Superbowl Monday and other Ramblings

Happy Monday after Superbowl. Why can't the Superbowl start at noon or something, or on Saturday?? Kb and I helped host a Superbowl Party and after all the drunks left and cleanup was over we didn't get home until midnight. Happy Monday indeed.


I didn't win ANY of the Superbowl square pots I was on. So to the winners... You're welcome. We did put together a couple of shotgun pots at the party and I won 1 of those. So it wasn't all bad. I also won our nfl.com Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge. Yippee!! After winning the College Bowl pot this year I bet these guys won't let me play with them anymore. booohoooo


Backing up a bit... Saturday night we went to TK and Judyjudyjudy's house to start getting ready for the Superbowl Party. And by "getting ready" I mean, grilling steaks, drinking lots of wine and playing Super Mario Kart and Cabela's Big Game Hunter on the Wii until 1am. I can't drive that stupid Mario Kart stone sober much less after wine. Glad there weren't any young kids there to show us up.

On to something not Sports, Superbowl or running related but clearly newsworthy...A new analysis shows that beer is good for Bone Health?!?! According to an article on msnbc.com beer is full of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for good bone health. This breaking news story along with a headline I saw last year about "bigger thighs may equal better health" make me think I'm living life right!!

O Miller Lite, who knew your sweet, golden nectar wasn't just good, but good for me?? See you at beer-thirty!!

Saturday Run w/ a new Running Buddy

Well, I did it. I went back to tha riva and faced my 6.5 miler that almost killed me last time. It wasn't too bad. It was probably 50* colder than the last time and wasn't unbearable. My shin splints didn't bother me at all (Thank you acupuncture treatments!!) and I didn't even need to step into the water/spray park and scare any of the kiddos or their parents.

Ok so, remember my goal post a while back when I said I wanted to pick a charity to volunteer with?? Well, today was my first step. Throughout my life 1 thing has been a constant. Pets. Dogs to be specific. We've always had a dog or dogs. I can't imagine my life without them. We've either adopted them or they've adopted us. So, I've decided to help other dogs adopt a forever family and work with Fuzzy Friends Rescue. A friend of mine works there. They have a program where people can come in and take the dogs for a walk to get them some exercise so I asked her about a running buddy. She said it sounded like a great idea. So Saturday I met Charlene....

She's a mutt and they don't know how old she is but she's super sweet!! It was tough getting to know each other at first but she's been leash trained and did pretty well considering the circumstances. She was thrown into a new place with a new leader but she did great!! We saw kids riding bikes, guys playing disc golf, squirrels, some people fishing and kiddos feeding ducks. She was focused and stayed with me the whole way. When I took her back, everyone at FFR was so grateful and let me know how much that means to them and the dogs. They're excited to put this on her profile so maybe she can be somebody's forever running buddy. Until then, she can be mine. Sleep well tonight Charlene, I'll see you next week.

6.5 Mile Redemption

Ok, here's the thing. I have 6.5 miles scheduled to run tomorrow. When I think back to the last time I ran 6.5 miles it almost killed me. Mind you after that, 8, 9.5 and even 11 miles came and went fine. But those 6.5 miles were brutal.

At the time that was the longest distance I had ever even attempted to run. It was hot and I didn't exactly have my training down to know what to do when I'm running for an hour or more. Where I run, "down by the river", there's a small water park by a playground that the kiddos can go cool off in the summer. Or Where I can scare parents w/ their kids by walking into the water park fully clothed panting like a maniac, face flushed from the heat, sun, dehydration, or all of the above. Yep, I stripped off my fannypack and ipod, dove in and cooled my sweaty @ss off. I feel a little more prepared now, but still. I have to admit I'm nervous.

Nervous but determined. I'm going back to that 6.5 mile run. I'm going to run the same route as last time and show that 6.5 miler who's boss!!

Training in Winter S.U.C.K.S

So I haven't been this super start athlete for long. In fact, I really started my training right before the heat of the summer in Texas. Heat I can handle, I can dress for heat and know how my body will react in the heat. It will sweat... A LOT...

Winter is different. It rains. I.don't.do.rain. and it's cold. I know some people would love to have a balmy 40deg day to train in but that's my cutoff point. 40 is cold to this Texas Girl. When it's cold the cold air burns my throat and lungs and that's no fun. I suppose I could train on the dreadmill but I don't like that option either. You never get anywhere. After really getting out there and pounding the pavement there really is no substitute.

The running gods have been against me lately. It rained all weekend. It's raining now. It's been cold. I even got up this morning, got dressed and got out in the rain to go for a dreadmill run at the gym. The gym is supposed to honor the fitness program I signed up for through my insurance company. When I got there the front desk guy (who looked like he wasn't 100% awake) had no idea what I was talking about and turned me away since a manager* wasn't there. See... it just wasn't meant to be. I went home and did Jillian Michaels 30day Shred. Gotta cross train right?? Better than stopping at Starbucks or Daylight Donuts for a kolache mmmm kolache. So this morning wasn't a total waste.

*yes I called and talked to the manager and everything sorted out. RPM tomorrow baby!!!

I'm baaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I've taken a little hiatus. But I've been thinking about so many things to post I decided I just have to get back into this bloggy world and have at it. So...here's a recap of what I've been up to: (in no particular order)

* I joined Twitter!! (I'll add that gadget later)
* As far as my goals post.. Haven't accomplished a 1 but they're still out there and I plan on working on them this year
* I rested as planned over the holidays and am back pounding the pavement (Side note: Winter training sux!)
* Christmas was great w/ Conway a.k.a. Kb *MWAH!! Love YOU!*
* We spent New Years in Bandera and Fredricksburg w/ our new travel friends Tk and Judyjudyjudy (she says anyone that wants to travel w/ us needs to have at least 3 travel references - more on that later)
* Deer season was a SUCCESS!!! 1 Buck and 1 Spike. My 1st Buck EVA!! Talk about buck fever! That stand was a shakin'! We now have plenty of meat in the freezer for the year.
* No, I haven't sold my house in da Hood yet..
* I signed up for Rock n Roll Dallas!! Come on Big 'D' - got a couple of recuits too, my hairdresser and some of her friends.

That's all for now. I'll try to get up to date on everyone's blogs and get back in the game. Happy Hump Day Everyone!!

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?