What do you get at Dave & Busters?

Dave & Busters
Personally, I have never experienced the joy that is Dave & Busters.  Always wanted to emerse myself in the air that is D&B, but whenever friends were going I was never of age.  I have however heard stories of the adult Peter Piper Pizza-like atmosphere and I would like to walk in and feel the adult glory of winning skee ball while drinking an ice cold XX. 

Thanks to my cousin's wives (who were all in town for Christmas this year.  Praise the Lord there are other females around!  I can only handle so many years of hunting and fishing DVDs.) I have finally learned that skee ball is in fact the game that I have loved since childhood....just never realized the proper name.  Thank you ladies.

So I was on my 5-miler, the beginning of my 20 miles for the week adventure, and I didn't vomit OR die so I consider it a success.  I'm not use to running in the hill country so I ran as slow as I possibly could as I trudged my heavy body up and body hill after hill! 

You may wonder what does the 5 miles of hellish hill work have to do with D&B, just hold on, I'm gettin' there.

After my day of lovely mileage, I slammed myself onto the couch to cool off.  When I looked down I noticed I had a logo on the socks I was wearing. 

My dog was also shocked about the logo, and the flash of my camera.  She's not very photogenic.  Anywho.  So I found out that the socks I had jacked from my brother-in-law's drawer were D&B socks.  I just wouldn't think when you went to D&B you would turn your tickets in for....socks?  Hm.  Maybe his feet were cold that night.

Pain-free 3!

Guess Who's Still Got It

Sunday afternoon I geared up and went on my first Christmas holiday jog since the not-so-fabulous 2 miles in San Marcos a week prior.  I was nervous.  Whenever I don't run for a while I become concerned that for some reason my legs will forget how to move at an anything but glacial pace and crumble beneath my body. 

Since I haven't lived in the valley in, what 5 1/2 years, I don't have a nice route I like yet. So instead of heading down the street with no end of the running-route in site, I choose the safe alternative, a track. 

This way I know exactly how far I've run and how many more laps I have to push through before the run is complete.

I pumped myself up as much as possible,

gave the old legs a good stretch, and then started on my merry way.  Three miles later, I felt great and once again proved to my body that I can jog 3 fabulous miles without any pain after a week without jogging. 

SUCCESS!

I Must Resume my pre-Christmas 6
The week prior to the Christmas break Reese's and I were pushing out 6 miles every other night at a decent time.  It was painful though.  My legs needed an extra day to recover so I missed out on total weekly mileage that I hoped to gain in December.

October mileage:  45 miles
November mileage:  36 miles
December mileage:  40 miles


I wanted to be at 75 miles by the end of December, but what can I say, the holidays get the best of me.  This week's goal:  hit 20 miles.  Now, what should be my starting day to best set myself up for 20 mile success?  I did run 3 miles on Sunday, but that means I would have to finish my 20 miles by next Sunday.  Hmm.  Or, I could start my 20 mile goal today and have until next Tuesday to finish.

I'll start today.  Lets see if I can give the streets a mean 5 miles today!


Golden Ticket
So while I sit here and ponder how my 4 mile run will be through the hills, I've decided to turn on The Office.  Only in the past few months did I really find a true appreciation for this show and now I can't get enough.  I have replayed this clip atleast 3 times and it's still just as funny as the first time I saw it.



....now go tell somebody a knock knock joke. 

VE VILL ASK THE QUESTIONS!!

Goodbye Nursing Career

Santa is a good man.



















Little did he know that what I wanted more than anything in the world, a red Wii, could potentially crush my nursing career.

Christmas Eve:  I receive the red Wii.














Christmas Day:  I successfully pull a muscle in my right arm from slaughtering all the little Wii people in tennis, bowling, and baseball.

December 28th:  My arm is heeled and the Wii is successfully plugged in at my sisters house.

Goodbye nursing.

Hello Holiday Snackage!

Wait
So I'm sitting here watching Celebrity Rehab and it's a little hard to focus while Janice Dickinson is screaming the f word at all of her group members struggling to beat their addictions.

....but I will attempt to tell you about the fabulous holiday snacks that I've encountered since leaving Corpus Christi, Texas.  It's like the bubble that is Corpus blinds you from these magical snacks!  Trust me, you'll want to make my favorite snack.

Oh Yes
Oh, yes I forgot to mention, I ran today for first time since my successful 6-miler on Friday.

I was initially excited about the run since I have upped my mileage steadily the past few weeks and felt no pain or repercussions.  Oh, and being in central Texas is such an amazing change from the Corpus Christi humidity I just assumed I would run, oh I don't know, 5 miles and feel AWESOME.

I was incorrect.  Between sun and self-initiated dehydration, after 2 miles of yogging I had one thing to tell the road this afternoon.  Pardon the visual, but...

My legs hate me and I'm not too sure why.  After reading a Runner's World article on injury control, I think I'll back-off on upping my mileage for the rest of the week and get comfortable with 5 miles before I push on anymore.

Joy In a Bag
Naturally, after returning from my somewhat/not-so-successful jog, I decided I wanted to eat something nice and tasty.  Hannah, my best amigo, made a batch of.... of goodness I will call it.  Wait, no no.  We shall call it.....Joy In a Bag!!

If I were to harness the feeling you have when you're so happy, you jump in the air and click your heals on a cool summer day....

....and put that joy in a ziplock bag, it would go something like this.

1.  Purchase the goods
-  1 box Cap'n Crunch
-  1 bag of pretzel sticks
-  2 packages of white chocolate squares
-  Wax paper (NOT FOIL)




















2.  Mix it up holiday-style

3.  Melt that chocolate

Yes, I realize it looks like scrumptious butter ready to be melted then inhaled like water after a good work out, but refrain from doing so, no need to go into sugar-shock.

4.  Mix it one more time.  Don't be nervous, pour that beautiful butter-looking chocolate over the mix and stir until your heart is content!

5.  Here's the best part.  Act like you're a child, pour the mix all over wax paper, go to bed and let it harden.  If you want more speedy results, place it (with the wax paper) int he freezer.  Then snack snack snack.

Enjoy :)

This Killin' Time....

...Is Killin' Me

Thank you Clint Black for coming up with a tango of words that we each think of, and relate to from time to time.  My killin' time moment happens to be waiting patiently/frantically for my final grades to come out for the fall semester.  I am officially one tenth of a point away from a .....wait for it

A 4.0!!  I have 3 A's under my belt and I'm waiting to clarify that the 4th A is officially in my pocket.  I'm nervous but I'll get through it.

In the Mean Time
I'm cruising the streets and fighting the Christmas hustle and bustle.  Oh, and RELAXING!  Something I haven't been able to do since, eh, August.  1 thing I haven't done in FOREVER-literally is go out to lunch...solo.  One of my favorite things. 

I have a peaceful, quiet, lunch with a magazine an ice-cold drink.  Hmm.

Little did I know, that after a creeper "waiter" touched me on the back and let me know he could help me with ANYTHING, I found a mysterious drink I MUST try, hidden within the pages of Women's Health.  If you happen to have the November 2010 issue in front of you, flip to page 24 and unfold the magic of the recovery beverage!

8OZ
 1.  Recovery:  Apparently runners who drank 2 10 oz bottles of tart cherry juice a day for 2 weeks had less pain after a race, in comparison to a control group. 
2.  Melatonin: The enzyme that promotes sleep.  People who drank this juice fell asleep 20 minutes faster than those in the control group.
3.  Carb-load:  One of my favorite things to do (carb-loading).  There's a ton of glucose and fructose in the drink that can spur you on during a workout.

So
Guess what I'm loading up on at H-E-B tonight?  You guessed it!  Juice.  I'll let ya know how well the juice helps my legs recover from a race!

Birthday finals? Wait, those don't go together.

December 14th
What a glorious day to be born! Yesterday was in fact the 14th, and thus my birthday! Now since I have been in college, for more years than I would like to admit, my birthday has fallen during the week of torturous finals. This year was no different.

Thankfully, I find a few amazing friends wherever I move and they help me celebrate my birthday, even though I'm stressed out beyond belief. Reese's did a wonderful job at cheering me through birthday finals this year! I almost hung myself on her decor when I walked out the door to take Maddie on a walk yesterday morning.



Reese's is also a phenomenal gift-buying little devil!



What more could a girl ask for?!

Last but not least, dinner and margs were necessary to complete the birthday celebration process!



Happy birthday to me! (Now it's time to panic about how these exams could make or break my future as a nurse!)

Go Time
At 11 a.m. this morning I will be grilled over Pharmacology, which has been an amazing class.



Then at 4:30 p.m. I will recall all of the 100 ridiculous questions I memorized that will be on the Lifespan final from previous exams...a Psyc class, and basically, a waste of time. No offense to Psyc people, I usually enjoy the subject, especially when there's anatomy involved, but our outdated textbook shared outdated information with our class for a solid 4 months this semester. Whew, I'm glad this class is over.



Naturally, I'm blogging rather than studying. Wish me luck.

More Importantly
I will see if my legs can handle a 6 miler this evening. I'll say a prayer before I attempt this one for sure.

Not a Good Night for a Run

1st Post-Race Run
Last night was Reese's and my first run since the American Bank Center 1/2 Marathon & Relay. Let's just say we went from a strong 6.55 miles on Saturday...



To a pitiful 2 mile run Monday night. It was definitely a running "fail."



Lets just say neither of us were "feelin' it" before we started our jog, so when we hit 1 mile and it felt like we had been running for an HOUR....I knew the run was going down hill. So instead of finishing our scheduled 5.5 miles, we detoured to a gas station and then walked our heavy, achy, legs home!

Post-Run Failure
Reese's still had a half bottle of vino open back at her apartment and we decided we each deserved a glass since we had been working so hard this past week. After the wine was poured, Reese's brought out her latest running gadget. A foam roller!


There are several different ways to roll. You can roll any muscle, even your back! It's suppose to sooth tight muscles. It's somewhat painful, but it's the good kind of pain! Naturally, we found a way to roll and wine...all at the same time!



Work that roller Reese's work it!

Decisions Decisions
Reese's and I have made leaps and bounds in our running since we started. She has already run the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon in SA, but I'm not quite that far along. We're doing great though and we have a good 5 mile base. So! We decided if we stay running the way we are currently, we could pull off the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon! next December.



Anddddd, if we do what we usually do and freak out the night before a race then make tons of poor dietary choices...or just don't feel like running 26 miles, we can just run the 1/2 marathon instead!

Hotel is officially reserved!! Watch out Vegas, team Grunt & Sweat are comin' to town!

Ice Is So Nice

Rise and Shine it's Runnin' Time!
This morning my alarm shocked my heart back to life at 5:45 a.m. to get up and get ready for the American Bank Center 1/2 Marathon & Relay. It was a pretty good turnout and had some pretty serious runners involved. I did what I do best and found a guy to run with who is NOT looking to break any records, but merely to survive.

We ran a 10.5 minute mile for 6.55 miles for a total time of 1.08.50. It only took this running man 1 try at speaking to me to realize....



I don't utter a word while running! At least he's a quick learner.

PreRace Panic
Reese's and I have a bad habit of psyching ourselves out the night before a race. We make bad dietary decisions and think that the booze fairy will somehow increase our race pace. This past week we have been determined to avoid the bad food and booze train.

Last night....we had...



We had two large bowls of pasta with a glass of water.

Great Success
Other than the fact that I was running Against the wind, staring at the sun, and hauling my hefty body uphill, it was an amazing race!

6.55 miles.....CHECK!

Can't wait for Austin!



ICE ICE BABY
So after 6.55 miles, I'm home....icing my legs for a full 40 minutes. Hmm sweet Heaven! No pain for me tomorrow!

Finals

15 Days Until Christmas
Between wrapping gifts, running, and listening to the new Taylor Swift cd, I haven't quite made adequate time to study for finals.

Time to panic!


Wait, I'm not ready to panic just yet, I have to share my newest joy in life....



Monograms.

My life and gift-giving habits have officially changed! You can slap a monogram on a crappy bag and voila! You have a stylish bag.

Ok....now it's time to panic.

Dear Thanksgiving...

Dear Thanksgiving Holiday,

You may have the turkey, the stuffing, the amazing mashed potatoes made with sour cream and 4 sticks of real butter. You may have every family recipe, each home-made by my 79 year old grandmother so it has an extra hint of tender love and care, but I...I have a plan!

When a 5k Slaps you Square in the Face
This morning I headed off with my newest running amigo, Mary, to the 1st Annual L.E.G.A.C.Y. 1 mile, 5k, and 10k run. For being the 1st annual run it had a fairly decent turn out, and they handed out lots of prizes! I couldn't believe how many donations they must have received, plus all the proceeds went to preventing child abuse....how amazing!

So, I wasn't too concerned about pushing through a 3 miler, considering I've been running 4 miles with ease this past week. That so called "lack of concern" came to dead and vengeful halt when I started running down the pavement around 8:00 a.m..

The Shin Splint Fairy, you remember him?



Well he came back to stamp on my shins the entire 3.1 miles of the race. I was mad as hell, hot, and had the beautiful Corpus Christi sun staring into my eyes the entire race. You could have called me Bitter Betty until I turned the corner to complete the race and met a fabulous cheering section of already-complete 1 mile and 5k runners. I love a good cheering section! They can really make a race.

Post Run
So after my embarrassing 3.15 miles in 34 minutes, I decided to get my act together. I cannot allow myself to slip through the cracks of the holidays, no matter how much I love to get off the running wagon from time to time.

I must maintain a decent speed at 4 miles, in prep for the Sites and Sounds 5k in December. I must also not lose momentum for my 1/2 marathon in February.

The Plan
Just take it 1 holiday at a time. Thanksgiving I will follow my week 5 training as I have been doing for the past few weeks.





I WILL complete 16 miles during the week of Thanksgiving, and I WILL not overindulge on Thanksgiving treats, like pumpkin pie....oh pumpkin pie, how I've missed you!

Wanna Avoid the Turkey-binge?
Or just keep track of your running? I love the Daily Mile. It's a great way to track your mileage.




Daily Mile Turkey Trot Goal

Wish me luck....I know myself, and I'm going to need it to push out 16 miles the week of glorious food.

Aggies versus Islanders

Aggies versus Islanders

Will the real Texas A&M please stand up
I'm sorry, that was rude...I do love being an Islander. Yet after living in College Station for 2 years and being engulfed in Aggie-pride on a daily basis, I couldn't help but feel torn when I attended the 2010 Aggies v. Islanders basketball game.



Each team did well. The Islanders really gave it their best shot and I feel I cheered equally as possible for both teams! In the end...Aggs took the game 86-65.

1st I must commend the Islander fans. There was an entire cheering section, the band was in rare form, and the American Bank Center was packed! So being the great game that it was, I was a little shocked by the halftime show. The cheerleaders went out and did their thing, then they aloud the dance squad to go out and shake it for a few minutes, but then....something very strange happened.

#1 turn the volume down, people (ie. myself) get a little out of control with the cheering.

#2 I apologize for the brief moments of foul language or perversion.




If anyone knows why this event happened, please let me know.

Runner's Gear Update

Recently Reese's and another good friend Mills ran the San Antonio Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon! I got to hear all about it when Reese's came back into town and I'm am SOOOO jealous. Consider me rockin' and rollin' in SA next November!

Anyhow, apparently the two 1/2 marathon divas made a very interesting purchase before the race...The Spy Belt.



Now this dude has and ultra shiny one, which I don't have great feelings about, but he models well, and he's a fellow blogger, so I wanted to use his pic! Click Spy Belt above and you can see all of his Spy Belt modeling...very runway.

By now you all know my personal feelings about fanny packs in general, but especially while running. So Reese's went on and on about how wonderful her Spy Belt was during the 1/2 marathon, how it didn't move an inch on her body, stored several items with it's stretch-to-max-capacity feature, and most importantly didn't have the typical fanny pack "bounce."



I mean look at this guy. You know once he gets going on his power-walk through Disney World, or wherever he's touring this summer, that fanny pack will start to bounce up, then fall and hit his hip with each and ever powerful stride!

Yes...I Sported the Fanny
Naturally after all this Spy Belt talking up, I decided to borrow Reese's and try it out for a test run....and yes, I was ashamed! I just kept telling myself I was testing a new product and no one knows me here anyway, other than my homeless friends. If they would have made fun of my fanny pack I would have been crushed!

Fanny History
I haven't worn a fanny pack since I was 6, quite adorable if I do say so myself, and it was a black bear fanny pack that I loved deeply.



No this isn't a picture of me, but it sings such a familiar tune of a happy child hood, all held together by a little black bear. Then one sad day, someone (probably my older sister) informed me I was a loser and should ditch the bear that I so lovingly wore around my waste. It was a sad day to say the least.

Fanny-ing as an Adult
So I was skeptical as to whether or not this Spy Belt fanny would actually hold the amount of junk Reese's had claimed. Here is what I took. Now my iPhone was also placed in the Spy Belt for my run, but I had to use something to take the picture, so it's not included below.



You see the Spy Belt? The little strap there? It held all of that crap and my iPhone without any trouble. Yes, I did have to tighten that thing up as much as it would allow, but it's....dare I say....worth the shame of wearing a fanny pack to have all your running necessities strapped to your body.

3.5 miles of slamming my feet against the pavement and the fanny pack never snapped off my body and I never experienced any such "bounce." Twas a good day for running.

On an Even Happier Note
I found the most delightful salsa at H-E-B. Hell on the Red, party dip-mild. Needless to say I just about party dipped my way into a stomach coma last night. You have to be careful when you're around me and my salsa...I get like a cornered raccoon....and just attack!



Uh! I LOVE SALSA.

Mission not-so Impossible

Your mission if you so choose to accept it is a difficult one, and will take a mind-bottling amount of training and self-control. People involved: myself and good running amigo Running Off the Reese's.

Mission: SMOKE my brother-in-law, Ben O'Kane, at the 2nd Annual Sites & Sounds 5K race, San Marcos, Texas, December 5th, 2010.

Possible Mission-Inhibitors: Mr. O'Kane AKA: The Culprit.



He may very-well be what Reese's and I like to refer to.... "Secret Running." Secret Running involves the secret training for a race while subsequently trash talking your opponents, so when the said secret runner does EXTREMELY well at a race, it is falsely viewed as natural running ability.

Don't worry. Reese's and I are on top of this mission and always prepare for mission complications by having an inside man.

Inside Man: Our inside man is Mrs. O'kane. Yes, somehow this secret running buffoon found a woman and conned her into being his wife. Her 1st name must remain anonymous so we will call her... Agent X, or more commonly known on the streets as the Angel of Death.



She informs us on the weight-loss and running, or lack thereof that The Culprit has been involved in. You can always count on your sister to tell you the low-down on her husband's possible secret running techniques.

Sadly, I still fear the worst. I believe The Culprit really is secret running but knows Agent X's loyalty remains to her blood-family.

We will have to see.

Your Mission!
I need speed-training techniques! I'm totally down for any speed-training tips out there! Email, post, whatev! I can't lose this race to Mr. O'Kane....I just CAN'T!

A Bay-side Run for a Beach-side Nurse

As you can see from the title, I've switched-up my running locale to a more entertaining and visually pleasing bay-side jog down the boardwalk.

I love to say boardwalk! It makes me feel like I'm a California-girl, or Katie Perry, and jogging down the fabulous Cali boardwalk...



...even though downtown Corpus is nothing to be ashamed of, but lets get real. The Corpus Christi boardwalk isn't full of California's so-called "beautiful people," it is actually crawling with homeless people.

(I feel for homeless people, considering rumor has it that a good majority of truly homeless, not looking for a job or a home-people have some sort of mental illness.)

But it can still be pretty creepy when you're jogging happily down the boardwalk and you suddenly catch a whiff of something. Is that rotten eggs I smell? No! A skunk! Oh my gosh there's a skunk trying to spray me! And it turns out 5 homeless men REALLY want to make friends with you.

Maybe I'll start bringing little travel soap bars with me and hand them out on my next run? It could be an every other day deal where I bring a little gift? Hmm....

Corpus Christi Boardwalk
So I'm really diggin' my boardwalk jogs so far. Since I see the boardwalk potential for runners I'm really going to sell it to any CC runners out there! When you're running 4 miles, things get really boring. I also think this is one of the reasons I was so desperate to change jogging locations, I ran out of new things to look at!

So here is what I came across since the switch from Ennis to Boardwalk.

As you're running down this beautiful bay-side scenery, you can check out the solar system....yup, the solar system. All 8 planets, but I still count Pluto, line the boardwalk, each accompanied with a bio about the planet...just in case you never got a chance to attend 3rd grade. Aw! They did it for the homeless people. Duh!



Why, might you ask? The answer my friends, is I have no flippin' idea! A waste of money if you ask me. They could have mile markers or bike lanes, or something!! But the planets? Someone made a donation to the city and thought that PLANETS would be a good way of spending that money.

So Pluto has always been my favorite, even though Chuck Norris round house kicked it down a size, throwing off all U.S. science classes!!



So naturally I had to stop and read about it. Oh! And did I forget to mention I was out of breath and exhausted from running in the sun...it's just not something I like.



...What can I say I'm trying to turn a new leaf.

So by the end of my run I gladly stopped in a little bay-side cabana.



To my demise, the water fountain was broken so I heaved my heavy body on down the road, met a bird...something about birds here...I just love 'em!



Then stopped at the next homeless man-less cabana and guzzled some good old fashioned H2O. Aww, I swear it was an amazing drink. I mean what do they put IN that stuff!! No wonder the homeless guys are all so chipper.

In the end...
I love Pluto.




And I love Chuck, because in all seriousness...



Good day to you all!