As much fun as ripping off toenails

Today I ran the Resolution Run 5k. I was hoping to beat my best 5k time of 28:47. That didn't happen. I finished at 31:08. The average time was 31:37 so I guess I was still above the average. I was pretty disappointed with my time at first but the course was one hilly SOB. So after thinking about it with the hills that were involved I think I'm actually happy I ended up finishing with a 10 min. mile pace. The first half mile was a gradual climb uphill. Not to mention the black ice that you were constantly looking out for. I was told that once you got past the monster hill at the start it was all downhill from there. Uh, wrong! Nothing like that great feeling of relief when you go downhill until then you turn the corner and there is another quarter mile uphill again. Crap. It was painful climbing those hills. The girls started 3 minutes ahead of the guys and I was pleasantly surprised when my friend didn't catch up with me until 1.7 miles into the race. Unfortunately he caught me right as I got to the top of a hill and all I could say in the little voice I could muster up was "This is one hilly mother @#*&%^!" He agreed he was about done. After that we both ran in silence for the rest of the time. Until he said "give it all you got" and took off. There was no way he was going to let me beat him. I started this race feeling strong, passing people left and right. By the time I made it to the top of the first hill I felt like I had been born smoking a cigarette. But I recovered on the downhill and passed a few more people and was running around an 8:30 mile pace. Until the hills hit and then I had to slow down a bit.
I'm not sure what is worse, a short steep hill or a long, gradual climb. Both are about as much fun as getting a toenail ripped off. The official results are here. I was 23rd out of 63 women, 57th out of 108 runners, and 5th out of 10 in my age division. Given the fact my head hurts and I could vomit, I think those hills got all I had to give. No doubt had this not been a race and if I would have been running this route on my own I would have stopped and walked, probably before hitting the first mile. But during a race with all those people around you, the pressure is on and there is no walking for me!

This is my new running belt I ordered. Haven't tried it yet and will only be using it on longer runs or longer races. It can hold a camera, cell phone, energy chews, id cards, iPod. It packs a lot in that little pouch. And the great part is, not only does it have a pink zipper, but it doesn't bounce around on your waist!

I know what you are thinking, like I really need any more lipgloss. But my MAC lipgloss was about out and it is my favorite lipgloss hands down. I was excited to get these in the mail. The colors on the MAC website are pretty much exactly what you get. The one on the right is the Lady Gaga edition. This whole week and even weekend has been very stressful. Come to think of it, it has been as much fun as getting a toenail ripped off all week long, not just today's run.

Yep, I have a reputation

I was told yesterday I had the best shoes in the building hands down, such a nice compliment! :) This was said by a guy who doesn't look like he cares much about fashion. He said he always looks at my feet when I walk by to see what I'm wearing each day. These are my new shoes I was wearing at the time.

Pretty sure I want these though!

Love these too but they don't have my size. I'm always looking for a cute pair at a cheap price. My new pink ones were only $20. It's a lot of pressure to uphold my shoe reputation! I heart shoes.

Learning to Love it

I've had no choice except to embrace the treadmill. Even if I can take the cold, the piles of snow have left me nowhere to run. The good part of running on the mill is that when I need a bathroom break there is no worrying about where the closest bathroom is. Even Jazzie has accepted the fact that when I put my shoes on I'm only going upstairs and not outside. She is not pleased about it though. Did 7.64 miles today, my longest distance so far.
-had no problems breathing, there is nothing worse than feeling out of breath
-didn't crash or run out of energy
-did develop a bit of a stomach ache however
-walked off the treadmill with some serious blister action on my right foot
-while I still had energy left, my legs were pretty tired
-only about 5.5 miles more to add onto this to equal half marathon distance
-5 weeks from today is the big day. I'm hoping in between now and then I will be able to get outside sometime, I don't want the entire next month to be done on the treadmill and then come race day be running outside.
On another note I'm liking the new American Idol judges! Anyone else?

And another completely unrelated note I think this is a funny story, I went out for awhile Saturday night with a few people from work. While standing at the bar waiting for a drink, this guy who looks like he should be partying at the Jersey Shore and not a country bar, is texting like crazy on his phone, doesn't even look up and says to me "Don't smile so much." So I say "Excuse me?" He says "Don't smile so much, you look like you are having a terrible time." I'm thinking "oh I'm sorry was I supposed to be completely cheesing it up for you even though you aren't looking at anything but your phone!" I don't know if that was his idea of some sort of pick up line or what but I told him I was having a great night, ordered my drink and went back to my table. He annoyed me! I didn't realize he could multi-task enough to text, drink, and read all my facial expressions without ever looking up. He would've been better off going with the "What's your new sign" pick up line.

Be Fierce

Running can be a very emotional thing. There are days when it makes me feel strong and days when it makes me feel weak. Days when it puts me in a great mood. There are days where I have an emotional run and maybe it's because I'm tired or a lot is on my mind but I may have some emotional moments during a run. If I happen to be on the trail on those days I hope it is sunny and I'm wearing sunglasses so everyone else around me doesn't notice my little breakdown.
Those days that get emotional are the days it's easy for me to think "what am I doing thinking I can run long distances?" You know, if I'm already having a bit of a pity party (and sometimes I'm not even sure why I am) why not throw on top of everything my insecurities about my abilities. So I came across some mantras to keep in mind that I think will help me talk myself back into thinking positive when I'm having a moment. I found all of them except the last one on other running blogs.

-When your legs are tired, run with your heart.

-I need to know I'm strong in ways I've never really believed.

-Being uncomfortable won't kill me.

-There is no shortcut to anyplace worth going.

-There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living- Nelson Mandela

-Your limits might not be where you think they are.

-You are exactly where you are supposed to be.

-Fear and pain are life's greatest teachers.

This one I "created" myself using a mantra word chart in my Runner's World magazine:

Be fierce, embrace courage. I think it's a good slogan for 2011 in general, not just in running.

Outfit, check.

Am I ready for this 1/2 marathon? I have the outfit at least!
My running skirt, super comfortable! Hopefully it will be just as comfortable at mile 13 as it is at mile 1.

We tried to get our shirts designed and ordered but ran into some copyright issues when we tried to get shirts for the girls. So that didn't quite work out. I found this tank top which I thought was cute and fit the girlie theme. It's getting to be crunch time, only about 6 weeks to go. Yikes!

A new pick up line

I'm not sure how much everyone believes in the astrological signs, but has everyone seen this "new" sign deal? Apparently the gravitational pull of the moon has shifted things up a bit. I found this very interesting because I have never thought I was anything like what my sign described me to be. Whether you believe it or not, what great news for single guys everywhere...and single gals too for that matter....a new pick up line! "What's your new sign?" ; )
As for the "old" sign system I was a Gemini....

Now I'm a Taurus. You can find the new line up here.

Gemini traits that I always felt were NOT me:

-Outgoing

-Social butterfly

-the life of the party

-disperse energy on different tasks and not focus on one thing (I hate leaving things unfinished)

Gemini traits that I feel do describe me:

-very independent, freedom is essential to their mental well being

-usually want people to think they are always happy and doing wonderfully and stress never affects them

-strong connection to travel

-"Gemini women are so exciting that they are worth the effort, you will remember her forever!" Well of course!

Taurus traits that I feel describe me:

-The color of choice for Taurus is pink!

-faithful friends with great capacity for affection

-if they are provoked can explode into violent outbursts (rare but has happened!)

-Independent

-has a few close friends as opposed to many acquaintances

-can be shy around strangers

-deeply sensitive, slightest comment or negative remark can be taken personally

-needs order in their life

-likes security in every aspect of their life: love, home, career

-spends a long time on important decisions

-want to finish what you start

-patient

-trusts your intuition

-rely on your feelings versus your mind when you try to understand your experiences

So I think I have traits of both signs. The more I read about Gemini online the more some of it fits, but more traits of Taurus seem to fit. Of course the controversy on this is all over the place. My thought is that I will just pick whichever horoscope sounds better that day! It's good to have options!

Weekend Decorating

I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day decor, it's just so cute!
I debated between buying the "Love" or the "Home" hanging for this one, not sure I am leaving it in the bedroom yet or not.

I saw this cute black and pink fabric board and wondered where I could put it to use, I decided why not my closet? I used fabric pins to hang some of my thinner necklaces.

Then I got a little carried away and thought why not buy a few more things to hang up my necklaces since right now they are all laying in a drawer and half the time I forget what I have.

I have one more shelf to hang up with these other things to put on it but haven't gotten it up quite yet. Aside from my closet project this weekend I caught up with a great friend for dinner, took my tree down finally, cleaned, and re-watched some episodes of Spartacus in anticipation of the new season starting soon!

2011

Happy 2011! After a lot of thought I've come up with my top goals for the new year. Last year was all about the Benjamins. I was focusing on getting in shape financially. I definitely made a lot of progress. This year I'm focusing on shaping up physically and mentally.
My new slogan on my inspiration board for this year....learning to let go. It's a personal goal in which I won't go into all the details but it goes to my shaping up mentally.

While I made significant progress last year in paying off a ton of debt, I didn't exactly building up savings like I would like. So I still need to be focused on expenses.

Since overtime is currently not available at work since it's our slow time, it's not as easy to earn the extra dollars. This means I can't just go shop as freely as I did last year when I was working endless hours. So in order to build savings I need to 1. stick to my budget and 2. cut needless spending. (i.e. stay the heck out of Target and Kohls) It is also on my to-do list to try to start selling some things around the house on ebay and/or Craigslist. Why does that intimidate me so much?

Another goal, spend as much time with friends as possible! I miss all my far away peeps! Can't wait to see the Kirksey's in February and for the girl's cruise in October! And hopefully many visits in between with everyone else!

Log more miles this year. Sign up for more races. I didn't run a single race in 2010. In addition to the half marathon I would like to do some smaller races this year. I also want to be consistent in my strength training and really get in the best shape physically I can be.

Which leads to my next goal....hydration! I don't drink near enough of this stuff. I was reminded of this yesterday when I ran and was almost immediately thirsty. I think they say by the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. I know I would feel better all around by drinking more water. To tag on to this I am going to try to cut back on processed junk food and try to eat more protein (hello crock pot!) and good-for-me foods.

Spend more time in here

And more time reading. Another goal is to complete CPCU this year. You'll notice I've taken my goal of not crying each week during Grey's Anatomy off my list. They say goals should be realistic, so....anyway there it is. My priorities for 2011. I said last year was bound to better than the year before, but I really think this year is going to be great.