this 'n that

Grandma's is 15 days away.

Holy crap.  

For the most part, I feel good.  I'm fairly convinced now that my body can carry me for 26.2 miles.  It may carry me slowly, but I think it's got the cardiovascular cojones. (Yes, there is such a thing. I'm sure of it.)  My only real concern is the nagging pain in my right ankle.  I'm hoping tapering will help with that - fewer miles and a bit more rest.

Things that occupy valuable brain space (this is where the "this 'n that" comes in):

My iFitness belt.  Not my bod.

1. I really like my iFitness belt from the comfort and no-bounce perspective.  The only complaint I have is that I look like an absolute TOOL with it on.  I don't have the slim, hot bod like the chick in the photo so it makes me look even more grandma-like by hiking up my shorts and further exposing my cellulite-covered thighs to harsh sunlight.  Not attractive.

(Ummmm, 1a, I guess.) What is the deal with cellulite anyway?  I'm not overweight.  True, I did gain 60 pounds with each pregnancy (I denied myself NOTHING food-wise while I carried members of America's Future) and I did cry on the scale when it said 197.  But eventually that weight came off.  And that was about a million years ago anyway.  I'm 5'11" and weigh about 145.  That sounds like a reasonable height/weight ratio, right?  I workout. I TRY to eat well.  And I've had two months now where I've run farther than 100 miles.  But my legs look like I've got skin a couple sizes too big.  WTF??  I'm trying to be all zen about it and embrace the legs that just carried me successfully on a 20 mile run but........ damn, they ugly.  Wish there was some way to put my legs in the dryer on high and see if the skin shrinks.  <Sigh>  Oh well.  I ain't 19 no more.  Back to zen.....

I have found socks to love that love me back.
Post 20 miler photo. These socks are the shit!

2. Check out my awesome socks!  Injinji toe socks.  LOVE them.  I wore them during my 30k and my 20 miler and they are the most comfortable socks ever.  Yay for happy toes!!

Gettin' lucky after a 4 miler.  I have no idea why I'm able to find
these things so easily.  Found three more of 'em the day
before, too.  If only I could pick winning lottery numbers as easily.

3. I've been finding 4 leaf clovers again.  A harbinger of good things for Grandma's, yes?



4. My final long run will be Sunday when I run the Minneapolis Half Marathon - ONLY 13.1 miles.  Which is still a damn long way to run.  After that, the tapering starts in earnest.

I hope I don't go insane.

Fifteen days.

FIFTEEN days.

FIFTEEN DAYS.

Ai-yi-yi.

goldilocks and the 13 mile run

Here's a little story about me and my adventures on a long run.

Ok, so I ran 13.24 miles yesterday in 2:22:57, with an average pace of 10:47.  Not bad, not bad, but you know me,  I was hoping I'd gotten a little faster with all this training I've been doing.  It was a tough run for me so I had to incorporate some walk breaks in there.  But hey, I burned 1,518 calories!  That's a lot of Oreos!!  Too bad I didn't have any on hand on which to snarf.

So I tried out a few new articles of clothing on the long run yesterday.  Of course, I always want everything to be just right on my long runs, but sadly, I came up short with some of my choices.

The Intimidator

First up: the Bra

I'm still trying out this Moving Comfort bra.  It's one tough mother - I call it The Intimidator.  When I first got it, it was so STIFF and uncomfortable I didn't think it was going to be a contender.  It has since softened with washing and is no longer quite so rigid, but still has an air of no nonsense about it.  I used Body Glide to reduce likelihood of chafing and really have no complaints about the bra at all. It might just be a keeper!

Next up:  The Shoes

My Asics Gel Kayano 16

The Asics were great on my short run this week so I thought I'd try them on the long run.  Remember when I mentioned the right shoe slap, slap, slapping on the treadmill?  It seemed to settle down on the treadmill but not so outdoors.  The stupid right shoe slapped with Every.Single.Step. Multiply that by 13.24 miles and not only was it annoying as hell, but my poor hammer toe on the right foot really took a beating.  I also had some significant pain in my left hip - felt like the joint needed to be popped back in the socket so I had to stop a few times to stretch the hip flexor; that  would help for a short period of time but then the pain would return.  I'll have to try the shoes a few more times but right now, I'm not liking 'em as much as I did after my 5 miles on the treadmill.

Are these Fila capris ass-tastic?  Maybe a little!

Third up: Fila capris

I'll be honest, I did not need a new pair of capris.  Truth is, I succumbed to the marketing on these pants - Fila claims they will make my ass look amazing.  You should have seen how quickly I forked over the 40 bucks - seemed like a pretty decent price for a miracle.  <Marketing works!>  They were comfortable for the most part but the waistband was a little too big so I had to hike 'em up a few times during the run.  Question for pants manufacturers: Hello?  Why no pockets???  How am I supposed to carry keys, lip balm and GU without pockets???

The burning question: Was there a miraculous ass transformation?  Ya know, for capris, they weren't too bad!!

These socks just didn't do it for my size 11s

Lastly: Pearl Izumi socks

My favorite Asics socks (I love them so much I have 5 pairs) are all getting pretty threadbare so I wanted to try a new pair of socks.  (Try as I might, I can't find those specific Asics socks anywhere!)  I wore these socks and though comfortable, they were not the greatest for a long run.  The (ankle??) band was too tight and left a deep welt along the top of my foot.  Verdict: these socks are fine for short distances but fail for long runs.  I'll have to keep looking for new favorite socks.

Food Choice


Scrambled eggs before a long run = bad.

I usually have oatmeal but forgot to make it Friday night and didn't have 45 minutes to cook it Saturday morning before heading to Minneapolis for my run. Let's just say I won't be fueling with eggs ever again and leave it at that.  And thank God for porta-potties.

Oh yeah

I forgot to mention: My official half-marathon time is 2:30:45, which means that even with my walk breaks, I shaved 7 MINUTES and 12 SECONDS off my time! And that doesn't take into consideration the fact that I ran farther than a half-marathon.... so I'm going with shaving almost 8 minutes.... that feels just right to me.

The End.

do these socks make me look like a poser?

I confess I've been wearing socks that imply I have run the TC Marathon.  Even though I decided I couldn't run the marathon, I went to the expo and got my goodie bag.  In the bag was a pair of socks that say "26.2" and "Twin Cities Marathon." I've worn them on a couple of runs now. I love those socks! Super comfy!!! I was a little worried that I was kind of a liar for wearing them but then I thought, "Hey, I've worn sweatshirts from schools I didn't go to and shirts from places I haven't been, so what's the big deal?"  Somehow the socks seem more important. Maybe because I really want to be one of those people who ran the marathon.

I need to fit a 6 mile run into my day tomorrow; some days it's really tough to squeeze in a run and tomorrow looks like it will be one of them. Maybe the socks will provide that little extra bit of inspiration to make it happen.