Kickin' Asphalt

new blog, better blog.

2010-04-12T23:57:00.000-04:00

OKAY. so ive heard rumor that wordpress is where its at. I've been researching and I think it's true. commenting is easier so you can be anyone to comment. it's more condusive to what i'd like in a blog as well :)

SO follow me here and keep track of me!
Http://merrberruns.wordpress.com

Good for you Locopops.

2010-04-08T18:59:00.000-04:00

Today, I spent some good quality time with my bff Lauren. We're studying for the PCCN. which means in lay terms Progressive Care Certified Nurse. We both work on Cardiothoracic step-down units at Duke, and so we're going to be "certified" in it. This is not the only certification that I want, I'm planning on getting a few others as well throughout my nursing career. anyway, we ended up on an epic adventure today.

I met Ren at her apartment around noon and we went out to lunch at Brixx pizza. I had a delicious marhgarita pizza with tomatoes and basil. DELISH I ate the entire thing! then we ended up at Caribou coffee and studied for a couple hours. This is how we ended up on our epic adventure.

Back story : Last summer, Lauren and I wanted to go to this gourmet popsicle place in Raleigh/ Durham called Locopops. Now. we tried to go to this place three, yes THREE separate times during the summer and each time they were not open. even though their hours said they were open until 9pm DAILY. Anyway, we were completely frustrated, especially after Brian and his friend Noah got Locopops for FREE , yes you read right, FREE before they officially closed for the winter. uh. lame. SO anyway, Lauren and I were bound and determined to get Locopops this year when they opened.

on to our epic adventure.
Lauren actually CALLED Locopops to see if they were truly open. they were. so when we found this out we went immediately from Carribou coffee to downtown Raleigh in search of Locopops. When we got there we each got our popsicles, I got pomegranate tangerine and Lauren got berry something or another. of course we got stickers to prove we visited. I put mine on my nalgene and Lauren is hanging on to hers. the result??

Two happy campers.

Good for you Locopops. you were well worth the wait.

Now, back to studying until Brian gets home :)

What is your favorite summertime treat?

it needs to rain!

2010-04-08T09:39:00.000-04:00

Is anyone else plagued by all the pollen in the air?! GOD! It has done nothing good for my allergies! Although I appreciate the onset of warm weather (FINALLY) in Durham, everywhere I go there is like a cloud of pollen in the air. my car is yellow the inside of my windows are yellow. everything on my porch is yellow. It needs to rain so that my eyes stop burning!

yesterday was a gorgeous day so I celebrated it by heading to the driving range with Brian, and my friend Shannon. it was all in good sport except that Golf is really not my sport I think... I did *okay* but I had all I could do to hit the ball. Its okay, I somehow got roped into playing 9 holes on Friday with them.

After golfing, Brian and I head out for a 6 mile run (in preparation for Nashville which I am NOT prepared for in the least and it's coming in 2 weeks) at the American Tobacco Trail. Now, I'm trying to keep this blog a positive thing for me, but seriously, it was hot, the air was thick, and I havent run in a while. it was HARD. I definitely bonked half way through. I'm trying to be really good about keeping hydrated but yesterday I didnt do so well. Poor Brian had to motivate me the last 3 miles. I feel terrible for him for having to put up with me through that but I love him even more for that as well. he said he felt ready after we finished, I however am scared to death now. I just want to finish this race, I've decided I'm not going for time. I will though put in an extra effort this summer for Chicago this October. yesterday was a wake- up call for me. I felt so awful after golfing and then after running that I didnt know exactly what I was meant to do.

Has anyone ever bonked before? what do you do to redeem yourself afterward?

getting back on track.

2010-04-06T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I hope that everyone had a Happy Easter for those who celebrated it anyway. I, however ended up working all weekend. (which is okay with me because really, my family is all in NY and who am I going to celebrate with?) anyway, that is why I have taken a couple day hiatus.

yes, feel free PLEASE to laugh at this picture. it was B's Idea. he had a bright notion to send a picture of our "family" to our parents. I'm shaking my head as I'm writing this. thinking about the copious amounts of catnip we had to give Leo-cat and the amount of treats we had to give Corbin and Tika. but please, just observe Tika's face. it's PRICELESS! HAAHA! oh well. we'll try again at Christmas time with tacky sweaters and reindeer antlers.

God that is funny though.

Currently, I'm working on getting myself back into shape. I have picked out the marathon plan I'm planning on working with this summer. you can check it out here. It's the beginner runner version as I'm a virgin marathoner and I don't A. want to hurt myself and or 2. Die this summer in NC heat trying to train for this em - effer. I'm just trying to work myself back into shape, which is stupid of me because I'm running CMM 1/2 in a couple of weeks. It's okay. Brian and I are going to hit the American Tobacco Trail tomorrow morning early before we hit the Driving range and lay out in the sweet spring time weather with my friend Shannon. We're planning on 6 miles. maybe we can do that both tomorrow and Friday when we have off. I know that I can do it, I've just been ultra frustrated with myself image lately. I'm going to just put my mind to it and get to where I need to be to complete these races and this triathlon I want to do this summer as well :)

Anyway, Does anyone have good advice for puppy training?

We've gotten the hang of potty training I think... I've gotten into the habit of taking him out every couple of hours and after he eats and things so that he knows that he has to go outside. however, he's had a few accidents. What are your best tips for me? shoot I'm open to anything. We've also gotten the hang of leaving the cage open for Corbin as well so that he knows that it is an inviting thing instead of a bad thing. I've even seen him go in and out of it today a few times and even hid in there when I ran the vacuum cleaner! He'll get it, he's just a puppy.

What else...

My return to veggie-ism has not been hard at all. in fact... it was not much of a transition at all! I basically am doing the same things I was doing before. I am however on a journey toward a little healthier lifestyle. It may or may not help if I photograph my food. writing things down though definitely helps. I have noticed an improvement in the way I feel the last week or so that I have been meat free. I dont even know why I went back to omnivore-ism in the first place.

I hope everyone is enjoying their sunny warm tuesday! I know the kids are :)

meat free and in search of my old self.

2010-04-02T18:52:00.000-04:00

Today. marks the day that I am going back to vegetarianism. I was a veg through most of college. This was mostly because I kept getting sick every time I ate meat at school, and also because I don't agree nor do I support big meat industry and the way that they kill their animals. In fact. I didn't miss meat at all. I still eat primarily veggie things and REALLY, the only time I ever eat meat is if Brian makes it because quite frankly (although i'm getting better) I dont really know how, nor do I have the patience to cook it.

I Just feel better not eating meat. I feel lighter, I feel healthier. and I think that it definitely helped me broaden my food horizons. I am going to find myself this way again. I dont miss meat, nor do I think that I'm going to. Phew. now that that's said.

I have been completely lax on my exercise lately. I went for a run today. the first run I've gone on in a long time and let me tell you. I STRUGGLED! I think it's been a week since I've run. I've been biking a lot. anyway, I need to get my arse in gear if i'm going to finish CMM. PLUS, I need to have some sort of base if I am even remotely thinking about running chicago. GOD! I guess it didnt help either that it was like 90 today and I went running at noon. *glances to the side* oh well. tomorrow is a new day and I will go on a new run. and it WILL be better. and I WILL go in the morning!

I think what frustrates me the most about my struggle with running right now is the fact that I know what I used to be and to me, I have completely let myself get out of shape. I just need to find my running legs again. I know I will. I need to and I WANT to. that's the biggest thing. because really it's a lifestyle change. so like I said. starting today. I am meat free and in search of my old self. the end.

and I survived!

2010-03-31T06:28:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Brian and I went biking on the American Tobacco Trail. I knew that this existed but I didnt know where it was. SO we decided to go on an adventure and check it out! we did a nice easy flat and fast 12 mile ride. I didnt know if I could do it, but you know what? it wasn't that bad, and we both survived. I even out-powered Brian at the end :) he wont tell you that though. Anyway, we loaded up the bikes in Manny (my mariner) and off we went downtown. the trail was awesome. it was lots of bikers and joggers. we went at a busy time too but the weather was gorgeous for a ride! the only downfall of the bike part is all of the stops we had to make along the way for road traffic. you know how I love to clip in and out of my pedals. SO a lot of the time we did rolling stops. I even pulled a "new yorker" and just crossed even with oncoming traffic because I couldn't unclip in time. ANYWAY, I'd definitely suggest this trail to anyone who wants a flat and fast jog and or run or bike for that matter! I think i'm going to run it again soon to take it in a little better :)

Brian and "Matt Damon"

"Helen" and Me :)

Mile 6. Going strong!

Still smiling!

Finished! refuel! :)

it's all fun and games until...

2010-03-30T17:48:00.000-04:00

WELL. Hotlanta. lets talk about it.sunday night was prep night. Brian and I did various activities to get ready to puppy prep the house. we're babysitting my girlfriend Lauren's dog Jake and he and Tika did a good job helping too :)

Brian isn't yelling at Jake, he's trying to nom his head. because Jake was trying to nom Brian.

Anyway. We got everything packed up, road nomz, road tunes, and of course the CAMERA!

The next day (monday) we woke up at 4:00 (yes AM) to get ready to take the pups out and drive to Atlanta, about a 6 hour drive. we got dressed, made breakfast, packed tika and put Jake in the cage and off we were on our way to pick up our newest addition!

Brian is So cool with his backwards hat :)

Road nomz. of course there's a monster energy drink, my sigg bottle with plenty of h2o in it. and of COURSE every road trip staple. Beef ~~jerky~~ Leather. (gag)

it was pouring all the way until south carolina. then the sun came out finally!

Tika was excited about it too.

Then it was my turn to drive and Brian's turn to nap. (eventhough I didnt nap at all. this is just what happens every time we road trip...)

Someplace in GA I think. we're almost to Atlanta!

So here is where I stopped taking pictures, we got to atlanta to meet Lorna, the lady from Macon County Humane Society. the area where we were meeting her (which she and I had no idea) was quite possibly in the worst part of town. SO for obvious reasons, I would not let Brian play 50cent at the top volume (even though he tried) and I ceased taking pictures until we were on our way back to Durham. SO. Lorna met us at one of the shopping centers near downtown ATL. she brought both chocolate lab boys that she had left so that I could choose which one I wanted. We let Tika play with both of them and whichever one she responded too the best we took home with us. I think we made a good choice. ultimately, i picked the quieter of the two. I think that it was the one that I saw initially that I fell in love with in his photograph. Anyway, so we made our exchange, I hugged Lorna and thanked her profusely, and we were off!

With brand new baby in hand!

By this time it was almost noon and we were STAR-VINGG! on the way into Atlanta Brian spotted The Varsity . A restaurant in ATL that is FAMOUS for it's burgers and chili Cheese fries. We sat in the drive in portion of the restaurant because we had the two animals with us. I got fries and Brian got a chili dog.

oh and a HUGE ass sweet tea. He's obsessed with it. It tasted like pure sugar to me.

The trip back to the NC was quite epic as well. Tika didn't feel well and had had some bowl issues before we left. I think she either ate Jake's food or Leo-cat's food. she's got a sensitive stomach. Anyway, needless to say, on our way home she poo-ed all over my back seat. thank goodness we had a blanket down and brought an extra one with us! so instead of it taking about 6 hours for us to get home it took about 7.5 oy. at least we made it home safely though with pups in hand!

Dont worry, they get along JUST great! Corbin LOVES Tika, looks up to her. I hope he learns from her.

here's a pic from this afternoon I was messing around with the Panorama setting on my camera. I'm waiting for Brian to get back from cleaning out my car and the grocery store so that we can go for a bike-ride this afternoon on the American Tobacco Trail .

puppy love <3

welcome to hotlanta

2010-03-29T08:11:00.001-04:00

I'm currently posting this from my crackberry. How cool! Brian and tika and I are currently on our way to Atlanta to pick up corbin pup!! How exciting! Jake pup (whom were dog sitting for) is resting comfortably at home in his new cage. Ill post again when I get home with out new addition and don't worry ill be sure to post pictures! Until then. Greetings from south crack a lacky!

Because its midnight... and I slept all day.

2010-03-28T01:32:00.000-04:00

It's 1 in the morning. I'm wide awake because I worked last night. what is a girl to do?!
Brian left 2 hours early to cover for someone. so he's off for a 14 hour shift tonight. I'm left with a sleeping dog and a sleeping cat on my hands.

Sleeping Leo-nomz

hmm... which one is the cat?!

So. While the animals were sleeping and inbetween cleaning the bathroom and loads of laundry. I decided to make cookes! yessir! COOKIES! NOM!

These cookies are semi-home made and so so simple. what you need is a box of funfetti mix, 2 eggs 1/3 cup of oil. stir them together, roll them into balls and flatten them out on the cookie sheet. cook for about 10 minutes until they're golden brown. when they're cool. frost, put the candy bites on and enjoy!! this recipe is supposed to make 3 dozen cookies. however, I'm impatient and it only made about a dozen for me. well... a dozen annnd...

one GIANT cookie that I made for my handsome boyfriend when he comes home from work tomorrow morning :)!
What's your favorite thing to bake?

Boy oh Boy

2010-03-27T20:54:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness work is done for the week. Now... Its not that I don't love what I do, I do. I love my job, I love my patients and I love my co-workers. but MAN night shift is rough on me sometimes. So is rotating shifts for that matter! so I successfully slept today away which is fine because it's cold out anyway.

After I woke up and saw B off to work, I went out in search of a pup collar. We're going to HOT lanta monday morning early to pick up my new PUP! I'm SO thrilled to get tiny Corbin my 7 week old choclate lab <3. I'm adopting him from Macon County Humane Society. I know I know, Why not adopt from someplace in raleigh and or durham mary? well let me tell you when I saw this face How could I NOT fall in love with him!! Plus, he and his six brothers and sisters were found someplace in ghetto AL. someone took them into the shelter and they're living with a LOVELY english woman, who is quite possibly the sweetest woman I've ever met. I want to give him a good home and what he deserves :)

Has anyone ever adopted a pet from a shelter? what were your experiences, what kind of a pet did you get?

SO, anyway back to the Kroger. In my adventures to the store, I got some chobani yogurt (pom and peach of course) which I've never had but am excited to try. I also got the ingredients to make Caitlin's oatmeal pancake recipe. Instead of pumpkin though, I used blueberry. DELICIOUS! it was SO big though that I couldnt finish the whole thing!

One of my favorite things to eat is breakfast. What's your favorite meal of the day and your favorite recipe?

On the road... er Trail again.

2010-03-25T16:44:00.000-04:00

While I was waiting for Lazy Brian to get out of bed this afternoon, I decided that he just wasnt going to and I went for a run myself. I only went a couple of miles because I work tonight, however, it was a quality hilly couple of miles. well... perhaps not so quality as I took pictures of the trail and things but it sure was hilly! Here are highlights from my run today :)

The entrance to the trail

Oh boy Mr. Duke, I had no Idea what I was in for!

Starting out the trail with a nice slow incline

Dont worry though, I'm still smiling! (see I've got my ipod in my hand with my Nike + Ipod!)

Along the way

Oh my goodness, a downgrade, Good thing I have to go right back up!

Some houses along the way.

Almost HOME!!

HOME SWEET HOME thank GOD!

Sweaty but I'm still smiling.... Kinda?

Overall this run was *okay* however, I did find that the air here in NC is starting to get a little heavy so I had some trouble breathing sometimes on the inclines. I dont know if this is because i'm just plain out of shape or that I truly am having trouble breathing. I'm willing to think that its the former rather than the latter. I mean... I do need to lose some pounds to shave off some of the winter weight gain that I've somehow accumulated over the past few months.

Anyway, What do you do when you find yourself struggling in the middle of a run, do you chant a mantra to yourself? do you tell yourself to just keep swimming? I'd love to know!

2010-03-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

This is ... well whatever kind of tree this is outside of my apartment building. It is gorgeous now that it is finally in bloom. that's my favorite part about spring is watching all fo the leaves and things come back onto the trees. Good because its a sign of warmer weather heading our way. Bad however, for my allergies. They won't start to flare up though until those pesky white fluffs start flying in the air. usually around my birthday in June. THEN it'll be summertime.

Really though, I'm psyched for the warmer weather coming my way. Actually, I'm psyched for a lot of things. Not just the warm weather but CMM 1/2 in April, this triathalon I have yet to sign up for with B in July, CHICAGO MARATHON in October! Corbin Pup making a presence into our "family" this weekend hopefully. Moving in with my girlfriend Laruen this summer. Growing my own herb garden again. man. the list continues!

Anyway, plans for the day include :
- Working out details as to Corbin pup's arrival and how i'm going to get him from AL to NC.
- A nice couple mile run this afternoon
- Left over lasagna nomz with B before we both go into work for the overnight. (yay)

I cant get enough.

2010-03-23T15:57:00.000-04:00

I've been perusing the Runners World (www.runnersworld.com) forums and I am definitely keeping track of the chicago marathon thread. Chicago is my first full marathon ( I've done Philly Distance run, City of oaks and I'm doing CMM 1/2 in April as halves) I'm so excited! now especially that I'll have a pup to bring running with me on my short runs. I'm thrilled because it's going to be an awesome mental and physical challenge for me. NOT to mention I can eat all of the bagels and pasta I want and not worry about a THING! (my weaknesses)

Anyway, point of this is that chicago registration is full at the end of this business day. they're shutting it DOWN. so you know what that means?! I'm locked in, that's it, i'm doing it a full 26.2 miles. pounding pavement for 4 hours. what do I get at the end? a glass of beer, a kick ass finishers medal AND a sick tattoo i'm treating myself to for such an accomplishment.

HOLLA!

Oh, and because I cant get enough. I'm including some pictures of my sleeping animals (well. Brian's dog and Leo-cat)

Sleeping Lion

Sleeping Bear

Handsome Cat

Excuse me!!! Rub my BELLY!

Cute animals

NOMZ?!!!

lets play good idea, bad idea.

2010-03-23T12:41:00.000-04:00

the dog park. one of my favorite places to go with Brian. in fact, I cant wait until I have my own pup( not that I dont love leo-cat) to take with Brian to the dog park and complete our "family" (insert vomiting in mouth here)

Anyway, we decided to take Tika-dog to the dog park yesterday. This is one of the many things that we do together while we're both off. I called my girlfriend Lauren (she just got a new puppy) to see if she wanted to go. she couldnt so we took her dog, Jake with us anyway. Jake is an adorable newfundland, lab, something mutt mix. he's 9 months old and juuust about as big as Tika-pup (who is 2 by the way). ANYWAY. This was almost a success however Jake does not know how to behave in the car. here is what happened :

That's okay Brian, you dont really NEED to see where you're going...

Good Tika dog in the back seat.

Silly Jake pup. "what? there's nothing to see here!"

After this experience in the car, I know that I will discipline the lab I'm looking at adopting quite well. I infact just heard back from the adoption agency in AL ( i know AL why not someplace in durham) and he is MINE! I know... I know... why didnt you think about adopting from sompleace near you. let me tell you. I saw this jolly little guys picture on line and I fell in love with him immediately. I mean. Who WOULDNT love this face!!

AH YES!

good dog.... BAD dog!

2010-03-20T21:54:00.000-04:00

what a GORGEOUS day today to take a run this morning! Brian and I went out for a run this morning after working last night. eventhough it was a hilly couple miles, let me tell you what. I slept like a CHAMP!
Here's what happened on my run this afternoon though...

Girl goes for run: Girl takes boyfriend's dog: run goes smoothly for about half a mile : around 0.75 dog sees squirrel : Dog yanks girl : girl falls on ground : dog gets away : girl chases dog and tackles dog : girl repremands dog : girl takes dog home.

I did convince Brian to go on a bike ride with me this afternoon though for a few miles because my planned 4 miler turned into a 1 miler. Oh well. 3 miles total today is better than no miles today.

here is Helen and Brian's Bike.

So Fierce..

Almost Fierce...

Happy family :)

Just Helen. <3

Helen, You are going to be the death of me... Literally.

2010-03-19T16:14:00.000-04:00

Well, SO much for running this week. I was really hoping I'd log a few miles rather than the measly 5 I've done so far. oh well at least I've found another version of cross training to keep me going.

yep you guessed it. I've taken Helen ( my bike) out for 3 consecutive rides this week and have successfully fallen off of her each time. i'm scraped cut and bruised... I even hit my head off of brian's car, but god I'll get the hang of her if it kills me!

I'm a little scared about completeing 13 miles in nashville but I think i'll be okay. I just need to get with it and let brian fiddle with the bike.

I've decided that I dont know how good of a bicyclist I'll be... mostly due to the fact that I cant get the hang of the pedals, but I know that Brian is going to be a good triathlete. you know why I know? because he's basically good at everything that does. no kidding.

really though, I think i could see myself doing a couple of tri's nothing major maybe an olympic distance here or there but I dont know how i'll be able to do an ironman like brian wants to do. I'll stick to just running and hopefully BQ someday if i'm lucky (or turn 30).

anyway, off to another night of work and back to the bump and grind.

thats what I need... sunshine and palm trees.

2010-03-10T09:11:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you how awesome it was to run in Florida. Now, when I say awesome, I mean freakin awesome because everything is flat as a pancake. yes. no hills and running in 70 degree weather for a week was a nice change from not so sunny right now NC. although, yesterday I did run in a tank top and pants. which was also a nice change. I hope that mother nature decides to keep it that way for a while *cough cough* are you hearing me?! *looks up*

In all seriousness though. Florida was pretty awesome. I loved running outside with the warm sun on my face in a t-shirt and shorts and not a care in the world with palm trees blowing in the wind. I didnt want to come back. In fact, it made me crave an environment like that up here. *sigh* someday.

As for my run yesterday... that can be chalked up as a crappy run. I really think I do better in the morning rather than later in the day when i've already showered and done things and I'm not as fresh. I wish I had the gumption to be a morning runner. I know that I used to be and that's what frustrates me the most. I just need to get out of bed and DO IT. you know... like nike.

Anyway, yesterday's run as I was saying was completely crappy. You know how I know this? Because even big bad BRIAN was breathing heavy. Really though, every person that owned a house along the route we ran had their stupid dogs out in the yard and they were all barking at us. did I get stalked by a weird looking truck while tika was finding a spot to use the facilities? yes. Did I almost get hit by said truck... yes. wtf. hopefully today will be better. I'm crossing my fingers. we're going to try a completely different route this time. According to my nike ipod we averaged about an 11 minute mile. HELLO. 11 MINUTE MILE. that's about as crappy as it comes my friends. I havent run an 11 minute mile since HIGH SCHOOL. hello... HIGHSCHOOL. fuckkkk.

I just want to finish nashville at this point. I dont care how well I do, I just want to truck my happy ass over that finish line and finish proudly. even if I have to crawl there from mile 8.

"some girls just wanna have fun"

2010-02-28T20:02:00.000-05:00

Nike + Ipod = BEST 30 dollars that I've ever spent... Period.

What an awesome little toy. it not only calculated my pace and my distance but also my time. you know what? I'm not as sloth like as I thought I was. I know I KNOW it's hard to believe, but actually I was looking at that nifty little contraption as I was running back to my apartment today and it said my mile time was at 8:45! needless to say, I will not be cursing Brian for being faster than the average trix rabbit, even though I think that the next time we run I'll make him run next to me on the bike :) average pace for me today according to Neal Nike (that's what I've officially affectionately named him) was 10:00 which is totally fine (considering we had tika yanking and pulling the whole 2 miles) because that'll put me at a good couple of hours for nashville in a month or so.

A MONTH. well... a little over a month. I need to get my ass in gear! I have been so extremely lax in my running lately, i dont even know how my sloth butt will make it 13 miles let alone a whole 26 this fall! Although, I am really looking forward to marathon training this summer. I need to watch Spirit of the marathon again.

The countdown begins until Brian and I go to Florida on Thursday. I'll be excited to run in just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It'll be exactly what I need on my long runs down there ( 10 miles holy crap).

So, we'll see how it goes!

if I wanted snow.... I would have stayed in NY!

2010-02-25T16:55:00.000-05:00

SNOW?! seriously?! Come ON North Carolina! it's almost MARCH! aren't you supposed to be warming up right now?!

Snow. for real. flakes of flurrying delight for many kids down here, but nothing but a burden to this upstate New Yorker. I could have just stayed and worked in Syracuse if I wanted to have snow all winter long. I did NOT sign up for this. Count this another run ruined. besides the fact that I slept until 4 today from working last night. but really though remember when I said I hated rain... I lied. I LOATHE the snow.

So I got this new Nike + Ipod thing the other day. I really wanted to try it out... however, due to the inclimate weather, I now have to wait until it warms up. Really though, I had a great vision of me, my ipod and the dog running along, on our merry way, and I was secretly a kenyan, not even out of breath, running smoothly, gallantly, very gazelle like if you will. cut to... pink face, extreme sweating, yanking dog, and completely and utterly fat and out of shape AND suddenly feeling like someone sucked all of the oxygen out of the air.... and my lungs.

Oh well. I'll try it out tomorrow. It's such a cool little thing. It keeps track of your time and your distance, and your pace! that's what I need! a pace calculator. I really want a garmin (cough cough) but it's almost 400 dollars so I can NOT afford that right now. plus, this nike thing does everything that that garmin does except give you a map of your route. It talks to you and tells you when you beat your time and your distance records and you can load it up into the computer using nikeplus.com. that way you can track your progress! freakin' sweet! Best 30 dollars I've spent in a while. Eventhough it took Brian boyfriend genius to fix it up for me and rig my shoe correctly ( I run in sauconys, nikes are the devil), I think this is going to be one of two things for me... either I'll be completely pumped because I'm going to find out that i'm really faster than I thought that I was ( meaning greater than a 10 minute mile pace) or i'll find out that I truly am a fat sloth, get pissed, throw the sensor at brian and hate him secretly for being so skinny and fast and never use the thing again.

I'm hoping for the former rather than the latter. However, the latter could totally happen, except... I wouldnt throw anything. I would just secretly hate. ;) So tomorrow is another day, another dollar, and another working shift over night. Until then, I cant wait until Saturday.

rain rain go away.

2010-02-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

its february. I live in north carolina. I know. I know. I have no right to complain about the rain because right now all of my friends and family still in NY are burried under 4 feet of snow and if I were there, I wouldnt be even able to get myself out the door for a run. Seriously though, there is one element that I absoloutly despise. it's rain.

I hate rain not just for the fact that it ruins a lot of my runs, and it makes the bottom of my pants wet when I walk outside or that the ground all around my apartment is mush when it rains... or even the fact that no one in the state of NC knows how to drive when it rains. what I hate the most about the rain is that it absolutely RUINS my hair!

go ahead and laugh ( I can hear you) but its true! I have naturally wavy/curly hair. I like to flat Iron it. Normally during the summer I cannot do such a thing, but you know that as soon as november hits, and the humidity cuts, that that's what I like to do! now, when it rains and I even think about going outside, my hair frizzes up into an afro and then not only is my outfit ruined but so is my day. Blast you mother nature!! *shakes fists in angst*

Now normally, the rain isnt so bad when it's in the middle of july and the drops falling from the sky are bath water warm and hitting my face while i'm sweating profusely (and dying a little inside) while I"m out running. what I HATE is winter rain when it's borderline freezing and you get pelted in the eye while you're running. not only am I miserable, but I come back home blind and looking like a drowned rat. "gee it must be really warm out, you sweat a lot..." " uh... no. if you freakin looked out the window it's raining fucking cats and dogs *insert mean face here*".

I had a good solid 4miler planned for today (brian doesnt know it yet, he's still sound asleep in the other room) now it looks like I'm going to have to save it for the dreadmill. freakin' LAME.

26.2 on my mind...

2010-02-22T00:08:00.000-05:00

okay. So I know that I haven't passed April 24 (cmm 1/2 mary) but I cannot stop thinking about Chicago this fall. This could be because we were all talking about the full 26.2 distance tonight at Shannon and Katie's while we were eating dinner, it got me to thinking, what an amazing distance it truly is. there are a lot of things that are 26.2 miles. for instance that would be like running from my house in Fulton, NY to the gym in downtown Syracuse, NY. it would be like running from Durham to Raleigh. insane right?! I know. I don't know if I know what I have gotten myself into. Anyway, in thinking about all of this marathon business, I decided to look back into my ancient athletics notes from college. Here's what I found on the history of the marathon:

The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought),^[3] which took place in August or September, 490 BC.^[4] It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, 'We have won.') before collapsing and dying.

Mount Penteli stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that, if Pheidippides Hymettus and Penteli, and then mildly downhill to Athens proper. This route is approximately 42 kilometres (26 mi) and set the standard for the distance as run in the modern age actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either from the north or from the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway, which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then a gentle but protracted uphill westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts

Pretty cool huh? for sure, something to wrap my mind around. twenty six point two miles. only someone crazy would run that far. Am I crazy?! mmm. yep you guessed it. I secretly like to torture myself for pleasure and satisfaction. Fuck, all I want to do this summer is eat all the bread that I can get my hands on without feeling guilty and gaining weight!

but seriously though... 26.2 four hours plus pounding pavement. oh my god. truly only someone completely out of their gord would complete a feat as great as that.

well.. I've got it all going for me, I've got a cat, I live alone, and am slightly on the weird side... looks like Mary is meant to be a marathoner :)

well... so much for that!

2010-02-21T23:24:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited that warm weather is finally coming our way here in beautiful Durham NC. a couple days ago while I was out running it was mid 50s and sunny, absoloutely gorgeous. yesterday was gorgeous too! what a nice day for mommy mary and daddy brian to take tika pup out for a run.

well mommy Mary did just that a couple days ago when I last left you. what a nice steady (or not so much) 3 mile run. I took willing and eager tika out for a small jaunt to hopefully tire her out before I went to work. all was fine and dandy throughout the entire run except at the end when she saw another mommy and her unsuspecting toddler in a jogger stroller approaching us from the other side of the road. this would have normally been fine and on any other day I would have been able to control what had happened a couple of days ago. however... I did not see unsuspecting mommy jogger and her innocent toddler in his jogger stroller. here's what happened.

I had my eyes on the road ahead of me, and so did tika pup until she saw the delicious baby nomz. next thing I knew I was on the other side of the road and tika started sniffing said toddler in the jogger stroller. the toddler starts screaming the mother is frantic and here I am diaphoretic and extremely short of breath appologizing profusely for tika's behavior and for Brian and myself for not keeping her better under wraps. oy. never a dull moment, but I wouldnt have it any other way. she truly is the ultimate running partner(sorry B).

Yesterday we went out for a nice easy 2 miler before we went into work for the over night. We of course took the dog out with us (Brian doesnt know it, but i'm secretly training her for marathon training this summer with me) it was gorgeous outside except my legs felt like lead. I almost feel bad for Brian when we run because he, like tika has one pace.... Jackrabbit. I on the other hand have one pace as well... Sloth. so, needless to say, I tend to hold brian back, although he wont tell you that. all I know about my run yesterday is thinking to myself "GOD!! I cant even hold a conversation and he's been talking to me for the entire twenty minutes!!" at this point I decided to perform a small experiment. I didnt think that brian was as tired as me so as we were rounding a corner I slowed my breathing and noticed that he was barely labored. "Fuck me" i thought as we rounded the corner for the last 400 yard sprint back home. we finished strong though. my favorite part about that run? the shower I got to take afterward.

well... So much for that!

new running partner?

2010-02-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

I am about to head out for a nice 2-3 mile run this afternoon, as I just woke up from working the over night last night. Because my boyfriend Brian is silently snoozing in the other room, this leaves me to fend for myself out in the wildnerness.

Now, normally this wouldn't bother me running alone outside kickin' some serious asphalt, except for the one time at college last year when I got followed home by some creep I passed along the way. I kid you not, this actually was the scariest moment of my 21 year old life. a serious flight or fight situation and what did i do? I flew, flew like the wind back to school, the entire last mile. Needless to say, I'm weary now of running outside alone without someone there to protect me. I don't even need to talk to my running partner. Brian and I speak minimally when we're running. He doesn't know this but I use him merely as protection while we're pounding pavement outside. The creep situation last year gave me even more reason not to trust anyone. As if I dont have enough trust issues anyway to deal with. maybe that's why i have so much trouble getting out the door sometimes. no wait. that's just because I'm fat and lazy.

SO, what is a poor damsel in distress to do!! It's 3:15 and it is clearly too late to drive to the gym and run on the dreadmill. After yesterdays 6 miler on there I dont think I could possibly do another three. I could go to the tiny gym at my apartment complex, however, the only treadmill that they have in there hurts my knees and i might as well be running barefoot outside with no cushion what so ever. I COULD brave going outside and hope that brian notices I'm gone if he wakes up at 4:30 and realizes that I'm not there.

Wait, what is this? I look to my right and I see a sleeping pup. PERFECT. Tika pup, Brian's Husky is the perfect running partner. well.... perfect in the sense that she makes me feel a little more comfortable running outside alone and she doesn't talk back to me and mess up my stride.This all seems well and fine except for the fact that she has one pace... fast. Not that this is a bad thing, but I also have one pace. Snail like. I dont know how well these two mesh because 90% of the time she takes me for a run, occasionally though at the end of our runs, I end up dragging her behind me the rest of the way home.

Running with Tika bear isnt always that bad though. I like it because not only is she a security blanket, but whenever I take her running she's too tired to terrorize leo cat when she gets home. Also, perhaps she'll shed some of the hair that she's currently leaving in patches all over my carpet.

So, off I go a steady (or not so steady) three mile run with tika mush pup in hand... or leash. I think she's feeling extra strong today, she ate enough cat nomz to last her the next three. :)

Windy City here I come!!

2010-02-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

well since I last updated, and since it is past feb 1st, yes, that's right you guessed it, I officially Signed up for CHICAGO MARATHON in October! I'm so excited and a little scared too. okay. petrified. but it's okay I know that I have a great support system here in NC, and I am completely ready for a new challenge in my life.

I've decided that throughout this experience, I'm going to blog all about my training runs every day from day 1 until Marathon day in October. Of course I'll continue blogging sporadically about my CMM endeavors and race day, etc.

So, here goes nothing! Wish me luck and keep track of me okay!?

Chicago means. girl go! Chica-go!

2010-01-29T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've decided that I think that Cross training is my favorite activity in half marathon training. it's a nice break from the norm and as of late I've been swimming laps. Because I feel that triathalon is in my forecast for summer plans, I want to get back into swimming shape being that I have not competitively swam since high school. That is what today was. Cross training. 1000 yard swim. excellent. now onto night shift tonight. I have not slept all day. YIKES.

Yesterdays run was 4 easy (or not so easy as it was completely hilly) miles. I felt good but because of my work schedule, I've been running mostly on the treadmill either just before or after work. while this isnt bad I've tried to amp up the incline to make it so that i feel like i'm running outside. it just isnt the same thing though. yesterdays run though was awesome. 51 degrees a little windy but sunny, I was actually sweating. it was awesome. too bad we're supposed to get 8-10 inches of snow tonight in durham :( I'll probably be running on the DREADMILL all weekend.

Meanwhile. I've been toying with chica-go marathon. OMG. this means the full 26.2. a completely new challenge in my life not just physically but mentally as well. i think that its something that I need to do. CMM will be my third half so I think that it's time. i'd LOVE to BQ some day, but I might have to be up an age bracket for that to happen. I do know though that chica-go is an awesome city (although i've never been) and also is flat and fast. so who knows! we'll see! :) I have to sign up while I'm at work though on sunday night. it fills fast! AH!!

your black and white needs a little bit of red.

2009-12-21T17:05:00.001-05:00

I've had my mind on Nashville lately. Could be because I'm running CMM 1/2 Mary in April. I've been running through training programs in my head and what I want to use and I cannot wait to start training. one small set back however...

THE FLU! aughhh!

I've spent the entire weekend battling the seasonal flu bug and it has completely set me back on all of my running. I havent run in about 4 days and I'm dying however I've got an awful cough still and am still pretty achy all over. not to mention my chest is still tight so I dont plan on running until i'm fully recovered. just to be safe and to not make myself any more sick than I already am. Once i'm over this though, on to 1/2 training. :)

Next on my list after that as well as being on my list of new years resolutions is Chicago Marathon. as soon as I can sign up for that i'm going to. cmm will be my third half so i think that it's due time that i tackle the physical and mental challenge of 26.2. I need to do it and I yearn for the sense of accomplishment throughout training and when I finish.

I just need to get past this stupid bug in my way first. then I can revamp and refocus on what I need to.

post race blues?

2009-11-06T07:55:00.000-05:00

well, now that City of Oaks is over, I feel like I can move on with my life for a while. I'm thinking about doing CMM 1/2 in april and I REALLY want to sign up for Chicago in 2010! so. we'll see how it goes.

I decided while running this past weekend that when I finished the race, that I was pooped, but not extremely pooped and that I probably could have kept going. my legs just wouldnt let me. so either this means that i'm in REALLY good cardiovascular shape or that I didnt push hard enough. I'm willing to believe that its the former rather than the latter as I felt like I was going to vom and my legs were like jello when I reached the 13.1 marker. ANYWAY. this made me feel like I could cardiovascularly do a marathon no problem. i just need to seriously train my bod to endure. It's something that I want to do and do well. i want it. so we'll see.

I'm also toying with a triathlon as well . I'm bringing my bike back from NY with me when i go home in a couple of weeks for the holidays. I'll get the tires swaped out and we'll see what happens! that could be a new obsession / spring time goal. :)

pre race nerves.

2009-10-31T21:24:00.000-04:00

So. City Of Oaks Half is tomorrow in Raleigh... I'm not sure how I feel about this because I feel severely undertrained and underprepared. Like I said before, working nights has messed up my schedule so much that I found it almost impossible to get in a good long run (only about 9 miles is my farthest) since last month. I'll be glad when this is over and I can move on for a while and try something new (tri training?!! or maybe even marathon training. or another half but a little while down the road... maybe CMM in april).

Anyway, I dont have any specific time goal. I just want to finish because I feel like I completely suck. I signed up for the 2:00 time group because I ran PDR in 2:08 and some change. I've heard though that the course is fairly hilly so we'll see how it goes. I might die and have to have someone drag me off the course at mile 9. oy.

Wish me luck!

well, that's settled.

2009-10-08T13:27:00.000-04:00

I just finished my 9 mile run. Really this surprises me that it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be...

As of late, and because I've been working night shift, I've found it hard to really stick to my training program like I was at home. I feel like at the rate I'm going, I'm never going to finish this half marathon in Raleigh that I signed up for on Nov. 1. Hopefully I'll have lots of encouragement from my RW friends that are running the race, and a couple of my friends as well that are running it.

Lately, I've taken a real liking to spin class! Now, I am not much of a biker, but I really like spin and it is making me sorely regret leaving my bike in NY. Thankfully my mom is going to bring it down with her when she and dad visit in a couple of months. It has made me really consider doing a Triathlon. I mean, I used to be a competitive swimmer (i'm not the best but I know how to freestyle) and if I can just get a hang of the bike, i've already got running under my belt! sooo, we'll see how things go.

next topic. What's for dinner? Any suggestions?

whoah baby.

2009-10-07T00:56:00.000-04:00

So, this is my first attempt at a blog again. I hope that with posting about running and things, it will help me keep track and will help keep me motivated. we'll see how it goes, any of you RW folks that are on here and want to add me or whatever you want can :D