did a 10-mile run by myself at 6 am and then went to yoga for 90 minutes. That was a great workout for me, and I felt better on the run than I did 2 weeks ago when I ran 9 miles with (or, rather, behind) Shawna and Derek. My pace was still just over 10 minutes, but I think that is indicative of me being out of running shape. I did a 2-miler yesterday around my hilly neighborhood at 9:10 pace, so that was a little faster than what I have been going. Last week I also did two 5-mile runs, a treadmill run and a group lunchtime run. The group run went very well, and we averaged about 9:20 pace (and I felt great). Last week I did just over 20 miles. The week before was very low mileage because I didn't get a long run in. The week before that was just over 20 miles. So I think I putting in a fairly decent base given that my 50K is not until February. I was planning on running 12 miles on Saturday morning, but Cliff and I decided to go to Shreveport for the weekend. So I will try to squeeze in a couple 5-6 milers and maybe get a long run done before my parents arrive on Friday, October 9. It seems like there is so much going on right now.

Night Out on the Town

I haven't been posting much lately since Farmville (Facebook application) has pretty much taken over my life! Cliff went to Ardmore last weekend to see Jordan, so Leslie and I had a girl's night out on Friday. Both of us had been wanting to try Eddie V's, so I made reservations for 8:00. We got all fancied up and had an awesome dinner.

We started with a Spa-tini (vodka, contreau, pineapple juice, cucumber, and maybe something else?) and shared a bottle of Caymus Conundrum (perhaps the best white wine ever... love it). We shared the Iceberg Wedge with Buttermilk-Blue Cheese Dressing (Maytag Blue Cheese, Red and Gold Tomatoes, Red Onion and Chives) before dinner. I ordered a half of two separate dishes, the Crab Stuffed Colossal Shrimp (Grilled with Lemon Butter and Chive Vinaigrette) and the Broiled Jumbo Georges Bank Sea Scallops (Wrapped in Bacon and Broiled with a Tomato-Basil Butter Sauce). Leslie ordered the Swordfish Steak (Broiled with Fresh Jonah Crab, Avocado and Red Chile Vinaigrette). We also got half orders of Truffled Macaroni and Cheese Creamed Spinach Almondine. Dinner was heavenly. I will probably take my parents there when they come the weekend of October 10. After dinner we hit up Capital Bar and Seventh Haven, which is the first time I had been to either.