Day 84

Four weeks from today, I'll no longer be a runner - I'll be a marathoner. The race will be here before I know it. I can't believe I've completed 12 whole weeks of training. Incredible.

Today I was supposed to run 14 miles, and I had it planned down to the second. I was going to start at 6:30am - run 11 miles - and then at 8:20, Sarah was going to pick me up so we could run a 5k. Then I'd be done. Well... I woke up at 5:45 and it was pitch black and pouring rain. Running in the dark isn't too bad and running in the rain isn't the end of the world, but having them happen at the same time seemed dangerous. I waited for something to change, and eventually headed out, in the pouring rain, at 7:00 because I knew it would be light soon enough. Not to worry - I wore my safety suspenders!

I ended up running 7.5 miles, having to stop once to take my shoes off and ring out my socks (they were sopping wet). Then it was time to meet Sarah. Thankfully I brought some other clothes so I was able to put a dry shirt and socks on before the race. Even still, my hair was soaking wet - I'm sure people thought I looked pretty bad to only be starting a run (oh little did they know). The race was on the small side, but the course was nice, and it was a really great "change of scenery" for my long run. I didn't kill myself because I had been running, and still had to run more once the race was over, but I still gave it a good effort. I ended up finishing in 28:30 - a 9:12/mile pace!!! Awesome! Sarah was her usual cheetah self and ran 23:48 (7:41/mi). That's sick. Sick! Sadly there were even crazier cheetahs there and Sarah ended up coming in 4th in our age group. Since the field was small, I actually came in 6th!

1st and 3rd place losers!!

 
Then we headed to Sarah's parents' house for french toast breakfast. Holla!!! It was so good. After breakfast it was time to head back to the club so Sarah could teach her class - and I still had 3.5 miles to run. I was going to head back outside but as I was walking out I saw Lisa on the stair machine. Have I mentioned that I'm incredibly lucky that all of my friends run?? Lisa agreed to do the last part of my run with me, but so we wouldn't freeze and we could go different paces, we ran next to each other on treadmills. TREADMILLS!!! It is the first time I've run on a treadmill since probably January. They are so much harder.

Lisa, my treadmill partner in crime!

Even still I got all 14 miles done. I obviously took some gigantic breaks along the way, but I don't feel too worried about it - I ran 13 straight last weekend so I know I could have done it. Plus it was fun to have three completely different experiences. My average pace for the entire 14 miles was 9:44/mi... I think I'm going to try to do my 20 miler next week at a 10 minute mile pace. I hope I can do it!

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful - took a MUCH needed shower and then went to the grocery store. I finally have food again! I'm going to make a real effort to have October be a healthier food month than September turned out to be. The next few weeks ahead are going to be very busy, so it will be tough, but at least I've set myself up for success as much as I can.

Total Miles Run: 299.9... I'm SOOOO close to 300!
Total Weigh Change: -4.1

Day 82 + 83

Not to worry - I'm still alive! Here's what's been going on...

Friday started off with an emergency all-staff meeting - all I can say is that I will be buying Sunday's newspaper and then I will be dreading going to work on Monday. This "happening" shouldn't make my job any more difficult, but I'm anticipating lots of drama in the office that will just annoy me.

With the meeting first thing in the morning and our big opening night concert that night, I had little choice but to do my run during lunch. It was the third day in a row that I had to do 7 miles - once again, if it weren't for all of my running friends, I have no idea how I'd still be doing this. Alyssa ran the first three miles with me and then Sarah ran my last four with me. Thankfully running with those two helped me keep a respectable pace. I won't lie... it did not feel good. My quads felt like they wanted to rip away from my legs. But I did it. :-)

Running date!

Best parts about my run (besides finishing): When Alyssa and I were finishing our 3 miles together, we ran into Marcia, so it was nice to see her. Sarah also wore her visor, which was funny - we were a couple of Jo's! That made me laugh.Then when I finished all 7 miles, I checked my phone and had the best text from Marcia. She wrote... "When the going gets tough the tough get going. And you are one 'tough cookie.' and just think you're most of the way through training. Very inspired by your dedication and determination:) maybe next year for me?"

I'm embarrassed to say - as proud/amazed I am that I've run further than ever before, and that I'm getting faster and faster, a big part of me has felt like a complete failure over the last three months. As much as it's been a dream of mine to run a marathon over the last two years, it's been my dream much longer to get a grip with food and feel good about my body. I never thought it would be possible to not lose weight while training for a marathon. I never thought it would be possible to run a marathon feeling chubby. But... I'm learning it's possible. I've read in several places that when you wake up in the morning, you start with a full "willpower bank account" and that as you have to use willpower throughout your day, your account diminishes and it gets harder and harder to stick to your guns. I've thought about that a lot over the last few days... I think I'm using ALL of my willpower to just get out and run, that I have none left when it comes to what I eat. I'm so scared that I'm going to feel fat running this marathon, and that as thrilled as I will be at completing it (which I know I will now), I will wish I had been thinner. I want to be proud of my pictures. :-( Why is this such a struggle for me?? I know everyone has their own struggles, and there are many that are worse than mine. And I know the majority of people would tell me I'm being ridiculous. But I don't feel ridiculous. It is a very real feeling for me. ANYWAY, I say all of that to say, Marcia's text really brought a smile to my face. I need to try to focus on all that I've accomplished through this. I am tough! I'm in the worse part of the training schedule, and I'm still doing it. I won't give up.

Back to Friday's activities... once work was over I got to have a free polish change on my toes at the club. I love when they hire new spa girls! They offered me a pedicure, but I was too afraid to have them scrape off my calluses, so I went with the polish change instead. They're bright red/orange! Very fun. After that I rushed home and got ready in 15 minutes for the red carpet opening night concert.

Alyssa and Anna were my dates, and I had so much fun watching the concert together. The concert was all Beatles music - we clapped, we sang, we waved our iPhones like lighters, we even stood up and danced. Not your typical symphony orchestra concert!

From sweaty running clothes to pretty dresses - we clean up well!

After the concert we headed to the after party and met up with Lisa! She was playing in the concert.

After Party Tent

There was a band playing inside the tent, and the place was packed - but once the desserts were snatched up (record time) and people realized the drinks at the bar were not free, it cleared out. Thankfully there was a creepy mannequin that we found entertaining (I think he's supposed to look like a Beatle).

Lisa, Anna, Michael (coworker), Creepy Mannequin, Alyssa, Babs

I don't get to have many fun nights with  lady friends, but we laughed a lot and it was a great time. We should do it more often!

Saturday was unremarkable. Worked job number 2 feeling exhausted (I got a decent amount of sleep so I'm not sure why)... took a nap once I finished work... then did dishes and laundry. The end.

Tomorrow I've got to start my long run super early because I'm using a 5k race with Sarah as the end of my long run, so I need to squeeze in all of my miles before the race starts. Then it's breakfast with my adopted family!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!! I hope to spend the rest of Sunday making some plans and grocery shopping so that October can be a healthier month. Of course I want you all to send me good luck vibes on my long run, but even more importantly, send speedy wishes to Sarah - I hope she places in the top of our age division and wins some $$$!!!

Total Miles Run: 285.87
Total Weight Change: -6.6

Day 81

I woke up dark and early for my running date with Katie this morning. Thankfully it was getting light by the time we actually started running, but I pulled out my safety suspender vest thing just in case. I really am that dorky, but at least I'm still alive.

Why is my head twice as big as Katie's!?!?

I will admit I had a hard time getting started, and was very thankful to not only have Katie's company but that she was also fine with us taking leisurely breaks at red lights. My legs were tired from last night. I was supposed to run 7 miles today, but in order to run before work and not have to get up ridiculously early to run in the dark, I decided to split the miles - Katie and I did 5.3 miles this morning at a 9:50 pace. Slower than yesterday, but considering if you add last nights run with this morning's... it comes to 12.6 miles, so I think a 9:50 pace is perfectly fine.

Work was fairly uneventful, although I did realize that stairs and I are back to being enemies. I'm tired of walking around like I'm crippled at work. If only I didn't have to wear "work shoes" - I feel like that would help a little bit.

After work I met Anna for my second running date of the day. :-) I feel like I haven't seen her in so long, it was really nice to run together, even if it was for only 1.7 miles. Then it was time for zumba. Lately I've felt like "Old Lady Zumba" - between my knee and my sore quads, it's getting harder and harder to do all of the moves. Oh well.

In other news, our official half marathon photos were emailed to us today. I look like a giant fat cow in every single one of them. I don't think I look like I have a huge wide sick lower body in real life - at least I hope I don't. Did they seriously just find the most unflattering angle of all time to take pictures? I hope my marathon pictures turn out better...

One more day of running tomorrow, then FINALLY a rest day. I need it for sure. I feel like I've spent every free second running this week. I'm tired of being sweaty, taking showers, doing my hair, washing sweaty clothes, chafing, being hungry all the time. I know I'm in the thick of training right now but man... I could use a break.

Total Miles Run: 278.87
Total Weight Change: -6.9

Day 80

You know what's better than friends? Friends that tell you to stop whining and go run. I wanted to let my legs rest a little more, so instead of running in the morning, I waited until after work. That gives me hours to think about how I'm tired, how I'm hungry, how I don't feel like taking another shower, etc.

Well I am happy to report that as soon as I finished work, I changed clothes as fast as I could so that I couldn't have a chance to change my mind... and then I ran. The schedule for today called for 7 miles with 7 strides. I debated during all 7 miles whether or not to do the strides or save them for another day, but I sucked it up... and I did the strides. All 7 - although I will admit they weren't quite as long as the ones I've done in the past. My watch actually worked during the strides (amazing) and I couldn't seem to break a 7 minute pace during my sprints. Oh well. The training has been ramping up, so it's no wonder that I'm not a top notch sprinter. My 7 miles were faster than ever though. ;-)

Keep in mind the strides sped up my overall average pace a bit - but that's still pretty good!

You can imagine I was pretty tired and sweaty after I was done, so I was NOT happy to realize.... I no longer had my key. Ugh. Thankfully Andy was almost done teaching and was able to let me in. I'll have to deal with that tomorrow...

I'll also be running again tomorrow, but I've got a sweet running date lined up with Katie, so I'm actually looking forward to it!

One last thing - can I just say how happy I am that Modern Family is back on TV? I love that show. Now if only The Biggest Loser and Downton Abbey would start!

Total Miles Run: 271.86
Total Weight Change: -5.9

Day 79

Dear Babs,

WTF?!?

Love,
Your Quads

I woke up this morning with the tiniest hint of a sore throat. Not cool. I'm trying to stay positive... I don't know what I'd do if I actually got sick. I also woke up with incredibly sore quads.

We are not friends today

I am also not friends with chairs or toilets either, because both of those involve squatting.

Job number one kept me pretty busy, especially since there was a meeting and a report that I had completely forgotten about... my mind is so focused on this training program that I am starting to feel "out of control" with work life. It doesn't help that this is a busy time of year anyway (and unfortunately will get much busier before the marathon takes place).

Then, since it's Tuesday, I had to work job number two. It was fine... I just felt tired and really wanted to sit down. 

Now I'm back at the apartment and I think I'm going to call it an early night. I'm so tired and if I am getting sick, I could definitely use some extra sleep. I've got to run again tomorrow - but I think I'll save it for the afternoon so that I don't have to wake up so early. And that will give my quads a little longer to rest.

Goodnight! On second thought... maybe some ice cream will help my sore throat. ;-)

Day 78

Before you read this, please trust that I am not an idiot and that I do listen to my body.

I took a "personal day" from job number one today, and I am sooooo glad I did. I slept in until 8:00. I watched morning tv while enjoy a real cooked breakfast. I drank my coffee and looked through a magazine. And then..I couldn't put it off anymore... I had to run.

Run? Didn't I just run a half marathon yesterday? It's true, but the marathon training program called for a 20 mile long run yesterday, and a half marathon is 7 miles short. There was no way I was going to run 7 miles the morning before the race started (I would of had to start waaaay too early) and there was also no way I was going to skip a post-race breakfast party to run an extra 7 miles once I finished. So... I did some research and learned that it is possible to split a long run (although you shouldn't do it regularly). Splitting a long run isn't as beneficial as doing it all at once since you've had time to rest, and it also doesn't give you the same mental workout as running for 3.5 hours straight would - but it is better than nothing.

Since I had a night's rest after the half marathon, I tacked on two miles (not my own idea, but what was recommended)... that meant I needed to run 9 miles today. I had a hard time getting out the door. I felt nervous the entire time I drove to the club. And when I finally started running it took me a tenth of a mile to look like a normal runner and not look like I was limping. After that... I honestly felt physically fine. I did throw myself a two mile pity party - I wanted to cry because I felt so sorry for myself that I had to run such a long way, but eventually I got into the groove and just did it. I did stop after 5 miles to eat a gel and refill my water bottle, but otherwise I ran the entire time.

I was amazed that I could run 9 miles the day after running a great half marathon... and not only did I run 9 miles, I ran them well. I felt like I could have gone longer if I had more water and another gel. I'm shocked.

9:52 pace - the day after my awesome half!

After my run I refueled with some chocolate milk - it's supposed to be great for recovery. Unfortunately my stomach didn't agree. It was a good thing I had the day off of work because I spent the next couple hours curled up on the couch feeling gross.

Here's where you'll all think I'm nuts (if you don't already). Sooo... my stomach calmed down... and I went to zumba. :-) My legs still felt pretty good - my quads were sore and my feet hurt a little, but I felt way better than I did the previous week after running 18 the day before. My favorite part was before class... as we were taking off our sweatshirts/jackets, Sarah and I realized we were both wearing the race shirt we got from the half. Haha. Twins! It looked a little silly, but hey - we earned those shirts!!

Alright, I have to work both jobs tomorrow (barf) so I need to get things ready for that. And I promise promise that tomorrow will be a rest day.

Total Miles Run: 264.58
Total Weight Change: -4.4

Day 77

PR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (personal record)

This morning was the Rochester Half Marathon. I flew out of bed when my alarm went off at 6am and was relieved to see the sky looked clear (they'd been forecasting rain all week long). Alyssa, Sarah, and Jon came over before the race so that we could all walk to the start together. Between us four runners, we went through an entire roll of toilet paper! Gotta love those pre-race nerves. ;-)

Pre-race: Staying Warm

Alyssa, Babs, and Sarah

Lined up at the start

Sarah and Andy were out of sight as soon as the race started, but Alyssa and I stuck together almost the entire time. I feel so spoiled to always have running company! The air was crisp, the sun was shining (it was actually kind of blinding) - it was perfect running weather.

Sarah's parents cheered us on around mile 4, and Marcia was a road marshall near mile 6. Anticipating seeing them made the first half of the race fly by. And thanks to them, we got some great action shots!

Sarah in cheetah mode!

Check out Andy's hot calf sleeves aka "man-gerie"

I promise we are waving and not doing "jazz hands"

The Logistics: I probably ran the smartest race I've ever run before. I drank at every water stop (except the first one) and used my handheld water bottle in between. My water lasted me until the end of the race, but I would have needed a refill if I had gone any further. I took a gel (chocolate w/caffeine) at mile 5, and another (same flavor) at mile 9.5. In the past I've only had one packet of sports beans during a half, but I was so nervous about getting dizzy that I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I felt great the entire time, so I think it was a good idea. I was really mindful of not starting out too fast, but I also wanted to have a good run, so I tried to keep my pace just under 10 minutes. My first 10 miles ranged between a 9:45 and 9:55 pace. I honestly felt perfectly fine... my legs, knees, ankles, hips, back... everything felt "normal" so I pushed it for the final 3 miles. Here was my last 5k: Mile 11 = 9:38. Mile 12 = 9:23. Mile 13 = 9:08. Final 0.1 = 7:25. I couldn't have asked for a better run. As I was getting closer to the finish, I realized I was going to beat 2 hours and 10 minutes (my super secret goal). I was psyched!

Personal Record!

According to the race peeps, my 13.1 official chip time was 2:07:30!! I still can't believe it. Alyssa sped up with about .75 miles to go and finished in 2:07:06 - she was amazing! Andy floored me. I knew he would do well - I'm so stinking proud of how great he's been through all of this training and I knew it would pay off for him. Even with a bathroom stop he finished in 2:00:21. Incredible. And Sarah - our resident cheetah - killed it again with a 1:46:03 finish. If it weren't for an evil cramp right at the end, she would have really killed it. I am so so so proud of all of us. We all did an amazing job!!

My mom requested that I take more creative race photos this year... so here are your fun post-race pics Mom!

Running Gangsta - ok really I'm just trying to cover up my boob sweat

We're fighting, in case you can't tell

And now for a few little interesting tid bits from the race. Some of the best spectator signs were: "Chafe Now, Beer Later" - "Don't Stop! Don't Stop! (that's what she said)" - "Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon" - "Worse Parade Ever" - and of course there were lots of inspiring ones that made me smile and feel energized but sadly didn't stick in my head as well as the funny ones did. I also saw a woman running towards the end with brown smears all over her butt crack and inner thighs. Just think about that for a bit... I got high fives from some little kids (better than pushing them over, which we all know has happened before). And Alyssa and I had fun making up different silly things to do for every camera man we passed. It was a blast!

After the race, Andy, Sarah, and I blessed Jines (a local place with good breakfast) with our stinky (I mean... really stinky) sweaty presence.

Pancakes = Breakfast of RUNNING CHAMPIONS!!!

I was a pretty happy girl. :-) I didn't do a whole lot the rest of the day... bought a book, and now I'm watching the Emmy's. Listening to all of these acceptance speeches, I'll give my own quicky before hitting the hay.

I'd like to thank Runner's World for creating my Marathon Training Program that helped me run my best half to date. Also to Brooks Ravenna 3 shoes and my Balega socks, for letting me run 13.1 miles blister free. I'd like to thank Andy for convincing me to run every time I didn't want to, and for embracing the sport himself, making it even that much more fun since we get to share it together. To my parents, who must be so so so tired of hearing me talk about running way too much and for still acting interested every time I bring up the subject. To my running support team: Alyssa, Sarah, Katie, and Anna. And of course to Carrie for convincing me to sign up for this crazy thing called a half marathon once upon a time. Who else who else... well, I've got an entire marathon to run still, so I'll save the rest of the thank you's for the end of October. Only 5 weeks left...... AHHH!!!!!!!

Total Miles Run: 255.55
Total Weight Change: -4.3 

Day 75 + 76

Hi friends! Another double day update... sorry! I'll try to keep it short because I've got to get a good night's sleep. The half marathon is tomorrow!!!

My alarm went off on Friday and I didn't feel like running so I thought I would pretend like I didn't hear my alarm and blame missing my run on oversleeping. So I over slept. And then when I got up, Andy made me run, haha. I'm glad I didn't skip it after all! We did 5 miles, and once again each mile got faster and I averaged a 9:32 pace. Good way to start the day, even though I tried to get out of it. :-)

After work, Andy and I met Alyssa at the race expo - we picked up our numbers and were sad that we didn't get a swag bag like we have the last two times. I wanted my free bag of rice! Andy picked up some compression calf sleeves - I decided I wanted some too (although I just pulled them out and realized they gave me the wrong ones, grrr). All in all, the expo was sort of lame. Hopefully the one in DC will be better!

Getting his race number!

We're Official!

Friday night was spent listening to "The Front" - that band we heard about two weeks ago. They were playing on the pool deck of the club... it was pretty fun, Sarah, Jon, and my adopted family were there, other front desk friends were there, and Andy was able to come after he finished teaching. Since it was the last night to have fun before the half, we went to a bar to keep the party going.

Wait... I have to work tomorrow morning?? Aw man!

I thought I'd be paying for it this morning, but I reaaally lucked out and felt perfectly fine. Job number two went by fast enough, I ran some errands, went to the grocery store, and then it was time for our pre-race dinner! Alyssa, Sarah, and Jon came over and we whipped up a carbolicious dinner of salad, pasta (in an extra fun shape, thank you Alys!), chicken sausages, and homemade focaccia bread (thanks Sarah!).

Carbo Loaded or Carbo Bloated??

It was a fun low key night. Now I'm going to figure out what I'm wearing tomorrow (now that my compression sleeve things are wrong I've got to start all over... I had a matching shirt and everything), then it is time for bed. Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep. Doubtful, because I'm so excited!

Total Miles Run: 242.42
Total Weight Change: -4.8

Day 74

Sorry for another late post... I would have written last night but I was too busy laughing, crying, cheering, and crying some more - we watched the last episode of Downton Abbey. I can't wait for the next season to come out in January! My Thursday was pretty run-of-the-mill: worked, painted a little in my new office, went to zumba, watched Downton, bed. Since that doesn't make for an exciting read, I'm going to take this opportunity for a running flashback.

Two years ago (September 2010) I ran my very first half marathon with Andy and Carrie. Carrie and I trained diligently all summer long, doing every single training run together no matter what. The first two weeks or so were awful. I remember laying face down on the bed in misery because I didn't want to run - thankfully Andy has always been encouraging and he convinced me to go do it. I remember I didn't sleep a wink before my first long run (5 miles) because I'd never gone that far in my life and was convinced I wouldn't make it. I remember being pretty much terrified of hurting myself about two weeks before the race. And then during the race, I remember feeling strong. My training paid off - it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Rochester Half Marathon 2010 - 2:15:18

Just about one month later, Carrie and I drove to Albany to do another half marathon with Emily. But this wasn't any half marathon - it was the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon - a TRAIL half marathon on Halloween. Clearly I was still pretty new to running, and didn't realize that there is a big difference between a road race and a trail race. Carrie and I kept training, did a few ten mile long runs, and did two trail runs before the half (during both of which I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest).

What do I remember from the Hairy Gorilla? Being cold and having to ditch my gloves because they got covered in stickers from a bush that I had to grab onto to help me up a hill. I remember stopping to have my picture taken with a volunteer in a banana costume and stopping to eat halloween candy at the water stops. I remember running over fallen leaves that hid rocks, tree roots, holes in the ground, etc, and then falling into a bush because I stepped into one of those holes. I remember Carrie falling 4 times and waiting with her after her final fall for the golf cart to pick her up.  I remember running the last two miles with Emily without music because I gave Carrie my iPhone when she was being carted away so that she could call us and find us at the end. And mostly I remember thinking it would never end. Ever. Of course it did, and then I remember the best breakfast Emily's mom made for us - including apple cider donuts. I earned those.

Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon 2010 - 3:05:27

It wasn't until March of 2011 that I was ready to go through this all again, so I began training for the Lake Placid Half Marathon. Training for this race was so fun because we had a huge group running it: Myself, Andy, Anna, Alyssa, Jay, and Emily. Alyssa and I did a lot of training together, and stuck to the training program almost perfectly until the end when I got really really sick. I felt pretty confident for the race, but I was nervous because I still felt sick. It showed.... I remember feeling sluggish, tired, then I started getting dizzy, it felt like their was a cloud surrounding my brain... if Alyssa hadn't stuck by my side during those last few miles, I don't know if I would have made it. I also remember it being freakishly hilly, especially towards the end. Mile 12 was downright cruel. I also remember Andy jumping in (he had finished long ago) and running the final part of the race with me - it was very sweet, but I think he was worried I was going to die because I was wheezing so hard, haha. Even though it wasn't my best half by far, renting a house with everyone was a blast!

Lake Placid Half Marathon 2011 - 2:30:14

It took me a bit to get over my dizzy spells, so I didn't make any plans to train or run a half anytime soon. A week before the Rochester Half Marathon I found out an evil coworker of mine was doing it. I went home and told Andy - and we decided we'd do it. No training. I think we did one 6 mile run together the next day, and that was it. We showed up to the start line, not even really nervous because hey, if it went poorly, it's not like we trained for it, so who cared? If we had to walk, we had to walk. No biggie. Well... we ran the entire thing side by side, and didn't do half bad. :-) I remember thinking, "just take it nice and easy," and I also dedicated each mile to a different person, so while I ran that mile, I though about them. It helped the time pass. And yes - I beat the evil coworker by a solid 20 minutes. Ha!

Rochester Half Marathon 2011 - 2:23:51

And last but not least, this spring Sarah signed up for the Flower City Half, so I immediately recruited Andy, Alyssa, Anna, and Bipul to train with me again. I stuck to the program really well... I got faster... training with friends was so much fun... I lost some weight... and then the race came. I felt so good, I was overly confident and ended up running too fast. My first 9 miles were amazing. And then I got hit with a case of the dizzies - worse than ever before. My vision was foggy, my brain was foggy, I couldn't focus on my music, I was convinced I would fall over the bridge and into the river. For the first time ever... I walked during a race. Here's the kicker - it was my fastest time ever (barely), so I know I should be proud, but it didn't feel like a race to be proud of. I mean, I'm certainly proud that I finished, because there was a point where I thought I couldn't. So I am proud. I just don't feel proud of that experience being my PR.

Flower City Half Marathon 2012 - 2:14:34

This Sunday I'll be running the Rochester Half for the third time. Having done it twice, this course feels like an old friend, and I'm so excited to run it again. I'm also excited to have a change in pace for my weekend long runs during marathon training. Andy, Alyssa, and Sarah are all doing it too, and I just know it will be a fun-filled weekend! When I'm training for a half marathon, I usually taper for two weeks prior to the race, but since I'm in the middle of marathon training I didn't have that luxury. I'm curious to see how I'll do. I'm not going to totally take it easy, but I also am in no rush to kill myself during it because I have a lot of running to do still. Only a few more days away!

Day 73

Yesterday I updated my blog while I was at job number one, so before you get today's update, I need to tell you all about the wonderful thing that happened at job number two last night.

Stop: Dad, if you are unaware of any purchases made last night you are to SKIP this paragraph and continue reading the next paragraph. Continue: An amazing woman called the front desk (my mother) and bought a gift card for her really cool daughter (me, duh) to use at the spa. Thanks Mom!!! I will now be arriving to DC nice and loose with perfectly polished fingers and will get to look forward to a much needed massage and pedicure when I return. :-) Thank you thank you thank you!

Welcome back Dad. So today was super busy. At job number one they made the official announcement about my promotion - that was pretty exciting, especially to receive so many "congratulations." Then I had to go to a 3 hour luncheon (3 hours??), but the food was delicious and the speech was really engaging - it made me think about how the skills I developed practicing my saxophone and performing concerts could be transferred to running. Once that wrapped up in was back to the office for a meeting (barf).

After job number one I had a meeting for job number two, but there was a tiny window of free time in between. Luckily Katie and I play by our own rules, so we ran 6 miles plus 6 strides together before going to the meeting. Picture this... we walk into the meeting 45 minutes late, decked out in workout gear, sweat dripping off our face... and our boss asked, "Did you get stuck in traffic?" My reply: "Yep." Hahahaha. Priceless.

Our run was great! I didn't feel amazing starting out - I think it's always harder to run later in the day than first thing in the morning - but eventually I got into the swing of things. We didn't map a route, just randomly ran all over the place... we talked the whole time... I wasn't even paying attention to our pace so I was pretty surprised to find out how fast we were going and still maintaining an easy conversation.

6 miles - no breaks - 9:32 pace!

The 6 strides afterwards went well too! They are tough in the moment, but I still felt strong. My watch couldn't handle my cheetah speed during the strides, and once again kept beeping "Lap Error" at me. We actually ended up doing a total of 6.29 miles... not sure why the watch can't handle the sudden change in speed, but as long as I get them done, it doesn't matter!

Running rest day tomorrow!

Total Miles Run: 237.41
Total Weight Change: -4.6

Day 72

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Rain. Thankfully my 18 miler scared me enough that I didn't even consider skipping a run because of the weather. Our plan called for us to do 6 miles with 6 strides today, but because it was so gross out, we swapped it for a 5 mile run that is supposed to happen later in the week. I think that's a fair trade.

My shins still hurt when I woke up, but not as bad as they did yesterday. Hot tub + Cold Plunge + Ibuprofen = slight recovery. :-) I was SO thankful once I started running that I was ok! I certainly didn't feel like I had fresh legs, but somehow my body just knew what to do. At first running in the rain was not that great...

Waiting for the light to turn green... starting to get  pretty wet

It didn't take too long to get soaked, so at that point, who cares? Dare I say, it was a little... fun? And doing the Dirty Girl 5k made it seem like a cake walk. Every time I stepped in a puddle I just thought - hey, that's nothing compared to the mud run!

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be able to run 5 miles two days after running 18, I would have laughed in their face. If someone had told me yesterday that I would run those 5 miles averaging a 9:31 pace, I would have laughed in their face. Guess who's not laughing today? THIS GIRL! I kicked running's ass this morning!

Foggy Lens - Drenched Babs

Now I'm back to hobbling around the office. At least my coworkers seem to find it amusing. After job one I'll be off to job two, but thankfully we no longer have to wear those hideously awful disgusting sausage shirts anymore! Big improvement.

Tomorrow is another running day. Hopefully this rain will be over with by then.

Total Miles Run: 231.12
Total Weight Change: -6.8

Day 71

My feet and shins hate me. I woke up this morning and wasn't really shocked that I was sore, but the parts that hurt were what surprised me. My knee felt fine, my back felt pretty much fine, butt, hips, both ok. Feet? Especially the outside of my right foot? Hates me. Right shin? Hates me. Left shin? Also hates me. Ugh. My upper body is perfectly fine, my lower body is trying to secede. I am a human Civil War.

I hobbled my way through work.... I also told my office mate that I was going to be moving out of our shared office. She cried. Second ugh for the day. Thanks for the rescue!

After work I went to zumba. I know I know - I shouldn't kill myself, but I took it easy and I think getting to move a little helped loosen up my legs a bit. Plus Sarah said if I came she'd give me pumpkin brownie cupcakes, so.... :-)

The baking bug bit Andy too, because when I got home from class there was a batch of Mexican cornbread in the oven. It turned out really well! Once we finished dinner we headed to the club to sit in the hot tub. We're both supposed to run tomorrow and I've been feeling really nervous about it all day, so I thought it might be good to soak my muscles. The hot tub felt great, but I've read enough running info to know that an ice bath is even better for recovery than a hot tub. So. For the first time in my life, I got into the cold plunge.

Running has made me lose my mind

It's actually not so bad after awhile, but at first - Good Lord. Now that's dedication.

Our weekly runs are about to ramp up, so I need to get to bed earlier than normal. Goodnight all!

Day 70

I survived (barely).

This morning was my 18 mile long run. Bathroom update: 2 trips before the run. The plan was to do a 10 mile loop followed by two 4 mile loops. Alyssa joined Andy and I for the first 10... it seemed harder than I thought it should've. There was nothing in particular that felt wrong - even my knee was alright - but my body just felt tired. I wanted to do a longer loop in hopes to practice running longer without so many breaks, but that didn't really happen. We stopped at a coffee shop after 3.5 miles for a bathroom break (not me) and more water (me). Then we stopped at mile 5 for gel pack #1 (I had vanilla). Alyssa tried her first gel... she took it like a champ!

Alys <3 PB gu

We pretty much finished the rest of the 10 miles without a break, only stopping for traffic lights. Back at the club we took kind of a long break - said goodbye to Alyssa, ate another gel (chocolate cherry with double caffeine), and then said hello to Sarah! I was dreading running another 8 miles - I honestly didn't know if my body could do it - so having Sarah's company for 4 miles was a big help. Even though it was only 4 miles, I still had to stop in the middle for a little break.

14 down, 4 to go

Thank you Alyssa and Sarah for being my running support team!

By the time we got back to the club, Andy started getting nervous that he wouldn't have time to run 4 more miles and make it to the auditions he had to listen to in time (at least without rushing like crazy). We talked about a few options for a bit, and eventually decided that I would run home (it is exactly 4 miles) and he would end early so that he could get cleaned up. I definitely think he made the right decision, and his 14 mile run was fantastic. He's so fast!

I visited Katie at the front desk before heading out for my last 4 miles - that made that break ridiculously long. I really need to practice doing these runs without such long breaks. Anyway, I was on my own for the last 4... it was good practice because I really had to dig deep. At first I thought I could make it home without another gel, but around 15.75 I started feeling really foggy, so I stopped and took my third gel (chocolate - very tasty). I'm so glad I did that because my head cleared up pretty fast - it was just a matter of keeping my legs moving. My last 4 miles were pretty slow (around a 10:45 pace), and I'm sure my form was shot - I felt like I was stomping - but eventually I made it all 18. It was really hard. My entire body was so tired, and my back especially hurt. I have no idea how I will run even farther, but I just have to trust the training process and not skip anymore runs during the week if I can help it.

18 miles and not a step more

My earlier miles were fast enough that they made up for those last slow 4. I am floored I averaged a 10:15 pace. And I also can't believe I ran for over 3 hours. That's a long time - no wonder I was dying to sit down!

I was definitely wiped out when I was done - I showered and then laid on the couch for awhile. Eventually I got enough energy to walk around the Greentopia Festival that is happening in our neck of the woods, but I was walking sloooowly and thankfully it wasn't a big festival at all. :-)

Now it's time to make some mashed potatoes. I started craving them at mile 17 and haven't stopped thinking about them since! The only two other items I've ever craved during a long run were milk and diet Dr. Pepper.  Long run cravings are bizarre.

Total Miles Run: 226.11
Total Weight Change: -6.4

Day 69

Holy cow, today was a productive day.

Now that I'm back in my regular routine, I was off to job number two this morning. It was busier than normal - tennis tournament and an MXT challenge thingy. Between those events and getting to catch up with Patti (she is FINALLY back from maternity leave, yay!), my shift flew by. Katie participated in the challenge. Check it out...

It's a blanket, it's a Snuggie, it's... a really really big shirt

She lost so much weight during the challenge!!!! ;-) Just kidding. Why would they give her a t-shirt that big!? I was so proud of Katie for doing it!

After job number two, I drove to job number one and started painting my new office. I was pretty proud of the progress I made all by myself. There's still a long way to go though.

Goodbye blue and yellow!

I spent the rest of the night doing laundry, getting groceries, and cleaning the apartment. I've been on my feet all day/night... hopefully they'll feel better in the morning because I've got 18 miles to run. Aye aye aye... it's going to take me over 3 hours to do.... Time to go map a route so I know where I'm going tomorrow. Tune in next time to hear about my longest run yet!

Day 68

Hey guys - gotta make this quick because I have to go to job number two. Here's your Friday update.

Andy and I were supposed to run 4 miles Friday morning. We didn't. I thought about running them after work. I didn't. This is the first run we've both just completely skipped - but we both agreed it was for the better. My knee still hurt... I was glad to have a real rest day.

I spent almost two hours in the morning researching hotels in DC for the marathon. My parents are coming too - I needed: two rooms available at an affordable price, convenient transportation to/from the airport, and most importantly, something reasonably close to the start line. THINK AGAIN! Hotels were sold out left and right, and the only place close to the start line was $549/night. I'll pass. After a few phones calls and learning more about the Washington DC Metro than I ever wanted to know, I found a place!!! Crystal City - here we come!

After work I went to Lowe's... I hate those kinds of stores... but I got paint for my office!!

I have no idea what I'm doing

I couldn't wait, so even though Andy was busy listening to auditions, I went to my new office and started painting - just trying to get the places a roller wouldn't reach. I think the color will be nice (I picked gray, duh), but I have a feeling I'll need to get another can of paint because one coat is not going to cut it.

When Andy was finally done for the day (he had to listen to auditions from 10am to 8pm... barf) we went out to dinner. I had some bread, yum, then had a small salad, yum, then they brought my meal out... I ordered a small pizza, which sounded good at the time, but the second they brought it out I felt like I was going to throw up. There was soooo much cheese on it - just looking at it made me feel sick. I ate one piece and it was game over. We left and I went straight to bed (at 9:30pm haha). I have no idea why that happened, but in a way I'm sort of glad it did because I got TEN hours of sleep. Much needed!

Ok - time for work. Bye!

Day 67

WANTED: New Knee.

I don't write about it all the time because that would get pretty dull, but my right knee has been hurting for quite some time now. It aches when I sit, it twinges when I walk... surprisingly it doesn't really feel much worse when I run, which is good, but it's really starting to get annoying.

After a long day of work full of meetings and annoying people I was really looking forward to zumba, but about ten minutes into class, my knee started hurting a lot. I was so upset. Then of course I started thinking about how much harder the training program is about to get, and then... well, I really freaked out.

I called my Dad and he confirmed what I've been afraid of for awhile now - all other forms of exercise might need to be put on hold during this part of training if I want to make it through injury free. I definitely have running rest days, but come to think of it... I do other things on those days. I haven't taken a single day off since we ran our 16 miles - no wonder my knee doesn't like me right now. He did reassure me that my knee was probably fine - just exhibiting signs of inflammation from overuse. Then he said I should ice it either the athlete's way or his way. ??? According to my Dad, the athlete's way is to put ice on the outside of your knee, but HIS way is to ice it from the inside by eating lots of ice cream. :-) I think I will practice both methods!

And before I eat ice cream, I will now be able to weigh it with my new food scale!!! Anna and Lisa's mom was SO nice to send this my way. I have a small scale that I use for pretty much everything, but this new scale has lots of bells and whistles. I can't wait to try it.

Before and After

Thank you Sharman!

Day 66

Thanks to Downton Abbey, it's past my bedtime, so I'll make this quick.

Woke up - happy I didn't have to run before getting ready - went to work - maple sugar cookies I made the night before for a coworker's birthday were a hit - got two seconds worth of work actually done before it was time to leave...

Over the last four years I have shared an office with a woman named Laura. Sharing an office can drive me crazy sometimes (this is why I'm glad to be moving shortly), but Laura has been a good friend through and through. Well, her mom passed away this weekend, and this afternoon was her memorial service, so I went. Of course it was very sad, but it also made me grateful for the life I have.

Once Andy finished teaching, we headed out for a 6 mile run. Yesterday's 46 degree weather was a thing of the past - tonight it felt hot and muggy. Katie met us at our apartment and joined us for our run, which was so so awesome because it was the first time she had ever run 6 miles. Katie is a rockstar!!

6 Miles - Count 'em!

Who knew I'd hit the jackpot and end up with so many friends who like to run?? And Mom and Dad - don't hate Katie for the shirt she is wearing... us fellow west coasters have to stick together. Next time I'll wear my Husky shirt and we'll race. Dawg vs. Duck!!!

Total Miles Run: 208.11
Total Weight Change: -4.9

Day 65

I was still sore when I got out of bed this morning, and when Andy and I started our 4 mile run I felt crippled. My quads were not happy with me at all. Thankfully the blister situation seems fine - I'd much rather run with sore quads than a blister. At the end of our run we had to tack on 4 strides. I concentrated on my form a little more and it felt like it helped, but my watch kept reading "Lap Error" every time I sprinted, so I'm not sure if I improved my time or not. It's also getting cooler - the temperature read 46 degrees when we headed out. I see layers of running gear (and more laundry) in the near future.

While running back through the city towards our apartment, all of these church bells started ringing - we realized they were marking the time that the first plane hit the World Trade Center. It was both eerie and touching. And it definitely gave me pause to be thankful that I am able to go out and run whenever I please.

Surprisingly good news at job number one - savor this moment because good news is not common - they finally decided that my new title will be Director instead of Manager. My resume is singing right now. :-)

Today was the first day in quite awhile that I had to return to job number two. I think I had been away from it long enough that I wasn't completely dreading it, although it does make for an incredibly long day. Every shift we have to read this little sheet of paper called the "Daily Outlook" that highlights what events are going on, birthdays, quotes, etc. Wouldn't you know I was surprised when I saw this...

Happy Anniversary to me!

I can't believe it's been four years. Although the actual job is not always enjoyable, I've made some of my best friends working at the club. :-)

Total Miles Run: 202.11 Yay!!!!!! Made it into the 200's!
Total Weight Change: -3.4

Day 64

I'm at work right now - I've gotten a lot accomplished, but with only 30 minutes to go, my brain is checked out so here I am! Sadly it means this will be a veeery boring post because I've done nothing of interest today.

When I got out of bed I was reminded that I ran 16 miles yesterday. My body is pretty sore. Thankfully nothing in particular hurts, it's just an overall "used" feeling. Stairs are also not my friend today, enough so that people at work have made comments while watching me go up and down them. The status of my blister is also improving! I'm hoping that by tomorrow morning I'll be good to go.

I was excited when I came to work today to learn that my new office had been pretty much cleared out and ready for me to paint and move in. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but once I finish it will (hopefully) be worth it.

Future Office - needs major tlc

Tonight is zumba!! There is a little dance studio ridiculously close to where I live that Sarah teaches at, so obviously... can't pass that up. They took the summer off but starting today it's back on. Monday's just got better!

Now only 15 minutes to kill... Come on 5:00pm! ;-)

Day 63

When my alarm went off this morning, I was so tired and confused... I didn't even know what day it was. Oh yeah... Sunday... long run. Ugh. I wanted to go back to bed soooo badly but that just wasn't an option. I'll admit we got a later start than we had originally hoped for, but eventually Andy and I made it to the club to start our 16 miler. And since I seem to update you each week on this - I will let you know I only went to the bathroom twice before this run rather than three times. Improvement!

Taking a cue from our multiple trips around Green Lake, Andy and I decided that we would do four 4-mile loops, each time starting/ending at the club. That meant that every 4 miles, we were able to refill our water, ditch out coats, use the bathroom, whatever... It worked out really well, and it was also comforting to know we were never too far away from our home base.

Alyssa ran with me for the first two loops - Andy was way ahead (no surprise there). I'll admit I was really not feeling it when we started. A slower pace still didn't feel all that slow. My legs felt ok but kind of heavy. I just sort of felt kind of blah, and 16 miles is a long way to feel blah. After the first four I started to feel a little better... it seems the longer the distances get, the longer it takes me to feel warmed up and comfortably in a groove. When Alyssa and I made it back to the club after two loops (8 miles) she said her goodbyes and then I reeeeaally started to dread going back out for 8 miles. I filled up my water and was about ready to take off when Katie burst out the door in full running gear. She was a sight for sore eyes! With Katie by my side I felt pumped (ok maybe just didn't feel like I was dragging) to run another four. After that loop there was only one to go - it was just Andy and I, and he slowed down and stayed with me the whole way. What a guy.

Now a few details - Since my plan is take a gel about every 5 miles, I packed two with me for the long run today.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!

I took the Razz gel first (saving the best for last) - it had been in the pocket of my jacket for the first 6 miles and by the time I took it, it was really warm. Super gross. The flavor wasn't so bad, but I would not recommend warm gel to anyone. Yuck. I think I will pop them in the fridge the night before my long runs from now on. The peanut butter one was delicious! I'd put it on toast! Ok, maybe not quite that delicious, but it was a good treat after 12 miles. The bad news was that between mile 12.5 and 14, my stomach really hurt and I actually ran holding my stomach. I really hope it wasn't the peanut butter gu that was giving me issues. It was tasty enough that I'd like to try it again.

My body felt pretty good throughout the run. Towards the end, however, my feet really started hurting. I suppose they are bound to hurt when you pound on them for hours on end. Also towards the end, maybe the last mile or so, I was virtually shuffling across the road. I found it really hard to pick my feet off the ground, which is scary because that's a surefire way to trip. Instead of focusing on picking up my achy feet, I pretended that a string was tied to the tops of my quads and with each step I took, I imagined someone yanking on the string. By getting my knees up higher, my feet came up too. It might have looked weird, but it seemed to help!

Sweet Sixteen - check out that 10:17 pace!

When we were finally done, we headed into the club, got a Gatorade, and then went straight to the hot tub. Andy hopped right in - I just put my feet in, but boy did that feel good. What didn't feel good was the discovery I made when I took my socks and shoes off.

Big blister (sorry you have to look at my foot)

After thoroughly inspecting the blister, I have high hopes that it will be a callus soon. My feet are going to be so gnarly by the end of this thing. Anyway, once my socks and shoes were carefully back on, we visited Katie and the front desk, and then... the siren song of Sarah's zumba class started calling me. I know it's pyscho, but I went to the very tail end of it - only a couple minutes. She told the whole class about my running adventures and they all clapped... how nice! I was also glad that it explained to the people near me why I smelled so bad. I mean - I. smelled. bad.

Once home Andy hopped into the shower and I dove into my leftovers from Friday night's dinner with Sarah.

mmm... cold risotto...

I didn't realize until I started eating just how hungry I was but WOW was I hungry! Let's just say the rest of the day was spent eating - although I did get some cleaning/laundry done and finally got my suitcase put away. Now I'm off to bed - my body will be happy to finally sleep!

* One last thing. This time around Andy had a confrontation with a biker (around mile 10). It made him so mad he had a huge surge of adrenaline that he said helped him get through the end. There's a good chance that by the time this is all over, one of us will have killed a biker. Watch out! 

Total Miles Run: 197.87 (so close to 200!)
Total Weight Change: -3.0

Day 61 + 62

Grab a cup of coffee and get comfy... this is going to be a long one.

Friday started out with a 6 mile run before work. It was the first time since being back from the west coast that Andy and I had the energy to get up early enough for a morning run. I was actually really nervous to run because I was convinced my ankles would be on fire and my knee would hurt again. But things change daily, and I was so thankful that my ankles felt fine and my knee barely bothered me at all. What DID bother me was breathing. My legs felt fine, my head felt fine, my mood was fine, but I was sucking wind like it was nobodies business. Of course... I didn't help the cause by trying to go fast. As you know I've been getting a little faster during this process, and I was tempted to see if I could keep it up over a slightly longer distance. My pace averaged 9:37/mile (smug smile). I was pretty proud of myself.

However! Although I did a good job with my run, I did not prepare well for it. NEW RULE: I must carry water with me on any run longer than 4 miles. I got so thirsty that I wanted to drink from the river. That's never a good idea.

Post-run I went to work, boring boring blah blah, and then met Sarah for dinner at Pomodoro's! I got to eat carbs AND hang out with Sarah. How can that not be fun? Then we decided to get really classy, so it was off to Joe's Crab Shack to hear our boss's band's debut. ;-) Yeah... interesting place for a band to play, but they actually sounded pretty good! Or at least they sounded good after a few glasses of wine...

Good times at the Crab Shack, lol

I pretty much crashed when I got home, which was good because it gave me less time to get nervous for the next day.

Saturday! K, so you all know I run, obviously. I've run in freezing cold weather, sticky hot humid temps, rain, snow, wind, up hills, down hills, on trails, through grass, sidewalks, roads, gravel.... but not through mud. Never mud. Why? Because mud is gross and I don't like to get dirty. Bugs live in mud. I don't like bugs. Did I mention I don't like to get dirty?

Apparently my brain was out to lunch months ago, because once upon a time I agreed that on September 8th, I would run the Dirty Girl 5k Mud Run. What was I thinking??? I got up, put on an old old pair of running shoes and clothes that I didn't care about, packed a bag full of garbage bags, towels, and wet ones (I need to remember if there is any event where I need a bag with those three items, I should probably run the other way), and then we were off to Kissing Bridge - a ski area about 90 minutes away. Sarah and Shelley kindly allotted me 30 minutes to freak out on the drive there, but I did a good job of pretending to be cool while just silently freaking out in my head for the entire drive. :-)

It was raining when we got there and we had close to 2 hours to kill. I busted out my Project Runway skills and made myself a raincoat. I mean, obviously I wasn't going to stay clean and pretty forever, but I was going to hold out as long as possible.

Couture Kitchen Trash Tunic

Honestly, once we were there, there was no turning back, so I stopped being nervous and just accepted the fact that it really might suck and I would definitely get dirty - as long as I was cautious and didn't get hurt, I could handle it. Our wave started at 12:30 - our team of 8 lined up and we were off! I probably ran a total of 100 yards (kind of disappointing as I was counting this as a 4 mile run this week), but the trail got SO muddy, it was basically impossible to run (at least without falling face first in it). Somehow "ski resort" didn't really register "lots of hills" with me, but oh... there were hills, and they were big. Thankfully since we were walking the hills were totally fine, but they would have been a bear to run on.

For those of you that haven't heard about the Dirty Girl 5k, it is more than just a 3.1 mile trudge across a muddy course. No no, that's not enough mud and disgustingness - let's throw in 11 obstacles! Most of the obstacles consisted of crawling through various mud pits or water pits (which were muddy water pits), although some of them involved climbing - we had to climb over a wall, up and over a wooden ramp (it was harder than it looked because it was so slippery), and up and over a cargo net that was probably 10 people high (It wasn't really 10 people high, but if Andy asks it was at LEAST 10 people high if not 20). After the first obstacle I got a little muddy, so after that it was really no big deal. I took it like a champ. I wish I had been a little warmer and had been able to shower a little sooner, but other than that, it was really a lot of fun. And yes, I'd do it again. :-)

Since iPhones and mud don't mix well, I wasn't able to use my camera to get any super muddy shots of myself, but here is just a generic shot of nothing in particular - it gives you an idea of how muddy we all got.

Ewwww

Babs, Shelley, and Sarah - hosed off and cold

By the time I got home from the mud run, I had to fly into the shower (no question that was needed) and then totally turn around and look presentable for Anna and Bipul's engagement party! They had it at Eros, one of mine and Andy's favorite restaurants in town. Anna and Bipul both wore beautifully elaborate Indian outfits. Anna's parents had flown in for the occasion and I was SO excited to see them. Now that I know they are fans of the blog, here's a special shout out to the entire Steltenpohl Family!! Woot woot!!! :-) Seriously though, so many of my favorite people were there and I had a great time hanging out, catching up, and of course, eating delicious delicious food. Eros never disappoints! Anna and Bipul - I am so happy for you guys and I'm so glad I got to be there to celebrate the start of your journey together!

Happy Babs Sandwich

Babsandy w/ Annabips

If that weren't a festive enough weekend already, I've got a 16 mile run to do in the morning (longest one yet). I should be more nervous for it, but I'm pretty tired, so the nerves will have to wait until tomorrow. This girl's going to bed! Goodnight friends! Thanks for reading!!

Total Miles Run: 181.87 (I'm not counting today's 5k since I didn't run it)
Total Weight Change: -4.1