4th of July Holiday Weekend

It has been a very busy holiday weekend for me. I usually posted after all of my runs, but Josh and I ended up traveling right away after our long run on Saturday. Well, almost right right, we had to come home to pack right away after realizing that we had to drop off our pug at the kennel before they closed for the weekend at 2 PM. Then we stopped to get something to eat and drink for the 2 1/2 hour car trip downstate to our friends' house. But I am now finally home to post my results from Saturday as well as post results from this morning's run - both very hot.

Saturday - 12 mile long run

Well, our morning started somewhat early, but not early enough. The temps when I woke up were in the comfortable mid-60's and I was fine with running in that. What I didn't realize is that the temps quickly went up from that to the low 80's during the course of my very long run especially when I finished around 10:30 am. I was very warm - ok, HOT - by the time I finished and I managed to snag every water stop and refilled my small water bottle twice during my run so I was adequately hydrated. On top of that, I did not enjoy the hill in the Museum campus near my turnaround point at mile 6. I have biked it previously and had no problem. Running is a totally different animal and really affected the rest of my run. I was happy to finish my run and take a short walk in order cool down quickly.

Mile 1 9:23
Mile 2 9:17
Mile 3 9:09
Mile 4 9:27
Mile 5 9:27
Mile 6 9:46
Mile 7 10:06
Mile 8 9:54
Mile 9 9:33
Mile 10 10:03
Mile 11 10:00
Mile 12 10:00

Avg Pace - 9:41/mi



Today's Recovery Run

Moving forward to this morning, I woke up this morning and ran with my hubby and our friend, Shea. It was quite "warm" this morning and humid. I had planned to attempt a 4 mile run, but ended up cutting it short to 3 miles instead after starting to experience some nausea during my run. I was happy that I managed a very awesome pace for a recovery run. Our friend - who declared me as being the fastest person of the group - was able to keep up with me without wearing a Garmin and was shocked at the split when I read them AFTER we finished. He told me that he wants to pace me again in order to increase his speed. I was completely honored by the quote and will have another shot when they come up in August for one of our cocktail parties. I hope to do better tomorrow morning and attempt a longer distance with a little extra speed.

Mile 1 9:07
Mile 2 9:21
Mile 3 9:26

Avg Pace - 9:18/mi

First night of Hannukah

Let the 8 nights of lights and gift giving begin!

Another reason that the holidays are not the same..

.....and Macy's has to do with it. They took away my Santa Bears.....the original one. Those BASTARDS!! This is the original bears.

They were my favorite collector's item that I made every attempt to purchase right after Thankgiving. It was a tradition. They were expensive, but well worth it. But not this year. They took the wind out of my sails by creating a cheap looking version that I can not find in any of the former Dayton's/Marshall Fields turned Macy's stores. Plus they took the Miss Bear doll that I came accompanied with Santa Bear. UGHHHHHH! I know that one of my other running buddys protested the Marshall Field store back in September. I officially am on the same team now. Damn Macy's!

Anyways, I took a rest day as well. My quads were very sore after the run and I could not sleep well last night.

Tommorow will be a cross-training day or run day - depends on how I feel.

Things a little better today...

...so far for now. I slept in today and then go up and headed into the gym for some cross-training. My first sign of my mind still not totally there is that I forgot my lock for my locker so my purse is secure. No problem! The guy at the front desk secured it for me in one of the cabinets. I could not forget it at all because my car keys are on my purse! The second sign was that I kept on going on the eliptical machine until it all of a sudden got really easy. When went to check the time and mileage info, it was GONE!! UGHHHHHHH! Well, I know that I got 50 minutes on the eliptical machine, but no mileage info. Oh pooh! After going to gym, I headed home for a quick shower and got ready for work. Right now, I feel like the gal mentioned in Rick Astley's "Cry for Help". (see my music player - damn Blogger beta won't let me put the YouTube video in my post!) The song in fact helps me a little bit especially on the eliptical machine and soothes me out. I just read Mouse's very nice comment that she posted on yesterday's blog. (Thank you, Mouse!) It really made me think - more than I have been ever - about why this is hitting me hard than last year. I know that my marital issues do not help at all this year. When I thought last night about the grief with my dad, I had to think long and hard. At this time last year, I was working both Thanksgiving and the day after. On top of that, I was juggling school, 1st marathon training, and life. I was SO busy that I did not have to time to think about not being at home with my family or the grief during this time of the year. I also did not have time to head to the mall and just walk around to see the holiday lights. The only time I did that was when I was gift wrapping last year to raise money to TNT so I can complete my first marathon. Just to this year, I have a lot of time on my hands. I am still going to school, but do not have to juggle my schedule to do so. I did not have time to grieve. I made sure that I was off of work for Christmas so I can could be with my family, especially with my kids. I guess I stuffed my grief from last year and waited to unwrap it until now. GREAT! I already know by now that this is going to be a very difficult holiday season for me. I will grin and bear it as best as I can. Fellow bloggers, please bear with me and give me a lot of support right now. I really need it right now. I also need to get back to running ASAP so I can start getting my life back as much as normal as I can.

Blogger friends, I thought with the holidays underway I would be fine. Ah.....I was wrong. SO WRONG! I went to the mall tonight with my husband to get some candle holders at Michael's. He wanted to go walk around the mall for a little bit to walk off his dinner. Well, I purchased some Bavarian pecans because I could smell the scent of cinnamon in the air. As I was purchasing a small of the pecans, I heard a sound from a piano in the background. My husband was sitting on a bench near the piano. Then we started walking to a booth near the piano and the need to go home increased. My husband started talking to me, pointing out that the piano players playing "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and then asked what's wrong With tears in my eyes, I told him I wanted to leave NOW. He then asked me why I was crying. Then he thought it was due to the holiday and the pain of my dad's passing especially with his birthday's on Monday. He would have been 55 on Monday. Silently, I knew it was more than just that. Yes, I do miss my dad and the fact that he has been gone over 1 1/2 years. It is combination of this pain and the current dilemma with my husband and add the holidays - WHAM! Turn on the water faucets - full blast! I keep reading about Mouse's struggle with her mother's passing with the upcoming holidays and I thought it would easier for me. Ah....no! So far, It has not. I feel like a vase with a large crack trying to hold myself together until the next therapy session on Monday. I am trying to stay strong, but feel the crack getting deeper and deeper right now. I am hoping to find the proper glue to hold myself together and fix the crack. Well, we started walking away from the music and toward the other side of the mall. When we came across the pet store, we looked at the cats and dogs. I came across these cute male pugs. After we left the mall, we had dinner at Applebees and then headed for home. Before this episode, I woke up this morning and headed to the gym for 60 minutes on the eliptical machine. It felt good to be on there. I iced my ankle afterwards. After getting something to eat, I sat near my computer to watch the Colorado Buffalos and (damn) Nebraska Cornhuskers. Things were going well until the 2nd half the game and then it went downhill from there. They ended up losing anyway. Oh well. Tommorow's another day of cross-training and back to work for ONE DAY. Then my usual weekend starts. Today's work-out 60 minutes - Eliptical machine 6.04 miles 710 calories 9:56/mile - WOW!

I made my goal....but I still felt it.

Yes, I did. I was able to be on the eliptical machine for over an hour. Part of me wishes that I did not stay on the eliptical machine for the extra 5 minutes, but oh well. But it felt very good. I did my ankle exercises afterwards and stretched. Then I headed home to get ready for work. I want to thank you again for the support. I means a lot to me right now. This is very difficult time for me especially with the holidays. For me, something I left out of the last post, it is more than just the money, but the pain of not being able to enjoy the holidays like we wanted to and the loss of my pride. Well, I had at least one request for what the drink, Dirty Monkey, is. Well, here's the recipe: 2 1/2 oz. Banana Schnapps 4 oz of pineapple/coconut juice 4 oz of cola (I used Caffeine Free Diet Coke) Mix all of the ingredients all in order in a glass served with ice. It was a recipe that I made by mistake, but it's SO good. There's one warning on the drink: One drink one a time because the monkey (the schnapps) bite you in the butt. Tommorow and Thursday going to be another cross-training day to keep the endurance up. I was going to run the Turkey Trot 5K on Thursday, but today's work-out might have changed my mind. Today's work-out 65 minutes 6.49 miles 756 calories burned 10:00/mile - Let's keep it going, but a little bit shorter in time.