I Can't Believe I Ruined My Own Birthday

I know I still owe that race report (which is half-done, btw). I wanted to have everything off of my desk by today.

Alas, to no avail.

So much writing to do, so few days.

I hope to have a really cool surprise for you (me) later on this week, though.

And, no, I don't think it's bad form to announce and celebrate your own birthday on your blog.

Best Excuse Ever

I know, I know...it's been so long. But I have been a busy student-bee all month, and today I got my first paper back. I'm only posting this here because I really can't share this with any of my local peeps, as you will soon see.

Also, it's a big deal to me because I've been seriously doubting why the admissions committee let me in, certain I would be exposed as a fraud sooner rather than later...and this paper would be the first flake in the snowball of my demise. (Here's the deal: I kinda found a way to work Madonna song titles into the headings of a paper about early American and European social theory -- we're talkin' Marxism, folks. Yeah, I called Karl Marx the "original Material Girl"). See why I was worried?

Anyway, here's the first sentence in the comments:
"This was a fantastic essay -- perhaps the best of this round of papers."

Aw, crap. I think I just pulled something patting myself on the back.

Um...I'd like to say marathon training has been going as well. I've only been playing ultimate sporadically and squeezing in some mid-length runs on the weekends. Oh yeah, and I skipped the half-marathon in Des Moines because I was working on another paper. But as of today, I'm all training, baby.

*storm clouds gather*
*recipe for injury brewing*
*swollen head on the verge of explosion*

Note to Self: Don't Mess With Fergie

Okay the REAL name of the 5K I did today was the "Team Fergalicious 5K" and was organized by the West Branch HS girls track team. Their coach is Harlan Ferguson, hence the name. (High school girls...is there anything they can't they do?)

Yes, I did this race for the T-shirt. Yes, I do a little dance to this song. If you want my real stand on Fergie, check out my other blog. And yes, I did this race as part of an evil scheme to shamelessly kick off my other blog. (All right, that's three links in a row. CLICK 'EM, dangit!)

Now back to the race report.

Lesson # 1: You should never, EVER badmouth a race's namesake before the event (told you I was shameless). She paid me back, but good. :(

Start Line: Fergie Strikes Back

As the runners gathered at the start line, there were four girls holding pace signs to organize us. FOUR signs: 5 min, 6 min, 7 min, 8 min. THAT'S IT. No "9-plus" or "walkers." Nope. About half the field looked at each other and joked about how many more signs they needed. Self-deprecating, yes. Indignant? Maybe a little.

Mile 1: They Chose the Wrong Name

(I don't have splits because the mileage wasn't marked on the course.) Sure, I know the girls wanted to honor their coach by naming the race for him (kinda), but they should've called it the Dolly Parton 5K because this course had some of the biggest hills I've encountered in a road race. Though I started feeling good and strong, there were three big hills in the first mile alone -- which I ran up -- that kicked my butt. (Dammit Fergie!)

Mile 2 (I guess): Mini Hills of Death
When I rounded the corner and saw yet another big hill ahead of me, I knew that Triowa and Fergie were now in cahoots (though the weather was PERFECT). I weighed the time I'd lose against the energy I'd save by walking. I began walking up the hills.

Lesson #2: Head for the hills. So far, I've been running on a relatively flat route -- which is easily remedied by simply making a right turn instead of a left when I start. This is just silly anyway, because I KNOW that Iowa is NOT FLAT.

Mile 3: Back to Main Street

That's all. Nothing exciting happened at the end. The runners in front of me were too far ahead to catch, so even though I picked up the pace at the end, I didn't sprint. As with most races, the runners were gathered around the finish chute and cheered heartily for every last person. I finished with a time of 38:54 -- just shy of 13:00/mile. Ugh.

Lesson #3: Seriously, take to the hills.

So...this was a fun little race. Even though the hills were a bit of a grunt-fest, it was a fun course and West Branch is a lovely town. I'll definitely hit this one up again next year --I've set the bar pretty low for improvement.

Oh yeah...did I mention I have another blog? :D