Hunk Day

Yes... Wednesdays are often known for Hump Day, ya know, to get you through the week... so I thought I'd spice up our well-known Hump Day for a more improved, Hunk Day! First hunk? 

JUSTIN BIEBER!!!

Kidding... I could probably get arrested for that. But lets be serious, he's a little cutie pie that I want to just squeeze those little cheeks! 

The true 1st Ever Hunk Day Hunk is...

DAVID BECKHAM!!!!

Why? Well, obviously because he's smokin' but also because it's the World Cub of Soccer goin' on in South Africa! Annnnnd David Beckham plays soccer... for some team in California... he's really good. That's about all I know. However, I also know this: David went to South Africa for the Cup and he managed to find some time to do some good. He played soccer with kids and spoke about HIV awareness. I love a man that not only looks good but does good! 

GO USA! And God Bless David Beckham!

Damn the Dam to Dam

I'm sure you all have been anxiously awaiting for me to post about my Dam to Dam run. In case some of you missed it when I stated it earlier... that's 12.4 miles of me putting one cankle in front of the other in order to make it to the finish line.

1. The Training Period: (4 months)
I began training in February. My first run was on the treadmill and I attempted 1 mile. Not only did I stop halfway through but I also threw up before I was finished. Pathetic. I quickly regretted ever uttering the words "I am going to run the Dam to Dam" to my boyfriend.
Slowly, and all the meaning of the word slowly, I ran 1 full mile later that week. The next week I ran 2 miles. Then 3. Then 3.5. Then 4. I didn't run more than 4 until I was 12 weeks out of the race day. Soon enough the day had come and I had to run 5... which to my surprise went fantastic and I ran 6 miles that night. The next week I ran 6 again. Failed on my first attempt to run 7 but the next week ran 9 miles. And ultimately ran 10.5 miles prior to my race.

2. Race Day
Allison texted me the day before the race and said "looks like it's going to thunderstorm the entire time during our run." I chose to ignore the statement. Later, Allison and I glued our eyes to the news station (Partially praying a tornado would be in the forecast so far in advance that the race would have to be cancelled. Partially praying it would be nice sunny, cool weather so our hard work wouldn't go to waste) 8pm Friday night we said goodnight, set the alarm for 4:30am, and went to sleep.

4:30am--Rise and Shine. It's storming, dark, and muggy outside. Allison and I pack a breakfast consisting of banana's, toast, peanut butter, and orange juice.
5:15am--Drove downtown. Parked illegally because it was too early to care. Stood in line for a shuttle bus from downtown all the way to Saylorville. Walked a mile in the pouring, freezing, windy rain in order to get the starting line.
6:45am--Chugged some water. Looked around at all the athletic freaks we passed who were standing at the front of the starting line (which means they run roughly... or smoothly a 5 minute mile pace.)
6:55am--Allison and I agree we should use the bathroom first. We hurried but refused to run, of course. This choice caused us to start the face at quite literally the end of the line. The walkers. 18 minute mile pacer's. It doesn't really make a difference other than slightly embarrassing because anyone on the sidelines would be convinced that we walked half of the race.
7:05am--Officially crossed the... starting line. Allison and I were weaving through people twice our size... and in poncho's, in order to catch up with the super fast 10 minute mile pacers. It made us feel super speedy!

The first few miles were a breeze. Aside from the fact our shoes, socks, clothes, and ipod were already drenched from the rain... Mile 7 had a big hill. The rain had finally stopped at this point but due to our shoes and socks being soaked earlier I could feel the blisters emerging on my feet with each stride. Mile 8... sucked. Mile 9... I could have cried I was so miserable. I swear if I would've looked down at my shoes they would have blood oozing out of them... that's seriously how bad my feet hurt at this point. Mile 10... Allison and I agreed we both could start crying at any time. We were both miserable. Pain. So much pain. We were surrounded by walkers but we continued to run... jog... trot... whatever you wanna call it. I truly can't articulate the pain. Not to mention there were supposed to be live bands and music playing throughout the course but due to the rain the entertainment was limited to Allison and I whining about our stomach, feet, knees, hips, contacts, hair, hands, toes, elbows, back, and of course... cankles.

Mile 11... titled "the wall of sound" (apparently there was supposed to be live music and people elbow to elbow down the entire last mile. Umm no... I heard crickets. Or I would have if I wasn't already hearing voices from the agony of the last mile. Then I heard "Just up the hill and around the corner and the finish line is in clear sight" I turned to Allison and said "Excuse me, but did that guy just say up the hill...?" Allison, who appeared as if the devil was about to jump out of her, nodded her head. The last mile probably took us a good 15 minutes but we did. not. stop! Up the hill and around the corner we went. To the right we could see my mom standing there with her camera. My dad was standing and waving at us.

I had no energy. No wave. No smile. One Nod. 3 blocks to go and... 

DONE! "I'm never running again" I screamed... or that could have been in my head. I'm not sure.

3. Post Race
My mom had to drive my car home because my feet wouldn't respond. My cankles were more swollen than usual. My feet looked like dead persons feet. My hands were so swollen my ring was cutting my finger. I'm shocked I survived.

One shower, lots of food, and 3 gadoraid's later I was on my way to Kansas City to help my boyfriend celebrate his 26th birthday... toga style! It was great fun... even though I ran 12.4 miles, drove 3 hours, learned to make a toga, and danced all night long. I survived. With a smile on my face! It was great fun!

Pictured: Brad, me, Tiffany (Brad's sister), and Matt (Brad's brother)

The Toga Party was a success! 

Sunday I slept pretty much all day. But ultimately I have no regrets. I'm almost tempted to try another half marathon since it rained at the Dam to Dam... almost. Nah, nevermind. It was the voices again.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

As we are all celebrating Memorial Day today, my family is also celebrating a very important birthday today... my Mom. (And roommate). Brad and I met my mom, Morgan, and Tabby at Joe's Crab Shack. The staff sang to my mom and Brad was forced to wear a bib while eating a large portion of crab legs. I actually think I still have pieces of crab in my hair from him breaking the crab open in search for the meat inside. It was very entertaining. Poor Brad had to spend the rest of the afternoon stuck in the corner of his apartment studying for his boards.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Thank you for everything you do. I am so fortunate to have a roommate who laughs at my jokes, helps me with my homework, pays my rent... even if I am going on 25 years old this year. Now, that's LOVE!

This week I'm prepping for the Dam to Dam which is in T-4 days! Last Thursday I ran 10.5 miles. Felt great. I'm ready to go. Ready to rock. Ready to run. Can't wait! The down part (aside from the 12.something miles I have to run Saturday morning) is the race starts at 7am. Which means I have to get up at, like, 5:30am. Seriously. And I'm also celebrating Brad's 26th birthday in Kansas City Saturday night... it's going to be quite the weekend! I'm looking forward to it!

I can't sign off without leaving a few pictures from this Memorial Weekend at my home base. Just so you guys can fall in love with my adorable little niece as much as I have the past 5 months!

Cured.

So after my last post I decided I needed to take a chill pill with my running. Needless to say, I didn't run the next day. Or the next. However, the NEXT day I ran... [insert drum roll]... 9.5 MILES! What's up now "runner's anxiety?" It felt awesome. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda felt like Forest Gump. But when I finally got to my house all of a sudden I couldn't move. I couldn't get a glass of water. I couldn't make my dinner. All I could do was moan. Painnnn, ohhhhh the pain. My knees. My joints. I was starving for food and I just starred at the cabinets in hope that something would whip itself together and be placed in front of me. I think my mom got sick of my pathetic self pity and told me she'd make me some toast and eggs. "Toast and Eggs? Mom you're a GENIUS! That's exactly what I need!" I plopped myself into a hot tub and... I hate to go on a tangent but I'm sorry baths are so boring. I sat in there, awkwardly, starring at the wall, trying to think of something to think about but my brain felt like I just took the MCATS (yes, I realize I don't know what that feels like... but that's what I imagine it feels like!) After the water got cold enough to give me goosebumps I inched myself out of the tub and eventually downstairs where I was welcomed with a large plate of protein and carbs! Can't complain about living at Mom's at times like this...


I was so motivated that I convinced my sister, Allison, to do a 10K with me on Saturday for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For those of you who don't know, Allison has been training for the Dam to Dam with me. After some convincing she agreed. Friday night I went out to dinner with Brad and prepared my body with a lot of carbs. I must say, it's one of the perks to training for this half-marathon. No-guilt carbs... aaaand I may or may not have snuck a few glasses of wine in there! Healthy heart, right?


8:00am Saturday morning: On your marks, get set, GO. Allison and I were off... like a herd of turtles Can it be considered a herd if there was only two of us?... anyway... A somewhat grueling two laps around Raccoon river, 1 hour and 8 minutes later... 10K. Check. (yes, that's roughly a 10 minute mile. However, I felt like we were booking it!) I can't go without mentioning the fact on our second lap we looked as far ahead as possible and there wasn't a person in sight... as far behind us as possible and there wasn't a person in sight. I couldn't help but wonder are we that slow? or are we that fast? We were "booking it" after all. After viewing the official times I learned there were a few stragglers behind us but apparently everyone else were professional 10K runners. Freaks.

After the 10K. After my dad took this picture he said "Mal, you kinda look like a drug addict." Thanks, Dad! It's more like "Mal, get a spray tan." I could agree with that.

It feels good to write about this because running isn't easy. It's super hard. Super, super hard. Not to mention when you've got stubs for legs like me! I did notice while running with Allison for every step she took with her long lanky legs I took about three. Does that mean I can eat more carbs? I think yes.

I have a Disease...

... and it's called "Runners Anxiety." Did I make this up? Well, yes... but I have it!! I'm telling you people I get more anxiety about running than I do about my final exam in graduate school. Why all the drama, you ask? Me and my two cankle-possessed legs (please refer here if you are unfamiliar with the word cankle) will be running the Dam to Dam half-marathon on June 5th. Yup, 12.something miles. Me... and my cankles have been training for a few months now. According to my training schedule (which I borrowed from a 50-something overweight man who ran it last year) I should run 8 miles this weekend. 8 MILES! I ran 6 miles two weekends in a row, attempted 7 last weekend and FAILED! So... with the help from my med school boyfriend, I was diagnosed with a (made up) term... Runners Anxiety.

I dream about running. Seriously. I do. It's really annoying. And before almost every run I get this stomach ache... the kind of stomach ache you get when you're about to give a toast at a super big wedding, or right before going on a first date with the man of your dreams, or while you are waiting for the results of a pregnancy test... NOT WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO ON A RUN!!! It's just pathetic.

Although I may have Runners Anxiety, I always do follow through with my goal of the week. (aside from last weeks failing attempt to run 7 miles. However, I blame my ipod... long story) I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

8 miles. I can do this... TOMORROW. :) I'm getting Mexican food tonight instead. Stop judging me. I swear I'll run it tomorrow. Son of a buck.

Cognitive Dissonance

That word rang true for me during my emotional roller coaster this past week. Here's the 411: I applied to the MSW program at the University of Iowa in '09. Denial letter. (not gonna lie... my undergrad grades are nothing to brag about so I wasn't shocked) So I quit my job in Kansas City and moved home... with my parents... to take out a loan... and register for 12 credits of graduate school to prove my grades. Sure enough, I did. In fact, despite my academic insecurities and past academic failures, I did awesome!

I applied again in March. On Friday I got a text from my mom: "your letter is here." Instantly my stomach sank and I rushed home from work early, eagerly anticipating the words in that envelop. DENIED. Are you freakin' kidding me?!? 9 months, $4,000+ dollars, and a GPA of 3.8 all down the drain! I was MAD. No, actually my mom was mad. I was sad. As I read and reread the letter of failure my adorable little niece just stared at me, giggling and smiling. I wanted to say "Tabby, stop being so freakin' cute. I want to cry. Leave me along!" But instead I picked her up and set her on my lap. I couldn't help but laugh along with her. Babies make everything better. Unfortunately that happiness was brief as it was interrupted when her selfish parents stole her away from me! Again, I began sulking in my own failure. So I did what any other person would do after receiving bad news... picked up the phone and gathered some good gal friends and a bottle of wine for what we like to call a "bitch fest." And that it was. (if you haven't participated in one of these, I highly recommend it!)

I can't go any further without mentioning how awesome Brad was during this emotional roller coaster. Happy. Mad. Sad. Annoyed. Happy. Mad. Sad. Annoyed. He had 2 exams to study for yet he took every opportunity to validate my feelings... not matter which feeling it was at the moment.

The next morning reality sunk in during my painful hangover... oh yeah, I have a 16 page paper due on Monday for a class I don't care about anymore. UGH! Brad took me out to lunch then we spent the rest of the day doing homework together until I fell asleep with a book in my lap. I was (emotionally) exhausted!!

Monday I went to class... 8 hours of it that is... to hand in my piece of crap paper. My teacher called me into her office during one of our breaks and began with an "I'm sorry to hear..." blah blah blah and I cut her off and told her I'd rather not discuss it (mad... sad... annoyed). Being the Social Worker that she is she continued. And I'm thankful she did because it gave me an opportunity to explain my frustration. A few tears, a lot of self-disclosure, and 3 hours later... I'M ACCEPTED!! That's right... I'M IN! Apparently there was some confusion on my application somethin' somethin' somethin'... who cares I'M IN!! And that's what I mean when I say it's been a week of COGNITIVE DISSONANCE!

Life Lesson: Be the best person you can be every single day and hope things work out. Don't give up. Work hard. You can't be anything better than the best you. And sometimes it pays off but you will always know you tried. Like Limp Bizkit once said... "Gotta have faith"

LHMBS

What do I know??

I started a new job as a Mental Health Coordinator about a month ago. I was stoked... and surprised they offered it to me considering it's a supervisor position and not only have I hardly worked in this field but I, most definitely, have never held a supervisor role! I mean seriously, what do I know? My first week I was in all-day training and I couldn't help but notice employees were working 10 hour days and running around like chickens with their heads cut off! So I get it now... they hired me because they were over their eyeballs in work. In addition, they hired two other people--one girl starts next week and the other starts in May. I knew I'd be working like a dog as soon as my training's were complete.

It's been 4 weeks now and I must say I am super... BORED!!! I have spent time working on school work and nobody seems to care. I have taken the initiative to create several color-coded spreadsheets for random things that don't really apply to me. I have even gone on walks just to pass the time! Some of you might be thinking "HELLO LAZY! Ask someone for some tasks! Ask how you can help them take a load off!" But hold those thoughts... I promise you, I do! And I just want to make it clear, I do like my job. I do like the people I work with. I'm just eager to get going! (I might regret saying this later when I am the one up to my eyeballs in work!)

Luckily they put me in charge of interviewing and hiring new staff so I've got something to do on Thursday. Yes, I'll be interviewing people who I would potentially supervise. Weird. Most of these people have a bachelors degree and even more job experience than me! So I ask myself again... what do I know? We'll see I guess... wish me luck!!

That's all for now
LHMBS