Thankful Thursday: The NYE Edition

Well folks it's my last Thankful Thursday for the year. Can you believe it's already almost 2010? Me neither! I have had a hell of a year and it's been filled with life's many ups and downs.

Let's see, I got a new job, ran a few small races (wink, wink), started this little (ahem) blog, made tons of news friends, had some dating drama, saw my sister get engaged, and I am sure there is more stuff that I am forgetting. But WOW, what a year!

Speaking of races, my mom got me the BEST Christmas present which is pretty much like a "B.o.B. - this is your running life!" shadow box. She had it custom made and it has room for more medals. In addition, it says "The Best of Beth" at the top and on the bottom is says "Love You, Mom."

All together now....awwwww!

Here it is (I took a very bad photo of it, but you get the gist).

While I definitely think there were more highs than lows in 2009, I am looking forward to 2010 and guess what? I turn the big 3-0 in 2010. And I am not ashamed to admit it and actually look forward to being a bit wiser, I am hoping I wake up on that fateful morning and know the answer to the meaning of life. But, then again, I won't hold my breath on that.

So with all of that said, today, I am thankful for A NEW YEAR!

What are you thankful for today?

Any gangster movies without Joe Pesci?

Remember way back in the day when me and the Gangster hills had it out? I told the hills to suck it and kicked it's butt from here to....to....to about the middle of September. I thought I was a Goodfella, a Wiseguy. But little did I know. After that, I couldn't kick much of anything. I got the whole wonky ankle and didn't run hills for quite some time. Now the hills may not have been the main culprit but I am pretty sure they played a role as big as Al Pacino's mole.

I recently made a return trip to the hills after attempting them on the dread mill. I put in five solid hills, which is the equivalent of five miles. Our hill is a 1/2 mile up - not too steep but steady and then the 1/2 mile or so back down. It's pretty much the only hill in town and it's tough. (Just go back and read the way it spoke to me!) .

The problem here is that I really want to do the hills. I know they make me stronger, sure they are my least favorite run but after each one I feel so accomplished. Unfortunately, after the run last week, my ankle signaled to me the dreaded twinge of re-injury. It saddens me that I may have to quit hills all together some day. Then again, maybe you don't quit the hills, they quit you.

Until that day, I'll be rotating the hills weekly. One week I'll do my hill repeats and the next week I'll just do my race pace run. I will be packing heat to do battle with the hills in form of Tiger Balm and ibuprofen.

I guess this is what I get for taunting the Gangster Hills. I warn you not to make the same mistake I did or you may never "get made." Just like Joe Pesci.

Me again humans!

I am back humans. Didn't think I'd take over again did you? While Mom has been waddling around after various feasts that I have been left out of, I have been developing my master plan to take over this blog.

I am planning on re-naming it and not even mentioning this running thing again. I mean, I run, but more for a purpose. You know what I mean? I run to chase squirrels, cats, other dogs, lizards, my tail, etc. I run to get the best tree to mark. I run to get that food off the floor that Mom dropped. You know, actual good reasons to run. My theme will be on the most important topic of all time. BACON!

Anyway...Mom has been so busy fa-la-la-ing that she didn't even notice I got a bark-operated system on her computer (it's easier than typing with these paws). She didn't even seem to notice when I rolled all over her new running clothes.

My master plan involves...wait hold on....Mom is coming!

Crap. She's on to me. I guess you all will just have to keep suffering through this blog about running. I am sure she is going to drone on and on about her "awesome 16 miler" on Saturday. Yawn.

I gotta go, but I'll be back! And when I return it's going to be ALL BACON ALL THE TIME!

-Lloyd

Merry Christmas!

Guess what I got for Christmas??? Besides, a virus-free computer, my new running shoes arrived! I did what Runner's World said and smelled the box after I opened the outer packaging. Mmmm, the smell of motivation and PR's. They are Asics Gel Kayano 15s if you must know. They will the third pair of these I have owned. Like they say if it ain't broke...

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone. I'll be back in the full swing of blogging after I work my way out of the food coma I plan on putting myself in today and tomorrow. Come Monday it's back to watching what I eat and pounding that pavement (not that I have taken a break from that really). I ran 6 miles today!


Merry Christmas!

Love,

B.o.B. and Lloyd (who is generally un-pleased at having his photo taken. He thinks it steals his soul or some such nonsense.)

The Twelve Weeks of Training

On the first week of training my coach gave to me
an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the second week of training my coach gave to me
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the third week of training my coach gave to me
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the fourth week of training my coach gave to me
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the fifth week of training my coach gave to me
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the sixth week of training my coach gave to me
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the seventh week of training my coach gave to me
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the eighth week of training my coach gave to me
eight cups a-chocolate milking
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the ninth week of training my coach gave to me
nine blisters a-popping
eight cups a-chocolate milking
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the tenth week of training my coach gave to me
ten hills a-climbing
nine blisters a-popping
eight cups a-chocolate milking
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the eleventh week of training my coach gave to me
eleven sprints a-sprinting
ten hills a-climbing
nine blisters a-popping
eight cups a-chocolate milking
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

On the twelfth week of training my coach gave to me
twelve races a-PR'ing
eleven sprints a-sprinting
ten hills a-climbing
nine blisters a-popping
eight cups a-chocolate milking
seven laps a-swimming
six clothes a-layering
five golden blings
four dodging turds
three bib pins
two running gloves
and an ice wrap for my achy knee.

Happy Holidays Runners.

Love,

B.o.B.

H1N1 and Awesomeness

Happy Sunday friends! I hope you all are having lovely weekends. I am. My 14 miler went smoothly and thank the lord P-Funk was there to run 12.85 miles of it with me. She's not in training mode so I really appreciated the company. I swear sometimes we cannot make it through the run because we are laughing so damn much. Unfortunately, Redhead couldn't come to Tampa this weekend, but we've got many runs in our future.

It was windy and cold yesterday along Bayshore but it was definitely worth the short drive to run there. It brought me back to last year's Gasparilla Marathon and helped me mentally prepare for this year's. I see more Bayshore runs in my future.

Last night I had a great time with a special someone. While I don't like to divulge this kind of stuff (call me supersticious) I did get some very cute Vicky's Secret pajamas and yummy lotions. In addition, I maui laui-ed on some Mexican food and played some craptastic Mario Kart on the Wii following a good old fashioned game of putt putt. I pretty much sucked it up at that too. I am going to get better at the Wii, I just need more practice! I was told I was going to get a KUI, that's Karting Under the Influence, because of my crazy driving.

Tonight is one side of my family's Christmas party. I made the most adorable Christmas cookies and can't wait to see my cousins and grandparents. I have some good miles to get in this week so I'll try to behave myself with the food. Then again, don't I get the food since I am adding mileage?

Oh, one more thing. My computer got a virus. It sucks. I am using my roomie's computer right now but if I go silent for a day or so, it's because my PC got it's very own version of the H1N1.

Happy Sunday kiddos.

TGI motha-effin F!

Happy Friday everyone. We are only a few days from Christmas and I wanted to tell you early to have a great one and be safe out there. I know a lot of us run in the early morning and in the evening and this time of year brings out a lot of parties, and thus drinking and driving. So with that in mind, please be extra careful. Headlamps may be the dorkiest thing next to headgear but they could save your life.

*Steps down from soap box*

I have had a great week of training thus far (other than the whole egg incident - You a$$holes!). I am ramping up the mileage slowly but surely and have a 14 miler on deck for tomorrow. My knee and ankle are OK from my tumble down the street and the rest of me seems to be OK too. Well, maybe not my head but that is a whole other post. Wink. Wink.

I am super excited because The Redhead is coming to town! Just like Santa! And she'll be bringing goodies by way of her usual awesomeness. In addition, the BRA is making a special trip to Bayshore for the run. It's such a lovely run along the Bay (duh) and is part of the route for Gasparilla. A little preparation, no?

Have a great weekend you wild and crazy runners you. Ta ta.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for chivalry! Guess what? It's not dead!

The other night during my tempo run in a very cute little residential neighborhood I had an egg thrown at me. Yep. An actual egg was thrown at me by mental midgets. Or kids who just really have nothing better to do. (I am sorry to disappoint you Whitney Houston but I don't believe the children are our future. If so we are in deep sh!t.)

Because I am so speedy (or they had really bad aim) they missed. I am sure they were on their way to feed the homeless or read to blind children and just happened to have a egg they wanted to give me. But then again, there is the distinct possibility that they were headed to the local Gas N Sip to get some 40's.

I was running in between two sets of runners. The speedsters, Coach Tom and Coack EK, in front of me were just far enough to hear me cursing enough to make the Devil blush at these ne'er do wells and slowed to ask what happened. Once I explained they did the awesome nice guy chivalrous thing and decided to finish the run at my side.

Being the gentlemen they are, they let me set the pace and even told me that they "had me covered and protected like a condom." I am a lucky gal to have my very own Trojan Men.

Thanks Coach Tom and Coach EK! You are real gentlemen and I appreciate the fact that you two know how to treat a lady. Even if said lady is cursing like a sailor and sweating like a pig.

What are you thankful for today?

Hot Damn Yoga!

I am sore.

I am not just post tough run lower body sore, I am sore in my back, my arms, my shoulders, my legs. And you wanna know something totally ca-razy? It's from yoga. Bikram's yoga to be more specific. For those of you haven't heard of it, it's also known as hot yoga. I will mostly refer to it from here on out as HOT DAMN YOGA! (I also toyed with calling it sweat-your-ass-off-yoga but that seemed a bit long. Kind of like this post.)

Basically Hot Damn Yoga is a 90 minute class that is done in a room heated to about 100 degrees with a humidity of 40%. It has 27 different postures that you perform either 2 or 3 times with 20 second rests in between each one. Each pose is difficult in itself but when done in a super hot room, it becomes so intense that you could pass out. The instructor of my class said, "If you feel nauseated take a break and lie down. It's normal. If you don't feel nauseated, keep trying maybe it'll happen for you too."

This dude named Bikram Choudhury created it. He has some good thought behind the room being heated and behind doing the postures more than once. I won't get in to all that. You can google that at your leisure.

One of my besties JCru and I discussed doing this class on Sunday while the other bestie went to work. It was actually my idea to try it out and she's usually game for this kind of stuff. We had no idea what to expect. We were told to bring towels and lots of water. We got a tad bit lost on the way there but finally found it.

We went into the class room and set up our mats with our towels on top of them. Apparently, we were going to sweat too much to just be on our mats. I can only imagine sliding around on them like a jelly fish without the towel.

The instructor was a large man who while on the one hand seemed friendly when we got there, became very intense and almost like a drill sargent when he got started. I instantly liked him. (FYI, I love authority and intensity. Especially in a workout!)

The class began with some breathing stuff. Which, as you know, I could do without. Breathing, smeathing, I want to sweat!

Oh don't you worry kids, about 20 minutes in I was sweatier than I was at all of my summer time long runs put together. In fact when we finished JCru and I looked like we had just stepped out of the shower, but not a normal get clean and fresh shower, it was a stinky get stretchy shower. Gnarly! And intense! I love it.

The cool thing about the heated room is that your muscles get so warm that by the third time doing the posture you are like a rubber band. Touch my toes? No problem. Hey look at me! I can wrap my leg around my head! Take that Grandma Moses at the regular yoga!

Now, I am not saying it isn't hard. It is. Extremely. And if you aren't prepared for the intensity of Hot Damn Yoga then stay out of the kitchen. (Heh. Couldn't resist.) Actually at one point I looked at JCru and she mouthed the words "I hate you" to me. I liken this reaction to child birth, not that I have kids, but I imagine it's similar. During the process you hate everyone but after you feel all magical.

The only drawback is that 90 minutes is a little long. But the major plus side to this yoga was that at the end of the class he said, "This is the relaxation portion of the class. When you are done relaxing you may leave."

What now what? No ten minutes of required relaxation?

Oh Hot Damn Yoga, you are the yoga for me.

Cruisin for a bruisin

This has been such a fun weekend. On Friday I attended my work holiday party and then headed to the BRA holiday party. I didn't stay out too late as my 12 miler on Saturday marked the real start of my long runs.

I was tired during the run but managed to make all 12 without a hitch. Overall it was a good run and I rushed home to get changed and packed for my trip to Orlando.

My bestie in O-town was turning 30 and I had to be there for the celebration. This celebration included ice skating, cheese, a beer, a street festival, lots of laughs between three close friends and a rather embarrassing fall in the middle of the street.

Yep. I went ice skating and didn't fall. I didn't fall in the place where it is totally acceptable and even expected for you to fall. I was painfully slow and my ankles hurt from the skates rubbing them, but I did my best geriatric impression around the rink. I kept remarking how it was so stupid of me to be ice skating during marathon training. I mean, I am like a giraffe on ice skates. Tall and lean, yes. Graceful? Not so much. After we finished skating we headed to a little Irish pub, had one beer and then went to the outside street festival. (One. Beer. Keep that in mind.)

As we walked around the street festival there were lots of vendors out and we stopped and chatted with them. We mostly window shopped and caught up on each other's lives. At one point during our stroll my left foot struck the area around a tree that was supposed to have mulch in it but it didn't leaving a slight delcine/hole. And you know I was wearing heels. And then gravity followed.

Down went B.o.B.

I felt myself falling but it was so quick I couldn't stop it. My left ankle rolled and I went down hard on my right knee. My two besties immediately helped and asked how I was. Well, my ankle seemed ok and my knee was smarting, but my ego was bruised all to hell. I will say, I popped up faster than JLo on an awards show.

Once I did a physical check and told my friends I was ok, they proceeded to point and laugh. Quite honestly, that made me feel a lot better. I am sure the entire population of College Park enjoyed the free show. (I'll be here all weekend folks! Try the veal.)

The rest of the evening was great and we finished it up with a chocolate mousse. Yum! This morning my ankle is a little sore but not cause for major alarm and my knee has a nice bruise on it. Ah, it's taking me back to when I was ten and fell in front of my house. I am not clumsy and not a "faller" but when I do, I like to go big. (Remember the bicycle incident?)

I really wanted to try Bikram yoga while I was here with my girls, so JCru and I headed to a class this morning. I have a whole post on that coming. Stay tuned.

Hope you all had great weekends and watch out for those tree planters!

Thankful Thursday

Basically every week at about 3 PM on Wednesday I either have my Thankful Thursday idea burning to get out of my fingers and onto the computer or I am thinking, "Well sh!t. What is a good Thankful Thursday topic?"

Unfortunately for you dear bloggies, this was one of those Wednesdays. That's not to say that I am ungrateful for all of the wonderful things in my life, but I like Thankful Thursday to be more than the obvious (health, family, friends, Lloyd being potty trained, etc.). I like them to make you laugh, smile, and think. (Remember the time I made you all think about bikini waxes? Ahhh. That was fun wasn't it?)

I dug deep today for what I am thankful for. What cannot I not live without? What is my passion? And then, like a shooting star right in my a$$, it was there. It was so simple and staring me in the face that I felt a little silly for not posting it before. I do this 5 days a week. No, not that. (PERV ALERT!) I started a blog about it. I obsess about it. You see where I am going here don't you? (If not you might need to hop on the short bus to your next marathon starting line.)

It keeps me in shape. It keeps me thin. It keeps me heart healthy. It's lead me to new friends. It's lead me to this wonderful blog-o-sphere. It's given me a sense of pride. It's helped me find a strength of conviction I didn't know I had. It's made me a competitor. It's shown me what real dedication is. It's shown me true athletes come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. It has changed my life. It's made me a leader. It helped me understand what a true passion for something is. It showed me that I can do anything I set my mind (and a little training) to. It's helped me listen to others as well as my own body. It's humbled me. It's strengthened me. It's made me laugh. It's made me cry. It keeps my ego in check. It grounds me. It pushes me. It's brings me bling. It keeps me happy. It keeps me sane.

Today, I am thankful for running.

What are you thankful for today?

Rest

Good morning! Happy HUMPY Day. Heh. (Perv alert!)

Just a quick point of clarification for you all, my dear bloggy friends. When I posted The Plan yesterday a lot of you were concerned about my rest days. Fear not, two of the days that I have as recovery runs or cross training days are also optional rest days. And you can bet your sweet heiny that I'll be cashing some of those in.

It's very awesome that you all picked up on that and wanted to make sure little ole B.o.B. here made it healthily to the start line.

That my friends is why I love you all.

Go forth and prosper! Happy HUMPY DAY! (Perv alert! Again!)

Hills on mills

Last night I ran a great 5 miler on the ole 'mill. Since I had to work late on Sunday night I didn't get up early enough to take on those dang Gangster hills. I did however attempt hills on the treadmill.

Ah, the hilarity.

I basically got up to speed on the moving belt and then hit the incline button. Let me say this, running hills on a treadmill can be dangerous. On an actual hill it's much easier to just slow down. If you slow down on a treadmill you are more than likely going to bust your butt. I did not fall but there was a few moments where I thought I might. Luckily, the gym was empty. (Fatties in my complex were all at home.)

Hopefully this will be the last week that I have to do hills on the 'mill. I plan on heading out to the actual hills in the mornings from now on. It's going to be tough, but I've figured out how to get my workouts in on the days that I can't make them in the evening. Here's a quick rundown:

Mon. - AM Hills
Tues. - PM Recovery Run
Wed. - AM Tempo/Speedwork
Thurs. - AM Medium Long Run
Fri. - AM Recovery Run or Crosstrain (Optional)
Sat. - AM Long Run
Sun. - PM Recovery Run or Crosstrain

I trust that you all will help keep me honest and on it. I've got my game face on now people.

BTW, my new favorite "power" song is Bamboo Banga by M.I.A. Check it out here. It's a very different song but the tempo is good and so is the line "Road runner, road runner, going 100 miles per hour...."

Happy Tuesday folks. Git er done!

Weekend Report or Don't Hit on Strippers

Whoa what a busy weekend I had! On Friday night a few friends and I had a little baking party. I made some cookies for the Gator game on Saturday.

Yeah, we all know how that game went. Not. Happy.

Although, I did have a great time watching the game with friends and pretty much ate myself into a food coma. Prior to the game on Saturday I did a 4 mile tempo run and worked from 10AM to 2PM. Again, super busy weekend.

On Sunday, I woke up bright and early for the Brandon Half and 5K. It was a very fun event to be a part of, even if I didn't get assigned to a water station. Could that have been due to my utter fail at the Shamrock 5K last year? Possible. (In case you don't remember, no one wanted my water! Heh heh.)

I got a pleasant surprise from John Steelbuns who showed up with delish Starbucks coffee for me.

Here is a shot of a few of the BRA members post race. I'll give you line up of the cast of characters I usually mention in this blog.

From the left: Me, John Steelbuns, Speedy Jess, The Original Scott R., P-Funk, and Mini-V.
After the race I did a little napping, a little Target shopping, and then I headed to the second job to work VIP for The Derek Trucks Band show. I'd like to make a special note on this to my male readers. If you go to a bar and the women who work there are nice to you, more than likely it's because they are paid to do so. Seriously. It's like hitting on a stripper. I don't know what was going on at this show in particular but the guys were out of control. It was an older hippy-ish crowd so maybe they were just really feeling the love. That or I just looked super hot. LOL!

Have a great Monday all. I have big running goals to meet for the week as I increase my mileage and work on that elusive marathon of my dreams.

The Orange and Blue Post

Gooooood morning everyone! I just got back from a short tempo run and have to head in to the office for a few hours. We have a mandatory Saturday, but it's not bad at all and I appreciate the opportunity for over time pay. Woot!

I got more on track this week then I thought I would due to this stupid cold. It's almost gone, just some residual snot. Uh, sorry. That was gross.

Anyway, I have a great weekend planned. I have the SEC game to watch with some friends after work (I made Gator cookies!) and then tomorrow I'll be volunteering at the BRA sponsored Brandon 5K and Half Marathon.

I volunteered at a 5K last March and enjoyed handing out water to the athletes. I hope I get a water station tomorrow as well. I'll be sure to take some photos and get them up soon.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

GO GATORS!

The Plan

My official training for my third/first marathon, Gasparilla here in Tampa, has begun. As I mentioned before I am calling this my first marathon since I consider the other two trial runs. Here's a brief rundown on those:

Trial Run #1
Picture it, Orlando, January 2009, an under-trained B.o.B. gearing up to take on The Mouse. She only trained for a good 7 weeks and was told by various (READ: smart) coaches to not do it. But ignorance (and ego) is bliss and off she went. She finished in 5:17. In. Sheer. Total. Agony. It was a marathon shuffle the likes of which had never been seen. Remember that scene in Vacation, where Chevy Chase is trudging through the desert? Well, it was worse.

Our little B.o.B. could not have her only marathon be that one, so since she built up the mileage she thought, "what the hell, I'll do Gasparilla in a couple of months."

Trial Run #2
Picture it, a rainy, cold day in the beginning of March 2009, our silly little B.o.B. shows up for the Gasparilla Marathon not sure what to expect. She's had a couple extra months of training and long runs and may make this her last marathon should she be pleased with it at the end.

It downpours.

She looks like a drowned rat at the finish, but ran a better time at 4:45. While happier with her time, she is sore as all get out and moving around like Sophia Petrillo from Golden Girls for the next three days. This will not be her last go round with the 26.2.

The Plan
This brings us to today. You all know I was in training for MCM when I got tendinitis. Boy, that sucked. But I am back to full health (other than the snot rockets from this stupid cold).

My new training plan is a bit less aggressive than the plan I was using before. While that plan certainly helped me get faster, it may have been too much for me. I have a bit less mileage in this one and can run 4 or 5 days instead of the 6 I was averaging before.

Thankfully, it still involves my hills (I'm coming for you Gangster!) and joy, of all joys, speed work!

With my new job and it's later hours I am going to have to move stuff around to get all my training in. And by stuff, I mean my ass. Like, get it out of bed earlier on some days. Ugh, I hate the AM training. Oh well. For the redemption marathon, it'll be worth it.

Happy Hump Day ladies and gents, get at 'em!

Sickey Update

Just a little quick update to let you know I am alive. I still have the sniffles but am over all feeling much, much better. Thanks for all of the get well wishes!

Yesterday started my first week of training for the Gasparilla Marathon. Also known as my first marathon. What? Ok, fine it's my third marathon, but I think the first two were just really trial runs. Heh.

I plan on letting you all in on The Plan as soon as I have more time to write.

Happy Tuesday and even happier running! Go get 'em tigers!