Got Goals?

Since I started this running biz I've found I'm much stronger than I gave myself credit for. I put a goal out there, had a plan of attack and stuck with it until my shin splint flared up. I got all the way up to 11 miles before my leg crapped out on me. If you had told me, "Jenn, in '09 you're going to get a crazy thought in your head and train for a half marathon even though you aren't an athlete, have never trained for anything before and are pretty uncoordinated" I'd say "B, you so crazy!" But here I am, I mean mentally, I feel like I can do anything as long as I hold up physically. Thinking about and training for still my 1st HM, I've decided to put out a couple of more goals. I'll be expanding on them in the coming days. I feel like if I say it out loud I'm more accountable so here goes...

1 - Run that 1/2 Marathon that has so far eluded me

2 - Lose 20 pounds (I know, right now isn't the best time to work on a weight loss goal but I'm kidding myself if I say I'll eat what I want now but after New Year's is a whole other story. No, I'm pretty sure I'd be miserable. )

3 - Pick a charity to volunteer with (I said I was going to do this last year. O Where has 2009 gone?)

4 - Run in more local charity 5ks

5 - Run in another Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon - Maybe San Antonio? (I really want that Rock Star Medal)

So these aren't all exactly the most S.M.A.R.T. goals but I plan on breaking them down. Once I do, I'll use this as a diary to keep me honest. Wish me luck!

Taking it slow...

Hey All!! I'm back! Yeah, I know it's been a while but I've been busy, I promise. I'm not sure I know exactly what I've been busy doing but apparently it hasn't been blogging or running for that matter. Good News!! Running and I are back together!! We're just testing things out right now and taking it day by day but I just feel better being out there. I even have a running group! My hairdresser wants to run in her 2nd Half Marathon and asked if I would too! Yeah! I love having something to look forward to. She has another friend she's training with so we all meet twice a week at 530am and with long runs on the weekend. We want to run in the Inaugural Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans. It's in February which stills gets me in under my stated goal of doing this before my next birthday. I like getting my runs out of the way in the am but DAYUM it's a cold motha freaka out there! I haven't mastered the art of layering yet. I'm either way to warm and sweaty under my layers or the wind whips though the light layers. I'll figure it out though.



BTDubs - I ran in my 1st race ever!! It was the 5K Turkey Trot through Cameron Park. Yes, I returned to Cameron Park even after my last experience , I figured I was safe with all the people out there. Surely someone checked the bathrooms and made sure everyone had their clothes on. It was rainy and kinda cold and it was only my 2nd time out for a run after the Dr told me to lay off for about 4-6 weeks. The hills there are K.I.L.L.E.R., I was pretty slow and had to take lots of walk breaks. I came in close to last of the runners and behind a lady with her stroller but before all of the walkers. YAY FOR ME!! Actually, I LOVED IT! I wasn't the most comfortable in the rain but when I came to the finish, there were volunteers standing around in the rain cheering all the participants on. I felt really accomplished. I said I was going to do something and despite weather not cooperating, my leg not feeling 100%, and knowing I was going to get my tail kicked by the route, I did it. Don't you just love reaching your goals?

A House for Sale in Da Hood

Going to the highest bidder... Yep ol 43rd Street is going up for sale. I've had it!! It's my first house and I bought it all by myself a little over 5 years ago. I remember when I was looking for what I could "afford" and it wasn't much. The houses weren't in great areas, they all had orange or green shag carpet. The walls were either the lovely shade of pea green or were dark and paneled. Wow! That was depressing. I made an ok living but the Baylor Student Loans I was and still am paying back limit me on what I can shell out every month. Thanks BU!! But then I stepped it up a little and decided I would pay a little more for a house that didn't need as much work and didn't have bars on the windows. Then the realtor took me to 43rd Street. I fell in love immediately. It was in a decent neighborhood, had normal, neutral carpet and neutral color on the walls, a great yard, great trees and a line of hedges in the back that made my yard feel secluded. I could even live with the sea foam and forest green tile in the bathroom. (at least it wasn't salmon pink) When I was looking at it and deciding what to do another buyer pulled up and was waiting on me to get out of I my house!. I looked at the realtor and asked what I needed to do. Off we went to his office and an offer was made. While the negotiating was taking place I had to go across the street to Johnny Carino's for a glass of wine to calm my nerves. That's a big deal for a 26 year old single woman!! I had 5 great years in the house and Conway helped me remodel this year.

Sad to say my car has been broken into twice this year and the last straw was when my license plate was taken over the weekend. That's all I need is my license number and name being called over a police scanner for being involved in a drive by shooting or bank robbery get away car. I spent most of Monday making reports, getting my new license plate and then putting the sucker back on. They took the whole bracket and screws!! Seriously? So that's it! My wonderful first home has been tainted and I've been violated so I'm OUT! The next house has a few musts!!
1 - 2 bathrooms it's not so bad when you live alone but since Conway's been back you just don't have the privacy
2 - Washer and dryer must be inside - no, it wasn't in an attached garage that you could get to through a door in the kitchen. It was in a detached garage in the back yard.
3 - a garage I can actually park my car in - Hopefully this will reduce my car insurance if I stop replacing windows.

See, I'm not real picky. Conway and I are already looking at a few possibilities. Cross your fingers my house will sell soon!!

Dirty Love Burger at 1am

**Before I start my fun recap of the week gone by I just want to take a minute to honor those killed yesterday at the massacre at Ft Hood. We have an office in Killeen and many of those have family that work on the base and I know yesterday was horrific. Please keep the families of the victims and all our troops in your prayers**

Good Lord where has the week gone. I've been super busy and haven't had time to post or catch up but I'm doing so slowly. Here's the cliff notes on what's been going on so far...

Running - Still injured but I may have found some new running buddies, which gives me hope that I'll still have the motivation to finish my 1st Half by my Birthday in May. Until I can start running I'm stuck at the stinky boring gym and just don't get the same satisfaction. Plus it has been PERFECT weather here. That makes the gym that much worse.

Halloween - Halloween in Cowtown was a BLAST!! Conway and I went to the Ranch Bash at Sundance Square and saw Roger Creager, Ryan Bingham and Charlie Robison. (ok, Conway got his name when I threatened to dress him up as Conway Twitty for Halloween. Ya know, tight shirt, gold necklace, 70's aqua net boof hairdo and trucker hat. This would be funny if we were going to a friends house that would know we were dressed up, as it was, we went to Ft Worth and dressing up as a redneck country singer really isn't much of a stretch, so I'll have to keep that until next year)

One of the best costumes I saw was a chick dressed up as Box Wine. She made copies of the lables big enough for the box she was wearing and even had a pour spout. I got nervous when I saw her trying to light a cigarette but somehow she managed. Genius. The winner of the costume contest was a dude dressed up as Lt Dan from Forrest Gump. Except he wasn't actually an amputee but had his legs tucked in and you couldn't tell until he started jumping around when he won. It was still hard to look at him for fear you were staring at a cripple. Which he wasn't, but he made the most out of that wheelchair all night.

After the concert, we headed back to the stockyards and hit up the White Elephant. Before turning in at the Stockyard Hotel we got a burger from the Love Shack. Not just a burger but the Dirty Love Burger. WOW-ZA!!! Chef Tim Love has a restaurant in the Stockyards called Lonesome Dove, it's a nice Texas-y place with game on the menu like buffalo, kangaroo and rabbit, but he also has the Love Shack. A walk up, order a beer and a burger kind of place. We got the Dirty Love Burger. It was a cheese burger with love sauce and a fried quail egg. YES AN EGG AND IT WAS DA'BOMBDIGGITY!! I don't know what was in the "love sauce" but it may have been laced with crack because I'm starting to need a fix. Yum-O!! Juliane cut fresh french fries with sea salt. At 1:00am after an all day beer fest it hit the spot. The best was when Conway was getting ketchup out and the one was trying to open must have had a pin hole in it since it was spewing ketchup all over the wall of the historic Stockyard Hotel!! Good times folks!

It's a state holiday tomorrow in the Lone Star State. Opening weekend of Deer Season. Ok, maybe it isn't an actual holiday but hunters think it should be. Conway and I will be in the stand early, early tomorrow to see what kind of critters come our way. Things get crazy at the deer lease so stay tuned for some good stories. Have a great weekend all!!

After a trip to the Dr... Now What?

Well.... Went to the doc on Monday. No Stress Fracture *yeah* but Severe Stress Injury *ummm??* Apparently this means I don't know exactly when I will heal. You know it's not good when your Ortho Doc says "is this marathon thing a life or death situation?" Um.. Well.. #1 It's not just a marathon thing it's a goal I made that I've been training for and trying to attain. #2 of course it's not life or death unless you consider all the time, sweat and tears I've put into it. I guess he just doesn't get it. I'm picking up the sarcasm about running 13 miles he's putting down and I don't like it. I want him to understand me and the pain I've gone through to get to this point. He told me the smart thing to do was lay off the running for 4-6 weeks. translation: San Antonio is out unless I really want to hurt myself He said to consider this a speed bump in my training and to supplement all the endurance training I've done so far that I could do elliptical and bike for the next 4-6 weeks. Elliptical or Bike????!?!???!? are you kidding me?? Not that I'm saying it's not a workout but going from running every week for the past 12 weeks and intense boot camp for 9 weeks before that??, it just doesn't cut it. Redhead Running sent me a great email about getting my cross training on while I'm injured. But after feeling the accomplishment of running 10+ miles? I don't know what I'll do to get it back. I keep telling myself just to pick out another spring run and focus on that. Will I? I'm so scared I've lost my motivation. My friend that said she would run San Antonio with me is running the FULL marathon in Houston. Will she run another half with me? If not who will? I haven't even told her about my injury yet. I've been training on my own but looking forward to finishing with someone. No one else around here gets me or is even close to trying to go on this crazy journey. I'm looking forward to reading other running blogs and getting back in the game. I really want to heal up and be strong for my first. I just need to remind myself I made a goal to run a HALF MARATHON BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY!! My birthday is in May, so technically I have plenty of time. Mentally, do I?? Stay tuned.....

Surviving the Wine & Food Fest

Wine & Food Fest was this weekend. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!! It benefits the humane society so there were all kinds of fuzzy friends around. SiL and I took 2 rookies to the Fest this weekend and as veterans we gave them a little advice on surviving the 4 hour wine tasting marathon (ha! get it?? see how I made this a running post without posting about running??). I could see there were many rookies in our midst. This was evidenced by the numerous Rookie mistakes. I thought I'd use this post to let you all know some do's and don'ts in order to survive the Wine & Food Fest in Wacko if you ever make it here. Feel free to adjust these tips to your local Wine tasting...


Do - Use the shuttle, don't try to squeeze your way into a parking lot that with your wine haze at the end you can't get out of. Park in the open parking lot and let the shuttle do the hard work of not hitting any of the drunks stumbling around outside of the event.


Do - Remember it is a marathon, not a sprint. You have 4 hours of tasting all the wine you can sip. Pace yourself.


Do - Remember that WINE is before FOOD in the event. This means there's a LOT more wine than there is food. Grab a couple of tastings then move your @ss over to the food tent and build a good base before it's all gone.


Do - Feel free to grab cheese, chocolate truffles, cake samples or mouse to take back to the Wine tents in order to try pairings.


Don't - bring your 12 week old twins to the Wine Tasting. Or any other age children. It's about WINE and lots of it. If you don't plan on getting hammered a lot of other people do! and children scare drunks as much as drunks scare children. If you do bring your baby, try not to get a picture posted on the local trib website with you holding him AND your wine glass in the same hand. classy


Don't - puke at the table. Even if the event is outside, and you're trying to hide it by hurling under the table, seriously, try to make it to the bathroom.


Do - Dress appropriately. It's outside, in the afternoon, at the Art Center. No hoochie shorts or skirts please. Watch your heels, the grass and ground could be damp and you're probably drunk. Trust me no one wants to see your hoohah and the guys that are there aren't there alone so don't even try hookers. I mean, what straight man would go to a Wine Tasting at the Art Center when Texas-OU is on if their wife or girlfriend didn't make them.


Don't - fall out of the shuttle when it takes you back to your car only to be carried out by your friends. This is a hazard to others and more importantly to other's pants. SiL was laughing so hard when this one chic's wheels fell out from under her I thought she was going to piss herself.


Don't - get all sloshed on wine and decide to just go check out the dogs for adopting. You'll end up going home with a dog with wheels for back legs or something. You've done your part with your donation when you bought your ticket. Leave the dogs alone in your drunken stupor. Only adopt when sober.


Well, that about covers it. I swear I could make millions if I could come up with a red wine that didn't turn your teeth purple. Check out the pictures on the trib. No, I didn't make it in any of them. I'm sure I was too busy eating and boozing it up to track down the photographer.
Good times, Good Friends and Good Wine.



I'm out of town for a conference the rest of this week and go back to the ortho doc on Monday to get the diagnosis. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, light some sage, that I'll be able to run in San Antonio.

We were on a BREAK!!!!

No running posts for a little while. Running and I are taking a break. It sucks too. After my 11 miler a couple of weeks ago what I thought were just some shin splints starting getting worse and the pain more concentrated. I went ahead with my weekly runs the next week and a simple 4 miler on Sunday. Monday, the pain was getting worse so I made the dreaded appointment with my Orthopedic Doc. (He isn't the most encouraging. I went to him a couple of years ago when I fractured my tibia and sprained my ankle leaving George's Bar. Not that the beers had anything to do with it. It was my damn heels and those paving stones ok, and the beers.) He had me off working out for a while and in a walking cast for about 6 weeks. He looked at me like "Crazy woman, won't you ever learn" But I'm a new woman now. I was taking my training slow and serious. Really trying not to hurt myself and really try to get my body in shape, I scheduled plenty of rest days and was really feeling good about my training. I even just loaded NIN Pretty Hate Machine on my running playlist. ARGHHH!!
Maybe it was the shock of my body that had never trained for anything and never run in a 5k race before, that taking on the 1/2 was too much. He's scheduled an MRI for Friday, so I have to wait for the results of that. 12.5 were scheduled for this weekend so that's out. But you know what's in???? The Wine and Food Festival benefitting the Animal Shelter!! If I can't run I should definitely WINE!!

Who's Yer Daddy Dinner!!

Conway just made me the most A-MA-ZING dinner. I had asked for a steak tonight. After my run, I came home to wine, filet, scallops in a creamy jalapeno crab sauce, shredded potatoes and salad. SNAPAROO!! That'll make you take back sh*t you didn't steal!! He's a really great cook and has taught me all I know in the kitchen. I mean, I'm a meat and potatoes girl. The way to my heart is definitely through my stomach. Thanks Conway!! I LOVE YOU!!

New Gear

Well, I got my new bra in last week and gave it a whirl on my 11 miles this weekend. The girls were held up pretty good and I didn't walk away with any visible scars. The other item I tried were some Under Armour shorts. They're kinda like bike shorts but shorter. You can wear them under shorts or pants. I needed them under my shorts since I'm getting that great chaffing on my long runs. (No, I haven't found the Body Glide that everyone swears by yet.) After my last long run, it was pretty bad. Conway and I were talking about it. He was pretty sporty back in the day. Football, baseball, track so I usually ask him about athletic type stuff. He said "It sounds like jock itch, but I don't know if you can have jock itch without b*lls" HA! God I love him. Anyway, I found these shorts and couldn't wait to try them. So Saturday was the day for all my new gear. I wore the Under Armour with some shorts that I don't usually wear since they ride up BUT I thought it wouldn't matter since I had the other shorts underneath. NOPE !! They rode up and kept riding up and the rash got LOWER!! Like where my legs mushroomed out of my super tight under shorts. Oh well, now I know. Guess I won't be wearing all that to San Antonio.

On a completely different note. THE HEART O'TEXAS FAIR IS HERE!!! I love people watching at the fair. The carnies, the food, the rednecks!! I love it all!! I'm sure I'll have some good things to say later on in the week. Til then Later Taters!!!

100 miles!!

I reached 100 miles this weekend!! At least that's where I am since I've been logging which is about when I bought my shoes. If you had asked me to make a New Year's Resolution to run 100 miles this year, much less run a half marathon I'd say you were eff-in crazy. BUT I did it!! I capped off the week with an 11 mile run in China again out by my parents house. Everything was going great until the end when my the front of my shins started getting really stiff. Energy level was ok but my legs were starting to give out and I was getting slower and s.l.o.w.e.r. I'm starting to get the hang of this long distance running but I think I still need some work. I was short one of my weekly runs and I think that hurt me.

I'm going to Leander this Friday to play in a golf tournament. After that I'm going to go by RunTex. It's a speciality running store in Georgetown. We don't have one here in Wacko, but I can hit Georgetown on the way back home. I underpronate and I think I need to try some new shoes. I hope they can help me. I've been told they're pretty good. My problems are 1) my outside toes go numb in my long distance runs. Since I've broken in my shoes, this doesn't happen as quickly but it still happens. 2) I'm wondering if that's why my shins kill me for a while after a run?? I have some inserts but if they aren't supporting in the right area what good are they? My other question is, when do I change my shoes? Now? 4-5 weeks before the race?? I figure I'll add on 50 or so miles before the race so if I'm going to change I guess now is the time? These are all things I'm hoping the pros can help me with.

That's all for now. Gotta go watch Brett Favre beat the only remaining team in the NFL he hasn't beat yet. THE PACKERS!! Come on OLD MAN!!

Holy Crap! This is some funny shiz

The quiet evening that wasn't...

You know those nights when you think.. Let's just have a simple, quiet evening of wine and sushi and go to bed early but really you end up at a strip club at like 10:00 on a weeknight?? That's what happened to Conway and I on Thursday. We went to Diamondbacks for all night happy hour menu. Cheap food and cheap drinks, can't beat it. Well, some of our friends showed up that we haven't seen in a long time, Anderleea and BrotherEric. Let me tell you friends, these 2 are crazy and we love them. They were in the middle of a progressive dinner Anderleea bought at a charity event. It included a limo and gift certificates for places around town Apps and drinks at 1 place, dinner at Diamondbacks and dessert at Green Room Grille. Pretty cool, but BrotherEric couldn't wait to end it all at a strip club here in town that's been re-vamped to be "nice and classy". They convinced us, with not too much arm twisting, to join them for dessert at Green Room. I guess it was here that we were also signed up for the trip to the strip club. GEEZ LOUISE next thing i know it's 10 and that glass or 2 of wine turned into a few beers and I knew I was going to be in trouble if we didn't get home soon. The limo took us back to Diamondbacks and then we were home. You just can't plan out an evening like that.

Back at last...

Back at last, back at last, thank God Almighty I'm back at last!!! Ok, maybe that's a little over dramatic. My internet at home has been down and work's been getting in the way of my blogging and catching up. Now I'm connected at home! Yippee!! I think I'm all caught up on blogs too. I can't believe all of our races are coming up so soon!! Won't be long before I'll be giving my pre-race countdown.

Here's a weekend recap...
Conway got me a 1/2 day at the spa for by b-day. That was back in May but I'm just now cashing it in. I was excited to get a massage for the first time as an athlete. (at least that's what I like to call myself now) I told my masseuse what I had been doing and she said Oh yeah, I can do all kinds of things for you and thus the torture began. She was a bigger girl and could really lean in and get down deep. I'm glad she couldn't see my face when she started on my sciatic nerve. WOWZA!! That hurt so good. When I flipped over I tried to act like I know what I'm talking about and asked about my TI band. She said oh you mean your IT band, yeah, TI is more a solo artist (ha get it... a little pop culture reference... anywhoo) since I hadn't really had any noticible pain like some runners get I wasn't real sure were it was. Well, let me tell you,I found out super quick!! She said THIS is you IT band and starting rubbing and pushing on it. After an initial grunt, I swear I couldn't breathe for a minute. Yeah, you found it alright!! She showed me a few stretches and moved down to my feet. Usually when I wake up in the mornings my feet are SOOO STIFF I walk around like I'm an 80 year old woman until they get loosened up. She worked on those for a while and then played the drums on the 2 knots in my neck. I try to stay loose when I run but about the time I notice I'm tensing up, I have no idea how long I've been like that. After the massage was a facial, lunch by the pool then a mani/pedi. I swear I felt like Madonna or something with all that pampering. Thanks Conway!! Love You!!

On to my run.. Ok, I don't know what it is but apparently the freaks like to come out on Sunday mornings. The last time I ran into one was at Cameron Park. Yikes! This time I parked in an empty parking lot people use in the morning to run by the river. I noticed a couple parked next to me that looked like they just got thru with a bike ride. She was changing out of her bike shoes and he was changing out of his.....KILT?!? WTF?!? I know people usually don't wear anything under their kilts and I didn't look after I saw him stepping into shorts UNDER his kilt. Dude!! you were in a Surburban!! If your bike can fit back there you can surely go back there and change your clothes.

Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder

Yes friends, we're talking bras today. Well, I'm talking about the problem I've had with my sports bras today. See, I'm what I guess would be considered large chested. I think that's part of what some people say when they tell me you don't have the body of a runner. Here's the problem.. When you're running you can't have them flapping around everywhere so you try to get a good supportive sports bra. If it's too tight, the 3rd and 4th side boob that it creates gets squeezed out and under you armpit like when you have a hole in your toothpaste. Not comfortable. If it's too loose they're flopping around everywhere and killing your back and shoulders.

I've noticed a problem when I go on my long runs. Apparently, I have some bras that are too tight. 1 has underwire in it and that rubbed a blister on 1 boob, the other has seams that make my t*ts look like they've been attacked by Freddy Kruger. Conway is having none of this and frankly it hurts. So I broke down and went shopping on the Internet for a new one. I hate bra shopping. Most bras my size are full coverage. Do you know how sexy full coverage is??? Not that I have to worry about being sexy when I'm running but it's still the fact that I'm shopping for a bra which I hate.

Oh, I know we all want what we don't have, but seriously, why would you want a couple of fat bags on your chest. Yep, that's all they are: bags full of fat. Yes, they fill out a dress or sexy top well but other than that they aren't really that functional on a day to day basis. Trust me they're more trouble than they're worth. I mean, I don't want to be nails on a 2x4 flat but maybe if I got down to a nice ripe peach size. Minus the fuzzies of course.

Rednecks in Tank Tops

These sightings have been way to frequent lately. It needs to be addressed, so here goes....

Dear Sirs

Please do us all a favor and STOP wearing tank tops outside of your home. I'm talking to you "wife-beater in public boy that thinks this is such a nice look you need to tuck in the shirt around your gut and belt it with some nice jeans and you Mr "I'm going to cut the sleeves off my old ratty ass t shirt and then cut down the sides of said t shirt so my gut can hang out and you can get a side man-boob show". There must not be a woman in your life, she would definitely tell you this is a no-go.

Hey Camera-people, stop filming drunks in the stands of sporting events wearing team shirts that were either bought without sleeves or converted that way. They usually have their arms up screaming like maniacs for their favorite team. Trust me, no one wants to see wispy underarm hairs blowing in the wind.

Would it kill you to do a bicep curl every once in a while?? I'm talking more than a one armed 16-oz curl, redneck.

I may consider giving you a pass if you're built like Mr T and your arms can't physically fit in a normal shirt... but I doubt it. There really is no excuse for this fashion faux pas.

9.5 in China

It's Monday... yippee ...

Actually, I had a pretty good weekend. Conway surprised me by taking us to a nice restaurant here in Big W, Diamondbacks. We don't usually make it to nice restaurants. Not even for holidays or celebrations so it was nice to go "just because". He knew I had a big run on Saturday so it was a nice relaxing evening. I did have a couple glasses of vino. You can't just drink tea with scallops and dee-lish crab cakes can you? No ma'am.

On to my run.. I got out to my parents house in China around 7:30. It's nice to have a "home base" since I run by myself and have to take numerous potty breaks. Plus that area isn't really overpopulated yet and I thought it would make it a nice quiet run for me. I broke up the 9.5 miles into 3 legs. 1st leg was an easy 1.5 mile warm up around the neighborhood and back to moms to pee. 2nd leg was 4.25 miles and I was ROCKIN'. This was mostly because I was on a highway shoulder where the minimum speed was somewhere in the 95-97mph range. I was trying to book it off that sucker as fast as I could. Back down Yankie, which is a little farm road. It's nice when the country isn't too far out from the city. The fog was still on the ground and some longhorns were waking up and moving around. Rabbits were running around. I've found you never see just 1 rabbit so if you see 1 running be on the lookout for his buddy. I passed a guy building a fence. I mean, driving T-posts and 5-7 lines of barbed wire. This was a serious fence. He looked at me when I went by him the 1st time like I was crazy. 3rd leg was tough, it was starting to get hot and I was getting tired. I like running places where I haven't run before because I don't have landmarks telling me what's coming up. I just have to keep going. Well, when I saw Arnett, the 1-mile stretch back home, you would have thought I found the yellow brick road! Back in the day I would have said "You want me to run what? A mile? Are you going to chase me?" Getting to the end I passed the fence builder again. He said "You just run round and round?" I said "Yeah" (at least that's what I think I somehow managed to get out) he said" WHOOOO WEEEEEE" I was like "Hey man, you're building a fence... by yourself... this was easy compared to that" After that, 9.5 was behind me and I was off to my nap.

Here's a recap of that afternoon... The Bears losing at home + George's tent = too many beers

I was exhausted that evening. We went home and watched the Horns win, then off to bed.

Sunday, the Bucs lost and so did the 'Boys. Booooo

Meth addicts should not work drive thru windows..

I went to pick up some pasta for lunch today (you know carbing up and loving it) and I'm pretty sure the guy working the window was some kind of drug addict and I'm assuming it's meth. I mean, what happened to your teeth Dude!?!?!? This wasn't like "That kid could eat corn on the cob through a picket fence" kind of messed up, they were tiny and looked all shaved down and jagged and overall just jacked up! Why don't you put that kid on the line or something?? Definitely not in the window, when he's the last thing you see before diving into your food. Seriously... Ugh...

Happy Freakin Friday!!

Happy Friday!! Well, today I'm focusing on hydrating and carbing up. 9.5 tomorrow! I have it mapped out and everything. Pit stops, drink stops and all. I'm focusing this run out towards my parents house so I can use their bathroom and not have to worry about walking in on some half naked guy. (Always a plus)

We're going to Baylor's home opener tomorrow! They play UConn and we have some bad-a seats. Look out George's tent!! Conway even said he wanted to get a Baylor shirt to wear to the game! He must really love me. I love the George's tent. Since BU is a good Baptist school there's NO drinking on campus. While the stadium is off campus it's still considered an extension of campus I guess. So George's, local bar/restaurant, set up a tent across the street from the stadium where they sell beer and LOTS of it. They have TVs set up so you can watch all the games, they sell burgers and sandwiches, it's just one big party. We get there a couple of hours before the game, booze it up, walk across the street to the game, follow the Exodus back to the tent at halftime and then sometime in the 3rd or beginning of the 4th if BU is losing go back. (I really hope BU pulls through a few wins this year. That Big 12 Conference is a B*tch!!) We'll be there tomorrow (after my nap after my run) so I'm sure I'll be carb-reloading. (An important part of my training I'm sure.) I hope all your favorite teams win and win BIG this weekend!! Lastly...

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SIC'EM BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got the bug???

I already told you how I got the bug. How I got hooked on this whole work out biz. Well, I'm out there beating the drum and trying to give this bug to everyone I can. I just feel so great, I have to pass it on. I've challenged my bro, Transcam and SiL to run in the Turkey Trot with me here in Wacko. It's a 5k through hilly (or should I say Mountainous) Cameron Park. (Hopefully, minus the creepy bathroom guy) SiL and I did the bootcamp together but since then she's pretty much fallen off. Hopefully it will be easy for her to get back on track. Why is it so hard to get into a routine but so easy to get out of it?? Transcam well, he plays a lot of golf. Other than that he isn't the "exercise" type. He is younger than me so, he has that going for him.

I mean, I'm so pumped up when I tell everyone about my training they get the bug too. (Well, some of them do. Some of them still don't understand why I run if no one's chasing me) Chuck's wifey (Chuck is a whole other story... Broke the mold when they made that guy) emailed me yesterday about couple of races in Big D asking if I wanted to squeeze them in before San Antonio. Lannabanana has decided to start training too. Her b-day is in May and she wants to run a 1/2! So I'll probably be working on #2 soon! (Hold up sister... better just focus on making it through #1 first) I told her about my training and told her I would give her all my tricks and websites/blogs I go to so you guys can motivate her too!!

Also, thanks to the Redhead, I've really been looking into Muddy Buddy and trying to get some teams together. I almost have Conway talked into it. He's super supportive but I'm not sure he wants to get out there with me yet. We're all really competitive so if I can put a friendly wager on our finishing order maybe that will give our friends the extra motivation they need. (Of course I'll post the betting lines as soon as I can hehe)

On a side note... What is "a runner"?? I've been told I don't have the body of "a runner". or "I never pictured you as "a runner"" What the hell does that mean?? Is that because I have boobs and a butt?? (Just because I haven't run those off yet doesn't mean I won't) Is it because I'm 5 feet tall and don't have the stride of a gazelle?? I've also been told by the o-so-sensitive men I work with that for me, running a 1/2 marathon is like a whole one when you consider the steps I have to take compared to a "normal" person. Funny guys...

Date night and why I don't "do" Cameron Park

Happy Rainy Monday!! I can't believe all this rain! Since my training started I haven't had to schedule around rain or even debated if I would run in the rain or not. Until this weekend... This week was a short run week for me. 3 miles anytime during the weekend. No sweat right?? I mean I did run 8 last weekend. I run 3 miles before work! Wtih that in mind I gave myself Friday night off. ( as in, I actually let myself go out and have a good time without worrying about my water intake or how dehydrated I would be after consuming so many beers) My sweet honey who I've nicknamed Conway (long story..don't ask) decided to surprise me. He just said pack a bag and prepare to be outside. Sweet huh? I love surprises. And I love being outside! Well, the monsoon of '09 started Friday and everything was flooded. I was happy for the rain but driving in it gets scary. Northbound 35 we go and he tells me he has great tickets for the Texas Ranger Game!! (Usually the Rangers tank after the All Star break but this year they still have a chance) It wasn't raining really that hard but it just wouldn't stop! He had planned ahead and went to Academy and got us ponchos. Mine was purple (my fav!) and his was Gordon's Fish Stick Fisherman yellow.

We got all decked out, looking like a couple of Vikings fans and in we went. A few beers and a couple of hot dogs later the Rangers never came on the field and the game was postponed. Oh Well, at least they didn't lose! We ended up making a night of it at the Stockyards in Ft Worth. Sometimes the dates that you have to improvise turn out the best. You just can't go wrong with some live music and cold beer at the White Elephant!!



On to my run.. Ok folks.. Even though I went to Baylor, I'm a native Wacoan. I don't "do" Cameron Park or go to the "otha side of the riva". There are way too many stories of flashers, people finding condoms and needles and who knows what other freaks are down there. Innocent BU students however don't have the luxury of being terrified with all the stories throughout the years. BUT I thought "Freaks don't get out early on a Sunday do they??"Wrong!! I decided that since my run was a short one I would challenge myself with some hills. The run through Cameron Park is about 3.4 miles so, with the hills, I thought it would be a good workout. On my way back up I had to make a pit stop. I innocently opened the door to the restroom and much to my surprise there was a half naked man squatted down IN THE BATHROOM!!! HE WASN'T EVEN CLOSE TO THE TOILET!! I DON'T LIKE THOSE KIND OF SURPRISES!!! He stood up, I screamed and hauled @ss making it back to the top in record time I'm sure. I imagine I looked something like this...

Lesson learned. I'd rather tempt poison ivy in the bushes than run into THAT again. I mean, what was he doing anyway?? Nevermind.. I probably don't want to know.

9.5 coming up this weekend. Don't know where yet but I bet you can guess where it WON'T be. BTDubs - Go Rangers! Good Job Cowboys! BU's first home game is this week. GO BEARS!!! So glad football's back!!

A History Lesson...

Well, I started this blog smack dab in the middle of training for my 1st ever Half Marathon. I've become somewhat addicted to reading about everyone's adventures that I thought I'd share my own. Plus, many of you have motivated me and I hope I can return the favor. So here's how it all started...

This summer I started working out at a bootcamp with my Sister-in-Law (SiL). Now before this I was just a gym rat. No dancy aerobics classes but my own workout of cardio and weights. Always, ALWAYS at a gym. This bootcamp got me outside and I found that you don't need all that gym equipment to get a good workout. Our first session was 4 weeks mid-May to mid-June. By then it starts getting hot in Texas and for extra motivation, the bootcamp offered 5 weeks for the price of 4. Cha-Ching! Suckered me right in. Before I knew it 9 weeks of bootcamp workouts 3 days a week were over. I found that I was a lot stronger than I gave myself credit for and that I just really enjoyed being outside and sweatin it up.

So one day, one of my friends who has been running quite a bit asked me if I wanted to go with her. We start chitty chatting and she tells me she's training for the Houston Marathon in January. WOW! I'm impressed. She tells me she's done some halves and decided to step it up this time. Still IMPRESSED!! I think about it and decide that's what I want to do. That weekend I decided to make it a goal to run in a half marathon before my birthday in May. I tell her about said goal and she says if you start right now you'll be ready for San Antonio. When's that you ask?? NOVEMBER!! EEEEK!! This is truly going to be a challenge.

So I took the challenge and signed up for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Halfway through and I'm feeling pretty good. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Here endth the lesson...

Testing 1, 2, 3..

Hello everyone out there in the Blog-o-sphere! I've been following a few blogs for a while and decided to start one of my own. My boyfriend and I live a sometimes crazy life that just has to be shared. I'm going to go on the record now and say that whatever stories I tell are based on actual events, no matter how hard they are to believe. We have some crazy friends that do some crazy shiz and sometimes we get caught up in the mix. We've been together for almost 10 years, have had our ups and downs but in the end, we're best friends and I can't imagine my life without him.

I plan to use this as a kind of diary of my life and invite you to read along and re-live it with me. We love Texas Country and Red Dirt music (those of you in the know know what I'm talking about), drinking beer, hunting, fishing, football, riding motorcycles and just having a good time.

I've also recently taken up running and am in the process of training for my 1st ever Half Marathon in San Antonio!! I love sports but I've never actually competed in or trained for anything in my life! I'll use this to log my experiences doing that here too. (As ugly as it may get.)