Hanging With Jackie ‘n Dan

**Please check the bottom of yesterday's post to see if you won my giveaway (5 winners), then email me. If I don’t hear from you by Monday, I’m going to pick someone else!

I am in a piss poor mood about tomorrow’s half marathon. I am trying to focus on the cone, not the crap, but it is difficult.

My left ass cheek (LAC) has been giving me fits lately when I run. It started after the Half Ironman followed by a half marathon the next weekend (mid-August). I should have known better.

The LAC has been holding its own, but was made very angry yesterday when I tripped on an uneven sidewalk and stretched my glute like taffy. And not Laffy Taffy. Mean, angry, hostile taffy. Probably chipotle pepper flavor.

I will go and try to run tomorrow and see what happens. DNF? DNFF? (I like to add an “f” bomb in there for good measure). Before you tell me to go see someone, I have an appointment with Dr. Jeremy Rodgers for Tuesday. He’s a sport’s med and chiropractor doc and currently the medical staff director for Rocky Mountain based Ironman.  He has also served on the Boston Marathon medical staff. I hope I’m in good hands.

Another reason I’m in a piss poor mood is the weather.

It is 35 degrees and pouring rain. A good day to cuddle up in here:

With this:

Yes, Emma made a fort this morning. I used to love to do that when I was her age and pretend it was in the inside of Jeannie’s bottle from I Dream of Jeannie.

Hmmm…might need to do some academics this weekend:

It’s not all crappy. A bright spot was that we headed to the expo in Denver this morning and I got to hang out with these two cool cats. Remember the mother/son duo from the Biggest Loser, Jackie and Dan? They both look amazing in person.

(Try not to stare at my exposed midriff)

Jackie and Dan have taken up a great cause, Kids Fit Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for quality youth programs that incorporate health, fitness and wellness. How cool is that? I love it when people who have a fan base and/or celebrity status us their exposure to bring awareness to important and crucial issues.

Have you ever tripped while running and pulled the crap out of some muscle?

Ever run a race with pain? Did you finish?

Have you read Mile Markers yet? What did you think?

What’s your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

SUAR

Denver Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon Race Report

*Check HERE to see if you won the Marathon Bar prize packs (bottom of post) and email me.

You may have read that yesterday I was kind of dreading today’s race due to some ass discomfort. I’m happy to say I survived the half marathon this morning with my left ass cheek (LAC) in tact. It did not feel good for much of the race, but was manageable.

As a runner, I think one of the toughest things is to know when to stop to avoid further injury. I never got to a point where I felt like it was detrimental. That said, I will take some time off from EVERYTHING and get some attention from a sport’s doc to get me back into tip top shape before Vegas.

The goal for this race was to pace my friend, Joie, so that she could break 2 hours. She missed the two hour mark by ONE SECOND at her half in August. I was damned determined to squeeze her in under two if it killed me.

In lieu of a pace band, I used my trusted Sharpie to keep track along the way:

I actually got a great night’s sleep last night after 1.5 glasses of wine, some bland chicken fettuccine and a little “Dateline.” Up at 4:30 a.m., had some coffee and we headed to Denver. About five minutes out from finding a place to park the colon started hollering. Like it was emergent and emerging. We parked at the Hyatt, but I could not hold it and left an amazing pile in the parking lot. Fortunately, Joie had some TP. I worried some detective would test the DNA and the TP and arrest me for leaving a steaming load of crap, but decided there were probably better things to worry about like the fact that it was 35 degrees and my ass hurt.

Good thing I got that pile out before the start!

We huddled at the start with throw away blankets and millions of other bodies. Then we were off through the streets of Denver on this chilly, yet clear and sunny morning. Our pace was spot on. I knew we had to keep about 9 minute miles throughout to sneak in under two hours. The crowds were so massive for the first mile we did a 9:30, but made up for it with an 8:30 for mile two. We plodded along and as I warmed up I ditched my beanie hat, my hoodie and my gloves.

By the halfway point I knew we were on track for a strong finish. My LAC was hurting quite a bit, but it was also becoming kind of numb. I tried to disengage from the lower half of my body. Mile six I took a vanilla Powerbar gel.

Mile 11 I told Joie we would pull back a bit, then really kick it in for the last mile. I knew we were golden and that she would exceed her goal.

Mile 12 we were home free as we cruised downhill through the streets of Denver to the finish. I will NEVER EVER tire of the feeling of the last .1 mile of a race when the finish is so close you can see, feel and taste it.

We tearfully crossed the line in 1:54. We both felt amazing. The ass hurt, but not too bad.

With our boys: Sam (left) and Joie’s son, A.J. (right).

When we finished the race you HAD to get your picture taken by the RnR people. So Joie and I decided to kiss just to make it a bit more exciting. Ken was sad he missed the kiss, so we re-enacted for him after we found him at the finish. For your viewing pleasure:

So proud of Joie who started running only a couple of years ago. Her first half was 2:21. She has come such a long way!

I can’t thank Ken and the kids enough for getting up early, parking, fighting the crowds just for that 30 seconds to watch us finish. It is like getting the most thoughtful gift from someone: when people love you they pay attention to what means the most to you.

How was your Sunday? Win any races? Kiss any girls?

SUAR

Sticky Boob

The rumor is true. I survived my 14 mile run. It took about 2:16. Warning: this post is full of boring minutia about my run and my day. Little stuff + little stuff + little stuff = life.

8:15 a.m. I chugged some water beforehand and hit the road. I like to really suck the bottle. It’s how I roll.

9:20 a.m. Things were going swimmingly until some dog rushed out of nowhere. I soon realized he was not going to attack or hump me. I then fell in love with him because he had only three legs. Guess what his name was? I’ll give you a prize if you guess. Was it a) Beantown b) Bucket, or c) Booger? I seriously wanted to take him home to befriend Lucky and to replace Lucky when he dies one day. Sniff. Why did you make me bring that up?

The three-leggedness allows for a full on view of this dog’s junk.

I did not fuel with Dots as I had planned because Sam ate them all. I put him in a time-out for leaving me Dot-less, but 14 year olds actually love time- outs in their rooms without their parents to do whatever it is they do in there, so I don’t know if this was effective.

I replaced the Dots with the Shot Bloks and ate one every two miles or so. Seemed to work well, but I don’t know if it was that much different than just eating at the hour marks. It was kind of pain having to remember to eat the Blok and to find it. I finally stored them in my sports bra, but things got sticky and they ended up tasting like my detergent. Tide flavored Shot Bloks with a hint of strawberry aren’t the best. Take my word for it.

My new nickname: Sticky Boob.

There goes Sticky Boob!

It was a gorgeous day to be running in Colorado.

The run was pretty uneventful and poopless and I felt good. That is until the last mile or so when my LAC (left ass check) and LHH (left ham hock) started talking back a bit. Now I am sore and wondering if I will ever in my entire life be free of this left side bullshit. I did order some new gorgeous Brooks and am going to slowly try breaking them in and working on moving away from my heel strike.

This is the only thing I can think of to do that I have not done. The PT told me to get my glutes stronger, which I am also working on. My goal is to pick up and move 49 quarters from one end of the room to the other with my ass cheeks by mid-June. It’s good to have measurable goals, you know.

All in all, a good day in the running world for me. I hate being limited by whatever crap is going on, but I also know I have not asked my body to run that far in awhile. We are all adjusting to the increased mileage – me, myself, my ass and my hamstring. We might go into family therapy. Patience is not a virtue of mine. I want things and I want them now.

11:00 a.m. I grabbed a huge cup of coffee on my way home and downed a cookie dough Luna Bar. In true I-work-at-home-but-really-don’t-do-shit-all-day fashion, I watched Bethany Ever After. I then made a huge kitchen sink salad with edamame, avocado, spinach, apples, carrots all tossed with Bolthouse yogurt ranch dressing, which rocks the house. Costco has it in a three-pack in the refrigerated section.

I also had a few Lean Cuisine spring rolls that are actually pretty damn good for frozen.

 

 

I continued to eat all day long including peanut butter cookies and Cadbury eggs. What? I ran 14 miles. It’s a free pass to eat non stop.

I don’t know why I’m tell you all of this boring stuff. Just felt like it. I mean do you really care what I had in my salad? Probably not. But if you do, God bless you.

Okay, I’ll stop. I’m even falling asleep.

So, what WAS the three-legged dog’s name?

What kind of random crap do you put in your salad? I am a big chopped salad kind of girls. Chop it all up, anything I can find, and mix it with dressing. I love nuts, fruit, spinach and avocado the best.

When you do your long runs, do you graze on food all day or is it just me?

Any new products you are digging?

SUAR

My Newest Follower

**The Winners are the Champion giveaway are Mandy #42 and Chris #56. Please email me at beth@shutupandrun.net to claim your prize!

Yeah, so the big news is that Dolvett is following me on Twitter. This might be because I stalk him. Let’s face it, not only is he amazing eye candy, but he is a damn good trainer. And, I have never seen earrings look so good on any man in my life. Go see for yourself if you think I’m a liar.  He asked if I would have his children, but I told him I’m already taken. He cried. If you don’t know who Dolvett is, you clearly have a life and do not watch enough TV.

Ken and I went to meet some of his buddies from the Colorado Relay for a 7 trail run this morning. Like a dufus I work a tank and arm warmers, but soon found out that it was 40 degrees at the trailhead and things got a bit nipply.

I know you just zoomed in to see the nipply, but you can’t because this picture was taken later in the run when it warmed up so joke is on you.

When we first arrived, our co-runners were not there yet, and I felt a rumbling, so I headed to the pit toilet. It smelled so bad before I even opened the door that I decided to take a small dump outside of bathroom instead of inside. I doubt many people do that, but I am such a nature girl I prefer to use the dirt as my canvas and smell pine trees when I am having a special moment. I did have Huggies wipes in the car, so this isn’t as rugged as it seems.

We started up the trail:

We passed some deer and elk but fortunately no mountain lions  came out to play even though I saw this sign:

As always, the views were gorgeous and as always my camera phone sucks and does not do them justice.

It was a gorgeous run even though I had my same old aches and pains in the LAC (Left Ass Cheek). I start my treatments this week with the sport’s med doc/chiro. He will do adjustments, ultrasound, gait analysis and some “drills” as he calls them. I am hoping to the high heavens about that this will be the trick to me getting my running mojo back. It’s been a long time since I’ve been ultra confident on these legs. Yes, I’ve kept running and racing, but something is not right in Denmark. Or Longmont. Or my ass.

Now for the funny part (and you thought the dump OUTSIDE of the bathroom was the funny part). Ken and I headed back before the rest of the group because we to get back from some kid thing. We were about two miles from the car, Ken was ahead of me, when it happened. We were on a single track trail and I lost my footing. I tumbled off the trail, did a full body roll as I hit the ground, grunted very loudly and came to a full stop in the weeds, laying on my stomach, stunned. Ken came back to make sure I was okay. I was okay. He then immediately said, “Since you are okay, can I laugh now?”

I used to be a gymnast and fell on my ass every day of the week. But a fall like today’s tumble when you are 44 years old makes you a sore, complaining whiner. I swear, my left boob hurts and my elbow. I even got this:

Ken said, “Oh my. I cannot believe you made it back to the car with that injury without me carrying you.” Sarcastic much? I did marry him because he never fails to make me laugh. And some other reasons too.

Did you get your workout in today?

Ever fallen on a trail? I’ve tripped before, but never had a full-on tumble to the ground.

Ever pooped outside of a bathroom because it stunk too much to go in? Confession: this was actually not my first time.

SUAR

Let’s Make It Simple

Today I will take a rest day. Today I will go to get my left ass cheek (LAC)  massaged by the almighty Matt who knows how to make it all better. Today I will not make things harder than they need to be. Spending more time on things does not necessarily produce better results. In many instances, it can be classified as “spinning your wheels.” I am the queen of the spin.

This is what I’ve discovered about myself: I often put things off because I make them more complicated than is warranted. Instead of making a grocery list of basic items for simple meals, I think I have to come up with some new and fancy menu plan. Instead of answering an email I received with a basic “thank you” or “no, thank you,” I think I need to write a novel explaining why or why not I want or don’t want to do something.

I think many of us do this with exercise. Instead of just heading out for 30 minutes of moving our bodies, we think we have to have a plan or run a certain pace or exercise every stinking day. Not the case. Keeping it basic and simple is the key to success. One thing at a time leads to big things over time.

When we over-think, we self sabotage. When we over-think, we tend to forget to keep it simple. I am convinced many aspects of life do not have to be as involved as we make them out to be. In order to keep it more simple, it’s time to let go of some elements of perfectionism.

Ever had a five ingredient meal? Sometimes those are way better than the complex 20 item recipes full of hard to find stuff like marinated bull testicles.

Last night’s dinner- Easy Chicken Tacos:

6 chicken thighs
1 can green chilis
1 can pinto or cannellini beans
2 T taco seasoning

Dump in crock pot for six hours. Shred chicken, mash beans. Serve in multi grain taco shells. Watch family devour.

Simple. Basic. Authentic. The anti-fancy.

This is not my photo.-> I would never use a cloth napkin or a sprig of cilantro. Or a lime on the side. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

What’s something you make harder than it has to be? (TWSS)

What’s your favoritist (it is a word) go-to quick dinner? Feel free to share recipe.

SUAR