Eager Beaver

I learned about The Houston Half back in February when I got the cRaZy notion in my head to do the full marathon in Houston in January 2011.  You see, I knew I wanted to do a half before I did a whole, so I naturally looked for an area race I could participate in.  Back then, their website reflected the 2009 race info, but did specify the date of the 2010 race, so I always knew I was going to run this race on Sunday, October 24th.  What I didn't know at that time is that in March I would get side-tracked with the cRaZy notion of running a half before this half.  Ahhhh...the power of suggestion courtesy of Bobbi Jo.

A couple of months ago, The Houston Half's website skinnied down to just their logo, the registration date (June 15th), and a message on the bottom providing the viewer with a contact email address for information/inqueries.  Meanwhile, I've been trying to gather up some friends to run the race with me.  I think there is a certain comfort in knowing you have friends in the masses - even if you never see them past the start line and the after party - it's just nice to know they are experiencing the journey with you.

Do you know I've run all three of my 5Ks and my one 10K with Lauren?  It's going to be so weird to run the Chicago Rock n' Roll Half without her.  Thankfully, I will still have a friend with me -  Bobbi Jo, not to mention an aunt (who is amazingly fast) and an uncle.

I also miss my Meliska.  She was my inspiration in getting into running.  We did two races together and then she had to step down temporarily due to pregnancy, but you better believe we will be hitting the pavement together again as soon as she is ready!

Okay, okay...in typical Kim fashion, I have digressed...so my point in all of this is that last night I went onto the Houston Half's website just to see if they had added any additional info since the registration was to be opened up today.  Imagine my surprise to see that there was a registration tab and that it was allowing me to register.  Additionally, they had a Facebook link, so I clicked over to "like" Houston Half-Marathon and Relay and then I added the following comment which received the response below:

Kimberly Marx just signed up!!! yay!

Yesterday at 8:24pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · Flag

Houston Half-Marathon & Relay Congratulations! You're the first registrant for the 2010 race. Thank you!!!
11 hours ago · Flag





Yes, I realize I made the pictures and text ridiculously large...please, allow me to explain.  I tried to just copy and paste, but of course that would only copy and paste the text.  I wanted you, my loyal and faithful readers to have the full experience, so the pictures were a must, but they showed up larger than life, so I changed the text size to compliment the picture size.  I'm kinda thoughtful like that...didn't want anyone to feel fat.  ;)

Anywho...so I'm all walking around with this big ego thinking how cool, yet dorky I am to have been first when I checked my email this morning and saw that the director of the race emailed me that there was a glitch in the system and my payment and address information somehow got lost.  He made a point of saying it wasn't my error and he was very sorry and could I please go back into the system and re-register and he would send me a confirmation email once he received my registration and/or I could call him directly.  It hurt my feelings, y'all.  =(  So, I tried to re-register, but the system told me I was duplicating my registration, so I called him instead - super nice guy, by the way.  He told me there were 9 of us that it had happened to.  I had asked if my friend Melissa B. was one of them and he said yes (sorry, Melissa!).  He said he was keeping track of us and the order we registered in when I told him it just sucked because I knew I had been first since the Facebook peeps told me so.  He laughed and told me it was true and that he couldn't guarantee me the #1 on my bib because the lowest numbers are reserved for the elite runners, but he was going to make sure that the 9 of us were next in line.  So, that turned my frown upside down.  =)  

Well that's all I have for you today....quite a mouthful as usual!  Peace out and have a happy day!

not so elusive 9

Put myself to bed around 9:30pm, just to be awakened around 10:15pm by a thorn in my side.  No worries...got rid of "it".  One can only hope I got rid of "it" for good.  It wasn't pleasant, so I took some of my Melatonin to ensure the rest of the night would be smooth sailing sleepy time.  Of course this meant I did not get my early start (what is it with me and this whole early rise thing anyway?).  Oh well...a girl's gotta do with a girl's gotta do.

So, I got up later than I wanted, took my thyroid pill, took a bubble bath to unwind some more, played a little Mafia Wars on Facebook  (I'm on level 510, you know), ate my Better Oats Oat Fit oatmeal, got my grape Powerade Zero ready and made a really weird decision....I decided to run in the ol' neighborhood instead of at the park.  I've been running in the park since February with the exception of my night time running, so this was pretty wild and crazy for me.  Lately, I've been getting kinda annoyed with the soccer watchers - they are supposed to stay clear of the jogging path, but I find myself weaving in and out of them as if I were on an obstacle course.  Furthermore, I have noticed my pace gets a little wacky when I approach them because I get a rush of anxiety.  I know soccer season is coming to an end, so I won't be dealing with it much longer anyway, but I also thought that maybe a change from my routine would be good for me.

I ran my first 2 miles when I realized I left my heart monitor at home, so I ran into the house to get it, slammed a cup of water, and ran back out (leaving one bewildered blind dog howling and another angry crated dog whining).  I ran the next 3 miles when I realized that if I didn't find a bathroom stat there was gonna be a problem, so I made it back home, ran into the house, handled my business, downed my Powerade zero (yeah....all 32 oz - probably not the best plan cuz it felt very heavy in my stomach for quite a while), and then had the *pleasure* of hearing the agonizing stereo sound of my beasts as I ran down the street.  Then I finished the remaining 4 miles.  I'm not gonna lie...I thought about quitting at mile 7 and calling it a disappointing day...my thighs already felt it and I was a sweaty stinky mess.  Up until that moment, I had stayed clear of looking at my pace...I just concentrated on listening to the beeps of my watch which is programmed for 4 minute run / 1 minute walk intervals and so graciously lets me knows when it is time to do that 1 minute walk and when it is time to kick it back into gear.  I occasionally glanced at the mileage just so I would know how far I'd gone and how much further I still had to go, but other than that...I paid absolutely no attention to my pace because my intention was just to get the 9 miles done.   So, when I did see that I was averaging slightly above 14 minutes/mile, I was uber annoyed with myself.  I mean why didn't I just have someone push me in a shopping cart while sipping on a margarita?  I was, apparently, taking my dear sweet time.  Then I reeled my mean girl back in and remembered that it was like 90+ degrees with the heat index, still humid (though not as bad as it has been, thankfully) and that 9 miles is 2 1/2 more miles than I did the Saturday before and 2 miles more than I've done in a very, very long time.  In fact, it's the most I've done yet. The cool thing about having my very first half marathon on August 1st is that it is my very first half marathon...this is the one where I set my time and then I get a chance to beat it at the next one which will be over 2 1/2 months later when I'm all that much more experienced and trained.

I swear, sometimes I think I am my own worst enemy.

So, the elusive 9 miles no longer eludes me.  The plan is to do 9 miles for my long run next Saturday, as well, and to just keep trying to build my weekly mileage.

Lazy

I was really really gonna try soooo hard to get 8 to 9 miles in during the week.  Monday night, as I mentioned in my last blog, I did 3.1 humidified miles.  Then, on Tuesday, I made it 2.1 miles.  I should have kept going, but I was seriously worried about drowning in my own sweat.  I might have had a few sips of it accidentally.  Ewww....gross!

I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but it is really terribly humid right now.  I mean I can handle normal humidity...this is above and beyond.  It is also so hard to run in the evenings after working all day.  I have such appreciation for my Saturday MORNING runs now.  I am so much lighter on my feet.  I have so much more energy.  I have such fewer aches and pains.  What a difference the day makes, y'all.

I knew I was taking last night off...I had plans to meet my friend Kim for dinner.  We had not seen each other in 3 months!  I also had plans for dinner tonight, so I figured I should get up and run on the treadmill this morning.  The goal was 3 miles despite the fact that I have never run more than 1 at a time.  While at dinner with Kim last night, my dinner plans for tonight got postponed.  That meant I would not have to wake up early this morning and that I could get in my run tonight.  Yeah right.  After putting in 10 1/2 stressful hours at the office, dealing with some water retention issues (swollen ankles...um...cankles, if you will), and a very bad attitude towards this humidity, I just can't make myself leave my couch.  I, my friends, am lazy.  I suppose So You Think You Can Dance being on isn't helping.  I mean I have DVR, but I'm in instant gratification kinda girl.

Now I will most likely struggle once again to reach my goal mileage on Saturday because I'm not going to hit my weakly mileage goal.  I'm disappointed in myself.  This is what I get for training for a half during a Houston summer while working in the moving business.  Oye.

It's kinda like wax on, wax off only different.

I set out to once again run the 9 miles that keeps eluding me on Saturday and once again...I came up short.  This is the only time, however, that I actually walked away with my head held up high and here is why...

The plan was to wake-up at 4:30am to be out at the park at 6:00am.  No, the park is not so far away, but I am a huge dawdler in the morning.  Unfortunately, I had a horrible night's sleep...one of those tossing and turning kinda nights (and that was AFTER having popped some Melatonin), so yeah...the plan failed.  This meant a later start which meant more exposure to that blasted heat and humidity.

I had pondered several times what the best way to go about completing my mileage would be...should I do 5 medium laps (roughly 1.8 miles each) and walk the remainder?  Should I do 7 short laps (roughly 1.3 miles each)?  Should I do a combo of the 2?  Should I throw in one of the long laps (roughly 3.8 miles)?   I eventually opted to do all short laps.  After 5 of them, I stopped at one of the picnic benches and there I met my own personal Mr. Miyagi.  I have seen him out at the park every Saturday.  He is quite obviously a seasoned runner.  We greeted one another.  He told me he sees how hard I work and he noticed how much I've been improving.  He asked if he could offer up some suggestions.  I eagerly answered yes and said I love to listen to any advice I am offered.  He said he notices that I do not use my arms very much and that I am forcing my legs to work harder and thereby burning my energy faster since I am not putting my arms to their proper use.  He encouraged me to find out how many steps I'm taking per minute - he said he suspects I'm taking about 140 and he said my goal should be around 180.

We continued to talk and I explained to him my running history and how I was nervous about my Chicago Rock 'n Roll coming up on August 1st.  I also told him of my plan to join the Champions Fit's training program in July to train for the Houston Full Marathon.  He asked me to consider joining the training group he runs with instead.  It's called Marathon Team NAM and it benefits the Northwest Assistant Ministries.  Ironically, my mom volunteers one day a week for NAM, so I am quite familiar with them.  He said the training cost is half the cost of Champion Fit's, but that I would be expected to raise money for NAM for the race.  That is no problem!  He gave me the web address and told me if I emailed the email address on the website, he would get a copy of it.  He said to provide him with what I have been doing for my training, where I initially started, how I've progressed, etc... and he would provide me with a guide to get me prepared in time for my half marathon.

I sent my Mr. Miyagi an email later that day and true to his word, he responded back.  He explained that I was having a hard time getting beyond the 7 mile mark because of my weekly mileage.  You see, I'm only doing 3 to 6 miles during the week.  He said I should be doing 1 to 2 times the mileage accumulatively throughout the week that I will be doing on my Saturday (or Sunday) long run.  So, basically when aiming for 9 on a Saturday, I should be running a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 18 scattered throughout the week.  Ahhhhh....like a light bulb, it all made sense.  My body has not been prepared for these longer runs.  Sure, I've been hitting the elliptical and the bike - lots of cross training, BUT my focus needs to be on running right now.  I have less than 2 months to get ready for this half!  No more playing around - it's down to business for this runner - you will find me Monday thru Thursday evening pulling 2 to 3 milers around my subdivision!

My Mr. Miyagi also suggested I get rid of the running capris and turn to shorts.  I tried on some shorts at Academy.  No can do.  I don't wear shorts in real life, nor can I manage it in running life.  The idea is to zone out and do my thing...I can't possibly do that while worrying about tugging down my shorts from riding up every 3 seconds.  Capris may be hotter, but they are infinitely more comfortable for me and it is crucial for me to be running comfortably!

So, it was only a 6.5 miler on Saturday, but I feel like I gained a mentor, found a new training group for the full marathon, and discovered where I've been going wrong with some of my training!  This was worth missing the 9 over.

On Monday, I got down to business...I won't lie, running after working all day is hard for me, but I set the goal at a 5K and I did just that.  It was slow and steady, but I...finished it and felt great (despite the truly wretched humidity which was worse than any other day so far, I'm convinced).

You can call me Kimmy-sun, by the way.  It's only right.

Fruit Loop Magnet

When things didn't work out between me and eHarmony, I decided to embark upon a new journey with Match.com.  It's been interesting, to say the least.  I may just have to share some of those stories another day.  I realize it's not right to make fun of people.  I also understand that posting this could lead to the further extension of my singledom, but I just can't help myself.

On Tuesday, a 27 year old guy "winked" at me on Match.com.  Now my initial reaction was, "I am so not a cougar."  My father and brother-in-law encouraged me to "wink" back informing me that I was not a cougar.  Someone (I think it was older sister Cathy) told me the rules and it's something like as long as they are older than half your age plus 7, then you are in the clear.  So, since I'm 33...as long as a guy is at least 25, all is well?!  Whatever.

Anyway, so after my winkie winkie, he emailed me on the site and I emailed him back and then he gave me his phone number and wanted me to text him.  Here we go again with the texting!  I realize I sound like a 50+ year old not embracing our world's technology, but I just get sooooo annoyed with the relying on texting as the number one communicator in the initial dating stages.  To me, texting is like a drive-thru versus a sit-down restaurant, if that makes any sense.  People want to have entire conversations via texts and I don't get it.  But alas...in typical Kim-fashion, I've digressed...so, I explained to him that it is difficult for me to text while at work, so I will text him once I get home.  We will call him "Match.com guy" to protect his identity - MG for short, by the way.

So, this was our "convo".

Kim:  Hey!  It's Kim.
MG:  Hey how r u
Kim:  I'm good...glad to be home.  How r u?

Yes, he left me hanging.  I don't think I really cared because it wasn't like anything was truly established.  I guess I just figured maybe he had hoped for some kind of less traditional response.  Then...I just kinda forgot about him....until Wednesday NIGHT at 10:02 when he text me out of the blue.

MG:  Hey how are u?

This time my turn to ignore.  First of all, I was already in bed.  Secondly...um...you never responded to my question from over 24 hours ago.  Third of all, unless you know a person, it's kind of rude to text or call after 9.

Flash forward to the next morning around 8amish.

MG:  Good morning kim how did u sleep?
Kim:  Good morning!  Was sleeping when you text last night...sorry!  Slept okay...storm woke me around 2 am.  How about u?
MG:  Whoa what time do u go to bed usually?
Kim:  Haha...depends...I had walked the dogs, then gone for a short run, then hit the gym...after my shower I realized I was exhausted and called it a night.
MG:  Haha without saying hi to me hmmm
Kim:  Awwww.....  :(
MG:  I know that's how I felt!  :(

*Note...I don't say anything else cuz I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, so a little while later...

MG:  So tell me something I don't already know about u that I should know  :)
Kim:  Hmmm...I can't stand david hasselhoff...we are mortal enemies.  Your turn!
MG:  I love greek food
Kim:  Mmmmmmm....hummus...
MG:  Yes so do u date much n what r u looking for?
Kim:  No...I don't date much.  Looking to date...potential long term.  U?
MG:  Me too I need someone who will grab my attention
Kim:  Been bored have ya?
MG:  Yes I need someone to grab my attention.

*Note...I don't say anything else cuz...well he just repeated himself and now it's just kind of awkward.  So a little while later...

MG:  Sexy how's ur day going?  (note:  not a big fan of being called sexy by some dude who isn't already dating me)
Kim:  It was going well until rue mcclanahan died.  I feel slightly responsible...I just said something on sat about deaths happening in 3s and her being next.  Weird.  Ur day?
MG:  My day is going well!
Kim:  Well that's happy!  :)
MG:  Yup did u think of me today?

*Note...I don't say anything else cuz...well why would I think about him?  I don't know him and really that's such a weird thing to ask someone you've only been texting for a couple of days.  At 10:15pm, I get this...

MG:  Hey sexyyyyyyy what r u doing?

*Note...he gets no response because....once again...I'm in bed...it's even later than the first time he text me after 10pm and got no response and I told him the next day I was already in bed NOT TO MENTION the whole sexy thing is really obnoxious AND I'm still creeped out about him wanting to know if I had been thinking about him.  And then the next morning (Friday) I get this...

MG:  Good morning sexy how r u

*Note...he gets no response.  At 9:15pmish I get this...

MG:  Hey how r u

*Note...he gets no response.  Really, really hoping he would just buy a clue.  No such luck.  Sunday 12:32am...

MG:  How was ur day?

Note:  That one woke me up.  I knew in the morning I would have to take care of this once and for all.  So when I woke up at 7am on Sunday, I sent this...

Kim:  Please stop texting me.
MG:  Y I just got off of work I thought u wanted something more?
Kim:  Not interested
MG:  Haha that's funny cause u were but if u don't have commitment I wouldn't want u anyways good luck.

WHAT?!  I guess I'm glad I finally told him to stop texting me or else I would have been text-message-married to him (in his eyes) by the end of the month with how quickly our "relationship" had been progressing.  What a fruit loop!

the secret phone

I'm driving back to the office from lunch yesterday when a strange number dials my phone (well, to be fair...a person dialed my phone from a number I did not know). I answer my phone in that awkward tone...you know the one...totally unsure of who is on the other line and wondering as to whether or not it's really in my best interest to find out...just to discover it's my father. He is calling from his "other phone"...his apparent "secret phone".

Really, what happened is that he got that stupid Storm phone a while back and hated it (it was not very user friendly), but couldn't get a new phone without paying a ridiculous amount of money. The sales person at Verizon helped him find a loop-hole by way of paying a small amount for another line and then switched his old phone number to the new phone and his new phone number to the Storm (or something like that) - hence this secret phone.

I can't decide if he just thought he was being cool having two phone numbers and wanted to make it public or if he really just felt the need to let me know there was a problem with his "real" phone and he had to go to Verizon (my latest enemy) to get the problem fixed...you know...in case I needed him and couldn't get a hold of him in the 20 minutes it took Verizon to provide him with a brand new replacement phone. Funny, Verizon, how my father gets a brand new replacement phone when his goes crazy, but when mine went all loony-toonish I got told to deal with it for 4 days until my refurbished phone could make its debut into the world. Nice.

After he explains why he has his secret phone which he actually calls his back-up phone, but I like being dramatic (and that my mother knows about it - love, love, love how he threw that in there), he makes a point of telling me that he called my brother and got the same weird reaction from him as he did from me. Well no kidding, dad! I mean I'm kinda thinking you like this attention or why else would you be making all these prank calls from your bat phone?! For the record, y'all...my brother, though yes...he works for our fam biz and does talk to my father several times throughout the day, he works in Virginia, so had he not been in communication with our father for oh let's say an hour, rest assured, he would have wormed his way onto my phone and everything would have been just dandy.

I asked if I should plug this "new" number into my phone as a secondary number for him and he said he won't have it forever and then he paused and thought about it and then he added that he may just keep it because it's kind of nice having a second phone for when things like this happen. Things like what, dad? When your phone stopped working and you were bored and decided to see what kind of a reaction you could get from two of your four kids by calling them from your secret phone during the 20 minutes it took Verizon to replace your phone. I mean...wow...what an inconvenience this must have been for you! Sheesh! Maybe his calls to me and my brother were legitimate OR maybe, just maybe this is what happens when he calls my mom and she doesn't answer because she is at the movies. Things that make you go hmmmm?!?!?!?!

Um...sorry Rue.

I was at the Menil Museum of Art on Saturday with older sister Cathy, her hubby Jay, and friends Jon and Brian when I found out via FB (on my trusty Droid - which I haven't quite figured out how to properly operate, by the way) that Dennis Hopper died.

Now, mind you...Gary Coleman had passed away on May 28th, followed by Dennis Hopper on May 29th. I made some kind of comment about deaths happening in 3s and how maybe Estelle Getty was next. Then I did the whole takey backey thing when I remembered that Estelle Getty had already passed on, so I naturally replaced her with Rue McClanahan because Lord knows Betty White will live forever. You are probably wondering why I had to go with a "Golden Girl". Yeah...no clue...call it instinct if you must call it anything at all.

I was perusing FB (in lieu of a smoke break since I don't smoke and I'm all about non-smokers having equal break time rights) just a few minutes ago and noticed my friend Rachel had updated her FB status to "not rue mcclanahan! someone pass me a piece of cheesecake, quick." This freaked me out - like maybe just maybe Rue died. So I looked her up on Wikipedia and sure enough...she did.

I think I may be slightly responsible by way of power of suggestion.

Lesson learned: Keep my big mouth shut next time two deaths happen in a row.