A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure

So, back on my life blog, I tried to do a weekly blog post on the 30 Day Song Challenge. I kept it up for a while, but no one wanted to play along, so it recently died. I'm sad about it. Maybe I'll keep doing it alone, anyway. My favorite week was "A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure," and since it relates directly to running, here it is!

I chose this week's topic in honor of my marathon playlist, which also happens to be the reason for the lateness of this week's blog post. I know, I should have been a good blogger and written it ahead of time, but my mind was full of marathon-weekend excitement. More on that to come later this week!

My running playlist is hard evidence that I'm stuck in the 90s. I have everything from Beastie Boys to Kris Kross, Young MC to MC Hammer, Salt and Peppa to Vanilla Ice. And those aren't my guilty pleasures. I'm not the tiniest bit ashamed to admit that I totally rock out to Sisqo and Sir Mix-a-Lot while I run up the steep hills of Cincinnati.

Nope, not one little bit. In fact, I've even been known to get up and do my own rendition of Ice, Ice Baby on Karaoke night.

So what DOES constitute a guilty pleasure for me?

Ke$ha. Yes, Ke$ha. The "dollar sign girl." I remember the first time I heard one of her songs on the radio - it was that god-awful one about brushing teeth with bottles of jack and going for guys who look like Mick Jagger. I thought to myself "Who IS this lady, and WTF is WRONG with her??"

Then I saw her on TV, and my confusion grew.



It was like Mungojerrie meets Jem and the Holograms.



But after a while, I found myself tapping my hands on the steering wheel and singing along. Oh, no.

Then I heard it. "Take it Off." A total party song that I just KNEW my old clubberific roommate from college would have been all over if it had only been on the radio 10 years earlier.

And it was catchy. And it had a beat. A great beat for running. A great energy for running hills. And oh my goodness, it was so much fun to turn the car stereo speakers up way louder than a 29-year-old should and sing along to the (pretty awful) lyrics. (not with Charlie in the car, of course)

So here it is, for your amusement.



Because come on, we all know of a place that fits the description. Glitter on the floor? I'm so there. Well, not really. In fact, maybe I like this song so much because I never was a clubberific party girl. My roommate would spend her Friday and Saturday nights getting all dressed up in tube tops and halters, heavy eye-shadow, curlers, blah blah blah. I was perfectly content to drink cheap keg beer with the guys across the street, who were much more Dave Matthews than Ke$ha.

In real life, you'd be hard-pressed to get me to admit that I'm a closet Ke$ha fan. Please don't tell my husband that I spent 99 cents to download the single. He still thinks it was Rage Against the Machine.

Hey, I Put Some New Shoes On, and Suddenly Everything is Right

Goodbye, clunky old ProGrids...




Helllllloooooooo Kinvaras!



I have been wanting lusting over these (much lighter) shoes for a long, long time. I've been going to the running store pretty much weekly to buy gels for my long runs, and I always stop over at the shoe wall to visit them, imagining the day when they would be able to come home with me to be my New Running Shoes. I'm at that point where there are only seven weeks standing between me and the Air Force Marathon - running low on time to get enough miles in so that I can wear these shoes for the race. Yesterday, they were finally mine. Tonight, I will run in them. And I'm so excited about running in them, that I just might run outside rather than on the treadmill, even though it will still be in the 90s at 8:00 this evening. I just. can't. wait.



As a bonus, the guy at the store taught me the "correct" way to tie my shoes so that they won't come untied while I run. Want me to share?




Also, big props to my running buddy, who survived her first Olympic-distance triathlon! Way to go! You can read about it on her blog. She almost had me convinced to do a mini tri with her next weekend, but I decided that shoes were more important :)

Race Recap - Redlegs Race for Home

I think I need to play the lottery - I'm now 4 for 4 in rain on raceday.

This past Saturday was the Redlegs Race for Home. "But Jene!" I can hear you thinking, "You're a YANKEE fan! What are you doing running the REDS race??" Well, I'll tell you what I was doing. I was going to run in the 5K with BFF, and then we were going to sit back and watch our kids run the "Gapper Kids' Fun Run" together. It was going to be my first 5K, so an automatic personal best. But Life got in the way, as it so often does, and BFF couldn't run the race with me, so I switched to the (much earlier) 10K. It lined up better with my marathon training, anyway.


My first Reds shirt. I've been here for 15 years and I've managed to go without. If it wasn't a nice dri-fit technical tee, I'd probably make it into a dishrag. Just kidding, BFF! They're my national league team ;)

I've only run one other 10K, back in February, and I finished with a time of 54:28. That was fast for me. Really fast. Not so fast in the world of running, but faster than I'm used to, especially since I'd been "seriously running" only a whopping 3 months by that point. I didn't think I'd be able to beat it, let alone beat it on a steamy summer morning, so I didn't really set much of a time goal for myself on this one. I was just going to run it and see what happened.

So we all lined up, some guy sang the national anthem, some lady counted down from 10, and we were off! The first mile flew by, and somewhere around the second mile marker I realized that I had a pretty damn good shot at a new PR. I was averaging 8:20/mile, much faster than the 8:38/mile of my previous race. Then at 2.5ish, my shoe came untied, and I lost 10 critical seconds stopping to tie it. My laces were soaked, and it took me three tries to get it right. But still, only ten seconds.

I saw the 6 Mile marker right after the trip back across the Ohio from Kentucky, and kicked it into high gear. I LOVE that adrenaline surge when you know the finish line is close! When I rounded the corner for the last .1 mile, I looked up and saw that I had a shot at making it in under 52 minutes, so I found an even higher gear and sprinted across the finish line, where I promptly started looking for a trash can to puke in. There were none to be found - I was looking frantically around for a place to leave my breakfast that wouldn't ruin anyone's shoes. In the time it took me to rush over to the wall by the river, the nausea had passed, and I was ok.

My official time was 51:49, good enough for 15th of 146 in my division. I guess Insanity and speed training have really paid off.

No good race pics, just these thumbnails that I stole from the web. Yes, I wore my Yankee hat in the Reds race. It's my rainy day good luck charm.

TinyPic?! More like TeenyPic!!



I'm in trouble, though. I'm definitely addicted to the medals that you get in marathons. Ice cream cups pale in comparison.

Marathon Recap Part 3 - The Longest 10K

Note: This was the part of the race that really took a toll on me, mentally. I scribbled down as much as I could the evening of the race, so that I wouldn't forget all of the raw emotions (defeat and elation and everything in between) swirling around in my head. I left it all in there for this post, including the plethora of f-bombs, because I obviously felt, at the time, that certain points needed that emphasis. Besides, I'm from Jersey. That's how we roll.

There was a water stop just past Mile 20. I reached for the cup, my legs slowed down, and I suddenly found myself walking. It felt completely involuntary, like my body was entering survival mode and forcing me to slow down, regardless of what my brain and heart wanted it to do. Walking?!?! Are you kidding me? I'm here to RUN a marathon, not to WALK it! But that water tasted so good, and I knew that I was making the best choice. I counted 20 steps and then forced myself to start running again. One foot in front of the other. Just keep moving forward. I thought to myself, "You have gone through CHILDBIRTH! If you can do that, you can do ANYTHING!" But for that, at least I had an epidural.

A little farther up the road, I saw one of the Spot coaches running in my direction. I croaked out "I need help!" as he passed, and he quickly darted over and matched my (pathetic) pace. He asked what was wrong, and I realized that I didn't even know how to answer him. "I'm tired."

That's the best you can do? No shit you're tired, you've been RUNNING for 20 miles. "I just need someone to talk to."

And that was the truth. Even though there were hundreds and hundreds of people lining the streets, I needed someone who KNEW what I was going through. Someone who had been to the wall and back, someone who had lived to tell about it. He ran with me for a few minutes, telling me that it was almost over and that I was going to finish and it was going to be great. He handed me off to a second coach when he got to the end of his territory. The second coach was just as awesome. He asked me if it was my first marathon, and I said yes. He reminded me that most people don't even bother to start training for marathons, let alone actually run them. He told me that I was making great time for my first marathon. Everything I needed to hear. Then he suggested that I consider walking through the water stops, so that I could make sure I wasn't getting dehydrated. I almost cried with relief - "I have been!" I practically shouted. He gave me a high five and sent me on my way. I weakly jogged up a sad little hill just before Mile 22 and walked through that waterstop, too. Then I pushed myself to start running again. That was what I had been afraid of - that once I started walking, I would never be able to start running again. But I did. I walked through two more waterstops at Miles 23 and 24, my knees cramping with every step - it was a brutal irony, when I walked my knees were absolutely killing me - running made them feel better, but oh god, it was so hard. It was also extremely disheartening to watch my average pace climb from a 9:10 to a 9:40, and seeing the 10-minute miles start popping up on my Garmin was just horrible. But I had to finish. I couldn't come this far and then give up. I couldn't come this far, and tell this many people, and set this lofty of a goal, and then fall short. I was going to drag my ass across that finish if it fucking killed me.

Somewhere on Eastern Avenue, deep in the weeds.


I eventually passed the 25 Mile marker, and I knew that the Finish Line was within reach. There was one more short hill, so I massaged my knees and forced my legs to start moving faster. The hill is barely a blip on the elevation chart, but it felt like I was trying to run up Mount Fucking Everest. I made it up the hill, and passed the 26 Mile marker.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

FINALLY. And it was right.freaking.there. I wanted to stop so badly, wanted to just slow down and crawl, or, even better, lay down in the street, but I told myself YOU WILL NOT WALK ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. YOU HAVE COME TOO FAR TO FAIL. YOU WILL RUN ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.

Me at Mile 26


I had tunnel vision. By the time I heard Charlie yelling out to me from the side of the road, just before the finish line, it was too late and I was already passing him by. I looked over just in time to see him cheering me on with Toddler Charlie in the stroller. I think I tried to yell back to him, maybe even tried to wave, but I don't think anything intelligible came out. Then all of a sudden I saw the blue timing mats only steps away from me, and I did the only logical thing - I raised my hands in the air and screamed yelped in victory relief.



And crossed the line. I looked up to see my BFF waiting there for me, having already finished her leg of the relay. I gave her a giant, sweaty, gross hug (more accurately, I probably just collapsed on her in what I thought was a hug - sorry, Alison!) and told her that I was never going to run another marathon again.

I got my medal and my lovely tinfoil jacket, and then I saw FOOD. OMG! Food is the BEST THING EVER! Poor Alison didn't know what she was in for, waiting around for me to finish. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, so I made her go to every table to see what they had. I grabbed a banana and a bag of sun chips. SUN CHIPS! I LOVE SUN CHIPS! BEST EVER! But then I saw HO HOs! OMG! HO HOS ARE THE BEST FOOD EVER INVENTED!! I completely devoured them, not even bothering to take them out of the package. Just tore the top off and did the best I could. (I don't even like Ho Hos.) We got our picture taken together and then we went in search of our bags.


(it's ok to post this, I'm buying a copy)

The bag pick-up felt like another mile away. I don't know who put it all the fucking way out in the middle of nowhere, but I was cursing his name by the time we found it. All I wanted to do was to take my shoes off. I grabbed my stuff and then sat down on the ground. Holy cow, sitting down was the BEST THING EVER INVENTED! My flip flops weren't sitting right on top, so I did the obvious thing and turned my bag upside down to dump everything out until I found them. I ripped off my shoes and socks and had to literally pull my toes apart to get the flip flops on. That's how cramped they were. But OMG, sweet fucking relief. Fuck the HoHos, FLIP FLOPS ARE THE BEST THING EVER INVENTED!!!!

And that's about where it ends. I hobbled home and took a nap, then went out to dinner to celebrate with my family. I was moving slower than my 75-year-old grandmother, who was also in attendance. I had a Stella and some deep dish pizza. Yum. By the end of the day, my declaration that I would never run another marathon was a fuzzy memory, and I had already texted my running buddy to start talking about training for the US Air Force Marathon coming up in September. Yes, I AM that crazy.



A week later, and I'm going through some serious Marathon Withdrawal. I did it, and I can do it again, and this time I can do it better! It was so much fun, and I get so nostalgic when I drive those roads to get to work. I think about where I was and what I was feeling and what it was like to be a part of that energy. And this is where I have to, again, mention the crowd support. There were tons of people out all along the stretch of Eastern Avenue and Riverside Drive where I thought I was going to meet the end of my marathon dreams. They just kept shouting and yelling and telling us that we could do it! Calling us out by name, telling us not to give up, telling us that we looked great. At one point I even laughed, knowing that they were totally full of shit on that one. I certainly did not look great. I felt like I was going to collapse, and I'm sure the agony was reflected in my face and body language. I knew my posture was total crap at that point. But they cheered, all the same. It was amazing. There were belly dancers, people in costumes, groups handing out hawaiian leis and flashing peace signs, a guy channeling Sinatra, and a house that was serving Jager and donuts.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)


Of course, I had to make it official as soon as I got home.




When all was said and done, it took me 4:13:00 to run the course. I was 84/326 in my age division (women 25-29), 376/1785 for all women, and 1428/4298 overall. The average finishing time was 4:38:32. Pretty much everyone I trained with was way off their goals, and they all blamed it on the humidity. Even the most seasoned runners, with multiple marathons under their belts. I beat myself up about it for a few days, but I'm over it now. There is no doubt that I left it ALL out there. I couldn't have pushed any harder than I did. And that's what matters.

I finished 7 minutes faster than my "A" goal of 4:20:00, but 6 minutes slower than my "B" goal of 4:07. We're not even going to talk about my "C" goal, except to say that I fully expect to reach it at the USAF Marathon on September 17th! 130 days to go :)

Marathon Recap Part 2 - The Drive, the Pig Pens, and the First 20 Miles

Did I mention how awesome my family is? No? Well, they are. My aunt and grandmother flew in from New Jersey to cheer me on at the Flying Pig. Not only did they make the 600-mile trip, but their plane was delayed and they didn't get to their hotel until 3:00 Saturday morning. That didn't stop my Auntie Ann from getting up with me at 4:00 to drive me down to the Starting Line. She picked me up at 4:45 and we were on our way. I forced myself to eat my waffle, even though my stomach was doing backflips. It felt like I was eating sawdust. I checked the weather again. The rain was definitely headed our way.

When we got downtown, I hopped out of the car and went to find the bag check buses. Ann continued on to find my mom, because they were planning on following me around the city so that they could cheer for me at various points on the course. I knew that I would also be seeing my BFF around Mile 6 and my Running Buddy around Mile 14. I checked my stuff and then made my way toward the stadium to meet up with my running group. We wrote our names on strips of neon duct tape to stick to our race bibs, monitored the rainfall, and tied and re-tied our shoes while we chatted nervously about our plans for the race.

When 6:30 started to draw closer, we made our way out of the stadium and down toward the start corrals, or Pig Pens. My projected finish time of 4:00-4:30 earned me a place in Pig Pen C. As we made our way through the crowds, we heard the opening ceremonies begin. I panicked about not being in my Pig Pen and briefly considered hopping the fence, but then images of broken legs and sprained ankles shook me out of it, and I just kept going until I found an opening in the fence. "Blah blah blah, national anthem, blah blah blah, 30 SECONDS TO START!!, blah blah blah, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! I don't even remember if there was a start gun or not.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

All I knew was that the crowd began to move forward. We shuffled along, foot by foot, slowly picking up the pace, until we were RUNNING! I crossed the Starting Line and hit the Garmin. Holy Cow! I'm running a fucking marathon!


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

All of a sudden I was overcome with emotion and excitement, and I could feel my eyes starting to sting. I heard someone calling my name, and looked over to see my mom, her boyfriend, and my aunt waving and yelling from the crowd. I gave them a shout as I passed by. We were off! The first mile ticked away as we started over the first bridge. I looked down at my Garmin - right on track. I tried to take it all in - the excitement of the crowd, the shouts from the spectators, the fact that I was just one of thousands of people hauling ass through the streets of Cincinnati. I try and try to remember it, but it's all a blur. I was flying high.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

Second mile ticked by, and I was really happy with my pace. I kept telling myself over and over "Just keep it consistent. You don't have to push. Slow down a little, you'll need it at the end." Shortly after Mile 3, when we were crossing the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, I knew that I was going to go for it. I was going to give it everything I had and try for that miracle 4:00 finish.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

It was still cool and rainy, but it was just the perfect combination for running a long, long way. We passed the bread factory, and I remember one of the other runners commenting about how good it smelled. So warm and inviting. Garmin beeped to tell me that we had gone 5 miles, and it was time to eat. I pulled out my Chomps and choked them down, grabbing a cup of water at the next stop. Hmm, that didn't feel quite right, I thought, as my stomach cramped up for a moment and I thought I was going to be sick. But I kept going, and the yucky feeling passed. I knew the hills were just ahead, and I kept reminding myself to slow down, take them slow. "Equal effort, not equal pace!" BFF would be waiting for me at the top of the first big hill, and then after that there would be one more steep climb before the rest was all downhill.

We turned the corner and I saw Gilbert Ave Hill looming large in front of me. The climb began. There was a band playing under the cover of the Greyhound Station at the base of the hill. I thought of my sister and wished she had been able to make the trip, too. There was a water stop towards the top of the first hill leg, staffed by a local running club. There was one big guy rapping for us - "It's Ga-to-RADE, Ga-to-RADE, Ga-to-RADE, in the GREEN cup!" I laughed out loud as I passed. I laughed even harder when I saw Spider Man handing out water cups.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

I started looking for my BFF as we ran into Eden Park. I was kind of sad to see that the relay station was ridiculously crowded, and I realized that I didn't stand a chance in hell at picking her out of the crowd, or vice versa. Onward! I turned my attention to the next piece of the climb, still reminding myself to slow down and take it easy. I was on the right track. Made it up to the top of the hill, and completely forgot to look to my right so that I could catch the amazing city view. I totally missed the most picturesque part of the course.

Me at Mile 6.5


Another mile of incline, and the worst of the course was over! The Half/Full Marathon split was just ahead, too. I got a high five from a spectator wearing a giant blue wig and holding a "High Five Guy" sign, then turned right at the split to follow the Full Marathon course.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

It felt good! I'm really doing it! I'm really running a marathon! And I'm going to smash my time goal, too! We ran past the Running Spot store, the home of my training group, where I got a high five from the guy in the Spot costume.

Then it was into Hyde Park.


(Source: Flying Pig Marathon)

I had picked up the pace a bit after the hills, and was still right on track to meet my goal. Garmin reminded me that it was time to eat, so I grabbed my second bunch of Chomps and went to town. Again, my stomach started bubbling and I instantly felt sick. Well, that's not good. I concentrated really hard on not puking and managed to pull through, but I was stuck - I needed that stuff to get through the race! I only ate half of them, figuring I'd be ok for a little while longer.

Me at Mile 12ish


Hyde Park came and went, including the super steep but mercifully short Paxton Hill and the 13.1 mile marker. Whee! Halfway there! Right on pace, too, with an average of 9:18/mile. Perfectly set up for negative splits and on track to meet all three of my time goals. Oh my, how wrong I was.

We headed into Mariemont. Around a few corners, up another short and steep hill, and then I saw my Running Buddy! Well, actually, I saw her car before I saw her. I smiled when I saw her triathalon bike stuffed into the backseat. I could hear her yelling - "Is that my Running Buddy?? It is!" She was carrying a "Free Hugs" sign, and at that point there was nothing that I needed more than a Free Hug. I had just tried to eat again, and my stomach was still staging a revolt. But I was too afraid to stop for a hug, because I thought that if I stopped running, I would never start again. And I still had a long way to go. 11 Miles, to be exact. The rain had stopped, and a sticky humidity was settling in to take its place. And it was hot. 65 degrees. Which doesn't sound very hot, but when you add in the humidity and the fact that we were on a fucking marathon course, it was HOT. Someone was handing out twizzlers, and I grabbed one in desperation, hoping that my stomach wouldn't reject the innocent candy the way it had rejected my Chomps. Complete failure. Even worse, my mouth was so dry that I could barely even chew the damn thing. I did something I never do - I threw it on the ground. I'm sorry, course clean-up crew - the mere smell of that cherry twizzler had me on the verge of throwing up. Please forgive me.

A little loop around town square, an obnoxiously steep hill in the worst place possible, and suddenly we were heading into the most difficult part of the course - Mile 17.5 and on was nothing but a looooooooooong stretch of flat road. I tried, again, to eat - one last ditch effort to get some kind of food calories in my body - but again, I couldn't manage to choke down more than one. I knew I was starting to get dehydrated, too. I never had quite mastered the whole drinking while running skill. I knew that I wasn't getting nearly enough water. I was sweating a ridiculous amount, but it had started letting up. I was covered in cakey salt. The humidity felt like it was pressing in on me, and I needed water in a bad way. The only option left was to walk through the next waterstop. It was coming up soon, after the 20-mile marker.

Marathon Recap Part 1 - The Expo, the Piglet, and the Antici... pation

If I was told once during marathon training, I was told a thousand times - a marathon is really just a 20 mile warm-up for a 10K. I didn't really understand just how true that was until I was right in the thick of things, and the idea was reinforced once again when I finally sat down to write up my Flying Pig recap. I started writing with Mile 20, while the thoughts and emotions were fresh in my mind. It ended up being really, really long for only 10K of the race, so the recap of the entire event will come in three parts.

Part 1 - The Expo, the Piglet, and the Antici... pation

I dragged Husband Charlie with me to the Flying Pig Expo on Friday afternoon. He had very little desire to go, but I needed someone with me to calm my nerves. I also needed someone to take pictures. First stop was to pick up my race packet and get my bib number. I made Charlie take a picture so that I could post it on Facebook. I was so excited!



We wandered around the expo, checking out all the cool stuff. I was able to resist buying things, for the most part - I needed to buy some Gu Chomps for the race, and while I was visiting the Spot booth I decided to go ahead and pick up my "26.2" car magnet. But other than that, I managed to leave empty-handed, except for the swag that I got as part of my registration - a tech shirt, a Flying Pig backpack, and a race poster.



On the way out, we visited the Pig that would be guarding the Finish Swine. I gave it a pat for good luck.



Then it was on to a late lunch at Nothing But Noodles, because we had coupons to eat there for free and it was nice and carby. Went to retrieve Toddler Charlie from school after naptime, and was surprised with this awesome poster that he and his friends had made to wish me good luck on Sunday!



How cute is that??

Tried and failed to go to bed at a reasonable hour, but slept reasonably well. I was up bright and early on Saturday - too much energy to go back to sleep once I opened my eyes at 6:00. It was Flying Piglet day, and my aunt and my grandma had finally gotten into their hotel a few hours earlier.

Charlie's Piglet registration included a super cute race t-shirt and his very own bib number. He was very upset about his number - in his last race, all of the kids had been given "1" as their race number. He wanted his number 1. We finally convinced him that this number was ok, too - that it was even better, because it was his own number. I don't think he really believed us, but we climbed into the car and left for the race.

The 5K and 10K races were taking place that morning, and the city was FULL of people. Tens of thousands of people. It was madness. It was also really cool, knowing that I would be running in the main event down those same streets the next day!

Charlie waited patiently for his race to start.



He did a great job, and even agreed to re-create the race so that we could get an action shot. Check out that super cool Flying Piglet medal!



After the race was over, we went home for lunch and naptime. My BFF was running a relay leg, so we had her and her kids over for a giant pasta dinner. Well, I had Chipotle, and everyone else had pasta, anyway.

They surprised me with some super cute signs that they had made to cheer me on in the race the next day.



BFF also gave me a good luck present - a really pretty bracelet with a charm on it, with the most perfect quote for the occasion:



I never wear jewelry while I work out, because I'm always afraid to lose it, but I decided that I just HAD to wear the bracelet for the race the next day. I wrapped it around my Garmin so that I wouldn't forget.

And then it was time for bed. I actually climbed into bed around 9:00 and set my alarm for 4:00 the next morning so that I would be ready when Auntie Ann came to pick me up at 5. I read until about 10, when my eyes felt like they were heavy enough to sleep. I was wrong. I tossed and turned and worried and tossed and turned some more, finally falling asleep just after midnight.

I felt like I had only slept for 10 minutes when the alarm went off, but I was wide awake anyway. I jumped out of bed and hit the shower. I turned on the weather (still showing rain), got dressed, double- and triple-checked my gear bag, checked a fourth time for my Garmin and my iPod, grabbed my waffle out of the toaster, and headed out the door.

Yes, I'm Here.

30 Day Song Challenge has to be pushed back a day, while I recover. That's right, I'm officially a Marathoner! Full story and song of the week to follow, soon!

Running Randoms

It's Marathon Weekend! If all goes as planned, I'll officially be a marathoner 48 hours from now. I hope to cross the finish line right around 10:45 on Sunday morning. Look at your clocks and think of me!



I'm heading off to the marathon expo with Mary the Bear in tow.



Mary the Bear comes from the brilliant mind of Little Miss Runshine, a running blogger that I stumbled across a few months ago. She is being shipped off to first-time marathoners as a good luck charm, in exchange for pictures of Mary out and about at the Marathon festivities and a write-up of the race in Mary's Running Passport. How cool is that?




Did you watch the Royal Wedding? I really had no interest, but when I went downstairs at 5:30 this morning (couldn't sleep anymore because of the nerves!) it was on pretty much every channel. I ended up watching it, and it was actually somewhat neat to see. The costumes and hats were just amazing. I felt like I was watching a Disney movie.



I have FOUR days off! Aunt and Grandma are coming to town this evening so that they can watch me run the race on Sunday. So excited to see them!



I'm feeling rather shallow today, thanks to my brain being preoccupied with running-related things. Nota put the mindset into words better than I possibly could at this point! Everything is pretty much mush. I would be useless at work, anyway :)

Have a great weekend!

1542

OMG OMG OMG OMG - we got our Flying Pig bib number emails last night!

1542 - finally, I get an even number. Even better, it's a nice arithmetic number: 1+5=4+2. It's the simple things :)

I'm trying really hard not to look at the weather forecast that's telling us about the rain and storms we're going to get that morning. Trying, and failing miserably, because I check for updates every few hours.

My good friend (and former P90X coach!) Lynn sent me a super cute turtle bag to commemorate my first marathon. She packed it full of gatorade, too. It's so nice to have the support of my peeps.



My running buddy is volunteering with an organization that's helping with the Pig, so she'll be out on the course somewhere around mile 14 - I can't wait to see her!

I'm just hoping that the rain stays away so that my family can come down to watch. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I haven't had anyone able to watch either of my two races, and it would be really nice to have someone waiting for me at the finish line. Of course, it was much colder then, and I wouldn't have wanted Husband and Toddler Charlies to be standing out in the cold and rain for two hours waiting for me, anyway. My BFF is running on a relay team, but there's no guarantee that she'll be back to the finish line in time to meet me. It will be nice to see her after the race!

I'm trying to maintain my sanity by making lists, as fellow Pig runner Nota suggested. Between the lists, the t-shirts that I have to finish for Team Rachel (I have a hot date with the iron and some transfers tonight), and my Nook, I have some decent distractions.

My Nook? Yes, I joined the ranks of the evil e-readers. I have good reasons for taking that path, but that's a post for another day. The first book I borrowed from the Ohio library system was Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. It's absolutely delightful.



So pretty. I'm going to turn it into a Tablet.

Running Randoms - Shoutout to my Peeps!

Happy Just OK Friday! (how's that for some cheesy secular humor?)

While my mind is too focused on marathon running to post about anything serious or relevant (and I've got a ton of stuff on my "list of things I want to blog about," I just can't be disciplined enough to get it together), I'm going to enjoy a mindless Friday morning and frag about Peeps. Yes, Peeps. That (supposedly) marvelous marshmallowy delight that used to come around only once a year during the Easter season but has suddenly morphed into a year-round culinary option.



I think I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't like Peeps. I've just never been a big fan. Partly, I'm sure, because they're shaped like animals. I don't eat things shaped like animals. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy them from a pop-culture phenomenon perspective, though!

I also love to use the word "Peeps" to refer to my homies, mostly just because I'm really too old to be throwing around terms like that and I like to make my teenage cousin roll her eyes at me.



Let's start at the beginning. Did you know that Peeps have been around since the 1950s? True story. They used to be individually hand-shaped, but the process was automated once the Just Born candy company took over. Ever wonder how Peeps are actually made? The Chicago Tribune put together a neat slide-show that takes you through the process step-by-step.


That's a lot of peeps! (Getty Images)

If you're feeling adventurous, try making your own. My friend over at Beantown Baker did it, so you can, too. Or don't, just click over to admire her awesome Peepiness.

Peep Show!


What would happen if you used these little marshmallow creatures to re-create Star Wars, Episode IV? Apparently this was a burning question for some, because now you can find out.




Perhaps the most classic of fun Peeps sites, Peep Research documents a variety of experiments designed to test the resilience of our marshmallow friends. (Caution, graphic images may not be suitable for children who worry about the well-being of the chicks)


While we usually think of Peeps as pleasant little colorful peace-loving beings, there are counter-cultures within the Peep society that enjoy a good jousting tournament every now and then. Only the strong survive.




Think Peeps are only good as Marshmallow treats? Serious Eats begs to differ. They have an entire collection of Peep recipes, including Peepshi, Peepza, and Deep Fried Peeps - because everything is better fried.


And, of course, for the most irreverent among us, The Passion of the Peeps. (Only including a link to this one so as not to inadvertently offend anyone.)

Happy wonderful glorious FRIDAY! Marathon is a week away. Excuse me while I die of anxiety.

And For My Next Trick....

Sticking with the BeachBody gang, but changing it up from P90X. Very excited to get started! Thinking of giving myself a whole week of doing nothing post-marathon.

The books that came with the plan are providing me with plenty of reading material to keep my mind on things other than running, running shoes, running shorts, running bag, transportation to the starting line, checking my bag, getting into the right Pig Pen, proper fueling, chipotle, re-organizing my marathon playlist, obsessing (and I mean obsessing) over the marathon route, hydration, Team Rachel t-shirt disaster, how to not actually stop at water stops, whether I should try for a sub 4-hour run or stick with my 4:08 goal, what a tool I looked like in the clip they showed of me running during my interview, how Charlie is going to get Charlie V2, my grandma, and my aunt down to the finish line to watch me cross, what the weather will be like, when I should go to the expo, how bad the "taper period" sucks, where I'm going to find time to fit in long runs for the fall marathon I want to do, missing my running buddy, toenails, girl issues (may end up POAS just to remove all doubts), whether to buy a new shirt, what to iron on the back of my shirt for race day, why did Saturday's run suck so bad, what happens if the actual race sucks the way Saturday's run did, Gilbert Ave and Eden Park, Columbia Parkway, cheering stations, text updates, reading the race packet over and over again, the finisher's medal, the Afterparty.............................