Happy New Year!

Well, it's new year's eve! Why am I blogging at 6pm on NYE? Hmmm...Well, I'm getting a late start ringing in the new year I guess. I've been lazy all day! Yesterday I got up and made it to church... Wow! What an uplifting service! That was good for the soul. I came home & straightened my house up and K came over. We headed to the boro and had a late late lunch at Toots, then headed on over to Dick's Sporting Goods. He got a pair of $100 ski pants for $38! YES! I love bargains. And I took the gift card my aunt, uncle and cousins gave me for my b-day and used it on a ski jacket I've had my eye on for about 2 months. It is a SPYDER and I LUV it! Then we went to Binks but didn't make a purchase. They don't have anything on sale like the rest of the retail world. They'll learn one day! :-)

We headed home and my mom called and said my aunt Dana had made me a batch of peanut butter balls and she had them and was also about 5 miles behind us on the interstate. Oh wow! These things are off the hook delicious! I can't stay out of them. They are very addictive!! I think I am popping a PB ball about every 10 minutes at least. So, K and I watched college football and an auction for a mountain bike on ebay. We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch, came back and did nothing but pop PB balls and watch more college football.

Around 4pm I headed to town to run 6 miles. Mile 1 running up jail hill was exactly 9 minutes. I just knew I was going to cough up about 4 PB balls on the sidewalk. I felt so full......... my stomach was holding pinto beans and corn bread and numerous PB balls. Man, could I tell!!! It really made me feel terrible. First 3 miles took about 26 minutes. I finished out the 6 miles in 51:10 for once again an 8:31 pace. How am I doing that? I have no clue. I know on my way back for the last 3 miles each time I looked at Mr Garmin he told me I was averaging between 8:10 and 8:40 miles. Oh well.... I'll take it. I've got to slow down on the PB balls.... I look like I've already gained 5lb.

Marathon training starts next week. I am nervous just thinking about it. I am afraid I'll go out for a long run and just not make it and I'll be down and out. I hope K & I hit the mountain bike trails again tomorrow to ring in the new year. If not, I'll have my butt on the trainer for an hour. Not sure what we're doing tonight..... no big plans or anything so we'll just see if anything comes up.

Happy new Year to all bloggers!!!

Back on the Trails & No Crashes!

This morning at 7am I met K, Phillip, Steven, Brent, Cole, Ortner, John, & John's dad, Gary at the AEDC Saddle Club mountain bike trails! Yep that's right... I'm the only girl! It was cold!!! 34 degrees! I get so stressed out when I even think about mountain biking. I made my last right hand turn onto the road for the trail and just honestly thought I would pass out my heart was beating so fast and I was so nervous! I haven't mtn biked since July.... and my skills were totally lacking then. I've had some pretty bad crashes before... and it has kinda scarred me. I mean, nothing where I've broken any bones or done any real damage - just broken skin and bruises!

We took off on the trail & I volunteer to bring up the rear. These guys are going to hammer - NO DOUBT! I am most comfortable there - I guess I have no confidence. That way if I wreck I'm guaranteed to not get smashed by another rider behind me! It's called 'Eliminating further damage.' :-) Well, we make it through the first 5 miles in about 47 minutes - NO CRASHES! I'm feeling a little more at ease now. Ortner wasn't feeling so hot... he felt like he could have possibly had a stomach bug. We were at a point where he could have easily gotten back to his car. So finally Steven says "Ortner! You goin with us or headin back?" Ortner releases a HUGE burp and says "I'm goin w da BOYS!!!" So it was ON! We head on across the road to the lake section - man it was slick over there! We just got a really good rain yesterday. This section is a little over a mile and then across the road back to the other trails. It got pretty technical here(technical for a girl)... and some climbs that had my heart STOMPING to high heaven! My legs were burning and I was breathing hard! We stop again right around 8 miles or so. And guess what.................... STILL NO CRASHES! YAY!

We take off again and everything was still going well. I can tell I'm getting a good workout because all the sudden I start feeling hungry! I was enjoying myself.... I got some confidence and trained myself to look ahead instead of turning the corner and flying up on a technical section out of control and slamming the brake. Gary was kind enough to stay with me for most of the ride while the rest of the fellows hammered it out probably a half mile ahead. Right around mile 11.5 I spot Gary's gray sweatshirt on the trail and I see that the trail is going to come out on a fire road soon. I'm hoping he knows I'm not going to have any clue which way to turn from here. He must have assumed I knew..... he was no where to be found. I ride a little ways down the road...... no Gary. I stop and unclip to see if I can hear a bike and follow my ears.... no sound. Nothing. Ugh-oh... I'm lost. You've gotta be kidding me.... I've stayed with them the whole way and with 2 miles left I'm lost? 4-letter word! I take off back the other way where I came from hoping someone has realized I'm lost and coming to get me. NOPE! Not a soul in sight! So I wonder if maybe they are all at the end of the fire road waiting... I take off and the next thing I know I'm back to the main hwy that can take me back to my car. I have two choices - I can try to jump back on the trail and guess which inlet I need to take........ or I can go the way I know is back to my car. I choose to decline the unknown and go for the known :-)

So I get back to my car and my computer reads that I've read about 13 miles. I waited for several minutes on the crew to come back but they didn't. I loaded my bike up, took some of my gear off, changed shoes.... still no one in sight. I was getting cold. I thought "I hope they're not out there looking for me." Then I remembered that they probably haven't even looked back since we were so close to the end... and when they see my car is gone from the parking lot, they'll know I'm ok. So, I headed on home. K called me in a few and I told him I was fine. I am feeling pretty bad that I didn't just hang around in the parking lot for the rest of the bunch to get back. That could have been the wrong decision on my part..... I think from now on if that happens I'll wait. I'm not sure that was good mountain biker etiquette :-/

I had a great ride & a great workout! No CRASHES! There were a few close ones.... but never went down! I'm sure I will be very sore just from working different muscles. It was worth it though!

Total Ride Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 8.1mph

Crazy 8?!

I finally got my butt outta the house today and took in some fresh air. 8 miles of fresh air. I drove to the rec center (the dogs out here by my house are viscious!)On my way I said "I'll try 7." Then I got outta my car and thought "5 would be real good too, ya know." Then I felt pretty strong on my first mile - climbing jail hill and checking my pace after mile 1 was 8:50. Hmmm.... not too bad... maybe I can push onto 7? Keep in mind the last longer run than 5 that I did was on Thanksgiving - 6.2 miles.... at a really slow pace & felt HORRIBLE! Since TG, I haven't run more than 5. I feel ok at 3 miles... and think "Heck I would be real proud of myself if I go 8 instead of turning around at 3.5 and just making it 7." So I keep going past 3.5 miles and when the garmin beeps at 4 I turn around, challenging myself to 8 miles. Well, I did it! I really started feeling pretty tired around mile 6. At mile 7 I was really glad I only had 1 more to go! I finished in 1:08:10. I calculated that on my pace calculator......... and holy smokes! That was an 8:31 pace! How in the world did I do that? Beats me....... but I'll TAKE IT! I tried to imagine myself doing 8 miles two more times plus 2.2 more....... it literally seems IMPOSSIBLE to me.

Back in the Saddle!

Wow! I sure did have a wonderful Christmas. I feel so blessed. I got to spend time with all my favorite peeps, received way too many gifts and ate way too much food! K came over Christmas Eve night and we exchanged gifts. He got me a trainer for my bike! YAY! He also gave me a sterling silver necklace and earring set that is the shape of a road bike, another necklace that is the shape of a road bike and a beautiful AWESOME lead crystal with a road biker etched in so that it is 3-D and can be viewed from all sides! It is so cool and I love it! I also got a super neat magnet for my fridge - it is a mountain bike! I finished up wrapping presents and cooking and we just chilled for the night.

Christmas morning we went to his family Christmas and had breakfast & opened gifts. Then we went to my family's Christmas! My parents always do way too much. And wow! What a dinner!!! Turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potatos, green beans, red potatos, corn, brocoli/cauliflour salad, cranberry sauce, rolls and more! I rode my trainer yesterday for the first time. I love it! I did a 1 hour mountain bike video that consisted of lots of speed intervals. So, that is the first time I've been on my bike since Oct 20. It felt good to be back in the saddle!!!

Here are some pics. Some were taken with my new digi camera that my parents gave me for Christmas!

I Prayed...... and Then I Clicked The Button!

K & I went out with some of his friends last night to London's. I played my first ever game of shuffleboard. Pretty fun! Among this group of friends, we found a marathoner named David. David just completed the Memphis marathon a few weeks ago and was encouraging both of us to do CMM. My mind has already been made up about CMM. K is still battling through it in his head. I really think he'd feel much better if he just goes ahead and signs up. Sometimes trying to decide on something like that is harder on you than just taking the plunge.

This morning I'm sitting here at work with ZILCH to do on Christmas Eve.... I realize there are 7 days until a price increase for CMM. I decide I'm going to see if my coupon code works but not sign up. I go through the whole checking out process, add my coupon code and BOOM! My registration fee just dropped from $85 to $70. I couldn't resist. What if my coupon code doesn't work tomorrow? Or over the next 7 days? My shopping cart is ready to go.... I know I really want to do it.... I already have my hotel room booked.... I think I need to do some serious soul searching before I commit to this. Perhaps I need to talk to God a little bit about it? I take a few minutes to see what the big guy says :-) I tell him I'm worried that other issues in my life will effect my training/motivation. I want to be able to go on and train regardless of what goes right or wrong in my personal life. The next thing I know I CLICK the button and I'm signed up and recieve a confirmation email.


So all you fellow-bloggers please remember me in your prayers..... it's going to be a long road getting there. I am excited, scared and PUMPED :-)Above all, I want the entire thing to be a positive experience. I want the race to be fun and I want to thank God everyday for giving me the legs, feet, and mentality to get to the finish line. If I can just stay this motivated I'll be ok. However, I know the reality of it is, there will be good days and there will be bad days. There will be days when I'll question why I signed up. There will be good training runs and miserable training runs.

I got out today at lunch and ran 5 miles in 42:54 - 8:34 pace. I hope this compensates for some of the massive mounds of calories I am about to take in over the next few days. I've got to stop by the store on the way home and get something to fix for K's family Christmas breakfast in the morning. 9 hours till Christmas day! I love some Christmas! :-)

"I Got 5 On It!" :-)

Remember that song? haha... I used to love that song. I had no idea the entire song was about weed when I was a teenager and liked it so much. Innocence is bliss!

Ho Ho Ho!!!! Merry Christmas everyone! I love these last few days before Christmas!! To me, they are more exciting than Christmas day.

Today I got up and met the crew at the rec for 5 miles at 5am. The crew consisted of me and Michele! Guess everyone else had too much eggnog last night? :-) So, we took off down the greenway, to hwy 55 up to the main intersection, took a left at Eckerds, a right on Hills Chapel, a right on Oak Drive, a right on McArthur, a left at Walgreens onto 41, all the way down jail hill, back onto the greenway for a 48:50! Not exactly speedy.... but it was 5 miles on the books on Dec 20, 2007. Anything outside this time a year is a real accomplishment in my opinion!

I came home and for the first time in....... 13 months I got out my resistance band and did about 10 minutes of work on my arms, a few pushups and 30 lunges. I am afraid to do too many lunges because ... well... if you've ever done lunges and tried to run the next day, it hurts. Your legs feel like tree stumps. I used to be heavy into lunges - I'd do 2 laps around the track at the rec with 8lb weights in my hands. I have not done any toning in 13 months so I'm starting slow.

After my 10 minutes of toning I jumped in the shower, dried the hair and the next thing I know I'm waking up in my bed at 7:45. Oops... I laid back down and boy was that a GREAT little cat-nap! Much needed. I headed onto work. Had a great day. I enjoyed a peaceful lunch with my mom. There are not many things better in this life than sharing a lunch hour with your mom... or your sister! At least not for me. We had lunch at a local tea room.


I finished my day out at work, came home, bathed Hattie in some new "Ooh Lah Lah" pawberry scented shampoo. Now I'm cooking for Christmas at my aunt's on Saturday.... and feeling sleepy. It must be that vigorous toning workout I endured this morning ;-/ zzzzzzzzzzzz........zzzzzzzzzz..........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Tis the season....

Well those 64 degree temps are gone. :-( Winter has set in and we are lucky if the high temp hits 50 all the sudden! This means 5am runs are in 30 degrees and under. Talk about lack of motivation! It's really hard for me to let Hattie out at 4:30am when the 25 degree wind chill slaps me in the face as I open the door.... and turn around and not crawl into my warm, cozy bed. I guess this is to be expected since we are 1 week from Christmas :-/

Saturday we got lucky and had some warmer weather than expected. I did a 5.2 mile run from the rec through town. This was supposed to be a 7 mile run and I felt great and have no doubt I coulda gone 7, but the temp was dropping (it was 14 degrees colder 46 min later) and a cold rain started hitting me at mile 2. I had on shorts and a t-shirt. But hey.... 5.2 miles is better than zero miles. I had a nice enjoyable run & it made me regain some much needed motivation.

It was too hard for me this morning though. I skipped. I was going to meet Lana at the rec for 8 miles. Unforseen circumstances rose to the occasion, therefore I did not get any sleep. The sleep I was enduring felt like.... half sleep. Or sleep in a dump truck going 80mph. So at 4:30, I think I was still half sleeping and knowing I hadn't taken in any food since lunch the day before... I didnt feel like 8 miles was a good thing for me. I did happen to meet her there last night for a bit of weight lifting and a swim attempt! Yep that's right folks.... I actually DID attempt to swim this time. It was not pretty. It was not as ugly as last time, but it was not pretty. I actually made it to the other end of the pool for the first time without stopping! I know that's pretty pathetic but I am completely intimidated by the water. I've never liked being under water... I feel like I am suffocating. I've got big issues. Almost everytime I come up for a breath of air, I get about 1/10th of the breath in only to realize I had water all in my throat and so BOOM! It stops my breath and decides to strangle me. DIDN'T TAKE! So there I am gasping and wheezing for air! And thinking "I need to go home. This sport is not for me."

Today at lunch I managed to slide in 4 miles - 36:29. I was proud of myself for getting out and not being lazy. So now.... it's reward time! I get to curl up on the couch in my pj's with a cup of starbucks hot chocolate that Mary Beth gave me for my birthday! Speaking of that... here are some pics from last Thursday.

28 years gets ya 3 miles with Daddy! :-)

I turned 28 yesterday. I have mixed emotions about turning 28. We won't go there! :-) I called my dad Wed night and told him all I wanted for my birthday was for him to meet me and Lana, and the rest of the gang at the rec @ 5am for some running! He didn't sound too encouraging that he would be there. I was persistent. I want to run with my daddy! So around 4:45am yesterday morning, I get brave & I call him. He sounded very asleep.... which is normal :-) He didn't give me a straight answer as to whether he would show or not. Around 5:03am we see him creeping through the parking lot in his beloved Titans car :-) YES!!! He made it! We ran 3 miles and he kicked BUTT! How can he just bust out 3 miles with no training? Or has he been training in secret? We had a ball! I hope he comes again. That is the best birthday gift one could ever get! Thanks Daddy! I love you.

Me, Lana, & Mike ran almost 2.5 more miles and got DRENCHED in the rain. I have never ran in the rain that hard before. They informed me that it's good to practice in inclement weather because this could happen at CMM! haha.... that was a good one :-)

I drove home, jumped in the shower and got back in bed for about 30 min. Never could go back to sleep though. I headed to work and had lunch with Lana & K, finished the day out at work & went over to Mom and Dad's for an AMAZING dinner that she had cooked for me. They gave me a beautiful ring for my birthday! I love it & am so excited to have it!! My nephew colored me a special easter egg for my b-day and wrote our names on it. :-) LOL. Don't ya love precious innocent children!! It did go on my fridge as soon as I got home. K joined us later at my parents. He & I challenged each other to a mini RBI baseball tournament. He beat me. I am not sure how except that he stuck me with the really bad team & took my good team for the championship game. That's alright - I'm not giving up my nat'l league all stars next time.

Not sure exactly what the weekend has in store, but I hope it is a good one. I hope I get to exercise some, but we are expecting bad weather and I'm not a gym girl.

My Rocket City Hero - #112

Ok, I haven't been very bloggified lately... so I'm late on this post. We'll start with Saturday morning. My alarm went off at 5am and I met my parents at 5:30 for a trip to Huntsville to watch my sister, Lana compete against herself for a sub-4 hour marathon. Also running this race was Michele, David, Lisa, & Tom. Before the marathon started I wished Lana luck, the gun went off, the music started & all the sudden...... I feel emotional. Excited, scared, worried, pumped UP, and HAPPY :-) that I am there. That Lana (race particpant #112) is racing... shooting for her goal she has trained so hard for. Nothing I can do bout it now but pray & cross my fingers. So, we jump in my dad's truck & find the 6.2 mile marker. We stand & wait on our athletes. My dad (the flash) is on a mission to find Lana, his oldest daughter whom he could not be more proud of! We spot her! I hear him say "Blue shirt blue shirt!!! That's her! There she is! Does Kathy see her? This is IT!" I look up the sidewalk to see my mom jumping and clapping for her. I walk out into the road to snap a pic with my phone & I get a big high-five from my sis, a big smile & she says "Feeling good! Feeling good!" (Whew! Thank God!) She is right on pace for a sub-4! Somehow I miss Michele & David?? We leave the 10K mark & wait at the 11 mile marker. This time I see Michele & David running beside Lana. She seems to not feel as well. I confirmed this when she told me she was off pace & only feeling "ok." I tried to encourage her and tell her not to worry about it & just enjoy the run. So off we go to mile 18 where my dad was prepared to make the transaction of 2 additional fuel belt bottles & I am to jump in to help push her through the last 8 miles. We wait...... we wait....... we keep waiting. David sees me on the sidewalk & informs me that Michele & Lana are both not feeling well & have dropped back. My heart is filled with sadness, but that is ok. We will make it! Finally we see Lana & Michele & neither of them are feeling well. You can see it in their eyes. They are dissappointed. They are sick too! I join in & we walk a little ways & when we get to mile 19 I can tell something isn't right with Lana. She turns pale, then begins to cringe. I knew it was coming. She tosses about 2 gallons of lemon-lime OS Endurance. Oh man..... it was a scene. When I was comfortable with the fact that she had completed her final woosh, I bend down and wrap my arms around her, tell her it's going to be ok, help her up & we begin to walk. For most of the rest of the marathon I carried a bottle of water & a cup of gatorade. I tried to remind her to take small sips so her stomach isn't gushed with fluid. Her lower back was really hurting her bad & there were times when I was worried we needed to stop at medical. I was really glad to be with her. We ended up walking/jogging to the finish. Even though she didn't meet her goal of sub-4, that girl is my hero. I've never seen anyone fight so hard to finish anything in my life. Humidity was high, nerves were frigid, & OS Endurance didn't want to cooperate that day. Given the circumstances, I declare her a soldier! Sub 4 is in her future - no doubt. December 8, 2007 just wasn't the day. Congratulations Lana! Congratulations Michele! Congratulations David! Congratulations Lisa! You guys did awesome! Now... all of you just remember on April 26 (CMM) I'm going to need some support! I don't know what it feels like to run 26.2. I'm scared!!!

Lana and I found a real nice way to celebrate yesterday at lunch. It's pecan cobbler and MAN is it delicious! We declared it the best post-race food in the south. :-)



Monday night Bethany took me to Cracker Barrell to eat for my birthday, which is this week. Thanks girl! Had a great time as always!

Yesterday morning I met Lana, Mary Beth, Tim, & Lee at the rec center at 5am for 5 miles. Tomorrow, I plan to do the same & I'm thinking I want to trail run on Saturday.

5 + 2 = 7(hike)

I feel like I'm washing my cold-gear everynight. After Tuesday's run I washed my cold gear. I ran in it yesterday and now I need to wash it again! I'm assuming I'll be washing it again Sunday night! Perhaps I should invest in another set? Hmmm... I don't know. Thursday at lunch I went out and did a 5 miler. 43:17 for a 8:39 pace. Now.... I had planned on floating. I am not sure how I got the 8:39 pace.... except I had a lot of crazy things on my mind + I remembered my IPOD!

This morning at 7am I ran 2 miles with K - including hills! Then I felt like I was hiking up a huge hill back to his house. We sorta took the back way and walked a hill full of dirt, leaves, rocks...... and 2 beautiful deer!! So, I'm calling it a brick! 2 mile run plus a hike!

Now the weekend begins..... TGIF! I'm going to watch the Rocket City Marathon tomorrow in Huntsville. I am very excited just to be in the atmosphere of a marathon again...... but not as excited as I am to see Lana reach her sub-4 goal that she has worked her butt off for.

Maybe I'll be so motivated, I'll come home and do a little bit of running myself! We'll see!

I'm Back! Sort of..... ;-)

I woke up Sunday morning feeling soft all over. Just like... my muscles are dwindling away because I haven't worked out in almost a week! I still didn't promise myself a thing though. I'm not feeling it. Monday morning I start getting this burning desire to get out and run. However, it was nasty outside. The winds were gusting up to 20mph and that burning desire suddenly started cooling off & the next thing I know... it wasn't hot anymore. Furthermore, it was gone :-/

Tuesday morning I'm getting ready for work. Still not so sure if I wanna take another stab at it. But I go ahead and pack my cold gear (I've decided from now on anything under 50 degrees calls for Cold Gear - I'd much rather be hot than cold.) By lunchtime, I think it's going to be a fine idea for me to go out and do a run, under one condition and one condition only. That I float. Slow... I don't want to go out there & feel like I'm dying... because guess what?! I won't come back. So I float out a nice 4 miler - 37:08 (9:17pace). YAY! I know it's just 4 miles... at a floating pace, but hey - it's 4 miles further than I had gone in a week. While I run, lyrics from Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" run through my head. I heart Tom Petty!! He is doing the halftime show for the superbowl this year. Can't wait! So my goal is to run AGAIN this week and probably still just float.

I'm excited because this weekend Lana, Michele, & Lisa are doing the Huntsville Rocket City marathon! I am making the trip for spectator/support purposes.

Visions of a tin roof in my crystal ball....

So, I think it's only fair that I share the good........ and the bad. We'll start with the bad. I haven't worked out, lifted a finger (besides walking the dog), or done anything active since running 4 miles on Tuesday. Lots of things goin on my world lately..... circumstances that are heavily weighing on me. This kinda stuff drains me. Sometimes I can handle it ok & continue to workout just as much and more, and then there are times it knocks me to my knees & I have a hard time getting up. So usually I will go ahead and force my way through it and say "You WILL go run. You WILL feel better. You WILL be glad." For the first time I looked up and said "I don't want to do it. I've got things going on that are taking too much out of me. I want to rest. I don't want an estimated date that I'll 'start back,' I don't want to pursue anything at the moment except rest & peace. I won't beat myself up over it either. I may run Saturday.... Or I may not? I won't do anything until I want to. And I don't know and don't care when that might be." And guys... that is exactly what I've done. Notta!

Now... for the good. Well, Lana & the boys came over yesterday and we had a ball watching Ironman Kona! I just wish they made the show last longer. I could watch it for 24 hours straight I think. We munched on some banana bread. The boys were thrilled with all the presents under my Xmas tree!! They were totally entertained. Lana and the boys went home & I met up with Jamie & Abby in M'boro. We found the tin roof in Franklin & gave it a whirl! It turned into some fun as you can see from the pics.

We had finally had enough and headed home. I don't think I actually made it to my house till around 3am! Needless to say, I soaked up my bed till 12pm today. So... as far as this week goes??? We'll see. I'm hoping some special powers are going to invade me & I will kick my heels at least a few times and hopefully the sh*tty circumstances dragging me down will not be so sh*tty this week. A lot of that is in my court.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
~ Albert Einstein