Just a little encouragement

There is a group of gentlemen who run at Riverfront Park, and I do mean gentlemen.  I do not know who the are, or what group they are running with, but every time I see them they make my day.  As they run by or past other runners they just give a little encouragement.  "You're doing great" or "keep going, almost there."  It only takes a second and it costs them nothing to do, but, it just makes my run that much better when they are there.  They are a reminder that a few simple words really do make a difference.

Finally!

Last night I was able to run outside after class. YAY! It was hot and gross but I was outside. I got in 3 miles and hope to do so again tonight (I have a treadmill reserved at the gym just in case it storms). Speaking of hot and gross, here are some photos from the climb last weekend. Hope you enjoy!

Hiking up

On the way up the rock

Almost there

On the way down

Breaking News...

Photo from www2.scnow.com

I am over the thunderstorms.  A moderate rain is still allowed but no more hurricane force winds (not an exaggeration!  We had winds on Monday night which were measured at 80 miles per hour which are category one hurricane force winds... low end of the hurricane scale but the word hurricane is still in there!)  I am getting cabin fever bad!  There is only so much yoga and Jillian Micheal's I can handle and while I am still on track for the Governor's Half I would like to be ahead of schedule by a few weeks just in case something else comes up later.  So in conclusion, I am calling for a moratorium on severe thunderstorms.   

My New Shoes

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

I have new shoes! Here they are and aren't they beautiful? Okay, probably not to most of you, but to me and my feet they are gorgeous! I picked them up tonight, however due to the deluge we had I am not playing with them this evening. Sad. The goal is to go after my meeting tomorrow and try them out if it is not storming again. Fingers crossed that it is not, because I want to play with my new shoes.

 

*Yes, I did just write a post about shoes. :)

The Climb

Our class went climbing this weekend and I made it back with just a couple of scraps. The one on the back of my hand I scraped in a crevice and then some blisters from repelling. The rock climbing was fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The hike up, not so much. It was 1.7 miles up the side of a mountain. And I was sick Thursday night. Not a fun combination. That is my excuse anyway and I am sticking to it. And I am sure you will all see how gross I felt when I get the photos from the instructors. But back to the climb. It was amazing! I was amazed at how I could actually climb using the smallest hand and foot holds. I really enjoyed this weekend and look forward to climbing again at some point soon. Though truthfully I would rather it be in the spring or fall, 'cause yesterday was miserable. (The above picture is a stock photo of rock similar to what we climbed)

3rd Rock Climbing Class

Last night we learned how to tie knots in class. This is very important because knots are your friends. They keep you safe, but much like friends, you must choose them carefully because some knots are just not trustworthy. And at 200ft above the ground trust is VERY important! In addition to learning how to not fall off the cliff we learned more of the details of where we are going and what to expect. Luckily there are handouts because truthfully I tuned out after the following: 5:30am. That is a string of numbers and letters that should never be next to each other. Also fingers crossed that enough people want to carpool as I can get lost driving down a one way street. And finally in closing:


xkcd

'Cause it makes me laugh and that is totally what my facebook will look like next week!

Kenyan Shirt

My shirt is here! It will make running tonight awesome. :) Cause, really, who doesn't want to run with the Kenyans? (Please ignore the graininess of the photo, my camera phone sucks)

*with a special thanks to Warren

for playing along and taking this

picture

Decisions...

I have my training schedule all mapped out thanks to Self Magazine. FYI: They have a nice realistic layout designed if you are looking to train for either 5k, 10k, or 1/2. In the interest of full disclosure I also love Self because I won a trip to Hotel Healdsburg from them which was amazing! And if you ever have extra money to spend I highly recommend them. Hotel Healdsburg is a truly wonderful place to stay. But I digress. The issue today is deciding on a race. Come mid-September there are two races available to run: the Dam Run to Irmo (10k) or the USC Parents Day 5k. I should run the Dam as it is perfectly in line with the above mentioned training schedule but the Parents Day is free and I am going on vacation shortly after. So I can keep on schedule and do the Dam Run or I can do the Parents Day and buy an extra bottle of wine in Cali. Anyone have suggestions for me? Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Second Rock Climbing Class

Wednesday night we learned about the equipment used while rock climbing and safety. Some of the safety equipment doesn't seem so safe. This is a stopper (to your left). It is meant to stop you from falling off of a cliff. These are it's dimensions: 13x7mm. Yes, millimeters. Now I am not huge but I am not a size 2 either so this makes me a little nervous. We are going to be with pros however after our little physics exercise I am a little concerned. For example, did you know that someone who weighs 150lbs has a maximum fall force of 1350lbs. And that little thing is supposed to stop you... Hopefully I won't be putting it to the test.

Summer Storms

'Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very, frightening me' are the words that have been going through my head the past couple of nights. I have gotten ready to go run then the rain starts. It is not a nice light rain. That would actually be lovely to go running in. No, it is a monsoon.

I have lost power the last two nights at home (most of the night on Monday, and off and on all last night). So no running for me, 'cause, you know... I kind of like living. So tonight after my rock climbing class I will run and if it is raining I will hit the treadmills at the gym. My class is being kind of convenient that way.

'And I wonder, still I wonder, who will stop the rain...'

Procrastination

Sometimes procrastination really doesn't pay off. Like with me not running on Saturday. I got up and ran on Sunday and instead of 78% humidity it was 90%. Scarlett said tomorrow was another day but she didn't say it would be a good one.

Tomorrow

So today was to be my long run day. I am up to 6 miles on the weekend (not all running, about 4:2). However, due to my cable box giving out I missed my run. A little background: my uverse died sometime late Thursday night/Friday morning. The AT&T people gave me a window of 8-12 for the tech to come fix it if I wanted it fixed today. This was a necessity for me because tomorrow I need to be able to record Spain vs. the Netherlands as I will be at work and all my HBO shows come on Sunday nights. You are now probably wondering why I didn't just go running after he left. Well the answer is simple... it was HUMID. While it was just in the low 80's this morning the humidity was at something like 78%. No thank you. I would rather run when it is 100 degrees out (as I did on Thursday. I am rather proud of myself for doing 3 miles after work). So now I just have to shake off messing up my schedule and plan to do the run tomorrow. Because, as Scarlett once said, "After all... tomorrow is another day."

Rock Climbing

I am taking a rock climbing course this summer. This is something that I have wanted to try for awhile but I never have. I, and the rest of my class, assumed that it would be an indoor climbing class. Do you know what they say about people who assume? Exactly. It is an outdoor climbing class. We will be learning the basics over the next couple of weeks then we will be taking a field trip into the mountains of NC where we will climb and camp out over the weekend. I have never camped out either... I would say I am keeping my fingers crossed for the trip, but as one of my aunts pointed out I might want full use of my hands.

Accountability

For me this blog is all about accountability. I will be racing in the Governor's Cup as part of "Team Argentina" again this November. However, unlike last year when I ran the 8k, this year I am running in the half marathon. I am a little nervous and very excited about embarking on this journey. Hopefully by putting all this out on the Internet I will be held accountable in my training for this activity.