optimism

You know, this morning was a bad run but this keeps my chin up:

“There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” - Henry Ford

Crappy Run

It seems like the stars were perfectly aligned today to keep people off the street, out of the muggy humidity, and on their couches/beds getting fat and lazy.

I had a date at 6am this morning.

I almost slept through it... and so did everyone else!

I woke up to my alarm 20 minutes after it was supposed to go off - 5:45 am - "OH MY GOD i'm going to be late and they're all going to start the run without me!" I leaped out of bed and threw on my pre-planned running clothes (i don't typically function well at the crack of dawn) I yanked Erik up to come with me and we drove like maniacs to meet up with my little 4 person Tues/Thurs. running group. We were 10 minutes late and not a car in site... "where is everyone" As I later discovered not one but 2 other people also had the EXACT same dilemma yet missed their alarms completely! How weird is that? It was a sign, I shouldn't have gotten up, I shouldn't have gone running (no one should ever have to get up that early anyway) and it became all too clear for me during the run...
A four mile loop -not too bad, a little hilly but certainly manageable, I did the same route on Tuesday with no trouble at all. It's no walk in the park that's for sure but it's refreshing! Not so today. My legs felt like lead and breathing was a way too difficult chore. I was honestly having the hardest time with this run. I stopped to walk TWICE, which is just shameful and couldn't even keep a tortoise pace. I thought about it long and hard while wheezing and drooping all run long and the only big difference between Tues. and Thursday was that Tues. I ate a 1/2 of banana and this morning I was running on an empty tank. It seems crazy that it would make that much difference but I think that was it. It was a horrible run, really frustrating and disheartening. Its good to be able to have some trial and error and figure out what your body needs to perform optimally but COME ON BODY - give me a little something to work with at least. I didn't wake up and expect to be a ironman runner BUT at least a little better than the sad excuse for a runner that was out there on the trail this morning!
So, in conclusion, I have realized that a crappy morning run translates to a crappy grueling day. I don't like this equation and I'd like to have a word with the mathematician that discovered it.
Do you think it's wrong to just rest my head on my desk for a small cat nap? My response to anyone who challenges me on this? YOU TRAIN FOR A MARATHON.

6/23 Twlight Fesitival

So, Saturday Erik and I did the Potomac River Running Twlight Festival 4 miler race in Ashburn, VA. IT ended up being an insane day as we made the last minute executive decision Friday afternoon to head up to Philly at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to go support Rachel in her first ever triathlon! We knew it was going to be tight and LOTS of driving but we decided that we had to be there for her and we would make it work. So we left at 5am and proceeded to make the 3 hour drive from Alexandria to Philly. We got there soon after the start and Rabin was luckily also there to help Rach warm up and get her pumped! It ended up being a great time and got me super stoked about the idea of participating in the SheRox triathlon with Rachel in Philly on August 5th! The energy in the air was just contagious and it looked like everyone was having so much fun. Mind you, this was a sprint triathlon which is a shorter distance than Olympic triathlons, but it is still a killer event but I'm sure worth every ache and pain! Rachel did an awesome job and finished in just over 2 hours which is a great great time, especially for her first triathlon! I was really proud of her and so glad that we decided to go up there. We had to head immediately back down to VA to make it back for our race so we hopped in the car and while almost to the PA - DE line we hit a STANDSTILL on 95. We took a detour immediately and got stuck in another standstill on Rt. 1... It was hotter than hell out there, we were on a tight time crunch, and we couldn't move! We sat in traffic for almost an hour and finally things cleared up and we made it just in time for our race! It was close but it all worked out- even if our legs were mighty stiff!

The race went surprisingly well. The sun hadn't quite gone down enough to reduce any of the heat so it ended up being quite steamy out there but overall everyone seemed in good spirits. During the race the most difficult thing for me that I found was overcoming that mental block of focusing so much on my exhaustion and fatigue. I felt every step of those 4 miles and throughout the entire race I was convinced I would have to stop to walk. I didn't of course and I ended up sticking it out with a pretty good time actually but that mental thing just really frustrates me!! I ended up doing the 4 miles course in about 38min. which was under my goal. I started off a little too fast and slowed it down the 2nd and 3rd laps but I help up a pretty even pace considering that is one of my other weaknesses. It felt good in the end but I'm still annoyed by those little hurdles that keep surfacing and I need to trick myself into overcoming that mental fatigue and really motivate myself more during the race. Anyone out there got any tricks of the trade for me?

The bearded wonder

Joey (my friend from Deltones to those of you who don't know him) and I have been having a great chat all morning about life, Peace Corps, and other musings...

This made me happy- thanks Joey.

Joey: i know kristina granger relatively well
and one thing i know
is that if she wants something bad enough, she makes sure she gets it
ESPECIALLY if it makes her happy.

I finally gave into the world of blogging...

Well folks, that's right. I finally gave into the computer generation that I am a part of and succumbed to the world of blogging. BUT, in my defense, I think this is a pretty good reason to start blogging!

SO, yes, it's true I am indeed training for a marathon. Just in case you didn't hear me correctly I said: I AM TRAINING FOR A MARATHON!!!! and yes, i am probably insane, yes.

As I write this inaugural blog I am bleary eyed yet surprisingly bushy tailed (which I can only attribute to the massive mug of coffee sitting on my desk) from my crack-o-dawn morning run at 6am. I have found in the last few weeks that it takes a special kind of person to endure the morning workout, the early rising, the long restless day at work that follows, and I have come to the profound conclusion that I do not innately posses this aptitude. I am not a morning person, as Erik can admittedly attest to, yet god bless me I AM TRYING! I actually woke up before Mr. Beall today which may possibly be the first time ever and threw on my running clothes to meet up with some teammates in Arlington for our morning fresh run! I met up with Tara, my new friend from our last long-run and another really sweet woman who I forgot her name cause I'm so bad with names! Oops. We only did about a 3 mile loop, a short run this week and it felt good, real good, too good. What is wrong with me!? I never thought I would be "that" runner but I really am starting to like it! I'm NO WHERE NEAR the point of waking-up-at-5am-by-choice-with-a-huge-smile-on-my-face-after-dreaming-all-night-about-running... but I am making it routine... and the smile comes after the run. :-D

Ok well back to work- keep checking back often - I'll get more interesting I promise! haha