Hello, 2013!

First, a mini-refresher of last years goals can be found here.  I tried to keep things simple by only making two goals; to stop cussing and to get organized.  I think I've done better this year with the cussing but there is always room for improvement.  So, I'll continue to work on that.  And getting organized is about the funniest thing ever.  I did get my computer files somewhat organized but that's about it.  Major failure with that goal.  No real surprise there.

Maybe I'm still experiencing a runners high from completing my longest training run yesterday but I'm feeling like I can take on the world in 2013.  I've been making lists for about a week now.  I have pages  and pages of small things and big things that I want to complete, do better at, attempt, experience, etc.  Rather than list them all line by line I figured I'd group things together.  It will make it easier next year to say I failed at a category than to say I failed at 35 different things.  HA!

HEALTH

I have lots and lots of goals this year.  For starters, to survive my half marathon on the 12th.  I would love to beat the time from my first half marathon in 2006 but I think I'll be happy if I finish standing and able to walk!  I'm also going to try to run a race every month this year.  I was close last year but I really want to try and find one for each month.  I also plan on running the Colorado Half Marathon in May.  This is the one I signed up for last year but never ran because I went Disney World instead.  It was a completely legitimate excuse but I'd really like to run this race so I'm signing up again and will definitely be aiming for a PR.  And if all goes well this year I'd also like to run the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon or Strip at Night as it's called in Las Vegas in November.  My running buddy has family there and it would be a super cheap trip compared to our race in Disney World. In all of my training and running, I'm hoping to get lighter and faster.  A sub-30 minute 5k is still one of those lifelong goals.  Could 2013 be the year??  I hope so.

In addition to all of the running (I'm sort of tired just thinking about it all), I'm going to mix things up a little bit and do weight training, swimming, biking, and yoga.  My strategy to diversify will be helped along by a special program at work orchestrated by our Fitness Team.  I'll share more about this later in the week after our first meeting.  I'm pretty excited about it.  If the diversifying goes well through Spring, I'd like to try my hand at a sprint triathlon in the summer.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I'm deeming this the "Year of the Photograph."  I took some pretty good leaps last year so I figure I have no excuse to not work harder this year.  I'm hoping to get my website completely finished.  And I really want to take a few of the small business classes that are offered through the City and County so that Uncle Sam doesn't take my house for lack of tax knowledge.  More paying customers and tons more practice would be ideal.  Once I'm done reading the book I for Christmas, I'll elaborate more on my photo plans.

HUMILITY & AWE

This one may seem a bit out there, especially without any explanation.  I'll ramble much more on this in the weeks to come.  Basically I'm going to do my best to live with humility and awe in 2013.  This comes from my soul searching from months back and requires a post all it's own.  It's about gratitude and cherishing what life we're given.  

DO MORE

And here is the catch-all.  More reading, more cleaning, more organizing, learning to sew, taking a concealed weapons class, hiking more, camping more, and all those random things I always say I want to do more of or try.  It's about chipping away at everything and, ironically, spending less time in front of the computer.

And that is all.  The new year begins in about 30 minutes.  Midnight will strike much like years past, Brent asleep and me grumpy yet optimistic.  Happy Frickin' New Year, all.  Woo.

Goodbye, 2012!

I think this has been one of the fastest years of recent memory.  Seriously, it feels like just yesterday I was super excited about the year starting and a Disney vacation waiting for me in May.  Oh wait, I am excited about the new year starting...and a Disney vacation waiting for me in just a few short weeks.  Adios, 2012!

All in all, it was a damn good year.  A few highlights off the top of my head...

• Disney World with the family - I had a blast and cannot wait for our next family trip.  Four years to go!!  I get the biggest dumb grin on my face every time I look at photos.  

Brent missed out the torrential downpour in Animal Kingdom!

• IDAHO!! I got to visit my awesome brother Marshal in Idaho for a few days of turkey hunting.  It was a real hoot!  And Marshal hiked me into the ground.  Even though we didn't kill any turkeys we still had a blast!

• Running, running, and more running - Yeti Race (January), Running of the Green (March), Boulder Bolder (May), Firecracker 5k (July), Equinox 5 miler (September), Race for the Cure (October), Turkey Trot (November).  And don't forget the miles upon miles of training for the half marathon!!

 

  

• Paying off my 2nd mortgage (Hallelujah!)

• Victoria Lillian - Getting to be there on the day she was born and hearing Jason say "It's a girl!" through the hospital wall was definitely a highlight.  Ms. Tori is a precious little thing and I love knowing I'll get to watch her grow up!!

• Yellowstone National Park - Brent and I took a quick trip up to Montana looking for a certain yogo sapphire and made a trip through Yellowstone on the way home!  It was gorgeous and huge, just as I imagined it would be.

• Getting engaged - It took five damn years but we finally got there.  Not much has really changed.  Other than I'm now procrastinating on wedding planning.  Deep down I'm perfectly content with a trip to the courthouse.  Oy.

A few lowlights...

• Finding out Mr. Miles has gnarly hip dysplasia and trying to wrap my head around the idea that he could be in pain.  I constantly watch his back end to make sure he's moving fluidly.  His right leg does seem to roll out less ... I know that doesn't make any sense.  But I think he's more comfortable now than he used to be.  And yes, I'm ignoring the odd front leg limp he has going on at the moment.

• Not moving - most frustrating thing on the planet right now.  I'm feeling more and more claustrophobic by the day as stuff, stuff, and more stuff swallows me whole.  I'd pack stuff and move it to the garage but the garage is FULL.  Effin' hate that this has to be such an ordeal.

No photo of the messy overstuffed house... just Brinkley exemplifying how I feel about it.

• Losing my shift at work.  I'm going to miss waking up by my natural body clock.  And getting my runs done in the morning.  I'm creature of habit and routine.  And my routine is getting completely knocked off kilter in next week.

Check back tomorrow for the standard new years resolution post!

Cha-Ching

In other news... this made me squee with joy last week.



Progress.

Rest

Tomorrow is my longest training run of this cycle. Two hours and twenty minutes is my goal. I've been hydrating all day and have eaten lots of carbs and turkey for lunch and dinner.

I'm nervous but excited to final hit taper time!! Now if I could really focus on not eating any junk!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve's Eve

My first day "off" was a busy one. I worked some overtime shenanigans first thing this morning. Then I headed home and grabbed my gym bag so I could fit in my long run.

Post two hours and ten minutes thumbs up!!...sort of




It wasn't too bad. Some random soreness, including a cramp or Charlie horse in my left glute. I'll survive.

After a quick cold bath and hot shower, we headed to Green Acre for some family fun. My mom had the whole placed decked out - lots of great stuff!! I should Instagram all of her decor! This is one of four trees.


After pigging out on ham (haha), we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!!

I took a late night hot bath - or more of soak to try to ease the Charlie horse. Now I'm on the couch with my feet propped high... watching The West Wing!!

I have a super busy day ahead of me tomorrow ... I have to wake up early!

By tree light

I've had a busy week. One more day to go... I think I can make it! After work tonight I stayed and used the treadmill to fit in a 30 minute run. It was rough - stomach pains from scarfing down a sub an hour before.


I'm now kicked back on the couch watching The West Wing. This show never gets old.

A lot like Christmas

We got snow yesterday and overnight. And nobody was happier than Brinkley Miles!! He loves the snow!


I saw lots of great Christmas lights tonight!!

Tuesday Tidbits

• I got a lot accomplished this weekend!  I haven't been able to say that in a long time.  Projects done, cleaning done, laundry done, running done, grocery shopping done!!  I have real food in the fridge... I'm not quite sure what to do with all of the options.  And, good news... I found 3 missing work socks beneath my bottom drawer in the dresser.  Every week, I'm one sock short in the clean work sock department.  I usually wear one dirty, one clean on day four.  But no more!! It's the small things...

• Indoor tracks have been running savior the past week and half.  I even managed my two mile run on the track.  It's nice that I can go on a weekday afternoon and pretty much have it to myself for that long.  Looking like death while running is easier to accomplish without an audience.  We'll see how my legs recover in the next few days to see if I have another two hours in me on Sunday.  I may push it back to Wednesday the 26th, which I have off!  Or I may shorten it to an hour and half or something.  Time on my feet is what I'm going for at this point.  

• While out grocery shopping today I bought a dark chocolate candy bar.  I waited all afternoon and evening to break into it.  Bite by bite as I dinked around doing different things, I polished the whole thing off.  It was delicious and I have no regrets.  Dark chocolate is good for the heart anyways, right?

• The foam roller and I became good friends tonight.  Oh the pain.  It was excruciating and liberating all at the same time.  I'm not sure what hurts more, the knots being rolled out of my legs or my arms from burning while I hold up my body as I roll.  Full body workout, folks!  Holy crap!

Favorite Things

Source

• Scandal - I said I was getting around to gushing, so here it is.  This show is my new favorite thing in the world.  It's fast-paced, smart, unpredictable, includes a central storyline with the White House and president, and has a great cast!  I've found like minded people online to share in my fangirl squeeing about the show.  And I've tried my darndest to get everyone I know in real life to watch it.  I don't think I've ever pushed a show on people like I have Scandal.  Thursdays, 9pm, ABC - WATCH IT!!

• Honey Stinger Acai Pomegranate energy gels!!  Seriously, these things are delicious.  And very easy to gobble down while running.  Most gels taste and feel like gel.  Honey Stinger has it figured out because the consistency wasn't very gelatinous so it made it easy to swallow.  I didn't feel like I need a whole bottle of water to get through the packet.  And flavor was great!  I will definitely be packing some of these for Disney World!

• Spotify - It's about the music.  You can download and play any song on demand.  And the radio version for the iPhone is fantastic.  I'm still debating whether or not to go the subscription route so I can do music on demand while running.  Maybe I'll give it try during my next training cycle. I've been finding lots of great music - Josh Abbott Band, Randy Rogers Band, Easton Corbin, Kip Moore.  Me and Brinkley have been jamming out quite a bit lately!

• The West Wing - While enjoying my new obsession Scandal, I really wanted to get more of a White House fix so I started watching Christmas episodes of TWW.  I love how every time I watch an episode, I find something new about it to love and laugh out loud in my own content, happy little world.  This time around, CJ and Danny have me laughing the most.  Gosh, that show makes so damn happy.  Instant pick me up!

• Sleep - I actually had the chance to sleep-in today.  And I will get to again tomorrow.  Sleep is fabulous.  No obnoxious alarm (other than Milo) to wake me up.  I think I sleep better through the night if I know I don't have to get up a specific time.  Sleep...sounds fantastic.  I think I'll get ready for bed now!

I did it!

2 hours and one minute to be exact!! Two gels to fuel my way. Around the hour and half mark I thought my legs were going to implode. I stretched it out and finished the last 30 pretty damn strong!!


I'm sitting in an ice bath now trying to distract myself. I think I may have a chance at surviving this half marathon thing!! Yah!!

Photo Bomb

I uploaded some pictures yesterday while working on my Christmas cards.  I found this gem from Thanksgiving.  Moxon's photo bomb is priceless.  Love that kid!  We'll have do take another group photo at Christmas when Marshal and Brent are home!!

When I picked up my cards from Walgreens last night, I also picked up photos from the disposable cameras we used at the Blizzard Beach in Disney World.  I was almost in tears from happiness because they reminded of how much fun we had!!  I wish I could click my heals and start that vacation all over again!!

Eight days and counting...

I've been a busy bee today.  At least in my head, I have been.  I worked some overtime shenanigans first thing this morning.  Brrrrrr.  It was quite chilly out too!!

Once I got home I watched one of my favorite episodes of Scandal online.  I'll gush more about Scandal at some point.  I ordered Christmas cards.  And I made macaroni and cheese!  Making something to eat was quite an accomplishment.  I keep forgetting to eat lately.  Not sure what the deal is.  Usually, I'm always hungry or wanting to eat.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I've been a major slacker in the running department and my metabolism just could care less whether or not I eat anything.

I ran with a friend for a little bit.  An easy 40 minute run today and a loooooonnnnggg run tomorrow.  My goal is 2 hours.  And then 2hrs again next Sunday.  Then 2hrs and 20 minutes on the 30th.  That will be longest run until the half marathon.  After that I have to taper and carb up.  I'll just hope for the best the day of the race.  I had a great streak going and was feeling awesome up until I got sick.  It sucked the wind right out of my sails...and lungs.

I have big plans for 2013 so I'll get another chance at running a half marathon and trying to beat my time.

More later...

Blank

I don't know how many times I've opened a blank page for a blog post this week. I just haven't much to squeak out - writing funk, I guess.

I need a few days off to catch up, which is really sad considering it wasn't but a few days ago that I had a few days off... to catch up.

I have a very busy weekend ahead of me - shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking, the usual.

The next 4 weeks are going to be a blur!! Crapola!

Never alone

Brinkley keeps close watch on me when Brent's away. He takes the "you take care of mom" order seriously.

O Christmas Tree

Things are moving at a slow pace around these parts. The bronchitis still lingers. The Dr. gave me antibiotics but they've been slow to make any great effect on things.

The only thing I've managed to do between naps and coughing fits was decorate the tree. Brent dragged all of the boxes to and from the garage and even assembled the tree.






There was a box MIA in the garage. We don't have a tree skirt, Rudolph, or Brinkey's stocking. It is what it is. The garage is a battlefield not worth traversing. Maybe next Christmas I'll be able to decorate a house and use all of my cute decorations.

A body's revenge

Over the course of the past year I've ran hundreds of miles.  I've lifted a few weights.  Not many, mind you.  I've swam a few laps.  I've tried to eat a little healthier.  And I've been consistent with getting a decent night's sleep more times than not.  So how does my body repay me, you ask??

My body failed to fend off the attacking army of germs and I've been riddled with chest congestion, sore throat, a runny nose, a stuffy nose, and coughing.  The coughing is the worst.  Only because it aggravates the throat, which inflames the chest causing me to wheeze and start the coughing all over again.  Yes, my body loves me.

It's been a very long four days with this crud actively rearing it's ugly head.  I've taken enough Mucinex, Sudafed, NyQuil, and EmergenC to kill a small horse.  I'm not sure if I've seen the worst or the worst is yet to come.  I'll be lucky to make it through the day without losing my voice.

Needless to say, I haven't been running since Tuesday.  That fact alone is enough to piss me off about this whole sickness.  I was on a really good streak, darn it!!  I don't have time for this sickness crap.  I have a half marathon to prepare for!!!

And with that little rant done, I'm going to finish off this glass of EmergenC and get in a hot, steamy shower.

That time of year

Seeing more lights each night. This one was tucked deep into a neighborhood!!




Felt cruddy most of the day. Pumped myself full of EmergenC, Vitamin D, green tea, and water. I'm in bed "early" after taking some NyQuil. Here's to hoping I can fend this beast off!

Lots of rambling and photos

Ok, boys and girls, let's play catch up.

Thanksgiving was delicious all the way around.  I enjoyed the day off and stuffed myself.  And I got round two of turkey day when Brent came home.  We stuffed ourselves and played Skip-Bo with his parents.

It's a good thing I got some turkey trotting in on Thanksgiving (both of them).  First up was the Loveland Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving with my friend Ashley.  A set a PR - 31:39!!  It was a cold morning but not super chilly.  The race worked its way through a neighborhood and down a bike path.  Some areas were pretty narrow and made it hard to pass people, which I was doing a lot of during this race!!  I also ran a 5k on Sunday morning... on my own.  No funny looking t-shirt.

Before Thanksgiving, I went to the new museum with Moxon.  We had a blast.  I can't wait to go back!  Mostly because I want to watch Moxon play drums.  He's got some mad skills.  It's all in how you hold the tongue!

Moxon's Gear Micky - reminded me of the Mouse Gear store in EPCOT

I also got a lot of scrapbooking done.  I finished Moxon's birth pictures and moved further along on the Chicago road trip pages.  Progress, people!!  I'm loving it!  I wish I could leave all of my stuff up and out so I can keep making progress.  I can't do that though - I have to pack it all up and find a place to store everything because we have to set up the Christmas tree!!!!

I did pretty good in the running department last week.  I ran eight miles and then I had my double 5k runs.  That's 14 miles for the week.  That made me feel very productive.  I also cooked myself a nice, healthy meal after running 8 miles.  And soaking in ice cold water.

Yesterday Brent and I did some running around.  He's decided on his vests for the wedding and placed his order.  He's going with Filson.  Once the vest comes in, we'll go tie shopping.  Oh boy!  While down in Denver, we stopped by IKEA.  That was fun and exhausting.  The place is huge - HUGE.  I was tired from all the walking.  We ate some sweedish meatballs and lingonberries from the IKEA cafeteria.  Everything was delicious!!  It very much reminded me of eating in the Norway pavilion in EPCOT.

I'm starting my new running week off on the right foot (hardy har har).  Even though it was super cold this morning, I didn't talk myself completely out of running.  I went to the indoor track at the gym and ran for an hour and fifty minutes, which is at least 9 miles.  NINE miles!!  It's all entirely mental - if I would have stopped when my body started getting achy, I only would have made about 6 miles.

I made another scrumptious meal as a reward for my many, many miles.  Chicken, sweet potato fries, and corn!  And some pear crumble for dessert.  It was all very, very good.  I should cook more often.

And with all of that rambling, I'm somewhat caught up.  I'm working on making some tea now.  I've got some sniffles and light chest congestion.  It's probably a very smart thing that I didn't spend two hours running outside in the cold.  Now if I could just keep boosting the vitamins and minerals maybe I can beat this thing before it hits me harder.

I'm Baaaaccckkk!!!

We have internet again!  We have internet again!

It's been almost five days without cable or internet.  I may or may not have been having withdrawals.

As for this Sunday morning... I'm waiting not so patiently for temperatures to warm up so I can go for a morning run.  Then we're off to Brent's parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I have lots to catch up online.  Yah!  So excited to connected again!

No cable

My cable is out. This is becoming more frequent with Comcast. It's driving me nuts.

I have pics to post and blogs to post but with no WiFi, that makes it hard!!

Busy day done

Overtime shenanigans started my weekend. It was a beautiful morning!! I was glad I didn't have to bundle up in long underwear to survive the morning!

Brink and I went for a walk when I got home. There were lots of people out and about doing the same thing.

After our walk I headed off to Target which turned into a much longer adventure than I hoped. It took me and hour and half to select photos from two different memory cards. I now have hundreds of photos for scrapbooking, which is exactly what I did when I got home.

I worked on some Moxon baby pages!! Gosh, he was a cute little baby!! I'm going to get the baby pics done and then work on the Chicago/Ohio trip!! I have a game plan so that's something!!

And now I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow is long run day and I'm crossing my fingers everything goes smoothly!!

Friday, if only

It would be wonderful if today really was MY Friday. Today was long and tiring. I'd vent but it's all work related and the details of work shenanigans don't see the light of day on this here blog.

I'm hoping to get a decent night's sleep. I'd like to get a 5k run done in the morning.

I just read on CNN that American Chopper is ending this season. I didn't realize that show was still on TV. It was considered a docusoap. In other words, you could go months and months without seeing an episode and the same crap (fighting between Jr. and Sr.) was still going down. Too bad they both let money, fame, and ego get the best of them.

Random political rant... Sen. McCain is a fricking moron. One minute he is bitching about how an investigation needs to be done and he wants answers about Benghazi. And then he doesn't even go to the damn committee meeting to get said answers. And when someone calls him on this ridiculousness, he says he doesn't comment on how he spends his time and it's nobody's business. Ummm, you're paid by the public, pal. It's YOUR JOB and it is our business if you're wasting taxpayer dollars. And if you're going to accuse people of dropping the ball or lying then you damn well better serve your country and SHOW UP to get the answers you demanded. A-hole. God forbid you get real facts that will make you shut your pie hole!

Switching gears... heard on the radio there was another oil rig explosion in the gulf. While Brent doesn't work on an off-shore rig, he does work around oil wells and uses equipment that can go boom. BIG BOOM. Nuclear boom. He doesn't cause me to worry. It's the boneheads he works with that make me worry. Safety takes a backseat all too often when it's about billion dollar profits.

Ah, and good news for us, mortgage rates are at an all-time low, 3.3%. I'm crossing my fingers they stay that low for the time being. Like I said, I'm crossing my fingers. Cross your fingers too, please. Thank you.

And I'm off to fill up my water bottle one more time and head to bed. Night, all.

New Phone App

Blogger finally updated it's phone app so I'm mixing it up and giving it a try.

I talked myself out of a 3 mile run this morning. 27 degrees?!? Remind me to never sign up for a January half marathon again. Next week I'm going to plan on hitting the treadmill for a 3 mile run. I think tomorrow is going to be a little warmer so I'll get in another outdoor run this week.

I'm currently riding the recumbent bike and catching up on CSI. It feels good to use some different muscles. And it's tiring. Oy.

Change Out

I've been slowly chipping away at my To Do list. I got my scrapbook pages on the wall changed out to Christmas pages! I can't believe how much Mox has grown already!!




I'm still organizing scrapbook stuff. Brinkley food is almost done cooking. And I got some groceries tonight, including a .58/lb 14lb turkey for future Brinkley food.

I'm very sore from my long run yesterday. Very sore. I should probably get to bed soon. Me and Brink are going to run two miles in the morning. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Yummy

Chicken burgers - I'm addicted. The best part - low in calories and each packs 20g of protein. They are delicious!!!

Lucky Seven

I knocked out a seven mile run this afternoon. I honestly didn't expect to run that far. I was thinking four or five. But I got out far enough and figured I would just complete the same seven mile loop as I did last time.

I forgot my Garmin watch so I thought it best to stick to one of my known loops. I listened to three podcasts so based on those lengths, it took be about an hour and a half.

I took a cold bath but didn't have any protein powder to make a recovery shake. And boy am I feeling a difference. My legs are so sore already!!!

I'll take it though and consider it a good run. I've struggled greatly to stay consistent and days and days pass between runs. Hopefully I can buck up and get things done right!! We're 60 days out from the half marathon. Let's hope the impending Winter stays on the mild side. It can turn nasty when we get back from the race!!

Morning Coffee

I have finally have a day at home to catch up on things.  I kicked it off by sleeping for almost 12 hours. I'm up moving around now and trying to figure out how to best utilize my time while I eat my oatmeal and drink my coffee.


I had a great trip down to Denver for a baby shower and some scrapbooking with Heidi and Bryn!  I'll snap some pictures of some completed pages while I'm putting stuff away today.  I need to get stuff organized and put away because the Christmas tree sits along the wall where I store my scrapbook stuff.

I have to make some Brinkley food at some point today.  And I'm going to pack a few boxes of randome stuff to make some elbow room.  We are bursting at the seams around here!!  I'm also going to take advantage of mid-day temps and go running.  I'm not sure how far I'll run because I haven't run in many days.  I should probably be smart about getting back into a routine.

I guess I should stop typing and start doing.  I have a cup of caffeine in me now to help get my going!!  Have a great day!

Snow

It's arrived. I'm not ready. This is my least favorite time of year. I hate the cold. I hate the wet snow. I hate when it's cold and snowing wet snow.




Blah.

Thursday Tidbits

• I'm officially getting run over by November now too.  I haven't done laundry in weeks.  I have few groceries.  I'm lacking sleep.  I need to make Brinkley food.  And I need to get back on a running schedule.

• I'm getting some scrapbooking time this upcoming weekend and need to prepare/pack.  I have no clue what I want to work on... I'm so far behind on scrapbooking that I will more than likely never catch up.  It certainly will not stop me from trying though!

• I worked overtime shenanigans this morning.  Up before the sun for the 4th time this week.  It's been forever since I went running - almost a week, I think.  Crap.  I told Brinkley he needs to make sure to drag me outside for a run in the morning.  

• Remember Brinkley's eye infection?  It will not go away.  It clears up for a few days but then it gets all gross again.  I think it has something to do with the evergreen shrubs outside.  I'm going to have to go to the vet to get more eye drops soon.  Maybe they will have another solution for me??

The Wait Is Over

May I find the will to survive this season with limited waistline expansion.

Morning Coffee

Interesting find this morning.... in addition to November being NaNoWriMo, it's also NaBloPoMo on BlogHer.  National Blog Post Month.  Or maybe they do it every month and I just discovered there was a party going on without me. 

Prompt for today is... "Tell us you favorite quotation and why? 

Oddly, my quotation involves a little bit of reverse psychology on myself.  "Good things come to those who wait."  My Dad used to say it to me when I was growing up.  When we were out fishing or hunting, it would always make an appearance.  It stuck with me over the years.  In junior high, I had to write out a quote in horrible calligraphy for an art class.  That's the quote I chose.  I think it applies to many things because patience is most definitely a virtue.   

However, I think believing in patience as a solution to achieving anything is misleading.  Dreams don't come to fruition by doing nothing; by waiting around and waiting around and waiting around.  Sometimes waiting is the last thing a person should do.  Years of your life will fly by if you sit around just waiting on something to come your way.  When I get frustrated about things not happening or patience not producing, I look at what can be done to alter the path.  Persistance is more important than patience.  The quote not only reminds me to be patient but also to be persistent..

As for the rest of the morning... I'm sipping coffee from my I Like Ike mug and grumbling about how sore I am.  Defensive tactics was much more of a workout than it felt like yesterday.  Everything is sore!  I guess this just shows the benefits of cross training more than anything.

I'm off to shower and get ready for work.  It will be my first day back on the street in almost two weeks.  This should be interesting!!

Happy Halloween

... and Happy NaNoWriMo eve!

Say what?!  I have no idea if I've ever mentioned NaNoWriMo on this blog before.  I may have because there have been many projects that have come and gone that have never been fully completed. NaNoWriMo is one of them.  The idea is to write a rough draft of a novel in 30 days - November.  National Novel Writers Month.  A few months ago I blogged about writing and how the greatest downfall is not finishing.

NaNoWriMo is an attempt at conquering procrastination, perfection, and any other hurdle that prevents finishing a novel.  The nuts and bolts are that you aim for writing 50,000 words, which is the equivalent of the length of The Great Gatsby.  The quality is far from that of The Great Gatsby, but you're left with a rough draft that can be honed and polished.  The hardest part is done - getting all out of your head onto paper.

I tried NaNoWriMo last year.  I got about 10,000 words into a crime novel based in Chicago before getting run over by life and abandoning my story all together.  This year I'm more prepared.  Many, many months ago, I started jotting down notes.  I have pages upon pages of plot notes and character profiles.

So, even though the beginning of November is gearing up to be very busy, I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo again.  50,000 words in one month.  A rough draft in one month.  It's a tall order.  I'll never know I can do it unless I try.

Synopsis:

Provenance begins when my young heroine uncovers a pocket watch while processing a collection at the local history archive.  Upon rubbing the watch, she travels back to 1915 - Laramie, Wyoming, literally falling into the arms of a young ranch hand with a penchant for reading.  While searching for her way back she discovers her fellow bibliophile holds the pocket watch that is her key back home and possibly his ticket out of World War I.

Tuesday Tidbits

• The past week has been an absolute blur. November is gearing up to be just as chaotic as October. Maybe I should start Christmas shopping now! 

• I'm working my way back to running. I've had a fairly restful two weeks with less than 10 miles run total. I ran an easy two on Sunday and knocked out a very slow 7 miles today. It was refreshing to make it that far with little to no pain. I hit up the ice bath right away in hopes of preventing soreness.  I have defensive tactics shenanigans in the morning and will need to be mobile. 

•  One of the reasons I think my knee is feeling better is my purchase and use of a massive foam roller for my IT band. It's painful in a very good way!! 

•  I started reading Frozen Heat last night on my Nook. I'm also working my way through A Chosen Faith. 

•  Brent and I signed our contract for the wedding venue! We're set for Sept. 14th next year! Now the real fun begins.

Woosh

On the road to Heidi's for our annual Halloween get together. I'm not prepared for squat this year. How did October disappear so quickly?

Sick

Brink has been keeping me company all day. We haven't moved much from the bed. I'm still not feeling good. Nauseous. Feel like I've been hit by a truck. Super hot. Super cold. My body may hate me right now, but I hate it back ten fold.

Zero fun. Zero.

Running and pumpkins

My one half day off flew right by.  Once I got done with work shenanigans, I knocked out a three mile run with Brinkley.  The first two miles were great.  The last mile I had to take really easily because I had a muscle yanking on my right knee.  I'm attacking my IT band with full force.  After my run I went to Target and picked up a large foam roller to help me loosen my IT band.

While at Target I picked up lots of pumpkin flavored items... pumpkin Eggo waffles, pumpkin Country Crock, pumpkin coffee creamer, and pumpkin pie yogurt!!  Never go shopping while craving pumpkin.

I spent the evening doing work homework and catching up on some of my television shows from the previous week.  The Good Wife is great this season!  And I'm becoming addicted to Scandal as well.  I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow.  There is no new Castle episode because of the last presidential debate.  It's also the last fall volleyball game tomorrow.  We've had very much a mediocre season and I'm looking forward to starting a new season and improving our record.

I'm off to bed early tonight.  I've got training all week so I better get my stuff ready for an early morning wake-up call.

Morning coffee

• Cinnamon gingerbread truffle coffee by Godiva is one of my new favorite coffees.  It's delicious.  Especially when used with a dash of peppermint creamer.  It tastes Fall like but also Winter like at the same time.  Mmmm.  I'll definitely be trying some of the other Godiva seasonal flavors.

• I went for an easy two mile run yesterday morning.  Other than both legs and knees feel tight and stiff, it was almost a pain free run.  And it was probably super slow as I was concentrating on form and not over-striding or speed.  Today I chose sleep over anything else.  I'm planning a 3-4 mile run tomorrow... after more overtime work shenanigans in the morning.  Hopefully I will get back on track with my training plan on Monday.  I need consistency.

• My work cell phone has been beeping every 60 seconds due to low battery since 9pm last night.  I have to charge it while driving around so rather than turn it off, I've just let beep for 12 hours.  It just makes me think that if it didn't have the beeping feature, the battery would probably last even longer.

<insert clever blog title here>

It's been a long day. It started before the sun with work shenanigans at the stadium. After some overtime hours, I hit the street for my regularly scheduled programming.




I've had two full rest days. My knees are achy. I think my legs are just confused, tired, and weak right now. I'm hoping to do a 2 mile run with Brink in the morning. We'll see what the sun brings with it.

I think I'll try to hit the pool in the next few days - it's time to start taking cross-training seriously!

Half Way Home

I've never been the smartest person.  I tested my knee out yesterday and all went pretty well.  I was somewhat relieved when I made it back home unscathed.  Today was a slightly different story.  I was hydrated and properly fueled.  I had plenty of sleep and knew I waited long enough the weather was perfect outside.  When I finally started putting my running gear on, my right knee started bugging me.

By far the most frustrating part of this knee issue so far is that nothing about it is predictable.  A few hours will go by and I feel completely normal again.  And then bam, knee pain.  So I figured I would stretch my way through the pain and try to walk it out while getting ready.  It sort of helped and I started on my run.

By the time I hit a quarter of mile I was telling myself I would do 3 miles to take it easy.  I should have listened to myself.  By mile two, I was moving at a slow and steady pace.  I had my breathing down and was hitting a good, somewhat pain free, stride.  I kept on the path and head for my two mile turn around spot.

Once I hit the turn around spot my knee was okay.  Not wonderful but okay.  I kept going.  I hit mile 3 and almost instantly wanted to cut my own leg off.  I stopeed and walked.  Stretched.  Drank some water.  Ate some sport beans.  Walked.  Pain went away.  And I started running again.

As I ran through mile 3 the pain came back with every step, just enough to remind me that it was not at all happy with our arrangement.  I stopped to take a picture and stretch some more.  That's when one of my earphones clogged with sweat and stopped working.  I spent a few minutes trying to clean it off and blow on it to get it working again.

Once I got going again, I found a doable stride and tried my best to focus on my stride and listen to what my body was telling me.  My right leg was burning from compensating.  I knew if I relaxed my leg enough, my foot rolled inward a bit and that pulled on my weaker muscle connected to my knee... the same one that was really screwing with me last week.

I had some good mojo going about mile five.  I think my legs had reached some level of numbness.  I didn't feel shooting pain, just tired and really sore.  I made it to 6.5 miles as was assigned for this week of training.

Once I stopped and walked the little bit back to my house my knee was on fire.  Not pain - just hot, inflamed.  So I hopped in the ice bath.  I've really come to enjoy the ice bath because I know it helps immensely with decreasing inflammation and overall soreness after my longer runs.  After twenty minutes, I hopped out with frozen legs and wrapped myself in a blanket.

And here I sit, wrapped in a blanket reflecting on what was a good run but also possibly a very stupid run.  It's a beautiful Fall day out there and I loved taking in all of the colors.  I loved not sweating my ass off.  And I loved knowing that mentally, I could push through things.  I loved knowing that, after this run, I'm half way home.  I ran half the distance of my half marathon.  And even though I battled an achy knee, it was still very much a piece of cake.

I hated that my body hates me at the moment.  It doesn't feel like I can do anything right.  My eating is crappy.  I've gained a few pounds.  And no matter how many times I tell myself to get back on track, I'm slipping back into old habits.  And as much as I'd like to blame Starbucks for creating such addicting seasonal lattes, I know it's not that simple.  I still have a very rough 2.5 months ahead of me if I'm going to make the most of my second half marathon.


The next two weeks are lighter on the miles.  I don't have another big bump in miles until the 28th.  I'm going to continue to stretch, ice, and elevate multiple times a day.  If I can engage my brain a little bit, maybe I can get my eating back on track too... again.

Monday Family Fun

I got to hang out with my family last night. We had dinner and dessert. I made a Mickey brownie cake for my Mom's birthday.

I need to practice my brownie making skills because it turned out well done.



I started the '67 and moved its location for the Winter. And I helped my brother work on his boat.

Mom and Dad got grass in their backyard!! It looks good - and makes the yard look bigger!!




Mom and I also planted some tulips out front. No pictures of our handy work until Spring!!

It was a fun night! Volleyball went pretty good. It took us a few games to get warmed up! I missed Castle though so I'll be watching it first thing while sipping my coffee!!

Testing, testing...

After about ten hours of sleep, a few cups of coffee, and some stretching, Brinkley and I hit the neighborhood for an easy two mile run.  I was testing my knee after four more days of resting, stretching, icing, etc.  Everything went well!  

I had a bit of hard time getting a normal stride.  I noticed I was landing on my feet a little differently and tried to focus on my form.  I felt a tiny bit of heat in my knee cap but nothing doesn't normally come and go while pounding away on the concrete.

It was really nice outside!!  Brinkley and I enjoyed ourselves!  I'm sure it's one of the few nice days of fall that we left for the year.

How's this for an action shot!?  Ha!  I have no idea what he was doing.  

Clearly, Brinkley gets his inability to pick up toys from me because those two boxes have been sitting there for about 3 weeks now.  And how do you like that shirt?!  It's a tech shirt from the Yellowstone Harley shop!  Love it!