Gazelles On Crack

it’s hard to be graceful after six martinis

The Return of PORN!

You guys, last Friday I went to see my sports massage guy and we had a little talk about shoes. And the beginnings of that plantar fasciitis that I’m starting to feel.

He perhaps implied that I didn’t need to wear heels all the time.

I perhaps implied that he was an idiot.

He wanted to know how high my heels really were.

I said something about the vicinity of 3-4 inches.

He passed out & hit his head & is now suing me for causing his PTSD.

Before he filed the lawsuit, he perhaps said something about how PR-ing my next marathon might be difficult if my feet hurt all the time.

I said FINE and stomped around like a tantrumy three year old.

And now, dear internets, I need your help.

I need to buy a couple of pairs of shoes. And by shoes, I mean shoes that will not elongate my sad stumpy legs. Shoes that will cause the legs of all my pants to drag on the ground. Shoes that are FLAT!

I find myself in new territory – buying flat dress shoes, but I know someone out there must have advice (advice that isn’t ‘welcome to Dansko territory *SARAH*).

So – here are the offerings.

BCBGeneration Vania

BCBGeneration Vania

Bandolino Whimper

Bandolino Whimper

Kenneth Cole Reaction Bard Core

Kenneth Cole Reaction Bard Core

Gabriella Rocha Lolla Flat

Gabriella Rocha Lolla Flat

Nine West Newsy

Nine West Newsy

Thoughts? Votes? Suggestions?  (The first person who suggest Crocs is getting a 4″ stilleto to the neck!)

PS – What the hell is this?

PPS – How cute is this? Why isn’t it flat?

Posted on on February 8th, 2010 in Shoe Me! | 5 Comments »

Training Goals – 2/8/10 – 2/14/10

The recap!

Training Goals – 2/1 – 2/7

Monday: weights – SUCCESS! I lifted weights!

Tuesday: Terwilliger run – SUCCESS! And a speedy run it was! (4.2 miles at 10:16 pace – faster Terwilliger hill run yet!)

Wednesday: Run – SUCCESS! (4.25 miles at 10:34 pace – great run with Lisa!) + Swim! (1200 yds in 36 minutes! yay!)

Thursday: Bike to work (if it’s nice) or swim (if it’s not) – FAIL? I swam on Wednesday, and had forgotten I had plans post work, so I took it as a rest day.

Friday: Trail run + Weights – partial SUCCESS! I did a 7.55 mile trail run (at an embarrassingly slow 13:13 pace – it was MUDDY!), but did not make it to weights.

Saturday: Rest (and by rest, I mean spend 4 hours planting trees) – SUCCESS! I, along with my kick-ass neighbor & a bunch of other NoPo residents planted over 400 trees! My group planted 9- and that is a workout! My arms & back were SORE today!

Sunday: Long run – complete & total SUCCESS! (10 miles at an 11:02 pace – just exactly where I want to be for my long runs! Yay!)

26 miles of running – best week in AGES!
Counting two hours of tree planting, I got in 8 hours & 24 minutes of activity this week.
I stretched after every run!

Training Goals – 2/8 – 2/14

Monday: weights

Tuesday: Terwilliger run (4.2 miles)

Wednesday: Waterfront run (4-5 miles)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Trail run (7-8 miles) + Swim

Saturday: Weights + Bike

Sunday: Long run (12 miles)

My goal – 4 runs; 2 weights; 1 swim; 1 bike; stretch after every run; foam roll Tuesday/Friday/Sunday

Posted on on February 7th, 2010 in Run Away! | 4 Comments »

Stuff I want: happy birthday to me: part 2 (biking & swimming gifts)

Originally, I was going to divide this up into two separate posts, but then I didn’t have ten items in each category, so now it’s one post.

Biking Stuff

1. These pants. So cute! So functional! So expensive. *sigh*

Novara Flirt Capri Bike Pants (size small)

Novara Flirt Capri Bike Pants (size small)

2. Rain pants. I have a jacket – but some pants would be fantastic. It would certainly prevent me from using the “it might rain” or “it is raining” or “insert whinyness here” excuses!

Womens Club Convertible Pant - size small

Women's Club Convertible Pant - size small

3. Bike shirts. I don’t have a single bike jersey, and could really use one or two.

Pearl Izumi Select Bike Jersey (green! medium)

Pearl Izumi Select Bike Jersey (green! medium)

4. Seat pack – to carry important things in, like a tire changing kit! and Gu!

Timbuk2 Strap Seat Pack (green or red)

Timbuk2 Strap Seat Pack (green or red)

5. Helmet lights for safety! I have bike lights, but am super jealous whenever I see someone with helmet mounted lights. I would like both a front & back light!

Cygo Bicycle Light Helmet Mount Kit for Rover/Night Explorer

Cygo Bicycle Light Helmet Mount Kit for Rover/Night Explorer

Planet Bike Blinky 3H 3-Led Rear Bicycle Light with Self Leveling Helmet Mount

Planet Bike Blinky "3H" 3-Led Rear Bicycle Light with Self Leveling Helmet Mount

Swimming Stuff

6. Swim caps – I would really like to have a spare swim cap.(of course, not pink – but I do like reds, blues & greens!)

ClubSwim Solid Silicone Swim Cap

ClubSwim Solid Silicone Swim Cap

7. Swim suit – I think it might be impossible to have too many swim suits. I have two now (thanks A!), but would love a third – especially as I start ramping up the swims. (I really love this one – size 32 or 34; whichever is available.)

ClubSwim Urban Dandelion (size 32 or 34)

ClubSwim Urban Dandelion (size 32 or 34)

8. Wetsuit – this is a must for all my triathlons, but I haven’t yet gotten one – because the price frightens me. I rented one last year – and spent about $50.  So, if I do three triathlons this year, at $50/each, I will have spent $200 at the end of the season (including last year’s, of course). Which makes this a less scary investment, right?

2XU SC:2 Sleeveless Triathlon Wetsuit (Womens S/M)

2XU SC:2 Sleeveless Triathlon Wetsuit (Womens S/M)

9. This book (please? pretty please?)

Workouts in a Binder: Swim Workouts for Triathletes (Spiral-bound)

Workouts in a Binder: Swim Workouts for Triathletes (Spiral-bound)

10. A pool? Just a 25 yard lap pool would be sufficient. So far I can’t convince the architect to build me one. No? Well, fine, then.  How about a triathlon suit? I would love one of these! (two piece, I am not the same size on the top & bottom!)

DeSoto Womens Carrera TRI Short (size small)

DeSoto Women's Carrera TRI Short (size small)

DeSoto Womens Carrera Full Top (size medium)

DeSoto Women's Carrera Full Top (size medium)

so – that concludes the swimming & biking portions of my shamelessness. Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for the “household stuff” and “other random crap I want” portions of Amy’s birthday wish list!

Posted on on February 3rd, 2010 in Not Dead Yet! | 5 Comments »

February 2010 Goals

But, as always, the recap of last month comes first.

  1. Eat clean & healthy 85% of the time. Foods should be real foods. Sugar, caffeine & alcohol should be limited. This is the chance to drop a few pounds before marathon training gets started. - SUCCESS! I did a pretty good job of this. I lost most of my holiday weight, and I’m feeling a lot more confident about my ability to recognize my hunger and satiety points.
  2. Wash face every night. – SUCCESS! I think I only missed a couple of nights – which is way better than I had been doing.
  3. Practice appropriate stress management. (Appropriate =- baths, yoga, meditation CDs. Inappropriate = drinking a bottle of wine every night, holding up gas stations, kicking kittens.) Mostly SUCCESS! I am in a lot better place than I was the last part of 2009, and although it was a stressful month (and February will be no different), I didn’t have any panic attacks and I didn’t knock over any liquor stores!
  4. Swim at least four times (once a week). - COMPLETE SUCCESS! I swam four time, and had a GREAT time doing it. I had my last two swim lessons and have now moved out into the independent swimming world!
  5. Finalize marathon tattoo design & get the tattoo scheduled. - half SUCCESS! I know what I want – but my artist is unable to tattoo right now due to an undisclosed medical reason – so I’m not sure if I’ll look for someone else or just wait until he’s better. I’ll let you all know when I decide!

February 2010 Goals

  1. Lose four pounds. I think this is doable!
  2. Hit minimum workouts: Six strength training, four swims, four bikes, fourteen runs, two yoga.
  3. Get new garden plot dug.
  4. Spring clean the crap out of my house.
  5. Have a super fantastic 33rd birthday.

What are your plans for February? (Besides buying me presents, of course.) Anything big?

Posted on on February 1st, 2010 in Not Dead Yet! | 5 Comments »

Training Goals – 2/1/10 – 2/7/10

The recap – which honestly is a bit pathetic this week. I have a confession internets – I have a really hard time making myself do anything but whimper and whine and wine when I have PMS. So, even though this week looks a bit pathetic, I think I deserve at least half of a high five for doing as much as I did.

Training Goals – 1/25 – 1/31

Monday: weights – FAIL! Instead I wallowed.

Tuesday: Terwilliger run – SUCCESS! I ran 4.5 miles (not on Terwilliger, but that’s okay) with a 10:07 pace! woo!

Wednesday: Run (3-5 miles) – FAIL! I wallowed some more.

Thursday: Swim – SUCCESS! I had the best swim ever! Yay!

Friday: Trail run (6-7 miles) + Weights – SUCCESS! I did a 6.25 mile trail run (11:13 pace, which if you take out the almost 15 minute mile 4, would’ve been 10:40 pace…stupid 460 ft elevation gain!); I also lifted weights, and my chest was so sore on Saturday! OW!

Saturday: Rest – FAIL! Instead I went for a 4.5 mile walk with the architect around Sun River. It was chilly but nice.

Sunday: Long run (8-9 miles) – FAIL! Seriously – I skipped my long run. I thought about it, but it was so icy in Sun River this morning, and by the time we got back to PDX, it was after 3 – and it was a gorgeous day. I took advantage of the weather to do some much needed yard work – cleaned up the flower beds, planted the last of the bulbs, and helped the architect transplant a pine tree that some idiot planted too close to the house. I spent about 1.25 hours working HARD in the garden…I know that I won’t skip another long run between now and the marathon, so I don’t actually feel too badly about my slightly pathetic week.

Six hours of activity this week!

January Totals
76 running miles – more than November + December together!

30.6 biking miles – WEAK! BUT, more than last January! (And more than December)

3150 swimming yards – the most since August! I hit my goal of four swims AND I graduated from lessons.

5 strength training sessions – definitely need to do better on this!

25.72 workout hours – more than any month since September, and more than last January!

Pretty good month!

On to next week’s goals:

Training Goals – 2/1 – 2/7

Monday: weights

Tuesday: Terwilliger run (4.2 miles)

Wednesday: Run (5 miles)

Thursday: Bike to work (if it’s nice) or swim (if it’s not)

Friday: Trail run (7-8 miles) + Weights (unless I didn’t swim Thursday, then swim)

Saturday: Rest (and by rest, I mean spend 4 hours planting trees)

Sunday: Long run (10 miles)

I did a great job of stretching this week (thanks in part to Jen!) and I want to keep that up.  I also need to figure out how to get in more biking. Too  many things!

Posted on on January 31st, 2010 in Run Away! | 1 Comment »

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