Wednesday, July 27, 2011

don't be a statistic

you may have noticed the lack of running talk recently. that would be because there isn't anything to say. my heart is doing ok, the nausea is under control, but unfortunately my skin (mainly arms) is hurting something awful. this is nothing new, i just haven't blogged about it (i don't think). i'm ok, it's just really uncomfortable and hurts to move. hopefully i'll get some relief soon - i'm feeling jiggly with no exercise and envious of reading all your workout/race posts. :(

i'll get to answering all your questions from the "q&a" post soon. feel free to add more burning questions here.



here are some random stats on female runners. i've never actually thought about these things before and my thoughts/opinion of myself haven't changed after comparing. this is just for randomsake.

(as seen on my dirt road anthem, originally from running usa)

typical u.s. female runner:
ever wonder how you compare? [no] these are stats for the typical "core" runner. core runners are active adult participants who tend to enter running events, train year-round, and purchase 2-4 running shoes each year.

demographics:
average age: 38.5  i'm younger (hopefully this means many more years of running bliss for me)
63.2% married
78.2% college educated
70.3% earn a household income of $75,000+

running history:
average number of years running: 9.9 years    i'm a veteran - 13 years!
average number of running events participated in during the last 12 months: 7.2 events  i've done 12, 11 if you take out my dnf
51.8% have completed 1 marathon or more in their lifetime

running routine:
70.4% run/jog 4+ hours each week
77.7% run 12 months a year
average number of days run per week: 4.0
average number of miles run per week: 21.9
66.1% describe themselves as ‘frequent/fitness runners’  never thought about this one. i guess 'fitness runner' sounds good.

running preferences:
favorite race distance is the half-marathon (39.0%)  agreed, distance + speed, without a week-long "hangover" (marathoner's shuffle)
interested in entering next year: half-marathon (77.0%), 5k (57.3%), 10k (56.0%), marathon (43.3%)

motivation:
primary motivation to start running: for exercise (25.0%), weight concerns (14.5%), needed a new challenge (9.3%)  i started running in high school cross country, so i would have to say competition.
motivation to continue to run: staying in shape (76.8%), staying healthy (74.2%), relieving stress (64.4%)  all of the above plus so josh doesn't kill me; i get moody if i don't run.

product preferences:
average number of running shoes purchased in last 12 months: 2.9 pairs  i'm below average - 1
,ast running shoes purchased: asics (26.4%), brooks (16.6%), saucony (14.2%)  mizuno, guess i'm weird
65.3% spent $90+ on their running shoes and 47.9% purchased their running shoes at a specialty running store   yes and yes; i appreciate the value my local running stores provide to the community. it helps that i only need 1-2 pairs per year.
favorite brands of running apparel: nike (64.8%), under armour (45.7%), champion (34.3%), adidas (30.7%)   i'm not picky, but i do have a lot of nike and sugoi
80.4% spent $100+ on running apparel in the last 12 months and 59.6% purchased running apparel at a specialty running store


health:
average weight: 137.6 lbs
average height: 65.01 inches / 5 feet, 5 inches
average body mass index (bmi): 22.9
40.9% are content with their weight   it's just a number. wouldn't mind seeing some of the flab disappear though.
42.3% are content with their fitness level   not right now - i want to get back to 'where i was' before the nausea of 2009 took over my life.


how do you fit in? or, stand out?

Saturday, July 23, 2011

year one

charleston battery

we celebrated surviving one full year of marriage (last sunday) with a long weekend in charleston (sc) for shopping, sailing, wining and dining. i told josh we are going to have to sail annually now (in different places of course!). the downside to getting married shortly after family vacation is that josh doesn't want to take another week off for an anniversary trip. however, he claims we will go on a belated one in the fall... (ahem. it's on the internet now. you can't change your mind).

although i've been to charleston many times growing up, it's a beautiful city and you can never get tired of walking around, shopping on king street or browsing the open air market.

houses in a row

we went sailing on friday, though we waited to launch until after this behemouth cruised by:

cargo ship

i got my flippy floppies
disclaimer: the wind was behind us, puffing up my romper
and making me look like an easter peep

tasted wine at irvin house vineyards, also the home of firefly sweet tea vodka.

irvin house wine & liquor
our selections: palmetto (red), magnolia (white),
peach tea vodka, java rum, lemonade vodka (perfect for yardwork)

goats on stairs
dumb goats at the winery

we had a nice dinner at charleston grill. yes, i was redneck and took (some) pics of my food:

appetizer
sweet potato ravioli (amazing invention)

main course
grilled wild salmon
with artichoke, potatoes and asparagus in a tasty green goop
for dessert i had the blueberry pie. our server came out with two tiny squares and i thought to myself "oh h*ll no this is not my pie!". it turned out to be the pre-dessert of coconut milk/tapioca with mango and pineapple, which was quite delicious. the actual-dessert was decently sized, but i did not get a picture because i inhaled it (also delicious).


overall it was a relaxing weekend although it made going back to work on monday extra tough. oh yeah, and 0% running or biking last week. le sigh...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

axe me a question

q & a

playing oversized chess

you've probably seen this meme floating around as i am usually slow at 'answering' these blog chain letters.  i was tagged by jenn (running sane) and ajh (age groups rock) so please ask some q's and help me fulfill my duties!

i'll answer (just about*) anything... running, not-running, my "sense" of fashion, eating, shopping, being lazy, my love for trashy train-wreck tv shows, how many friends i have on facebook, where my awesome wedding ideas came from, what life was like as a nomad in kentucky for a year... you get the picture. just give me something to talk blog about.

*i reserve the right to remain silent on any questions i deem inappropriate or rude. or ridiculously hard science questions. there's a reason why i took geology in college instead of bio/chem.

and i'm gonna skip town on the tagging 5 more people part... the stress! i can't handle it. do you want to participate? consider yourself tagged!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

moonin' my honey: i'm on a boat

i managed to go 366 days without ever 'finishing' our honeymoon adventures and wedding details. whoops. (not to mention my memory has already begun to fade, sad)

to summarize:
we arrived in paradise and kayaked
we went hiking and running
we ate firi firi, crepes and polynesian surf/turf
we swam, snorkeled and became bff's with the crepe man

on our last full day on the island of moorea, we scootered around the island again (the landscape was breathtaking) and went sailing.

sideways growing palm tree

scooter and i
i nailed the dork-look
sailboat cruise

i'm on a boat

view from the cruise


exhibit a as to why you don't want me to video my runs

eventually it was time to leave paradise - i failed to convince josh to stay and become a crepe maker. we took the ferry back to tahiti and boarded a plane for california. no offense los angeles, but you were a crappy destination after spending almost two-weeks in moorea.

moorea street signs

hollywood sign from griffith park
los angeles smog the hollywood sign

a year ago, i was struggling with daily bouts of unexplained nausea and the honeymoon was no exception. i did not feel good during the few days we spent in la. in fact i spent one full day sleeping in the hotel... i am a party animal! josh is so lucky to be married to me. we did get out to see a few things other than the smog and interstate traffic -- such as grauman's chinese theatre, the getty and griffith observatory to name a few.

josh admiring a tapestry at the getty
right before i got yelled at for taking photos

the griffith observatory

and that, my friends, is my anticlimactic end to the honeymoon adventures. i know you were waiting with anticipation this whole time.

Monday, July 11, 2011

where the blacktop ends

spanish moss trees

i spent last week down on the carolina shore. it was refreshing to not (really) have internet access (technically i still had my phone), and i almost considered dropping out of the blogosphere -- don't worry i'm still too narcissistic for that just yet.

dawn on the carolina coast

i read a couple good books:
  • "the places in between" by rory stewart. a personal account of stewart's walk across afghanistan... in 2002 (aka a few short months after the twin towers fell). it was a new perspective, for me, on the people of afghanistan, and an eye-opening reminder of the many privileges we have here in america.
  • "river of no reprieve" by jeffrey tayler. another personal journey - this time in an inflatable raft up the lena river (siberia) to the arctic sea where temps can range from -91°f to 114°f. amazing to learn about the towns and people who live in the extreme weather of the "true north".
(i am not an amazon associate. clicking on those links and purchasing either book will not provide me with any profits whatsoever. i borrowed the books from my local library. personally i enjoyed "the places in between" more than the "river".)

in addition to laying out on the beach, reading and cooling off in the ocean, i did a little running and riding as well:
  • sunday -- morning "long" run, 9 miles 83°
  • monday -- morning easy run, 6 miles 81°
  • monday -- afternoon bike ride, 15 miles (15mph) 85°
  • tuesday -- afternoon brick 14.75 miles bike (14mph)/4.6 miles run (somehow this was the fastest run of the week) 86°
  • wednesday -- morning barefoot run on the beach, 6 miles, 84° - saw a hatched loggerhead turtle nest
loggerhead turtle nest
obviously a non-hatched nest
  • wednesday -- afternoon jillian's "ripped in 30" dvd
  • thursday -- morning bike ride 22 miles (15mph) 85°
  • friday -- morning run, 5 miles 82°
  • saturday -- morning run, 4.5 miles 80°


{title reference: keith urban's "where the blacktop ends"}

Sunday, July 10, 2011

june 2011

john deere parked at waffle house
what, you don't use your lawn mower for transportation?
(pic stolen from friend's fb)

june 2011
total mileage: 100.66
time spent running: 15hrs 34min
days off: 12
avg temp: 76.06
trip of the month: wedding weekend in tennessee (blah). also, a "trip" to the er, which kinda tightened the purse strings.
one race: sunrise 8k - new pr.

just barely hit 100 running miles
ugh i could use a good night's sleep with
no more cardiac
episodes

first bike ride of the year
took 6 months to dust off the ol' hybrid
still learning how to adjust helmet to not look so dorky

1 bike ride (/brick) all month - bike 14.2mi (~14.5mph) / run 3.5mi (8:41 avg) / 88°

finally caved and started wearing the shoes i bought last september (mizuno wave rider 13). the ol' green ones are mostly-retired now with about 1185+ miles.

old & new shoe treads