A little bitching before Valentine's Day

Ok, seriously.. enough with this nasty weather. I don't even have any cute snow day pictures to share. It's just COLD, RAINY, WET & NASTY. No, not cute at all. How do people live like this?? I mean, give me 100+ degrees anyday but this overcast, no sun shining, wet weather can really bring a person down. The sun seems like it goes up late and comes down early. You have to pile on a ton of clothes, most of which can't be too cute since you're trying to stay as warm as possible. I mean, how sexy can a sweater be?? Ohh, or a turtleneck?? Yeah BABY!!

Next week it's supposed to be somewhat pretty and at least in the 50s. See, it just doesn't stay cold enough here to even try to get used to it. And with my self-imposed outdoor running cutoff of 40*, I've had to do some of my runs on the dreadmill. My race is only 5 weeks away so I need to do it to it!! Oh, yeah, my running buddy may have bailed on me so I'll have to navigate my 1st 1/2 marathon by myself.

Ok, enough bitching. It's Valentine's Weekend!! Kb & I are of course spending it together. We may be going to Gruene Hall to hear Stoney LaRue. Ahhh, Cold beer and Live Texas Music, 2 of my favorite things. Sometime this weekend Charlene and I have an easy 4 mile run. We may be doing that when I get back from our concert on Sunday. Good times Indeed!! Love is in the air!

My New Kicks

For Christmas my sweetie wanted to by me some new running shoes. The ones I had before were my first "real" pair of running sneaks. We aren't exactly Mayberry here but we don't have a whole lot a specialty shops so my first pair were bought at the mall. Ugh! I think the girl did the best she could. But after catching the running bug and reading all the blogs (see when I get into something I geek out and try to learn all I can) I realize I probably didn't get the best pair. I ended up with some Asics Kayanos. Fast forward through training for my 1st failed 1/2 marathon and shin splints and I decided to start over and get to a shop with some peeps who really know what they're talking about. Enter RunTex...


RunTex is a great running specialty shop in the Austin area. I went to the one in Georgetown. I heard so much about this place from friends and reading online I couldn't wait to check it out. When I got there they had me take off my shoes, do some flexibiliyt exercies with my toes and then run around so they could watch my pronation. Yeah, barefoot. It was pretty cool! I told them about the shin splints and that my outer 2 toes on each foot go numb after long runs. Wait... I never talked about that?? I knew it wasn't normal but since it went away I didn't worry about it. N-E Whoooo They said that my shoes were probably too small and suggested a 1/2 to 1 size bigger than what I had. They brought out 3-4 pairs for me to try and I decided on a pair of Brooks Defyance. They are so light and confortable, I was super stoked!!

Fast forward again to last weekend's 6.5 mile run. This was a first for me. I got a blister. And no not in a normal place like your heel or toes. It's on the arch of my foot!! Geez! I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do about that?? This morning I tried a 2nd Skin blister pad but it just inched it's way off my foot and attempted to jump out of my sock. So much for that idea.

Other than the blister, these shoes have been great. No pain in my shins, and no numb toes! Yippee!!

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!!