And then I retired

First: Any local friends planning to run the SoCal Half Marathon?? 

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With 2 new PR's in December (5k recap here and half marathon recap here), I figured there's nowhere else to go, so I should just quit running while I'm high, right?

I took the last 2 weeks pretty much off. I was expecting to feel a bit sore and achy, but man alive, the first few days were rough. I did zero running until 6 days out, and finally felt pretty good then. I got SUPER motivated to hit 100 miles in December, and calculated that I would need, like, 36 miles in the next 9 days to do it.

Last week, I ran a few more times, and did a couple days of cross training. I did not come ANYWHERE close to 36 miles, and... that's a-okay by me. Running double pr's was hard, man.

I spent a lot of time baking things....

this was sticky bun test, take 2: Browned butter variation. This was a success!

and skyping with family in Florida...

#2 taking pictures of cousins = hilarious

Losing teeth ewwww

And some one-on-one time with each of these hoodlums.

she's so cute sometimes.

The H had to work on Christmas, so it was a really low-key affair around here, and I kind of liked that. I'm not a huge fan of big deals.


I have a few for-fun races coming up this winter/spring... starting with Tink in 3 weeks with Becka, then the Renegade Coaster Run at Knott's in March! I may throw in a sprint tri in February, but I'm not sure yet (PS, for either of those you can register using HEATHERDISCOUNT for 10% off).

I'm - still - on the hunt for a marathon. My travel budget is limited, we have some summer plans that are eating away my racecation budget this year - and none of the local races really speak to me. We'll see. I'd like to PR, but I want the right race. I'm weird. I also would kind of like to race another 5k and another half. Because I'm a glutton for punishment.

#1's track season is starting up already (they started practice immediately following CIF Finals, crazy), and our spring Saturday's are pretty booked. HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ARE SO SO SO SO TIME CONSUMING, you guys. I can only hope that #2 joins the same sports so we can be efficient with our time.  (I am kidding. Kind of.).

In job news.... I'm still enjoying my funemployment, but I'm ready to get some stuff going. I've got some vague ideas swirling around, but they're like pieces to a puzzle that I'm kind of struggling to fit together.

A friend of mine posted this the other day.

Building the new.

#DoublePRWeekend, Part 2 - Holiday Half Marathon Recap

For the tl;dr version: This was a really hard race for me, the course kicked my ass, and I kept running until I finished, and PR'ed. 

On Sunday, I ran Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona. Margot, Monica and I drove up together, so I got to sit back and enjoy the pretty drive...

The race has an 8am start at the LA County Fairplex in Pomona.

It's a little hilly. The website notes, "The Pomona Valley is a naturally hilly landscape and while certain inclines could not be avoided, this course was designed to be as friendly to runners as possible."

So, I knew it was hilly. I was hopeful that the nice weather would come back, but alas, it was warm and SUNNY. Since these are my 3 least favorite things - hills, sun, and heat - I was not super optimistic when we got there. On top of that, my legs felt.... kind of flat. I felt okay, but I sure wasn't feeling very peppy. I had cut back on my longer speed work over the last 4 weeks, to focus on shorter 5k efforts, so I wasn't sure my previous 2:05 goal was still reasonable.

After a last-second bathroom excursion (real bathrooms!), Monica and I squeezed into the corrals as the national anthem was finishing up. I stuck to my spot between the 2:00-2:10 pacers....

Goal A: 2:05, 9:32 pace. This was kind of an arbitrary goal that I picked back in September.
Goal B: PR, sub-2:11, 9:59 or under
Goal C: Eh. If I felt just DEAD DEAD DEAD, I planned to circle back to a friend of mine that was running a slower pace, and run/walk with her and take pictures, pretending I was at Disney.

When the race started, I tried sticking with the 2 hour pacer (WHY WOULD I DO THAT??) for a bit, but I thought she was just going too fast for me to sustain, so I dropped back before the end of the first mile.

I realized pretty much right away that my legs just felt heavy. However, I also realized that they felt just as crappy running uphill as they did running downhill, so... pretty much, I just ran. I know that's a simplistic and ridiculous thing to even say, but since I was uncomfortable either way, I just went with it. 

I tried to run a consistent effort, and while I was checking in with my Garmin fairly regularly, I was trying to not let what I saw change how I was running. If it felt okay, I kept going. If I felt like it was a lot of effort, I eased up and let it happen.

Pretty much the ENTIRE time, I was thinking:
This is really hard.
Keep moving your feet.
This is REALLY HARD.
Holy crap, this is so hard.

I know I keep saying this, but for real, even the downhills I felt like it was all just so hard, because my legs were D E A D.

The course loops around the fairplex, out into a park, back through some the fairplex, then loops through Bonelli park and around a lake from miles 3-11. You guys, I remember NONE of the lake, at all, and that's crazy, because... I ran around a lake for 7 miles. I don't even know what was happening around me.

and yet, there it is. a lake. 

Anyway. I feel like the miles ticked by pretty quickly, and when I got to mile 8, I started doing some brain math to figure out how much cushion I had to still hit a PR. I knew 2:05 was out, but that was fine - I really didn't think that was in the cards in the heat/with the hills. I was feeling pretty tired, but it was no different than before, so.... I kept going. I was certainly slowing down, and my legs were even MORE dead, which I was surprised about, because I didn't know it was even possible.

I knew at some point, there was a downhill to the finish, but I couldn't remember if it started at mile 11 or 12, so I was pretty sad when mile 11 felt HARD. Joke's on me, downhill started at mile 12.

Margot - my running fairy godmother - jumped in with me around 12.5, and tried to run fast, but I had negative-zero kick left, and shuffled along behind her.

Man. It was one hard-earned medal for me.

Splits: 9:18, 9:51, 10:06, 9:25, 9:36, 9:33, 9:50, 10:12, 9:31, 10:08, 10:13, 10:03, 9:27. .2 8:49. 

 2:08:56 - Garmin measured 13.2mi, and 9:46 pace.

 After the race, I met back up with Monica, SR, and SR's friend Reese while Margot ran a few more miles, because she's an overachiever.

And then we did the blogger-required things, like stopping at Starbucks and taking pictures of our food.

Epilogue:

I am really, really, really pleased with this race. I am still kind of surprised that it even happened. I didn't expect a PR, honestly, and I spent so much time thinking that I was REALLY uncomfortable, and being surprised I wasn't stopping. I was one walk break away from missing a PR, but I never really considered walking? Like, it didn't really cross my mind.  the 2:10 pacer passed me at one point going up a hill in mile 10, and I just let her go, then caught and passed her on the downhill. I don't know. Maybe this is some "mental fortitude" I have been missing in previous races?

I've been having some issues on my recent long runs with - I'm guessing - my salt/dehydration/something like that. I am a reallllly salty sweat-er, and on my last 3 or 4 runs over 13ish miles, I've ended up with raging headaches for the rest of the day. I am a living-on-the-edge type of girl, so I tried a different fueling plan Sunday - margarita shot blocks every mile, starting at mile 3, and a salted caramel GU around mile 10-11. It was... okay. I don't know, I still felt on the verge of leg-cramping a few times, but I'm not sure if it was the salt/electrolytes, tired legs, or just hills. Anyway, the headache didn't happen, so I guess it's some improvement.

There were supposed to be aid stations every mile after mile 5, but that wasn't really the case, and it was kind of frustrating for me to NOT have aid stations where I expected them to be, because I was timing my fuel. I mean, I am an obsessive type, and checked the website so I could be prepared, so it's annoying to not have the stations where they're advertised. Whatever.

It's really a lame complaint, because there were PLENTY of stations, I just wanted them in specific spots I guess? lol.

The shirts are really great - I LOVE it.

I am lame and didn't take a better picture - this print is on the left side/bottom of the shirt. 

It was hot hot hot hot hot. I think mid-70's at finish? With an 8am start, it was pretty rough on me - I wilt in the heat. If the race had started an hour earlier, it would have been much better. A lot of the course is exposed, so with the bright burning sun, it was pretty horrendous. I really don't like hot/sun.

Overall, it's a good race, and well organized. However, IMO, it's over-priced unless you register for early-bird pricing. A few years ago, I want to say I registered for this event for, like, $60 (and ended up DNS'ing). This year, when I thought about registering last month, I think it was $90? Thank goodness for a last-minute giveaway.

The course is HARD. I know I went in with tired legs, but it is constant rolling hills. There are no flats.

Monday, my legs felt pretty beat up - my quads, hamstrings, and glutes were UNIMPRESSED with all the things I did to them this weekend. But.... I'm curious what I could do on a friendlier course, so.... maybe a do-over is in order? Maybe.

Or I could just retire now.

#DoublePRWeekend, Part 1 - Renegade Santa Run 5k

Renegade's Santa Run is one of my favorites - fun crowd, well organized community event. Yeah, there are a lot of kids, but they are really well behaved and play nicely. This event is home to my current 10k PR, and (spoiler!) my new 5k PR.

This year, #1 ran with me, instead of The H. We headed out at 7am for the 8am start, and parked down the street. This ended up being not quite enough time for us - we still had to pick up our bibs, and then hit the restrooms, and it just didn't give me time to warm up like I would have liked. Note to self, next year get there a bit earlier.

I anticipated cool weather. HOWEVER, about 20 minutes before the start, it got freakishly HOT, and windy. The wind was hot. I don't know how else to explain it. It was not my most favorite, really. 

Anyway, the 5k course runs in kind of a figure-8 shape down the Peters Canyon trail...

Like I sad last week, I had some goals for this race:
A: 25:45ish, 8:18 pace

B: PR - 27:38, 8:55 pace

C: Don't puke and/or die

Because I'm dumb, I did a long run last Sunday (15 miles), followed by a hard hard HARD speed workout on Tuesday, and nothing else. So that was pretty great and relaxing on the legs. 

The race started right on time, but because I was running late, I snuck in somewhere towards the front-ish, and hoped that it wasn't in the mix of kids running super fast. 

Mile 1 - 8:22. This mile felt good. I tried not to be overly concerned with my garmin numbers, and run on feel, and I felt like I could certainly sustain this pace.

Mile 2 - 8:30. Well. That didn't last very long. This was at the turn around, and suddenly we were running into the hottest wind in the universe. 

Mile 3 - 8:54. This was terrible. Lol. 

Last .1 - 7:50. Out of the wind, THANK GOD. 

26:27, 8:32 pace. Not too shabby, good enough for 5/60 in my age group!

Look, it's me dying!

for real, why do I do that with my head?!

 Anyway. It was hard, and hot, and hard, and windy. And hard. Running fast is hard.

#1 also ran a PR, so it was a good day to be us. (Not so much to be Gabby, who melted down and couldn't wait to bail out of that race.).

The race is really great, and we have really enjoyed the event the last two years. I was hopeful for an AG placing this year, but it was a bit of a faster field than last year - I think because the race is just growing a bit? The course is a little congested right at the start, before the turn onto the trail, but after that it cleared up a bit - this could just be where I ended up in the 5k, but I didn't have any trouble navigating. The course is a nice mix of mostly pavement, with some dirt trail the first half. I love dirt, so that's great for me. 

Registration prices start at just $25 for the 5k, $35 for the 10k, and $15 for the kids run - this includes a great medal and long sleeve cotton tee.

so cute and sparkly!

They have awards 3 deep in each age group, plus a costume contest - the costume was a big source of stress for me. I originally wanted to be a Christmas tree. After I constructed it, it was NOISY and JANGLY and would have made me insane. On my second trip to Target, I found some foam snowflakes, and a new costume was born. I spent Friday night sewing snowflakes onto my tank and Team Sparkle skirt, and was the hottest snowflake EVER. 

It was tons of fun, can't wait to tackle it again next year!

Three Things Thursday

1. I have a crazy plan for this weekend. First, it involves this....

2. Which I'll wear Saturday for.....

Where I hope to PR the 5k FOR REAL THIS TIME. I had a goal kind of picked out, and ran it by the smartest bunny I know, and since she thinks it's reasonable, I'm going to give it a shot. I have been doing a decent amount of speed work, and it's all been going pretty well.

(My current *real* PR is 27:47 from July 2012; the Vet's Day race would have been a PR, but since it was not anywhere close to a real distance, I'm not counting it).

My super lofty, man-I-hope-I-don't-puke goal: 25:45 (8:18 pace)
Goal B is to just PR: 8:55ish pace
I have no goal C. If I fail, I quit.

JK, my C goal, as it always is in a 5k, is don't puke or die.

#1 will be running, as well, and I tried to tell her it would be HILARIOUS to toe the line like it's a cross country race....

So far, she has declined.


3. Anyway, after Saturday's fun, I plan to try my hand at....

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't going to race this, but theeeeen I snagged a free bib from Run, Eat, Repeat, and now I'm going to! Yay, free.

So after I got that bib, I thought..... man, it would be kiiiind of fun to PR TWICE IN ONE WEEKEND.

Wouldn't that be FUN???

So, my goals for Sunday are.....
A: 2:05, 9:32 pace. I honestly don't know that I'm in the right place for a 2:05 right now, because I've been doing shorter, faster runs in prep for the 5k. BUT WHO KNOWS!

B: PR. My current PR is 2:11 (9:59 pace) from PCRF back in May 2012. That seems like BILLIONS OF EONS AGO. This wouldn't take too much effort, I don't think, but I have no idea how I'd feel on a hilly course the day after maybe running a 5k hard. So we'll see.

C: If I get out there and a PR is just not in the cards, I'll run it easy and enjoy a long run with a friend. There are no losers here, so I'm sure it's going to be a swell day.


Really, it's just been soooooo long since I've raced anything, I'm excited to be back out there and am really looking forward to all of it.

Something Training, Week Whatever. PFTW

Like I said last week, my brain is confused about what's going on with training.

Let's recap my training/brain thoughts!

Last week....

Monday: rest

Tuesday: mooooore rest. Resting exhausts me. (Really, having the kids out of school made it exceptionally easy to laze around watching dumb tv with them).

Wednesday: Speed - 5 miles
800s. They were fast and hard, but I (mostly) hit my paces. Goal was 7:50-7:24, actual was 7:53, 7:49, 7:47, 7:41.

Thursday: Rest. 4 mile walk
I felt SO GOOD after the 800's, I told The H I really really FOR REAL wanted to run the Saturday half. He mocked me. I forgot, does walking count as exercise?! We did some evening shopping at Target, and I had the genius idea to walk there - a 4 mile round-trip excursion. It was brilliant, until The H purchased a very large, fairly heavy item. Dummy.

Friday: Rest again!

Saturday: Pretend run. Got through 2 miles. I woke up truly excited to run. And then it was terrible. I quit. We bought donuts and sat around instead.Spent the day so grateful for The H's mocking, and happy I wasn't running a half on Sunday, because I don't even know if I can run that many miles any more I AM THE LAMEST WHY DO I EEEEVVVVEEEEEN TRRRRRYYYYYYYYY. It was dramatic.

Sunday: Long run
12.1 really, REALLY great miles. I could have run faster, but wanted to keep it easy. I could have run longer, but there was a creeper in the gym. It was pretty much the greatest ever - how could it not be, with all of my favorite things.

So, I didn't run the half. I've always kind of thought that I was NOT a mental runner - I thought I was pretty objective about things, don't let singular bad runs throw shade at my overall training experiences, etc. I think, maybe, I was lying to myself, lol.

Without any real money on the line, it's really easy to just blow off training for something. Since I'm currently enjoying some funemployment time, my race budget is limited, and I want to keep it to real race efforts, or races I really, REALLY want to do. For whatever (probably made up) reason, I didn't feel like I was ready to PR this weekend, so I just.... didn't want to spend the money on the registration.

Yeah, yeah, it's kind of a cop out. I know anything can happen on race day, but I'd rather feel good about my chances, I guess. I'm a safe gambler.

ANYWAY.

Blah blah blah, I was a headcase and didn't run a race.

The Renegade Santa Race is in 2 weeks, so for the next two weeks, I'm maintaining focus on that as my "goal" race, because I really want that legit 5k PR - that means continuing the speed work. I'll still do a long run this week, though, because my eyes are on a plan B half at the end of the month.

Maybe. HAHAHAHA.

This week.....

Monday: easy/XT
Tuesday: 5 easy
Wednesday: XT
Thursday: speed - 10x400 (did you know 400s are my FAVORITE?!)
Friday: easy/XT
Saturday: easy/rest
Sunday: Long (14ish)

Training Tuesday - I'm terrible at making decisions

Originally, when I started this half marathon training cycle at the end of September, I built it out around a December 15th half that I was doing with someone.

The more I considered that race, though, the less I wanted to make that my "A" race. I just wasn't excited about it. It's not super great for PR'ing, and I didn't want to shell out the money for a fun run (for whatever reason, this race is far more expensive than any others in December). I picked a different, earlier, race for my goal race, and adjusted my training plan.

After CIF prelims, when I really believed we would be going to states for #1 to run, I decided that since my next choice in half's was not going to work out..... hey, why not try to PR for real at the Renegade Santa Run??

Look at this fun medal!! You can use "HEATHERDISCOUNT" for a discount!

So, last week, even though I posted a half training plan week, I decided Monday afternoon that Santa Run 5k was my new goal race. If I could PR there, I had top 3 in my AG (based on last year's results) in my sights. That might be fun!

I adjusted my training plan again, and added a lot of interval work - I'd been doing a lot of longer intervals and tempo runs, so I threw in a bunch of 400s and 800s instead.

I know, I know, I retired from 5k's immediately following the Veteran's Day not-quite-5k, but I get confused.

Since suddenly, the 5k was my focus, I did the 400s last week, and nailed it - all at my goal pace

wheeeeeee so faaaast!

.
Anyway. Then we found out we weren't going to states, after-all (pride goeth before the fall, sorry, girls, I blame myself), so the half I thought was out, was suddenly back on the table!

I had one last "long" run that I left on my plan juuuuust in case, so I set out Sunday to do it - 8 miles, middle 4 at goal pace. This should have been easy, breezy.

how I felt after.

I got through a mile warm up, 3 pace miles, and just stopped. I felt fine, I just didn't feel like doing any more.

And now, it's Tuesday, 5 days before my supposed goal race, and... I kind of don't feel like it? I looked back over my training log, and my last long run was 14 miles back on November 14 - so it COULD count, and just pretend I've been on an extended two week taper? I just feel like a loser-pants, to let one lack-luster "long" run decide that I'm not even going to bother.

I'd still really like to get a real 5k PR, so I'll keep working on that in the meantime, but to recap... maaaaybe I'm running a half this weekend, but MAYBE NOT. Oh, the suspense.

XC Recap, Season Ender: Womp.

On Saturday morning, #1 raced the CIF Southern Section finals. The top 7 schools in each division move on to the state competition in Fresno. Going in, her school was ranked #9 in the state, and 7th in our section. The school we were most concerned about beating was really neck-and-neck with us at prelims, and ranked 10th in the state, and 8th in our section. We were psyched that it was shaping up to be an exciting race, and... I'll admit, a little confident that we would pull it out.

Since I have alllllllll the free time on my hands, I did a lot of number crunching last week, building out fake-meets against our schools, and every way I played with the numbers, we were looking solid.

Saturday, #1 woke up and was practically giddy. She was excited to run, and looked confident. The girl is a head-case runner - seeing her confident to go into this course was great.

Spectating XC is an interesting day. The courses are short, usually 3 miles, and run so fast, that to spectate in a few places, you have to MOVE. Generally, there's a flood of spectators that flee from spot to spot throughout the course to catch their runners as they move through.

Exactly like this....

If you've ever spectated a longer race before, it's exactly like that, but ON SPEED.

The Mt Sac course is pretty loopy for the first 1.5mi, so you can kind of catch the athletes in about 4 locations before they head up the second half. We knew the layout from last week, and had a pretty solid spectating strategy, so we stuck with it (if you're interested, this is the course map - we planted ourselves at the end of the airstrip, before the loop, so we saw her at the start, on the first loop go around, then ran over to switchbacks, then to the crossover, and then to the gauntlet for the finish - I swear these are all things on the course that I'm totally not making up).

Anyway. We're at our spot. The field takes off - 16 teams, 7 girls each team, plus individuals - and right away, I note that the field is tight, and FAST. It looks like our team is having some trouble sticking together in a pack, but #1 is looking good in her mid-pack position.

source: Joe Gagnon/PrepCalTrack

As we're waiting for them to come through the first loop, Sarah Baxter breeeeeezes through, well ahead of everyone else.

Oh, look. She's winning!

The lead pack comes through, and I start to get a little nervous - usually there's three girls on our team that start together, but they were not running together this time. Then the chase pack comes through - usually, #1 is solidly mid-pack, in here. And usually by now, the herd has thinned a bit - not so much this time. They're all still running really tight, and FAST.

Then the girl that runs 7th for us ran by, and we thought we must have missed #1 in the herd.

15-20 seconds later, after everyone else has passed, is #1.

My first thought, is she got frustrated with the pack, and was giving herself space? She always starts slow and then kicks in... maybe the fast start was too much. Maybe she wanted to give herself some room.

And then I hear her breathing, and it's clearly distressed. I didn't connect what happened at first, until she was running past, and The H noticed the giant scrape under her right hip.

Somewhere in the first 800, she had fallen. And my heart just sunk for her.

We went over to the switchbacks, where she'd come through after the second loop around the field, and she was at the back, but was caught up to the rest of the pack (so, in the second 800, she made up 20 seconds on the rest of the field), and came through the first mile in 6:12.

When she came by us, before heading up the switchbacks, she was crying, and limping.

on Switchbacks

Waiting for her at crossover was just THE WORST EVER. As her mom, I'm a pretty tough-love kind of parent, and generally defer to the coaching she receives from the XC team, but it was horrible, knowing how HARD running is, how hard running uphill is, and that she was doing it while crying and limping.

She came through crossover, and had passed a few runners. After crossover, we planned to wait for her at the gauntlet (the last 200m at the finish), because the rest of the course is hard to get to and then still get to the finish. It was FOR REAL the longest longest longest 1.5 miles ever for me.

She passed that girl in blue.

When she crossed the finish line, I criiiiiied and cried. She finished two spots behind one of her teammates, and the other girls joined them in the line.

After their bib numbers were collected, her teammates took her over to the med tent to get cleaned up, where #1 found out that they had finished.... 8th overall.

Womp. 

She asked to stick around for the varsity boys' race a bit after hers, so we did. 

It was a pretty rough day. 

I'm not sure how she found it in her to finish the race, and finish it so strong. I tried to ask her why she kept running, and she just said "Because coach said to get up and go."

Maybe it's that simple. 

I spent the rest of the weekend kind of coddling her, but she's been in a fair amount of pain - I don't think it's anything serious, just a lot of road rash, and bruising. Since they're not going to states, next week is an off week, anyway, so hopefully she's all healed up when they head back to school after Thanksgiving.

She's had an amazing first season. It was really exciting to be a freshman, heading to CIF finals, and a great experience for her. Just kind of a sucky way for it to end. 

(PS, my number crunching was DEAD ON, and the team that ended up beating us into the finals was a dark horse that wasn't even ranked - they just had a killer day, and ran the race of their lives. Bad ass.  The team we were eyeing as competition TIED with us, and on a normal day, #1 would have been the tie-breaker, and would have beat their #6 runner. Maybe I missed my calling as a XC coach?)

Friday Uckfery

Being funemployed has afforded me a fair amount of freeeeee time over the last few months, some (but not enough) of which I've spent in the gym.

Because I love nothing more than watching people and giving them judgey eyes, I've been collecting in my brain the most bizarre and irritating things I've seen so far...


1. The Kid People. You guys, your kids don't belong IN the gym. If your little sunshine is running around unsupervised while you "use" the treadmill to walk a 2.0mph pace so you can say you worked out while watching tv, that that isht outside. Go to a damn park.

Don't let the hellion play with a giant exercise ball and bounce it around until it LODGES UNDER MY TREADMILL belt and stops it while I'm running.

2. The Fakers. Did you know, if you're standing on the sides of the treadmill while the belt runs, you're not actually doing any work, so those miles DON'T EVEN COUNT? I know, it's true. Samesies for the ones who jack up the incline on the treadmill, push the pace up to 2.3, and lean waaaaay back and hold on for dear life. 

This counts. 

3. My New BFF. If I'm in the gym, chances are good that I'm there with a plan in mind. That plan probably didn't involve becoming your new BFF. Let me work out in peace.

4. The Confused Ones. The treadmill is not that confusing. The buttons are all labeled. Up goes faster, down goes slower, the big red one stops everything. 

5. I CHANGED MY MIND, UNDO UNDO UNDO! The first time, I thought it was just someone that forgot something. But since it's happened a few times, I'm assuming this is a thing people just do, coming into the gym for 5-10 minutes, jumping from machine to machine without realllllly doing anything, and just leaving. Did they just suddenly realize this was not what they intended to do, at all?

I feel you.

6. The Drama Llama. We get it. You are working hard. So is almost everyone else. Is the exaggerated sweat wipe and heaving breaths necessary? 

7. You Faaaaancy. This is more because I'm jealous than anything, but if you come in and bust out some super fast 5k on the neighboring treadmill, and jump off looking refreshed and shiny, I hate you a little.

I think that's it. People are weird. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend! #1 is running her last race to qualify for states tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed for her - they have a solid chance, so we could be headed up to Fresno over Thanksgiving!