Thursday, January 31, 2002

No time to post. But did my four miles this morning. Thank God for my break tomorrow! Yay! Happy Pam!

Sad Chris, though. He's injured. Can't run for a few weeks. Must get physical therapy. On the bright side, at least he can walk at the pace I run, if nothing else. Thank goodness I'm so slow!

Tonight I'm trying out Ian's Chickpeas with Chorizo recipe he has on his site. We'll see how the Pam version turns out, considering I hate onions and can't afford saffron. Oh, and have to substitute chicken bouillion for vegetable stock. Oh yeah, and I don't know measurements in grams, so it'll be a guess. :)

.: posted by pam m 4:26 PM

Wednesday, January 30, 2002

Good run again today, but I'm so tired now! I definitely don't like doing my long runs on Sundays. Lesson learned. I suppose, though, if I kept running on Sundays then I could run Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or something, but if I'm going back to Saturday long runs, like this coming weekend, I have to do Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, which is tiring. On top of the craziness of work right now. Ah well, now at least I only have one day left to run and then a break on Friday!

So, this morning, I ran 5.3 miles in 1:14. Not great, not bad, I'm happy with it though. I walked a bit at the beginning, as my calves were a little sore and I wanted to get them warmed up before I ran. And then I walked a couple of times throughout the run, but nothing major. I definitely ran most of it, which is good. More than 3.5 miles of it. Also, I think I have a new friend at the park. There's this man who runs around the loop also, but the opposite way as me. So we passed each other 5 or 6 times this morning, and he always says hello. Nice!

The weather here has not been very cooperative, though. It's January, for goodness sake! It's supposed to be cold, even in Louisiana! But no, we've got 70 degree mornings and highs of 80 degrees. Granted, I would kill for that in the summer, but winter exists for a reason! I guess this is the price we pay for having a relatively mild summer. And anyway, it really is gorgeous outside. Blue skies, breezy, the whole lot.

Only ten weeks and two days until I arrive in London! Yay! I can't wait! I got an email from my friend Marianne, who I'm staying with. She was one of our flatmates when we lived in London. She's lots of fun, and fortunately, she doesn't live far from Liverpool Street, which is where the Stansted Express goes to. Or something like that. I suppose I should be more concerned with how far it is from the start of the marathon, but really, it's the loads of heavy luggage I'm worried about.

Oh yeah, and Paco, our landlord here at the office said yesterday that he thought I had lost weight. Woo! That's a nice boost to the old ego!

I have a new plan for this weekend. Seeing as Chris isn't supposed to run, I think I'll just stay in New Orleans and run around the park where my 5K was last weekend. It has a 2 mile loop, which I can do 5.5 times. I'll figure out the logistics later. But Ren, who is going to Thailand for 6 weeks in a week or so, wants me to stay in town this weekend, so I'll make her come with me. She can run some of the loops with me, and just lounge around the rest of the time. Bring a book or something. That way, I'll have an incentive every two miles. Hope she goes for my plan!

.: posted by pam m 10:02 AM

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

What a great run this morning! It started off not so great, I was sore and stiff and felt really awkward, but after a mile or so of walking a bit and running a bit, I got into my groove and ran the rest of the way. This week, in the psychological portion of my training program, I'm supposed to be practicing "self-talk." It's something like, if I tell myself I can do something, eventually, my mind will think it's true, and I'll be able to do it. So instead of focusing on the negative aspects of this morning's run, I talked myself out of the pain and the awkwardness. Or something. Or else I just warmed up and got into the run. I'm not so sure about all this mumbo-jumbo but I'm certainly willing to give it a try.

Anyway, once I got into the run, I just kept going to the next quarter mile, thinking if I wanted to walk then, I could. But it was so easy, and I wanted to finish before it got too late, that I just kept running. It felt really good. I wore my new shoes, which are somewhat different from the old Structure Triaxes that I've been wearing. They seem to have more support in the arch, which I think is going to take some getting used to. My right arch was pretty sore during and after the run, I hope it's not going to always be like this. Hmmm.

I'm still trying to get everything worked out with the fundraising page I made. I want badly to help all of these people that have helped me, I just hope I'm not creating false hope in anyone. I got an email from the head of another charity yesterday, and I read some articles he sent me about it. Now I want to help them, too. The story behind the charity is just heartwrenching. Sigh. Well, I'll do what I can, I guess that's all I can do.

.: posted by pam m 9:58 AM

Just checking in again. We're so busy at work...I'm so tired...wait, I'm still at work...no lunch break today...so sleepy...not to say we didn't eat lunch, not to worry...of course the end of the day is always a pleasant experience when the UPS guy comes by. Yummy!

5 miles tomorrow.

From reading Chris's journal entry today, it doesn't look like he'll be up to doing the 11 miler this weekend. Sucks for me! But I'm more concerned with him getting better so he can, you know, run the marathon with me, that I can deal with a measly 11 miler. Ha!

.: posted by pam m 6:01 PM

Monday, January 28, 2002

Sore today. Quads, knees, shoulders. Iced knees last night, though. Much better!

Very busy at work. No time to post more. :(

.: posted by pam m 10:42 AM

Got my plane ticket! Yay! Sadly, though, I won't be flying with Chris and Rebecca and her sister. I was really looking forward to a flight to London with other people! I rarely fly over with other people. It's okay, though. The flight I got is rather hellish (start in New Orleans, connect in Detroit, then Amsterdam, then to Stansted Airport. I've never been to Stansted!) so I'm glad for them that their first experience of London is not marred by 16 hours of flying and layovers.

Aaaaand, I got my new shoes today! Yay! Can't wait to run tomorrow morning in them! Kristina was supposed to fly in at 12:50 a.m. tonight, but fortunately for me, unfortunately for her, she won't be able to make that flight (she's snowed in) so she's going to have to come home tomorrow. Well, also unfortunately for me because I miss her!

.: posted by pam m 4:23 PM

Sunday, January 27, 2002

snoooooooze...i just want to take a nap now...probably will after i write this....

Just got back from me and Chris's 10 mile run! Wooooo! Yeeeeahhhhh! We did it! (Well, of course Chris did. He's already run a marathon!) It was not bad at all! I was secretly kind of dreading it, but I can't believe (yes I can) what a difference it makes to run those long ones with other people. We just chatted and gossiped and planned for London and had a great time.

We started out doing a 6.5 mile loop of the LSU lakes (click for map). This is the larger loop. Within that, is a 4 mile loop that we did the second time around, for a total of 10.5 miles. We walked the first half mile to warm up, though. It was dark when we got started, at around 6:15 a.m. Not too cold, not too warm. I started out wearing shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and a long sleeved t-shirt over that. It felt really good to take off the long sleeved shirt after the 6.5 mile loop. I also brought my Camelbak for the first time. I didn't know what I was doing, so I filled it up all the way. Ack! Heavy! And I didn't drink all of the water in it, so I know next time I don't have to fill it up quite so much. Especially since we stopped at the car after 6.5 miles and drank some Gatorade and water. I also brought along some wine gums which were delicious after 8 miles or so. Chris loves them, and I have never appreciated them as much as I did this morning. So fruity and delicious! Oh yeah, and we split a GU when we stopped, which was disgusting. It wasn't the flavor...I had no problem with that. But I've always been more of a texture person rather than flavor, and the texture of slime, is well, extremely unpalatable. I gagged but finally got it down. I have no doubt that it helped, but I don't know...I'm going to have to work on that.

With about two miles to go, Chris volunteered to take the Camelbak for the rest of the way. My hero! Love Chris! He is the best! What a friend! I felt so much better when I took it off, like I was flying. I felt so light! I think I'm going to take it to London, but without the water reservoir. Just as a waistpack. It's pretty comfy and handy.

The last mile was pretty tough, even without the Camelbak. I was aching in several places...my knees, my hips, my lower back, my feet. But not in an injured way, more like in a "you've been running for almost 10 miles" kind of way. Just achy. We stretched for a while afterwards, and went home. Now I'm ready for a nap!

.: posted by pam m 11:12 AM

Saturday, January 26, 2002

Ooooh, about to leave for my 5K! Nervous nervous nervous! The only part I'm really nervous about is going alone. I don't know why. Ack! Nervous! Okay, should go now...will post race report when I get to my mom's house afterwards...eeep!

.: posted by pam m 8:08 AM

Just have enough time to say...new PB! New PB! (wait...or is it PR? Record or Best? Hmmm...never mind!) Anyway, finished the race in 37:01! A new record! Yay Pam! Will write complete race report later....

.: posted by pam m 1:06 PM

Okay, time for a race report. :)

Chinese New Year Festival 5K - Metairie, Louisiana

So the race was to start at 9:30 a.m. I was all nervous about going alone (see today's earlier post) but left the house at 8:30 to get to the park around 9:00. I should have had time to pick up my t-shirt and bring it back to my car, since there would be no one to hold it for me. But when I got to the park, I had a really difficult time with parking. I was not familiar with the park, or the neighborhood, so I wasn't sure where I could park (the residential area seemed unsafe) but after driving around for 20 minutes or so, I finally found a pretty close spot. By the time I got my shirt and number and used the restroom, it was 9:25. No time to bring the shirt back to my car, and nowhere to stash it. So I unpinned my number, put the t-shirt on over my other shirt, and repinned my number.

The gun went off. The walkers started a minute after the runners. Not long after I got past the start line, I was passed by pretty much all of the runners that were behind me. Ah well. I wanted to go at a slow pace, no big deal. A few minutes later, I was passed by some racewalkers. That didn't bother me either. It was a pretty warm morning, especially considering my dress. I was wearing long pants (cool and mesh but still, long pants) and two cotton shirts. Ick! But I was okay at first. I hit the first mile split at 11:19. No way! I was convinced this was wrong. I didn't feel like I was going much faster than normal. The second mile marker seemed to take forever. I got to it 12:53 later, proving that the first mile split was way too early.

Not long after the 2 mile split, I took off the t-shirt, and while running, repinned my number back to my sleeveless shirt. Much better! I had to carry the t-shirt the rest of the way, which was a pain, but at least I was cooler. There were several people who I kind of kept pace with the rest of the way. Most of them would run ahead of me, get out of breath, and then walk. I ran the whole way, which I felt good about. They reminded me of my first 5K that I ran waaaay too fast in the beginning and had to run and walk the rest of the way, feeling like I wanted to barf.

I finally was within sight of the turn off to the finish. Yay! I picked up the pace for the last 100 yards or so, and crossed the finish line in 37:01! The last 1.1 miles was 12:48! Yay! A great race, and I don't think it took too much out of me for tomorrow's 10 miler. We'll see about that, I guess. Anyway, I got a great personal best, more than 2 minutes off my old one of 39:05 (which was the aforementioned first 5K). Yay! So on the way to Baton Rouge, after the race, I stopped at a book discount store and bought a few cheap hardcovers that I've been wanting to read as well as a little pasta cookbook.

Chris and I went shopping, too. We went to the Varsity Sports running store by LSU and we got some American flag socks to wear for the marathon. They're dorky, but whatever! We have to advertise our American-ness so we get credit for flying over to run. I think we should get credit for that, right? We also got some Coolmax t-shirts I'm going to decorate for the Mardi Gras half marathon. Woo!

.: posted by pam m 4:49 PM

Friday, January 25, 2002

No running today. Rest day. Tomorrow's the 5K! Still haven't figured out what my reward is going to be if I get my goal time. Let's seeeeee:
If I run it in under 39:05 (PB) I get to buy a new magazine.
If I run it in under 38:00 I get to buy a paperback book to read for fun. (Under $10)
If I run it in under 36:30 I get to buy a Heart Rate Training book. Okay, I need it anyway, but I've been putting it off.
And that's only one gift per time! I don't get all three rewards if I run it in under 36:30. Hmmm. Unless it's waaay under. Ha ha. Fun!

So I didn't get any clothes last night at the mall. I hate the mall. I hate trying on clothes. Ugh. Oh well. I don't need to be spending money on clothes when I still need to get my plane ticket to London. Eeek!

.: posted by pam m 10:58 AM

Because I was feeling guilty (blame it on my Italian/Catholic upbringing) for not raising money for any charities while training for the marathon, I decided to put a page on my site to (hopefully) help all of the other runners I've met raise funds for their causes. It's at
http://www.geocities.com/pdotmuk/charity.html. Now, go donate!

.: posted by pam m 4:33 PM

Thursday, January 24, 2002

Just once around the park this morning. Only 1.77 miles. But, notable because I did it in 20:26, a new record for me. I think. Well, I haven't kept track of all of my times around the park, but I'm almost positive this is the fastest time ever. Considering it's an average of 11:30 per mile, I can't see how I ever would have gone faster. I didn't want to go too far this morning, considering this weekend, and my legs were a bit tired halfway around, so I'm glad I didn't go further. Not surprising, considering my blistering pace. ha ha!

Also notable this morning was the sociability of the other runners at the park. Generally park runners keep to themselves, but several said hello this morning and one guy (hmmm....my age-ish, tall, attractive...hmmm) even started a tiny conversation with me. Well, it was after I ran and his car was next to mine and he was commenting on the unusually warm weather. However, I think he said something positive about the humidity and negative about running in colder weather, so I don't think we have a future. Too bad. ha ha.

.: posted by pam m 9:11 AM

Oooh, going shopping after work. I need some new clothes. Non-running clothes. Wish it would stay warm so I could wear shorts. To show off my newly muscly running legs. Wish the rest of me would catch up with my legs. But I knew this would happen because my legs have always had a tendency to look good while the rest of me is flabby. The frustrating thing is, I know I have muscles under this layer of blob. Must shed, so that muscles are revealed! Seems so easy when I put it that way. Much more difficult, though, when there is chocolate in the house. Sheesh.

.: posted by pam m 9:28 AM

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

No run today. :( I was really looking forward to it, too. I was going to go to the park I've never been to, the one I have a race at this weekend, and go three times around the 2 mile loop, but I had to bring Kristina to the airport. I had wanted to leave early, but she was running late, so there was no time. Sad, too, because the park is near the airport, and there is no other time to go, as it's pretty far from home. Ah well. Guess I'll make up the run tomorrow morning at good ol' Audubon Park.

On a bittersweet note, Kristina won't be able to watch me run in the Mardi Gras half Marathon. Bad for me, but good for her, because she has an interview with a nice law firm in NYC.

.: posted by pam m 11:10 AM

just got my new laser printer...yay! i'm so excited! i love getting new gadgets! i was finally able to convince sarah that we needed one. oh dear. i'm such a dork! yikes.

.: posted by pam m 11:36 AM

Tuesday, January 22, 2002

No run today. Rest day! Woo! Love the rest days. I'm about to order another pair of my shoes from RoadRunnerSports.com, seeing as they're on sale and I have a gift certificate to that store (b-day present from Chris & Rebecca). Plus, I'll probably need another pair before the marathon, anyway. I just have a bit of a dilemma. First of all, the ones on sale at RRS are a slightly newer model. They look a little different - but are they basically the same shoe? Plus, I don't know what size to order. Do I get the 11s, which is the size I got my new pair in? Or do I get the 10.5s, which is what my old shoes were? I have a blister from the 11s, but never got one from the 10.5s. But...do I want to be training in two different sized shoes? Shouldn't I just stick to one size? Hmmmm. A dilemma. I suppose I'll call to place my order, and just ask the people there. They should know.

.: posted by pam m 10:46 AM

Yeesh. Just ordered a new pair of shoes from Road Runner Sports. Only ended up costing $26.98, with my gift certificate from Chris and Rebecca. Woo! And Chris got some new shoes today too, from them! Yay! Too bad we won't have them by Sunday, when we're going running together. Ah well, next time. Now I'll have two pairs of (nearly identical, as I got the newer model) new shoes to rotate. Yay!

Oh, and can't believe I forgot to mention this...Chris finally set up his own little online journal for his London Marathon training. It's at http://runnerchris.blogspot.com. I set it up for him. He's ever so grateful. Tee hee!

.: posted by pam m 3:01 PM

Monday, January 21, 2002

Nice weekend. Love John and his parents. That's our friend that we visited at the beach. Sigh. They have this gorgeous, sunny, airy, immaculate beach house on a private bay and it is the most relaxing place I have ever been. Not to mention that his parents cook for us whenever we go there. This weekend it was burgers and portobello mushrooms for lunch and fried scamp and polenta and salad and bread for dinner. Yum! (Scamp is some yummy fish that I've never had before. Apparently very ugly when alive. Ha!) And then the room I stayed in was nicer than any hotel I've ever stayed in (no surprise there, though) - my own bathroom, door onto porch, high ceilings, television, big fluffy white down comforter, etc, etc. Lovely.

So anyway, we got there on Friday night and Kristina and John went out, but Pam was good and stayed in, in anticipation of her 8 miler scheduled for Saturday morning. So I got up on Saturday, refreshed and well-rested and got dressed for my run. Was planning on taking my new Camelbak out for the first time, but I chickened out. I just feel silly. I regretted that, though. So then John's mom told me of a route I could take down the island (it's a very narrow, long island) and I set off. Nice day. Overcast, coolish, windy. Walked to warm up. Ran some, walked some, ran some. Didn't bring enough water. (Actually, weak Gatorade is what I brought.) Found a water fountain, but of course was not on. I suppose because it's winter. It's weird to be at the beach in winter. I've never seen so many mid-western license plates in my life. Anyway, after 50 minutes or so and more than halfway through my bottle of Gatorade, I turned around. Was going to go back to John's house, fill up the water bottle (did I mention that their entire house is on a filtration system? You can get clean, filtered water out of the toilet if you so desire. I use the tap, though) and go out for another mile or so, but I was so hungry that I decided to stop and hope that it was 8 miles.

Turned out that it was only 7. But whatever. I know I can do eight. It's okay. It was cool because when I got back home, Kristina was still asleep. After I showered and dressed, she got up, so I felt pretty accomplished.

Got a new sports bra (sorry, guys) at the outlet mall. It was $30, though. Expensive! But nice. Hmmm. Can't decide whether I should keep it or not. Hmmm. May have another look at the outlet mall by my mom's house this weekend.

I have a 5K on Saturday. Kristina's going to be out of town (skiing) and Ren's going to be in Hawaii (ack! lucky!) with her husband, so I'll be alllll alone for this race. It's going to be strange. I really want to beat my personal best, which is 39:05. I'm sure I can do it, Kristina thinks I can finish in 36:30. I'm not so sure about that, I'm hoping for a 37 or 38 minute race. But I'll be really excited if I do finish in 36:30. It's going to be tough. What should I reward myself with if I do get that? Hmmm. I have enough socks. Maybe a new book. Yeah...

I also have a 10 miler scheduled for this weekend. I'm probably going to Baton Rouge to visit my mom, so I hope Chris will be able to do some of it with me. I'll have to do it on Sunday, obviously, because of the race on Saturday. I'm also wondering if I should skip my second 3 miler of this week (scheduled for Thursday) because of the race, or if I should just do both. Hmmm. Guess I'll play it by ear.

Did 3.5 this morning with Kristina. Yay! Did the second loop much faster than the first. First loop was in 23:50, second was slightly less than 22 minutes. Woah!

.: posted by pam m 10:12 AM

oh no...
getting a blister on the bottom of my right foot. right at the crease between my big and second toes. ick!

.: posted by pam m 11:46 AM

Friday, January 18, 2002

ahhhh, lovely. no run today. rest day. slept very very well, finally. had strange dreams, but that was just a bonus, i guess. dreamed about my dad and an ex-boyfriend. i've been dreaming about my dad a lot lately. i'm not sure why. it doesn't make me sad, or anything, in fact i like it. it's like seeing him again. nice. i think dreaming about my ex is more odd, since i dumped him three years ago, and we didn't even go out for very long. hmmm. strange how the mind works. i mean, i was also taking belly dancing lessons in my dream, so overall, i guess the whole thing was just kind of random. i think my brain was just ecstatic that it finally got 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep so it gave me these weird dreams as a reward.

tomorrow is an eight miler. kristina and i are driving to gulf shores (alabama) after work tonight to stay with our friend john at his parent's beach house. it's gorgeous and the most relaxing place on the planet. i'm going to have to figure out some kind of route to run, but my reward for afterwards is laying on the hammock in the shade at the end of the pier. ahhhhhhh....

.: posted by pam m 9:26 AM

ooooh, good news. just figured out that ono island (the private island where john's parents' beach house is - woooooo) is somewhere between 5.5 - 7 miles long. so there shouldn't be a problem getting an eight-miler in. and i know there is a running path alongside the road, so i'm all set!

now i just have to remember not to forget anything. i packed this morning, but i have to remember to set the vcr to tape 'saturday night live' tomorrow night, and leave a message with ren to feed stinky and umm...i'm sure i'll forget something....

.: posted by pam m 9:33 AM

oh, and got some pictures from my birthday back. now we can put some faces with the names...

Kristie and Josh. Not her boyfriend, but our waiter. Smarmy waiter, obviously.	Ren, Kristina, me. The creepy looks on Ren and Kristina are due to the fact that they are nearly incapable of keeping their eyes open during a photo. So they had to open them very widely and hope for the best. This picture took about four tries. Sigh. And my glasses are doing some weird reflection that makes my eyes look weird. Hmmm.	Blowing out the candles on my lovely homemade from scratch cake! Look, almost got them all.

.: posted by pam m 9:54 AM

Thursday, January 17, 2002

Gooooorgeous morning! Goodness me, never thought I'd be so cheerful about waking up at 6:45 in the morning. In fact, my morning grumpiness was legendary in high school (which was a boarding school) and college. Very strange that I would get over it, somewhat.

Anyway, it's warming up a little. This morning, I only had to wear a short-sleeved t-shirt over a tank top. Yay! It's supposed to get up to 70 degrees this afternoon. Lovely! Almost wish I could run again. Not quite, though. Ha ha. I do wish the longer days would start soon. Although running in the morning is certainly handy as far as not wasting the evening, it'll be nice to be able to sleep late again. Of course, that won't begin until after the marathon or close to it, so I'd better just get used to waking up early.

So this morning, 3.5 miles in 48 minutes. The first quarter mile was walking to warm up (Sarah insisted) and the rest was running. After running the first loop of the park, Sarah walked most of the second while I ran slooooowwwwly beside her (I will not use the "j" word!) We both finished with a strong finish. I love that! In fact, I love that strong finishing kick so much, I think I may concentrate on 5Ks after the marathon. I'm not entirely sure yet that I have the patience to run for so long, but of course, I don't know that yet. Time will tell, I suppose. But if I concentrate on shorter distances and speed after the marathon, than if/when I want to do another one, maybe I will be more in shape and faster, so my long training runs won't take as long, thus necessitating less patience. Ha ha! Hmmmm. Anyway, something to think about later.

Ooooh, also, may have convinced Sarah to "sponsor" me and Chris for the Mardi Gras half marathon. As the company I work for is MardiGrasStore.com I figure she should buy us some shirts to wear (preferably sleeveless coolmax, thank you) and we can put the MardiGrasStore.com logo on it. Handy! Free shirt and publicity for the website! Must look for those shirts, then...

Ah yes, and should mention that Kristina and I have forgotten all about the silent treatment we gave each other. As usual. I wasn't really worried, I knew it would all blow over, but it's good to get it all out. Anyway, she's feeling better as well, and we may go to the beach to visit a friend this weekend.

.: posted by pam m 9:51 AM

Well, apparently Chris said the same thing about concentrating on 5Ks...but here's what he had to say about it after the marathon...

"Ummm...yeah, I said the same thing...wait till mile 25-26 and crossing the finish line. You'll be hooked. I promise. Gosh, I get goose bumps just thinking about it. It's better than drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll!"

So maybe I should wait and see... :)

Then again, Chris doesn't do drugs. And he listens to female folk singers. So exactly how seriously am I supposed to take that, really?

.: posted by pam m 10:03 AM

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

And another beautiful run!

5.31 miles, three times around the park. I've gotten to the point where it doesn't matter how boring the park is. I've got it figured out. I know where the splits are, I know what my time should be at each split, I know who goes there at 7 a.m., I'm just going to have to accept it for now. Won't be running on the levee for a while. Kristina's sick and mad at me, so she can't run, and I don't even think she would, since she's mad at me. Not exactly sure why, but whatever. Best to just go with the flow at this point. (Really, I should be mad at her, not the other way around, but there's really no talking to her when she gets like this, so I'm just going to ignore it now. It all stems, see, from the fact that I exhaled when she asked me to put the VCR tape in so we could record Scrubs while we watched 24. But see, I was tired. I exhaled to get the strength to stand up and walk to the VCR. But she saw it as a "get up yourself and put the tape in" and poor thing, she's got a cold, so why would I do that to her? Really, I was tired. I'd gotten up that morning after very little quality sleep, ran for 3.5 miles, went to work, grocery shopped at lunch, came home, cooked dinner, cleaned out my bathroom vanity looking for the thermometer for her, cleaned the kitchen, and was finally comfy, not to mention further from the TV than her. So if she's mad at me because I exhaled, then fine. Let her be mad. I'm mad that she overreacted and dared to think that I was being lazy? After all I had done already that evening for her? Did she really think I wouldn't get up and put the tape in? Yeesh.) Ahhh, glad I got that off my chest!

So the run this morning. Lovely. Cold when I woke up, put on my usual layers, drove to the park. Went once around. Walked the first quarter mile to warm up. Ran around, stopped every so often to get water or stretch. After the second time around, I went to my car, took my long sleeved shirt off and drank some more water. About 5 minutes after starting the third lap, I passed a woman who was just starting out on a walk. She was all bundled up in coat, gloves, hat, etc. She asked me if I was freezing, since I only had a sleeveless shirt on top. I said, "It was the first time around." So here she is thinking I'm doing two laps of the park, thinking I'm all hardcore (well, this is of course, all in my head. Most likely, she didn't give me another thought.) but really, I know that it's my third time around, and I really do feel all hardcore and a real runner and stuff. Of course, a good runner probably considers 5 miles a tiny jaunt, and it certainly wouldn't take an hour and nine minutes. Ha ha!

It was a very strong run, overall, though. I always have enough energy at the end to really push the last quarter mile or so. I wonder if that means I should be running faster the whole time? I averaged 13 minute miles the entire time (but I took some short walking and water breaks) but the last 1/2 mile was 5:45 or so, so I really pushed that one. If I can push that hard at the end of an hour long run, maybe I have too much energy left at the end? I made up a new game to make the last mile and a quarter go by faster. And I ended up running a bit faster the whole time. Interesting. So here's what I do. Every ten yards or so (I'm totally guessing about that) there is a stencil of a person running painted on the path. So I started with A. And while I ran from the first man to the second man, I just thought of words that started with "A". And then when I got to the next man, words that started with "B". The words didn't have a theme, or anything, just words. It's actually more difficult than it sounds. Well, for some of the letters. It's hard to think of many words that start with X when you've been running for 55 minutes. Actually, ever. Anyway, I went through the alphabet twice, and towards the end, I had to think of enough words to last through two little men. At the end of the alphabet, it's especially difficult. Okay, so my new game may not make much sense, but for those last few quarter miles, I was averaging 3 minutes instead of 3:10, which adds up.

.: posted by pam m 10:00 AM

Tuesday, January 15, 2002

Gorgeous 3.54 miler this morning. Sunny, cool, perfect weather. And yes, exactly 3.54 miles. Okay, I know I get a little bogged down in the details but I guess that's just the kind of person I am. Went around the park twice, it was a little chilly when I started out, but I took off my top layer after the first loop, which made me feel faster. Weird. Well, taking off the long sleeved cotton tee shirt and running with a sleeveless shirt makes a big difference. More aerodynamic. Or something. So I did this 3.54 miles in under 44 minutes, which is great, considering I was thinking it'd take closer to 50 minutes. I suppose it would have, had I gone the pace I go on the long runs, but I went at what felt pretty comfortable and ended up being 12:20 miles or something, instead of 14:20. It's so hard to slow down from 12 to 14 minute miles, but when I go 11 minutes, it feels as if I'm going much faster. It's like the 2 minutes between 12 and 14 is negligible, but the 1 minute between 12 and 11 is huge. Strange.

I sent in the balance of my money for the marathon...now I just have to get my plane ticket. I wish fares would go down. I really want to have enough money left over for books. Books, books, books! Ack! I love books! I love going to Waterstones and browsing through the paperbacks (no highbrow literature for me) and walking out with a big stack. Then walking down the street to WH Smith or Books etc. And then buying more at the airport duty-free. And of course, ordering some from Amazon.co.uk to take back with me. I usually bring an extra suitcase for my souvenirs, and it usually ends up being filled with books. Heavy. I wonder how the airport security are going to like that? Perhaps I should get some highbrow literature next time, so they'll be impressed. Ha, whatever. I'm hoping that I'll be able to bring a suitcase of books this time, start moving my stuff over to the UK. May be jumping the gun a little. But when I do move to England, I'm only bringing my clothes, my photo albums, and my books. All of them. It may take a while. May be gradual. Anyone visiting me will be required to bring a suitcase of books. Ha ha.

Chris just emailed me about the trip. He was reading a London guidebook yesterday, was getting all excited about seeing everything. I can't wait to show him and Rebecca and her sister all the sights. I hardly ever get to show off the London I know and love. My mom and aunt and uncle were a fairly appreciative audience, but my uncle just kept saying how London was so dirty that it needed to be sandblasted, and to be honest, I didn't really want to show it to him after that. Grrrrr. Anyway, I can't wait to go back! It's been over a year, the longest I've gone between trips, and I'm getting antsy to go back. Yay!!!

.: posted by pam m 9:51 AM

Monday, January 14, 2002

Woah, what a weekend! Still feeling its effects somewhat. Let me just say now that I will not be drinking again until after the marathon. (More than one beer, or a glass of wine, at least.) We went out Saturday night and I imbibed waaaaaaay too much. But then that's what birthday parties are all about, riiiight? Well, perhaps I'm getting a bit old for that. But it's really hard to have a low-key, non-alcoholic celebration in New Orleans. I'm sure it's possible, but improbable. Especially since Mardi Gras is less than a month away now, and the whole city is getting into party mode. Sigh. I was including Mardi Gras in my no-(excessive-)drinking policy. It will be interesting to have a sober Mardi Gras for once.

So anyway, on Saturday, I was going to go for my scheduled 7-miler, and Kristina was going to go with me, but when we walked out the door to go to the levee, it was raining. Yick. Cold rain. So Kristina said she wasn't going to go, and I went back inside to wait for the rain to stop. After a little while, it did, so I drove to the park. On the way there, it started pouring again, so I went home and figured out what I was going to do. I decided just to wait until Sunday, even though I knew I was risking running with a hangover, but I knew I had to do it, so there was no real question. And I had friends coming in from Baton Rouge, so there was no question of not going out Saturday night, either. So Kristina and I went with a friend to look at new cars, and of course, by the time we got back home, it was sunny and beautiful, but too late to go running.

Then, Saturday night. Let's just say too much Pimm's was involved. And it makes for an ugly hangover.

Sunday, after eating lunch and recovering a little, Kristina and I decided to walk to the park, go twice around, and then walk home. Which equals seven miles. We walked there, ran halfway around the park twice, and then walked home. No, we didn't run very much. Maybe 2 miles total. But we were out there, on our feet, and putting in the mileage. Just not while running. I'm not unhappy about it, I'm actually just happy I got something done. And considering how I felt, it wasn't difficult at all, even the running part.

I had a good week before this run, so I'm not going to let it get me down, and hey, here I am starting week 4, and a new chance for a fresh start and a perfect week!

PS I'm going to put Chris's Disney Marathon race report next to his picture below.

.: posted by pam m 9:31 AM

Course map! Must be able to refer to it from time to time.

Of course, at home, as soon as I sent in my deposit for the marathon, I went to Barnes & Noble and bought a huge A-Z map of Greater London, and mapped out the marathon course, and put little dots where all the mile markers are. Then I put pins in other notable spots around London (where I used to live, where we used to hang out, that sort of thing) and whenever I finish a race, I pin my race number at the top. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. It's right next to my bed, so as I'm going to sleep, I can look at it, and get inspired and dream about running past Big Ben. Yay!

.: posted by pam m 3:11 PM

Friday, January 11, 2002

Today Kristina and I ran for the very first time on St. Charles! (Well, I had briefly run on it during my five miler a few weeks ago, but never in the morning, and never both of us.) It wasn't bad, three miles, but I guess it never really occurred to me that it's dirt and grass, not asphalt, which is what I'm used to. It was tough! My calves hurt! And so did the outside of the arch of my right foot, but I suspect that may be my new shoes. I'm probably going to return them today and just get another pair of the Nike Air Structure Triax that I run in already. At least I know they work. I guess I shouldn't have changed shoes. Now I feel a bit like a middle-aged man with a trophy wife. My trophy new and exciting shoes, which just aren't as good as the old and reliables. Hmmm. I sure hope the running store will take them back! I'm trying to get all traces of this mornings run off of them. The bottoms got pretty muddy, but thankfully, the sides and tops of the shoes are still clean. I've spent a lot of this morning picking dirt out of the grooves with a bobby pin. Tee hee.

.: posted by pam m 9:45 AM

Yay! Returned the Brooks and got a brand-spankin' new pair of Nike Air Structure Triax. Same colors, just cleaner. And bouncier. Nice. But, they sold me a size 11, and my old pair were 10.5. Strange. I tried the 11s on, they didn't feel big. I hope they fit. The 10.5s are a teeny bit snug, so maybe the new ones will be even more comfy. Let's hope. We'll see tomorrow!

.: posted by pam m 3:34 PM

Yay Chris! Here are his pictures from the marathon. Or paste this URL:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=1463&BIB=10519

Or, here's my favorite picture (how can he be smiling right now?):

Chris's Disney Marathon Race Report
by Chris (duh)

Short Version: I ran my first marathon in 4:21:07 for an average of 10:15/mile and the 2,331 overall finisher. I had a blast and honestly can't wait to do it again!

Long Version: We got in to Orlando mid-day on Friday, wandered around the Magic Kingdom, and I got to bed early. Saturday I picked up my race packet, checked out the expo, carb-loaded on pasta/bananas and drank tons of water. My alarm went off at 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning. I showered, drank some water, ate a bagel w/peanut butter and headed out to catch the bus to the staging area near Epcot. It was a windy 55 degrees at the start of the race. I was in the last corral and it took me seven minutes to get to the starting line. They had fireworks and music blaring so it was very exciting to get started. The roads were very crowded and I took it easy at the start. I crossed the one-mile mark 10:39. It was so much slower than I had hoped to run. My long slow training runs averaged a 9:00-9:30 pace. However, some nagging tendonitis problems and a likely groin strain after my last 20 miler had me a little frightened to run too fast. I missed the next two mile markers and at mile 4 realized I was running about a 10:00/mile pace. I decided to stick with this pace until at least mile 13. The first part of the race was pretty easy. I had a power gel one hour into the race. I felt good. After the halfway point the course cleared out and I had more room to run.

I had decided to pick things up a bit after the half-way point, but as hard as I tried I couldn't shake a 10 minute pace. Somewhere along the way I decided if I finished in four and a half hours I would be happy. I entered the Animal Kingdom theme park at mile 16 and a light mist began to fall. At mile 20-22 during a very boring out and back loop a torrential downpour struck and I was drenched from head-to-toe! The physical part of the race was over. It then became a mental challenge. I smiled a lot. I laughed out loud when it starting raining harder and I felt water squishing between my toes. I remember thinking to myself, "Damn Chris this was too easy...it needs to be more of a challenge!" I was determined to stay at the same pace regardless of the rain. I had another power gel three hours into the race. Along with the power gels, bananas, oranges, powerade, water, wet sponges, and sweet tarts I stayed well-hydrated and well-nourished throughout the race. I will always remember eating the best sweet-tarts in my entire life somewhere around mile 23!

I don't think I ever hit "the wall." I remember that mile 23 was super hard! It had stopped raining and my feet were wet and I could swear to you I thought one of my little toes had fallen off. (It's still there...just one big blister!). I had some phrases that I recited over and over to keep going. The only time I walked was through the water stops, and I found it harder and harder to start back running, so eventually I stopped walking and just ran through the water stops splashing powerade all over me.

Miles 24-26 were pure exhilaration. There was great crowd support and when I crossed the 25 mile marker I picked things up a bit. I was determined to make mile 26 the fastest. I did the last mile in just over 9 minutes! The wave of thoughts that flooded my mind during the last mile was fantastic.

I don't want to get to sappy, but I thought a lot about always being the fat kid, always getting picked last in sports, always wishing I was thin and fit. I thought about the journey to get to this point and the encouragement I've received along the way. It was great! I did a lot of reflecting on what I can do without those extra 40 lbs., negative thoughts, and unproductive goals floating around in my head.

After crossing the finish line I got the space blanket and my finisher's medal - it's a huge gold Mickey Mouse head! My wife Rebecca got so excited as I neared the finish line that she forgot to push play on the camcorder so I'll have to run another one so she can film my finish.

I headed back to the hotel and showered and rested a bit. I was so hungry. I couldn't get enough to eat. I had a cheeseburger and fries after the race. Then, that afternoon we went to Epcot. You know they have the World Showcase that highlights various countries around the world. Well, I guess you could say I proceeded to eat my way around the world. Fish and chips in England, crepes in France, sushi in Japan, funnel cake in America. It was fantastic. (Of course, the fish & chips along with a nice pint of ale was the best!)

I was very sore Monday and Tuesday. I was sore in the most unusual places like my lower back, obliques, and my right bicep...go figure?!? Overall, it was a remarkable, life-changing experience. It showed me that with will-power and determination anything is possible. Next up I have the Mardi Gras 1/2 in February and another 26.2 in April in London. I can't wait! THE END.

(Pam again!) Oh yes, also exciting: Kristina just called me and told me she registered for the Crescent City Classic, which is a huge 10K, run through some of the prettier parts of New Orleans. I sent in my entry yesterday, and I was a little worried she'd decide not to run it. I am, of course, stunned that she agreed to run with me at all. Just a few weeks ago, when I asked if she wanted to run it, she say no way. But after last week's 7.2 (tee hee) miler, she decided it wouldn't be so bad after all. Yay! I can't wait for that one. The atmosphere should be great.

.: posted by pam m 4:15 PM

Thursday, January 10, 2002

No run today. Was supposed to run 3 miles, but am putting it off until tomorrow morning instead. I really needed my sleep last night. I was soooo tired, and if I had gotten up and ran this morning, I'd be feeling very sluglike and sleepy this morning.

I had a wonderful, fantastic, fun birthday! It was probably the best birthday I've had in a long, long time. It wasn't any big deal, no parties or bars involved, but just some of my closest friends. My oldest friend in the world, Kristie came in, along with another old friend, Ann (not the aforementioned Anne) who was also my freshman year college roommate. I love them and hardly ever get to see them, and they drove in from Baton Rouge (about 1.5 hour drive) just to see me on my birthday. I love them! And so Kristina, Ren, Kristie, Ann and I went to dinner, teased the waiter, ate lots of good food, drank yummy tropical concoctions, giggled, etc, etc, etc. And then when we got home, we looked at old pictures and Kristina and Ren came out with this homemade chocolate birthday cake for me! And I mean, completely homemade. From scratch. It was beautiful. I cannot believe, though, that there is now a fresh supply of chocolate in the house. Must be gotten rid of. I can't handle it anymore. I will bring a large chunk of the cake back to work when I go home for lunch. It is a shame, but I know I have got to curb my sweet tooth somehow. It's getting out of hand.

So anyway, a wonderful birthday. Can't wait to try out my new shoes tomorrow!

.: posted by pam m 9:24 AM

Wednesday, January 09, 2002

Happy Birthday to meeeeeeee! Happy Birthday to meeeeeee!

So far, so good! Love birthdays! Love them! My birthday will never be like Molly Ringwald's in Sixteen Candles. Never. I couldn't possibly not talk about my birthday constantly for the weeks leading up to it. No one could ever forget it's my birthday. Simply not possible. Plus, birthdays have always been a big deal in my family, so I don't have to worry about them forgetting either.

So, this morning, Kristina and I went for a lovely 4 mile run along the levee. Finally, it's warming up again! I was cold when I woke up, so I was quite warm and layered, and had to disrobe a bit during the run. Only a long-sleeved teeshirt, nothing major. Anyway, we weren't entirely sure of the distance, so we ran out for 25:30 or so and back, if it wasn't four miles, it was close.

Then, we went to this cute little French bakery on the way home and got (remember, it's my birthday!) a chocolate-almond croissant. Yum! Delicious! Then, Kristina gave me a birthday present - a Pub Quiz book so we can practice for the pub quiz night at the only British pub in New Orleans. Not that we've ever been, but now we'll have to go. And win! Well, now that I have the authentic pint glasses that my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas, we can just have a pub right in our living room. Fun! And then I can finish off the bottle of Pimm's I got for Christmas. Um, maybe it'll have to wait until after the marathon. Ha ha.

So my mom is coming to take me to lunch today, which is exciting, and then I'm going to get my new running shoes. Yay! Woo hoo! And then tonight, we're going to see a movie.

.: posted by pam m 10:03 AM

Got my new shoes! And found the best running store ever! Well, out of the three I've ever been to, this one was the best. :D

I went after lunch, so there wasn't anyone in there except for me and the three women who worked there. I must say, having all women in the store made me feel waaaay more comfortable. I'm a little embarrassed to tell "real" runners that I run, because I'm afraid they look at me (tall, overweight) and think there's no way I could run. I know that's *my* issue that I have to deal with (hence my new year's resolution to feel more confident about my body) but nevertheless, I was very nervous walking into the store.

But the ladies made me feel at ease, the woman who was helping me asked about my old shoes, and I showed them to her, and she went in the back and got out a stack of boxes. I tried on several pairs, including a pair of the Nike Air Structure Triax that I run in now. Woah! Talk about cushiony! I can't believe how much spring my old pair has lost. Anyway, I settled on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline, which seemed very comfortable.

And then I got some new socks (I love running socks. I've said this before, I'll say it again. They are my all-time favorite running accessory.) and a magazine. Fun! And, all for under $100, because they give a discount! Love them!

What isn't good, though, is as I was walking from my car to my office, my glasses case fell out of my purse and I stepped on them. At the time I had my prescription sunglasses on, so it was my regular glasses. New, too. The arm snapped right off, so I have to go after work to get a new pair. Argh! At least they're still under warranty.

.: posted by pam m 3:54 PM

Tuesday, January 08, 2002

No run today. It's a rest day. I'm glad. I got a lovely, long night of sleep. Although I did dream that Stinky was an evil cat. Hmmm. She's not.

Had to go to traffic court yesterday afternoon. Went in with five citations, only had to pay for one. But of course, the one they left on was the most expensive one. There goes alllll of my birthday money. Sigh. Hope I can still afford some new shoes. But I did get a note from the New Orleans Track Club people. They're going to send me a fax so I can get a discount on my shoes, so maybe I'll have my mom take me tomorrow after lunch to get them. She's coming in town for my birthday. Yay!

Made a delicious vegetable lasagne for dinner last night. Maybe I'll post the recipe. (Speaking of running and recipes, check out Ian Painter's new site. He's got some yummy looking recipes on it. I'm going to have to try some of them soon.)

I've gotten so many nice emails from people because of this site. Makes me happy. I wish that we could all meet up after the race. At some point. I just want to be able to see the people who have made training for this marathon less of a solitary pursuit. I may be the only person in New Orleans training for the London Marathon, but now I know that people all over the place are going through the exact same things I am. (Of course, Chris is coming with me, of course, I haven't forgotten that! Thank god for him too!)

.: posted by pam m 9:59 AM

Monday, January 07, 2002

A lovely three miles this morning...cold, but sunny, not too windy. And not sore anymore, really, from Saturday. I wore my heart rate monitor, and the difference in my heart rate between running alone (165 bpm) and running with Kristina (140 bpm) is notable. Just goes to show how important it is (for me) to run with someone else, to keep my pace slow. At least I know now what I should be shooting for. Our pace was also right around 13 min/mile, which is much more reasonable, I think, than the 12s I was running without her. And the 14:18 we averaged on Saturday seems about right too, for such a long run.

Chris called me yesterday at noon, he had already finished the marathon (yayayayay!) and gone back to his hotel, showered, iced, etc, etc. I was amazed. Granted, Florida is an hour ahead of us and the race started at some ungodly hour like 6 a.m. But still. I'm so happy for him...he finished the race (his hip injury didn't act up or anything) in 4:20! Yay! So exciting! As soon as he gets back, I'll make him post his race report. Thursday, I think.

.: posted by pam m 9:36 AM

Sunday, January 06, 2002

Chris's marathon (Disney World) starts in just a few hours! He's supposed to call me sometime tomorrow afternoon to let me know how it was (unfortunately, he pulled a groin muscle or something equally painful while dancing at his wife's Christmas party back in mid-December. sigh.) I hope he's okay and can finish it. And hope he doesn't permanently injure himself for London. eek! Does that sound selfish? Well, I know he wants to run London with me, he has his entry, Rebecca is excited about going to England, it would just be a shame. And I would be very sad that I wouldn't get to share the experience with Chris, one of my best buddies, and the person who really inspired me to start running. You should see him now. He is a shadow of the Chris from one year ago. Oooh, I should post pictures. Very inspiring befores-and-afters.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. That's my three beers I just had talking. ha ha.

.: posted by pam m 1:27 AM

Saturday, January 05, 2002

What a run today!

As I mentioned yesterday, we had planned to do three laps of a two mile loop at a park in Metairie. However, there was rain forecast for this afternoon, so we decided to run six miles down the levee instead. Since we were only planning on going one way (didn't want to do out-and-back), we (Kristina, Ren, and I) went in two cars to the ending point of our run, and then took Kristina's car to the beginning, six miles down the river. So far so good, right?

We start out, back towards my car, at a very easy (14 min/mile) pace, but the wind was blowing hard against us. The skies were gray, but no rain yet. In fact, it looked as if it may be clearing up. Everything was going well. People on the levee are very friendly. We passed a guy who said "it's easier on the way back," but we didn't really care - we were only going one way. Then, a girl on a bike riding towards us raised her arms and yelled, "go girls!" and we cheered and it was all very exciting.

About three and a half miles down the levee, we were all feeling extremely proud of our progress and the fact that we had tons of energy remaining.

And then my stomach dropped to the ground.

I had forgotten my car key in Kristina's car!!! Once we got to our ending spot, we would have no way of getting in my car! And there was no way to get back to Kristina's car, except, of course, to run to it. We didn't have a phone to call a taxi (and how strange would that have sounded, anyway?) We didn't know any friends who have cars, who were at home, even if we did have a phone to call them.

I just started yelling, "Oh my God!" and at first Ren and Kristina ignored me, but I told them what I did, and we quickly decided to turn around. Fortunately, they weren't mad at me or anything. (What girls! I love them! They were only doing this run for me, so I wouldn't have to do it alone!) In fact, we laughed at my absent-mindedness and thought how cool it was going to be that we were going to run over seven miles.

At first, the run back to Kristina's car was really good, because as the guy before had said, "it's much easier on the way back." With the wind at our backs, we were flying (ok, this is of course all relative). Until it started to rain. And the temperature started to drop. And we still had at least 2 miles to go.

The end was definitely less fun. Kristina and I ran up ahead, so we could get the car started. It was windy, rainy, and my glasses were useless. Plus, the moisturizer I had put on my face that morning was dripping into my eyes and making them burn. But in the end, it felt great! My right knee was a little sore, but it's fine now.

The total time for our run was 1:43, the longest run by far I've ever done. Now I've done a 10K! More than that, actually. We measured it, and it ended up being 7.2 miles that we ran.

We just got back from lunch at a yummy pasta restaurant. Refueling is the best part!

.: posted by pam m 3:31 PM

7.2 miles! 7.2 miles! 7.2 miles!

Knee is a bit sore. Left hip also a little achy. Took some ibuprofin. Will stretch a bit more later.

Woo hoo! 7.2 miles!!!

.: posted by pam m 7:39 PM

Friday, January 04, 2002

Aaaarrrrgh! I just typed out my entry for today and I accidentally erased it. Grrrr.

Well, let's see if I can remember what I said....

Something about how happy I am that today is a rest day. I needed my sleep this morning, in spite of the fact that Stinky woke me up at the crack of dawn for some food. At least I got to go back to sleep for a little while after that.

Actually, I may have overreacted before. I can't remember anything else I said, so I guess I didn't lose too much after all. Anyway, tomorrow is a big fun day. Woo! I'm going shopping for a new pair of running shoes at a store in Metairie called Phippiddeppdidpeedees or something like that. Something with a lot of p's and d's, at any rate. I hope this time they give me a pair that are more me. I love my Nikes, don't get me wrong, but I read somewhere that they're made for small to medium framed runners, and I'm sorry, but I could lose 125 lbs and still be large framed. (I actually couldn't lose 125 lbs. That would be dangerous and disgusting.) But the fact is, I have very large bones. And I'm tall. So I'll never be considered "small or medium framed" and it makes me wonder how seriously the man at the running store I went to last time was taking me. Hmmmm. Which is why I'm eager to try a new store. And a little nervous. I'm always scared to tell real runners that I'm training for a marathon, because they could just look at me and either laugh or yell at me. Hopefully the people at the store tomorrow are nice. Well, I guess they want my money, so let's just hope they understand economics.

Anyway, after the shopping expedition will be our 6 mile run in LaFreniere Park. (The one I've never been to.) Oh, and at some point, we're going to a movie. And grocery shopping (yes, we consider that fun.) And to lunch. (Definitely fun.)

Chris left this morning for his marathon. Eeeps! When he gets back, I want him to post his race report on here. Just so I can get a bit of first-time marathon perspective. Except that he's fast. But since he's running London with me, it's only fair.

.: posted by pam m 11:08 AM

Crud. I just looked on the New Orleans Track Club website and noticed that you get a 15% discount on shoes at Phidippides (I found the spelling!), the running store I want to go to tomorrow. But I haven't gotten my membership card yet, even though I sent in my check last week. Maybe it'll come in the mail today. If I don't get it today, I suppose I'll email someone. See if I can get the discount. That'd be helpful!

.: posted by pam m 11:18 AM

Oooh, just remembered - tomorrow is my six month anniversary of quitting smoking. Woo!

.: posted by pam m 11:31 AM

Thursday, January 03, 2002

Bad run this morning. Bad Pam! I only ran once around the park. 1.75 miles. Was supposed to do three. I was blaming my shoes the whole time (I wore different ones because my Nikes that I usually wear are just worn out, but I have to wait until Chris comes back from Disney World...ohhhh, see this is what I mean) and the cold, but really, it was me that didn't finish, not my shoes. In the book I'm using for training, this is what this week's psychological aspect is about. Internal locus of control. Not allowing external forces to affect you. Or something like that. Of course, external things will affect everyone, but allowing them to have a negative effect on you is I think what it means.

Certainly, blaming my shoes for *me* not finishing a three mile run is what that's all about. Also, this week I learned that if you have a negative thought, you should finish it off with "...but it doesn't matter." So really what I should have been saying was "these shoes suck...but it doesn't matter." Now, I'm sure some would disagree, but I think successful runners would just get out there and run the three &@#* miles.

Oh yeah, the other excuses I had while I was not running the final 1.25 miles of my run were "I'm a social runner. I cannot run alone." (Kristina will not run when it's freezing outside. Not that I blame her, but I really hate running alone. I did send in my membership check for the New Orleans Track Club, so maybe I'll find slow people to run with through that.) Also, "it's really *$#^% cold outside." Which is undoubtably true. It's on the news, for goodness sake. The deep south is having a major freeze. We are not used to the cold! Although all I really need is some gloves, a hat, and something to cover my nose. Well, maybe not my nose.

I'm just going to hope it warms up ever so slightly so maybe Kristina will run with me. We're going on Saturday, six miles, she already agreed to go with me. I'm happy about that.

Oh yeah, and I don't think I'll be able to manage the Jackson Day 9K. I'm a bit disappointed, but it's the morning after my birthday celebrations, and I'm more concerned about having fun with my friends and not coming in at 8 p.m. to go to sleep. (The birthday celebrations are on the 12th, not the 9th, as it's a Wednesday and Wednesdays are no fun.) Plus, the distance is too short for my run scheduled for that weekend. Finally, Kristina doesn't want to run it. I should just save my money. I am definitely going to run the Chinese New Year 5K. We get fried rice. Ha ha.

.: posted by pam m 9:30 AM

Wednesday, January 02, 2002

Happy new year! So far, so good...well, I haven't actually run yet, so maybe in that context I shouldn't say anything yet.

It's finally gotten cold in Louisiana, and when I say cold, I mean cold! Today it's in the thirties, and yesterday it was gray and drizzly. Perfect for staying inside, wrapped up in blankets, watching movies and reading, but not so perfect for going over to someone's house to watch football. Both of which we did. Though I should say the game was good, LSU (my alma mater) won and all that. Kristina and I went to Anne's mom's house, where we always get fed well and get sent home with lots of leftovers. For the first time, I ate black eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day, so hopefully it will mean luck for 2002.

I'll write again after I go for my lunchtime run. It's so cold in this office, I can only get warmer after a run in freezing temperatures. Sigh.

.: posted by pam m 10:25 AM

Just got back from my planned four miler at lunch. Okay, so it really ended up being 3.75 miles, but close enough. It is cold outside! I'm proud that I actually went at all! Went to the park, and in spite of my four layers (coolmax tank, short sleeved cotton tee, long sleeved cotton tee, hooded cotton jacket) I was freezing. Naturally. Oh yeah, I also had on leggings and mesh running pants. And leather gloves. And headphones (which not only entertained me, but also kept my ears warmish.)

By the end of the run, I was hot and sweaty. Yeah! In a good way! Well, hot in a good way. I can't think of when sweaty is *good*. Hmmm. I was also running a bit faster. Quarter miles in 2:55 to 3! Amazing! Less than 12 minute/miles! Quite unlike me.

Got back to work, refueled with some cabbage and black-eyed peas for lunch. I am determined that eating these foods will bring me luck in 2002!

.: posted by pam m 2:58 PM

Oh, I don't think I mentioned how strange I felt all day Saturday after my run. I felt really antsy and restless, and vaguely nauseous. I drank a lot of water during my run (brought a water bottle with me, and refilled it during the run) but I think I know what the real problem was...rehydrating after the run with a big iced coffee. Ooops! I suppose that was it. I ate decent food after I got home, so I don't think it was because I didn't refuel properly afterwards. I didn't even really feel better until I drank some red wine with dinner that evening. Hmmmm.

.: posted by pam m 3:02 PM