The Gay Alphabet

Friends - It is time to clear out the weekend madness and give you something new to look at besides Big T and his Gay(ng) signs. I just finished a training session with my new trainer, Miguel, and so far so good. I'm back in the healthy eating, regular running, and now scheduled training sessions. I'm gonna beat this tired old broke down body into shape one way or another. Weekends like the last one must not be repeated any time soon!

Thanks to Joe.My.God for bringing us a link to TheGayAlphabet.com - It is totally suitable for work and will make you smile. Happy Hump Day!



Oh yes....I still need to upload baby shower and inauguration pics. Soon. Very soon.

New Copper Slippers

Why are the most comfortable, most appropriate shoes the ugliest? T2 and I braved the elements and rode Ms. V up to Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan for a new pair of running shoes. The place is great. While I didn't do any preliminary research and paid nearly full price, I have fantastically comfortable running shoes. Considering the condition of my last pair, there was no time to buy online and the experience made it worthwhile.

I didn't realize Fleet Feet was a National chain, but didn't mind considering it throws some dollar bills at the Fenty family. They suggested multiple pair based on my pronation, my running habits, and the wear pattern on my current shoes; I was able to do an outdoor test run in each pair (the best part.) I settled on these beauties. Yes, they are obnoxiously metallic. Please help find copper and/or silver metallic running shorts to complete my ensemble. T2 & Timmy don't think these are a good idea.

Watch out BloodKillerDeathMan...the heat is on for our 1/2 marathon training! See you in Nashvegas!

Marathon Training Time

I competed in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon last April. While I legitimately intended to run additional races before the end of 2008, limited time and broken bones kept me from it. I've decided to do it again this year and kick off 2009 with a renewed fitness focus. The intention is to finish much quicker than 08 since there are 17 weeks left to train. Please click here to sign up and join me! A long weekend in Nashville can be loads of fun!

In case you missed it, click here to view the finish line photo and my personalized video from 2008!

$6 pitchers

It aint the p-rat, but it is a whole different kind of Sunday Funday!

The place was actually pretty grose, but Aaron liked his food and we had a good laugh. Nashville Scene writes a pretty good article on it, but if you check tripadvisor, etc., it is really poorly rated. Definitely something to be said for a bar that has old cast iron bathtubs as coolers!

Paradise Park

Nothing quite like a trailer park themed bar. We got rained out of the 25th Annual Main Street Festival in Historic Franklin, TN and ended up back in Nashville on Broadway (music row) where we'll have a few trashy drinks before heading to the airport tonight.

Chappy's on Church

A tisket a tasket, a jew and her basket! This is how leftover bread is sent home at this fab restaurant. Time for the bar!

UPDATE: This mobile post was sent with good intention, but after our amazing meals, we had a single drink at Blue Gene's Bar and rolled back to Franklin for a few beers and bed! Nobody was up for a rock star night. Check out Chappy's on Church. I had a blackened Grouper smothered in a hearty Shrimp, Crab, and Mushroom Saute topped with Hollandaise sauce. It was served with the most delicious stuffed baked potato. Delicious food, fantastic wine, a memorable character of a waitress, and about fifteen wealthy kids from Nashville in couture gowns/tuxes dancing to the live music (I am guessing post prom?) Fun Times

I DID IT!!!

Nashville is really hilly and I'm beat, but i finished a half marathon! I think I did it in under 2:30 but I dont know my official time yet

UPDATE: Official Time: 2:28:50 = 11:22 Race Pace. I registered at a 12:00 race pace and was hoping for 11:00. I am very pleased with the results considering the wretched hills and the fact I had to wait in line for a porta potty somewhere around mile 7. Now it is time to shower and celebrate! Click here for full statistics

UPDATE II: I bought the personalized video of the finish line to prove that I did it. Most of it is general footage, but at the end, you will see two separate shots of me crossing the finish line. I come in the left side of the screen and can be most easily identified by my gimpy knee brace.

Go

I found my friend Erin and she joined my slow coral. We are starting in the next group. Takes a long time to start this many runners

Still waiting

Waiting

Getting ready

McDonalds drive thru

Timmy bailed due to the rain and my DC runner friends must not be carrying their phones. While i ate an appropriate breakfast, i am seeking shelter in this drive thru. It is going to be a long wet cold run if this doesnt stop and i'm guessing my cell phone will be ruined.

Race Day

Good Morning Chirrens!

Arrived safely in Nashville yesterday and got our luggage from old carousel #7...actually it was #3, but was decorated as the Jack Daniels carousel (just for Vergie I'm sure.) Tim & ML dropped me off at the Convention Center for the fitness expo and went to the Blue Genes bar to wait on me. I guess there weren't many slow runners because the line to final register for my coral was super fast. They barely had their first drink before I was calling for a ride. I walked down Music Row (or something like that) past all the old bars and studios while I waited...and waited to be picked up. Back to Blue Genes for a few more drinks (water for me) and then to Cool Springs for a carb loading dinner and off to bed we went by 10 PM.

We got up bright and early at 4:15 Central Time to shower and head into the city. Timmy is getting ready now and then we'll hopefully be headed out by 5:00 AM! Let's just say Cynthia is not amused and to top it off, is raining like crazy. I guess we'll have to stop and buy her an umbrella at the gas station.

ML has to work today so he won't be joining us as expected, but he did give us a lovely BMW 330 Convertible to drive for the weekend. His new house, by the way, magnificent. I don't have time to upload the pics and make a proper post, so mobile blogging later will have to do. Wish me luck - I'll blog from the lineup!

24 Hour Countdown

I will be lined up in corral 24 sporting # 24884 tomorrow morning at this time, ready to take off in the Country Music Marathon! in Nashville, Tennessee. I am a slow fat girl so my pace will probably be pathetic, but the objective is the finish...not the win! I'm stoked that my knee, while sore, has held up through this training. It just needs to get me 13.1 miles tomorrow morning in a hurry. It should take me between 2:24 - 2:37 total, but perhaps the adrenaline will allow me to finish faster. My original goal was 2:11, but I'm fairly certain that is unobtainable without injury.

If successful with this 1/2 marathon, I may look for a full marathon to work on next. The preparation process has proven to be quite a kick into healthy living. Don't worry RJ, I'll still have Rock Star benders with you, I'll just have a healthier body so we can squeeze more bars into our crawls! We'll beat Bar Crawls 214 and 327 with our eyes closed.

The marathon starts at 7, but will begin in waves so I may not start for quite awhile after that. If you're up and curious, click over the the website and click on the live results button (It's supposed to be there tomorrow) and see how I'm doing. The chip will register and publish my times at the 5k, 10k, 10 mile, and finish line.

If you're not awake, check back here or at TimmyCam during the day for potential mobile blogging opportunities ranging from me a) falling out, crying, and then drinking, b) finishing, crying, and then drinking, c) Timmy making arrangements for my body to be delivered back to DC for the funeral! I'm pushing for option B, but Timmy is probably checking the insurance policies before he makes his decision.

Time to pack, clean, and jump on a plane! Hopefully we'll see Dolly Pardon in Nashville! It is the Country Music Marathon after all.

Ham Sandwich

Morning peeps. I am sure everyone is still up in the bed, but I've once again ridden to work with Timmy and run back home. Today's adventure took me from Spring Valley to the Naval Observatory to Wisconsin Ave all the way down to M Street in Georgetown. I then ran across the city and back up to U Street for a total of 6.48 miles. My time was a somewhat dismal 11:52/mile. I had hoped it would be faster with all the downhills (click here and then click the elevation button at the bottom of the map to see what I mean) but I guess the grueling uphills that kicked my azz probably slowed me down.

This is my shortened recovery long run; the last one before next week's marathon! I found out that anyone interested can track my progress online during the actual marathon. I know...nobody cares, but just in case you do, I'll post the link and my info before the race. Two more short 3 mile runs this week and then it's game time! Woo Hoo!

I almost forgot the reference from this post title. This morning I woke up craving a cigarette and a ham sandwich. I decided both were bad, but the ham sandwich would be a better thing to cave in to (you know...protein and carbs before a run?) I made the mistake of using mustard. I had heartburn for the ENTIRE run this morning and kept tasting mustard every time I gagged. I will never eat a ham sandwich with mustard before running again. Now I'm going to take my fresh lungs out on the balcony for a smokey treat! I will quit...someday.

Ran too far!

NOTE: The route above is out and back...I intended to rely on the mile markers to measure my distance today instead of mapping out a specific run. The mile markers on the crescent trail were missing (I think due to construction) below Georgetown so I used a bridge as my start/end point and Little Falls Parkway between Bethesda/Chevy Chase as my turnaround point. I thought it was about 12 miles based on my estimates.

I nearly died on the last half mile and my legs are in serious pain. To my surprise, when I got home and mapped my run (see above) I realized it was nearly 13 miles! In addition, I shaved time off, averaging 11:49 minutes per mile. While this is still fat girl slow, it is an improvement for me!

I've saved up all week and haven't been drinking since last weekend. Time to get my game on (after a nap of course.)

Last Night

check out my pics from last night

http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/album_02832/

Time for my morning run!

Nine Miles

Friends...I did it! I ran this many miles without injuring myself this morning! I may not be fast, (still around 12 minute miles) but I am going to do it! I just registered for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon on April 26. Airfare to Nashville, TN purchased, accommodations with friends confirmed, and I'm stoked about the run. The music...not so much, but it should be fun.

Had a great run today and now it is time to get ready to roll up to Philly to see our peeps!

Kill The Goat

I have commented on this blog before. Coincidentally, her name is also Jay, and she previously dated a man named Jason. I found her one day looking for blogs on goats. I know...weird. The address for Jay's blog, "Kill The Goat," is saintvodkaofthemartini.blogspot.com - I thought, Goats & Vodka? Sounds like the youth of someone I know. Regardless, I frequently enjoy her thoughts and her post from Saturday, "The Race Against Toronto," describes exactly how I feel about running. Here's an excerpt:

"I'm not a fast runner. I'm not a graceful runner. There is nothing easy or effortless about it. I am awkward, and panty, and my feet look funny in running shoes as opposed to high heels, but damn if I don't get some crazy satisfaction out of it anyway."

...well, sans the high heels part, I get what she is saying. I've spoken about how I love to run in the city, how it makes me feel alive and part of the world, etc. Kill the Goat puts it into perspective. While you're there, look at her site. You'll come across snipits of wisdom like, "Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question; yes is the answer." Check it out!

I'm leaving now to run 9 miles!

The District Runs

Have you seen the Google home page today? Well done. Usually they change the logo to match the day, holiday, season, etc. Today, they changed something else for Earth Hour.

I haven't blogged about my fitness endeavors in a long time because I have historically failed. I've decided to push the limits a bit and start training for a 1/2 marathon again. To force myself, I'm putting my training history right out there for all to see and judge. I did well in Sept/Oct/Nov, but Dec/Jan were very light on the fitness and it just didn't happen at all in February. I'm back on the wagon and hope to ride it all the way into summer.

To stay on track for the 1/2 marathon, I have to do six miles today. This is pushing it, but I'm going to try. If successful, I will register this afternoon. If not, I'll throw in the towel, but still try to stay on this fitness wagon. Click to see today's long run.

**UPDATE** I did it! My pace sucked (11:46/mile) but I made it. Now the flights are super expensive to Nashville so I'm not sure if that's the right half marathon to pick after all. Stay tuned.

I googled inked bald gay

I don't have a tattoo, but would like one. Yesterday I googled inked, bald, gay to get some ideas since the baldy boys are sometimes appealing to me....Not surprised, but I came up with an English Skinhead site...not exactly what I had in mind as a model for a potential tattoo.

Anyway...just a thought for the day. I haven't written in quite some time. A bit of craziness has happened. I 'revealed' some of my weaknesses and secrets to the man. Wasn't easy, but made sense to do.

I am smoking 100% again

I am up to 10 miles in the marathon training

The super secret surprise is still a secret, despite my itching to reveal

Gotta run to work

Later