Go SD Runners!!!

Just wanted to say good luck to everyone running SD!! Race strong, and I'll be looking forward to race reports and pics!

How Many Do You Have?

I was sorting laundry last night and was looking at my pile of running clothes, pondering the number of shorts, skirts, tops and sports bras I have.

Here are my totals
Bras- total: 6
ones I love and wear often: 3
Shorts- total: 7
love and wear often: 6
Skirts- total: 6
love and wear often: 3
Tops- total: around 10-15
love and wear often: around 8

Oh, and I have 2 pairs of shoes. I need to pare down and get rid of the things I don't like to wear, but I have a hard time doing that since there is nothing wrong with them other than they don't fit quite right. Maybe they should all go to Goodwill.

So how much gear do you guys all have? Do you have drawers and drawers full of clothes, or just a few that you wash and rewash often?

Where the heck have I been??

Nowhere exciting, it's just been a hectic last week or so and I am seriously behind on the blogs. I'll be catching up on all of yours in the next few days...my Google Reader is yelling at me to get busy reading! I'll be back with a real post soon!!

Recipe-Arugula Pesto + this morning's run

*
I really like arugula, but so far my use of it has been limited to adding it to salads for extra flavor. I planted some in our garden, and used it to make Arugula Pesto from the lovely Giada's (I'm pretty sure Rich would leave me for her in a heartbeat..she's hot and cooks every day) everyday italian cookbook. First let me say that I really recommend this cookbook. The recipes are pretty simple, and delicious.

I made this pesto for lunch yesterday, then served it over tortellini with some sauteed chicken breast (cut into strips and sauteed in olive oil, with salt/pepper/italian seasoning).

Arugula Pesto

2 cups (packed) fresh arugula 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1 garlic clove (peeled) 1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup freshly crated Parmesan cheese

In the bowl of a food processor, blend the arugula and garlic until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, processing until well-blended. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stirl in the cheese, salt and pepper. The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

*I didn't take a pic of the pesto, so the pic of Giada will have to do:)

Run-this morning was an easy 4 miler at 11:25 GP. It is cold and rainy and I just did not want to run. I looked at the gym spin schedule but had missed the morning class already so I really had no choice. My mind was pretty ticked off, but my body felt good.
1. 10:59
2. 11:00
3. 11:00
4. 10:30

Last Week's Runs

Last week was a stepdown week, with 4 x 5 mile runs, with goal pace of each one being 11:25.

Tuesday: 5 mile progressive run, I'm not sure the exact splits but they started with the first mile around 11:40 and finished with the 5th mile around 10:15.

Wednesday: Terrible 5 miles on the beach. It was very windy, 20-30mph on the beach and my legs and lungs felt dead from the first step. I managed to "run" (aka, jog extremely slowly) the first 3, then had to walk/jog the last 2. Total time= 1:04

Friday: Great 5 over the bridge: the uphill miles were around 12:30, then downhill miles around 10:30, total time 57:??

Saturday: Much better 5 on the beach. After the craptastic run Wednesday, I needed to redeem myself. It was gorgeous out, very warm and muggy and the beach was packed with people. I was pretty jealous that I was just there to run, then had to leave and go to work instead of getting to enjoy a beach day. But it was nice to get out there anyway! Total time 56:15

Summary-good week, got all the miles in although some were pretty painful and ugly, weight training was a big fat fail however, I didn't do any workouts this week other than the 4 runs.
20 miles total.

**Emmy leaves today. Rich is meeting a lady at 6pm who is transporting her up to her new foster home in North Carolina. It was really sad saying goodbye to her today when I left for work and knowing that after having her in our home for 7 months, loving her like she was our own, we won't ever see her again. It is for the best, we obviously couldn't keep her forever, and that's what fostering is all about, but it is still hard to say goodbye. I wish her the best life imaginable in her new foster home, and eventually in her forever home!!

Emmy has a place to go!!

I haven't had a dog-post in a while because things have just been in limbo with Emmy, our foster boxit (boxer-pit bull). We have some things going on in our lives that I won't completely get into yet (NO I'm not pregnant) but I will say that we needed to not have a foster anymore. We agreed to take Emmy back in October because I couldn't leave her in the shelter to die after I looked into her eyes and she wagged her tail at me. She went to another foster home for about a week, but was too strong and kept knocking the poor lady over so she came back to us. I agreed to foster her temporarily until another foster home could be found....that was over 6 months ago! She went through heartworm treatment, and is now healthy and ready to be adopted. They problem is that she is not the most adoptable dog ever because she has a prey drive (aka wants to kill cats/small dogs) and is questionable meeting other big dogs as well. She loves our dogs, and I have no doubt she would fight to the death to protect Rich and I, and our 3 dogs....and while that is admirable, that's not the dog for every home. We had so many potential adoptive and new foster homes for her that fell through, and I was getting very discouraged. It was to the point where our only option was to put her in boarding for weeks or months until a new foster home could be found, and the thought of her going from our home to a cage in a kennel by herself just broke my heart. I found out last night that this wonderful family is going to foster her now. They are very dog experienced and will know how to handle her, and won't let her get away with any funny busines. Yet they are extremely loving. I know that she will do great there with them until her forever family comes along to adopt her. I will be driving her up towards North Carolina next week. It will be a very sad day because I really love her, but I know that she's going to a great place and now we can move forward with our lives.

The pic on the left is from the day I met her at the shelter last fall, and the one on the right is from this morning. She has come so far, and is such a people-lover!
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My First Mile

This weekend Rich and I flew back to Fayetteville, AR for a Crawfish Boil (our camera is broken, so I'll post pics when friends email them to me). I had 9 miles scheduled for Saturday, and while it was touch and go for a while Friday night as to whether I would make it up for the run or not (we stayed out til 1am, there were shots involved). Miraculously I felt pretty good when my alarm went off at 6am Saturday morning. I ate a Cliff Bar and headed out. I ran right around and through my undergrad campus, and it was a very nostalgic run.
Some sentimental places I ran by include:
-the dorm where I lived my freshman year (10 years ago, yikes!) and met Shelley, one of my best friends now
-the parking lot where I had my first kiss with the guy I dated for almost 3 years in college
-the park where said guy and I broke up and got back together when we were trying to figure out what we wanted in life during our senior year
-the house where Rich lived, a block away from the Pi Phi house where I lived, although we didn't know each other at the time, which also turned out to be the house where we had our first real kiss, and where I met my brother-in-law Russ (no comments from you Rusty!)
-the football, basketball and baseball stadiums where I cheered myself hoarse too many times to count at Razorback games
-the buildings where I took classes that changed the way I looked at the world, and the buildings where I took classes that I mostly slept through
-the recreation/exercise complex where I ran my first mile

I was a very unathletic child, and tried and failed at various sports including softball, volleyball and tennis. I was overweight and clumsy until high school, then I lost some weight (still haven't lost the clumsy though). In 9th grade PE, we had to run a lap around the track. I couldn't do it. I couldn't make it 1/4 of a mile around the track!! Well, I just assumed I sucked at running too, and crossed that off my list of things I would ever do in life. I tried out for, and somehow made, my high school dance team. That was my first successful athletic endeavor and I loved it. When I started college and met Shelley, we would often go walking together, but never running because in my mind I could never be a runner.

I started dating a guy named Gabe in the fall of my sophmore year, and we would go work out together. We would lift weights, and go to an indoor 8 laps=mile track. He would jog, and I would walk. As a little time went by I would jog a lap here and there, and sometimes even 2 or 3 at a time (I know, I know, it seems really lame now). One day we started off jogging together and I actually made it like 4 laps before I decided I was tired and should start walking. He encouraged me to keep going another lap, and I did. Then another lap, and I did. I made the amazing discovery that while, yes, I was tired, I could keep going without the tiredness increasing exponentially. I remember how in awe of myself I was as we jogged those 7th and 8th laps, and how I just kept saying to myself (and probably out loud) that "I just ran a mile, I can't believe I just ran a mile!!!!" I didn't instantly start running races or long runs, but at least a few times a week I would run a mile. I still distinctly remember that day so many years ago that formed the most basic foundation for the runner that I am proud to say I am today. While Gabe and I didn't last, my knowledge that I could be a runner did last....so thanks Gabe for encouraging me to run my first mile, the first of countless!! (*note-I'm 99.9% certain he won't ever read this, and I'll never tell him in person because we don't talk...but there blogworld...it's out there)

This Week's Runs

I've done pretty well this week with getting my runs in. I did skip a 3 miler one day, but eh, it happens.

Sunday: 9 miles, thought Gary was broken but really just had the bezel locked, so I (hopefully) overestimated 12 min miles and just ran for 1:48.
Mon: 3 easy miles, around 11:30, then Body Pump
Tue: supposed to be another 3, but took a Rest Day
Wed: 6 mile tempo, goal to have 4 miles at 10:00 followed by Body Pump

• walk 0.25, slow jog 0.25
• Mile 1: 9:39
• Mile 2: 9:28
• walk 0.5
• Mile 3: 10:21
• walk 0.5, run 0.5
• walk 0.25, run 0.25, walk 0.25, run 0.25 (total run time for last mile was 9:22)

Thurs: 3 easy miles, around 11:30

Fri: Rest Day

Sat: plan is 9 miles

Totals: 30 miles (2 were walking during speedwork) + 2 Body Pumps

What I learned? I need a lot of work on speedwork. I have a hard time pacing myself, especially in places where my Garmin doesn't get a great signal and I can't trust the pace it's telling me. I wind up running too fast, then having to take more walk breaks and run slower in the 2nd half of the run. I am new to these kinds of workouts, so I'm hopeful it will get easier.

We are leaving this afternoon to fly to Arkansas for a crawfish boil weekend. I am super excited to see lots of my best friends, most of which I haven't seen in almost a year!! My plan is to not get wild and crazy tonight, so that I can get up and run 9 in the morning. We are going to be in the town where Rich and I went to undergrad (we didn't know each other at the time) and I'm going to run through campus, by my old sorority house, through a park where I used to walk (didn't run back in those days) so it should be really fun to see all those places again!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend, I'll be checking Twitter for updates!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Beth and Granny, and Happy early Mother's Day Mom and Celia

My family reads my blog so I wanted to take today to send them some love this week.

Tuesday was my Aunt Beth's birthday, I think she turned 29 :) She is my mom's only sister and they are best friends. It is pretty funny because they have always lived beside each other, then about a year ago Beth moved a mile up the street to a new subdivision. A few months later, my parents bought the house 2 doors down and moved too so they are still neighbors. We grew up super close, always having family dinners at least once a week. I saw my aunt Beth and her son Bobby, and my grandparents all the time which was really nice.

Here's a pic of Beth taken when she and my parents came to Charleston for a visit. She's about to take an Oyster Shooter.


And today is my Granny's birthday...she is turning 85 years young! She is amazing, still out doing things in her yard, cooking, running her own errands, and being ornery from time to time. Let me tell you a funny story about her. I was on dance team in high school which kept me in decent shape, then my first couple years of college I didn't work out much and apparently my legs weren't very muscular. Mother's Day weekend my 2nd year in college the whole family was at Granny's house for lunch, and she had made homemade strawberry ice cream. YUM! Well we're sitting there eating lunch and she reaches over and pokes my thigh and says "Your legs are soft, they used to be hard." Then she wanted to know why I didnt want any ice cream...umm...helloooo?? You just called me a mush-ball. Anyway, she meant no harm by it but that's just a funny example of how my Granny will call 'em like she sees 'em. It is probably just payback because when I was a little girl I thought it was fun to jiggle her tricep flab:) I have to say one very important lesson I learned from Granny is to never stop learning. She is an avid reader, and loves to do Sudoku and crosswords. If we were reading together and ran across a word I didn't know, we would go get the dictionary down and look it up. So thanks Gran for helping to instill my love of learning new things.

Here's a pic taken in Gran's living room on Christmas morning in '07. I don't have any more recent pics on this computer, but she still looks the same. Granny, now you're famous--your picture is on the internet!


I would also like to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mom. She is the best mom a girl could ask for, and is such a good sport because our family is always picking on her for various things and she takes it like a champ. She is very tech un-savvy, and was baffled by cell phones for the longest time. If my dad's phone rang, and she was going to answer it she would hold it at arm's length away from her and would push the buttons so hard I'm suprised it didn't bruise her fingers. We kept explaining that just because the buttons were small and easy to push, they would still work if you pushed them gently. She has gotten better, and now even has her very own pink flip-phone that she knows how to make and receive calls on, I'm not sure if she can check voicemail. Oh and forget about texting!:) I know that when I have kids, I will be a good mom because I have such a good role model to look up to. Thanks for all you did, and continue to do for me. I love you! Sorry Tanner broke your present:( And sorry I just mailed your card today so it may not be there by Sunday:(
This pic is of mom and I on our trip to San Francisco last summer.





And last but not least, a big Happy Mother's Day to my mother in law Celia. I hear girls complain about their MILs and am so lucky that mine is wonderful! She is sweet and fun, and I love hanging out with her. She raised a great son that I am proud to call my husband. Oh yeah, and she makes a mean margarita and loves to dance!!

This pic is of us over the holidays this year. The guys all shot skeet, and the girls came along for moral support.

My First Real Running Blister

I know runners often get blisters on their feet, but for some lucky reason I have never had that problem ...until now. I got one on the outside of my left big toe on my long run Sunday, and it grew on my short run yesterday. What do you do about them? Pop them? This one appears to have a mix of fluid and blood in it. Cover them with band-aids? Just leave them alone?

I am doing another short, easy 3 miles this afternoon and I don't want to make it worse. Sorry for the toe pic for any of you foot-haters out there!

Weekend Recap

Friday

• worked then went to dinner with friends. It was DELISH. I had tuna tartare, the best filet ever, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Oh and there may have been a mojito and some red wine involved as well. After dinner we went out downtown for another hour or so, but our friends are new parents so we kept it a relatively early night. Well I did anyway, once we got home Rich proceeded to hang out with our neighbors until 3am.

Saturday

• drug the hubby out of bed
• went back downtown to check out the Farmer's Market, where we loaded up on fruits and veggies. A lot of it isn't local yet, but there were a few local things like greens and strawberries. We also got Mother's Day gifts for both of our moms.
• Took myself to see Ghost of Girlfriend's Past while Rich spent a couple hours studying and betting on the Kentucky Derby
• Went to a cookout/birthday party for our neighbor. Went=walked outside from our backyard into his
• Called it a night about 11pm, Rich proceeded yet again to stay up with neighbors til 3am

Sunday

• Planned to get up at 6 for my 9-miler, but didn't get up until 9. Oops, I was regretting it during the hot run.
• Run went well, but warm-I thougth that Gary had failed me because the bezel would not work. I was still able to use it as a stopwatch so I just guesstimated how long 9 miles would take and went with it. I later discovered the bezel was just locked, then felt like an idiot. Around mile 6.5-7 I started to get the cold-chill feeling, which now really scares me since I learned it an early sign of heat exhaustion. I stopped at a shady, breezy spot on the sidewalk and walked in place, drank some Gatorade, and poured some water on my head. After that I felt much better and finished up the 9ish. I can tell that my body is already starting to get used to training in the heat, but I am going to continue to force myself to slow down if I feel like I'm overheating. My natural tendency is to push through, but I know that is dangerous so I'm trying to be smarter about it.
• Came home and Rich was just finishing up a mile run. YAY!!!!!!!!! He has now run 2 miles with NO ITB PAIN, that is a huge success and he is going to continue to take it sloooooooow so he can run the fall marathon with me!
• Walked in the door to find that Tanner had knocked the bag containing the Mother's Day gifts off the table onto the tile floor, breaking the gift for my mom. So sorry Mom, it's your granddog's fault you won't be getting your gift on time this year. It's the thought that counts right?
• We grabbed towels, sunscreen, chairs and water and headed to the beach to veg out and read magazines for a couple hours.
• Grilled chicken and made a delicious salad of: lettuce, arugula, basil, and lemon thyme from our garden (that is technically in our neighbors yard) plus some grilled peppers and squash that we got at the Farmer's Market. Dessert was fresh, local strawberries with Edy's slow-churned vanilla bean ice cream and big squirt of Redi-Whip.
• Watched Yes Man (I of course slept through the 2nd half, I never finish a movie)
• Rich wondered why his stomach didn't feel right all day. Maybe because you drank a lot of Coors Light and stayed up til 3am the last 2 nights..just a possiblity;)

Misadventures of the Week...non-running post

Misadventure #1. Wednesday morning I made a yummy marinade for these two lovely chicken ta-tas, so I could cook them when I got home Wednesday night. I put them in the pyrex baking dish, then notice that the recipe says you broil them, "turning and basting frequently." No worries, I just crank the oven up to broil, pop the chicken in, and faithfully turn and baste every 5 minutes or so. On about the 3rd turn/baste I take the dish out of the oven and set it on the stove. I'm on the phone with my friend Darcy, chatting and basting away when I hear a loud POP as the dish explodes. I scream and drop the phone, and of course all 4 dogs are like "Score, delicious chicken-flavored glass everywhere!" so I'm trying to keep them all out of the kitchen. Most of the glass was contained to the stove as you can see in the pic, but there were several shards and slivers on the floor and on my shirt. Now that is scary because if it had exploded in a different pattern, I could have wound up with shrapnel in eye or body. I cleaned it all up, and suprisingly the chicken was glass-free because it all went outward. So I poured a nice big glass of wine and ate the chicken that tried to kill me.

Misadventure #2. Let me set the stage: we live and Rich work's in Mt. Pleasant, which is about half an hour away from where most of our friends live on James Island. This week Rich has a lot going on at work and had to work until midnight most nights. I tend to be flighty and forgetful and do things absentmindedly (I once thought I lost my cell phone, only to find it 3 days later inside a popcicle box in the freezer). Ok, so after work Thursday I have some errands to run on James Island. After said errands, I decide to just run on this nice trail on James Island that I rarely run because it's a long drive just to go for a run. I'm still in my work clothes, so I park behind this strip mall beside the trail, change in my car, take my car key off the key ring to put in my little shorts pocket, lock the car, get out, shut the door, start to put the key into the pocket when I realize that I'm holding my house key and the car key is now safely locked inside the car. The keys look nothing alike. I don't know where my brain was, but I guess I was thinking about something and absentmindedly took the wrong key off the ring. My phone is in the car, so all I have on my person are my running clothes, Ipod, and a housekey. I go into this store and explain what happened and ask to use the phone. The only phone number I know is Richard's, but since it is just 5pm and he still has hours of work left, he can't come get me. He gives me the numbers for some of our friends that live close. Thankfully our friend Brian was able to come get me and let me hang out at their house until Rich got off work. Then he had to drive the 30 min to James Island to get me at their house, take me to my car, then we both had to drive back to Mt. Pleasant. It was a long night, I didn't get my run in (because it was hot and I didn't want to run and sit in dirty clothes for hours), and I had to get up at 5am this morning. Lovely.