3:25!
Monday, December 11, 2006
That's the time my friend, Patrick Manion, finished the Dallas White Rock Marathon in yesterday. I'm not sure what his previous best was, but I do know that back when I was talking about doing that race with him, we were both aiming for around a four-hour finish. The unofficial results list his time at 3:27, and that's with a detour to the 1/2 marathon finish line. Either way, it's an ridiculously incredible accomplishment (and only 15 minutes off of a qualifying time for Boston...).
Way to go, Patrick! I'm thoroughly impressed, and so happy for you!
Now, get your ass on that bike. I'll see you in Madison on September 9th.
Posted by Erin 2:17 PM 1 comments
Get Your Ass on That Bike
That's what I had to tell myself last night when about the last thing I wanted to do in the whole world was workout.
Surprisingly enough, it worked.
Often, I can get myself out for a run at almost any time, in almost any weather because I really, truly love to run. It's therapeutic and relaxing and energizing. But I've been having serious problems with motivating myself to workout lately for three main reasons: One, I've been really busy lately and, as a result, really tired. Two, I'm having to swim and bike more and more, which I like doing far less than running (see above). And three, I'm having to dedicate increasingly larger chunks of time to working out, which -- when combined with work, extra-curricular meetings, and horse and dog that need exercise -- gets overwhelming at times.
I have little tricks that I use to get myself out for a run -- telling myself I only have to run two miles (I almost always end up going longer), putting on my running clothes to take the wonder dog for a walk...just in case I want to do some hill sprints or intervals (half-way through the gear-up process, I almost always end up gearing myself up mentally to run as well), downloading new music onto my ipod that I won't let myself listen to until I'm out running, or treating myself to a new anything (hat, gloves, shoes, flavor of GU) that I want to try out. These tricks work almost without fail.
I'm still in search of good tricks for talking myself into a pool or bike workout, and I'm open to suggestions.
Until then, I'm just going to have to keep talking sternly to myself.
Posted by Erin 8:48 AM 0 comments
What I Learned in November
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Ok, so November was a wash, blog-wise. It was a busy, busy month bookended by election night and Thanksgiving and peppered with work zaniness. But I'm back, and am making a promise -- if to no one else but me -- to never take an entire month off of posting again. To that end, I'm kicking off my new streak of blogging by listing the top ten things I learned this past month. In do particular order, they are:
- Election nights are like Christmas, prom, and graduation all rolled into one.
- Eating (a second) Thanksgiving dinner (in two days) and then running eight miles is an evil, evil thing to do to your body and a really bad idea in general.
- An afternoon of massage and relaxation can actually wear you out.
- An alternative meaning for "tea bags."
- The Hubbard Avenue Diner is well worth the hype.
- Contrary to St. Norbert lore, your skin will not melt off if you fall into the Fox River. In fact, nothing bad will happen...as long as you don't eat the fish.
- There is a definite technique and strategy to thumb wrestling.
- Sometimes, Denny's at 3 a.m. is not only a brilliant plan, but totally necessary.
- I am the only person on earth who hadn't seen a James Bond movie before Casino Royale.
- Someone else has my exact same stubby thumbs.
Now it's your turn. Ready, set, go...
Posted by Erin 10:41 AM 0 comments