Best Week Ever

First off, Tuesday trivia is back on and Sweet Ninja Love is getting closer and closer to bringing home the prize.

Wednesday, I had the pleasure of seeing the world's greatest MJ tribute band, Who's Bad, perform with 2 of my favorite people in the world. And about 200 wasted underage college girls, but that's not the point. IF this band comes to your area, GO SEE THEM. Seriously, its well worth the cover charge.

Thursday I got to catch up with my old roomies and we're making plans to keep that going.

Friday, also amazing. Spent some quality time with my bed and a few books. A few books because I have started approx. 5 books and I don't want to finish any of them. I need recommendations people. NOthing is getting me going literature wise.

That brings me to today. I ran 5 miles, my first 5 mile run since the race and I did a little speed training. It feels good to be back out there since i have been cheating and doing the elliptical for the past few weeks. I do like to run, but I have to run now so I can keep eating like I was while I was marathon training. How sad is that? I'm so used to eating whatever the hell I want and then justifying it by the miles I put in...so I might want to keep running if I am unwilling to give up my food intake. Now i'm going to the library since I already cleaned up. And I still have a lot of hours of daylight left!

Also excited about tomorrow night. The boyfriend is cooking me dinner and he's getting pretty good at it, so yay!

I guess this week looks semi-boring now that I'm reading back thru it, but its the little things like my super great friends, a beautiful Saturday after rain almost all week, having time to go to the library, dancing to MJ songs on a random Wednesday night, and a guy cooking me dinner just because he likes me. i kinda like my life.

Running, Run, Ran

I am still failing at this whole blog thing. But maybe now that the marathon is OVER, perhaps I will spend more time blogging.

That's right, I finished the marathon! Yay! Probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Let me just take you thru my feelings during the 26.2, so if you are thinking of doing a marathon I can give you a real picture of what it feels like.


This is pre-marathon. I ate a plain donut, half a nutri-grain bar, and drank a bottle of water for breakfast. And about 3 sips of red gatorade. I put on all my gear, my shorts with pockets for my Gu, pepto tablets, and chapstick, a long sleeve under armor shirt, my purple TNT tank top, and my semi-new running shoes. And mascara. I taped my feet because I was having some pain and my toe had a blister already. I was good to go. I was nervous because I wasn't nervous. My awesome mama got up with me at 6am to walk me to the startline and take my jacket from me. It was below 50 degrees that am. Then part of my team walked to the start line to begin.

Guess what song played as I was starting the race...Don't Stop Til You Get Enough...my favorite MJ song. So I was in a pretty good mood at this point. Really happy to see 19,000 people racing and even more people cheering. I just pretended every "Go Sarah!" sign was for me. I ran with a teammate Katie for the first half of the race. We got off to a slow start because of the crowd, but we were able to manuever and get a decent pace. I was feeling like a million bucks at the halfway point. I had eaten 2 GUs, my tummy wasn't hurting, and I felt awesome. No biggie, now I just had to do the same thing one more time. I shed my $35 long sleeve shirt (it hurt a little to toss it to the side of the road, but a)i didn't want to carry it, and b) it went to charity) and kept moving. It took up 2 1/2 hours to get here.

Then we get to mile 16. I decide to take a potty break since I had been thru 15 water/powerade stops by this time. It's hard to stop because that's when your legs let you know they are in some pain, so I told Katie to take off and we'd find each other at the finish. That bathroom break really was the turning point I think...wasn't feeling so swell. I realized my toes were working against each other and rubbing blisters and that my leg muscles were tensing up big time. But hey, only 10 more to go, it was all downhill from here on out.

Mile 19. Shoot me. Seriously. 7 more miles? I've been running for like 4 hours. It's lunch time. I decide to switch it up and eat a chocolate gu instead of the strawberry banana. That was fine, but at the next water stop, i drank the blue powerade, so the next mile was pretty terrible b/c the combo didn't sit well and i thought puking may be my best option. I'm feeling gross, but as I round the corner heading toward mile 20, i hear a high school marching band in the distance...playing the Rocky theme song. So right as I pass them, they're really getting to the good part. BEST PART OF THE RACE. hands down. I mean, it's rocky. It made me think of Todd and then I thought of all the other people that supported me for the last 6 months every time I bitched about my sore feet or lack of motivation. So cheesy, but it really pumped me up to finish strong.

Then we got to the bridge. The bridge was only like, 2 miles long, but it was the neverending bridge of death. Everybody was walking. I was like, f that, if I walk I'm just going to be out here even longer. I'll be honest, at mile 23, there was a place where we're passing other runners on mile 24. I wanted to cut that mile short so badly. Only 3 miles to go. Those 3 miles hurt worse than anything. I never thought I wasn't going to finish. But I did start wondering why the hell anybody thought running for 5 hours was a good idea.

As you can see, I'm really bipolar during the race. Ups and downs the whole time.
But then I see the 26 mile marker. .2 to go. Uphill. Thank you race planners for that little jewel. I ran as fast as I could up that hill and crossed the finish line with the biggest smile on my face.

That was the best feeling I've ever had. In my whole life. I'm sure getting married and having babies will be awesome feelings, but i was just so overwhelmed with happiness and pride. I cried a little when I spotted my mama. Such a baby, but I just worked really hard and this is the outcome. It's just a good feeling to set a goal and then do it.

So if you're thinking of running your own ridiculously long race, just know that you will never be more happy with yourself. Or your body, because I'm really digging the runner look. Going to try to keep that going. But also know it's mentally and physically challenging. But I did it, so I'm pretty sure anybody can.

Oh, and the day after the race will be something like this. But at least you'll have a medal to wear.

It's Time

The moment we've all been waiting for...Marathon weekend!!! I've been running so much my blog has suffered significantly because of it. That's my excuse.

So...i'm freaking out just a little bit. Christie has already gotten this list of worries, but let me just share with the rest of you two.

1. I've been training all summer in 70-90 degree weather wearing shorts and a tank top. I chafe when i run in anything other than my Target black or white fitted dry-fit tank tops and my green/blue sports bras. And I'm scared to change it up. It's going to be 50-60 degrees and I have to wear my stupid purple singlet that is like a belly shirt. It looks ridiculous, and the long sleeve shirt i bought doesn't feel right underneath and i can't decide what my best option is.
2. I don't know what to pack for the whole weekend. So dumb, but i'm just causing extra stress for myself. I'm scared shoes I wear all the time will suddenly rub blisters if i wear them all day Saturday to be a tourist.
3. When i get nervous, my stomach gets nervous. And having to run like that is the most painful thing ever. I will never beat the bridge (have to make it to 20 mile marker by 1pm-ish or they come pick me up-14 min. mile pace) if i have to stop at every porta potty i see.
4. I ran 5 miles in 47 minutes on Tuesday. Felt awesome. Now i can barely walk on my left foot because it hurts so bad. But i did run today just a few miles, and the pain goes away eventually, so that should be fine.
5. I like to eat blueberry frozen waffles before long runs. Where the F am I going to find a toaster in my hotel?
6. i'm scared. like, super nervous because i didn't follow the training fully. I skipped a lot of runs, i didn't put in the miles toward the end like i should have. I missed an entire week in October, and i should have run about 100 miles this month already and i've done about half that many. 12 miles this week, and i did 7.5. what if those miles i missed are the difference in my ability to run 20 and 26.2?

The logical side of me says that I've run somewhere between 400-500 miles since April. I ran 108 miles in August, the hottest part of the summer. I slacked off on logging the miles in my calendar for the past 2 months, but i know with long runs I'm up around 125 miles even having taken a week off for the flu. I trained in heat, i trained in the rain, i trained with a hurt foot, with the swine flu, semi-hungover, and about to shit my shorts. Why do i think this one run is going to kill me?

Because I'm ridiculous. I'm trained. I'm going to stop whining now and run this f-ing race. No, not run it. Kill it. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But they don't. So I will. And I'll do it upright and feel like a superhero at the end.

yay marathon!!

Lots of stuff agoin on

So, I got a new job!!! YAY! Finally the search for a stable income comes to an end. Let's take a moment to grieve the loss of commission based salaries...

Enough of that...commission can suck it. Because I have a new job where I won't have to wonder how much money I'll make monthly, because it won't be changing. Until I get promoted.

I'll be working with Allstate in the Claims department. I'm pretty excited because I'll finally be out of sales. The benefits are good, pay will be good, and I'll be good hopefully as well! I'm still working on the english teaching certification, so this will be good while i'm finishing that up. We'll just see how it goes! Super excited. I start Sept. 14th, so I have this whole week off to play!

In other news, 18 miles baby. YEAH! And an impromptu trip to OK to see Christie on Tuesday. Also, I made homeade guacamole tonight and a Mexican inspired lime tilapia dish that was amazing. I love avocado.

better late than never

I just wanted to say that although I insulted, refused, and even scoffed at the Harry Potter craze, I am retracting all the negativity.

I have a hatred toward fantasy type novels...scratch that, HAD a hatred. I just finished the last of the Harry Potter series, reading approx. 400 pages this afternoon, and I am super impressed. I am not ashamed in the least bit to admit that I very much enjoyed the books and the movies and the whole darn wizard adventure. It was just really well written, and I'll say again that any book/series that can encourage massive amounts of people to read is a winner in my book (no pun intended).

So thank you Christie and Julian for getting me into it. I am forever grateful.

Also, very important news...

MIGHTY MCFLY IS PLAYING MY LLS FUNDRAISING EVENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you can't tell, I have never been so excited in my entire life. Details will follow, but they are coming to Columbia September 24th to play 80s greatness just for the cancer cause!!!!!!!!! Dreams really do come true!

it's training, it's pouring

So...I wrote about Saturday's run on my other blog, but I feel like here I can be most honest because I just don't want to curse on the other blog.

I nearly shit my pants on Saturday's run. Like, I was praying that I would just make it home. I was grateful to return to my car and find that there was a roll of trash bags in there from when we moved so that I could sit on one. It would serve 2 purposes: 1)to shield my seats from my sweat, and 2) if i happened to shit myself, cleanup would be easier.

How gross is that?? And how gross that I am writing about this for people to read? I just think people should know the realities of marathon training. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of myself and its for a great cause, blah, blah, blah, but there are some days that I really step back and go, really? What made you think you had it in you? You like beer, and lazy afternoons, and naps. 26 miles, really? FOOL!

But then I reevaluate. I've raised almost $1,000 for LLS (still short of my goal, but still a sizable donation to a great charity). I have run 13.5 miles, which is about 10 miles further than I had ever run before now. I have met some awesome people, cancer survivors, Team in Training people who have run numerous races for the cause, my great coach. And only one time in the last 3 months have I wanted to just stop. And in all fairness, a stomachache like that is a good excuse.

And again, that run was not entirely pointless because now I've learned a few things about myself and how to make sure I don't have another run like that. I'm altering my powergel stuff, not putting it in my bra, and waking up earlier for my next long run. My boob, by the way, the left one looks like it was mauled by a bear. The powergel has sharp edges that seriously took a toll. I've got damaged goods.

Ok, I'm being dramatic...I'm still excited and i have 2 months until the big day when I will be victorious.

AND, more good news, I hopefully am having this big fundraiser soon and my FAVORITE 80's cover band might be playing. You don't understand how big a deal this is. I'm trying to get it worked out today, so I'll officially post and invite soon. Let's keep our fingers crossed!!

Things To Avoid When Trying to Holla at Woman at a Bar

First of all, don't ever say, "Lemme holla atchoo girl," because that's just gross. I don't often get hit on in bars, that's not what this is about; this is about this one dude who just immediately pissed me off last week by making several key errors and ruining his chances. Let's do it in story form as opposed to listing. It will make it more fun.

Summer (which is actually the alias I am using now when I go out), August, and Ju B Smooth attend a formal gala one Thursday evening. After dancing (and eating and drinking) the night away for a charitable cause, the 3 friends are eager to keep the evening going and decide to take their fancy dressed selves to a rooftop bar. The breeze is pleasant and the stars shine on them as they approach the bar. Summer and August order a drink and begin talking when they are abruptly interrupted by The Entrepreneur.
"Can I buy you a drink?" he inquires. Not wanting to mislead the business man, wearing jorts, the girls politely decline.
"Are you with that guy?" he nods toward Julian who could very clearly beat him up, and proceeds to say something about him being big and scary and he wishes he would go away. He said something insulting about his disbelief that we would be hanging around 'a guy like that.' I don't even know what that means.
So I turn away. He taps me on the shoulder. With his pointer finger. Like, tap, tap, tap, bony finger pokes shoulder, over and over.
"Can I help you?"
"why are you so dressed up?"
"Prom."
"Aren't you a little old for prom? I did that in high school."
"I just look older. Why else would i be in a prom dress?" (turns away again)
Tap tap tap..."so what do you do for a living Summer?"
"High school; you?"

"Oh...I'm an entrepreneur. I make a lot of money. Like, I'm not a millionaire yet, but I may as well be."

Oh no you didn't. Oh no you didn't mistake me for a girl who gives a shit how much money you make. Or say you make, because I don't know anyone whose actual job is entrepreneur with nothing else attached, like a job description. And I don't know any millionaires who wear jorts. I don't know any millionaires come to think of it, but that's not the point. That is the second time in one week that i've heard of someone mentioning their job salary in the first 10 minutes. Why do people do that?
His answer: "I don't know why you're so offended. Most girls are really impressed by my riches. All girls are looking for a man to take care of them."
Well that did it. Some other guy made the mistake of saying that to me once before and I almost punched him. (oooh almost punched him...that'll teach him!)
Granted, I do know girls, several girls, whose sole concern is finding a man to provide. And that's fine, but what happens when that man that you've always solely depended on for your support dies? Or leaves you? Or what if you don't find him in the first place? Then what? What do you do then?

In all fairness, I have said before that it is going to take a rich man to support my growing shoe fetish, but I don't need to know your salary until we start talking about buying our house, having babies, etc. Because at that point we will need to know our means of living. But I don't think this guy understood that I'm not basing my dating decision on his paycheck. Maybe if he were nicer, less annoying, and less dumb with his entrepreneur salary, i would be interested.

I know I've complained about guys doing this before, but the just won't stop! And they don't stop because there are girls that this shit works on! Some girls are just like, Sweet! He makes lots of money!!! YESSSSS!!!!

And that is totally fine if you already are interested in him. Like, you meet someone who is interesting and funny and smart, and then you find out later that he's doing well for himself. That's totally acceptable. What is not acceptable is for a person to approach you with that as their selling point. Hi, I'm rich can not be how you start talking to me.

Let's review:

1. Don't insult the people with me if you are trying to get in good. If I'm with a guy friend, I probably value his opinion and it's in your best interest to not say mean things about him.
2. Don't tap me over and over. Matter of fact, don't touch me at all unless you are given the green light.
3. If you are trying to use a pick up line, it should not be about your paycheck.
4. Once I turn away, again, stop tapping me! I don't think you understand how obnoxious that was.
5. Don't make generalized statements about things "all" women do.

On another note, Julian was going to say this to a girl: "Man, why did you invite all these other people? I thought it was just going to be me and you."
And now I have to use it because that is a do. Or, this guy said to Laura one time, "So...May 3rd, right?" Laura: "What's May 3rd?" "The day we're getting married."
Ha ha, i love pick up lines. The cheesier the better. That's probably why I get offended so easily when people do anything other than try to be funny.