Whine and Wine Wednesday

Marathon Training Week 6 - Day 3

Today was supposed to be a 35 minute tempo run.  At 4:15am, when my alarm went off, I texted Randee and said no can do.  I felt blah.  My stomach was a little upset.  I didn't want to run.  Loser, I know.

Since I have no workout pics you get this....

Randee rockin' her new Luna headband . Sexy!

Whine:

Let's start with the darn heat, shall we?

Hard to read, but that says 104.  Fantastic.

The heat is here for a while so I best get used to it.

Rita's Italian Ice helped ease the heat pain...well, until it gave me brain freeze! 

I'm gonna detour here a moment and go on a bit of a rant...that is not necessarily a whine.

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This life is yours.  Live it to the fullest.  Make the most of it.  Try new things.  Discover new passions.  Meet new people.

And when you do all these things....change is inevitable.  But you know what???

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Change is good.  Change is needed.  Changing is part of growing as a person.  Change can be scary.

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Change immediately and flamboyantly.  I love that.  To me that means do it now, make it big and let everyone know about it!

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However, as we change we often try to drag those people in our lives along with us.  Sometimes they want to go, and sometimes they don't.  This does not mean we should chose not to change.  It just means we have to accept that as we change our close relationships might change along with us.  Our friendships might change.  This is okay.

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• Embrace Change
• Take the Journey Back to Yourself
• Love with Abandon
• Speak of your Gratitude
• Wear Yellow Shoes
• Unleash Your Creative Spirit
• Dance in the Moonlight
• Be Positive
• Believe in Healing
• Share Your Inner Light
• Surprise Yourself and do Things You Thought You Couldn't Do

I love all of these!  Some I'm doing.  Some I need to make an effort to do.  Just yesterday Michelle at Crazy Running Legs did a post about Gratitude.  She suggested a gratitude journal that I am going to start putting at the end of my post each day.  I'm training for a marathon, that is definitely something I once thought I couldn't do!  I feel change happening in many of the relationships in my life.  I'm accepting this change.  I'm opening myself up to love with abandon.  To being positive, and perhaps a little less bitchy...**gasp**.

Alright now.....I'm off my soap box and back to Whine and Wine Wednesday.

Wine

I will definitely enjoy a glass of wine tonight with the hubby.  Today is his Friday!

I'm thinking this Malbec looks like a good option.

Oh yes....

These are some of the very special bottles of wine we have consumed in the past.  They are tagged with the reason for the celebration, date and names of those we enjoyed the wine with.  Do you see that empty basked in the middle?

This 1976 magnum used to be in that basket.  This week it fell to the floor, and somehow did not break.  Doug got this bottle for my birthday one year.

 Happy Whine and Wine Wednesday!

Today I'm grateful for a training partner that is reliable and dedicated.  It's not easy to find someone willing to get up at 4:15am every morning to workout.  Together we WILL finish the Chicago Marathon!

What's your whine and wine for the week? 


What are you grateful for today?

Whine and Wine Wednesday

Marathon Training Week 4 - Day 3

Four hill repeats was the goal for today.  It was hot and humid, as usual. 

Randee was rockin' the compression tights, trying to keep the hamstring from barkin'.

This is my 'I'm finding it hard to breath and all I did was walk outside" face.  Attractive don't you think?

We ran a warm up mile at a 10:30 pace.  Then we ran our 4 hill repeats as fast as our hot, sweaty legs would let us.

Hill 1 - 7:08 pace

Hill 2 - 6:48 pace

Hill 3 - 7:19 pace

Hill 4 - 7:05 pace

Now moving on to the good stuff....

WHINE

I'm to tired to whine this week.....but I don't want to let Duane down, so I'll find something to whine about.

Randee is at the Chiropractor as I type to see what is up with her foot, calf and hammy.  NO!  She can't get hurt.  I seriously don't know what I would do if I thought I had to train for a marathon alone!  So, hopefully she won't give me anything to whine about.

I'm sure this will be a regular whine for a while, but the heat and humidity are already horrible and horrendous!  Breathing and running at the same time lately has been nearly impossible.  Sweat is pouring from places I didn't even know existed on my body.  Lord help us.  It's not even officially summer yet!

I'm on a roll now.  Let's see what else I can find to whine about.  My house is a mess.  My life is crazy busy times ten right now.  Blah, blah, blah.

Alright, enough of that.

WINE

Oh my!  The purple section of the wine cellar is almost empty.

For those of you new to the blog, this is our wine cellar.  I'm only allowed to grab wine from the "purple section."  Look real hard.  See that tiny section outlined in purple?  The rest is "special" wine and and off limits.....to me!

The purple section was well stocked a few days ago.  But it is a possibility that over the long Memorial Day weekend several bottles were consumed with friends.  Anywho, today there were only two bottles in my section....of the same wine.  So, I guess I'm having this.

But it's a Tempranillo....my favorite....so it will work just fine!

Tonight I'm drinking to celebrate

Why do you run?

Not really.  I run for many reason.  Sanity.  Vanity.  Stress Relief.  Girl Time. 

Happy Whine and Wine Wednesday!

What's your whine and wine for the week?

Why do you run?

Bitchy Runners Dictionary

Marathon Training Week 3 - Day 2

Today called for 3 miles at race pace (10:00).

Thing 1

Thing 2

It was crazy humid again.  Running and breathing at the same time proved to be nearly impossible.  We eeked out the miles at a 10:06 pace.  Not great, but done.

That was horrible!

I'm sure you wanted a close up of all the sweat.

I dare you to look at this picture and not bust out laughing.

Today we are going to discuss the new found vocabulary we have learned as runners.  Below are a few words that meant something totally different to us before joining the racing cult.  (All "after" definitions below came from this article at RunnersWorld.com)

Chip Time

Before:

Noshing down on some potato chips.

After:


A technology for sensing and recording the finishing times of all
the runners in a race. It's much more accurate and can easily deal with
the old problem of many runners finishing nearly at once in a big, crowded
race. The "chip" is a tiny electronic chip that's programmed with your
specific runner identification. You attach the chip to your shoe laces.
It sends a signal to an electronic reading device--often hidden under
a strip of carpet-- when you cross the start line and again when you cross
the finish line. No human observation is necessary. Your exact time is
recorded automatically. Usually you are asked to turn the chip back in
to the race organizers.

Fartlek


Before:

Licking my lips after passing gas.

After:

Swedish for "speed play;" variable pace running; a mixture
of slow running, running at a moderate pace and short, fast bursts.
Fartlek training is a "creative way" to increase speed and endurance.

Pick-Ups

Before:

Me working my cougar magic.

 After:

Accelerations done during a run, normally done in shorter
durations than fartleks. Pick-ups are simply another way to spice up
what would otherwise be an easy-run day. 

Splits

Before:

Talia did her's at work.

I did mine while texting.

Brittany just set around in them with her rainbow suite watching Barney.

Ms. Sunshine used her's while cheering on the boys.

After:

Refers to your times at mile markers or other pre-planned
checkpoints along the way to the finish line.

Taper

Before:

Just my typical Friday Night Duct Tape outfit.

Talia and Randee wore their duct tape to work.

After:

Runners usually cut back mileage (or taper) one day to
three weeks (depending on race distance) before a big race. Tapering
helps muscles rest so that they are ready for peak performance on race
day.

Marathon

Before:

Marathon shopping trips....26.2 bags each.

After:

26.2 miles; According to legend, in 490 B.C., a Greek
soldier name Philippides ran the distance from the site of the battle
of Marathon to Athens, where he died after the Greek victory over the
Persians.

Moving on....

I ate this for lunch:

Amy's Black Bean Vegetarian soup.  Looks like poop, but taste good.

And...

Hussies will be hussies...please vote!

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Oh yes, and one more thing....

I thought you might enjoy seeing this one more time.

Happy Tuesday!

What new words have you learned since becoming a runner?

Whine and Wine Wednesday!

Marathon Training Week 2 - Day 3

Wednesday's are our speed days.  Today we were supposed to do a 30 minute tempo run.

Hands on hip girl...again.  I gotta come up with a new pose.

I've been up all night with a sick child.  Do I look like I'm in the mood to run?

Randee did not get much sleep.  She also was having a bit of a hamstring issue.  Our goal was a 15 minute warm up going from 11:00 to 10:00ish pace.  Then we would do 10 minutes at 9:00, and finish with a 5 minute cool down back to 11:00 pace.

We did our 15 minutes averaging 10:30ish and then did 8 minute of a 9:00 pace.  Then Randee's leg started hurting worse so we called it a day.  We did a warm up lap before starting the time and then a cool down walk.  All together we did right around 3 miles.

Moving on...

You know what today is?

It's Duane's favorite day of the week!

Whine and Wine Wednesday!

Whine:

You're not going to believe this...but I really can't think of anything to whine about today.  Very odd.  This week is flying by.  The weather has been amazing.  I have several new blog followers.  It's just a good week to be me!

Oh yes, and I'm pretty sure the Food Network is about to contact me about hosting my own Bitchy Cooking show.

This was last nights dinner.

What, you don't eat dinner with chopsticks on the couch?

Okay, since I'm fresh out of whines...let's move onto the good stuff!

Wine!

Last night went down a little like this...

Doug brought out the good Tempranillo from the wine cellar.

I begged him not to do it.  It's Tuesday....I can't drink on Tuesday!

I begged him to wait until Wednesday to drink the wine.

But I'm sad to admit that with very little effort this happened....

My 9 year old daughter opened the wine.  (Is it normal for a 9 year old to know how to use a waiter's corkscrew?)

And I had Whine and Wine Tuesday.

So, I will be skipping the wine tonight.  But last night was a GORGEOUS night in Texas.

We set outside and sipped wine and looked at the moon.

Cutest. Couple. Ever.

Oh yes, and I laughed a lot at myself.

Trying to get the perfect sad face proved to be comical.

So, no whine or wine for this Wednesday.  Just imagine me with one of those sad faces right about now.

Pitiful, shameless, no good begging:  Did you vote today?  We have falling out of the top 25!  HELP!

If not, just click here.  Thanks!

What's your whine and wine for the week?