My favorite part of the day has become taking a shower. This sounds pathetic, but I swear it's not. 

First, it's the only place where my body feels 100% happy. My quads hurt. My traps hurt. My knee, sometimes, hurts. I have a massage scheduled for Wednesday, and maybe then THAT will be my favorite part of the day.

Second, I don't have to grade papers in there. Literally every second of my day has been consumed with papers... papers about war, papers about aliens, papers about disease. So, uppers, obviously. I adore teaching, but the grading is insanely time consuming (and frustrating, like, when a kid doesn't turn in a works cited page and you know it will tank her grade). 

Third, it's cold. Showers are warm. Win-win. 

Apparently, I am the most boring blogger ever this week.  

A little Sunday list

Things I am thankful for today: 

1. My knee did not fall off overnight 

2. Sleeping like a baby

3. Coffee with Cassy

4. Running with Christa at Notre Dame

5. Yummy Superbowl treats 

6. My awesome family

Things I am in need of, soonish: 

1. A car wash and cleaning, desperately 

2. A massage

3. Body parts that do not hurt

Things I am munching on during the Superbowl: 

1. Peanut Butter M&M's 

2. Ribs

3. Chips and Various Dips

4. Pretzels

TWELVE

This morning, I woke up with a pit in my stomach. There's something about KNOWING you have to run 12 miles that makes it extra scary. 

The weather, though, was on my side. A little bit of snow on the grass, but 34 degrees and no precipitation is always a win in my book. I had mapped out my run beforehand, so I knew where my major mile markers were. Since I like to be prepared for worst case scenarios situations, I planned to be near my parents house at mile 5.5 and near my house by mile 9, just in case a bail out was inevitable. 

So, off I went. I tried running slower than my normal pace, but I felt pretty good, so I didn't need to slow down too much. It was a nice day, and fun to be on the roads. I GUed at the appropriate intervals and still felt great at the halfway point. When I passed by my house at mile nine, my left knee started talking to me a bit, but on running I went. 

At mile ten, my body was confused why we were still running. I'd NEVER run more than ten miles at once before, and my body knew it. 

Then came mile 10.5. So, I'd strategically planned my run and had it all mapped out. So, as I was cruising along in Lydick, about 100 yards in front of me appeared a mangy looking dog. And he stopped. And he looked at me. 

Now, we know my love for dogs is not great, but there was something about this one that gave me the heebie-jeebies. My gut said turn around and walk slowly. I didn't hesitate (Don't panic mom, I know I didn't tell you this on the phone, but I'm fine and it's fine!). I glanced back about thirty seconds later, and dog was following me. Well, crud. I kept thinking, just get back to the main road. I walked more quickly, and once I got the main road, the pup had lost interest in me. Crisis averted. 

But by this point, my knee was SCREAMING. So the last mile and a half was a combination run, jog, limp, stretch, walk, cringe, scream. It was not a pretty way to end the run, but it got done. 

Regardless of the end of the run, most of it was awesome! I felt good and strong and like I can really do this. 

I've also learned that I DEFINITELY need to get some sort of support for the knee. Any advice on braces or supports? 

Oh hey. I ran 12 miles today. 

Dreamers and doers

Tomorrow morning I have to run 12 miles. Therefore, this might be my last ever blog post. I will try to make it a fulfilling one. 

Meredith gave me some good advice via email today -- "You're training to race, not racing to train." I think I need to remember this tomorrow and sloooooooow dooooooown with my run. I had a certain time goal in mind for my 12 miles tomorrow, but, I do think if I go slower, I might actually get more out of it. It's going to be a long, long, long run. 

LONG. 

Anyway, lately, I've been thinking a lot about dreamers and doers. 

We all know dreamers. These are the people who make grandiose plans about everything -- going to certain sporting events, traveling, trying new things, signing up for competitions, planning to buy things. And while having dreams is incredibly important in life, dreamers rarely follow through. It's never the right time to book the flight, register for the race, order that big ticket item they've been waiting to buy. Dreamers continue to dream, loftily, but without the follow through.

I love dreamers. I do. But I want to be a doer. I don't want to wait until the time is right -- the time is never going to be right, as there will ALWAYS be things to get in the way. I don't want to look at pictures of places I'll never go -- I want to GO! Now! Before life gets in the way! 

And because I am becoming more a doer, I didn't want the 2012 Princess Half to pass me by. I debated for a long time about running. When I wasn't able to rally a partner, I thought long and hard about not running. But I didn't want to add this to my someday Bucket List. I wanted to do this. Now. Because right now is the best time to do it. And whether it goes horribly or wonderfully, at least I will be doing it. 

I would rather be a doer that dreams than a dreamer who never does. 

A visit to the Rheumatologist

Today I will reenact for you what happened when I went to see my Rheumatologist. First, let me give some background information. 

My Rheumatologist is awesome. I actually met her when I was still seeing my pediatric doctor down at Riley Children's Hospital, so I almost consider her a friend first. When I turned 24, it was time to transition to an adult Rheumy, and thus Natali became Dr. Balog. Natali is more like a protective big sister who just happens to be my doctor. 

So, off I went today to see Dr. Balog. She asked me how I'd been feeling. I told her I'd been feeling okay, just some minor aches in my knees and fingers. Running Dodge #1: I told her I blamed the weather. 

Dr. Balog checked my bloodwork I had done over the weekend and informed me that my SED Rate (which is supposed to be between 0 and 20) was at 14. Six months ago, prior to training, it was 28. TWENTY-EIGHT! What's that, you say? My inflammation rate has actually gone DOWN since I started training? Oh yes, friends. That is TRUE! 

Next, she asked me if I was still running on the side of roads. Once, a few summers ago, Natali was driving to see her dad and saw me running. She told me I needed to carry mace. Or a stun gun. Because you just never know. (See what I mean about the overprotectiveness?) Dodge #2: I said that I'd mostly been running on treadmills or tracks as of late (which is MOSTLY true of the past few weeks). 

We chatted about a few more things, and then she asked me, "Anything else you want to talk about." Dodge #3: Crickets chirped. I told her nope! I neglected to mention that in three weeks, I plan to run 13.1 miles as fast as I can while still taking pictures with Disney Princesses. Leaving out information isn't really like lying, is it? 

So, I got a six month seal of approval and left on my merry little way. 

Oh happy day! 

It's a SIGN!

This is the sign I was talking about -- my coworker Monica knows the owners and gave me a shout out! Thanks, Great Lakes Heating and Air Conditioning! The quote immediately afterward said, "Those who wish to sing always find a song." Singing, baby. :)

Tunes, people.

Because Meredith rocks, she has designed this running shirt for the Princess Half. Here's my version: Princess Half T-shirt I kind of love it! 

So, now that half of the outfit is figured out, one of things left on my To-Do list is to find running songs to download. I have a LOT of music on my iPod, and a lot of it is upbeat, but I would love to get some new running songs. I'm looking for suggestions -- anything super pumped-up or anything that will make me move faster would be fantastic. Favorite work out music, friends? 

Did I mention that I'm running 12 miles on Saturday? TERRIFIED.