A whole Week Gone!

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Where did it go? I wasn't injured... I wasn't over tired or overtrained. I wasn't sick, not until Saturday, anyway. So why did I miss a whole week's worth of workouts. My watch isn't even broken. I guess I just got to the end of the day each day and realized I hadn't crossed it off my to do list. How sad... I guess I really need to buckle down and get things going the right way. I have my long run tonight. I begged to have my daughter since she is going to Anchorage with her brothers for a soccer tournament. She'll have fun camping out, I'm sure. But I didn't want to go a whole week without her. So now I get her, I've got the jogging stroller, which I've yet to even use! And I can load it up with water so hydration won't be an issue and I don't have to carry the extra weight on myself! Even better. I hope it doesn't feel too terrible pushing her around. I think it will be fine though.

I guess I had better work on my hydration level if I'm going to even contemplate attempting a run of any length.

Dorkness OUT!

Connected

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I found out a while ago, that one of my patients works in a mortgage house. His whole job is to find ways to get people mortgage loans. I hit him up for advice today. I know I'm building up my credit scores and building a savings stash while I'm gone. He recommened getting an American Express Card. I guess that jumps your credit score 20 points automatically or something... hmmm... might have to look into that in the future.

So that is ressuring, he said to call his office and he would help me out. I'm sure they get some kind of commission, but I think I may prefer that over being just a number at Wells Fargo or some other big bank. They tout their personal customer service, but who is going to reconize me more, someone I only see every quarter when I go in for my credit check up, or the guy who comes in once a month or more, and I go after him with a needle... sorry to say, but just on dr visits alone. I leave an impression on them and a whole in their arm.

So yeah. I'm working through some gumpiness I have. Maybe I'll go hide in the employee gym for 30 minutes if I get a lunch break. I don't care if I'm sweaty for the last few hours of work. I need to do something.

Coming up

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I'm starting to get excited about this trip. Part of me can't help but think that it is a lot of fuss for a 5 hr marathon. But it is a 6hr drive whether I run it in 2 or 18 hours... believe me I'm hoping it doesn't turn into 18!
I moved hotel reservations to a hotel that is closer, less ghetto, and still has a pool. In Alaska, in the summer, you're going to get priced gouged no matter where you stay. So if you're already spending more than you want, you might as well feel safe!
I figure if I'm 2 blocks from the start/finish then it would be easier for my sister to not have to drive me to the start, and I won't have to walk all over down town. And we'll have 4 kids with us aged 9,7,4, & 3... sleep for them is good. Grumpy kids and really put a damper on a trip.
I am also thinking a nicer hotel is possibly a quieter hotel. Further up from the ground floor, and thicker walls! That makes for a happier marathoner.
School for the kids starts the day after the Marathon, so going to a bigger town to get some of the shopping out of the way will be a way to spend time and be practical. I hear there is also a water park, but if we can swim for free at the hotel, that may be the way to go. All I care about is being able to eat the foods that will agree with me. So if we end up at Chuck E. Cheese's then NO PIZZA for me, being how the first and most plentiful ingredient seemed to be grease the last time we were there. While I'm a big fan of greasy food, we learned that I don't run very well with it. I think there is an Olive Garden down there and that may be a good idea for dinner rather than try to hit the surely-t0-be-overcrowded-pasta feed held by the race. Also we don't want to be out too late, or else I don't want to be.
All in all I've got about 20 days to go, and I'm getting a little anxious and excited and whoooo! Yeah!!!!!!!
Okay so enough from me, you all have a good day!
Dorkness OUT!

Drip Guards

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Those handy little things that go under the coils on your stove top, so when things boil over the fluid or whatever doesn't go into your stove... it stays in this little metal thingie

Impatient

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I seriously cannot wait until August 4-5. Why such a date would intrigue me? Well perhaps it would put an end to the if/then statements. Like IF I were to go to the October 2nd basic date, then I'd be in the November 20th Tech school, that would give me uhhhh.... lets see... 15 weeks from basic graduation to the Freescale Austin Marathon. Okay, so I would have to build mileage by x amount each week, to facilitate some kind of taper... will I be allowed to work in my long runs? I wonder how long the "long run" or road marches get in basic... probably not long enough.

Then again, what if I end up in a later date? Ah, well, I'm obviously bored. I've been using blogarithm to consolidate all the updated journals I read, so I waste less time searching for those scarce few that actually took the time to immortalize part of their every day events for the every day person to read and wonder.... is my life cooler than theirs, are they leaving out the REALLY boring stuff... you know, that they spent 45 minutes searching for that other sock after matching up all of them, only to realize that one doesn't have a mate... where could that sock have gone off to? Do they search inbetween the washer and dryer? When people move, do they actually clean the drip guards in their stoves, or just go out and buy more? I heard that if you cover them with tin foil then there is no mess to clean, just foil to throw away. If we were going to put protective covering on everything to keep from "using" it, then why have it in the first place?

I just have too much time on my hands today, I really can't explain it. The computers were up this morning, but the computer application that makes this hospital go 'round was down... so down time paperwork it is... which is quite cumbersome when you're in the lab... you have to write down ALL the tests on the little tube, along with the patients first name, last name, middle initial, their date of birth, your initials, and the time and date it was drawn. Everyone should take a field trip down to your local lab. Ask to see a tube used for blood collection. Please take your time to marvel at the amazing space they give you to write on a sticker... then ask (very politely) if you could take a moment to try to write on that cylindrical shaped tube, in microscopic fine print... it is okay the techs have microscopes if you manage to write too small! :-)

I drove around this morning, I had an extra few minutes. I tried to guess where my ex-husband is moving to with his family. I guess it is cool, if the kids finally don't have to share rooms anymore. Still I feel a bit of pang of something not nice when I think of it, so I won't think of it. Instead I'll dream of the awesome house I'll be able to buy all by myself when I come back from training. It will be exciting to know that I can do things like a big girl, all by myself, toilet paper, wiping, and flushing, mommy wow! I'm a big kid now!!!!

I guess I'll go back and read more on nutrition for active people, wait, just after I brush away the peanut butter cookie crumbs from my keyboard. I guess that is why you aren't supposed to eat over your computer... ah well.

Happy Trails, all!

Dorkness OUT!

Rock On

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On a side note, after the mile race with the kids was a raffle... all bib numbers were entered automatically... really cool!

My daughter's number was pulled. She selected a water bottle

My son's number was pulled. I selected the 1 month free Tae Kwon Do + uniform coupon for him, knowing it was what he would have wanted.

My number was pulled. I selected the other water bottle to give to D. But, she promptly hollered out (whined, really, since she needed a nap!) "But I don't want the water bottle, I want the rock!"

Everyone around laughed and she went up and grabbed a rock, the rocks, of course weren't the prizes they were there to hold down the coupons in case of a gust of wind.

At the end of the raffle the announcer said if we stayed around for a few more minutes, he'd raffle off the rest of the rocks :-) our running community is awesome!

So now that I've written it down in here it can be a permanent memory for us and for her very first race!

Dorkness OUT!

Oh yeah, she decided she wanted the water bottle too, after a few minutes :-)

Sunny Days

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Saturday was the Golden Days Parade. Since our humble town was founded upon goldrush times, we celeberate in all kinds of crazy ways! A parade is on the last day of the week long celebration. Also on this last day is a rubber duckie race.... is it fun to see rubber duckies float down the river... of course since it is based on a raffle, I'm sure it is even more fun for those who win!

Preceding the parade is a mile long race along the parade course... so everyone lines the sides of the road waiting for the parade while a modest few hundred (if that) people run a mile. I ran with my 4 year old. The other two ran together, but from what I see, E beat her brother by 15 seconds... good for her! (12:30.2) and C. at 12:45.7! I guess her playing soccer works on her running, weather I'm thinking about it or not! That is pretty cool, if you know other things about these two.

I was wearing flip-flops... thinking, I'm staying with D. how fast could I possibly go? Huh! So we start off walking, then she wants to run, she sprints off for probably about 30 seconds, then decides she needs to walk, okay then.... I take my shoes off or else I wouldn't keep up with her on her sprints. She claimed to have a rock in her sport sandle that would stay on...and told me that if I can have mine off why can't she. I saw her logic and let her. She should be able to run however made her comfortable. And at these early years we are lucky to get any shoes/clothes on these kids in the summer. So we go again. At first she acted shy because people were cheering for her... we were pretty much at the back of the pack. But she got into the swing of things. About 100 yards from the finish she doubles over in mock fatigue (or rather played up) and said she was tired.... was this the same as a marathoner hitting the wall, since she's so young it probably hits earlier :-) But again she sprinted, this time while I wasn't ready... and we made it to the finish in 15:56.6 her and 15:56.9 me.

It was fun, and we got a lot of comments about our "hard core" barefoot running :-)

Sunday was my 16.5 mile race. It was hot and a lot of it was without shade :-( I think I stopped sweating around 4-6 miles in.

The race starts in pretty much the middle of nowhere... what am I saying, it ends in pretty much the middle of nowhere also... but they feed you at the end! :-)

We meet up in a (could you call it a) town at a closed down road house, that has been closed for renovations longer than 3 years and it doesn't look like anyone has done any work, but the bar/counter from inside that was outside, worked great for us to get our fixins on for our hamburgers after the race.

We take a bus up a dirt road and are dropped off, no buildings in sight. A few people joke that they hope someone had done this before or else we'd all get lost and die of starvation or something.. haha... We line up on a side trail off the road and run away from the road... the first 7 miles are on uphill and down hills rarely ever flat ground, add in some roots, ruts, loose rocks, and giant mud puddles that you get to find a way to navigate around because in most areas it covers the width of the trail, then there are the little crevasses created by rain fall! I tripped shortly after mile 2, checked for any red leaks from my hands and left knee, saw none and kept going while looking over my shoulder to see if anyone saw it, phew no (but yet I'm admitting it to all of you folk!).

I meet up with the lady in black, I've seen her at many races in the past, plugging along. I remember her being in front of me the last time I did this. We chatted a bit, she introduced me to her hubby at mile 4 as he was manning the water station... he had to drive a 4 wheeler to it, I guess last year he made it with the water but sadly lost the gatorade along the way... this year, everything made it up... I never did figure out what her name was... oh well.

I saw the lady in pink that I had followed during the 1/2 marathon... I like that as runners in Alaska (maybe other areas too, but I don't know) tend to wear the same outfits over and over for races. Maybe we only have a few outfits because our outdoor season is so short... if we run in the winter, you'd better believe we will be wearing more clothes than short and a tank top! We chat for a bit and I pass her... I can't explain the small victory that felt inside of me! Then I pass several others. Why am I picking up speed and others aren't? Should I be worried? Uh, no because you're still going super slow!

I keep going, and meet up with two guys that I had overheard talking in the earlier miles. They were part of a bunch that passed me on the first hill. It sucked getting passed by about 15 people all at once! But we keep going!

I follow these guys and realize that one is pacing the other... cool maybe we'll get decent splits and consistancy if I tag along. They soon rope me into their conversation. I think to myself, is this what it feels like to have running partners? It was awesome.

I was constantly surprised when we ticked off mile markers and I still felt good. Wasn't this the race that tore me up so badly in '03? The scenery looks the same the couse hasn't changed, but why do I feel so good? Should I be wary of the second half? Mile markers keep coming and going, around mile 9 the first male from the late start got us. The slower folk taking over 3 hours started at 8, the studly folk started at 9. We chatted on about jobs and my going to basic, as both men were military one an officer, the other retired from the Infantry. They've been friends since the fateful day they both had complications with their chutes on a jump, and ended up sharing a hospital room. What a tragic way to start a friendship... but yet, they're both running a 16.5 mile race so they aren't worse for the wear.

Over all it was a great race. I took it slower than last time, but I felt a whole lot better when I finished. I've really bought in to my goal for this running season to just stay injury free and get more consistant with training. The rest (speed) will come with time.

Borrowed Quote

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I borrowed this quote from Mario:

Quote of the day:Everybody wants to say, 'I couldn't win because of this or that. To my way of thinking, it doesn't matter if your goddamn head fell off or your legs exploded. If you didn't make it, you didn't make it. One excuse is as good as another.- Floyd Landis

Long Days

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Busy, busy, busy... Yesterday right after work I headed across town to register for the race I'm running this Sunday. Then I went straight to my daughter's game. I was sweating just standing there, poor girls had to run in the 80°F heat. From there I got my youngest (D.) from her daddy because she wanted to come to dinner with me at my X-hubby's parents house. The x's other two kids were there as well. I realize sometimes how fortunate I am in the way my own children behave and talk respectfully to one another(most times). Then I headed home and let D. eat a green popcicle. Then we went inside and I put in a movie for her and we shared some popcorn and hot tamales. Then S. stopped by and by then D. had fallen asleep. It was 1030 after all. We sat and talked for a bit. After he left, I was lying in bed ready to fall asleep. But it was gnawing at me that I hadn't run yet. So at 1115pm, I got out of bed put on my running clothes and shoes; stopped at my car and coated myself with bug spray; started my watch and headed out. Ouch, those shin splints decided to come back - stupid soccer games :-)
So it was dim out, the sun had set, but the horizon was still bright with pink clouds. Sometimes I love living in Alaska! So my heart wasn't really into the run, I took some walk breaks, for no apparant reason. So it ended up being 31:06 and only 2.3 miles. But the idea isn't to break a world record. The fact that I went out, and completed the run is one more step towards making it a habit. 21 days to make a habit, and studies show that after 40 days of exercise efforts the 41st day will seem unbelievably easier. So I'm going to keep plugging along!
Then tonight after work, the elder two kids (C. and E.) have their appointments at the counselor's. Then we need to buy a b-day present for one of the girls on E.'s soccer team. Then my neice and nephew are coming over for the night. Then tomorrow morning the kids and I are running a mile long race that preceeds a parade, then we'll sit and watch the parade, then we go to the birthday party... whoa! When did I get so busy? Oh well, time goes by fast, doesn't it?

So hoping everyone has a great weekend!
Dorkness OUT!

Nature's Wonder

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Meghan had posted about seeing nature at its finest. It is so awesome to experience the world around us rather than keep our noses to the grindstone and plow through the day without realizing how we made it from bed in the morning back to bed at night. Was it all just a dream, and I never moved from this spot in the first place?

I didn't get to witness this personally, but some Man down in Spenard near Anchorage, Alaska had a treat in his yard.

Admit Defeat & Strive for Victory

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Can you simultaneously do that? I'm at a point now in my marathon training that I've come to the stark realization that I am not superwoman. The training paces are going to dictate my overall marathon goal. Not some ambiguous number pulled out of the wishing hat. I mulled this over last night during a run that accidently went 10 minutes too long. Oh oops. Has that ever happened before? Hadn't I always been a slave to the clock ticking the seconds away wondering when I can be done? Last night I was prescribed a tempo run. I took off fast after my 20 minutes of easy running. It felt so good, but could I hold this pace for 3-5 miles. HAHAH no! So it ended up being a Fartlek Run in the true sense of it. I toyed with my speed taking off at varying "fast-ness" I got down to 7:05 min mile. I'm sure I didn't hold it long, but wow to know you can run that fast, that is cool. Now I'm wondering, can I get it to dip down to sub 7? Can I hold a 7:05 longer.... can I possibly keep it up and practice that speed to expand to 3.1 miles? Wouldn't that just be totally spiffy?

So while I've admitted to myself that my true Marathon goal should be just a sub 5 hr marathon, or on a really good day 4:40. It sounds so silly to wish for that, but I'm there, that is what I have to offer to the table. I can't do a 2:38 half, so obviously the only way I'm getting to Beijing is by buying a plane ticket. But I will keep going and I will see where I go. I will take this, I am hoping that this marathon won't be a death march. I enjoy feeling so beat up and knowing I've done something not many people have... but I've been woefully underprepared for the last 2 marathons I've even attempted. 1999 8 months after giving birth to my daughter... going from below sea level to the the top of Mount Marathon (figuratively speaking of my athletic abilities and fitness level) I made it to mile 20 then just felt so broken, my spirit and my hip were telling me I was a fool. 2003 the Equinox would not break me. This crazy trail marathon known for its extreme elevation changes would be my first completed marathon. I finished, but I shouldn't have even started. I ran only 1 mile of it, walking the rest in varying shades of slowness. So if I can finish this marathon in good form and not wishing I could put a bullet in my head to stop the suffering, I will count it a victory. I also have to err on the side of caution. It really sucks to have your job dependant on your physical abilities and if you aren't able you aren't employeed... but the military has their reasons and if I ever have to try to out run a bullet, well, then all that PT was worth it, wasn't it?

Enough philosophy from me today. My run ended up being 1:21 and 6.7 miles

Dorkness out!

Just another Day

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It felt like I had a whole lot to day. Verbiage filling my head ready to spill over into existance. I guess what I want to say is to one person, and well, I don't think this is the place to say it. It is hard to be so chipper when your mouth feels like it just got hit with a baseball.... if only I were so lucky.

I hope I feel better, because I really need to run tonight. Maybe it will help clear my head, help me think straighter than I am now. Maybe I can put things into perspective and move on to more productive times rather than the wheel spinning I seem to be doing now. I guess if I am going to do something, I should just do it, commit and complete... Okay here I go.... if only to find something soft to eat :-)

Tutt Tutt It looks like Rain

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All day long it has felt like a rain cloud is looming over my shoulders. Not quite a threat of releasing its contents upon my head, but lurking there as a threat.

I feel tired, especially in my eyes. I desire warmth and comfort only provided by a bed. I want to sleep the day away.

Oh, gosh, Dork, are you depressed?

Well, no, I am stressed. There is a difference, a fine grey area that can really only be deciphered by the person experiencing the emotions.

I am trying to avoid my own self-doubts. I am trying to shy away from my long run tonight, trying to convince myself that I am too tired to set out upon the journey that will surely make me feel tired but satisfied at the end. I know I can cover the distance, I also know, that I cannot cover that distance in a speed that I would like. I am still too slow for my liking. Of course aren't we all? Most of the runners in teh world are looking to either improve their time, or their waist line. I am feeling the pressure of my impatience rein me in. I am frozen in its wake. I am so impatient for progress, that I can neither progress forward nor backward. How ironic.

Running isn't the only worry, but for now that will be the only one that I discuss.

I want to push through it, I know I need to, I know my confidance will soar just by completing the run. It is okay to be slow, we all have to start somewhere. I didn't run in college, heck I hardly ran in HS. C-team basketball didn't require much in the form of sprints :-) I'm not used to pushing my limits and making myself uncomfortable.

I need to keep thinking....

Self-Improvement is supposed to be uncomfortable - embrace it - I am getting stronger... each step will make me stronger.... right after this nap ;-)

I do feel tired. I really did sleep poorly. I can't tell if I'm coming down with something or not, but I know I need more than 3-4 hours of sleep each night. Just a fact of my life.

So I've got an appointment with the realtor at 6:30, practice for the daughter's soccer team at 7, then grab some food really quick, then out the door for a run!

So have a good night all.. of course it is only 330pm, so... oh yeah, I have to sign up for the race I'm running this Sunday.

Dorkness OUT!

Freaked Out

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All of a sudden it feels like there isn't enough time to get things done. My marathon, I thought was like 3 weeks away, but now looking at a calendar, it is actually 5 weeks. I've all of a sudden decided that I like a "diamond in the rough" house and am actually persuing the idea of purchasing it... to see if I can. It comes with 5 acres of land, so even if the house isn't my dream shack, I've got plenty of space to play with if & when I decide to build a bigger neater home... this one was/is a trailer house with add ons and is enclosed so it looks like a house, but it is a double wide.... but, it has a hot tub/jacuzzi in it. I have an appointment with a realtor to look at it Tomorrow after work... oh yeah and I'm really curious to see what the basement looks like... how do you put a basement under a trailer house? But as S. would say I'm getting back to my trailer house roots, and it isn't a motorhome. :-)
So that is all of a sudden a pressing matter, can I swing a home purchase, ghetto or not?
Now homework, which I stupidly left in the car... still on lesson 2
So, it is all totally managable, and I'm still not sure when I'm leaving, but it will all work out.
It will, I have faith that it will.
Just take one day at a time and realize that I will need to make some sacrifices and unfortunately I need to start forgoing sleep.
I ate a bunch of ice cream yesterday, so did my dog... the portions were huge! I couldn't have finished them not with my mom making me eat lunch first... my daughter couldn't eat hers either... she was so cute with her bright blue cotton candy ice cream with sprinkles.... and her bright blue outfit with an ice cream cone print on her shirt. She was totally matching her ice cream it was so funny and random!
Okay enough of this.... I am at work, and I'm going to sneak down to my car and find some homework so I can be productive while I earn a wage :-)
Dorkness OUT!

Show Off

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At the same time as my son's camp there was another called Operation Purple. It was for kids who have a parent deployed. Their other parent, if wanted came with. They had a mock deployment and got to eat MRE's and go on hikes and learned a lot about what it means to be deployed. So at dinner, all the camps eat in the same hall at the same time, there was a girl scout camp as well. I got shown off to several people. It seems my son has combed through everyone he could find to find people in my unit and tried to figure out if they knew me... "She is a medic, she works in the clinic." So funny.

I guess there was a squirrel problem in his camp. He told me that a squirrel stole his trail mix. His den mother said that for about a day and a half he had tried to convince people that the squirrel had stolen his uniform because he really couldn't find it. The den mother said we were pretty sure about the trail mix, but a bit leary about the uniform. Since he was wearing the uniform when I picked him up, I guess the squirrell will have to try to snag one next year :-) The den mother said that she had seen a squirrell run by with a whole candy bar. So funny!

I seem to be redundant with the so funny-s so I'll stop typing until my brain has feeling again.

Dorkness OUT!

Too Much Fun

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I'm sitting here at work, poking the left side of my nose. It is numb, along with the rest of my left cheek/ear/temple area, but it is simply just more fun to play with the left half of my nare. I went to the dentist early this morning... why did I think that was a good idea? The hygenist must have been new. She didn't check my chart to see what we were doing and prepped me wrong.... ooops. So quick fix and they got to work... at one point I was left alone for long enough to doze off. I started to gurgle or something that was dangerously close to a snore. I thought it was odd that I could sleep hard enough to potentially snore, but at the same time light enough to hear it... weird. My face itches.... ick. So now I am at work, praying we don't get busy because it feels as if my mind is half numb as well.

So I will reflect on yesterday. I turned in my paperwork sometime during the day and caught the elevator with a girl who used to work in the lab and now is in respritory therapy. We got on with a security guard, a nurse, and a large table with a metal frame, a blue table cloth looking thing draped over it and clamped into the frame. It looked like something you'd use in a magic show... I thought to ask what was on the table, but resisted. I assumed it was a bunch of insturments used for surgery or something. Me and the girl with the cake, that she held up pretty high over the table, got off. She said, we should have waited for the next elevator... just something about riding down with a corpse, just didn't suit her...

What?!?!?! Boy I never would have guessed. I could have gone my whole life just not knowing. I didn't realize that was part of the security guards job descriptions was to excort a nurse and a dead person down to the morgue. I was perversely intrigued. I don't think I would have cared either way, except if I were the one bringing food with me... that doesn't seem right for some reason.

After work I drove an hour out of town to find my son at Lost Lake, he had a scouting camp there. It was cool. I got there as everyone was in line for dinner. Little scouts get mess hall training before military, how cute... they'll be good soldiers at food time! :-) I wasn't all that hungry since I had finished my lunch only 90 minutes earlier. I picked at what the kids didn't eat, just to taste it....Ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, bread, cranberry sauce(my son was in heaven with that!), and a brownie.

After dinner we went to my son's tent... surprisingly he was pretty much all packed up! His tent mate was a bit less so, and the kids next door weren't at all, what a mess! I passed another tent that was empty except for a pair of cartoon boxers :-)

Grandma and Grandpa left. I guess grandpa wasn't feeling well. I thank them for getting there before me and bringing my daughter so I didn't have to take the extra stop and delay my arrival even more.

My son takes me and his sister down to where the bonfire will be. We have an hour before they start, so we walk down to the lake. Oh it looked so inviting. I guess you have to pass a swim test, AND have a swim buddy to go with before you can even cross the roped off area to get any where near the water.... what a good system.

We go to the campfire and sing songs and watch skits... it was soo cute and the adults/teenagers that helped put it together were great as well.

On the way home the kids settled down and were asleep by the time we made it home.

I laid on my bed debating if I should just sleep or get up and run. I asked the kids what I should do.... hmmmm My son said I should get more exercise... my daughter said sleep. Hmmm can anyone else see differences in their personalities from that?

I decide to go out and go for at least half of the run, get started and see how I feel. The kids put in a movie and I told my mom what was up. I headed off and soon realized that all the mosquito spray I put on at camp were on my clothes more than my skin, so I was as good as going without... darnit. 22 minutes in, I couldn't cope any more... the harder I tried to out run them, the warmer I got, the more I atracted them, but when I walked they swarmed, and I was smacking 5 and 6 off my legs at a time... ick!

So overall it ended up being less time that I was supposed to do, but I was impressed that I went after a full day of work, dr appt, driving 2 hours, campfire, small hike, and it was after 10 at night! So I call it a victory.

45:33.74

3.775 mi

12:004 ave pace (pretty sad)

So there you have it, quite a day yesterday. I'm hoping today isn't so busy, but we've got soccer game tonight, and a promise of playground time after it. I wonder if I am going to eat something today or not? Hmmm....

Dorkness OUT!

Sweet Therapy

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Ah, finally, the day is almost done, and finally I get an opportunity to pour my thoughts into this journal. It has been a weird kind of day. It started, thankfully with an extra person down here to not only get some training but to cover me while I go to my annual physical. We were very busy at first! I could have done without her, but she needs to get a feel for the first morning rush of patients, all of whom are usually fasting and feel they should be drawn first so they can eat/medicate, or whatnot. But alas first come, first serve, and often they know this and socialize while they wait... but they never have to wait too long, not on my watch :-)

My appt, went well. I have another one to follow up a concern I have on Tuesday.... more coverage needed by the girl here this am... it will be good practice because I think she'll be the one to take my place when I'm gone.

She left when I came back, but shortly there after, I had an extern who would come and observe. She cannot draw any patients... not mine anyway... and she was very close to my the whole time. I guess I'm a person who likes their space. She asked why I didn't have the cupboards labeled. I said I was the only one who works down here the majority of the time so I know where everything is... she asked about when I'm not here... personally I think labels are tacky. But that is just me.

I let her draw blood from my finger tip, called a capillary poke, it felt like she was trying to rip my finger from my hand... pulling and causing sharp pains. I showed her how to do it, but I don't know... she told me my nails were too long so she couldn't do a good job, and I should cut them... hmm as a patient in a hospital do you want your blood-draw girl to demand that you trim your nails so she could do her job? Yeah, I'm a snob.

So she has left, and I did my paperwork and ate some of my lunch, now that it is almost dinner time. I didn't want to eat before my appt, they had to weigh me... fat lot of good that did me, I still tipped the scale at 160... pesky 5 pounds got to go before basic!

I ran last night, yay! I got 33 mins and 3.05 miles. I had originally planned on running my long run a day late, but when I arrived at S.'s house, who was so nice to let me use his things while he wasn't there, and found that I wasn't as prepared as I thought. My shorts were baggy and kept riding up... chafe city... no way my burning thighs would have made it 10-14 miles... and not the muscle burning either.... :-( then I also realized I didn't have a sports bra... weird since I usually wear them all day, but no I had to be wearing a normal bra... oh well. Wasn't meant to be and I at least got in the 33 minutes, and got to hang with my daughter. Of course back at my mom and dad's house I got ditched for her cousin... for a whole hour! We played sorry after my neice went home, then I just had to go to bed. It was around 10:30 ish and I was just that warm fuzzy snuggly kind of tired. Ahhhh, the good kind!

So hopefully after picking up my son from camp tonight I can get them settled in with a movie or something and can sneak out for an hour or so for a run tonight.

Dorkness OUT!

Mommy and Me Time

---

My middle child, eldest daughter, and I got a chance to hang out together last nigt. As mentioned my son, eldest child is away at camp, and the youngest is at her dad's. So just me and her last night. It was pretty good, for the most part. I've developed some concern over her and her brother's reactions to some things. She's out right told me that she is angry with her father. That is too bad. But now, I guess it is upon me to try to righten things. I cannot go to her father and plead with him to be better aware of what he is doing to them. But coming from me, he will become defensive. I'm sure I'd do the same thing if someone were to confront me. So counseling for the little ones it is. At the very least, I can hear that they are happy well-adjusted kids and will work through their anger on their own, or not so bad, either that they will have someone to talk to that won't be biased or judgemental. As a parent it is hard to not overreact when you suspect that your own aren't happy, you want to jump in and make it all right. I cannot do that.

So we hung out at the house after her soccer practice. We played some Disney Trivia until we bored of it, popped in a movie, and ate some ice cream. It was a quiet night for the most part. My parents had friends over, of course, a big cooler of beer was out on the deck for everyone to enjoy. (oh yay *note sarcasm*)
My mom tried to coax me into letting the kids that came with said company play with me and my daugther... uh, sorry, I'm not babysitting for one, and for two I'd like to have quality time with my own child for a while, but thanks for asking... but shortly the kids were over to take my kids' bikes... can't anything be our own. I'm sure I'm being selfish. It isn't the kids' faults that they're bored and being ignored for the sake of adult interction with other adults and alcohol. I hope the pregnant mom wasn't drinking... but I'm sure she was. When will my parents understand that their friends are necessarily mine, too? I don't particularly care for the drinking, smoking, type who ignore their kids...
I felt too guilty to leave my daughter behind to go on my run. I had intended to go this morning, but when I woke up at 3:45 it was raining extremely hard.
I reset the alarm and woke up at 7 instead.
When we got into the car on the way to work, my daughter was laughing. "Look at your seat, mommy."
Oh my gosh! I forgot to close my sunroof! Both front seats and the middle console were soaked. My daughter thought this was very funny, as I tried to sit in a way to minimize soaking my clothes. I didn't really care to come into work with soggy pants. Maybe I should have run this morning. I would have discovered the open window much sooner, as my watch was also inside the car!
Another life lesson, I guess.
So I asked my daughter what she wanted to do this evening, since there is no soccer, or running, or anything (I should use the time to run, but maybe I will try again after she falls asleep). She decided on going to a playground to chalk up the sidewalks and play, maybe we can get a hopscotch going :-) its been a while, but I'm sure we can figure it out. Then maybe some subway for dinner... she likes tuna sandwiches... weird 7 year old :-)
That's it for now.
Dorkness OUT!

SANTA CLAUS HALF MARATHON 2006

---

Pre-race: I arrived at 815 or so. I began to prepare. Gather the gel, the shoes, the car key and tie to shoe. Drink some water, douse myself with mosquito repellant.

A couple pulls up beside me as I am preparing myself while sitting in my car with the door open, tying my shoes. Lady says: Excuse me is it mosquito-ey out here? Do you know? Should I use spray?
Me (thinks she is asking for spray to borrow): Oh yeah, I have some spray.
Lady: No I have some, do I need it.
Me: Oh, I'm not sure, but I would just to be on the safe side.

On my warm up I had a guy sing-song say my number, then said look out, "351, 351, look out, here she comes." But I was running on the road towards him, he was doing some grape-vine leg criss cross thing, and I didn't realize what he was saying and so I stop suddenly and look over my shoulder to see if there was a car ready to run me over, since I was in the middle of the road. Then I realized he was just being funny. Runners are friendly folk. I met another older guy who was up with his wife from Anchorage. They drove up just to do this race. Then in the lines for the porta potties a group of friends were talking. I guess the guy behind me wasn't all that prepared. The one guy who wasn't running, said "ah 13 miles ain't nothing."
I said, "yeah, it's that last .1 that gets ya."
I've got a bad habit of eavesdropping and jumping into conversations. Beats keeping myself company. But that guy was the one who talked to me at the end in the finishing chute.
I've realized that it seems men of all ages talk to me, where are the girls?

MILE 1 - 10:29.72

MILE 2 & 3 - 22:11.51 (ave 11:05 each)

MILE 4 - 11:23.42

MILE 5 - 13:30.62 (includes bathroom break)

MILE 6 - 11:18.41

MILE 7 - 12:21.14

MILE 8 - 12:53.12 (enjoyed water, powerade and power gel these two miles)

MILE 9 - 12:43.38

MILE 10 - 12:25.33

MILE 11 - 13:58.50

MILE 12 - 12:34.18

MILE 13 - 13:07.57

MILE 13.1 - 20.81

Those were my watch splits. Which gave me an unoffical time of 2:39:17 and 13.2 miles :-) Guess I spend a bunch of time crossing the road and running in non linear directions to add another .1 mile.

Looking over the times I started within the pace that I wanted, actually a little slow, but I did get to mile 6 in 1:08, and being how my last 10K was 1:12, I will take that as something positive.

Around mile 3 I came upon the first person I've seen without headphones. I ran up beside her and said hi. She said, yay another short person...

Uh, okay. I was just happy that someone could hear me when I talked to them. So we ran together until my potty break. She sweetly asked if I was alright when I pulled off the trail to the portapotty. I said yeah, I just had to pee since before the starting gun went off... even though I had gone only 10 minutes prior!

After my potty break in the bright orange porta potty, I began to cheer on the 8 o' clock starters. They were passing us going in as we were going out. It was pretty cool. One girl asked, why are you cheering for me, I'm almost done? Yeah, well because it makes me feel better. I was boarderline obnoxious saying good morning and cheering on the early starters. I had made a comment to a guy I was hanging with for a small amount of time, that I was just waiting for someone to pop me in the head to get me to shut up. But I don't know maybe they liked it. I found out before I passed this particular fellow, that he had only been running for 3 weeks. WOW!

So, then another guy in a white T-shirt popped in with us. We were taking a walking break. He made the announcement that he had just come from the woods because "nature had been calling" and asked how long we had been running for. I said just under an hour.

The three week guy kept walking as the white t shirt guy hung with me when I began to run again. We ran and chatted through labored breathing for a little bit, he had run the same 10K as me a few weeks back and thought he felt pretty good and decided to go for the 1/2. He had finished in around 1:15 so he wasn't too far behind me. I tried to put in a surge and I was slowly eeking the pace faster to see how long he'd hang on. Not very nice of me, but I knew I was going too slow. He didn't last much longer and with a. "Whew, good luck" he slowed to a walk once again. I kept going. I also began to take walk breaks around this area. We are now just before mile 6. Normally we would go up over the wall of the dyke and run on the road, but this year we got to run on the dyke. Very cool, and the wind picked up, head wind of course. But it was kind of nice. This is where we came across a water stop and some firemen who wanted to know if I wished I had one of these (their dune buggy thingy) I said no that it would take all the fun out of the race to not use my own energy. We went through the water stop and then continued on the dyke to a turn around not far away. I finished a cup of water, and a cup of powerade to turn around and go through the water stop again, before going down into the flood plain again. I got more water and powerade, within 3 minutes whoo too much fluid. I knew I was hitting yet anohter water stop coming up, the one we passed through around mile 5, again and would be the last of the water until mile 11, so I took my other gel, even though my tummy was telling me no. I'm glad I did, that stuff is so thick, It wouldn't have gone down without the help of water.

So on I go keep going. I check my total time again at mile 10... 1:56 and some change... hmm I can still make it in 2:15, wait, uhhh... as I'm tiredly doing math in my head... that is 3 miles in 15 minutes... duhhhhhh..... HAHHAAHAHAHA... I realize that I'd have to run 5 minute miles for three consecutive miles... me and

Yep I've been SUPER!

S. was still there and was impressed that I wasn't pissed at my time. I told him I can't be pissed when I know I left it all out there unlike the other races where I felt I had more in me. I apologized for keeping him from practice.

I gave him a big sweaty hug and let him leave. I chatted some with the kids. They wanted to touch me and hang on me, but I was actually a bit unsteady on my feet.

So my mom drove the kids home, I already told you about the cold bath, that was really a waste of water, since I didn't spend so much time in it!

After some pizza and rest... and then sunday, all I did was eat. I'm still unusually hungry... not boredom munchies, but growling hunger.... crazy!

So there you go. My 13.1 mile adventure, more or less.

Dorkness OUT!

In a Hurry

---

I'm at the parent-in-laws dropping off my son so they can take him out to his boy scout camp. Three days without him. That makes it a short week for me because he has to go back to his dad's on Friday :-(

But I'm taking type to type this up, dumb huh? My mom is freaked out about me being on her computer because somehow my dad's cc# got stolen by some one in France or who spent 2300 dollars over there.... scary, but anyway, again I'm off topic.

The 1/2 was yesterday. I grossly overestimated my abilities... I ran hard, and I had to take a bathroom break around the 4th mile. I had to pee again as we were lining up, there was no hope of a last minute potty break. darnit!

So I was going along well, I'll add the mile posts later. I'm pleased with myself. I didn't give up, but I did have to adjust my time goals as I went, I got slower and slower.

I finished in 2:39:51.5 It wasn't nearly as fast as I would have loved to have, but when I come back next summer from basic and all that, I'll get my revenge on this race :-)

And overall, I had an almost 9 minute PR out of it from the last time I ran it in 2004.

2003 - 3:22:45.8

2004 - 2:48:44.8

2006 - 2:39:51.5

Of course in 2003 this race was after the 16.5 downhill leg killer rather than before it like 2004 and again this year. Yay!

So exactly a PR of 8:53.28

Thanks for my cheering section. S., My mom and Grandma J., and my kids who stood right at the little santa at the 13 mile mark who ran in with me. Boy at the end of a race that has you all tuckered out, it is a great sight to see, your kids all standing together trying to stay out of the way of other runners. As it was my 4 y.o. almost cut me off causing me to almost trip on her. Whew!

Yay, I feel good today. My kids ran a cold bath for me, they arrived a few minutes before me, back home. I guess they were trying to tell grandma that they needed to add ice to it. I'm glad they didn't. That was my first cold bath following a run. It didn't take too long before I had to jump out. My legs ached so bad because of the cold, and I think it probably helped me out. I feel pretty good today. Minor quad soreness, and a tightness right in my left hip. Not quite a IT band thing. Not sure what it is, but ah, I don't really care right yet.

Hope the rest of you are having a great weekend, btw, I got my weather served up just as requested. Overcast, no rain, and 60-65 temps. It was, however, a bit more humid than I had wanted, but I actually didn't verbalize the humidity factor. It really isn't a problem much up here in AK.

K Bye!

Dorkness OUT!

Where's the Fun?

---

Yesterday never got "right" my head just wasn't into it. Actually I didn't get into anything. I had the soccer game right after work, well actually I got over to the bank to make a deposit of some little checks that I had been meaning to put in, then went to the game...

My FIL was there, but no daughter...hmmm so I guess there was just poor execution on the plans of transportation. I guess my x decided that it was more important to be on time to pick up wifey from work than to be home so his daughter could be ontime for her soccer game, something he didn't even have to drive her to, even though it is only a few blocks from his house.

So the daughter finally gets there and has to change in grandpa's car. Her hair is icky, and no hair tie. I gave her mine, so my hair irritated me for the night. Small sacrifice so she could play.

Over all the girls weren't into it except for one. and towards the end they started to pick it up a bit. My daughter admitted that she hadn't gotten much sleep. Ah well

But really what got me was the coach of the other team was really yelling at the kids... and of course my assistant coach was just as bad. The girls weren't having fun. I hate confrontation, and I know it is my responsibility for the sake of the girls so I will have to say something. Her daughter was mad at her because she was yelling at the girls. That made her daughter play poorly. That is too bad. However, we did end up winning 4-2... but it wasn't a very satisfying win, the girls weren't having much fun, and they didn't play as well together as they had in the past. But then again I was in a negative mind set, that also lent to my passive behavior. I didn't want to get into something with the girls and pass on my grumpiness.

Also I know I've mentioned this before, but parents who smoke, obviously don't think anything about smoking around their kids and others.... I had a set of parents light up, right there on the side lines. It was during our half-time and I didn't make a big deal. I sent their daughter over just to let them know that they can't smoke on the field. I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do or not. It wasn't a huge thing. And they moved to the fence and stood on the parking lot side. I don't agree with that anymore, but what can you do? I guess it is just weird for me to see people have a pure disregard of those around them. Yes, you are out in open air and it will disperse, but these little lungs inside our children's chests are breathing every little bit of air they can... they are trying to improve themselves... how is being around that helping? Why bother... not to mention the roll model thing.

I don't know why I'm so passionate about it. Both of my parents smoke. I don't like being around it, I don't want my kids aroud it, and we've established boudaries for it... I am happy that they've agreed to compromise like they don't ever smoke in the house, any more. The garage is the "smoking room" It isn't perfect, but I'll take what I can get. I just wish they could see the damage they are doing to themselves and realize that they are wanted to live a long life to be around for us and grandkids and they are a part of our lives, and it is hard to see them harm themselves and we put ourselves in minor damage when we expose ourselves to the second hand smoke.

Okay enough soap boxing

I got my youngest last night. It was a nice surprise. It wasn't planned but it made more sense for her to come with me rather than hang at the fields until 10pm with S.

So we watched Bell's Enchanted world or something like that... then Hercule's the cartoon. Little one slept with me again. She had her feet in my face because she had been watching the movie when she fell asleep. Something I like about tapes over DVD's is if you fall asleep with a DVD playing it keeps the TV on all night at the main menu. Tapes rewind themselves and eject and turn the TV off. Perfect!

I was late for work today, little bit didn't want to get up, and honestly neither did I. It was nice to lay there and be lazy. So needless to say, I've got the jogging stroller, but we haven't broken it in yet. :-(

But I think I've rallied at least a small cheering section for the 1/2 marathon tomorrow. YAY. My mom is going to bring the kids. She asked what time she should be there. I said, "We start at 9 so....."

She said, "So I should be there before 10?"

Me: I won't finish in an hour.

Mom: sure you can, I have faith in you

Me: that isn't faith mom, be there around 1045 or 11, that is what I'm shooting for.

She settled on 1030 to make sure she had enough time to find parking and whatnot. It isn't a very big race and I'm more than likely going to place last in my age group... actually maybe I won't. My race time that I am shooting for is near the bottom of the age group for 2004, but in 2005 a few women ran it in 3+hours. Maybe this race is starting to grow, or I'm finally getting a bit faster :-)

S. might show up, I'm not holding my breath because then I'll be disappointed if he can't make it. He has a bunch of other things going this weekend for soccer.... so if he is ther then I'll be excited, and if not then he'll just have to read about it on Monday :-)

Okay, I'm done, I think this got long

Dorkness OUT!

Expectations

---

I try to not have expectations. Things never quite turn out the way you expect them to. That doesn't need to be taken negatively... I just try to go with the flow. I don't always succeed with this plan, but oh well.

Today has been a strange one. I still haven't heard back about when I'm leaving... and I'm a little stressed at the thought of picking up and leaving on short notice. I emalied the boss ladies and told them that I may not be able to give them as much notice as I had once hoped.

I had a large line of people this morning when I opened up... and my computer froze on me... well it is hard to order blood tests and print out the neat-o stickers to put on the tubes... so I drew patients while trying to fix the computer, or at least get it to turn off so I could reboot it... finally that worked. It just made for a crazy morning, not bad, but felt busier than it needed to.

I forgot my daughter's soccer shirt this morning. Oh well, I know we have extras. I'm sure she will be a little sad that she has to wear a temporary shirt, but I don't have enough time to go all the way out to North Pole, and back before a 6pm game.

I am going to get back to trying to do my homework. If I have to leave on short notice, I don't want to be worried about trying to get this class done last minute, rather than hang with the kids.

*Update. The education office just called me back. The earliest date that they have available for basic to line up with my class is September 18th... hmmm I might get to run the Equinox afterall :-) Maybe not if I have to leave Tuesday or Wednesday before basic actually starts.

Ah well.

I'm going to continue on with my strangely off day. Hope everything is going well with all of you!

Dorkness OUT!

A sad Farewell

---

Yesterday was a sad day for me. I had to say goodbye to an old friend. A friend that I've had for three years, a friend that I will never see again.

We've been together for good times and bads. A friend that gave me support when I needed it, extra breathing room when I needed it, and just there to make me feel good.

Yep, yesterday I had to throw away my favorite pair of jeans. Golly I'll miss them. But there is no point in going jean shopping before basic because they surely won't fit afterwards.

Living off the Land

---

My long run on Monday night was, well, long. I had been pretty much psyched up for it, and I got home my mom told me to stay away from the shop... I guess the man-folk were "beyond drunk" according to her. Okie dokie... then I got into a tiff with one of my dad's friend's son. I really don't care much for him to start with so, that got me all fired up to go, yay!

I went to the store to buy water and since they were in the same aisle, I got an energy drink... whoo!

I went to the checkout line. I guess the cashier's husband and their friend were talking about me while they were out one night. The friend is one that I am not as successful at getting blood. Some people just don't have good veins. I couldn't help but think, how sad that these people are out and about and all they have to talk about is their local phlebotomist :-( But I was supposed to give the lady friend a hard time for talking "smack" about me... all in good humor, I'm sure. The cancer patient seem to be very fond of me. Since one just walked from one end of the hospital to the other to have me draw her instead of someone else... that is almost a mile walk, I swear it, over block, at least.

So yeah, back to my long run. I got to where I wanted to start, and realized I didn't have my GPS transmitter... I can't run without it because I am a lousy judge of pace. I'd go like 4 miles and say something like 8... whatever... I need it. So I went back to find it. It ended up being at S.'s house. Cool, I got to see my daughter. So I chatted a bit there, now definately procrastinating...

I get back to where I wanted to start, again. I get going... yay. I go down some pavement road headed to where I thought this Saturday's race will be... I picked the wrong road. My shins were achey and I walked a lot of this portion, knowing that I'd be on softer ground in the very near future and could run on that without pounding the crap out of my shins. I get there! Yay... a few steps later, I'm on the ground licking the dirt up. MMMMM yummy. What the heck was that. I'm on a gravel dyke and I tripped on something, was it a rock? No some kind of metal spike or something... super! Hope that gets marked for the race. I'd hate to do that again, and knowing me, I would. So now I've eaten dirt, super, extra minerals for the duration.

I keep going pondering at every fork in the path which way I'd go if I were in the race. I've done it twice before, but I'm not very observant when I run. I just follow every one else. If they ran to the end of a clif and over, I'd go too, I'm sure, without even noticing it until I was in freefall.

I'm feeling kinda good. Oh wait, I need to pee... ahhh so much better... dang it, is that a mosquito bite on my but... goodness sakes it is!

Mile 6 comes up and I think, see this isn't so bad. Mile 7 comes and I think, gee I'm hungry. I ate some worms.... My long run was so long that I've now resorted to this. All the while I'm smelling roasted hot dogs from the camp sites just on the other side of the trees. Ah well, up and over the dyke back into the flood "channel" is that what we should call it? It cuts down on the wind some. I keep going. I notice two people on horses. I'm almost out of water... crap. I eat a few more worms to take the edge off my growling. I make a mental note to eat a bigger breakfast, and take some gu with me.

My legs start to cramp. I fell kind of yucky bodily wise. But I keep on going. What choice do I have? I should have brought more water. I make it back to my car. I take inventory of the run. It was a good one. I know I will have the support from the aid stations. I will arrive fully hydrated and warmed up and ready to go. I will need to spend time on my shins to show them I still love them, despite the abuse. I know that the mileage is definately do able and I can push myself much harder in the race and still have enough in the gas tank to kick it in the end. I need to have confidance in myself that I can do more than I have in the past. I don't have to keep myself from succeeding. It is okay to improve.

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few that will catch your heart. Persue these.

-Michael Nolan

Dorkness OUT!

oh yeah, the worms, obviously, the gummy variety... they were in the same aisle with the water and energy drinks... how many times do you go to the store and everything you need (more than one item) are all in the same aisle... that was just neat-O!

You are the one who can stretch your own horizon.
- Edgar Magnin

Eeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!!!!!!

---

I flipped my calendar page up... I have the three month view, last month, this month, next month.... Marathon is written and circled on next month's calendar! Holy crap, time flies by so quickly. That only reinforces even more that I need to get in that final push to train more consistantly. I know that soon after my marathon rendevouz, that I'll be boarding a plane to Texas to test myself in whole different ways. I cannot get injured during my marathon. That is very important. I want the worse case scenerio to be that my legs are tired and I fail my first PT test. Then I can progress normally and totally kick ass at the end of basic. That is what needs to happen... but for every journey many steps are taken, none can be missed, or else your destination will not be reached. I need to be taking those little daily steps to ensure my body is ready for the stress of a marathon, back to back, with basic... then going out of basic I want to do the Freescale marathon down in Texas... since I'll be there anyway... but of course, all of this hinges on WHEN AM I GOING?????

When you're government, or military employed, you gotta love all the built in days off. But when you need something from someone and can't get it, because they have the day off, you're not very happy... but you wouldn't trade your own days off to get something done for someone else... so then you have to indulge in your own happiness that if it were you, and one day it will be, you'll have that day off, and it is okay that you won't know when you're going to basic until at the least, Wednesday. But man the anxiety is killing me...

Okay.... its alright and I will be doing that run this evening come hell or high water! Actually I've been toying with the idea of running in the flood contorl area, on the dykes and such... it is where the Santa Claus 1/2 marathon is going to be so.... oh yeah, and it is relatively flat while inside of it!

Dorkness OUT! again

Fast Candy

---

Why do doctor offices have candy in their dish by the check-in window first thing in the morning, when most of their morning patients checking in for lab work are FASTING, meaning they've not had anything to eat, and usually drink for 12 + hours???? I knew that was a bad idea when I saw it. People have to be consciously thinking about not eating when they are checking in, otherwise they pop that chocolate into their mouths.

Of course, this morning 10 minutes before I'm supposed to be open, I get a lady who bursts into my area frantic because she popped two pieces of chocolate into her mouth just "one minute" ago... grrr... But I'm not open! But patient care says take care of it, and don't be a bitch. Then she gets faint when she gets her blood drawn... so she needs to lie down. Oh okay... So I decide to go with the flow and do my thang... and she thanked me profusely. Honestly if it had been me, I would have done the same thing. It is hard to take time out of your day to not only starve yourself, but then to go to an appointment that requires time off from work... do you really want to do that to yourself more than once because the doctor's office is obviously not thinking? No. And now I'm not grumpy, we got a laugh out of it, she felt so stupid, but it is human nature... if you're hungry and you see food, it is like reflex, in your mouth it goes.

Speaking of, I'm hungry, the line in the cafeteria was super long so I ended up with cold cereal and a yogurt to by-pass all the people who got warm yummy cooked food. Oh well, probably better, less calories than the pancakes and bacon I've been getting of late...

Okay, time to pretend I've got a job that needs to be done :-)

Happy Trails

Dorkness OUT!

Off Topic

---

I think I got off topic earlier, and my post didn't go where I had intended it to. I guess that is what happens when you get interrupted by a ward clerk who doesn't know much of anything and is trying to get you to do her job for her... gotta love it.

After we left the track that was in fact open for me to run on it, and I was too lazy to do it, we went to Taco Bell... yumm. I ordered way too much food, but that was okay because me and my youngest had breakfast snackage because of it! We went back to my place. S., me, and the baby girl. We had a really good time hanging out, eating, trying to teach the little one that you can pass time other than talking non-stop. She finally quieted down as we had her lay down to watch the movie. We watched Coach Carter, I've seen it many times, and I think S. has seen it a few times himself. I was surprised that he stayed until the end. It was getting really late as in 1130pm... we're old folk trapped in youngish bodies... but there it is. Oh yeah and I bought a jogging stroller for the baby girl to ride in while I run. Assuming that I will ultimately stop being lazy and start running again.

I'm reading Becoming an Ironman by Kara Douglass Thom. It is a really cool compilation of people's first times.... of completing their ironman.

So a nurse came up to the processing area to drop off some infant poo and said, "Oh, you're going to be an ironman?" I say, "I'm thinking about it.... it is quite the endurance sport."

I guess I made the (wrong) assumption that she knew what she was talking about... She heard what the distance was... 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, and 26.2 mi run.... she said something like 3/4 of a mile swim, 5 miles biking, and like 2 or 3 miles running would be more my speed...

Huh, I guess with running, all races are a marathon, with triathlons, all events are ironman.

Oh yeah and it is only in Hawaii... by the way, (not really there are several across the world, to qualify for Hawaii, which is the championship race). Well the book is really cool, I recommend it, and I also recommend it if the weather is nice outside, because you feel like a bad-ass and want to go out there and show some guts and glory, but really can't because the wuss inside of you is whining, but it is raining, and that wind, you'll just freeze to death, why would you want to do that? Please don't do that!

Bah!

I found out that my bike needs some work. I had it in a nice covered area right next to my door when I lived in my most recent apartment, the landlord and his son moved it. I thought it was really cool that they covered it with a tarp. Apparantly the tarping was only temperary and served another purpose. My (expensive for me) bike sat out in the elements all winter long. I hadn't even realized it until I went to go for a ride the other day with my son. It needs a new chain and some other bering type work on the back wheel... can you tell I totally know what I'm talking about? Haha, yeah, I don't... bikes are a mystery to me. I don't even know what gear I should be riding in. I just ride at what is comfortable, usually on the higher resistance side. I think I'll try to find a really good deal on a road bike while I'm in the states this winter. I know that diving into a new multi-faceted sporting venue will really take up the time. I guess the challenge would be to continue to find that time when I come home!

Ahhh... another whole hour before we can go home... what am I going to do tonight?

Oh maybe S. will let me use his TM, if it doesn't keep everyone awake....

Dorkness OUT!

Nothing Much

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That pretty much sums up my running since Thursday. Ho hum. I made valient half assed effort last night. We drove around trying to find a trackt that wasn't locked up tight. By the time we got to the furthest one away, and it was unlocked. I had thought too much about the prospect of NOT running, that I didn't. I knew I didn't have it in me... not enough energy, not enough fluids, and not enough food. As we pulled up to the track my stomach acutally grumbled. I botched the whole day... took a nap around 3 to 6pm, and going to bed late and waking up pretty early. My youngest seems to have a slight disdain for sleep right now :-) And so now I'm at work plotting how to make up for my short comings. Do I try to make up for lost days and do two hard workouts back to back? Track tonight, long distance tomorrow AM? Or do I just suck it up and do my long run tonight and sleep tomorrow. Do I sleep tonight and try to run in the morning... given my record I tend to not wake up in the am.... oh options...

I guess it really will come down to how I'm feeling. I have the 1/2 marathon coming up this saturday... eek so soon already? So I'm tempted to not add stress to the body when it really won't make or break my race... because if it did, it would probably break it rather than make it... oh, does that make any sense?

So I'm looking forward to this race. I've done it two times before. Both times I've been injured to some extent and finished kind of slowly. I'm excited to go into it in fairly decent shape (we're never in the shape we want to be in, but I digress) and not broken :-) So yeah, looking forward to this weekend. I've gotta turn up some babysitters for the kids... I have them. I'm hoping for a gathering at the finish line. Now that I'm living closer to my mom, she seems to be taking more of an active interest in my running. I really love that. So I'm thinking that the fam can kind of congregate at the finish line and cheer me in. I've done it for them! :-) Maybe I'll bribe them with an after race lunch or something... that sounds good I always feel like eating after a race.

Okay enough of all that... we're talking about puppy rectal swabs... hmmm I'm hungry. Maybe I"ll get some food now!

Have a good night, all... who knows you may hear from me again, the shift is early yet.

Dorkness OUT!