All Aboard the NOPE Train

This past weekend Husband Dearest and I got to go on our first EVER over night trip together where I wasn't pregnant. Make note: That was October 2009, ya'll. I'm telling you this just so I can share a couple pictures and then move on to the story you want to hear.

Me. An Update.

This is me.

28 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

31 weeks.

While Eric was taking pictures, Zeus came in an plopped down on the ground. He is the saddest looking dog. He obviously knows that something's up.

I've officially gained 21 lbs. My goal was 25, and I'm going to pass that, but I'll still be way under 60 lbs. I think I'll end up somewhere around 30 lbs., which is healthy I suppose. I definitely got the dreaded stretch marks. I didn't honestly think I would avoid them, but there was this little glimmer of hope. The belly button is still quite in (except for when Eli kicks right behind it- not only is that painful, but it actually flattens out my BB while his foot is there. Fuuuurreeaakky.). I took our my navel ring. Only because when someone (usually unwanted) touches (grabs) my stomach the first thing they would say is, "Oh MY GAWD! Is that your belly button!?" Then I'd have to explain that it's my belly ring, and I'd get all kinds of reactions:

Can I see? - No.

Why are you still wearing that? - Because I can.

That's bad for the baby? - You're Stupid.

Can I see? - No.

I have stopped running. Which is sad, but, well, it's... HARD. I get in a swim every so often, but that's really it. I'm going to try to get out and walk more, but this heat and humidity is ridiculous. For my own enjoyment, I want it to be mild this summer, however, for my work's perspective, I need it to be hot as hell. Not sure what we'll get.

PS here's a reminder: This was 7 weeks.

A Thursday Open Letter

Dear Groundhog,

I hate you. You may be cute, true. You might be fuzzy, yes. However, if you come out of that effing hole and see your shadow EVER again, I will club you like Canadians going after baby seals. I am growing weary of this weather. I don't fit in my slacks, and they are uncomfortable at best, anyway. I am ready to wear skirts in brightly colored floral prints made of cotton. I am up for smothering SPF 40 all over my face and arms so that I may sit outside and guard my spray ground. I want to wear over sized sunglasses, and flip flops again.

Please, Mr. Groundhog, please. I want to have a reason to shave my legs again.

I would like to see a freckle or six on my shoulder. I want my hair to naturally lighten. I will gladly trade in my yoga pants and over sized hoody for a two piece lifeguard suit again. Buddha Belly and all.

I have lost faith in our weathermen. Can they not change the weather as the go? You, Mr. Groundhog, the see-er of all things meteorological, can you not have some influence? Might you possibly come up and say "Nope, no shadow!?"

Because, my dear friend, if we cannot reach a better solution to this wintry weather blues, I may be forced to find a recipe for groundhog loaf (Which I have found similar here and here). And you, particularly you, Punxsutawney Phil, are quite plump. I'm sure you would make an excellent stew.

Now, do not take vengeance in my threats (PROMISES). I will not be happy waddling around 30 some weeks impregnated in July. Do not give 115* temperatures, because, that too, I will blame on you. And then, sir, it will be much easier to bring broth to a boil.

I feel you may think that even if you are gone, your cronies, the local weathermen, will continue on. I have my own plans for them as well. I would like to mention that if I see another forecast such as this any time before December, Tony Soprano will look like a saviour.

With much love,

Corky S.

Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon 2009

October 17, 2009

Poor poor Husband. He really thought I was kidding when I said we had to leave the house at 5:15am. Poor poor dog. He didn't know he wasn't going to dog park.

About 6:00am the Husband, Zeus dog, and I rolled into the parking lot on the south end of Crown Center. Here we were. Marathon day. In the rain. And cold. BUT! The temperatures were over 40, and I couldn't have been happier.



Before I found my pace group, I hung out with Merple and the blue beast for a bit. I wanted to stay in warm dry clothes as long as possible.



Zeus, however, was getting hugged loved and snuggle by triplet three year olds and their two older brothers. Nothing like seeing a hulking 110 + lbs cane corso getting mauled by a handful of toddlers.




Before taking off, Husband snapped a couple pictures of me, and gave me my throw-away DFT jacket. Throw-away jackets are the world's best invention. Seriously. They're like trash bags, shaped like coats, with a zipper. Genius.



I started the race with the 5:20 pace group. The pace band Julie gave me was for 5:25. I felt really confident in this time (oops! Except I only ran three times in as many weeks leading up to the race!).


I talked with a lady there quite a bit, and we ran together for a long time. Here's the course map to follow along the recap!



The course started at Crown Center, went north a long Power & light and Sprint Center, cut west where Andrea came up behind me (she was running the 5k), and then went back south. When we went under bartle hall, i lost signal on my Garmin. I looked down and saw the time stopped, then forgot to start it back up again. Duh. The rest of the race I had to add 6 minutes and .5 miles to the calculations. Stupid bridges.




As we were passing mile three (I think) the lady next to me told me to "Check out that dog!" It was my dog!!! He was sitting so pretty next to Eric. Zeus' head was going back and forth, like he was watching a tennis match. Good puppy! That's when Merple took this picture->


This is when I should mention I ran in a running skirt. I've only worn it twice to run, but I pulled it on over a pair of tri shorts. I figured my ass could use the extra layer.




The course went south up this long hill by the Liberty Memorial. Loooong steeep hill. I started feeling like my bladder was full, and needed to pee- already! So, I kicked ahead of the pace group to potty at like mile 4, which was right out of the Liberty Memorial out-and-back. The line was ssoooo long. I decided I'd keep going. I spotted an Wendy's about a mile later.


I went in and line was about four women deep. I considered using the men's, until the grossest, biggest, greasiest man waddled out. He must have dropped a deuce the size of Raytown, because I, with my gag reflexes of steel, started feeling nauseated.


**Speaking of deuces: Friday morning I had a luncheon at one of my favorite restaurants. I had some salmon and cheesy rice. I'm not sure if the rice had something in it with gluten, or if my stomach was just not tolerating sustenance, but I had awful diarrhea. It lasted all afternoon, and until about 2am. I couldn't poop in the morning before the race, so I started with poo in bowels and completely dehydrated.**


I waited at the Wendy's for seven minutes. After I pee'd my bladder felt so deflated. I could drink and take in fluid again! Yay! But now, I was way behind my pace group. For whatever reason, I let me legs get WAY out from under me. I was hauling ass to catch up, for no real reason! I still had about 20 miles to go! Yet, I got back seven minutes in about 2.5 miles. Which meant I was basically running at 5k pace. I'm an idiot.


I felt really great and was still with the pace group at mile 10, where I saw Julie being a very up beat spectator. She had planned on running KC. But she raced Chicago the weekend before. I still think she should have done both. ha!


Mile 11 marks the start of the big climb- Sunset Dr. If you're familiar with Kansas City, and the ritz-tastic plaza, then you know the fancy-schmancy Sunset Dr. area. If not, check this out. This place has been for sale for a couple months, and I want it. You should buy it for me. Yes, that is a 25 yard infinity edge lap pool in the back. The homes on this street are freaking ridiculous. They are some of the best in KC. Even Ward Parkway, which we also visited, can't touch the Sunset Dr. homes.


Just after the peak of Sunset, is Loose Park. It's a staple for the Urbanites and Yoga-in-the-park people. Right at the top of Loose Park was my favorite band on the route (yes, there were bands along the route!). A Rastafarian reggae band! They were so good! Anyone know who those guys were? I want to see them play.


I started to loose footing on my pace group going up Sunset, and I could just see them in the distance at this point. However, I was now following a 5:20 pace band from the pace leader, and I was only 40 seconds off the cumulative time.


Now, I'm pretty sure I saw Julie on 75th street, by the brewery, but I don't remember. Somewhere around here she said she would see me at the 20 mile mark, but I couldn't tell you where.


In the Wornall-Brookside Blvd area I saw a handful of spectators I know. Thanks everyone!


I finally made it back to mile 20. We passed this on the way out. It was mile 8.5 for me, and the lead men were going past 20. Pff. If I were Kenyan I'd be fast too.


Here's where I was starting to hurt. I needed to poop, bad, and my knees were toast. My left foot started to throb along with my ankle at about mile 15, but it was tolerable. I had two emergency Tylenol that I took at the mile marker 20 aide station. I saw Julie and told her my stomach was acting up. I went in to poop, and of course, the seat was a mess, and there was no toilet paper. My gloves would have to do. The worst part was squatting. I thought my knees would explode and that I wouldn't be able to stand.


I felt much better, and Julie said she had talked to Husband. Apparently, he took the dog home, got a shower, had some lunch, and was driving back. Gawd, I'm so slow.


Somewhere about the infamous mile 18 I started to fall apart. I was taking longer walking breaks thru the aid stations, and was falling farther and farther off pace. I gave myself a pep talk here at 20, and was convinced it was now just a 10k. How many 10k's have I ran? Probably a hundred!


That didn't last too long, and I started doing run five minutes, walk two, plus the aid stations. There's several decent ascents in Hyde Park and the Paseo, which I struggled with.


I cop holding traffic asked me how I was feeling just before turning onto 18th St. "Like I'm at mile 24 of a marathon."


My foot really really hurt, and I was sluggish, but there was GREAT jazz coming off 18th and Vine and I was headed down the home stretch. The last two miles are flat to down hill, and I was trucking along (aka, moving at 13:55 min/miles).


I was so happy to turn down 18th cruising past the coffee houses and bicycle shop. So close! There's a gradual uphill to the finish. I could see Husband and Julie, but I wasn't very chipper.


I finished the race in 5:51.42. It was about 25 min off my goal time, but you can't be mad when you finish a marathon. It was also 13 min faster than my IMFL marathon split, which to date, is my only other marathon.


Next up, Gasprilla Distance Classic in Tampa Bay, FL. I'm not sold on the marathon yet. That's what I'm thinking, but I'm not positive. Mom's says she's going to do the half. I sent her a training schedule and she didn't respond. Hope I didn't scare the poop outta her!

We'll see if I'm okay to start training in a couple weeks. I sorta kinda stress fractured my foot Saturday (that explains that ouch during the race), so I have boot on. We'll see how long that lasts. I want to be healed to train, but I hobble and look stupid.

Warning for dog owners!

If you are an owner of a dog that belongs to a 'dangerous breed' category and you also have a small child please take this as a warning. Don't leave your dog with the child unattended under any circumstances. Only a little moment was enough for the following to happen. See the photo ....





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(Courtesy LawGalKC)

Zeus on the Loose

A little more info on Zeus-
Eric and I have been talking for about 6 weeks on getting another dog and what kind. We narrowed it down to a cane corso (italian mastiff) or an english bulldog. The corso was a better fit for us and we started looking at puppies. Then last Thursday I came home and there was a little guy sitting on my couch asleep wearing antlers!!!! I'm super excited, but he does make me miss my beloved Fuji really bad. But, our other dog, a pit bull named Shy is already acting happier. She has been super mopey since fuji's been gone, and she and Zeus (what we named him) have been flopping around with eachother. Ill post pictures later, but he's 11 weeks old, blue brindle color and his eyes are grey colored. We are not cropping his ears. He's 19lbs, and has rancid toots. He'll be about 110-130lbs. We have him enrolled in puppy kindergarten starting next week because they have to be socialized A LOT because of their protective temperments.
Google Cane Corso to find out more info on the snuggly little guy. ;)

These are a few of my favorite things...

This morning Shy dog and I went for a run. Well, Shy went for a run, and I held on for dear life. I think it's time to get her a harness, the collar just isn't cutting it. But, I digress.

The weather this morning was stunning. Not stinging, but stunning. There's still bits of snow on the ground, but I didn't feel like I was swallowing knives everytime I took a breath. The sunny was shinning, and I was alive.

It took about 40 minutes of hem-hawing around before I kicked my own ass out the door. I didn't plan to take the dog along, but she knew what I was doing and was bound to see herself going with me. Fine, she makes me run faster, anyway.

We jogged around a newer route and then came back to a familar home stretch. It was then I started thinking about the hardest runs and how they ended up being some of my favorite memories.

My first 10 mile run. Julie and I had a mapped out route through the plaza and brookside. It was the first weekend in January 2007. The temperatures were probably in the teens. Dawn started with us as well, but eventually it was Just Jules and I beebobbing along to our iPods and muffled footsteps on frozen pavement. The end of the run was one of my most triumphant.

Another favorite was the icicle run. The ice icile run was a 6 mile run on what was supposed to be chat, but was actually snowed and frozen ground. Oh, and it was in the middle of an ice storm. No really. MotoMichele and I layed claim to the wintry sights around us. It was so incredibly painful. When we made it back to her truck, we both found that our hair was frozen, and the snot inside our muffled up noses was as hard as a rock. Then we went to QuickTrip and loaded up on HotChocolate (that's a recovery drink, right?) and I had my first ever ClifBar.

I also loved my first 18 mile run in the summer with Julie along the same grounds as the icicle run, but this is winter, so we'll talk about that more in like, oh, July.

These runs are some of my favorite moments. I'm excited to find more this go-around.

I've also picked out a coach, but I haven't told them yet. And, RedMan registration opened today, and after a quick peek at the bank account, it looks like I'm hold off to probably Friday before I sign up. Thankfully it doesnt fill in seconds like every other Iron distance race does, so I have that option. Things are really going to be different this time training for IM. I cut up all the credit cards, so now I fly on the cash in my pocket, which means being a little more careful on how much cash I dump where and why.

But no matter what, I'm growing more excited...

RIP Fuji

Time ran out to place Fuji, so we reluctantly put him down last Friday. I am heartbroken.

Staton's Mt. Fuji 2003-2008