Remember When

I remember the first time I ran 6 miles, I was pretty amazed. Me. run 6 miles? sheesh. that NEVER would have happened one or two years ago.

Than I had to run 9 miles. I remember dreading it. I remember thinking that 9 miles was a long run. But I've since learned or realized that 20 miles is a lot longer than 9 miles.

woot woot, yup, that's right.

20. miles. on foot.

after two horrible super long runs (kept hitting walls at the 15ish mile point), I made it through to 20.

not to say it was easy. I had to wake up before the crack of dawn. 3 miles into the run I realized I needed to use the bathroom so it was a quick run BACK home into the house before finishing mile 4. Somewhere around mile 14 I realized I was going to make it through. Not sure if it was the slightly larger breakfast, combination of water & and watered down Gatorade in the fuel belt, or the bits of Gu I snacked on (didn't eat all the Gu in the packets all the time). It could have been the new route (hello corn fields!). It also could have been the husband who found me near mile 15, providing cheer & encouragement.

I did nearly crash. for some reason I thought mile 16 was really mile 17 and the fact that I had FOUR more miles (not 3) was almost too much to bear. My last two miles were slow and painful. I probably should have opened another Gu around mile 18, but I just didn't want ANOTHER gu, especially since I was so close to home.

Immediately after the run it hurt to walk. it hurt to sit down & stretch. Within thirty minutes I started the bath and this time, instead of just sitting in cold water, we put a bag of ice in the tub. Windows were open. I can only imagine what the neighbors thought.

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I'm doing this. Still not totally sure. Marathon by 30 will probably guarantee arthritis by 30. That being said, at least I'll have good legs ;)

clothing dilema

ok. for the pick up, need What To Wear Advice (husband is coming for dinner, that's who!).

basic black (BCBG dress...which I think lost 70% of the fabric around the waist in the sale)

or

Mad Men meets Miami: high waisted leopard skirt with black tee & high waisted thick black belt.

I think I know which I'm doing. but need opinion.

Have other options, but one dress is too Mojitos in Miami and the other dress I'm pretty sure he will hate (too 70s, watercolor free flowing pregnancy hiding dress). (not pregnant!)

I could wear jeans and a top, but let's face it...he'll see all that soon enough.

What do you think?

Guess....

who's coming for dinner tomorrow night???

About Those Runs...

Since I was in college (maybe even in high school, who knows), I've always wanted to run a marathon. Not quite sure where the idea came from, but specifically, I wanted to run the NYC Marathon, which is held in early November. Unfortunately, I never seriously acted on it. My 'long runs' always ended around 3-4 miles.

Fast forward about 10 years and my long runs have moved into the double digits. This marathon training is now getting serious! A few months ago I ran my first half marathon. I remember training for it, and freaking out that I would have to run 7, 8, or 9 miles.

The half marathon came and went with a smile on my face and a general high that I remember clearly every morning when I wake and see the medal hanging on the dresser mirror.

My friend has since signed me up for a full marathon. And I've since begun freaking out about running 14, 16, and 18 miles. Now it's time to freak out about running 20 miles (next week!).

On my last two long runs (16 & 18), I've hit a wall at mile 15. I started to walk, and even had to sit before finding the energy at mile 16 to start moving in a way that resembled jogging. It wasn't pretty. (plus I was 3 miles from home. and I just wanted to get home).

I wear a fuel belt and I gu. First gu is usually an hour into the run. After that it's about every 45 minutes. The day i attempted 16 I only had water in my belt. This past week I used watered down gatorade (and that left me feeling like a I had a bloated belly full of sugar).

A few suggestions were given to me at the running store, but I'm looking for more. How do I avoid the wall at 15? I don't want mile 15 to be some sort of a mental block after all this training!

RIBA

RIBA: "Robot for Interactive Body Assistance"

It's innovative for sure, but I wonder where this will be used? the robot is designed to move someone who is less than 135 lbs. I imagine this might be useful at a pediatric hospital, but certainly not a hospital in the states.

When I think about the patients I cared for (a total of 7 different people throughout the week), only one weighed less than 135 lbs.

Thank goodness for ceiling lifts.

Danger Zone

This week, at one point in time, I had two obese (or morbidly obese) patients.

Another patient is "demented" (MD's word, not mine). The patient is dubbed a complete patient as she/he can not turn her/himself, feed her/himself, etc. She/he can, however, punch. Patient is highly combative.

Yesterday I got a new patient who is a heroin user. Last time using was sometime on the 24th (per patient). Heroin withdrawal begins to occur 48-72 hours after last use. And while the patient slept most of my shift, I think she/he was in the early stages of the withdrawal at the end of my shift.

I don't regret going back to school, and I don't regret the career I have chosen. Here's hoping I can leave work today with a healthy back and without a black eye.

Negative

Splits that is! Check this out...

Mile 1: 11:20
Mile 2: 10:37
Mile 3: 10:00
Mile 4: 9:47
Mile 5: 9:45
Mile 6: 9:08

honest to goodness, wasn't even trying (although around mile 3 or 4 I realized I had found a happy pace). to bed late & woke up at the ungodly time of 5:30 (no thanks to the cats). Humidity now is 88%..not sure what it was earlier this morning. Breakfast & the NY Times now, plus the Sunday Morning News Show. Then Julie & Julia and hopefully a post about yesterday's shopping excursion.