Please.

For the love of all things good and gracious.

Do NOT use my behavior as a template for your own. Do NOT base your training on any of my experiences.

What you should do is shake your head at me and 'tsk, tsk.'

I was a bad runner-friend. I had no business whatsoever in running that pace on Saturday and dragging April-Anne along with me. It was a case of curiosity killing the cat, as I just HAD to know if I was capable of maintaining a 'faster' pace for 20 miles. (I nearly killed April-Anne, and she's the equivalent of Nermal - the world's cutest kitten, so that would be tragic. If you don't know who Nermal is, go brush up on your Garfield trivia)

It won't happen again. My bodies true capabilities won't be tested again until the marathon, so my pace-abilities will remain a mystery. (On the plus side of all of this silliness, I wasn't sore after the 20-miles. Legs were a little stiff at first, but a 8-mile bike ride on Sunday afternoon loosened things up quite nicely. I think that's a good sign!)

I hereby do solemnly swear to s l ow d o w n on my remaining 'long' runs. I will pay special attention to my pace during the final 20-miler, making sure that April-Anne and I both feel strong and confident throughout the run. I will be a smart runner and a good partner.

To test my commitment to this pledge, I took last night's 5-miler nice and easy. I mean it. I really did. At first, I was going to leave my watch at home but then I realized that I would be defenseless against a unknown pace...so I took the watch and made myself slow down. Repeatedly.

And you know what? After getting past the initial creaks and groans of grumpy joints, it felt pretty good. It was a welcome change to be relaxed and not focused-focused-focused on pace.

Think I'll spend the rest of the week running like that....

*Housekeeping*

Two things need to be mentioned:

First of all, Alejandra had a great post yesterday. If she's not one of your regular reads, she should be.

And speaking of reading blogs, Brooklyn put together a fabulous Rundown with even more blogs that I have never been to or heard of! Check it out!

After three hours of being horizontal and motionless, I now have the strength and the brain cells to write about the first 20-miler of the training schedule.

I wish I could say that it went as well as last week's 18-miler. I really want to finish the run with arms raised and fists pumping. But I didn't. It was 20-miles people. It was hard. (If it was easy, I'd have more running partners, wouldn't I?)

The long version:

I drank a TON of water all day Friday; had 5-6 slices of pizza for lunch and then pasta, salad and stuffed bread for dinner. Girl can eat!

The one area I was lacking in was sleep. Thursday night had another dog-related interruption - this one involved a certain naughty dog getting into the trash can at 1:00 a.m. Which meant I had to induce vomiting and then, oh joy! clean it up. I was up for about an hour and half. Then, lucky me got to repeat the 'cleaning up' part again last night - as the dog couldn't seem to keep anything down. So I was up every two hours or so.

By 4:30 a.m. I was ready to cry, I was so tired. But I dragged my sorry butt out of bed at 6:20 a.m. and began the pre-run rituals.

At 7:10 a.m. Charlie arrived at my house and we headed out for two miles - out and back - with the plan to pick up April-Anne back at my house (she was doing 18 miles).

Mile 1: 7:43 - Wow. Whoops.
Mile 2: 7:51 - Wow. Whoops.

I forgot to turn us around at the right point, so just for good measure, there's an extra .20 in 1:39. (Thanks goodness Charlie was paying attention.)

I was just a little charged up about the run, what can I say? I know it was a bad, stupid thing to do, starting that fast. It was already out there though...and I couldn't take it back.

April-Anne was on-time and ready to go so we were off for the next ten mile segment of the run - on the mostly 'flat' portion of our course.

We ran along, chatting easily. Weather was pleasant, birds were chirping, breeze blowing. The whole nine yards.

Mile 3: 8:54
Mile 4: 8:52
Mile 5: 9:03
Mile 6: 8:53
Mile 7: 8:51 - I ate a gel here.
Mile 8: 8:56
Mile 9: 8:39 - Side-stitch started here
Mile 10: 8:48
Mile 11: 9:00
Mile 12: 9:08 - Long, annoying hill

These splits were all faster than last week's, on the same route.

Took a quick un-hydration/re-hydration break at the house. I was already getting sick of the 'sweet' g'ade (and I was using Endurance Formula which is actually saltier than regular g'ade). My stomach was rebelling a little sooner than usual.

On to the 'rolling hills' portion of the route:

Mile 13: 9:06 - Side stitch still hanging on
Mile 14: 9:10 - Stitch gives up
Mile 15: 8:52 - This sucks
Mile 16: 8:45 - Why did I want to run a second marathon?
Mile 17: 9:17 - BQ time? HA! Laughable.
Mile 18: 9:11 - Wow. It's getting hot out here.
Mile 19: 8:56 - Almost home. Almost over.
Mile 20: 9:19 - You run 'cuz you can. Now run.

By Mile 14, I could tell that April-Anne was starting to fade. Our earlier faster miles were catching up to both of us. It was during these last 6 miles that Charlie earned his gold star for the day...he was upbeat and chatty, relieving of us from having to talk, for which we were so grateful. His positive energy was just what we needed.

And as April-Anne started to fall behind just a little, Charlie would run back and check on her, keeping her company for a while and then he'd surge up to check on me and give me a status report on how April-Anne was doing.

I felt like a bad friend, not running side by side with her...but I KNEW that she would have felt like she was holding me back and she would have kept insisting that I go ahead...and it would have turned in to one of those back-n-forth situations and neither one of us could spare any energy arguing.

So we let Charlie do all the work for us. And he was just fantastic. (Of course, he was just cruising along like 20 miles was no big deal.)

Bottom line though, we made it through the run. My final time was 2:59:18 (20.22 miles) which was pretty cool compared to last year's 3:10:xx (20.00). April-Anne wasn't far behind me, maybe a minute or two at the most.

We all walked and drank water and cooled down. I know April-Anne was feeling a little discouraged but she still pulled through a tough run...and now she knows what kind of demons she'll have to wrestle with on race day. There's just no way to prepare someone for the mental portion of the race. Just have to face the demons and find something positive to shout at them. Dig deep for inspiration. She'll beat them. I know she will!

I'm not sore (yet), which is a good sign. But that was a really hard run. I'm not convinced that a 8:36 mile pace is realistic or not as I really felt like today's effort was all I had to give. I know we made a mistake with the early pace, and I know that quality sleep can make a difference.

There's still six weeks of training to go...

It was me. I admit it. Tuesday night, I stole Jeff's Mojo.

It was one of those days where a large quantity of convincing was needed to get me out the door. I was feeling wishy-washy about running.

But. With all the talk about the Big BQ (Boston Qualifying time) I thought I needed to set the bar a little higher than usual and see how I measured up.

I wanted to do my 5-mile run at an 8:00 min per mile pace. That's close to race-day pace for me. But my line of thinking went something like this: Let's run the 5 miles in 40 minutes and see how it feels. Then let's try to do that same pace for the New Haven 20K. If that's all works out, without hurting too much, maybe just maybe, I'll have a chance at that BQ time (which is 3:45 or an 8:36 pace. For. 26.2 Miles.).

With my goal in mind, out the door I went.

Mile One is usually a fast one for this route since there's more downhill than up. My right-foot orthotic was feeling a little out of place and that's all I could focus on until I stopped to fix it. This mile came in at 8:11 (I stop my watch whenever my feet stop moving).

Mile Two has a slight climb to it. Nothing scary, just a gentle upwards slope that makes me work just a bit harder. Split was 8:23.

Not looking good here, people.

Mile Three felt better. Split at 7:50.

Mile Four rocked. Split at 7:39. Ho-lee. Whose legs are these, anyways?

Mile Five. Um. Hey. My heart is beating really, really hard. Like it might burst out of my chest. Wow. Never noticed that before. Whoa..hey, what was that fluttery feeling in my chest? What the heck? OK. Slow down!! (It turned out to just be some phlegm. Yuummy.) Split for this mile was an even 8:00.

Overall time was 40:08, average pace being 8:01. It was hard but not impossible. Could I keep that up for 7 more miles? I don't know. Race-day magic can give me wings, so anything is possible.

Little did I know that I had stolen Jeff's Mojo.

I did give it back rather promptly though, and the past two runs have been back to 'normal' for me.

As a matter of fact, tonight's Running Chicks run was downright awful for me. Something was sloshing around inside of me...to the point that my partners could hear it. But it had more of a thumping sound than a true 'all water' sound. Like one of my organs was loose or something. (and I hadn't had any water to drink in the 45 minutes prior to the run - save a few sips of g'ade.)

It was uncomfortable, weird and unnerving all at the same time. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Said my stomach.

My energy level was a little low too and just before the third mile, I got really quiet. No talking. Me. NOT. TALKING. I was so 'up inside my head' trying to find some strength to make it through the run. I couldn't even come up with a question to ask to keep the conversation flowing. There was silence. There's NEVER silence with the three Running Chicks.

It got so bad, I actually thought I was going to have to walk, and have one of the partners come get me when they got back to their cars.

We took a brief rest at the halfway point which helped. Somewhere on the way back, I found something deep down (after digging around) and began to feel somewhat human. And talking about my mom got me all charged up too (note to self: mom=good..she must have heard me talking about her...she called me when I got home).

My partners kept me going and for that I was so grateful. I would never, ever have made it through the whole 8 miles by myself tonight.

Now, for that tricky 20-miler on Saturday....

A few weeks ago, my friend (and co-worker) Olivia needed a subject to pose for a 'dramatic lighting' photo shoot for a class she was taking.

Being the 'only-child-center-of-attention' kind of girl that I am, I reluctantly said I would help her.

We drove over to a local park and she had me run back and forth over a variety of surfaces and through the sunbeams streaming through the trees. (She specifically requested that I not wear a hat which explains why my trademark is missing.)

Within 20-25 minutes, she took about 90 digital photos of me running. She made me feel like a total rock star. OK. A track star. Whatever. Either way, I felt like I was a model being shot for the cover of Runner's World or some such magazine. I had a blast.

My favorite shots from the session can be viewed here.

Thanks for indulging my ego (not that it was in need of any more stroking)!

It occurred to me today that I haven't said much about my marathon training this summer. I was so wrapped up in training for the awesome, unbelievable triathlon, that the marathon training seemed like an after-thought. Oh sure, I've posted about the long runs, but I haven't really talked about 'The Plan' have I?

This second marathon is to prove to myself that last year wasn't an accident...that I really did run 26.2 miles within my goal time. It wasn't a dream, it really happened.

So when I sat down to make The Schedule for The Plan, I realized that I needed a goal. Should I try to qualify for Boston by working to shave 17 minutes off of last year's time? There was a possibility there, but the triathlon training took me in different direction and I didn't feel like I could do both - increase my base miles and train for the tri at the same time. So then the goal became to just finish in the same time or less than last year. And finish feeling stronger, while helping April-Anne be successful in her race.

Sounds reasonable.

I looked at a few different programs and took Hal's Intermediate: Phase One schedule and made some adjustments. I kept my schedule to 4 days of running (instead of his proposed 5 days) with one day of swimming and one day of biking. I took his long run distances and plugged them in to my schedule; I'm a big fan of the 'step back' weeks. The final result wasn't too different from last year's schedule, except this time, I have two 20-milers instead of just one. And while I'm nervous about those two runs, I know they will be the key to making me a stronger marathoner.

So that's The Plan. (If you are burning with curiousity about the details, let me know and I'll post it.)

And 18 miles was on the plan for today.

This morning's run was chock full of partners and it was a great one! The conversation was lively, and I think I managed to keep my chattiness to a minumum. Topics of conversation included (but were not limited to): marathons; frost-bit tender-bits on boys; cold weather gear; dogs; babies/children; beer; races; and emergency trips into the woods for intestinal relief.

We even got to see/hear our runner-friends who were out cheating on us on their bikes, riding the 50-mile portion of a Steeple-Chase biking event.

At one point, when we were five runners strong, I was just listening to everyone chatter and it made me smile. I was so happy to be out there and I really felt like I 'belonged' - like that was exactly the right place for me.

I'm posting the splits here for my partners benefit; you can see where we picked people up and dropped them off.

Mile 1: 7:58 - Dianna, Charlie (whoa. too fast.)
Mile 2: 8:18 - Dianna, Charlie (still too fast. need more partners.)
Mile 3: 8:59 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren
Mile 4: 8:58 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 5: 9:07 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 6: 9:03 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 7: 8:58 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 8: 9:12 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 9: 9:05 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 10: 9:01 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 11: 9:04 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren, Michelle
Mile 12: 9:31 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne, Warren (big, long hill)
Mile 13: 9:01 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne
Mile 14: 9:04 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne
Mile 15: 8:54 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne
Mile 16: 8:48 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne
Mile 17: 8:38 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne
Mile 18: 8:49 - Dianna, Charlie, April-Anne (Technically, Charlie was faster on this one!)

Total time: 2:41:11, average pace 8:55.

I'm feeling muuucchhh better than last week.

I've posted before about the virtues of The Running Partner. Personally, I've found that running partners can make any run better. I realize however, that there are some runners who prefer to run alone. I always assumed that they were going for that 'lone wolf' vibe or that they needed time to decompress and just be alone with their thoughts. (Gah. Alone with my thoughts...I get two hours a day in for car for that and it's too much. I welcome any distraction.) Or maybe they were just worried about their ability to run next to another person, without bumping into them or cutting them off (you know who you are!).

Last night, it occurred to me that some runners may opt to run alone to avoid making others victims of their 'verbal diarrhea.' I had the worst case of it last night, and I was surprised to not have an email in my in-box this morning from April-Anne, telling me she was too busy to run with me ever again. That she'd be washing her hair for the next 12 years.

It started out innocently enough. Last night we met for an 8-miler on the trails and roads. The weather had been picture perfect all day, with cobalt blue skies, a nice breeze and reasonable summer temperatures. Simply perfect.

As soon as we got going, I was Ms. Chatty Cathy. I babbled non-stop, which is not necessarily unusual, but since I hadn't seen April-Anne in at least two weeks, I was even more verbose than usual. (And the run? 1:12 versus the 1:25 from Saturday's 8m. Phew!)

After the run, I reflected back on the topics of conversation and it occurred to me that some of the things I said may have offended her. And she's the nicest person on the face of the earth. She doesn't cuss. I've never heard her say anything bad about anyone, ever. She's is just as sweet as can be. So I know that if I had said something that offended her, she probably wouldn't tell me to 'Shut the hell up.' Or even to 'Shut the heck up.' She'd just smile and nod.

So then I got all worried about it. And obsessed about it. I went over the conversation piece by piece. Over and over. It was torture. Did she still like me? Would she ever talk to me again. She probably wishes she never loaned me that book. She won't want to run with me at New Haven. And so forth and so on, as only I can do.

Sigh.

Then I realized that this may be the very reason why some people chose to run alone. For a fleeting moment, I thought 'Smart people!'

But I know I'm being ridiculous. April-Anne is rolling her eyes at me right now, saying 'Oh Dianna!' (I hope!)

And then Michelle met me tonight for 5 miles of gentle rolling hills. Her new sneakers had wings, the cadence of her steps egging us on for a fast, fun run (41:53!). And even though there was nothing in the conversation that could have been 'offensive,' after the run, I still worried that I might have offended her!

Maybe I should just ask more questions and listen harder. Or talk about rainbows and kittens. Or something.

The latest Rundown is up over at Naomi's place...she's done a fabulous job, in true Naomi style. After you read the Rundown, if you've never read Naomi's blog before, be sure to lounge around her site for a while and read her posts. It's easy to get lost in her writing.

This morning provided me with such a gift: it was easily 25 degrees cooler outside than it had been over the weekend. I was able to see the other side of the 9:00 minute mile, albeit briefly, and logged a solid 5 miles in 44 minutes and some change. Bliss I tell you.

There was a coughing fit during the first mile, and then again at the cool-down. But still. The bronchitis recovery is almost complete and the weather is just awesome.

Bring on the marathon training, I say...bring it on!

Following the 8-miler on Saturday, things went from hot to hotter that afternoon.

I spent from 3:00-8:00 p.m. volunteering at a local fair, selling onion blossoms. That's right...there's nothing like standing next to a fryalator for five hours on the hottest day of the summer. Good times.

By the time I got home, I was a mess. A cool shower and a solid, hearty meal brought me around to the 'one of the living' side of things. But damn. It's easy to see why summertime sees more violent crimes.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was feeling much better. Almost like a new person.

Almost.

And then I stepped outside for the 16-miler. The temps were a little less hot, since the sun was being blocked by hazy clouds, but the humidity...oh the humidity. I think Jank really captured the weather when he said it was like breathing underwater.

But I was determined. A marathon looms on the horizon. And it's been a few weeks since I logged a respectable 'long run.' Off I went.

The first 9 miles were mostly flat, and I managed to keep the pace between 9:20-9:50, which I was thrilled with, considered the fiasco on Saturday. The 10th mile was uphill and the pace slowed a bit and included some walking. I was grateful to have to stop at the house for a gatorade refill, and used that opportunity to douse my face and head in icy cold water.

It was only 9:15 a.m. and the temp had already warmed up (into the low to mid 80's, with 100% humidity) and the sun was peeking through the clouds, so I headed into the woods and onto the rail trail again. It was slow going, but I had my iPod Shuffle with me to help pass the time (gasp! she wore headphones! what?! c'mon people...16 miles in the heat...I had to do something...I only wore one ear piece, leaving the other ear tuned in to my surroundings).

The first five miles shuffled along, slow but steady, somewhere near the 10:30 range, and I stopped twice to sit and rest and drink. The last mile though. Wow. There was probably an equal amount of walking with the running. It was a tough one, and I took it slloowww.

It was during this mile that I realized that I had reached a whole new level of perspiration. I had noticed that my stomach had started to feel damp from sweat. So I wiped it off. And DANG if there wasn't a LOT of sweat on my hand. I got curious...where's it all coming from? Then I looked at my sports top, which had started out a bright red color and was now a more crimson hue.

Hmmm. I grabbed some of the red material in my fist and watched a stream of water come out of the fabric, which explained the SHEET of sweat pouring down my stomach. UUgghhh...eeewwww. Soaking, sopping wet. Hat, sports bra, shorts, and socks - all soaked. Gah-ross.

To further punctuate my point: I drank TWO bottles of diluted gatorade (48 ounces total) over the 2:42 run and was still down 2 pounds at the end. Yikes.

After a long, cool shower and a bit of a rest, I spent the afternoon working at the fair again. In bittersweet fashion, it wasn't very busy so I was able to sit down more than usual, but that also meant that our fundraiser wasn't raising very many funds. Sigh.

I'm really looking forward to making this a memory, a 'survival story' to share on a long run, and even more so, I'm looking forward to this new, COOLER week ahead of us!

Glad to hear everyone else survived!

It can be hard, not being stupid.

Today was a true test of that for me: can I not be stupid? Just for once, maybe?

I think I was succesful, but it was a tough mental journey.

Upon waking, my very first thought was: There's still time to make the race. You can't miss the Deary 5-miler...this is the third year you'd run...it was your very first race ever...you met Michelle there...April Anne will be there...it's so sentimental.

No. No. No. You are NOT going to the race. You will stick to the plan to run 8 miles this morning. And better get to it soon, it's already hot and humid out and it's not even 7:30 a.m.

There was stomping of feet and sighs of disappointment, but I heeded the advice of my brain, knowing it was the right thing to do.

The recovery from bronchitis has been a slow one, with four completely motionless days before finally running again on Thursday. A slow, labored 4-miles on the dreadmill in the air-condtioned gym. Yesterday was supposed to see another 5-miles, but the cumulative effect of the anitbiotics on my digestive system left me 5 pounds lighter and feeling sluggish, so I skipped it.

Now the pressure was on to make the 8-miler worthwhile.

I started out on the roads, and it was immediately a struggle to keep the pace near the much desired 9-minute-per-mile mark. The first mile was 9:12, the second mile was 9:43 and by the time I reached the steepest hill on the route, I knew the plan needed to be adjusted.

I had to walk up the hill. I've never had to walk up that hill before. Ever.

It was hot on the road, and just after mile three (9:54) I headed into the woods, on the rail trail. Soft ash and dirt with lots of shade and a nice big rock to sit and rest on. Again - stopping to rest is something I've never done before. But I was listening intently to what my body was telling me. I wanted to log those 8 miles.

It made a tremendous difference being in the woods - both mentally and physically. It was tranquil and lush, and I needed to focus on my foot falls to avoid tripping. The dirt slowed me down, the trail was mostly flat (slight incline/decline) and my body was grateful. Mile four ticked by in 11:19...when I realized that I was now averaging 11 minutes miles, I started to feel frustrated. That would not do at all! This weather is killing my marathon training. And why aren't I feeling better yet? Why am I still congested, dammit?

But then I took a deep breath, and listened again to what my body was saying. And it told me: it's ok...this is working...trust me.

So I did. Mile 5: 11:13. Mile 6: 11:08. Mile 7: 11:23 and finally, Mile 8: 11:28. Total time: 1:25:26 for 8 miles. A personal worst.

As I walked a bit to cool down, I decided it really was OK. I was being a smart runner today...thankful to not be racing in the heat, knowing that the race would have been extremely disappointing for me and I probably would have hurt myself. I'll just have to live vicariously thru the Running Chicks for that race.

I gave myself a pat on the back for not getting too worked up about my pace (or the race), and headed inside for a cool shower and cool drink.

Now, let's hope I can keep my wits about me during the 16 miles tomorrow.

I believe some of you may be familiar with Brit, over at Running Stitch. Her husband, Scott, also known as The Man, has his own running blog too.

Scott will be running the Vegas Marathon as part of that RBF Meet-up and he has designed a t-shirt for the event. He was also kind enough to generate a modified design for the New Haven Road Race RBF Meet-up.

Go check it out and let us know what you think.

Nice work, Scott!

(Annalisa...does this qualify as a 'nerd alert'?)

Here it is folks, the latest Rundown presented this week by Stephanie. Good stuff!

Oh...about the Fever and Ick from this weekend? Official diagnosis: bronchitis. Nice, huh? Just what every runner wants during the summer marathon training season. Ggrrrr. But I'm feeling better and I'll be running again in no time. Although I don't think that a 5 mile race this weekend would be a smart way to recover.

Speaking of summer, and running, and racing, I'd like to point out that the New Haven Road Race 20K/5K is just a mere 3.5 weeks away. That's not much time, and I've got plans to make for RBF gatherings. So please, if you are planning on attending the race - as participant or spectator - please let me know via email. My address is linked below my picture. REMOVE THE 'NO SPAM' PART OF THE ADDRESS. I'll be in touch about opportunities for meet-ups and such. If you are from out of town and need any assistance, please allow me to be your Connecticut/New Haven ambassador.

That is all. Move along. Nothing else to see here.

There were two runners who braved their first races this past week, and I thought they both deserved a little extra attention.

The first one, Sasha, is a friend and former office-mate of mine. Her blog covers a range of topics, including running, and her posts are always fun to read. She ran her first 5K on Friday night.

The second one, a.maria, had a first-race experience eerily similar to Sasha's, also a 5K on Friday night. She's training for her first marathon.

Both accounts will make you hold your breath, giggle and cheer.

Enjoy!

Did you ever do something and then immediately think to yourself 'Why the hell did I do that? That was the dumbest thing I've ever done.'

I definitely earned the World Class Dumb A$$ award this weekend.

Here's the story:

My husband had a bit of The Plague this week, which turned out to be bronchitis. Fever, sniffles, coughing...the works.

I'm healthy. I eat well. I exercise. I won't get sick, right?

Thursday afternoon, I start to feel a little sluggish. Must be the weather; all the heat and humidity.

Friday, I start sneezing. Feeling tired and congested, but not dead.

Well, no big deal. It's just a head cold. And the rule of thumb is: Above the neck illness - OK to exercise; below the neck illness - no exercise.

So Saturday morning dawns and I decide that I'm fine, that the congestion will clear up as soon as I start running, which it does. I picked a very flat route, knowing that hills would be tough. Around mile 5, my chest starts to feel tight. It's OK. I'm OK. No big deal. Just relax. Breath gently.

By mile 9, my back muscles hurt from breathing.

Do I stop running? Um, no. A smart person would have walked home. I'm not smart.

I kept going for three more miles. Idiot. (And I had to negotiate for only three more miles...I had 14 miles on the schedule, after all...and the world would come to an end if I didn't do what the schedule said, right?)

As soon as I got back into the house and realized how crappy I felt, I knew I had done a stupid, dumb, ridiculous thing.

Within the hour, I had a fever. Which I still have, 24 hours later.

What the heck is wrong with me?!

The 'professional' photography shots from the triathlon are up!

You can check me out, in all my studly glory.

Explantions are in order for the shots, as viewed across each row:

Top row:

First shot: Crossing the finish line!

Second shot: Leaving the swim, always a 'ham' for the camera.

Third shot: 'Action' shot of me leaving the swim. No idea whose body that is...don't recognize it as my own.

Bottom row:

First shot: End of the bike course, where the runners and bikers were sharing a lane.

Second shot: My favorite. I was actually yelling 'Wooo Hooo!' as I took off out of the transition area. Seriously. No joking. I was having that much fun. I crack myself up.

Third shot: Start of the run. I *think* I was yelling back at my husband and making faces at him. I may have even stuck my tongue out at him. I've been known to do that. I am NOT crying in this picture. That didn't come until about 2 miles later.

There is also a picture of Annalisa and me, taken after the race with our medals on, but it's only available through her photos, and I didn't want to link to it without her permission. We'll save that treat for another day. =)

(To answer the tattoo question: Yin-yang on my ankle and kokopelli on my hip.)

First order of business - this week's Rundown is up for you to enjoy!

And the second order of business - since I got tagged by at least two people:

q: what are you training for now?
Now that the triathlon is behind me, I can focus solely on the marathon - the Hartford Marathon, to be exact, in October.

q: if you are raising money for a cause, what is it and why is that cause important to you?
I raised money last year for my first marathon. This year, I'm going to make a few donations to others who are fundraising for their first marathon.

q: what is the furthest distance you’ve run in your training and what is the furthest distance you will run before your event?
My furthest training run ever was one 20-miler last fall. So far this season, 14 miles is the farthest I've gone. I've got two 20-milers on the training schedule this year. Yikes.

q: what is your favorite flavor of gu? (or other sports gel)
I was partial to PowerGel green apple, but recently tried Accel gel strawberry-kiwi and found that my stomach really agreed with it. I've also used Gu - triberry and orange - with success. I tend to focus more on sports drinks than gels, though. Gatorade is the only one I've tried.

q: How many days a week do you run?
Four days a week.

q: Are you injured in any way right now? if so,what are you doing about it?
Technically, no. But I am keeping an eye on the toe that I dropped the weight on a few weeks ago. It has been grumbling just a little bit, and has grown itself a nice lump. (Maybe I did break it?)

q: what is one item of running clothing/gear (shoes don’t count) you can’t run without?
Duh. A HAT! Orange or otherwise. It's a rare day when I don't wear a hat.

q: do you have a talisman you are planning on taking to your event? if so, tell us!
For the marathon last year, I wrote 'power words' on my hand. For the tri, I had a pin from my dad inside my bike bag and I wore my husband's hat on the run. I haven't thought much about what I'll do for this year's marathon...I'm open to suggestions.

q: Share one thing about yourself we don’t know.
Oh boy. Umm. What haven't I mentioned here before...I have two tattoos? I like action flicks and comic books? I cry every time I see an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?

Now...who to tag? Hhmmm....Hey you! Yeah, you! Over there...the one only who HASN'T answered this quiz/meme yet...I tag YOU!

You know who you are...now get crackin'.

[Editor's note: The verb tenses are all over the place, most likely a side effect of too much fun. Please put your red pens away and just enjoy.]

Phew! What a whirlwind of emotions and events! What a fabulous, great, spectacular weekend!

Grab a cuppa, pull up a chair and follow me along on my long, detailed, journey with Annalisa:

Saturday, July 30

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Arrived in Webster for packet pick-up, body marking and chip-checking. We sat in on two sessions - the first session was a course review and a chance to ask questions (there were LOTS of good questions...so always stay for the question and answer part even if you think you know it all!).

The second session was a 'first-timers' session with Sally Edwards. She was awesome and inspiring, even with the girl-power inspired cheers she taught us, as cheesy as they might appear to others.

The most emotional moment during this session was seeing members of 'Team Survivor' get up on stage. These were women who had won their battle with cancer. As they took the stage, we applauded, and we rose to our feet to cheer louder and to somehow demonstrate our respect for them.

There was one survivor on-stage who started to cry, and that just got my water-works going too...it was all I could do to not start sobbing, looking at her with her tiny wisps of hair just beginning to poke out - obviously growing back after chemotherapy. She was a first timer too and I was so proud of this stranger, for not just beating cancer but for being brave enough to show the world the depth of her strength. I made a mental note to look for her during the race.

Just before leaving the registration area/expo, we bumped into my friend J. and her significant other, M. and made plans for dinner later.

1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Annalisa and I spent the rest of the afternoon eating, shopping, relaxing, hotel-checking-in, and getting our gear organized. We lounged around the hotel for awhile and then went out for the typical pre-race pasta meal at a local Italian place with J. & M..

After dinner, it was back to the hotel for some final gear-organizing (obsessing, for me) and some more relaxation. Rob, Annalisa's boyfriend, was at the hotel waiting for us. He was the lucky recipient of the the title "Team Ho Race Crew." He was especially excited about getting up at O-dark-early with us.

9:30 p.m.

Lights out.

I was still staring at the clock an hour later and I think I drifted off to sleep around 11:00 p.m. I woke back up at 1:47 p.m. and never really fell back to sleep until about 4:00 a.m...too busy thinking such things as: Did I bring my helmet? What if we can't find a parking space? What if the traffic is really backed up? How will I find my bike? Will I freak out in the water? What if our bikes get stolen out of the car tonight? Is the cream (for our morning coffee) cold enough? Should I get up and add ice? What if the alarm doesn't go off? Did I bring my helmet? Sigh.

And do forth and so on. (I'm a lunatic. I know.)

Sunday, July 31- RACE DAY

4:45 a.m.

Alarm goes off. I popped up out of bed. (What if I fall back asleep?) We stumbled around, got ready, did our business.

5:25 a.m.

J. knocks on the door and is bursting with 'Good Morning!!' and 'Are you EXCITED?!' And while normally I would want to hit someone this cheery at this hour, I find myself grinning like a fool and feeling energized by her exhuberance. I heart her.

5:50 a.m.

I eat a banana on the way there, knowing that my nerves will just get worse as we get closer to race time, and I should take any calm moments I get to try to eat.

6:10 a.m. - 7:40 a.m.

Getting to the race site is no problem, and we park about half a mile from the transition area. The bike racks are all numbered, so each athlete had a guaranteed spot (better than 'first come, first serve' I think). We get all our gear set up, make note of where our bikes are located and then wander around eating, drinking and waiting in line for porta potties. (and yes Dad, I even remembered to take along your Navy pin - it was safely tucked away in my bike bag!).

I spot my family about 15 minutes before my swim wave (as I was waiting for a bathroom, of course) and it makes me feel better to know that they arrived safely without any parking or traffic problems.

7:40 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

And so there I am, on the beach, shivering from nerves, chatting with Annalisa, waiting for my swim wave...when I look over and all the purple caps are lining up in the start chute to head out into the water...hey, wait...I have a PURPLE cap...Hhmmm...I seem to be the only purple cap NOT over there...OH CRAP!

I scurry over, dodge under the rope and get into the group. A minute later, we're in the water, getting last minute words of advice and motivation....and then...We're off!

Sadly, since I had my brain rectally inverted, I had managed to place myself in the middle of the pack and to the right side. This made for some frustrating moments in the first few minutes, but once I accepted the fact that the breast stroke was going to have to be my stroke for the day, everything got a little better.

It was impossible to do freestyle, stay in a straight line and NOT run over people. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get into a good space for freestyle. I stuck with breast stroke, and then I noticed that I was passing people. People who were doing freestyle. Me. Passing them.

WOooww. What the?

OK then. Every once in awhile I would do a few freestyle strokes and then revert back to breast stroke. Side stroke around the bouys. And only one big mouthful of water. Then it was time to stand up in the water and run out - high-five Sally Edwards on the way out and head out thru the Swim Finish chute (thank goodness that's over!).

I jog out of the chute and stop where I think I left my flip flops...I stare blankly at the ground. And stare. And stare. Then I hear my family yelling my name, and I look up and they are gathered around my shoes like moths around a flame. Oh. RIGHT. There they are!

On with the flip-flops and through the rocks, dirt and grass to the bike racks...spot the Cookie Monster balloon and voila! Look at watch. See something like 14:37 and stop dead in my tracks. What? There must be a mistake. Water must have got in and messed up the watch.

Focus, focus: Race belt, rinse feet, dry feet, socks on feet, eat gel, shoes on feet, drink water, helmet on head, sunglasses, and unrack bike. Tire pump falls off frame - twice. I debate whether to put it back on and then decide to just leave it. Cross fingers for no flat tires.

Jog, jog, jog with bike out onto bike course.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my bike and the course - smile big when I pass the llamas and ostrich. Even love the tough hill. Yell out 'Dig in and Push!!' to everyone as we work our way up the steepest part of the one-mile hill (with something like a 400 foot elevation gain). Spent the next 40-some odd minutes yelling 'On your left' as I passed people. The whole time, I'm thinking: the run is going to HURT if you keep this up!

Coming back towards the transition area was a little uumm, crowded. The bike and run courses both occupy the same lane for about a half mile stretch, making it hard to pass bikers. At one point, I politely called out 'I'd really like to pass, if that's possible!' to the two bikers ahead of me. They obliged, but I had to slow down again just near the finish and then dismount. (I ate a second gel around this point).

Jog, jog, jog with the bike, back to the rack - lots of 'traffic' here too which was a little frustrating but not heartbreaking.

Rack the bike, remove the hemlet and glasses, put on the hat, drink some water and go, go, go! I heard my husband yelling 'Hurry up! There's a race!' to which I am sure I made some colorful remarks.

The run did hurt. It felt slooowww after being on the bike, and I got a tiny side stitch (from the second gel, I'm guessing...didn't plan that one right). My right leg has been a little 'off' since I hurt my toe, and I could feel my shin and calf muscles tightening. My tri-suit suddenly felt very constricting.

Just got to make it 2.8 miles. It's not even a full 5K. No big deal.

I pushed. I passed runners and walkers. And passed some more. I never got passed on the run, which I was pretty excited about. I saw the cancer survivor from the day before, heading back towards the finish, and I smiled thinking about how awesome it was going to be for her to cross that line. I remember looking at my watch and seeing 1:13:xx but I didn't really know what it meant. I couldn't quite process it. I saw Annalisa zip by on her bike and yelled out to her.

I started thinking about my reasons for doing this race. I mentioned before that I did this 1) to challenge myself and 2) to do this with Annalisa. But it also occurred to me that I continue to do these types of things to insprire others - to inspire them because they have inspired me. I want to somehow show them that their strength, their ability to overcome obstacles, has made me realize that I can overcome obstacles too.

As I thought about the people who inspire me, I started to get a little choked up, which doesn't work while one is trying to run, as breathing becomes difficult. I had to force myself to stop hyperventilating, get a grip and focus on getting to the finish line.

As I came back in to the transition area, I realized that I had NO IDEA where the finish line was actually located. I picked up the pace, and then just stomped on the gas, giving whatever I had and as I flew over the finish line, I heard my family and friends yelling for me, and the announcer said something about Dianna H. coming in with a strong finish (every single woman gets her name called).

Wooo freaking hoo dude!

Hugs, teary eyes, congrats were doled out. And then we waiting anxiously for Annalisa (she was in the wave after mine). We spotted her white cap and yellow tank and started screaming like mad! I was so excited to see her cross the finish line - so glad I could be there to be part of this day for her...this was HER day as far as I was concerned. Since I met her, she's been talking about doing a tri, and here I was, watching her complete that dream. She was strong and brave and dammit, she kicked ass.

More hugs and tears. A few pictures. A beer. More wandering around and then it was time to head back to the hotel and wrap up the wonderful weekend.

We did it. We're triathletes.

(Results are in previous post - see below.)