All I want for Christmas

(I'll refrain from busting out the remaining parts of the song, but, just know, I'm singing it internally)

You know, this year, money is tight for us, as it is for many people. My husband bought me a fabulous new bag for my birthday / marathon completion present and for us, it was a pretty penny. I'm so grateful for his thoughtfulness. That said, I'm not really sure what to ask for this holiday season as it seems that we have everything we really "need" and most of my "wants" are running related (new clothes--it's snowing here kids, I don't have running in snow clothes), house related (anything to make it pretty) or something just as silly.

But, upon further reflection, there is something that I really, really want (like want even more than a pony and y'all know how much I want a pony). I want to help make OperationJack successful.

This is where you come in.

As many of you know, I recently completed a full marathon (that’s 26.2 miles of running) and did it for me—to cross it off my list by my birthday. I can happily say that I completed that goal and am so grateful for all the support I had from you all as I embarked on this journey.


Even after logging months of 100+ miles, I’m not ready to retire my running shoes. Just the opposite in fact. I’m running another marathon. Yes, you read that correctly. In less than 16 weeks, I will be embarking on another 26.2 mile journey—but this time, I’m not running for me. I’m running for someone else. In fact, for a lot of someone’s.

I will be running The Catalina Marathon on March 13, 2010 for OperationJack—an effort by a father to run 60 marathons in 2010 to raise money and awareness for Train4Autism (you can read more about Sam and his inspiring journey here).

As someone who has been blessed to spend considerable time with Autistic children, this effort spoke to my heart and although I hadn’t even finished one marathon, I knew I had to sign up to run one for Jack—and all the other people impacted by Autism around the world.

I feel very blessed to be able to participate in this cause, and even more grateful for those who I know that are living with Autism now—they have taught me so much about life, about love and about what it takes to really give. And I want to give back to them.

But, I can’t do this alone—we need help to raise money and awareness. To that end, I have set a goal to raise $850.00 by the time I lace up my shoes for Catalina—that’s exactly 14 weeks and 3 days away. ;)

I know that things are tight right now, especially as we are gearing up for holiday shopping, but, please, consider making a donation. Think of it as a gift-- a gift to me (cause you know you want t0) and a gift to all those families who are affected by Autism every single day. I know we can do this!

Great things can be done with research and therapy, but, none of that can happen without help. Please visit my fundraising pages for more information: http://operationjack.kintera.org/texasrunner

If a monetary donation seems too much, please consider participating in one of the 60 races that are affiliated with OperationJack. You don’t have to run a marathon to help—many of the races have varying distances, including 5ks associated with them. Here’s the schedule. I'll be running in at least 3 and would love to see you there (Catalina Marathon, Big D Texas Marathon, Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon).

Or, if you aren't ready to lace up your running shoes, please log onto Facebook and become a fan of Chase Giving and vote for OperationJack. More information found here. It's really simple and doesn't take more than a minute--your vote could mean huge things for OperationJack.

So, tell your friends, tell your families, tell your dogs--just please, spread the word--and please, donate if you can.

That's all I want for Christmas.

(well, a treadmill would be nice too since it's snowing here and all, but, I'd rather have the donations for Jack)

Thank you :)

Merry Christmas!

(gosh, think I used enough links? You have no excuses--I made it so simple)

Musings & Monday

I survived Arizona. Enough said. Don't worry, I'll have a big ol' recap coming your way very shortly--until then, here is my abbreviated rundown of the last week or so.

Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! I'm pretty sure I don't ever need to eat again.

1. Getting out of Phoenix in holiday traffic is kind of like what I imagine getting around NYC during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade must be like. Death.
2. It gets cold in the mountains of AZ. And, weather.com lied--I was not prepared for 20 degree mornings. I was told 40s. I can do 40s.
3. Note to Arizona: Ten points on the whole traffic cameras mounted on police cars in the middle of nowhere to catch speeding drivers. That's good use of traffic control with 0% of police force time--this is intelligent. What is not intelligent however is the little signs that are up about 100 feet in front of such camera warning drivers of their existence. This leads to drivers slamming on the breaks and slowing down, thus, making it impossible to catch speeding drivers (cough::my dad:: cough) and causing the passengers bodily harm as I am fairly certain all of us are suffering from a mild case of whiplash.
4. I really don't understand GrapeNuts. I just don't get their purpose in the cereal world. I mean, what are they? And why?
5. My Butchie boy lost 5 lbs after a week at doggie daycare--Ella? She gained at least 7. Sheesh.
6. I've only run once since Tulsa. This is the problem with 20 degree mornings. I didn't pack my running jacket. Idiot.
7. Running from the cops is never a good idea. More on this later. Although, it makes for a pretty hilarious (and sadly, oh so true) story.
8. I did not get to have In-N-Out. I don't want to talk about it.
9. I actually found art that I liked! I get accused of having no taste in art--which, I'm not really going to argue about because I know exactly nothing about art, so, I could stand to reason that I don't appreciate it. But! But! In Sedona, I actually found stuff that I and the husband liked. Too bad we're broke and couldn't buy any of it. There was one painting I really want and I'm seriously debating calling the gallery and asking about layaway. Do not judge me.
10. I did however manage to purchase myself two little bud vases. That's my art contribution to the house.
11. When you aren't used to getting good solid REM sleep and thus dreaming, you will have some pretty strange dreams once you do. Example: I had a dream that we had to move to Mexico for my husband's job ( you know, the one he doesn't have)--and that we had to move in two weeks and I was going to just be stay at home Mexican housewife. Seriously. No worries, last night however as I was back to kicking beagles off the bed, I did not have weird dreams.
12. Avocado smoothies are good. They sound weird, but, are mighty tasty.
13. Arizona is dry. My hands are literally cracking. Ick.
14. I almost moved there 6 years ago. I was really regretting not moving there--until I got home last night. I love where I live.
15. Seriouslysotired. Diet Coke in hand. I need a vacation from my vacation!
16. I really gotta get on the Christmas shopping--gulp!
17. Less than 2 weeks to White Rock! Yay!!

Have a happy Monday! And eat lots of leftovers--if you still have any!
xoxox

'Tell me something bad about Tulsa'

I love George Strait. I love that song. I love that it was playing on the course around mile 4. I love Tulsa. It will always be a special city to me. You couldn't tell me anything bad about Tulsa. I ran my first marathon there!

Look what I got! I knew my bib would have my name on it, but, didn't know it would say 'my first full marathon'--this was very exciting to me! And it was really fun because most of the other first timers had the blue bibs as well, so, we could kind of cheer each other on.

Shall we discuss the race? We shall.

I cried when the fireworks and gun went off (yes, a real gun--we were in Oklahoma after all). I mean, I was standing in the start line of a marathon--amazing!

Miles 1-4: Stayed with my pace group, we ran through downtown Tulsa, through Utica Square and through some really pretty neighborhoods. It was so much fun. I also tackled some hills. Whoot!

Miles 4-6: Race day adrenaline? Yes. I took the heck off. Charged up hills, hugged corners and hauled booty. Super fun, but super stupid. But, still, fun nonetheless. I don't regret it. It was a learning experience.

Miles 6-7: The Oreo handoff. The husband's directions were to hand me an Oreo at mile 6--and he did. I was getting confused by mile markers at this point because this was a relay handoff location and the 5k finish so I was frantically looking for my family and didn't see them and started freaking out--also, I stepped in a big hole right before mile 6. I saw it, and made a mental note to not step in the hole. What do you think I did? Luckily, I just rolled a bit--several people totally ate it. We ran across a long bridge and ran by a Sonic and McDonalds. Not cool! I really wanted fries at this point. Yes, at 8:30 in the morning.

Miles 7-10: Again with the hauling booty. I just kept goin' and goin'. Rocking out to the music on the course, enjoying the memories and going speedy speederson. Again, stupid move. This part of the course was along old Route 66, so that was fun.

Miles 10-13: The pace leader caught up with me or I slowed down--either way, it was nice to be back with someone pacing me. Because I'm an idiot and cannot pace myself. This part of the course was kind of blah, so, it was nice to be with some other people again. My family also surprised me around mile 11. I had no idea how they got to that point. I heard them yelling my name, but, wasn't expecting to see them until the end, so, it didn't register that it was my name they were yelling until I was about 5 feet from them. It was a nice surprise and good mental boost.

Miles 13-17: From mile 13-26 was also along Route 66--a fun thing to be able to say! However, this is where things started to fall apart. Basically, from mile 12.5-20 it was all into the wind running down the river. Mile 20 was the turn around point. This was sheer torture. Torture. There were very few spectators, little support and by this point, you can see all those speedy people finishing up which is just emotionally sucky. It wasn't really windy, but, it was windy enough to be a pain in the butt. The pace leader said he would walk through all the water stations and he did for the most part, but, at mile 14 there were two water stops really close to each other, so, I walked through the first and then jogged the second--which was just enough time for the leader to get ahead of me and I tried my damndest to catch him, but, was unsuccessful. I kept trying and trying and he was just too far ahead. I could see him, but, I couldn't catch him. By mile 17 I still hadn't caught him and I had been running into the wind for a good bit now, and knew I still had a fair amount of time before the turnaround and I just wanted to die. I didn't expect to hit the wall at mile 17, so that was really surprising. I called my husband in tears telling him I couldn't do it--he reminded me that I could, and my sister in law threatened to kick my ass and take away my present--that was motivation! I really did not except to have such a major breakdown--let alone at mile 17. I figured if I had a breakdown, it would be around mile 21 or something. Sheesh. I blame the wind. The wind really sucked. And those were really long miles.

Miles 17-20: I don't really remember these miles. Honestly. I have no recolection of passing mile marker 18 or 19. I have no idea what was going on. I just knew that if I got to 20 I could turn around. Pretty sure these were slow miles.

Miles 20-23: I felt better once I turned the corner at mile 20. I was pretty spent at this point, but, I felt much better than mile 17. I figured that after I hit 20.3 (the furthest I've ever run before) that some kind of angelic choir would start and I'd be so happy for taking a step further than I ever had before....Yeah, notsomuch. It was just about ticking off the miles at this point. And, I was so close to being finished that the whole 20.3 mile thing just didn't matter--26.2 did! My feet were killing me and I'm not ashamed that I walked a large chunk of mile 21. These miles were challenging. My feet were on fire. I even got asked by a race marshall if I was OK--umm, yeah, how do you think I'm doing?! But, I smiled and kept going. My legs didn't so much hurt, my feet just killed. I actually stopped at one point--never did this before-- to stretch out my feet. I walked through the water stops and if there wasn't a water stop I walked at the mile marker. Not far, just a few seconds or so to get myself calmed down and refocused.

Miles 23-26: I don't know what happened, but, I found something inside me to keep going. My pace picked up, I felt better and was just so happy to be so close to being done. At mile 23ish there was the cutest little kid at one of the water stops. He was probably no older than 7 and had 4 cups of Gatorade and water--I wanted water and it was so cute to see how excited he was to get me some water. Put a huge smile on my face. My dad jumped in with me around mile 25 for about .25 mile. I don't know where he came from, but, it was fun. I wish I had a picture of that. My husband was around mile 25.5 or so, and then I was almost done! These were good miles--I felt like I was back on my game. Plus, it helped that I was passing people at this point.

Miles 26-26.2: Once I rounded the corner to mile 26.2 I was so excited. I was blasting Queen on my iPod (heck yes!) and haulin' booty to the finish. My sister in law and mother in law where there cheering me on and the second I saw the finish line, the tears started. I was so happy. It was an awesome moment.

I crossed the finish line, got my medal, my thermal blankie and my finishers shirt--which was hilarious because I had no motor skills at this point and could not give the volunteer my voucher. Luckily, someone assisted me in getting it off.

I lined up to get my finishers photo and before I knew it, my father in law was in the finishers area giving me a big hug, followed by the rest of my family. It was just a great moment.

Yes, it had it's ups and downs, yes I didn't finish as well as I wanted, yes I walked more than I wanted, but, I had a great experience--I can't wait to do it again--really, I can't. And that's all I think I could have asked for my first marathon.

Great way to start Birthday Week if I do say so myself....Even if we are heading to AZ today--bleh. But! There is totally In-N-Out in my future for bday lunch tomorrow :) Yesssss!

Of course, today my ITband is swollen the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but, I guess that's to be expected. Ice, foam rolling--good times.

I did it! March 13, 2010--Catalina, here I come!

Thank you so much to everyone for your support and encouragement through this journey! To all my running blog friends for their advice and their kind words--I couldn't have done it without all of you.

Ya ready for some pictures?

Of course you are!

Good morning! I did not want to take that jacket off. I did and my teeth stated chattering! But, it ended up being perfect weather.

Us, first thing in the morning. We got to the race site and the sun wasn't even up yet. The pros to getting there really freaking early? No waiting for the potty!
My dad and me--who was fighting a terrible cold--getting ready for me to line up with my pace group.


The Oreo handoff at mile 6. My dad gave the husband specific instructions to give me 4 Oreos. I only wanted 1--so the husband gave me 3. I wasn't really sure what to do with 3 Oreos, but, dang it, I was not tossing Oreos on the side of the road. Who tosses Oreos? I'm pretty sure I have a race photo of me holding Oreos coming my way soon.

Prior to the Oreo handoff. Can you find me?


Why hello there! Mile 25ish. This was about .3 seconds before I told the husband "I hate this sh*t!"--and apparently yelled this really loudly and got a lot of dirty looks. I mean, come on, really people, none of us are really having a blast at this point. Y'all are thinking it, I'm the only one who was sayin' it. Don't judge.

Rounding the corner into the finishing chute. I might have teared up here.


Why are all my finisher photos in front of a portapotty? Why don't we plan better? (cause it's not like I'm aware enough to know what's going on) Also, why were these nowhere to be found after mile 19? These are the big questions people.

Me and my daddy--pretty sure I gave him a serious scare when I called the husband at mile 17 having a breakdown.

My fabulous in laws who drove all the freaking way from California to cheer me on. Although, Rach (sis in law) was being camera shy :)

The husband and I. Who said he was more proud of me than the day I graduated college. Which was really sweet--because, um, honestly, me too!

All good lil runners should get a present..... It's pretty. I promise.
Annnnd, this is how a marathon finisher goes home--4 long hours in a car. Yes, I look like a hobo. No, I don't care. And if I had any idea what was going on with the double chin, I'd tell ya, but, I really don't. I was slightly out of it at this point. (can't believe I'm posting this picture!)
Finis!

I've got a half in a few weeks which is really exciting for me because I've never run a half that is part of a full marathon as well--every half I've done has had a 5k or a 10k with it and I'm always cursing those lucky people who get to be done early--and I did this during the marathon--I'm kind of wildly excited to finally be one of those people who gets to finish early. Hee hee.

Get your kicks....

On Route 66!

I know I got mine.

Best.Day.Ever.

I never thought I could do it, but, I did. I finished 26.2 miles of....something... I don't know exactly what it was, but, it was pretty awesome.

I definitely cried when I crossed the finish line.

I hurt like hell, can barely walk, but, I can't wait for the next one.

Who knew!

Race recap & photos to come soon :)

Couldn't have done it without y'all (seriously)

Running reflections

I'm all packed and ready to go--ready to leave town for my first marathon. Can you believe it? I can't. Really, I can't.

Let's take a walk down SP's running memory lane, shall we?

My first race! A Memorial Day 10k. (look how skinny I was! I would pay to look like that again--no double chin or anything!)

Crusin' down to the finish line of my first race ever (I heart downhill finishes). This race was so fun. No Garmin (didn't have one yet) just me and a steady pace. I finished strong and even got 3rd in my age group--whoot! I felt freaking awesome.

4th of July 10k (where I got heat exhaustion--awesome). I think the heat exhaustion sums this one up. But, it was my first race with the Dallas Running Club and aside from the fact that it was freaking hotter than hell, it was a fun day. I ran with my friend Matt who joined the club with me and it was his first race. The DRC has such great volunteers and I was really impressed with them. (again, skinny!)

After my first 15k (7/18)--loved this race! I was fast, it was fun, the weather was great and it was perfect. The 15k will always hold a special place in my heart because of this race.

Finishers medal and all--after my first half (8/23). I still have mixed feelings about this race. I was fighting a cold and the course was emotional torture, so, it's not my favorite memory, but, it was my first half and I am so happy that I did it. (look, you can see the chub start to increase)

Second 15k. I was really sick that day, so, naturally, I hate the pictures and the race wasn't great, but, whatever--I finished! (10/3) (sausage arms!)

After my second 15k with my dear, dear friend and her sweet puppy. I mean seriously, she showed up to cheer me on early on a Saturday morning--that's friendship!

I hate foot pictures, but, I'm weirdly proud of this one. This was from my first 20 miler and it left me with a blister the size of New Hampshire. It actaully wraps around my toe. It took me all day to figure out why I was walking funny! It hurt like hell. Battle scars, I tell ya.

Look! There's me! Run, SP, run! (longest finishing chute ever!)

After the DRC Half (11/1). (we rock, obviously).

I've come a long way--that's for sure. It's surreal to think that in 48 hours I'll be full on into my first marathon.

Hard work, early mornings, retarded toes, injuries galore, illnesses--you name it, I've dealt with it while training for a marathon. It's been a really hard road. And, I'm not afraid to admit that I've wanted to jump ship a time or two, but, am so glad that I never did.

I couldn't imagine a Saturday without an early morning run. I never thought I'd be a "runner", but, just like that, I am. I'm not fast, but, I lay it all out there on the road. I give it my heart and soul and that's all that matters. Finishing this marathon will be one of the best days of my life.

I'm excited to have it under my belt, and so excited for things to come: tackling one of the hardest trail runs in Texas (yeah, I didn't know it was one of the hardest when I signed up--for someone who does a lot of research at work, I don't so much apply it in my own life); running a gorgeous course on Catalina island for OperationJack; running several Texas staple races--Cowtown and Big D, and running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and meeting d-a-r in the spring.

This may seem lofty considering I have yet to complete a marathon, but, I've loved the training, I've loved the 20 milers (I know, who am I?) and I've loved the experience--good times and bad. And, I know I'm going to love training for Catalina (lots of hills!) and will be excited to run some new courses in my beloved Texas. So, why not? Exactly.

I'm getting kind of emotional about all this--my dad is flying in today and we're all driving to Tulsa together. I chose this race because it's the Route 66 Marathon and when my dad would drive me to college, we drove parts of old Route 66--and when he was a kid, every summer, they drove to Iowa via Route 66. It's special to share this with him, but, it does hurt so much that my mom isn't here. It's hard grappling with the reality that I'll be 25 next week and will finish a marathon this week, and she's not here to experience all this with me. But, I know she'd be proud. And that's all I ever want.

So, here's to a great run! Thank you all so much for your support, friendship, advice, jokes, comments--the whole nine. I never knew that writing a silly little blog would introduce me to such amazingly wonderful people. I'm grateful for each and every single one of you. Know that I'll be thinking of you as I chug along 26.2 miles. My phone is ghetto, so, I won't be able to Tweet or blog while I'm running, but, I'll try to get some updates in as soon as I get back to the hotel.

26.2, I'm comin' for ya.

Game Time

Well, running isn't necessarily a 'game', but, whatever.

It's game time. Oh hell yes it is.

Today was my last run before the marathon and I had a freaking kick ass run--totally makes up for my lackluster performance on Saturday. It was cool, quiet, there wasn't anyone else out (well, except for my weird neighbor who steals newspapers, but, whatever--seriously, he does, I'm not joking), it was perfection.

Luckily, the forecast for Tulsa has changed (no rain!) lows in the 40s, high in the low 60s. Perfection.

I've got my bag packed, my snacks and race fuel packed, my Powerade ready to roll now all that's waiting is me.

My dad gets into town tomorrow afternoon, and then my posse (um, dad, husband and sis in law) will pick me up and we're headin' north.

I'm actually really not that nervous. Excited, but, not nervous. I'm sure it'll hit me when we get up there, we get to the Expo and I get my race number. I'm sure I'll have a massive panic attack (per the usual), but, then, we'll move on and it'll be fun.

I have a time in mind that I want to come it at or under, but, I won't tell y'all what it is--all that matters is that I have fun and I run a great marathon. And I'm cautiously optimistic and I will have fun and run strong. After all, my last 20(+) miler was awesome.

It's been a really hard week, work-wise, which isn't ideal going into something this intense, but, I had a bright shiny happy pair of shoes waiting for me when I got home last night, which made it mildly better (pre marathon gift to myself--I always buy myself something before a race).

So, it's here. I can't believe it. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure it's real. Funny.

Thank you to everyone for your support, your kindness, your encouragement and your friendship. It sounds funny, but, I really, really couldn't have done it without you. So, thanks.

And check back tomorrow for a walk down my running memory lane (are you sick of this running talk yet? Don't worry, next week will be about my love of In N Out--undying love I tell you).

Happy The Office Watching Day (er, Thursday).

And Happy early Birthday to Sam who celebrates on Sunday--go wish him a happy birthday and remind him that he's NOT old!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

And this has little to do with Christmas.

My birthday + Thanksgiving (which means a few days off work) + People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive = I'm a very happy little girl.

Call me crazy (no, it's OK, you can), but, during college I would pick up this issue at the DFW airport and stash it in my carryon only to ecstatically pull it out when I got home and my momma was waiting at the airport for me (OK, so, that only happened once since she died 1 month later, but, whatever). Every year, we would read this issue together. No fail. I haven't not purchased it in probably 10 years or so.

Earlier this month, the sis in law and I put our top picks out there: Ryan Reynolds, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman (you know my never dying love for Hugh), etc, etc and were eager to see who would win.

And then last night, she said that the cover had been leaked it that it was that terrible creepy vampire man (I'm sorry, I'm not into Twilight at all--and creepy vampire man kind of grosses me out--the only vampire I like is Brad Pitt circa Interview With). And we vowed we would not purchase said magazine if he was the winner (gag)--thus breaking a 10 year streak.

So, like a little child on Christmas morning, I was thrilled, thrilled I tell you when one of my all time favorite celebrity crushes was named this year's Sexiest Man Alive. Again.

Le sigh....

Admittedly, I'm shallow sometimes and I just can't help it (even if that creepy vampire did manage to get his mug on the cover--grr).

If you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.....

Musings & Monday

Guess what? It's race week! It's race week! It's freaking race week! I cannot believe that it's here. I cannot believe I've survived (well, this far at least). I am just so giddily excited that seriously taking today as a "rest day" is pretty much torture. But, it's here. It's Route 66 Marathon Week. And I'm going to kick that hilly and intense course--I totally am. I think. I hope. Yikes.

1. Had my last "long run" before the marathon, and let's just say, not my best work. I was just not into it at all. It was pretty much the worst run of my life. I opted to avoid my trail and run my hilly neighborhood because, well, hi, Tulsa=crapload of hills. Good in theory. And, I suppose good in reality because it totally kicked my butt....It was just a "blah" run. My pace wasn't great and it took every ounce I had to stay in the run. Eh. Whatever. Not every run is going to be great. I had a fab 7 miler on Wednesday, so, that was probably my good run for the week. Of course it was.

2. Picked up new running shoes after the disastrous 10 miler. Don't worry, they won't be worn before the marathon, but, since I've got a half a few weeks later, and I fully intend to run like a crazy person while in Arizona over Thanksgiving because, well, In-N-Out Burger (obviously), I needed a new pair of shoes because my pretty pink ladies are going to be toast. And, my new shoesies were on sale--bonus!

3. My sis in law has an interview today--yay! Happy shiny thoughts her way, please. We drove up to where the interview is last night so she knows where she's going and feels comfortable and everything--very excited and happy for her.

4. It is race week, but, it's also crazy week--I've got to pack for Tulsa and Arizona since I will have less than 48 hours between getting home from the marathon and leaving for Thanksgiving. I also have to fit in school and work in this time. Yeah, right.

5. I even managed to buy two Christmas gifts last week. Pretty sure that is the extent of my holiday shopping this year considering I have no clue what to get for anyone, but, hey, at least I got two!

6. I think I had Mexican food overload this week. Yes, I didn't know it was possible, and I'm still debating if it really is, but, in the last 7 days, I have had Mexican at least 5 times. Including a lovely dinner out on Saturday with the husband.

7. Nope, not possible, I could totally do Mexican for lunch or dinner today.

8. Too bad I have class.

9. We get to learn about airline marketing tonight. Excuse me while I try to contain my excitement.

10. And since I don't have much more to ranble about toda because my mind is filled with all things marathon, I leave you with two photos from our family photo shoot on Saturday taken by the lovely and talented Ren Morrison and my hair and makeup is credited to the lovely GlamorousNewylwed--y'all know I can't look like this on my own!

(yeah, the only time my hair will ever look that fantastic!)

(and my totally insane and crazy dog family--Ella Mae is full on attacking me, and Butch is just smiling for the camera. Their personalities, exactly)

Shoes, glorious shoes

(note: it's yummy Friday at my office. I may have baked pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I also may have taste tested that batter until I'm pretty sure there were only 11 muffins in the tin versus the 12 the batter was supposed to make--maybe, I'm not sure. Yeah, goal weight by next week? That's funny.)

I was on the hunt for protein powder and epsom salts the other day, and where do you think I ended up? Well, at Target of course (y'all know I'm cheap, a literal tub of epsom salts is $3.88 at Target versus $5.99 at the grocery store--I tell myself this to justify the other crap I come home with from Target).

And I might have strayed from the food aisles and made my way to the shoes. Maybe.

Sidenote: sausage legs + sausage feet + end of day = hilarious imagery of me trying to cram my feetsies into shoes. Lesson learned.

So, I left with my tub o' epsom salts, protein powder, dry fit tee (because how many is too many?) and a plethora of ideas of shoes I will purchase for the holidays.

If I can shove my lil marathoned feet into actual shoes that is.

Way to go, Target for having cute and affordable shoes!

I leave for Tulsa in one week, kids, one week! I am actually dreaming about running (last night I dreamt I was on my high school's CC team--funny since our CC coach was also my track coach and hated me with a passion... and the feeling was semi mutual).

I'm probably going to take today off because my 7.17 hilly miles yesterday kind of aggravated my IT band (and by 'kind of' I mean that walking is a slight challenge) and well, I've got a 10 miler tomorrow and I want that last "long run" to really be kick ass. (plus I got about 3 hours of sleep and did not feel like waking up at 5)

I missed a day of running this week. There are worse things (also, how much of a grown up am I for even thinking this?).

And, the sausages have improved. My feet are still a touch puffy, but, not really that bad at all. Seriously the weirdest thing ever!

Happy Friday (the 13th)!

PS. Who else loved The Office last night? Hilarious (as always)!

Yipee Skippy! I jump for joy!

I didn't let onto this on the blog, but a few months ago, my stepmom was having trouble breathing and she went in for a checkup and the doctors found some blockages around heart and an unknown mass in her lung. Of course they did.

Cue me freaking out because a) I've already lost one mother, and if I lose two, I honestly will go insane b) um, if my dad loses his wife, there's a good chance he'd pack up my sister and move in with us, and c) well, crap, we just don't need any of this right now.

Luckily, the blockages were nothing and that is A-OK. The mass in her lung was what gave them concern.

My stepmom has never smoked, never been around smokers and lived a healthy life--heck, this is the woman who would join me for 4AM workout sessions when I had 6:45AM classes! So, seriously, lung cancer, are you kidding me?

They'd run every test in the book and every time they said "well, we'll need to do another test to rule out cancer". So, they made arrangements to get tested at some state of the art place in Santa Barbara and we all waited around on pins and needles. My family was stressed--my stepmom was down in spirits (also, they had to put her beloved cat down a few weeks ago).

But, last night, my dad told us that the results of the biopsy are back: not cancerous! Just some weird mass--which is still weird, but, not going to hurt her.

Her breathing is better and everything seems to be A-OK. Which is fabulous because we were really scared that we'd spend the holidays doing chemo--which of course, is fine, but, honestly was scared to death that my stepmom had cancer.

Also, yesterday morning on my run, I saw a shooting star. That's gotta be a good sign, right?

I still have sausage legs. Which is why my 9 mile tempo run did not happen this morning and why I am now sucking down a Diet Coke.

I'll do a short run after work and hopefully get in my tempo run tomorrow AM.

I don't want to push the sausages.

But, the sausage legs don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. My stepmom is healthy. And if sausage legs are the biggest medical concern we have right now, that's fine with me (even if they are freaking annoying).

Happy Wednesday!

(and thank you to all our Veterans--I'm eternally grateful)

And, Happy Birthday to Erin @ BlueEyedBride--I hope it's a fabulous day--you deserve the best!

Sausages! Sausages! Sausages!

First of all, thank you everyone for such wonderful and supportive comments on my post yesterday. I didn't know a birthday was going to hit me so hard--but, alas, it did, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the support, the advice, the encouragement--it truly means so much to me. Thank you. Really, really, thank you. I am so grateful for all of you.

In other news...Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that my feet were oddly puffy. My right ankle sometimes gets swollen after a long run, but, this was both feet, and not just the ankle, but, the entire foot--as in, the buckle on my shoes was on the loosest clasp, and there was still an indentation. Weirdest thing ever.

The swelling got worse and when I got home from class last night, I had full on cankles.

This morning, I went for a hilly 4 mile run (awesome!) and let me tell you, running with sausage feet is freaking hard! Every step made them feel like they would explode and they felt like they weighed 500 pounds. Only to come home, take a shower and get dressed, realizing that my entire lower body is puffy! My legs are totally 100% swollen. Thighs, calves, feet--the whole nine. I've never experienced anything like this ever in my life. And it's painful! I have sausage legs. My poor little leggies and feet are just stuffed into my skin like sad little (er, big?) sausages.

I have no idea. I'm drinking my normal amount of water (which is a lot), haven't been pounding the Diet Coke (I know, shocking), haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary--no new meds or anything. Weirdest thing.Ever!

Has anyone ever had this happen before? Any ideas on what I can do? I couldn't even shove my feet into my largest flat shoes today!

I mean, it is hilarious, because, of course, I would just randomly balloon up, but, um, seriously, not cool.

I look like the damn Michelin Man. No joke.

And no, there will be no pictures, you'll just have to take my word for it. My lower half? Sausages.

I don't even like sausages.

Sad little plea: help. :)

Unprepared

(warning! warning! warning! possible honesty and emotional overshare. warning!)

So, as y'all know, it's birthday month (which, um, yeah, I haven't done crap to celebrate said birthday month other than my awesome half marathon--hmph, not cool), and soon enough, it will be marathon week (next week!) and then birthday week (um, the week after that). And then because I really am a child, birthday week shall extend into early December, 'cause that's when I can have my actual fun birthday dinner that will not take place at some shanty in Middle of Nowhere, Arizona. Just sayin'.

But, to this end, I'm feeling wildly unprepared for my upcoming birthday. And before I launch into my little schpeel here, let me clarify, that I am fully aware that I am young and have years ahead of me (hopefully)--fully aware. K. Thanks.

It's my 25th. On the 25th. Which, in and of itself is a big deal as far as I'm concerned.

However, I have fallen short on the list of things I wanted to do by my 25th. Yes, I've done a lot of things (changed legislation! bought a house! graduated college! started graduate classes!)--so, I'm not belittling that at all, but, I must admit that I was and still am completely unprepared for the emotions that would flood me as I reflect on my upcoming birthday.

2009 has been tough. We lost our sweet sheltie girl, Hanna. We lost dear family friends. I've battled a mystery illness which keeps me up most nights and has caused me to wage a never ending battle with my weight (considering I'd managed to lose 10 lbs from January-June--then August just ruined it all) which of course has led to depression--and well, we don't really need to go into that.... Yeah, 2009? Hard. We're fortunate enough that I have a job, but, my husband, who graduated top of his class, with honors, with awesome work experience, still does not. Thus, all the fun things we wanted to do to our home, we cannot, as we cannot afford them. We aren't any closer to having children than we were one year ago, which makes me sad, and I haven't made it to Italy yet. This is the real crime.

I look at so many of my friends who have gorgeous houses, graduate degrees, good jobs--and are my age, or just a smidge older and it can be hard. Who am I kidding, it is hard. There, I said it. And yes, it can be hard to be grateful for what I do have, because I know that really, it is a lot. I am a very blessed little lady. No denying that. And I am grateful.

Problem is, each year, I set goals (this problem also arises around December 31st), and I achieve none of them. Doesn't fail. No matter how simple (paint upstairs bath, anyone? How hard is that, really? I can promise you it won't be done by December 31st, 2009 as I said I would last year), I cannot accomplish them for whatever reason. Sure, things happen, money goes elsewhere, things pop up, life happens. Sure. But, why, oh why is it so hard for me to stick to things (like writing my book, for example)? I have no idea.

But, I do know this: I know that on Saturday, I completed yet another 20(.3) mile run. I ran my little heart out for 20 miles (well, the first 6 sucked, but, I found an Oreo at our water stop and I kid you not, it was like angels sang down from heaven and everything after that totally kicked butt. Note to self, have husband post up at mile 6 and 20 with Oreos). I finished strong, with my last mile being my fastest (was I just dying to be finished? I'll never know for sure). I felt freaking awesome (I can walk today!).

I know that God blessed with me with a body that can run 20 miles. And that will run 26.2 miles in less than two weeks (gulp). I know that one year ago, the thought of running 6 miles made me want to crawl under a rock. I know that I've gained some weight, my butt is freaking huge, my legs are chubby and my love handles are out of control, but, I can run 20 miles. I don't really know what all this means, but, I'm really trying to make myself feel better since I was told by a certain work colleague that I'd love marathon training because I'd be in the best shape of my life. I beg to differ, because I looked way better in May, but, whatevs (slightly bitter, what can I say, at least I'm honest).

I know that for once, I will have completed a goal. A milestone. A finish.

It's not what I set out to do on my 24th birthday, or even on December 31, 2008, but, it's what I set out to do and I'm doing it.

I don't think I've ever been so giddily excited over anything. Seriously. This is right up there with my wedding day (which was really a blur, and I'd like to watch the video of it sometime because I remember exactly .5% of the entire day).

I can't believe that almost another year has gone by. I can't believe that I haven't achieved nearly anything that I wanted to by this time, nor can I believe that in 13 days, I will run a marathon. I can't believe that I have completed two half marathons, two 15ks, and two 10k races this year. Never in a million years.

Sometimes things don't work out.

But, sometimes they do.

Sometimes, you find yourself in the most unexpected places.

Like in a pair of hot pink running shoes (which are sadly going to be laid to rest on November 23rd, 2009 as they have served their purpose--and considering I recently lost one of two remaining toenails, am pretty sure I should have retired them in October--oh well).

You just never know.