drammatical

Goals. Lots of talk about these lately. Guess I better start too.

Well, after some talking with N I’ve decided (have been tricked) into focusing on strength. My strength sucks, always has. I hate strength training. I hate feeling like I’d rather die than complete another round of some CrossFit WOD. I’m so that person. I don’t mind running, even if I feel like puking, that’s okay. It’s the pain from lifting, my own body even, that’s not.

During this year’s Mt. Wilson training, Ranger-man opened up about some of his experiences during his stint in the military. It was really inspiring and it helped me get through that month I did nothing but CrossFit. Then, I forgot all about it. Well Monday’s session really kicked me hard. I wanted nothing more than to stop after the first round. Of course I wasn’t willing to quit, I don’t quit. But I was willing an injury, small one, to help end the torture. I know this is wrong, I know I shouldn’t think like that, but I’m being honest here. What helped me get through it was my team, Coach Eric and the assistant coach (sorry, forgot his name!). Also, the warrior board helped too. It’s amazing to see how strong people are! Also, reading some definitions about pain and how it means its good was also reassuring.

Sure my legs feel like they’re going to give out on me. Sure I can’t raise my arms above my chest. Definitely screaming inside when having to get up and down. Forget about climbing stairs. But other than that I feel good. This is a reminder that my body needs more torture. So needless to say I’m looking forward to handicap rail assisted bathroom breaks, having to wash my hair in increments of 5 seconds, squealing when getting up, and walking in flats. I may have to get N’s cane out of the closet too.

Goals for next year:

- Get to standard pushups.

- Finish Mt. Wilson in 2 hours.

- Finish sprint adventure race within allotted time with team tres! I can’t believe we’re doing this again.

- Run another ½ at 2:30 w/o bathroom break.

- Maybe, maybe do a mini tri w/ Shannon. I said maybe!

from our amazing vacation. el sigh

Will post pictures, experiences, stories later. So much fun was had.

Happy to be back though. I didn't realize how much I really did miss you all.

Happy Halloween! We have a ton of candy and just realized we won’t be here tonight for any trick-or-treaters. Whoops! May have to make a pit stop at MIL to drop all this booty off before it goes on my bootie. Also, forgot to send my cards early this year so they may arrive tomorrow. Hey, that’s the real Halloween eve for us mexis anyway.

Man I’m so excited to finish up all my work and be free for two weeks! Eek! I think we/I have made all the necessary purchase sans N’s necessary alka seltzer box and an extra memory card for camera. Alls left is voting, washing and packing and cleaning our place up. That last one I’m not so excited about. Ugh, our dining table looks like it’s been hit with a hurricane of paper. Shit! Must call airline with passport information. Already confirmed all reservations and transportation to and from airport here in the EU.

So here’s something that I’ve been wanting to remind/say to my family but I think it may be a little dark/negative. Appropriate for American Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos eve + one day. I want to reiterate my wishes in case anything were to happen to me, i.e. funeral plans, no life support, etc. Heck, I’m even sending in a new beneficiary form for all my retirement/investment funds since they claim I never submitted one! Bastards. I also want to call and make sure the funds go to someone else in case something happens to my beneficiary too. What I really need to do is make a will but no one wants to take me serious. My family knows that I do not want to be buried but burned instead, they know I do not want life support, and so on. Everytime I have this conversation with any one of them they cut me off. They claim that I’m too young to be talking like that, that I’m being a downer but am I really? I don’t think so. Shit happens all the damn time and I just want to make sure that everyone is prepared and knows what to do. I read once about tips on preparing for events like this. One was to make sure your spouse knows where all important documents, bank accounts, bills are. The article even suggested making a list of everything. Yeah, I’ve had this convo with N and he gets all uncomfortable and changes the subject. It’s not like I’m a glass half empty type of girl but have seen far too much drama to not be worried. So, I’m kinda worried that all my conversations on these topics have lasted all but two minutes with my loved ones. Hopefully all 100 two minute talks will come to mind in case shit happens.

So have a safe, fun and happy Halloween!

The artwork above came from here.

Well my bronchitis is almost gone. Looks like now I just have to get rid of all the crap that built up in my throat. Gross.

This infection started last week on Monday, after the AR. Didn’t get bad until Tuesday night and had to make an appointment with the Dr. on Thursday cause of my asthma and all. All they told me was what I already knew, I need to get rest and drink liquids and come in if breathing is tough to do. Blah, blah, blah. Plus they gave me some antibiotics that I’m not too happy on taking. The Dr. even admitted that they won’t help at all, only a precaution in case something else, like a virus gets contracted. WTF!? Most of you know, or don’t, that I’m anti-pharmaceuticals. Anyway, I’ve been taking the stupid pills even though they’ve been really hard on my stomach. Maybe those pills will accidentally fall on the floor soon, or in the trash even. What I really think helped me fight this was the rest I finally succumbed to, lack of any cold beverages, all the working out that I’ve been doing, all the good (healthy) food I’ve been eating, stopped all dairy products for the exception of my intake of fresh cheese from Chihuahua, and some funky concoction my mami made for me.

Things I’ve missed that have made my heart sad:

- Coffee, can’t take it cause I love it with milk/creamer. Sad.
- Beer. Was suicidal about this until N pointed out that I’ll be in Mx soon.
- Appetite. Been having to force feed myself which sucks.
- Energy. I get these bursts of energy, which are very deceiving, and then after 30 min I’m beat.
- Not coughing. Ugh.
- Normal sleep. Sure I need naps but then I can’t sleep at night.
- Running and exercising. Yeah, I said it.

Looking forward to:

- All the online purchases I made in an attempt to therapeutically help my sad heart.
- Exercising. N thinks I’ll be able to get back on Thursday!
- Beer on Friday.
- Voting and fleeing the country on Tuesday.
- Packing. N swears he’s going to start now! Bwahahahahahahaha!
- Coffee! Had my first today and it was so good it’s beyond description.
- Getting rid of all the junk stuck in my lungs.
- Stopping those nasty antibiotic pills.
- Nixing tea. I like the stuff but after eight days of the stuff I’m ready to call it quits for the time being.

I can't believe we all survived yesterday's Adventure Race. It was quite the adventure... All I'm ready to share is that we finished and it was hard, like I wanted to quit six minutes into the thing. Yeah. R and A helped push me through the last leg as I was ready to throw in the towel. This is why I keep these guys around.

Kudos to Shannon, Lynn and Beth the Three Margaritas! Those women did awesome. Also, thanks to Eric and Vanessa for the tips and emotional support. All of you guys really helped us a LOT.

Now, I'm just ready to ship out on vacation. I can feel the ocean breeze, smell the sunscreen and taste the _______ and _______. Total bliss.

I'm sicker now more than ever. My head is full of tension and I sound like a five-pack a day smoker. Feel like one too.

Debating whether to go to the BC/CF Halloween Extravaganza on Friday. I want to go but I don't want to dress up. Guess I feel silly plus I'm so not up to going out and grabbing something either. I barely have the energy to write this up and bake those chocolate chip muffins I can now smell. mmmmmmmmm. Plus N told me that there's this poster at the Academy stating "Dress up Bitches!" Hmmm, yeah that alone makes me want to rebel and not dress up.

This sucks -

***All Athletes***
We would like to convey to you all how important it is to us that our athletes have a good experience, and that most certainly includes receiving a medal at the end of the race. To our unfortunate amazement, we had so many unregistered and unpaid runners (bandits) that ran in the race this year that our surplus of at least 300 half marathon medals disappeared before legitimate athletes were able to cross the finish line to claim what was rightfully theirs. We are taking this very seriously and are already talking about ways that we can rectify the situation for the race in 2009.
If you finished the race and did not receive the medal please email us your name, address and bib number to lelison@runicr.com

At least we all got our medals. Makes me appreciate my little gold plated thingamajig.

Told ya this thing was somewhat disorganized. Hopefully this won't happen at the Pasadena race.

So the half was this past Sunday. R, A and I all ran it. R did awesome as usual but I’ll let her share her unofficial time *wink wink*.

It’s taken me some days to make this post because I’m full of emotions I care not to share with everyone. Not because I’m trying to exclude people but because not everyone has to be subjected to my issues. So here goes, hopefully it won’t come off as too bitter…

The day started off pretty hectic. I didn’t get anything to eat prerace and I was sorta stressed because A and R were stuck in traffic. N and I stayed down in LB so all I had to do was walk over to the starting line. A finally got there but since this was our first time there we had no idea about the starting time and how that’d affect our official times. Being as rushed and stressed as we were I screwed up his chip and told him to carry it in his water belt. BIG MISTAKE. Due to my stupidity he never got an official time. *tear* But all in all we had fun and stayed together, for the most part.

Up until mile 6 we were talking and having a great time. We were right on pace with 11 minute miles. Then I had to use the restroom. I wasted 15 minutes just waiting in line. This was really infuriating because I just can’t understand why this happens to me. This is about the 4th time I’ve felt this way during a long run. A said that he’d press on and I gave him my blessing. After the bathroom incident I was so pissed that I just ran as hard as I could. Then I found that I was only a few yards from the 6mi mark so my 10K was off. Caught up to A little after mile 9. He was walking and I pushed him to run with me. We made it all the way without stopping except once after mile 10 for some water and powerade. He sprinted the last ¼ mile and I couldn’t catch him. According to my watch his time was 2:50 and mine was 2:53. If it wasn’t for that stupid stop I had to make we would have made it at 2:35/ 2:38.

Things I’ve learned/considered -

1. If it wasn’t for all that powerade I made a point of drinking I’m not sure I would have made it without food. Must eat, no matter what. This may be a contributing factor to my bathroom stop.

2. I’m physically strong to run 13.1 mi without stopping. Need to work on my mental strength during Saturday training runs.

3. Running with a cell phone in hand is not a good idea.

4. Running with a partner helps tremendously with number 2.

5. Having your own water belt is the best.

6. Sucks having to dodge/swerve through people while running.

7. Not sure if I want to do this particular race next year. It was pretty unorganized at the starting line and we couldn’t get anyone to help with our bib and chip issues listed above.

8. Surprisingly I’m not sore at all and was ready to startup yesterday but N and R advised against it. Left knee is feeling off but that’s about it.

9. Got a massage on Friday and I’m guessing that helped.

10. Took Tylenol before the race, that helped too.

11. Best of all, I looked at this race as just another training run.

Looking forward to our AR this coming Sunday.