What's next??

In the spirit of royally overdoing it I managed to get myself into a bit of road racing hot water... Or scheduling hot water? Either way, I'm pretty pumped to run the Cohasset 10K by the sea with my super cool bestest cousin on April 1st (no foolin...)

After that... I've decided to do it again. The stupid hilly GBH. GBH and I are in a fight. It did not treat me well last year but I intend to have my way with it in the twenty-twelve..! I'm in pretty good shape- but that means nothing against the epic struggle against the constant and rolling hills, dirt roads, more hills and general hatred. I'm pretty excited (and I really am...)

So two decent sized runs 6 days apart. I believe the vote has been that this is both awesome. badass and insane (I tend to agree, but am leaning more towards legendary and amazing. obviously!)

I am having a week of doing whatever I want in the running department, since I have a free weekend. Logically, that meant a 10 miler (which was a hilly mo fo...) in 82 degree heat (in MARCH! WTF? but awesomeeeeee.) We'll see what the rest of the week brings!

Quincy Half Marathon

This was my first time running the Quincy Half- adding to the collection of new races on the list for the legendary 2012 race schedule.
I felt good heading into the weekend- I am in the best running shape that I've ever been in (ever, ever) didn't have any major issues with the things that cause me trouble (hamstring, shin, etc) and was generally feeling like it would be a great day for a run!

(take note of the fact that once again- ZERO pics. I hope to scam some from others as this race had some of the prettiest ocean scenery that Ive had the pleasure of running by...)

The weather report gave me a bit of pause (in a good way- because what kind of idiot wouldn't love running on a gorgeous day?) The pause that I felt was due to the fact that the warmest day for a long run this year has been upper 40's for me. And the temps were projected to skyrocket into the 70's! Phew. Taking this into account I abandoned my PR consideration- knowing that pushing it that hard on the first hot day of the year would lead to certain internal chaos: as in, projectile vomming. Also had the chance to pair up with my running friend who wanted a push to a PR and after completing 180 solitary miles over the past month having a pal sounded premium. So friendly running it was (proving my point yet again that friendless running is silly. time passes by much quicker on the road when you have somebody to punch and swear at when running pisses you off...)

It was cold at the start (relatively. it was probably 50) But as predicted it warmed up super fast and WAS BEAUTIFUL!!! The course was lovely- a few miles of ocean views which I am a complete geek for, and then your basic Quincy suburban town/city/whatevs. A few rolling hills but nothing to get too bothered by. The one scary thing for sure were the water stops- complete clusterfudge-itis. Snap, super scary traffic jam crap. (being that I never stop for water I was able to avoid the mess rather handily- but have rarely seen such hydration chaos!) I suspect that since the race had doubled in size from last year they were simply unprepared for the quantity of parched runners. (and this is my only complaint/comment. other than that the race seemed well organized!)

I scampered away from my RF at mile 11 (there was NO chance of a PR for anyone at this point so it was a good call..)  I scooted thru the finish in 1:51:31 which I was fine with- the first mile of the race was such a bottleneck that it took close to 10:00 so taking that into account I felt just fine about my results. I also was pretty lost as to how to eat before such an early start and felt a little less energized than usual- something to think about for the future. I finished somewhere in the 500's which was fine too. (I think I passed close to 150 some odd people in the last two miles. yikes.... I did make a pretty kickass final 2 mile dash though which made me feel good- had gas left in the tank and all that fun stuff. Life's a leg of lamb people, and don't you forget it!

There was a good amount of eatable food at the end, which I actually ate since I was FREAKING STARVING! I did not vom upon my shoes. I did not punch running or my RF in the face. Nor did I GET punched in the face, which is always a good thing. Got a medal. Was disgusted by the flotsam and jetsam in coconut water (ewwwww.) Was glad that I was not in the group of people who were just finishing up when I left- like, 2 hours later. UGH! Sat on the curb and got a horrible cramp in my hip. Decided that I'm too old to sit on curbs... decided that I'm too old to run (kidding here.) Ate a sandwich. Went home. The end.

And that was that. 3rd Half of 2012 IN THE BOOKS!

Big Plans

What am I doing on Sunday October 14th?

OH YES I AM!

CRAZY.

The Divorce Diet

THANK you everyone, for your kind words regarding my last post. Much appriciated....

I think that all my loyal blog followers know that I'm a rather little girl. Like, built like a legit 12 year old boy kind of lady (not even a 12 year old girl- they actually might have a curve or two...) The LAST thing I need is any kind of diet- unless it is a diet based solely around cakes and red wine, designed to fatten me up!

Dudes, getting a divorce is stressful. (to be honest- that is not entirely true. The months LEADING to a divorce suck massive balls, but the actual paperwork involved? Easier than going to the DMV to renew your licenece. HMMMM, what does THAT tell you...?)
Anyway, back from my tangent.

I put on my skinny jeans a few weeks ago and they felt oddly baggy. "HMMMM" I said "I must need to wash/dry these suckers." Which seemed perfectly logical at the time. After doing that I hopped back into them (and we all know that climbing into skinny jeans can be a bit of a wriggle- but they slid right on...) And- BIG SHOCK, still baggy.

SO. I took stock of my outfits.
Pants: Too baggy
Bras: HAAAAA-YOUGE
Cute tops: Saggy, floppy, ill fitting.

Damnit, Damnit. Damnit.

Apparently I've lost 10 pounds off my already teensy little boyish frame. NO!
The really sucktastic thing? Most of it seems to be from my butt and boobs- SO unfair, COME ON!! Why couldn't it have vanished from my rather solid looking thighs? OH, NO it had to shrink the ta-ta's down to double A's and make my poor posterier all but vanish.

I have been keeping up a steady diet of all things high calorie in an attempt to fatten up like a foie gras duck, but in VAIN! The good news, is that I'm holding steady at current slightly underweight weight and I figure that within a couple weeks perhaps the intake of pie, fries, peanut butter, and steak will catch up with me and kick me in the butt (hopefully in the butt. and boobs...)

Until then, I bought a new pair of skinny jeans (hence to be named Divorce Denim.) We'll count the days until my booty looks too J-Lo to wear them anymore!

Changes....

Remember that I indicated a week or two ago that things were changing here in my little corner of the world?
I am a firm believer that the interwebs are, perhaps, not the place in which to air ones personal and emotional dirty laundry. On the flip side of that, there are plenty of "us" out here who have faced some hardships, gotten thru them and been a better person on the other side.
I'm getting divorced... Mr Middleaged and I are no more.
This has been a while in coming, and while emotionally I'm a little rocky I think (on some level) (I hope) we both know this is for the best. I do.....
I thought we had done everything right, dating for years before living together, living together for years before getting engaged, long engagement- and the list goes on. However, in relationships (as well as in life) it is almost impossible to cover your bases carefully enough to safeguard against all the surprises that life can throw at you.
This winter has been a time of low lows, and dramatic realizations. Of intense self reflection and the discovery that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be. Moments when I acutely realized that despite everything I still know who I am, what I want and am luckier than I ever thought possible- despite going thru one of the most difficult times that I can remember.
Moving forward from this I am astonished by the number of people who have come out of the woodwork with difficult relationship stories of their own, who are amazingly supportive and have given me the boost I need to make tough choices. On the surface some of these choices seem so glaringly obvious, but when you are living your own life you can so easily become blind to what you are used to..... Everyone comes to a time, in some part of their life when they have to take the hardest step that they can imagine. But once you take that step you get the perspective you need to continue down the right path for in life, which enables you to be (or become) the best, happiest "you" that you can be....
I'm now starting a time in which I can say "well, that was a first" words which have not crossed my lips in a long while. Some firsts are bitter, some are sweet. Every new first I have is a little step forward in my new life and a reminder of why I am ok with the conclusion of this chapter in my life....
I doubt that, despite the level of reflection in this post, that the overall tone of my blogging will change. I still am who I am (for better or worse) love what I love and still firmly believe that one can never pin their happiness on anything that has legs and can walk away. (and I still try to be funny at awkward times!)
So onward and upward from here, one day at a time, repeating my long run mantra "left foot, right foot, one step at a time....."

Bizarre PR

I booked it on down to Portland today to run my first 5K of the year.

As most of you know, 5K is my least favorite distance. It takes me 10K to get my booty in gear so 5K clearly and obviously is not going to be so hot for me.

As of 9:00 this morning I was still seriously considering bailing. (lameeeee) BUT! After a swift kick in the ass from the side of my brain that tells me not to be pathetic I manned up and went.

I have had a crap time lately with my 5K situation- I PR'd at 23:00 in October of 2011 and have not been able to break that ever since.

Going into this I knew I had a few things going for me.
-I'm in pretty damn good shape right now
-My miles have been getting faster across the board
-A couple easy-ish weeks for the legs set me up well to do ok... maybe..

There was zero stress and zero planning. I don't think I even bothered to eat anything before hand... I literally drove to Portland, Grabbed my number, ran an easy mile, ran the race andddddddd BOOMMMMM!

21:30
TWENTY ONE MINUTES AND THIRTY SECONDS AND IT WAS OVAAAAHHHH!!!

PR by ninety freaking seconds.

73rd place
9th woman
1st in age group

Damn freaking good for this girl's running ego!

Thursday Recap

Things are a' changing here in middleaged runner land.
This is a story for another day though!

The Good news is (within the madness) I have managed some pretty solid runs. After last week's lazy week (which turned into a kinda lazy week) I was ready to get back to it! However, this is another light week on the old schedule... I did have a 10 miler scheduled for Monday but circumstances prevented that and turned it into a 5-er..

I have just over 2 weeks until Quincy and basically just hope to keep things consistent and stay healthy. I'd love to be able to kick it up a notch- I feel that a PR is within my reach if I can just man up and actually RUN (and... not sure I want to! HAH!)

I'm alos seriously thinking about doing Great Bay again... WHY? With all its damn hills one would think that last year would have taught me a lesson. And it has - and the lesson is that I have a poor memory and am a glutton for epic punishment!

To recap:
LAZY week:
Managed 22 miles. Which is low, low at this point but High, high for a lazy week I guess.
2 of those runs made it into the sub-8's!

This week, thus far:
Monday- 5 easy miles @ 8:48
Tuesday- VERY pressed for time, 3 TM miles @ 7:59 which is FAST for me on the TM (I hate it on there! and am SLOW! We'll call this SPEED work!)
Wednesday- 7 hilly miles @ 8:02 (remember 8:02 was my tempo pace just a month or so ago... I fear that without some concentration on speedwork that I might just stick forever at an 8:02 pace...)

So. That's all she wrote for today. I promise more consistent posting, more pictures and more races (a 5K this Sunday!) coming up soon!