Turd Ferguson

So 2 Sundays ago, after our last long run, Blondie and I ended up at the bar for a beer to celebrate end of training. A beer turned into like 5 beers, but we had a blast. It felt so good actually sticking to a goal - one that we've tried to do 2 other times, and had failed at. We people watched our day away, and just enjoyed the ride.

So Mr Pooh arrived last Wed, and him and Blondie hit up the bar early. I started getting texts from them around 11:30 am, and by the time I joined them (5 hours later) they were still at the same spot. We had some beers together before heading over for pizza for dinner, and then to our local bar afterwards. Mr Pooh and Blondie were hurting bad the next day, but I felt good and even went for my final taper run.

So Thursday I had off from work - after the guys felt a little better, we headed up to Times Square and poked around for a bit, before catching the train to the bottom of the island. We took the ferry over to Staten Island so Mr Pooh could see the Statue of Liberty, and the views from the boat. We caught the next immediate boat back, and walked up to Wall Street to tour around. We saw the bull and Trinity Church, before heading down to the stock exchange. We were standing in the middle of the street (it's pedestrian only), when the clouds finally let loose and we got nailed. It started POURING rain. We ran to the train and took it back to West Village for pizza for lunch. Afterwards, a cab back to our hood to chill for a bit until the rain stopped.

That evening, we caught the train to the Bronx to watch the Yankees win a game! They played the White Sox, and due to the rain that had happened all day, the stadium was basically dead. We had the entire row to ourselves, and we were only about 4 rows off the third base line. The tickets were very cheap also (due to the rain) and we had a blast that night. We each ate 3 tons of food, and I had a few beers while the guys abstained due to their party all day on Wednesday.

Friday everyone felt better - I drug Mr Pooh out for breakfast, and then we went and got Blondie to head out for the day. We took the train to Brooklyn (making it all 5 boroughs for Mr Pooh) and then walked the Brooklyn Bridge back over. From there we walked down to Southside Seaport (never ever again) and had lunch and a drink. Afterwards, we caught the train to UES and walked through Central Park to the UWS. We headed back to our hood, stopping for many beers and to pee, before hitting up Southern Hospitality (JT's restaurant) for dinner.

Saturday it was up and at 'em early, as we caught a bus to Allentown for our race. My friend picked us up, and we got our race packets, before heading out to watch her kids play some baseball (coaches pitch baseball? OMG. F.U.N.N.Y.) We took it easy the rest of the day, relaxing at her house and eating a ton of food.

Sunday was D-Day. Time to race. I was nervous, I wanted so bad to have a good run and slaughter my last previous PR for a half. The gun fired, and off we went. We hit mile marker 1, and it hit me that it felt like I had casually strolled a mile instead of run a mile. The first 8.5 miles went very well, but by then, we were in 1 of the parks in Allentown and it had several big hills. I ended up walking up the hills, but pretty much running the rest. I got in at 2:35:57, breaking my old PR by about 19:50 - which is awesome.

On top of that, Mr Pooh also beat his old PR by about 20 mins, coming in at 2:18:xx which is incredible. On top of THAT, Blondie, who blew his knee out around mile 6, still finished the half - he had every excuse in the world to quit, but pushed through and finished in around 2:45. I'm so PROUD of all of us. And I'm SO GLAD it's over! :)

Afterwards, it was back to my friend's house, where we proceeded to drink many beers, and eat a ton of food. Everyone was pretty sore but me - I felt great, no blisters, no pain, no nothing, and I made the mistake of telling everyone about it. Of course, about 4 hours later, I fell down my friends very long, very wooden staircase. My butt is a solid bruise - it looks horrible, and I've been in pain from that all week. Can you say Karma?

We ended up staying in PA until Monday, and caught the early train back then. We took it easy until lunch-time and then headed out for 5 Napkin Burger - which Mr Pooh proclaimed the best burger. Afterwards we headed down to Chelsea Piers to shoot some golf balls before heading back to our bar for one last beer together. We put Mr Pooh in a cab that evening and said goodbye to him, which was sad. We had a great time with him, and even my friend from PA called that night and said that the only way she would run that half again is if Mr Pooh comes back for it.

The rest of the week was typical - it was back to work (BOO!) and getting caught up. I came into work on Tuesday and on my desk my BFF had left a giant bag of gummy bears - it was my congratulations gift, and I ate the entire bag in about 30 mins. Then, the weather was cold and rainy on Wednesday so Blondie met me at the grocery and we got stuff to make up a huge pot of chili. It was so gooooood. I needed some home-cooked food and that totally hit the spot. Last night, Blondie met me for cajun food, and then I insisted on donuts (of course, go me). I need to get back into the eating right mode, so I'll see if I can get that going this week.

Finally, we are off to KY in 2 weeks, where we will be running a 5K with Mr and Mrs Pooh! I'm trying to get Brother R to sign up also, so we can run as a giant crazy family. We'll be the nut jobs scaring all the kids away.

So last week was taper week - I did 4 miles on Tuesday, 2 miles on Thurs, and then the half marathon on Sunday. I took Monday and Tuesday off, did 5 miles on Wed (which hurt b/c of my ass bruise from the stair fall) and 3 miles on hills on Thurs (which still hurt b/c of my ass bruise). Yesterday I decided to do some workout DVDs - so I did 30 Day Shred level 1, and Bob's bootcamp level 1 - about 50 mins total - my whole body is sore today from these. I plan on heading out in about 30-45 mins to do an outdoor run today - I haven't decided how many miles I'll go, but probably around 7.

I'm looking for a new training schedule - I need something to keep me motivated, so stay tuned for that. And it's gearing up to be a gorgeous day here today - I'm excited for the good weather!

--K