Day 13374, & I might have seen the wall come down...

So, just to be clear, the wall I referred to in the last post was not only in reference to running. Sure, the analogy was inspired by running. Sure, it was on my mind, as I has just listened to Clay talk about his bad run last week.

All true, but...

My wall was much, much bigger. It was a work wall, home wall, life in general wall, and yes, also a running wall.

Now, in order, I will quickly tell you about each:

We designed our restaurant concept to be fairly recession-resistant. We did not design it to be George W Bush-135.00 a barrel- mortgage crisis- real estate is in the tank- recession- resistant. Who can do that? Well, apparently The Cheesecake Factory can, which is ridiculously annoying. Nuff said.

On the home front... Well... Let's just say that Jay and I do not compartmentalize our feelings very well. Just close your eyes and imagine working with your significant other, full time, in a public setting... OK? How is that dream working out for you? Moving on.

On the topic of life in general... It's just hot! I don't like being sweaty. Well, I don't like it when all I am doing is getting the mail. Sweaty, in general, is just not pretty. Note: there are a few exceptions to this rule that I need not explain...

Finally, on the running front, I did indeed hit a wall last Saturday. My planned 12 mile run turned into a very poor 6 miles at a 10:13 pace. And, here's why...

A. I had been on what I am only able to reconstruct as a 20 day stretch of running activity. I realize that I should probably have taken a rest day or two in there, but I didn't, until last Thursday (due to work related traumas) and Friday (again, due to work related traumas)...

B. As I was running by anyway, Jay made me stop at the restaurant to see him on my long run. Stopping is never a good idea. Stopping for 10 minutes? Insane...

Regarding stopping, I give you my new nemesis...








So, yes, I did hit the wall with the running, too.

Maybe, I do need to run another race. I had planned the 4th of July 10K here, and a 10 mile race in the Adirondacks. Now, however, I am going out west to Dodge City, Kansas to see my grandmother on her 94th birthday. I am sure the blog posts will be entertaining and frequent on this trip...

I had picked out a few other races, but then I registered for the Murfreesboro 1/2 on Oct 11th. That screwed up a number of the planned races. Oops! Time for a calendar... I am now on a search for some training races. Training races, you say? Why yes, I did...

I think I have picked my first marathon. In fact, I started a 16 week rookie training schedule on Monday. I should be ready for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon by the end of October, allowing some inevitable adjustments to my training regimen.

All said, I need some 10Ks, 20Ks, 10 milers, and 1/2 marathons to choose from. All should be close to Nashville (3-4 hour driving radius), as I will also be opening that new restaurant in September...

I picked a hell of a time to start running...

Our water plants bloomed today...

Whatever it takes to smile, right?

Day 13372, & something is in my way...

So, lately, I feel like there is something blocking my path...

I am not sure exactly what it is, but it is big...

And, it is menacing.

And it is making me feel dwarfed, and also a little crazy...

OK, maybe I am being a bit dramatic

Maybe, I am just having trouble accepting that I have hit the wall...

on all counts...

Day 13363, & it's all about the little things...

So, first of all...

This is my favorite one, I think.  Genius, I tell you.  Better than Apple commercials, maybe...

This was my morning, as I had a training session and had to go to the gym on this beautiful morning.  I was VERY jealous of the runners I passed on my way.

The rest of the week looks good.  Morning temperatures in the 60s.  Yea!

I registered for my first half marathon today.  Now, it might not be my first half marathon that I will run, but it is my first that I have registered to run.

Murfreesboro 1/2 on October 11th.  Not too glam, but limited to 2000, and right down the road, sort of...

I have found a race to run each month between now and November.  Good practice in my training, so I read.

I am trying to figure out which marathon to shoot for in November, but I don't want it to be too close to the Rocket City on December 13th.  My dad is telling me I don't want flat terrain.  "Too much running with the same muscles!!!"  So, I guess I need a mildly hilly, cool climate, not too far from the south, 30+ days before 12/13 marathon.  That might be harder to find than it will be to run...

Nat, maybe we will just run the next one together... After you get the sub 3:30, I won't feel so worried.

Meanwhile, back to the world of extra gay, look what I got in my email today...

I can only HOPE this is close to the real set list!

Dress You Up, for the first time since I was a wee tot of 13, seeing The Virgin Tour...

Let's just see it again, ok?

FYI, I think I am the 3rd one getting out of the station wagon...

The 80s were really a sight to see, huh?  She used a couple gay dancers, versus a dozen lesbianese ones... Madge is such a trendsetter, a chameleon, really...

Day 13360, & I might stick with this running thing...

So, at the risk of being repetitive, here is a quote from an email I sent out in January of '08:

Me, run? Is that you competing with my sarcasm? As I work on my feet all day, I don't want to risk my knees and ankles on such an unpleasant activity. I have only been working out for 8 months of the last 20 years, so I still have some work ahead of me. Plus, it was exercise, or cut back on the beer. There was no thought needed.

That is how I genuinely felt about running. Now, I had no basis for this, other than the fact the my dad used to make me run. Everyone knows that if something is required, then it is bad. You know, like income taxes, property taxes, breeder sex, building permits, etc, etc... Similarly, I still refuse to pick up sticks in my own yard; this chore, as I explained to Jay years ago, will be his for eternity. Jay, just be glad that there are not also pine cones to worry about...

Once I started running, I felt more like this:


But then, like this:


Today, though, I feel like this:


When I got up this morning at 6:20, it was 68 degrees and overcast. I has all morning to enjoy my run. Yesterday was an easy 6 mile treadmill run (when I went outside to run yesterday morning, it was so muggy that I just "ran" to the car and drove to the gym...) These three factors apparently created the perfect storm.

I ran 10.42 miles today. I ran from my house to the northeast trailhead of the greenway (4 miles, hilly,) I ran the greenway to the southwest end (4 miles, flat,) and finished by running back to my house (2.4 miles, hilly.) I would say that I did this at a 9:30 pace, but I made 2 stops along the way and forgot to tell Garmin, who says my run was 1:42:ish overall.

My point, if I had one, would be that I am ready to run a 20K or a half marathon anytime now. It just took me a minute to get over the fear of distance. I am still worried about speed, but I am starting to focus my efforts in that direction. I also think that I need a running partner to push me in that direction. I think I could do 8:30 if I had someone to follow (Clay, are you reading this?) Then I can worry about 8 minute miles. (Mind you, I can run 8 minute miles now. I just can't do more than a few of them in a row. I also require the treadmill to keep my pace for me.)

I don't have my log with me, but I am guessing my week was something like:

Monday- Nothing, or maybe the treadmill...
Tuesday- 2.5 treadmill, 1 hour pilates, yoga, stupid Swiss ball
Wednesday- 8.3 miles, hilly street
Thursday- 1.5 miles treadmill, 1 hour upper and lower weights, and core
Friday- 6 miles, treadmill, with "hills" (level 5)
Saturday- 10.42 miles, hilly, flat, hilly
Sunday-I am not doing jack...

So, pretty close to 30 miles for the week. I actually feel certain that I did run Monday, but I can't remember where or how much. If so, it would knock me over 30 miles for the week. I never felt like I was pushing. That being the case...

I think I am going to train for a full in November. I certainly don't see anything wrong with throwing the option out there. The worst that could happen?

A girl can always change her mind...

Oh yeah, and can somebody please tell Jay to let me buy a bike...

Day 13357, & still nothing ...

So, I think the heat is having a negative impact on me.

No, this is not a surprise. I hate the heat. I always hate the heat. I am barely even a beach person. I am a snow person. Cold, I am good with. I'll bet Adam Sank likes the heat.

Anyway, blogging has not been on my mind lately. This is obvious, I know. I think that I am just having trouble accepting that I have to deal with the heat for the next 4 months. It is distracting me from everything.

And by everything, I would have to include running.

I have been getting up really early. What I have learned is that I seem to max out at about 85 degrees. If the sun is on me and it is 85+, I seem to fall apart in about 3 miles or any pace worth mention.

Last week, I MIGHT have gotten 15 miles in. I don't even know. Even the new shoes were way more NoGo than MoGo...

I know that each day, I got up earlier in an attempt to beat the heat. Apparently, this means getting up while it is still night out, ready to bolt out the door at the first hint of dawn. Even then, I would guess I have an hour, at best.

Today, when I rolled over to see the temperature displayed on my bedroom ceiling, I jumped out of bed immediately. It was 68 degrees! It was also 6:15, but who cares??? Not hot, gotta run.

I got in a lovely 8.3 miles in. I left my house, headed downtown, and then back home, through Shelby Park. Had I not gotten lost and also been suffering from a new chaffing area (iPod arm band), I would have kept it under 9:30 pace. Instead, as I felt lost (with a Garmin and an iPhone=I am a dumbass) and sore, I walked a bit in the last mile.

For the duration of summer, I think I will try to get three strong road runs in each week. I also think that the treadmill and I are gonna be great friends.

But, I still want to go get in a long run here:



Jay will have to drop me off and pick me up. I don't think that an out-and-back run would be near as enjoyable as a run-Forrest-run Natchez Trace run would be.

Anyhow, outside of being miserable, a bit of running, and work. I have nothing new to report at the moment. I will say that my friend Catherine has an amusing new entry or two, and an oh-so-tasteful new format, as well. No, she is not quite as crazy as you might think from the read.

I'm trying to work myself out of this rut. I hope to be amusing again by the end of the month.

Day 13349, & this is a post about nothing...

So, it has been 9 days since my last post. My friend Catherine took note of this today and was kind enough to make me aware of it. (Bear in mind, I really only have to post once every 7 days to keep her appeased, as she only reads my blog on Tuesdays, just before our date night... I am onto you, Catherine...)

Anyhoo, the lack of posts, and my attempt at coming up with one now, has left me to wonder if life has been as uneventful as I might believe.

Nope.

Rather, I think that it has just been generally unpleasant and stressful. Writing down the details might make me a bit more annoyed. I love avoiding the issues, ignoring the issues that require my attention.

And, I bet that I would look quite hot with some Prada blinders on...

Hence, I will now begin my trivial diatribe of all things insignificant to "the big picture," but still things that make me smile.

First of all, throwing financial caution and far too much testosterone into the wind, I purchased my tickets to Madonna in Atlanta. Yes, I know that I am already going to see the show in Boston; this is why I wasn't too worried about how good the seats would be in Atlanta. This is why I decided I could actually get three seats together, rather than my usual one ticket. This will be my first time sitting with my friends at a Madonna show. And, still, we will be sitting in Section 1, Row N!!! Yep, I will be seeing this tour twice from the 16th row!

God, I'm gay...

Now, moving on, there is a remarkable difference in this year's growing season, thus far anyway. This is one of my oriental lilies, a casa blanca I think. I would say it is currently 84 inches tall. I will be very curious to see how many blooms show up on this one. Come on rain, keep it up...

Jay finally finished his new pond plumbing, pump, filtration, blah, blah, blah. I will give him credit for his efforts. The whole set up is much cleaner looking and the water is moving nicely.

All in all, the pond is done, as far as I am concerned. The lotus seems happy, as do the water lilies, elephant ears, etc. I would venture to guess that the fish are happy too. Even Jay seems happy with things here, for the moment...

Meanwhile, on the exercise front, last week was trying.

First, my trainer was out of town last week. As a result, I forgot to go to the gym. Oops!

Second, it got hot. Now, I guess I have to get up at dawn from here on out. I hate hot!

And then we have the hills. Hills, hills, and more hills. I need to work on speed. Hills and speed. My quads hate me right now.

So, last week was light, but still a challenge:

Monday- Off day after race and post race runs

Tuesday- A pitiful attempt at a street run, 2 miles. What the hell?

Wednesday- Slow 5.7 miles into downtown and back, 2 river bridges (hills)

Thursday- 4.2 miles, to the river, but not over it, 8:45 pace

Friday- Another day off? Really? Dammit, I'm weak...

Saturday- 6.3 miles, 2 bridges, 9:30 pace. I had wanted 7-8 miles, but my heart rate also hates hot.

Sunday- 3.5 miles Greenway, easy 9:15 pace.

Well, as it gets warmer, I am seeing more treadmill in my summertime running program. You see, I don't really care much for early either. In fact, I dislike mornings almost as much as I dislike high temperatures.

If Jay will give in, we will go up to visit catherine in upstate NY in July. Much cooler temperatures by the lake, I'm sure. I even found a 10 Mile race on July 6th. This seems much more appealing than the double loop 10K here in Nashville on the 4th.

I do have high hopes for the coming weeks though. In an effort to boost my own morale, I went shopping today. With Team Nashville Robert's assistance, my feet picked out this pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8s today.

I am confident that they are going to make me faster. Just look at them. They look like they are moving at an 8:30 pace all by themselves. Maybe it is the silver lightening bolts...

And now I will finally get to see what all the MoGo fuss is about...