Blizzard

Everyone else is doing it

I've seen this on about 87 other blogs this week and since I am completely unoriginal and like to steal things... here's mine:

I'm taking a mental health long weekend at the moment. No working until next Tuesday, which means no communication of any kind with any co-workers, bosses, employees, cubical monkeys and NO CHECKING WORK EMAIL FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. The next four days are mine to try and figure out what I'm going to do with myself and how I'm going to get out of there. Causing a scene a la Jerry McGuire appeals to me, however I'm trying to do the responsible adult thing and have a back up plan. So far, the following ideas have crossed my mind:

• regrow my beard and join the circus with some of my midget babies
• sell everything I own and go live under the bridge at 3rd and Olentangy
• become a lady of the night and sell my body for crack
• take this whole "running" thing pro

Speaking of running, despite how crap everything else is in my life at the moment, I've been running pretty well this week. I ran 3 miles on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I did 4 x 1600m at a 8:34 pace which almost killed me. I ended up with a honking blister on the ball of each foot which kept me from running yesterday. The cause of the blisters was my own stupidity. Cheep socks. Tomorrow, weather pending, I will do 10 miles at a 10:39 pace. April 12th is going to be a PR in a big way. I can feel it. I'm going for 2:15, you heard it here first.

Pierced

I did this to myself this afternoon:

Well, technically, Mike down at Pierceology did it but I paid him to do it. Why? you might ask. I think this question might best be answered by a reenactment of a conversation I had with Myself shortly after my Monday Meltdown.

Myself: Everything sucks.

I: Yeah, I know.

Myself: I hate my job.

I: Yeah

Myself: And my boss

I: Totally, she's a douche.

Myself: And things are probably over with the Boy Toy.

I: You were too good for him anyway.

Myself: And it's going to be February for the rest of my life.

I: Probably is.

Myself: I want to do something crazy.

I: Crazy?
Myself: Yeah, like irrational and rebellious and impulsive!

I: Like what?

Myself: Like go all Brittany and shave my head.

I: Or....?

Myself: Or quit my job and sell everything I own on e-bay and become a vagabond.

I: Or...?

Myself: Or get that piercing I've been talking about for years.

I: Now you're talkin'

Myself: Yeah! Stick it to 'The Man'!

So, I took Myself down to the piercing place and got some holes poked in my head. Rational? No. Wise? Of course not. Necessary? Absolutely.

This is not my first piercing by any means. I've already got 3 holes in each ear, I had my tongue pierced in 1997 and I just took that one out about 6 months ago because I had a teeth cleaning and never bothered to put it back in. Bummer. I also had my nose pierced in 2002 to but had to take it out for some job I was doing at the time. This is my subtle way of telling 'The Man' that an earring is not going to affect how well I am able to do my job. That no 'corporation' is going to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own ear. Sure it's unprofessional, but so am I! This 8-5 job is a paycheck, not a lifestyle

February is the cruelest month

I've been a bad blogger. It's been a week since my last post. My apologies. But in my defense I've been busy with the Boy Toy and I had a house guest over the weekend and a mental breakdown on Monday...so all that doesn't leave much time for blogging, let alone running. On Saturday morning I ran 9 miles on the TM at a 10:53 pace which was incredibly dull but the roads were waaaaay to icy to risk breaking my neck. I skipped an easy 4 miler on Monday on account of the mental breakdown (and, as an aside, if you should ever happen to break down sobbing in your boss's office at noon on a grey and depressing Monday morning in the middle of February and she asks "Do you have the flu?" just say yes already and take a few days off.)

Today I did 7 miles, again on the treadmill of doom. But this was a tempo run so I did a warm up mile then 5 miles at a 9:22 pace and a cool down mile. This was pretty good actually. Surprisingly. Seeing as how it was on the treadmill and how I just didn't want to do it and I want it to be Spring and what did I ever do to Ohio to piss it off and crap all over the place? Huh? Anybody else sick of winter?? I think I have cabin fever. Or the winter blues. Or SAD, which by the way, is just a really twisted acronym for the syndrome. I sort of want to strangle the clever genius that came up with that one. Jerks.

Clearly, I'm having a tough time getting my s*** together this week.

You've lost that lovin' feeling

I'm trying to fall in love with running all over again. Ever since I crossed the finish line of the marathon in October, my motivation has been in the toilet. For nearly 2 years, I poured all of my focus and energy into 26.2 measly miles without much thought as to what might come after.

I fear I've lost that spark.

Maybe it's just the winter blah's or I'm still feeling sluggish after my recent illness, but I don't feel as driven as I did a year ago. I don't obsess over the forecast or the course maps, I don't frequent online forums like I once did. Not every thought that goes through my brain is related to the marathon. I even let my Runner's World magazine subscription expire and didn't bother to renew it.

I guess what I'm getting at here it that I'm re-learning how to love this sport without the mystique of the marathon looming somewhere in the distance. I'm re-learning how to love going out for a run for the sake of going out for a run. I'm learning that not every race has to be (or can be) a PR. I'm learning that the marathon is not all there is to running and that running can be a big part of my life, but not all consuming.

So, I head out for an easy 4 in the snow because that's what I do. I'm a runner.

Wellness

Back to the land of the living. I was right, this whole thing took me out a solid two weeks of training. I went out for a run on Saturday morning and only managed 4.5 miles before I had to call it quits. I know I need to ease back into things and I'll get back there eventually but....4.5 miles! Grr. I could tell that all the crap I've been eating has taken its toll and the lack of strength training really messed with my posture and form. Time to get back on the wagon. There's a few 5k's I'd like to sign up for around St Patrick's Day that look pretty fun and might help get me motivated to get out there in the cold. I love running in the cold so much more than the heat but for some reason it's so much harder to get out the door.



The Boy Toy surprised me with flowers and card on V-Day. Normally I am so anti-V Day it's pathetic but we really had a nice time together. I made dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) and we hung out and talked for hours. Here's the problem - I think I kinda like him. Horrifying, I know. But if I like him, then the potential for getting hurt is greater and I'm not really down with that. It's been so long since I've been in a relationship I can't really remember how it's supposed to go. He's smart and funny and really really cute and he makes me laugh and brings me flowers. He's bad with the phone and horrible with money. He loves his family and is great with kids. He would probably lose his head if it wasn't attached...but I like him. This is terrifying.

In sickness

I've been on my death bed for the last week with tonsillitis. Although, I'm pretty sure no one in this modern age has died from the virus, I was pretty sure I was going to be the first. Last Monday and Tuesday I had a fever and on Wednesday I gave myself food poisoning. I spent the day huddled over the toilet pretty sure I was going to spit out a tonsil at any second. Thursday I flew to Florida with my mom where I spent most of the vacation we've been planning for 6 months in the hotel bed watching episodes of My Big Redneck Wedding. At least she got some beach time.

And here I find myself a week later, finally able to swallow without kicking something, although there's still all that nasty white gunk covering the back of my throat. I'm super hot. I figure this whole thing is going to take me out of a solid two weeks of training for my half marathon on April 12th.

At least my foot is better.