it should be noted that: (a) windstream yet again cancelled my installation, which was supposed to be this past friday, without the courtesy to tell me ahead of time; (b) when i called, fuming, i was also told that, due to some technical issue we need to get the technician and the equipment blah blah blah they had ZERO timeline. like…no idea whatsoever when i might, some day, be graced with their service. so (c) i called insight and they came by that night and installed everything i needed. 15$ more a month than windstream, but you know what? customer service says a lot. that’s not to say that the CS reps at windstream weren’t very kind and professional – on the contrary, they were all (and i have talked to about a dozen of them in the past four weeks) extremely nice. however, whatever jackasses they have working in the other departments really need to get it together.

end result: i have interwebs. finally. and the first thing i did was pay all of my bills haha – i wasn’t about to go throwing my credit card and checking account information into the Starbucks wifi bubble.

one thing i also did this morning? buy myself a birfday gift! in reality, i think my actual gift to myself is going to be a new pair of running shoes. both of my saucs have about 250 miles on them, and although they’re holding up really well, i usually kill shoes by the 300-mile mark. i’m tempted to go try on the brooks ravenna 4s, but…i love my guide 6s, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

but anyhoo. ebates (have you heard of ebates? do you use it? because you should!) was having a 14% cash back special on a bunch of stores, including old navy. so i derped around on their website for a while. i refrained from buying any of the pretty wrap dresses and/or sports tops, because generally i need to try things on because of my aggressively large traps and shoulders haha. so instead i stayed with the basics:

i love long-sleeved crew neck tops. this one is in a dark charcoal color, which is a nice subtle shift from everyday black. i also really like the pants the model’s wearing, but i refrained from scouting out the colored denim. for now.

the top was 9$ on sale, with 15% off for some online-only promo. so it came to 7.65$. and then, since mine are all falling apart (literally, one of them snapped while i was walking), i got myself two pairs of basic ON flip-flops. black (my mom stole my other black ones two summers ago, and after she died i stole them back but just kind of keep them/don’t wear them) and a nice obnoxious salmon color. because i can’t NOT buy at least one obnoxious item!

total damage, once shipping and taxes were factored in? under 21$. my 14% cash back from ebates means it’ll hit me for under twenty bucks. my dad teases me for being so “cheap” (i prefer to call it frugal haha) but…i’m a full-time student who has also managed to amass 11K in savings in the past few years. i must be doing something right. so there.

it’s long run day for me, and i’m subbing a yoga class at two. and then i’m having an interwebs extravanganza when i get home!! downloading new music for cycling and yoga classes, browsing some websites for ideas for gentle yoga flows (i’m teaching gentle classes twice a week for the summer rather than my usual power – it’s terrifying haha), and planning out this week’s lifts and metcons.

and eating ice pops, because i bought those and it’s summer and i can.

i’m sorry to hear that you currently do not have possession of your cell phone or your keys. it seems that you believe they are in unit #8. let me introduce myself: i live in unit #7, which is right across the hall. to be more specific, the door to my apartment is about three feet from the door to apartment #8. you know, the apartment where you believe to have left you cell phone and keys.

i’m curious as to why, since you’re standing right at the door to #8 – i know this because i can hear you pounding on it – you feel the need to scream out your desire for your cell phone and keys. perhaps you’re trying to wake up the man who lives in #8. logical, since it is, in fact, one o’clock in the morning. and clearly you can’t call him, because – as everyone in the building is now aware – you don’t have your cell phone.

but i think my favorite part isn’t how you banged on the door – at 1am – and yelled like a heathen before finally, blessedly, leaving the building and driving away. somehow, for not having a cell phone, or indeed, another live person with whom to exchange words, you managed to never shut your mouth, but that’s another topic. no, my favorite part is how you came back. at 2:30, and again at 4:00, and just for good measure, again at 5:15. in the morning. banging on the door and screaming at the top of your lungs.

no, actually, i rescind that. my favorite part was your last trip. because by the time you came back the third time, at 4am, i realized that i had to wake up in 45 minutes for work. some of us, you know, work in the mornings. so we choose to not spend the hours from one to five banging on peoples’ doors and generally acting like jackasses. so you see, i was already awake, drinking my banana and peanut butter smoothie, when you came back for the fourth time. you didn’t say anything new or exciting – you were clearly still looking for your cell phone and keys – but when you left, still yelling and cursing, you were clearly so distracted by your plight that you backed into my car.

let me say that again, because i know you’ve had a bad day, losing your phone and keys and all: you backed into my motherfucking car. and then drove away. at 5:15 in the morning, after having kept me up for half the night with your raucous, profanity-laden tirades.

so, woman who i have never seen or met, let me introduce myself again: i live in unit #7. i’m the neighbor of the guy who you assume is keeping your phone and keys hostage. i’m also the owner of the car you hit while you were too busy cussing and ranting to look in your goddamn mirrors. and i promise you, that if i ever hear your voice in my building again – because, trust me, i will remember it, seeing as it woke me up four times in the span of four hours – i will let you borrow my cell phone. when i throw it at your head. from close range, because, like i said, my door is within spitting distance of #8.

sincerely,

somebody who is contemplating also letting the air out of your tires

• run an outdoor tempo run (last thursday). it was insanely hard, not because of the pace, but because i simply cannot gauge my legs accurately. i’m way too used to doing treadmill tempo runs. forcing myself outdoors will be good for me!
• discovered (okay, not really – my old roomie told me about it) a seafood market in town that serves the most amazing whitefish sandwiches. i may have had two of them on friday. and then fallen asleep at about 7pm.
• gotten my eyeballs checked so that i could successfully renew my license. eyes freak me out, so having somebody poke around and put nine million drops in mine is exceedingly terrible for me.
• successfully completed a set of ten 21″ box jumps. like, didn’t bite it even once.
• made and devoured roasted chickpeas. delicious.
• tried unsuccessfully to accomplish double-unders. or even a single double-under. i also am terrible at jumping rope to begin with, so i’m not sure what kind of magic i was expecting.

this is a decidedly uninteresting post. i have the promise of the internet man coming on friday, but i also picked up some extra classes at the gym that afternoon so unless they can guarantee me he’ll be out of my place by 3:30…well, i’ll continue to be web-less.

i’m quite enjoying living alone. i have nobody’s drama to deal with but my own, i can walk around topless, and i cook every day. which is an adventure, but it’s fun nonetheless.

i also have a strong urge to buy a guitar. and learn how to play.

maybe i’ll do that before i turn 30.

this new training cycle? it better make me jacked. or ripped. or look like DLB. or run a sub-45:00 10k in july. or something. because i am so unbelievably sore.

first off, since i won’t be maxing/lifting heavy singles for the next 8 weeks, dumbass here figured, ‘let’s max my squat and deadlift on sunday!’

pro tip: don’t do that in your life ever.

(as a side note, my squat 1RM is 130# (barf) and my deadlift is 205#. i failed my first attempt at 205, and got super riled for the second one. unlike my 200# pull from a few months ago – which was ugly and technically illegal due to some serious hitching/ramping – this one was clean and i even held it at the top for a few seconds after i locked out. i probably had a 210 or 215 in me, but i called it a day.)

it goes without saying that i felt like i got hit by a bus yesterday morning. and yesterday i also started my new training cycle. lighter weights, high volume. i did chest and bis/tris.

today was metcons and hill sprints. all while feeling like my pecs and anterior delts were falling off due to yesterday.

i have since died and am writing this from hell.

also – i went to the doctor yesterday because i had this skin tag that had suddenly started to look funny. she just lopped it off, and then it proceeded to not stop bleeding. and now i have a hole in my boob. and i benched after that haha.

i am in possession of the scores to all 9 beethoven symphonies, and recordings of all but nos. 4 and 7 (the CD didn’t work – boooo). heading home now to get down to business.

also, windstream is incompetent and i won’t have internet until next friday. i don’t even know.

this has been a post.

all my excites!

• the semester is over!! i had a great semester, really – fantastic students, good coursework that wasn’t too extremely difficult, and i learned a lot about various things (teaching, research, academic bureaucracy).
• it’s summer!! which means lots of things for me, all of which give me excites:
  • it’s the summer of the symphony. i have 18 months until quals, and this summer is dedicated in part to learning the major symphonies. all of beethoven, the major mozart and haydns, brahms, MAHLER!!, sibelius, dvorak, stravinsky, tchaik, prokofiev…score study and listening, come at me!
  • i just bought a cookbook on clearance for 2 dollars. i’m going to continue to not eat PB&J every day, guys!
  • revamped training and programming, which i talked about earlier this week. i made a training plan for the bluegrass 10,000 which is relatively low volume (max 23 miles/week) and has 800s instead of mile repeats. i’m also adding in hill repeats once a week, either after tempo runs or in place of them haha. since we know how i feel about tempo runs! i’m also committing to metcons twice a week, volume lifts over maxes, and all in all getting pumped to shock the system and do work!
  • sun sun sun i cannot wait for sun!! (yes i wear sunscreen. i have 3 gnarly scars from a melanoma/pre-melanoma issue several years back. but still…vitamin d!!)
• i have a hair appointment in an hour. i love my hairdresser.

all my grumps!

• i submitted a request to windstream to get interwebs. on april 20th. “we’ll be in contact in 48 hours,” they sez. “if you don’t hear from us, call us,” they sez. two days go by and so i call. “you submitted your request on a saturday,” they sez. “you have to give us 48 hours of WEEKDAY hours,” they sez. “call back wednesday,” they sez. wednesday i call. “the soonest we can get somebody there is may 3rd,” they sez. i huff but agree. today (may 3rd) i call in the morning, juuuust to be sure. “oh we had to cancel that,” they sez. “WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME?!” i sez. “…” they sez.
• the regional manager was supposed to call me to give me an ETA on my interwebs. it’s 5pm on friday and i have gotten no call. i’ll go ahead and assume i won’t hear anything until monday, and only then if i’m extremely lucky. until then…web-less.
• i’m working on regaining flexibility (boo, surgery) and the last couples of degrees of flexion in my knee. the joint isn’t stopping me; it’s my damn gastroc head that keeps seizing. so every morning after i finish lifting, i’ve been forcing my sorry self to sit on my heels for 1-3 minutes. it sucks. but it’s starting to suck less. but i’m super sore for the rest of the day. ::grump, grump::
• my credit card bill is going to be out of control this month due to this godforsaken surprise move across town. like…out of control. plus my tuition bill just hit (yes, in the last week of the semester. go cats.) granted i’ve got full funding so i only pay a couple of hundred every semester for mandatory fees and things…but it’s a couple hundred on top of all the shit necessities i got for my new place.

now i’m going to go purchase my 2$ cookbook and chat up the guys at complete nutrition, which is right next door to my salon. because it’s the first friday of summer and that’s how i roll.

she reminded yesterday about something i had forgotten: the day before my surgery she asked me who was taking me there, and i said, ‘eh nobody, i’ll walk.’ …’and how are you getting back?’ ‘i’ll call a cab.’ to which she responded that, no, absolutely not, she would bring me. and bring me she did. and stayed until i went into surgery, during which time she went back to my apartment and stocked my fridge. she was there when i came out of anesthesia, brought me home, and got me subway for lunch.

the first eight weeks after surgery were, for all intents and purposes, an absolute disaster. nerve block disaster, an unresponsive quad, and my personal un-favorite, the muscle spasm from hell. not to mention, of course, the mysterious way the nerve block didn’t flush out of my muscles, the ridiculous muscle atrophy, the 30-lb weight loss and subsequent chicken leg.

i slowly learned how to sort of walk. and how to sort of go up and down stairs. it took until almost september for me to fully straighten my leg when walking; until october for there to not be a noticeable gait difference.

in november i ran a 5k in 22:07.

that month i also started deadlifting and squatting regularly.

i ran over 100 miles in december.

i worked like a dog. not that working out was foreign to me to begin with, but it took on a whole new meaning. i became focused – fiercely focused – on getting stronger.

in march i pulled a 200# deadlift.

and just last weekend i ran a half marathon. in 1:42:54. a damn respectable time. in the top 2.5% of the 6600 female finishers.

this year has taught me a lot about patience. about listening to my body, and knowing when to push and when to back off. it’s taught me that sometimes working harder isn’t necessarily working smarter – bodies need a break every now and again.

my weight is right back to where it was pre-op. although, my body looks completely different – i’ve never had traps and shoulders like this before, that’s for sure! my quads and calves are still slightly different in size, but it’s hardly noticeable. my squat may still be abyssmal, but all in all i’m stronger than ever.

and i appreciate everything this body does, much more than ever.

so a very happy surgery-versary to me! thanks, Knee, for teaching me some important lessons while you were being a turd.

instead, let’s talk about the fun stuff: training and running!!

i took my first post-race run yesterday, and it felt glorious. legs were a bit heavy – i had also done some light squats and deadlifts the day before though – and i kept it to 3 miles, easy pace. i was so glad to get out there again. and having trained for the derby forcing myself to calm down and run slower, and then smoking the race proper, i have much more trust in that training style now. i’ll spend the summer being okay with being slower on those easy days!

i’ve taken pretty much this entire week easy, training-wise. no big lifts; mostly high volume stuff.

and then last night i thought, “i want to do something different!” i only had an hour at the gym this morning because i was proctoring an exam for a colleague, so i had to get creative. which led to…jenn’s foray into a quasi-metcon/circuit.

Circuit A (3 rounds, 2:00 rest between rounds):
–> 15 wall balls (16# ball)
–> 10 burpees
–> 10 box jumps (18″ box)
–> 1:00 plank (with 10# plate on back)

Circuit B (3 rounds, 2:00 rest between rounds):
–> 65# front squat (10 reps)
–> 65# barbell row (10 reps)
–> 40# strict overhead press (10 reps)
–> parallel-grip pull-ups (3 reps)

thoughts upon completion: i’m obsessed. i love this kind of stuff and need to do it more frequently. the first circuit was mostly cardio and hip drive/leg power (with the wall balls and box jumps). i’ve never done box jumps before – like, ever – and i’m duly surprised i didn’t faceplant at least once.

the second circuit was barbell movement-focused. the OHPs were supposed to be clean and presses, but i was arching my lower back a ton so i just made them into OHPs, and they felt super light. so next time if i do this i’ll just stay in the squat rack, pull the plates off the bar i use for the other two, and OHP an open bar.

i did high-incline ‘mill walking for 5 minutes before and after, and the whole thing took me about 45 minutes. i was wiped out and sweating like crazy.

this summer i’m going to revamp my training a bit. i want to focus more on high-rep, hypertrophy-type lifting (with some max days thrown in because…max days) and developing more power. i’m strong, just not very explosive. hence the box jumps today. also incorporating hill sprints once a week and 800s should helps develop some hip drive and more explosive legs.

i’m going to run some shorter races this summer – a 10k in july here in lexington, and maybe a 5k or two. i’d like to still keep a long run day, but it’ll probably be a 10-mile max.

anyone have any other suggestions? favorite circuits or exercises you might throw into a circuit?

ETA: also, here are some gems from saturday’s race. i updated my racing page and included one, but the best shots will be below…

exhibit a: finish line. i almost don’t look like i’m about to puke. almost.

exhibit b: ca we just look at the dude in front of me for a hot second?! there are no fewer than a dozen finish line shots where he completely blocked my face/body because he threw his arms up as he crossed the line. what we see here is immediately post-arm-throw. so while i’m flailing int he background…he looks like an irish step dancer.

exhibit c: and finally…i am a short person. however, when the camera manages to catch me JUST as i’m rebounding from the pavement, i instantaneously shrink another 6 inches, rendering me the spitting image of a weeble. a weeble in pink sneakers, with a sickled back foot.

i had been placed in the A corral due to my time last year, and i hung out waaaay in the back. the gun went off and i trotted out nice and easy. my legs felt really good, and the pace felt super comfortable. i guess-timated i was running a mid-8:00; when i looked down at my garmin i was really surprised to see a 7:58 looking back at me.

i kept chatting with myself to keep it easy…but my pace felt really comfortable, and my HR was nowhere near alarmingly high, so i just kind of rolled along. miles 2, 3, 4, and 5 passed in 7:49, 7:45, 7:46, and 7:43. it was perfect running weather, and for the first race in my life i wasn’t trying to “beat” anyone. i barely noticed the people around me, in fact.

at the beginning of mile 6 i walked a water stopped and shoved 2 juju fish in my face lol. chewing and running is a bit of a struggle, and it took a bit to get back into my rhythm, but that mile clicked by in 7:57. miles 7 and 8 were both sub-8:00, as well.

it was about here that i thought – “holy crap, i might run this in 1:45:00!” my legs felt great; my fueling plan was working out (i also walked a water stop during mile 8). we got to chruchill downs right at the start of mile 9 (great scenery; nothing like the smell of horse poop to get you moving!).

i literally almost cheered out loud at the beginning of mile 10 because we were finally in double digits and i still felt awesome. the last couple of miles on the course are where the uphills generally exist. i started mile 10 with a little bit of a kick, which i started to regret about halfway through that mile. i started to fight a little bit around mile 11, and that was my first (and only!) super-8:00 mile, at 8:02.

i inhaled an orange slice at the beginning of mile 12, and from there on out it was just all out. i hit the mile 12 marker and realized that i was not only going to run sub-1:45:00, but i was going to come damn close to my time from last year.

my last 2 splits were 7:49 and 7:50, and a 6:28 pace for the final tenth haul.

i clocked 1:42:54. just 2 seconds slower than last year – with a surgery, rehab, and a 30-pound weight rebound in the middle. i have never had runner’s high like that before.

i have never run such a smart race before, either. i took 30+ seconds off my mile time from the railrunner early last month. my splits were unbelievably even, and only slightly positive. (contrast to last year, when i was about as positively-split as i could get).

my feet fared well – only one teeny blister – and my knee was only minimally stiff yesterday. today my legs were a bit stiff and sore, so i made today shoulders and back instead of squats and deadlifts.

i have other stories to tell from the race – one in particular from while i was in churchill downs – and other things to talk about. but i wanted to right about the race while it was in my mind, and because i’ve spent the past four months boring you all with my training!

hope you all had a splendid weekend!  : )

a few thoughts in the eleventh hour:

• i honestly don’t know what kind of time to expect out of myself. my knee is fine, but i still have a noticeable muscular imbalance between my good leg and my surgical leg. i feel the biggest effects from that in my ability (or lack thereof) to sustain quicker paces for prolonged periods of time. which i really felt at the railrunner last month.
• that being said…i ran last year in 1:42:52. my goal was sub-1:45:00. this year…i mean i would love to be a badass and have the most amazing comeback race and PR. but speaking realistically? i ran an 8:23 pace at the railrunner. if i match that i’ll run a 1:50:00. now i think i’ll beat that pace for reasons to be detailed below, but…i’m okay with not breaking PRs tomorrow.
• unlike at the railrunner, i have a plan for tomorrow’s race:
  • start at the BACK of the corral. i got placed in A (sub-8:00/mile pace) due to my time last year. i need to start in the back. like…butt in the B corral. because (a) everybody goes out fast, so (b) i’ll go out fast with them, and (c) that will be terrible.
  • grab water at the 4, 7, and 10-mile stops. also eat some juju fish. fuel o’ champions.
  • allow the first few miles to not be speed demons. my legs are way slower to warm up than they were pre-surgery. i need to be okay with that.
  • WARM UP. a little run and some dynamic stretching. goal is to have a slightly elevated heart rate at start time. which is sometimes hard to do with the crowds and things, but…i’ll try!
  • don’t get frustrated. i don’t run well angry.
  • when the going gets tough, remember that less than a year ago i had my knee sawed into. i lost 30 pounds in five weeks and had an 11-cm difference between my quads. it took 2 months to be able to walk down a flight of stairs because my leg couldn’t hold my weight. and tomorrow, i’m running a half marathon. who cares if i don’t PR?!

so there’s my pre-race ramble. i have office hours in an hour, then a break, then giving this exam thang. i’m going to go get some coffee and a bagel. the next time i post, be prepared for photos of banged up feet and a shiny new medal!!

last night was my first evening/night in my new place. the movers were early (!!) and very lovely guys. they hauled my heavy stuff in, and i christened my kitchen by making myself an egg and cheese burrito for lunch.

and when i got home from teaching at about 7pm, i immediately recalled one of my favorite things about living alone: walking around in my underwear. because it’s warm outside but i refuse to turn the a/c on unless it’s at least 80 degrees (cheap grad student alert). so i proceeded to make dinner/tomorrow’s (well, today’s) lunch in my undies. because i can.

10/10, would definitely recommend.

i also deadlifted a triple at 180# today – twice – and a double at 190#. and the double felt solid. six weeks ago i 99% failed a single at 200#. guess i’m getting stronger?!

this morning i squat and deadlifted and then took my easy, taper/race week training run, and have been eating relatively constantly ever since. leg days, man. they get me every time.

i have my doctoral committee lined up and confirmed. holy crap.

and one of my bestest friends from college asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. ::dying of excites::

three more days of classes. one more final project (which i really need to start). and windstream needs to process my request so homegirl can get some interwebz in her new place.

it’s tuesday. my life is awesome. time for coffee.