heffer, coming through

thursday was a hot one! well, it was "only" 81* but it was the hottest run i've had so far. here in ky they don't believe in planting trees i guess, as i ran along open fields and more open fields. the run was even slower than normal and i felt i could have gone faster, but i intentionally held back. my hr has been creeping up too high (in my opinion) on my easy runs lately and i know you are supposed to account for a 30-60 second decrease in pace on a hot or humid run. i figured it would be more beneficial to keep my hr in the easy zone than run at my easy pace, plus i'm counting on one day (soon?) not being affected by the heat as much. in my last mile i startled some cows grazing near the fence. the calves flinched and started to "run" away, causing the mama cows to moo at me (maybe the boy cows too, i don't quite know how you determine what gender a cow is). guess i need to lose some weight if i'm big enough to scare the cows.

thursday (5/28) pm run: 5.5 miles; 49:17 (avg pace 8:57), avg hr (162)

i really need to photograph some of my runs lately - the countryside has been quite scenic.
this road pictured actually has shade, so it's not located near me,
but it looks similar to the locations i've been touring recently.

after subtly (or not-so) dropping hints about m&m's at work, one of the guys i work with kept stopping by to surprise me with m&m's all afternoon today. so much for losing weight. i actually demonstrated self control and only ate one pack. hey, i had to fuel for my long run. yeah, that sounds good. there's nothing more exciting than a long run, on a friday afternoon/evening, when it's about 75* out. oh and let's not forget the complete lack of trees in kentucky. the humidity was down around 50% though so the weather didn't seem overbearing at all. my goal again was to throw my easy pace into the wind (or lack thereof) and just keep my hr under control. i scared some more cows near the end of this run too, sigh.

friday (5/29) pm run: 12.5 miles, 1:53:36 (avg pace 9:06), avg hr (166)

sugoi brand champion

i just got confirmation today that i was selected to be a sugoi brand champion! i am stoked! what is a sugoi brand champion? as an sbc, i'll receive sweet deals on sugoi products to train and race in, in exchange for inspiring others and helping promote the products i enjoy. the verve shorts i received awhile back have been a great companion on my long runs (and shorter too) and my calves are loving their knee-high race+recovery socks. i can't wait to expand my running-wear further with more of their products. my running clothes already have a whole room in my house (creatively called the "running room"), certainly a few more tops, shorts, sports bras, and accessories won't hurt.

work starts at 6:30am now (instead of 7) and of course i've been late both days. i really thought i left early enough today but nope, late. granted i was only a few minutes late but still, the guys gave me crap for it. the good thing about starting earlier is (theoretically) leaving earlier. of course, it hasn't exactly cooled down any by 5:30pm when i head out on my run. all the same, i ran after work tuesday and today (wednesday), and kept reminding myself that i was getting acclimated to the weather. i'm glad i don't have to push the pace for a couple weeks - my hr has been a little high for the "easy zone" but i'm assuming it's an effect of the heat.

tuesday (5/26) pm run: 8.63 miles, 1:16:25 (avg pace 8:51), avg hr (169)
78* and 80-something% humidity (and 0 shade); didn't quite feel like making it a round 9.00 when i got back to the car. got sweet tan lines from the hour+ in the sun. i'm sure they'll make the perfect accessories with my dress for the wedding i'm attending this weekend. sock tan lines in heels, hot.

wednesday (5/27) pm run: 6.40 miles, 57:28 (avg pace 8:58), avg hr (166)
only 75* today but just as humid; it was cloudy from a rough thunderstorm that had just blown through and the forecasted one(s) to follow it. luckily the rain held off and i was able to run outside instead of visiting the treadmill.

slow runs, but hey, i'm "acclimating". ...right?

sleep. sleep. run. sleep.

week in review (5/18 - 5/24):
total miles: 37.32 (all easy)
time spent running: ~5 hours 27 minutes
avg hr: 163.50
avg pace: 8:43/mile
off days: 1 (pure laziness)

i had planned/hoped for a couple more miles in that total but cut sunday's run short. i just wasn't feeling it and couldn't get "into" the run. it was super humid again, and i was struggling to win the mental battle. i think the past two weeks of working a ton, getting maybe 6 hours of sleep/night, and squeezing in runs caught up to me over the long weekend. i took a nap friday after work, saturday afternoon, sunday morning (yes, morning), sunday afternoon, slept in monday, and took one last nap monday afternoon. essentially all i did this weekend was sleep, eat, and run (a little). it was pretty glorious.

in an attempt to hold myself more accountable to my weekly mileage and not give in to the heat/humidity, i need to hit ~42 miles this week. i'm putting it out there so you can bust my chops later if necessary.

13-mile swim

welcome sweet summer time. welcome sleeping with windows open and ceiling fan on. 90% humidity at 6:00 am however, un-welcome.

today's long run wasn't the best, but it could've been worse. it was slower than i expected it to be, but i am hoping the hills and humidity were big factors in that. come on legs, let's get back in an open relationship with hills; the treadmill is getting a little old.

perhaps my eating habits on friday could be blamed a little as well... or a lot. i really need to work on self-control! i brought in krispy kreme donuts for the guys i work with (brought them some last friday so i figured i'd do it again), and another guy decided to bring in 3 boxes too. so, we had 5 boxes of donuts for 7 people... last week i didn't touch a single one, but this week - fail. five donuts. oink oink. needless to say, i went a tad over my calories for the day, sigh. i paid for it friday night as i was reminded why i am not supposed to eat soy products. absolute miserableness.

i needed a good long run to work off my new spare tire, but the humidity was certainly not helping any. i probably should have worn a scuba mask. at one point along the run i went through a warm pocket of air, similar to those warm spots in the pool that you hope weren't just made by some kid.
(image from veer)

thankfully, i had a pack of crack gu chomps to keep me going and i pushed myself mentally to not stop for breaks. i worked each and every hill in hopes that one day they will be easy again. i ran in my sugoi shorts and the quick-fuel pockets worked excellently when i reached back for a chomp. i was never once annoyed by the chomps bouncing around ('cause they didn't).

saturday (5/23) am run: 13 miles, 1:56:28 (avg pace 8:57), avg hr (169)

workin' for the weekend

i get memorial day off! whoaaa, i'll actually have a weekend. i have absolutely nothing planned and i couldn't be more excited to just chill out. (and run some too of course.) they are also shifting the work hours post-memorial day so that we start the day at 6:30 instead of 7. i'm not quite sure if i will be sliding my morning-run routine with that as well, as i would then have to be waking up while the clock says 3:xx. believe it or not, that's just not giving me any warm fuzzy feelings right now.

watching the sunrise at work

on monday i ran outside at a local park that has just over a 2-mile, very hilly loop. it also has about 8 feet of shade along the entire loop. (not kidding.) it was nice though - i ran past open fields, cows, horses, barns, a skateboard park, pool with big water slides, baseball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts and a neighborhood. i think that covers it all. i know i need to reacquaint myself to hills after my 5-6 week treadmill/flat river-valley running. surprisingly, i handled all the ups and downs pretty well - my hr and pace were in the right zone for an easy run.

monday (5/18) pm run: 6.21 miles, 53:52 (avg pace 8:40), avg hr (159)

i finally figured out a route through "downtown" that i thought would be decent and jumpstart me to exploring the area, but it turned out i picked the predominantly ghetto side of town. i ran it anyway, and found a trail that went out around a pond. i quickly discovered it was quite overgrown, and since it was near a 'hood area i decided not to explore it. instead, i crossed a wooden bridge over the "pond" (/dried up, super stinky marsh-like) and prayed the bridge would not collapse under me. the pond smelled terrible. the run had some hills as well, but much less intense than the park.

tuesday (5/19) pm run: 5 miles, 42:41 (avg pace 8:32), avg hr (158)

wednesday and today (thursday) i ran in the morning on the treadmill because i knew i would not have time for an afternoon/evening run outside. my legs were tired and heavy for wednesday's run but i'm assuming it was just from running tuesday evening.

wednesday (5/20) am run: 4 miles, 35:12 (avg pace 8:48)
thursday (5/21) am run: 3 miles, 25:37 (avg pace 8:32)

while i hate having my run loom over me all day, it's been nice to get outside for a few runs this week after work. if only my legs could adjust quicker to running in the evening one day and in the early morning the next...

happy and safe memorial day weekend to all!

run like a girl

week in review (5/11 - 5/17):
total miles: 35.95 (all easy)
time spent running: ~5 hours 13 minutes (twice as long as last week)
avg hr: 160.20
avg pace: 8:43/mile
off days: 1 (although i did bike for some xt)

goal met! it was nice to just take it easy all week with shorter, easy runs and not worry about mileage too much. hopefully it was just the relaxing-running i needed. i started the week off getting very little sleep, but enforced a 'lights out' on myself and made sure to get somewhat sufficient rest. i finally got in a med-long run (on the treadmill no less), and my mind didn't even plot to kill me.

did anyone else catch the preakness saturday? i just so happened to catch the race (totally forgot about it) and loved the exciting two minutes. in case you missed it, rachel alexandra beat all those silly boys and won! mine that bird, winner of the kentucky derby, was in last place (just like at the derby) and came back to take second. i wouldn't have minded if he won again and had a shot at the triple crown, but hello, girl power!

starting this week i begin my ramp-up for training for the nyc marathon. i won't have any specific workouts to hit for a few weeks, but i will be increasing my mileage and getting ready for the 'main' 18 weeks of training.

product review: gu chomps

a big fan of gu roctane and it's speedy benefits, i was excited to try their new product: gu chomps. i finally ran long enough this weekend to need on-the-go nutrition, so i left the roctane at home and grabbed a pack of gu chomps, blueberry pomegranate flavor.

i had a very hard time putting those chomps back in the packet
and not eating them for breakfast

as with gu's other products, gu chomps contain amino acids, vitamin c+e, sodium, potassium, and gu's exclusive blend of complex and simple carbohydrates. (more on their ingredients and benefits here.) compared to other chewy-fuels, chomps have the least calories, least sugars, highest ratio complex-to-simple carbs, highest antioxidants, highest potassium, and is the only brand with amino acids.

gu chomps come in four flavors: blueberry pomegranate, strawberry, orange and cranberry apple. the strawberry and cranberry apple flavors are caffeinated, while blue pom and orange provide a caffeine-free alternative. as with all gu products, the chomps are also gluten-free.

one package of gu chomps contains two servings which will last 1.5 to 2 hours of activity (with water too of course). there are eight chomps in the package, and it is recommended to take 4 chomps every 45 minutes of activity. i used them as bait for my long treadmill run yesterday, so i didn't quite take them as prescribed (1 chomp every couple of miles). i believe they still helped maintain my energy levels and kept my legs from feeling tired until near the end of the run. i have not been running long much at all lately, so my legs and i are not quite in long-run shape. the chomps helped keep me going as i ran for twice as long as normal. additionally, i wasn't the least bit sore after my 12-miler, nor was i sore or stiff on sunday when i headed out to run. looks like these chomps do their fair share of enabling a speedy recovery.

it doesn't hurt that gu chomps are delicious; i could eat these things all day long. they're like gushers, but without the juicy, exploding center. so i guess they're really more like gummy bears. i was kind of tempted to just stop and eat them instead of run. the one thing i don't like is the chewiness. they're not hard to chew (easier than sport beans), but i am a bit leary of chewing while running. they were tasty and helped me survive a 12-miler on the treadmill so i'll definitely use them again, but i think i may stick to gu roctane for races.

many thanks to gu and outside pr for stocking me up with running fuel!

purchase your own a sampler pack of gu:
GU Performance Energy Sample Pack

yet another treadmill run

so... thursday i was offered an assignment in saudi arabia. one of the first concerns that came to mind was how/where would i run? i also had thoughts flying through my head about missing the sfm and va beach rnr (i am not currently registered for either, just considering), and having to choose between coming back to the states for the nyc marathon or christmas. thankfully/part-unfortunately, it turns out they have rules against women doing pretty much anything over there, so i don't have to worry about it as i definitely won't be going. i'm sure it would've made for a great experience though.

day 1 of rest went well last night/this morning. i woke up way too early (5am-ish) and a few times after that but kept falling back asleep before waking up for real around 8:30. i know, since when is 8:30 sleeping in? it's an extra 4 hours of sleep for me though... sigh. i love working 11-12 hour days, everyday (ok, just mon-fri). it was thunderstorming ~6am so that made sleeping in even easier. unfortunately it was still raining when i was ready to go run, and after a half hour of waiting i sucked it up and got on the stupid treadmill. i am beginning to wonder if i am 'living' in seattle or kentucky.

i was aiming for 10 miles today, and you can probably guess how excited i was about getting on the treadmill. i had some gu chomps with me, and i baited myself with a 'treat' every couple of miles. i must be turning into a 'mill lover (very doubtful) because i actually got in 12 miles on the stinkin' machine. i think it was more that i knew i needed to just suck it up and do a medium-long run. i'm sure the chomps helped a little as well. i also happened to start my run just as "no reservations" came on hbo, and i got sucked into the cheesy, romantic-comedy movie (haven't seen it before). i told myself i was not allowed to hop off the treadmill and run back up to my room to watch the rest of the movie from the comfort of the bed. it turned out to be a pretty cute movie, and aaron eckhart wasn't too bad to look at either.

friday (5/15) am bike: 10.3 miles, 30:00 (a little xt for some variety)
saturday (5/16) am run: 12 miles, 1:45:19 (avg pace 8:46), avg hr (168)

free chocolate! (oh, and i do still run)

i know i just posted yesterday about avoiding sugar... but you have to indulge in a treat once in awhile. every friday through 9/29/9, mars is giving out 250,000 coupons for a free candy bar (though personally i recommend m&m's). just head over to realchocolate.com after 9:00am (est) tomorrow to claim one!

(unlike those kfc ones a week ago, these will be mailed to you. limit four per household throughout entire promotional period. that's why i was so kind enough to share - i know you can't steal all the m&m's from me.)

alright enough about m&m's. i've actually cut back if you can believe it. my life has been pretty boring 'cause all i do is run, work, eat, sleep, but it's been crazy busy. well, not busy like most of you who accomplish 19,428 things per day, but full-busy i guess. i'm working a lot, running a decent amount of miles, and only averaging 5 hours of sleep. i am definitely feeling the effects on my body (especially the bad knots i get in my shoulders). my two goals for this weekend are to sleep in and sleep a lot. now that's a mission i can accomplish.

one of the guys i work with runs and asked me on tuesday if i knew of any training plans online. i directed him to the runner's world smartcoach and he was excited to start his plan. he jumped right in with the wednesday speed workout, but when he got to work that morning he said he was going to kill me. :) i did warn him he shouldn't start with the hardest day of the week, but he didn't listen.

running is going well, but unfortunately all on the hotel tm so far. what's even worse is the "gym" is practically a sauna. the a/c does not work and there are no controls to adjust it. blech. i've learned of some places to run nearby from the guy at work, but have been too lazy to drive and find them after work 'cause i am exhausted by the time i get back to town and just want to lay on the bed.

monday (5/11) am run: 5.25 miles, 46:27 (avg pace 8:51)
tuesday (5/12) am run: 5.10 miles, 44:59 (avg pace 8:49)
wednesday (5/13) am run: 3.50 miles, 29:56 (avg pace 8:33)
(felt tired and legs were heavy, and quite frankly i was not in the mood to run)
thursday (5/14) am run: 5 miles, 43:58 (avg pace 8:48)

nothing impressive there, just chugging away towards my 35-ish mile goal for the week. i haven't ran in the wee hours of the morning in so long, so i'm just proud of myself for stumbling out of bed at 4-something and plopping on the treadmill.

time to lay on the floor with a golf ball under my shoulder. hurts so good.

sugar stacks

need a reason or motivation to cut out some sugar? check out sugar stacks, a handy visualization that may talk you out of that handful of skittles or pack of oreos.

it's slightly misleading regarding fruit since the sugar in fruit is natural and easier for the body to break down, but i guess some people do need to keep in mind that just because it's fruit does not mean they can eat the whole orchard. they do explain it a little more in the sugar stacks blog, along with discussing other sugar-related topics.

thank the lord they didn't post about m&m's! (of course that's what i checked for first!)

f+

week in review (5/04 - 5/10):
total miles: 17.45 (all easy)
time spent running: ~2 hours 35 minutes (hardly any)
avg hr: 160.25
avg pace: 8:50/mile
off days: 2 (or 4 if you count my two treadmill fail days)

i'm on a rollercoaster. up. down. up. down. weekly mileage over the past 8 weeks: 35, 14, 47, 29, 47, 33, 46, 17. 'nuff said.

i didn't quite make much of an attempt to run any sort of mileage to finish the week strong. i got in a short (hot) run thursday night (after driving 8 hours and going to sister's college graduation) and a slow (hot & humid) run friday, but was l-a-z-y on saturday. sunday morning came and i did not want to get out of bed, so i didn't. eventually i had to hit the road (again), and after arriving back to kentucky and eating dinner, i felt too guilty to take so many days off. i hopped on the hotel treadmill for a solid 1.7 miles. at that point dinner wasn't settling well and it was getting late, so i hopped off and said 15 minutes was better than nothing.

as frayed laces put it the other day (quoting tenacious d) i didn't fail, "[i] got an f plus" for my treadmill runs. and i'm ok with it. (thanks fl!)

this week i'm setting the bar at a modest ~35 miles, knowing i will have to step up my game on a new daniels' cycle starting may 18th!

product review: headsweats visor

i am a hat-runner. in the winter i am a beanie-cap (/whatever they're called) runner, but as long as it is 40* or warmer, i run in a hat.

in 2005, i got this white nike hat from my dad. it served it's purpose as a head-coverer and sun-blocker for many years, although after a few too many trips around the washing machine (3 years worth) the bill has a distinct crack down the middle of it. alas, it was time to retire the hat that saw me through my return to running, first 10k, and my first (2nd, 3rd, and 4th) marathons.

in 2008, i received a white/pink adidas hat from j. he knew the old one was falling apart, and that i wanted some pink/femininity on my new hat since i have been called "sir" one too many times at races. not exactly a boost to the self-esteem. unfortunately, adidas moronically put some sort of metal thing at the top of the hat. all that brown junk on top of the hat? rust. guess my sweat is too acidic. needless to say, it was forced into an early retirement, but it did see me through quite a few training runs.

while i still ran in the rust-bucket, i bought myself a black under armor hat for racing. (my racing flats are red and black.) it is strictly reserved for the special occasion of racing.

for christmas of 2008 i received this pink nike hat. i needed a replacement for the rust-bucket, and i wanted a hat that had some reflectiveness on it for my dawn/dusk runs.

in the early spring of this year, my mom was out shopping one day and decided to buy my sisters and i some things. this light green hat was one of my pasalubongs (tagalog for "surprise", according to my mom anyway. she doesn't always remember her native tongue 100%). i've been using it lately on my treadmill runs.

after 3 years of running in the same hat, i went from little miss low-maintenance to miss i have 5 running hats in one short year. (hey, it's not entirely my fault.) i'm just justifying what business i have in reviewing an active-wear hat.

i give you, the headsweats velocity visor:

i guess headsweats knew my collection was lacking a convertible.

headsweats sells a variety of headgear for running, biking, outdoor adventures, and an overall active lifestyle. like sugoi, they also give the option for customizing any of their hats with your own logo. whenever i come up with my super cool design, i'll be all decked out in my customized gear from head to toe.

the velocity visor is very light-weight (1.5 oz), machine washable, and wicks sweat away with 100% coolmax polyester fabric (from their website). the lining of the hat is completely different from all my other hats. it looks almost like a towel, although it is certainly not uncomfortable as i imagine running with a towel around your head might be. it wicked away my sweat and helped keep my head drier longer. this visor has probably my favorite "size adjuster" on the back. it's velcro like most other hats, but the strip is long enough so that if you happen to have a fat head like me, you aren't struggling to latch the velcro onto itself.

while there are no reflective decals on the hat, it is a great accessory for running mid-day and shielding your face from damaging sun rays or keeping your face a little drier during a downpour. the visor is very reasonably priced at $19.00, and most "regular" hats are about $22.00.

each of the headsweats pieces is linked to one of their sponsored athletes or teams, and the velocity visor just so happened to be linked to scott rigsby. rigsby is a double-amputee who competes in marathons, half-ironmans, and international distance triathlons. it is always awesome to see a successful company giving back to the running/athletic community, and scott's story is truly touching (and his talent amazing!). kudos to headsweats for supporting athletes of all ages, types and abilities.

*special thanks to my hat model, the hotel ice bucket.

running fail

running is not always a successful stress-reliever for me. :( i certainly wish it was. unfortunately some days when i'm stressed or frustrated and lace up my shoes, running just makes me more stressed.

tuesday - i was in a funky mood overall. got on the treadmill... ran three minutes. yes, three minutes. felt like crying. i'm not sure why, just upset. cash cab wasn't keeping me the least bit distracted. i forced myself to ten minutes and stopped. stood there, looked at the treadmill and it's 1.12 (or whatever it said, i don't remember), and felt extremely pathetic. hopped back on to even it out to 1.5 miles. half of me said "it's ok, you can have (and maybe need) a day off." the other half said "this is pathetic. you know you probably won't have time later this week to run and will take another day off. how can you log 1.5 miles on your spreadsheet and call it a day?" the lazy and emotional half won. i walked out of the hotel "gym", got on the elevator, and said to myself - "fail".

tuesday (5/5) pm run: 1.5 miles, 12:53 (avg pace 8:35)
i even typed "treadmill FAIL" in the workout notes section of my dorky spreadsheet.

on wednesday i was too afraid to fail again, so i didn't even attempt to run. i also had to pack all my stuff up anyway, and couldn't believe how much crap i had with me in the hotel.

here's hoping i can pull it together over the weekend and log actual mileage for the week. it's thursday and i'm not even in the double digits... sigh.

happy trails

monday i found out i will be "moving" again. nothing like a little advanced notice, i was wanted at a different jobsite on wednesday. thankfully, a few things came up today (tuesday) and i don't actually have to be there until next week. i already had plans for a long-weekend away from kentucky and i was not going to cancel them to move from one hotel to another. (supposedly the next town i'll go to has an olive garden! i'm moving up in the world.)

a little frustrated about work and "moving", i was craving a run all day. mentally i wanted to run for hours, but physically i was tired. i opted to revisit the bone trail to get some pics since i may never be back.

it was a hard run with the steep climbs and muddy slopes (i only slipped once!) but slow pace wise. it was just nice to work out some frustration.

supposedly this trail is also for mountain biking?
just doesn't seem like a bright idea to me...

this is where i first saw deer last time, and found the bone
(did not see either this time)

a long climb

you can kind of see the old ski lift thingys along the right side
the trail gets hard to follow through the open areas

not much room for error

more wide-open spaces / former ski slopes

view from the top, but only halfway through the trail

barefoot, that's how the kenyans do it

carl and karl underwood love running. they love marathons, half-marathons, and half-half-marathons. they love 5ks, 10ks, and think 401ks sound pretty fun. they think cross-country, steeplechase, and the first 90% of pole vaulting aren’t too bad, either. the underwood brothers are running’s #1 superfans and their mission is to share their love of running with the world.

---

week in review (4/27 - 5/03):
total miles: 46.47 (all easy)
time spent running: ~6 hours 38 minutes
avg hr: 160.71
avg pace: 8:36/mile
off days: 0

this week included a nice mid-week "long" run of 11 miles! i really need to be strict with myself regarding at least one long-ish run/week. i have been running 7-9 miles like a champ, but i need (and want) to go longer on a weekly basis. i ran outside in the heat most days in hopes of getting my body "used to" the warm stickiness as soon as possible. those runs were considerably slower than my easy pace, yet my hr was not lower as it should've been - i'm assuming it was all because of the heat and am not concerned with it. i felt a little blah/groggy all day sunday, and i hope it's just the crud from all the secondhand smoke i inhaled at the derby. here i thought you could only smell like smoke after a night at the bars, not an outdoor event...

kentucky derby - what horses?

while (seemingly) everyone else is racing this weekend, i was watching the horse races at the derby. some friends and i got cheap tickets to the infield, and most people there don't even see horses. i still wanted to see some of the action and luckily we were able to catch glimpses of each race as the horses ran around turn 2 and down the backstretch.


i was gonna dress up (not to the max) but the weather was crappy. well, it was supposed to be extra crappy, but thankfully the rain held off all afternoon. it was cloudy, cool and muddy, so i was glad to have worn jeans instead of a dress. being the genius that i am, i thought the derby was at like 12 or 1. i'm not really sure where i got that idea from. oh well, we caught every single race anyway.


still thinking the race was around lunchtime, i hopped over a mud puddle to purchase an official kentucky derby mint julep. umm. not so sure what the hype is about those... i couldn't even bring myself to finish it. the fact that it was 10:30 am probably didn't help much.


i wanted to bet on the horse with the worst odds (hey biggest payout!), but j and his infinite wisdom told me not to. we know how that turned out, who won? oh right, the horse with the 49:1 odds or something. anyway i put the (not-so) big money down on general quarters 'cause he's a local horse, i liked his story, and i could call him gq for short. he finished 10th.

after wandering the infield for the afternoon and watching the first 10 races, the port-a-potty races began in the intermission before race #11, the derby. gotta love drunken idiots who aren't afraid to embrace the port-a-potty smell. at least no one ran across in the buff this year.

a drunk old man

first place female

an even older, old man, and some stupid drunk girl

the older-old man is still struggling
note how most of the roofs no longer stick up

there's nothing i'd rather do then hug a port-a-potty
after 12 hours of drunk people using it...

i assumed i would not be up for a run after the races, so i drug myself out of bed early in the morning to get a short run in. i figured if i wanted i could always add on a few more miles in the afternoon, back when i still thought the race was at noon-ish and all. after my big four hours of sleep friday night i got in 6 miles on the treadmill and i'm sure both the lack of sleep and running effort contributed to my tiredness all afternoon. going to bed saturday night was heavenly, to say the least.

saturday (5/2) am run: 6 miles, 51:08 (avg pace 8:31), avg hr (167)

a day in the life

today at work i got to climb the absorber (the thing that takes the sulfur dioxide out of the flue gas / the thing that takes what causes acid rain and other pollutants out of the smoke omitted from a power plant*). zzzz bored yet? (except maybe leana and meredith with their scientifical engineer minds)

climbed all the way to the top.

i probably haven't mentioned this, but i have this slight fear of heights.

i clutched both handrails as i ascended 600 feet or so above the ground, with nothing but metal grating beneath me. i had to stop a few times to fight off the urge to puke. i'm really not good with heights. i tried concentrating on looking straight out, but my eyes kept diverting to their peripherals... which would then drift downwards... not good. i was a big scaredy cat the whole time but i made it all the way up and even let go of the handrail for a few minutes.

super-nervous dork, with the beautiful ohio river behind me.
i'm dressed up compared to my usual t-shirt.

check out my steel-toed "running shoes". i get made fun of them for that anyway. wouldn't recommend running in them - the steel is not that comfortable and a bit heavy.

going down was an adventure as well, but i made it down without panicking too much.

after work it started raining pretty hard so i hopped on my beloved friend, sir treadmill, for a little run. to keep myself distracted, i randomly decided to do ~15 minutes easy (7.0mph), 10 min @ 8.0 (~7:30 pace), 5 min @ 7.0, 10 min @ 8.5 (~7:03 pace), and then however much longer easy til i got to 6 miles. i didn't struggle during the 8.0 or 8.5 sections so that was nice to see/feel.

tons of people are racing this weekend so good luck to everyone! i'll be sure have a mint julep for each of you at the kentucky derby tomorrow. ;-)

*i sure couldn't have come up with this myself. thank goodness j is an engineer and knows the ins and outs of flue gas desulfurization.