My Mother, the goddess-queen of cholesterol bashing!

So, Mom calls me at work today. She hasn't done that in a while, I think because every time she used to do it, I complained about how busy I was. Sorry, Mom. I wish I wasn't so busy. I miss talking to people like Mom and Mr. Sushi.

Anyway, she left me a voice mail saying she had some 'good news' for me. My first thought was, "cholesterol test!" I couldn't remember exactly the day she told me she was having her test and when she was getting the results back, but I guessed that was what she was calling me about.

So, I said "Fuck it" to all the work piled in front of me, and I called my Mamacita. And boy, oh boy...did she have some good news! Numbers dropping all over the place! Congrats, Mamacita! I am SO proud of you and your efforts so far! You truly are the goddess-queen of cholesterol bashing!

What I'm drinking...

...well, not as damn much as usual, due to the running training, but I'm still squeezing some imbibing in. Have no fear, good people. I will still drink.

Anyway, tonight I'm drinking another glass out of a bottle of that McManus Syrah. It's an old favorite, still good after two days open.

Who loves wine? I do! I do!

Crazylegs Training: Days 8-11

Okay, so I think my body has realized that I'm doing something to it. And I don't think it likes it very much. It seemed to like it last week, but maybe that was just the honeymoon period. And now we're in the "terrible twos" period. Heaven only knows if week three will bring some relief.

Training this week has been hard. Not so hard as to make me quit, but hard enough to make me think about quitting.

On Monday, I ran two miles at 5.5 mph. Well, I ran at 5.5 mph for MOST of the way. I had to drop it down to about 5.3 for the last few minutes. My calves were just burning. Not only that, but the earbuds for my iPOD kept getting all goopy with sweat, and wanted to fall out of my ears. Now THAT's distracting!

On Tuesday, I rested.

On Wednesday, I ran two more miles at 5.5 mph. I finished them, but it was still hard. I wasn't having very much fun, and I certainly wasn't able to talk at a goddamn "conversational level," like they say you should be able to if you're training at the appropriate level of exertion. I might've been able to participate in a conversation, but only in short, gaspy bursts of a maximum of 10 choppy syllables each.

Today, I ran for about 1.5 miles, at 5.2-5.3 mph. I didn't have to run today, but I kind of wanted to anyways. I'm wondering if speed is the key. Today felt easier. Maybe I'm just not ready for 5.5 mph quite yet? It could be I'm pushing a little too hard. After running, I walked for a few minutes, then kicked the incline up to 3% and ran for a minute, walked for a minute, ran for a minute, walked for a minute. Gotta work on those hills. As my friend from work says, "HILLS!" :)

Feeling thankful for...

• Weekends. Aren't they wonderful? I've had a great one -- just full enough, but not too full.
• Milagro Anejo tequila, and the person I drank it with yesterday.
• Finding out that two friends of mine from work are dating. They're just the cutest people, and I'm so glad they're a couple.
• Chips and salsa. And beer.
• A gay man I just met today at brunch telling me I was "strikingly beautiful" and joking that I might make him switch sides. Those kind of compliments are day-makers.
• Unseasonably warm weather (it was about 50 yesterday!)
• The changes my body's going through as a result of starting my 8K training schedule.
• My dog's sweet face. It makes me happy just to look at her.

Crazylegs Training: Day 7

Took my first outdoor run today. I *think* I ran about 2.5 miles, but I'll need to plot it out to be sure. Anyway, I was out there for about 35 minutes, and it felt pretty good! A few slow spots, but all in all, my body wasn't too cranky. Hopefully a good sign.

This week's running total = ~7.5 miles