Sunday, October 19, 2008

2:16:11

I finished my second half marathon yesterday in 2:16:11. That is 39 minutes faster then my first half marathon in May! Awesome! I don't wear a watch, so I cannot give you splits and such interesting facts. I do know I was pacing a group of runners for the first 6 miles and I managed to finish those six in 49 minutes. If I had paced myself a little better, I would have been able to finish even faster. I was ahead of Jarrett until mile 11. He passed me on the the giant hill. I saw him and just could never quite catch up. I also learned that I do not like GU. I am going to have to figure something else out if I plan on doing a full marathon.

I think if I put some additional training in, I could finish a half marathon in under 2-hours. Even more importantly, I am convinced that I can finish a full marathon. They only thing that will hold me back is my feet. I did end up with wicked blisters on my arches and the end of two of the toes on my left foot. It may be time for a visit to the podiatrist and perhaps some custom orthotics.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Is it really only Monday? I feel like it should be Friday. I have spend WAY too much time at work in the last 14-days. I know its bad when I start having dreams about the place and wake up wondering if they were real.

The weekend was not a total loss. I organized a solid Saturday. I woke up early and rode my bike to work. It was a great ride. It was cold enough to break out the cold weather Under Armour. The ride was surprisingly fast. There was no traffic and although I left just before dawn, I felt comfortable in my reflective gear. Jarrett picked me up after a few hours of problem solving at the plant and we headed to West Lafayette to watch Purdue loose to Penn State. It was kind of sad. Then we headed to the barn to see Frosty. He was a very good boy and I am happy to say he has taken to his grazing muzzle quite well. No fussing or pulling at it.

My goals for this week:
1. Swim Wednesday and Thursday
2. Ride to work on Friday??? (I've got to check my morning calendar. If I have an early meeting it will spoil my plans)
3. Run - Seriously - I really need to run.
4. Stay on plan all week. I ate way too much this weekend. Pretzel and popcorn at the football game and a double cheeseburger and fries from Wendy's on Sunday night. My moment in indiscretion came after 12 hours of work, very little breakfast, no lunch, and an enormous amount of stress. Alas, it was good.

Have a wonderful week - I would be shocked if I am sane enough to write again before next week.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Frosty

I didn't race on Saturday. I slept. All day. It is now Wednesday and I am "almost" willing to say I feel better. I'm giving it another day to make sure the feeling lasts. I did manage to get out for a swim on Monday and I rode Frosty on Sunday and Tuesday. I'm pretty sure it was viral...low grade fever, headache, general malaise. My doctor pisses me off so I didn't bother with a visit to his office. I am changing doctors in 2009 due to his complete lack of focus when he sees me. Seriously, I paid this guy $120 for 3 minutes of his time. Alright, my insurance company paid him, but that is the kind of crap that is indicative of the health care crisis our country is in.

Below is a picture of us on Sunday. Frosty is F A T this year. The weather kept the grass growing all summer and he is a big piggy. How do you fix a fat horse? Grazing Muzzle! I just ordered Frosty's grazing muzzle from Schneider's. He will hate it for a few days, but eventually they adjust. I ride him as often as I can and still cannot keep the weight off, so this is the best alternative option. Yes, I am a cruel horse mother. Good thing the barn help will actually be the ones putting it on him and I'll be the nice mommy that rescues him from the evil muzzle when I get to see him. :) Seriously - It is not cruel. It is more inhumane to allow him to stay heavy and potentially cause sever damage to his feet and legs.



There are only 17 days until my half-marathon. Jarrett is in hard core training mode and I am in denial. I haven't run in two weeks. Besides feeling like total crap, my motivation has gone MIA. I will run this week. I will bike this week. I will ride this week. No more excuses.