Permission

I have given myself permission to eat anything I want for the whole week following my marathon. This has included, milk, bread, rice, pasta, cupcakes, banana cake, ice cream, sorbet...........you get the picture.

And, honestly, I feel pretty crappy. Physically and mentally. My plan has always been to go strict Paleo again starting Sunday. And, since I did well with the Paleo challenge with my crossfit peeps, why not do another challenge?

I've joined the Do Life Diet Bet! If you can lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks you win a portion of the pot. Pot is currently $7,000+! I'm fairly confident I can shed 4%.

Little Piggies

My little toes are a mess. My legs, I feel are capable of doing crossfit. If I could only get my feet into tennis shoes. At this moment I can barely get them into slippers, my pinkies are so sensitive.

The Cleveland marathon had 11 pictures of me. 10 are at the finish line. Serious? I was out there for almost 6 hours and only one pic from the course?

I did find this gem in the line up. I believe it is when I experienced acute pinkie toe pain. I thought my blister had popped but it hadn't. Maybe it is at this moment it burst forth from the depths of runners Hell.

These Three Races

Oh, Dear! I've failed to update you on 3 races.

First, I did get a message from Mark6.0. Apparently, his mother past away the Sunday I was coming home from Cinci. He did send me a message that Friday informing me of this and asking for some space to clear his head. So, I've given him the space but I am not waiting around. I'm supposed to have a date this week with a new guy. He seems a bit overly enthusiatic. Should be fun.

Now My races!
I did the Glass City half marathon on 4/28. It was rainy and chilly. I ruined my shoes. And came in at 2:24:59. Not my best but not my worst. My sister on the other hand partook in a relay team and blew them away with how fast she came in. I think it was a round a 7min mile. For someone who didn't really want to do it she kicked ASS!

The Flying Pig 10k was on May 4th. I really didn't want to do this race. I wasn't feeling it and just kind of wanted to stand around a cheer on my friends. But as one pointed out I would be bored and regret it in the morning. Since she's known me since 2nd grade she probably knew what she was talking about. And now I'm glad I ran it. It felt good. It felt easy. And I PRed! 1:04:57!

There were people yelling, "She is! She's a machine!"

This past Sunday I did the Cleveland Full Marathon. I am still recovering. My target time was 5-5:15. I was on time at mile 20 coming in at 4hours. The last 6 miles SHOULD have taken 1:10. It did not. It took 1:45. The heat was horrible! The first half was cool with a breeze and there was a nice cloud cover. The second half was full on sun with temps in what felt like the 80's. I had to take off my left shoe twice to uncramp my toes and adjust my socks. My feet hurt so bad in this race. I can't tell if it was the heat causing them to swell or if it was wearing a new slightly broken in shoe. My legs felt good, though, and I knew at the split from the halfers that I had the last half in me. On the plus side I did not cry 6 times like I did in Detroit (probably due to the extreme heat and loss of fluids).

That's not to say I didn't get choked up. My mom and my sister came in for this run. They met me at mile 13/14 and my sister ran with my a little ways playing the Rocky theme song. IN A TUTU!! It was such a boost to see them and it really pushed me for the next 8 miles or so. Miles 22-25.5 was very rough. I was so tired and hot and burnt and sore. I just wanted it to be over. I started to walk more. I did 0.1 mile run then 0.1mile walk. Back and forth. Until I saw that crazy lady in rainbow tights and a blue tutu. And then I ran it in! With my sister (I may have teared up here to). She had gotten worried that I hadn't come in yet that she had started to walk the course backwards to find me. I'm so glad she did, had she not I don't know if I would have known that I had that last 0.7 run in me and I might have walked it in. I'm glad I ran it! THANK YOU!

24hours later I'm nursing blisters and some sore legs but nothing like I had after Detroit. I swore off marathons yesterday at the finish line and I'm thinking I was bit hasty. I was good till 20/22. My only problem was my feet and the sunburn. I really feel I would have done better in cooler temps........
...fall 2014?

On My Own

BLAH!!! Single again. Or, at least I assume so, since I have heard neither hide nor hair from him in 4 days. And, I still haven't heard anything after this text I sent.....

Seriously? WHAT THE FUCK?? Just so you know I didn't come to that text lightly. His mother has been "sick" for the last 3 weeks and I've given him some leeway on the communication/date front. But to ignore me completely is just plain craziness!

I've signed up again for online dating. This may sound fast to you since I sent that "let's call bullshit" text. But I've been through all the stages....
1. Frustrated. Did that.

Much nicer than what I wanted to say

2. Hammered and crying. Done.

3. Lay down the law. "You have to be here Sunday." He wasn't.











4. Pissed the fuck off!

Hmm, I do have access.

It was suggested that I try OKCupid. Utter hilariousness!




Apparently, I'm not only living in the wrong state but also the completely wrong area of the country! Whose up for a blog from NC?!





This was one of many crazy assed questions OKCupid asks. I've had a lot of fun sitting around my old lab with some friends answering all of them. Some have led to lively discussions. Some have led to laughter. This one reminded me of this episode of Friends.

The Dude

(Originally written 4/19/13)
I've been told I'm like a man in relationships. Sure, I wear heals and pretty undergarments, but for the most part like a man. Not big on cuddling. Public displays. And, apparently, the big one in this current "thing", not a big feeling sharer.

Based on last nights drunk texts with Mark6.0 and today's dissection of them with a friend, it's been decided that I need to resign myself to being the dude in most relationships. And that I just need to roll with the "needy" aspects, if I like this guy. Which, I do.

He voices his feeling on how attractive he finds me. It's nice but sometimes I feel awkward. I don't voice my feeling about him. My opinion is, "if I'm with you then obviously I find you attractive." I figured it was an unwritten rule and everybody knows it. Apparently, not.

Yes, I do miss him. We haven't spoken to each other, other than text, in almost a week. I really didn't think I had to say it. I repeatedly asked when he was coming back in town (he's currently in NC) and if we were still on for our date. After only two dates I'm not really going to say, "I miss you." It's not my style.

I am working on being a little more forth coming on my feelings.

Performing CPR on a Loved One

Ok, that title is a bit misleading. I'm sorry, but I may have lost a training partner that's been there for me for two years. Never complaining. Always taking the beating.

My original plan for this post was to talk about my 17 mile run this weekend and show you a pic of my Garmin screen with distance and time. When I went to take the pic this morning the screen was completely blank! I had hoped it was just a dead battery but when I plugged it in the screen remained blank. I have two more things to try when I get home, holding the "light" button for 6sec, or replacing the battery. If neither of those work I'm going to have to spring for a new one. BOO!! If that's the case it sucks on two levels. 1) Money. 2) I haven't synced it to my computer in quite sometime. I'll lose all that training info.

17 mile run was good, all in all. First 5 miles went fast, 10:40-10:50 pace. The next 8 were decent, normal training pace. Felt great. Knew I had the marathon in the bag! The last 4 left doubts. Probably took almost an hour to finish them. Lots of walking, quads screaming. I'm still sore today. I'll still go out for a 20 this weekend. 

Now on to new things. I've gone out on two dates with a new Mark. For now we'll refer to him as Mark6.0. So far, he seems like a keeper. I have fun when I'm with him and I actually enjoy taking on the phone with him! That really hasn't been the case in a loooong time. It seems like this one may stick (at least for a bit more than 2/3 dates). We've set up a third date and have discussed things we would like to do well into August (WHAT??). Honestly, I feel as though we've been dating for a couple of months now. It's been that easy. And, he wants to join me for part of this Saturdays 20 miler. He's not up to more than 5, though.

He did throw me for a loop this past Saturday. Sitting at the bar he informed me that he wanted to "take the relationship to the next level." I seriously panicked. It's two dates! What next level is there?!
Just as I was about to order a shot for some liquid courage he said he'd like to be Facebook friends. Still, slightly panic inducing but much more doable than say, taking a trip together or meeting parents (which truthfully was also talked about.) I think he's starting to get that I have a few commitment issues but so far he's given me my space on them. I'll probably FB friend him.

I Love Water!!

I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. It was colder than I expected and I had a late date night before. More on that later. Plus, when you have 15 miles in front of you, it's a bit daunting.

The first 4 miles were rough and I wasn't sure I would make it. But the next 6 were cake! I felt strong and ran well. The final 4 were not so cake like. It was a head wind and I started to develop a blister on the arch of my right foot. But I finished!!

I realized my love of water at about mile 12. I took a pull off if my water bottle at it was like baby angles! Also, shout out to Tropical Smoothie Cafe on Euclid for the free water bottle fill up! I hate having to buy a bottled water just to fill up my bottle 1/2 way through a run. I will have to remember to stop there again.