Freeze your thorns off virtual race report (and tagged!)

The Boring Runner Adam was hosting a virtual race this weekend with a very cute race bib.

He lives in Arizona where it's hot and sunny all year, so I kind of hate his guts a little bit. Thankfully, he was granted a bit of a reprieve since it was mid-30s and sunny here. I got cozied up and dusted off the kitchen corner self-timer pose for the occasion. 

It was really windy, but I'll never complain about a day in January that isn't miserable cold with a foot of snow. Since my current routine is running as far and fast as I can Saturday and Sunday, paired with maybe 1-2 midweek runs, I'm plenty "tapered" by the weekend.

The race was a 5K, and I counted the ones in the middle of today's eight miles. Thanks to 1.25 miles with a fantastic tailwind, total time: 23:42. The rest of the run was wonderful too. I'm so so so ready to officially train and race. Thanks for hosting a fun event, Adam!

It's supposed to be mid-50s next week, so I'll be taking these peanuts on a few stroller runs after work for sure.

Hey, maybe we'll just skip winter all together?  I could handle that.

On a totally different note, I've been tagged! Very exciting. Thank you, Xenia.

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this’. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Random things about me:

1. I can't handle dishes in the kitchen sink. It stresses me out.
2. I refuse to use yellow highlighters.
3. I find both beer and wine nasty. Vodka on the other hand? Yes, please!
4. My closet is organized by sleeve length. It must be organized by sleeve length.
5. I don't type the letter P with my pinky. (I had a broken pinky during freshman computer class, so I learned how to type without it.)
6. My Christmas tree is still up. February or bust!
7. Since being pregnant two year ago, I can't drink milk or eat restaurant chinese food. Both grossed me out then, and they still gross me out now.
8. I've eaten the same thing for breakfast, seven days a week, for years.
9. I eat the same turkey sandwich for lunch 5-6 days a week.
10. I don't turn down cupcakes or pizza.
11. I had a television show in middle school, and I've done commercials my whole life.

Xenia's questions:

1. Which movie/tv show/character most resembles your life? Christina Applegate on Up All Night, I guess.


2. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? You'll always get credit for passion and effort.

3. What was your ultimate dipshit moment (so far)? Well, turning my back on the boys eating dinner tonight was pretty dipshitty. Food everywhere.

4. Marry, f*ck or kill: choose either group – (a) Val Kilmer (current, not young version), Kevin Federline and Russell Brand; (b) Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Kilmer- marry, Federline- f*ck, Brand- kill. He's obnoxious and filthy, so that one is a given.

5. Which country would you most likely be arrested in and/or shot at and why? Pretty sure my goodie-two-shoeness would travel with me around the globe.

6. Which person (alive or dead) would you most want to bitchslap? Pretty much every mom on Toddlers & Tiaras. (But please never stop because I LOVE that show.)

7. Which special talent or skill do you wish you had? I would love to be able to sew. I have a whole pinterest board with projects I'll never be able to do.

8. Who or what would you consider to be your archenemy? Jessica Simpson. Less so now that the world isn't enamored with her stupidity and holding her up as some role model for young girls.

9. Pop or soda? Pop, and I haven't drank it since 7th grade.

10. What’s your favorite holiday? Christmas, hands down.

11. How would you prefer the apocalypse to go down? I hope it all blows up like fireworks.


And I'm going to answer Raz's questions instead of doing #4-6. I'm such a narcissistic, rule-breaker, I know.

1.Right handed or left handed? Right handed. (Although I hit left-handed when I played softball in college.)
2.Favorite TV show? Big Bang Theory.

3.Starbucks order? I don't drink coffee, but I always get their strawberry/banana smoothies when I travel.

4.Biggest running pet peeve? I know a lady who doesn't work, has kids in school, and runs on a treadmill every day. That makes me crazy. Go. Out. Side.

5.Mac or PC? PC. Mac's scare me.

6.What is one guilty pleasure on your iPod? One? My entire iPod is a guilty pleasure. Probably the half dozen Ke$ha songs are the guilties. Throw some glitter make it rain.

7.Will the world end in 2012? How? I hope not. I'll be pissed that I saved money for my kids' college education instead of spending it on dumb stuff.

8.What's the most illegal thing you've done? Absolutely nothing, sadly. Well, my son stole some blush from Target last week. I didn't realize he had it until we got home.

9.What's the last book you read? I'm still working on The Happiest Toddler on the Block.

10.What's the last app you downloaded? An app for when babies want to play with your phone. Although I'm still desperate to find an Instagram-equivalent for blackberry.

11.Write your own question and answer it. (sorry, that's the "lazy teacher" way of asking questions) Wow, that IS lazy.

11. Dream vacation spot? Hawaii. So very very Hawaii.

Oh yeah, I forgot I have a blog

November 11th was the last post? Ouch. I've been reading blogs, I promise. I just don't have that much to talk about. (That and I started on twitter. I heart twitter. So much easier that blogging.)  Here's what I've been up to:

1. Raising year and a half year old twins.
2. Running as much as I can.
3. Working.

That's it. Clearly nothing exciting to blog about. But, I don't want to abandon the blog entirely. Even if no one reads it, it's at least a diary for me.  So here's what's rattling around in my head these days. (Nino pictures sprinkled throughout for interest.)

What I learned in 2011
This was my first full year running as a mom, and I pretty much learned that it's hard. Certainly not impossible, but hard. Part of my problem is working mom's guilt. Part of my problem is being an outside running snob. I have no problem running when it's dark and cold, but I'm obviously not going to take the boys with me like that. Then when I go by myself, I feel guilty leaving them since I do that all day. We hit a real sweet spot in the summer/fall of a ton of stroller running after work and in the mornings. I'll just have to wait for that again.

I also discovered that I can't JUST stroller run and expect to be ready to race. Learned that the hard way. Twice. Finally, I remembered how much I love running. It really feeds my soul and makes me feel like me. A potentially challenging thing when you're pulled in so many direction as a mom, wife, daughter, friend, employee, etc.

What I'm doing in 2012
Interesting question. It will go one of two ways:

1. The year of the marathon
2. The year of the triathlon

I've entered the lottery for the 2012 NYC marathon. Despite the very low odds of selection, I've read The Secret and am confident I'll get in. I mean, I really REALLY want to run this. Like, I'm using my 11:11 wish on it EVERY day. That's commitment because I have a ton of stuff to wish on. Selection notification is the end of April, and I'll be pissed if I wasted three months of wishes on something that didn't happen.

If When I get in, I'll probably run a couple marathons around here this summer/fall. It's been a few years since I've run a full marathon, so I need a few smaller tune up races in the comfy midwest before being scared to death of big, bad New York. Plus, I can't hang all my hopes on a November race. Too much pressure at the end of the season.

Now, should I not get selected into New York (as if), I'll probably focus on triathlons. My only regret in life is not doing an Ironman before having kids. I had nothing but time back then. If anyone out there is thinking about doing something they always wanted to do and they don't have kids yet, do it! Do it right now!

While I know an Ironman won't happen this year, it will happen some day. This year might be the year of sprints and oly's with a half IM in 2013. Maybe. I need to find some time to bike and swim though.

Racing in 2012
Deciding between 1 & 2 will determine my race schedule, but I know for sure that I'm doing the Lincoln Half Marathon in May. This was the first year in a long time that I got my shit together enough to be prepared. I don't train as well in March and April, but so long as I don't hate my life during the final 33% of the race, it'll be an improvement over last year.

I'll also run the Omaha half or full in the fall to see if I can best my PR from last year. If Lincoln and Omaha switched dates, that would work out much better for me. I don't really care for the Omaha course, crowd support, hoopla, etc. However, the date is perfect. I'm in fantastic shape in September.

And finally, if I don't do NYC, The Husband and I talked about taking a vacation around a race. That sounds like crazy fun, so I'm looking forward to doing some research.

So in conclusion, that's my boring life. I love reading about all the racing and training everyone is doing. It definitely keeps me motivated and gets me really exciting for spring.