Date Night -- Five Stars

Although it got off to a rough start, last night's date night was great.

Around 1:30 p.m., JP called me at work to say he had just woken up. He wasn't planning on going into the office, but it ended up he was sick after returning home late on Wednesday night. I was concerned that he was sick, but I'll admit I was more disappointed that we may not get to see Ratatouille.

After work, I went right to his place and he was feeling a bit better. After idle chit chat, I finally busted out with, "If you're not feeling well... should we call your brother to see if he wants the tickets for tonight?" It was in that half hopeful/half disappointed voice. I tried to be neutral, but I couldn't help it. He smiled and said that we would go.

Shortly afterwards, I went home to change out of my work clothes. No running tonight - I'll take it as my rest day. (As if my training schedule hasn't been jacked up to begin with...) After changing, I jumped back into my car to drive back to his house.

Thump.

Thump, thump.

"What the hell is that?"

I looked out my window and saw that my back tire was COMPLETELY FLAT. I'm talking so flat it looked like a half circle. How did that happen? Literally 15 minutes prior it was fine. And... don't the flat tire gods know that it's date night!?!?!

I started to get the jack out when JP came over to help change the tired and stop me from having a breakdown. When things go wrong with my truck I get very touchy. I love my truck and hate when there's something wrong with her. (Note: I do refer to my truck as, "her", but am not the type to actually name it.)

(This is her, but mine is white. My motto is that my truck is, "cute and sporty, just like me.)

We quickly took off the tire and found... absolutely nothing. We couldn't find any holes, rips, tears, nothing. Since it happened so quickly, I thought for sure we'd find a huge slash in it. Nope. Nothing. This made it worse. Stupid tire.

We quickly finished and were on our way. We were cutting it close and I was starting to think we weren't going to make it to the theater in time. Not to mention that we weren't going to get dinner beforehand now and we were both starving. It was in one of those fancy theaters in a very upscale area, where I haven't done "the scene" in awhile. It was nice to be there and see so many people walking around. Anyway, we made it in time and it was such a great movie!!!! It was super cute, funny and had those classic Disney/Pixar believe in yourself-you can do anything you put your mind to-family and friends stick together underlying themes. I highly recommend it to anyone, regardless if you have small children or not. Definitely 5 stars from me!

(Come on, how can you not love these little guys.)

We went over to our favorite Thai place nearby, but it was closed by the time we got there. By this time we had been seeing food that looked so real we could practically smell it for 1 1/2 hrs, so anything sounded good. We settled for Mongolian BBQ. Yum!

Tonight is my 3 miles I skipped yesterday and then to take my tire in to see what's wrong with it. I'm so not excited. Then... my first long run on Saturday and then JP's birthday is Sunday. Should be a great weekend.

The "D"

We're like a real city. Yes, it will take a little bit of time yet, but Detroit is coming along. And I've seen proof of it all week. Last week the Detroit River Days festival began. Along the riverwalk, outside of the RenCen where my office is located, a transformed city came to life. The new carousel is open, a small carnival was set up, food vendors, basketball hoops (complete with Coach K from Duke making an appearance), GM Racing team members and their cars, THREE music stages, etc., etc., etc. It is quite a sight. Sadly, it ends tonight with the famous Target Fireworks (hopefully it doesn't rain...) Anyway, the proof of its success? People are coming downtown. Every day when I leave work, there are people walking around. Really. Families, young, old, all races... and not just the people that work downtown. People are making an effort to come downtown. It's such a great sight to see.

I have special passes to the fireworks tonight, which I must admit I've never been to before. Part of me hopes it doesn't rain because I really want to go. Part of me hopes it does because it's going to be such a late night that I'd rather be dead tired on a Friday than on a Thursday. I hate getting up so freaking early!

Last night I skipped golf and went to the gym instead. I wasn't feeling well, it was nearly 100* outside and I just didn't feel like chasing a little ball around the grass all night. Oh well. Anway, I did my sheduled 3 miles and then some, ending up with 4 miles at 9:30 pace. I also FINALLY hit the weights and focused on arms. A little sore this morning, but not too bad. It was rough getting through, but I was bound and determined to get my miles in.

I don't typically watch much TV, but last night I turned it on and flipped through the channels. On ABC, "Shaq's Big Challenge" reality show caught my eye and I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually really good. Six overweight children (I'm talking 50% body fat! An 11-year-old that weighs nearly twice as much as I do!) that are going through a lifesaving change. I'm hooked! This will be my guility pleasure this summer.

Real Mail

Yesterday, I went to my mailbox expecting half of the items inside to be junk and hoped the other half wouldn't be bills. I had an envelope with my name handwritten on it, which always intrigues me. Plus, I always get a little excited about "real" mail. Remember how big mail was in college? (My mom was so good at it, sending a letter every other week of so. I never got those big care packages though...) Anyway, guess what was inside? I won a contest (which I had actually forgotten I'd entered)!!!

The daily newspaper always does these little online promotions and I always enter. I figure

someone has to win. Right? Well, it was my turn to win. I won two advance screening tickets to Ratatouille and a gift card to a nice resturant. I'm SO excited. (Not to mention the resturant has a killer dessert I've been craving lately. It's called "tuxedo cake." Think Hostess Ho Ho, only a trillion times better. )

Now, I know I'm an adult, but I love those Pixar movies. And, Ratatouille is one I've been looking forward to seeing. Granted, I'd probably wait until it came out on video, but hey, I get to see it before it actually comes out. Thursday night is going to be date night. :)

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Doctor appointment went okay. More later. Not really ready to talk about yet. I always get a little moody after an appointment, no matter the outcome. I did go the gym. Didn't workout, but I went to the gym. I drove to there, sat in the parking lot and then drove home. Just couldn't muster up the energy or strength to go inside.

Hot construction chic

One of JP's brothers is an architect working on the renovation of the mall near us. He invited us to go through and see what he's been doing and a chance to get a sneak peak at the new mall. A hard hat and safety goggles... should I change professions or what!?! (Ha! I usually wear stilettos everyday to the office...)

Long run update -- No comment

Yep, it was that good. I was in a lot of pain this weekend and didn't do my long run on Saturday. I attempted to do it on Sunday, but that didn't happen either...

I have an appointment at the pain clinic this afternoon, so we'll see what he says.

Week 1 - Almost complete

The first week of training is coming to a close. The one big thing still looming ahead is the weekend "long run." Yeah. The long run. I'm scheduled to do a 10-miler. We'll see about that. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that. I could do it, but I don't want to hurt myself just to prove I can do it. May bump it down to an 8-miler.

Day 3 - Wednesday
Scheduled to do a 5-miler and I was really excited about it. I was in pain all day, so I thought instead of doing a 5-mile loop, I'd run to the nearby high school and do laps. Sounds boring, I know, but at least this way I wasn't too far away from home if I couldn't make it through. I ran the 1 mile-ish to the track, did 3 miles on the track and ran home. It was actually kinda fun being on the track (I miss those high school days) and the time passed quickly. Not sure of my exact splits, but it was a 9:50-10:00 pace. Not super speedy, but I'm not worried about that.

I didn't make it to the gym to lift though... I was drenched in sweat and was pretty tapped out. I know lifting is such a vital part of training, but I just haven't been able to muster both the runs and the lifting. Stupid stomach.

Day 4 - Thursday
Stupid stomach continues. I was in so much pain last night I couldn't do the scheduled 3 mile run. I kept telling myself it's only 3 miles and that I could suck it up and do it. The sensible side then kicked in and told me that if I couldn't sit up without falling back in pain, I didn't think I'd be able to bend over and tie my shoes, let alone run. I figured I would take that as my "rest day" and do the 3 miles tonight instead.*

I have a doctor's appointment at the pain clinic on Monday. My prescription is up and since I don't have any refills, I need to go in and discuss where we are and where we're going. I think I'm going to go in and tell him the meds are working (I can function on a daily basis now, for the most part), but that the current situation is still unexceptable to me. He's going to nod, tell me that these things take time and again go through the list of options. Surgery is still a no! I've been doing some research on my own and there are some questions I have for him. Just thinking about the appointment is making me upset, so I'm gonna leave it at that.

(* Sound overly optimistic and upbeat? Sound nothing like me when I can't get my workout in? You would be right. I was pissed, but what are you gonna do? Good attitude. Repeat: good attitude...)

Anyway, looking forward to the weekend and relaxing a bit. JP's been out of town all week and gets back tonight. Yea!

And so the training begins

First thing is first. Monday, I started training for the TBD marathon. We'll see about this. I still have some reservations. Not because I don't think I can do it. I know I can physically run a marathon, after all, this will be my fourth. What I'm not so sure about is if I'm going to enjoy it. I know I'm going to get upset if/when I miss a workout because of my stomach and I know I'm not going to enjoy a run if there are knives stabbing me in the abdomen for the entire 18 miles. After thinking about it some more, I decided I would regret not trying. And so, the training begins.

Day 1 - Monday
Nice and easy 3 miles (9:40 pace), and some crunches and push ups on the bosu ball. It was technically to be a cross-training day, but I have golf on Tuesday and don't always make it to workout afterwards since we get done a little late. It was freaking hot and humid, but it was a pretty good run. My abdomen hurt a little bit, but not nearly as bad as the weekend (more on that later.)

Day 2 - Tuesday
Cross-training. After 2 hours of golf (we learned how to get out of the sand trap. I was pretty good at it, which is a good thing since I'm sure I'll be there a lot more than on the green.) I did a full body workout on the yoga ball. It wasn't overly strenouous, but strength training and balance is a necessity.

Day 3 - Later today
I'm scheduled for 5 miles. My plan is to start lifting again today, so hopefully that will be what actually happens. :)

This past weekend we went to Chicago to visit JP's brother. They live right downtown, so we walked A LOT. We walked Michigan Ave., went up into Sears Tower and checked out some great resturants. Unfortunately, I was hurting very badly the whole weekend and was doubled over in pain Saturday night. Needless to say, I did not partake in the Chicago nightlife. We have some cool pictures, but they're still on my camera so I'll have to upload them later.

It's a beautiful day out and not as hot as it has been. I'm ready to get out of here so I'll write more about the run and our weekend in Chicago later.

Floating on a Cloud

I was in a lot of pain yesterday, so no working out or golfing. Instead, I took a pain pill and went to bed. (Missed watching the Spurs SWEEP the Cavs last night.) The additional meds make me really groggy, so I'm still a little bit cloudy this morning.

Monday I start formally training for my marathon. I have to accept that I will probably miss some workouts but that I am doing this FOR FUN, so it's okay to miss some runs. I am not training for the Olympics, I am not a professional runner. I run because I enjoy it. (Okay, who am I kidding? I'm gonna be upset if I don't go sub-4:00 hrs.)

Happy Birthday, Mrs. J

Yesterday would have been JP's mom's birthday. She passed away when he was only 14 from ovarian cancer. To celebrate, we went to the cemetery with her favorite flowers and to clean the headstone. JP is the youngest, and was very close to his mom. We go to visit pretty regularly and he always makes sure the headstone is clean and the grass around it is trimmed. It's so hard for me, not because I knew her, but because it hurts him so badly. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a mother at such a vital time in ones life. So, happy birthday Mrs. J. I wish I could know you, but I love your son and I promise to take care of him for you.

Afterwards, JP had a soccer game nearby. We had planned ahead and during his game I was going to run around the area. Lots of hills and grass/trails, so it was a different type of run. I can feel it in my core how uneven the ground was! It wasn't the "great workout" I was planning on having. I've been in a lot of pain this week and it stopped me short a few times during the run. Urgh. Did I say I was training for a marathon? :)

Anyway... a good workout tonight and hopefully hit the driving range.

Tally: 1 ball down

Last night we learned chipping and full swing during the clinic. Chipping - check. Full swing - after a few tweaks, check. Learning how to actually align myself to the target... not so much. One of the instructors kept talking about the "railroad" lines to line myself up. Huh? I'm not so good with distance and "seeing" a line that's 50 yards away and "drawing" it to where I'm standing. Spacial relations has never been a strong suit of mine.

After half an hour clinic, we got into groups of four for a scramble. My friend and I paired up with two others and off we went to the course. We were with the other instructor and I told her I was having problems with alignment. She did a short mini-lesson that made MUCH MORE SENSE to me. No "railroad lines", whatever that means. And, guess what? I actually shot straight.

The second hole we had to tee off and go OVER a freaking pond. Are you seeing where this is going? I shot straight alright. Straight into something that looks a bit like this:

For one, I had never used the club we used. Second, thank goodness we were playing best ball because one of the girls had a perfect shot and made it over. So far my total is 1 ball lost. Oh well, I'm having fun and really learning a lot. That's what matters!

Our offiical ending time is 7:30 p.m., but we're free to golf until the sprinklers come on at 9 p.m. We went until about 8 p.m. and I was trying to get home to get my run in. Again, do you see where this one is going? It's 8 p.m., I haven't eaten yet, I'm tired because I get up at freaking 5 a.m. and it's almost my bed time. So, I skipped it and vowed to have a good, hard workout today. I need to figure out what that workout will exactly entail, but I'll figure it out. I'm still trying to find a marathon training plan that I like since I need to start soon. Yep, I said it. I'm going to do a marathon this fall. Looks like I'm committed now...

Almost forgot...

Good luck Spurs! (Isn't he hot!) At dinner Saturday night, one of the guys at our table just moved to the RO from Cleveland. We had a great time making fun of LeBron. (okay, even though we lost to him - note: "him" not "the Cavs" - we can still make fun of LeBron.)

Again, isn't Tony Parker hot!?!?!

I love summer!

What a great, sunny weekend. And, the 10-day forecast is all sun and warm weather!

Saturday night some friends went to a Japanese steak house for dinner. It's so much fun to have your dinner cooked right there in front of you. Great food (no steak for me...) and we had a really fun table. Sometimes you worry that you'll get some weirdos, but we were definitly having the most fun. Maybe it had something to do with the sake bombs that one of the guys introduced us to. Mmmmm, so good! It's a small shot of sake in a glass of beer. I was the best sake bomb shooter at the table. JP was so proud... :)

Sunday afternoon JP and I picked up some subs from Jimmy Johns and took our lunch to the park for a little picnic. Afterwards, we rented a paddle boat to enjoy the warm weather. JP had never been paddling boating before, and it was a bigger workout than he anticipated. We had fun and I actually remembered to take my camera. It was a nice, simple afternoon.

Yesterday I was SO tired after work, but I went to the gym for a bare minimum workout. I did 30 minutes on the elipitcal. My abdomen hurt quite a bit, but I was determined to do something. I wasn't really into it, but at least I did something.

Golf tonight and then a 3 mile run is scheduled. I'll need to get my golf frustrations out! :)

Golf clubs and running shoes - Part II

Golf - It was fun and I wasn't the worst one in the group. It's a group of 16 professional women, who realize the importance of golf in the corporate world. About half had never touched a golf club and about half have played around, but want to learn the proper way to golf. We did 45 minutes of clinic and 30 minutes on the golf course. I actually remembered a lot from last summer's lessons! I'm far from consistent though, so I need to continue practicing. It's suppose to be nice this weekend, so I'm planning on hitting the driving range. (Unless we end up going to Chicago this weekend...)

Running - I didn't get a run in on Tuesday. Last night, I went to my "little" cousins (who are taller and heavier than me) 13th birthday party. It was a last mintues decision to go, but I'm glad I did. I didn't leave until about 7:30 p.m., and with an hour drive I didn't think I was going to make it to the gym again. By the time I got home, I was feeling the itch to work out. I had my gym bag in the car, so I headed over to do a short workout. I figured a short run was better than no run at all. Ended up doing a quick 3 miles, and some leg, arms and ab work with the yoga ball and bosu ball. I LOVE the bosu ball. It they weren't so expensive I'd probably own one. But, then again, isn't that what I pay a monthly gym fee for isn't it.

Anyway, glad the week is winding down and looking forward to the weekend. It'll either be a really busy one in Chicago, where we might visit his brother, or a really low-key one where I get a lot done around the house. I'm leaning more towards the 2nd choice, but we'll see. It's suppose to be HOT today, so not sure how the run will go.

Golf clubs and running shoes

Today I start my golf league... I'm a little nervous. I got some golf clubs for Christmas, but they were way too big so I went out and got a set yesterday. I'm so excited! Just hope I'm not the worst one there. It's a professional women's league and I'm in the instructional/beginners league. We play for 6-weeks - 3 weeks of instruction and 3 weeks soley on the golf course. I took lessons last summer, but don't remember a whole lot. I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered how to hold the club last night as I was unwrapping everything. As for where my feet go, how my body is suppose to move, etc. I don't remember. Anyway, it'll be fun.

Now for running -- great workout yesterday. I went to the gym because of the rain, and it was hot and humid inside. Nonetheless, I did five 1-mile intervals on the treadmill. I felt great and I have to say the new Nike dry-fit, "looks like a t-shirt" tanks are awesome! Very comfortable, looks good and does its job well.

Hopefully I'll be able to get in a short run before golf tonight. If not, golf counts as cross-training... right? I joke now, but I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

Rain rain go away!

What a depressing weekend. Not only did it rain all weekend, but we're out of the championship run. And, to the Cavs... I hate the Cavs. Well, really, I'm not a big fan of LeBron James. A bunch of us went to the bar to watch the game and, hopefully, see us pull out of the slump. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Everyone was so upset that the bar quickly started to empty during the 4th quarter.

The weekend was pretty low-key, which was a nice change. After work on Friday, I went home and took a nap. I got some rest and it cooled down a little bit. Humidity was still high, but I got off my butt and went for a run. Explored some new areas and got in a pretty good 6 mile run. I say that now, a few days later but, come to think of it, I think it may have been not so good the first few miles. After I loosened up a little bit, I think it got better... :)

JP's brother and girlfriend came into town for a wedding, so we got to spend some time with them on Saturday. We all went out to dinner on Saturday night, which we all miss. Sunday dinner we all (the 3 brothers and the girls) would get together at someone's house. It was always so much fun. I wanted to workout, but the timing didn't work out. Sunday, I was all set to go to a spinning class at the gym (I'm working on my cycling phobia) but something came up and I wasn't able to make it. Really. I'm trying.

Since it was pouring all day, we met up with JP's other brother and girlfriend for lunch. Since we didn't have any plans, we ended up going to a glow-in-the-dark putt putt place. It was so much fun. We just ran around like little kids - putt putt, air hockey, basketball. The unfortunate part? I was wearing a white bra and kept glowing in the dark. As soon as I walked in the door and saw the black lights, I looked down. Yep. There I was. Glowing away. Oh well, made it a little more exciting. :)

Grumpy and tired

That's not a good combo. Pile on the fact that I haven't had my coffee yet and you're looking towards a small disaster.

Went straight home yesterday because I was still in a lot of pain and running was out of the question. I laid down for a little bit and ended up falling asleep. It's a good thing I got a little nap in because it was a late night.

We went to BW3 (mmm.... potatoe wedges with cheese...) to watch the Piston's lose in double OT. It was rough. Then, I was mad I stayed up to watch it. The whole way home I was kicking myself for not going to bed 3 HOUR EARLIER! So, I'm tired this morning and I Starbucks isn't even open here yet... another 8 minutes.

I have my workouts planned for the weekend and hopefully I'll be able to stick to it.