Pass the Pickles

Right now, I feel consumed by my training.  It's not all together a bad thing.  Its a special kind of awesome to devote yourself to an endurance goal and work, work, work to meet it.  I feel focused, centered.  motivated....tired.

It occurred to me last night, however, that I've felt like this before but for a very different reason.   I now present:

2 lists

List the first:  Ways in which marathon training is uncannily like the 2nd trimester of pregnancy:

1.  I am hungry ALL. THE. TIME.  I will eat anything and everything put in front of me...

2.  ...except for things I won't.   Such as cilantro (GROSS), and cheesecake (GAG) and super heavy, fatty things the night before a run.

3.  I can't drink (much).  While I technically can drink more than I would allow myself in pregnancy, any more than one or 2 beers WILL be felt in the next morning's run.  And not in a good way.

4.  I am tired ALL. THE. TIME.  I can and will sleep anytime, anywhere.  If only I got more opportunities.  Stupid work.

5.  I mostly feel really mentally energetic and motivated and don't really have the time or brainspace to devote to feeling sorry for myself, except for...

5.  ...the mood swings.  Exhaustion/hunger/burned-out-ed-ness manifests itself in some crankypants.  Occasionally.

6.  People who have done something similar or know someone who has tend to react to my "condition" with advice or horror stories about their brother's wife's cousin's daughter who had some totally fucked up thing happen.  People who have never been there just give me strange looks that imply that I'm probably not right in the head.



List the second:  Ways in which marathon training is definitely different from 2nd trimester pregnancy:

1.  I am losing weight, rather than gaining it. 

2.  I'm not spending crazy amounts of money and time shopping for nursery items/clothes/toys/slings/carseats/etc.  Although I am replacing my running shoes more often.

3.  My "due date" will not involve medical bills.  Hopefully.

4.  My husband does not have that constant look of abject terror in his eyes.  Mostly he just rolls them and tells me to make sure I get enough rest so that he and my son can stand to be in the same house with me.

Birthday Blues

Tomorrow, I turn 34.  I tend to get cranky and weird around my birthday. Which is strange, I know, but I very rarely have great birthdays. At best they are OK, at worst, they are really bad (like having to put my dog to sleep. On my birthday. Oy.)

This year, however, has promise.  I'm in the best shape of my life and feeling really good.  My kid is amazing.  My husband is kind and sweet and cute as hell.  And despite the occasional setback, we're all healthy and enjoying life.

We're planning a picnic dinner in the park with fancy sandwiches, fizzy drinks and strawberry pie.

Here's to another year. 

(I didn't hit all my 34 before 34's but I made a fair dent in them.)

Yep, I'm Terrified. With a capital T.

Ho-lee-shit.  The coverage of the Iowa straw poll makes me want to gouge my own eyes out with a spoon.  All the candidates literally scare the ever loving shit out of me.

Exhibit A:  This woman.

Picture from here

There are no words.

Exhibit B:  And this man.

Photo credit here

Abject terror.  *Shudder*



Thank the universe, we have Rachel Maddow to remind us that the straw poll is a total racket.

I loves her.

And now, before my head explodes, I'm going to brew some green tea, hug my knees to myself and watch a Woody Allen movie, repeating the mantra "its going to be ok.  It's going to be ok."

Isn't it?

Oh, its ON

This post coming to you from smack dab in the middle of marathon training.  And...ZOMG.  Consider my ass thoroughly kicked.   I can't seem to get enough food/sleep/hugs, my knees are starting to complain and its getting harder and harder to push through some of the longer runs.  This is supposed be fun...right?

It occurred to me recently, that if I'm feeling this burnt out this early, the training plan I chose may well be a bit ambitious.  This week, I made the decision to scale back to the Novice 1 plan which is a bit gentler.  We'll see if that helps the motivation and squeaky knees.

(I also gave myself an extra rest day last week.  Shhhh.)

Race-wise, I've got a half marathon coming up in 2 weeks (through a wild horse refuge!!) and an 8-mile trail race the week after that and then that's it until October 9th's marathon.

Butterflies.

I'm trying to remind myself that I'm doing this for ME- not to beat any time records or anything.  And that I run because I love it.

But, truth be told, right now I'm looking forward to October 10th.  :)  At which point I'll probably look a lot like these folks:

Realizations.

1.  If I had one of those "I'd rather be..." bumper stickers on my ass today, it would say "I'd rather be thrift shopping."  I'm starting to compile my fall wishlist and on it so far:

-Minnetonka Moccasins:

(Delightfully Tacky totally inspires me...)

-Some pinstripe pants and a cute cardigan a'la Maggie Gyllenhal in Stranger than Fiction:

Image from powet.tv

-An infinity or circle scarf...I love this masculine print:

Remixed by Jacki's whole shop is totally dope.

Good thing my birthday is coming up!


2.  I think one of the reasons I've got fall on the brain is that I work at a university and the students move back in a week.  A week!!  At that point, the population of our town will swell, there will be more traffic, lines at restaurants (the good ones, anyway) and the whole feel of the place will just...change.  Going to enjoy this last week of true summer!



3.  I should really own some Belle and Sebastian.  There is no excuse.