Brie Fit

I forget exactly what the number was.  All the 161.2s and 161.6s are blurring together.  Whatever.

Breakfast was the same.  Lunch: soup, a peanut butter mini bagel, a tiny tangerine, a mini cheese, and Fage.

Oh, Fage.  Why can’t you be on sale every week?   This blueberry topping was positively luxurious.

Not pictured: two mini donut holes I swiped from the break room to go with my morning coffee.  I decided that since it was long run day I could be a bit more casual with calories.

Snack:

I put some extra PB on it for a little sticking power.

After work, I went to the gym for my long run.  Lately, I’ve been employing a more flexible training strategy for races.  I hate setting specific numerical goals—like, you have to run 10 miles today—because I’d feel bad if I couldn’t quite hit it for whatever reason.

So today I set out for something in the 9-ish to 11-ish range.  I figured that since it was after work, I probably wouldn’t hit 11, but 9 or 10 could be doable.  I was nervous that yet another run would be jinxed and painful.

Thank God, I was wrong!  Today’s run was…joyful, almost?  I felt rested and happy to be moving.  I listened to several episodes of the Fat 2 Fit Podcast which is EXCELLENT and I highly recommend for great motivation and logical advice.

I decided to change the speed every mile just for fun and wound up doing:

• Mile 1: 10:00
• Mile 2: 9:50
• Mile 3: 9:43
• Mile 4: 9:32
• Mile 5: 9:21 (!)
• Mile 6: 9:21 (!)
• Mile 7: 9:32
• Mile 8: 9:43
• Mile 9: 9:50
• Mile 9-9.5: 5:00
• Total: 9.5 miles in 1:31:54, average pace of 9:40!

I had to stop at mile 9.5 because I thought I might poop the treadmill.  No lie.

I used to beat myself up when I couldn’t finish runs after work because of gastrointestinal issues, but now, I’m a lot more relaxed about it.  I know running on a full stomach isn’t ideal, but morning runs aren’t feasible, although they are much easier on my stomach.  I know I can do the distance so I don’t freak about it anymore.

(PS: only ingested Gatorade on this run and felt pretty fantastic, energy-wise.)

Anyway, my half goal is to break 2:10:00 this time around.  I’m planning on hanging with the pacers and just going for it, and I think, with today’s run, I’ve got the confidence that I just might be able to pull this one off!

Tim made the pizza tonight.  It was a smidge lopsided.

I ate a quick dinner, then headed out to grocery shop.   I splurged on some fun produce, like a pineapple and some grapes, since I’m sick of eating oranges and apples like I have been all winter!

And now I’m re-hydrating (can’t get enough water today!) and, uh, re-fueling with strawberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips.  And letting my calves get snuggled by my Zensah compression sleeves.

True story: I LOVE the chocolate strawberry flavor combination…but I’m not a huge fan of chocolate covered strawberries.  They are kind of smushy and the chocolate breaks off too easily. 

Related fact: one layer of our wedding cake was vanilla cake with both chocolate mousse and strawberry mousse, like Neopolitan ice cream.  That was good stuff.  Mmm.

I didn’t really track accurately today since I gave myself a long run allowance.  I estimate I clocked in at about 2300 today, but I burned 1150 on my run, so I needed them all!

I can’t wait to sleep super late tomorrow and lounge around all weekend.  It’s been awhile since we’ve had a totally free weekend.

What are your favorite sweet combinations—chocolate strawberry? Peanut butter banana?  Apples and cinnamon? 

Pretty sure my body will linger at this not-quite-150s place for awhile just to torment me.  Maybe I’ll see them soon.   Maybe not.

Seriously, how is it only Wednesday?  This.  Week.  Is. DRAGGING.  OMG.

Breakfast at work, since I overslept a little yet again.

We tried out a new caterer for work events this morning, and of course I had to help sample.  I took one small bite of a lemon poppyseed coffee cake, but deemed myself the fruit tester.  There was also a good yogurt dip with it.  I approve!

Lunch was kind of a breakfast-for-lunch thing: English muffin with cream cheese, yogurt with berries, a kiwi, an egg puff, and some cheese.

I really want to love microwaved eggs, but there is something about the texture (they get a little rubbery) that makes me kind of hesitant.  They’re okay. 

My lunches and snacks have been kind of sucky lately.  I really need to make something on the weekends I can bring with me again. 

Snack was one of these Kashi bars, which I found lying homeless on the “anyone can eat this” food table at work.  I like these, mostly because they’re…hearty?  For a bar.  I guess.  As in, they take awhile for me to eat and require lots of chewing, so I feel like I’m eating a bigger snack than I actually am.

Today, I planned on doing a medium-ish long run.  I’m racing on Saturday, so I can’t get it done then, and frankly, I’ve learned to not expect more than 7-8 miles out of myself after a full day of work.  Unfortunately, my legs were super sore and stiff from lifting yesterday…but I did it anyway.

7 miles, on the treadmill, in 69:08.  Which puts me perfectly at my goal half marathon pace, and on track for a PR!

I am particularly proud that I did this with my legs feeling the way they do.  They were definitely sluggish and what was holding me back, so I’m interested to see how I can do when I’m well-rested.  Sad news, though, was that there was some serious rubbing in my new shoes. Ack. 
I can’t wait for a good rest day tomorrow.  My body feels like it needs some R&R, for sure (and lord knows I have plenty to do around the house before our friends come this weekend).

Dinner was a spinach salad with almonds and balsamic, some leftover roasted chicken, and a baked potato with a little bit of cheese.

And Diet Coke.  Because one a day won’t kill me and I like it.

Bubbles will be getting…his bubbles removed tomorrow and seems to be getting slightly more comfortable with our pets!  We’re still keeping them mostly separate and taking things slow.  And yes, we’re still trying to find a rescue or shelter for him.  (But man, is he a cutie.)

Sparkpeople summaries:

There is some ice cream in the freezer with my name on it.

What are your  go-to lunch staples

Because that would be crazy.

This morning, I didn’t have to be anywhere until 1, so I slept in until about 8, and had a cinnamon-raisin bagel with peanut butter I bought at Panera last night.

Blurry, sorry.

It was tasty.

Then I went and ran 11 miles on the hotel treadmill.  I watched one episode of I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant (HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW??? OMG), two episodes of Say Yes to the Dress (ohmygod I’m so glad I never have to buy a wedding dress ever again), and one episode of Cake Boss (he was at Disney, and I dorkily imagined myself running past that stuff!).

I didn’t feel the need for any Gu, but I had some Gatorade.  No stomach issues, and my body felt totally fine except for a weird point at mile 9.5 where I couldn’t really feel my feet and had to stop and stretch for a second.

I finished 11 miles with an average pace of 10:25/mile, feeling fine and like I could keep going.

I am on the fence as to whether I should attempt to RACE the Disney Princess Half or whether I should just run it for fun. 

I’ve run two half marathons.  My first half was 2:13:32.  My second half was 2:33:33 largely because of insane heat and lingering injury and underfueling.  Keeping up today’s pace, which felt comfortable but not a stretch, would put me in at about 2:17.  My sister (who I ran the second half with) says she’s running 10 minute miles on long runs right now.

I have a serious goal of going under 2:10:00 for a half.   I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.

But…I think I maybe have a chance at 2:15 or under, especially if I run with my sister who is apparently a bit speedy.  I think I could honestly keep up with 10 minute miles for most of the race.   I haven’t been injured at all lately, I’ve been cross-training and lifting, and I’d guess that I weigh less now than I did at my last half.    I haven’t been running as much, but I really feel like the balance in my training has kept me strong and healthy, and I feel like I’m a better runner since I’m running lower, but quality, mileage, rather than doing too many junk miles and getting injured.

HOWEVER.  I don’t want to set an aggressive time goal, not meet it, and then feel sad at Disney World, because that is not allowed.

So, anyway, I don’t know if I should have a goal or not.  Part of me wants to prance around in my tutu and take pictures and have fun; part of me wants to hang with my sister (who DEFINITELY wants to race this); part of me wants to blow my own mind.  I’m not sure.

ANYWAY.  I showered quickly and went for lunch before I had to be at work.  I ate in the car. 

Roasted chicken sub, baked chips, and apples.  With a big bottle of water.

I didn’t pack a snack this afternoon, and runger came around 3 pm.  The only food available was candy.   I was able to keep it to one peanut butter cup.

After the event, I decided to swing by Wal-Mart to pick up some breakfast and snacks for tomorrow.  Thankfully, my suite has a kitchenette, so I was able to buy refrigerated stuff.

I’ll probably have the Fage and some cereal for breakfast and the banana/LaraBar for snacks later.  I bought Gatorade because I suspect I’m a wee bit dehydrated—I’ve been so thirsty all day despite drinking lots of water!  It’s chilling in the fridge and I’ll have some later. 

I wanted to buy something for breakfast in my hotel room because I’m going to attempt to get up early for a workout tomorrow before I have to get on the road again.  The food options here aren’t great—mostly fast food—so I wanted to avoid that too.   Sometimes I wonder if our business manager who processes my travel receipts wonders about why I will occasionally buy an entire box of cereal on the road, but this stuff was probably cheaper than going out for breakfast anyway.

Today, in “weird shit seen in rural Missouri”:

I’m not a food snob, but people EAT that?  Really?

Then I grabbed a Chipotle burrito bowl for dinner.  I was starving.  Again.

Since Tim is not here, and I love beans, I got extra black beans.  I couldn’t finish this anyway, but it was so good!

Sparkpeople details:

My heart rate monitor was being funny today (I think it needs a new battery), so here’s a guess…probably about right, as I tend to burn 120 or so calories/mile when I wear it:

Since it was a long run day, and I burned so many calories,  if the urge to snack strikes me later, I’ll go with it!  I have another brownie from my sister for dessert, but I’ve got a spare orange and nana that might have to go down, too.

Should I race or run for fun at Disney?  If you say race, what goal should I set?

That’s what happens when you eat a dinner doused in teriyaki and soy sauce.  So worth it, though!  The bloat will be gone in a few days.

It’s 8:30 here and I’m just now sitting down at home.  Urgh.  I want another snow day.

Lunch: hummus, carrots, yogurt with berries, tiny orange, last of the homemade bread with peanut butter.

For my afternoon snack, I had a banana with peanut butter. About 1/4 of the banana was liquidy and brown. 

I supplemented with a peanut butter Girl Scout cookie from my boss.

After work, I went to the gym to run 9 miles.  All the treadmills were full.  So I hit the indoor track, figuring I’d run a few miles, then go back for a treadmill once the 5 o’clock crew had cleared out.

After 4 miles, I had to pee, so I did, and took a Gu, which was a good choice.

I went back to the gym and all the treadmills were still full.  So I ran 5 more miles, round and round the track, counting each lap, “1….1.25….1.5…1.75….2” over and over and over again.  I was dizzy at the end!

Overall, I’m pleased with my performance—I ran the whole thing in 95 minutes.  The first 4 miles were about 41 minutes, the next 5 were about 54.  I walked one lap to fix my SPIbelt, and that’s it.  I’ve been a wee bit nervous about my impending half, but I feel pretty confident I’ll be fine after tonight.

Not so cool: major underboob chafing.  What the hell?

My stomach was bugging me quite a bit on the way home, so I showered and ate the only thing that sounded appetizing—plain whole grain pasta with butter and salt.  Total comfort food.

Probably not the healthiest dinner, but I needed to get calories in and pretty much everything else made me urp in my mouth a little bit.

We got some fun deliveries today, though!

Our Door to Door Organics box:

  A day late, so I’m glad to see it, especially since we’re out of bananas. 

Also, a few produce questions:

1. What is red chard?  How does one cook/eat it?
2. Do red peppers taste like green peppers?  Because I really don’t like green peppers.  Are they good with hummus? 
3. We got a butternut squash, which will satisfy one of my 11 goals of 2011 if I can cook it.  I’m not really into the butternut squash soup thing since I think it usually tastes kind of like baby food, but would it be good roasted with some olive oil and my trusty Vesuvio spices?

Also also, I got a new winter coat with our leftover Macy’s credits since mine has a hole in the lining and is 3 years old.

I’m on the fence.  Do you like it?  I feel like the shoulders are pointy.  Will that go away?  Is it too orange-y?

Sparkpeople summaries:  My appetite is perking up a bit so I might go see what looks good in the fridge.  I think I need more calories today!

I’ve already asked enough questions in this post, so go nuts in the comments.  And thanks for not saying I sound like a jerkface in my Accent Vlog!

Thanks for all your advice for Danielle!  If you haven’t read my post below, add your two cents here. 

I am feeling a bit discouraged with my own weight loss lately, as it seems like I’ve been pretty stagnant for the last week or so…but I  know my changes will pay off eventually.  But still.  Harumph.

Quickie post, since I didn’t get home until 7:45 or so tonight and I’m tired and still have stuff to do.

Breakfast was the usual.

Lunchtime:

Clockwise: orange, sandwich thin with almond butter, hummus, string cheese (that is terrible and tastes like plastic, blech), carrots, yogurt, Kashi crunchies.

Afternoon snack was my old standby.

I decided to get my long run this week done tonight so I could enjoy my Friday night tomorrow.  So, I hit the gym for 8 miles.  I did the first 3.75 miles on the indoor track, and, like clockwork, had to run to the bathroom with awful stomach issues.  I felt much better afterwards, so I hopped on the treadmill for the remaining 4.25.  It was slow, and I took a few short walk breaks, but I finished 8 miles in about 1:27:00 or so.  At least it’s done!

Dinner was ugly leftovers. 

And a Girl Scout cookie.  I bought two boxes to support a friend’s daughter, and have only eaten one.  Go me!

There may or may not be a bit of ice cream in my future, too, but I burned over 1,000 calories today, so….I feel pretty okay with that.

And:

I may or may not lift after work tomorrow…since I did the Shred Sunday, I’ve worked out 5 days in a row, but I think a quick heavy weights session would feel pretty good.  We’ll see!

What’s your favorite kind of Girl Scout Cookie?  (Or cookie in general?)  I LOVE Samoas…I hear Edy’s has a Samoas flavor of ice cream that I can’t wait to try!

Because high fiber consumption and period bloating are a bad combination.

Thanks for all your great comments on this morning’s post about why I weigh myself every day!  It seems like everyone agrees that, within reason, you gotta do your own thang.  (Also, I’m not going to lie, I HATE thinking up post titles, and this helps with that.)

Breakfast was Kashi, as usual.

Today I was a busy bee at work and packed my lunch accordingly!

AB on a sandwich thin:

Unpictured yogurt and Kashi crunchies, and the best. orange. ever and a string cheese:

Although the orange (wooo organic delivery!) was seriously incredible, I made a mess of my hands, desk, and keyboard eating it.    If anyone knows a graceful way to eat an orange, let me know.  K?

Afternoon snack was a quickie bar.

Shocker: I’m going to eat down my bar stash in my desk gradually and not replenish it.  My afternoon snack for the last year or so has been a protein bar in some form, and I’m just kind of sick of them.  They are also expensive, and I want to work on replacing this with a more whole-foodsy-less-processed snack.  Today, however, I was busy and in need of a grocery store trip.

After work (left at 4!  hooray!), I set out for a 7 mile run.

Except at mile 5.5 I began to have severe, intense gastrointestinal distress.  (TMI ahead alert!)  When I’m having my period, I thankfully don’t get bad cramps…but I do get certain stomach flu-like symptoms for a few days without fail.

I stuck with it until mile 6.2 and then ran .01 miles to the bathroom.  And that was that.

In honor of Eat In Month,  I made homemade pizza dough (half whole wheat, half white flour) and we made pizza rather than ordering out. 

My half, with carefully measured sauce and cheese, is on the left.  I ate 3 (okay, and a sliver) slices.

I’m ludicrously excited to go to the grocery store tonight!  As soon as I hit publish, I’m out.  I love grocery shopping late on Friday nights because the store is deserted and then I have a delightful full fridge for the weekend.  Also?  I have lots of coupons.  Whee!  (I lead an exciting life, right?)

What’s your favorite take-out meal that you can make at home?  Tim and I are (obviously) big fans of homemade pizza, but I love homemade stir-fry too!

Today, I ran 20 miles.  (Whoa.)

Let me first start by saying that I set my alarm for 6:30 and snoozed until about 7:15.  I didn’t start running until 8:15 or so.  I am not a morning person, and sometimes, I feel like I SHOULD be, like long runs can’t be done after a reasonable amount of sleep.   Rest assured that that is NOT true—unless you are trying to beat insane heat, long runs can be done whenever.

Anyway.  I decided to tackle 20 today by doing 4 5 mile segments.  4 5-mile runs sounds so much easier to me!

For my first five, I headed out and ran around some beautiful gardens with fountains and other pretty things going on.  I put this section strategically first, because the hills in the area are killer and I wanted to do them on fresh legs.  (My iPhone camera was on the fritz today, so my picture documentation isn’t great.)  I tried to take a picture of something pretty, and got this instead:

(By the way—wore my new shoes.  The New Balance 759s are essentially a slightly updated version of my old 758s, but they feel exactly the same (though more cushiony, and with different laces) as the758s did.  Hooray!)

Stats for the first five:

Then I took a quick bathroom break, refilled my water bottle, took a Gu, and hit the treadmill for five miles.  Easy peasy.

Then, I went outside to the track to run 5 miles.  This didn’t work out quite as well as planned, as a soccer game was about  to start and I felt weird.  So, I went back inside to the treadmill after 3.5/5 miles were complete.

For the last segment, I ran 6.5 miles on the treadmill, split into segments of 4.5 miles-Gatorade refill-2 miles.   iPhone was not working, so I don’t have pictures!  By my math: 5+5+3.5+4.5+2=20!

Here is what I listened to:

1. 2 episodes of the Eric & Kathy Mix Morning Show podcast
2. 3 episodes of Kidd Kraddick in the Morning podcast
3. 1 episode of the Savage Love podcast
4. 2 episodes of the Talking TV with Ryan & Ryan podcast
5. 1 episode of Top Chef
6. some music

Here is what I consumed:

1. 32 oz. of Lemon-lime Gatorade (sometimes mixed with water, sometimes not—I’d estimate I took in about 56 oz. of fluids total)
2. 1 Vanilla Bean Gu at mile 5
3. 1 Chocolate Outrage Gu at mile 10
4. 1/2 pack of Sharkies immediately post-run

(I should have had another Gu at mile 15, but it didn’t sound appetizing.  Need to force feed one to myself next time. 1 Gu every 5 miles seems to work well for me.)

Time-wise, I was not fast.  I would estimate that I ran 80% of the time and walked 20% of the time.  That is fine with me.  Finishing is what matters, and if today’s run is any indication, I will not get swept away on the slow bus.

Here is what 20 miles looks like.  Be glad you don’t have smell-o-vision.

Post-run, I ice bathed (it feels SO good post-run and really helps recovery!), hot showered (to combat the smelly thing), and ate some Greek yogurt and plain pasta.  (My stomach was a little sour—not too bad, but I didn’t want anything too crazy.)

Anyway, although this was not a fun way to spend a Saturday morning, I feel infinitely more confident about my ability to finish this marathon in 3 weeks and shove it in Dr. Douche’s face.

Tonight Tim and I are using a Groupon for a fancy dinner at Room 39.  I can’t wait!

What’s the worst you’ve ever smelled?

Welcome to Philadelphia!

(View from the airport moving sidewalk.  Not so scenic.)

I got up this morning and got on a plane.  I flew all morning and got in to Philly at about 2:15 in the afternoon.  I hopped in a cab and found this:

“Boxers, briefs, or pantaloons?”  (Please tell me you have seen this episode of The Office.  Please.  It’s my favorite.)

Anyway, I checked in to the hotel and promptly fell in love.  COOKIES.  Yummy chocolate peanut butter caramel swirl cookies in the lobby!

Seriously the best cookie I’ve had in a long time.  I will be filching a few more over the next few days!

Hotel room is nice, but nothing too fancy.

After a bit of cookie love, I decided to pound out a long run on the treadmill.  Really, I didn’t have anything better to do. 

You do the math.

15 miles.  On a treadmill in a hotel, after flying all morning, with no Gatorade and just one Gu.  Oh, and I didn’t have a water bottle, either, so I had to stop the treadmill every 2.5 miles, run to the water cooler, and guzzle tiny cone-sized cups.

I watched three  hour-long shows on the Food Network—some sort of restaurant battle, Iron Chef: Battle Oatmeal, and Extreme Wedding Cake Challenge.  Good times!

It was slow, yes, but I don’t really giveacrap about time anymore.  Finishing and not getting swept off by the “you’re too slow” bus are my goals.  I did some run/walk intervals and some slow jogging.  I’m not sure what I like best.

As soon as I hopped off the treadmill, I had the odd experience of my calves and hamstrings TOTALLY locking up.  Like, I wanted to stretch, but I couldn’t even bend over.  It was very odd.  I’m assuming it was because I only took one Gu in three hours (I’m out!) and didn’t have my usual long run Gatorade.

Then, I had to jet to a cocktail hour and dinner for the conference I’m at.  I scarfed a lot of food (salad, tons of roasted potatoes, a bit of prime rib, cornbread, and OMG ICE CREAM SUNDAE BAR) and politely excused myself a bit early, thinking about how heavenly an ice bath sounded.  See?

BUT, the drain in the tub didn’t close.  So…no ice bath.   Cruel.

I did remember to bring my compression sleeves, though, so I’m compressing like a fool now, in bed, watching Cake Boss, blogging, and Gchatting with Tim.

Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good about today!  Two weeks ago I didn’t think I’d be able to even attempt the marathon, but now I know I can do this.  I could have kept going if I didn’t have to stop because of the conference schedule!  Next weekend, friends. 

Bonus funny for you guys: this is the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.

What’s your favorite cookie recipe?  (Links appreciated!)

Let me preface this post by saying right away: I didn’t run 17 miles like I was planning.  I ran 13.66 miles.  But I still consider this a successful, awesome, dare-I-say-epic, training long run (and PDR)!

So, I think I’ve mentioned Tim’s craptastic car before.  It crapped out again last night, meaning Tim and I needed to carpool to the race, which threw my long run plans for a loop because I am not mean enough to make my husband get up at 4 am and wait in a car for two hours while I run 14 miles before a 5K.

Instead, we got up at 5 (slightly more reasonable), left our house at 5:40, and got to our race destination around 6:30.  (Yep, that’s how far you have to drive to find somewhere decent to run around here.)

As soon as we got there, I took off and decided to do 2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back from the starting line along a well-lit road with plenty of cars driving by and friendly looking walkers and joggers.  The sun wasn’t up yet, but I could already feel the humidity coming on.  This whole part of the run is kind of a blur.

I attempted an iPhone self portrait while running.  Here are the results.

Aren’t you glad I have no shame?

Anyway, I made it to the start line about 10 minutes before the race was set to kick off.  I pinned my bib on quickly and Tim and I, naturally, posed  in action shot photos.

(Tim has seen the light of wicking running shirts rather than his cotton t-shirts.  Hooray!)

The sun was still rising during the start of the 5K.

Anyway, then we ran the 5K.  We both failed to note that the first mile was pretty much entirely up a very steep hill.  It was rough.  I ran the 5K at a nice, slow long run pace, not really caring about my time, and finished somewhere in the 33:30ish range.  (I haven’t checked my chip time.)  Tim finished a few minutes before me!

Then, post- race, I found Tim, refilled my water bottle, had a few Sport Beans, and took a bathroom break.  We decided that while I pounded out a few more miles, he would go do our grocery shopping for the week!  (I know, I’m a lucky woman.)

Sidenote: I filled my handheld bottle with Gatorade, not water, this morning and it made a HUGE difference.  I don’t really like the flavor of Gatorade at all, but I definitely felt more energetic and like I had more stamina through the whole run.  I took one Gu at about mile 9, and that’s it!

Anyway, Tim left and we agreed to meet back at the car at 9:30, which left me with about 1:10 to run on my own.  I did about another 6 miles and finished my run strong (I honestly could have finished another 3, if I’d had more water/Gatorade, but Tim was waiting) with the following stats:

13.66 miles in 2:39!  A new PDR for me!

(I am also learning the importance of going slow.  Traffic signals slowed me down quite a bit on this route, and I did a fair bit of walking.  My average pace was 11:38/mile today, which is a-okay with me!)

By that point, it was also rapidly approaching hot/humid as balls territory, and I could feel that I was getting a bit of a runburn (new word alert) so I didn’t feel bad about calling it a day then.  It was a really great, not-so-difficult long run outside!  Who can complain?

I felt pretty fantastic after the run, but refueled with the cold water Tim brought me and the Sharkies I’d left in the car:

I immediately hopped into an ice bath when I got home for about 15 minutes:

(It wasn’t really icy, per se—I used the coldest water the tub would give me and a dozen ice cubes.  But it was chilly and it did help the last time I did it!)  Post-ice bath, I took a nice, steamy shower.

Anyway, I feel pretty awesome right now.  The only casualty is this toenail, which is looking weird and blood-blistery and has already fallen off once:

I am, however, rungry, so I am going to go eat lunch and snuggle up with my compression sleeves and good TV!  Thanks for all your support!

Hey, dudes.  I didn’t blog yesterday because I was crabby and, well, I’ll spare you on those days.  I’m also starting to lean towards a quality-over-quantity theory of blogging generally, so…if I don’t have anything worthwhile to say,  I won’t.

Anyway, yesterday, I got halfway to work and realized I’d forgotten my running shoes at home.  This has happened only one other time in the last 10 months of work!  I was mad, but I figured might as well add an extra rest day in this week.  Such is life.

Today, work was interesting.  My co-workers started screeching around 10 am and I poked my head out.  Apparently a bat had decided to take a nap in one of our light fixtures!

Naturally, my first thought was to hide the banana I’d brought for a snack lest it be apprehended by the tiny creature.  It was actually kind of cute.  It was sleeping upside down and was teeny and fuzzy with tiny ears.

Thankfully the bat was humanely removed from the office and released back into nature.   My banana emerged unscathed.  THANKFULLY.

After my adventurous day, I headed to the gym for an 11 miler.  I broke it up by doing a mile, then 5 miles, then another 5 miles.  I also experimented with slowing my pace down significantly.  I think I need to learn that the point of marathon training is not to break any speed records, but just to get through the runs solidly.  I’d venture a guess that people get injured more frequently when they’re running faster, and yeah, I don’t care  to do that.  I finished 11 miles in 1:54:00.  I’m not going to win any speed records, but I just want to finish this race strong.

Anyhoo, I’m refueling now with homemade pizza and banana soft serve (frozen banana+a little bit of PB+a sprinkle of chocolate chips) and we’re watching Hot Tub Time Machine.  I don’t plan to move from my armchair for the rest of the night!

In other news, I’m setting a goal for August: 100 miles or bust!  I logged 27.6 this week, so I’m well on my way.  Woo!

What’s your favorite wild animal?  I’m a big fan of giraffes.