in ten years

i saw a recap of the past ten years on someone else's blog and realized how this closing decade marks ten years of running for me! (on and off, but still). i'm also thinking it's probably the more exciting decade of my life because it included the college years and what will really happen when i hit the 30's and 40's. investing in a roth ira is so exciting... 2000 - ahhhh y2k ahhh! i was in 10th/11th...

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it's the little things

merry (belated) christmas! i hope you all had an enjoyable, relaxing holiday with friends and family. once i got home to my mom's never-ending baking, i had no trouble making up for lost calories from earlier this week. entire tin of cookies in one sitting? no problem. initially i thought i'd get in all this running during these two weeks of vacation but it turns out i'm doing a much better job of...

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two g's

i surprised myself this morning when i entered today's 11-miler into my dorky spreadsheets (yes, plural. i love my spreadsheets). i just crested 2000 miles for the year! woo hoo. i didn't set a mileage goal for the year because i'm already hard-headed enough -- i don't need the extra goal forcing me to run when i don't feel well or in the event i get injured (which thankfully didn't happen in '09!)....

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sleepless at night

it's a good thing i'm not officially in training, as i haven't ran in 5 days. oops? i actually kind of enjoyed it. for the most part, i didn't feel good enough to run. i'm not sick as in "i have a cold" sick, but i'm not quite myself either. the sleeping issue has still been going on, and combined with a lack of appetite well, i copped out and said i should obviously just rest. saturday and sunday...

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home sweet....

...holiday inn express. thinking i was hotel-free for the rest of 2009 was too good to be true. i ran into snow 11 miles from the kentucky/tennessee border. this morning, weather.com showed me a big green blob over tn/nc/sc, even when i hit the future forecast button. now it looks like this:  thanks...

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home for the holidays

i'm busy packing up my life again (for the holidays). combined with the recent lack-'o-sleep situation my running has taken a hit this week, but i'm not in training so i'm letting it roll. the sleeping situation: no it hasn't gotten better (well some nights i might actually get 5 hours instead of 3, if that counts as improvement). no i haven't taken any more meds for it. yes i'm going to the doctor...

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insomnia

for the past 10 days or so (maybe more, i can't remember), i haven't been able to sleep through the night. first of all i don't even get tired until maybe 11pm - when i essentially take a 1-2 hour nap, wake up for about 3 hours, and then get another 'nap' in before having to get up for work. the sitting around, alone, at 3:00 am is probably my favorite part. i have some sleepy pills that i've taken...

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week #2 on track

i hope i can make this good running behavior last. week in review (12/07 - 12/13): total miles: 44.80 time spent running: ~ 6 hours 28 minutes avg hr: 160 avg pace: 8:38/mile (avg temp: 42*) off days: 1 grumble grumble. my patience is being tested too much tonight with whatever-internet-service this is in kentucky. mozilla firefox, can we crash one more time for no reason? i know, scrolling through...

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coach i didn't run today 'cause...

i locked my keys in the car. while it was running. (i turned it on to warm it up shortly before leaving work for the day since it was a brisk 17 degrees) you'd think that out on a construction site there'd be someone with a history of breaking into cars, but either that stereotype is incorrect or...

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product review: go lite (and stay warm!)

{forgive me, but i am writing this as i watch the biggest loser finale - the only two hours of tv i watch. holy crap i am loving the surprises and shockers :o) that is all. no spoilers here.} it snowed a little friday night/saturday morning and was a lovely 25* for my saturday "long" run of 9 miles....

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getting back on track

week in review (11/30 - 12/06): total miles: 38.5 (last week's dinky 3-milers became 5's, which i like better) time spent running: ~ 5 hours 36 minutes avg hr: 160 avg pace: 8:44/mile (avg temp: 30*) off days: 1 a successful week at actually sticking to my "plan". i'm not currently training for anything...

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the cow whisperer

i stopped for a minute on this morning's run to get a picture of the cows - a handful of them were standing near the fence. it was kind of weird because then all the other cows in the field lumbered over to the fence to stare at me. i don't know if they wanted their picture taken or if they thought...

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behind again (november 2009)

my how time gets away from me. i don't feel like i'm good with time-management these days. i know i tend to blame it on work/commuting/being away from home but it still seems like i am insufficient compared to other mid-20's "professionals" (and really, everyone else in the world no matter the age or...

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reunited

and it feels hurt so good as you may or may not know, i was a former ncaa div 1 collegiate rower. granted, i quit after freshman year, but i still survived both fall and spring seasons. rowing is similar to cross country/track - in the fall you race a longer distance (like a 5k) and shorter in the...

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overwhelmed

happy belated thanksgiving all (of the americans), and happy regular weekend to everyone else. like many others, i was treated to 3 lovely days off work, but not without making up for that by working the sunday before thanksgiving first. when i left kentucky last tuesday, i checked out of the hotel(s)...

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nyc marathon: paparazzi

so i kinda lied... one last blurb about nyc, in photos of course :) times square board on race-eve some eye candy for the ryan hall fans {photo by mr. j} it's like a game of where's waldo... can you find me? too awkward to acknowledge the camera guy hungry for cottage cheese anyone? not wearing...

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ketchup (october 2009)

i'm way behind on logging my stats. this isn't the most exciting, especially since i haven't been logging many miles, but i want to keep a full account of everything on here for my own entertainment. i'll try to get interesting again soon... week in review (10/26 - 11/01): total miles: 46.65 (end of the taper + race day) time spent running: ~ 5 hours 30 minutes avg hr: 177 (on race day) avg pace:...

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nyc marathon: mo' running, mo' problems

the final installment. yes, the end is near.miles 15-16 (8:15, 8:44) - up and down the queensboro bridge.my mile 15 split was slow mostly due to stopping to yell at the fam but no big deal, they get worse from here. the random cramping checked out, and in it's place came non-functioning throat. i tried to continue my water/gatorade rotation, but i struggled to actually swallow the fluids. i'd get...

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nyc marathon: the better half

firstly, apologies for my nyc review taking forever. i got wordy with my pre-race festivities when i had mini breakthroughs from writer's block. i'm ready for this recap to be written already but i struggled with putting my thoughts down. other than that, i've been resting up from the actual marathon, that stupid trail race attempt and of course the nausea. being lazy may have fixed the nausea - it's...

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an important lesson in racing

i do not recommend attempting a race six days after a marathon. especially if said race is a trail race. a street race might be doable, but a trail race is definitely not. (kim, i don't know how you run marathon week after week!)i "ran" a trail race on saturday, not even a week after the marathon. i couldn't help it - for some reason i want to feel like a "local" and run some weekend races in kentucky....

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nyc marathon: journey to the start

i woke up on race day before my 4:30 alarm. i wasn't feeling 100% as i had hoped, but i also wasn't feeling as bad as i have before. i was assigned to the 6:00am ferry, and we needed to leave the hotel a little after 5:00 to catch the subway down to the staten island ferry. as j and i walked to the...

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nyc marathon: pre-race - keeping my cookies down

j and i departed good ol' kentucky on what was probably the first flight out on friday morning. way too early for my likings. as usual, the nausea made itself present, but i continued to suck it up as i have for the past few weeks. as we were in the air, i thought about how flying probably wasn't the...

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nyc marathon: cut to the chase

at last, the 2009 ing nyc marathon is over. i grew quite anxious to "get it over with" the past few weeks; i guess i got a little burnt out. it sure sounded like i had quite a few stalkers yesterday! i enjoyed being stalked-it helped me press on knowing you were "right there behind me".briefly, here are my stats:3:33:02 / 8:08 pacea 6:22 pr184 age group794 females5897 overallfull recap to follow....

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chasing paula radcliffe

i'm out on a little run through the five boroughs. while i'm gone, curl up with some mix my granola and tune in to universal sports (or nbc at 2pm est) to catch some of the action!you can get 10% off any purchase at mix my granola with code "KENYANS". as far as i know, this offer does not expire.[disclaimer: i do not receive any benefit or kickback from mix my granola on any of your purchases or...

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summary of training - nyc marathon

the ing nyc marathon is hours away. i am excited, but not too nervous... just yet. maybe tomorrow morning. i still need to figure out exactly how i'll get from the hotel in times square to the ferry but that's a minor detail.this is a summary of my training for the 2009 nyc marathon, a journey from may 18th, 2009 through october 31st, 2009. i'm comparing some of the stats to my training before the...

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keeping the taper exciting

in case things haven't already been crazy enough for the past 5 or so months (long days, lots of driving, little time for myself/to relax), i hit a deer this morning. plowed it down.in my defense, i was driving even safer than normal. i was right at the speed limit (55mph) and i wasn't even looking...

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