start spreading the news

these vagabond shoes are longing to stray right thru the very heart of it - new york, new york.

i (sort of) have an official goal race to train for now! i got my official acceptance email to the ing nyc marathon over the weekend (i know, how could i withhold this information for so many days!) so i can officially put that on the schedule, although i basically already had it on there. that race is not until november though so it's not something i can really get motivated to train for yet. i am still considering a spring/summer marathon to "just do" but nothing has struck my fancy (and schedule) yet. i'm excited to be in, but i could've done without the $180 or so charge to my amex... running is a cheap sport, right?

monday - i was gonna run since i slacked off three days last week, (and illegitimately took the day off from work) but i didn't. it sure didn't help that coach jay's tip of the week was "blow off your training plan"! luckily it was my scheduled day off for the week anyway. another excuse of mine was that i didn't want to run in the icy conditions - of the intense snow "storm" we had, this is all that remained in my yard monday afternoon:


tuesday - solid 3.5 hours of sleep. i rose way before the sun to get my run in on the tm before work. i knew i would not be able to convince myself to run in the 30* or so at lunch or after work, and i'd probably make more excuses for the treadmill as the day went on, so i went ahead and got it over with. once again i had to play mind games with myself to get to 2 miles, 3 miles, etc. what is it about the tm that is so torturous?

tuesday (3/3) am run: 6.2 miles, 56:14 (9:04 avg pace), avg hr (165)

after work i did a "300" workout. i made up 3 different 'workouts', each with 10 different exercises (30 reps each) that i can hopefully do 3x/week. the exercises are basically various pushups, squats, lunges, etc, that require no equipment (except a ball) and can be done at home. i didn't renew my gym membership and i don't want to re-join, but i do want to try to get back to doing weight-like exercises regularly.

wednesday - i tried waking up early again to run before work but i was exhausted. i didn't actually feel awake until mid-afternoon. i wasn't sore when i woke up but as the day passed i could feel the doms setting in. i actually enjoy being sore for some reason. i was able to get out for a lunch time run, and i originally wanted to go a little longer (9-12 miles) than the planned 8, but ultimately i settled for the plan because i figured i probably shouldn't take a two-hour lunch break. i'm hoping the mid-day run helped flush the lactic-acid out quicker and the soreness doesn't increase tomorrow.

wednesday (3/4) lunch run: 8 miles, 1:10:05 (8:45 avg pace), avg hr (162)

after work i went out to dinner with my pal jess. we decided to reminisce on our own lovely table-waiting memories and ate at a brand new cracker barrel. glamorous. our server girl was cool and the rest of the staff was actually friendly. jess and i were wondering if we were just grumpy when we did it? i'm thinking since they are all new they might still enjoy the newness of the job and the people they work with... let's be real, waiting tables can be a pain! especially at a cracker barrel (in the south no less) where you often get some redneck clientele who want some "chow chow" with their meal. it took me awhile to figure out what they were asking for. (relish, in case you didn't know either.)

since i served my sentence, it bugs me when people seriously only leave 10 or 15% of the bill as their tip at places like cb where your meal is a lot cheaper to begin with. i mean your meal is half the cost of what it would've been elsewhere, would it hurt to throw down an extra buck? (provided the service was good of course). anyway i hooked our girl up, but i had to do it at the register since i never have cash. i hope she saw the tip on the computer and didn't think we stiffed her!