BRRRR!!

I must have been on crack when I said I was going to attempt a long run "because it was such a beautiful day" on Sunday. Riiiiight. I mean, it LOOKED beautiful from the comfort of my couch . . . but 'twas not so. Wilson and I ran out to get lunch and, holy falafel, it windy and cold out! Thus, we opted to spend the rest of the day inside on the couch, where it truly was a beautiful day. I know, I know . . . but the cold makes my entire-left-arm-injury hurt so much more!! (haha, not sure what Wilson's excuse was!)

Well, watch out entire-left-arm. Wilson and I have decided to brave the cold tonight and head to our local track for a 3 x 1200 speed workout. It is ass-cold out (again), so luckily I've come up with some motivational tactics to get my hind end out the door . . . 1) I'm seeing my ortho on Thursday, so I'd better run all I can now just in case running is taken away from me (again); 2) For the first time this season, it's actually cold enough to wear my running tights (see how I spun a horrible thing into a good one using my love for clothing? Now THAT'S tricky!); and finally, the kicker . . . 3) I can have some EGGNOG if I run! I'm so good at drinking eggnog, I've already made it through 1 carton of it, despite the fact it's so early in the "holiday season". I better keep practicing . . . :)

Over it . . .

Hey y'all! Thanks for your wonderful words of wisdom regarding my last post . . . I really, really appreciate them. I think you all are totally right about everything you said. As I thought about it more, I realized that for the first time--oh, ever--I don't really have any one particular thing that defines me . . . I don't really have an identity, so to speak. I've gotten so used to always working towards big accomplishments that now that I don't have any huge goals, it's making me feel a bit lost. I'm starting to realize, though, that maybe it's a good thing to be more or less goal-free for a while. Maybe I should really allow myself to just blend into the crowd and relax for a while. After all, it is creeping closer to the holiday season!

Okay, fine . . . I admit it. There's no "creeping" going on in our household! Poor Wilson has had to endure hours upon hours of Christmas music already . . . not to mention, hours of talk about Christmas decorations, holiday party planning and Christmas shopping! BUT. In my defense, I've come up with a theory that allows me to start celebrating Christmas right after Halloween ends. It goes like this: As adults, life seems to move FAR MORE QUICKLY than it ever did as children. Thus, to get an appropriate amount of holiday celebration in each year, we must start with our preparations extra early!! See? That's my story and I'm sticking too it!!

Speaking of which, I haven't gotten around to sharing the story of my horrible fall down the stairs yet. So here it is. Okay, it was a crazy, crazy day at work. We'd just gotten a new matter in that I ended up being assigned to, mostly because I'm the only competent person at my firm. Now, because I have approximately 20 other matters on my plate, I was juggling a LOT that particular day. Meanwhile, #1 A-hole (who I also mentioned here) was in prime form even for him. He called me up complaining that our copy center was taking too long to make the eight copies of about 2000 pages worth of documents for the team. I apologized and explained that they were super busy up there, and were doing the best they could . . . and he FREAKED and started bitching me out and attempting to insult my intelligence, just to make himself feel better. He then insisted that I call the copy center and cancel the job . . . and DO IT MYSELF. Hilarious. So there I was . . . pushing the rest of my work aside to make a shitload of copies.

I hurriedly printed and copied the crap #1 A-hole wanted, because--let's be honest--I'm terrified of him. So as I was finally headed upstairs to deliver it all, I realized I forgot something down at my desk. I turned and headed back down the stairs, practically running, carrying the ENORMOUS stack of documents . . . and graceful as I am, I managed to catch my heel in the hem of my pants. I stumbled and tried SO hard to catch myself, but I just knew I was going down! I tumbled, somersaulting all the way down the stupid flight of marble stairs. It must have looked/sounded really badly because I saw people SPRINTING at me from every direction--I realized later that I honestly don't think I've ever seen ANYONE run as fast as some of these people were running. There were papers and broken binder clips EVERYWHERE. My shoes had flown off in opposite directions. Although I was totally stunned, I immediately tried to get up and get to my office, apparently muttering that I needed to get the documents to #1 A-hole. My co-workers convinced me to stay down for a minute (probably convinced I'd broken my neck or something) . . . but after taking inventory of my entire body, I realized that the only thing in serious pain was my left arm. Thus, I insisted I needed to get back to my office.

One of my co-workers picked up the scattered documents, which miraculously were somehow mostly in tact, and we headed back to my office. As I got there, I realized I was actually in a LOT of pain . . . my entire arm--from shoulder to knuckles--was becoming very painful. I took a look at my elbow and realized it was swollen about three times its normal size. Realizing I still had to get the documents to #1 A-hole, I enlisted the help of my co-worker, Ariana. Ha, she had no clue what had happened, and when I showed her my arm, she freaked out. Luckily, she wasn't too busy, so she put the documents back together and delivered a copy to #1 A-hole while I iced my arm and bawled in my office. Now comes my favorite part:

When Ariana delivered the set of documents to #1 A-hole, he immediately asked her if everyone else on the team had a set as well. Her response to him was, "Well, no. Bailey fell down the stairs." He briefly asked if I was okay, to which Ariana responded, "No, she hurt her arm pretty badly." After not even the slightest bit of hesitation he goes, "Well, how long is it going to take you to get copies to everyone else?!" Lovely. I could have broken my neck and been paralyzed for the rest of my life . . . but this jerk's concern is over when the rest of our team members are going to get their documents. Thanks, buddy.

So after we got everything out to the rest of the team, we figured it might be a good idea to go to the ER and get my arm checked out. I had debated about whether to go or not (I avoid the ER at ALL costs) . . . but I finally allowed myself to be convinced to go . . . mostly because I just COULDN'T stop crying. It was so weird. I'm still not sure whether it was the pain or whether I was a little bit in shock from how scary the whole thing was. But I ultimately figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially since it was a work accident and would be paid for by the firm.

Of course, being a NYC hospital, I was at the ER FOREVER. Then, for some reason, despite the fact that I told the doctor that my entire arm was hurting super badly, she only chose to x-ray my elbow. The initial x-ray didn't seem to show a fracture, but she said I should get it x-rayed again in a couple weeks if it was still hurting. Well, being the bad patient I am, I'm still in a great deal of pain--from my shoulder down to my wrist--and I still haven't gone back for another x-ray, despite the fact that it's now been more than 3 weeks. Oops. I guess the problem is that I keep assuming that since I can move it and sort of use it, it will probably get better on its own. But thus far? Not so much. I suppose I should probably set up an appointment sometime in the coming week. After all, worker's comp has to pay for it . . . I might as well make sure everything okay, no?

In other news, I attempted an almost long run last weekend . . . got 7 miles in at a 9:58 pace. Not too bad. Although my arm was pretty painful, and my asthmatic lungs were NOT happy with the cool air, it just felt SO good to be running. I'll probably attempt another longer run this evening. It's just too beautiful out to not do so!

Alright, this post is already way too long . . . so if you made it through the whole thing--congrats! I best wrap it up before I lose more of you! Hope everyone is having a great weekend :)

Perpetually Bummed . . .

Do you ever have a bad day . . . and then it transitions into a bad week . . . which slowly turns into a bad month . . . and before you know it, it's been a bad year or two? And all of a sudden, you start to question every aspect of your pathetic, unaccomplished life? Well, that's where I am right now. I'm in *that* place.

I've had numerous events come and go over the past year that I had hoped would turn everything around . . . running my first marathon, moving into a fab new apartment in a fab neighborhood, travelling to a myriad of new places, the presidential election . . . and while each of these events were positive forces, none of them were powerful enough to get me over the hump. I just can't seem to shake this stupid funk. I think the main problem is that my life is completely and totally lacking any direction whatsoever. I was so overwhelmed by such feelings last night that I actually began considering applying to law school (again)--JUST so I could have something that almost sorta kinda gave me some semblance of direction. Now, in case you're new to this blog, I decided a while back that I ABSOLUTELY positively do not want to go to law school. But, at this point, things are so unclear that law school is actually becoming a reasonable option again. God help me . . .

Have any of you had periods like this in your life? If so, how did you break through them and get to a place of tranquility? I know this is a running blog . . . not psychotherapy . . . but it's been on my mind and I'm curious to hear any thoughts y'all have to offer.

Oops . . . I did it again!

That is . . . neglecting my blog! Sorry, folks. Crapz been crazy lately! Here's the short version--I promise to elaborate more later on (with pictures . . . oooooh yeah):

Worked like a dog; sprinted all over NYC in search of a new dress; went to Italy for a wedding/vacay; climbed up and down billions of steps without the slightest bit of knee pain; wore 4-inch heels for an entire night without knee pain (hot damn!); traveled for 24 hours straight to get back to NYC from Italy; returned to work 10 hours later; started an interior architecture/design class through Parsons; fell all the way down a flight of marble stair at work and busted my elbow/wrist/hand/fingers and bruised/skinned my entire body; was imediately thereafter attacked by the vultures that are my firm's HR department; spent far too long at the ER waiting for an x-ray after being given the wrong medication (um, oops!); returned to work the very next day (today) with my left arm in a sling. Okay, whew! We are officially caught up!

This weekend, the boyf and I are headed upstate to hit up some haunted hayride/house deal . . . and to do some serious hiking. THEN, I owe you all some comments and an explanation as to how on earth I managed to fall down a flight of marble stairs. Oh how I wish we had a video of this . . . because it was GRACEFUL. Let me tell you, being known as "the girl who fell down the stairs"? Sure beats my last work nickname! I kid, I kid!

Congrats to all of you who have rocked it in the race world recently . . . I'm slowly but surely getting caught up on your blogs. Oh, and best of luck to all those with marathons coming up as well! Ah, it's good to be back!

Chicago Marathon

Hey y'all. Just looked myself up on the runner tracker for the Chicago Marathon. Apparently I would have worn bib number 43540 were I actually running. Ha, if you'd like to, you can track me . . . but just to warn you, that start point is going to remain at 0:00:00. That is, unless . . . I hopped on a plane RIGHT NOW! What do you think? Would they still let me start?

On a more serious note, let's pray the weather is kind to the many runners out on that magnificent course right now. I feel like the race organizers HAVE to be more prepared for the heat this year than last . . . it certainly seemed that way based on the sheer number of race-week emails I received. I'm hoping for the best . . .

Throw-back post

As a result of the fact that I have nothing interesting to say . . . um . . . ever, I've decided to post an email I sent to my little sis shortly after completing my first 18-mile training run ever. Yes, friends, this was back in the sad days when I didn't have a blog . . . also known as "the days when everyone I knew set up email rules to automatically filter all mail from me to a folder entitled "more boring running drivel." Ha, it's actually really funny to stumble upon this stuff now. Hope you enjoy my tale of conquering 18 miles and learning a little something on the way.

So I'm not sure how this happened, but I made another "friend" during my long run on Saturday. As will happen in 20-something degree temps with 500 mph arctic winds, my fully-charged ipod died REALLY quickly (we're talking under an hour here). Although this saddened me a bit, I ultimately decided to pull off my headphones and throw the ipod in my pocket, thinking I'd get in touch with my inner naturalist and take in some of the glorious sounds of mother nature (I don't know--for some reason this made sense to me at the time).

So there I was, running along, and all of a sudden this chipper-looking runner man approached from the opposite direction and yelled out to me, "there's a red-tailed hawk up the way, if you'd like." I had no idea what to say to this, so I just responded (way too excitedly) with, "OH really?!" And he was like, "Yep, once you pass the second light-post, take a look up at the top of the tree on the left there." "Oh, AWESOME. THANKS SO MUCH!" (I tend to get really giddy and over-the-top enthusiastic in awkward situations . . . think this is bad? you should have seen my reaction when my (now ex-) boss came to tell me that she was "leaving" the firm--aka, her ass had been fired because we gave her such a scathing "upward review"). But anyway, since I WAS trying to get in touch with nature (and mostly because I was scared the guy would look back and be pissed that I didn't stop to look at the dumb bird), I paused in front of the tree and stared up into it for a bit. The bird just sat there, not really doing anything. I tried really hard to get excited, but to be honest, I had no idea what the heck was supposed to be so exciting about the bird in the first place (was it the fact that it had a red tail? did it have magical Harry Potter-esque powers? was it supposed to be one of my--or the dude's--ancestors?). So after maybe 15-20 seconds, I got scared it might poop on my head and decided to continue on my way (I figured that was long enough to make it look like I was interested anyway).

Later that night, I started to feel badly about not being interested in the bird, figuring it was probably some kind of endangered species or something . . . so I actually got on the computer and googled it. I clicked on a promising-looking entry on Cornell's website and, on the edge of my seat, excitedly read the description of the red-tailed hawk: " . . . the most common and widespread hawk in North America." WHAT?! I was totally pissed. You mean to tell me that I added an extra 15-20 seconds onto my time to look at the most common and widespread hawk on the continent?! DAMN YOU, RED-TAILED HAWK GUY. Anyway, just thought I'd share that experience with you because, frankly, I'm still kind of laughing about it.

Also, please promise me you'll never train for a marathon. Running 18 miles hurts REALLY BADLY, as I learned on Saturday. I can only imagine what running 26.2 will feel like . . . God help me!

A Bit Slow . . . In More Ways Than One!

Hey y'all! As you can see, this post is about the many ways in which I am "slow" . . . or rather, it's about two ways in which I'm slow (I'm too tired/hungry/lazy to come up with more than that--lay off me!). First of all, can you believe I missed my 100th post?! Yeah, well I did. I'm a little--you guessed it--slow. But hey, it only took me until my 101st post to catch on to that one, so I suppose I'm not *that* slow. But yay, happy 100 (and 1) posts to me! :)

The other way in which I'm slow is a tad bit exciting for me to report. Yesterday--exactly nine weeks after suffering the knee catastrophe--I hopped on the treadmill, anxious to see what would happen. Now, I should confess that my physical therapist didn't exactly give me the go ahead to do this . . . but I just couldn't stand it any longer. Plus, all the bikes and ellipticals were somehow taken when I got to the gym (okay, that's a lie--but there were like twelve lonely treadmills in a row, begging me to hop on!). At first, I thought about just walking at a brisk pace at a bit of an incline. But being on that machine was too tempting--I HAD to try running a bit! With a promise to myself that I'd stop if I felt even the slightest twinge of pain, I kicked the treadmill up to a blistering 12:00/mile pace--practically Kenyan, I know. I can't believe I'm about to write this, but I, Irish Cream, managed to cover a mile without any knee pain! :) Oh treadmill, how I love thee (please disregard this rant--I was SO out of line!)

Then? Guess what I did today? I ran TWO MILES, once again at a SLOOOOOW 12:00/mile pace. And? Next to no knee pain! But, of course, being the good little girl I am, I can't help but feel guilty about my secret meet-ups with the treadmill. Thus, I think I'm going to have to tell my PT about them at my appointment on Friday. Or maybe I can get all tricky and get her to say it's okay to run without actually telling her I cheated. Hmm . . . yes. I have some scheming to do! At any rate, it's great to be back!

In closing, YAY RUNNING! :) (someone's feeling the effects of endorphins!)