Now that's a shwag bag.

I'm super excited and super exhausted.

Princess diaries.

Now that I have eaten approximately my body weight in pizza, I feel more alive. 

Can we discuss this royal wedding hoop-la for a second? Why are people going insane for this? 

I don't get it but I am going to admit I want to watch the lifetime movie about it (you can stream it from their website!). I am super tempted to buy it for $4 on iTunes to watch it on the plane tomorrow. Sucker for that crap, I tell you or I'm still drunk. 

And can we just say it now? Prince William needs to get married now because he is not aging well. What happened? Lucky for him, Kate is gorgeous. Stunning, really. 

This site has kept me thoroughly entertained all day. 

But in case you really need an actual prince to feel like a princess, I did just realize this handsome prince is still available.

Am I the only one that has no idea what Monaco is, but is super excited to get free clothes and a membership?

That's not right, is it?

Oh well, apparently there are a lot of single princes and I'd rather be Swedish anyway ;-) 

My intelligence astounds me sometimes.

Who went out last night and drank completely ruining all the hydration ground work she had been rocking all week?

Who slept through her alarm and woke up the exact time she was supposed to be sitting at her desk?

Who is wearing what she wore to the bar and did not put a brush through her hair?

This guy.

Sent from my iPhone

Lists of lists.

Anyone else make lists of what to pack every time they go out of town?
No?
Ok. Carry on.

Did you win the lottery?

Unfortunately, Freddie did not get into the marathon again this year, which means he gets automatic entry into next years. Which also means my fate is sealed.
I don't know if a six and a half hour time limit will be good enough.

Did you get in?
Good luck all the 2011 runners!

Things you are dying to know.

Or things you should be dying to know.

How's that smoke free life going?

Fantabulous! I can honestly say, after day 2, I only wanted a cigarette about 4 times. All due to stress related situations (i.e. The CCC Expo was a Holy Hot Mess of Clusterfuckedness. Taking my nieces shopping. Consuming alcohol. Eating ginorous meals because that's what I do when I go to the dirty dirty) 

I'm on a mission to find something that gives me as much pleasure as that second drag (everyone knows the 1st one sucks) of a cigarette. Once I find that, I will be golden. Gum is pretty much my new best friend and I'm ok with that. 

I haven't really noticed a difference in taste and smell, except I don't really want to be smelling some of the stuff New York has to offer. Plus I'm stuffy with the weather changes and traveling, so we will see. 

I do like my teeth feel cleaner for longer. 

I also haven't noticed a difference in running, because, well, I haven't been. This weekend I was too busy worrying about heat stroke and dying. Then, last night was a disaster. I went to the gym, signed up for a treadmill but when my time came, the treadmill was out of order. Seriously?! No one could've mentioned that when I signed up? I really hate my ghetto fabulous gym, but I don't go often enough to justify spending more on a better one. But don't worry. I strength trained at home after eating Chipotle to make me feel better. 

But Sleep. This is where I have noticed a difference. I dream. I never dream. I don't know if it's because I can breathe better thus sleeping better or if it's because I live dangerously and sleep with the patch on. Either way, I'm thoroughly enjoying the dreams. Not like that, weirdo. It's just fun waking up everyday realizing I get a little more messed up in the head after every dream. I don't really like remembering the dreams because they affect me the same way movies and books do, but it's fun for now. 

Why aren't you super stoked about Nashville this weekend?

I am. I'm just nervous about the heat and if I have been doing enough to keep my endurance level up. 

I need to mentally brainwash myself into running it like a training run not a race and I think I will be ok. I really don't like running alone because then I'm stuck with myself and my thoughts. When I run with Anna, I can at least live vicariously through her stories. 

Plus, I just look over at this:

And I get excited again. This will be in my position when I finish.

It's been on my wall since February. 

Yes. I have pictures of medals, race schedules and awesome designs in my cubicles not people. 

I should probably fix that. 

Anyway.

Today is my Thursday. I will be doing as much laundry as I can as soon as I get home and unpack my suitcase just to repack it. Bring on more travels! 

What are you doing this weekend?

With my big black boots and an old suitcase

Everclear was just announced as the post-race headliner in Seattle.

My 14 year old self just got really excited.

I'm such a nerd for the 90s.

Sent from my iPhone

The Crescent City Classic 10K

I believe this is the best way to recap this race, except you can add a few more explicits in there. (Look the Times Picayune captured me and my perfect abs! Oh, how I wish.)

Holy Crap, y'all. I'm seriously considering retiring from running for the summer. How are you supposed to breathe in that kind of weather? Yes. I do realize that with that statement, I have officially sealed myself as a Yankee, but at least I only want to kill myself due to the heat for 2 months of the year, instead of 10. For the record, the hottest I had ever run in previous to this disaster was a brisk 60 degrees. 

It was 80 at 8:30am. I was sweating standing in the port-a-potty line. I wouldn't say I regret it, because I got to have a blast with my brother, through training updates (we sent weekly injury updates. Who knew 2 people could hurt themselves as often as we did?) and of course it was awesome running together those first 2 minutes of the race before I sent him on his way. We got to have a pre-race carb loading party, just the two of us. I got to share my tid-bits of running advice (which he would later say he should've listen to). We got to goof off half- asleep on the way to the race, in the multiple port-a-potty lines I made him stand in (for the record, I only peed twice!), on the bus ride to the start and of course on the post-race recap ride home. What can I say? He's the coolest brother ever, even if we are so alike we have trouble getting along.

Me and Brother on the Bus to the start (no it wasn't short)

Waiting for the start with 12,500 of our closest friends.

But I digress. By mile 3, I had given up running. I tried, y'all. I really did because I wanted to see what kind of a difference not smoking for a week would do. When I saw my hand shaking as I went for water, I decided visiting a medical tent and not getting to run Nashville this weekend wasn't worth trying to show off. I texted my sister I would be a lot longer than originally expected (which turned out to be only 10 extra minutes) and I took my time. 

That half of a half marathon was worse than the actual NYC Half. Hands down. I would have had a DNF next to my name if it was that hot for the half. I'm really glad I decided to train during the winter. Give me 20 degree weather any day. 

I definitely added an extra .7 to the race as I zigzagged every time I saw a sprinkler and tables that I thought were water stations (dammit. Who drinks beer in sweltering heat?!). But in true New Orleans fashion, there was a lot of drinking going on throughout the course. It reminded me not to take it too seriously. Lots of costumes and lots of fun.

It was a hot sweaty clusterfuck, but so worth getting to see my family at the finish line. I don't know if I will ever get the bright idea to do it again, but at least now I can say I did it. 

I am really glad The Mardi Gras Marathon is in February.

My Momma, Me and My Daddy.

And of course, Best Post Race Dinner.

5 more minutes

of self pity and then you gotta move on. It's time, babygirl.

One week present.

Best one so far!
What is it, you ask?
It's a headphone holder!
You stick it to your desk and put your headphone wires in them when you're not listening to them, so they don't fall on the floor and get ripped out of your computer, or rolled over by your chair, etc.
Its amazing for this headphone killer.

Butterflies.

I might die of heat stroke around mile 3.

Oh, Adele. Can't we just be besties?

You're on repeat today for some reason.


Before there was Rolling in the deep, there was this.

Non-smoker shoe therapy.

For the record and randomness sake, I am soooo milking this I just quit smoking; like I needed another excuse to be an attention whore. My new favorite thing to say?  "I just quit smoking and I'm very sensitive right now. I need your love and support. Be nice to me. I need a present" Which is all true but it also works in my favor. 

And since I have no idea what to do with my time when I am bored, I decided to shop. Like I need another excuse to go into a running store. Yesterday, I went into H&M and I had no idea what to look for. Where are your running shorts? Wicking tanks? I can't remember the last time I bought something that wasn't made by Nike, Champion or Under Armor. Again, who is this person?

Anyway. It's getting very close to retirement time for Inga (my running shoes). I think she will be able to last through the end of April, but after that, it's time. We had lots of good times and it makes me sad to have to get new ones, but I guess that's life. There will always be a special place in my heart for her. (Would It be weird to bronze them? Yea. Thought so. Moving on.)

I've also been reading ChiRunning and I've been trying to practice it. It seems extremely logical and I did notice a difference in running when I was focusing on doing it properly. I'm a fan of being injury free, so why not?

Now, here's where I'm going to tie everything together (I hope). While I was trying on new shoes to replace my fabulous Brooks Defyance 4s, I noticed all the shoes were basically guiding me to walk heel to toe. I had to work to have a mid-foot strike. Maybe minimalist shoes are in my future? Any one have suggestions on how to go about switching? I don't even know how to go about doing that, but I will put my foot down to no toe-shoes. The fashionista in me can overlook a lot, but that's where she draws the line. 

Plus? Black running shoes are badass in my book. (Note: These are not minimalistic. Just badass)

But when I put on the Brooks minimalist ones, I looked like Ronald McDonald. (Below, are minimalist)

Any thoughts on this? 

I would like answers before this weekend, so I can make someone (coughmomanddadcough) buy me a new pair of shoes for my one week of smoke free status :-) 

My 20 new little friends.

Only in case of emergency.

A day in the life of a reformed smoker, one moment at a time.

8am: I smoked so much last night I gave myself a sore throat. Which is good for not smoking.

8:05: Tell you you can't do something and that's all you think about. So I told myself if I want one I can have one hoping to ease the pain. Luckily, I didn't do it. 

8:10: Can't remember how to get dressed because all I want to do is smoke. 

8:15: Put on my favorite dress. If I can't do what I want, I will look pretty. 

8:20: I put a full pack of (unopened) cigarettes in my purse. Why? Bc if they're there, I won't freak out as much.

8:25: I don't want to take the adivant but I won't be any less strong if I do.

8:30: I can't do one day at a time. I have to live one moment at a time and that's ok too. Even if it makes it a very long day, everything is only for now. Nothing lasts forever. This, too, shall pass. Just ride it out.

8:45: This patch itches.

8:50: Let's bring it back to running. When you were visualizing yourself running 13.1 miles, it was easy. But when the time came for you to do it, it wasn't so easy the first time. It may not even be the second time around either but right about now running 10 miles is cake to you. So let's give it a couple of times (or days).

9:00: I got to work 30minutes earlier than normal. Scary how much time it wastes. All this and it's not even 930.

9:15: I want a fluffy pillow. I want to go back to sleep and pretend this is over.

9:17:I want a medal for this.

9:30: I think I'm getting sick.

9:40: I need love and support.

9:45: I feel dizzy. Very off balance. Weird out of body experiences going on here.

9:47: I need someone to tell me they love me. And I'm an amazing person. And a hug wouldn't hurt.

9:50: Someone better love me after this.

10: Breathing deeply helps.

10:15: want a present. A big one. 

10:30: Coffee stirrers= my new BFF

10:45: Went for a cigarette "break". Smelled the smoke. Made me feel better.

11:45: Feeling sick. Nauseated. Not cool. 

12: I imagine this is what drug addicts feel like, only slightly worse. Isn't smoking supposed to be as addicting as heroine? Good God. I'm comparing myself to a heroine addict. 

12:30: Laid my head on my desk and worked that way for awhile. It felt better. A co-worker asked if it was really that bad. Clearly, she had never smoked a day in her day. 

12:45: Force feed myself. Drink a diet coke. It helps.

1:00pm: It's hard to make phonecalls (I call my mom/sister everyday at lunch) without a cigarette. So I paced. 

1:30pm: I can beat this. I will beat this. 

2:00: I've only quit for 14hours and I was asleep for 7 of them. Fuck.

2:30: I'm rewarding myself with pinkberry. So much for all that weight I lost. But at least I won't have to buy new clothes.

3: I really want a present.

3:30: This whole having a patch on isn't so bad. I do still feel light headed but I'm not craving a cigarette as long as there is a stirrer in my mouth.

3:35: Tried to convince the mailguy to buy me French fries on Friday for quitting. I don't think it worked. 

3:45: Got pinkberry. I hope I enjoyed being skinnier for those few months.

4:05: I would like to smell smoke now.

4:10: I want to reward myself but I don't know what I want but I know I want something. Maybe a lululemon outfit?

4:15: I need a hug.

4:20: I would really like to smell smoke now.

4:30: Couldn't find my smoking buddy so I made my boss go down and smoke "with" me. He didn't think it was a good idea but for some strange reason no one has argued with me today.

4:50: I have demanded presents from everyone in my cubicle area for not smoking all day. I have decided I need a present everyday for the first week and then once a week for the rest of my life. Completely reasonable.

5: Nonsmokers are upset that I'm getting presents. Well. You should've started smoking. Not my fault.

5:15: Getting quite annoyed with all this "advice" from non-smokers. Humans who have never touched a cigarette, kudos to you, but please keep your opinions to yourself. Trust me, you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about, because if you did, you would realize how dangerous shelling out your wisdom to me is right now. Must walk away before homicidal thoughts occur.

5:30: I feel like I have mentally run an entire marathon. It really is a mind game.

6: I just went to Duane Reade for gum and dum dums. The coffee stirrer was cool but I feel like a sleazy old man.

6:15: I am awesome. 

6:20: Almost 12 hours. (since I've been awake)

6:30: Talked to my brother. I was so happy we were talking, I forgot about smoking on the phone.

7: Cooked dinner. Would like a cigarette.

7:30: Talked to my mom. Started to crave a cigarette. Put my niece on the phone. I was better.

8: Wondering if I called my roommate to find out where she was and to see if she could come home asap to smoke a cigarette for me would be crazy.

8:15: decide to figure out how to use my new Sony Walkman (separate post on that at a later date, when I can concentrate on something other than a cigarette).

8:20: almost threw the damn thing out the window. Why doesn't Sony want to be compatible with Mac?! 

8:25: figured it out.

9: Roommate home! Forced her to smoke a cigarette for me. 

9:30: decided it was bedtime because I don't have anything else to do and I want this feeling to go away.

9:45: Took a Nyquil. Throat is still hurting. Bring on the crazy ass dreams, Niqoderm! 

Day 1: ACCOMPLISHED. 

Day One.

Here we go.

Best. Taco. Ever.

Or I might be drunk.
Either way.

It's Boston weekend.

Last year this time, I was shipping up to Boston to watch my very awesome marathon maniac best friend make Heartbreak Hill his bitch. It was the very first marathon I had ever seen and it was the breaking point of making running a reality (even though it took 6 months for me to actually start).  

When I first moved to NYC, the marathon went right in front of my apartment. My roommate and our neighbors went out to watch it, but I opted to sleep. I never understood the need to watch people run and definitely not that early on a weekend.

Until I saw it in Boston.

If you've never gone out to watch a marathon, I highly recommend you put it on your to-do list. The energy is insane. I had never experienced anything like that in my life. It's the equivalent of a Mardi Gras parade crowd (complete with lawn chairs and ice chests) and everyone is cheering. Cowbells are ringing music is playing and everyone is having a good time.

You can't help but get goose bumps, or maybe that's just me.

I met a girl on The T on the way to the race who was telling me about her Boston cheering experiences. They were so inspiring. She and her friends always position themselves right after Heartbreak Hill, where runners need the most support, and every year she leaves the race hoarse. 

I didn't go all the way there with her (because I was scared if I went too far from the train, Fred would beat me back to the finish line, which he almost did). But where I ended up watching, there was a group of drunk frat boys across the street and they were awesome. They made my race experience better and I'm sure they helped a lot of people who actually needed it. 

I saw runners in costumes, runners having a blast and it was just mind blowing to me that these people were still alive and in good spirits after rockin out 24 miles. If they could do it, I could do it. 

Now, let's not get crazy. Boston will never be on my to-do list, but a full? That's possible.

Since I can't be there this year, I will send my love from NYC, while I watch it on the internets and get my txt message updates. Best of luck to all those running, especially to my own personal Superman BFF, who is doing it again this year! 

Have you seen this yet? I have giggled a thousand times.

Sunday Funday Randomness.

1. I do not look any better running in capris than I do running in a skirt. I need to work on this. I am photogenic, dammit.
2. But at least I figured out that wearing a hat makes me look less tragic.
3. I need to figure out how to mentally calm down after a long run. My body wants to sleep but my mind is racing (no pun intended).
4. Due to this, I decided to paint my nails and toenails. It was a scary situation.
5. Long runs are awesome for telling stories. Especially relationship stories. After the entire story has been told, you don't even notice you just ran 6 miles because you've been so wrapped up in knowing the ending.
6. Long runs still do not give you the answer to said relationship drama.
7. Experimenting with night-before run rituals can be surprising. Pitchers of beer and wings were surprisingly not as traumatic as I was expecting. Waking up at 6am after said pitchers was still a bitch.
8. I need to stop using running as a way to get out of being social. Hence, last week's activities of drinking and fun. I know I can do both, I'd just rather not and that's not going to win me any more friends.
9. Smoking right before going to the gym is a good plan the day before you are quitting. 10 minutes in and my heart was ready to beat out of my chest. I was in so much pain. Must remember that feeling.
10. Sign up for another Half Marathon before you run your next one, but far enough after your previous one so you forgot how you felt. RnR Seattle, here I come!

The little things

Who knew this tennis ball could bring so much amazingness to my life?
Why haven't I been rolling around on this sooner?
Right. I'm lazy.
Nonetheless, I see great things in the future for me and Willy-4d.

The definition of swagger.

Now that's swagger.

50 reasons not to date a graphic designer

A co-worker forwarded this to me.

The bold ones represent what I'm guilty of.

1. They are very weird people.
2. There are billions of them in the world, like colors on the screen of your computer.
3. They will analyse conversations in layers.
4. You will spend the day assembling furniture from IKEA.
5. They drink and eat all kinds of weird shit just because they like the packaging.
6. They hate each other.
7. You’ll come out the last out of the movies because you have to see the full list of credits.
8. They cant change a light bulb or without making a sketch.
9. They fuck up all the tables with their cutters.
10. They rather study the paisley pattern on your outfit than listen to what you have to say.
11. They will fill your house with magazines and whatever is out there that has drawings.
12. You never know if it is really an original or a copy.
13. They make collages with your photos.
14. They do not know how to add and subtract, they just understand letters.
15. They idolize people who nobody knows and speak of them as if they were his colleagues.
16. They take pictures almost daily and all are cut in weird shapes.
17. They ask your opinion about everything but  they do whatever they want.
18. Everything is left justified, right or center unless they arrive late.
19. They hate Comic Sans with the same passion they love Helvetica.
20. They use iPhone for everything, because everyone has one.
21. You can not decorate the house without consulting them.
22. They steal street signs.
23. Always carry their hands painted with something.
24. They buy dolls unfinished for them to paint.
25. Everything becomes something other than what it really is: cards as tickets, cards as …
26. When arguing, you will be nicknamed like the OSX spinning wheel (not affectionately)
27. Do not know how to dress without consulting the Pantone book.
28. They hate Excel.
29. They read comics.
30. They want to save the world only with a poster.31. You will spend the day brainstorming.
32. On vacation they will take you to countries that you do not know exist and have no beach.
33. Museums are their second home.
34. They know more positions than the Kamasutra.
35. They can’t go to a restaurant without secretly critiquing the menu design.
36. They listen to music you have never heard of.
37. They can´t cook a normal dish, they always have to experiment with new ingredients.
38. They read rare books: stories of children, Semiotics …
39. When they are going to tell you something, everyone has read it in their facebook and twitter.
40. They have own iPods before you knew they existed.
41. The orgasm they remember is when they heard that Adobe was acquiring Macromedia
42. They have their own shops just for them and there are the most expensive in the city.
43. They want to spend all the money in the Apple Store.
44. You will never understand their gifts.45. They see ordinary objects and laugh.
46. You wake up in the middle of the night hearim them screaming “When is the deadline?”
47. They see CMYK and RGB like Neo sees the Matrix.
48. They dream of the day nobody will make a single change to their designs.
49. They rather pay for a font than for a special birthday gift.
50. They are always sleepy because they work 24/7.

Music is too powerful for me.

I can't help it.
I'm a fan of Katy Perry's E.T.
I guess I've forgiven her for Teenage Dream (especially after hearing Boyce Avenue's version of it. It's amazing). And while I'm at it, I'll admit Firework still brings tears to my eyes when I think about the words.

99% of the time my iPod selection embarrasses me.

To redeem myself, I fell in love with Sara Barielles' Uncharted when I heard the lyrics, "compare where you are to where you want to be and you'll get nowhere".
Go listen. It will brighten this very early and rainy Wednesday.

Sent from my iPhone

Shipping advice.

If you wish me to stay out of jail for committing assault, you will never ship me anything UPS again.
I want to punch the entire company in the face. But more likely it will be my UPS guy if I ever see him again.

Good god and I haven't even quit smoking yet.

Sent from my iPhone

Favorite thing about doing laundry.

Purposely mismatching my socks.

Scotland 10K.

It's weird running on a Sunday. I feel like my weekend is supposed to be just beginning instead of about to end. Sad panda.
But I am happy because instead of being on the ground after the race this morning, this is what I looked like:

YaY!
Even though I was still in foot pain, it only escalated to about a 4 (instead of it's usual naggingly annoying 2. . . .you know on a scale from 1-10) and no hip pain (although, that pain only shows up around mile 9 and I only did 6). I know I'm rockin a rookie mistake by continuing to run, but I'm going to a doctor on Wednesday. Even though it's a GP, I'm going to pretend it's a sports medicine/ psychiatrist.

I have no idea how I did yet. The GPS on my RunKeeper app crapped out and it took about 15 minutes just to reach the starting line, so I will just have to wait until it's posted online.
Not that it matters. I had to keep telling myself that. I'm nursing an injury and just finishing before they close the finish line should be good enough.

Was it just me or did it feel like there were a million more hills? Little baby ones kept popping up that I don't remember existing throughout my last 4 months of training. Everyone kept groaning as we approached another one, and I would tell them "This is the last one!" and then another one would show up. opps. But seriously, does it even count as a hill after Harlem Hill? Everything else is just speed bumps in comparison.

I am proud of myself for being able to pass a ton of people as I got close to the finish and no one passed me. One guy was putting up a good fight, but I decided I didn't want to have any energy after the race and blew past him. It was really fun getting to do that and I believe it's my first race to do that.

Before I peace out and take a nap, here are some shots I got on the route:

Waiting in the corrals. There were tons of people dressed in kilts. Theming. It makes life so much better.

At every mile marker, there was this:

It made me smile.

I made sure to high five as many volunteers as I could and a bunch of them were dancing singing and cheering for us, making me look like a total slacker volunteer.

Le swag.

My favorite part of a running weekend (besides crossing the finish line).
I will conquer this race.
Even if it means crawling to the finish (which is a funny thought, yet very possible).

I'm amazing. I ran a half marathon. I can do anything.

And that includes quitting smoking.

Let's talk about this for a second shall we? I started smoking when I was 16. Compared to all my friends, I was a late bloomer. Why did I start? It wasn't peer pressure. I think I was just bored and rebellious. 

So let's fast forward. I've never tried quitting. Well, once. And it was because my boyfriend at the time wanted me to. Boy, was that a week. I went 4 days. I got my monthly visitor, broke up with my boyfriend then started again. We got back together when I started thinking clearly again. My parents sent me back to college with a carton and said never try to quit when you're home. 

After that, I never thought about quitting again. I know myself. I know how head strong and stubborn I am. If I decide to do something, I do it and I don't look back. Until my mind was ready to quit, there would be no attempts because I knew there was no point. When I was ready, it was going to happen. End of story.

Monday morning, I decided I'm ready. And the thought scares the hell out of me. I haven't even started the process and I'm already shaky. My body knows I'm not playing around (or it's just pissed because I made it do planks last night). It still feels the after effects of the last time I wasn't playing around. It knows. It's time. We had a good go of it. 13 years is a long time. I don't think I've ever held on to anything that long. 13 is my lucky number, after all. It's a perfect sign. I ran 13.1 miles, I can do this.

The date is April 18th. The day of the Boston Marathon but more importantly, it's the anniversary of my Nanny's (my Aunt and godmother) passing. I'm doing this for me, for her and for my nieces. I never want them to go through what I went through 2 years ago, if they don't have to.

This is also 3 days before I fly home. I'm sure when I tell my parents, they will be less than pleased I decided to do this right before I see them, but we will get passed it. 

I'm not doing this alone this time. I signed up for NYC quits and I have a box of Nicotine patches. I do remember the last time I wore one (on my 14 hour flight to Europe) and I don't think I wanted to kill anyone. We will see. I've also heard amazing things about Chantix, but I'm really nervous about messing with chemicals in my brain. We'll see how the patches work out. If it comes down to it, I will do just about anything. This needs to end. 

I am strong. I ran a half marathon, for the love of Christmas! I can do anything.

I can be a non-smoker. 

So, now this blog will not only include my journey through running and all the crap that goes with that, but it will also include my journey to becoming a non-smoker. Lord help us. You might want to quit following now. . . .

I cannot catch a break.

A very heavy metal rack fell on my right foot today at the sports store.

Is it ironic since I specifically went there to find something to help me with my left foot pain?

Sent from my iPhone

Rants of today.

Why can I buy a roundtrip ticket to France for $200 but to fly to Nashville it's going to be over $400?

And why can't I find a doctor in-network to subscribe me my happy pills? This is New York! But then again, this is New York. No wonder I need to wait a month for an appointment.

Sent from my iPhone

I heart B. Davis

Confession: I still watch One Tree Hill.
Don't judge. I don't judge you for your reality TV- ok. Fine. I do.
I can't help it. It's my favorite weakness.

I'm not going to get on my soapbox about the show but I am going to admit that I love when my friends compare me to Brooke Davis (the recent seasons, not high school). I only wish in my wildest dreams. I love Sophia Bush. I love what she has done for the Gulf Coast effort and I think she's an awesome person. I think we'd totally be besties if it weren't for the whole she's an actual celebrity and I'm only one in my head.

With that being said, I just found out Sophia ran a half marathon! (sidenote: I really need to figure out this twitter situation.) You should click it and see how amazing she looks after 13.1 miles. I wish I could be as rockstar as she is.

Oh wait. I am :-)


But seriously, that's really inspiring. And don't worry, Sophia. I will probably hobbling along in Nashville, if this knee/hip/foot thing doesn't act right.

Hello Lover?

A co-worker and fellow run enthusiast suggested I buy an ice pack and put it on my foot while I'm sitting at my desk.

That's all gravy, but with all this hydrating, it's hard to stay seated for an extended period of time.
I'm trying, people.

It looks like I've given in and upgraded in the world. No more frozen veggies!

Injuries suck.

We all knew it was coming. Luckily, it happened after my NYC Half, but not so lucky, it happened right before an action packed race schedule.

I got injured. 

And it sucks. 

I clearly was thinking I was a bigger rockstar than I am. Saturday I went out ready to rock 11 miles and I ended up walking the last 2. We all knew my hip hated me after the half, but this time it was my right hip and my left foot (Hey, at least the pain balanced out). I expressed my concern to my coach and she said it was most likely due to a weak calf muscle from lack of proper stretching. Sounds about right. There are too many things to be stretching and strengthening and I was concentrating on everything hurting, so I'm sure I was neglecting my calves. 

Anyway. I'm not a happy camper. This is what the rest of my month looks like. I don't have time for this.

This weekend: Scotland 10K

Easter weekend: Crescent City Classic 10K

Weekend after that: Nashville Half

So I will be rocking the strength training from now until Sunday. If I have to, I will walk it on Sunday. Then, I will rest more. I'm a New Yorker, staying off my feet is nearly impossible. 

Have I mentioned this is beyond frustrating?

I will leave you with a pic from another adventure with Anna. Last saturday, she convinced me to go to brunch at The Plaza. I had never been and never thought my first visit (let alone, any visit) I would be rocking Under Armor. 

After practice last week, she mentioned we would be going to MSG for a basketball game. Little did she mentioned, we'd be court side, in Under Armor. Again. 

Oh the fashion statements I've been making. 

Sent from my iPhone