Can't Take the Heat?

Our trainer cancelled our track workout tonight due to high heat and humidity. Oh yeah... we like her. In its place I did a quick air-conditioned treadmill workout, threw in some abs, and was showered before 7. Nice. 

Today was a great day. I was contacted for four different writing projects. Maybe that fairy dust I sprinkled in the air is finally taking effect. 

It's going to be a packed month. Our niece arrives tomorrow for a 4-day visit, as she does each summer.  I've got interviews to conduct for articles, a book proposal to get out, sample book chapters to write, a marketing plan to update and implement, and I'm just itching to rip the tired wallpaper off in the front bedroom and transform the space into my writing room. I'm thinking bright, cheerful colors, like a turquoise or an apple green. (Blair? Honey? Pick yourself up off the floor.) And I'll be putting self-esteem and two decades worth of dieting on the line as I attend my 20th high school reunion at the end of the month.

As I said, busy.

Running helps. While it is yet another thing to cross off the "to do" list, it's a focused task. One foot in front of the other. There is no multi-tasking, no checking e-mails, no scanning incoming calls. It's just breath and effort. 

I've got an early morning trail run with my name on it. Nighty-night.

Buzzard Marathon T-Shirt

My friend Dave wore a t-shirt to our run the other day that's too good not to share. It had two big cartoony buzzards sitting atop a telephone pole, looking down at a bunch of runners below them. The pole had a sign taped to it reading, "Mile 24." One buzzard turns to the other and says, "This was a good place last year."

Love it!

Ass Peas

My right leg has been steadily tightening since I started with my running group, so after tonight's hill workout I decided to be kind to it and ice it down. I walked in the front door and through the house to the kitchen, where Blair had dinner waiting. I grabbed the one ice-pack we own out of the freezer, along with a bag of frozen peas. I put the ice-pack under my knee and slid the frozen peas under my right buttock. We ate dinner and chatted about our day.

After dinner, I carried the bag of peas to the freezer.

"What are you doing with those?" asked Blair. 

"Putting them back in the freezer," I replied. 

"Ass peas? You're putting ass peas back in the freezer??"

"Are you kidding me with this?" I asked. "It's not like any of the food actually touched my body. There is a plastic barrier between us."

Blair made a face and shuddered.

"How about this," I offered. "We'll save the ass peas for guests. They'll never know."

He brightened. "Brilliant. I love it."

So dear blog readers, don't say you weren't warned. If you come to our house and we serve you peas, I would think twice before I ate them. 

And as my runs pick up, you might want to reconsider the frozen cauliflower and broccoli florets, too. Cheers.

New Year's in July

My running group fires up this week with our first "getting to know you" run on Tuesday, July 1st. That means it's time to get serious about marathon training which involves a whole series of "goals and resolutions" that musn't, under any circumstances, be broken, the exception being if I am really, really, craving chocolate. =)

I'm running the Richmond, VA marathon in November. My goal is to run under a 4-hour marathon. I don't care if my time is 3:59:59, I just want a "3" to kick off the number. To obtain that goal, I've rejoined my running group which means group runs on Tues/Thurs/Sundays. I'll also throw in a trail run with friends on Wednesdays and--if I have the stamina for it--another run on Saturday.

I'm determined to follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate II Marathon Training Program (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/inter2.html) which requires a Saturday Tempo run that's half the distance of my Sunday long run. The Tempo run is to help me increase my speed, which is sadly lacking. I'm a little concerned about the time commitment involved here. Running aside, that's a lot of drive time and I'm pretty much spent after most Sunday long runs. But I'm going to hold that "3" in my mind...

Another resolution is to eat healthier. I don't do a bad job now but I'm going to work on my snacking. Right now I'm prone to pick up some form of bread, cracker, cereal for a snack, and I want to replace that with reaching for fruits and vegetables instead.

I also want to lose 10-15 lbs. Five pounds is a no-brainer, 10 lbs is do-able, and 15 is a bit of a fantasy but it's early enough in the process that I dare to dream. Make no mistake--I don't think I can lose 15 lbs and keep it off. But I think the rule is you run 1 minute faster per marathon for every pound shed. Losing that excess weight is a huge help for a race.

I've also started ab work. Bleah!!! I'd rather run a mile than do a sit-up. But my lower back aches every step after 15 miles and that's due to lack of core strength.

And then of course, I want to keep up with my yoga for flexibility. Realistically, I'll only be able to go 2x/week. But that and stretching ought to keep me limber enough.

Whew! It sounds like a lot and it is, but I'm excited. I so want to nail that marathon time this year. And that will require training at a faster pace than I did last year, with more discipline on diet and core training.

But this weekend I'm doing what every dieter shouldn't. I'm throwing myself a "To hell with it, I'm eating whatever I want" weekend. And I have a package of chocolate-chip cookie dough in my cupboard to prove it.

Cheers!