Yep, I know. You were thinking it, you just never
wrote it. I got really busy BUT I still ran and
completed ALL my training, and I’m still alive (though
barely). I don’t want to spend the next 3 hours
catching up on the posts, so I’ll just give you a quick update
per week. Week Six-13.1miles Started crappy, ended well.
Basically I got up on Monday and decided I just couldn’t bring
myself to running, after the 6 miler on Sunday. So I
decided I would do it Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I would catch
up by doing a 2.5 mile easy run plus strength training. And I
did it, surprisingly. My shining accomplishment was spending
a total of 270 seconds in a plank. On the Saturday, instead
of having a long run, my training called for a 5k, but there was
not one race scheduled for that weekend. And there was a
“fire-weather” warning outside, so I decided to do my 5k on the
tread. This was pretty difficult to determine if I was going
as fast as I could, but either way, I completed it in 27:40.
According to my training
guidelines, this means I should be able to run the half
in less than 2:08 hours. Now, I’m not trying to be a Negative
Ne-Ne Nancy
Nelly but that would only happen if I switched my body
with that of “Speed Racers.” Also, I enjoy the
little things in life like walking and would like to be able to do
so after this race. S00000, I’m still keeping my goal at what
I think is reasonable. But I’ll keep that to myself to ensure
I won’t publicly fail. Week Seven-19 miles Now last week, I thought
that I had something going with this moving my Monday training to
Tuesday and coupling my Tuesday training with my strength
work. However, this week that plan sucked. By Saturday,
my legs were crazy on fire, and I was NOT prepared for Saturday’s
run of 7 miles, which is the “longest I’ve ever run.” Ps, you
might want to get used to that phrase because every long run I have
from here until the race, will be the “longest I’ve ever
run.” Anyway, I decided on Friday night in all my agony, that
unless I made some grandiose plan to run, it wasn’t going to
happen. So, at 1:30am I searched and searched until I found a
group of fellow runners with whom I could be accountable to with my
miles. So I headed out 7 hours later to meetup with 35
runners to head from George Washington Parkway to the National Mall
and back. After getting lost as I ALWAYS do in Virginia (I
hate driving in VA), I finally arrived with 1 minute to
spare. Immediately, two ladies walked up to me that looked
just as lost as I did and said “Are you new too?” and we
became running partners for the day. I found out quickly that
we had a moderately hilly route (just what my knees
needed…NOT!) and that their saying they ran about 10-11 min
miles, was a lie. Several thoughts went through my head
during that run. I’ll sum them up by saying I left it feeling
very unsure about whether I will be able to do a half marathon
EVER. Today my legs are in so much pain, my right knee
is in agony, and I want to throw a 3-year-old style
tantrum every time I think about having to run again
tomorrow. I don’t know if it was the change in schedule-run
Tue, Wed, Thurs, plus strength training, with only one rest day in
between. Or whether it was running the 7 and then
being convinced to do an additional mile back to the car by my new
buddy that really wanted to get 8.5 in that day. Or whether I
am just getting old. But I’m seriously doubting myself, and
it SUCKS SOOOOO BAD. 
I really need you
all to tell me everyone went through this their first time.
Or that when I wake up tomorrow, my knee will feel no pain
whatsoever. Or that there is a miracle cure that I can take
to make it all better. Ps, in my depress-ness, I ate a huge
chunk of Red Velvet cake, two cupcakes, two donuts, and an entire
Dairy Milk Cadbury bar this weekend. Which means that if I
don’t run tomorrow, I will have yet another dimple added to my ass
by Tuesday and my life will officially suck.
HELLLLLLLLP! An anonymous black girl who doesn’t like sucking
(I chuckled a little bit at that last line…it made me smile…but
now I am sad again…help!)
Ahem…I suck!
28 FebReek-ly WE-cap, Week Five
14 Feb“everybody here get it out of control, get your backs off the wall ’cause misdemeanor said so”. This song is stuck in my head from a crazy rehearsal with 49 kids. I am hoping by putting it in the universe, I will pass it on to someone else. I am sorry in advance =(
Anyway, here ya go.
Number of miles ran: 16
Workout thought for Monday: Suck you, Mondays, with a capital F! Clearly, I’m still stuck with the doggone Monday running blues.
Workout thought for Tuesday: Loving this 2 mile stuff. I could do this forever, or two miles, whichever comes first.
Workout thought for Wednesday: I decided the only way I will commit to my strength training on Wednesdays is to add an entry for Wednesday. And now that I’ve done that, I will start strength training on Wednesday of next week =P
Workout thought for Thursday: What the HILL? First hill workout on a treadmill. My legs hate me STILL! .25 mile increments at increasing slopes and speeds with a .10 speed walk in between (also on a slope). The sad part is I had to alternate walking during my breaks. The great part is I still averaged only half a minute off my goal pace. I’ll take it.
Workout thought for Saturday: Treadmill running sucks kangaroo butt…So after about 7 hours of deliberation, I went outside! I wish that I had a reality show so that you guys could be entertained by all the research one does to find an excuse to get out of the longest run she has EVER taken. I am sure you have been there but I figure a list wouldn’t hurt. So here is a day in the life of a lazy a$$ BG trying to get out of running.
1. Wake up at 9, 10, and 11 and check weather each times to see when it will be the warmest.
2. Put on running clothes during late morning errand to see if it will be TOO COLD to run.
3. Check the wind speed, for each hour from 11-5pm.
4. Google search to find some info about what constitutes a breezy versus really windy day, because I just CAN’T run when it is really windy.
5. Check sunset times for the day to determine if I can still run before it gets dark.
6. Google search tips on how to run safely outdoors.
7. Google search to find out if pepper spray works on rabid dogs, foxes, and bears, because we all know I am going to run into one, if not all of those.
8. Getting on the toilet three times to be sure I didn’t have to potty.
Finally at 4:15 (1:26 minutes before sunset) I head out alone in Rock Creek Park. It was a great run, 6 miles in 1:05 hours. Only 5 minutes over my “in my dreams” half marathon goal pace. The best part of the run was me developing a skit in my head of how I would play Dorothy getting caught up in the tornado that relocated her to the Wonderful World of Oz. This seems random, but not much because for 300 meters of my run the wind was so out of control, I literally saw the Wicked Witch pass me on her broom. Oh, the horror!
What’s on my I-Phone radio while running: Ciara Pandora Station again, baby, baby, uh!
The song that saved my butt this week: Lose my Breath by Destiny’s Child.
Low moment: 9am-4:14pm Saturday, see above.
High Moment: 4:15-5:20pm on Saturday, see above.
End of the week thought: I LOVE RUNNING OUTDOORS!!! And, apparently I did just need to wash my new running pants =P Thanks Morgan!
Hope all of your runs went well!
An anonymous black girl who is really sleepy AGAIN!
Movin’ on up, out of cotton
7 FebSo after a year of running, I felt it was time to get non-cotton running pants. Yes, I know. I am awful, Morgan was nice enough to shame me for it. Thanks Morgan, I can always count on you to keep it real. But in my defense, I have been told that cotton like all women that cotton is good. It lets important parts of our bodies breathe and it’s not like I am wearing huge sweats (well unless I forgot to wash). But I figure if I wanna be a part of the club, I need to dress the part.
Soooo off to Marshall’s I went in search of the pants that would change my running life, make me 10 times faster, and make me leap tall buildings in a single bound. I scored a $24 pair, seemed nice enough and when I put them on, I felt my life changing before my eyes. Really!
On my next running day, I was so excited to wear them, I even put on a matching top and sprinting down the steps to the gym. Ok, I didn’t actually sprint, I walked but very happily.
The moment I began, I felt something I’ve never felt before. I thought surely the pants are magical and it’s magic is tingling through my body. Well, when the mist in my fantasy cleared, what really was happening was I was experiencing intense itching in my legs. And even more annoying my pants were slowly sliding off of my ass. That damned slick material. I considered the two things that could have went wrong (“did I forgot to bathe today?”, “did I buy the wrong size?’) However, I did bathe and was wearing the right size. I couldn’t explain it but I spent the next 35 minutes scratching and tugging at my lower half and I really didn’t enjoy the experience at all.
What am I missing? Did I do something wrong? Is the world mocking me for taking so long to buy real running pants? Please tell me I am not the only one who has ever had this experience.
Reek-ly WE-Cap, Week Four
7 FebWe interrupt this post to bring you the following message…
“Go Packers!” and with that I should follow-up with confessing I am not a Packers fan and football is not my cup of tea. The only thing I watched during the Superbowl was the halftime show. And I would say I watched commercials, but I actually didn’t see any worth noting in the 8 mins or so I had my Tv tunedFox 5. What I was able to catch on the net is the gossip about X-Tina singing The Star Spangled Remix. I just don’t understand how peeps can mess up that song. Like really? Is that the first time you’ve ever sang it? But what was most astonishing is when they panned the audience and it seems very few people were phased by it. So maybe she wasn’t the only one that missed singing that in school like weekly. If you didn’t catch it, check it out on You Tube. I thought about posting it here, but instead I figured we all could use a non-botched version of the song, so Whitney, Pre-Bobby Brown crack stage, take it away!
Now back to our regularly scheduled program already in progress…
Number of miles ran: 12
Workout thought for Monday: Now I know why I never remember Monday’s run…It sucks so bad that my mind erases it in an effort to convince me to run again. Not sure what was going on, but my feet were hurting like crazy and, all and all, it just sucked. Might have had something to do with the fact that I didn’t get a chance to eat much today. Gotta add to training schedule…eat on Mondays.
Workout thought for Tuesday: (blank) I skipped it. I know I am awful but I was performing and didn’t make it home in time to run without looking like the crazy lady who runs in the middle of the night. I was going to do it Wednesday, but I chose to come home and sleep. Gosh, am I now so old that performing warrants a 2 day recovery period? Really?
Workout thought for Thursday: Back to funky Fartleks, but the speed intervals were longer (.25 miles) and the recovery intervals (.1 miles ) were shorter. So I am putting it in the books as an improvement. My feet felt again!
Workout thought for Saturday: Treadmill running sucks kangaroo butt…Part Four! (insert explicit language) why does the weather screw with me this way? However, I found out that if I stick a towel under my portable DVD player, it will sit on top of the treadmill without skipping. Sooooooo, I watched my “What’s Happening” DVD as I ran. Did it make it easier, No! But at least I avoided obsessing in the mirror about the size of my thighs.
What’s on my I-Phone radio while running: Ciara Pandora Station again. Until Rihanna comes on. I kind of just want her to go away.
The song that saved my butt this week: On Thursday, while doing Fartleks, I had the unfortunate experience of having back to back slow songs on Ciara. Not bad slow songs but when you are in that last stretch, you really don’t need to hear “There goes my baby” by Usher. So I fumbled through the screen to change station, and there it was, just what I needed to get me through…Thriller. Thank you MJ! You ARE always with me.
Low moment: Skipping a 2 mile easy run. Who does that?
High Moment: Running the last .25 stretch of my fartleks at 8 miles per hour. And doing strength training afterwards. I had to redeem myself from the aforementioned low moment.
End of the week thought: Not my proudest week, but life goes on!
Hope all of your runs are going well!
An anonymous black girl who is really sleepy!
I’m a SITSTA SISTA
