Mar 08 2010

Stuff (AKA – No Cute Title)

Category: Life, running — GeekGirl @ 11:18 am

Due to the cold and stuff I had a lazy week of running last week. I only got in 4 runs and totaled about 16 or so miles. Nothing to write home about or anything. However, I did get in 3 30 Day Shred Workouts. I’ve also lost another pound, so I’m not sweating my lack of running. We’ll just say I was still recovering from my half. Works for me.

This week it looks like the weather will see a significant improvement and I’m ready to get back to work. I guess I just needed a bit of down time. I’m thinking of doing something that looks a bit like this:

M – Shred
T – 5m
W – 4 miles Fartlek (1 minute hard/1 minute rest) – SHRED
Th – 5m
F – Shred
S – 4m
S – 8-10m
Total – 26 – 30m depending on how I’m feeling. I’m not going to cry if it’s a bit less, either.

I was going to just run randomly, but I find that I need to have some mileage goals or some sort of loose framework. Otherwise I have a week like last week. It was unorganized and I ran out of days to get my runs in. I’m pretty much in a loose mileage building stage. Buidling mileage for what? Hopefully a fall marathon. That’s why I’m not really sweating this too much right now. I just want to get up to about 40 miles per week.

Outside of running, things are going well. I’m super busy these days and possibly in a bit of trouble with school. My midterms sneaked up on me again and I’m in no way prepared. This week will be spent doing tons of academic reading and writing as well as preparing for my Spanish midterm. I have to hit both of these midterms out of the park to save my semester, so I’ll be busy, busy busy.

Finally, some have asked about the guy that’s taking up a bit of my time. In a nutshell, I’ve met a cute, vegan cyclist. He writes in complete sentences and is the same age as me. (Those that do the internet dating thing know that it’s usually just overrun with 50 year olds trying to get  into your pants. Pathetic.) The only issue is that he lives up in WPB which is about 45 minutes from me. So, there’s that. For right now, I’m just enjoying the company. No stress.

What have you guys been up to??

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Mar 03 2010

March Stuff!

Category: C.R.E.A.M., Life, planet finance, running — GeekGirl @ 7:59 am

Yes. I’ll be doing this, too. It seems like everyone on the internets is raving about all of the weight they lost by doing Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. (I got it for free since I had an Amazon gift card for $10.) What can I say? I’m vain and want my abs back.

I’ve been running really consistently for at least 4 months (no less than 4-5 runs a week) and hadn’t really dropped any weight. . .until this week. I hopped on the scale and realized I’ve lost SEVEN pounds. I’m not really sure how that happened, but I’m not really going to look a gift horse in the mouth, either. I think some of the weight loss is due to eating a really strange diet last week. I was often out of food and would get tofu or something from the Whole Foods hot bar. I also ate a lot of oatmeal and didn’t run. I need to analyze it a bit because maybe something I was eating prior was making me bloat or something. (I did away with all cheese and veggie burgers…so maybe that’s it?)

So, I weighed in this morning at 118. I’d like to get down to 112, but I’m not really a numbers person. If everything firms up and I get strong but stay the same weight I’m fine. (That’s actually why I wasn’t losing any weight while running. Everything got firm, but my weight stayed up.) What I want to see is some muscle tone like I used to have and nice flat abs. They’re almost there, I just need some toning and stuff. If I get up the nerves I’ll post some before pictures. (Doubtful.)

In other, not so great news – I’m broke. No. Seriously. B-R-O-K-E. I had to take out of my school money to pay for Gio’s surgery. That was $670. I had to get an eye exam, contact lenses, buy $300 in school books. Financially, this year is not off to a good start. In addition to that, I keep buying stuff. Mainly food, but I know I can eat cheaper food.

I’m hoping that this month goes super smoothly and I can get back on my feet financially. I’d like to not use my credit cards at all and stay within my budget for this month. It’s the only way that I can keep my finances from getting further out of control. For the time being, I’m in savings mode. I need to stick every single penny away to build my Emergency Fund back up to $1000 and to replace my school money. Hopefully, there will be no more financial surprises.

I’ll have my race pics posted later. I have to do a screen grab to catch them and don’t have the software on this box.

Onward, bitches!

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Mar 01 2010

Quicky Update…Again

Category: Life — GeekGirl @ 8:49 am

Sorry for the quietness from me. I’ve been all over Twitter and Facebook, but just too busy to sit down and write a full blog post. Last week was a streesful, trying week. I had a ton of drama at work that I’ll fill you all in on later because it’s ridiculous. Seriously. Also, met a boy that takes up a bit or my time. School was super busy, too.

I failed horribly on taking a picture every day in February. I didn’t even come close. I really don’t know what people take pictures of. Ha ha! I need to work on that though because I would like to get better with my camera before my next big trip.

So…coming up over the next few days (am I the only person that does a preview for her blog?)…half marathon pics (they’re horrible – my mouth is open in every single one of them), some lofty March goals, a new workout plan, and a few other things.

Stay tuned!

Feb 22 2010

A1A Half Marathon Race Report – aka Best Sunday Ever!!!

Category: running — GeekGirl @ 8:28 am

If you follow me on Twitter I’m sure you already know that I pretty much had the best day ever out there on the course. Seriously. It was full of win.

Going into the race, I was worried about the status of my sore hip. I made it to the chiropractors office for an adjustment on Friday and that might have been the best thing in the world for me to do. I ran an easy couple of miles on Saturday and felt like absolute crap. My hip started hurting me the minute I started running. It sucked and left me really worried.

Sunday morning I was up by 4:13 am. (The 13 was to recognize the fact that I was going to run a half marathon.) My dad was going to pick me up and drop me off at the starting line around 5:15 or so. I did the usual stuff. Ate some oatmeal, had a cup of tea, took a shower, walked Gio. At this point, I felt indifferent.

I made it to the race with plenty of time to spare. Quick visit to the porta potties then it was time to line up. I honestly had no idea what pace I was going to run, so I stuck myself between the 2:00 and 2:15 pacers that I saw. If I was having a good day I’d try to go under 2:10 (I really want to go under 2:00, though). If not, well…I’d just run and see what happens. I figured either way I’d PR. I thought my PR was 2:17, but later found that it was 2:27.

We were off right at 6am. From the get go, I felt good. My hip didn’t hurt and my legs felt fresh. The complete opposite of how they felt on Saturdays run. The weather was cool and I was ready. My first mile was around 10:20ish. That’s what I wanted to run for the entire race. However, something happened. After that first mile I started clipping of miles just under 10:00. That terrified me. I ran a 10k about a month ago and averaged 9:59 per mile. There was no way I could run that for a half.

Boy was I wrong! The splits:

Interval 1 Mi 10:16.47
Interval 1 Mi 9:53.71
Interval 1 Mi 10:09.22
Interval 1 Mi 9:49.71
Interval 1 Mi 9:57.7
Interval 1 Mi 10:10.64
Interval 1 Mi 9:52.2
Interval 1 Mi 9:58.98
Interval 1 Mi 9:56.26
Interval 1 Mi 10:05.32
Interval 1 Mi 10:00.56
Interval 1 Mi 10:08.24
Interval 1 Mi 10:06.13
Interval 0.09 Mi 0:44.74

Official Time: 2:11:08 Pace: 10:01
A PR OF 16 MINUTES!!! Who knew? Further, I think I can run much faster. I ran with caution and made myself slow down those last few miles because I was afraid that I was running too hard.

Considering that my training was a bit soft due to the piriforms/hip issues I consider this run to be full of win. I’m pumped about what this year holds for me running wise. I haven’t been this excited about running in years. I finally feel that I am capable of getting faster. IF I stay healthy. I need to work on my diet too, because I’m still toting a couple of extra pounds. I’m toying with going vegan. We’ll see. It really isn’t that huge of a leap for me. I don’t do a lot of cheese or milk. (I hate milk, actually.)

Up Next: Who knows? My favorite 5 miler is coming up. In April, I want to do a trail run. Yeah. I have no idea how that will go, but whatever. It sounds fun and that’s all that matters. I think I’m just going to enjoy my running for the time being. I’d like to build slowly to 40 mpw and see what happens.

Onward, bitches!

Ohhhh…I also went on a date with a guy I didn’t hate. Interesting.

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Feb 20 2010

I’m Ready!

Category: running — GeekGirl @ 9:02 pm

I’m running the A1A Half Marathon tomorrow. I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ll be thrilled if I finish. My hip has been bothering me and I was diagnosed with hip bursitis on Friday. The chiro says that I can still run, but it’s pretty darn inflamed.

With that, I’ll see you on the flip side.

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Feb 18 2010

More Epic Fail: GeekGirl Chases A Guy Off the Dating Site

Category: GeekGirl's Super Awesome Guy Decoder, adventures in online dating — GeekGirl @ 8:09 am

Here’s the email:

Hello beauty,
it’s a great pleasure reading through your profile I got attracted when going thought it. I’m [redacted] born raised up in west palm beach Florida.5ft point 7 tall. wow you are pretty and i would like to get to know you. if wouldn’t mind to tell me a little about your self….am writing you for the sake of being a friend….well I would be waiting to hear back from you.if would not mind you can im on yahoo. [redacted]..Till I hear from you.

My Reply:
Is this a joke? For a native Floridian, your English is abysmal.

When I went to check my email later that day I noticed that he is no longer on the site. I’d say it’s probably some scam or something. Or a really, really stupid man.

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Feb 15 2010

Last “Long Run”

Category: Life — GeekGirl @ 12:12 am

Just a quick little post since I’m getting ready to go to bed. (That seems to be all I do.) I had 12 miles on tap this morning, but opted to make it 10 and some change. My hip started bothering me a bit around mile 7-8 and I didn’t want to irritate it anymore than it already had been. So, I just called it a day.

Next Sunday I’ll be lining up to run the A1A Half Marathon. I’m really, really nervous. This is my first distance of any sort since my embolism. It’s been a lot of hard work and a study in frustration, but somehow I made it through my training. I had to motify things a bit. Mainly dropping all of the speedwork and cutting a few runs short. I did get all of my long runs, though and managed to average about 25 miles per week.

When I’m done with the half marathon, I’ll work on strengthening my body more, fixing my piriformis, and building my mileage.

Gotta say, I’m THRILLED to be running again! Truly!

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Feb 12 2010

Epic FAIL: Online Dating Emails

Category: GeekGirl's Super Awesome Guy Decoder, adventures in online dating — GeekGirl @ 8:37 pm

So, I’m still hanging out on a certain dating site. At this point, I don’t really care about the dating. I’m far to busy to do that. Now I’m just there to hang out in the forums and to generally harrass people. If someone interesting pops up? Great.

I get completely ridiculous emails/IM’s at times. I answer most of them just for the heck of it. Here’s just a sample of a couple of emails from yesterday:

Too Dumb For Words
Background: This is an email from a 47 year old guy that appears to be a trashman. And is a “strong black man”. (I can’t stand that shit!)
HIM: Besides being happy, you look amazing beautiful…. smiles…
GeekGirl: Thank you.
HIM: So how is your day going ? and what lucky man is having you for Valinetimes ?
GG: My day is going quite well. However, I don’t do Valentines Day. Nor does any man ever “have” me.
HIM: And why is that ? are they cheap ? are they lacking in spiritual love, or was it just a sex thing with them.. I dont understand right now, I atleast call my friends and wish them whatever event it maybe special to them,, I know, I’m different. right ? Well im in need of a special person that i can do that for again, someone who appriciates a caring man, A person that loves to smile, have fun and let her hair down when she feels ready, A long long lasting relationship.. Who is this lady (READACTED) ? You look and sound in your messages very nice and concerned..Can you take me away from this boaring, dull life ? And may i attemp to sweep you off your feet ? If iterested please call [redacted].. And no, I never met anyone on line !! Charles…. MUWAAH…
GG: No.
HIM: No to which one….
GG: No across the board. I don’t celebrate Valentines Day. It’s a superfluous holiday. And, no I’m not interested in taking you away from your “boaring” dull life. If you don’t want a “boaring” life stop hanging out with boars!

Good luck in your search!

====

WTF?!?!

HIM: hi there..
what a lovely profile you have ….and i hope am not hurting any gentleman contacting you….its Donald and i must say am a lil attracted to you..pls do reply
cheers…!!

GG: What does your second sentence mean? “and i hope am not hurting any gentleman contacting you”

I would love to reply, but that makes no sense.

HIM: YES BOSS…
WELL LOOKING AT HOW CUTE YOU ARE IN THIS PICS,ITS GOING TO BE VERY HARD TO BELIEVE A BEAUTY LIKE YOU WILL BE ON A DATE WEBSITE,SO I WANTED TO KNOW IF IT WILL BE COOL TO TALK TO YOU WITHOUT YOUR MAN BEEN HURT…DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR…THANK YOU FOR EVEN WRITTING

GG: I see….Why are you shouting at me?

HIM: Do you care for a chat?..i love your ego
[redacted]

GG: Not really. I don’t like to talk to men that assume I’m a liar right from the start.

Obviously those 2 guys never wrote me back. :-)

Feb 08 2010

Run With Me – aka My Attempt to Take Pictures

Category: Life, pictures, running — GeekGirl @ 9:16 pm

Note: 2 of my images are thumbnails and I’m too lazy to fix them. Click to enlarge!
While feeling pretty defeated in my ability to take a picture a day I realized. I had never brought you guys along on one of my runs. The reason for this? I find them completly boring. Run up this street. There’s a couple of yachts. Million dollar houses. The Beach. Booorrrinnnggg…to me that is.

I sometimes forget that most of my readers don’t live in Fort Lauderdale and have the ocean as their backyard. So, without much further ado, here’s my 5 miler from Sunday. With commentary!

The start of my run:
From 2010-2-6

Up next, I run by the “park”. I put park in quotes because it’s not really a park. It’s more like trees along the canal.

From 2010-2-6

Continuing up the street, we come to a couple of my favorite houses:

From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6

After I make it out of Victoria Park, I hit Las Olas. That’s like the main drag. There are these little things called “The Fingers”. They’re streets with canals on each side. Like fingers. Here are a few of them:

From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6

This is the view from the top of the Las Olas Bridge. I’m heading across the intercoastal:

From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6

So, you might’ve heard that the Super Bowl was in South Florida. Someone got the bright idea to put this:

From 2010-2-6

on my beach. I was not amused.

Moving forward, you get some awesome beach shots:

From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6

Here’s a couple of the hotels decorated for the Super Bowl:

From 2010-2-6
From 2010-2-6

Up next, my final bridge heading home:

From 2010-2-6

Here’s the weird thing. I took a few more pics after this. Or at least I thought I did. I took a pic coming back into Victoria Park and of the gay resort in my neighborhood. Yes. It’s as exciting as you think it is. I’m going to go back on one of my shorter runs and get that pic for you. Everyone needs to see the neighborhood gay resort. (I even have details as to what goes down in it!)

So, that’s my favorite 5 mile loop. What’s your look like?

Feb 05 2010

Quickie Post

Category: Life — GeekGirl @ 9:02 am

I’ve seriously got 5 minutes until I need to hop in the shower and get ready for work. I figured I’d do a post since I haven’t had much to say this week.

School is going ok though I think Spanish will be the death of me. I just don’t get it. This weekend will be devoted to trying to get it together and make sense of the different verb tenses and when I should use “estar” vs. “ser”. I might have to call in a favor from one of my many Spanish speaking friends.

My running is going ok, but I’m still having some issues with my piriformis when I run. Fortunately, it’s not to bad and I can run through it. I’ve ordered a Sacro Wedgy to see if it will help since I can not really afford to see the chiropractor at this time. I figured $25 is better than $50 per visit. My half marathon is up in the air for the time being. I’m going to try to run 11 miles and see how I feel on Saturday/Sunday. If that goes well, then I’m in. For sure. I’ve managed all of my runs so I feel ready though my speedwork is nonexistent due to my back/piriformis/hip.

I’ve got a bunch of stuff to post including a few interesting IM messages from OKCupid and hopefully a review of my sacrowedgy.

ETA: I already flubbed my photo a day thing, but I’m going to continue. I missed a couple of days because I forgot. Yeah. I suck.

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