Ran the Shamrock Marathon on Sunday.

Negatives: It was freezing and windy the whole time. I had to stop 9 miles in to re-tie my shoe and I could barely feel my fingers enough to make it happen, lol. I also started too fast and burned out hardcore at the end. I felt like crying around the 22nd or so mile, I was just drained. It definitely didn't help matters that from roughly that point to the finish I went from 25th female(where I'd been most the race- still got quite a ways to go before I'll expect much better of myself from a marathon this size, lol) to 31st. Was mentally cursing every time I saw another woman go by. Finished roughly 8 minutes short of my goal.

Positives: I beat my last marathon(in November) time by 30 minutes for a finish of 3:24. I was the 31st woman out of 1,291. All the mental angst and bargaining(just x more miles!) that happens during a race becomes hilarious once the finish line is in sight. Free beer, cookies, pretzels, a blanket, and all manner of other stuff at the finish. Also, for my missed goal, there's always next time!

( Stats/pics, if interestedCollapse )

and I love him. But...

Him: *packing for MCT* So, do you want to take one of my guns?
Me: ???
Him: Like, you could keep it in your room or something.
Me: I thought you were giving them to mom to hold for you.
Him: Sure you don't want my shotgun? You've used it before.
Me: I don't need a gun, no. Still, if I want to use it while you're gone, mom will have it.
Him: But if someone breaks in you'd need it right there, not with mom.
Me: ...
Him: ...
Me: ...
Him: So, you don't want the gun?
Me: I'm good.

Should I be more "awww" over my bro apparently thinking of my self defense or more DDDD: that he still seems to think a shotgun(or AK-47 as that's his other gun) is the best response to hypothetical intruders?

The third race of the year and fourth race in two weeks(the back-to-back 5ks last Mon/Tues and the 20k last Sat). Between this and two rough PT days(Thursdays) and my normal runs and training, I felt beat. So, I didn't PR like I'd wanted. But, I did win and ran it around 4 minutes and 20 seconds faster than last year, so... yay?

Still, next 5k, I'm totally getting my sub-20!

On another note, I've been thinking more and more about the Shamrock Marathon coming up. Since I found out I can run the distance and not die via the Freedom, I'm gonna go ahead and race this one. Excited.

Last year finished out at 40 books(recorded, totally forgot a few...). Would have been more, but got taken over by a couple novel-like fanfics(ex. one is longer than the first three Harry Potter books combined, I've read it twice, lol).

But still, different year, same drill...
( Books read in 2013Collapse )

Recommendations always welcome! I like zombies, dystopian/post-apocalyptic worlds, lesbian fluff, female main characters, not ignoring the existence of POC/queer folks/ect., horror, monsters of all sorts, mythology and some urban fantasy, queer reimagings, and 1950s-style parody/noir.

Last night, NYE, I ran the Beat the Ball 5k. Starting at 11:35PM, the idea of it being to "beat the ball" drop in New York, finishing the 3.1mi in 25 minutes or less. Then, I went home, got a little sleep, and ran the Hair of the Dog 5k this morning(New Year's Day). So, basically, I ran two 5ks in less than 12 hours of one another. Fun times!

The highlights?
* PR'd both! Beat the Ball I ran in 20:19 and the Hair of the Dog I ran in 20:01(technically 20:00.46! So close to beating 20 minutes!)
* Placed in both! 2nd place for Women 20-24 for BtB and 3rd place overall Women for HotD.
* Saw a lot of the same people running both races, couple ppl recognized me too, kinda cool.
* At the 1 mile mark of HotD this one woman caught up to me and I kinda feel like her pushing me(didn't want to let her pass me) really helped me keep pace and keep going. Was thankful for that, she finished 5 seconds behind me.
* The races where opposites in approach. Each mile was slower than the one before it for BtB, but each mile was faster than the one before it for HotD. I tend to prefer/do the latter more often.
* It was freezing out for both, HotD even included some light rain! Brrrr...

Next race is the Distance Series 20k this Saturday, followed by the Frosty 5k(please beat 20 minutes! *crosses fingers*) the Saturday after that!

Running at least a mile every day from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day. Mostly posting this for my own reference, to keep myself accountable and keeping track of my mileage.

( Miles so farCollapse )

* Currently my hair is black through most of it, black at the roots, and then there's this light brown/red color mostly around the top/front. I didn't dye it, so I apparently ran/biked/whatever'd around enough this past summer for the sun to bleach it, weird.(that or I'm one of those animals who changes colors with the season, as this has happened before during less active years, always starts at the top/roots and goes until it takes up about 6-7" of hair then starts growing dark again)

* On a related note, running tanlines. The sock lines are the worst, heels are to be worn with stockings until further notice. XP

* Saw an animal hanging around the house the other night that I thought was a fox, it was dark but it was too big to be a cat and didn't seem like a dog but close? ...until I saw it jump/climb a 6ft. high fence. Can foxes do that?

* Work has been kinda sucky lately, send help! Srsly though, new dude, knock it off. Also, S, I know you hate new dude but you going on about how much you hate him for hours on end is making you unbearable. Geez...

Life stuff
* I have no clue how my coworkers manage sometimes. My one coworker makes as much as me, sometimes even fewer hours, is a single mom w/ two kids, and is about to get kicked out of her apartment. Gods, I wish I could help her(think I'm going to talk hours with her and see if she wants some of mine, I've got money saved. Either way, I've already got unopened toys from my collection I'm gonna give her kids for the holidays. Her daughter's into Monster High and her son into superheroes, perfect!).

* Three weeks in and my brother is reporting he's lost 9lb. already in boot camp. Though apparently they did feed them lobster and steak for the USMC's birthday. Guess there was some benefit to him going earlier(original ship date would have been Nov. 11th)

* Speaking of, gotta poolee function tomorrow to celebrate that(late, as ball and parties were going on last week). Cake, ceremony thing, and a 92-year old vet to talk to us about the war.

* Possibly TMI: Took out my nipple piercings after five years of having them and, goddamn, feels weird seeing my boobs sans metal.

Running stuff
* Ran the marathon Sunday, it is now Friday and they still haven't posted the results. First they said Monday, then moved it to Thursday, and now they say today... we'll see. For a marathon that seems to want to compete with Richmond and OBX, they're really fucking up with this.

* Likely gonna sign up for the Seashore Nature Trail 50K. It'd, obviously, be my first ultramarathon and is in a month. I think I could manage it, just keep up training.

* Bought new running shoes yesterday. Basically brought my old pair and was all "just give me the same exact ones", lol. These, for reference. Love 'em.

Was surprised by how easy it actually was, despite all my last minute panicking. No clue on my exact time yet as there was apparently some glitch with the timing, FMI says results should be posted on Thursday, but was definitely under four hours(stopped my timer after walking past the medal handouts at the finish and it was around 3:54) so I can live with that(til the next one).

( First marathon... check!Collapse )

* I'm still kinda reeling from the election results. Was so stressed and then... bam! So many good things and Romney lost! and yay!

* Picked up my packet. Feels more real, I'm running my first marathon Sunday! Scared and excited, but more excited than scared, so I think I can do this!

* Last Thursday I learned my limit on how much bigger a person can be than me before I can't pick up/fireman carry them(well, pick them up AND do anything more than stand there, trying not to fall). Failed buddy squats, lol.

* Just watched Prometheus with ontdcreepy, it was soooo bad. Idek.