Something you probably don't know if you're not a runner

Warning: this post isn't for the faint of stomach. Might not want to read it while you're eating breakfast.

Friday morning I planned to run about 3.5 -4 miles. It would have to be my long(ish) run for the week since I was headed to the suburbs of Chicago Saturday morning. I didn't want to take running clothes or shoes with me on the trip, because I was taking a very small bag with lots of books for work in it. Figured Saturday and Sunday could be my rest days.

Runners get into a certain routine when they're in training. It's good, because it helps you know what to do on race day, keeps you feeling your best. As one of my running friends will tell you, she and I have a method to early morning runs. You get up about 90 minutes before you want to go, have a cup of coffee and some toast with peanut butter. That coffee and PB does wonders for your, shall we say, digestive system. Helps you go to the bathroom before you hit the pavement.

I did all that on Friday morning, but then I had a mini-crisis with my travel plans, so I spent some time trying to figure that out, and my timing got wonky. Finally, I was able to go run.

About halfway through, I had to stop at mom and dad's (strategically planned the route to go by their house, just in case) to use the bathroom. Had to stop and walk to get there, my stomach was really cramping. I made it there just in time, did my business, and was able to run again, the rest of the way home.

It was the perfect storm of a bad run - timing was off, I hadn't had enough water that day, the night before we had Chinese and I drank a soda. I've figured out that soda plays havoc with my system, and the greasy Chinese food didn't help, I'm sure. This has happened to me before, so I always plan to run by places where I can stop if I need to - convenience stores, grocery stores, parents' house, etc.

If you've ever done a road race, you might have seen people just run up to the curb and let loose right there on the street. Yes, it happens. NO, I have never done that (luckily, never needed to). I'm not so worried about time/finishing fast that I won't stop and walk til I can get to a bathroom or PortaPotty. I remember when I ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, I was really surprised to see that (it was my first marathon).

I've got to run today. Here's hoping my routine stays all good.

Let the marathon training begin

I saw somewhere (maybe it was in my email) that there will be a Rock and Roll Marathon in St. Louis this fall. Travel to there will be fairly cheap (we can drive), and I needed a little running mojo motivation.

So, Hubs and I signed up for the race. He'll do the half, I'll do the full. I've been working out, but I haven't been doing a lot of running lately. I've been sampling different classes at Lifetime, and doing DVD workouts at home. I run maybe once or twice a week.

That's going to change. I did an easy two-miler on Wednesday (before we decided on this hare-brained scheme), and we signed up last night for the race. Today, I ran a 5k on the treadmill at the gym. It felt good, and I ran it a little faster than I usually would. I would like to run this race a little faster than the last two marathons I've done. We'll see how that goes.

I think this will be a good carrot, because once summer workshop season starts, exercise isn't high on my priority list. With a marathon on the calendar, running will HAVE to be on that list over the next weeks and months.

PS - Friends and family, you'll probably be happy to know that I'm not doing this race for charity, so I won't be asking you for lots of money over the next few months! :)

Hank says "HI!" and "Mom needs to blog more often."

Sure, I haven't blogged over here in about six months, but it's summertime, so I have a LITTLE more time on my hands, and we've just got THIS GUY!

This is our new kitten, Hank. Those of you who know Gracie know that he is basically her mini-me. He's about 11 or 12 weeks old, and we adopted him from No More Homeless Pets KC, which is an organization that fosters kittens so that they won't be left in shelters where they might not make it.

A few things about him:

• He's cute as hell.
• He's got a TON of energy.
• He's starting to teethe, which is a little problematic.
• He, um, has a lot of gas! (This is not something I remember with Gracie when she was little.)
• He's getting braver by the day.

Gracie and Hank are at least now able to be in the same room with each other, after a little bit of hissing on Gracie's part. Hopefully, they'll be fast friends soon.

Hank was a surprise birthday present from Hubs. We went to pick him out the Saturday after my birthday, so we've had him for about three weeks now.

I've done a few other things lately that should get a little blog love, so hopefully they'll be a few more posts on here soon. For now, though, I'm tired. It's way past my bedtime.