Half marathon recap...and number 7 on my to do list

Hey folks,

Yes, I'm slacking -- again! -- when updating my blog. So sue me. I'm trying to write more frequently, but being lazy is a constant issue I struggle with...hence, delayed postings.

Moving on...

So YES -- I ran the Houston half marathon last weekend! I would put the professional photos up but 1) they are awful and 2) I can't bring myself to pay for photos of myself. I am sure my dad will find the pics online, buy 'em and send them to me. If that happens, I'll post a couple here and on FB. But like I said, they are bad. I look miserable and SUPER pale in all of them.

But, enough about how I look when I race. How did I run? Not badly! If you recall, my goal time was 1:48, and I crossed the finish line at 1:48:17. Close enough in my book -- I'll just round down. Sadly, this run was NOT as much fun as my half last year. Not sure why, but I couldn't get into a groove.

If you want a full recap, my split times were as follows:

Mile 1: 8:29
Mile 2: 8:20
Mile 3: 8:18

At this point, I'm feeling pretty good. On track with my usual negative split percentages to average under an 8:15 pace...maybe I could do a bit above an 8 minute pace??? I'm getting stoked! The other thing that made this part of the race pretty cool: I wasn't the tallest person running! I ran behind Clyde Drexler for miles .5-1.5. His legs were super long -- he looked like he was running in slow motion. I bet I look that way, too. Anyway, after a mile or so trailing him, he sped up and I stayed behind to keep the people with shorter legs company.

Mile 4, 5 and 6: 8:11, 8:10 and 8:04. This is when things got hard. At mile 5 I began to get a side stitch, so I did my obnoxious pregnant lady breathing and (luckily!) it went away when I got to mile 6. I struggle with side cramps a lot...very annoying. Anyway, despite the cramp, my pace increased because I (figuratively) ran into one of my cycling instructors, a tall South African guy named Hans. He was doing the full and averaging about an 8 minute pace, so I followed him for a bit. The guy is a big Ironman, so like my pal Clyde, he soon went ahead and I kept on (more slowly) trucking.

So now the race wasn't much fun. It was rainy and humid, I was sweating a ton and I was tired, even a little out of breath. Y'all know that I don't like to get out of breath....

Mile 7: 8:07
Mile 8: 8:16
Mile 9: 8:11

So I slowed down a bit. I also accidentally high fived a homeless guy. He looked really excited...and then I saw the grocery cart. Oh well. I'm sure at that point in the race I was way grosser and germier than he was.

More split times:

Mile 10: 8:15
Mile 11: 8:09 (A boost of energy thanks my awesome friends cheering me on from my running club, BON!)
Mile 12: 7:56 (Almost there....I should have been going a lot faster though. :( )
Mile 13: Not sure...guessing about 7:50. At this point, I was too tired to click the "lap" button on my Garmin. Yes, I realize this is pathetic.

So there you have it. Half marathon #2 done. Thus far, I've done one half marathon injured and one without much training....I think if I can combine an injury free season with a training regimen I actually follow, 1:45 will be easy to break. So that's the goal for next year -- 1:45. (Or even 1:43 'cause I like random numbers better...)

I'm running the Austin half in a week and half, but it's for fun only. Or at least, that's the plan. I do get competitive, so that could change. God, I hope the weather is better than it was last weekend....I HATE HUMIDITY.

So to close out this post (I need to crash): to-do item #7 for 2011 is...STOP CURSING. I realized over the weekend that I curse way too much. It's really not necessary -- and it makes me sound like I was raised in a trailer park. So...I'm going to try cut back on the R-rated words. No more! (And yes, please yell at me -- even curse at me, that;s ok! -- if I break this to-do list item. I'm sure I will.)

Night folks! xoxo

Number 4! And 5!

Drum roll please....

I've now updated my blog three days in a row??? THREE DAYS IN A ROW! I'm a rock star!

Now, onto business: to do items for 2011, numbers 4 and 5.

#4. Do a triathlon. EVERYONE assumes I do them. And when I tell them I don't....well, this is how the convo usually goes:

THEM: "What races are you signed up for this spring?"
ME: "I'm doing the Houston half."
THEM: "No, I mean, after that." (SILENT THOUGHT TO MYSELF: You mean the Houston half doesn't count as my one race for 2011???)
ME: "...."
THEM: "Do you do triathlons?"
ME:"Uh..."
THEM (with a look of shock, horror and disgust): "You don't do triathlons? Really??" (SILENT THOUGHT TO MYSELF: Um, do you know how lazy I am???)
ME: "Uh, maybe next year."

I've said 'maybe next year' for the last two years. In 2011, it's time to say 'YES! I'm doing a triathlon!' And you know what? I don't think I'll suck! I'm a pretty strong runner and biker, and as for swimming, well, I don't drown. This is the year I'm going to DO IT. I'm thinking about a spring sprint with with my friend Kristin. Houston peeps, any tris you recommend??

#5. On a more serious note....item number 5 involves some heavy spring cleaning. In 2011, I'm ridding my life of people and things that don't make me happy. I've spent WAY too much time trying to make sad and miserable people happy, and I've wasted WAY too many hours doing things I think I "should" do and not things I want to do. But that's changing.

In 2011, I'm not spending time w/ people who don't bring positive vibes to my life. I'm also not forcing myself to do something that doesn't make me happy in some way. (Example "something": gourmet cooking. I hate it and I suck at it. So friends, moving forward you'll just have to deal with my boring marinated chicken, overcooked pasta and ginormous salads. At least I make a mean, and some would say, kinda gourmet-y cookie.)

Tomorrow morning I have a 13 mile run, so don't expect any post until tomorrow afternoon or Sunday. In the meantime, HAPPY FRIDAY! Have a beer or two for me tonight at happy hour -- I'll be at home hydrating (on water) and going to bed at 9 pm. Fun times.

To-Do Item #3

WOW! I'm updating my blog again! A day after my first post of 2011! I'm on a roll!

This next post is gonna be short, since I have a to-do list I get PAID to manage waiting on me. #3 on my "2011 To-Do List" is:

GET MORE SLEEP.

This won't be easy for me. I have SO much I want to do, SO many people I want to see, SO many early morning runs and bike rides....24 hours just isn't enough time in a day. But I have to make sleep a priority in 2011 -- the consequences of not enough sleep suck. Not getting enough sleep makes me cranky, stupid, and ugly. It also leads me to fall asleep at inopportune times, like while watching a movie, at a party (that is always embarrassing), in the middle of a phone conversation, while kissing a cute boy...

Right now I think I get about 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep a night. I've come to realize that 8.5 is what I need -- and I need to make it happen in 2011. My plan is to track the amount of sleep I'm getting as often as I can. So far, I'm not doing well. Last night I got about 6 hours of sleep. Eek.

On that note, back to work so I can get out of here at a decent hour and go to sleep!

OMG, I AM UPDATING MY BLOG.

Eek. Wow. (Hides head in shame.) Bad, bad, BAD JEN.

So it's been almost ONE YEAR since I have updated my blog. ONE YEAR. My only (poor) excuse is that I've been busy -- and that's actually the sad truth. I fell off the wagon. I thought that I would be able to keep updating my blog regularly, even when marathon training got underway, traveling became more frequent, and my work hours got longer and longer...

But I wasn't.

So here we are, A YEAR LATER, and I am (hopefully) back on the blog track. But I'm going to be realistic about it -- balanced you could say. In fact, it's an approach I want to take with EVERYTHING in my life...suppress my competitive side a bit (seriously -- I compete in yoga class! who competes in yoga???) and enjoy a slower paced life. Read and write more. Work out less intensely. Meditate for more than 30 seconds. Take my vitamins. Stretch everyday. Take up art again. (I actually used to be a pretty good artist in HS.) Relearn French. Go to church.

So alas, without further ado, let's do this. I'm not aiming to update it everyday, or even every other day, and I know some weeks will be busy and I won't be online as much as I should. But let's see how it goes -- hopefully I'll keep the momentum up.

And if I fall off the wagon again, just yell at me. Seriously. It works.

Soda, au naturel

Did you know that Pepsi is launching a natural soft drink? First a new logo, now a new soda. Check out the article here.

I am not sure how I feel about this one. Sure, it makes sense that food and beverage companies are riding the natural food wave. Today's consumers are demanding healthier food, and companies are responding. But natural soda? Isn't that an oxymoron of sorts? I always thought the natural sodas sold at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were sort of silly. If you want something natural, drink H2O.

Anyway, the new Pepsi Natural will contain (duh) all-natural ingredients -- sparkling water, raw sugar, natural caramel and kola nut extract. You'll also save 9 calories compared to regular Pepsi. Yum. But you can't just buy it anywhere -- Pepsi is doing a selective launch in major US cities. I suspect Pepsi Natural will see the same fate as Crystal Pepsi (remember that one?) but you never know. It will also be interesting to see if Coke jumps on the natural soda bandwagon. Only time will tell.

Viagra and 13 year olds

Have you seen the new Viagra commercial? It's supposed to remind you of your first time. Um, yeah, because for most people, their first time is like totally awesome and amazing and just incredible.

Yeah, right.

Anyway, check it out below. It is definitely a different approach for Viagra, so kudos for that. But is it just me or do the kids look like their 13 when they really start getting frisky? I don't even think I had kissed a guy by the time I was 13, let alone done the dirty. Ick.

Btw, the ad is by Z Publicidad in Mexico.

Put that glass down

Too much of a good thing is bad. But what about very, very, very little of a bad thing?

It's common knowledge that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to major health issues. But recent research from Oxford suggests that women who consume even relatively low amounts of alcohol (think a glass per day) have a higher risk of developing cancer. Yikes. In fact, researchers found that moderate drinking accounts for about 13% of breast, liver, rectum and upper respiratory/digestive tract cancers among women.

Here's the CliffsNotes summary: "In developed countries, where women typically consume low-moderate amounts of alcohol, we estimate that for every additional drink regularly consumed each day, there would be about 15 extra cases of cancers of the breast, liver, rectum and mouth and throat diagnosed for every 1,000 women up to the age of 75. Most of this excess risk is due to breast cancer."

The study was conducted among middle-aged women and researchers found that the risk of cancer increased as alcohol consumption increased. No surprise there. But the major takeaway is that just one daily glass of alcohol increased a woman's chance of developing cancer. Just one glass!

Keep in mind that the study was conducted among women who drink daily, so there is no evidence to illustrate that weekend warriors (i.e. women who drink moderate to high amounts of alcohol on Friday and Saturday nights) have the same increased risk of developing cancer. That said, I would suspect that the correlation still exists. (Plus, let's not forget about additional SERIOUS risks when a large quantity of alcohol is consumed, like drunk driving and lowered inhibitions.)

Scary stuff.