Running...Again

It is a week into October and the weather in Del Rio, Texas can only be described as...miserable. I wake up each morning to NO sun, in fact the sky is covered in clouds and flights are cancelled often due to overcast (or it being too bird heavy...ha). So I run to the door like a kid on Christmas morning just to think that maybe, just maybe it might be below 90 degrees out since the sun is not BLAZING. I unlock the door, take one step onto the pavement and it hits me. The air is thick and wet, it hits me like a ton of bricks and my face immediately starts sweating. Just standing there causes me to gasp for air...running is this weather, is well, out of the question. Unless, I want to take a serious hit to what I think my personal level of physical fitness actually is. Because running one 12-minute mile in this weather will NOT bode well for my self-esteem. I just dont understand, it looks like it should be cold out. So instead I shut the door, depressed, and start blogging about running.

I moved to Del Rio in May shortly after running my first 10K in Cleveland. At that point I had the aspirations, motivations and delusions of a recent college graduate to run the San Antonio Marathon this coming November. Cut to the middle of June, there I was sprawled out on the middle of my bedroom floor covered in sweat. I had just returned from a 3 mile run. My whole body was throbbing, especially my head. I felt like I was going to pass out. I wondered what a heat stroke felt like and many other ailments. No, I'm not a hypochondriac. Anyways, I only ran 3 miles. For those of you doing the math that is only about 11.5% of the full marathon. By the end of June I had tossed the idea of the full marathon but had set my sights on the half-marathon. I convinced myself that it was still a "marathon" and soothed my ego to not feel like a failure by telling myself that I had never run a half-marathon so it was an appropriate stepping stone. I also put 90% of the blame on my geographic location...obviously. I mean this freak weather! I tried everything, I ran with a hydration belt, on a treadmill, fueling, running at night and even running in the morning. Alright let's be honest I only ran in the morning once, but it wasnt much cooler - so when the fruits of that labor didnt work ONCE I didnt waste my effort getting up early again. By the end of July I had ditched the whole training thing in practice. But in my mind I was still "in training," just without the running. So realistically there was going to be no race.

But, the most shocking thing happened. About 2 weeks ago a cold front hit Del Rio and the temperatures actually hit 70...DURING THE DAY! Which it doesnt take a meteroligist to synthesize that is was well into the 50's and 60's during the mornings and night. This cold front lasted about 4 days so I wanted to take full advatage of this time to reevaluate my marathon expectation. Now, I didnt want to get too ahead of myself, so I obviously only ran 2 of these nights. My muscles need time to get back into it and to heal themselves. The first night I ran at about 9pm and it was almost cold. I shot for 3 miles since I didnt know how I was going to feel. I didnt want to end up walking part of my route and damaging my already sensitive running self-esteem. I started off slow, a conservative 10 minute/mile pace. I can always tell when I havent ran in a while. Not because my breathing is particularly labored, in fact it is the opposite - but because my ass jiggles like I have been laying in bed all day eating a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream topped off with a value meal from McDonalds. It's really odd. Almost like there are a zillion free-floating BB pellets in my ass boucing up and down and the longer that I run the less of them that I can feel. By the end of my run, my butt is almost firm. Temporarily of course until my next binge on...well anything unhealthy. I felt surprisingly good during my run and finish 3.5 miles in 32 minutes. Which is sound-of-light fast for me. The following day, I got out of work at 7pm and immediately decided to try my luck at the running thing again. It wasnt as cold as the previous day, but it still felt like it might snow out compared to the weather I was used to. As I was preparing to start a random thought came over me. I hadnt..."cleaned my colon" that day. At that exact moment I wasnt feeling the overwhelming urge to process some excrement so I was nervous that the "feeling" was going to happen while I was out on my run. I was, as they say, between a rock and a hard place. There were no options for a bathroom along my route. I decided to roll the dice and start my run. I was not surprised when my ass began to jiggle a proportionate amount when I began providing a moderate amount of discomfort that soon subsided. For the first mile I was feeling just as good as the day before. After that first mile however, my breathing became a little labored and I couldnt quite figure out what was happening. Soon after that the pain came. "The pain." The pain in the lower intestines that only runners and people with IBD can sympathesize with. At this point I was only half way through my run and at the farthest point from my home. I had no choice but to keep running. I was cursing myself for being so egotisitcal and chancing the run after the previous days successes. About a half mile later the pain had moved down lower and was being felt in my rearside. I continued to run, only a mile left to go. My gait was altered, my pace slow and my thoughts wandering to anything I could...but I finally made it back home in just over 35 minutes. Not quite as good as the day before. I'm not sure if it was the temperature outside, or any other factor that caused my run to not be as successful as the day before...but, I can guarantee that the extra weight that I was carrying around may have had something to do with it. By the end of this run, my butt may not have been jiggling, but it was doing something.

Last week I did run a few times, but I only went out for two 2 mile jogs. Nothing that is going to advance me in my goals. That is why this week...it is ON! I have developed an eating/drinking/sleeping/workout plan to get me to where I need to be. Plus, I have it written down on some notebook paper - so you know it'll stick :) I have 6 weeks to the half marathon. I think I can do it. Monday and Wednesdays I am going to take an indoor cycling class at the air force base. Tuesday, Friday and Sunday are my run days. Thursday I am going to try and get back in the pool, and Saturday is my day off. Plus I am going to bed at midnight, no questions, and waking up in the 8 o'clock hour, no questions. I have my diet all planned and at exactly which hour I will be eating and drinking what I need to to eat and drink to be successful. I will keep you updated. Tonight I will be running an easy 3.5 miles. Yes, in this heat!

Here is a picture of me running the Cleveland Marathon 10K. I was so bright eyed and bushy tailed, eager to take on my running career! Not so easy when you add on 20 more miles, is it?

Boredom at Coffee Now

I've decided to blog through my day at work today. The 1-7pm shift can be a little daunting and let's face it, coffee sales are not that high during a late September afternoon in South Texas. Also, you really need to walk a mile in my shoes. This life is rough.

2:20pm: Sitting at the couch lounge in front of the shop typing away. It probably doesn't look the most professional, but hey, I AM wearing a nametag. The afternoon has actually been fairly busy which completely falsifies my opening sentence. I made an Ah Nuts Latte (Hazelnut, Almond and Macadamia), a bunch of smoothies and sold our pre-made sandwiches from Walmart. Also it is a little cooler out today. Bobbie Love (No, not a porn star, but the owner of Coffee Now) thinks this will be a cool winter and coffee sales will skyrocket! I'm still questioning what a "cold winter" is in Del Rio.

2:25pm. Realizing that this might be quite the boring post, I start on another post simultaneously. It is titled, "My Wish List."

2:43pm: I have 2 customers back to back. The first one is a spouse of an enlisted guy who is currently deployed. She orders a medium sugar-free caramel latte and tells me that he will be back in November but feels guilty drinking the coffee since he does not have such luxuries overseas. The second customer is an employee of the fitness center where we are located. She orders a 10oz bottle of Cranberry juice. It is $1.50. I always feel bad charging people that for such a little thing. My tip jar, which coyly has "thanks a latte" in puffy paint on it, is still standing strong at $1.70 after almost 2 hours of work.

3:06pm: A young married lieutenant came in and ordered a medium pineapple coconut smoothie with a shoot of vanilla soy protein. I have become an expert at reading the uniforms to pick out where they are at in their pilot training. He was in Laughlin UPT class 10-03 (meaning he will graduate as the 3rd class in 2010) and he is also flying the T-38. At Laughlin there are 3 training planes. The T-6, T-1 and T-38. All students start off on the T-6 (that is what Gustavo is flying right now), the when you "track" you get placed into either the T-1's or the T-38's based on how well you did in the T-6's. Usually those who fly the T-38's are on the fighter jet path and are the better students (meaning cockier). Apparently this guy did well in the T-6's.

3:42pm: Ooh 2 more customers. They seem to be coming in 2's today. I'm not sure that I can handle it. The first guy is dressed in civilian clothing. He orders a large strawberry smoothie. "No sir, they are not made with fresh fruit." The second guy is a UPT student who ordered one of our HEB salads. Italian dressing for him. Did I mention that I have to pee? I am the only one working, so when you have to use the restroom you have to put doen the gate. The is a problem for me. The gate makes the horrendous noise that echoes through the whole facility and immediately paints a sign on your forehead that says "running to the bathroom." The noise can be most accurately described as the ringing that happens at the fair when someone has won a life-size stuffed bear by throwing darts at balloons displayed on a dart board. It's embarrassing. Period. Not to mention disruptive to the people that are actually working in this cafe area.

3:59pm: Two more Coffee Now lovers. These two are of the protein smoothie lover variety. They have many questions about the differences between our 2 products and how many grams of protein each contains. They eventually decide on large pommegranite blueberry smoothies with 1.5 scoops of whey protein. I think when they are finished I will use the restroom. The cafe will then be empty. My tip jar is at $2.70 after 3 hours of work.

4:13pm: I have peed.

4:37pm: A small Pommegranite Blueberry smoothie. I really had to sell him on this one. It is my favorite. His total came to $3.60 and he paid with a $5 bill. He left all his change in my tip jar. I think my total almost just doubled.

5:00pm: I have been here for 4 hours now. It actually has flown by thanks to my blogging. But, I have only made $4.10 in tips this far. I guess I had it coming to me, since I had such a good week last week.

5:12pm. Researching recipes for dinner tonight. I think I'll make pork chops.

5:37pm. So hungry now that I have been looking at all those recipes. But, I dont want to eat any junk. Those bagels and blueberry muffins are calling my name. I'm gonna be good and stick to my water and protein bar. I have to get back on the weightloss track.

6:07pm: I just started my closing duties when 2 more customers came in. The first guy, a medium peanut butter smoothie with chocolate whey protein. The second was Rory. He comes in a lot and orders some size of Coffee flavored blended ice. Rory is here at Laughlin for IFF. Which means that he did very well in UPT and got a spot as an F-16 pilot, but he has to go to further training to learn how to be a fighter pilot before he can be the future Maverick of the Air Force. He also went to Ohio State, so he rocks. Between the 2 guys I got $2.50 for a tip. WOO HOO. I am going to finish my closing duties which include wiping down the cafe area, cleaning milk pots and coffee pots, getting rid of expired product, changing trash, taking towels to the laundry and shutting down the register. There are other things, but those are the biggens!! Rough... As of right now I have made $7.01 in tips today. Damn...

My Wish List

As you all know by now I have a pretty sweet gig making minimum wage at a coffee shop at Laughlin AFB named Coffee Now. Sidenote: When I say "you all" please know that I am harbouring serious manifestations that I have tons of loyal follows and devoted blog fans. Anyway, since I only make minimum wage and an extra $2 an hour in tips I have to hoard ALL that money away and strategically plan the things that I want to purchase. I must admit that Gustavo helps me a TON with everything, so alas...none of my "income" is going towards living expenses.

1. A Digital DSLR. I am reinventing myself. One of the new professions that I would like to get in is photography. I would like to go back to school to get my BFA in photography once Gustavo and I get settled somewhere. In the meantime I have to teach myself with books and magazines. I have done some research and a good starter camera for future photgraphers is the Nikon D5000. I can get it with a Nikkor Lens for $799.99.

2. A Point and Shoot Camera. My "go out drinking" camera is breaking quickly. Probably because I, wait for it, go out drinking with it. Then when I saw the commercial for the Samsung TL220 with the dual LCD screen on the front so you can take the infamous photos of yourselves, I was sold. You can buy the standard one for about $299.99.

3. A netbook. My laptop cannot be away from an outlet for more than 10 minutes without the battery dying. A netbook is all that I need - something to blog on, facebook on, browse on, and upload/listen to music on. Also it is small enough that it will be easier to take to work on afternoons that are slow. Gustavo wants me to get an Asus. Yeah sure, whatever. There is a touch screen one that runs $449.99. That is a little more that I expected. I can get a pretty good standard one for $349.99.

4. A nice watch. For those of you that spend ANY time with me, you know that I am always rockin' the Timex Ironman sports watch. It's cool dont get me wrong, I love it. But when I am in a dress, the watch kinda has to go. But, I dont have anything to replace it with. Or anything that doesnt have a dead battery. That is why I want a watch that runs on solar power. From what I understand that means a Citizen Eco-Drive watch. The one pictured sells for $356.99.

5. AFAA Certification. I am trying to reinvent myself. One of the new professions that I would like to get into is fitness. I would like to teach fitness classes and also become a personal trainer. Laughlin AFB is holding a certification course on November 7th and 8th for Primary Group Certification as well as Indoor Cycling. These classes are not free, but they will play a big part in my future. I REALLY want to take these classes. The primary group certification course is $224.25 and $50 for the coursebook and the indoor cycling course is $96.75. That is a grand total of $371.

These are the 5 things that I am saving for, while trying to clear my debt. That can be a daunting task. I also want to follow some Dave Ramsey and get some money in my savings account. According to Charles Law - whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and I want to be prepared. You never know, I might not have Gustavo forever to help me take care of my bills. Then where would I be? Living with my parents that's where I'd be. Oh geez...maybe these 5 things can wait.

I'm on a Boat AND Lazy Sunday...

Picture 1: The flooding outside on our porch today.
Picture 2: Our friend Karl...dressing crazy as usual. Good thing he did not captain the boat as his costume portrays that he should.
Picture 3: The full kitchen area on the boat.

This weekend I felt like I was in a Andy Samberg highlight video. On Saturday I was on a boat, and I did have on my flippy floppy's. Gustavo's UPT class had their Solo Party (meaning all 25 guys and gals had completed the task of flying alone causing a celebration) this weekend on a 70 foot house boat complete with 4 man love rooms, a hot tub, full kitchen, satellite TV, serving bar, and even a slide from the top of the boat into the water. All we needed was T-Pain and this trip would have been complete. By the way, I use the term trip loosely because obviously none of the kids in Gustavo's class thought about who would be able to captain a 70-foot house boat or furthermore who would stay sober enough to steer and dock and 70-foot houseboat...so, it stayed in one place while we partyed and sang gimmicky songs portraying nautical and military themes. Think, "I'm a pilot" and "I'm on a boat" over and over.

Speaking of man-love rooms - as you may or may not have guessed being a pilot in the Air Force is a male dominated profession. So it would be an understatement to say parties of this sort are of the sausage variety. Aside from the few spouses in the class to see a fairly good looking women in the Air Force or even one that was just found in the Del Rio surrounding area is quite the oddity. However, there was one young lady that was in attendance to their stationary boat party. Shocking, all the guys were flocking to her. By the end of the night a dance party broke out in the middle of the full kitchen. About a half dozen men clothed in only damp swim trunks letting their testosterone scent spew out swarmed around the women who was dressed in the same damp swim suit who seemed to be dancing with each of them. I felt a little uncomfortable to be honest. Not just for me, but for her. It begged me to ask the question. Am I getting too old, or am I not drunk enough?

At some point throughout the day as I was hanging out with all of these pilot wanna-be's, I couldnt help but wonder how I got here. Me. The former girl who used to be so anti-war and so unknowing of the military lifestyle. The previously foreign terrain has become suddenly so comfortable. Men and women in uniforms and jets flying overhead are things that occur everyday. I remember the words, "I would never date someone in the military" coming out of my mouth. Those words are so funny now as I watch Gustavo and his classmates sing songs mocking their future professions. I wouldnt have it any other way.

For those of you who are "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Fans, you should have seen me bust a SWEET jack knife. Thank god there wasnt a baby in there. It was after a few Pina Coladas.

A had quite the Lazy Sunday today to complete the weekend. I didnt go see the Chronic (what) Cles of Narnia, but Gustavo and I did lay in bed until about 4:00pm shaking off our all day Saturday party funk. Obviously my day was wasted and I couldnt get any cleaning done :) So, we had chinese and rented a movie and chalked it up to a day lost. We can start a new tomorrow and try again. That is, if I can get to work since it is pouring and the roads might be flooded. It sure is flooded right outside our apartment. I thought I was going to have to bust out the sandbags.

Border Town Barista

It's very obvious that I have not updated my blog in over a year. So, I might as well just act as though writing in this is an everyday occurance. But, first I will give you the short version of the last year. Lost 30 pounds, ran a few triathlons, met Gustavo, hated my job and quit, moved to Texas with Gustavo who is here in pilot training. Meanwhile, I am reinventing myself. And, might I say...it is fun.

I have this vision that sometime in the very near future my blog will be just as entertaining to readers as Chelsea Handler's audiobooks are to me. I dont have nearly as much sex with total strangers or have an affinity for high price vodka - BUT I have been spending a lot of time with Mexicans lately. My comedic timing needs work. I must admit I am much more funny in person - it'll get better I promise. Anyways, back to the Mexicans. I spend a good 6 hours a day working as a barista in a local coffee shop in the Mexican border town of Del Rio, Texas (that is a picture of me working). 6 hours, I know right? Dont stress myself. Well the few dollars I do make I have only a few option to spend them at. For example, if you were to look up department stores in Del Rio in the phone book you would find Bealls and JCPenny, followed promptly by WalMart and FAMILY Dollar. WHAT?! Family Dollar? Anyways I prefer to spend my $10 in tips at Walmart. Just last week I was waiting patiently in line at Walmart witnessing a transaction transpire in front of me completely in Spanish. Not shocked as over 90 percent of the population in hispanic and Mexican license plates are common on cars driven in the area. But, BUT when it came time for legal tender to exchange hands the women paid in PESOS. Pesos at a walmart? In the United States? I was shocked...did their registers even have programming software in place to handle such a transaction?

3 more months. Gustavo has his second solo this week with his second check flight to follow sometime next week. That means we are half way done here in Del Rio. We will be in Corpus Christi sometime in January. It will be here in no time. His schooling puts me on an emotional rollercoaster. When he has a bad flight I feel overwhelmed with anxiety and when he has a good flight I want to go out and celebrate. He makes me so nervous sometimes, but I know that he is going to be a great C-130 pilot. Which is interesting. He already knows what he is going to fly. I cannot imagine what the spouses of the active duty guys are feeling - they fight for pilot spots everyday. Gustavo's last day of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) here is Del Rio is December 11th.

On a not so happy note, I found out that one of my very dear friends from college is dealing with Hodgkins Lymphoma. It really has effected me in a way that I would have never thought - especially since I have not talked to her through any of her journey or in the last 4 or so years. She was always there for me when I was struggling through hard times in college and I am feeling a little bit of remorse knowing that I could not and am not able to return the favor now. I have read her blog outlining her journey since May of 2008 and I try and parallel to things I was doing at those exact times she was in such pain and agony. I thank God that I am able to make these miniscule parallels instead of wishing that I was able to reconnect with her before it was too late. But, I know Tara, and she is a fighter - therefore I know that we will be able to hang out again one day and relive our True House Shenanigans. I pray that God be with her and give her the strength to carry on and survive.

What is the all time best Patrick Swayze movie? Dirty Dancing all the way - with a special mention to the SNL Chip 'n' Dale skit with Chris Farley. RIP Johnny Castle :)