Really, I haven't fallen off the side of the earth...

I had quite the series of travel nightmares (3 straight canceled flights in 3 cities) which resulted in me landing at home sweet home a day early and without appropriate luggage, a computer, or a single book or study aid for the Board exam I am now taking in 3 days. Despite the mishaps I've had a wonderful couple of weeks. I am a little fatter, but totally ready to stop this traveling nonsense for awhile and do some training. Here are some pics of Christmas week (My brother and his 2 precious kiddos). I'll be back, I promise...

8

I was thinking about numbers today and thought I would try to figure out some things about my year

22- Emergency Medicine Residency programs where I applied
11- Programs where I will interview
6 - Programs West of the Mississippi
5 - Programs East of the Mississippi
1- Place I will match

5- Planes I will be on in the next 48 hours

5- Times I have been at Phoenix Sky Harbor International this year

But what got me thinking about all these numbers was my intense desire for coffee. In my 5 trips to PHX, I have never had a hard time acquiring a cup of the highly addictive Starbucks coffee. Why is that?

There are eight, EIGHT Starbucks at PHX. I blame this airport for single handedly feeding my addiction for the black stuff. Bastards.

On the positive side, they have free wireless and the most convenient rental car center in the country. So they aren't all that bad.

Some other numbers that I have been pondering...

23- Number of planes I will have boarded between November 11th and January 11th
7- Rental cars this year
3- Christmas presents I have purchased
7- Shopping days left

And now for something relevant to the blog...

0- Times I have been in a pool since November 15th
2- Places I have bikes set up on trainers at the moment
0- Times I have been on either of them since Saturday
100- Times I am trying to run in the next 100 days (slow base miles)
0- injury pains of any sort I have had in the past 1.5 months
3- Pounds I have gained in the past 2 months

Ok, enough of this foolishness. I have a plane to catch.

10 Cities in 15 nights....

So there really is a reason that I've been so sparse around here. It's mid-interview season and I'm traveling around the country like a woman possessed. Last week after returning from Vegas I spent a couple nights in Cleveland, one in Indianapolis one in Nashville and one in Louisville. This week is Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, Chicago then off to the Big Apple (but that is for fun!). The interviews are going really well but I'm starting to get tired of being "on" all the time. When I picked up my car today in Phoenix and started heading to the hotel room a migraine aura smacked me in the face. So I'm sitting in my room hiding from the headache. I think I may have foiled it with a couple aleve and a big cup of coffee. Unfortunately not a good combo for a girl with an ulcer, but at the moment I'll take a tummy ache over a migraine, so it's all good.

All the traveling has made me feel like an out of shape chubster. On the bright side, I'm injury free and running with no problems. Riding only when I'm in Cleveland and no swimming in over a month though. Things have to turn around soon if I want a successful 2009 racing season. I'm not worried though, since I should have tons of time to train soon.

I am also way behind on my Christmas shopping and my apartment will likely be condemned by the health department before too long. Traveling is a lot of fun, but it will be nice to spend more than 2 straight days in home sweet home!


Here are some pics from Vegas. My cousin and Dad both rocked the half marathon. I decided to sit it out because I didn't think it was worth aggravating the shin. I can run an hour with no pain, but just too afraid to push it right now. Hope everyone is doing well and excited for the holidays!

Turkey Trotting

In preparation for a day of disgusting consumption, my Dad and I partook in what has become a US tradition among those who own running shoes. The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. So instead of doing a 2 hour trainer ride or long run to burn the thousands of calories that will be consumed in record pace, we set out to spend all of twenty minutes (give or take) of intense effort followed by overzealous satisfaction of the 300 calories burned on the way to the feeding trough.

My running has been going very well. I've done nothing but very slow running but I've gotten to where I can run 4 miles with consistency with no pain at all. I certainly have not been doing any speedwork, but I desperately wanted an excuse to use my new Avia Bolt racing flats!

I think they are dead sexy:



It didn't take too much convincing to get my Dad to join me, even though he did his long run yesterday (I joined him for the last 4). So we got up early, saw it was <20F, bundled up and headed down. You know you are in the right place when you see this:



We did a little warm up jog, hit the restroom and were in time to line up for the race. There were a ton of eager runners there to do the low-tech race. No chip timing today, so we tried to start near the front (but not right up there because I'm not a big fan of being trampled.)

We started and within about 5 minutes I remembered why I don't do a lot of these races. They hurt! It's such a fine balance between running the right pace, puking, having a heart attack, or just plain sucking. Any time it's below freezing there is always that hint of reactive airways that kicks me in the butt too. But it felt so freaking good to run fast.

It was a liberating experience, this low-tech race. No chips, but also no mile markers, no people yelling splits, a town I had never been to, and me without a watch (which is something I will never say again after I officially join the Timex squad). So basically I was running on the verge of puking for a completely unknown period of time. Good stuff.

There was a guy running very near me pushing his two kids in a running stroller (which gives you some idea of how speedy I'm not). When I had been running for a completely unknown period of time I heard him tell his kids that there was less than 3 minutes to go. SWEET! I tried to kick it a little harder to try to catch some of the speedy girls ahead of me. I passed one but was repassed in the final kick. I need to work on that.

At the finish line I saw that my official time read 21:36 (PR - my last 5k was a year ago at 21:50 on an easier course) and someone tore my tag off the race bib as I stood there completely mute while trying to determine the best way to both swallow the vomit that was trying to make its way out and get a decent breath in so I didn't pass out. I was reminded once again why I am an endurance athlete.

I ended up 3rd in the 20-29 age group (goodbye 20's, I will miss you), and 9th woman overall. I have no idea how many people where there. Definitely hundreds but I doubt a thousand. I went back to watch my Dad cruise on in under 26 minutes. What a rock star the day after a long run (and he's 62!).

Post run pics:





That last pic is to highlight my coolest piece of running gear. My running jacket with the build in hat with PONYTAIL HOLE and build in mittens.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I had a lovely day and had time to reflect on how truly fortunate I am to have such a great family and truly wonderful friends and to be involved in a sport that I am so passionate about.

I'm still alive!

I just called one of my best friends (Lanny) this morning and he told me he was worried about me because I've dropped off the map. I'm still around but just super duper busy! I interviewed in Orlando last week and spent some time with Lanny's wife Kathy down near Naples. We had an absolute blast. Went Kayaking, had a couple nice dinners, went for some runs and had lots of girl talk. Now I'm back but not for long. Have spent almost NO time on my computer lately since I've been working and studying for boards. The next month isn't going to get much better. Here is my schedule for the next month...

Arizona this weekend to finish out the IronSpectator world tour (Go Danny, MarkyV and Miranda!!!) then I'm heading to...

Cleveland-Vegas-Cleveland-Indianapolis-Nashville-Cleveland-Phoenix-Tucson-
Albuquerque-Cleveland-New York-Cleveland-Milwaukee-Cleveland-Charlotte-Denver-LA-Cleveland-LA

So yeah... I'm going to be a bit jet lagged (not to mention broke)

But here are some pics from my trip to Orlando

The Sandbaggers rule the WORLD!

What a day in Clearwater! The ultimate sandbaggers, Lindsey and Lauren both destroyed the competition, winning their respective age groups (20-24 and 30-34). A great cap to a very successful season for both ladies and a fitting good-bye to age group competition as both of them turn pro next year. Here are some pics of the day:

The HTFU crew before the race




And with Lauren's husband, Matt, who is a total riot and became my partner in crime all day



Thanks so much to Andrew's sister for giving me my very first piece of Timex swag. It has become glued and firmly sealed to my head. Here I am posing with Lauren pre-race


And with Lindsey


We had a nice glamour shot session before Lindsey went off. This is one of my favorites shots


After the ladies went off we went to see the people coming in from the swim. I saw a boat coming into shore with a person in it and was afraid that someone was having a medical issue. But then the person towing the rope came into view and it was a very familiar face. Dick Hoyt was finishing the swim leg with son Rick in tow. These two are the reason I did my first triathlon and forever such an inspiration to me and thousands of others. Here is a great pic of a father's love:


Then it was Lauren coming out of the water



While waiting for Lindsey we saw the cutest set-up for a picture ever. Meet M-dog


And Purse emerges! (Lindsey's nickname since camp in March where she brought a purse to the pool)



Here Matt and I relocated to the hot corner. He owns a production company and carried around a HD camera all day. The movie he makes is going to be completely hilarious! We had an absolute blast out there. There was dancing, cheering and color commentary galore!




And here comes Lauren leading her age group and coming in before the draft packs. Her wave started early so she rode a clean race (which can't be said of many people who started in later waves)


And here comes the World's Fastest Handbag, finishing up her gatorade, also leading her age group



Lindsey SMOKED the run, with a end time of 1:27. Holy moly!



Here is one of my Cleveland peeps and teammate on my swim team, Jim. He and my other teammate Andrea are new parents and he took third in his age group. SMOKING FAST!


I had to be Paulo's stand-in, so when I saw Lauren making the turn to finish I said: "KEEP IT TOGETHER, LAUREN!!!!"


The Sandbaggers after the race, celebrating their victories



And all of my Cleveland peeps



Me with my ladies



And Lindsey after the race. This says it all



A HUGE congrats to the ladies and big thank you for allowing me to be part of your day. Few things in life make me happier than watching my friends succeed. You guys are my inspiration. Now Lauren, get that pro card and get the hell out of my age group! See ya in Oceanside!!!

:-)

On the mend

Thanks for all the well-wishes for the Mad-dog. She is doing better. Not completely healed yet, but is getting back her spunk. Here is some photo evidence:

Maddie playing with a new neighborhood puppy:




Playing with my nephew:



And doing what she does best with her co-conspirator... begging! You gonna finish that, ma?



And as a bonus, upside down maddie!


The neighbor whose dog attacked Maddie payed for the vet visit. It's a little disconcerting, though because we found out that he has attacked numerous other neighborhood dogs. Apparently they have an electric fence. Seems they need to turn up the voltage...

I'm off to Florida tomorrow morning to go cheer on some good friends racing the Half Ironman World Championships in Clearwater, then spend some time with a good friend in Estero then up to interview at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Going to be a very hectic weekend! I'll take tons of pics!

Accidental bits of wit and wisdom

I haven't posted much roommate wit and wisdom for the past few months because, well, I haven't had roommates. But thankfully there is still facebook.

Matt's facebook status a couple weeks ago:

Matthew just did something awesome.

Jodi at 5:54pm October 21

Did you just fly across the English Channel on a body rocket? Cause I just saw that on youtube and that was pretty awesome....

Matthew at 3:33pm October 23

That was pretty awesome! You're close. I actually just sat down. It was awesome. See, if you're like me and you can just piss awesome, awesome happens all the time.

I was going to tell you a story about how I crossed the english channel on a different kind of rocket, but the story sucked more than my illustration of how the story could have happened:

Click here for awesomeness illustrated

An excerpt might have read: "...was cloudy that day. The wind blew in off the channel not unlike a taunting mistress. I looked down at my steely companion between my legs and laughed at my own insecurity, for I knew that this long monster of mine had gotten me through much hairier situations..."

Poor Maddie!

Since I've been at home, the coyotes have been crazy. Out at night making kills (they scream and make the most horrific noises when they kill something) and during the day they have been hanging out by our house when the dogs are out. And they are very big!



When I was walking the dogs the other day I heard them rustling in the woods and following us. So I decided it wasn't safe to walk them by the woods. Today I thought I was being pretty clever by walking her around the other block instead. Towards the end of our walk I heard some rustling and before I knew it Maddie was being attacked! BY A DOG! Apparently there is an irresponsible neighbor who doesn't tie their dog and it roams around. It came out of nowhere and just began mauling Maddie. I was completely terrified. I couldn't get the dog off her! Maddie kept herself between the crazy dog and me, so I wasn't able to do anything. I got one kick in and soon the dog was gone. But not before it did some damage. Maddie's hair was all tuffed up where the dog had tried to make her dinner, and I saw that she was bleeding. She immediately crawled over to me and laid down right on my feet. After giving her a big hug I was able to get her to limp home

Here is a bad picture of her paw. The dog had bitten her foot and separated her pad from the foot. A big deep gash:





She was so sad. Just laid down and wouldn't come inside



I took her to the vet to get some antibiotics and to clean the wound. The location of the wound wasn't amenable to stitches, so we will be doing warm water soaks and amoxicillin twice per day.

Here is sad wounded Maddie



I'm just hoping that this doesn't make her timid or aggressive. Maddie is the most social dog I've ever had. I've never met another dog or person that she doesn't love. It just sucks!

AVIA!!! I'm like a little girl at Christmas here!

I met the Avia people in Kona at the Sports Medicine Conference. I told them all about my muscle strain that had been nagging me. They looked at my gait and set me up with an awesome pair of their Avi Light II trainers and made some suggestions for insoles. Since then I've been running pain-free and have continued talking to them. Today I got the most awesome care package in the mail. I'm pretty sure I'm the luckiest girl in the world!





Pictured here is pretty much their whole line of shoes for slight pronators. Bottom left are my current shoes, the Avi Lite II. They are a lightweight neutral trainer with light motion control. Love them so far. Upper left is a trail shoe. Water proof with a stiff base for running on rugged trails. Top right is their Avi Lite Guide. This is a step up in the motion control department but without the huge heal/toe height difference of the average motion control runner. And bottom right is the shoe to play in. Their racing flat. It feels like you're running barefoot. Can't get these things on and NOT go fast. Can't wait to try everything!


And of course I had to try on the new clothes!




Between Timex and Avia, I am set for 2009. But I'm afraid with all this awesome stuff I'm jinxing myself to some sort of clumsy disaster like another broken patella. No running with ipods this year!

A HUGE, HUGE thanks to Avia AND Team Timex! I feel like a little kid again.