Overwhelmed

There are not enough hours in the day....

I will be back once I have a handle on schoolwork.  

Positive Externalties

Last night in a rush to get to game night at a friend's house, I came home dropped my purse on the table and jumped into the shower while my roommate was catching up on Gossip Girl.  A little while later, I emerged to find my roommate in complete darkness staring out the window.

Roomie: "Did you hear that?"

Me:  "Hear what?"

Roomie: "I don't think it was the tv show..."

Me:  "Hear what?"

Roomie:  "Some guy just yelled we're going streaking....."

I officially will not be telling anyone what my text message alert is in hopes to encounter this situation again!  I would have reacted the exact same way as she did!  Best bonus to an already funny text alert!!

Frustrations

I wish I could run like I used to.  To not get winded so quickly, to find the rhythm and not have to think about each step.  To lose myself in thoughts of the day or my surroundings.  To sort out problems and plan the week's schedule of meals, homework times, workouts and friends.

Instead each step I think about my posture, my breathing, foot placement. Did that step hurt my hip?  Why?  Did I step wrong, did I re-injure myself?  Was it loose gravel or me?  Why to I have a side cramp?  Am I not breathing with my diaphragm? Did I not drink enough water before and during this run?  Do I need another shot block to replenish my electrolytes? I just ate one two breaks ago.  I used to be able to run 13.1 miles without stopping.  I can't believe I am running two minutes walking one minute.  I can't believe I can't run a 5k without walking.  I used to be able to do it. 


 Then I start talking myself into the new training program, "You injured yourself running the entire distance". "Run/Walk is better for your hip and it really doesn't make you exhausted after long runs."  I do have more energy at the end of the race.  But my pace is two minutes slower than before injury.

Will I ever get better?  Will I ever achieve the goal of finishing a half marathon in under two hours?  Will this get easy again? 

My coach says yes I will be able to run a half in under two hours and to be patient it will come back. My PTs said running will eventually become second nature again just give it time.  Each step takes me one step closer to my goals and YES all of this is worth it.  Nothing feels better than crossing a finish line knowing no one else got you there but you.  No one else put in the work but you.  The training runs are still therapeutic if only to get my mind on something else, to focus on the ultimate goal (marathon) or to get a good nights sleep again.  Running makes me feel better about myself when work gets you down and school is challenging.

Because it does feel good, better than good - GREAT!  I would not give it up for the world.

Giggles

Things have been pretty crazy at work, school and life in general.  These things have been pretty serious as well and I was looking for some humor and lightheartedness. My finance class is unintentionally humorous in which it is laughable at how much I have no idea what is going on in it.  I am not the only one who feels this way but finance class does not bring happiness to my life.

The other day I upgraded my iPhone to the 05 operating system (which I LOVE!).  I was playing around on my phone with the new settings and decided to change my ring tone and text alerts.  My text alert is now Will Ferrell yelling "We're going streaking" from Old School.

We're going streaking! We're going up through the quad to the gymnasium!

This makes me giggle every time I get a text.  The first time it scared me to death, but now I love it.  I  just need to make sure my phone is on silent at work now.  What little things in your life make you laugh?

Girl Scouts and Rock 'n' Roll

This weekend was a whirlwind and I am seriously exhausted still! It started out visiting a good friend who just had a baby girl on Friday night. It is fun to see her as a new mom and to meet my new 'niece', who is tiny yet so cute!

Saturday day was spent at Girltopia.  Girltopia is convention put on by the Girl Scouts.  As a former Girl Scout, as they say once a Girl Scout always a Girl Scout, I signed up to volunteer.  The Girl Scouts are also one of the philanthropies for my sorority, so I volunteered with friends who are also sorority sisters. We ended up in the Barbie station for Daisys and Brownies.




This station was a lot of fun.  They had three sections for the girls to participate in for the Barbie I Can Be campaign.  This campaign is designed to encourage girls to dream about being whatever they want to when they grow up.  Saturday, they experienced being a ballet dancer, an architect and a chef.  At the Ballet station they danced around in tutus, the architect station they colored houses, and the chef's station they decorated Girl Scout cookies.  Once all stations had been visited they earned a Barbie I Can Be patch.

This station was a HUGE hit.  By the time I left the line was two hours long and the girls LOVED it.  The marketing team for Mattel was phenomenal and I enjoyed watching everything I learned in my summer marketing class play out in real life.  It was refreshing to see a team work hard and really believe in the product/message they putting across to girls.  They were also having a blast.


When I was a little girl, that bag would be THE coolest thing ever!


That evening, I went to Halloween party at a friend's house and had the most amazing home cook Mexican food ever!  It was the perfect meal to eat the night before the LA Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.

It was 5am & I was running late..

I did my best to dress up for the race on a tight budget.  I wore knee high socks, the sequined shirt and a hot pink sequin headband.  I was going for an 80s theme but ended up sparkle-y and realized that I must have been tough to look at running in the bright sun.  Some runners really got into their customes - gumby, super heroes, giraffes, and bunch of Waldo from Where's Waldo.

The race was really well done.  They had bands every few miles to keep you going.  I had a good run.  I was three minutes faster than my first post-surgery race.  I am slowly getting back into shape but I am not comparing post-sugery runs to pre-surgery runs. My ego can't handle that.

The reason I run these...

After the race, I got my complimentary beer from MGD. Honestly the best thing after a race is the taste of beer. Even Bud Lite tastes amazing after 13.1 miles.

After the beers, I listened to some of the live music then headed home to spend the rest of my day carving pumpkins, watching scary movies and cooking dinner with my roommate.