Honey vs. Allegra Weekend

Friday – A day of good food! For lunch I met Lisa at Matsuri for sushi. Mmm mmm. For dinner Steve and I checked out Thai Basil in Chantilly. We started out with the steamed dumplings, spring rolls, and a round of Sapporo – all were delish. Steve ordered the green chicken curry and I got one of the specials which was seafood atop a spicy lo mein-like noodle. Tasty and very generous servings. I was going to order the coconut ice cream for dessert but the service was kind of slow (the place was packed) so we decided to call it a night.

Saturday – Steve was out with his new two-wheeled girlfriend so after the gym and Target, I strolled around Grand Mart in Sterling. Not as big as the Grand Mart in Glen Burnie, but it still has a decent selection. Picked up a bottle of the best margarita mix ever and finished my outing with a visit to the health food store. One of the guys at the gym mentioned that he had been taking a tablespoon of local honey (honey made by the bees in your ‘hood) for his allergies. As of this weekend, Giant was still waiting for the insurance company to approve my Allegra prescription the doc submitted to them last week Friday. Since I’m rationing my few remaining pills, I figured I’d give this honey thing a go since I usually have some on my oatmeal pancakes every morning anyway. I haven’t taken a pill since Friday and so far, no problems with my allergies. Of course, it has been raining the last few days so I’ll have to see how things go now that it’s no longer raining.

That night we went to Helen’s for dinner and some quality time with the family. My two picks for the NCAA championship are out so I’ve officially kissed my $5 buh-bye.

Sunday – A day of chores, chores, and taxes. I did get to work on the shrug that I’m crocheting. It’s a little chunkier than I’d like because the yarn I’m using is el cheapo from Michael’s but it’s fine for a first attempt.

Back to school

Not really, but it kinda feels that way. I just signed up for a swimming class on Saturday mornings at the rec center near our house. Bubble, bubble, bubble.

I also told a co-worker that I'd take a hip-hop cardio class with her on Monday after noon at this studio in Vienna: http://www.born2dancestudio.com/. I have three cousins who studied dance and unfortunately none of that talent rubbed off on me. Anyone care to join me? It's a guaranteed good laugh.

3:59:50

It wasn't pretty, but it's done. We managed to slip past the finish line just shy of the 4:00 hour mark. Steve and I leap-frogged one another for the first 17 miles, after that it was a team effort. After getting through a series of hills between miles 23 and 24 in Anacostia, my heart felt like it was going to burst. Steve realized around mile 24 that if we pushed it, we could finish with a sub-4:00. (If my brain hadn't stalled, I would have had the sense to push a button on my watch to show the elapsed time since we crossed the starting line to realize this as well - thankfully his brain worked.) We ran mile 25 hard and sprinted the last 0.2. Thanks to Steve for pushing me through that last bit - I'm not sure I could have done it without him.

Highlights from the race:
- A series of motivational sayings written in chalk on the road around the DC waterfront. My favorite: You're a pirate. Yar.
- The female cop in Anacostia yelling, "Girl Power. You boys are doing all right too."
- Students from Howard University blaring music and dancing along the side of the road.
- The sign that said, "Your feet hurt from kicking so much a$$.'

A few pics from the weekend:

Palin lover

Palin lover
Originally uploaded by cherrydg

Today's flavor of crazy

T-3

What to do next? Three days til the race and I’m tossing around ideas on what to train for when I’m done with National. Yes, I could opt to not train for anything but (a) I need something to occupy myself for at least a portion of the time that Steve is training, and (b) I need some kind of goal to justify my eating. Some options and their likelihood.

A fall marathon (likelihood 99%) – While I’m almost certain that I’ll do a fall marathon, I have no idea which one I can do since I don’t know my training schedule at work yet. I’m at the mercy of the customer so whatever dates they decide on factors into my decision. I figured it doesn’t hurt to have a few races in mind so here’s my short list for each month.
- September: Lake Tahoe, Jungfrau Marathon ( Switzerland )
- October: Venice (Italy), Dublin (Ireland), Baltimore, Long Beach
- November: Athens ( Greece ), Chicago , Richmond (only if my schedule makes it too difficult to travel), New York
- December: Honolulu

Since our 10 year anniversary is in May and someone whose name I won't mention didn't look at the calendar when he committed to participating in a weekend-long training trip, I want a vacation out of whatever race we decide to do.

Trail race (likelihood 50%) – It’s a running event but it would require me to get over my fear of running downhill on a trail. Sure uphill is hard on the ticker, but downhill scares the snot out of me because I’m afraid that I’ll trip over a tree limb and hurl myself into rock or tree. If I did run a trail race I’d probably keep it to a half-marathon or shorter.

50-miler (likelihood 30%) – Okay, the likelihood is probably closer to 20% when I start thinking about how much it hurts to run a marathon. I wonder if the pain associated with a 50-miler is twice as bad? The only way I could see myself doing a 50-miler this year would be if it was on the road and not a trail run. I’ve said this to a few runners I know and they all think a trail run would be easier on the body. Probably true, but remember my fear of flying through the air in the woods.

Fitness/Figure/Bodybuidling contest (likelihood 2%) – I only put this on the list because I’m intrigued by the discipline that people who compete in these have and not because I actually see myself doing it. I hate being judged on my looks and that’s pretty much what these competitions seem to be. BTW, I should note that I know nothing about how these events are judged. I know that I've looked at enough magazines that report on these events and I can't tell what made the winner better than the rest of the pack.

Post-Race Rituals

As part of my ritual, I have a series of things that I do after a marathon.

Massage: If I were rich, I’d have a massage therapist as part of my entourage. Some people don’t like the idea of some stranger touching them. “Not I” said this duck. Bring it. I have two therapists that I rely on: Lori and Mary. Both are petite women who are slightly taller than me but about 20 lbs lighter, but who both can knead the golf balls out of my calves as if they were sore losers of a strongman competition. A massage seems to do wonders on any other day so you better believe I’ve got one scheduled .

Chiro-crackment: That would be a chiropractor appointment for those of you who had difficulty understanding my ESL-ness. Doug, my chiro-cracker friend makes sure that my hips and back aren’t out of whack and causing me to walk like Quasimodo. He also stretches my IT band (tissue on the outside of your leg that runs from your knee to your hip). It hurts like a mo-fo while he’s doing it so I end up calling him plenty of dirty names, but I end up feeling much looser when he’s done. I also have to apologize for the name-calling so that (1) I can continue to come back and (2) so that this 6’4” bodybuilder doesn’t squash me like a bug.

Pedicure: After assessing the damage to my poor tootsies and after my muscles are loose enough that I can reach my toes, I give myself a pedicure. I know I could pay someone to do this, but I guess I’m cheap when it comes to certain things – especially things that I’m perfectly capable of doing myself. Despite having more bottles of nail polish than Steve and I have finger and toenails combined, I will however treat myself to a new bottle of polish. Or two. This race's colors are the classic I'm Not Really a Waitress and Cosmo-Not Tonight Honey.


Pig out sans-guilt: It’s no secret that I have a big appetite. You’d think that after a marathon I’d be hungrier than normal, but surprisingly I’m not. (I do really hope that the folks running the National Marathon have the jumbo soft pretzels available again after the race. Those rocked.) Since Steve is also running National, our post-race feast has yet to be decided. We may go for the tried-and-true Chipotle, or perhaps we’ll venture into burger territory. Whatever we decide on I can tell you that it’s probably one of the few times I’m not thinking about whether or not what I’m eating is clogging my arteries.

Weekend Recap

Friday - Watched So I Married an Axe Murderer (love that movie) and finished knitting Calorimetry - this headband thingy. My first attempt was too small and would probably only fit a kid.

Saturday - Easy 10-miler followed by way too many orange cranberry muffins. I think I actually eat more when I run less: Saturday crap food total = 5 cranberry orange muffins and 1 chocolate-glazed donut. Spent the afternoon helping Terri clean out Red Dog Spa. The store looks great and has come a long way since I last saw it. Oh! and the cushion I made looks fab in the store! Hit Trader Joe's for some quinoa and cheap wine before picking up grub at Chipotle. Watched Body of Lies (bleh - not impressed) while knitting Calorimetry again. This time it was too wide.

Sunday - Pancake breakfast courtesy of Aunt Jemima! Dad requested tech support from Steve so we headed up to good ole Glen Burnie for a few hours of family time. Dad also made sure that I brought the statue of Jesus that they brought back from the Philippines home with me since I accidentally left it there the last time I visited. He made sure to tell me that they had the priest at the church bless it for me. I'm not sure what it is with filipinos and these Jesus statues (or the giant wooden forks and spoons). Even if I was religious I'm not sure I'd have him out on display. Instead he's going to be rooming in the guest bedroom closet with some old friends from my childhood: my teddy bear, doll, and monkey (who everyone but me thinks is creepy).

Also finished Calimetry attempt #3. Check it out:

It's still a smidgen too big but it's closer than the last two attempts.

9:09

This is a running entry so if you’re tired of hearing about my running, carry on and come back another day. Although I should warn all of you that there will likely be more running-related entries until after my race.

It’s T-10 days until the National Marathon which means it’s taper time. For you non-runners, tapering is the 2-3 weeks before a race when you’re supposed to run less so that your body is fully rested and recovered for the big day. Some runners hate tapering because it makes them feel “off” not to run like they have been for the last however many months of training. Personally I usually don’t mind tapering because I’m ready for a little break from running after feeling like I’ve had to run for the last 3-4 months. For this race, I’m having a harder time with tapering because of the time change and warmer weather. Nice weather: go outside and run. Sun is still out after work: go outside and run.

I’m also having a hard time tapering this go-round because my last few long runs have gone much better than I expected. I’d love, love, love to finish this race sub-4:00 and am t-h-i-s close; my marathon PR (personal record) is a 4:03:39. To finish in 3:59:59 I need to finish 3 minutes and 40 seconds faster than my PR. This translates to running a 9:09 instead of a 9:18 which is 9 seconds faster per mile than my PR. I know it doesn’t sound like much but when you’re talking about doing anything for 26.2 miles, it’s not as easy as it sounds. When the bottoms of your feet start feeling like they’re on fire, your shoes feel 3 sizes too tight, a toenail or two feel like they’ve been sacrificed to the running gods, the aching in your knees, back, and hips give you a glimpse of your so-called “golden years”, AND your hammies cramp up stepping over a speed bump never mind any kind of hill, every step is a challenge even if you’re not trying to maintain a certain pace.

According to a number of training programs out there, you’re supposed to do your training runs at a slower pace than your actual goal pace. For example, according to Runner’s World’s training calculator, if I want to finish in 3:39:39, I should be doing my long runs at a 10:15-11:33 pace. Through the magic of adrenaline and the ritual of sacrificing your toenails to the running gods, these folks believe that it’s possible to shorten your pace by over a minute during the race. Based on my experience, my race pace is faster than my training pace, but over a minute? I’m not drinking that much of their Kool-Aid. Mine is usually about 30 seconds faster than training pace which means that if my long runs have been averaging a 9:30/9:40, I just MIGHT (big emphasis on might) be able to eek out a 9:09. Maybe. If I don’t get any mysterious aches during the race like I did at MCM. And if the sports drink on the course doesn’t upset my stomach. And if there’s not a strong wind. And if my shoes don’t try to eat my socks like they sometimes do. You get the picture.

So for the next 10 days I’ll be agonizing about all the little things that might go wrong. Chances are we won’t get anymore snow or ice storms this winter so at least I can at least cross that off my list.

Birth of a Cushion Cover

This weekend I made a cushion cover for Terri that will go in Red Dog Spa. I'm always nervous when I'm working with fabric that someone else bought.

The fabric in cushion:

Cut fabric:

The inside of the cover after it's sewn together:

And finally on the cushion:

The hardest part was actually putting the cushion in the cover. Working with a cushion 73" long and 25" wide isn't easy when you're 60".

Can you hear me now?

My co-workers and I discovered I can't hear much (only up to 12 kHz) compared to their 20-something ears: http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/

Resisting...

Resisting...
Originally uploaded by cherrydg

10 days without chocolate. Yes by choice. No not because of Lent.

Office camping?

Office camping?
Originally uploaded by cherrydg

A co-worker can't take the overhead lights so she has a cover over her cube.

Weekend O' Work

Friday - Date with Steve to Lowes top pick up supplies for this weekend's projects. Whoopee!

Saturday - Great 22 mile run - yes I realize it's a weird thing to say. I usually can't keep a steady pace but somehow managed to run 9:30-9:40 miles the entire time. You have no idea how happy this makes me since National is only 3 weeks away. The rest of the day was spent clearing out the half of the kitchen I was planning to paint. I forgot how much work goes into just getting the room ready: clearing crap out, taking stuff off walls, spackling (ugh), sanding, wiping up the dust from sanding, taping, blah, blah, blah... I think it was about 3:30 by the time I picked up a paintbrush. By 7:00 I finished up the edging and had had enough for the day. Neither one of us felt like cooking or getting dressed so we picked up some grub at Chipotle and spent the rest of the night camped out in front of the big magical window (a.k.a. the TV).

Sunday - Gym, Target, then back to work. I finished up Phase I of the kitchen painting and even repainted the trim around the floor. Yay me. Here are a few pics of the kitchen and also the crown molding that Steve put up in our sunroom/my office.



Now I'm just stalling because I have a few boxes of stuff that I took out of the kitchen that I no longer want and I also need to vacuum. If you know anyone opening up a taco joint who is looking for southwestern decorations and knick-knacks, I'm your girl. This tired Flip will be spending the rest of the evening folding laundry with her $3 wine from Trader Joe's while she waits for her frozen lasagna to finish.