On the track again

Running again. Scored me a new running partner so we hit the trails at butt ass early this morning. Am eating chocolate and drinking Coke Zero and Grape crush at the same time while pounding coffee to stay awake at this point. And really, I want some fruity pebbles. But it was a good run--and in the rain, too. So sleepy.

Thinking about doing a half in November. Not sure I have the time for a full and my partner hasn't ever run more than 2 miles, so I think a 1/2 is a good goal for us. She's slower than I am, but that's ok with me because I enjoy running better when I am not having to keep up with crazy fast people. This way, I don't look like a dog trying to chase a postal truck. I might start putting in some alone miles at night in the gym, though.

I am making no sense. Summer school, my comps project, and my practicum are kicking my ass. And it's only Summer 1!!!

Sleepytime, like the tea, now.

Hey woodchuck chuckers

I did celebrate Marmot day again this year, but really, Prax, we need to do it up big next year. Seriously. We have a year to plan it, and I think it should happen. As in previous years, I celebrated with White Russians, Lebowski, Groundhog's Day (movie), tumbleweeds, and root beer (next best thing to sasparilla). I could not get anyone to go bowling with me, however, and though the book was a best seller, bowling alone is not for me.

Next year, Prax. Next year, we have to pay proper tribute to the marmot. As Prax says, "Ask not what the marmot can do for you. Ask what you can do for the marmot." Truer words were never said.

The good news is that there is a prairie dog run coming up next month, so perhaps that will make up for the lack of Groundhog's Day bowling. It's not the same, but it is a tribute to the critter, nonetheless.

In other news, the pigeons of Lubbock must've gotten word that I did not bowl on Gday because one of them (definitely a genetically enhanced bird bc that sucker was big) came at me talons first this afternoon. Seriously, it flew up in my face with talons flailed. I just sort of froze in a startle response while two girls behind me did the screaming for me. Lol. That was incredibly odd. It really stopped itself and fluttered less than a millimeter from my face.

Then I headed out to do some running. I'm training again, this time not for a race, per se, but as part of a competition. I'm on a team, and we are competing mileagewise with other teams on campus. It's part of this Get Fit initiative they've got going on. We have to log our miles, heart rates, veggies and fruit intake, etc. Then there's sort of a Biggest Loser type of challenge process, and someone wins. We're in the advanced level, and my teammates are triathletes, so I've got to keep up my end of the bargain. I did hill training today, and I forgot how much I missed that! And so I am now back from eating some carb replenishment, and it's probably time for bed--though I have a stack of novels to get through (oh and some articles and stats assignments to do, too, but who wants to do that?).

And finally, I just looked in the mirror, and I have smudges under my eyes. how is it that no one told me that my eyeliner smeared. Really? Come on. That is just wrong. I sat at Ihop like that all night? Guh. Serves me right though. Nothing ever goes right when you don't bowl on Gday.

i'm studyin'

I just fell asleep with my head in my left hand and my right hand perched atop my mouse, index finger poised to left click. I woke up when the heat came on and murmured, "I'm studyin'. I'm studyin'." Oh hell. I haven't even finished the week yet.

The good news is that both my 8:30 meeting and my 11:00 meeting got cancelled tomorrow, and I have no class, so I have nothing to do until my 4pm study session. Sleepytime for Cranky--and maybe a little wake up run.

ok and might I add

the 10-15 miles per week doesn't include my long runs. Rod said I could back off on kickboxing and powerlifting when the runs got long, but no slacking on the weight training.

Bite me, Rod.

Laboring in Lubbock

So I went for my 13 mile run this morning. It wasn't too bad. The weather is cool today. I'm still slow, though. We're looking at a 6-6 1/2 hour marathon pace. ugh.
Two months to go, though, so maybe I can speed it up, and I am certainly stronger than I was last year. I don't even hurt after 13.

So while running, I could smell the bbq pits/grills firing up. Slow cooked brisket making was about to begin. Hank Hill would be proud. And so after running, I took a little nap and decided to venture out into town for some bbq. After all, what is Labor Day without bbq, and what is Lubbock without a myriad of bbq joints to choose from?

No luck. Everything in LBB is closed down for the holiday--stores and restaurants swathed in American flags (which made me almost wonder if it was actually memorial day or something). But the grocery store was open, so I picked up some brisket, potato salad and spinach dip, and settled in with Solaris, the sci fi pick of the day, and a Fat Tire. My parents stocked my fridge with beer enough to last me until december.

Despite the bbq letdown, I liked the LBB a little more today. Everything is better when you run. There are parks everywhere, and I dig the buildings. It's like The Last Picture Show. And I found another free food event this week. All I have to do is pretend I am a mechanical engineering major. I figure I'll wikipedia the main points and drop a few words like thermodynamics and pneumatics. Ooo and control theory; I like that one. Or I'll just wear a short skirt and smile. It worked at the International student gala last week. Sadly, I arrived too late for food.

Happy Labor Day.

Down with LBB?

I guess I have to be.

So I moved to the thriving metropolis of Lubbock this weekend. I guess this post would work best if I put it into Eastwood format. So here goes.

The Good:
1. My house--it is bangin'!
2. My cats are happy. They have room to play.
3. The weather--it's cool and dry. [Today however had 62% humidity, so I reserve the right to withdraw this statement]
4. I have a backyard.
5. I have enough closet space to hang Paris Hilton's wardrobe.
6. I am 1.3 miles from campus and 2 miles from my building.
7. Running is awesome here. I can run at 10 am and not overheat, which is phenomenal since I hate getting up early.
8. There are more local channels, including 3 Jesus (well technically one is a Yahweh channel) channels, a weather channel, and the home shopping network. I also get 3 Spanish channels and a strange British channel which shows things like this late at night. Yeah, and I think that one deserves a you tube.
9. Prairie Dog Town
10. 7-11!
11. no traffic
12. everything is less than 15 min away
13. Local coffee house. Lots of granola people. Too many macs, tho.
14. My advisor. We click. She's brilliant. She's a presby PK. She's a runner training for a marathon. She's me, only she's already a doc.
15. My course load--uber challenging and interesting.

The Bad
1. Everyone in the town is 19 or 45 with no teeth.
2. Really young cohort. They are all fresh out of undergrad.
3. People lean out of the car and hoot, holler and even squeal like a pig when I walk to school. It's disturbing. I'm not sure if it's the redneck mating call or if they think I look like a pig. I guess if they yell, "Suey" I'll have my answer.
4. One of my assistantship supervisors. I'll leave it at that.
5. The local news. I don't normally watch the news, so this shouldn't be much of a problem. But it's like watching King of the Hill, which would be good if I weren't so damn disturbed that it's real. The weather people are all like Nancy Gribble. And the news people, well, I can't describe them.
6. The local weather. This gets it's own line item because it is brutal. Yesterday, I was all freaked out about a disastrous hail storm that was going to hit any minute. It interrupted the Olympics every minute for an HOUR with Severe Warning bulletins, urging us to take cover. And then I find out it's in freakin' New Mexico!
7. This is a good thing in Lubbock, but it doesn't bode well for me. Apparently, there was massive excitement in town because we broke records by receiving 2.5 inches of rain this month. We haven't done that since 1992.
8. The hard water. It actually stained my hair red. Apparently the iron is really bad here.
9. Dry, cracked skin anyone?
10. everything is slow. slow. slow. slow. And people are lacksidaisical (how do you spell that?) like Boobah. I tried to find a good Boobah video and came across this. It made me chuckle.

The Ugly
1. I don't get paid until Oct 1
2. The stupid ass snow pig of a bitch in the business office just felt overwhelmed this week from pounding root beer and fritos, and so she failed to process our scholarships. I had to put $3,000 on my credit card today or get dropped from classes. They swear they'll pay me back. Her exact words, matter of factly, "Well, I'm just overwhelmed and so it didn't get done this week, and it may not get done next week, and don't ask me about it neither." Her boss, present in this meeting, took her out in the hall and talked with her, and he came back in and swore we'd get our money.
3. The gas company guy. He came in and started probing me for info, as if I'd give it to him, and tried to freak me out. Seriously, we're talking creepazoid of the sexual assault type. [shiver] Then he came back, claiming that he forgot his tools! When he saw my male landlord, he ran away. Creepy.
4. No water for 2 days. Apparently, the water company here rips out the water meter bc there is a history of water meter theft on abandoned houses. So weird.
5. The smell from my sink. WTF is it? I can't kill it.


So that's it for my first 4 days in LBB. I'm sure there will be tales to tell. Yarns to spin. Fun to be had. Yessirree. Still no new Catbirds yet. I'll keep you posted.

Random thoughts

Today is the CPs bday. He's joined the league of thirtysomethings. I didn't bother offering to take him out. I did, however, buy him a card with a Vulcan on it. I forgot it at home.

Yesterday at the AcDec event, a kid was wearing a poncho--you know, the Clint Eastwood Good Bad and Ugly kind of serape poncho. I didn't see him at first until my friend leans over and sings in my ear [insert Ennio Morricone]. I choked on my own saliva laughing.

Training now for a new sporting event. It's the Avon 2 day 39 mile walk. A full marathon the first day and a half the second. We camp overnight. I'm a little anxious about walking for 39 miles. Running 26 was a long enough time on my feet. Still, it sounds like a challenge, and it raises money for breast cancer. They won't let us run because they can't close the streets for 2 full days, obviously. It's a safety issue.

At the same time, I'm training to run the Baylor Bearathon in March and the San Antonio Marathon in November. Neither of these is for charity.

Upcoming trips--Vegas in March, Lubbock and Chicago in April, and hopefully the northeast or colorado sometime in the summer.

Met a woman yesterday named Meg Swan. This was fuel for many chuckles throughout the day, especially since I was drinking Starbucks and working on my laptop.

Morning before xmas

Twas the morning before xmas
and all through my house
not a creature was stirring
except my cats and their mouse.

The stockings were packed
in their boxes this year
Because this xmas season
I'm up to my rear.

And Radford was snuggled
all down in his den
Meaning Dylan was king
of the complex again.

With eggnog in hand,
and no one to toast
I'd just settled down
for a little blog post.

When on my computer
there arose such a clatter
I clicked on my email
to see what was the matter.

Someone had sent me
themselves in disguise
as an elf of dear Santa
with big bulging eyes.

Chuckling a little
I turned to my blog
Scrolling through the year's post
to see what I've logged.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a gamut of stories--not so bad of a year!

In January, for instance,
I headed to Philly
with Praxis and Y arms
climbing steps willy nilly.

And the rest of the year
in the cranky hall of fame
I'll shorten and simply
list them by name:

Damn Catbirds, OUT CP, and what's with Texas shabbats?
Dreams of aliens, hippos, McSteamy, and marmots.
Goodbye G, Hello running, Chinese and the burbs
Kimday, Lubbock, Fence Rider, and Bizarro Catbirds

Not as wild as last year
but who's keeping track?
At least I have finally
come to terms with my "rack."

Don Eduardo remains happy
He's had a great run (no pun intended)
but for 2008
I'm accepting my buns

And this poem could go on
but I'm into brevity
Happy xmas to all
or at least "wine up" like me!

Jingle Bells, Cranky Smells

Ugh, just ran the Houston Jingle Bell Run, a 5 mile trek down hilly Allen Parkway (the only elevation in Houston). We wore foam antlers and jingle bells, which were kind of cool in that they created this Santalike sleigh noise throughout that part of the city.

Otherwise, it was brutal. It is Dec 9, people! In no way should it be 80 degrees with 87% humidity. We hit a record high today EVER. OMG. I am sunburned. Seriously, it felt like it did when I was training at 5am in July. Today's run was at 2pm.

Whew! A shower (and 2 gallons of gatorade and a club sandwich) later, and I am a new woman.

But it was worth it to get this little souvenir. Christmas Card material!

and i'm crazy

bc i'm running a 5k tomorrow at 7am, and i think it's just a baby run.

Circe, however, is pissed at me and is only thinking of the free beer at the finish line.