2013 Little Rock Half Marathon

So on Sunday, March 3, 2013, I “ran” by fourth Little Rock half marathon. The weather forecast predicted it was going to be cold and I had a cranky left calf that was tight and getting sore so I was a little apprehensive about this race. My sole goal this time was to finish without hurting myself. That’s called “setting the bar low,” folks.

This was also the first year that I did the race without my Mom here. I have since moved to the central Arkansas area and so there was no need to rent a hotel room and as a result, no need for my Mom to come up here and make it a mother/daughter event.

I picked up my packet after work on Friday. The expo seemed smaller than it was in previous years with fewer total vendors. I was short on case this year but I did buy this t-shirt That says “Keep Calm and Run On” Yeah I am loving it.

I also got my official half marathon shirt, which is a tech shirt.

Yes it was emerald green, which is the official Pantone shade this year, with turquoise letters. It is as odd as you think it would be. But hey I got my shirt in my size. Good times. Also, I stopped by the GO Running space and got a special “VIP” ticket (because I shop there so much) which meant I had pomegranate margaritas. See Go Running! is the store for you! Or it should be because you didn’t get pomegranate margarita at your expo, did you? I also met the woman who wore the cool Wonder Woman socks at the Bowen 5K. I also took advantage of the volunteer massage therapists and got a nice little rub down. Then I went home and ate pasta.

Saturday. I don’t even remember what I did that Saturday except to read Rebecca’s recount of her 5K experience which mentioned that she got snowed on and promptly exclaimed several curse words. I don’t mind cold but cold falling wet stuff is my limit. I am just not that hard core. Needless to say, I was very apprehensive. I had received an email that the “Hot Legs” (My running club was going to meet in front of the library at 7:30 for a group picture.
Saturday. I don’t even remember what I did that Saturday except to read Rebecca’s recount of her 5K experience which mentioned that she got snowed on and promptly exclaimed several curse words. I don’t mind cold but cold falling wet stuff is my limit. I am just not that hard core. Needless to say, I was very apprehensive. I had received an email that the “Hot Legs” (My running club was going to meet in front of the library at 7:30 for a group picture.

So I ended up carbo loading at my house and went to sleep in my own bed which is 30 miles away from the race site. This is a new development. Usually, I stay at the Comfort Inn near the starting line. I woke up and put on my clothes that I had laid out the night before and “OH GOD” it was cold. I had put on gloves and a headband to cover my ears but I didn’t bring a jacket. I figured it would warm up as soon as I started running. When I finally walked outside, I noticed that there was a light layer of ice/frost on my car that I had to scrape off with my Panera card.

MY MY.

I drove in to Little ROck and traffic was a little more difficult than I had anticipated. everyone was trying to get to the same place. I finally found a place to park but missed the 7:30 picture. I also managed to get to the perks pavillion just in time to pee and get to the starting line. IN fact, I heard the national anthem while I was in line. I got to the race line just in time for the elites to go. This year they did the start in waves with the elites going and then A and B having an official go time a couple of minutes later. This is a completely new development. In the years before, the announcer said go and everybody started walking and then once you passed the line, you started running.

I don’t think the open corral even got to the starting line until 12 minutes later.

So I was off. I didn’t think my phone battery would last so I decided not to listen to music until I got back from North Little Rock. This also means I didn’t have my run keeper pace timer. There are usually a lot of people cheering in North Little Rock there is enough to sustain me. I just ran from one street line to the other. It was a little odd but overall, it seemed close to the same. I knew i wasn’t going to get any PR’s due to cranky calf so I had it in my head to take it easy. That’s what I did.

I don’t remember being tired and so I would run. Friends kept passing me. I saw Brian who is a prosecutor. I saw my friend Rebecca. I saw Eric. And then I saw a friend I hadn’t seen in person since High school but thanks to the beauty of social media, had been chatting it up with him for quite a while. I finally made it across the bridge. I was feeling good. It was slow. Occasionally, I could feel my calf but it wasn’t overwhelming in its tightness or pain. I did, as a result of the first bridge, come to the decision to not even try hills. I walked all the hills.

By this point, I had my music and was trucking along. I was using Stinger waffles as my fuel of choice. I discovered during the second half that maybe they are a little too sweet. Near mile 10, I started to feel a little nauseous.

I managed to run and walk the entire way. I even made a little spring near the end.

Good times. I got my medal.

BOO YAA!

I felt good. I did wait for a message therapist near the end and that was fun. I think it helps a lot. It gets the main kinks out that ruin your day. I then went home and took a nap.

When I got back, I checked my time. It ended up being

A thought for the day

I have a lot on my mind and this quotation seems to fit.

Nobody will protect you from your suffering. You can’t cry it away or eat it away or starve it away or walk it away or punch it away or even therapy it away. It’s just there, and you have to survive it. You have to endure it. You have to live though it and love it and move on and be better for it and run as far as you can in the direction of your best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by your own desire to heal. Therapists and friends and other people who live on Planet My Baby Died can help you along the way, but the healing—the genuine healing, the actual real deal down-on-your-knees-in-the-mud change—is entirely and absolutely up to you.

From Sugar on the Rumpus “how to get unstuck”

Sometimes life moves so fast

Sometimes so much happens in such a short amount of time that it seems a blur and there isn’t time to sit back and have quite reflection over it all. But it is Birthday Month. And on Sunday I will be running a 10K. So… good things are a happening.

Pic a day 2: WORDS!

S

This is day 2. I am aware it’s February 3rd but I was away from the computer. Sometimes I need to read or hear these words. So here you go.

damn postsecret

Every so often one of these secrets will take your heart string,wrap it around your neck, and try to choke you with it.

Totally awesome videos 2011 edition

Over the course of the year, I, and you, see a lot of videos. Some of them are “okay” and some of them are just freaking awesome. This is for those.

It doesn’t snow that much in Arkansas and as a result, the state pretty much shuts down when it does. It snowed at the University of Arkansas. Some bored dudes made lip dub of Katy Perry’s Firework. Apparently, the need for shirtless barely legal males dancing around in the snow is high and this thing caught on like wildfire. It even got the attention of Katy Perry herself. It got the attention of national magazines and Katy Perry, herself. It currently has over 1,433,914 views. I think that says it all.

Jessie Miskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin, otherwise known as the “West Memphis 3,” were released from prison after accepting a deal involving an Alford plea. As a native Arkansan who watched this unfold while I was in college, I never thought they would see freedom. I am still stunned by it, frankly. It’s not a perfect ending but it is an ending just the same.

Okay most of the time, I want to stab my eyes out when people post videos of children doing silly things. This one, instigated by Jimmy Kimmel, is epic. Jimmy Kimmel asked parents to tell their children that they ate all of their Halloween Candy. Hilarity, and tons of crying, ensues. Also, the phrase “YOU SNEAKY MOM” is a permanent part of my vocabulary.

If MTV went back to its roots and showed tons of videos instead of reality programming involving teen moms, KeSha would be a multigazillionaire. This is the music video for “Blow” Yeah the song is a fun little dance number but OH man. This video is over the top fun snarky deliciousness: Unicorns that bleed rainbows, James van der Beek, Meunster “the lactose liquid gold,” James Van der Beek’s head mounted like a deer (come on Dawson’s Creek fans who endured his Joey whining for six years, you know you want to see this). yeah you want it. “We’re pretty and sick. We’re young and we’re bored.” Let the crazy out kiddos. Let it out.

This one is old but I just saw it this year. Cat video bombs for the win.

Sometimes a video isn’t necessarily awesome for its content but it’s awesome to remind the rest of us that there is injustice in the world. The UC Davis pepper spray incident.