A dedication...

I'd like to dedicate a few verses of Katy Perry's Hot N Cold to the Houston weather:

You change your mind
Like a girl changes clothes...

You're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in and you're out
You're up and you're down...

Yes, the weather the past couple of days has been perfect, for running. For my allergies, not so much. Since the Houston Marathon, my sinuses have been a wreck, thanks to all the ups and downs in the weather (as the channel 13 weatherman so profoundly forecasted earlier this week, "it will be warm until the cold front gets here." Really? Thanks, I wasn't sure how that worked.) I finally raided the allergy/sinus med aisle at CVS yesterday, picking up anything in every different brand that might help. Zyrtec and a disgusting sinus rinse seem to be the solution. But its supposed to rain here tomorrow, so who knows. I cannot remember when my allergies have been so bad. Maybe its time for shots again. Sigh...

It was a long week for the Princess (why am I talking in third person??), with big meetings at work while battling my sinus issues and lack of good sleep. The good news is that I FINALLY got that stupid satellite dish off of my roof yesterday before my HOA fined me. The roofer also patched up some torn shingles, so I hope I'm good to go. Thanks to Evan for volunteering to come down here and remove the dish, but I knew I needed the entire roof inspected since I had a minor leak during the hurricane. Now I can check this off of my major project to-do list. One down, about eight more items to go..

Running update: Thanks to the allergy rememdies mentioned above, I had a fabulous 8.5 mile run this morning with the Knuckleheads after my first sound sleep in days. Perfect (meaning cold) running weather, and a beautiful sunrise to boot. Two weeks until Austin!

Mom update: My mom was in town this week for some follow-up appointments. She is doing great following her surgery in December. She looks wonderful too. I am so relieved that she seems to be on the right track and at this point, won't need any additional surgery. Knock on wood. And someone, who will remain nameless but writes this blog, gets to have dinner the weekend after Austin with her parents and President Bush (41), among others. This might call for me to stimulate the economy by buying a new outfit. Darn, I hate it when I have to buy clothes (she said with sarcasm.)

Weekend festivities: My little buddy, Senator, is celebrating his 4th birthday tomorrow!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SENATOR!! Love you, and can't wait to see you! After that party, I'm off to a Super Bowl party at Jennifer and Scott's. Woo-hoo! Go Cardinals! Actually, I don't care about either team, I just want to see the commercials. They better be good this year...

Its all about attitude...

As many of you know, finishing a marathon, no matter how fast or slow or how many you have run, is such an amazing accomplishment, and it gives you a great sense of pride. Many have called the event "life-changing" and I really believe that with each marathon, you learn something new about yourself and you seek to make (or continue to make) positive changes, big or small, because you feel like you can do anything.

Though I felt like I had lost my focus before the marathon, I have found it quite amazing this week my change in attitude toward many things. I do believe I owe it mostly to my unexpectedly great run on Sunday...that was just the boost I needed to re-assess my habits/behaviors...repossess the positives, rid myself of the negatives, and re-claim my focus on taking care of myself better...I'm eating healthier, I'm back on my workout schedule, and I'm sleeping well and have more energy. My running burn-out is gone, and I'm really excited to keep up my training for the Austin Marathon in a few of weeks, and the Nashville Marathon in April. I have a great group of running friends, and we will continue to meet for Saturday morning runs during the "off-season." We affectionately call ourselves the Knuckleheads. Take a guess why.

This morning was the first Knucklehead run of 6 miles. I felt good and strong. I think I'm pretty much recovered physically from the marathon. And breakfast at Otto's is really what motivates the Knuckleheads! Thanks to Kaytha and Tonya for the fun conversation. I'm sure the guys at the table were like WTH are they talking about?? Or they knew but just pretended like they weren't listening or understanding. Then again, can you really tell the difference?

CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friends Stacy and Shubh on the birth of their son, Romit, yesterday. I went to visit them this morning, and Romit is a cutie-pie! In case you are wondering, his name is pronounced "rome-IT" and its Indian. Beautiful isn't it?

Here's Romit and the big stuffed frog I got for him:

Houston Marathon 2009

This is a long post, so bear with me.

Prelude: As you may have read on my blog recently, I've had alot going on the past couple of months, and I whined and moaned about how I wasn't prepared for the Houston Marathon and how I just wanted to finish with dignity, blah, blah, blah. This was my 5th Houston Marathon in a row, a milestone, and sadly I was not looking forward to it.

I meant every single word about how I was feeling physically and mentally unprepared, about my anxiousness and concern about even finishing, about the advice I received from fellow runners and how much it meant to me, and about how my two goals were to finish and have fun doing it, since I was 100% sure that a sub-four or PR were out of the question this time. And, the warm forecast definitely slammed the door on any fleeting random thoughts of race-day glory.

WHAT?: So I am really having trouble finding a way to explain my personal best offical time of 3:52:53. But I'll try...

Fun race, really: Over 24 hours later, I still can't believe it. I'm elated and exhausted, and most importantly, I have great memories from yesterday's race because I had FUN. Yes, I can honestly say I had a fun race. I made every effort to stay coherent and thank the crowd and volunteers, and to pay attention to the activities on the sidelines and the runners around me. For the first time ever, I did not make the turn onto Woodway/Memorial with a sense of dread (a long, long road on the way to downtown where many hit the wall). The last stretch to downtown, Allen Parkway and its hilly road, didn't phase me. West University, my favorite part of the run, lived up to expectations as always, and what I think is the longest stretch, Studemont/Montrose from the Heights to Rice U, seemed really short. Tanglewood was nice and shady, and hands down, Houston has THE BEST marathon supporters anywhere! This city really rallies around the marathon/half marathon and its runners. Signs, cheering, high-fives, calling out names...simply the best.

Good grief, did I accidentally take happy pills instead of Endurolytes?? Who feels this way during and after a marathon, and a very warm one at that?

The start: Other than the weather, my primary concern first thing Sunday morning was which wave I should start with. I was assigned to the first wave but was afraid I would start off too fast and falter fast. I was leaning toward starting with the second wave, but then Robert said he was going to start in the first with the 4-hour pace group, and that he would start off slow, and that I should give it a go in the first wave. Okay, I thought, why not...the first wave starts 10 minutes before the second wave, and I remember thinking that would mean I would be done with the race 10 minutes sooner. Ah, the logic that runs through my coffee-less mind. So, me, Robert, Ruthie and a couple of others got the race underway towards the back of the first wave.

First 10k: The first few miles were smooth. We had a good pace going, and the pace-setter did a great job with consistency. After about five miles, its pretty easy to start maintaining pace/consistency based on what was being called out at the mile markers. I knew at that point I was averaging between 8:55-9:00 minutes a mile. Okay, I thought, that's a little fast, but the weather was still cool and I was feeling good, so I think it was at that point that I said to myself "run as fast as you can for as long as you can, because the heat will get you in the end."

I've mentioned in my posts before that I make many adjustments during races based on several conditions. Running the first half of a race fast might go against logic and alot of training guidelines, but I knew it was going to warm up and warm up fast, so I thought I would make the most of the first half, maybe (unofficially) PR in the first half, and hope that I made up enough time in the first part to compensate for the time I would lose in the second half and finish decently. So, that became my new plan...run fast until I couldn't run fast anymore. Forget a negative split...that was definitely not going to happen.

Reaching the halfway point: I don't remember realizing when I did speed up, but before I knew it, the 3:50 pace group was just in front of me, somewhere along Main/University. So I steadied my pace for a few miles, keeping them in my sights. After I crossed the half mark (and I did PR that half), and turned the corner onto Wesleyan, I caught the 3:50 group and my friend Jennifer. I stayed with them about a mile then kept on trucking ahead at a ridiculous pace. I was still feeling good, it wasn't getting too warm yet, and I adjusted my strategy again...keep running as fast as I could until mile 18, then re-assess.

Miles 13-18: Granted, the stretch between 13 and 18 miles has always been tough for me. I did start to feel some soreness in my lungs around mile 15 and thought that might be the point where I needed to slow down (after telling myself that surely I had just suddenly developed runners asthma), but the soreness passed, and that was really all that was bothering me. I was walking all of the water stops for at least 20-30 seconds, sometimes longer, and I was consistently taking GU and Endurolytes every six miles, as planned. In fact, I think it really helped me mentally to break up the race into four segments of six miles. When I passed mile 18 and turned that corner at Woodway, and I still felt good, physically and mentally. What was going on?

The Woodway/Memorial stretch: At the 18 mile mark, it was easy to start doing some quick finish time calculations. I knew then that if I kept up a decent pace and ran smart, I could get near a 4-hour finish, maybe close to my San Antonio PR, both of which were way beyond my expectations this race. Well, once I made it to the stretch around Memorial Park, my calf started to cramp, and I have never experienced cramps in a run before. I stopped and stretched a couple of times and popped my last Endurolyte. And the 3:50 pace setters raced by me, so I knew that time was out the window. I figured this was the end of my strong running, and honestly, that was fine with me. I knew I'd be walking more and doing some stretching, and it was at this time it really started to warm up and heat warnings were posted.

However, apparently I was running really fast in between these walking and stretching stops, because when I reached mile 20, I realized I had over an hour to reach the finish line and still get a sub-four, even if I ran/walked 10 minute miles. Wow. Good. I could do that. That was my final motivation...stay consistent, stay smart, run fast, walk and stretch often, and finish in under 4 hours, because it was then that I knew it was a real possibility if the calf held up.

The Allen Parkway stretch: The next 3 miles or so just floated by. Before I knew it I was on Allen Parkway, the hilly stretch before the final home stretch. Though I was coherent and was trying to focus on the crowds along the side and smile and have fun, one thought was pounding in my mind, and that was getting an orange slice at the Houston Fit tent at mile 24. I could not stop thinking about this orange slice, and I hate oranges! But I wanted one bad; my mouth was dry and I was seriously craving something sweet. Not candy, not even orange slices handed out by other spectators, but the oranges slices being handed out by Houston Fitters. And that was the best damn orange slice I ever had! It was also at the Houston Fit tent that Shawn jumped into the race and ran about half a mile or so with me, in his flip-flops! That was awesome and much needed, because except for the beginning and the middle of the race, I was pretty much running by myself (which is usually just fine with me). Thank you Shawn!

Downtown Houston and the road to the finish: The reality of my run and the time I could possibly achieve really came to light when I passed under the bridge just outside of downtown that always has the sign "1.5 miles to go." I looked at my watch and I had 20 minutes to cover 1.5 miles and still come in under 4 hours. I knew that was definitely going to happen, but how far under 4 hours didn't matter to me, really. I wanted to enjoy that last stretch along Rusk. I pulled out my iPod earbuds, looked ahead at the finish line way, way in the distance, smiled, relaxed and ran in, cheering and clapping with the crowd and enjoying every minute of it. I stopped looking at my watch, and when I was close enough to the finish to see the clock, I could not believe my eyes. I was going to PR. I was going to freaking PR on the most unexpected of days. When I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, I was stunned. And then I was wildly happy, maybe slightly delirious. You couldn't punch the smile off my face, and its still there (thought its a very tired smile today).

So that is my race story. Sorry its long, but this is a day I will want to remember for a long time. Not so much because of my time, but because of my change in attitude, my perseverance, my smart run, and the fact that this was the most fun I've ever had running a marathon.

Shout outs: I want to thank Rick, Danny, and Kathleen...you guys were cheering maniacs and so motivating! Our fearless leader, Patty, always has a smile and oozes encouraging excitement for her runners. Thank you so much to my dear friends Aimee and Tyler and their precious sons Senator and March for meeting me when the race was over. You have no idea how much it meant to me for you to be there! And thanks to my fellow runner, friend and neighbor Russ for his very kind comments, and to Jamoosh for being the great motivator and supporter. And last but not least, thanks for carb-loading with me on Friday, Gregg.

My official race results:
Overall time - 3:52:53 (a PR)
Half Marathon time - 1:54:53 (also a PR)
Average pace: 8:54/mile
Finished 1213/5406 total marathon finishers, 234/1897 female finishers and 43/368 in my age group.

Next up...Austin...bring it on.

Quick Houston Marathon update...

I had an unexpectedly great run today, and ran a new personal best... 3:52 and some change. Can't believe it. I'll post more about the entire race later... I actually had fun this time! Now I just want a beer, shower and massage. Congrats to all of my fellow half and full marathon runners!

Heroes.

No, not the TV show (though that is an awesome show!) or the sandwich. Real life heroes.

As I try not to obsess about the marathon on Sunday, I find myself giving much (unnecessary) thought to how freely people assign the designation of "hero" to someone. I did a little research on the internet, and of course, there is no one answer or definition of a hero. Therefore, I have decided to give the blog-reading world my definition, and I realize I'm opening a can of worms with this post.

To me, a "hero" is someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty or responsibility, risking his/her life and/or saving another, outside of his/her normal activities.

Let's get this one out of the way first - sports figures, movie stars, etc. ARE NOT HEROES. It infuriates me so much when they are called heroes, mostly by our youth, and sadly by many adults! But I refuse to digress on this issue. You get the point, and hopefully agree with me.

Now, for something a little more complicated:

What about police officers, firemen, EMS, doctors, and...pilots? Obviously I bring this up because of the "splash crash" in the Hudson River yesterday. Wasn't the pilot just doing his job? Yes. Does that job sometimes involve more than taking off and landing safely on a concrete runway? Yes. So when a pilot has to make an emergency landing in water, and miraculously no one dies, and he walks through the plane twice to make sure no one was still on board before the plane sank...was he just doing his job, or is he a hero? To the passengers and their families, you bet he's a hero; but really, can you be deemed a hero if you were doing your job, doing what you were paid to do, doing what you were trained to do? I think the pilot was incredibly brave and courageous and quick-thinking in what he did, but he was trained for that. Does it make him a hero or just really good at his job?

Same for police officers and firemen - they are trained and paid to keep peace and save lives and prevent/thwart crime (among a ton of other responsibilities). Are they heroes if they save a baby from a burning building, or shoot a criminal who is threatening to kill an innocent hostage? Are they heroes if they die in the line of duty, like a burning roof caved in on them, or an officer was killed trying to bust up a crime? What about the firemen and women who rushed up the stairs in the World Trade Center - above and beyond? or is that the risk that comes with doing their jobs, the very jobs they voluntarily entered and trained for?

Doctors save lives every day. That's what they do, either through research, clinical practice, or both. They research and train and take continuing education to continuously better themselves and their skills. So, if a doctor finds the right combo of chemo and radiation to cure a patient of cancer, is that doctor a hero, or was he/she just doing the job they were trained to do?

Soldiers, the men and women fighting for our country, our freedom, or the freedom of others...are they heroes? Again, they chose the responsibility and trained for all war and non-war scenarios. If a soldier dies in action, killed by a roadside bomb, is he/she a hero? If a soldier throws his body on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers (I read about this during my Googling of heroes), is he a hero? He went above and beyond the call of duty. He sacrificed himself for the lives of others. But, you may say, that's what all soldiers are ultimately doing, right? So are they all heroes or just doing their job?

Its a pretty fine line, isn't it? That's why there is no solid definition or description of what makes someone a hero.

Expanding on that a bit, here are a few other examples:

A driver witnesses a terrible crash, stops his car and rushes to the scene to save passengers before the car explodes. Is he a hero? He had no responsibility or training or motive to make such a sacrifice, to put his life on the line to save another.

A neighbor witnesses another being attacked by a pit bull and rushes to beat the dog off of the victim, saving that person's limbs and possibly life while putting his own in danger. Hero? The neighbor saved a life, came to the rescue, when it was really not his responsibility or what he was trained to do.

If my mom needed a kidney to live, and my brother was a match and donated one of his, does that make him a hero? He saved her life, underwent risky surgery by choice, and possibly put his own longevity at risk because he would then only have one kidney. By my own stated definition, he would indeed be a hero, no?

To make this running-related, let's say my fellow runners and bloggers Jamoosh or Kathleen sees that I'm about to be hit by a car while running, and they rush to push me out of the way, only to bear the brunt of the impact, and sustain serious injury or death so that I would not. That would be heroic. We are just runners. We train to run, not sacrifice ourselves to save others in the process. On the flip side, if Jamoosh or Kathleen stop breathing while running and a coach performs CPR to save them, is that coach a hero? If they are trained in CPR, does that make them somewhat responsible to step in and take action, much like EMS personnel, and therefore doing a job they trained for, taking responsibility?

Which brings me to the next related thought running through my unfocused mind:

What's the difference between heroism and inspirational action? This season, several of my fellow runners were fortunate to know a young lady who trained with us who is blind. She had a running partner who ran with her every training run, and this girl finished the half marathon earlier this year. But was it heroic? It sure was awe-inspiring, motivating, and inspirational. And I hope that my running has been inspirational and motivating to others, but I don't think its heroic by any means. And if a person with a disability can accomplish the same thing I can with the same training and dedication and determination, is one more "heroic" than the other because of a disability? I know one is a whole lot more inspirational.

Was Rosa Parks a hero because she refused to go to the back of the bus? Her actions sure did inspire a culture-changing movement. Again, heroic or inspirational?

See, its a very, very thin line, the line between heroism and inspirational actions.

Bottom line is I could go on and on with various examples and scenarios, and I'm sure my opinions of heroism vary greatly from several of yours. I just think that if we toss around the word "hero" too much, as often as we do, it loses some of its meaning and value.

Meh, who am I kidding? What do I know? I'm just rambling today (see the dislaimer in my blog description above...I'm allowed to ramble, often meaninglessly), and now my mind is tired. But I hope I've made you think.

I guess now, I'll start obsessing about Sunday...

I'm famous!!

Okay, not really, but my running friends and I are in the picture on the official finisher's certificates for the San Antonio Marathon!

Circled are Ruthie, Rick, Tom, Robert and me. If you can't tell which one I am, you are an idiot.


Marathon weather watch: Low 50s at start, warming up to mid-60s during the day, party sunny and breezy. Meh. It could be better, it could be worse. I think overall it will be a nice day for a run and a great day for the spectators.

I found my missing mojo!

Yes, my running mojo is back! I went for a 5.35 mile run this evening, planning to take it easy and see if Saturday was a fluke. It was. I had a 9:04 average pace and felt great. Now I have regained some confidence for the marathon and am officially ending my running pity-party! Bring. It. On.

Pictures of the day: I cannot believe I failed to post these pictures that my sister in law took of my niece and nephews over Christmas, because they are the most adorable pics ever! (And I'm not being biased.)

My nephews and niece:


My niece in the Christmas outfit I got for her. I think I have pretty good taste, because she looks absolutely precious!

It's the sport of kings...

...better than diamond rings...football. Remember that song from that football movie that had Goldie Hawn as the coach?

Well, for the record, football is NOT better than diamond rings.

Today I had the pleasure of catching the Giants/Eagles game with Gregg, a recent transplant from Boston who is a die-hard Giants fan (thank God he's not a Patriots fan...I hate them), and Shawn and Nicole. We had alot of fun despite the Giants loss. Unfortunately, I stated to the security guys at work that the Giants and Titans would be in the Super Bowl. Yeah, not so much. Good thing I didn't make any bets with them this year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) to my sister-in-law Kristi!! Love you!

Running update: I had a TERRIBLE run on Saturday morning. My mojo was MIA. My legs were weak and my stomach wasn't agreeing with me. We were supposed to run six miles and I could only manage five. I'll take it, but its not a good sign for the upcoming marathon. I have to admit that it was like 75 degrees out with 200% humidity, so that could have been a factor. It wasn't until we all gathered for breakfast at Otto's that the cold front came through.

I'll run once or twice this week, then rest up for Sunday. I have no idea what my strategy will be, other than to take it easy and enjoy the race. I do have the option of following the half marathon course if I don't think I can finish the full by the time I get to the split point. That way I'll at least get a medal even if I don't get an official time. It is, after all, all about the hardware at the end, right??

But I'm going to do my best to get through the full. I have no one to blame but myself for my lack of training the past couple of months, but I had alot going on that took my time and energy, though I certainly should have been more disciplined and focused regardless. Maybe I was burned out and needed a break. All I know is that is two months of my life I can't get back. I need to remember I had a GREAT San Antonio marathon and really nothing to prove in this marathon. I stated in my post about the SA Marathon that if I didn't feel like I could Boston-qualify in future marathons, I was going to pull back and just enjoy the run (and burn calories!!). That is the plan for Sunday.

Marathon weather watch: (un)accuweather.com is now forecasting a low of 46 and a high of 61 with mostly sunny skies. Weather.com has about the same temp range but with rain. I'm still hoping for colder weather, like close to freezing when the race starts. That way my legs will be good and numb and I won't be able to feel the pain.

Shout out: My friend Aimee and I met at the Houstonian on Saturday for lunch, and we ended up having a long, wonderful talk that was much needed by both of us. Aimee and I have known each other since grad school, and she is a fabulous friend. We have definitely had our share of personal ups and downs over the years, and we are always there for each other, lending an ear, providing a shoulder, and telling it like it is. Thanks Aimee!

Buh-bye 2nd generation iPod: Yes, I'm a little behind in updating my iPod technology. My cherished 2nd gen iPod just isn't doing it for me anymore. I would charge it for 24 hours and only get about 20 minutes out of it. So today before the game, I purchased an iPod Nano, in green, which is my favorite color despite my obsession with pink. I just may run with it during the marathon...

Dear marathon weather gods...

Please, PLEASE, let accuweather.com's current forecast for marathon day hold! Its supposed to be sunny to partly cloudy with a low of 33 and a high of 53 as of just a few minutes ago (but its already changed 3 times today). This would be PERFECT running weather. I might actually have a less suckier race than I'm anticipating.

Thank you,
26.2 Princess

On tap for this weekend: An easy 6 miles in the morning, quite possibly in the rain. Then I plan to join my running group at Otto's for a yummy post-run breakfast. Haven't been there in a long time, so it will be good to hang out after the last training run of the season. Its all about NFL playoffs this weekend. I'll be hitting BW3 in Rice Village on Sunday, so readers, feel free to join me and a couple of my friends! The more the merrier, right?

College National Championship Game: Thanks to Ruthie and Todd for hosting a fun party to watch the game last night. I was hoping Oklahoma would win for the sake of the Big XII. But Florida is a great team, it was a good game, and now I could absolutely care less. I hope Mike & Mike on ESPN stop talking about it soon.

Stupid HOA: So back in December, I received a letter from my HOA. I thought for sure they were thanking me for sending in my annual dues in such a timely matter. Oh no, why in the world would they be that friendly? Instead, they told me that I needed to fix/remove the satellite dish on my roof. First of all, its not really my dish. It was the previous owners' dish but now my responsibility. No problem. It was apparently damaged and fell over during the hurricane (well, I know that's what happened because I can see it). And apparently, the powers-that-be just noticed it. I've called a roofing company to remove it and fix any holes or damage it may have caused to my roof. I've called the roofing company three times now. I have yet to have an appointment booked. Sigh. Hopefully I won't get fined. I have until January 17 to fix it, which is unlikely. I fully expect another letter, probably nastier. Ah, the joys of home ownership!

The sun is back!

Finally! I was getting very tired of cold rain. I took advantage of the nice evening and went for a run at Memorial. I ended up running with Joe for a while and it was nice to catch up with him. Plus, he got me to run about 2 more miles than I was planning to. A nice little 5 mile run was apparently just what I needed! And speaking of running, thanks to Alaina for the very nice note she sent to me today.

Marathon weather watch: The not-so-accurate accuweather.com extended forecast currently calls for mostly cloudy skies, high of 63, low of 49. Not too bad. This forecast will change 25 times before then though.

Question of the day: Am I the only person who thinks that restaurants put way too much lettuce on salads? Apparently so. Here is the conversation I had with the girl at CPK when I called in to order a salad for pick-up:
Me: I'd like a BBQ chicken salad with avocado, and only about half the lettuce you normally put on salads.
CPK girl: I'm sorry, what?
Me: I only want a little bit of lettuce.
CPK girl: You want LESS lettuce, on a salad?
Me: Yes, less lettuce.
CPK girl: Ooookay.
Good lord, I'm not a rabbit. I can't stand it when salads are piled up with lettuce, then you stick your fork in and all of the toppings fall off because there is so much freaking lettuce! How hard is this to understand??

This reminds me of an encounter I had several years ago with the lady in the Whataburger drive-thru:
Me: I'd like a grilled chicken sandwich, no lettuce or tomatoes.
Drive-thru girl: You want that dry?
Me: What do you mean "dry"?
Drive-thru girl: Nothin' on it.
Me: No, I still want the pickles and onions but no lettuce or tomatoes.
Drive-thru girl: Okay, that's no pickles or onions.
Me: No, no lettuce or tomatoes.
Drive-thru girl: No tomatoes or pickles.
Me: No, that's not correct. Let's start over. I want everything on it but lettuce and tomatoes. No lettuce, no tomatoes.
Drive-thru girl: Ok, no lettuce, no tomatoes.
Me: Correct!
I pulled up to the window and verified with her that there was indeed no lettuce or tomatoes on my sandwich. She said no ma'am. No lettuce or tomatoes. I got home and there were lettuce and tomatoes on my sandwich, and no pickles or onions. Sigh.

My Wish for You in 2009...

"May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words, may 2009 be the best year of your life!"

Yes, I'd like some crackers with that cheese! If only it were that simple, huh?! A friend sent that to me, and I smiled while shaking my head...wow, 2008 was an unusually rough year for so many people...me, my family, friends and people I don't even know. The economy, Hurricane Ike, job losses, divorce, medical issues, whooping cough. But it was also a great year for so many, with births, marriages, new homes and new jobs, and for me personally, purchasing a home, running two sub-four marathons, re-connecting with old friends via Facebook, becomming an aunt again, my mom's successful surgery and finally finding a good Botox doctor. ;)

Running update: Despite the cold, I will be hitting Memorial Park for a run this evening. Then...drum roll... the Bachelor 13 begins tonight! Woo-hoo! This one is going to be different...he is a single dad who is looking for love. I think it will be refreshing and less lame than the more recent "Bachelors" (okay, all of the shows have been lame, but its really fun to make fun of the girls). Children are such an important part of parents' lives, a top priority as they should be, and a single father who is willing to put himself back out there, looking for a relationship and love again, well, its quite charming. Not that any of these shows result in everlasting love, but still, its sweet. I'll be rooting for him!

Welcome 2009!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a fun New Year's Eve! I spent the majority of my evening at Dennis and Emily's party, which was a blast (thanks y'all!). Good company, good food, good drinks. Can never go wrong with that combination! I laughed at the guys playing Wii golf, enjoyed talking with Greg and Alaina, and had a great conversation with Ruthie about recent family events and running (of course we talked about running!)...she reminded me that no one but me cares how fast I run a marathon; they only ever want to know how many you've run. That's what I needed to hear, as I have been contemplating not running Houston because I don't feel ready to break any personal records. So what if this won't be my fastest marathon? I'm going to go out there and have fun this year, enjoy the crowds and entertainment, and burn a crap-load of calories (which is very necessary given my eating habits since Thanksgiving)! I am re-motivated!

New Years Resolution: Mine is the same as it has been the past couple of years... do one nice thing a day for someone else. This is more difficult that it sounds, believe me, especially before my morning coffee! I find it fascinating that everyone views this one day as a fresh start, an opportunity to develop good habits and break bad ones, a chance to re-assess your life. Its a day of optimism and hope and new beginnings, and if you are superstitious, a day to consume large amounts of black eyed peas. For many, its a day to take down Christmas decorations. All I know is that I'm glad I don't belong to a gym, because everyone will be crammed into them for the next several weeks, trying to honor their resolutions. 99% will fail. I'm just sayin'...

Christmas: I had a great time with my family over Christmas. My brother, sister in law and the kids came to my parents' in B/CS on Friday, and that's when we celebrated and opened presents. Having toddlers around makes it so much more fun! The twins are now well aware of who their Auntie Kiki is, and I couldn't have had a better time playing with them. It was also great to have my mom feeling alot better and recovering very nicely from her surgery. And I got in a few games of pool with my dad (I only won one game, but I did sink an awesome behind-the-back shot). Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of BBQ was delicious, and we had the best filets for Christmas dinner (notice all of the talk about food, which is why I could stand to burn 3000 calories on marathon day!). The only thing missing was our traditional Christmas morning consumption of Bloody Marys, since we had Christmas in the evening. I'm sure we'll pick that one back up next Christmas.

The boys decorating me with Christmas bows, bags and boxes:


Me and my beautiful niece:


The Christmas Ficus:


The boys and Millie:


Running update: I managed a pretty decent 6 mile run on Tuesday morning, and was refreshed and ready for my day. Got home to start some work on the computer, and it crashed. My euphoria from my run was gone in a flash, much like my hard drive. Thankfully, I have been very nice over the years to the IT guys at work, and they wasted no time setting up and installing all the necessary stuff (by stuff I mean computer programs and other things that I know nothing about) yesterday. See, it does pay to be nice to people, hence my New Year's resolution. I had planned to get a run in yesterday too but was at the office all day working while they fixed my computer. I'll get in a short run tomorrow then join my training group on Saturday morning for an easy 8 mile taper run. Today is all about recovery from last night, and bowl games of course.

My less-than-21-mile 21 miler...

Bright and early this morning was the annual Houston Fit 21 miler, the final big run/test before the Houston Marathon in January. This is quite an event, with surrounding Fit groups join us and the two water/food stations go all out with decorations and entertainment (thanks volunteers!). And the runner turnout was pretty decent. Nice to see so many people sticking with it this late in the game.

Since I ran San Antonio before Thanksgiving, and as noted in previous posts, have not been diligent with my training lately, my goal this morning was to run 13-18 miles. Despite the humidity and resulting fatigue, I managed to run what I think was between 16-17 miles. I "think" because my watch ran out of battery power at mile 15.22, and I was about 2.5 miles from the finish. Yes, this irritated me greatly, because as everyone knows, I like to know exactly how far I've run and at what average pace. But what did get recorded by my watch showed an average 9:15-9:30 pace, which I am very pleased with. I took it easy at the start, pushed myself when I was up to it, and did alot of walking (for me) today, and since I stopped my watch when I walked, I probably ran/walked close to 18 miles today. But I will never know, will I?? Stupid watch batteries, but I digress...

I can say without a doubt that today was the warmest and most humid "21-miler" I've run. I hate to think what the Marathon will be like if these type of conditions are present that day. It got me thinking about the previous 21-milers I've run. My first one in 2004 was great. We were still running three loops along Buffalo Bayou back then, and the weather was clear and sunny and cold. Great run that day. In 2005, it was about 38 degrees, with a hard rain and some sleet mixed in. Awesome :/ And because it had been raining all week, there was mud everywhere (still on the Bayou route), and we had to modify the route to avoid the huge mud pit under one of the overpasses. A ton of people called it quits early on this run, but I ran the whole 21 and thought it was kind of funny. I mean, we were so cold, and couldn't feel our hands, feet, faces, that things got humorous when we tried to put on chapstick or hold a cup of water. Needless to say, that run is now infamous. I can honestly say I have zero recollection about the 2006 run, but I know I ran it and it must have been uneventful. I think that is also the year we changed to route to run the Rice and Herman park loops. Last year, which was 2007 in case you are having trouble keeping up with my trip down memory lane, the run was moved to Sunday morning because of severe weather on Saturday. Thankfully, that severe weather brought with it a great cold front and made for perfect running weather. Last year's 21 miler was probably my favorite.

Kudos to all of the runners who ran today, many of whom looked a heck of alot stronger than I did. I got to run with Dennis for a while, and he was having a great run, and I saw Kathleen out there too. Joe and Danny were great on bike patrol, and thanks to Joe for relieving me of my annoying fuel belt. You see, for years I wore a belt for my water bottles, which affectionately became known as my "Bat Belt." This year, I made the transition to a hand-held water bottle, which I love, because the fuel belt never quite stays in place around the waist/hips. Well, I left said hand-held water bottle at my parent's house over Thanksgiving and forgot to buy a new one here, so I had to kick it old school, and it sucked. I think the belt started annoying me at about the 300 yard mark, and I was finally able to get rid of it at mile 4-ish. That was a relief. Stupid water belts, but I digress...

Today also marked the first time my nose ran faster than I did...Stupid sinuses, but I digress.

I'm rendered speechless, and yet oddly fascinated...

...but finding this in a man's bathroom cabinet would be a deal-breaker...

The princess's weekend update...

Running update: Though I didn't make it out with my training group to run on Saturday morning, I did eventually get my butt out of bed and run a quick 6 miles. I must say that my training has been seriously lacking recently (by recently I mean the past month) with everything going on with my family. I have great concern that I will not be ready for the Houston Marathon in the way I want to be. A little disappointing, but honestly, right now I don't care. In fact, I've considered not even running it because I'm so far behind in my training, and its too late to switch to the half marathon. But I'll keep trying to get out and run when I can, see what happends. Since I could use the exercise, I consider this a good plan. I'm going to attempt a run from 15-21 miles on Saturday morning. The distance will be determined by how I feel that morning. This run will pretty much be about burning calories, primarily those consumed this past weekend.

Thanks to Greg and Alaina for hosting a fabulous holiday party on Saturday night! Had a lot of fun as usual. It was a much needed stress-reliever.

Went to the Texans game on Sunday and watched us win a close one vs Tennessee. Its always nice to beat the old Oilers. Add a little tailgating action before and after the game, and it was a great afternoon. Also a much needed stress-reliever (noticing a theme here?)

I also watched "The Strangers" on Sunday night. My friend and I questioned the claim that the movie was inspired by true events. If you've seen the movie, you know its creepy and scary and everyone ends up dead in the end. However, I had never heard of this murderous home break-in, and I'm a news junkie, especially gory news that I can talk about at the dinner table. After some research, we discovered that the events that "inspired" this movie were simply random break-ins of houses when people weren't home, several years ago. I will never be a movie script writer, because there is no way my mind would think "I'm going to write a movie based on these random harmless break-ins, but I'm going to make it really scary and have innocent people murdered for fun." Then again, if I had that twisted of a mind, I might be very wealthy.

Mom update: So all of my talk about stress is directly related to the situation with my mom. The good news is she is to be released from the hospital. She's feeling really good and getting around well without the pain meds. She has been through so much, and I'm very proud of her for her courage and strength throughout this ordeal. She's been in the hospital for over two weeks and is very ready to get back to her home after she stays at my place for a couple of days. Still keeping our fingers crossed that the surgery will result in her other issues healing on their own. If not, another surgery will be necessary. Regardless, the fact that she is doing so much better has really taken a load off my mind. Thanks to everyone who kept my mom in your thoughts and/or expressed well-wishes to me!

As a result of the events with my mom and her expected recovery time, I have learned that instead of me and my parents heading to Dallas for Christmas to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and my nephews and niece, they will be heading to my parents house the day after Christmas. I'm very excited about this and grateful, because I don't think my mom would be up for a trip at this point. I cannot wait to see the little ones!! Lots of loving from Auntie Kiki is in store!

Speaking of Christmas: How did it end up being just around the corner?! It wasn't supposed to sneak up this fast. I can honestly say I have done zero Christmas shopping except for my Goddaughter and her brother. Nada, nothing. I hope everyone is happy with gift cards this year. This will truly be a Christmas about family and not gifts, though I love to give gifts. Maybe I can manage to find a little something for everyone. Everyone who has been good that is. I also have not done my Christmas cards and probably won't. I wonder if anyone will even notice?

Speaking of buying stuff: You've got to know that the economy is bad when I haven't even been in an Ann Taylor store, or any store in the Galleria for that matter, in a month. OMG! I might actually have to start wearing the same thing twice! The horror!! I hope no one notices...

Belated birthdays: I want to wish my friends Aimee and Karla a Happy Belated Birthday!! They both had birthdays last week and I was unable to round up a couple of cards in time. Sorry ladies, but my thoughts were with you and my intentions were true!

Sinuses: Seriously, what's the deal? Our lovely Texas weather that goes from snowing to 80 degrees back to 40 degrees and should get back up to 80 by Friday has sent my allergies into full attack. As if we didn't have enough ill people in my family right now. Its almost embarrassing. But, I should have known, because this happens to me every freaking year at this time.