It's gonna be a long one...

I love to walk. Especially when I'm supposed to be running. So, in an effort to break up 26.2 miles into bite-size chunks and placate my love of walking, I'm working out my run / walk strategy for this thing. When I first joined in on this whole marathon business, my run:walk ratio was about 4min running: 1min walking. I say "running" liberally here as it was more like plodding.

After the 10-miler I ambitiously scheduled to do before work Friday morning it sunk in just how far I've come in a really short time. 4 minutes is now way too short of a span for me to feel like I've earned the right to walk. 10 minutes is now the minimum and I stretch it out to 20 minutes if I'm feeling good. Hooray for progress!

Friday morning's workout was also the inaugural run with my new AmphiPod hydration belt and electrolyte replacement drinks. Although my belt is not nearly as fashionable as Steppy's it suited my needs just fine. I was pretty worried about spending 10 miles with a couple water bottles bouncing around my waist but it worked like a charm. Also fully appreciated throwing a couple Strawberry Lemonade Nuun tablets in with the water. My legs may have been about to fall off but my energy level stayed high.

Gu is now my other weapon against fatigue in the long runs. Considering it has such a gross consistency, that Gu gel sure is awesome. Will test out how the Gu Chomps settle in my tummy in next week's long session. Lord knows I'd love to chow down on 10 bags of those gummy delights but I'm worried they won't settle well since I yakked up gummy bears during a 3 hour paddle a couple years ago.

So here I am all decked out with my AmphiPod, Nuun tablets, Gu packets, Garmin 305 & iPhone ready to take on these double-digit runs. About 3 miles into it a couple Navy SEALs wearing nothing but combat boots and gym shorts pass me like I'm standing still. They do it again after I've made my turn for home and have about 3 miles left. I'm pretty sure they did double my mileage then spent the day on the Obstacle Course I pass on the drive to my cushy office chair. You go boys! Looks like I've found a new inspiration.

A snake and a fox and mini crabs—Oh my!

Eeeeeeek went the steppy!!

I was astounded by the beauty of my parents’ neighborhood on my long run this morning … and I had the opportunity to get up close and more personal than planned with nature. As I completed my first loop I made the mistake of taking my eyes off the sidewalk. Given my history of graceful maneuvers, I should have known better; then again, I’m me… I looked around, slightly mesmerized by the landscape maestros grooming the green… they have the craziest machines and brushes to make each part of the course look its absolute best. When I returned my gaze to the area in front of me, I jumped high in the air to avoid a green and black snake on the path. Well, I freaked the little guy out more than he scared me, because he immediately pulled the “roll-over-and-play-dead” technique. He stayed there for zip point 3 seconds, then raced off toward the water. Good thing I wasn’t wearing a heart rate monitor—it probably would have shorted out!

 I recovered and moved on to my favorite area on the course. This location features the clubhouse, practice areas for perfecting the golf stroke, and a pool. You may be thinking that I decided to take a dip in the pool, but we aren’t members of the “club.” No, this place is my favorite pitstop because it happens to be where most golfers start there day. And any self-respecting southerner knows that one must have a cooler full of ice when s/he plans to be outdoors all day. The ice machine is out in the open, and it features a water fountain. So, I stuffed my hat and my tank top with ice, gulped some water, refilled my bottle, and went on my merry way to the marina. As I was about the cross the street, I noticed a scrawny Conan lookalike on the green. Yep, a red fox was checking me out! He skittered across the road before I could snap a picture... too bad, but I sputtered out to everyone I passed on the path that I had just seen a fox.

Called a gray fox, but it looked red to me!

teeny crabbies!

I then moved on to the marina, another awesome part of the run. Why? Because there’s a potty there, and I drank two cups of coffee before I headed out, not to mention the water and ice I took in on the run. By then, my head and shirt were ice-free and soaking wet, and I had to GO… NOW. That’s about the time I heard the sound of autumn leaves rustling in a brisk wind. One problem with that sound, though—it’s August, not November, and the air was dead calm, with no nice breeze to cool me off. I look down to find dozens of fiddler crabs scuttling out of the way and toward the docks. These little guys have bodies that are between the size of a penny to a half-dollar, and they were not excited to be moving so quickly so early. Well, to be honest, neither was I!

But I had planned to blog about GEAR in this post. Please note, I am not a natural born runner. Though I own the book and am reading it, I was not Born to Run. In fact, I have used many excuses to explain my utter lack of speed, grace, and general running prowess. Wrong shoes. Cotton clothing(A, you were right on the money). An overall dislike of sweating, spandex, and shorts. Humidity. The sun. Less than stellar nighttime vision. Heat. Cold. You name it, I’ve used it. Well, given all my fun new running gear, I can’t use those excuses anymore. Why?

• Well, I got the right shoes… I talked about those on Father’s Day. They are fantastic, and I feel like I’m running on little blue clouds.

Sweet logo

I own this shirt!




• Cotton is no longer an issue. Although I had a few dri-fit things from Nike, and had listened to my Dad extoll the virtues of Coolmax for years, I found a new favorite fabric. It’s made of cotton, bamboo, and lycra. It has an spf rating of 50+, wicks moisture, breathes well, is utterly soft, and is anti-odor. That’s right, it doesn’t stay soaking wet and reek after a long run. Plus, they make tops and bottoms for all types of weather, and you can’t beat the colors. Do you remember the Claritin commercials, where they’d lift the edge of the tv screen to show brighter, happier, healthier colors? Well, Thriv clothes come in colors that remind me of the Easter M&Ms, with the Claritin-clear effect. In other words, AWESOME! Plus, their logo is a panda face in a sweat drop, and they operate out of New Orleans. Does it get any better?
• Well, if you want to know where in the hell you went, it sure does. I got this sweet Garmin Forerunner 405 watch with reward points from my credit card, and it pretty much kicks ass. It tells me distance, speed, altitude change, calories burned, and even whether or not a turn is coming up (after all, I should be focused on the ground in case more snakes are lurking in my path, right A?). AND, if I get around to reading the instructions, it has a heart rate monitor that is supposed to improve my life immensely. All that information is wirelessly transferred to my computer, where I can check out my history using google maps. Like I said, pretty kickass. Plus, it’s GREEN. 

  

  My new buddy ;)
  

nano nano nano

• Speaking of green, Casey noticed that my green nano was pretty overloaded. At 4gb, I filled it with podcasts and too much old stuff to download new music. So, for our first anniversary, he bought me a brand new GREEN nano that is the size of a cheez-it but holds 4 times more than my old-but-awesome mp3 player. It has a fun little clippy thing and a touch screen. How sweet is that?!?! Good job hubby, good job.
• And against his better fashion judgment, Casey also bought me a hydration waist pack. Read between the lines here, people… fanny pack with a water bottle. I wear it shamelessly. And this one doesn’t bounce, which reduces the frustration factor by at least 7!
• I always go out with a hat and sunblock—with cancer in the family, it’s just the sensible thing to do. The nice thing about the hat is that if I see another person while I’m running, I can hide the agony on my face by looking down until right at the last second, then I can look up, flash a smile, and say hi without anyone realizing what the pavement-pounding is really doing to me.

  

  My sweet fanny pack-- jealous??

What about you? What’s your favorite gear? I’m in the market!!

One month later...

frozen butterbeer!

So it’s been quite a month!! Casey and I celebrated one year of legalized name-sharing and Katie cheered on her favorite Coppola while he rowed his heart out. Katie went to the land of chocolate and cheese and we visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Let me tell you, frozen butterbeer is the nectar of the gods (follow the link for awesome pics and recipes by someone who knows what she's talking about). 

And when you don’t want something sweet, Universal Studios is happy to indulge your alcohol tooth with Hog’s Head ale and Strongbow Hard Cider in commemorative mugs from the Three Broomsticks.

plenty of adult options!

Then I headed back to Pullman to teach impressionable minds about psychology and the art/science of personality. They learned their shape, color, traits according to Tibetan wisdom, nonverbal communication, handwriting analysis, and some old-school science experiments, some of which are the reason a doctoral student like me has to be, like, ethical and follow IRB. I understand their perspectives that ethics can be lame; on the other hand, they can keep you from being sued, which is positive.

It was awesome to be back in Pullman! Aside from the weed jungle monster that was my backyard, I got to see some good friends, “work” on my dissertation, and use an open window as air conditioner at night. See below for the before & after photos of the yard—thank goodness our landloard cut it because the weed-whacker definitely raised a white flag when I tried to tame the beast…

before...

After

You may be thinking, “Isn’t this a blog about running?” Well yes, yes it is. And I have been running. I think I turned a corner in my training. I’m now jogging more than walking. That’s right folks!! I am very, VERY proud of myself for this. I credit Pullman weather. For two weeks, it was about 45 degrees outside when I was running. This means that I needed to get my butt MOVING in order to not shiver myself into oblivion. And yes, this is a full 40 degrees cooler than my Savannah runs, even though it was the same time of day. So I was able to try out some hills in addition to my jawbone’s favorite trail. On my last day, I logged over 10 miles in under 2 hours, which I never thought would happen. Did my high school P.E. coach ever think it would happen? As the gnome who lives within the Magic 8 Ball would indicate, “Outlook not so good.” 

Did this sudden shift stay with me upon my return to Savannah? Well… let’s just say I’m still jogging more than I’m walking and leave it there. You should ac-cen—tuate the positive, right? Right?! As for my next post, get excited, because I’ll be talking about fitness gear. With photos!!! YAY!!!