two days to hospital hill.

Maybe it was driving home in the pelting hail. Ducking every time a chunk hit my car. Cringing and hoping my windshield didn't shatter. Or the fact that I feel like everyday things just seem to go wrong this past week. Whatever it was, I was a ball of jitters last night. It's been one of those weeks, for the past two weeks, the kind where it seems whatever I touch turns to a steaming pile of poo.

It's little things, nothing major. Just little frustrations with things not working, things going wrong, you name it, unexpected frustrations. Whatever it was, last night I was feeling some old school race jitters. The kind I had before. When I myself was a ball of anxiety, nerves and depression. When every race got in my head and made me a wreck. Not fun.

Thankfully I woke up this morning feeling much better and more calm. Back to my (now) normal self, ready to tackle the half on Saturday. I'm excited to give this race a shot! I think it will be fun, not fast for me, but fun. My legs have been a little grumpy this week, but I've been foam rolling and sticking and yogaing daily this week. This morning my legs felt amazing. And itchy. Ready to run, without a doubt.

So that's that. I'm not gonna list out my workouts last week. I managed some yoga, some easy runs and a hill run while at the lake last weekend. The next hospital hill report I write will be about the race itself!

best part of my day. fluffball.

Our Memorial Day weekend was a whirl of family and driving. By the time we made it home last night the last thing I wanted to do after taking a shower and unpacking was get back in the car to go hunt down something decent to eat. I'd been surviving on trail mix and coffee all day. Our kitchen is bare. I needed nutrition. The car won.

Despite all the time in the car, it was a good weekend. To sum: Full. Busy. Fun. Family. Good. We spent part of the weekend with my family here in town and part with the Edder's family at Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma. 'Whirl' is the only way to describe it.

The best part though was seeing my niece Ave's. She is delicious. I mean..... THE HAIR. That pretty much sums it up for me. That baby girl makes me smile. A lot.

*ave's having a chat with a lion at the sedgwick county zoo this weekend*

about san diego.

Our trip to San Diego in early May is still fresh in my mind, even though I haven't posted about it yet. Basically I had a lot of fun, spent most of my time outdoors, stuffed my boca with some fantastic food, spent some quality time with my cousins and the Edder and laughed a lot. It reminded me how much I love being outdoors, and how much I love a good adventure.

Day 1: We went to San Diego for a conference for Edder, and stayed in downtown SD. So while Edder spent each day at his conference, I hung out with my cousin until we all met up in the evenings. My cousin came and picked me up at the hotel each morning. The first day we happened upon an amazing coffee shop in Little Italy, stocked up on the good stuff and headed for Ocean Beach. Where we spent the day combing the surf shops, surfing and riding around on beach cruisers. 

*Ocean Beach and the longest pier on the West Coast*

*heading out to surf at dog beach. handy that my cousin lives a mere 10 steps away from the beach*

*my pitiful attempts at surfing, i was awful at it, but it was FUN*

Day 2: While Edder headed out for another day of exhilarating conferencing, my cousin and I headed out for a hike at Three Sisters. It. Was. Incredible. Pictures don't do it justice, but I'll post some anyway. After our hike in the back country we headed back, cleaned up, then went out to stuff our faces with Sushi and Sake.

*at the beginning of our hike, if you look in the middle of the picture, a little blip of white, you can see the waterfall we were hiking to. four miles round trip*

*just a small glimpse at the terrain we were hiking, a mix of straight boulders and dirt path*

*the second of the 'three sisters' waterfalls. this was our prize for our hike. well worth it*

Day 3: Off to another day of conferencing for the Edder. My cousin and I enjoyed another authentic Italian coffee and breakfast then headed to the beach. Where we hung out and relaxed a good portion of the day. It was Cinco de Mayo and a Saturday so there were humans everywhere. We people watched, talked, napped, surfed a little, then got ready to celebrate in style. With the blue-hairs at an old school SD mexi-joint. We spent the evening enjoying margaritas, the sunset, a night walk on the beach and some good old fashioned hanging out. We left early the next morning and spent the day in airports. I have no doubt we will return to SD sooner rather than later.

*the edder photo-bombing carrie and i after we went surfing at dog beach*

*the edder and the fritzer (my cousin's boyfriend) heading out to surf*

 *cinco de mayo sunset, our view while enjoying a margarita*

 *the super moon on our last night in SD*

Since I have long abandoned Facebook, I started keeping pictures on Flickr. So if you wanna see more FWR life pictures, you can check my Flickr. If you so desire: flickr.com/photos/fairwxrunner

two weeks to hospital hill. sufficient torture.

After last week's training I'm finally feeling like I will survive my upcoming half marathon. My goal is still to run the half in under two hours. Considering my lack of endurance training lately, I'll be happy if I can do that. My current fear is that the hills will cause some major calf cramping, I'm trying to prepare for that in every way possible. So far, so good.

My training is on track. Preparations for the half have been made. Hotel, dinner reservations and other plans are made for the weekend.

Random aside: The race is on the weekend right after anniversary number nine--HOLY WHAT?!--for the Edder and I. Our tradition is to take a trip of some sort for every anniversary. This year we are just going to keep it low key and take the race weekend as our anni celebration. We are saving the big plans for year 10.

Continuing on. New running outfit for race is on order. New (hopefully obnoxious bright yellow or pink) Free's are being shipped from the Nike headquarters outlet this week (thanks to my sister's sister-in-law who works for nike). And my hair is set to be chopped off. I think that covers everything for this race. So basically. BRING IT.


Week Eight of HH Training: 
Monday - 4 Mile Recovery Run
Tuesday - Hot Yoga
Wednesday - 4 Miles
Thursday - 7 Mile Tempo w/ 5 @ 7:45 Pace
(w/ inclines thrown in every half mile. my goal was to put myself through torture to practice for the half's humidity, heat and hills. torture sufficiently doled out. i slept well that night.)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest (had planned on 3 or so miles, ended up doing yardwork instead)
Sunday - 12 Miles

Total Mileage = 27

best part of my day. goose watch 2012.

Mama Goose is still hanging out protecting her eggs right outside an emergency exit at work. Our best guess is that the eggs will hatch in two weeks. In developing news Papa Goose is highly protective, he is starting to dive bomb employees in the parking lot. So then that's a good time.

 

That is all. Because GEESE!!! They're cute.

music. with a side of running.

The past two years have changed my running landscape. From the way I approach running, some insights into why I run, to my running goals and even to my running shoes. I know there is a great debate among runners: to run with music or without. Each side has it's valid reasons.

The passion I have for music is something I am not willing to forsake during a run. I'm finding my niche in running lately, in regards to how I want to run, what works for me, and where to put my boundaries to dictate what I need in my running. In other words: I DO WHAT I WANT (oh wise cartman).

That statement sums up my latest change in running. American culture would likely say that's a selfish way to approach it. They also might say listening to music while running can be dangerous. But as an introvert who needs moments alone each day to keep myself in check and to ensure I'm happiest, I need to run alone sometimes. And I need to run with music.

Plain and simple. For me? Running and music go hand in hand. I can't imagine running without music. It's not even about the distraction for me. It could almost come down to this: I run in order to have time in my day to listen to my music. Uninterrupted.

The great debate about music and running will probably always be an issue. An issue of a runner's safety, of being able to stay in tune with your body, among other reasons. But for me, listening to music while I run makes me feel safe.* It makes me feel happy. It helps me stay more in tune with my body. It helps me express my frustration, my joy or my confusion. It helps me clear my head. It allows me to dwell on the good stuff. Or just plain figure shiz out.


Music is my fuel for running.

So, what's it for you? Music, or no?

*i use my phone as my iPod, so i always have it on me. throw in runs with milo, runner ID, and i feel covered.

three weeks to hospital hill. blissed out.

I'm not exactly sure what my deal is, but the past few weeks have brought a change to my legs. It's like they want to run. Badly. Farther and faster. If I don't run enough or at a certain pace it's like my legs turn into little monsters who refuse to calm down in the evenings. Bizarre.

Even my long run yesterday was something I didn't expect. I've been loathing longer distances but yesterday even after finishing 10 miles (with the last 6 at a pace I'm hoping to keep during the half) my legs weren't done. They were still antsy. I do think it's a fluke, and that it will pass. Until then I'll ride the 'legs just wanna run' wave and see what happens.

Week Seven of HH Training: 
Monday - 4 miles
Tuesday - 5 miles, hills
Wednesday - double yoga, lunch class and evening hot
Thursday - 3 miles with milo
Friday - 5 miles, hills
Saturday - Rest (even though my legs were driving me and the edder both crazy, i couldn't sit still)
Sunday - 10 Miles (four with milo and some friends, six solo at a faster pace)

*my smiley milo blissed out post run, waiting for our starbux treats. 

he is wishing everyone a great running week* 

best part of my day. put a bird on it!

This Mama goose was found outside one of our emergency exits where I work. She is nesting, sitting on her eggs waiting for them to hatch. She won't be disturbed, we are hoping we can see the baby geese.

Because, holy goodness! Can you imagine? I mean, THE FLUFF!!!

Put a Bird On It Watch: Day 1

four weeks to hospital hill.

I'm still in it. The game of training for a half marathon, that is. I'm done with teaching classes for the semester, I'm home for the next month and my body is cooperating. All in all I think I'll be able to run--not race, mind you--the Hospital Hill half well enough. I'm just approaching this as a late spring half marathon to keep my training momentum moving forward into summer. My goal race resides in the fall months, so I want to keep my mileage up and my speed on the downward slope.

In other random, yet running, news. I have my next marathon slated. Finally. Some friends and I, after a lovely break from marathons, will make a return to 26.2 next fall. Chicago 2013. I'm looking forward to it already! I have no intention of running a marathon before then, but never say never.

My running this week is going well, and while I didn't get in much running mileage last week, I'm comfortable with the replacement workouts I had. Short and sweet, that is pretty much all I've got. VERY exciting, obviously.

Week Six of HH Training: 
Monday - 8 Miles
Tuesday - Hot Yoga
Wednesday - 3 Miles
Thursday - Surfing (killer workout), Biking and Walking
Friday - Intense 4 Mile Hike (about three hours)
Saturday - Surfing and Walking
Sunday - Airport people watching, not sure this burned calories

best part of my day.

I'm back from San Diego, where I gorged myself on surfing, hiking, the beach, and of course, Mexican food and Sushi. It was as perfect as a vacation could get for me. I have plenty of killer pictures from my trip, but for now, one of my favorites.

After an intense two-mile hike down to Three Sisters waterfall in the San Diego back country, we took a break next to the waterfall to soak up the sun and the views. Spectacular. We hiked back out and at the end I realized I had just had one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.

More to come!