"Dash" for Donation

This morning's half-marathon Dash for Donation in Columbus felt more like a "Drag Yourself 13.1 miles" for Donation. There was not a whole lot of dashing going on. Em and I headed up to Columbus Friday night for a pre-race carb fest with Suz and Anita. We had a super fun dinner with my Mom and aunt. Then it was early to bed for our 5:30am wake-up call. After a horrid night of sleep (paranoid about not waking up in time), I popped out of bed in the early hours and prepared for the race.

I was really excited about my race outfit. After the disaster of my Blast outfit (see earlier posts) I wanted to be sure I made some better choices. The race started at 7am (EARLY) so I thought it would still be cool enough to run in a t-shirt rather than a tank. Back in our Flying Pig days, the wonderfully talented MA* made running tees that are amazing (lack of the proper cord prevents me from posting a pic). The shirts are white v-neck C-9 moisture wicking from Target. On the front is the CinWeekly logo, with As Seen In CinWeekly, as a nod to our CinWeekly blog. On the back she hand-drew the logos for all our favy-fave running products: ipod, honey stinger, gu, g2, and sport beans. The shirt is amazing (thank you MA*) and I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to rock it in a race. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of it's race day appearance because Em and I were too tired at 6am to think of bringing a camera and this minimalist race did NOT include photographers (secretly grateful after the Blast disast).

I was prepared with a cute outfit and a fairly optimistic attitude going into the 13.1. Just before the race started they announced it was actually a loop course WITH a turn around. So basically we ran out on a course, did a turn-around, ran back on the course, looped around and did the entire thing again. PAINFUL! I am such a mental runner that running the same course basically 4 times is NOT something I can get excited about. I held on strong for the first loop, but after 6.5 I just couldn't get confident about the course. I ended up finishing in decent time, especially considering how low my spirits were. It was a TOUGH course, though very pretty in the parts where we ran along the river. But I am not sure I would want to do this race again. The best part about the Pig was that it was one BIG loop, no backtracking. I have seen other marathons which have more doubling-back (I think Nashville might be like this) and it makes me nervous. Either I have to find a way to keep my confidence up going into round TWO on a course, or I have to avoid these situations in the future.

Either way in the end, I finished my half-marathon, I got a rather ugly Dash for Donation tee, and I earned myself TWO rest days. Tonight going out for the first time in ages, woohoo! And tomorrow a little culture when I attend the opera, ooh-la-la.

Hug-A-Lung

My main goal in training for and participating in the Chicago Marathon on October 12 is to raise money for Team Lungevity. My goal is to raise $500 to donate to lung cancer research. I know the marathon is still weeks away (I just started week 7 out of 18 training weeks), but I would really like to raise as much money as possible. One way to raise money is to plan a special event fundraiser (more details on that at a later time). For now I am still in the "beg my loved ones, friends and family" phase of gathering donations. I thought it might be fun to create a mailer to remind people about the training, blog and donating to Team Lungevity. I used my best librarian research skills and googled "cute lung picture". This photo was by far the winner! Look at these cute plush lungs. Check out the iheartguts website for more plush internal organs. Who doesn't want to snuggle up with a nice pair of lungs on a stormy night.

I love the lung-olays, but the Heart of Gold is pretty precious as well (and a v. cheesey romantical type gift idea).

One of these days I will actually send out some sort of mailer, but for now if you have a few extra dollas, please donate some of them to Team Lungevity. I had planned to donate my proceeds from Saturday's yard sale to Team L, but my profits ($11.50) were spent instead on anti-depression meds to help recover from the horror that was the world's worst yard sale. See Emily's post for more information.

If anyone has any great fundraising ideas please let me know. I am the Girl Scout who never got a cookie badge because it required us to sell a minimum of 7 boxes, I quota that my sales skills rendered me unable to reach. Sad, but true. Hoping I have much more success for Team Lungevity than I did for the girls in green.

I'm In Love With A Boy

Gavin DeGraw had a concert at Bogart's on Wednesday night. Fun times! Attending this concert was about the only thing that got me through a 6 mile run in 95 degree heat with unbearable humidity.

In yet another mark of the transition to me being an old lady (previous examples include: my new obsession with iced tea, requiring a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night, no longer watching The Real World), Em and I arrived at the concert after the opening act. In early days we would arrive at concerts HOURS early to secure our front row location. This day we gladly settled into a spot at the back of the room. And I think we may have been missing out by pushing our way to the front of crowds for all those years. The back was absolutely fantastic. We were far enough away that we could actually see Gavin, rather than just the head of the person wedged directly in front of you. We were not hot and sweaty, though the place still reeked of other sweaty beasts. And best of all we had plenty of room to DANCE to the fabulous Gavin setlist. The concert was really fun, Gavin sounded amazing and he played a great selection of songs from both albums. I know I'm not known for having the best musical taste, but you really should check out Gavin's music.

Marathon training continues. Week 6 is almost over. The last week of 3-6-3, I will be sad to see that routine end. A short step-back of 9 miles on Saturday. Planning to run before sunrise tomorrow morning, hope I can drag myself out of bed. And next week starts a 4-7-4 routine, ending with a half marathon on Saturday in Columbus. So, I need to plan out a 4 mile routine that I can face running twice a week for the next few weeks. I guess the ol' 3 miler was getting a bit boring. Highlight of the week was almost running into a freshly paved sidewalk section. There were cones, I thought I could ignore them, I stopped just short of sinking into the concrete and I did get heckled by the pavers. Embarrassing!

This Situations Driving Me Crazy...

To listen to the BEST running song of the summer visit Danity Kane's website. This song has seriously helped me get out of my running rut. I also downloaded a new precious gem from my girl, Miley Cyrus; but I haven't managed to listen to it yet because I cannot stop hitting repeat on "Damaged." What is not to love about this song: first aid kits, d-a-m-a-g-e-d (I have a love for all songs involving spelling), and broken hearts; all SERIOUS running motivators.

I have had a very successful running week. 9 miles in impossibly HOT temps on Monday, a somewhat sluggish 3 miler before work on Tuesday, 6 really quality miles with Em on Wednesday evening, and another 3 mile loop around HP on Thursday night. No long run today as I was still in recovery from the fabulous Brad Paisley concert last night and I had an unexpected 9:30am work shift this morning. That means a 12 mile run to start my Sunday. Hoping the 12 isn't too rough and that it gives me confidence going into the Dash for Donation half-marathon on July 26.

Thank You Mister Photographer Man

When I received the link to the Blast photos (see horrid pic from last blog entry) I was horrified! The thought that anyone visiting the photography site need merely to type in my name to find photograph evidence of the MOST embarassing run of my life was humiliating. So I did what I thought any girl trying to protect her dignity would do, I emailed the company and begged to have the photographs removed from the site. With a wish and a prayer I sent my request out into the email world and I hoped for the best. Here is how it all went down...

(My email to Customer Service):
Is there anyway I can have my photos removed from the site? They are truly the most hideous pictures of me I have ever seen. I blame myself for the tragic outfit choice, but I would love to have my photos de-tagged so that others do not have to witness these horrifying images. I really appreciate any help you can give!!!

(Customer Service Reply):
Hello,
Thank you for your email. We can delete your images from our website, but once they are deleted, they are permanently gone and cannot be retrieved. Also, we cannot delete all photo's if other people are in the picture with you. Please provide the photo id numbers of the photo's you would like to have removed.
Best Regards,
Shay

Customer Service

(My Reply):
Shay,
THANK YOU so much for your help.The photos I would like to have removed are: (photo id numbers have been removed from this email to protect my dignity, err, i mean, identity). I really appreciate you helping me out with this. I promise to wear a better outfit and SMILE for the cameras during my next race.
Thank you,
Lindsey

So, I would say I learned a lot with this experience. First off, it never hurts to at least ASK for what you want. Second, Shay is my favoritey-fav person of the week. Third, carefully consider all race-day wardrobe decisions.... the camera is always watching.

If It's Broke, You Better Fix It

This is a picture of a broken runner. This photo was taken of me (with Indy) just before the finish line at the Blast. Probably one of the WORST racing photos ever taken. Even the marathon pictures look better than this (mostly because Emily had an eagle-eye out for photographers and would remind me to SMILE for all the marathon picture spots). This picture marks the last time I have run. Meaning I have not laced up the ol' GOLD sauconys in 8 days. Unacceptable, but is has felt unavoidable.

Looking at this picture helps explain things a bit. Those 4 miles of the Blast were rough. I finished, I was happy with my time, but it was not easy. I guess my expressions says it all. Does this look like a girl who could keep going for 22.2 more miles? No sir. So, I took a week off. I had a pity party, each day I promised myself I would run, and each day I found excuses to justify not doing it: heat, rain, humidity, too early, too late, too tired; the list is never ending. But it has to end. Because the marathon is October 12 and there is no way I will not be there.

So, the running strike ends. I have a run planned with Em after work today. And a run planned for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The reward: Brad Paisley Concert on Friday night. And then another run on Saturday or Sunday. I think I might need to blog each day this week to keep myself accountable. But I think I will settle for getting my runs in and see how often I can blog (I don't want to completely overwhelm myself). Any encouragement is welcome! I mean we all fall off the wagon now and again, right?

Blast It

This past weekend I participated in the Hyde Park Blast. It is difficult to decide which of the two main activities is my favorite; the 4 mile run followed by kegs n' eggs or the evening block party complete with $3.50 draft beers, local Hyde Park food, and some of my favorite friends. Luckily for any readers the only picture of me taken during the festivities was at the Block Party. All camera lenses would have been shattered by either my pre-race 7am sleepy face or my post-race 8:39:46am sweaty, disgusting, hyperventilating face. This picture was captured by a CinWeekly photographer at the block party (he claimed to not recognize the ever-so-famous Pig Bloggers). Gathered together for the Block Party on Saturday night are: Wes, me, Liz, Em, Casey, Eldrich, and Vanessa. It was a great ending to another fun Blast weekend.

My only goal this year was to beat my Blast time last year. At this time last year I was still rocking an arm cast (a result of a rather embarassing dancing accident at a Memorial Weekend wedding after-party). Due to the cast I hadn't been running much that summer and the best time I could manage was a 40:57. Surely a marathon runner could do better? Well, maybe not. Given my laziness during the month of May, the extreme temperatures, and the doggie drama (see Em's blog) I was hoping for the best, but not expecting much. Despite all the various problems, delays, and potty breaks (for Indy, not for me) I was very happy to finish in 39:46. A big thanks to Huey for pulling me through a sub-9 first mile and Indy for keeping me going through the next 3.

Next up is "basic training" until a half-marathon in Columbus on July 26. I remember how excited and proud I felt after my first 13 mile run in Flying Pig marathon training. I can only hope I will be at the same place (both mentally and physically) when I attempt that same distance on the 26th. The summer sun is definitely adding challenges to this marathon schedule. I never would have guessed it, but it turns out I am more a cold weather girl than I thought. Bring on the February long runs in tighty-tights, I can't handle this hot weather!