No Rest for the Weary

Wednesday night, I did not get ANY sleep at all.

After going to bed and falling asleep, I was awakened by a dying cell phone battery. You know... when your phone does that beeping to let you know the battery is dying. I got up and turned off my Blackberry and went back to bed. Right after I fell back to sleep, I was awaken by that same stinking sound!! I got up and discovered that it wasn't my Blackberry, it was my other phone. I plugged that one in a went back to bed.

It seems that I had just fallen into a deep sleep when Fred was meowing from the bathtub... and he was relentless. I got up and shoed him out of the tub and closed the bathroom door so he couldn't go back in there.

Back to bed I went and fell right back to sleep. Then came a visit from Tensor, the next door neighbors cat. He came up to the pet door - which I had locked, but Fred could see him so there was some major cat growling going on. Back up again. I blocked to door so the cats couldn't see each other any more.

By now, I was wide awake and spent about an hour on the computer before going back to bed... at 3:30am. So when the alarm went off at 4:45, I turned it off, and went right back to sleep.

But, I got up early this morning, even though I was still really tired.

Marc had a surprise for me at CrossFit today. I've been stuck on the blue band for pull-ups, or doing jumping pull-ups. He handed me a red band, about half as wide as the blue one, and I still cranked out 10 straight pull-ups! For the next round, he handed me a purple band, about half as wide as the red one. This time, I did five straight, then 3, then 2. I think these will really help me get to where I can do unassisted pull-ups!

Today's WOD was pure murder - especially after a marathon and walking lunges on Wendesday.

It was:

21 Thrusters

15 ft rope climb, 12 ascents

15 Thrusters

15 ft rope climb, 9 ascents

9 Thrusters

15 ft rope climb, 6 ascents

Marc scaled it for us... a lot.

I did the Thrusters at only 45#. My first attempt at the rope climb was pretty clumsy and I made 2 attempts that didn't get me very far off the ground. Marc loaned me a pair of his army pants but they were so baggy that I couldn't get the rope around my foot - I kept losing it.

And the pants hindered my movement during the Thrusters, but Marc didn't appreciate it when I suggested that they make those things out of spandex!

Marc "pegged" the legs of my pants - getting them all nice and tucked in close. So for my final rounds of the rope climb I was able to make it all the way to the top both times.

He took a picture of me near the top of the rope that I hope will replace this picture he posted on our website, with the caption: "Carolyn makes the rope climb her bitch." I'm only part way off the floor in this picture, even though I did make it higher, but today I made it all the way to the top twice!

The Day After the Day After

Monday (still the day after the Marathon), we went out for dinner to Rio Grande (or something like that). Our adventure start with Sam driving us!

Are you scared yet?

Meredith sharing a little "brotherly love"

over dinner!

And this is what Meredith thought

of dinner... and the sopapillas.

It was a great dinner. I had the skirt steak. I'm not sure what everyone else had but it all looked (and smelled) delicious!

Tuesday morning came way too early. I got to see Sam and Meredith before they left for school, then Hazel took Tim and me to the airport.

Mom & Dad picked us up and we went straight out to lunch. I was a little slow picking out a place but I think we settled on a nice little spot. We went to Savannah's for some southern cooking and we all had Po Boy's (fried oyster for Daddy, shrimp for Momma and me), except for Tim who had the pulled pork sandwich. Mmmm Mmmm good!

Right after Momma and Daddy left, I unpacked a few things and went right out and mowed the grass. Ugh.... but it had to be done.

I got right back to CrossFit this morning with a very slow "Fun 50". Four rounds for time of walking lunges (50 meters) and 50 sit-ups. I felt every bit of the fatigue in my legs during those walking lunges. I finished in 17:23 (to Jordan's 13:57).

The Morning After

What do you do the day after a marathon? Go for a walk, of course!

We got to see Nick, very briefly. We got home from Ft. McNair around 10pm so we got to chat with Nick for about a half an hour before going to bed. Then I got up and had a cup of coffee with him before he headed out the door for his next trip.

Hazel went to CrossFit and the kids went to school. After Hazel got home, Hazel, Tim, and I drove to Great Falls Park.

Me, Dixie and Hazel

This water marks sign has markers for each of the highest point the river has reached during certain years. It's amazing that thawing snow or a good rain can cause the river to overflow the banks and pretty much smother the falls.

Hazel & me picking out the best

route for tubing (yeah, right).

After visiting the falls, we went to lunch at a little Irish Pub in Great Falls. I really loved this little Guinness poem on the wall...

... even more than I enjoyed my Shepherd's Pie. (Hazel & Tim had the fish and chips).

After lunch, we stopped at Trader Joe's. Even though I couldn't pick up more 3 Buck Chuck (can't check it on the flight), I was able to pick up a few goodies to bring home.... unless I eat them first!

Marine Corps Marathon - During and After

What a BIG weekend!

Hazel dropped Tim and me off - on the interstate - where they had closed the exit that we needed. But it was a short walk from there to the start line.

I was worried at first that I might not find Jordan, so I was very relieved when I heard her calling my name. Her friends Patrick and Mark were with her, and she had also run into Wendy Arnolds father - doing his 4th marathon.

Patrick and Mark are Clearwater Firefighters who work with Wendy. This would be Mark's first marathon and, like me, Patrick's 19th.

Patrick, Mark, me, Jordan, and Mr. Arnold

before the start.

I guess these two are pretty good friends :)

Jordan and me standing in front of our staging

sign - and our goal - 5 to 5 1/2 hours.

The start of the race was as expected... crowded and slow, and right into an uphill climb. There was a small hill and then a larger one before mile 2. Then we crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown. As we ran along the river, I told Jordan to look to the right... and up... to see the other runners - warning her that this was the big hill we'd be climbing.

The hill wasn't too bad, and we only walked a very, very short stretch of. Then it was nice to cruise down hill and through Georgetown with all of the shops and lots and lots of spectators. Then we cruised along past the Lincoln Memorial and spotted Tim shortly after.

Jordan looks confused... but she was fine.

Here she looks better, and there's the

Washington Monument behind us!

Around Mile 13, Jordan said that it was starting to get hard for her, but she was still running really well. We cruised to the end of Haines Point and headed back into town (all around the Golf Course) and came back out near the Lincoln Memorial.

The course took us up one side of The Mall and back down the other. My Mile 19, I could tell she was starting to really feel tired so we took more frequent walk breaks. We passed Mile 20 and started on "The Bridge", which we had no trouble beating. After the bridge, we headed into Crystal City. I had warned her about this section and I think she hated it just as much as I do. But we came out of Crystal City and hit Mile 24, near the Pentagon.

At Mile 25, I told Jordan that we were right on pace to come in just under 5 hours. That spiked her so much and she said "I'm ready to push it" and took off! I had to scream at her "Jordan... you'd better not leave me!" After all that pacing, I just didn't have the burst of speed that she had - although I could have kept running more, I just couldn't go fast.

I think she realized as we ran this last mile, that it was a lot further than she thought and I could tell she was getting tired again. The final insult was that stinking hill just before the finish line. It's just steep enough to force you to walk.

And here we are, walking up the final hill.

One turn and we're done!

Final Time: 4:58:27

Me, Wendy, and Jordan.

Wendy will be running this one next year!

The gang.

After the run, it took us forever to get out of town. Tim was finally able to flag down a cab, which dropped us off at the front gate of Ft. McNair. From there, we had a short walk to Jordan's parents quarters. General Whitcomb (Steve) and his wife Cathy have lived in these quarter for about 2 years. But he will be retiring and they will be moving to Georgia.

Gen. Whitcomb's quarters.

Relaxing before dinner.

Gen. Whitcomb made steaks for everyone and Mrs. Whitcomb made fantastic appetizers (salsa, hummus) and a most marvelous cheesecake for dessert! It was a great finish to a great finish!

Until next year.....

Marine Corps Marathon - Before

Tim and I flew to D.C. on Thursday evening.

On Friday, Hazel, Tim, and I went to the Expo. Tim played photojournalist and sports food critic while Hazel and I did some major shopping. Tim tested out every nutrition bar that was out for sample and washed these down with every sports drink out for sample. I think he was full by the time we finished the expo and headed out for lunch.

Hazel & me - entering the Expo

A patient Marine checking me in.

We ran into Mad Dog Tom Knoll, who had a booth

at the expo. He'll also be running the marathon.

A birds eye view of the expo.

After the expo, we went to Coastal Flats for an awesome lunch! Then we went off to REI so I could spend some more money.

Tim relaxed on a bench while Hazel & I

were hard at work - shopping

Me, coming out of Lucy.

Hazel did some damage at Lucy.

Saturday morning, we went to watch Meredith's piano recital. I had to take a picture of these bright red bushes. All the colors were in full autumn color. After the recital, Hazel, Tim, and I drove around what might be the race course for the inaugural Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon coming up in September. We had a big pre-race juicy burger (with fries) at Fosters!

Celebrating Mom's 12 Mile Walk

It rained most of Friday as a cold front came into the area. Even the rain was welcome to cool down much of the high temperatures we've had over the past couple of weeks. And the "cold" front would be a welcome relief, just in time for the big 4 hour walk that was planned for Saturday.

Friday night, none of us got any sleep. There was always something... whether it was Fred meowing in the bathtub or some car honking alarm going off at 3am. 5:15am came way to early.

But Mom and I got up, had a little bite to eat, and headed over to North Shore Pool to meet the Tampa Bay Fit group to start our 4 hour walk. We pretty much stayed with the TBF group for the first four miles, then ventured out on our own.

4 miles into the walk, just as daylight breaks.

There was a lot going on in St. Pete this weekend and that helped to keep the walk pretty interesting. In addition to the TBF group, there were so many others out walking and running. We made it back to North Shore Pool just in time to see Tim before he headed out on the 7am bike ride. Then we made a stop at the car to grab some money so that we could walk through the Farmers Market during our walk.

During this little stop, we spied this squirrel with a piece a huge piece of bread.

We continued walking south through town down to Roser Park where we encountered our "little Diamond Head" - the one steep but short little hill that will had to climb. Just a reminder of what awaits us in Hawaii. Then we stopped in at Bayfront Medical Center, another of our water stops. After Bayfront, we walked back towards downtown and walked quickly up and down each row of the Farmers Market. We made two quick stops. One to take a picture of Mayor Rick Baker (on the left) strumming and singing Jimmy Buffet songs, and the other so that I could buy some homemade cat treats!

On the left is Mayor Rick Baker, providing

entertainment at the Farmers Market.

We cruised through downtown and peeked into the restaurant where Robert Irvine was supposed to have his new place "Ooze and Schmooze". But that fell through and they opened a Seafood and Tap House.

Then, we hooked up with a bunch of walkers out for a Breast Cancer 5k Walk. All of the activity around town made it so much easier to get through the 4 hour walk. But both of us were getting a little tired toward the end. The legs were aching at around 11 miles and we covered just over 12 miles in the four hours.

Mom did great!!! Today's walk should give her a lot of confidence that she'll be able to finish the Honolulu Marathon.

But after our walk, we were both very short on brain cells. We stopped at Publix to get some bagels for breakfast. Mom paid for the groceries, grabbed the receipt as it printed out (the cashier had just stepped away), and we headed out the door. Thats when I remembered that we forgot the bagels!! So we went back inside and as Mom paid for the bagels, she realized that she had forgotten to sign the receipt for the other groceries, so we almost stole our breakfast from Publix!

She signed the receipt and handed it to that first cashier - who had been wondering what was up - and then we decided to head straight home so we wouldn't get into any more trouble.

After breakfast, we all got a good rest and sat around watching some great (and some pitiful) college football.

Then, we all headed back over to Vinoy Park for the concert in the park by the Florida Orchestra. It was kind of refreshing sitting out under the stars with our jackets on, listening to the orchestra, with a handful of friends.

Our set-up at the concert in the park.

Notice that Mom gets the chair with the foot rest!

The concert was giving special attention to the new Dali Museum

that will be opening in a few months. So they had these girls modeling

some Dali-like apparel.

During intermission, the guest conductor - Gerald Streichen -

visited with the audience and popped right into the middle

of our group. From left: Tracy and Chris Burke,

Gerald Streichen, me, Dad, & Mom.

The concert ended with a bang - literally - the Overture to 1812

then Stars & Stripes and a nice fireworks display with a

marvelous grand finale!

Barefoot in the Park

I took yesterday off of working out because I usually take Friday off, but this Friday the WOD is a 5k run so I traded days off.

Today's WOD was a nice one, but I really suffered. Marc even commented afterwards about how sloooooow I was.

Max Rounds in 20 minutes of:

Row 250 meters

Sumo deadlift high pull (@55#), 21 reps

Pull-ups (jumping), 15 reps

I got three rounds, 250 meter of rowing and 8 sumo deadlift high pulls.

Yesterday, my day off, I also happened to have a bad allergy day. My sinuses were congested and I felt like I had smoke in my lungs. I took my Zyrtec and that marginally helped my head. I didn't even think about it when I got up this morning, but whatever was bothering my lungs yesterday was the issue today. I could feel my bronchospasms and I hadn't taken my inhaler. So, I never did get to work my muscles too hard because my lungs weren't going to let that happen.

After the WOD, I went over to a park to meet my friend (and coach) Hank Campbell for a special run workout.

Tim purchased a book for me because a friend told him about it and he knew I'd like it. It only took me a few days to finish "Born to Run". It explains in great detail, and with elaborate stories, why we should be running barefoot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv4Se5ka9Pk

Hank recently read the book and has always believed in running barefoot. He just started a run clinic on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and it's all barefoot running and running drills.

I had a blast running barefoot on the cool, dewy grass. The running drills weren't so hard as to tax my lungs and it will all pay off with more comfortable and faster runs!