Am I Lying? Maybe.

So, here’s the thing about having a blog when you are training for a marathon. From time to time, you don’t really feel like training for a marathon. Let’s say it’s been raining for about a century and your favorite TV show ever is down to 14 really awesome competitors, and people keep expecting you to show up to work and stay there ALL DAY … you get the idea. Over the last few days, I’ve been feeling more like training for an eating contest. (I would also be up for a hula hoopin contest, if anyone’s interested. But be warned, I’m good.)

Oh, so my point was that all of my awesome friends and family now see me and think “oh, that’s Daphne. She’s training for a marathon,” and then they ask me about it. Ultimately, this is how those clever trainers keep us from backing out. They are geniuses, because I would basically rather go out with one of those guys who sleeps outside the Uptown Theater the night before a hobbit movie even though they can buy tickets online than have to say “Oh, the marathon? Yeah, that was too hard, so I quit.”

Bottom line: if I quit, I plan to lie about it.

It's true, everything I say from here on out is totally in doubt. But here's the update, if you can believe it: Saturday's run is 10 miles! I'm kind of looking forward to this, because there are a lot of people in the program for whom this will be their first venture into the double digits. I think that will make it really fun. I hope it's not raining at that point, but I'm basically resigned to an underwater life now.

For those of you who want to look like me

Nothing like a couple of 2 hour commutes in a row to get you rethinking your career goals. I’m now on the lookout for a job that can be done from, say, my living room. Or the Starbucks up the street. Or in a city with some sort of drainage function. Anyway, I will complete my bitching with this slide show of the road I typically take to work.

Whew, ok, I think that’s passed. As promised, here are some of my running must haves. This is like “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” except for non-billionaires who run a lot (not that Oprah doesn’t run. In fact, she did a marathon before we did. Rock on, Oprah.)

These are my favorite shorts, which I bought last weekend. They are super soft, and they sit slightly lower than other running shorts, but not jailbait low or anything. I want more of them.

Here is the water belt that I love and the water belt that I hate. There are several reasons for hating the latter belt, not the least of which is that you have to drink from this abomination like a weird baby bottle. Ew. Huge bonus on the new belt is a little pocket that can hold my ipod, which I prefer over strapping it to my arm.

I think the best tops are Under Armour, but they are expensive. I don’t know how much y’all want to talk about my underthings and whatnot, but let’s just leave it at that I am somewhat of a Champion girl, although not always.

Lately, I am on the prowl for stuff to hold back my bangs (was this a problem in the 80s?). I used to clip in about 7,000 little barrettes, but my pride got the best of me. Now I use a head band like girls in private school wear, but that’s probably not a permanent solution. Suggestions encouraged.

Oh, one more thing, I liked the idea of wristbands that one can use to mop one’s brow and such, but I hated how big and sort of confining they are. But then I found out about bicep bands! I don't really know how or why these things are actually supposed to be used, but they make a much smaller and looser wrist band. Also, I felt kind of hard core buying them, because I think they are football-related. Hot.

Today could certainly rock more

So, this is shaping up to be one freaking doozy of a crappy-ass day. I won’t get into it now, but Mayor Williams, if you are reading this, here’s the thing: RAIN SHOULD NOT SHUT DOWN A CITY. I don’t even know if it should shut down a shuttle launch, but it definitely, definitely should not bring the capital of the free world to a grinding halt. Ok? Thanks.

I had a great weekend! Huge props to Mom, who was visiting me and ran six of the nine miles in my training run Saturday. Which reminds me, I ran nine miles this weekend! Also, I replaced my horrible water belt with a really comfortable one. I’m not going to say I chose the new belt because it was cuter, but it certainly didn’t hurt. Now that I am wearing workout clothes about 20 percent of my waking life, I simply do not think it’s too much to ask that it, well, accentuate the positive.

Ok, so I have more to say, but I have to, like, work. I hope to add some stuff tonight, like some links that might be useful and an extension of the very light treatment given above of running fashion. Till then.

It's a zoo out there

First of all, did you guys ever notice that the song "Eye of the Tiger" adds significance to anything you are doing? Because it is on my ipod running mix (and everybody else's on earth), sometimes it will come on when I'm driving or grocery shopping or whatever.

So, you'll be minding your own business, unloading the dishwasher with headphones on, and you hear that dramatic "DUN. DUN-DUN-DUN." Suddenly you are sorting forks and knives with purpose! You are still putting away dishes, but it's more like you are putting away dishes HARD CORE! Anyway, I digress.

Great news! I was about to write that I was really bummed that I failed to complete the 4-mile training run scheduled for yesterday, but I just mapped it and guess what? I was wrong! I did run 4 miles! It was really miserable and ickly hot, but according to my calculations, I gave up right where I was supposed to give up! Which, obviously, isn't really giving up at all!

That said, Saturday's run is nine freakin miles. Blech.

In other news, I am holding my first fundraiser on July 6. I think I will send out this invitation tomorrow. I am also trying to think of some stuff to raffle off. Charlotte brilliantly suggested that I sell my personal running mix CDs for $5 donations.

Still no decision on which race to run. I'll be in touch.

Major Decision

I don't know if all of y'all are aware of what a BIG DEAL Halloween is to me. It might be easiest to show how seriously serious I am about the date with pictures:

2003 -- This picture was taken before the costume was finished. If you had seen me out that night, you would have been treated to a massive knife in my chest, with lots of blood. That went over big.

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2004 -- Champagne. It's hard to see all the brilliance of the costume here. I have a cork on a necklace, and my boa has small champagne flutes hanging from it. There's also an abundance of glitter and celebratory remnants in my hair.

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2005 -- Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe. See? Now you love Halloween, too.

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I tell you this to help you understand what a major, major sacrifice it was for me to agree to do the Marine Corps Marathon, which is on the Sunday before Halloween. All the events I will want to attend would be the night before my favorite night of the year, and I would miss it all. Or so I thought.

The Nike Women's Marathon is the week before, in San Francisco. So, I will share with you my internal struggle deciding which race to run. Anti-MCM arguments are orange, pro-MCM arguments are green.

Marine Corps vs. Nike Women's

1. MCM will ruin Halloween, 2006. It is has been noted that "it's only one year." Well, how about I take your raison d'etre away for one year, eh? That's right, no Trekky convention 2006 for you. How does it feel?
2. NWM is really, really hilly. I am excited to be running a marathon, but I'm not sure making it harder is a good idea. To me, hills sound like a very bad thing.
3. I would have a much bigger cheering section here in DC. The idea of having people I know all along the route sounds really motivating. What could be more motivating than the prospect of humiliation?
4. San Francisco would be really fun. I've heard that it is a totally different experience to travel with the program. We'd be a crew. It would be special and heartwarming, yadda yadda.

5. Nike Women's requires far more fundraising -- another $1,600, to be exact, because TNT covers all of your expenses, like flying there and sleeping indoors and stuff. I think I could do it, but I don't love the idea of it hanging over my head. (To preserve the NWM option, I have boosted my fundraising goal on the other page. I can bring it back down if I decide to go with the Marine Corps Option)
6. Nike Women's is likely to be chilly – I like the sound of that.
7. Ok, I’m not going to lie. The fact that you get a Tiffany necklace at the finish is, well, let’s call it icing on the cake. And sometimes, it kinda seems like the whole cake. It’s just so dang cute! Am I made of stone?

Anyway, I think I have to decide by June 30. Maybe I'll flip a coin. Feel free to weigh in on this in the comments section.

Daphne, 1; Treadmill, 0

This has not been a great, great workout week. I have stuck with the training schedule, but my cross-training on off-days has been less-than-stellar/ non-existent. This is mostly due to my refusal to wake up until it is late enough that I get to spend my first hour stubbing toes and repeating the same expletive until I get to my car. Also, I am adjusting my schedule to accommodate the fact that the best, best, best show on earth is back for its second season.

That said, I finally got around to conquering this monstrous treadmill routine, so I am currently feeling totally invincible. Maybe that is why I just ate a bunch of jelly beans and yogurt covered pretzels about three minutes ago (by the way, could yogurt covered pretzels possibly taste better? And that obviously leads me to wonder, has anyone invented any sort of yogurt-covered pretzel ice cream treat yet? Because that might actually taste better than yogurt covered pretzels.)

Anyway, tomorrow's training run has changed from a 7 miler to a timed run, which means how far you run depends on how fast you are, but nobody has mentioned how much time is actually involved. So I don't know how far I'm running, but I do know that we will end up on the site of the Team in Training picnic. I am obviously real happy about this development, because when is a better time to make new friends than right after running a bunch of miles? Basically, never! This will give me an opportunity to show off the fact that, after I exert myself, my face stays bright red for about a year. It's pretty.

I sound all negative, but I actually am looking forward to meeting all the people. It's funny how, as an adult, rarely you walk into a room where you don't know anybody. Anyway, meet me back here in a few a days so we can make fun of them.

Fridays are so 2005.

So, I don’t really like going out on Friday night. Generally, I’m tired and a little cranky, and it’s rare that there is anything very cool going on Friday night anyway. That’s why I didn’t consider it much of a sacrifice that my long runs are early Saturday morning. Somehow, though, I forgot to include in my calculations the fact that there is a big difference between choosing not to go out and feel prohibited from going out. Thus, Friday was kind of a bummer – boring and lonely and I basically just roamed my apartment and ate stuff all night.

However. Saturday morning was basically 82 percent worth it! The route could have certainly been more awesome – they had us do a there-and-back twice so they could time those of use who haven’t been timed yet at 3 miles. But it was really relaxed and fun, and it wasn’t too hot until the end, since we started at 8 am. It was supposed to be 6 miles, but I mapped it, and it was nearly seven. Here’s the route.

Also, I’m not going to lie, it was nice to discover that I am not a huge slow ass in this crowd. There are many non-runners, an abundance of run-walkers, and a handful of fasties, so I am where I have always wanted to be: in the middle. I strive for mediocrity, baby.

Yesterday, I did the four-mile route through the zoo that Katy mapped out. Here’s the route, as best as I can figure out. Really, though, it’s about 3.5 miles of running, because what kind of a monster could keep running when there are adorable animal to ogle?

The bad news is, at the end of the run, and for the rest of the night, I felt my old foe Shin Splints trying to return. I think this is totally manageable, so I am not going to stress too much about it.

Somebody out there is secretly awesome.

So, I was just surveying my donation situation, and thinking about how totally kick-ass all of you guys are, when I made an intriguing discovery. On Saturday, I got a $100 donation from an “anonymous” source.

My concern is that maybe the perpetrator of that awesomeness went underground by accident, and is wondering why the hell I have neglected to acknowledge the donation. So, this is my attempt at acknowledgement. Maybe it was laundered drug money or funds that otherwise required the “Contra” treatment, but I encourage you to show yourself (we don't judge here). Your secret is safe with me.

Either way, here it is: thanks for the dough, Bizzo.

I shop, therefore I am serious

Ok, things are about to really pick up around here. Saturday, I have my first official training run. It’s 6 miles. I’m amazed at how quickly you can sort of fall out of racing shape. A couple of months ago, I would have scoffed at 6 miles. These days, I know I can run that far without stopping, but I think I will keep the scoffs in check. I’ll try to update here afterwards.

This run will be a good test of whether cross-training and speed training are just stupid fancy terms that should make us all hate more serious runners. I have been doing all sorts of silly classes at the gym that have nothing to do with running (yes, this includes “steaming class” and “layout out on the sundeck and reading the paper class,” but it also includes water aerobics), partly because Coach Rich keeps insisting that you can’t run more than two days in a row. Also, over the last week, I have tried a couple of times to run this treadmill plan.The last time I did it (my second try), I only made it through the first hill (about 24 minutes), and then finished the three miles at a flat 6 mph. It is really HARD, but I’m hoping to run the whole thing tonight. In fact, I am counting on it, because I just ate a smidge of candy.

Also, I bought new shoes. I had been meaning to do that for a while, but the deal was sealed when I packed up my stuff at Dad’s place in the dark and randomly burgled Susan’s running shoes instead of packing my own. Anyway, I was going to get the same type of shoes that I have bought twice before, until I saw these babies. They are pink! I believe this will be very important at mile 22.