Insanity Doesn't Run in My Family, It Practically Gallups

Just a quick update. I am alive. I am officially done with law school and, barring any unforeseen failures, I am about to become a JD. It's all very exciting.

My parents came in to town on Wednesday night, the same day I finished exams. I've been pretty much going non-stop ever since. My grandma, aunt, uncle and 3 small children are getting in today and my sister and her husband come in tomorrow morning. My apartment is a mess, my car hasn't been cleaned in months and my sanity is hanging on by a thread.

I was so excited when I went to bed on Wednesday night because I didn't have to set an alarm. I fell asleep around 1 am ... and woke up at 5:30. I could not for the life of me fall back to sleep. I laid in bed watching some super awesome early morning television (did you know that Boy Meets World is still on television?!?! Now you do. You're welcome). After a few hours of laying in bed feeling annoyed that I couldn't sleep, I decided to go for a run, since I knew my parents would be jetlagged and I'd have some time to kill. I figured I'd just do a quick 2 miles around my neighborhood. Bad plan. During my 2 shorter runs last week, I noticed a lot of stiffness in my right hamstring. On Saturday, I ran 4 measly miles on the treadmill. During my run I felt great, but about an hour later (as I met my friend at a dog park to chase puppies) my right hip was killing me. Like, limping ow it hurts don't make me walk the two blocks back to my car, killing me). I went home (well, I went to the library. Then I went home ...) iced, rolled, stretched and the pain was completely gone by Monday. I didn't have a chance to run again until yesterday. My run itself was fine, but after the run, my hip was killing me again! It didn't help that my dad decided he really wanted to see Venice Beach, so could we please walk from the Venice Pier to the Santa Monica Pier (6 miles round trip) and oh, we actually have to be somewhere this afternoon, so we have to walk really quickly on the way back and wait, you weren't wearing the right shoes for that? Also, in case anyone was wondering, it's kind of mortifying walking the Venice boardwalk with your parents.

I don't know if my whole family is going to make it through this weekend alive. Oh well. Gidget's Rule #5 - Roll with the punches.

You May Be Right ...

I may be crazy. In keeping with yesterday's "I am really good at random trivia" theme, today is Billy Joel's birthday. When I was younger, I loved Billy Joel. L.O.V.E.D. I stole all of his cds from my Mom and used to listen to them pretty exclusively from 6th to 8th grade [no one said I was cool]. I've seen him in concert twice and both times were amazing. I will raise a glass of wine in honor of Mr. Joel's birthday, just like I did for Mr. Truman's birthday last night [and whatever random famous person I can find tomorrow].

In other news, this weeks is the epitome of hectic. I somehow got suckered into working full time today ad tomorrow [for my unpaid dead end job, in case anyone was keeping score at home]. I have an exam on Wednesday night that I have studied approximately 45 minutes for. My parents on coming into town on Wednesday night. My grandma/aunt/uncle/small children are coming on Friday. My sister and her husband are coming on Saturday. Oh yeah, and I'm graduating from law school on Sunday. Somewhere between now and Wednesday I have to clean my apartment, study for my exam and do about 87 loads of laundry (because apparently you ca't wear tempo shorts to graduation. Who knew?). I'm also trying desperately not to have a nervous breakdown. I'm hoping to get some running time in, but I'm not holding my breath.

Second Place Is First Loser

Anyone's who has ever read this blog or met me in real life knows that I am not the best runner. Let's not kid ourselves, 9/10 I'm the worst runner. I'm never going to win a race or even my age division (until I'm in the 70+ category - then watch out!). Despite what my lack of hardcore training may suggest, I don't like this about my running. When I was growing up, "winning" was everything. If you weren't the best at something or you couldn't be the best at something in the future, there was no point in doing it. "Second place is just first loser."

I think because of this, I've always been a pretty competitive person and [not to toot my own horn but] I've been pretty successful in everything I've done. Until now. I've been thinking a lot about this since the Boston Marathon. Let's face it, I'm never going to BQ. For most "casual" runners [i.e. those who do not get paid to run], Boston is the holy grail. That's what people work for and train for. It's the great accomplishment of running. And I'm never going to get there. So why run? Why put my body through 1/2 marathons that I have to slog through and come out demoralized? Yes, I like running. Yes, I like what running has done for my weight. But is it time to give up competitive running?

All of this isn't helping my panic about graduation. I worked my rear end off for 3 years and as hard as I tried, I'm not going to graduate at the top of my class. I'm not going to graduate with a fancy big law job and a 6 figure salary. I'm going to graduate in the middle of my class, from a middle tier law school, with no job and 6 figures worth of student loans. I've been asking myself a lot lately, was it worth it? I'm not sure.

I'm not going to give up competitive running just yet, just like I'm not going to give up practicing law (I totally couldn't afford to NOT be a lawyer right now). I'm focusing instead on what I AM the best at. I'm the best at straightening my hair. Seriously. I've got super thick, super curly hair down to the middle of my back and I can straighten it in 15 minutes with no mirror. I'm a pro. I am the best at random trivia - for example, today is not only Mother's Day, but also Harry Truman's Birthday and V-E Day. Your fun fact of the day. You're welcome. I was once the best at flip cup, although I am woefully out of practice. Apparently it's not acceptable to binge drink and play psuedo-drinking games as an adult. Who knew.

What are you the best at? 

If I Distract You With My Blogging Fail, You Won't Notice My Running Fail ...

Ok, so I’m officially the worst blogger ever. Real life has eaten me a little bit. There have been some amazingly stressful things going on and this isn’t really the right place for them. Needless to say, my life’s been turned a bit upside down and I’m still trying to catch my footing. I promise to be a better blogger from now on.

In fairness, I was also a pretty poor runner in my blogging absence. I did sneak home to NYC for a long weekend this past weekend, which definitely helped heal my soul a little. It did not, however, help my running one bit. I had grand plans of running in NY with my sister, who’s training for her first ½ marathon in May. Things I did not counting on:

-       It was VERY cold. Much colder than I anticipated

-       I left my running shoes in LA (because I’m a GENIUS)

-       I didn’t have a lot of time and a lot of things to do and people to see (and Mardi Gras’ to celebrate…)

So I managed to get 1 lousy, stinking 5 miler in. I also missed a training run because I landed in LA much too hungover to function Wednesday afternoon. I did manage to buy new running shoes, though! I had a gift certificate for a running store near my sister (thanks, Groupon!) and am going to need a new pair between now and my potential quasi-graduation celebration ½ marathon, so I figured I’d pick them up with my gift certificate. I also grabbed some Gus because the only flavor I have left is strawberry banana and that stuff’s just gross.

I promise to be a better blogger. Stay tuned for my review of some awesome products sent to me by the awesome Sarah from Once Upon A (L)ime and my big marathon conundrum.

You know you love my cliff-hangers.

Slacker

I’m feeling a little guilty right now. I’m sitting in class after a 12 hour day that was chock full of activity. Except running. I shamelessly snuggled in and skipped my scheduled 2 mile run this morning. Didn’t shorten, didn’t run half-assed. Just did not run. And now, I’m feeling pretty guilty about it. I have a 5 mile run scheduled for Saturday and between shortening yesterday’s run and skipping today’s, I’m worried I’m just going to die on Saturday. I won’t get out of class until after 10:15 pm. I’m so tempted to run home, grab my running clothes and race to the gym (which closes at midnight – how dumb is that).

Edit: While writing this post, my very enlightened quasi-running sister said I should go to the gym. To the gym it is!

In other news, I’m supposed to run 5 miles on Saturday. I’m beyond excited and beyond nervous about it. When I was training for the ½ marathon, I loved running my long runs [which is probably why I did them so often and why I didn’t do my short mid-week runs and why I hurt myself etc. etc. etc.]. While 5 miles is by no means long, it’s long for me! Every time I start start a long run, I’m tense and worried and concerned about ridiculous minute details – what if I didn’t put on enough sunscreen? Did I remember Body Glide? How much battery does my iPod have? Why didn’t I drink more water last night? I should start before noon, is it always this hot? But by a mile or two in, I’m not really thinking about anything. Skinny Runner [who I totally want to be when I grow up] over at skinnyrunner.com asked the other day why we love to run. I run because it’s the one time a day when I don’t have to think. I spend 12-14 hours per day thinking about the briefs and demurrers and habeaus and other difficult vaguely  Latin sounding things [totally random aside: I studied Latin for 8 years and HATE when lawyers and law students mispronounce Latin terms. Hate. It.]. I love running because I don’t have to think about anything. I just have to concentrate on not falling on my face which, admittedly, is more of a challenge than you’d imagine. That’s why I can’t wait to get back out there this weekend. I’m not sure why, but there’s something about 5 miles that makes me feel like I’m back!

Also, head over to skinnyrunner.com, who’s giving away a bib for the LA Marathon and runningrambles.com where Aron is giving away an entry into the SF Marathon. Free races? Sounds good to me!

Fail.

Note: I did not start the 30 Day Shred tonight. My roommate had a bad day so we drank way too much wine and ate way too much chocolate and watched Greek. No, I do not want to discuss it.