I'm feeling sick...and am sick of the news

• I'm sick. I normally don't get sick at all, however over the last 3 months I have been sick twice. (See also my PSA about NyQuil and Wine) Believe me...it.is.annoying. I felt the worst that I have felt all week long last night - and unfortunately that means that I have to put a HUGE fail stamp on my beloved GYAMA. I should have specified, of course, that the only exceptions to GYAMA is if you are sick - and are a wussy like me.
• I have an interesting development on my foot. It is healing, however it feels... weird. Not weird like the feeling of joy I get when watching the show Cougartown (sooo good) but weird like: When I take a step with it I can feel a ligament rubbing up against something. It feels like a combination of stepping on foam and that feeling that you get when you clench/grit your teeth and they slide against each other. But, it is getting better. If it doesn't pass after a day or two I'll probably have to cough up another copay go get it checked out.
• If I could figure out a way to bottle the wake-up powers of a phone call in the middle of the night, I could retire immediately. Oh wait, I guess that is just called "cocaine".
• I like Adam Lambert's new song, "What do you want from me?". Yeah, I said it. Unleash the torrent of laughter. Of course, the eyeliner I could do without - but I don't judge.
• I may be dating myself as young, and maybe a little inconsiderate, WHY WHY is Corey Haim's death news? I've watched no fewer than 5 newscasts (I watch a lot of news) that had very long segments on him. Haiti can't be doing that good, there are STILL aftershocks in Chile, I still haven't won the lottery, and last night a tornado killed someone in the good old USA. Seriously, the guy from Lost Boys is what we're talking about? I need to watch less news and more Cougartown.

Operation GYAMA

Last night I finally kicked off operation: "So You Got a Bum Foot? Who Cares, Get Your Ass Moving Anyway". SYGBF?WC,GYAMA for short. Maybe I'll just call it operation GYAMA. That has a nice ring to it.

Operation GYAMA:

70 minutes on the spin bike, 20.25mi + 4.75mi (25mi total) because the thing shut off at 60 minutes. I understand why they do it - to keep lines short. But it is really annoying for us endurance athletes that are more obsessed with numbers than a meth head is with picking off scabs. Don't they understand I can't be doing complex math while I am 60+ minutes into a run/ride!? Complex of course meaning 2nd grade addition.

I can't help but think that there could be some sort of "test" before you get on the machine to override the 60 minute time limit:

• Do you know who Ryan Hall is?
• Have you ever bloged about poop?
• Have you ever complained about the consistency of energy gel?
• Can you recite your favorite running paths but can't give simple driving directions?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, congratulations - go nuts for as long as you want.

The one great thing about being 'stuck' indoors is that the gym at the hotel that I am at this week is surprisingly awesome:

And it overlooks the pool which is going to be even more awesome come summer. It has lots of equipment and actually two full rooms full of machines - one for upper body and one for lower body. Very clever Marriott. Very clever.

Hopefully the warmer weather has let you complete your own operation GYAMA. If not, Get Your Ass Moving Anyway.

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Foot update: It is getting better, but only very very slowly. I estimate that i'll be out for at least a week or longer. Whatever it takes to get to the starting line at RnR San Diego. Best to be a little unprepared than a little hurt when you toe the line. Besides, I can always go for 3:20 at RnR Seattle three weeks later!

I'm Worried

First, if you haven't been tagged for the 10 random things post, you're tagged. Do it now. It is fun for blogger voyeurs like myself. *hint hint* Pam @ Thirty Schmirty *cough cough*

I'm in an interesting place right now. Just like Brit-Brit says, I feel like I'm not a girl, not yet a woman...or I guess as it relates to running, work, and life I suppose. Meaning, I'm in a bit of limbo.

I'm a bit out of running commission for a while. Whenever this happens, and it seems to happen about once a year, I promise myself that I'll hit the cross training hard. But, this time I've been having a hard time following through. That.stops.tonight. The plan: Biking 1.5 hours, possibly puking due to oxygen depletion, stretching, followed by the 1/2 bottle of wine that I received from the hotel. Life is good - and if it isn't good, I'll FORCE it to be good...with booze...and TV...and room service.

I've found that posting this stuff on my blog holds me accountable. Next goal: I will win the lottery. Make it happen blogosphere - I'm counting on you to hold me accountable.

I will admit though that I am a little bit worried about my foot. I've never had a foot injury and the only thing that I can think of is that it is some sort of stress fracture. I'm sure that it isn't, however there are a CRAP TON of bones in your foot / ankle and I'm not sure what to think. So, I'm just going to do exactly what a doctor would tell me to do and rest it. Nothing more I can do, right?

(Apologies ahead of time for this being vague) Work has been a bit interesting too. The work that I was originally brought on to do sort of evaporated. Priorities shifted, things are not as firm as we all thought they were, blah blah excuses excuses. So, that means that my Project Management skills have been directed to other projects. Not a big deal, but it just means that I have to get up to speed and learn a bunch of new things super fast. Fortunately, I have the multitasking abilities of a 13 year old playing Nintendo (or whatever the kids play now a days), so I just roll with the punches. Playing Super Mario Brothers while on the phone, following up with IMs, and listening to music? Oh yeah - got that covered.

But, that does mean that I am horribly behind (3+ days) on blogs. I will catch up tonight during the commercials of LOST. I know that quite a few of you out there put together some great runs this weekend because I read them on my phone while sitting on the can and I can't wait to read all about them.

10 Random Things

Caution: Secrets Inside

(Jamoosh, picture taken at the New Belgium brewery)

A few days ago, I was tagged over at Julie's Running Blog to list 10 random things about myself. What a coincidence, that is my favorite topic! Kidding kidding.... kind of.

1. I grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa. In fact, my dad still farms. The town I went to elementary school in has 600 people and the town I went to high school in has 1700 (and they just removed the one and only stop light!) The worst part? The closest McDonalds was 40 miles away... and NO ONE delivered food.
2. My high school graduating class had 65 people.
3. I blogged for over a year before I received my first comment that wasn't from a friend or a family member. Now, I feel so loved! (go back to some of those old posts. They.are.boring - really)
4. While I travel full time for work, I'm pretty supersticous about catching a standby flight and not sitting in my assigned seat - for COMPLETELY morbid reasons. You always hear about people catching a standby flight and then going down in a ball of flames.
5. My right foot is a full size bigger than my left foot. I am convinced that if I were a girl, my boobs would be different size too.
6. I've been up to my shoulder in cow. Think about it. (Assisting with birth)
7. While I just finished my 7th marathon, I have still to run a half marathon (and then stop).
8. The last time I was in a sport was little league. I was in no high school sports. I was in band and played quads and trap set.
9. I have this funny idea about running a marathon in all 50 states. Gotta dream big!
10. My wife is my best friend's little sister. The first year or so that we dated was...interesting. But, we're both good guys - so it all worked out in the end.

If that didn't fill your Adam fix, head to my 100 things page (which is actually a bit out of date) and go nuts.

Blogger meetup / Ouch

Lazy Sunday. Turns out, it does rain in Phoenix. Turns out, the weather girls in Phoenix can hype up a "significant" thunder storm that basically just means it is going to be cloudy. But, compared to some crazy snow storm, I'll take it. Gives me a reason to sit around on my ass catch up on some things inside.

On Saturday, I went for a 13 miler with Jeff and RunningLaur. It was my first significant run since my RnR Mardi Gras race. Unfortunately, I'm also going to have to call this my race report for the "Global Warming, My Ass!" virtual race - but more on the "unfortunately" later.

The three of us ran along the Phoenix canal system in an older more developed part of town. It was a great change to the usual suburbia runs that I take. 0 - 6.66 miles: 1:13:50.

Here are Jeff and I celebrating our run (picture courtesy of RunningLaur). Well, either we are celebrating or Jeff is trying to push me off of the bridge. If you look close, you can see Jeff bracing for leverage and a look of fear on my face. At least that is my story and I am sticking to it. RunningLaur took a picture of the two of us, but I look like more of a goon than normal.

Now to the unfortunately... While I had a bit of discomfort in my foot during the run, it really started to flair up when I finished. On the drive home I knew that I was done for a while - probably longer than I would like. I got home, iced, compressed, and elevated. After I showered, I noticed I had a small bruise where it hurt:

And then, today, it got a little worse:

Now, I may have been born at night, but it wasn't LAST night. So I don't need someone to tell me that bruises are NEVER a good thing. So, I'm going to take a week off, maybe more. However long it takes to get 100%. In the meantime, I'll be biking, working on my core, and trying to stay away from the Oreos. Looks like I am going to take a little bit longer of a marathon recovery than I would like.

Of course, as I finish typing this, it is starting to sprinkle. Turns out the weather girl was right - and it is a good thing. I've heard that if they don't hit their weather forecasts 100% of the time they are fired. At least that is the way it is for every other job, so it has to be that way for weather girls, right?

Funny Foto Friday: A Retrospective

It has been a rough week in the Adam household (and not about my foot, which to be honest, is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things). Events got me thinking about being thankful for what you CAN do instead of what wasn't meant to be.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
-John Bingham

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
-Steve Prefontaine

So, this weekend believe in yourself. Have the courage to get out there and do something that, while uncomfortable, someone else does not have the courage, strength, or ability to do on their own.

In short, take the stairs when others choose to ride the escalator. You'll be a better person for it - Prefontaine promises.