The New Goal

Karen inspired me about this idea: I'm going to do a rewards program for losing weight.  My birthday is July 8 and I would like to be 140 lbs at that time.  If this happens, then I will purchase a Garmin watch AND an iPad toy.

This will be great.  I know I can do this and am very excited.  I will be training for the Chicago marathon AND for a few little tri's and half marathons thereabouts.  Stay tuned.

Update: Garmin, Here I Come!

The Bataan march is this weekend.  Obviously I am not there.  The family is not there this weekend so my Mom and I were very disincentivized from going.  I think this worked out wonderfully because I was DEAD from March - the TIR, Toastmaster's competitions, the Rodeo, parties....it was just too, too much.  So when Mom said she was cancelling the trip, it was a huge sigh of relief....

That being said, what is the new goal?  Well, a big group of us signed up for the Chicago marathon in October.  Myself included.  This is going to be a PTR.  I would like to shoot for 4:15...maybe even 4 hours if I'm feeling awesome.

Also, between the holidays and now I've gained almost 20 lbs.  I'm at 155 right now, the goal is to get back down to 140.  If/when this does happen, I am buying myself a Garmin watch as a celebratory gift.  It will be awesome....I REALLY want that watch!  Stay tuned for that progress....

Bataan Memorial and Houston

I ran the Houston marathon last weekend...at the last minute...and still have blisters on my feet.  Lord, I need new shoes....SpringFit starts this Saturday and I do believe that I am coaching.
My, my, my......

Project Numero 2

Now the new project is:
The Bataan Memorial Death March Marathin.
When: Sunday, March 27
Where: Las Cruces
How: Running/walking a full marathon with a 35-pound pack on my back.  How will this be accomplished, you ask?  Beats me!

A lot of training, sweating, and praying.....

It Is Finished

The Marine Corps Marathon was last Sunday.  And it was AWESOME.  And I was in no pain.

I can't wait to do another one!  I actually tried to register for the New York Marathon today, but (a) I already have an account so am unable to login since I no longer have that email address, and (b) the server is overloaded with all of the requests, so it keeps locking me and others out.

If I don't get into the New York Marathon, I'm going to do pick another Fall marathon AND do the Disney World Marathon in January.  I am excited; it will be awesome.

I can't believe it is finished.....I am so sad and will miss my running buddies!

Funky Felix Intervals

Ran 19 miles this morning.  Probably was a bit too much, but I emailed Coach Felix since I am going to be out of town for the next two weeks and not able to run.  Felix said I should do the long run this weekend so as to be ready for the 21 miler.

I ended up running with Coach Felix and Kay.  It was awesome - Felix told us about all of the marathons he has ever run.  He has run 45.  His favorites are as follows: favorite marathon: Houston and New York.  Most Inspirational: Marine Corps.  Most Spiritual: Bataan March Memorial (Las Cruces).

I am going to sign up for this one - it will give me an excuse to see my family there.

As stated previously, I joined Weight Watchers recently.  I had had enough of running with the extra pounds and being tired before I should.  We shall see how this goes.....

I am still here

I couldn't even access this blog. Have I been kicked off completely? It has been too long. Life got so busy all of a sudden. I am back working, just closed on my house this week, have been training for the marathon and considering getting licensed in skydiving...learning a lot at work, auditing a class and a second one starts next week.......

I could go on, but you get the picture.

Swimming has fallen by the wayside because there is just no time. I just cannot make it to the pool in time, unfortunately.

But I am still here! Going quite strong....I have missed this. And I have missed writing in my journal, too. I used to wonder why you would read statements about how healthy it is to keep a journal. I remember thinking that that was crazy. Why would journaling be healthy? It is marvelous to get one's thoughts out of one's head into the open.

Anyhoo, enough rambling. Tomorrow is either an 18 or a 19 miler. And the runs keeping going....

Where am I? What day is it?

Lord, what happened to the last two weeks?!

I knew this would happen, and yet I am still shocked.  I knew once I went back to work life would become a blur once again.  And indeed it has.  The good news is that I am not traveling, which I like. 

I really enjoy this job; but I am new at it and trying to figure it out.  And to buy a home.  And to train for a marathon.  And carry on normal life duties.  And read, learn, eat well, etc, etc, etc....... See why I said Life got crazy all of a sudden?

Speaking of running, I am going to do Weight Watchers.  I am lean, but I really should drop 10 lbs or so to run more efficiently.  Running efficiently is difficult when you are carting extra weight.  A work colleague explained the whole Weight-Watchers-point concept and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, so I am going to do it!

This Saturday we do 9 miles.  Thank goodness.  last week was 11 miles so I was stressing about doing more than that since I missed the run last Saturday.   But I will prevail!

My parents are in Iceland right now; I can't wait to hear how that trip went.  They're so funny...and so active!  I do all I can to just keep up with them.

Well, all this aside, the plan for the rest of this week is pretty low key.  I am going to run on Thursday, and that is pretty much it until the long run on Saturday.  I am detoxing my system this week meaning that I am resting, eating right, and working a lot on chores around the house instead of taking off to run/swim/cycle/whatever.  There are just too many chores to be done, I need a few days off.

I'll check in soon.  Tah, :)

Misery...I mean, Running....loves company!

I found running buddies today at work!

The new project is to run during lunch.  We will run mostly outdoors around downtown Houston, but I was caught in a bind of trying to find runners to run with.  Running by oneself is soo, so boring.  Some people can run alone for 10 - 25 miles.  But I cannot.  I get bored and don't last farther than 2 miles on my own.

One of our trainers, Jeff, referred some runners to me who run my pace.  One of them, Karen, and I ran today.  My friend Elaine, another intern from last year, also sporadically joined us!  And she is training for a half marathon this fall, as well!  This will be fantastic.  Now we all have running buddies!

Today we ran 3 miles indoors, and yesterday I took a pyro class and went to swim practice.  Yes, this was the day after the Danskin triathlon.  The triathlon was inspiring in that it has motivated me to get back in shape.  But then, we've all heard me blast this tune before!

Danskin Triathlon

Today Jerrah and I participated in the Danskin triathlon in Austin.  It was awesome!  Did I train for it and was I in shape?  Not at all.  It was actually quite liberating....since I am out of shape, I was under no pressure to do well.  It was basically a long workout.:)

Jerrah did awesome and I am so proud of her!  She blew everyone away in the swim.  Of course.

This afternoon was Kiley's bridal shower.  Ah.  From a triathlon to a bridal shower.  And then an allergic reation.  What a day.  Hence, vegging out in front of the TV with my laptop.  I think I am going to take this coming weekend off.

The Danskin Tri was awesome to get back in the swing of things...it was a very good motivator to get my out-of-shape rear back in gear and focus!  The thing is, with being new at work and figuring out what is going on, I have been more focused on work and trying to get the dust settled there than triathlon training and swimming.  But that's OK.  It is worth it!

Fast Times at EP High

I find it hilarious that the last post was about getting back on the wagon. Obviously that did not happen.;)

Work is craziness. It is fun; I am thankful and learning so much....but I feel like I am in over my head!

This weekend is the Women's Danskin Tri in Austin. I am going with one of my swim teammates, Jerrah. This is Jerrah's first triathlon and she is really nervous so we are going to go to all of the talks, check in early, etc. It is going to be awesome! We are excited.

As usual, I have not trained as much as I would like to. At all. But it is a little sprint, and it will be a lot of fun.

This morning I ran with the Nelsons and others. It was awesome considering that it stormed last night. There were 7 of us and we ran 5 miles. Marathon training starts soon. I found some running buddies at work so I am excited to get that going.....

Tomorrow I am going to [try to] go to spin class AND swim practice after work. And then tomorrow night is Ozen and Fraraz's wedding....in which we are doing our dance! Saturday is traveling to Austin, and Sunday is the triathlon!

Wish us luck!

Back on the wagon

I took about a month off from running to give my knee a break.  I am pretty sure that the knee pain is from the swimming.  Particularly the hard kicking.  But I ran 3 miles yesterday and was huffing and puffing.  This is not good for the marathon-running-plan.  Especially since I would like to run outside during lunch at work.

That means it is going to be super hot during this summer.

I am debating joining HoustonFit in order to train for the MCM.  I am too nervous to try all those long runs by myself.....hmmm....tough decisions.

Where's my stapler?

This was the first week of work.  And it was busy.  And I am already wiped out!  Haha.  Already I am overwhelmed.  I have been trying to break down the projects into bite-sized pieces so I can manage them effectively for the duration of them.  I am glad to be in Marketing.  I think (and hope) I fit there.  I hope I am not a disappointment!  I am grateful to be there and hope I can contribute in any way.

This is Week #1 and already I can feel the pounds coming on.  I haven't quite figured out the gym/swimming regimen yet, but there is plenty of time for that.  This week's regimen was:
3X Swimming (M, T morning and Thursday afternoon)

That was it.  Other than that, it was running around Houston...catching public transportation, practicing the dance for Ozen and Faraz's wedding...it was madness!

This weekend and week, the plan will be:
1.) Swimming - Sunday, maybe Monday, and at least 1 other time = 3 times total
2.) Spin class - at least one
3.) Running - Sat. morning; 12 miles, and at least one run at work = 3 miles

The training for the Danskin triathlon begins!

Hello there, old friend.

My, how long it has been. I am so sorry for neglecting you.  Life speeds by sometimes.

I graduated on Friday!  Can you believe all the activities that have happened in the past three weeks?  Graduation was this past Friday!

Besides all of the graduations parties and activities, I went to California for a week to visit Sean and SURF.  It was awesome.  I am officially counting it as training.

Again, getting back to the point of this blog: Training-wise, all I have been doing is swimming.  A few spin classes here and there, but I have been too scared to run due to my knee.   The Danskin triathlon is in three weeks, so I need to get back in the swing of things.  I am not worried about the swim at all.

I downloaded a marathon training plan for the MCM marathon.  The good news is that I don't need to start the plan until the end of June.  The bad news is that that is going to be SO hot!

I don't have a game plan for this week.  This week is my first week at work, so I am making this up as I go.  It is wonderful to be back in the adult world again!

Swim Like A Champion Today

My apologies that it has been so long between posts.  As a result of this, I am going to recite my 'training' from the last three days:
Saturday: Swimming (4,500 yds) and Running 3 miles
Sunday: Swim (4,000 m - lc)
Monday: Swim (2,000 m - lc)

Yes, a lot of swimming.  My knee has been bothering me a bit, so I have been trying to rest it.  I don't particularly like not running and over-swimming.  My body has a tendency to swell up when I do that and my legs lose the running training, but I would like to give my knee a rest.

A friend of mine sent me his marathon training program.  One of the [many] projects for this week is to download it and figure out how to apply it, countdown the days, etc.  Not to mention the Danskin triathlon is coming up in 6 weeks.

SIX weeks!  So soon.  My, how time flies.

I might run this week.  I still don't know.  I will have to think about it.  But the plan for this week is:
Spin class: at least once.  Probably tomorrow or Wednesday.
Yoga; at least one class
Swimming: Thursday p.m. and Fri. a.m.
Running: ???????

Runner's Knee? And MS 150 Thoughts...

No, I did not do anything athletically productive today.

BUT, I did finish ALL of my final assignments! FOREVER! Lord, this is the best feeling; I feel like I could fly!

And I volunteered most of the day Friday at the MS 150 Expo. It was awesome, and so inspiring. I am definitely signing up next year AND I am going to actively fundraise. This can and will be done...how thrilling!

Saturday I ran about 8 miles. We ran River Oaks and all of that nature got to me. I skipped a leg of the run and had Yvonne drive my from the Rose Garden to the Shell station because all of that nature (pollen) made me really nauseous. And my knee started bugging me in the middle of the run. I logged onto a couple of runners' blogs about it and quite a number said that Omega-3 supplemented prevent and lessen inflammation (in the patella. Which is what runner's knee is). Sounds odd to me....but I'll go for it. After all, fish is one of the best things for you. Even Jesus said so!

And now that the deliverable work is done (for now) it is time to focus on training! Plan for this week:
Swimming: 5X
Cycling: at least 1X (Wednesday a.m., most likely.)
Running: 1 Rice loop (3 miles) and hopefully long run this weekend. Depending on my knee.
Yoga: at least 1X

I've been icing my knee throughout the weekend; we shall see how this goes.

Tomorrow is the NAWMBA Appreciation Breakfast. Our last NAWMBA event for the 2009-2010 academic year. I CAN'T believe it. Where did the year go?

RBPC

Today through Saturday is the Rice Business Plan Competition: the largest business plan competition in the world.  I am working as a volunteer for most of it, and it is awesome.  I actually feel almost dumb....the ideas that these guys have are amazing!  We heard a lot today: everything from silent alarm clocks to get your full rem cycle sleep AND not wake up your spouse to a business plan for renting glamorous maternity wear so pregnant women would not have to dish out uber-dollars on clothes they might not every wear again.

Such creative stuff.

This week has been super busy.  I'm 90% certain that I will be selling jewelry come the summer.  And it has been gorgeous outside, so most of us have been conducting our team meetings and research projects outdoors.  And getting pretty sweet tans, if I do say so myself.  I guess there's something to be said for enjoying these last few weeks of freedom before returning to life!  I can't WAIT to go back to work, and yet I am so sad.  I cried at Gala, and I cried again a little bit today; this is our last RBPC as students.

Anyways, re-cap for the week:
Monday - swim (4K)
Tuesday - swim (3600)
Wednesday - spin class, calisthenics, and swimming again (3,800)
Thursday - swim (1,500)
I did not mean to do anything today due to working, but I had to deliver payments to coach Jason, so I hopped in the pool with the team since I was there.  We have a new coach, coach Kyle...so this makes 5 coaches!  We have a lot of fun.  Oh, I also posted a request for marathon training plans on facebook and got some responses, so stay tuned for news about that.

I'm taking tomorrow off to work (volunteer) for the MS 150 set up and more of the RBPC as well as resting my legs for Saturday's morning run.  I hope to use the time saved tomorrow to read, pray, and write, so I am excited.

Saturday's run will be River Oaks, my fav!  It is supposed to rain all weekend, though, so I am somewhat worried about the MS 150 riders.....we shall see how this turns out.

That's enough for me for one day.  I am checking out.  'Night all.

GALA!

Our Gala event was Saturday night.  And it was amazing!  I have never been to one of these types of events without a date, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I must have danced for 3 hours straight.  My feet and thighs are still burning.  And it was made worse by the fact that Mom wanted to do the Houston Heights Home Tour yesterday before we had post-Easter dinner with Reed & Allison and the crew.

Does the dancing count as training?!  Ha.  Well, perhaps not, but the 4 miles we walked for the Heights Home Tour definitely counts.

Jan and Me: High 5!

Oh, and that dress that I am wearing?  That would be my high school prom dress.

Yup, you read that right, folks: MY HIGH SCHOOL PROM DRESS!  From the Memorial High School Class of 1998 prom 12 years ago.  


Yes.  12 years.


And it still fit!  And is still beautiful in style!  I got my hair blown out and my makeup done: I felt like a princess.  It was wonderful beyond words for everyone to get all dolled up.  We had so much fun.


Okay, so in a wrap-up for the events over the past few days:
Saturday morning: 10 mile Heights run
Sunday: 4 mile Heights walk for Heights Home Tour
Today: Swimming; 1.5 hours.  I will give a report on the amount later.

I just checked the calendar, and there are 54 more days until the Danskin Triathlon in Austin.  Yikes!

Last Class!

I am writing from my final Public Policy class right now!

Yes, I am actually IN class. I justify this post due to the fact that we are talking about blogs right now in class. So I am only implementing what my Professor is saying.

No yoga this week. And I doubt any other swimming will be done. I had a lot of stuff to do yesterday afternoon at school, not to mention that last night was FOLLIES!....so, I swam yesterday from 12:15 - 1:15 or so. It was awesome; I had the entire outdoor pool to myself and swam 3,600 yards.

As an added bonus, I got a sweet tan base. As an added major error, I got a cap ring tan line. I did not realize that I wore my swim cap so low on my forehead. "What is a cap ring tan line?" you ask. Well, let me describe mine for you: I have a super dark brown horizontal stripe across my forehead that is about 1 inch wide. It is located about half an inch above my eyebrow line and one inch below my hairline. After swimming I used about 25% of my bottle of foundation to cover it up. Yikes.

I also have super white goggle eyes. I make quite a sight, let me tell you.:)

Our Gala dance is tomorrow night! I am so excited. I promise to at least semi-report how it was, but before then Yvonne and I will be doing a 12-mile Heights run tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

Jarheads or Bust!

That's right, people. It is official!

I REGISTERED AND AM RUNNING THE FULL MARINE CORPS MARATHON!

Eat my running shoes. My card has been charged, I have the registration confirmation in hand, and I have already been assigned a number. There is no turning back now!

I was really stressing over this. I told Mom this morning that I had a strange dream about the MCM marathon registration process: I dreamt that I was pacing until 12:00 p.m. Eastern (when registration opened) and then could not log on via my PC. I tried every computer in the house, then every computer in every house on our street, and still to no avail.

I finally logged on (no, I do not remember how, nor on what computer) to find that, lo and behold, the marathon was full and registration was closed.

Nooooooooooooo!

And then I woke up. Isn't that strange? It's almost as bad as those poor souls who dream about Excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint decks.

Sheesh.

To celebrate and to rev this bod in further training gear, I swam a ton today. 6,100 yards. That's right, folks; you read that right: I am a machine! I gave all the thoroughbreds a run for their money. Of course, they are going super-slow and resting since they are in uber-tapering mode for the Zones meet this weekend in the Woodlands, but that is beside the point. I was a thoroughbred pacer for the day. How sweet life is.