Atlanta, Part 1...

Thankfully, we didn't have any flight problems this time around. We got in to Atlanta on Friday night. My brother picked us up at the airport and then we made the trek to the far northern suburbs of Atlanta, near Woodstock and Canton. Yesterday was a busy day filled with many tourist attractions. We had lunch at The Varsity, an Atlanta classic, for burgers and hot dogs. Then, we went on a tour of CNN (sigh, no Anderson Cooper sighting) followed by a walk through Centennial Park over to the new Coca-Cola museum. The museum tour finished with an opportunity to sample over 70 drinks made by Coca-Cola from all over the world. Some were good, some were not so good, but there's only one true Coca-Cola. After that, we headed back up North to have dinner at my dad's with friends of the family. My brother made delicious enchiladas. Yum. Then, back on the road through a thunderstorm over to Stone Mountain to see the laser light show. I saw the show a couple of times when I lived here as a teenager, but didn't really remember much of it. The best part is the tribute to Robert E. Lee at the end. After all, I am a Southern girl.

Today, K and I had lunch at Everybody's Pizza in the trendy North Highlands area. I wish we had more time to spend walking around the neighborhood there. Lots of cute, funky shops and restaurants to explore. Maybe next time...We spent the afternoon at the Georgia Aquarium. Lots and lots of fish! My favorites were the Beluga whales (white wales) and the Sea Otters (the otters reminded me of K). Now, my best friend Stephanie is on her way to pick us up from my dad's and we're going to dinner at Strip in Atlantic Station. Her friend is a chef there. Steak and sushi...both K and I will be happy! Tomorrow, I'm getting my hair done and we are going to the Braves game.

What a busy (but fun) trip!

(oh, we haven't ran).

We're going to Mexico!

Well, actually we're headed to Atlanta tonight, but we just booked our "big" trip for the year. We're going to Cancun on August 5-12 for a much needed "relaxing" vacation. We are staying at the Grand Oasis Playa. I can't wait!

Warning, warning! Don't ball drunk!

I met Natalie for an "easy" 6-mile run yesterday then we went over to Zax to meet K, Holly, and Chris. We had an enjoyable summer evening with friends. K had a few beers and seemed to be in good spirits (read buzzed) when we left. When we got home, still in his running gear from earlier, he decided to use the TP quadballer to work out the tightness in his quads. I was on the computer and wasn't paying much attention to him, but I looked over at one point and he was curled up holding his knee. He then announced that he was done and moved onto something else. As I was getting ready to leave this morning, he sheepishly said that he thinks he sprained his MCL using the baller last night. Lesson learned - don't ball drunk, people!

Keep it in perspective, Mel...

K and I didn't go to the workout last night. And, I had yet another crappy 9-mile run in the heat on Monday night. Okay, so what?

I know that I set a goal for myself, and I should be working toward that. But, I also don't want to feel guilty or bad if I don't run or if I don't hit my pace.

On the one hand, I know that if I really want to have a good chance of qualifying for Boston, I have to be completely focused and disciplined in order to achieve that. However, I get tired sometimes of having running controlling my life.

I just read an article about Alberto Salazar, winner of 3 consecutive NYC marathons, who had a heart attack last month. He's apparently doing well now and has made a great recovery. This is what caught my eye...

"I don't feel lucky that I dodged a bullet," Salazar said. "I feel lucky it happened. This made me really think about how inconsequential running is. I could be gone right now, and what would it have mattered? What was my life of 48 years all about?"

That's right. It doesn't matter that I missed my workout last night. What matters is the lovely time that I spent with K instead, meeting Natalie for an easy run tonight followed by food and drinks with Holly afterwards, exchanging emails with my friend Pete, making time to talk to my best friend Stephanie when she calls, going to see her and my family in Atlanta this weekend. That's what is really important.

Off...

Yesterday was a bonus off day to conclude our recovery week. We usually run 3-5 miles on Sundays as "recovery" from the long run on Saturday. But, not yesterday. This makes me quite nervous about what is in store for us over the next couple of weeks. Ruth was being kind to make sure we are completely rested before she kicks our ass over the next 2 weeks? I believe we're entering the hills phase of the training program now. Be afraid...

I've also been feeling "off" emotionally for the past few days. I finally feel like I'm getting back on track, thankfully...hopefully.

My first trail run...

No one will ever mistake me for a trail runner, that's for sure. Today was my first foray into trail running. We are finishing up a recovery week, so the long run for today was 60-80 minutes on the Greenbelt. I was just happy that we were starting at 7am rather than 6:00! The weather was pretty good - overcast, slight drizzle at some points, not too warm. We started at the Spyglass entrance to the Greenbelt and ran about a mile up to Barton Springs then picked up TLT from there and then ran back the way we came. My legs felt relatively good, some mild tightness in my shins/calves during the first couple of miles, but then I felt strong coming back in. The section of the Greenbelt that we ran was pretty rocky (and muddy) in spots. I was amazed at some of the veteran trail runners who just went flying through, while I was taking a much more cautious approach with the rocks. I didn't mind getting dirty or even falling if it came to that, but I was concerned about twisting an ankle or something like that. Steve told us before we started to make sure we were scanning the ground about 3 feet ahead, so I did. I was constantly alert to where I was going and choosing the best path. One of the things that I like about running is that I can usually zone out and de-stress, but I wasn't able to do that on the trail since I was having to remain present and pay attention to my footing. I'm glad that I finally got to see what all the buzz is about regarding trail running, but I can't see it being a regular part of my running. Oh, and we had breakfast tacos at Taco Deli after we finished the run. Now, that was a nice perk!

Keep your problems to yourself....

I have enough of my own. Wow, today was been a day full of other people trying to make *their* problems MY problem to deal with...and, not very nicely either. I don't appreciate answering the phone to someone barking orders at me without even identifying who they are or explaining why I am somehow responsible for fixing the problem. I will certainly take responsibility for any issues that are on my plate (and there are a lot of them right now), but I am *not* going to be running around cleaning up messes that aren't mine (or the direct staff that I manage). Hmph.

Rain, rain go away!

Tonight's workout was moved up to a 10-mile route on the roads up North since the trail is flooded in certain spots. It started raining though shortly before we needed to leave to head up there, so we opted for Plan B yet again. I ran up to the trail from the house and saw Ed a few minutes later. He was headed in the opposite direction, so I told him I'd see him on the other side later in our runs. The trail is still flooded in certain spots, but there are ways to get around it. I had some mild shin pain, mostly in my left leg, but it was manageable. All in all, it was a decent run.

What am I doing here?

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about the purpose of this blog. What is my goal here? (1) It's a running log in some ways, (2) It's a good way for folks who I don't get to see or talk to on a regular basis to check in and see what I'm up to every now and then, (3) It's a place for me to express myself...with limitations. I have to be mindful of how much "venting" I do about my job (many of us know of Rob's "Who Wants Pudding?" debacle with his former employer). I also have to be sensitive to how openly I talk about my relationship with K since many of you know him. He didn't necessarily sign up to have his life blogged about (although I have already asked him if there are certain things he definitely didn't want me to post about). So, in a way, I'm feeling slightly constrained about how free I can be here...but then I have to remember that this isn't necessarily just an online diary. I would say that I am generally a pretty guarded person, so this has been an interesting venue for self-expression. I've enjoyed posting though.

I have tried to instill in my staff and my students something that was ingrained in me during graduate school - I need to be prepared to have my words read back at me in court if ever called to testify about a report or something else that I have written. Same principle applies here, I guess. I have to be comfortable with what I am posting because it could be read by anyone and I need to consider the possible implications of that.

Any other blogging "etiquette" that I need to be aware of?

Well, that sucked...

Woke up this morning at 6:30. Yes, I know...how crazy is it that I was up this early on a holiday when I don't even wake up that early to go to work! Checked the weather forecast - temp was in the lower 80's, but the humidity was super high (over 90%). Not the best conditions for a race. As K and I left to head over to the start, it began raining. But, it was relatively brief and passed for the most part by the time we got there. Picked up my packet since I didn't get to do it yesterday. Once we were there, K decided that he wasn't going to run, so it was just me. Silly runner girl. Why do I do this to myself?

The start was delayed about 15 minutes, which was annoying. About 500 or so people ran. The course had the potential to be pretty fast for some. But, not for me. I knew within the 1st mile that it was not going to be my day...my shins were killing me and my calves were extremely tight. I saw K about a half mile in. I stopped to stretch for the first time at just under the 1 mile mark. Even with that stop, I was at about 7:50 for the first mile. I mentally just let go at that point though because it was hurting to run, even to walk. When the pain flares up, I can barely rotate my foot in a circle. I stopped about 5 or 6 times total to stretch, including when I saw K toward the end of the race. He ran the rest of the way in with me. I don't even want to know my finishing time.

Part of what is so frustrating about the pain is how unpredictable it seems to be. I don't think the surface matters (road, trail, track). It doesn't seem to matter how much I stretch beforehand. I've been using the TP massage ball pretty regularly like I am supposed to. I just don't know what to do. I told K that I'd tell Ruth about it to see if she has any insights.

After the run today and last Saturday, I'm not feeling very confident in my running right now.

There should be a holiday every week...

I really like having a day off in the middle of the week...it made another busy day at work much more tolerable today. K and I didn't make it to the group workout tonight. I (and possibly we) are running the Freedom 5000 tomorrow morning, so I figured that will make up for missing tonight's quality workout (a modified version of Straights and Curves). We went to happy hour tonight at Aussie's and it was a delight to see Tim (glad you are up and about!), The Enforcer, Holly, and Chris. Cross your fingers that the race doesn't get rained out tomorrow morning!

Definitely a Monday...

Today was one of those days at work when I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom. Seriously. I was at work just before 8 in my nice, new professional dress when normally I am just rolling out of bed at that time. It was the new guy's first day, so I had to make a good impression. I spent most of the day trying to get him oriented without overwhelming him too much. I really need him to hit the ground running so that I can finally get some relief.

I had to leave work early this afternoon to go to the dentist. I had a small cavity that needed to be filled, so nothing major. I managed to make it back home before 5:00 traffic got too bad, so I was happy about that. On my way home, I learned (again) that K does not listen to my voice mail messages. He just notes that I called, but doesn't actually listen to what I said in my message. Grrr...

I had another good run tonight. I had intended to run the 1-35 loop, but had to opt for Plan B (no comments about that, K) when I got to the Lamar bridge and the trail was closed due to flooding. So, I ended up running up to the dam, so I figure it was about 7 miles or so. No shin/calf pain again tonight so that was great. The cooler temps contiue to make running so much easier as well.

Sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar...

Most of the time, when couples argue about relatively trivial things, they are often angry/upset/frustrated about some other issue. For example, when couples argue about the dishes, there is usually another issue involved. However, sometimes it really is just about the dishes!

I had a good laugh this morning when I went to check my email and saw this article on the main Yahoo page. I sent it to K. Perfect timing in light of a discussion we had this weekend about doing stuff around the house. I couldn't have timed that any better myself!

Back in the saddle again...

Or, more accurately, back in my Mizuno's again. I had a good 5-mile run tonight. No shin/calf pain, which is always a good sign. I ran a mile from the house up to pick up the trail at I-35 & Riverside. Then, I ran the 3-mile loop from I-35 to S. 1st St. and then the mile back home. It's amazing how much difference the lower temp and humidity makes!

Had a busy, but generally uneventful, Sunday. K and I had lunch at Polvo's, and then I spent most of the day running errands. I went to the mall and got a new dress to wear to work tomorrow since my boss told me last week that she would like for me to dress up more for work now that I am in a more "powerful" position in the Department- basically, she'd like me to wear a suit everyday. Not going to happen. The new psychologist starts tomorrow. I haven't met him or talked to him at all yet, so I'm very curious to see what he's like.