No Television Weekend

Too busy over the weekend to even think about turning on the TV. Found that I have gained an extra hour of sleep by not watching television while eating breakfast. I hope Joe and Mika (hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe) don't mind. The extra hour of sleep is quite an enticement to make a ban on morning television permanent.

Skipping Adult Swim on Sunday allowed me to enjoy other activities. I made it to bed at a decent hour and even managed to write a couple of gags.

Still transitioning to the laptop. I need to get my contacts and some e-mails from the old computer. I updated my cartoon using Dreamweaver and managed to set up a site with FTP successfully on the first attempt. I have been using Notepad with a little help from FrontPage. I really like auto thumbnail.

Skipping the gym tonight to rest after the Armadillo Dash. My quads are a little sore. If it is not too cold I will take Loki for a walk.

Armadillo Dash Results

My results from the 2009 Armadillo Dash 1/2 Marathon:

Chip time: 02:08:49
Gun time: 02:09:21
Gender: F
Event: Half Marathon
Division: F 40-44
Place in Division: 13 (out of 27)
Overall place: 344 (out of 604)
Age: 40
Place in Gender: 150
Average Pace: 9:50/M

Comparisons:
Male Winner: 01:16:17
Female Winner: 01:21:55
Field Average: 02:11:00
Linda Causey: 02:08:49 - 344 of 604 finishers & faster than 171 women.
Gender Average: 02:18:00
Half Marathon F 40-44 Average: 02:19:00

2:08:49 is a personal record.

Photos are on Flickr.com. Search ARMD09

Exercise Log: February 22 - 28

This week I ran, walked and biked 42.67 miles, burned 4222.9 calories and 140.4 pounds.

Sunday: ran 12.53 miles in 2:11:41
Monday: ran 3.48 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: biked 3.78 miles in 15:00
Wednesday: ran 8.39 miles in 1:27:26
Saturday: ran 3.62 miles in 35:33

Tomorrow I run in the Armadillo Dash 1/2 Marathon. I will attempt to maintain a 10:45 min/mile pace.

For those running Armadillo, Walter will post photos on Flickr.com. Search ARMD09

Exercise Log: January 4 - 10

This week I walked, ran and cycled 36.36 miles, burned 3541.1 calories and weigh 144.1 pounds.

Running and cycling:
Monday: ran 3.25 miles in 35:00
Tuesday: cycled 5.92 miles in 27:00
Wednesday: ran 5.35 miles in 57:01
Saturday: ran 6.30 miles in 1:05:54

Push ups:
January 4 - exhaustion test: 35
January 6 - max: 27, 103 total
January 8 - max: 30, 105 total

Crunches:
January 4 - initial test: 75
January 6 - max: 33, 123 total
January 8 - max: 41, 155 total

I will do the third set of push ups and crunches on Sunday.

I have entered the 3rd Annual Armadillo Dash Half Marathon (March 1) and the Big D Texas Marathon (April 5). I'm training for Big D and will run Armadillo as one of my long runs. I will have moved into a different age group by April 5. I will make the transition on February 21 so I will also run Armadillo in my new age group.

Surprised that I'm looking forward to turning 40. May have something to do with my level of fitness and the ease in which I was able to maintain a 10:30 min/mile on my run this morning. I felt I could have gone another 6.

Official Time

My official Armadillo Dash time: 02:47:54, placed 28th in my division (out of 28), placed 354 out of 399 overall. Total pace of 12:49 minutes per mile. I'm Sofa King Fast.

Armadillo Dash

According to the time I took myself, I ran the Armadillo Dash Half Marathon in 2:48:03. Official time may differ. If I want to to improve my time I will need to train specifically for these events rather than just signing up and running. I'm proud of the progress I've made in my own physical fitness that I can just sign up and run in a half marathon. I ran preceding two half marathons but nothing over 3.5 miles, just my normal non-training running.

Here are a few pictures my husband took:
Crossing the start line. I'm the one in the yellow shirt and shades.
In the final stretch.
Walter says hi and I look.
Trying to force my body to go a bit faster in this final stretch. It was a gorgeous day - high temp of 72 degrees F. A bit windy.

More pictures that Walter took from the 2008 Armadillo Dash can be found on Flickr at this URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22287142@N02/sets/72157603976180446/

For the first time I bled at a race. I felt my toenail on my fourth toe rub against my third toe. I noticed it but did not think much of it. When I came home Walter helped me take off my shoes and noticed a bit of blood on my right shoe. The sock had bloodstains and when the sock came off my third and fourth toes were covered in blood. With all that blood I expected a rather large gash. The wound is only about 5mm but boy did the blood flow. I will need to trim that toenail.

Exercise Log

This week I ran, rowed and biked 10.25 miles, burned 970.9 calories and weigh 167.1 pounds.

Monday - rowed 1.33 miles in 10:00
Tuesday - ran 3.20 miles in 35:00
Wednesday - biked 2.65 miles in 15:00
Friday - ran 3.07 miles in 36:16

I picked up my packet for the Armadillo Dash Half Marathon and will race tomorrow. The weather will be perfect for a race.

Drunken lemurs write better

In a CIA secret prison, an operative, while under the supervision of a doctor, reads Mary Worth's dialogue to an unlawful enemy combatant repeatedly. The doctor insures that the interrogator does not go to far.

Mary's expression in panel two indicates that she does not believe her own platitude. Mary would not know inner growth even if it burst forth from her chest like an alien and announced itself by screaming, "I'm inner growth, bitch!", then defecated in the gaping hole in her chest and ran away to the Junction Cafe to enjoy a giant golden floating donut.

Jeff realizes that he cannot kill Mary so resigns himself to drinking himself to death. He will never go back to the work that nourishes his soul. Mary won't allow it. Mary does not allow anyone in her world to do real good, she just allows going through the motions.

Jeff wonders if the illness he got in Vietnam killed him and he is in hell or at least in purgatory.

English teachers, challenge your students to diagram this sentence:

Drew, I heard that soul mates are not always two people who live happily ever after but instead, they are those who can lead each other to the necessary lessons for the greatest inner growth!

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Last night, watched Spirit of the Marathon. Check it out if it comes to a theater or NetFlix. A very inspiring movie. A good movie to watch before the Armadillo Dash.

Exercise Log

Did not update cartoons because of thunderstorms over the past two days.

This week I ran, rowed and cycled 22.68 miles, burned 1389.2 calories and weigh 169.7 pounds. Tracking my food on Spark People has really helped me become more mindful of what I eat.

Monday: Bike - 3.01 miles in 15:00
Tuesday: Run - 3.27 miles in 35:00
Wednesday: Row - 1.29 miles in 10:00
Friday: Bike - 3.92 miles in 20:00
Saturday: Row - 3.17 miles in 25:00, Bike - 5.72 miles in 30:00, Run - 2.30 miles in 30:00
On the run I started at my planned speed but then I felt a sharp pain on the inside of my left knee so I slowed down until the pain went away. I then slowly worked my way up to speed and the pain did not return. I stretched a bit too far on Friday and that hurt my knee a bit. I needed more recovery time.

Next week's plan:
Monday - row and strength training
Tuesday - 30 minute run
Wednesday - bike and strength training
Thursday - celebrating my birthday - try to see Spirit of the Marathon
Friday - 30 minute run
Sunday - Armadillo Dash Half Marathon

Exercise Log

This week I ran, biked and rowed 20.62 miles, burned 1542.9 calories and weigh 171.1 pounds.

Monday: rowed 1.34 miles in 10:00
Tuesday: ran 3.32 miles in 35:00
Wednesday: biked 3.10 in 15:00
Friday: ran 1.33 miles in 20:00
Saturday: rowed 3.18 miles in 25:00, biked 5.75 miles in 30:00 and ran 2.60 miles in 30:00

Next week's plan:
Monday: Cycling and weight training
Tuesday: 30 minute run
Wednesday: Rowing and weight training
Friday: Cycling and weight training
Saturday: rowing, cycling and running 25 minutes each

Skipping Thursday for Valentine's Day.

I plan to run in the Armadillo Dash, a local half marathon, on February 24th.

Official results from the Armadillo Dash 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles):
46th out of 66 in age/ sex group (30 - 39 Female)
470th place overall
Chip Time: 2:23:15
Gun Time: 2:23:25.6
Pace: 10:56/M

I guess the sinus congestion did not affect my performance as much as I thought it would. This is the fastest pace that I have maintained in a race. It would be cool to be able to hold that pace for a full marathon. Something to work toward.

I beat my time goal (2:30:00) for the Armadillo Dash (2:23:XX) 1/2 Marathon by 7 minutes, according to the gun time. I was toward the front of the starting crowd so there might be a second or two between gun and chip.

It was a great day for a run. My cold did not affect my performance as much as I thought it would. I'm not sure what consequences I will pay later for running in cold weather and with a cold.

Right now, I'm a little stopped up and I have a sinus headache. My legs are a bit sore. Some Advil should take care of the sore legs and headache. I did have a nice long rest.

Seems a little surreal, running a long race and then coming home and sleeping in my own bed before noon.

About 1,000 runners participated in the races (5K and 1/2 marathon - 13.1 miles). That was 500 more than anticipated by the race directors. It shows that Bryan/College Station can support a long distance race and people want to participate. There were people from Austin and Houston and other parts of Texas running in this race and a few from other states. I hope this event gets bigger and better.

They ran out of medals by the time I crossed the finish line but I did get my shirt. I can get my medal later.

There is a local 10K in April (Run Through the Vines) that I want to participate in. I'm still thinking about an October marathon in Waco.

This week I ran 9.32 miles, burned 1127.3 calories and weigh 169.2 pounds.

Tuesday: 5.05 miles in 55:00
Thursday: 4.27 miles in 55:00

Tomorrow, I will be running in the Armadillo Dash 1/2 Marathon. There will be up to 1,000 runners. Not bad for a first time event. I hope the timing chip pick up goes smoothly.

My sinuses are still a bit stopped up. Mentally, I feel foggy. Running helps clear out some of the fog so I should be able to run tomorrow. I might have to re-evaluate my goal time (2:30:00); not run as fast as I intended.

I plan on resting and drinking lots of fluids today. May take Loki to the dog park. It is such a beautiful day.