The Worst Air in the Country

Yep, you read that right. Currently, the Salt Lake City/Wasatch front area has the worst air quality in the entire country. That means worse than L.A., worse than Atlanta, worse than Houston. The worst! So much so, that they are encouraging people to carpool and use public transportation, and also not to exercise outside. We are stuck in a disgusting, nasty inversion, and my lungs are rebelling. I have a total smoker's hack. Ugh. Therefore, I have not run since my race last Saturday. But I can't blame the air 100%. Part if it is wanting to let my body recover, and part is because I've been busy since we got back into town.

I don't remember everything that I did Tuesday night, but I vaguely remember making dinner, and I watched some TV with the Hubs (he did not have his game night, and therefore I didn't watch Biggest Loser- tonight's the night, though). I was going to try an elliptical workout inside, but I just couldn't muster up enough energy. Yesterday was a total crazy day. It was the Region 1 Drill Team competition (my sister is a senior this year), so I drove straight home after work, where my grandma was waiting for me, then we drove clear up north to the boonies to the host high school. We waited in line, then they finally opened the doors, and then we had to sit and just wait in the bleachers for an hour until it started. There were 8 schools and each team did 3 dances, plus there were "exhibition" performances in between so the judges could take a break (they were the cheerleaders or dance companies of the participating schools).

I decided to wait until the very end to be there when they announced the awards. They give 1st through 5th place for each dance category, and the overall top 5 teams get to compete at the state competition next week. I knew my sister's team had done really well, and figured they would place in the top 2. However, when they announced the winners in the first dance, the one where I thought their competition was a little stronger, they won first place! Whoah! They also took first place in their other two dances, and therefore received first place overall. It was very exciting- especially since my sister is a co-captain and she choreographed one of the dances. I tried to get a picture of her holding the 1st place plaque, but she was being a brat and wouldn't let me take it. So no picture. But I am taking off work next Friday to go to the state competition. Should be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Okay, I got a little off track there. What I was getting to, was that I stopped at home for 5 minutes after work, then was gone all night until 10:30 (I ate concession stand pizza and a PowerBar for dinner- yummmm). The Hubs was asleep when I got home, because we were leaving for the airport this morning at 5:10 for his 6:10 flight. We planned to wake up at 4:45 a.m. but the doorbell rang at 4:30. Who the hell rings the doorbell at 4:30 a.m.?! Well, apparently my father-in-law was hitching a ride with us to the airport, and he showed up a bit early. He overestimated the traffic and travel time from Provo (which is a long way from our house). So we drove to the airport this morning, then I went home and went back to sleep for about an hour. I used personal time so I didn't have to be here until 9:00 to hand out paychecks (yay, my favorite- not!).

It feels like the longest day of my life, but I've only been at work for 5 1/2 hours. On my way home, I have to stop at Costco to buy salad, and then somewhere else to get Drano, because our bathroom sink is clogged with shaving cream and hair from the Hubs shaving off his yeti face, LOL. He shaved last night, and the sink wouldn't drain, so he wrote a note on the mirror to say sorry (because he knows I get totally grossed out by hair in the sink- one of my biggest pet peeves). How cute is that (the note, not the hair, ha ha)? Then my plan is to watch Biggest Loser (finally!) and eat some kind of healthy dinner- but I probably still won't work out. This disgusting air is seriously killing my lungs. It rained a bit this afternoon, but it didn't really help much. We're supposed to get a big snow storm Sunday, and that's when the real relief will come.

Well, that's it for today. But I did want to mention that I noticed I have a few new followers. Welcome to the craziness. I will be checking out your blogs soon, I promise. And thank you everyone for your comments. I don't always have time to reply to them, but I always enjoy reading them.

Painters Half-Marathon Race Report

Wow, what a wild and crazy weekend! We made it home safely yesterday after a full day of shopping and driving (I ended up driving the entire way home, since the Hubs drove from St. George to Vegas and back). I'm sure you're all dying to hear how the race went, so I'll try to get to the point (but you all know me, so this could wander a bit).

I picked up my packet Friday afternoon, and was slightly disappointed at the lack of goodies in my bag. There was no technical t-shirt, just a sweatshirt (which I knew ahead of time), and then I got a snow hat/beanie with the logo embroidered on the front. And the only other thing was a package of the new (I think) PowerBar Gel bursts Blasts. But I guess I can't complain, because it only cost $35 for the race, and most half-marathons are almost twice that (and some are even more).

I decided to do my carb-loading at the Pizza Factory. In the past, it seems I've run well after eating pizza, and we all know how much I love it, so I crossed my fingers that it would be okay. Below is a picture of me with my giant garlic parmesan breadstick and my salad bar (and of course I'm sportin' zero make-up).

We went shopping at the outlet stores, and I wandered around for a while in the sporting goods store, hoping to score a bargain. There wasn't really anything I needed in there. However, right before I headed out the door I saw some gloves and decided to check them out. It must have been fate, because right below the gloves they had arm warmers. It was exactly what I needed for peace of mind on my temperature dilemma. They were light, and could just be pushed down if needed. Voila! Here I am modeling them before the start of the race. They're Pearl Izumi, and they were $20, which I don't think was any kind of bargain, but it was seriously the best $20 I've spent in a while. Oh, and notice what's in the background. Yep, a Tropical Sno shack. Hello!! It's January. We can see our breath, and I don't think anyone wants a Tropical Sno. It wasn't functional, but I thought it was funny when I noticed it in the picture.

I wore my C9 Champion singlet from Target, with the arm warmers, and a long-sleeve tech shirt from my 10k back in Sept (which has a decent size zip pocket on the side, that I planned to use for my gloves once I warmed up). Then I had my fleece headband (and my ever-present visor since it was a bright sunny morning), my  cheap cotton stretchy gloves, my Nike capri tights, and some CoolMax socks. Here I am modeling the full get-up, with my shirt hiked up so you can see my bib number- lucky 2300 even-steven. You can also see my new ITB strap (the tan one) which doesn't blend in as well as my other strap, which is black.

The Hubs had me pose for a picture at the starting line, so here I am right at front and center. After the picture, I proceeded to my appropriate spot in the middle of the pack, rather than blocking traffic in the front.

After the race started, the Hubs took off back to the hotel to go back to sleep. I had set the alarm clock for him, and told him I would call him when I had 2 miles left, so that he could make it back to the finish line. It was a pretty good size crowd, but still on the smaller end. I think there were 1700 participants, and that might have included the 5k people. Okay, I just checked the results page and there were 1033 in the half-marathon. Surprisingly the crowd moved pretty well at the start, and there wasn't a lot of back-up. My mantra was "nice and steady", trying to keep an even pace- not too fast, not too slow. At the first mile, I was already sweating, so that was good- it meant that I was warming up. By 2 miles, I had my gloves off and in the pocket. At that point, it was just under 20 minutes, so I was right on target. I reached the first water station at 2.7 miles, walked through while I took a quick drink, then kept running.

At that point we moved from the street to the trail, which went along the Virgin River. It was paved, and it was really nice. Good scenery, not too crowded, and not too many hills. Although just after mile 4 there was a steep, short hill that was pretty rough. But I got through it okay, and kept on cruisin. We went through a neighborhood for a bit, and I pulled out my gel, knowing that there would be water around mile 5 to wash it down. It gave me the push I needed and I continued on at my nice, steady pace. I was feeling pretty good, and was somewhere just under a 10:00 pace. We were soon back on the trail, and had a slight climb (hardly noticeable). Then we turned a sharp corner, and came down a big hill and crossed a bridge. We were almost to the half-way point. It was getting warmer, and I was still feeling pretty good, other than a little bit of arch pain that lasted for a half-mile or so. Experience has shown that it usually goes away, so I tried to ignore it. It was barely even a bother.

As we were coming up to the half-way point, it was a part of the trail where we go down, loop around and come back that same way before heading to the finish. Well, I reached the half-way mark, around 1:05, and just after that, several fast guys went speeding by, with 2 bikers in the front. It took me a minute to realize that they were the leaders of the pack- with only about a mile left!! Now that's fast! (The first place guy finished in 1:10:59, and the first female was also fast at 1:20:41- unbelievable!). I just continued on my steady pace. We came around the end of the trail, and there was a golf course and a driving range. We started going uphill a bit, but it really wasn't bad at all. Although most of my long runs were on the flat track inside at the rec center, apparently I ran enough hills in the shorter runs, that my body was conditioned enough. Oh, and another thing someone pointed out that it was at a lower elevation. I'm used to running at 4300 ft. and St. George is at about 2400 ft, so that could have helped, too.

Anyway, at the next station, I drank a little Gatorade (lemon-lime, which was really sour after my tangerine gel that I had back at mile 5)  and was off running again. There was another big hill after that, but I just took it nice and easy. Then it was a slow climb as we made a big circle. Around mile 8, I decided to take off my over shirt, so I had to undo my headphones and take my iPod off my arm. I slowed down a bit, but was still jogging. I tied my shirt around my waist and kept going. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to make the music work. Apparently if you unplug the headphones while using the Nike+ it messes with the music. It was still tracking my time and distance, and I could get the audio feedback, but no music. Crap! Well, I kept fiddling with it, and about a mile later, I figured it out. At that point, we were heading a bit downhill. Around mile 10, I ate a couple of PowerBar Gel bursts Blasts (cola flavor), and they were okay, but way too hard and chewy. I thought they would be softer like fruit snacks or something. I felt like I was wasting a lot of energy with my mouth. I probably wouldn't use them again. Next time I'll either "eat" another gel, or just take some fruit snacks or sport beans.

Around mile 10, I took off my fleece headband (I had left it on even though it was warm, because it was great at soaking up my sweat). I couldn't believe I was almost to the point where I would be calling the Hubs. As I was running the first part, I tried to notice where the mile markers were as we passed them (11 and 12), so I had a good idea when I was getting close. Soon enough I was at mile 11, and I pulled out my phone. I told the Hubs I was feeling good, and I was- surprisingly good. He said he was on his way. Once I hit mile 12 I slowed a bit. A while after that, there were some volunteers marking the course and they were cheering "only a mile left, keep going". Well, I was a little annoyed, because I knew it was less than a mile left- at least it should have been- but I wasn't exactly sure, because I knew the Nike+ was off by quite a bit at this point. I've come to the conclusion that on flat surfaces it's pretty accurate, but when there's any kind of hill or incline, that's where it adds extra distance. But whatever. I just kept plugging along.

We came around the mountain, and I saw the bridge. I was so excited, I got a burst of energy! I was thinking (because I heard someone before the race) that right after the bridge is where we came across and it was almost the finish line. Well, after crossing the bridge, I still had to wind around on a sidewalk. I was still going a little faster because I thought this time I really was nearing the finish. Then I got to a point where I again thought it was almost the end, and the volunteers were shouting out "stay to the left, keep going straight". What? Are you kidding me? So we had to run down a ways and do a little out-and-back and come back to the fork. Then we had to go up a little hill (seriously?). I was thinking it had to be the finish this time. At the top of the hill, we still had to run around the back way, and come through the finish line from behind. Sheesh! But as I came down the final stretch, I heard the Hubs and he had the camera on video. At that point, I was running fast (I've mentioned that I like to book it at the end of races). He ran along side me (I was sort of by myself ) with the camera, and told me to do "The Rocky" so I pumped my arms up in the air as I ran through the gate and over the timing mat. Wahoo! I did it!

It was amazing. I couldn't believe that I made it through the whole race with almost no pain, and running almost the entire way (with the exception of walking through the water stops). I certainly planned to take walk breaks, but I didn't even need them. I had no knee or hip pain, just a little arch pain for about 5 minutes or so in the middle). It was incredible! At the end, I was definitely ready for some type of refueling, though, so I wandered around trying to find food and water. I finally located the refreshment table and grabbed a half a banana, an orange, some bread and some water. Here's a picture of me with my medal. It's kind of small, and not very flashy, but again, I can't complain for only $35.

My official chip time was 2:15:26. Right within my goal time- yay!! That's an average pace of 10:22. Certainly not speedy, but not bad for someone who couldn't even run a mile without stopping last May. I finished 774 out of 1033, and I was 107 out of 150 in my age group (30-34) and 409 out of 605 in the females. Not bad for a first try. While I felt great through pretty much the whole race, shortly after I started feeling not so hot. Luckily we had a late checkout at the hotel, so I could go back and shower and change before we headed to Vegas. But I was pretty spent, and didn't have a whole lot of energy. I took a hot bath and laid there forever. Then the stomach issues started. I won't go into detail, but you can use your imagination. I think it was a combination of the running, the nerves and my breakfast. For the rest of the day I wasn't feeling very well. That's why the Hubs drove the whole way to Vegas (only 125 miles).

We planned to take it easy that night and see a movie, but it was really crowded everywhere (I mean it was Saturday night, but still). I needed food and was fading fast (by this time it was 7:30 Utah time). We ended up going to Denny's so I could get chicken noodle soup. I was about ready to fall asleep at the table. It was pretty pathetic. We headed back to the hotel instead of seeing a movie. I went to bed while the Hubs watched TV (the room was really nice and fancy, though, and we had a big flat screen in the room). Oh, and you should have seen the tub. It was humongous. Well, it wasn't big in size, but it was really deep, and maybe a little longer than a normal tub. I was going to take a picture, but I forgot. So Sunday morning, I took another long, hot bath (usually I'm not a bath person, but I really didn't have the energy to stand up and take a shower).

Then after breakfast we headed over to the MGM Grand to watch the football games. The Hubs placed a bet on both games, and luckily we picked the winning teams. He bet $20 on each game, and ended up winning $78. Not too shabby. It was fun to hang around and cheer, especially since there were so many Cardinals fans (we were rooting for the underdog), but I'd forgotten how smoky the casinos can be. It was not fun for my allergies, but overall it was a fun day. After the games, we ate at Baja Fresh, where I had a gift card that I won at work (but we don't have them in Utah anymore, and the closest location is in Vegas). I had tasty mahi mahi tacos. Then we drove back to St. George, but since I was so tired (and I don't have the greatest night vision) the Hubs drove. We didn't make it back in time to get in the hot tub (drat!), so we just went to sleep.

Yesterday, we had a quick breakfast, then headed back over to the outlet stores. The K-B Toy Store was going out of business and they had Hot Wheels for 60% off (which made them $0.47 each). Since we have a lot of nephews, we decided to buy a ton, so we picked out about 50 cars. Hey, just doing our part to stimulate the economy, LOL. Then we wandered around to a few different stores. I bought a shirt at Eddie Bauer (I can't help it, I'm a t-shirt junkie and it was only $6). Then I went back to the sporting goods store to get my contribution to Pat's contest. Finally we were on the road headed home. We stopped in Cedar City to eat lunch at Wendy's (using another gift card) but then it was straight home. We ended up spending less than $50 on gas for the entire trip, and for food and hotel rooms, it was only another $200 or so. Talk about a cheap trip. Last spring when we went on our road trip to California and cruise, we spent over $200 just on gas.

So that was my weekend. And now I'm back to the grind at work. I have lots of blog reading to do, and of course so much other stuff to tell you from last week and before, so hopefully I'll get to that eventually. But not right now. I keep thinking it's Monday, but it's Biggest Loser Tuesday. Yippee! Unfortunately the Hubs is changing his game night to Wednesday, so I probably won't be able to watch it tonight. Anyway, I'm outta here for now.

Half-Marathon, T-Minus 10 and Counting...

Oh my gosh, I can't believe the half-marathon is tomorrow!! I am sort of freaking out. I've been training for 7 weeks, but it's really, actually here. I did a long run of 12 miles 2 weeks ago, then last weekend I did 6 miles (I'll have to tell you the story on that one some other time), so I'm trained and tapered. I also bought another ITB strap to wear higher up on my leg to avert the hip pain. So I'm ready, but I don't quite feel ready. Plus I'm still freaking out about what to wear. The high temp will be about 60, but the race starts at 9:00 a.m. when it will be about 42 (according to accuweather.com). There is a clothing drop around mile 2.7, but I'm still nervous. I don't want to be too hot or too cold, and I don't want to have to carry a bunch of crap for 13.1 miles. I guess I'll figure it out somehow.

Well, I only have a second to write, because we're packing up to head out the door. We're staying in St. George tonight, then Vegas Saturday night (where we plan to watch football on Sunday at one of the many sports book places). Then we head back to St. George Sunday night so we don't have to drive as far home on Monday.

I'm very excited, but nervous and anxious, too. My original goal was to finish in about 2:10, which would be close to 10:00 miles. But with my hip pain, I've had to take it a bit slower, and my 12-mile run was about a 10:38 pace (but that included warm-up and cool-down). I'll be really happy if I finish under 2:15 (because my BIL runs the SLC half every year and usually does around 2:16-2:18). However, as long as I finish under 2:30 I'll be okay with myself. My pie in the sky goal is still 2:10 if some miracle happens, but I don't want to push it, so I'm focusing on 2:15. I really need to not start too fast, and save some for the end, so I'll try to finish the first 2 miles around 20 minutes. Then after that I'll try to pace myself between 10:00 and 10:30 miles. Hopefully I can use my iPod with my Nike+, but if not, at least I have my watch.

Well, wish me luck. And good luck to everyone participating in Pat's half-marathon challenge, and anyone else racing. Have a good weekend!!

Posts Are Forthcoming, I Promise

I just thought I'd drop a quick note to say that I am still alive and around. I'm still running and training for my half-marathon [which is now less than 2 weeks away- whoah!! (said in Joey from Blossom voice, LOL)].

I've been sick since Christmas Eve, and the Hubs got sick a few days after I did, and we're still recovering. I think it's just a really bad cold, but just when I think I'm finally feeling better, it hits me again (maybe we need to Lysol Wipe the whole house, and sleep in separate rooms so we don't keep contaminating each other). For the most part, I've been functional, but the Hubs is pretty bad. So while I've been somewhat sick, I'm trying to take care of him, and it's wearing me down (dearest Hubs, if you're reading this, please don't take this the wrong way- I love taking care of you, but I need someone to take care of me, too... maybe we can hire a nurse).

I was feeling quite a bit better yesterday, but had this dry, hacking cough all day that was really annoying. Then we got another snow storm in the afternoon, so my commute home was a nightmare (and took forever). I did not get in my 2-mile easy run, or any other type of exercise, and I didn't even shovel the driveway. Luckily, we have an awesome next door neighbor who bought a snow blower this year, and every time it snows, he clears our driveway along with his. Bless his soul!!

Anyway, because I didn't want to keep the Hubs or myself up with my cough last night, I conked out on Nyquil, and this morning, I think I have a bit of a hangover. I just can't get moving. Therefore, I will be lucky to get my work done, and help my SIL with her grad school application, let alone a workout and blogging. But I'm really going to try to do an elliptical workout tonight, maybe while watching the Biggest Loser (yippee!!!). Since the Hubs stayed home from work sick today, he is not having his usual Tuesday night game night, so we might be watching movies together tonight. We'll see.

Two Long Runs and a Celebrity Sighting

Wow, I guess I've been away a while. But I'm sure we've all been busy with the holidays, so hopefully I'm not the only one who's been absent in the blogging world. This week is another short week for me (although I'm working 3 days instead of just 2), but hopefully I'll have more time to blog, since I won't be as busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and food preparation.

I've been running, and the half-marathon training continues. In my last post, I talked about my upcoming 9-mile run. I am proud to say that I completed the 9 miles and then some (I added my cool-down to the end of the run, since it felt pretty good). Last Saturday (the 20th), I woke up around 8:00 and headed over to the rec center nearby. They have an indoor walking track, and I didn't want to deal with snow and ice for such a long run, so I figured it would be a great idea. Also, I had received a free pass from the Thanksgiving 5k, so I wouldn't even have to pay the usual $5.

I had no idea how long the track was, only that they had one. I was hoping that it was similar in length to a regular track (1/4 mile), otherwise I would be doing a lot of laps. Well, I headed upstairs, and was reading the sign on the wall about the track to see what info they gave, and I laughed out loud when I saw that the track was approximately 1/9 of a mile. That meant I would have to do at least 81 laps to finish my 9 miles!! But I was in good spirits, and I hunkered down for the long haul. I had my fuel belt (I'll explain that more later- thanks Nicole!) with a water bottle, and the gel flask filled with Powerade. In the pocket, I also had a package of sport beans (thanks Viv!).

The run itself went pretty well, although I forgot to use the restroom before starting, so I had to stop half-way through. I took the opportunity to grab a paper towel and wipe off some of the sweat that was dripping off of me. I started back up, and I drank my Powerade at around 5 miles (it's actually Powerade Zero), and ate half of the Sport Beans around mile 6. It was amazing what a boost I got from the sugar in the beans, and I realized that in future long runs, I should probably take in some carbs sooner than 60 minutes. I did have a little bit of arch pain toward the end, but it was actually a pretty decent run. Not including my potty break, I only took 3 walking breaks during the whole run (of about 1 lap each).

I ended up beating my 7-mile and my 8-mile times (around 1:09 for 7 miles- previous was 1:13, and 1:17:30 for 8 miles- previous was just under 1:20). I knew that my longest run before was 9.42 miles (although I had walked the last 3 miles- I should have turned off my Nike+ during that "run"), so I really wanted to try and beat that. I hit the 9 mile point at around 1:24!! Holy cow- that's 9 miles in 84 minutes, which is a 9:20 pace. I then continued with my cool-down, walking another 4 laps. When I finished I was at 9.55 miles, and I got the shout out from Lance Armstrong on my longest workout yet- awwww yeah!! And somehow, my Nike+ was exactly accurate, which it never is. It's usually off by at least .2 miles (which isn't much, but still). I did 86 laps (at 1/9 mile each), which makes 9.5555555 miles. Unbelievable!

It felt really good to be able to run the farthest that I've ever run, and to cross off another milestone on my training plan. Plus, to have so little pain was very encouraging. In fact, I felt like I could have gone another couple miles if I had to. The next part of my plan was an easy 3 mile run on Monday (the 22nd). I planned to leave work early, because we were having a b-day party for my sister-in-law (from Denver). Well, unfortunately, with shopping and making minestrone, I ran out of time and never did run. Oh well, I would still do my next planned run of 5 "easy" miles on Christmas Eve- but I'll get to that.

Tuesday, was a planned rest day (instead of the elliptical like usual), because the Hubs and I were going to Temple Square to look at the Christmas Lights. We were going after work, and I didn't plan to go home afterward. I brought warm clothes to change into, and after we found a parking space, we headed over. As we were crossing the street, that's when the Hubs saw someone who looked like an actor. Here's how the conversation went:

Hubs: You've got to look at this guy, he totally looks like the guy from Dawn of the Dead.

Me: Which one? (looking around, trying to see anyone who looks like a guy from the movie)

Hubs: The crazy boat guy (that's a direct quote- but I knew who he was talking about, the character Steve).

Me: Where? (still looking around, at all the people in horse-drawn carriages passing by, and all the pedestrians crossing the street with us).

Hubs: This guy right here (pointing to the guy right in front of us). You've got to look at him- it's uncanny!

Me: Okay. (We speed up to walk in front of him, because I can't tell from the back. When we're in front of him, I turn around and look, and the guy does look like a scruffy version of the guy from the movie).

Hubs: (still freaking out that the guy looks so much like the actor) It's got to be him. (he was walking with an older lady, who was most likely his mother)

At that point, the Hubs decided to talk to him, so he asked him if he was an actor, and the guy said yes, and the Hubs was like, "I recognize you, from Dawn of the Dead". The lady that was with him made some comment to the effect of he knew it was you, even with your beard. So that was our celebrity sighting in downtown Salt Lake City (and Sundance isn't even until next month, LOL). We saw Ty Burrell (if you click here and then click on the picture of him with the red background- with the scruffy beard-, that's pretty much what he looked like when we saw him).

Anyway, Christmas Eve morning, I was up early (6:30) so that I could do a 5 mile run outside before we headed to my in-laws. I bundled up and headed out, hoping that the sidewalks would be somewhat clear of snow and ice. For the most part, it was pretty good, but there were still several snowy and/or icy spots. I was really wishing I had some Yak Trax at that point, but I managed to finish in a decent time, just over 51 minutes.

For now, I'm skipping over all the Christmas stuff to talk about my other long run (the reference in the title). This past Saturday (the 27th), my plan was a 10 mile run, again at the rec center. Due to some customer service issues when I registered for the Thanksgiving 5k, I scored a few more free passes. But anyway, since we had yet another family party, I planned to start running at 8:00. Well, I was a little late, and didn't get out the door until 8:15, so I started running around 8:25 (this time I remembered to use the restroom before my run). Although it was a bit daunting to realize that this time I would have to do at least 90 laps, I figured it really wasn't much longer than my last run, and it should be fine. But for some reason I was really nervous about doing 10 miles (possibly because I had done only 1 other run during the week).

The run was going well. Due to the lessons learned from the previous run, I ate the sport beans a little sooner (around mile 4.5) and then drank some of my Powerade a little bit after that (but not the whole 5 oz. bottle). It definitely helped. Unfortunately around mile 6 I started having some hip pain (due to my IT band- which no longer causes knee problems, since I have my strap). I stopped a few times to try and stretch, and took my regular walk breaks, but it was still giving me trouble. I tried slowing down, speeding up, but nothing helped. Toward the end, it was hurting really bad, and after a walk break I made one last effort to try and run again (still hoping to finish the full 10 miles), but realized at that point, it was not worth it to try and push through it (the pain was pretty severe by then). So I just decided to stop, somewhere just before 8.5 miles (I'm not even sure of my exact time for distance, because for some reason my Nike+ didn't save my workout info- the last run it had saved was from 12/24, grrrrr). I ended up doing 78 laps, which is 8.66 miles, but I think because I did my warm-up on the inner lane, it was measuring a bit less than that through most of the run.

After I stopped I was limping pretty bad, and by the time I got home, I was pretty upset. It was a combination of not completing the run, and wondering how that will impact my training plan (not much room for adjustment, since I'm on the short track), and also worrying that the pain won't be gone in time to even do the race. Plus, on top of all that, I had a big goose egg on the side of my forehead, from my klutziness that morning when I banged my head on the bedroom door (yeah, I'm a paragon of grace), but it was dark, so give me some credit. I was in quite a bit of pain all day Saturday and Sunday, and today it's still bothering me a bit. I'm supposed to do an easy 3 mile run, so I'm going to test it out and see how it goes. Plus, I'm excited to try out my new Yak Trax!! Yes, Santa (meaning the Hubs) was very good to me, and totally surprised me with a pair of the Pro variety. He is so awesome!!

I'm still depressed about not finishing my 10 miles, and I'm worried about the pain, but I'm still planning to do the race. If I have to just take it easy and cross train for the next 2 1/2 weeks, so be it. I'll keep you updated on how things go. Plus, I also still have to talk about football, and some other junk, so I'll try to post again soon.

The Year in Review: 52 Words

Okay, like P.O.M., I am sort of hi-jacking the idea from Runner's Lounge, and writing a review of 2008 in 52 words or less (one for each week, get it?). But it's not a review of my running year- since I didn't run the whole year- instead it's a review of my year in general. And since I only started blogging in June, there's a lot of stuff from the beginning of this year that you don't even know about. So it will also be a way to get to know more about me (as a Scorpio, I try to maintain some air of mystery, but really, I can't help but talk about myself).

We all know that I have a hard time being succinct, but because I'm limited to only 52 words, it can't be very long (and of course I won't use full sentences). Oh, and since I'm totally detail-oriented and anal, it's exactly 52 words (if you count half-marathon as one word) and it's in chronological order. Here goes:

Big Brothers Big Sisters

got a passport

first cruise plus road trip and Magic Mountain

reached highest weight since 2001

lump on breast- turned out nothing

went off the pill

started running, 5k's, 10k's

brother moved to Denver

watched lots of Olympics

knee pain, calf pain

undefeated football team

training for half-marathon

So, that's the recap of 2008 for me. The highlights (and lowlights), if you will. It's hard to believe another year is almost over, and that I still haven't lost the weight I gained after getting married- ugh! But I have to say, 2008 was definitely better than 2007. In some ways, I have high hopes for 2009, but in other ways, I'm nervous about what the (near) future holds. I hope to get pregnant, and finish my first half-marathon (not necessarily in that order), and maybe finally unpack the boxes in our basement (we moved in 2 1/2 years ago- I think it's about time). But I'm worried about the economy, and how the Hubs' job will go (he works in finance). I'm also worried about my family and their finances (luckily, my practical husband has our finances in order, so we are fine- at least for now).

But I can't dwell on the negative, especially in the winter, or I could end up really depressed. Instead I'm going to think about how fun this Christmas will be, spending time with my favorite family members, and getting to see my brother again (he flies in tomorrow). It's most likely it's going to be a white Christmas, so that's also a plus (although I really hate driving in the snow, and I'm learning that running in the snow isn't so much fun, either). But back to the positives (see how easily I get off track- I think I have blogging ADD). I'm looking forward to continuing my running, and reaching distances and milestones that I've never reached before. In fact, this Saturday's 9-mile run will be a new milestone, because if you remember the last time I attempted 9 miles, my knee pain prevented me from making it past about 6 miles, and I had to walk the rest the way home. And back in May (when I first started running) I never would have thought that I'd be running a half-marathon so soon. I can't believe it will be here in less than a month- in fact, it's 4 weeks from tomorrow.

Anyway, the party is tonight, and it's been snowing most of the day, so that should be fun, dealing with traffic and the freezing cold (it's a whopping 25 degrees right now). But it will be nice to have a fancy dinner out on the town. A funny thing is, our company owns the Holiday Inn Brand, but we're having our party at the Sheraton (because there's not a Holiday Inn with a big enough ballroom for all 800 of us). We decided that if we're up to it afterward, we will be seeing "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It should be a fun night, but I'm thinking with all the snow, I will 95% be resorting to my Plan B for my run tomorrow.

And before I sign off, here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.  The first one is from the drill team competition. My sister is in the front. The stands are a little empty, because the bigger schools were all sitting on the other side (different size schools performed facing different directions for different judges). And it was the night before the main competition. This dance was just the officers.

The next two pictures are from Sunday dinner where we celebrated my dad's birthday. There's my cute little sister and her boyfriend (sorry, it's a little blurry).
This is me and the Hubs and my nephew (notice his new sweet Vikings hat that he bought in Denver). Don't you love that squinty little smile? Maybe we can take a picture like this some day with our own little midget. Wouldn't that be cute?
Sorry I don't have more pictures of the dance competition, but I mostly took videos and they're too long to post here. Besides, they're all of my sister and not me, and this is not her blog (although I think she's on MySpace, LOL). Well, I'm off for now. Have a good weekend, everyone!!

Absolutely Fabulous!

Can you believe it? The lovely, shrinking, adorable Kiki nominated me for another blog award!! I have such good blog buddies.

I would like to nominate the following:

Robin- I am so happy that she is back to blogging. She has the cutest kids, and always has great stories. And she tells it like it is. She is great at accountability.

Cyndi- If you want some inspiration, check out her blog immediately. Her posts are always so full of heartfelt emotion. Plus she is a weight loss and running success story.

Nicole- Don't blink or you might miss the new layout of the day. Nicole is always changing things up, and I love it. She's a youngster and a fast runner, and she is also very sweet and a great photographer.

Shosh- If you didn't get enough inspiration from Cyndi's blog, then head on over here. And even if you did, head on over anyway. Shosh also has a way with her words, and is so down to earth, and is a walking, talking, living, breathing example that perseverance pays off!

Cross Country Squared- Much to my chagrin, I don't think I even know my home-girl's name, but she is a fellow runner, and she recently completed her first marathon. But of course her blog isn't all about running. Oh, and she's my body idol (I mean she does have the body fat % of a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, and who wouldn't want that?).

Congrats ladies! Your blogs are fabulous!!

And to continue on, Robin tagged me today (whoah, so much going on- good thing it's slow at work). So here goes: (as if you don't know enough about me already)

1. Five names I go by - Shanna, Shanna Banana, Roo, RooBabs (or RooBarb), and Big Sister (this is because I volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters, so a friend at work and I call each other Big Sister).

2. Three things I am wearing right now - red shoes (Kenneth Cole thrift store bargain), black pants (from Target), charcoal gray wool sweater (Old Navy)

3. Two things I want very badly at the moment - to have my Christmas shopping done, and to go home to a spotlessly clean house

4. Three people who will probably fill this out - Nicole, Kiki, and Marcie (but no pressure)

5. Two things I did last night - ran 5 miles in the cold, dried the dishes- stuff that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher (after the Hubs washed)

6. Two things I ate today - alternative bagel with peanut butter (the bagel is wheat with only 110 cals!), and part of a rice krispy treat (to balance the low-cal bagel, I guess)

7. Two people I talked last to on the phone - the Hubs, and my sister in law (I was helping her with her math/GRE studying)

8. Two things I am going to do tomorrow - go to my company Christmas party (oh, excuse me, I mean year end winter party) and maybe see a movie afterward

9. Two longest car rides - Seattle to San Francisco- 865 miles (well, technically it was Snohomish to Palo Alto). It was Spring Break, and my roommate and I were going to see my boyfriend (and her good friend). We left mid-afternoon and drove all night- it was rough. Layton, UT to Walla Walla, WA- 564 miles. I've driven farther distances, like to Phoenix, or to California, but we always stopped somewhere in the middle overnight. I made the trek to and from Walla Walla many times while I was going to school there, and it was always in one shot. Although it seemed like a much quicker drive than from Salt Lake to Reno, NV, which is one of the most boring drives ever, and is "only" around 520 miles.

10. Two favorite beverages - Brazilian lemonade and Dr. Pepper (but 95% of the time I just drink water)

So there you have it. More, and more, and more about me. As you can see, I was able to complete my run last night. My legs were kind of cold, but the rest of me was good- even my hands. And I didn't have much hip pain either. I think it might be because I ran the usual route in reverse, but who knows.

Anyway, just so you know I left replies to all of your comments on my last post, in case you want to check. Oh, and I also have a Plan B for my Saturday 9 mile run. The rec center that's a couple miles from my house has an indoor track. Normally it costs $5 to use (unless you have a membership, or are over 60), but when I did the Thanksgiving 5k, I got a free pass in my bag of goodies. So if it's 0 degrees and 8 inches of snow and ice (as forecast), then I will head over there and run inside (and not on a treadmill- although for the same $5 I could probably use their gym facilities, which look pretty nice from the pics I've seen).