Where have all the good boy bands gone?

Jina's back, alright! Sorry, that's my lame attempt to get a boy band song into my blog. I heart boy bands. *NSYNC is my ultimate favorite, but the Backstreet Boys will do in a pinch.

Ahem, so I am back to my running group. My week of rest was nice and needed, but it was nice and needed to be back with the group, too.

We had some new runners. One is my speed (poor girl), so that's nice (for me anyway). We ran a total of 45 minutes with four, 4-minute hard intervals followed by a 3-minute jog to recover. It was cool, pleasant and awesome. I love runs like this.

I had the dreaded race recap with my coach. We talked about my horribly slow time (my words, not his) for my first half marathon. As much as I try to not be disappointed, I kind of am. He wasn't. I still kind of am. He said to just go for my goal on the next race. Smart guy. Probably why he's the coach.

My last training session was really about just learning how to run. I mean, I couldn't even run more than 3 miles when I joined the group. This time, I know I can run. Now, I just need to become a better runner. So, that's what I'll do.

Day 37 (Nov. 1)

It's race month! When I looked at the training schedule today, I didn't have to flip months to get to the race. It's in November! Now weeks away as opposed to months. And, I'm excited! Not nervous. I'm sure that will come, but as of now, I'm ready to run this thing!

Our training group plan today: run 55 minutes with five, 4-minute hard intervals with 2-minute jogs in between the hard intervals, and the remaining time is a cool down. My legs felt a little stiff to begin, but loosened up throughout the run. We had a strong wind at our backs to begin, and I think it made me super-fast (well, super-fast for me is probably what most people consider a slow jog). When we turned back, and we ran into this wind ... yeah, not so fast. But, overall, it was a good run.

Now, for randomness in bullet style:

• Do not believe the difficulty rating on those pumpkin patterns. The past few years, I've done what they consider an easy pattern, and I agreed with their rating on those (one pumpkin on a scale of one to four with one being the easiest and four being the most difficult). I thought the next logical step was to do a two pumpkin difficulty rating, and I was SO wrong.

• This thing was a PAIN. I hated transferring the pattern. I hated carving it. I hated looking at the end result. I will stick to one pumpkin designs from now on because I am remedial. Or, the pumpkin pattern creators are liars.

Yes, I screwed this thing up in a major way. Normally, I'd toothpick pieces to stick that I accidentally cut out. Normally, I'd scoop out more of the insides to make it brighter. Normally, I'd clean up my cuts to make it look sharper. I. DID. NOT. CARE. I hate this pumpkin and the process of carving it.

• Although the jack-o-lantern was a bust, I thought my dog looked adorable. This made up for all my frustration.

• Jessica Simpson is pregnant! I actually let out an audible squeal at work when the news was confirmed. I love this girl (not in a scary-stalker kind of way; more of in a she's-my-favorite celebrity kind of way). I'm so excited. Really.

Day 32 (Oct. 20)

I needed Thursday’s run to be good, and thankfully, it came through for me.

Our workout: a 55-minute run with a 10-minute warm up, a 30-minute hard run, and a 15-minute cool down. I went a little slower than I had in past weeks, but I still got a good workout. My running partner and I were talking about how amazed we are at our progress. We used to always have to walk at some point. Now, it’s not even a concern. In fact, we wanted to run more than our 55 minutes.

Of course, the weather rocked (and it never really has for any Tuesday or Thursday night run to this point). I did not sweat through everything I had on. In fact, I barely sweat. For a major sweater, this was quite the accomplishment.

We run in a pretty peaceful place (for being in the middle of a city). Well, aside from the occasional jet taking off, which is rather loud and obnoxious and fumey (yep, I just made up that word). It’s pretty, open and green. Pretty soon, though, we won’t be able to see it (due to daylight savings time). I’ll take darkness blacking out my views as long as that big, scary sun is out of the sky.

Day 29 (Oct. 13)

I highly dislike Thursdays. We even started the I Hate Thursday Club at work. Seriously, it’s that bad. Maybe that’s why I like running on Thursday. It helps get rid of all that awful workday stress.

This Thursday, we had a 50-minute run with a 10-minute warm up, 25-minute hard interval, followed by a 15-minute cool down. The hard interval was tough, but manageable. I maintained about a one-minute faster pace than normal during the hard interval.

My reward (besides running) for making it through Thursday: sushi + “Jersey Shore,” which equals happiness to me. As much as I dread Thursday workdays, I love Thursday nights (as long as work doesn’t spill into the evening). After running, I make a stop at the grocery store to grab sushi (yes, it’s actually really good), take a walk with my dog, and then I head to the Shore. This show fascinates me. I laugh at every episode – even though I probably shouldn’t.

Thanks to running, sushi and “Jersey Shore,” Thursdays became more bearable.

Day 26 (Oct. 6)

After a crappy day at work (with more crappy work to follow later that evening), I really needed to run on Thursday night. The plan: run a total of 45 minutes, consisting of a 10-minute warm up, 25-minute tempo run and a 10-minute cool down.

I think I was so happy to be running that I took off too fast. My warm up was quicker than usual. When I got to my 25-minute tempo run, I went faster ... and it felt really good at first. There's something about really stretching out your legs that feels so good. But, it didn't feel good for long. My legs were tired 10 minutes into the 25-minute hard interval. They just felt fatigued. I managed to keep going at a decent speed, but slower than when I started my interval. I made it 20 minutes into the interval at a decent pace, but then I had to slow down to a ridiculously slow jog for the remainder of the time.

I just felt like I didn't have any energy, and my legs were tired. They weren't sore or painful. It just felt like they were over it (as I was with my work week).

Whenever I have a bad run, which is thankfully a lot less frequently than it used to be, I always evaluate what I did that day that could have contributed to it. So, after evaluating my day, I came up with three possibilities: (1). I didn't get much sleep the night before (or really all that week, actually); (2). I didn't eat on my usual schedule, and I ate a different lunch than normal; (3). My legs actually are fatigued – especially after playing beach volleyball the day before. All seem like reasonable explanations, not excuses (I hope).

I decided I need to include some visual element in each of my posts. So, I decided to start taking a picture of myself before or after each run. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, our training group meets at Fit2Run in International Plaza, a rather spiffy mall.

So, I figured I'd take a picture of myself before I headed in to meet the group. I felt like such a 16-year-old taking a picture in my car. I got embarrassed, but I still took a few shots because of my vow to include photos. I'm dedicated to enhancing my blog posts, darn it!

The resulting photo cracks me up! It says, "I'm totally doing something a teenager would do, and I'm embarrassed because I'm over 30."

Oh, well. I'll keep working on the photos. And, try to start acting my age ... nah, that's no fun. But, I will start trying to get more sleep. Sheesh! Talk about dark circles.

Day 23 (Sept. 29)

I'm so happy pesky work didn't get in my way of making it to my training group on Thursday. It is so much better running with a group than by yourself. In a crappy gym. With no ventilation.

I was just so happy to be there, I really wasn't that worried about the run. We had a 40-minute run on our schedule, with a 10-minute warm up, 20-minute hard interval and a 10-minute cool down. I was able to keep up a nice pace during the hard interval — about 1-1:30-minute faster pace than normal. I slowed down quite a bit for the 10-minute cool down, but I kept running.

The Women's Half Marathon also has a 5K associated with it, and the 5K training group just joined our half marathon group. It's so cool to see people just starting out, and even though I feel like I'm still a beginner runner, it's amazing to realize how much progress I've made.

Day 22 (Sept. 27)

Due to a pesky thing called work, I missed our group training run on Tuesday. Boo!

But, I was determined to stay on track. After getting home late, and after it raining buckets during the day, I decided to hit the craptastic gym for a treadmill run. I know, I know. I already said I highly disliked the treadmill and that sorry excuse for a gym. But, it was after 9 p.m. by the time I was ready to run. And, there are some deep puddles around the neighborhood from the buckets of rain we’ve been getting lately (How do I know this? I stepped in one while walking my dog. It was a foot deep, seriously.).

When I arrived at the gym that looks more like a kitchen, I noticed the fan was unplugged. Since I sweat an extreme amount last time, the first thing I did was plug it in and turn it on. Well, there was a reason it was unplugged, it didn’t work. Argh!

I had some issues getting the TV working, too, but thank goodness, it eventually came on. After finding the Rays-Yankees game (Go Rays!), I hit the treadmill. After my last incident with the safety key on one of the treadmills, I decided to give the other one a shot.

Tonight was a speed interval night: four, three-minute hard intervals followed by three-minute jogs, with a total run of 45 minutes. All was well for about four minutes. Then, I started sweating profusely. Darn! This so-called gym is blazing hot!



I ran a 10-minute warm up, and then I started in on the speed intervals. I ran two of the three-minute hard intervals with three-minute jogs in between each. After my third three-minute hard interval, I walked the three minutes (solely due to sweat recovery) instead of jogging. Sweat was beaded on my arms. Sheesh! I did the next hard interval with a three-minute recovery walk (again to try and control the sweat). I ran the remaining time slowly (and sweat profusely). Man! I’m OK with the limited equipment, kitchen-like appearance, and cheesy artwork, but get some decent ventilation in this place, people!

Knowing for certain that this ridiculous amount of sweat would come across in a photo, I snapped one after the run.

Um, hmm. Maybe not. Sweaty, yes. But, it really doesn’t convey the level of sweat that was occurring (although it does showcase one of the causes – the broken fan).

I’m glad I got the run accomplished, even if it was in a sauna setting. So many nights after working late, I crawl home, watch a little TV and hit the bed. Things are changing, though! This training group keeps me extremely accountable – I don’t want to fall behind. I’d highly recommend a group to anyone training for a race (or just wanting to run, period). It really is changing my life (ha! That sounds so dramatic and so not me, but I really feel like this).

Day 20 (Sept. 22)

A thunderstorm rolled into the area about 4:30 p.m. I thought it was the typical Florida afternoon storm, and I thought the rain would clear long before our training group's 6:30 p.m. run. I thought wrong.


When I left work about 5:50 p.m., it was still raining. After walking to my car and trying my best to avoid the rivers and lakes that formed in what used to be streets and parking lots, I started toward our group meeting place. I figured the rain could clear. If not, our coach has indoor lesson plans. This is when things started going downhill.


Traffic was a nightmare (as it usually is when it rains). I finally got to my exit, and traffic was backed up on the exit ramp almost to the interstate. I figured there must be a wreck at the bottom of the ramp. I figured wrong.


While waiting on the ramp, I noticed a raging river. Problem: no river is usually there. I noticed this raging river flowing along the ramp and wondered where it was going. I found my answer at the bottom of the ramp: the road I needed to take to get to our training group.


After watching other cars drive into the deep water, I thought I'd give it a shot. I didn't really have any other options ... unless I wanted to wait for the water to go down. I'm not patient, so this wasn't going to work for me. Thank goodness I have an SUV, so I made it through. Problem #2: the next intersection was the same ... maybe worse. At this point, I made the decision to just go home. But, I still had to get through the water. After turning left through more deep water (off of the flooded road), I thought my troubles were over. I was wrong yet again.


The road I was now on was clear for a bit ... then I hit more water. This was definitely the deepest water I encountered. Cars were stalled. Some were just waiting it out. Eek. Since I knew I wasn't waiting, I had to make the decision to go through this deep water or turn around and go through the other two sections of water that I went through to get here. As mentioned, since I'm not patient, I really didn't feel like going back into the traffic mess I just managed to free myself from. I waited and watched other cars try to make it through. Most cars failed. But, trucks, SUVs and vans seem to be able to make it. Having a smaller SUV, I was still nervous, but I gave it a shot. It's a strange feeling driving through deep water and a bit unnerving to look around you and just see water. But, thankfully, I made it. And, thankfully, the rest of my trip did not involve flooded roadways.


When I finally made it home, I decided to run (must have been the adrenaline from the flooded roads adventure). But, since it was still sprinkling and lightning some, I decided to hit the treadmill.


I haven't used a treadmill in my training, and now I remember why.


I did find an Ashton-free "Two and a Half Men" on TV in the condo gym (I use this term very loosely), so that rocked. (Side note: I love Charlie Sheen and all his craziness. I watched the first episode of "Two and a Half Men" starring Ashton Kutcher, and I thought it sucked. Ashton seemed so dull and unfunny. Maybe I'm biased, though.)


Other than the superb viewing option, I liked nothing else about this experience.


I needed to do a 10-minute warm up, 15 minutes hard and a 20-minute recovery/cool down/normal pace run. The 10-minute warm up felt like it lasted hours. Even with Charlie, it was still boring. Ugh. I started in on my 15-minute hard interval, and it went really smoothly.


Until this:



The pesky safety key. I understand its use and realize this could be a good thing. Could. Not in my case.


Despite the air conditioned room and a fan, I sweat. A lot. I think I sweat more inside than I do outside. One of the many times I was wiping sweat off of my forehead, I hit the string to the dreaded safety key. And, I went from running at my fast pace to a dead stop. Argh! I was just getting in a groove, too. I started running again, but I lost all my data on the treadmill, and I had to estimate how much time I had remaining in my interval.


The rest of the run went smoothly. Until I hit the blasted safety key again. Argh. But, I got the run in. Despite being extremely boring (and that dang safety key), it went well.


I felt the sweatiest I've ever been when I finished, so I took a picture to document it. Hmm. Massive amounts of sweat don't really come across in photos. I think I look pleasantly dewy here. Not drenched in sweat like I was.

Also, you can see the crappiness of the gym in this photo. That is all of the equipment (aside from one treadmill that was beside me). And, this gym feels like a kitchen with the linoleum and cabinets, but at least I have it. I guess I shouldn't complain. I tried to get the TV with Charlie in the picture, but I missed it. Darn.