Animals are like, totally awesome, man.

Today, I'd like to declare my love for BBC.

I've been renting these nature shows from Netflix. The last one I watched was "Nature's Most Amazing Events: Disk 1." And wow. Really interesting stuff goin' on in nature.

I find it quite inspiring, really. Go ahead, make fun of me. But I'm telling you, people, animals do some amazing things that make us humans look like total sissies. Take polar bears, for example. They go four months without food, and still manage to survive in some of the world's harshest conditions. And there are numerous species of birds who travel 600 miles when they migrate. They just fly, fly, fly.

So these are things I was thinking about this morning, on my 12 mile run. I was thinking about how hungry I was because I hadn't eaten since dinner last night, and I just had a piece of bread for breakfast. But that's only like 10 hours without food. If I were a polar bear, I'd be so screwed! Also, I only had to travel 12 miles, and for fun, not even for survival. So if I were a bird, I'd also be completely effed.

I'm striving to take a hint from Motha' Nature and just toughen up. I don't have to hunt for my dinner every week. Swimming in ice cold water is not a part of my daily commute. I never have to hold my breath for 15 minutes while I search for the nearest hole in a massive ice chunk that is considered a continent. And pulling up a body full of blubber (I'm lookin' at you, walruses) onto that ice chunk to soak up some sun is not a typical activity in which I partake. And I almost never have to flap my wings for four months straight just to get a little warm weather.


(Not Me)

So running every once in awhile really ain't no thang.

All I'm trying to say is, good thing I'm a human 'cause it'd be real rough to be a wild animal.

Two Pizza Guys and a pair of Walrus pants

Today was full of realizations.

First, a very serious realization as I watched a documentary before the run called "Restepo." It is about some army guys stationed in the same region of Afghanistan that Jamie was stationed in a few years before as a Marine. There were many thoughts racing through my head as I absorbed this movie, but in an attempt to keep this posting light and upbeat (and hilarious as always), I will just say that I intend to give every single Marine a HUGE high five as I run the marathon. And I'd really like to give a large number of hugs too, because those are pretty much life's jelly beans. 'Cause that's the least I can do.

Second, a not so serious realization that I have a video camera on my new ipod, E.T.! No big deal. Naturally, I decided to bust this baby out a couple times on my run since I was solo. And let me say, this was the best decision I ever made. Please, behold the artistry:





A big shout out to E.T. for his crystal clear picture and sound. Really didn't miss a beat. Such glorious detail.

Third, energy gels are really gross but oh-so-magical. They're too sweet and too salty but once that viscous goo hits your tongue, something in you screams "wooooooooop-ah!" Now, I've only just begun to dabble in the goo-pool, but I'm finding that results are typically quite good after consumption. They give you the energy you need without taking up room in your stomach. I was actually pondering the complexity of said gels when I came to my fourth and most ridiculous, but not final, realization...

I lost my car key. Somewhere between Peppermint Lane (there was going to be a whole series of videos in which I name the place where I am running based on some stupid and meaningless observation. It was gunna be great.) and goo number three, my key slipped right out of my water-bottle-hand-purse. This was difficult to face because I was actually really enjoying this run, for the first time in weeks, and I still had at least five to seven miles to go. It was rainy and chilly, and the road was muddy and very quiet. I chose a route between Boulder and Longmont on dirt roads where it's relatively flat. And the plan was to stop at my car twice during the run to adjust clothing as necessary for the weather and to fill up my water bottle and goo supply. So, for the first time ever, I carried my key with me and enabled the security system on the Flying-Tomato (i.e. I manually locked all the doors and rolled up the windows, also manually). So I decided to retrace my steps in hopes of running across the key. Of course, conditions were perfect for a teeney little key to get run over by a car and squished right into the mud. I was facing west, growing painfully aware of imminent darkness, and therefore, increased invisibility of the key and also of me. I didn't bring a light with me or any reflective gear and my jacket is a lovely but useless shade of eggplant. My cell phone was in my car. Now I begin running through my options :

1. Miraculously find the key and run back to Flying Tomato with no harm done
2. Pull over some rando and hope that they will allow me to use a phone
3. Knock on a rando's front door and remove muddy shoes before asking for a phone
4. Run back to the car and break the window with my bare knuckles

I chose option 2. And I chose the car carefully, being ever-so aware of my vunerability. A car with a pizza delivery sign on top (not sure which pizza place) was driving towards me and I thought "boo-yah!" I waved my hands and pizza guy #1 pulled over and allowed me to use his iphone or gnome or giga-pet or whatever it was. And I dialed Jamie's number (I'm freakishly good with memorizing numbers) because he has my spare key and I had emailed my route to him before I left, so that if something happened, he'd have helpful information. He didn't answer so I left a message describing the remainder of my route and where my car was parked. And I continued to run, now being motivated by a very familiar feeling; fear of the dark.

I finally reached the road on which I was parked, frantically looking for Jamie's car. Nothing. And I begin to reassess my situation. I'm out of water, got a belly full of goo and nothing else, and hardly any clothes on. I could knock on doors and ask for a ride, but I'm a relatively small woman in a remote part of town and though the chances are slim that something terrible would actually happen, I wasn't sure I wanted to risk it. Needless to say, I was beginning to panic a bit. But I kept telling myself to keep cool because everything's going to be fine. And low-and-behold, I see the headlights of the Silver Shredder (Jamie's civic), lighting my path to safety.

The last realization was quite simple really. The universe was sending me a message. And I got it loud and clear because in the face of danger, you often have no choice but to leave your fate in the hands of unseen forces. So I did what I knew I had to do when I got home. I called the first pizza place that came into mind and I ordered a large veggie supreme. With garlic breadsticks. After a night like that, what a girl really needs is to snuggle into her favorite walrus p.j. pants that she's literally had since she was 12, and her favorite Shorty's sweatswirt and stuff her face with pizza while participating in night three or four of a Godfather Movie Marathon.

Does your Face Hurt?

After a tough 15 miler yesterday, I woke up with the realization that there are just over 6 1/2 weeks to marathon day.

Here is my confession to the running gods:

Forgive me Forrest (he's gotta be one of the running gods, right?!), for I have sinned. It's been never since my last confession. I have been having impure thoughts about consuming carbs...and not working them off.

And it gets worse, for I have indulged in a bit of booze on the sacred Sunday (medium run day).

Yes Forrest, I will say 50 Oprah Winfreys.

I've been less structured with training during the past few weeks than I was in the beginning. After training hard and diligently for a month and a half or so, I started to feel a lot of progress and growth and got excited. So I skipped a few short run days here and there. And then Jamie and I took a week off to let our bodies heal (you always feel sore when you're training for a marathon, in some way or another). And then I sustained a minor injury of some sort to my hip during our 17 miler, which hurt when I ran. At this same time, Boulder was being smothered by smoke from the fire and all residents were being advised to avoid outdoor activity. So, the 15 mile run was quite challenging for me yesterday.

I believe this is the part during training where burn-out becomes a factor. You have to re-evaluate where your head is at in this whole process. And your heart. You have to remind yourself what you love about every single run.

The first half of the run was not enjoyable for me. I was not dedicated to it. But then I got over the wall and started to really feel that familiar buzzzzzzz.

So here I am, officially re-committing to training. There's a month and a half left and I intend to use that time to build the necessary strengh and endurance in my body and mind. I want to run every step of that 26.2 race. So no more excuses.

In the very wise words of my basketball coach (and Dad): "Does your face hurt...?"
To which you always respond with a groan and a whiney "noooo..."

(Coach/Dad) "Well, it's killin' me!"

In other words, no excuses.

P. Diddy

Since this hasn't been the most productive week training-wise, I thought "hey, let's give 'em somethin' to talk about."

Naturally, the best way to get people talkin' is by presenting them with some facts. So I did a little research.

Here are some interesting facts about marathons:

* Historically, the tradition of the marathon began after the battle of Marathon in ancient Greece in 490 B.C. With a victory over the Persians, a messenger was sent to Athens (22 miles from Marathon) to announce the good news to all those gorgeous Greeks. After running this distance, Pheidippides, the messenger, squeaked out the words "Greetings, we win!" and then dropped dead. Needless to say, this story gets me really psyched up.
* The majority of female marathon runners are ages 25-29 years.
* The average woman burns 2,880 calories during 26.2 miles.
* 4:32 is the average time in which U.S. women complete a marathon.
* For men, the average time is 4:16
* World record for women: 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe
* World record for men: 2:03:59 Haile Gebrselassie
* To get a feel of the speed required in order to be considered an elite runner, hop on a treadmill and turn that baby up to it's max, 12 miles an hour. That means you'd be running a 5 minute mile, which would put you in the top percentage of racers.
* At the 1996 Olympic trials, Bob Kempainen threw up 6 times between mile 22 and the finish....and he still won. (Again, I'm feeling really pumped)
* Some famous people who have finished marathons:
- Lance Armstrong, twice (big surprise)
- George W. Bush
- Sarah Palin
- Will Ferrel
- Mario Lopez (I wonder if he was..."saved by the bell" at the finish. Ha!)
- Freddie Prinze, Jr.
- Oprah Winfrey (ran the Marine Corps Marathon, as a matter of fact.)
- David Lee Roth
- John Edwards (also MCM)
- Al Gore (also MCM)
- P. Diddy (my personal favorite.) Here he is, probably training pretty hard, so he's just a little thirsty:


So there ya go. Carry these facts with you, always.

Bad News

In case you haven't heard, Boulder is under a blanket of smoke. There is a raging fire burning just a few miles away that has destroyed many homes and is wreaking havok on the area. It started on Monday morning and we could see the first smoke plume floating over Boulder, heading east. Now it seems as though the smoke is settling into the valley in which Boulder is situated. It's incredibly hazy at different points in the day, and long distance visibility is touch-and-go. It's being called a catastrophic fire. I am only telling you this because I have never experienced such a strange occurance. Though I can hardly imagine what people farther up the canyon are feeling, those who have already lost their homes and those who are still unsure as to whether or not theirs can be saved. It's quite saddening, to say the least. Though it is being reported that the fire didn't grow at all during the night, thanks to cooler temperatures and weaker winds.

It seems irrelevant to write anything about training while this is happening.

Though I will say that we skipped our 18 mile run this morning because of the smoke. Seems counterproductive to try to run such a distance when you're not actually breathing in fresh air. We decided it was best not to risk it. However, I haven't run in a week, except for a teeny 2.5 miler, because of a possible injury that I sustained during last week's long run. So today, despite the poor air quality, I will go for a small run and determine if this injury will require a trip to the doc.

Hopefully the mild weather today will aid in the fight against the worst fire this canyon has seen.

hit by a train?!

Here is the route that chewed us up and spit us out:


So this one was a little rough. Once we hit mile 14 or 15, it seemed as though our bodies were working against us. We both wanted to finish that damn run, but your body just screams at you to stop. I imagine if my body could talk, at mile 14 last night, it would have said "please, stop the madness!" (Or maybe something a little more vulgar, but this is a family show.) We both decided to stop and walk at about 16.5 or so, but we kicked it into high gear for about the last quarter mile just to really seal the deal. After pushing your joints and muscles far beyond their normal limit, you hurt in ways that you never really knew you could hurt. And the funny thing is that although the act of running is what is causing every inch of your lower half to ache, that same act is the quickest way out, because the more you walk, the longer you'll be out there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Just trying to spread the word that hey, training for a marathon is anything but easy. But despite all the hard work and physical discomfort, I still want to get out there once a week and do a really long run.

Top 5 fantasies during the last 5 miles:
1. ICE CREAM! Jamie and I almost always reward ourselves with the world's most incredible edible, however, as sad as it is, we were both so very wiped out last night that we skipped it.
2. Food - something salty and hardy, last night I was thinking about soup
3. Beer
4. Shower - hot, and looooooooooong
5. Aspirin and the dreamy mattress that fills up half of my apartment. (Maybe you think this counts as two seperate fantasies, but you're wrong)

Oh, you may have noticed I changed things up in the design department of this here blog. The flames really spoke to my soul. Everyone knows that flames are the surest way to amp up the thrill factor.

I'm raw, hustla, getcho bakin' soda.

17 Miles....

kicked our a-double-s-es