Cheating. Wow. 3/29/12

While googling away one day, I came across ads on craiglist requesting the help of MBA grads.  Curious, I clicked on a couple of them.  One person was offering $500 a month for "a project" that consisted of one course every 8 weeks.  The other offered $10/ hr to complete case studies for an MBA class.  I'm not shocked really.... this has been happening even before the digital age.  But it is just really sad. 

First, let me say that I would NOT do this program over again for the benefit of someone else.  I will earn my degree for myself, not for anyone else.  Five hundred dollars a month is not enough to give up family time, weekends, personal time, (sleep) all over again.  Maybe there is a poor, desperate soul out there who might consider this offer, but would you want this poor desperate soul to do your homework?  Then what if they suck and you end up failing the course?  You'll be out $1500+ dollars for the course, then if you paid that person already, that money too.  

Second, if you made it to grad school just to cheat your way through it, what kind of professional person are you?  I see these types of people as the ones who get fired or laid off regularly.  It is not just a matter of getting a degree to get a position, you must also be able to perform in it as well. 

I'll get off my soapbox now.

In other news, I'm disgusted with Celebrity Apprentice.  Trump had the chance to fire the tyrant in the last episode, Aubrey, on the womens team, but he chose someone else.  And when she was told her team lost, she bawled.  Really?  Maybe I'm too tough, but I can't stand crying because you lost at something.  Suck it up!  So I'll be catching the recaps instead every week and maybe if/ when she's fired I'll watch it again.  :-)  And I say I don't watch reality tv.  lol



   









  

DWD and Crafty stuff 3/26/12

Ta-Da!  Here is the little gem I've been working on.  I bought paper mache letters a very, very long time ago with this intentions of completing this little project.  I used scrapbook paper of my favorite things to cover the letters and then bought a hat rack to hang the medals.  The R is sunflowers, U is leopard print and the N is fall leaves.  Here's a close up. 

Fun stuff!

So, last Saturday, I ran Dances with Dirt with Jenny.  It was a 10k trail race and super tough. (think mud, sand, thick brush).  My ankles are still a bit sore and my knee as well, but it definitely feels like I got a good work out.  We finished in 1:31.  Around mile 4.5, I started to feel a little beat, but Jenny and I encouraged each other through the race.  The last half mile or so was in full sunshine, but I was feeling better by then so we were able to finish strong.  We had to follow blue-flags throughout the course and a couple times I zoned out and almost went the wrong way.... good thing Jenny was there or I would be lost! lol  It was a great time.  I'll definitely be back next year for a longer distance.

I uncovered this surprise when I took my shoes off at home!

3/21/12

I'm so unmotivated with school right now.  But I know I have to finish this program.  I'm half-way there already.  This mood usually sparks about half way each quarter.  I know I won't quit.  Once I'm committed, I don't stop.  But occasionally I get frustrated or bored and start looking at other projects.... like this marathon thing...... 

I need to start organizing my days.... keeping a To Do List.  Too often, I try to just remember things and then I get distracted.  So here is my To Do List for school and training for tomorrow:

• Study Chapter 12 OP Mgmt
• Work on MAR paper
• CX Works
• Run 3 miles or Spinning class (depends on weather)

That's it.  Seems easy 'nough. 

I'm also working on a little craft project I'll post pics of soon.  I'm excited about it!  I also want to put together a running binder to kind of organize things.  Having to thumb through several magazines to find what I'm looking for gets annoying.  lol   

O-M-Geee 3/20/12

Looking at my ticker, I'm 5 days away from being in the 7 month range of my goals.  7 months.  Wow! 

Today I ran a 4 miler, including a mile WU and CD.  I started off facing the sun.  Yuck.  The first mile sucked.  I could feel my energy draining.  I looked across the street and there was more shade there, so I turned around and went back.  SO MUCH BETTER!  The heat has always been my enemy.  I know the heat will slow me down and its going to be uncomfortable, but I just fall apart when faced with it.  I've got to start getting up early now that the heat is here and do my runs in the morning.  Plus, I hate doing them in the evening as I would rather be home at that time.  Once I can get used to getting up early again, it's not a problem.  It's like when I used to stay up all night in high school.  If you can make it through that point where you want to close your eyes & sleep, you can stay up all night.  I know.... I'm a little crazy. 

I haven't stayed up all night since those days and don't really care to, but, I do want to learn to sleep 4-5 hrs a night and still feel good the next day.  But that's a story for another day.  lol

So anyways, the next 2 miles were wonderful!  I had negative mile splits: 12:25, 12:00, 11:53.  The last .20 mile, I was running at about a 9 mile pace!  What a great feeling!

Nothing new on the school forfront.  Classes are going well, I have an exam and paper due.  Tomorrow I plan to work on the paper and study.  I also plan to run at least 3 miles and maybe make it into a tempo run.   

3/18/12

Well, after weighing the pros & cons of each half, I decided to go with Running for the Bay; mostly because of cost.  I researched each race and both are fairly new.... RFTB is in it's 3rd year and Savannah will be in its 2nd.  Both received bad reviews their inaugural year, and that is to be expected.  But it seems that RFTB improved it's second year, so hopefully it will be even better this year.  The medal for RFTB is awesome!  I can't wait to add it to my collection.  There are many RR Marathon events throughout the year, so maybe next year I will run one. 

As for training this past week, it went ok.  I went for a 4 mile run Friday after work.  I was feeling a little sluggish, so I took a caffeine pill instead of drinking coffee just to pep me up.  Well, I should've eat a little something too.  I felt GREAT half way through the run!  I had so much energy and I thought I could run the entire thing.  But soon enough, I started getting dizzy and felt super hungry so I had to walk most of the way back.  Blah.  I'm planning on running tonight- 5 miles.    

This week, I've got a full week ahead.  I have my usual school work (quiz and paper due) plus another exam.  :-/  I'm hoping I'll get it all done before the weekend as I have a 10k trail race this weekend.  This quarter is just about half way over already.  Time has gone by so fast. 

3/14/12

Last night I did my tempo run.  It took me some time to find my right pace since I have not run a 5k in quite awhile.  I decided to do 2 miles at tempo and figured I'd start at about a 12:15 pace.  Well, that was actually too slow so I spent the next few mins trying to find the right pace.  At some points, I was running around a 10 min pace, which I know was too fast, but my Garmin was also still adjusting.  I think 11:30 is going to be my starting point next tempo run.  I finished the 2 miles in a little over 23 mins. 


I also did CXWorks last night and I'm starting to notice a difference in my strength.  They are getting "easier" to do.  We do lots of planks, bicycle crunches, and shoulder work and I usually end up with a knot in my stomach.  It's a great feeling! 
Here is one of the exercises that really works me out.  This guy makes it look easy!

I have signed up for a 5k in April and I'm very excited.  I don't think I'll be breaking a PR, but at least I am motivated again.

The exam I took the other day had a couple errors on it.  Two questions were marked wrong when they should have been right.  The instructor acknowledged the error and is working to fix it, so that is a good thing.  This quarter, so far, has been less stressful than the last.  Don't get me wrong, it is still a lot of work though.  I have to say though, the hardest class last quarter was my favorite.  I felt I learned a lot about organizational structure and leadership.     

Monday 3/12/12

I feel pretty accomplished this week.  We are in our third week of classes and I'm doing well so far in my Marketing class.  My second quiz grade was 23/25, which was much better than the first.  The quizzes are not easy and I was anxious about them.  I believe we have a perfect score on our group paper.  I have to take my Management exam tonight.  A little anxious about that, but I believe I know the  material well enough to score pretty good... although some students have mentioned that the exam may have problems with grading.  :-/

I did pretty well in my training last week.  I missed a CX workout and walked instead of ran for one workout, but as much as I'd like to stick to my plan, I know sometimes that is just not possible and I have to adjust.

That being said, this is my plan for training this week:

Monday-  Walk 2 mi
Tuesday- CX Works, 3 mi tempo
Wed- 4 mi
Thurs- Spinning, CXWorks
Friday- OFF
Saturday- CX Works
Sunday- 5 mi, perhaps racquetball??

Yes, racquetball...  Or tennis, or some type of other cross training.  Something to get my arms moving and my husband and kiddo involved.

       

Planning a half

I need to plan a half marathon before the full.  It has to be one close enough to drive to over a weekend and at least 3 weeks out from the full that I can recover.  So with that in mind, I have two I'm considering.

1.  Rock n Roll Savannah Half Marathon- Nov 3. 
The one thing I do not like about this is that the hotels are charging at least 30% more over the weekend and I find it ironic that they "negoiated" discounts with the hotels on already jacked up prices.  Grrr.  Of course, I could stay out of town, but that means getting to the start line will involve additional planning and probably lots of stress.  This is also the more expensive option overall.  BUT, I've always wanted to do a Rock n Roll event.... 

2.  Running for the Bay- Oct 21.
Inexpensive, but lodging may be a problem.  Only a couple nearby major hotels, a few bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals. 

Decisions, decisions.

Getting ready for the weekend!

I planned to run 3 miles today since I missed Wednesday's run, but my legs felt heavy and sluggish from last night's spin class.  I ended up walking 2 miles.  I guess something is better than nothing....

My Marketing course had us view this TED video  this week.  It was hilarious and just what I needed after this long week.  I have to say, working out (regularly) again has kept my head clear and stress levels lower.  I know I have a ton of school stuff to do this weekend, but strangely, I'm not too stressed about it.   

So, this weekend, I have my CXWorks class and then a 6 mile run as far as workouts go.  I planned on doing my 6 miles on Sunday, but we are also going to go to the Strawberry Festival that afternoon, which means I'd have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, run, shower, and get ready to meet up with friends.  I could also do the early CX class tomorrow and then run.   Guess I'll do what I always do and play it by ear.

Gasparilla photos and Weekly Training

I hate race pics.  Very rarely do they turn out decent for me.  Usually, I look like I'm half dead, constipated, or I have, as a friend called, it "Einstein hair"....



All in good fun, I suppose.  My Gasparilla finish pic was the best out of this bunch.  



(photo credit: marathonfoto.com)           

I never buy race pics, but they are fun to look at.  I would have bought the ones from a half last year, but they all looked terrible.  Hopefully my marathon finish photo turns out good.... but after 26.2 miles, I can't hope for much.  

I didn't get to jog last night.  There were several issues at work I was dealing with and I had to catch up on some assignments for school as well.  It was also my late night at work, so I was exhausted when I got home.  To make up for it, I will do my CXWorks tonight at the gym (core training) and then run 3 miles after that.  I'm normally pretty pumped after CX, so I should have a boost of energy. 

My training plan is for the next 3 months to build up my running base again to where I was last year- distance wise.  If I'm not quite as fast, that's ok.  The longest distance I had ever run was 16 miles.  I felt like felt like dying, but I did it.  :-)  Then for the next 5+ months, I will be working on getting up to the marathon distances.  I haven't really laid out that plan yet... whether I will try to run 26 miles at least once, or only 20-22 miles as some plans say to do.  

Here is what I do have planned for my weekly training:

Today:  CXWorks, 3 mi run

Wed: 3-4 mi run

Thurs: Spinning, CXWorks

Friday: Rest

Saturday: CXWorks

Sunday: 6 miles

All of this I will be working around my school schedule.  I have an exam, a quiz, and a paper due. 

  

 

Gasparilla aftermath

My hammys are sore today and I have to catch up on school work.  I think I'll take it easy today and jog a couple miles tonight.

Gasparilla 5+3k

I woke up this morning at 5:30 because of the wind and rain pounding outside.  Then I remembered that the half-marathoners for the Gasparilla race had to start at 6:00am.  I was glad I didn't sign up for it.  Not that I was in shape for it either way.  I have ran when it was raining.  I have ran when it was windy.  But never both.  Wind gusts were up to 50 mph.  I was hoping by 9 am, the weather would improve.

I closed my eyes and woke up again at 7am.  The sun was shining, but it was still very windy (20 - 30 mph winds).  "I'd rather run in the rain", I thought.  Running in the wind is like jogging in place, in quick sand.  It feels super slow mo.

We got to start line and the wind was blocked by some tall buildings heading west on Bayshore Blvd, so half of the race, it was smooth sailing.  As soon as turned around, we felt the wind.  "I knew it was too easy," I said to the lady beside me.  But I pushed on. 

Oh, I forgot to add that I saw a few folks from work at the start line.  One asked what I thought I'd finish in.  I said in about an hour and 20 mins.  He looked a little puzzled, but I hadn't really thought about time.  Well, as I was running, I thought an hour and 10 mins was more realistic. 

As I neared the end, the race clock said 1:05.  Official chip time was 1:02:17!  Much better than I thought.  Maybe I'll get back to 10 min miles, but I'm not going to stress so much about time at this point.  I'm really happy just going the distance.  I finished, felt great, and finished strong.  I really can't ask for more. 

What's the blog about?

I'll admit... sometimes I think I have an S on my chest.  You know, the red S on the blue & yellow background?  I think you know what I'm talking about....

I think I am Superwoman. 

I started running about three years ago with the sole intention of completing a 5k.  I was hooked on running after that.  A marathon was added to my bucket list, but I was in for a long journey.  I had never been very active, much less a runner until that point.  I completed 2 half marathons within a month of each other in 2011.  After that second half-marathon in April 2011, I figured I give myself a break from running and before I knew it, I was enrolled in an MBA program by that July.  My "break" turned out to be longer than I thought as I struggled to find time for family, friends, school, and life.  I missed running.

So, now that I'm 9 months into an 18 month MBA program, why not throw a marathon in the mix??  Why not one that just so happens to be on the last day of my MBA program?  Did I mention that the program requires me to take 2 courses every 8 weeks?  How about that I work full-time?  I'm sure that I mentioned I have family and friends in all this.  Can I do this?  Yes, I can.  I am Superwoman.

During these next 9 months, I might yell.  I will probably curse at innocent bystanders myself.  I might even cry.  But on November 25, 2012, I will become Mitzi, M.B.A. and Marathoner.