A little Boxer 500 5K?

This little dandy of a race is occurring near my parents' house this weekend; I am totally thinking I want to do it.*

Wearing a pair of boxer briefs. Like these.**

Because, why not?!***

*this is Omaha; I don't have high hopes for a specimen like this to show up ready to race. But a girl can hope.

**top right picture? Totally stuffed.

***because seeing this guy's tiny little toned ass makes me realize I need to get out there and get some speedwork in to burn off my own slightly-not-this-tiny-ass. Like, ASAP. Plus, the race looks small; I could win hardware.

The Non-Blogging Blogger

Yeah, yeah, I've been all anti-bloggy lately, I know. I've just been like, doing a lot of stuff¹ in the real world and the thought of blogging made my eyebrows twitch, so I basically abstained. But now I am twitching TO blog again, so la-dee-dah here I am again, alighting like a little peanut butter-encrusted² fairy back upon blogland.

I have been running, more or less, the last month. Though I definitely wouldn't call what I am doing training by any stretch of the imagination, I have mainly been running for fun (hey, it's above 30 degrees! I should go outside and enjoy it! I think I will!) and friendship (running group) and occasionally to purge myself of the peanut butter coating (horrid indoor track punishment sessions). It's been working out well. My foot has held strong and all traces of the Evil Stress Fracture are gone. I would like to think that I've been much more aware in my running since that horrid event, but I am not sure of the reality of that. But I will say that I haven't done any stupid things like two-a-days or going longer than I am ready for, or heck, even going sub-8 minute miles (I know, sloth). But I am calling this my "off season" in preparation for what is definitely going to be on my plate next spring: the Colorado Colfax Marathon on May 16. Depending on how the early spring goes, I may also visit my BFF in Louisiana and tackle the Mardi Gras Marathon on February 28, just for fun and for the experience. But Colfax is definitely ON.

And finally, the Highlands Ranch Running Club (HRRC-yo) is finally legit with a blog of its very own....perhaps we can spice it up with some guest bloggers?! Any volunteers?

The holidays are just around the corner, and with it New Years Resolutions (I suppose this year will be Year of the Marathon Redux) and I am already thinking about what else 2010 will hold...the last couple of years have been big goal getters for me...what will I do with 2010? Hmmm....

¹One large task that has had me blog-averse has been a curricular book-writing project. After writing all day for work, writing for blog didn't appeal. Plus I haven't been racing or doing anything runningly-interesting so I didn't see the point. Sue me.

²I have had the most insanely ridiculous obsession with peanut butter the past month, that I have completely given up trying to curb it. I am all-peanut-butter, all-the-time (and NOT just the m&m's folks). Which is really only inconvenient for my Shortie1, who is deathly allergic. Whatev.

Wild Hair Up My...

Yeah so, I am officially signed up for the Wild West Relay team I was considering joining. My crazy, endurance-mad coworker (who I will not name, but if you know me and happen to know who he is, you know he is an awesome but crazy-ultra-man who does things like 24-hour ski-race UP mountains and such) talked me and a couple of others into it...and $133 later, I am officially running slot 12 of the 200-mile race from Ft. Collins to Steamboat Springs on August 7-8. WTF I am thinking, I don't know.

This is the little bucket of madness I have subscribed myself to filling.

Ultra running has always sounded so ridiculously ridiculous to me, yet by the time I got to the end of reading Born to Run, it had begun to sound completely and utterly natural. A measly 26.2 miles is chump change compared to 125 miles through Death Valley in the summer. Or running down a deer, you know, for dinner or a midday snack. So obviously, it was in the wake of finishing this book that I fell prey to my convincing coworker and decided that the Wild West race was small fries and that I was totally(!) up(!) for(!) it(!!).

Now after a week of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 12th guessing my decision, I'm not so sure (too late, sister, you already paid and the team is counting on you)...I don't do well without out enough sleep...this is 24 hours in a van with 4 strangers...minimal sleep...no showers...sweaty feet...random food choices...limited bathroom facilities, and what if I don't like my van-mates? That's a lot of hours in a small metal box, with sweaty bodies, if they are annoying...

I'm sure they will be fine and it will turn out to be great fun; my slot is actually only about 13 miles total (3-5-5), it's rated a level "3" on a scale of 1-12, so it is well within my abilities. I bet I'll enjoy it in the end. And if not, hey at least I tried and I have a good excuse to get out of it next year.

I Got Schooled by a Flying Frenchman

I ran on Saturday with 3 guys. The plan was that three of us were doing a 13 mile loop on the trails, and the fourth guy was just doing an out-and-back 6 miles. After taking Thursday/Friday off for my back pain last week (hoping it would magically disappear), by Saturday it wasn't really better but wasn't really any worse, either...I was stretching a lot and I figured I would try the run; it would either make it better or worse. I wasn't sure which.

The four of us had agreed to run a 9:30 pace for the run. But though probably in his 60's, the Flying Frenchman (not to be confused with a Flying Dutchman , of any variety...) is a pretty fast runner (like a ridiculous 3-hour marathoner) and as soon as we started, after we chatted about what our goals for RMHM are next week, and what we ran on our 1-mile time trials, he determined that we should be running faster. I knew this was probably a bad idea for me but I succombed to peer pressure because I felt fine, back was ok, and I could keep up (plus I was NOT going to be the pu$$y-ass girl that couldn't hang with the guys).

That lasted for the first 9 miles. It was preetty warm by then and the remainder of the run was uphill...not impossible, but I started getting tired...my form went to crap...and the back started aching. I finally threw in the towel to walk with about a mile and half left, when the pain nearly forced tears. One guy ran ahead and since I knew my way back to the start, I figured the Flying Frenchman would go with him. Not so.

Instead, as we walked, I was treated to a leeeeennnnnggggtttthhhyyyyyyy discourse on All Things Running. Now, I am not new to running and most of it I already knew...but since he is a fairly nice man who probably meant well, and I don't know him that well (and quite frankly his sexay French accent was entrancing), I just let him blab and feel like he was educating me.

As for the back, I now fear it is actually piriformis strain....and I am still in serious pain. So I guess I am off to the doctor tomorrow to determine if I can be fit to run a half marathon by Sunday. Yay.

Gizmo is ALIVE!

Yep, that's my little buddy, alive and well
again, and sitting backwards on my wrist so
I can give you all the thumbs-up to show my joy.

All my previous run data is now deleted, but Praise the Sweet Running Gods, Gizmo's alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you gremlin support center!

Thanks everyone for your gear votes. I bandwaggoned and ordered the flaming pink Recovery Socks (which I will count as both choices 'A' and 'D' because they are 30 bucks, yo and so therefore I must count them toward multiple categories in order to stay guilt-free about going over my self-imposed $15 sock limit...yes, I am that sad). And as a wildcard entry, I am eyeballing a pair of sweet Asics 2140's that are on sale...they are my fav shoe but mostly just considering them cause they're on sale and I'll eventually need another pair this summer, so why not?....but not sure if I can pull the trigger on them.

As for Wednesday's Running Day Runapalooza, I did a full running grab bag, including:

• 3 easyish/tempoish miles at 8:30-40 pace at Wash Park
• 1 mile warmup at 8:50 pace at the track
• 1 mile time trial w/running group........my time=7:26 (my last trial in March resulted in an 8:45 so there is definite improvement there...I guess speedwork really does work)
• 400 easy pace
• 2x400 stride chasers with the group
• 1.25 mile (had to even it out) cooldown at 9:00 pace
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GRAND TOTAL 7.03 miles of easy/tempo/speed/stride training. If that doesn't say "I love running" I don't know what does.

National Running Day!

Most of us who love running enough to read, blog, and obsess about it don't need a reason to run. So I don't need NATIONAL RUNNING DAY to get me motivated to run. But is is on it's way to becoming my new favorite holiday! Why? Because I will celebrate with a run (of course) and more importantly, by purchasing some new running gear, guilt-free. But what wondrous gear should I buy???? Show of hands, please:

A - Recovery/compression socks...with monkeys on them (I will find them, and if I can't, then I'll knit them myself, dammit! And no, I do not know how to knit. minor detail)

B - Snazzy running skirt (I'm thinking pink)

C - Fuel belt (definitely NOT snazzy, but rather useful on the 16-18-20-mile runs I have coming up in the next few weeks in the summer heat...assuming it stops RAINING here)

D - Illogically expensive, brightly-colored, hi-tech running socks (but I refuse to spend more than $15 on said socks...they're SOCKS for pete's sake)

E - Some other fun piece of gear that I have yet to think of...suggestions?