So here I am....

...at 4:30 a.m., too nervous and excited to sleep. I have to leave at 5:30 to get to the half marathon course by 6:30. The organizers said to be there extra early because of the heavy traffic (which caused hundreds of runners to miss the start of the race last year).

I've actually been awake since 3:30 a.m. My sinuses were getting stuffy and then my nose started running. Hate when that happens. So I took a shower, took a pic of my running gear and will be having breakfast soon. My dad will be taking me to the race, and will be sticking around to watch me take off and finish.

I don't really know what else to say right now. I'll likely be functioning on adrenaline for a while. I'm sure I'll probably crash hard when I get home. I think today will be a nap day! :-)

I'll post a race report and pics later. Bye, all!

....and this is why we can't have "nice" things

Because whatever things we do have, it seems there is always a "little person" who comes along and breaks it.

Today was no different. The kids and I were outside. They were playing; I was mowing the lawn. Kara had put some rocks on the grass a long time ago, so I asked her to pick them up and place them in the nearby flower bed so I could mow that area. I turned my back, and heard a crash. Turned back around, and Kara has her hands in her mouth (her signal for "I've done something really bad"). I look at the house, and there's now a softball-size hole in her bedroom window. So instead of listening to me and gently placing the rock in the flower bed, she chucked the rock at the house and broke her own window. Pure genius.

The only saving grace is that the rock only broke the outside plate of glass. We now know our old windows are, indeed, double-paned.

*sigh*

Anyway, we're leaving for Auburn tomorrow. Race is on Sunday!!! Can't wait!! I'm taking my camera along on the run. Should be fun! :-)

Forgot to mention I did run on Wednesday. Just a short track run. Better than nothing!

Wednesday's stats:
Run:
Distance: 2 miles

One week away!

One week left until the Shamrock'n Half Marathon!!! I am getting excited now, despite the issues with my knee. I didn't run at all this week to let it rest. I did go to the track and bust out a quick two-miler today, which felt good. I should probably run on the track a lot more than I do, as the surface is much kinder to my joints. Kara went with me and had a blast running, too. She managed about 3/4 of a mile, which is pretty darn good for a five-year-old! We played on the swings afterward. :-)

So I've resigned to the idea that this HM will be of a just for fun event rather than an event to PR in. The course is supposedly flat and fast, but I think if I PR it will be a freakin' miracle. But I'm OK with that. It should be tons of fun!! There are bands planned to play at every mile (kinda like a Rock 'n Roll HM) and the field is full (4,000 people have registered). Every finisher gets these awesome shamrock-shaped medals. It will be very cool. I'm actually considering leaving Garmin at home for this one, but we'll see how it goes. I will definitely be taking my camera so I can snap some shots as I make my way down the course.

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: two miles
Time: 20:56
Pace: 10:28 minute/mile

I think the marathon will have to wait

I am bummed about this, but I don't think I will be physically able to do a full marathon this spring. My IT band issues are not being resolved as quickly as I hoped, and this has put a major damper on the HM training. I am still doing the HM in less than two weeks, but I have put my hopes for a PR on the backburner because I am so scared my knee won't let me run the way I want to. My goal now is to just finish.

Plus, things are stressful right now with life in general. The future of Tim's company is a little uncertain due to some things that have happened, so my heart's not really into training right now. I've been looking for a job, just in case. Funny how when things are going well, they seem to go really well. And when they go bad, well, they just blow up in your face and go to hell.

Thursday's stats:
Run:
Distance: three miles

Sunday's stats:
Run:
Distance: four miles (was supposed to be nine -- ny knee wouldn't take it)

I didn't die

That stomach flu didn't kill me. Yay.

I am still in the blogging funk and don't really come to my blog that much anymore. Some strange crap has been going down in real life and I have been feeling pretty depressed the past couple days. I hope the dark cloud over me lifts soon. We had Chinese food tonight, and that did help a little. :-)

I did a nice workout on the Wii Fit afterward to burn off the calories I consumed.

Sunday's stats:
Run:
Distance: seven miles

Tonight's stats:
Wii Fit: 32 minutes

OMG....stomach flu.....*puke*

Holy cow, I am so sick right now. Matty has been dealing with the stomach flu (and Kara did earlier, too) and it appears that I have it now. I've been throwing up since about 10 p.m. (it's 1 a.m. now) and am having issues on the other end, too. I am so tired and want to go to sleep, but I am afraid my need to run to the bathroom will get in the way. I want my mommy! :-(

That being said, tomorrow's run is in SERIOUS jeopardy.

500th post!

Funny, this is my 500th post and I really don't have anything I want to gab about. Sad, no? I am having some pain in my left knee area, which is really bothering me. It kinda radiates from the knee down the back of my calf. So now I'm all paranoid about what's causing it.

I have also been sick, so I didn't run for a week. I did run yesterday, but it was three shades of awful. Probably the least fun five miles I've ever logged. I hope to do a short run tomorrow. And I hope my leg will start feeling better!

Yesterday's stats:
Run:
Distance: 5 (horrible) miles